Agate's Vigil

by Wingnut

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Princess Cadance, Crystal Ponies, Adventure, Shining Armor
Length: 497320

A filly trying to escape from the Crystal Empire's takeover by Sombra gets lost in the north, eventually discovering a strange tribe of ponies.

Sombra's takeover took everyone in the Crystal Empire by surprise. No one saw it coming, none were prepared for it, and almost no one got away. Almost.

A few hooffuls of daring souls managed to break out of the city and flee southwards, towards Equestria. Some ran to beg the Princesses for aid, others - just to save themselves and their families from the mad tyrant.

But as the refugees are about to learn, it's the dead of winter outside the Empire's shield, and the crystal ponies are far too used to their warm life in the city. One filly that gets separated from her parents while trying to get away learns that fact all too painfully...

❅ ❆ ❅

Cover art by Marbo, Allfather of the Snowponies.

Additional tag:snowpony

Published 2021-11-28 00:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2024-04-08 09:00:56 UTC

Empire of Darkness

Agate didn't know how long she ran.

She deliberately zig-zagged instead of moving in a straight line. The terrified filly kept diving, dodging and jumping between the snowdrifts, the frozen landscape moving by in a blur. Desperate to keep herself from being seen by any hostile eyes, she collapsed behind a large drift, her adrenaline finally spent.

Her last conscious thought before collapsing into a panting, tired mess was to make sure she was hidden from the sight of the Spire, too. Agate didn't know whether the soldiers that attacked her family just got lucky, or if they were actually sent to hunt them down because someone spotted the trio from the massive tower. She didn't want to risk it either way.

Well. There was also the fact that Agate could swear the Spire was looking back at her every time she so much as glanced at it from the corner of her eyes.

As she caught her breath, she cocked her ears and listened intently for a few minutes. All she could hear were the soft susurrations of the snow being blown about by the wind. No one seemed to be running after her. Did she really manage to get away?

"I really hope they're not just waiting right behind me to scare me," the tired filly thought as she slowly got up. "I hate when ponies do that.".

Looking around, Agate sighed in relief as she saw that there was not a soul in sight. Carefully raising her head above the snow, she took a tiny peek at the Spire. Her back immediately started crawling, every instinct telling her it's looking at you, it's going to eat you, RUN.

"Gah! Stupid building! Buildings don't eat ponies!" Something wasn't right here.

Forcing her shaky legs to keep still, Agate grit her teeth and tried again. This time, she looked at the offending construction from the corner of her eyes. It seemed to dampen the strange fear effect, though it didn't make the sight any more pleasant. The once-lovely white and blue edifice had been completely taken over by the black crystals at this point. No longer symmetrical, the walls looked jagged and warped.

And then there was the smoke. The oily-looking clouds that had been pouring out of the topmost towers covered a good portion of the city at this point, and it looked like they were spreading fast, covering the city in shadow. The wind didn't seem to be affecting it at all, either. Little tendrils of smoke would crawl across the sky with the main mass following suit, almost like some strange mold infesting the sky itself.

Agate shuddered, trying to keep her stomach calm. Completely unbidden, an old nursery rhyme came to her. And she understood.

"Surrounded by mountains and ice, in the northern deep,
Where the freezing gales and wind eternal weep.
There stands a shining city, proud and tall;
They keep the dark and cold away, with no sword nor wall.

They fear neither windigo nor winter, those are kept at bay.
With shining hope in their hearts, that is the Crystal Pony way.
So don't you worry, my little pony, have no fear;
Just hold your heart full of warmth for those near and dear.

Keep up hope, and the fiercest cold will fade.
Love your fellows, and you will need no blade.
Remember these words, and come what may -
Fear no darkness, you will see the light of day."

Agate didn't even realize she actually recited the thing out loud until she finished. It made her feel much better, though. The little spark of defiance she held onto had grown into a warm fire. Even looking at the corrupted Spire didn't cause the same fear anymore. Giving the city one last sad look, she picked a direction and slowly walked away.

❅ ❆ ❅

It was easy to understand what was happening. Crystal ponies participated in the Empire's rituals and traditions since before they were even aware of it, from their very first Crystalling as newborn foals. Even reading was taught via history. "C" is for "Crystal", "H" is for "Heart"...

Agate idly mused about all the things she was taught in foalhood as she made her way parallel and slightly away from the city. The snow crunched lightly under her shoes, the northern sun hanging feebly in the western sky. She didn't know what time it was, but their escape from the city most likely took a good part of the day. And winter days were shorter, too! Probably no more than a few hours until it got dark.

If all of their love and hope were meant to keep the cold and darkness at bay, then it was only natural that it would come back with a vengeance if said hope was lost. There was probably more to it, but it didn't really matter at this point.

She kept walking, only stopping to scoop up a tiny bit of snow with her mouth here and there. She had food in her bags, but no water. "Anything we take would just freeze, and it's extra weight. We'll just have to eat some snow," dad had explained. It was cold but manageable, as long as she only took a small bite at a time. Anything more would make her teeth sting.

As evening approached, it was slowly getting colder, too. That could be a problem. Her left-side saddlebag held all the food they managed to cram inside there, but her right one had her warmest blanket crammed inside, the thick woollen article making the bag bulge. Crystal sheep wool was said to be magical, able to protect ponies from the fierce cold outside the city.

"I hope my blanket didn't lose its magic like the city did..." Agate quietly muttered under her breath.

The ponies running the petting zoo during the last Crystal Faire had explained to her how the tiny crystal ewes were actually native to the mountains surrounding them, and were not afraid to go outside at all. However, they preferred to spend winters in the city, due to the abundance of fresh grass grown in the farms surrounding the Empire.

"Hmm. Would be nice to have a coat like that myself," she kept talking quietly.

Her classmates would make fun of her for that, sometimes. They'd say she was "talking to herself". Dummies didn't even know the difference between talking to yourself and thinking out loud. Though she'd almost prefer to be with some of her worse classmates to being all alone right now.

Agate sighed and thought about her parents. They got beaten up, but they'd probably be okay. They were tough. Would she be okay, though? Things weren't looking all that good. She was all alone, with the only ponies who knew what to do gone.

"I'm not dumb," she muttered. "I can... what's that saying... I can see the writing on the wall."

And she really could, too. She didn't have the foggiest idea whether the direction she picked was even the right one, which most likely meant it wasn't. Even if she did go south and somehow found the road to Equestria, there was no saying how long it would take to get there, and if she had enough food for the trip. There was just too much that she didn't know.

Problem was, she really, really did not like the alternatives. The filly pulled her scarf tighter around herself, her ears folding down in fright. Going back to the Empire was one option. But Agate could still remember the whistle of the wind as the soldier's steel-shod hoof barely missed her head. Whoosh. "You'll pay in blood!", their leader had screamed. She'd get caught sooner or later. And exactly how much blood would she have to pay when that happened?

If the strength behind the strike was anything to go by, it would be as much as an adult. And she wasn't one yet! Agate wasn't sure if she would survive that, and she wasn't keen on finding out. And so, the filly kept moving towards the mountains, keeping her pace at a steady trot.

"Even if I have to give up and go back eventually, I have to at least try... My parents tried so hard to get me to safety. I have to try." Nodding resolutely to herself, she kept her eyes firmly forward. "I do hope I'm going south though..." she thought, the northern wind gently blowing in her face.

❅ ❆ ❅

It turned out, the crystal wool blankets really were magical. Or maybe they were just that warm.

Agate yawned, lightly stretching within her cocoon. After walking for an hour or two more, she found a large depression in the ground. It looked like ponies dug it up, a long time ago. Her dad showed her how he polished gems sometimes, and she could recognize tool marks on some of the abandoned boulders. There was one large pile left lying on one side of the quarry, likely material that was deemed of too poor quality to bring back to the city.

Using that knowledge, she circled the pile. The quarry was filled with snow, far too deep to sleep in. But the rocks were stacked in an orderly fashion, and she dug out a tunnel to a small space between two flat rocks that leaned against each other, like a tent.

Once inside, the filly immediately took out her blanket and spread it out on the cold ground, proceeding to wrap it around herself. She didn't even bother taking off her scarf or boots, though she did take off her hat. Wearing it too long made her mane itchy. Sticking her front hooves out of the cocoon, she examined her supplies in the dim light.

Her saddlebags were fairly large, given that they were the same ones she went to school with. The one with the food had the loaf of bread and jar of jam her mom gave her at the inn, along with the rest of the food they took from home. Three bunches of carrots, two bunches of hay, a bag of nuts and a sack of oats.

After what she went through, Agate felt that she deserved some dessert. She ate a quarter of the bread, dipping it into the jam. Still, she did half a bunch of hay afterwards. Didn't want her parents to get mad when they found out or to get sick from too much sugar, after all.

She went to sleep after her meal. Now that she was awake again, her belly was demanding more. Sticking her muzzle outside, she winced a bit at the cold. Looking around, she retrieved her hat, took a breath, and stepped out from under the blanket.

"Bleh. Cold cold cold... maybe I should wear this on my back when I walk. Hey, that's actually not a bad idea..."

Deciding to try it out if things got bad later, Agate folded the blanket, put it in her saddlebag, and started on some simple breakfast. Dry oats and jam wasn't the most pleasant food, but she managed to get it down. After licking her lips clean, she gathered her courage, and went out to brave the icy plains again.

Stepping out of her little cave, Agate couldn't quite tell whether it was morning yet. Looking up, it became quite clear why. The black clouds, if they were even that, had covered a large portion of the visible part of the sky, stretching out far from beyond the city. The usually clear winter day turned into a murky twilight.

Not even bothering to look at the city, the intrepid filly turned her back on the source of the darkness and resolutely marched towards the mountains. A few beams of sunlight shone from that direction, the few slivers of still pristine blue sky giving her hope. Somewhere in those hills, there was a passage that led to Equestria.

Problem was, the entire Empire was completely ringed by mountains, with the exception of that one pass. Perhaps she could see the path once she climbed higher, even if the current direction she was heading in was wrong.

And so Agate marched on, trying to keep the little flame in her heart burning.

❅ ❆ ❅

The trip was uneventful. There were no monsters, no animals, no sounds but the wind and her boots crunching on the snow. Perhaps Agate was just lucky. Or maybe every living creature felt the darkness radiating from the city, and got the heck away.

The landscape was similarly dull. Nothing but snowy, rocky plains all around, a few flurries being blown about here and there. Far ahead, in the direction of her goal, were the mountains. The foothills far ahead seemed to have a small forest of evergreens to break up the monotony of snow and rock, at least.

Agate forcefully kept her eyes on the goal, refusing to look back at the city. The entire time she walked, the filly felt hostile eyes drilling into her back. The only way she could resist looking backwards was by distracting herself, repeating more foalhood rhymes and thinking of her family.

"Ringed by mountains oh so strong
With green forests lost in their song
Bushes laden with berries oh so sweet
Where the northern winds meet

The river's waters run crystal clear
To be replaced by sparkling ice every year
Oh, I truly love the beautiful land
Around us, the empire most grand..."

After a large amount of walking and a short break to eat some food and suck down some snow, Agate reached the foothills of the mountains. At least she thought she did. They didn't look quite like she imagined they would.

There was no sudden, huge wall of stone, but the mountains did seem closer. And the land was slowly getting steeper. A number of small evergreens were scattered around, with some bigger trees further on. The mountains... This was, more or less, the border of the Empire. For the first time that day, the filly turned back to glance at the city.

She could barely see it at this point. The darkness pouring out of the city brought visibility down quite a lot. However, the cursed fear effect was as strong as ever, if not stronger. While she was deliberately ignoring it, it was manageable. But now...

Now that she took the sight head on, the darkness gripped her mind again. Heart pounding, Agate yelped, taking off into the forest. Scattering snow in all directions, she weaved between the evergreens. After a while of running, she hid behind a tree, a few tears falling from her eyes. Slowly, a dark expression overtook the filly's features, an uncharacteristic scowl twisting her features.

"Stupid fear! Stupid Sombra! I hate you! I wish you'd go away forever! I hate you and your dumb dark magic and your stupid face and your DAMNED CURSE YOU PUT ON THE EMPIRE! I WISH YOU'D DIE, YOU GREEDY-"

She didn't even notice furiously pounding on the pine tree she was hiding behind, but the laws of physics did. They reacted predictably, the vibrations dislodging the snow collected on the tree's branches, and unceremoniously dumping them on the filly.

"Ack!" The snow got in her ears, and mouth, and pretty much everywhere. At least it broke whatever spell took hold of her mind. After taking a few deep breaths and calming down slightly, Agate began to cry.

She never wished death on anybody before. She knew what death was, more or less. Her friend Sugarberry came from a family of crystal berry farmers, and she once invited Agate to help her out. A bunch of icky grubs started eating the leaves from her berry bushes, and the fillies helped out Sugarberry's parents by collecting them and putting them in jars.

Sugarberry's father didn't bother with a jar, though. He'd just sweep the grubs on the ground, squishing them beneath his hooves. "Remember, fillies, it's just nature. If this was the wilds, there would be birds that would come and eat the grubs. 'Course, they might help themselves to some berries, too. Now, in here, there's nothing to stop them but us. If we just let them be, they'd eat every single leaf clean off every bush, and then just starve to death anyway. And so would we, because the berry bushes would go next, and we'd have no berries to harvest."

The fillies euugh'd and blegh'd at the life lesson, but they understood. This was different, though. Those were just bugs that didn't know any better. You didn't wish a pony would go away forever. You didn't... you didn't scream at the top of your lungs how badly you wanted them to die.

Agate cried for a while, letting out all her pain. After some time, she wiped away her eyes, and collected herself. That rage, that hate... This wasn't her. It couldn't be. More of Sombra's tricks, it had to be. At the thought of that name, a stab of anger went through the filly again.

Shaking her head, she dove into her saddlebags to distract herself. Pulling out a carrot to munch on, she took stock of her supplies again. One bunch of hay had been eaten, one left. Two bunches of carrots, a quarter of a loaf of bread and a third - full jar of jam. The sack with oats was two thirds full, the nuts untouched. She tried to do some maths. It didn't look great.

If Agate kept eating at the rate she was (and she would, or exhaustion would get her), she had food for three-four more days. And it took a day and a half to get here from the Empire. She didn't know how far Equestria was, but seeing as the Empire was still in sight, it was probably too far.

She sighed. One day. She'd give herself one more day to explore around, and then turn back. Back to... that place. It was crushing to think that her once-beloved home evoked such dark feelings in her now. Her thoughts bleak, Agate turned back to the forest and started looking for a place to sleep. It was still light out, but the motivation to explore had gone out of her.

❅ ❆ ❅

Another morning came to the nameless mountains. Did the mountains actually have a name? Probably, but Agate didn't know it.

The feeble morning light found her tired and grumpy, curled up in a small burrow under a tree's roots. Despite going to sleep early, her night hadn't been restful. Fitful dreams haunted the filly, of dark figures chasing her across the frozen plains. Her parent's voices called out to her, but she couldn't reply. A fierce blizzard rose up, her shouts ripped away by the furious wind.

Wiping the sand from her eyes, Agate lethargically dug through her saddlebags. More oats went down her gullet, with the last tiny helping of jam. Folding and storing her blanket, she fixed her scarf and hat, trying to get at least a tiny bit of energy into her tired limbs.

The food helped a little. After a couple minutes of yawning and stretching, she set off again. The forest was deathly quiet. Nothing made a rustle, not even the wind. The snow was thicker here, making her plow a path through the stuff. She tried to look where the land tilted up, hoping to find a better vantage point.

Some time later, Agate came across a rather large branch that must have broken off from a tree not too long ago. All the needles were still bright green, tempting her to taste them. Were they edible? It wasn't something that she ever ate back home.

"Well, I probably won't get sick if I try just a tiny bit..." With that, she bit off a bunch of the stuff. "Hmmm. Coarse, strong flavor, kind of dry, but not bad." After waiting a few minutes and listening whether her stomach would present any objections, she helped herself to some more, washing it down with a carrot.

After the snack, the young traveler set off again. It took her a few hours of wandering, stumbling, and sometimes tripping on a hidden root, but she managed to make her way out of the forest. She eventually discovered a large, flat shelf of stone that overlooked the treetops.

The sight was truly breathtaking, the entirety of Dream Valley laid out before her even with the dark magic obscuring the sky. Trying not to let her gaze land on the city, Agate intently scanned the surrounding mountains for any signs of pony-made paths. Or huts, buildings, road signs, anything that would lead her to Equestria.

But... there was nothing. Nothing marred the pristine snow and rock of the mountains around her. There was no safe harbor to be found around here, only the untamed wilderness.

Hanging her head low, her ears folded, the lonesome filly slowly laid down on the icy ground. Tears started falling from her eyes, though she made no sound. After she came so far, tried so hard, it didn't even matter. Her spirit crushed, she just lay there, the cold slowly seeping into her limbs.

Some time after she started shivering, Agate got up and shook off the snow clinging to her coat. There was nothing left to do but go back. Back to the city. Maybe she could hide in that inn they stopped at before leaving... Just hide out in the pantry until somebody fixed things...

Sniffling to clear her nose, Agate willed her shivering legs to start moving back towards the forest. It didn't go as well as she thought it would. She started shivering so hard she slipped, landing on her butt. Blinking a few times, she tried again. Her teeth started clattering too, and her back crawled. Her eyes went wide, understanding and utter horror flooding the filly.

The city was right in front of her. Even if she looked down towards the forest, she could still see the Empire from the corner of her eyes. And that was enough to make her feel the unnatural terror Sombra was casting from that place. Enough to make her legs shake. Enough to force her body to shut down, completely refusing to take a step forward towards that place of nightmares.

"No. No, no, no, no, nooooononononono...." She was crying now, weeping, trying to force her disobedient legs to move. All she could do was flop forelegs around, her hindlegs frozen to the ground.

She felt fear, she felt sadness, anger, concern and other things as she fled her home. This was the first time she felt absolute panic, though. She couldn't keep going deeper into the mountains, there was nothing for her there. But her way back to the Empire had been barred, it seemed.

In her desperation, Agate tried tricking the dark magic. She closed her eyes and managed to stumble forward for a while, but when she opened them again and looked around, her tracks in the snow just led her in a semi-circle. Her body refused to get any closer to the source of evil, even if she couldn't see it.

She tried walking backwards, her butt towards the forest, but it didn't go that well either. After spending an hour stumbling about and almost falling off the steep cliff, she was forced to admit that it wouldn't work out. Her pace slowed to a crawl, and it'd probably take a week to get to the city at that pace, if she could even get close. Agate could still remember the foreboding feeling she felt during the journey to the woods, even with her back towards the city.

This was it, the last drop. Agate snapped. No longer holding back, she screamed, cursed, and thrashed around, shrieking out every vile thing about Sombra that her young mind could come up with.

"I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOUR PARENTS LEAVE YOU FOREVER! IF YOU EVEN HAVE PARENTS, YOU DUMB, STINKY POOPHEAD!" She coughed, getting some air back into her lungs. "I hope they kick you out of the Empire so hard, you get lost in the snow forever! Curse you! Damn you! Freeze! I wish they just bury you in ice, so you freeze solid! Just like your cold, dead heart!!! How can you be so mean, you.. you... " She trailed off, hanging her head in defeat. The small fire of defiance she kept in her heart sputtered out, leaving her empty and hopeless.

Slowly, darkness came over the mountains again. There was no sound but the whistling of the wind. Nothing marred the pristine rock and snow of the wilderness.

Nothing but the tiny form of a filly lost in the snow, listlessly trudging her way deeper North.

Polar Night

The cold was biting. It was also painful, numbing, and all sorts of other unpleasant things. With sufficient time, it would be deadly.

Agate didn't want to die.

After the realization that the way back was blocked by Sombra's dark magic, she just collapsed in the snow. She had no shelter, little food, and the cold was worse up on the mountain. It was obvious what was going to happen to her.

However, her body immediately started complaining and screaming at her to move. The painful burning from the cold ice and rock beneath her spurred her on to get up and shake off the snow. The same primitive, fearful part of her hindbrain that locked her legs and refused to take a step towards the Empire was now pushing her to move, run, find warmth.

"Warmth where?!" She thought angrily. "What's even around here?"

The short winter day was ending, the mountains slowly getting enveloped in shadow. Agate cast her gaze around, scanning the area intently again. The first time, she looked for signs of civilization. Now, her goals were more basic. A crevice, a cave, a tree to hide behind. Anything sufficiently large or deep enough to act as a windbreak.

There wasn't anything in her immediate vicinity. The rock shelf that she was standing on was bare, only covered in hoof-deep snow. The forest (and the Empire) were behind her, that direction discarded as fruitless. To her right, the main body of the mountain loomed massively in her vision. To her left, the cliff dropped off sharply downwards.

That just left the way forward. The cliff wrapped around the base of the mountain, tapering off to a smoother incline further on. Or at least it appeared that way. The shadows were getting long at that point, making it hard to make out the terrain. Some tree tops were visible in the distance as well, the forest likely extending along the foothills.

Far ahead and leftward was another mountain. There was a narrow cleft between them, possibly a way to walk through without getting exposed to so much wind. If she could get down safely, of course. And if it wasn't packed with snow. It probably was.

Looking at the lengthening shadows cast by the mountaintops, Agate had a sudden idea.

"The sun... Rises from the east, and goes west... Soo..."

Turning back and looking upwards, she looked for the source of light. It was hidden from view behind another mountain, but... It was to her left, so - wait, right - no, if she turned around, this was left and that was right, so the way she was looking towards was...

North. Her shoulders slumped. Of course. Of course her panicked flight took her north instead of south. It only made sense, really. If she ended up running south from those guardsponies, she'd more than likely have been ambushed again and captured.

"Starting to think that would have been the better option..." She licked her dry lips. They were starting to hurt a little bit as she talked. "Guess I'll have to stop thinking out loud..." She muttered despondently.

Shrugging off her saddlebags, Agate retrieved her crystal wool blanket. Folding it and tying the corners together, she made a makeshift cape and stretched it across her back. It flapped about in the wind, but it was better protection than nothing. Then she got another idea, and put the saddlebags on top of the blanket. That kept it from getting blown away.

As she tried to pull the knot holding the blanket's corners tighter, something dug into her neck. Raising her hoof, she felt something metal through her boot.

"The necklace Dad gave me," she thought. "I completely forgot about it. To buy passage or pay for shelter, he said. Well, I'd gladly sell it now." The lost filly glanced around, but no pony materialized to guide her to safety in exchange for the accessory.

Agate grit her teeth, turning around angrily. "One more time," she resolved, holding on to the necklace firmly. "Let's try this one more time." In the darkness ahead, the Crystal Empire still loomed menacingly.

Taking a deep breath, she began repeating the nursery rhymes again. She thought of her parents, her grandparents, her odd uncle and her friends. She kept her love for them burning, driving back the hopelessness radiating from the Empire.

A step, quite sure. Another step. A third step, this one faltering. A fourth step, and Agate could move no more. She stood in place, shivering in fear again. A lone filly's hope, however pure and innocent, could not overcome the magically amplified despair of the entire population of captured crystal ponies.

With a snarl, she turned tail and galloped off through the snow. Maybe running would warm her up a little, at least. After a while though, she was forced to slow to a trot, and then a canter, breathing heavily. She'd been traveling most of the day, and then tried fighting Sombra's magic for hours. Her energy was drained.

Soon, the last rays of the sun were gone. The moon shone clearly in the winter sky, however, letting her see everything with surprising clarity. The mountains sparkled in the moonlight, the snow not as painfully bright to look at like this. She hadn't even noticed how much she was squinting at the glare until it stopped.

Getting a tiny bit of enthusiasm back, Agate kept walking along the cliffside. The treetops were still visible here and there, showing that the elevation was still too steep to get down safely. Eventually, the sudden drop turned into a more manageable slope. A rather snowy one, however.

Careful examination of the mountainside didn't yield any results. It was impossible to see whether there was anything solid buried under the thick snow, or if she'd just sink through. Carefully putting her hooves forward one by one, the filly sought purchase on the icy rock underneath.

It went well for a while. A step here, a tiny slip there, but she managed to clamber halfway down the slope towards the wooded section, plowing through the belly-deep snow. However....

*Shhhhhhh....*

Her ears perked up at the hissing noise of displaced snow sliding downhill. There was no time to react, though, as the mass swept her up and dragged her down with it.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- Oof!" At least the mini-avalanche barely lasted a few seconds. And the landing was actually kind of soft, though she did get buried up to her neck. Squirming from the cold flakes that snuck under her scarf and blanket, she stuck her forelegs out and tried to stand up. That just resulted in her forelegs sinking through.

Getting out proved to be a bit harder than imagined. The snow surrounded her on all sides, and there was no solid surface underneath. Forcing her tired muscles to move, she tried pulling herself forward. Then, she tried wiggling out. Eventually, flopping and half-swimming, Agate managed to get free, though that also made her sink deeper down through the powdery snowflakes. In the end, her scrabbling created a hole deeper than she was tall.

Agate panted, her legs vigorously complaining about the strenuous exercise they were being put through after a whole day of trotting. Scrunching her muzzle, she looked around. There was no way she could keep going. But, maybe this wasn't too bad. All of that snow piled up all around actually seemed to be blocking the wind pretty well.

Pulling the last dregs of her strength together, she stomped the snow underneath her flat, throwing as much of it as she could aside. That done, she awkwardly yanked off her saddlebags, wrapping herself in the blanket as tightly as she could. There was no energy left to eat anything or even take off her hat or scarf. With the exhaustion from the day's journey catching up to the drained filly, she fell asleep immediately.

❅ ❆ ❅

Cold. Bone-deep, teeth-chattering cold.

The first thing that Agate noticed as she woke up was the cold. She shivered in her blanket, not even the crystal wool able to keep the northern chill away any more. Her stomach also made its displeasure known, growling loudly at her for skipping dinner last night.

"M-maybe that's it. My b-blanket's fine. I'm just cold because I'm h-hungry. "

Reassuring herself, she reached for her saddlebags. Her shaking hooves found the bag of nuts, though she had trouble grasping it with her boots. Giving up, the filly simply shoved her muzzle into the sack and started munching. To her pleasant surprise, she found that nuts still tasted really good even when cold.

Crunch crunch. While she was busy with that, her eyes looked over what she had left. A hoofful of oats, some (now unpleasantly dry) bread, cold carrots, and a bundle of hay. At least things didn't get moldy or rot in the frigid weather. Small mercies, if they could be called that.

After the nuts were gone, she licked a tiny bit of snow from the walls surrounding her, pondering the situation. How to get out of this hole? The deep snowdrift was piled up near the steep part of the mountainside, so if she just went forward... somehow. She scrunched her muzzle at the blockage in front of her. It refused to move.

Huffing, the filly slipped out of her blanket, tying it around her neck again. The saddlebags went on, and her attire was checked and fixed where it got loose. Then, with a fierce and mighty battlecry (If there were any observers around, they might have called it "adorable"), Agate charged headfirst into the snow.

"Just like when I was running away from those guardsponies. Just have to force your way through it." Pretending to be a snowplow made it even colder, though the food helped to warm her up, along with the exertion. Fortunately, she was displacing enough snow to allow her to breathe. After a few minutes, her head broke through the surface, like some aquatic predator looking for prey.

Forging ahead, the small polar huntress kept turning her head this way and that, looking for her quarry - trees. Finding a cluster of pines off to her right, she changed course. The amount of snow in her path gradually went down, first reaching up to her belly, then eventually only to her hocks.

Sweeping off the remaining flakes off her back, Agate examined the copse. The pines were tall and healthy, bringing some color to the otherwise blindingly white landscape. All of the branches on the trees were far too high up for her to reach, but fortunately, she could see some irregular lumps in the snow. Digging them out, she found what she was looking for - extra food.

The needles on the dead branches, likely blown away during one storm or another, still retained their deep green hue. Helping herself, Agate kept digging around the trees, trying to find every last piece of anything edible. Some of the branches were old and the needles had dried out and turned yellow. She left those alone, shoving the snow aside looking for fresh ones. Eventually, she managed to fill up her stomach some more, and collected a couple dozen of the little bunches of needles in her saddlebags.

Wiggling her tongue around while trying to get at a stubborn needle that got stuck between her teeth, the young survivalist looked around, squinting her eyes at the dazzling whiteness. The landscape was more or less the same. Snow, mountains looming all around her, snow, and some trees here and there. Covered in snow. A shiver ran down her back.

The air here was much colder than down in the valley, even on the lowest part of the foothills. But it was manageable as long as she kept moving. At least it wouldn't get worse... probably. As long as she didn't try climbing any higher on the mountain, she'd be fine. She'd be fine. Agate kept telling that to herself as she moved further and further away from what used to be her home.

The hours went by. Picking her way through the terrain, the filly zig-zagged between the larger clusters of the northern pines. Everywhere she went, Agate kept an eye out for any more fallen branches. The snow was piled up higher in places, and there were slippery patches of ice here and there, but she still managed to make good time without any serious accidents or delays.

Now and then, she'd stop and feel the necklace around her neck, looking behind her. The Empire was not visible from this elevation any more, though the clouds of dark magic could still be seen easily. The portion of the sky southwards looked as bad as ever, black as coal and still conjuring images of dark tentacles reaching for her. After the third time, Agate sighed and forcefully looked away, trudging forward stoically.

Nowhere to go but forward.

❅ ❆ ❅

The day went by uneventfully again. She travelled, foraged, and did her best to keep moving, no matter how tempting it was to just lie down and give up. The terrain went up and down, the other far away mountains got ever so slightly closer, and the filly kept moving. After a break sometime shortly after midday with a quick meal of carrots and more pine needles, Agate set off again.

It was strange. Winter days were already short, but they seemed to be getting even shorter. Or was the sunlight simply being blocked by the mountains? She watched the shadows cast by the mighty peaks crawl across the landscape, slowly bringing darkness to the world again.

When evening came, the temperature went down. The usually still mountain air suddenly turned violent, too. It started with a low hiss, then a whistling, then a terrible howl. The fickle nature of wild weather was acting up.

Agate wasn't just walking through the cold anymore, the frigid air was blasting the filly from all sides. While it wasn't snowing (small mercies), there was no shortage of small, light snowflakes all around for the gale to pick up and hurl in her face. Light snowflakes that suddenly turned sharp and painful, stinging her eyes and cheeks. With the force the wind was blowing them, each one felt like a stab with a freezing needle.

"Alright, this is bad... Need to find somewhere to curl up..." Agate looked around frantically, trying to find a safe spot while blinking the snow out of her eyes. No good options immediately presented themselves. The area was devoid of cover, a barren spot of rock on the mountainside. Somewhere ahead though, a few silhouettes of trees loomed invitingly.

Forcing herself to go faster, the shivering filly galloped towards whatever meagre shelter could be found. All the adrenaline set her heart beating, keeping the cold away for a short precious while. When the trees finally appeared out of the darkness, Agate immediately sought cover behind the trunk of the closest one. Catching her breath, she sought out the thickest pine that could still be seen in the evening gloom, trying to feel out the precise direction from which the wind was blowing.

Shielding herself on the opposite side of the wind's direction, she quickly cleared out the snow around the roots, getting as close to the frozen ground as possible. Tossing the saddlebags off, she quickly pulled out her blanket and, after a second's consideration, the sack of oats. Munching on the last few mouthfuls of the grains, she cocooned herself as tightly as possible. Only the tiniest gap was left to allow breathing.

It didn't help.

The tree trunk provided some shelter, but it wasn't enough. The wind kept blowing, howling in her ears even through the woolly cover, stealing whatever warmth it could. While the blanket kept the worst of the cold at bay, the freezing wind didn't let her warm up, either. The filly shivered, stuck in a torturous equilibrium.

This went on for a long time. How long, Agate couldn't say. Minutes, hours... It felt like forever. Unfortunately, when the balance between getting colder or warmer was broken, it didn't go the "getting warmer" route. She tried rubbing her legs together, closing the gap in the blanket completely, any tricks her scared mind could come up with. It didn't help, either. Eventually, her teeth began to chatter, violent shivers wracking her body.

"I... I have to get out of here. Find better cover, somehow. I'll freeze otherwise."

Bundling the blanket around herself as best as possible, she grabbed the saddlebags and willed her numb legs to move. Even trotting was hard, the muscles locking up and burning from the cold. Agate knew that this was a bad, bad idea. She knew deep down in her heart of hearts just what was most likely going to happen. She did it anyway. There were no easy solutions here. Just hard choices, with painful outcomes.

The night was much harder to see through, on account of the snowflakes still being blown about. The wind stung even worse now, forcing tears out of her eyes. They then froze on her eyelashes, clouding her vision even further.

The dark shapes dotting the area offered no comfort. The pines were strong, but slender, their trunks insufficient for full protection from the wind. There were no caves or walls anywhere, the foothills smoothed down by eons of erosion. The panicked filly kept galloping, pushing her body to it's absolute limits. Nothing changed, however. The landscape was the same as before. Snow, rocks, and sparse trees.

She didn't stop, though. If only to keep a tiny bit warm from the physical effort. If only to keep going until she couldn't any more. If only... if only to fall asleep from exhaustion, instead of painfully freezing... to death. Tears flooded her eyes, not because of the wind this time. She thought of her family. How she'd never see them again.

"It's not fair. I tried so hard. I was smart. I tried to go back when I saw there was no escape. I looked for extra food, I still have food. I did everything I could. It's not, it's... oh... it actually.. feels warmer, now that I think about it..." Suddenly lightheaded, Agate tripped, flopping sideways into the snow. After a short scramble, she managed to curl up in the blanket again.

This... this felt nice. It felt kind of warm. She wasn't even shivering any more! She couldn't really feel her hooves, but that was probably just because of the intense galloping just now. A tiny giggle came out of the filly's mouth, then a laugh. Her previously panicked mind became calm, serene even. "It's alright," she thought. "I'm just... I was... what was I doing? Right, getting... safe? Warm... I can still hear the wind, but... It didn't seem to matter any longer.

As she lay there, Agate swore that she could hear her parent's voices. She felt herself getting picked up by her dad's strong hooves while her mother gently nuzzled her. Carrying the dizzy filly , the parents quickly came upon a cabin in the snow. Quickly moving to the bedroom, they were soon tucking her into bed, softly whispering quiet reassurances to her.

Then Agate blinked, and she was back in the snow. She wasn't cold at all, however. In fact, she couldn't feel anything.

Exhaustion overtook the little pony, making her eyelids droop. Everything felt right, and just falling asleep felt like the best thing to do. Something beat at her chest. Clumsily pawing at it with a numb hoof, she tried to figure out what it was. It took her a moment to understand that it was her own heartbeat. That was probably bad.

"Oh well," Stretching out her limbs, Agate closed her eyes, drifting off to oblivion one final time.

The northern wind blew on, uncaring of anything in it's path. Nature was like that. It wasn't needlessly cruel, like some ponies said, but it didn't care in the slightest, either. It didn't care for any beings freezing in its wake, or the perceived unfairness of the fact. It didn't care for any lost ponies in its way.

It didn't care for the final feeble breath of a dying filly, blowing ever on.

❅ ❆ ❅

The far north was usually considered desolate and lifeless by every creature hailing from anywhere south. "Nothing but ice and rocks," they'd say. "Maybe a few trees, at most, but that's it." Any suggestions or theories expressing anything contrary would be met with casual dismissal.

It was a form of arrogance, in a way. A sort of "Well, I couldn't possibly survive in such blasted cold, and I'm the best thing since sliced bread, so clearly nothing even worth mentioning could possibly live there."

It couldn't be further from the truth. Life finds a way, and the north was teeming with life. The rivers were swarming with fish, making their way upriver to their breeding grounds and back. Under the snow, small mice scurried about, finding the tiniest nibbles of food despite the obstacles. Cunning arctic foxes hunted them, diving headfirst into the snow to catch their prey. Even insects managed to survive, the northern bees sleeping in their hives for the cold months.

The trees and cliffs held bird nests of every kind. Great eagles, opportunistic seagulls, mighty cormorants and tiny puffins filled the skies. Ducks and geese of all kinds flapped around, feeding on the coastal grasses, seaweed, and other bounties of the oceans. Skillful diving birds fearlessly drove themselves straight into the water, coming up with struggling fish in their beaks.

The waters themselves contained beasts of all sizes, from the smallest krill to the mightiest Orca. Narwhals roamed the seas, legions of seals chasing after the multitudes of fish. And these were only the most common animals.

There were other things in the north, beings spoken about in cautionary tales. Strange spirits that you could see from the corner of your eyes that would instantly disappear if you looked directly at them. Malicious shapeshifters, abducting younglings to leave them lost in the snow. Predatory serpents roaming the waters, and massive floewolves prowling the glaciers. And if you thought you were safe from orcas on land, an akhlut would gladly prove you wrong.

And somewhere amidst all that, there was a pony.

The pony was currently patting the ground, kindly asking the snow in that location to stay firm for a while and bear the weight of the spirit stone. Her task complete, she gently placed an orange crystal on the surface of the packed snow before returning to a sleigh nearby. Taking another faintly glowing crystal from the half-full sled in her mouth, she went further ahead, repeating the process. To the right of the mare, there was another pony with his own sleigh, placing crystals along even intervals.

And so it went. They worked quietly, only stopping now and then to briefly check on each other. After making sure the path they were laying down was symmetrical and went in the right direction, they hitched up to their sleighs and went further.

Some time later, the sleighs were empty, their duty done. Taking one last look to make sure they didn't slip up somewhere, the pair gave each other a satisfied nod. The crystal-lined path was finished, leading from the direction of their tribe's territory to the village looming in the distance.

"Snowpitt," declared the mare. "We're here. Let's go meet the others and get ourselves a cup of tea. I've been craving some fresh herbs for weeks. The dried ones just don't have the same flavor." Grabbing the harness, she effortlessly pulled the sleigh across the pony-deep snow, walking on top of the drifts without disturbing a single snowflake.

The stallion caught up to her in a few moments. "Oh, you can have all the tea you want, I'm sure. Herbs always grow aplenty in the southern plains," he grinned at her teasingly. "But I get the first pick of stew when we get there. The western tribe had a bountiful season this year, or so I heard. The pots are going to be overflowing with mushrooms of all kinds." He licked his lips, imagining all the wonderful flavors dancing on his tongue. The fish and other bounties of the northern tribe's lands and waters were both delicious and filling, but nothing beat the communal stews the tribes made during the Great Gathering, each tribe adding their specialties and skills to the mix.

The mare snorted, flicking her snow-white tail at him. "Really, is that so? Planning to gorge yourself silly and leave nothing for me? Well then, maybe I should just go ahead and help myself to some. I'll save a bowl for you, of course, though first pick gets the best bites. Catch me if you can!" With that, she galloped off towards the village.

"Wha- hey! Snowshoes, you get back here this instant!" Sputtering, he gave chase across the plain, trying to run the mare down. It was futile, of course, as she was much better at snowwalking than him. Her hooves effortlessly kicked off the snow, the only marks of her passage being the tracks of the sleigh she was dragging behind her.

Laughing, she turned her head backwards, winking at her unsuccessful pursuer. His own hooves were plodding through the snow, leaving clearly visible hoofprints. "What's the matter, Wayfinder? Can't gallop as well as you can track? It's alright, I'm sure you can find your way to Snowpitt - long after I make it there and have my fill, of course!"

Snorting, Wayfinder kept up the pace. She reduced her speed somewhat, teasingly waving her tail in his direction. They were both joking, of course. The tribes all brought enough food to last throughout the entire Long Night, and there would be plenty for months to come.

They galloped on, laughing, trading fake insults and cavorting through the snow, quickly making their way to the village. It was time to meet with their sister tribes once more.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate was falling.

Or was she flying?

Falling... upwards? Floating, perhaps?

She shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her brain. It didn't work. Maybe because she didn't have a head any more. Or a brain.

Wait, what?

Something wasn't right here.

Looking around, she saw... nothing. Nothing but darkness surrounded her. There wasn't even the tiniest speck of light to be seen. That was concerning, but nothing crazy. The crazy things began when she attempted to check if there was anything blocking her eyes. Her forelegs just... weren't there anymore. Or her hindlegs, or neck, or any other body part. She felt nothing and saw nothing. Like she was just a pair of closed eyeballs, floating somewhere in the dark. If even that.

Agate tried to scream, and nothing happened. She tried to breathe in, but she couldn't feel her lungs, either. No sound, no light, no smell... Nothing. What was happening? Where was she? Her fear increased as she tried to remember the last thing that happened. Did... did she die? Is this what death was? An eternity of darkness, forever alone, screaming into the nothingness?

After silently panicking for a while, she tried recalling things. Trees, snow, her parents, any image to occupy her mind with instead of the omnipresent darkness. Slowly, the oppressive gloom seemed to part the tiniest bit. She imagined waving her forelegs around, and the faintest streaks of something flashed in her vision. A tiny flicker of hope went through her mind.

"Come on, I can do this. I have forelegs. I - have - FORELEGS, DARN IT!" Willing, imagining, forcing her body back into existence, the filly slowly began to see some details again. Her forelegs showed up, though they were oddly dark and translucent. Concentrating on maintaining the vision, she poked herself on various parts of her body. The action still failed to provide any sensation of touch.

"Grrrr..." Turning away from her ethereal and half-visible body, Agate looked around. The world became a strange, washed out mass of black, gray and off-white. The only points of reference were the coal-black mountain peaks, still standing against the dim sky. Any fine details were completely lost, though. Everything but her immediate surroundings were a featureless, solid black.

Focusing on the spot beneath her hooves, she tried the same trick that made her body reappear. She focused, willing, demanding for the world to become visible again. It was a slow process, but bit by bit, she started to make out shapes in the darkness. There was a rock to her left, oddly muted and non-sparkling snow underneath her, and a... branch? Piece of fabric? Something strange was sticking out of the snow.

Squinting her eyes, she kept staring at whatever it was, without blinking or stopping. Following the odd shape underneath the snow, she saw the edge of a flap of fabric. Her blanket! And underneath, there was... there was... She blinked a few times then, her mind refusing to comprehend just what it was seeing. Eventually, though, it clicked.

She was looking at her own face, eyes closed and peaceful. It was her body, frozen in the snow.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate didn't know how long she sat there, staring. Days, perhaps weeks. The world didn't seem to change much, and it was near impossible to tell apart day from night. Mute, unmoving, unfeeling, she just sat by her remains. She didn't cry, as she had no tears any more. She didn't scream, and she had no breath to do so. She didn't bother thrashing around, as she couldn't affect the material world any more.

She was dead.

Seeing her own expired body certainly drove the point home. Agate was just a spirit now, colorless, weightless and barely visible. She looked longingly at her agate-purple coat, barely visible in the gloom. Her agate-blue mane, which her mother liked to brush. Her agate-green eyes that her dad admired, closed forever now.

"How come agate has so many colors, mom? Doesn't that make them separate gems, like your garnet red coat and dad's sapphire blue?" Unbidden, a memory popped into her head, reminding the filly of better times.

Her mother smiled, meticulously connecting golden links together in a delicate golden chain. "Well, dear, your father could probably explain this better. But, it's not so simple. You see, agate actually has dozens of dozens of colors and shapes that it takes. The important thing is it's composition, however. The main ingredient is chalcedony, formed in just the right way. And various tiny pieces of other minerals end up making a whole riot of color. And even gems that are traditionally known to have only one hue quite often turn out to have more, even if they're rare. For example, though the "true" color of sapphires is a deep blue, there are also sapphires with shades of violet, pink, orange, and others. There's also pink, blue, yellow and other diamonds. The list goes on." Finishing her work, she gently put down the chain, picking up a red-orange gem and holding it against her dark red coat. "See here? That's a garnet your father cut and polished. My name's Garnet Necklace, so we're both garnets. But the colors are still different. Each gem is unique, just like my precious Agate," she explained while nuzzling the grumbling filly.

Her parents did their best to teach Agate everything they knew about minerals, gems and crystals. They told her that they'd be happy if she chose to follow in their hoofsteps, but only and only if that was what she truly wanted. "My father, your grandpa Coal Hoof, was a blacksmith," her dad had explained. "He'd make every day things. Nails, horseshoes, though he was skilled enough for the Guard to trust him with maintaining their weapons and armor, when the need arose. Now, I didn't have the strength he did. I couldn't swing a smith's hammer, but I discovered an affinity for a jeweler's chisel. When he saw my work, he just laughed, clapped me on the back so hard I almost fell over, and congratulated me on producing something that he'd just end up smashing to glittery powder if he tried to make it." Chuckling, her dad shook his head. "Remember, it doesn't matter what you choose to do in the world, as long as it's honest work. We'll be proud of you either way."

Coming out of her reminiscing, Agate looked around. Now that she lost her focus, the world became pitch black again. Willing her sight to work, she sighed inaudibly. Glumly looking around, the ethereal filly thought about her parent's words, pawing at the ground. Her hoof just passed through, leaving no mark. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't need to run anymore. There was no cold, no hunger. But any kind of work, honest or not, was beyond her capabilities. She was a ghost. She scoured her memories for anything useful, thinking back as far as she could possibly remember. But, for all the life advice her parents gave her, unsurprisingly, there wasn't anything about dying and becoming a bodiless spirit.

Wasn't something supposed to happen after you died? Something... a vague memory flitted through her mind. Something about the Pale Mare coming to collect you. Well, she'd been sitting here a while now, and no mares, pale or not, bothered to show up.

"Ugh. This is dumb. No one's coming for me. And I don't want to keep sitting here forever. Alright, Agate, think. Use that head of yours. She glanced downward at her frozen body. "Maybe not that one. Gah, focus, FOCUS. Alright. What's even happening to me right now? The ethereal filly took stock of her situation. "Good things: I'm not cold any more. I don't feel hungry. I don't feel tired or sleepy. Bad things... I'm dead. Main bad thing, really. Also, I can't see all that well for some reason. Must be the lack of eyes. Her gaze was drawn downwards again. How can I see at all, then? No, doesn't matter... think, think... Can I actually move away from here?

Carefully standing up on all fours, Agate took a hesitant step away from her body. It was very strange. She couldn't feel her hooves hitting the ground at all, but the scene did shift a little. Taking a few more steps forward showed that she could, in fact, move around freely.

"Alright, that's something. But... I still don't know what to do or where to go." Going back to the Empire was certainly an option, but for what? Not like she could save her parents. Attempting to free them wouldn't achieve anything if she wasn't able to interact with the material world. No ability to steal some keys, unlock their chains, anything at all.

The lost ghost sat down again, pondering her predicament. She wasn't coming up with anything smart, all of her life experiences useless. And nothing her parents taught her would help in this situation. But, she did have more family than that, didn't she?

Her grandparents weren't all that forthcoming with life advice. Mostly, they just said that she was a precious little gem and gave her little gifts and treats. And she only had two grandparents. Other foals at school usually told her that they had four, but her mom once said her parents "Didn't approve of her marrying the son of a sooty blacksmith," before telling Agate that it was their loss and not to worry about it. Which was probably true. Grandpa Coal was pretty awesome, and not sooty at all.

Her dad had a brother, though. As he once explained to a then-younger Agate, a father's brother was an uncle to his children. And he came to visit every now and then, when his Guard duties would allow. And uncle Obsidian Spear was full of advice about tricky situations. Thinking back to the last Hearth's warming, she tried to recall his visit.

They were in the family's sitting room, relaxing in various ways. Her dad was lounging on the couch reading a book, while mom was slowly drinking a glass of mulled crystalberry wine, her eyes closed in pleasure. Agate herself was laying on a rug near the crackling fireplace, sipping on some cocoa imported from faraway places. Uncle Obsidian went to the kitchen to get some wine himself, returning shortly with a stout glass and settling in next to her dad.

"Ahhh, that hits the spot," he exclaimed after a big gulp. "Boy, what wouldn't I do to have something like this after giving the runaround to a mad yeti in a blizzard. Even with the coats they give us to wear under the armor, it still feels like my legs are going to fall off every time after wilderness duty."

Her dad chuckled, turning a page in his book. "You knew full well what you were getting into when you signed up, and then volunteered to protect the prospectors, lumberjacks and other risk-takers that go tromping through the wilds. You've been doing it close to two years, though. Shouldn't you have earned that transfer to the Spire that you were aiming for by now?"

"Aye, but you know what they say in the Guard: The reward for work well done is more work, ha! They're telling me that I'm one of the best rangers they have, and that I'm irreplaceable until they get a new crop of recruits and beat their sorry flanks into shape." Taking another pull of the wine, he savored the taste for a minute before continuing. "So, the Major's promising the palace transfer for my entire squad and a promotion to Sergeant for me, with the caveat that I stay on for another year to make sure none of the quarries and mines become nesting grounds for yetis, ice worms, or who knows what else."

"Sergeant in the Spire? Well earned, after all the work you did. Though, I'm sure you're going to miss all the excitement when you're in your cushy new post." Shooting Obsidian a look, he continued sarcastically. "I can already imagine the news: "Imperial guard Sergeant goes stir-crazy in the palace, runs off to wrestle yetis naked!""

Even her mom snorted at that, while Obsidian started guffawing loudly. "Ahaha, Radiant, you bonehead! You know full well that's not how it goes. Going off alone would get me eaten. No engaging beasts without your squad by your side, and if you're working solo in a bad situation, run like your tail's on fire, unless you have civilians to cover. There's plenty of ways to find excitement in the city without going out to court death, thank you very much."

Agate, who had been listening quietly so far, piped up with a question. "Um, uncle Obsidian? Isn't it a bad thing to run away? I mean, aren't guards supposed to be fearless and unbeatable?"

That seemed to amuse him even more than dad's joke. "Haw! Oh, kiddo, there's a big difference between being brave and dumb as a rock, though ponies often confuse the two. If you don't retreat when you need to, you might be fearless, but that sure as heck won't make you unbeatable. Quite the opposite, in fact." Taking another swig of his wine, he got off the couch and sat down next to Agate. "And regular ponies that never served in the military have some very, very wrong ideas on what protecting ponies actually entails. Why don't I teach you some Guard wisdom, young Agate?"

The filly nodded eagerly. The only knowledge of the ponies defending the Empire came from a few fairy tales that she read, and a few vague statements about them being "the Empire's shield and spear."

Settling in, he began. "Alright, first and foremost: there is a very, very big difference between stage fights, spars, contests, and a real battle. I'm guessing that when you're thinking of members of the Guard fighting, you're thinking of something along the lines of the crystal faire jousting tournament?" After Agate's nod, he continued. "Well, a true fight is nothing like that. Firstly, opponents in contests like that are usually more or less evenly matched, so that it doesn't turn out too boring." At the filly's puzzled expression, he explained: "It wouldn't be very exciting to watch if one of the ponies just stomped the other one flat in five seconds, would it? Bang, boom, slam, it's over. In a real fight, though, that is exactly what you want. It's not about being fair, honorable or a showoff. It's about winning, as hard, fast, and with taking the least amount of damage as possible. Especially if you're faced off with a wild beast that doesn't care about playing nice."

At this point, Garnet had her ears pointed towards the conversation, listening in eagerly. Dad had said that his brother was always sharing pieces of wisdom he learned from his job, but mom wasn't always there during their meetups. "Now, the thing about running away comes from the fact that most contests have clearly defined borders. Get tossed out of the arena, and you lose. And even some officers have this foolish notion that retreating means "cowardice". However, there is nothing, nothing that gives you a bigger advantage in a battle than outmaneuvering your enemy. There were plenty of battles where one side either faked a retreat or even genuinely lost and was running away, only for their commanders to reorganize the ranks and completely turn the tides on their foes. All because the "winners" thought that the fight was over, and completely abandoned their lines and discipline to chase down some easy-looking targets."

Agate sat quietly, eagerly drinking in the information, still taking occasional sips of cocoa. This was so different than what she experienced! If foals were pushing each other around, whoever ran away would inevitably get called a scaredy chicken. Adult fights weren't like that at all! Meanwhile, her uncle plowed on. "Now, I could try telling you about those battles, but I think it'd be better if I gave you some examples you could use yourself. A great many pieces of military discipline can actually be applied in day to day life by regular ponies. I know it's possible nothing like this ever happened to you, but tell me, did you ever see someone win against others just because they chose a clever location to stand in? A high spot on a hill to push others down, or maybe a narrow entrance to face multiple opponents one by one? Some foals roughing around in school, perhaps?"

Agate thought back, scrunching her muzzle. Bullies didn't really pick on her, and they swiftly got dealt with by teachers if they harassed others. Causing strife among your fellow ponies was a grave crime in the Empire, risking harm to the function of the Heart. "Well, it doesn't happen often. But I faintly remember one time in the... second year, I think. An older colt stood on top of the stairs to the second floor, blocking the entire class and laughing at them. He'd bonk ponies on the head if they tried to get past him. And none of them could even raise their hooves high enough to hit him back, since he was higher up. One of the teachers heard the commotion and dragged him away by the ear, though."

Her uncle was smiling widely, evidently satisfied with her example. "Perfect, Agate, just perfect. A classic example of holding the high ground, along with the stairway doubling up as a narrow pass. A single pony holding off more than a dozen others, until he got taken down from the back by the teacher. Now, quick question: was there any other way to get past him? Schools usually have multiple stairways to the same floors, yes?" At her slow nod, he continued, gesticulating wildly. "So then, here's the rundown: the colt gets a great idea to feel clever and strong, and makes a blockade in a strategic location. His goal is to stop other ponies from getting up. Without thinking about any alternatives, the others just try to bull rush him head on, fulfilling his goals."

At Agate's confused look, he elaborated. "He wanted to outsmart the other foals, right? Well, he did. If they just stood there and laughed at him, he would have been the one to look foolish. Or, if a few swift-legged foals peeled off from the group to go up a different stairway and come up from his back, he'd have been surrounded from all sides, and forced to give up. But he knew that he'd win against anyone that came at him directly, and so attacking him wasn't actually interfering with his goal at all, but fulfilling it. He wanted the other foals to try and get past him, because he knew that they'd fail."

Agate sat there, slack-jawed, as her young, simple mind was being presented with all sorts of complexities and amazing ways to look at a situation she had never considered before. Was this how adults always thought? No wonder they always looked distracted!

"And so, retreating to outmaneuver him was the only actually viable strategy in that confrontation you described. Remember, Agate, anyone that tries to tell you that running away from an unwinnable situation means you're being cowardly is either trying to trick you into losing, or has the intelligence of a hunk of crystal." He punctuated his point by tapping his hoof on the floor, producing a deep "thunk" sound, and making the filly giggle.

Her mom snorted quietly, raising an eyebrow. "That's well and nice, Obsidian, but how much of it could she really apply in real life? I don't think that my filly's going to become some grand general, leading platoons of foals in glorious conquest."

Grinning back at her, he shook his head. "You're thinking too much about the physical aspect of it, Garnet. A conflict doesn't have to be a literal fight. These things are just as easily applicable to regular situations, and even things like conversations. For example..." Draining the last of his wine, he stopped for a moment to deposit his mug on a nearby table.

"During my own childhood, there was this one little smartflank that figured out how to get other kids into trouble. He'd do things to provoke them - call them names, toss spitwads in their manes, throw erasers at them, and so on. And every time anyone hit back at him, he'd cry bloody wolf like you wouldn't believe. Got a lot of foals in my class sent to detention, yours truly included. It took me a while to learn not to take the bait, but let me tell you, it was the most valuable lesson of my life, one I wish I'd learned sooner. Honestly, I think the world would be a better place if more ponies just learned not to jump at the dumbest provocations imaginable."

Mom nodded slowly, mulling it over. "Alright, I can see your point. I certainly could have used some of that discipline myself when dealing with my family, I suppose." Suddenly shaking her head, she quickly changed topics. "Never mind them, I shouldn't talk about such things during Hearth's Warming. So, what is the reverse? Does not taking the bait help in Guard duties?"

Getting up, he gave her a wry grin. "Oh, like you wouldn't believe. Getting tricked into abandoning your post could wreck your entire career in the Guard. Back in training, they'd set us up in lines, taunt us or scream in our faces, and any pony that reacted in any way would have to run laps until they collapsed. I never failed, since I've kept thinking of that little brat from school." Picking up his glass, he took mom's glass too, making a return trip to the kitchen to get a refill.

They spent the rest of the evening talking, with Agate mostly listening to her uncle's stories and advice. She didn't get all that many chances to put his teachings to use, though the few times she did were very satisfying. It was hard not to lash out at ponies that were deliberately annoying her, but knowing that that was what they wanted, and she'd lose if she did it made it easier. And their disappointed expressions afterwards made the effort totally worth it.

And then the memory was over, and she was back in the snow, trying to apply her uncle's wisdom to her current predicament. It was still hard, but a few vague ideas were forming in her head.

Well, we already tried retreating. That's how dad explained it to mom so she'd agree to leave. Not sure I can... outmaneuver Sombra, but... Ooooh, I bet I could totally distract him. Scare the pants off him! Can he even catch me any more? Oh, I could... I could scare him at the right moment so that he falls down the stairs. He'd be terrified of ever climbing down a staircase again. Everyone is scared of ghosts, right?

Thinking up more ways to use her ghostly visage, Agate turned towards the blackened mountain and started climbing straight up. She couldn't see the Empire from here, the valley blocked by the mountain's curvature. Before going back, she had to find out if Sombra's fear magic still worked on her now that she (probably) had nothing to fear any more.

The cold and wind certainly weren't a bother. She felt none of the former and could barely hear the latter. The situation didn't change as she climbed higher and higher, her ethereal hooves somehow finding purchase on the steep rock and ice without issue.

As she climbed, Agate turned her eyes to the strange sky. It was impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Some kind of orb was hanging up there, and it had patterns on it sort of like the Moon, but there were no stars. Looking straight at it didn't hurt her eyes, though. The whole sky was a strange off-white color, too. And despite the light up above, everything besides the sky was pitch black, as if it was the deepest night. It was like her sight didn't depend on the amount of light any more.

Having reached a spot where Dream valley could be seen again, Agate focused into the distance. Even with her strange new vision, it shouldn't have been too hard to see the massive Spire looming over the terrain. However, scanning the area towards the middle of the valley revealed that the Empire... the Empire was...

Gone?

There wasn't... there was... the spot was just empty. Not just "a plain covered in snow" empty, either. Barren, bare ground where a city stood for... who knows how long. Not a single structure, farm field, or any other sign of habitation marked the landscape. Like the city just vanished into thin air.

"Oh, come on."

Agate didn't even get angry or sad this time. Life threw too many curveballs at the filly all at once for her to care any more. She just huffed, only feeling annoyed with the absurdity of it all. What even happened here? Was there a fight? Did Sombra have to run away and stole the entire city? No, that was ridiculous.

"Alright, now what do I do?"

The ethereal filly went back to scanning the mountains. Where to go? Equestria? No point now. Seeking shelter was for the living. Go to the spot where the Empire used to stand and wait? Probably pointless. She didn't know if the city would even come back from wherever it was taken.

After some time of turning her eyes here and there, she noticed something strange. There was a tiny line of orange somewhere in the distance, no thicker than a hair. Moving her head back and forth didn't make it disappear. Whatever it was, she wasn't just imagining it. Looking around, she checked the direction.

"North. Of course. Well, I went so far north already. Why not keep going? No shame in retreat, after all... And it's not like I have any other ideas."

Slowly, Agate began to carefully clamber down the mountain. Then she realized that she was being silly, and simply jumped down the steep slope as far as she could. A stab of fear still passed through her as she was falling, but instead of slamming into the rock, she just landed with the gentleness of a feather.

"Huh. Cool... Wonder what else I can do. Could I float? I think I remember a story where a ghost could fly..."

Willing herself to fly produced no results. Jumping as high as she could still brought her down to the ground. Shrugging, the filly set to galloping. The action was both familiar and strange. She still ran as if she was alive, but not having a body made for some odd differences. For one, being weightless meant she didn't have any inertia. She could stop on a dime, disorienting herself, or make sharp turns that normally would have made her slip and fall.

She galloped through the dark landscape, never stopping, never tiring, keeping the faint orange ribbon in her sight. Faintly, she was aware of the terrain changing around her. From the mountainside, her road led her across a snowy pass to the other unnamed mountain to the west. Skirting around that mountain, there were even more mountains in her way. That didn't faze her, though. What would have been a daunting and impossible task previously now just meant a small detour here and there, navigating the treacherous rocks and snow-choked ravines with comical ease. Mountain after mountain, she made her way forward.

It was impossible to tell how much time she spent on her journey. Traversing even a small part of the first mountain took her days, but she didn't need to eat, sleep or even be careful any more. Occasionally, Agate would glance up, but the sky remained as confounding as ever. Shrugging, she kept going. Even if it took days or weeks, she had all the time in the world now. Probably.

Eventually, she made it to the gap between the two final mountains in the range. Climbing over the highest point, she stopped for the first time since beginning her gallop. The rocky walls surrounding her parted, and a vast snowy plain opened up before her.

No signs of life were immediately visible, but that didn't stop her. Reorienting herself to face the orange ribbon - which had grown to the size of a line of fireflies - the filly galloped away again. As she raced down towards the plains though, she stopped dead in the tracks. There was a forest in front of her, but that wasn't what made her stop. It was the color.

It was the second thing that had any sort of color in the black and white world. Unlike the orange line in the distance though, the trees were glowing the faintest shade of green. Trotting up to one pine, she began to examine it. She couldn't smell or touch it any more, but -

"Huh."

Reflexively, she still put a ghostly hoof on the bark of the tree. And the faint glow shifted slightly, almost like a sleeping pony shifting in their sleep before going back to slumber. Agate watched the tree a while longer, but nothing else happened. Shrugging, she moved out again, though she kept glancing at the sleeping pines now and then.

As she kept going, the world seemed to be getting ever so slightly more colorful. The trees, the moss, and even the ground were faintly tinted in various hues. She saw an owl flash past for the briefest moment, making her jump in fright. When was the last time she saw another living being? That was probably a good sign.

Exiting the forest, she saw a rather wide river ahead. This new obstacle briefly stumped the filly. Could she walk on water? Or would she sink to the bottom?

"Oh, right. It doesn't matter. I don't need to breathe any more. "

Getting a running start, she leapt into the river. She did sink, though the river's flow didn't affect her. Standing on the bottom, she took a few minutes to examine the interesting underwater plants growing on the riverbed before making her way out. Reflexively, she tried to shake the water out of her coat, only to remember that she didn't get wet any more.

"I hope no one saw that," the embarrassed spirit muttered under her breath.

Finding her target, the intrepid traveler set off. There was a small forest on this side of the river too, but it soon gave way to a snowy plain. The journey turned dull again, the landscape a flat expanse of white. Only a few shrubs broke up the monotony here and there. Fortunately, she was getting to the orange-colored mystery quite fast. What used to be barely a hair-width line of light in the beginning of her trip turned into a long line of separate fireflies in her vision.

Finally reaching one, Agate stopped, staring slack-jawed at the object sticking out of the snow.

"A crystal. Oh my..." She examined the crystal from all angles, attempting to determine its type. "Topaz? No, that's too big... it would be worth a fortune... Carnelian? No, the hue doesn't match. Hmm. Looks almost like quartz, but... Oh! Citrine! That must be it. Citrine doesn't glow by itself though, so it's also enchanted somehow..."

But what did it mean? Were there crystal ponies here? Looking around, she saw that the crystals were arranged in parallel lines, as if marking out a road on the snow. The path began not too far to her right, leading off somewhere to her left. Which was... west, probably? The path was obviously artificial, but she didn't think that crystal ponies were the ones to make it.

"Citrine, citrine... that's not common in the Empire at all."

All of their homes and roads were built with either blue or red colored crystals that were found in the area around the city, molded, shaped and grown in various shapes with crystal pony magic according to their needs. Orange wasn't a color that was used anywhere. So who put these crystals here, then? And how was she able to see them across mountains, days or possibly weeks of travel away?

"I really hope this isn't some weird bait to lure in ghosts or something..." Slowly, Agate trotted down the path towards whatever strange destination it led to. She took her time to look around, but there still wasn't much to see. The frozen plain carried on as far as she could see in every direction but the one she came from. There were no landmarks besides the crystals leading her ahead and the mountains she passed through to get here.

Once again, the path didn't take all that long to traverse. The cutoff was oddly sudden. The crystals just stopped in a rather nondescript patch of snow, as if the short road was still under construction. Scrunching her muzzle in confusion, Agate took a few steps forward beyond the boundary.

Once the glow of the citrine-lined path was behind her, more lights appeared ahead. Those didn't look like the glowing crystals, though. In fact, they looked remarkably like lit-up windows of homes. Creeping forward, the filly examined the dark, angular shapes the light was coming from.

"Definitely not crystal ponies..."

They were indeed houses, but ones she only ever saw in picture books about Equestria. They were built using big, sturdy logs, with no crystals in sight. Various curious shapes and squiggles were carved into the wood, some of them glowing softly with various colors. They almost looked like letters, but not ones she recognized. The village had some trees growing here and there, along with some kind of strange logs that were stripped bare and stood upright. Getting closer to one, she saw a face of a pony carved into it, along with more of the odd script and various shapes and symbols. Some kind of statue?

Her musings were interrupted by a gasp and an exclamation in a language she didn't recognize. Looking away from the statue, she saw the shape of a pony watching her from deeper in the village. It looked like her suspicions were correct. It was hard to tell what kind of pony it was in the dark, but it definitely wasn't a crystal one. After a minute of staring at each other, the pony said something unintelligible again. Agate shrank back, her ears folding down.

"I- I'm sorry, I don't understand you. I.. I was hoping to find... I don't know what I was hoping for. I just didn't want to keep sitting on that mountain forever, I guess. Help, maybe? Can anyone even help me now?" She fidgeted, awkwardly trotting in place. Was she scaring the pony? She was a ghost... "Uh, please don't be afraid. I couldn't hurt you if I tried. I, um... You probably don't understand me either. Should I leave?" The filly briefly glanced back, looking at the bleak wilderness.

The pony visibly stiffened at her words. More alien language reached her ears. Looking closer, she saw that the pony was staring at the wooden pole next to her very intently. Blinking, she glanced at it. She could have sworn that the wooden pony face was looking back at her, but that was probably just some trick of the light. The stare-off continued for a short while.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, the pony looked back at Agate, silently waved her hoof towards the village, and galloped off. Blinking, Agate was left standing there. What just happened? Was that an invitation, or a warning to stay away from their homes? Lost and confused, the ghost sat down on the snow.

❅ ❆ ❅

Deeper into the village, not far from a large firepit ringed by more crystals, sat an old mare. Her face was wrinkled and her posture tired, though her sight was sharp and her eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark. She held a steaming cup of tea in her hooves, taking delicate sips now and then. One of her ears turned to the sound of hooves approaching rapidly, the pony obviously in a rush for some reason. Soon, a younger mare galloped up to her.

"Elder, elder, *huff* there's something - " she babbled, the words coming out in a rush.

"Calm yourself, Earthsong. Breathe in the wind and get your breath back. I'm sure whatever is happening can wait a few moments," the old mare replied with that slow, unhurried way all old ponies often used to infuriate their younger charges. Which is probably why the old ponies found such amusement in using that way of speaking as much as possible.

*Huff* "Yes, elder. " After a few moments, the mare named as Earthsong continued. "There's something very strange at the edge of the village. I was out walking back to my home, when I felt a faint whisper of an approaching spirit from the earth and trees. I went to investigate, and saw the spirit of a young filly... or something pretending to be one." She pursed her lips, grimacing. "It was very odd. She had the shape of a pony, but didn't have a coat at all. Even in the deepest illness, I never saw a pony lose their coat completely. In fact, she sparkled, almost like she was made of ice and not flesh and bone. My first thought was of an unbelievably brave ijiraq, daring to creep up on Snowpitt like that, but her eyes weren't red. And I never heard of one shapeshifting into a spirit, either...." She trailed off, staring into the distance with a frown on her face. "And when I tried calling out to her, she replied to me in a strange tongue I never heard before. Trickster spirits usually learn how to mimic our language, not give themselves away like that."

The old mare brought her back to the present. "That is indeed strange." Taking a gulp from her cup, she continued. "But I don't see what upset you so much. As you said, it would take a daring beast or spirit indeed to try and get past the wards, guardian spirits and all of the combined shamares and warriors of the three tribes. Daring or incredibly foolish. Speaking of guardians, I'm certain that they would have alerted us if something malevolent approached the village. Any sign of them?"

Shaking her head, Earthsong replied. "No, elder. The spirit, pony or not, actually got really close to Spear Throw's totem. I called out to him, but after taking a look at her, he went back to slumber. And I'm sorry for my fright, but for all my years of learning from your wisdom, I have never heard of anything quite like this. All of the tribes are here. None, not one reported any missing ponies or lost spirits that they couldn't call back to their tribal grounds. And not even the oldest teaching songs and chants mention anything about a tribe of coatless ponies made of ice. This still feels like a trick, somehow."

"Well." The elder tapped her hooves on the snow, mulling on the situation. Then she grinned widely and cackled, making Earthsong's eyes go wide in surprise. "Don't look so shocked, young mare. I have seen ninety winters by now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find anything that's new or surprising any more? If what you're saying is true, then we very well might have to create new teaching songs about what's going to happen tonight. Now," she got up and stretched, her back letting out several loud cracks. "Go and gather up the other shamares. All of them, elders and their pupils. Tell them about what happened. I'm certain they will be quite curious about this as well. Meanwhile, I'm going to go and take a peek at this ice pony spirit of yours. If she's hiding something, I'm certain I'll see it. After all, they don't call me True Sight for nothing."

Earthsong nodded, trotting off towards some homes further away, while True Sight ambled in the direction of the totem Earthsong mentioned. Odd winds were blowing tonight, and as elder, she gladly went to do her duty and unravel their secrets.

Author's Note

Agate.

Laying the Foundations

❅ ❆ ❅

True Sight greeted the morning with her usual morning grumble and her usual jaw-cracking yawn. It was a routine she had perfected over many decades, from the time she was but a wee little filly.

Oh, how things have changed since then. Then again, perhaps not so much. Sure, she grew old, her hair turned white and her joints were getting stiffer every winter. But, she could still recall her youthful years, even if those memories were somewhat eroded by the passage of time.

Casting a net through the more recent waters of her memory, she tried to remember whether any dreams came to her that night. Nothing surfaced, which was probably a good sign. For someone who was usually able to see through riddles and tricks with little effort, attempting to decipher the vague omens of dreams was always a bit of a pain.

Getting up from her bed, the old mare stretched her creaking limbs and reached for a small nightstand. Her hoof found a comb, getting to work on straightening out her bed head. After a few passes through her mane, she moved the comb to fluff out her coat. It got thinner as the years went on, but not bad enough for her to need clothes.

After tidying up, the comb was returned to the nightstand, and various accessories were retrieved by the mare. A few wooden bangles on her forelegs, several pieces of carved bone tied into her mane. She rubbed a protective amulet indecisively for a moment before putting it back. Not likely she'd need to leave the village today.

Her morning preparations done, she walked through the door to the common room. Earthsong was already up, having made a pot of tea and a steaming bowl of porridge for the two of them to share.

"Morning, elder. I hope your sleep was restful, though you certainly couldn't tell it by the expression on your face," she spoke with a faint smile.

True Sight merely rolled her eyes at this. "You know me by now, you goof. I love being awake and doing things. And I love having a deep, restful sleep. It's the time between the two things that annoys me. Lying in bed trying to fall asleep, or waking up and feeling like parts of you are still snoozing. And then you have to drag yourself out of bed anyway to make those parts wake up. Feh." Pouring herself a cup of tea, she glanced at the porridge. Some simple roots, boiled and ground into a paste. Not terribly flavorful, though there was a small bowl of dried cranberries to give it some taste.

Seeing as the porridge bowl was half-empty already, she dumped a hoofful of cranberries into the bowl and started lazily mixing them up. "I see you already ate. You are an earlier bird than me, but you're not usually this fast to finish your food. Trying to get a head start on some things you've planned for today, hmmm?"

Earthsong nodded, finishing off her tea. "Yes, I am heading out in a moment. I decided to take charge of procuring the tree for the totem pole. I'll need to rustle up a team of woodcutters to accompany me, find the right tree, make preparations, speak the right apologies to soothe the spirits of the forest, and so on. I'll likely have more volunteers than I'll need, but it will still take time. Many things to do today, though I'm certain you're not going to be idly sitting by while we're busy working on the totem."

True Sight nodded, slowly swallowing a mouthful of porridge. "Certainly. I'm in a bit of a tricky situation, mind you. A pony's totem is usually carved with their achievements in life, their ties to the family, tribe and land, and so on. Something which we know nothing of in regards to this spirit. So, I suppose I'll just have to get creative with what I tell the carvers."

Getting up, the younger mare smiled. "I'm certain you will come up with something. Even if she can't learn our tongue that fast, you can tell a lot about a pony from just observing them. And I couldn't think of a better pony for that task than you. Good luck, elder." With that, she turned for the door leading outside.

True Sight nodded again, sipping on the tea. What Earthsong said matched her own thoughts quite well. Of course, she couldn't just sit there and stare at the filly. No true insight would be gained that way. She'd just have to tail the little spirit and see what she got up to during the day.

No doubt, the filly would try to stick by Glacier Glider, but the mare likely had things to do. While she obviously felt sorry for the lost spirit, she did have a living family to take care of. However, there was no shortage of bored, listless foals in the village. More than likely, they'd try to involve the filly in some game or other.

Her plan made, the old shamare finished her breakfast in an unhurried fashion before licking the bowl clean and putting the dishes away. Taking the last gulp of tea, she set out to find Glacier Glider's abode. Depending on their mood, the family could already be out and about, or they might be still asleep.

Stepping out into the cold had the effect of banishing any lingering remnants of sleep, at least. Seeing her breath fog up in the air, she considered her options. Ask a northerner for directions, or just go for a walk and keep an eye out for the stray spirit? Seeing no one around, she shrugged and turned left. Some of the northerners built igloos while they were visiting Snowpitt, but there were a few longhouses set aside for the visitors as well. She'd check those first.

It didn't take long to meet a small fishing expedition heading out to a lake nearby and ask them if they knew where Glacier Glider resided, which they did. Thanking the ponies and wishing them a successful trip, she made her way to the longhouse the ponies told her about. The mare was indeed outside, showing her daughters how to replace a broken plank from a sled. The spirit was sitting a little bit further, observing the family silently.

"Now remember, you have to do this before every trip. Examine every spear, every sled, every bag. Many things can go bad when you venture out, and you never know what is actually going to happen. That is why it is extremely important to rule out things that are predictable, and preventable, so you can focus on things that are not. If a blizzard rolls in and you have to rush back home with your catch, you'll more than likely be fine if you prepared properly. If the same happens and your sled breaks down, you're going to have to abandon everything and go home hungry." The sisters nodded, watching their mother tie knots to secure the new plank of wood.

"Good morning, Glacier," True Sight spoke. "I thank you for housing our guest here. I trust she wasn't any trouble? She doesn't look the type."

"Not at all, elder. She seems to be the quiet kind of foal, though perhaps it is her inability to speak to us. She was happy enough to spend the night with us, but I'm afraid I can't do much for her any more." Finishing the knot on one end of the sled, the mare turned towards the spirit. "However, I did manage to figure out one thing, at least. It got awkward not even knowing the name of a guest that was staying with us, so during breakfast, I got her to introduce herself."

True Sight watched curiously while the mare waved the filly over, pointing at herself. "G-l-a-c-i-e-r," she enunciated slowly. "Glacier Glider." The filly nodded, apparently familiar with the exercise. She put a hoof on her chest, sounding out her foreign name. "Agate. Ag-ate." She then pointed her hoof at the mare. "Glaze... Glacy... Gliger." Glacier smiled at the filly's attempt, then looked towards True Sight. The old mare stood there for a moment, before figuring out that she was being invited to introduce herself.

"True Sight. Trrruuuueeee. Siiight. And you're... Agh- Agay- hmm. A-gate." The little spirit lit up at her name, an actual glimmer running through her ethereal coat. That was odd. Just one of the many odd things about her, though.

Her attempt to speak True Sight's name went a little better than when she tried saying Glacier Glider's, though she wasn't all that far off the mark that time. "Mmm... Troo... Troo seight.. Sigh.. Sight. True Sight." The elder smiled at the filly, gently patting her on the head.

"Well, little one, it seems that your host is busy dealing with matters of life. And if this was your birth family, watching over them would be your very duty. But, if we are to find out what happened to you and your own parents, then I'm afraid we'll need to leave them for a while. Will you come along, Agate?" The filly clearly didn't understand anything but the last part, where True Sight indicated the path leading back to the center of the village. She looked back at Glacier Glider uncertainly.

The mare smiled, nodding at the shamare. "Go with her, little one. I can only offer you the simple comfort of a hug and a soothing word. It helped when you were scared and lost, but now that you've calmed down a bit, I'm sure you're itching to learn how to talk with us. I know a curious foal when I see one." Glancing between the two, the spirit came over to the mare for a hug, the two daughters joining in. After a few nuzzles and whispered words, she went over to True Sight's side.

The two walked, a one-sided conversation going on between them. "Wasn't what I was planning, exactly, but the day's not over yet. Far from it." Glancing at the pitch black sky, the old mare continued. "I suppose the others would want to see you either way. I know that it's rude to examine a pony like some exotic catch from the depths of the ocean, but you're just so strange and interesting." The filly kept one ear pointed in her direction, looking around all the time. Some ponies were still in their beds, but plenty were up and about, going about their business. The fishermares seemed to hold a particular interest to the spirit.

Soon, they reached the ceremonial grounds. They were mostly empty of ponies, though a few shamares were sitting on logs set around the firepit. Recognizing Blizzard Heart, the two moved towards the snow-white mare. She was talking quietly to Current Weave about something. Likely giving her more instruction, considering what happened yesterday.

The two elders greeted each other with a hug and a smile, while the young shamare examined the filly with some curiosity. "Hello, little traveler. I hope the morning finds you well."

"Her name is Agate, apparently," True Sight interjected. "That's the only thing we've managed to find out so far, but she did learn how to say my name quite well. I wanted to learn more about her so we'd know how to carve her totem properly, but it's going to be difficult like this. I was hoping some ponies her age would come find her so I can watch how she behaves."

Blizzard Heart shrugged, gently beckoning Agate to approach her. "Just a question of time until that happens, I think. Might be better to teach her at least a few words first anyway. Agate, come." Tilting her head, the filly approached the shamare. "Good foal. Now, listen to me. I am Blizzard Heart." The elder mimed everything she spoke, pointing with a hoof towards the filly's ears, then towards herself. "Current Weave, come closer." The younger got up from her log, coming to stand next to the elder.

The filly was watching the exchange obediently, her ears cocked and alert, intense concentration on her face. True Sight got the gist of it pretty quick, moving away to sit down on a log a bit further away. "Alright, Current Weave, now come here." Sending the young mare back and forth several times, they looked expectantly at Agate every time. Eventually, the filly attempted to string the words together herself.

"Currant... come... True Sight?" The adults smiled, satisfied with her progress. She still mispronounced some words, but clearly was fast on the uptake.

"Alright, now, Agate, come over here," beckoned Blizzard Heart.

The three shamares made a game of it, adding in a few more words now and then. First they added the word "go", sending the filly to one of the other three instead of calling out for her to come. Then they taught her the words listen, watch, follow, tree, snow, how to say hello, and the word "name". After a few hours of this, Agate was able to make some very basic sentences.

Eventually, as Blizzard Heart predicted, some curious foals came across the group. They sat some distance away from the elders and their ghostly pupil, whispering quietly among themselves so as not to interrupt the lesson. Seeing this, Blizzard Heart got up from her sitting position, a few cracks emanating from her joints. "Well, it's been some time now, and this old mare needs to move a little before I turn completely stiff. I think I'll go get some food in my belly. Be seeing you, True Sight. And good work, Agate." With a nod to the other shamare, the elder ambled off, Current Weave following along.

True Sight, meanwhile, took a look at the sky. The sun rose a few moments ago, providing some dim light for the world. It wouldn't stay up long at all, but it was still a sign that the winter darkness was ending. Many other ponies were glancing at the sky as well, small smiles on their faces. It didn't provide any true warmth yet, but the knowledge that spring was knocking on their doors warmed their spirits regardless.

The changing seasons were making ponies restless, including the energetic group of foals. The shamare smiled at the filly, nodding towards the whispering herd. "Why don't you go with them for a while, Agate? I think I need to sit down for a little bit." The filly bit her lip, looking around. With no other options of what to do, she shrugged and went towards the dozen foals watching her curiously. True Sight, meanwhile, discreetly kept an eye on the little spirit.

The first reaction was, predictably, excited babbling as the foals all examined and exclaimed at all the various ways the filly differed from a snowpony. Some looked curiously at her peculiar eyes, while others marveled at her short and shiny coat, wondering whether that was an effect due to her being a spirit, or if she truly looked like that in life.

After the most excited ones stopped talking one over another, introductions were made. It was slow and awkward, but the filly managed to make herself understood. " <...> Agate. *garbled* name Agate," the spirit said, thumping her chest with a hoof.

That led to more excitement, as the foals started introducing themselves all at once. One of the older ones, almost a teenager by the looks of him, rolled his eyes and shushed the rest of his gang. Giving Agate a long-suffering smile, he introduced himself as Windsprint. She smiled back at him, shrugging and saying something in her language.

The foreign sounds caught the interest of the group, and they spent some time urging the spirit to say things in her tongue, even if they couldn't understand a word of it. After a while, some of the more energetic foals started to get bored, and it all went exactly as it always did. One of them scooped up a snowball, another noticed it happening and started making one too, snow was thrown, threats were made, and it all quickly devolved into the usual foalish shrieking and roughhousing.

Agate took it all with remarkable calm, a few snowballs flying through her incorporeal form. "That filly has the self-control and calm of an elder, really," True Sight thought while observing the situation. "Something to remember."

It didn't take long for the other foals to notice that their new playmate wasn't really doing anything, just standing there and observing them all with a wistful expression. They took to rectifying that with their usual youthful enthusiasm, poking and bumping into her, getting the spirit to chase after them in a chaotic game of tag/snowball fight/hide and seek.

True Sight observed it all with her usual attention to detail, though it didn't take long for her to get distracted by her stomach growling. Taking another look at the sky, she saw that the sun was already at the highest point and slowly climbing downwards. Sighing at the shortness of the "day", if it could even be called that, the elder got up to seek out some food.

Shooting a glance behind her, she saw that the foals were still playing. She probably had time to quickly rustle up something to eat and come back before they tired out and left to do something else. Probably just grab a smoked fish from her pantry so as not to bother with cooking.

❅ ❆ ❅

Coming back to the vicinity of the ceremonial grounds, the shamare licked her lips from any leftover grease while looking around for her target. Things quieted down, but she could still hear the voices of young ponies from somewhere nearby. Turning her ears to gauge the direction, she carefully got within listening distance of the group. The whole dozen was still here, though no longer running about.

It looked like the foals either went back to trying to learn about their guest now that they expended some of that youthful energy, or were trying to impress her with their skills. Agate was sitting down watching them all, while the group engaged in various activities. One filly was chipping away at a sizeable chunk of ice she dug out from somewhere, managing to carve out a truly lifelike bust of a mare in what was likely a very short amount of time. A few foals were watching her work, suitably impressed.

A couple of colts seemed determined to find out what her name meant, bringing every possible thing that they could find before the filly, before asking "Agate?" while pointing at the items. A small pile of things accumulated at that point, including ashes, a chunk of charcoal from the firepit, icicles, twigs, a pine branch, a feather and a frayed strand of rope. The filly giggled at some of the offerings, shaking her head firmly every time. With each new thing, she would say something in her tongue, naming the items. Some of the foals tried repeating the odd words, while the eldest of the group - Windsprint, that's right - would say their names in their tongue.

The remaining three were still playing around, though in a rather different way. All three, no doubt northerners to the last, were tunneling through the snow around the group, showing off their mastery of the icy environment. Every now and then, they'd pop up with something, either a chunk of ice for the sculptor filly or a hoofful of grass in their mouths. Other times, they'd run into each other in their tunneling, which would result in a vigorous digging/wrestling match that sent snow spraying in every direction.

The two colts brought a pinecone before the filly this time, which also resulted in a negative reply. She named the item, and Windsprint supplied the name in the snowpony tongue.

"Pinecone. Pine... cone. From the pine tree."

Agate nodded, listening attentively. "Paincone. Pain tree. No... No agate. No agate... ," she indicated waving her hooves all around. Probably showing the two colts that they weren't going to find whatever she was named after anywhere around here.

That made their expressions fall a bit. Agate looked around, biting her lip. Her gaze eventually fell upon the firepit. She got up, getting to the edge of the depression in the ground. The foals all stopped what they were doing, watching the spirit with rapt attention. She poked around the snow, looking for something. Ashes? No, that was something else...

Trying to get a better angle, True Sight circled the group quietly. Hopefully, no one would see her. Fortunately, the group's attention was locked firmly on Agate.

The filly soon found what she was looking for, sinking her ethereal hoof through the snow. A small flash of light came through there, intriguing the foals. She said something and mimed digging. One of the snow tunnellers eagerly jumped in to retrieve the object, while the others gathered closer around her.

It turned out to be a spirit stone, lightly covered by snow. The foal, eager at first, suddenly froze when he saw just what he was holding in his hooves. He then carefully put the stone down, taking a step backwards. While the spirit stones were not dangerous or held any significant power, they were quite rare. The only place to get them was a small mountain deep in the northern tribe's territory, and breaking one while playing would bring great shame to the foals.

Agate pointed at the stone, saying something in her tongue again. "Citrine. No agate. Agate..." She looked around, likely looking for something to explain the difference between "agate" and "citrine", whatever those were. True Sight raised an eyebrow. Was "citrine" their word for spirit stones? And if agate was something similar...

The filly sighed, and shrugged in disappointment. She then poked the stone, making it light up again. That was followed by various impressed exclamations from the foals, along with another raised eyebrow from True Sight.

"Now this is interesting...." True Sight looked at the filly more closely. "It takes quite some effort for even the most experienced shamares to make the stones light up. And yet, here she is, doing it without any effort on her part."

The other foal's exclamations made Agate raise her eyebrows in surprise as well. It seemed that she really didn't consider this ability of hers anything noteworthy at all. At the other's urging, she shrugged and sat down in front of the stone, reaching her forelegs toward it. As she touched it, she began to quietly hum a simple melody.

The stone, almost completely dark after lying in the snow all winter, started slowly but steadily lighting up. While Agate clearly had a natural gift for it, it was also obvious she did not possess any experience at the craft. She'd slip up and lose concentration sometimes, making the glow flicker wildly before almost petering out. Still, it was far, far more than most other ponies could do.

The stone kept getting brighter, the audience ooh-ing and aah-ing at the display. True Sight kept her eyes trained on the filly, however, and could see that the show would be coming to an end soon. Agate had her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth in concentration, brow furrowed and the melody that she was previously humming forgotten. She also began to flicker and fade, becoming even more translucent as she used up her spiritual strength in her effort.

The ice sculptor filly noticed it first, letting out an exclamation of surprise and worry. However, it was too late. Agate gasped, letting go of the stone. She had gone almost invisible at this point, confusing and scaring the group. The previously elated foals immediately turned scared, backing up in concern.

True Sight grimaced, making her way towards Agate. She could see the spirit clear as day, as usual - nothing could hide from her piercing gaze. But the foals were not trained in the ways of the shamares, and to them, it looked like their new friend just vanished into thin air.

The filly wasn't doing all that great either, waving her hooves around and screaming soundlessly into the air. Quite clearly, she had gone blind and deaf. Fortunately, it was a very common and well-known issue for lost pony spirits, and as such, it also had very well known solutions. True Sight waded through the panic-stricken foals, going straight for the distressed spirit.

The sight of the confident shamare immediately made the foals quiet down, looking at the elder with hope. The sculptor filly tried explaining the situation, likely thinking that the shamare wasn't fully aware what caused their fear.

"E-elder, there was the foreign pony spirit, and she was making the spirit stone light up, but then she-"

"Hush, little one," interrupted True Sight. "I saw everything. No need to worry, nothing bad or irreversible happened," she explained while firmly grabbing Agate by the scruff and pressing the spirit to her chest. The ghostly filly gasped, pressing her muzzle into the shamare's fluff. The elder patted the filly on the head, waiting for her to calm down.

The foals squinted, watching the scene with some confusion. It looked like the shamare just grabbed at the air, pretending to hold something. But some of the more sharp-eyed ones eventually saw the faint outline of the filly pressed to the mare.

The sculptor filly spoke up again. "Elder? Can you... can you tell us what happened? We didn't do anything wrong, did we? I know that we're not supposed to play with the spirit stones, but we didn't think that anything would happen, and Agh- Agate here looked like she really knew what she was doing..."

True Sight shook her head, putting on a smile to calm the foals. "Nothing special or unusual, little one. Young Agate here just got lost." At their confused expressions, she elaborated. "You all are young yet, but I'm certain you know of the duties of the shamares. Your parents must have told you the basics, at least. While the shamares are known for protecting their tribes and villages from malevolent spirits, the very first and most important thing we are taught is to find the lost spirits of our kind and guide them back to the light of our homes."

Agate was becoming a little more visible at this point, her eyes darting around. She made no move to disengage from True Sight, however. The shamare continued , heedless of the cold seeping into her chest. "The issue is, not all ponies are the same. Just like our bodies are different, so are our spirits. Some have weaker spirits, and when they pass on, they are unable to focus enough to manifest themselves to other ponies, or even see or hear anything. It is a terrible fate, to be lost in the silent dark. That is why the shamares venture out to guide them back home, if they know where the pony lost their life. And if not, that is what the Calling is for."

All the foals were listening quietly, a few of them coming to hug the still badly distressed Agate. They flinched in surprise at the cold, but then proceeded to latch on to the filly with all their strength. True Sight chuckled. "You noticed the cold, yes? The spirit can get tired, too. It doesn't look like it, but spirits do take effort to accomplish things, especially the kind of magic Agate here managed to pull off. And if they overexert themselves, well. You saw what happened." The shamare glanced sideways at the still impressively glowing spirit stone. "And just like with a pony that spent too much time in the cold, you can fix them up with a good cuddle pile. We can't share our food or drink with spirits any more, but sharing our warmth is still an option. There are other ways, but those are usually limited to shamares."

"Thank you, elder," spoke the sculptor filly, quickly followed by the other foals. True Sight nodded, sighing in relief that Agate truly had excellent self-control. Said filly was now looking around, ears turning every which way, like she was trying to make sure her surroundings were real.

"Well," exclaimed True Sight. "I think it's time for us to go our separate ways. It's been a long day, and while it's certainly not over yet, you've been playing with Agate here for quite some time. Enough for me to go have some food and come back to find you all still here. While our spirit friend doesn't need to eat, you all certainly do. Perhaps it's time for you all to go find your families and fill up. And Agate could use some rest too, I think."

The foals smiled sheepishly, several growls emanating from their stomachs now that they were reminded of food. One by one, they all dispersed, though not without a firm hug and a kind word for Agate. The filly watched them go, before taking a step away from True Sight and giving her a long look. The old mare tilted her head in a questioning manner. "Something wrong, little one?"

The filly bit her lip, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She came towards the elder again, giving her a firm hug and quietly whispering something that most likely was an expression of gratitude. True Sight smiled, patting the filly again. "There there, little one. It's okay. Just doing my duty, really. It looks like you're not going to let go of me any time soon, so I suppose I'm going to have to take you with me, eh? Let's go see if Earthsong came back yet. Follow me, Agate," she spoke, using one of the few words she knew the filly understood.

The filly obediently went along, keeping as close to the shamare's side as she could. The two made their way southwards, where most of the woodworkers lived. The only source of wood around was the forest on the foothills of the mountains to the south, so all the workshops were concentrated in that part of the village.

True Sight cantered along in her usual unhurried pace, giving nods and quiet greetings to the few ponies that they passed. While there were a number of ponies capable of working wood into all kinds of things, from a slim spear haft to the huge logs needed to build their homes, the totems needed special attention. The trees were brought in whole, which meant that ponies would need to work outside, instead of cutting the material down to more manageable chunks and bringing them to their workshops. To that end, a clearing had been put aside for these special occasions.

"Been some time since I've passed through here," the old mare reminisced. Navigating past the last building before the clearing, she was greeted with the sight of an impressive pine tree, suspended above the ground on a number of large wooden blocks. The ponies were already working on it, though it was clear that they started only recently. Several of the larger branches have been removed, while a few shamares were measuring the length of the future totem pole, marking down the spot where to make the cut.

While Agate was taking in the scene with wide eyes, True Sight scanned the area, homing in on Earthsong. The mare was leaning back against a table stacked with various woodworking implements, a steaming cup in her hooves. She looked tired, but satisfied after a day's of hard work. More than likely, she didn't just perform the proper rites for the event, but also helped drag the tree here herself.

Making her way between all the ponies cutting, sawing, debarking and otherwise preparing the tree for it's new purpose, True Sight clicked her tongue disapprovingly. That mare really needed to learn to relax a little bit. Overwork would just lead to your mane getting gray early.

"So, how did it go? The tree looks like a fine one, and things are usually still quiet in the woods this time of year."

Turning her ears towards the elder, Earthsong kept her gaze on the working ponies. "Everything went as well as you could hope for. No beasts or anything else got in our way. I made the proper apologies to the forest spirits while the stallions swiftly uprooted the tree. We only got back recently." Taking a gulp from her cup, she turned her eyes towards Agate, who was still watching the work going around her with curiosity. "And how did your day go? Anything interesting you managed to learn about our visitor?"

"A few things. Her name, for one, though naturally it doesn't carry any meaning for us. Her character, what little I managed to see in the hours I spent watching her. And, quite importantly, I saw that she has an interesting talent in manipulating spirit stones. Her tribe certainly has some unusual skills. Her totem will be something unusual, that's for sure."

Glancing at the spirit, Earthsong nodded. "I am glad to hear that, elder. I knew you could do it. Well." Sweeping her eyes around the ponies working on the pine tree, she finished her drink and started to get up, leaving the cup on the table. "It looks like they have things well in hoof here, and if I stayed around, I'd just get in the way. I think I'll make my way home now. Will you come along?"

Looking around, True Sight hummed in thought. There would be plenty of work for her here tomorrow, but there was little to do now. The woodworkers had a lot of cleaning and cutting down to size to do before the shamares could be let loose upon the lumber.

"No, I think you're right. Let's go back. After you get some food, I'll introduce you to Agate here. We'll see if we can teach her some more words."

Hearing her name, the filly turned her head towards them with a questioning look. True Sight beckoned her to come along, nodding towards Earthsong. With one last look towards the busy ponies, the filly turned to follow.

❅ ❆ ❅

It was getting late in the evening, though not yet time to go to sleep. Earthsong was lying down in front of the firepit, stretched out lazily. True Sight was chewing on some dried berries, while Agate was staring at Earthsong in some kind of horrified fascination.

When the trio returned to the shamare's abode, True Sight only got some dried grass and moss to snack on. The fish she ate earlier was quite filling, and she wasn't feeling very hungry. Earthsong, however, needed to get her strength back after a whole day's worth of hard physical and spiritual labor. She retrieved two whole smoked fish from the pantry, tearing into them with a ravenous hunger.

Agate was busy examining all sorts of knick-knacks and carvings that were usually present in every shamare's home, so she didn't see just what Earthsong was eating at first. By the time the mare started on the second fish though, the filly idly glanced her way, before snapping her head towards the sight in surprise.

With how quiet the filly was, Earthsong didn't even notice anything until she had finished eating. Only after licking her lips clean and making sure there were no scraps left on the bones did she notice that Agate had been staring slack-jawed at her for some time. Her first reaction was confusion, wiggling her ears and checking if there was something stuck on her face.

"Is something wrong, hmm... Agate? Did I get messy while eating? I was kind of hungry..."

"You're clean," replied True Sight. "Not entirely sure what confused her so terribly. Perhaps it was the fish? Maybe it's a variety they don't have where she lives? Or... at all?"

"But..." Earthsong paused, thinking it over. "We do eat mostly plants here in the southern plains, but everyone loves a good fish. Our river fish are not near as impressive as the ones the northern tribe brings in when they come around, but they're still very good. Eating just hay and moss all the time would get dull, not to mention not very filling. Surely they have rivers in their lands? Or lakes?"

The elder shrugged, looking at the confused filly. She didn't seem scared or disgusted, only completely flabbergasted. Did her tribe truly not have any fishing spots in their lands, or they just never learned how to catch fish? Yet another odd thing about her. With so many everyday things causing surprise to the visitor, it was hard to imagine what her tribe was even like.

Meanwhile, Earthsong cleaned up the remains of her dinner and put away the plate, tossing the bones into the fire. All the time, Agate kept looking at the mare while glancing at the fish bones now and then. "What's the matter, Agate? Did you never have fish in your life? Goodness, now I feel even more sorry for you. Such a thin coat, and then not- wait." The mare pursed her lips, looking at the filly. "Is that why your coat is so short? The northerners do have the shiniest and thickest coats, and they eat so much fish..."

Naturally, Agate couldn't really answer such a complex question yet. She kept sitting silently, pondering the mare in front of her. Earthsong shrugged, stretching out her tired legs in front of the firepit. Silence fell over the cabin for a while, every pony silently trying to puzzle out each other's mysteries.

It went on for a little while, until Earthsong couldn't take it any more. "Alright, this is getting us nowhere. I'm not going to fall asleep after such a big meal just yet, so why don't we do something useful? Elder, you said you managed to teach her some words? How did you do it?"

"Well. Lots of demonstration, usually. Or pointing at something and repeating its name until she was able to say it back properly. Nothing too hard. It took some time to learn just a few words, but I think she's picking things up faster already. She's a quick study, or at least a good listener."

Earthsong nodded, looking around for something simple within reach. "Alright. Not much we can do inside, but we can probably teach her quite a few names of items around us. Hm. Perhaps I should grab another fish from the pantry, just to see if she has a word for it in her tongue. I'm really itching to find out if her tribe knows what fish are."

❅ ❆ ❅

True Sight greeted the morning with her usual morning grumble and her usual jaw-cracking yawn. Yesterday had been interesting, but it didn't change the fact that mornings were the creation of some terrible spirit.

Stretching out her tired limbs, the shamare got out of bed and started her usual routine. Comb, accessories, go through the door, meet Earthsong. The mare tired herself out yesterday, so she wasn't up so early this time. There were some roots boiling in the pot, with the mare sitting by the table, trying to stifle a yawn.

Agate elected to stay by the fire last night instead of sharing a bed with them after their lesson concluded. She was still in the same spot, shooting a curious glance at the interior of the cabin now and then. They managed to teach her some more words, including "eat" and "fish". It seemed like Earthsong's suspicions were proven correct, when, after some prompting, the filly told them "Agate no eat feesh", while shaking her head. Truly, her tribe were some odd ponies.

Nodding at the two, True Sight took her seat by the table. It seemed that none of them were in a talkative mood this morning, which suited her just fine. Sometimes, you just needed to spend some time in silence. It helped to clear your mind of the immediate concerns of here and now, which was particularly useful for shamares.

After the roots were done, Earthsong took a pestle and got to grinding. Agate watched her quietly, while True Sight went around to dig around for more dried berries. Retrieving a hoofful in a small bowl, she set it down on the table.

"That's almost the last of them," she noted. "Guess that's it for us until autumn."

"You do love your berries, elder," remarked Earthsong with a smile. "I'm sure some other ponies would be glad to share some, though something tells me that they wouldn't last long, either."

"Darn right they wouldn't, berries are for eating. I'm only doing what's proper," True Sight replied in her best "wise old pony" voice.

Earthsong chuckled, serving out the portions of porridge. Breakfast passed by quietly, each mare considering their plans for the day, glancing at their visitor now and then. The filly's totem would need to be carved out, and it was best to finish the work today. Tomorrow was the last day before the greeting of spring, when the tribes would go their separate ways again. The ponies would be too busy with their final preparations to lend a hoof.

Finishing their meals, the two mares licked their plates clean before getting up and putting them away. Nodding at Agate to follow, the two set off towards the woodworker's corner of the village again. It didn't take long to reach the clearing, and they were both satisfied with the sight before them.

The clearing was lit up by some torches and thick clay pots with crackling fires in them, strategically placed to keep the pre-dawn gloom at bay. The impressive pine had been cut down to the proper size, the bark removed, and the roots trimmed down a little bit. In these cases, ponies didn't actually remove the roots from the tree, as they were an important symbol of the ties to the land. The clearing now had many tables with more tools stacked on them, along with jars of pigments, chunks of charcoal, and other ingredients besides. A dozen shamares were milling about while the woodworkers were putting the final touches on the pole before the engraving and enchanting could begin.

Sky Breath was there, wearing her avian mask. Noticing True Sight and her entourage, she waved them over. The western tribesmare was standing next to a table with a number of chisels, picking up and evaluating each one. As the trio approached, she nodded at them, removing her mask.

"It's been a while since I've done this. The last pony that wanted to stand sentinel over our tribe made his choice almost fifteen winters ago. I'm not sure I still have the strength in my legs to work the wood myself, but you have some sprightly young ponies here. I'm certain I can lend my aid by directing them, at least."

True Sight nodded, smiling in gratitude. "And your aid is appreciated. We are going to need it, both considering that this is a rush job, and the spirit that we're preparing this for is quite unusual." Glancing at Agate, she called all of the shamares and woodworkers over. "All right, all of you, listen up. You all did excellently so far, considering the short amount of time you had to work with. The tree is very fine, and you prepared it well. Now comes the hardest part, though. Each totem is unique, carved and painted in a way that best represents the pony it is dedicated to." Gathering her thoughts, the elder quieted down for a minute. The ponies all looked at the spirit by the elder's side, observing their mysterious visitor thoughtfully.

"Her name is Agate," True Sight said, pointing at the filly. "Alas, we do not know what her name actually means. We barely know anything at all, but we know some things. She came from far away, either the southern mountains or beyond. She is calm, patient, and highly observant, from what I have been able to see. We do not know if she was a traveler in life, or if she made her journey here after her passing. Either way, she crossed a great distance to reach us. Her tribe is mysterious, but I saw her perform some truly amazing things with the spirit stones, something no snowpony foal would be able to do, no matter how gifted they were. So, the decorations on her totem are going to be different than anything you've made before."

All of the gathered woodworkers had their ears perked up and turned forward, hanging on to every word the shamare said. Making something in a fashion no one in their tribe ever made before was both a challenge that they relished, and a great testament to their skill.

Asking Agate to sit down and wait, True Sight walked towards the bare tree. She turned her head to examine it from every angle, squinting and picturing the finished work in her mind. Eventually, she nodded, turning her head towards the group. "Let us begin from the beginning. Here, from the roots. Carve the shapes of the southern mountains here, all around the trunk. A symbol of patience and strong will, but also the place from which she came. Very apt, in every meaning."

Nodding, a few of the woodworkers immediately set upon the tree, working at it with their chisels and hammers. True Sight continued walking along the trunk, lightly brushing it with a hoof. "Leave a gap here. Hoofmarks in the snow on the second circle, with birds flying overhead. She is a traveler from far away, come to our lands. And, heavens willing, she might yet make the journey back to her tribe's lands someday." Sky Breath smiled at this, joining the woodworkers and quietly explaining the best techniques to carve out the shapes of far-travelling migratory birds without spending too much effort.

Coming up further on the trunk, True Sight nodded towards a particular spot, tapping at it with a hoof. "Yes. Here. No branches or twists in the tree. Carve her likeness in this spot. The wood should not give you trouble." Glancing back at their subject, the ponies set to work on carving out Agate's bust from the tree.

Most of the woodworkers were busy chipping away at the wood, while the shamares were making their own preparations. Glancing at all the tables in the clearing, True Sight nodded to the several remaining ponies that didn't have a task yet. "You three, I need you to go and retrieve something for me. Go to the ceremonial grounds, and gather up the spirit stones surrounding the firepit. You will need to bore out holes in the tree, and affix the stones in them." Those orders raised some eyebrows, but they each nodded slowly. "Don't look so surprised. I did say that this is going to be different, isn't it? You gathered up all the usual materials, but we need something special this time. Now go." Setting off, the trio debated on how to best carve the totem in such a way.

True Sight took in a deep breath, looking around. Everyone was working efficiently, busy with their own tasks without interrupting others. Leaving the woodworkers to do their thing, she briefly went to the pony this was all being done for. Agate was still sitting where she left her, her usual calm expression on her face. "Now, I know that asking a foal to sit still for a whole day would usually be fruitless. But I know you're not a usual foal, and you don't have the heady winds of life making you rush everywhere any more. So, do you think you can sit here and wait for some time, Agate?" True Sight emphasized the few words the filly knew, hoping she'd understand the question.

The filly tilted her head, turning one ear downwards in thought. Looking around at all the activity happening in the area, she eventually looked back towards the shamare, shrugged, and laid down on the snow. True Sight smiled, patting her on the head. "Good foal. Suppose I should get to work myself, now." She turned towards a line of tables where the other shamares had flocked to.

A great many esoteric items were stacked on the tables. Bird feathers, little pieces of bone, wood, mortars and pestles, sharp knives made of bone or stone, dried herbs, jars of oil and ointments and so on. The shamares were all breathing rhythmically or humming quietly, focusing their spirits for the tasks ahead.

Earthsong was busy carefully shaving off pieces of her mane and tail, adding them to a small clay pot half-full of resin. Two other shamares were doing the same thing, chanting under their breath. Once they deemed the amount sufficient, each one of them put a hoof on top of the pot, raising their voices higher in unison before lowering them again. Earthsong then proceeded to take it to one of the fires, holding the pot over the flames with a length of stick. Soon, smoke and bubbling began to emanate from the inside.

Several shamares were tending the fires, poking the coals with lengths of stick and pulling out any pieces that caught their attention. They added the smoldering bits of wood to clay cups along with some dried herbs, waiting for the plants to burn down before adding more ingredients and grinding them down into a paste.

True Sight grabbed a shallow stone bowl herself, adding a vivid red powder from a sealed jar and a dash of oil from another. Most of the runes and carvings made by snowponies were stained black, simply because soot was the most easily available source of paint. However, that did not mean they did not have access to other colors. Some flowers made excellent paints, if prepared properly. Their scarcity meant that those colors usually were saved for special occasions such as this one, though.

The clearing was filled with the cracks of chisels, grinding noises of the mortars, and the quiet murmurs of the woodworkers and the chants of shamares. The ponies were so focused on their work that they didn't even notice the sun rising. Having prepared their mixtures, the shamares soon joined the carvers at the totem pole. Various symbols and runes were etched, burned or meticulously carved into the empty spaces. Wards to safeguard the totem pole from getting worn down, runes to grant strength to the spirit inhabiting it, beacons to bring light to their eyes and make sure the spirit never got lost in the darkness.

With their minds and hooves busy, hours passed like minutes. Some ponies left now and then to retrieve food, bringing baskets loaded with various foodstuffs for their coworkers. Eating quickly, everyone soon returned to their work. The woodworkers finished their carvings by the time the sun started disappearing again, laying down on the snow to catch their breaths. The shamares then took over, using sharpened sticks, brushes and their hooves to paint over the carvings with their resin mixtures and paints, giving the images depth and beauty.

The ponies tasked with decorating the totem pole with spirit stones had some trouble at first. They managed to bore out holes for the stones without much effort, though getting them just right so the stones wouldn't fall out took some very, very meticulous carving. Eventually, one of them got an idea to pack the holes with a mixture of tiny wood chippings and resin, making sure the stones remained firmly in place.

True Sight was examining the bust, glancing between the carving and the immensely confused Agate, who was looking at the totem pole as well. "Something... something... seems off. The work is fine, but... hmm... But no, not off. Something's... missing." Slipping into her spirit sight, the old mare stared at the carving for a minute, then turned towards Agate. The filly twitched, momentarily surprised by the mare's glowing eyes. After examining the filly's face for a while, the shamare glanced a few times between her and the totem pole, and gasped.

"The stones... the stones! Oh, I've been a fool not to see it. Her coat and eyes are not like fractured ice... she's not an ice pony at all. They're more like the spirit stones... Even stranger, but who am I to question the truth before me? Hmm..." Waving over the few woodworkers that were listening to the mare talk to herself, she quickly laid out a small alteration that needed to be made. They nodded, grabbing their chisels and getting to work.

The eyes of the bust were carved out, and the pupils replaced with a couple of the roundest spirit stones that they could find. They glimmered in the firelight, showing fractured reflections to the ponies that looked at them. Just like the spirit's eyes.

True Sight smiled, the ponies patting each other on the back for a job well done. "Outstanding. I think we did everything we could today." Quickly sweeping her gaze over the entire painted, carved and decorated totem pole, she saw no defects or mistakes. "I see no faults in this. We all outdone ourselves today. It is early evening yet, but I'm certain you all are as tired as I am after working all day long. And tomorrow, there will be more work yet. Let us leave the paint to set in, and we will come back to finish everything off after a good night's sleep. I am certain our guest is dying to know just what we've been making for her all day long."

Her declaration was met by cheering and exclamations of agreement from the tired but proud group. Some stopped to gather up the more expensive tools and ingredients, while the more sturdy items were left for tomorrow. Slowly, the ponies dispersed in various directions, putting out the fires as they left. True Sight stopped by where Agate was sitting, still staring at the carving of her face with confusion. The old mare couldn't help but chuckle at the filly's expression. Earthsong joined them, smiling as well.

"Well, doesn't she look confused? Never ate fish, and now I'm guessing that you never saw a totem pole before either, huh?" Messing up the filly's mane, she giggled. "I really can't wait until you learn our tongue properly so you can tell me all about your tribe." Shaking her head to get her mane back in order, the filly stuck her tongue out at the mare.

True Sight shook her head, smiling. "It's sure going to be a tale worth listening many times over. But, that will have to wait for another evening. Let's go home. Come, Agate. You'll learn what this is all about soon enough."

The two mares started to walk away. With one last glance towards the totem pole, the filly soon turned to follow.

Building a Home

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate was confused.

It had been happening a lot lately, she noticed. Ever since she lost her life and it turned out not to be the end, really, but these strange northern ponies were extra confusing. So many things about them were hard or completely impossible to understand.

A few things made sense, like the game the old mares played with her to teach her some of their language. Their use of sleds instead of carts. Their long coats to survive in the cold. Other things, though...

Their strange magic was odd for what looked like extra-fluffy earth ponies, but perhaps that was it. Maybe they just looked like earth ponies, but were a different tribe altogether. Earth ponies certainly didn't change the weather by singing, or eat fish for dinner.

At least, she was reasonably certain that it was fish. The Empire didn't have large bodies of water, so she never saw a real one before. A lone river ran on the outskirts of their territory, but that was it. Seeing as the city was built down in the valley, the groundwater was just below the surface, and most ponies got their water from wells. Still, they didn't really have aquatic life in them, so the only fish that Agate ever saw were in school books about various animals.

Either way, it certainly wasn't any kind of fruit or vegetable. Those didn't really have skeletons in them. Probably. And the mare just chowed down on them, like it was the most delicious thing in the world. Agate really wanted to ask the ponies about it, but she didn't have the words yet. She didn't even know their word for "question". So, learning about that mystery had to be postponed.

Yesterday, there was another display of strangeness from the two ponies, along with a whole bunch of others. She spent the night in their home, instead of the longhouse where the mare that brought her to their village lived. Glacier Glider, whatever her name meant. She'd learn the meaning of it eventually.

In the morning, the old mare and her... helper? Daughter? They told her their names too, they were... True Sight and... Earthsong, that's right. The two brought Agate to some kind of workshop area outside. She expected to be taught more words or something similar, but the older ma- True Sight, should remember their names - just asked her to sit down, and went off to direct the large amount of other ponies moving about. Earthsong went to join the group as well, leaving the filly wondering just what her role was in this.

Agate wasn't familiar with woodwork at all, but she could certainly recognize that the group gathered in the clearing were craftsponies. They held the tools of their trade with confident ease, sizing up the rather impressive log set up in the middle of the area. True Sight gathered them all together, gave a short speech, and off they went. After coming back briefly to ask the filly to wait, she dove headfirst into the work.

It certainly wasn't boring to watch the ponies apply their skills to the tree. It looked so different than working with crystals or metal, and Agate didn't notice the time fly by as she watched the ponies chisel, chop and carve into the tree trunk.

"It splinters a little bit, but it's also so... springy? I really wonder how it feels under your hoof. It's almost like a strange cross between metal and crystal. You can break off little pieces of it, but it won't shatter completely." Crystal ponies certainly knew how to work lumber, but it wasn't a material that was used in many things besides furniture and carts.

After a few hours, some of the ponies went off to bring some food to their coworkers. This prompted Agate to take a closer look at the ponies, instead of focusing entirely on their project. After a while of observing them, she started to notice something curious. Most of them were doing obvious physical tasks, but others were doing things that didn't seem to have any visible effect. And even the ones carving the wood would stop now and then to caress the log, muttering something under their breaths. The whole thing had the slight feel of a... a ceremony.

She knew what ceremonies were, of course. Crystal ponies had loads of them. That didn't help her in any way to understand the meaning behind this one, though. Continuing her observation of the ponies, she soon saw that the group that was standing further away from the action near some tables were making their way towards the log, True Sight and Earthsong among them. They joined in on the work on the tree, and things got a bit more interesting.

Holding some far more delicate-looking chisels, they started to carve various symbols into the wood. Looking at the squiggles, Agate noticed that some of them looked a little bit like the ones carved around the doors of the houses in the village, though others looked completely new. It was almost like writing, though not of any language that she knew. Even old Ponish didn't look that way.

Some of the ponies took torches and started burning in the symbols, while others heated up odd substances and poured them into the carvings, muttering and chanting under their breaths all the time. And, just like the symbols she saw in the village, these ones also began glowing softly in the perpetual dark.

"It's an enchantment," she realized. "More of their magic. Interesting. Crystal ponies work with crystal, and these ponies work with wood, seeing as there's a big forest nearby. They do have magic crystals, though..."

Slowly, the tree lit up with more and more symbols, carefully and almost lovingly added by the cadre of their earth pony wizards, while the woodcrafters kept adding fine details to their carvings. Examining their work more closely, she could see that they had almost finished. The bottom of the tree was decorated with a circle of mountains, looking impressively realistic despite being carved out of wood, not stone. Higher up, there was a circle of hoofprints, going all around the trunk, with flying birds depicted over them. And above that, there-

"Is that my face?!"

Well. That certainly explained who the ceremony/enchantment was for, but not what the heck it could possibly be for. Shifting uncertainly in her spot, she glanced at the ponies. The ones carving out her face in the wood stopped now and then to look at her, making sure to get her details just right. Looking closely at the carving, she tried to compare it to the last time she saw herself in a mirror. It was a bit stylized, but there was no doubt. It was her face, and part of her head, that was getting carved in there.

"But why?"

The ponies certainly didn't look like they were doing this with some intent to harm her, if that was even possible. And figuring out the purpose of this thing without being able to talk to them definitely wasn't possible. The only option was to wait and watch what happened.

"Wait, hold on... I saw this before. Not this, but..." Something tickled at her mind, something relatively recent. She tried to remember her first tense meeting with these ponies. There was a mare in the darkness, she was saying something to Agate, and then the mare started staring at... a large carved log that Agate was standing next to. She didn't remember if the other carvings were the same or not, but the face was definitely one of a stallion. And it felt like it was watching her, it's eyes glimmering faintly. She dismissed it as an unusual statue back then, but it was obviously something much more than that.

"Is... that what they're doing? Was that actually another dead pony? Are they going to turn me into a tree? Is that what they do with their dead? Weird..."

Trying to imagine what it would be like to be a tree, Agate kept watching the ponies work, though she was now distracted by the thoughts running through her head. Every time she'd glance at the log, a new detail that she missed due to her distraction would present itself. The mountains got colored, adding more detail to the carving. The hoofmarks and birds got the same treatment, and most of the available space was filled in with the various glowing symbols. The ponies also bored holes into the sides, inserting some of the glowing citrine crystals in them.

Before long, the work was finished, and the ponies got ready to go home. True Sight ordered some last-minute adjustments to be made, adding some crystals to her carving's eyes.

"My eyes aren't yellow... But I guess they can't really tell that anymore..." The filly silently lamented, looking at her colorless, somewhat transparent legs.

The ponies were all leaving by then, their work finished. The two mares that brought her here approached the filly, Earthsong saying something while messing up Agate's mane. She stuck her tongue out at the mare, who was obviously amused by the filly's confusion.

The two then turned to walk away, trotting in the direction of their home. With one last glance at the carving of her face, Agate went after them. There were no speech lessons this time around. The two mares were obviously tired from the long day, and immediately went to sleep after a quick snack of hay and what looked like dried moss. Earthsong managed to bid her goodnight, while True Sight almost walked into a wall while going to her room.

Now, Agate was lying down in front of the fire pit, lazily moving her hoof through the faint wisps of smoke curling from the dying coals. She didn't feel like trying to do the whole half-sleep tonight, her mind abuzz with random thoughts and questions with no answers.

These ponies clearly knew more about her situation than anyone in the Crystal Empire did. They weren't afraid of her at all, and just seemed to accept her as something completely normal. Which would absolutely not be the case in the Empire. A ghost casually walking around would likely cause a stampede there.

They also seemed to have some kind of plan to do something with her, if yesterday was any indication. So, should she trust them with whatever they were planning? They didn't really act hostile. Except for the first time they met, but that was natural. She was a complete stranger that just wandered into their midst. What were they going to do with her and that wooden statue, though?

"I just want to see my family again," the filly muttered under her breath. "Even if just to say goodbye."

Laying down on the floor completely, she closed her eyes and listened to the faint sounds of the wind outside. It was much easier to remain motionless these days, and the whole night seemed to pass by in a mere moment. It didn't take long until noises started emanating from the room to the left, and Earthsong soon stumbled out.

The mare looked tired, her brown coat and black mane tangled in places. These ponies usually had really well groomed coats, probably to help them with the cold. Likely she really worked herself to the bone yesterday, though Agate still didn't understand most of the things she did.

"Dægrima, Agate," she muttered quietly while reaching for some kindling and poking the coals around to look for an ember. Likely, that was a "Good morning, Agate.".

"Good morning, Earthsong," the filly replied politely.

The mare soon had a tiny flame going, which she carefully tended to produce a small fire. She put a clay pot on the fire, throwing some herbs and twigs in there. Likely a tea of some sort. While the tea was heating up, she stretched a few times with a grunt. Muttering something under her breath, she took a closer look at her appearance, and took to grooming her coat with her mouth and hooves. After undoing the worst tangles, she retrieved a comb from her room to finish the job.

Agate kept lying near the firepit, wondering at what their activities were going to be today. Would they take her to that wooden statue/pillar thing again? She'd find out soon enough, she supposed.

It didn't take too long for the other occupant of the house to show up. True Sight soon ambled out. looking a bit grumpy. though she didn't seem to be as exhausted as Earthsong was. Greeting Agate with a pat on the head, the old mare took a seat at the table. The two mares said their morning greetings, Earthsong pouring cups of tea for both of them.

Their breakfast was more hay and moss this time. Perhaps they ran out of the whatever roots they used to make porridge, or maybe they just wanted to vary up their food. Either way, it didn't take long for them to finish eating, and soon the two were discussing something quietly.

It wasn't hard to guess at what the topic of their discussion was. Agate folded her ears as the two talked quietly, glancing at the filly now and then. She'd grown to trust these ponies over the last few days she spent with them, but she was still nervous about the unknown. She tried to make sense of their conversation, but her understanding of their language was still far too limited.

After some back and forth, the two nodded, getting up from the table. Earthsong went to the filly, gently stroking Agate's mane while cooing something reassuring in her tongue. After the filly calmed down a little bit, the mare tugged her on her hooves, signaling for her to stand up.

Taking a non-existent breath, the nervous spirit got on her hooves. True Sight nodded, saying something while heading out the door. Smiling, Earthsong nodded at the door, following the elder outside. After a moment, Agate followed suit. It was time to find out just what all that hubbub yesterday was about.

True Sight went down the same path they walked yesterday, to the field that held the mysterious carved and enchanted tree. Unlike yesterday, though, they didn't walk the path alone. They were soon joined by more ponies heading in the same direction. The two mares greeted them all, talking animatedly about something.

The air seemed to hold a sense of celebration. All of the ponies were smiling widely, looking excited about something. Agate recognized some of them as the woodworkers that worked on the tree yesterday, though others were completely unfamiliar. The ponies openly looked at her as they were talking now, some of them saying something to her that sounded like a congratulation of some kind. She nodded and said "thanks" every time, though she still didn't know just what was going on. The ponies seemed to take her lack of ability to communicate in their tongue in good spirit, though.

Soon, they reached the clearing. The tree was still there, largely unchanged from yesterday. The paint seemed to have dried and set, but that was it. The group started surrounding the tree, dividing themselves into pairs and eyeing the massive log. They intended to carry it somewhere, but after some fiddling around, it looked like there weren't enough sizeable ponies. A couple peeled off, likely to call some reinforcements.

While the ponies were waiting, Agate snuck closer to the pillar of wood, examining it more closely. Some roots were still attached to the bottom of the tree, though they were all cleaned and polished until the wood shined, the longest strands trimmed and cut down to a size about the length of Agate's foreleg. Some lines were carved into the roots as well, though they weren't nearly as elaborate as the carvings on the trunk.

The bottom part had the circle of mountains, going all around the trunk. They were painted now, the black and white paint on the carved shapes giving an impressive illusion of perspective. Were those the mountains that she passed through to get here? She squinted, but wasn't able to recognize any of the silhouettes. Not that she was looking at the landscape too closely in her non-stop gallop to get here.

There was a gap between the bottom carving and the other one, filled with the mysterious magical script. It still didn't make any sense to her, and though she was tempted to poke them to see if anything would happen, she decided to leave it alone. Also, there was a line of citrine crystals inlaid into the wood on the side, a similar line likely on the opposite side as well.

The second circle had a ring of hoofmarks, with birds flying above. The hoofmarks didn't have anything unusual about them, so Agate examined the birds more closely. They somehow looked both very simplistically drawn, and almost alive at the same time. It wasn't a species that she recognized, though.

Moving past another gap filled with runes and crystals, she stopped at the carving of her face. Tilting her head, she looked at it for a while. Was it... a gravestone of sorts?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Earthsong came from behind her, patting the filly on the back. Blinking, Agate cleared her thoughts, tilting her head at the mare. She smiled, nodding towards the ponies gathered around the tree. While Agate was examining it, the ponies came back with some help. A number of mares and stallions lined up along the length of it, bending their knees to get underneath.

True Sight went to the front to guide the group, while Earthsong led Agate a bit to the side. The ponies didn't use ropes or any other kind of assistance, simply squatting down, pressing their sides close together and lifting, the tree nestled in the crook between their backs. True Sight called out, and they all stood up as one. Another mare joined the elder, this one carrying a drum of some kind. She struck the instrument, and all the ponies raised a front hoof simultaneously. Another bang, and they all stepped forward as one.

Earthsong and Agate followed along, observing the procession. The drummer slowly increased the tempo, until they were moving at a slow, but steady trot. True Sight steered them towards the village center, moving towards the more populated areas. The noise attracted more and more ponies, and soon there was a large amount of them walking alongside and trailing behind the tree-carrying group.

Agate glanced around, observing the whole thing. The ponies carrying the tree weren't smiling, rather, they had their chests puffed out, looks of immense pride on their faces. Like the act of bearing their burden was an immense honor for them. The ponies accompanying the march had the previous feel of celebration about them, cheering on the group and making their way to pat Agate on the back and say a few words to the filly.

It went on that way for quite some time. Instead of continuing on all the way to the village center, though, they carefully turned down a different street, maneuvering the weight on their backs expertly. Slowly, the path took them back in the direction of the outskirts of the village, the buildings getting more sparse as they went along.

Soon, the last building was behind the group. The mountains loomed in the distance , while a few trees dotted the area. In front of them, there was a large clearing that was swept clean of snow, a sizeable hole dug into the frozen ground. Another group of ponies were already waiting by a mound of earth, armed with some shovels.

A few of their wizard ponies were there too, performing their rituals. They had some jars of colorful powder, twigs, and who knows what else, throwing bits of them into the hole, chanting in their tongue. Coming in closer towards them, Agate noticed that there was smoke coming out of the pit in the ground. Did they light a fire to thaw out the earth for easier digging? That was clever.

The ponies accompanying the procession all surrounded the clearing, though they made sure not to step on to the snowless part of the ground, leaving plenty of space for the ponies carrying the tree to maneuver it around. True Sight called out more commands, while the drummer mare changed her music.

It was really impressive how the entire line of ponies managed to carry the tree all the way there without so much as stumbling once. In a further display of their coordination, they moved into the clearing, and started to walk sideways, aiming the roots towards the hole. The two ponies at the very end of the tree called out a warning, and stepped away so as not to fall in. The rest stopped, laid down, and slowly stepped away to the sides, the tree sliding down to the ground with barely a thump.

The spectators cheered and stomped, congratulating the team for their success. The ponies pat each other on the back, looking satisfied at their hoofwork. The wizards then approached the roots, carrying some curious strands of rope. It looked like they were woven from their own fluffy coats. Taking the short pieces of rope, they tied them in various spots along the roots, making sure they stayed on firmly. After completing their task, they nodded to the ponies in the clearing.

Once more, they stepped towards the carved tree, lifting from one end. The roots were caught in the hole, and the wooden pillar was slowly pushed to stand upright. The ponies with the shovels stepped in to help, quickly filling up the hole and stomping the soft earth down to hold the pillar firmly in place. Earthsong went to join them, jumping and stomping on the ground.

The diggers and the carriers left the area to join the crowd, while a number of vaguely familiar ponies filtered out into the clearing. Agate recognized some of the more memorable ones, like the mare with the feather headdress and avian mask, and the old snow-white mare that summoned the blizzard the first time she was brought before these ponies. They were their wizards, magicians, or whatever their people called them. Judging by their number and presence here, they were going to perform some kind of magical ritual again.

Her guess was proven correct as four of them joined Earthsong, circling the pillar in some kind of synchronized, dance-like jumps and stomps. And just like the last time she witnessed it, it didn't take long for the ponies to raise their voices in song. This time, she tried to take in more details of their performance instead of just staring in wonder. Finding a spot near the crowd surrounding the clearing and the carved wooden pillar, she sat down to watch.

The five mares stomping the ground had deep voices, their singing sounding something akin to a boulder rolling downhill. They clearly had some kind of affinity to the earth. Sometimes, it was a little hard to tell whether the sounds came from their hooves, or their mouths. And judging from the deep hoofprints and slight shake that went through the ground every time they stomped on it, they had impressive strength as well. They kept circling the pillar, while the rest of them formed two more circles.

The second circle was much larger, and more varied. The avian-masked mare was there, moving in her jerky, bird-like way again, letting out foreign-sounding bird calls. Half a dozen mares had jugs of water, sprinkling the ground in small splashes now and then. And a good couple dozen more were dancing and singing, some of them producing some interesting sounds with various instruments. They had hollowed out branches, whistles, drums, and some other implements Agate didn't know the names of. It was a very interesting concert, though they didn't seem to be performing any kind of significant magic this time. One that she could see, anyway.

The third circle seemed to be made of the older mares. They sat around the rim of the clearing, letting out a low chant that rose and fell along with the rest of the group. True Sight was among them, along with the snowy blizzard summoner. Like the other ponies, their actions seemed to be more ceremonial than magical this time.

Turning her eyes back towards the middle of the clearing, Agate tried to get a feel for the song. She couldn't sing to save her life, but she did appreciate the art of singing quite a lot. The sounds they were making didn't contain any words, but there was still a rhythm to it, a slowly rising and falling intensity, almost like a slow breath. The mares on the furthest circle started chanting a little louder, raising their voices slightly above the rest. The ponies in the second circle raised their voices in turn, intensifying their musical efforts as well. Which then led to the five in the first circle to shake furiously, ending the cycle with an earthshaking stomp.

In that moment, the ponies quieted down, starting over. The five earth stompers slowly walked in a circle around the pillar, the mares with the jugs sprinkling some water on the ground. The instrument-wielding ponies gradually increased their tempo, the old mares soon joining in.

Still listening with both ears, Agate examined the ponies surrounding the clearing, watching the proceedings while slowly swaying to the song. This was probably the biggest crowd that she saw in the village so far. It really looked like they were all of a single tribe. All fluffy, no horns or wings on any of them. Almost all of them were buck naked too, which made her feel a tiny bit jealous again. No hats, no cloaks, not even a single scarf. Some had amulets or bangles, but that was the limit of their accessories.

The ones with the most trinkets on them seemed to be the magical mares in the circles. Almost all of them either had an amulet or several of them, several pouches hanging from their sides, some bangles or other things. A few had colorful pieces of string, bells, or various feathers stuck in their manes and tails.

Turning to scan the crowd again, Agate saw something that made her freeze in place in complete shock. If she still had a beating heart, it would have likely skipped a beat.

It was a pony.

Not like the other ponies, though. This one was different in one important aspect. Just like Agate, he was colorless, translucent, and immaterial. Just like Agate, he was dead.

It was hard to see him through all the dancing ponies. She was sitting in between the third and second circle, her back to the village. The stallion was standing on the opposite side, on the edge of the clearing closest to the outside of the village. He was examining her as well, looking on with a calm expression. Much like their attitudes towards Agate, the living ponies standing next to him didn't seem to find him strange or unusual at all.

They continued staring at each other, neither one of them blinking or moving in any manner, their line of sight broken by a dancing pony now and then. The stallion appeared completely calm, looking on placidly. Agate was burning with curiosity, though she managed to keep her stoic expression as well. She had SO many questions that she wasn't able to ask.

The spell was broken as an old mare came beside the stallion, nuzzling him on the chin. He blinked, looking away from Agate and nuzzling the mare back. They started conversing with each other, forgetting about the entire ceremony going on around them. Was she a relative of his? His mother, or maybe his wife? It was kind of hard to tell how old he was.

Looking back towards the clearing, Agate saw that the ceremony was almost concluded. The dancers stopped, panting lightly from the exertion. The mares with the jugs of water upended them, letting the last drops to fall out. The ground around the pillar was stomped flat, firmly holding it in place. And the wooden pillar itself was noticeably glowing with various colors. The circle of elders quieted down, all of them looking straight at her.

She gulped quietly. "This is it. Time to find out what this is all about..."

Behind Agate, True Sight said something in a questioning manner. She didn't recognize any words except for Earthsong's name. The mare in question pondered something for a moment, examining Agate. After giving a solemn nod, she made her way to the filly. All the other participants of the ritual moved out of her way, making an open path towards the wooden pillar.

Agate folded her ears, shrinking down a little. "So, uh, I'm really grateful that you ponies took me in and helped me out, but I really, really have no idea whatsoever what this ceremony or ritual or whatever it is is about, and when my parents explained it to me, they said that you have to, um, do ceremonies the right way, which is according to tradition, or you can offend your hosts terribly... And I really don't want to make you all angry or anything..."

Earthsong just smiled, shushing the filly with a hoof on her muzzle. After giving her a quick hug, the mare took Agate by the hoof and led her to the wooden pillar. All the ponies in the clearing smiled at the two, some of them saying something that sounded like encouragement.

Agate looked at the pillar looming in her vision. Now that it was standing upright, it looked a lot bigger, somehow. Her own face looked back at her, the crystals in its eyes glowing with a soft yellow light.

Earthsong led her within touching distance of the pillar, gently taking Agate by the foreleg and extending her hoof so she was almost touching it, but stopped short of actually making contact. Blinking, Agate looked at the mare. She smiled, nodding at the pillar. Turning back towards it, Agate wondered for a moment.

"Oh, what's the worst that could happen? I already died. That happened. Here goes nothing..."

Her hoof made contact with the wood. Several things happened at once.

All of the gathered ponies started cheering and stomping, clearly expressing their approval for whatever was about to happen.

Several runes carved into the timber flashed. The glow surrounding the pillar surged, rushing into the filly.

Agate was blinded, losing sight for a brief moment. When it came back, though. it was different. It wasn't the only thing to come back, either. It was a lot like when Glacier Glider hugged her and she felt the sense of touch for the first time in weeks, except ten times stronger. She could see again! Not just the darkened black and white world, but actual colors! Not just on ponies or crystals either, but on trees, and sky, and... and she could see much further, too!

It was almost like she was alive again. She didn't need to focus any more to see things clearly, forcing the world to appear. She'd been doing it long enough that she almost forgot about it, but now that her normal sight was restored, it was like a breath of fresh air.

Speaking of air, she could feel its motion too. The wind blew about, running through her mane and coat. The sensation was very, very faint, but it was there. She could feel the texture of the ground underneath her as well. Smell seemed to be the one sense that didn't reappear, but that was fine. Being able to see was much more important.

Refocusing back on the world, she noticed something odd happening to her. There was a pulling sensation, and her right foreleg was almost all the way inside the wooden pillar. Raising her other foreleg, she tried to push off, with entirely predictable results. Her other leg sunk through too, making her lose her balance and lean into the pillar. Her head went through too, making the world go dark again.

The darkness lasted only a moment, though. There was a brief sucking sensation, and she was able to see clearly again. Except... she was much taller? She was able to see well over the heads of every pony in the clearing.

Attempting to turn her head and look at her body yielded no results. Blinking, she tried moving her limbs. There was a wiggle, but not much. It was like she was being held upright, with her forelegs pressed tightly to her body. And her hindlegs were... weird. The sensations coming from her hindlegs were really strange, like she suddenly sprouted a dozen more hooves, spread out around her like roots.

Roots.

That was it. She was inside the wooden pillar. Those were her eyes she was looking through. Or, rather, the eyes of the carving made in her image. That was an interesting revelation, but it still didn't help her understand the point of all this. Well, being able to see properly again was nice, but the rest of it was still confusing. Was she imprisoned for something? Or was this her grave after all?

As she stood there pondering her predicament, Earthsong touched the pillar, rubbing the surface gently. To Agate's surprise, she could actually feel the touch almost like it was her own body. The mare tilted her head, asking something. Curiously, Agate noted that she seemed to be hearing the sound with the ears of her carving as well. Moving her wooden mouth didn't seem to be an option, though.

After a minute of nothing happening, Earthsong took a step backwards, rubbing her chin. True Sight joined her at that point, the two mares sharing a look. The elder just shrugged. Agate kept watching them both. There was that ghost stallion that she saw just before, and he was walking around freely. And if this was what these ponies did for their departed, then... then she should be able to leave the pillar as well.

Closing her eyes, she tried wiggling around again. It didn't do much this time either, but closing her eyes actually helped. She didn't feel like she was being held any more, only floating in a dark void. Remembering the last time this happened, she tried picturing her forelegs, willing her body to appear. Then, she imagined taking a step forward.

When she opened her eyes again, she was standing next to Earthsong. The mare smiled, patting the filly on the head for a job well done. True Sight nodded, saying something to Earthsong and moving away. Most of the ponies that participated in the ritual turned to follow her, with a few coming over to Agate. The clearing was almost empty now, the crowd of spectators having left as well.

She recognized the avian mare again, followed by two unknown mares. She took off her mask, giving Agate a wide smile. Shaking her feathery headdress, she made a grand, sweeping gesture to the filly while making a dramatic-sounding exclamation. Agate smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"You know that I can't understand you, right? I assume you're welcoming me to your village, but I can't tell for certain."

The mare just chuckled, ruffling the filly's mane and turning to leave as well. The other two said some less dramatic-sounding words to the filly, and followed the odd mare.

Watching them go, she felt a hoof on her back. Glancing to the side, she saw that Earthsong was trying to get her attention. She sat on the ground, pointing at her ears. "Listen," she said. It was one of the few words that Agate learned so far. Next, she pointed at her eyes. "Watch." It looked like it was lesson time again.

First, Earthsong closed her eyes, pretending to look around with exaggerated curiosity on her face. Then she opened her eyes, looking at Agate. Tilting her head, the filly looked on with some confusion. Look around with her eyes closed? Shrugging, she followed her instruction.

Predictably, everything went black. After sitting there for a moment with nothing happening, she remembered that Earthsong looked around. Moving her head left and right just showed more darkness, until something flashed in the corner of her eye. Resisting the reflexive urge to open her eyes, she turned her head in that direction.

It was the pillar. Even with her eyes closed, she could still faintly see its glowing outline. There was something else, too, barely at the very edge of her non-vision. Something like a string, so faint and thin she wasn't even sure she wasn't imagining it, connecting her and the pillar.

Blinking, she opened her eyes. This reminded her of a story she was assigned to read at school. It was a book about Equestria, teaching the Crystal ponies about the various ways they differed from their cousins. They had a city on the coast of an ocean, a place that apparently held so much water you couldn't even see the other shore. In fact, the shores were so far, they had to use these things called boats, which were kind of like chariots meant to ride on water.

Having zero maritime experience, such ideas sounded terribly foreign to the ponies of the Empire, though fascinating as well. Apparently, the Equestrians used the wind to pull their boats across the water, but sometimes the wind would blow so hard it would make them crash into the shore in the dark, smashing their ships to pieces. So, they built these things called light-houses, huge towers with massive signal lights on them, to help the boats navigate the waters.

This... this was it. This was her light-house. These ponies built her a beacon. If she ever got lost, she would be able to make her way back even through the darkest night. And... it was an actual house-house, too. Of sorts. A house built for a ghost, one that she could spend time inside. She didn't need comfortable food or beds any more, but these ponies clearly knew something else that ghosts needed. Whatever it was, it restored her sight and helped her feel again.

She was able to see again, and had a place to come back. To here. To these ponies, to... to her new home. The significance of this made a dull ache appear in her chest. She just wandered into their village, and these ponies adopted her into their tribe without so much as being able to talk to her. A complete stranger, like it was nothing. Like it was just something they did.

Agate wasn't sure if she was able to cry any more, but she still felt her eyes mist over and her face scrunch up. After losing all hope out in the icy wastes, it was both painful and cathartic to feel welcomed somewhere again. Feeling her limbs shaking, she sat down on the ground, sobs wracking her body.

Earthsong, who had been patiently watching her figure things out up to that point, jumped up in alarm, reaching a hoof towards her. "Agate, hwá-"

The filly launched herself at the mare, latching on to the pony while crying and muttering under her breath. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you... I thought.. I thought I'd never feel anything but cold again, or be lost forever, or.. thank you..."

Earthsong sat there for a moment, her hoof raised, until she wrapped it around the filly, cooing softly to the distraught pony. They sat there for some time, Agate letting out the pain she was holding back for weeks. Eventually, she pulled her face out of the mare's fluff, looking around.

"Hope she doesn't think I don't like their gift. At least I can't get snot into her coat any more..."

Hear ears folded in embarrassment, the filly extricated herself from the mare's hug, looking down at the ground. Earthsong took her by the chin and raised her head, smiling softly. She raised a hoof and opened her mouth to say something, probably something profound, judging by her expression. Then she remembered that Agate couldn't understand her all that well yet, and sat there with her mouth open, looking silly. The filly giggled at the sight.

Snorting, the mare bent down to nuzzle her, standing up afterwards. Looking at the sky, she chewed on her lip, clearly wanting to say something but not sure how. Agate tilted her head questioningly. After a minute of thinking, Earthsong pointed at her eyes again, and pointed towards the sky.

The Sun shone in that direction, though the light was rather feeble for some reason. Blinking, Agate considered the time. It wasn't that long since they woke up, was it? They got up, went to the clearing, retrieved the pillar, brought it here, planted it, had that ceremony... It had to be midday at the latest, but it looked like it was late evening. She knew days were shorter in winter, but this was ridiculous. Were the days even shorter in the far north? Is that why it was so cold here?

Glancing back at Earthsong, she saw that she was pointing at the Sun, motioning to it going down. She made a large circle with her hoof, pointing at the sky where the Sun probably was going to be tomorrow. Then she pointed to her mouth, saying "Talk." She repeated the process, before pointing to the ground, shaking her head. "No. No talk. Walk." She mimed walking away, before making the circle one more time, saying "Talk.'

"Oooooooh. I get it." Agate nodded, making the circle herself. "Talk later. Talk tomorrow. You need to go now. Walk." She waved goodbye to the mare.

Earthsong smiled widely, clearly proud of the clever filly. But she shook her head, pointing at Agate, then at the village. "Come. Walk. Talk. Watch." Then she pointed at the pillar. "Sit." Shrugging, she held out both forelegs in either direction. Likely, she was trying to tell Agate that she was free to wander the village, though if she wanted to, she could also stay here and sort through her thoughts.

Nodding at the mare, she smiled softly. "Thank you again. I'll... I'll probably go wander around a little bit. I'm guessing you have some kind of things to attend to, seeing as you've been doing nothing but dealing with me for three days straight. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Earthsong nodded, and after another quick hug, she trotted off. Agate sat there for a few minutes before looking around. The clearing that was so recently crammed with dancing and singing ponies was quiet now, not a soul in sight. Chewing on her lip, she considered her options. There wasn't much to do if she couldn't talk to these ponies yet, but she did want to look around. And possibly thank Glacier Glider, the mare that took her in that first night. She didn't remember where the longhouse was in relation to her new home, but it probably wouldn't be too hard to find it. Not like getting lost was a danger any more.

With a backwards glance at the pillar, she set off to snoop around.

❅ ❆ ❅

The village was haphazard. It certainly wasn't run down or ramshackle, no. These ponies clearly took good care of their homes, likely because not doing so would mean inviting the northern winds to come inside. But, it didn't have that orderly setup of the Empire. The streets weren't very straight, if there were streets in the first place. Seeing as these ponies could walk on snow without disturbing it, most likely they didn't even need streets. Not having to shovel the snow to make a path must have been a huge timesaver.

Wandering about, Agate noticed that the whole village still held a celebratory air. At first, she thought that it had something to do with her, as the ponies seemed to regard the her... adoption ceremony as something festive. But the ponies didn't pay her all that much attention, just nodding at her as she went past.

Most of the population congregated towards the village center, where she was taken the first time to be examined by their elders and mystics. Circling around on the outskirts of the festival, she quietly observed the goings on. A number of fires were lit in the larger clearings, large clay pots bubbling on them. Ponies were bringing ingredients of all kinds to the pots, cooks stirring the mixtures with long wooden spoons.

There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the ingredients. Or perhaps they were just some kind of exotic recipes that didn't make sense to her. Agate observed a stallion offering what looked like a hoofful of nuts to a cook, while a mare dropped a ball of moss into the pot. Another pony then presented a small basket of dried mushrooms, which were added too. Agate never heard about nuts or moss being used in soup.

Mentally shrugging, she looked elsewhere. While it was a celebration of some kind, everyone seemed really busy, too. Like Glacier Glider the days before, a large amount of ponies were examining, testing, and repairing sleds of various sizes. They were also tying down a lot of things, stacking them onto the sleds. Spears, clay jars, boxes, other miscellaneous items... Like they were preparing for a long journey of some kind.

Blinking, she swept her gaze across the village. Getting up, Agate started walking again, taking a peek into every street that she passed by. There were a lot of ponies that were preparing to leave. By her count, almost two thirds of the entire village were preparing for a long march of some kind. Stacking supplies, checking tools... They clearly meant business. But why so many of them?

Seeing a vaguely familiar street, she took a turn there. It wasn't the one where Glacier Glider lived, but if she remembered correctly, it led there. After some back and forth, taking a wrong turn once, she found the right street. This one wasn't too far from the village center, so there were some ponies participating in the celebration here.

Biting her lip, she looked around for the pale colors of the mare she remembered. Unfortunately, it appeared that she wasn't here this time. Biting her lip, Agate decided to take a look in the longhouse, just in case. Walking towards the door, though, she got a silly idea. Turning straight towards the wall, she stuck her head right through the wood.

Unfortunately, the inside was quiet and empty. The mare was likely enjoying herself with her family elsewhere in the village. Pulling her head out, she considered the situation. Go back? Or look around some more? Scanning the area, she found the nearest cookout, surrounded by ponies that were now being served large bowls of the mystery broth from the pots.

Approaching the gathering, she repeated the words she needed to say under her breath. When several ponies turned towards her curiously, she spoke, trying to sound out the foreign words as best as she was able to.

"Hello. My name is Agate. I am looking -" she pointed at her eyes - "for Glacier Glider. Did anyone see her?"

The ponies hmm'ed, chewing on their food thoughtfully. One stallion eventually nodded, saying something while pointing towards one street. After a moment of thought, he put his hoof on the ground, carving out a few lines in the snow. Go straight, turn left, then right.

"Thank you," Agate smiled at the stallion. He smiled back, waving her off.

Following the directions, she soon came upon a large clearing between several houses. Instead of another cookout, though, the ponies here were dancing, swaying to the beat of drums and flutes. A fair number of worn out ponies were sitting down on some logs surrounding the field, being served food from one of the homes.

Scanning their faces, Agate tried finding Glacier Glider or her family. She thought she saw her foals on the other side of the field, but they seemed to be talking with some other foals. As Agate didn't even know their names yet, she didn't want to bother them. Eventually, she spotted the mare and her hefty husband among the dancers. Sitting down, she watched and waited for the ponies to finish.

The dance was pretty interesting. They were dancing on the snow, integrating their snowwalking skill into their performance. No matter how heavy their steps were, the snow remained undisturbed. However, there seemed to be a bit of a competitive side to it as well. As the melody changed, the drummers would let out a short burst of rapidfire drumming, the ponies following the rhythm with their hooves. Judging by the cheers from the spectators, the most skilled ponies were those that managed to raise up a flurry of snow around them without sinking through, like what happened to one couple. With some good natured laughter, the ponies pulled out a mare that managed to fall through the snow up to her belly.

Soon enough, a panting Glacier Glider and her husband were making their way towards the resting area, a few ponies taking their place. Agate got up to follow them, quietly tailing the mare. The stallion was the first to see her, chuckling and patting Glacier on the back. At her questioning look, he nodded towards their ghostly pursuer.

The mare's eyes lit up, a smile on her face. "Agate!" She greeted the filly, followed by a lot of words she didn't know yet.

Agate greeted her back, smiling. "Glacier Glider. Hello. It's nice to see you again. I still haven't learned the word "thanks", but still. Thank you. For... everything, really," she said while hugging the mare.

Glacier hugged her back, saying something again. The only word Agate understood was "watch". Or perhaps "see". It was hard to tell them apart. Tilting her head, she spoke.

"See what, Glacier Glider? I'm sorry, I don't understand yet."

The mare thought for a moment, before drawing something in the snow. It wasn't clear what it was. A long line of some kind... crossed through a few times, with a... face on it? Looking at it from a few angles, Agate tried to puzzle it out. Then it clicked. It was the wooden pillar the ponies made for her.

Did that mean Glacier went to watch the ceremony, but Agate didn't see her? She folded her ears in embarrassment. The mare just laughed, messing up her mane.

The two still couldn't talk properly, but they didn't need to. There was time for that later. The foals joined them soon, dragging Agate off to play while the adults got some food in them. They spent the evening together, learning a few words here and there, though mostly just having fun. When it was time to go their ways, Agate waved goodbye to the family, turning back towards the pillar.

Towards her new home.

Ghostly Council

❅ ❆ ❅

It was the morning after the celebration, and it was time. The food was prepared, supplies were packed, sleds and bags were examined and repaired, the stars had aligned, and the days were long enough to get some work done that required daylight. Yet another winter was over, and the tribes were about to go their separate ways again.

The western tribe would make their way back to their villages in the woods, lighting up their hearths again. The ponies were eager to go, having missed their homes and their forests, already dreaming of the mushrooms and herbs that would soon be growing in abundance with the advent of spring.

The northerners were raring to get moving, laughing at the freezing wind blowing from the north. It was nothing compared to the winter blizzards that raged in the icy plains, blocking all sight and freezing ponies in moments. Chuckling at the spring wind's feeble attempts to dissuade them, they were looking forward towards the long trek back to their fishing grounds and tribal territories.

Part of the southern tribe were getting ready to move out too, their tents packed up securely in their sleds. While some of them would remain in Snowpitt, a good portion of the younger ponies heeded the call of the endless plains, going out to seek fertile grazing fields and roam the open expanse of the tundra. Until the next winter came.

Goodbyes were being said, farewells and last minute gifts were exchanged, and plans were already being made about the next Gathering, with various requests and promises to bring exotic trinkets or foods between different ponies from their respective tribal territories.

The elders were gathered in a circle in the ceremonial grounds, discussing the upcoming journey. Every traveler was helping themselves to the leftover food from yesterday, waiting for the signal from the elders to move out.

True Sight nodded, looking at the ponies around her. "No news, as I'm sure you all heard yourselves. No mountain-eating monstrosity showed up, either here or in the southern mountains. Not that we sent any scouts there, but I'm sure we would have seen, felt or heard something if it did. No flood of spirits from a tribe that was destroyed, either. Our guest's appearance here is still a mystery, but we can probably safely dismiss most of the more cataclysmic guesses about how she came to be here."

Blizzard Heart shrugged, drinking some soup from a bowl. "Suppose so. You'll be finding out soon enough, anyways. And we'll be far gone. Send us a message if you find out something that's worth knowing, yes?"

"Of course. Only if it's something worth knowing, though. No news is good news. If you hear nothing, assume we're fine."

"Or you all got eaten," quipped Sky Breath.

True Sight scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Sure. But if that happens, the first thing I'm going to do is haunt your flank, featherhead. So don't worry, you'll be the first to know."

Putting down the empty bowl, Blizzard Heart licked her lips. "If we have time to joke around, then we have time to move. Seeing as business is concluded, I think we'll be taking our leave now." The snowy mare stood up, the rest of them following suit. For a moment, they all just stood there, just glancing between each other. Sky Heart went to hug True Sight, pulling in Blizzard Heart as well. The old shamare rolled her eyes, but joined in.

Some things were left unsaid in that conversation. Should things truly go badly for the southern tribe, the others would do anything and everything to help them, as horrifying as losing Snowpitt would be. It was the oldest settlement known, older than anyone could remember.

It's longevity also gave them confidence, though. No matter how bad things got, whether it was monsters, cold, or hunger, the village was always a safe haven for every and any snowpony to return to. Not due to some divine providence, but hard work of generations upon generations of snowponies that spent their lives to make it one. The elders separated from the hug, confident that they would see each other again next year.

Seeing this, the other ponies said their last goodbyes as well. The travelers got hitched up to their sleds, the youngest and the oldest getting loaded up on top. Blizzard Heart shook her head at a stallion that was offering her his sled. "I can trot yet, you lunk. I'll make it 'til noon at least before you have to drag my old bones around. Let's move."

And that was it. The first ones moved out, making sure the way was clear. Trackers, scouts, and other sharp-eyed ponies. The sled pullers turned to follow, accompanied on both sides by a row of hunters and fighters with lighter packs and sleds. The western and northern caravans took separate streets, making their way towards the village boundaries. As they went, the Snowpitt natives that stayed there all year round waved them off.

True Sight followed them, stopping where the village ended and the wild snow began. The two groups were still visible to each other, but were steadily gaining distance both from each other, and from Snowpitt.

"See you next winter, you old nags. Even if I keel over and have to wait until you get your flanks over here," True Sight cackled to herself.

Turning around, she went in the opposite direction, to the eastern side of the village. Earthsong would be there, directing her group of hotheads. Young blood really did have a peculiar way of making your hooves itch, calling you to gallop across the land until you collapsed. Digging out grass and moss from under the snow for nourishment, only to gallop with the winds again.

She remembered her time on the plains fondly, but it was a young mare's game. The foals and the elders were better suited for life in the village, where the former could be kept safe and taught some experience by the latter, instead of being thrown into the wilderness headfirst. The teenagers, well... trying to stop them from going would be like blowing against the wind.

Chuckling under her breath, she reminisced of days gone by. Plowing through the snow to get at a patch of grass she could somehow see underneath, gazing at the stars during the clear nights, not bothering with a tent on those warm summer nights... Seeing through a blizzard, guiding a few lost ponies to a campsite... Cuddling with a colt to keep him warm, get themselves a little too warm, get a bunch of different kind of plowing done... Heh heh.

As usual, time flies by when you're lost in your thoughts, and the same happened to her. Before she knew it, True Sight made it all the way across to the other side of the village, where one part of the southerner contingent was making their preparations. They didn't have a long journey ahead of them, so they didn't feel the need to rush out first thing in the morning.

Earthsong was indeed there, holding out various jars and poultices from several saddlebags set on the ground, explaining their uses to several ponies. Sure Step, the stallion in charge of the group, was paying token attention, but likely thought he would never need the knowledge. Probably both because he was huge even for a stallion, and because his wife, Pine Scent, was the herbalist that provided a fair amount of herbs for those poultices herself. She was listening too, but clearly already knew everything by heart.

Two more ponies were paying very close attention, though. For Whisperwind and Wild Spirit, two young shamares still in their teens, this was going to be their first outing. From the way they were standing, ears bent forward, legs tense as a spring and an occasional tail twitch, one could clearly tell that they were on edge. While they were talented in the mystic ways, experience could only come with time, and younglings often looked up to shamares as someone that knew the answer to every question and could solve every problem, regardless of their age. Which, quite often, was not the case at all. Clearly, they were feeling the sadly misguided weight of expectations placed upon them by their peers.

Clicking her tongue in disapproval, True Sight came to the group just as Earthsong finished her explanation.

"-and I don't think I need to tell you how to treat bites. You have everything you need here. And if something bad happens and you can't deal with it, come back to Snowpitt."

"Elder," Sure Step rumbled in greeting, nodding at True Sight, the others following suit. She nodded back but remained silent, taking a long look at the assembled ponies with her sharp gaze. Everyone stiffened up, reacting in various ways. She was known to be capable of discerning all sorts of things from the tiniest details, and it was impossible to tell from her deadpan expression whether she would offer a criticism or a compliment.

The stallion stood firm, puffing out his chest. He would do well, and would go down fighting before he let any of the younglings come to harm. Pine Scent remained serene, which was a useful quality for a healer. All good. Whisperwind and Wild Spirit cringed back, though, folding their ears and tucking in their tails. She sighed, shaking her head at the two.

"Come now, cut that out. You're so tense, you're going to snap in half if you keep going like that. No one is expecting you two to take care of every single problem you run into. The ponies with experience are coming with you for a reason," she said while nodding at Sure Step and his wife. "If you jump at every shadow, you'll exhaust yourselves to the point you'll do more harm than good when a real problem arises. And remember, this is important for all of you to gain experience. If some pony keeps bugging you with dumb questions or requests, tell them to use their own heads a little. And if they don't get it the first time, tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine," she finished in her usual blunt way. The two smiled sheepishly, muttering apologies under their breaths.

Earthsong just rolled her eyes, already used to the elder's antics. A few ponies chuckled or coughed, hiding their laughter. True Sight swept her eyes across the rest of the group, over a hundred bright-eyed ponies ready to go and tackle the wilderness. Judging by the way some of them were shooting glances at each other, nostrils flared and tails twitching, the village could certainly expect them to come back carrying more ponies than they left with.

It looked like everything was in order, then. Nodding and putting on her best "old and in charge" face, True Sight gave them the traditional blessing. "May the winds give you breath, may the Earth give you nourishment, and the waters slake your thirst. Stars guide you home after your journeys. Be safe."

The ponies all cheered, the two leaders stomping their hooves and shouting orders to the disorganized mass. It was certainly far less disciplined than the western and northern tribe caravans, but had more energy and enthusiasm. With remarkable speed, they all hitched up to their sleds, grabbed their spears and bags off the ground, and took off.

True Sight and Earthsong watched them go, trotting off towards the horizon. They'd be safe, of course. The younglings would be taken in a safe path leading towards well-established summer camping grounds and pastures, while groups of the more experienced foragers would range out much farther from Snowpitt, acting as a shield.

"Well, another winter passed us by, another year now greets us," Earthsong spoke up after a while. "It still fills me with a sense of wonder every time. Though I can't imagine the amount of times this happened by now, with different ponies. I suppose things truly do not change much, they just move in circles, as nature does."

True Sight tapped her hoof on the snow, considering the statement. After some ruminating, she spoke. "That is true in some sense, but also wrong in others. Some things in nature do move in cycles, though others don't. Things do change." At the other mare's raised eyebrows, she continued. "For example, the seasons change, but the mountains do not. And if they do, their cycle is so slow that we are unable to see it in a single lifetime. And yet they must change, for we sometimes hear great pieces of rock breaking off the mountainsides and causing avalanches. There are thousands of such rocks at the foothills, yet how often does it happen? Once a generation?"

She turned back towards the village, continuing on. "As for ponies... it is rather similar. We live, we grow up, we have foals... And the cycle of seasons never fails, but when you get old, you notice... " She talked slowly, clearly dredging up memories from long, long ago. "I remember, when I was young, Snowpitt was smaller. It happened so slowly, so gradually... A few new houses every two-three winters or so, a half-dozen longhouses we all got together to build one year for the other tribe's visits... And you only see it when you actually compare it to the very oldest memories that you have. And it's not happening in cycles, either. Our population is not shrinking. How big are we going to be in another ninety years, I wonder?"

This time, it was Earthsong's turn to think on her answer. Taking a street leading towards their home, she spoke up. "Does it worry you? Do you think we would grow so numerous that our descendants would eat every blade of grass off the tundra and every fish from the lakes one day?"

The elder pursed her lips, though her answer came quickly this time. "No. I don't think ponies are that foolish. Even then, there's great amounts of space yet in the plains, not to mention the endless unexplored reaches of the west and north. And the northern tribe seems to be doing quite well. I've never seen as many igloos in Snowpitt as I saw this year. Yet, their greater numbers seem to only allow them to reach further and more fertile shores. I've been hearing stories of some faraway places with odd, wide-eyed, whiskered animals making their homes on the rocky beaches. I'm sure their daring explorers are itching to go back there and learn more."

"So... things do change, then," Earthsong concluded. "But too slowly for us to notice, unless we stop and look back at the path we took to get where we are now. Or... We also notice if the change is so sudden, it surprises everyone. Like the fact that we have a visitor."

"We have a visitor," True Sight agreed. "From far away, and I'm certain that even if she leaves to find her tribe very soon, her visit alone will change things greatly. Coming from the south..." Her musings were interrupted by a huge yawn, cutting off the conversation.

"Perhaps you should go take a nap, elder. It has been an exciting three days, with so many things to deal with at once. I promised Agate that I'll go visit her today. I can go teach her some more while you take some time off."

She almost started to argue, but after feeling another yawn coming, True Sight shrugged and turned towards their home. "Suit yourself. Suppose I have earned some extra snoozing over the last few days. You know where to find me."

Earthsong nodded, taking the turn that led to Agate's totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate opened her eyes, waking up from her slumber. For a brief moment, she was really disoriented by the sight that greeted her.

"Why am I standing?"

Immediately, memories from the day before started flooding in. The ceremony, the magic, her new pillar home/beacon. Going out to explore around and maybe find Glacier Glider (which she did!), spending the evening with the mare and her family... Going home (it still felt strange to think about the pillar as home), then...

"I don't remember falling asleep, though... How'd that happen?"

The first thing that she did was examine the pillar, thoroughly. The magic runes still didn't make sense to her, but she just wanted to take in all of the details. The carvings of the mountains and birds were amazingly fine, and she spent a good amount of time just taking them in. It was a little hard to see in the dark, but her ghostly sight still retained the ability to tell things apart despite the lack of light.

Her only regret was that she wasn't able to properly touch things any more. She really wanted to know what the texture of the wood felt like. To her immense delight, however, she noticed that the orange citrine crystals set in the eyes of her bust turned a dull green, much like her eyes used to be. Likely some of her crystal pony magic unintentionally leaking through.

After the examination, she started experimenting. Stick a hoof in the pillar, pull it out. Stick her head in the pillar, pull it out. The sucking sensation was still there, but not as strong as last time. She could resist it now, if she wanted to. Next, she tried to gauge the distance of the effect. If she closed her eyes and turned away, she could still feel the faintest pull towards it, like she was leaning towards something, even though she was standing perfectly upright.

Making her way further and further, she stepped out of the village entirely. Looking around, she saw the glimmer of the crystal-marked path nearby. And just like with the crystals in the snow, she could easily see the ones embedded in the pillar, no matter the distance of the obstacles blocking her sight. Looking away, she focused for a moment. The pull was still present. Getting lost was truly impossible now.

Lastly, she tried entering and exiting the pillar several times. The sudden shift from her vision being low to the ground to suddenly looking from a point higher up than most adult's heads was disorienting at first, but it soon went away when she learned what to expect. Standing/being inside it was odd as well, but unlike what she thought at first, it didn't feel confining. She couldn't move, but it was more like being wrapped snugly in a blanket rather than someone forcefully holding her still.

There was also this odd flowing sensation that she didn't notice at first. Like a gentle wind, or a stream of water running over her, caressing her coat gently. Where was it coming from? It was really relaxing, actually...

"Oh. I guess that's how I drifted off."

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her body, taking a few steps forward. Opening them up again, she looked around. The clearing was deserted, not a pony in sight. It kind of made sense, she supposed. This was her home and her resting place now, more or less. But what time was it?

Looking upwards didn't help at all. It was dark, but the sky was foreign. Even the moon was in an odd position, not in the usual path it took across the sky above the Empire. And with how long - or short - the days were here in the far north, it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or evening.

"Well, I probably didn't sleep the entire day away... And I think Earthsong would have woken me up."

Going wandering today probably wasn't the best idea. The mare told her she'd come visit her today, and she did want to learn these ponies' language very badly. Simply walking around observing them would only get her that far. Shrugging, she laid down on her back, faintly feeling the ghostly touch of the earth on her coat.

"Heh. Ghostly..."

Casual stargazing wasn't something that was done in the Empire. There were some observatories outside of the main city, which meant that the astronomers had to be dedicated to their craft to venture back and forth between there and the Empire. The protective shield simply distorted the view of the night sky too much, or so they claimed.

She could see what they meant, now. The stars back home were pretty, but through the shield, they just looked like faint droplets of silver on an expanse of obsidian. Here, the starscape was completely different. There were so much more of them that she could see, some so bright that they appeared many times larger than any star she saw before. And the colors! It was almost like there were faint colored clouds up there, somehow behind the stars... Was that even possible?

Not needing to blink any more was a boon in this situation. She stared at the cosmic clouds, admiring the depth and richness of their colors. Only the most beautiful gems could possibly even compare to them. Whorls of deep orange, ran through with lines of blue, with the silver light of the stars lighting them up from various angles. Was this Princess Luna's work? She'd heard and seen pictures of the alicorns that supposedly kept the entire sky working from their thrones in Equestria, but never thought about them much.

Tracing the stars, she tried to find some of the "constellations" that astronomers liked to talk about. There were... Images that you could see in the sky, right? She couldn't find a single real line anywhere, though. And all the stars were dotted so close to each other, that it was impossible to tell which clump of them was supposedly a separate picture from the rest of them.

She spent a while longer on the task, but eventually the novelty wore off, and mild irritation set in. She huffed, squinting at the sky so only a small patch of the stars was visible, but it still revealed nothing. No objects, no ponies, no... What was that bear one called? Orsa?

"Huh. I think the astronomers back home were just pulling everyone's tails, or something..."

Her ear twitched, some sounds reaching her now that she wasn't so focused on the sky any more. Getting up, she looked around. No one in her immediate vicinity, but there was some commotion in the village. Pursing her lips, she weighed her options. After a moment, she decided to go take a look, but without going too far from the clearing.

Turning her ears left and right to find the exact direction the sounds were coming from, she turned right, walking along the edge of the village. Whatever was happening, it wasn't in the village center this time. It didn't take long to find the source of the disturbance. Out in the distance, a long row of ponies was moving away from the village, moving parallel to the southern mountains. They seemed to be singing, likely some marching song to keep the boredom away.

"So, those ponies moved out..."

It didn't look as big as the crowd that was preparing to travel yesterday, but maybe she wasn't seeing it properly. Or perhaps they just split up. She was about to turn back, but movement much closer to her caught her eye. After a quick glance back at the clearing to make sure it was still empty, she quickly trotted to see what that was about.

It took her a moment to recognize the place, but it was the crystal path that lured her here all the way across the mountains. Except most of the crystals weren't there any more. A couple of ponies were carefully picking them up, and stacking them in a sled they had with them. It looked like the path's purpose was fulfilled, whatever it was.

"Maybe they use it to guide those travelling ponies back home afterwards?"

A bit of frustration welled up in Agate. Turning away from the two ponies in the distance, she galloped back to her clearing. She usually managed to keep her cool in most situations, but the language barrier was a completely new and uniquely frustrating obstacle that she never had to deal with before. There were so many things that she wanted to know, but wasn't able to ask.

The place was still empty. Feeling both relieved and slightly impatient, she began pacing around the pillar, hoping that Earthsong would show up soon. After a few circles, the sky caught her eye again. The colors changed from the black of night to the deep purple of breaking dawn. She sat down to watch the sunrise, observing the horizon slowly getting brighter.

"Dægrima, Agate," Earthsong spoke from behind her. Even though the clearing was mostly free of snow, she somehow still managed to move around without making a sound. These ponies were sneaky.

Agate twitched a bit, turning towards the mare, squinting at her. Her expression was placid, but Agate would bet bits that she did it on purpose. Shaking her head, she got up from her sitting position, turning towards the visitor.

"Morn... Dægrima, Earthsong," she spoke.

The mare smiled, patting Agate on the head. She looked around, seemingly searching for something, muttering things under her breath. Agate caught the words for "snow" and "tree". Eventually, she gave up, looking back at the filly. "Walk," she said while trotting in place. "See/watch. Talk," while pointing at her eyes. Likely, she meant to say that the clearing didn't have any new items for Agate to learn the names of.

Agate nodded, turning to follow the mare. Shooting a glance towards the clearing made her stop in her tracks, though.

"Wait, wait. Earthsong! Hold up."

The mare turned back with a raised eyebrow, looking at Agate questioningly.

"Uhh, what's the word... Um... What... What's the name of this thing?" She asked while pointing at the enchanted wooden pillar.

Earthsong stared for a moment, smacking herself on the forehead and laughing for having missed the biggest unnamed object in the clearing.

"Totem pole," she said. "Agate totem pole."

"Totem pole," the filly repeated quietly. She wanted to know more about it, but wasn't able to ask yet. They'd have to come back to that one later. Turning away again, she nodded to Earthsong, and they made their way towards the village.

❅ ❆ ❅

The day passed by uneventfully. The pair trotted around the village, trying to name anything and everything that they came across. Houses, doors, moss, rocks, sleds, nets, boats, firepits, fire, pots, earth (Agate now knew what the first half of Earthsong's name meant. Or maybe it was "ground".) and so on. Eventually, they ran out of things that they could see, and Earthsong got to naming more abstract things.

Grabbing a half-burned stick from an old firepit, she led Agate to a large rock near a small hill. Drawing the sun, moon, and stars on a flat part of the stone, she managed to explain the words for day, night, and what was probably the word for a day (the entire time period with day and night). After that, they got to figuring out pronouns.

"I am Agate, you are Earthsong..."

It took a lot of back and forth, testing out the words in various ways to make sure they both were thinking about the same concept. They spent hours going at it, with a short break for Earthsong to go get some food. Eventually, it got too late, and they bid each other goodbye, with a promise to meet tomorrow for more lessons.

"Heaðusigel... that's a long word for the Sun... Móna is the moon..."

Trotting back to her clearing, Agate was repeating the things she learned that day. Progress was slow but certain. With every new lesson, she was picking up more words and concepts. Still, she didn't want to lose even the tiniest bit of knowledge, so she made sure to go over what she learned and try to combine it with what she learned in previous lessons.

"True Sight... She helped build the totem pole..."

It didn't take long to reach her destination. Agate stared at the "totem pole" for a while, debating whether to go to sleep or not. Fatigue wasn't a problem, but her thoughts did become somewhat clouded and sluggish. The process was so slow and gradual that she didn't even notice the changes until she woke up that morning after a good sleep, feeling amazingly clear-headed.

Agate looked around. It was still quiet and deserted. A small smile crossed the filly's face. She chuckled quietly, then giggled.

"Looks like there's no one to tell me when to go to sleep any more. No more bedtime. No getting up early, either. No... No more..." Her expression shifted, the smile wiped off her face completely. She paused, her ears folding down and her entire body slumping on the ground. "No more parents... Mom... Dad.."

An unfortunate - in this situation - side effect of having a clear head was that you were able to think about things you completely forgot about. It was bizarre for Agate to even consider it, but it was true. During her mad gallop through the mountains, she didn't think about her parents or the rest of the Empire even once. She was so lost and hyper-focused on finding someone, something, some way to get out of the oppressive darkness and get at least some inkling of what she was supposed to do now, that everything else fell to the wayside.

When she found these ponies, she compared their way of life to the crystal ponies a number of times, but it was still just a few flashes of memory somewhere deep in the back of her mind. She was still busy figuring out just what the heck was happening right now to worry about the past. Now when there was no danger of dying any more, no more fear and confusion driving her to seek out strange orange lights all the way beyond the horizon, when she had a moment to sit down and really think, she started thinking about the big picture again.

"Am I... the last crystal pony ali-" she immediately shut up. "The last... Do I even count as a crystal pony any more? The ghost of one, maybe..."

What even happened to the Empire? That was still a mystery. Surely they couldn't all be... dead. That just... wasn't possible. That many ponies, and yet... What kind of power could have made the Empire vanish? The thoughts made her head swim. She smacked herself on the head a few times, scowling angrily.

"Argh! I'm just a filly! I'm not some hero from a storybook! Am I supposed to be the heroic savior, the last of my people? That's just... Ugh."

While she did enjoy the occasional fairytale, Agate was never interested in going out to slay dragons and get her prince or somesuch. She wasn't some obnoxiously clever genius, a mighty warrior, or a powerful wizard. She couldn't just go to where the city used to stand, wave a hoof, sing a song, and make it reappear.

But these ponies could.

Her eyes went wide at her realization. While these ponies' buildings and crafts seemed to be a bit lacking (Agate hadn't seen a single metal tool or weapon so far, or a building with more than one story), they clearly were quite skilled in some unusual and impressive magics. Perhaps unusual enough to actually know what could have happened to the city... Maybe even reverse it.

Agate was only trying to understand what she was supposed to do next, and get some help for herself. But maybe these ponies could help the rest of the Empire. That was a big, big maybe. Still, not like she had any other goals or ideas of where to go from here.

"Right. Back to square one. Need to learn how to talk with them..."

Sighing, she got up from the ground, moving towards the pilla- totem pole. Something flashed in the corner of her eye - a figure in the distance? Turning her head she saw nothing, though. Just snow and a couple trees. After a minute of staring, she shrugged, and stuck her head inside the wood, letting the magic carry her away to sleep.

In the distance, a transparent figure stepped out from behind a pine tree, trotting away.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, Agate was waiting for Earthsong, lips pressed tightly together and ears forward. When she arrived, the mare blinked a bit at the filly's somewhat grim-faced expression, but decided not to question it. The two greeted each other, and went off towards the village again.

The lessons went more or less the same. See thing, name thing. Some new, some old, just to make sure she actually remembered the words. String some words together. Earthsong jump. Agate walk. Earthsong hungry. Go sit, eat food. Sun rise, dawn come. Hear a pony singing, ask to name the action. Singing, song. Song! Earthsong.

Though it wasn't what Agate was used to, it did remind her of school a bit. It involved far more moving around than usual, but the goal was the same. Observe, listen, learn. And she was quite good at observing and learning. While they were trotting around, she kept observing the other ponies, too.

All of the stallions seemed to be on the big side around here. For the most part, though, they didn't look all that different from Equestrian earth ponies or crystal ponies in their body shapes. Something still nagged at her, however. It took her a bit to figure it out, but it finally clicked when she saw a mare with deep sapphire-blue eyes trotting by. Their coats had nothing but earthy colors! Brown, black, white... Though at the same time, a single one of these ponies had far more markings and variations in their coats than any other pony she saw before. Most had socks, a lot of them had blazes, their front halves could be a different color than the other half, and so on.

That was an interesting difference. She saw some ponies with markings before, but never with multiple coat colors. Other than that, though, they still appeared entirely like regular ponies, which just made her all that more curious about the eating fish and doing unusual magic parts.

Time flies when you're having fun, or you're deeply engaged in something. She was doing a bit of both, and before long, the day was over, and Earthsong was waving goodbye. Agate blinked, looking at her clearing. Did she really just spend all day learning? It felt like it was morning just a moment ago.

Pondering for a moment, she shrugged, and entered her totem pole, enjoying the gentle caressing sensations. It really was a lot like wrapping yourself in a soft blanket, and she highly enjoyed the feeling. It made her feel like she was alive again, if only temporarily.

The days fell into a routine from then on. Wake up, wait for Earthsong to show up, go learn some more. They met True Sight a couple times as well, but it was only for her to join in on the lessons. There were no festivals, strange happenings, rituals, or grand displays of magic. Just everyday life in the village, which suited Agate just fine.

❅ ❆ ❅

"The stars here really are pretty. Even if the astronomers were fooling around, I think I can understand why they enjoy stargazing so much."

Agate was lying on her back in the clearing, another day of learning behind her. She was getting pretty good at it, too! She was able to understand more words than not by now, and mostly glean the meaning of others from context, though of course she still asked for precise meanings of new words.

"Hmm.. How long have I been at it by now?"

Counting the days, she got lost. Blinking in surprise, she tried again. She learned Earthsong's name on... the second day after they built the totem pole, then there were two unremarkable days, then Earthsong came late once, and she learned about birds, and...

"Huh. Has it really been three whole weeks?"

She still had her habit of thinking out loud, though she didn't do it when there were other ponies within earshot. So it came as a surprise when someone answered her, and in the northern ponies' language. Was she speaking their tongue without even thinking about it?

"It appears so, little spirit. Amazing how the time just slips through our hooves, be we alive or dead."

Grumbling in her head about those darn sneaky ponies, Agate got up from the ground, turning to look at the visitor. The voice was unfamiliar, so she was somewhat curious at who dropped by so late in the evening. Her eyes went wide at the sight.

It was another ghost. Spirit. Another dead pony, however they preferred to be called. She was standing by Agate's totem pole, looking down at her. An old mare, by the looks of it, though it was kind of hard to tell. She was somewhat... Whispy, her features ever so slightly blurred. Agate blinked, rubbing her eyes, but the mare remained indistinct.

"Don't bother with that. That's just how she looks. Gets hard to keep yourself together after so long, I suppose. I wouldn't know," rumbled a voice to the left.

That was another spirit, and she recognized him! It was the same stallion that was watching her during the enchanting ritual when they planted her totem pole in the ground.

"Umm, hello. I saw you before," she said, nodding to the stallion. "I don't know who you are, though. I'm Agate. And... I've never seen you before. Ah, how can I help you two?" She turned to the mare.

"Oh, nothing of the sort, dear. We just thought it was finally time to talk to you about things, that's all," the elder spoke. "We watchers usually get to know each other at least a little bit, and we're there to greet new guardians during their joining ceremonies. You're a bit of a special case, though, aren't you? Never seen or heard of a pony from so far they didn't know our tongue..."

The stallion grunted in agreement, not saying anything. A pony of few words, probably. Agate parsed through what the mare said, making sure she understood everything correctly. "Alright. Uh, sorry, but I'm still learning your language. I understand most words, but I don't know the full meanings behind them yet. Watchers? And guardians? I'm assuming you mean something more than ponies standing guard over something."

The ponies both nodded, approaching Agate and sitting down in front of her. "Exactly, little one. This is what we're here to talk to you about. The shamares told us about your situation, so we decided to wait and watch a little until you got settled in a little more before talking to you. From what we guessed, you know nothing about the what's and how's of even being a spirit at all, let alone other things. We're here to help you on that front, if we're able to. We don't know everything, mind, but we'll answer any questions that we're able. We certainly have the time," she chuckled.

Agate's eyes lit up. This was exactly what she was hoping for! She followed their example and sat down, her tail wagging left and right. The mare chuckled, while the stallion gave a small smile. As she opened her mouth to speak, though, the mare interrupted her. "Oh, sorry, dear. You asked us a question already, and it is rather impolite. My name is Gnarled Root, and the big fellow here is Spear Throw. Agate, yes? Interesting name, I must say. You're definitely from far away."

The filly nodded, getting her thoughts back on track. "Yes, very... I don't even know how far, exactly. Beyond the mountains," she said while glancing south. "Can you tell me, well... Why am I a spirit?"

The adult's intrigued expressions turned confused, the two sharing a glance between each other. Spear gave a tiny shrug, while Root turned back towards the filly. "Well, it looks like we're both going to have to put in some effort to understand each other. You... died, yes? Met an unfortunate fate, one way or another?"

Agate nodded, noting the implications of the question. "Yes, but we don't really get spirits where I'm from. Ponies don't stay around after they die. They just... Pass on, to wherever they're going. My parents didn't tell me much about that. There are some ghost stories, about the spirits of ponies that have been wronged terribly or have unfinished business staying on to wreak revenge on whoever abused them, but I'm pretty sure they're just made up stories to scare foals. No one really believes in ghosts."

Spear Throw looked taken aback, while Gnarled Root was absolutely fascinated. "Truly? How can that be? Do you not have shamares to guide your fallen? But if you don't have any lost spirits, then... Huh." She thought, tapping her chin. "Well, Agate, it is certainly not unheard of for snowponies to find their way to the afterlife themselves. But, the vast majority at least drop by to say their goodbyes to their families and tribes, and warn them about the dangers that ended their lives, if they did not die of old age or disease. Being a spirit is just what happens to us. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can properly answer that question."

The filly nodded, chewing on her lip. That wasn't the most important thing to know, but she was still curious about it. "Alright. Uh, hm. I kind of wanted to ask about just... being a spirit. Before they built the totem for me, my sight was really strange. I had to really focus to even see anything, and couldn't see all that far. Except, when I saw, ah..." She wanted to say "crystals", but hadn't learned their word for it yet. "Can you just tell me the very basics? I'm not too sure what to even ask."

The two nodded again, Spear Throw taking the lead this time. "When you are a spirit, you lose some things. Your body is gone, that part of your life spent. When you died, you lost your sight and hearing as well, didn't you? Nothing but silence and darkness all around." Agate nodded, a shiver running down her spine. "That happens to everyone. Every single pony. However, a pony's spirit can still see things, though it becomes much harder to perceive the material world. The only question is whether they manage to focus their willpower enough to find their way again. A fair amount of ponies don't. You did. Clearly, you are of strong spirit, which is very impressive for a foal," he stated matter-of-factly.

Agate shrank down a bit, though a glimmer ran through her coat at the praise. Gnarled Root blinked and leaned in closer, while Spear Throw continued on. "Those that can't find their way back home become lost, either wandering in circles through the land, or staying in one place, hoping that their tribe's members will come rescue them. Which they do - it is an important and sacred duty. Abandoning your kin, dead or alive, is a grave crime." The filly nodded, drinking it all in.

"Alright. So, I'm guessing those ponies that don't pass on to the afterlife - I'll want to know more about that later - become guardians and watchers? Ponies like you?"

"Yes. I am a guardian," the stallion rumbled in his deep voice. "It's the same thing, really. Guardian spirits, watchers, sentries - they call us a lot of things. Those that want to keep watch over their kinfolk are given the honor of a totem pole built by the tribe. Some stay to protect their families if they are taken too early, while others stay on to help the entire tribe during hard years, even if they are ready to move on. Others stay on to teach, if they have some important knowledge and weren't able to find any apprentices to pass it on to during their life. Gnarled Root was one such pony."

The fuzzy mare nodded, taking the lead. "I was lauded as one of the finest herbalists for a hundred winters. My nose was keener than the sharpest knife. I could sniff out roots from under the snow, and find the most excellent herbs where others would come up empty. I don't know if ponies just started relying on me too much or if it was bad luck, but the few herbalists that were alive when I keeled over were... Lacking, let's say. Oh sure, they could make their ointments well enough, but actually finding the plants? Pffft." The mare rolled her eyes disdainfully. "They couldn't find snow in winter. I felt obliged to stay on and teach a new generation how to take care of themselves so ponies wouldn't die of something that could have been easily cured with the right ingredients."

"And you can probably guess what happened to me. I had sharp eyes and a steady hoof. No beast could charge at me without getting a spear run through it. Unfortunately, one desperate yeti managed to sneak up to a foraging party I was leading." He grimaced, clearly not proud of that fact. "It was about to snatch one of the younger ponies under my care. Naturally, I did my duty and charged right into it's jaws. I took it down, but my wounds were too numerous. We ran back to Snowpitt, and I collapsed right on the outskirts, where they later built my totem."

Sighing, he took a moment to think before continuing. "That was thirty years ago. I had - still have - a wife and three foals. I was forty by then, so my children were becoming full adults in their own right, but I still didn't want to leave my wife alone. I love my mare far too much to do that, so I chose to stay with her until the end."

Agate listened to it all with rapt attention. Silence fell over the clearing as she digested the amazing and different ways these ponies - snowponies, they called themselves - lived their lives... And afterlives. It was some time until anyone spoke again, but the two old spirits certainly had all the time in the world. So did she, now.

"I see. That's really amazing, but how would you actually protect your family if they were in danger? Ever since I became a spirit, I found that I really can't do anything much. Barely anything, really."

The two smiled, clearly eager to share their tricks. Spear Throw spoke first. "Another pair of eyes can do wonders on a journey. Many animals rely on sneaking up on you, and having a pony that is not in any danger of actually getting eaten scout ahead can remove practically any obstacle. And sometimes, you can scare off the beasts yourself. They are able to see us, and if you can neigh at them fiercely enough, they'll get spooked." He chuckled, remembering some event of that nature. "Better yet, if you sneak up on them and scream right in their ear, they'll take off like their tails are on fire."

Gnarled Root chimed in, smiling as well. "It's not my usual job, but I did end up scaring a few critters here and there over the years. Mostly to clear out a good foraging spot that I found. I can't smell anything any more, but my eyes still work well enough. I'm not able to bring anything back myself, of course, but actually finding a few nice berry bushes or patches of mushrooms can save a lot of time for the foragers. I have heard that the spirits of shamares still retain their skills, too. They are able to do much more than yell at creatures."

Nodding, Agate examined Gnarled Root more closely. Her eyes did indeed look sharp, unlike the rest of her. "What did Spear Throw mean when he said "gets hard to keep yourself together after so long"? Have you spent a long time as a spirit?"

The mare shrugged nonchalantly, though her mouth held the faint hint of a cheeky smile. "Oh, a little while. Two hundred winters or so. I've lost count for a while, I'm afraid to say."

"You- whuh- Huh." Agate was too stunned by the number to speak for a moment. "Wait, you said you stayed around to teach a new generation. Two hundred years sounds like a lot of generations."

The old - ancient, perhaps - spirit cackled. "Clever filly. Yes, after I trained up the first batch of younglings, I just... kept going. I didn't feel like joining my ancestors in their destination yet. And... I don't know when I will. The call will come to me someday, I'm sure. But for now, I'm content to stay around and lend a hoof here and there. Besides, it doesn't feel right to leave the tribe without at least one guardian. The stories-" She went silent at that point, looking thoughtful.

Agate's curiosity was piqued, though. "What do you mean? Can you tell me? Is it some kind of secret?"

Spear Throw remained silent, while Gnarled Root looked on thoughtfully. "It is not, but honestly, I don't even know if the stories I've been told are true. There is a great amount of wisdom and old knowledge held in our teaching ballads and stories passed on from the elders to the young. But I've heard these only from the other guardian spirits, after I became one myself. Tales of old times, of bad, bad times. Years so lean, monsters so numerous, blizzards so fierce that ponies' lives were carried away like snowflakes on the wind."

The old spirit sat for a while, raking through her memory. When she spoke, her voice was much heavier. "The tales spoke of Snowpitt as the sole settlement. There were no northern and western tribes yet. Which would mean that these events happened countless ages ago. We know that the three tribes all emerged from one, but no one remembers how long ago. The stories must have been passed on by spirits from the very beginnings of our people.

We were all young then, and lacked knowledge on how to survive. That made us easy prey for all manner of dangers. If it wasn't for the fact that the dead rose up to protect the living, every last one of our ancestors would have perished. The tales... they speak of entire generations of ponies staying around, just to make sure their foals survived. Great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, sisters, brothers... At times, well over half of the ponies of the tribe would be spirits. Entire legions, circling around the village to face off against any creatures trying to get in."

Agate shuddered, curling her tail around herself. The mental images of such a situation made her shrink down in fright. So many dead ponies... Inevitably, her imagination lead her to think about such a situation happening in the Crystal Empire. The whole city, filled with transparent figures, wailing in anger, trying to protect small bands of survivors...

"That's- that's horrible!" She managed to choke out.

The adults both nodded, their expressions grim. "Yes. Fortunately, those times are far behind us now. The last time we even had to ration our food was... Oh goodness, I can't remember the exact years. But I think it was over a hundred winters ago, when a herd of wendigoes rampaged through the plains, freezing everything solid. No one died, though it wasn't a pleasant time for the tribe."

Agate blinked at that. There was an unknown word in there, though it sounded a lot like "windigo". Could she possibly mean actual windigoes? Filing it away for later, she tried to shake the image of her entire family as ghosts from her mind. The two noticed her distress, looking at each other awkwardly. Gnarled Root spoke, regret in her voice.

"I'm sorry, little one. I did not mean to taint your evening with such things. Remember, death is but a part of the circle of life. Yes, ponies died, but so did every single pony that ever lived. It is tragic that they had to go before their time, but they made sure that their foals carried on. Our families carry on, entirely due to the ponies that came before them."

Agate nodded, though she didn't say anything. She really had no idea what she could say in such a situation. Seeing this, Spear Throw stood up, clearing his throat.

"The night grows late, and we clearly gave young Agate here a lot of things to think about. I'm sure there will be plenty more questions in the future, and we have more things to teach you. But for now, I think you should go to sleep, Agate. We will come back tomorrow night, if you're interested."

Gnarled Root nodded, giving the filly a short hug. "Sleep well, little one. I'm certain you have more lessons with Earthsong tomorrow, yes? I wouldn't want to distract you from your learning with old happenings from the past. Remember, those things happened a long time ago. Don't worry about them too much. There were calamities aplenty in the past, probably in your tribe, too. But they got through them, didn't they?"

Agate nodded slowly, a faraway look in her eyes. "I... Yes, I would like to see you again tomorrow. I do have a lot of questions, but they can wait. Have a nice night."

The visitors nodded, going their separate ways. Agate kept sitting, though, thinking about everything that she learned. There were bad things that happened to the crystal ponies in the past. Unfortunately, she really lacked any concrete facts, only having heard vague hints here and there. Any questions about them would quickly get deflected. The adults clearly didn't think she was ready to know.

Still, they made it this far. And the current calamity happening in the Empire... Was it worse than half of all ponies dying? Were there similar things in the Empire's history? If so... Would they get through this one, too?

Sighing, she turned towards her totem. Maybe things would be clearer tomorrow.

Settling in

The next morning found the filly sitting by her totem, gazing towards the mountains to the south. Yesterday's visitors shook her from the routine she fell into, and she was thinking about all the things that lead her here up to this point. Did she really spend almost a whole month with the snowponies? Counting the days again, she confirmed that she did.

"Hm. Guess I really threw myself into learning their language."

She was gazing at the horizon, waiting for Earthsong. The days were getting longer bit by bit, though given how short they were to begin with, it didn't amount to much. Still, the difference was noticeable. They had some proper sunlight during the day, instead of just a few hours of twilight.

It was still dark when the shamare showed up, though there was the faintest hint of light on the edge of the sky. Agate turned her head towards the visitor, watching her approach from the corner of her eye. It was slow, but she was beginning to notice the snowponies' silent presence over time.

"Morning, Agate. You look burdened by something today. Is something the matter?"

"Just my thoughts, Earthsong. I had some visitors last night." At the mare's curious look, she elaborated. "Spear Throw and Gnarled Root dropped by last night. We had a very interesting conversation. I learned some new things, though mostly I just learned how much I don't know yet. I'll need to talk to them again, many times."

Earthsong's ears perked up, a wide smile on her face. "Truly? That is great news!" Swishing her tail, she got closer to the filly. "How did it go? Were you able to understand each other fully? We've had our lessons for a while now, and I've been wondering if you were ready yet. You made great progress."

Agate frowned a tiny bit. "I'm sorry, ready for what? The talk with other spirits? I understood almost everything, but was there something special they were supposed to tell me? They didn't, at least I don't think they did..." She combed through her memory, scratching her head.

Shaking her head, Earthsong spoke. "No, no, young Agate, I meant if you were ready to... Tell your story, I suppose. The entire tribe's been dying to know about your strange, mysterious, shiny, coatless tribesponies ever since the first time you stepped inside Snowpitt. What do you think? Have you learned enough of our tongue to tell us your story - not just how you got here, but the story of your people?"

"Hmm..." That was a tough question. Agate rubbed her chin, thinking things through. Describing her trip would be easy, but even a short description of the Empire would be a challenging task. Some words would likely be impossible to translate regardless, such as the magic shield the Empire was known for, or even large buildings such as the Spire. The snowponies just didn't have the equivalents in their language.

She'd have to improvise, but describing it as a "building as tall as a small mountain" was an option, even if there were no direct words for it. It could be done for other things too, most likely, but there were still some words that she didn't know. Not many, fortunately, and she would be able to ask about them directly.

Slowly, she shook her head. "Not just yet, but I think I'm close. I still need to learn some words, I think. One word especially. A very, very important word for my people. One that ties everything together, and without which I wouldn't be able to properly describe my people at all," she chuckled, building up the suspense. "I really need to know what your people call crystals..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Spirit stones.

"What a dumb name," the filly frowned. The snowponies used the same word as "rock" or "stone" to call crystals, only adding the fact that their use was highly tied to spirits. Crystals were a different beast entirely from common rocks, yet that was what they were called around here. The locals didn't have any other gem or crystal deposits, so to them, it was just a different kind of rock, albeit a somewhat special one.

They had no other use for them either, only enchanting them to build the glowing paths in winter to lead any lost spirits to Snowpitt. They still had some value, though, since only the northern tribe had access to the citrine deposits in some faraway corner of their territory, which made them scarce.

Which was all fine and good, but "Spirit stone pony" just didn't roll off the tongue quite as well as "Crystal pony" did. Or "Crystal Empire". Ugh. She managed to hide her disappointment from Earthsong, continuing the lesson for the day.

The two kept talking about common things, trying to find names for them. The language lesson turned into a lesson about their ways of life as well. While trying to find what carts were called in their tongue, Agate found that snowponies didn't know what wheels were. It sounded absolutely impossible, until she remembered all the snow.

"So, the only thing that you use to carry lots of items are sleds?"

"Well, no. We do have something for summer. The snow does melt around here, hard as it might be to believe. We call it a travois. Think of it as... a sled for dry ground. These "wheels" you spoke of... I think ponies might have actually used them a long time ago, but stopped for some reason."

"Well, they do need proper roads. They get stuck in mud very easily too, from what I heard. Or get jammed between rocks."

Unlike what Agate expected, though, it turned out that they did have clothing.

"Wait, you have clothes? Like scarves, and coats, and... ugh. I don't know a single word for those things."

"Hmm. You mean things to keep you warm, that you put on yourself?" At the filly's nod, she continued. "Made from ponies' coats?" Agate didn't nod this time, looking at her, wide-eyed. Earthsong continued regardless. "Yes, we do have clothes. Did you think we are completely immune to cold? Oh, you did? Heheh, I wish, but that's not the case. While we do fine most of the time, blizzards, deep winter days and nights still pose a very real risk of frostbite, or worse. We do have warm homes to sleep in for a reason. And there is the occasional sickly pony that either can't grow a proper coat, or loses theirs due to some illness."

"Wait, wait, go back a little. You make clothes from your own fur?"

It was both strange and made perfect sense at the same time. They didn't have sheep, crystal or otherwise, to gather wool from. They certainly had an absolute abundance of their own fluff, however. Enough to compete with some of the woolier sheep that Agate saw.

Trying to describe a crystal ewe was a little hard. When words didn't help, Agate tried to imitate the bleating of a sheep. Earthsong said that they didn't have anything like that in their lands, though the western tribe had some vaguely similar animals roaming the mountains that bordered their territory. She called them "bighorn sheep", sizable creatures with horns so big they could knock a pony right on their back. They certainly didn't sound like they'd be interested in providing wool.

Talking about animals further, they found that yetis were just as much of a danger around the foothills and rocky areas of the mountain regions as they were in the Empire. Trying to describe animals with just words was hard, though, and they weren't really able to find any other creatures their lands shared.

"One of the most dangerous predators that we know of is the akhlut. A terrible beast that is able to change its shape. It hunts the plains in the shape of a black and white wolf, returning to the safety of the waters in it's form as an orca."

"Um, I think I know what a wolf is, but I don't know what an orca is... Sorry."

"It's alright, Agate, some things are best seen with your own eyes... Then again, I hope you never have to see an akhlut yourself, even as a spirit. Some experiences are not worth seeking out."

They talked about various things, finding a new word or concept to explore now and then. The sun rose, then peaked, lighting up the landscape. Eventually, though, the needs of the living called Earthsong away.

She was hungry.

Sometimes, they'd go together and Agate would wait while Earthsong ate. Other times, the filly would go wandering about, or attempt to have a short conversation with some other ponies. She decided to come along this time, for several reasons.

"Well then, look at you two younglings frolicking about. Having fun together, are we?"

True Sight was one of those reasons. The old mare was very sharp, but also the biggest smartflank that Agate ever saw.

"Oh, certainly, elder. Better than to snooze in bed all day like an old, creaky mare," Earthsong quipped right back.

"Well, aren't you quick with your tongue today, Earthsong! Why if I had to guess, I'd say that young Agate is a bad influence for you! What has that filly been teaching you, hmm?"

She was also a respected elder, and a leader of sorts. Agate hadn't figured out who was really in charge of what yet. From what she saw so far, it looked like True Sight and other shamares were the leaders. But Earthsong told her that they had a "chieftain" that concerned himself with "earthly matters", while the shamares dealt with magic and spirits and such. Spirits like Agate.

"Nothing that interesting, elder. I'm not good enough at your tongue yet to teach her the really fun stuff," Agate joined in on the teasing.

True Sight cackled in satisfaction, shaking her head. "Not sure I believe you, young spirit. You are getting quite good. So, how are things? Been a while since you checked in."

Agate sat down on the floor while Earthsong went to rummage around in the pantry. "Quite well, I think. The lessons are going smoothly. I often don't know what things are when something from outside the village gets brought up, but I'm learning. And... I think I'm almost ready to... Tell my story. Almost. There's a few more words to learn here and there, but I think I'm ready."

"That's wonderful to hear, Agate. I must say, I've been looking forward to this quite a lot. When you're my age, you don't often get to hear new things. The whole village is curious, really. Shame the other tribes had to leave, but we'll fill them in the next Gathering. If you truly think you're ready, that is. I imagine you'll have to relive the time you lost your life. That's not easy for most ponies."

The filly turned her head, considering the idea. "It's fine, elder. It wasn't pleasant, of course, but it wasn't anything too horrible. I collapsed in the snow during a blizzard and didn't get up again. Getting lost in the darkness afterwards was worse, actually."

Earthsong returned from the pantry, carrying a slice of fish with some hay and moss in a clay bowl. "You're a strong pony alright, Agate. Thank you for indulging our curiosity, by the way."

The filly blinked, folding her ears and scrunching her muzzle. "Wait, you're thanking me? I didn't even... Do anything. You took me in out of nowhere, gave me a home, spent so much time teaching me..."

The two mares shared a glance. Since Earthsong had her mouth full, True Sight took the lead. "Really now, you're making too big of a deal out of this, youngling. Surely your own people wouldn't leave a lost and confused foal to mill around at the edge of their village?"

"Well, of course, not, but I mean..."

Earthsong shook her head, swallowing her food. "Don't worry about it. Kindness is it's own reward, and we only did what was proper to any traveler seeking refuge, even if your circumstances made it somewhat unusual. As for our time... We have free time for now, and we choose to use it as we wish. Spring is one of the calmest seasons of all."

"If you say so..." The filly replied, shifting in place a little.

"We do say so," True Sight replied while Earthsong went back to eating. "Besides the fact that whatever knowledge you share with us will surely be remembered and sung about during the Long Night for ages to come, the fact that you're from a never-before seen tribe would net you the attention of every single snowpony you'd come across." The filly turned away at that, which prompted the mare to raise an eyebrow. "Did I say something wrong, Agate?"

"And no one might ever see them again." Shaking her head, she turned to the elder again. "No, it's nothing. Uh... I just still don't know a lot of the things you're mentioning, and I get the feeling they're important. Long Night? And I think I heard someone mention the "Great Gathering" before?"

The elder hmm'ed, stroking her chin. "Well! Those are indeed important events, but I'm not sure I even have the time to tell you about them properly. The basics are simple enough, but there's also so much history behind them... Well, I suppose the full story can wait. Here goes..."

She kept quiet for a minute longer, likely trimming down the information in her head. "These things you heard mention of are cornerstones of our way of life. There are three tribes scattered across the lands: we, the southern tribe of the plains, the western tribe of forests and mountains, and the northerners of the seas and glaciers. The changing seasons bring about tremendous changes in the lands, and we learned to change with the seasons.

Every winter, the weather turns so cold that even our coats do not protect us any more, and the blizzards get so fierce that they can drag a pony away or freeze them in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, the days get so short that they disappear entirely for a brief while. We are left in the dark, only guided by the gentle, but cold light of the moon and stars. That is what we call the Long Night.

And so, every year, the tribes all gather here in Snowpitt to spend the winter. This village is our oldest, and safest, known settlement. That is the Gathering. We are all reunited with our brothers and sisters of the other tribes. Everyone brings as much food as they were able to collect during the warm seasons, and we all hunker down until the worst of it passes.

Of course, we don't just sit on our rumps all winter. While the other seasons are for feeding, frolicking, and foraging, winter is the time for the sharing of knowledge. While parents teach their foals all the time, it is usually about survival skills and other lore of the wilds. Ponies from all tribes gather in the great hall of Snowpitt to learn the history of our people, our greatest heroes and leaders, and the world itself.

The adventurous ponies share their experiences of new or old beasts, spirits, plants, and the best ways and tricks to deal with them all. The explorers describe any new lands they discovered, places to avoid, and any resources that are worth venturing out for. Skilled ponies share tips to make the best spear, sled, or any other item. Shamares share their knowledge of spirits and healing. Anything and everything that may save the life of another pony someday is shared and taught to anyone who's interested."

She stopped then, reaching for a cup of tea prepared by Earthsong. Wetting her throat, she swished the liquid around in her mouth contemplatively, looking off somewhere into the distance. After a few more sips, she continued. "I think that's the most barebones version I can tell you. There's more to it, of course. The departure, where the tribes go their separate ways again. You saw that yourself - you arrived barely three days before it happened. The Calling, the great song of Snowpitt to summon any lost spirits that the shamares of their respective tribes weren't able to call back. And then dealing with spirits we actually don't want to come here. But those are stories for another day."

Agate nodded, doing her best to memorize everything as well as she could. It was all very interesting, very different in most ways, but also similar in others. They also spent a lot of time learning in winter, and breaks were in summer. Though Crystal ponies certainly weren't... There was a word for it, that described travelling Pegasus bands. None... Nomadic! Crystal ponies weren't nomadic at all. They really preferred to stay in the Empire.

Earthsong finished her food sometime during the story, and was enjoying a cup of tea. "Yes, we will have all the time in the world to teach you more about us later, and we will be happy to do it. But for now, if you still feel like you need to learn more words, we should probably focus on that. Let's continue our lessons. Elder, will you talk to the chieftain about this?"

True Sight nodded, getting up from her chair. "Oh, sure, I can do that. He'll probably want to do it after tomorrow, to give ponies time to finish any urgent tasks. Something tells me that we're going to spend the whole day talking with Agate."

The old shamare ambled out the door, while Earthsong turned towards Agate. "Well then, let's get to it. What do you want to know?"

The filly pondered, wiggling her ears. "It's a little hard to explain. We have leaders, but not shamares or chieftains. I don't think you have a word for "empress" or "princess". Or, what else is there... Ministers...? I guess I'd just like to know what a chieftain does so I'm not describing ponies incorrectly."

"Well, that's not too hard to explain. A chieftain is the head of the tribe. Often, they are respected elders, though they usually pass the duty on to a younger successor before they get too frail. If danger arises, a chieftain is expected to be able to fight in defense of their ponies.

Chieftains usually organize the larger foraging groups that go on longer trips, and make sure ponies don't all go to the same place, or go there too often. Travelling somewhere only to find it already picked clean can really stir resentment in a pony. They settle disputes as well, if those ever come up. Which is quite rare, I think.

Here in Snowpitt, things are pretty relaxed, so our chieftain doesn't need to do much, thankfully. There are stories, though, of old times, when our people were more nomadic and the land was more dangerous. Chieftains calling brave ponies to them to chase away packs of wolves from our migration paths, tracking down a huge bear that dragged a pony away to its den, sending scouts to make sure newly discovered woods are safe... These days, the chieftain's duties mostly involve approving claims for land and making sure the village is built correctly, without making it too open for any beasts to wander in, but not so cramped so that ponies have no space to themselves."

"Not quite like the Empress... I think. Haven't heard stories about her fighting, though there was something about her "bequeathing" land to some ponies. It'll have to do as a comparison, Agate thought.

Earthsong considered something, then shook her head. "I think I made a bit of a mistake, though. Things are calm here, yes, but our sister tribes are certainly busy in their lands. This winter, the northerner's chieftain told us all about the many new shores and islands they are busy exploring. I believe he was an explorer himself when he was younger, back when I came to visit them. He is now leading the charge to settle new lands and expand his tribe's reach. I can only wish him success."

"When you visited them? So you traveled to the other tribes?"

Earthsong smiled, likely remembering something pleasant. "Oh, yes. All the tribes gather in Snowpitt, but not everyone travels to visit the other two tribes. However, many shamares do, to gain more insight and understanding of the world. There aren't many of us with the gift, and we go to learn what we can from the other tribes. Many elders that get too old to travel decide to stay here, so the greatest pool of knowledge and wisdom is always here in the village. However, we travel to the wilder parts to get more... Practical experience."

Agate nodded, mulling things over. This was all very interesting, but she was getting sidetracked again. While she did want to hear more of how the snowponies lived, this wasn't what this lesson was supposed to be about. So with some regret, she went back on topic.

"Alright. The next thing I need to know is... Are there any... Bad shamares?" This was a really bad way to ask if they had ponies using dark magic, but that was the best she could come up with.

Earthsong raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Her tail twitched. "Bad... In what way, Agate? Bad at their duties? Or bad as in...?" She didn't finish the sentence, letting the question hang in the air.

"Bad as in bad. Very, very bad, on purpose. Bad as in killing your chieftain. Bad as in declaring themselves the chieftain of all ponies of your tribe, and trapping them with... Magic ropes. Trapping their heads, trapping their spirits so they obey him without thinking, attacking their neighbors and families by his command. Unleashing fear and nightmares on all ponies everywhere around him, bad -" She forced herself to stop, shaking her head. It looked like her anger at Sombra was still there, buried somewhere deep. He deserved it, but Earthsong didn't need to see Agate losing her composure.

Meanwhile, the mare was staring at her, slack-jawed. With each of mention of Sombra's crimes, her eyes went wider and wider, while she uselessly worked her mouth, trying to find the words. Agate squirmed a little under her wide-eyed gaze until Earthsong finally got her composure back. Her face flashed with several emotions. Disgust, anger, disapproval, and eventually, sadness.

"Is that... Is that what happened to you? To your tribe?" She whispered, so quietly Agate barely heard her.

"It's a little more complicated than that. But yes. A greedy pony with a heart of ice decided that... I don't even know what he really wanted. To rule us, to make us afraid of him? I never saw him myself. But he wanted to take over our entire tribe as his property."

Earthsong furrowed her brows, thinking deeply. After a minute of silent contemplation, she leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes completely. She sat there for some time, not moving or making a sound. Eventually, she spoke.

"No, Agate. I don't think there have ever been... Evil shamares. Prideful, boastful and demanding, perhaps, but never just... Malevolent. There are some stories of clashes between the shamares and their tribesponies, where misunderstandings caused anger. Sometimes, we have to give hard advice to ponies, and they don't always like it. We can see the spirits of the land and air, of the animals and ponies. And during hard years, shamares had to tell ponies not to go fishing or foraging in certain spots, since they could see that they were getting close to being depleted completely. If that happened, they would take decades to recover, which would only mean even more hard years in the future. "

Agate nodded, taking care to memorize the words "evil" and "malevolent". "I see. Well, it doesn't exactly happen often with us, either. We never had any... What we call "dark mages" before in the Empire. This one... I'm not sure he's even from our people. Probably some ambitious unicorn from Equestria, or even somewhere else."

Earthsong tilted her ears at all the unfamiliar words. "The "empire"? Is that how your village is called? Unicorn? And Equestria?"

"Umm, it's a bit bigger than a village. We usually call the smaller settlements villages, and the big ones are "cities". Anyway, yes, the Crystal Empire is how we call the territory my people claim, and Equestria... They are a collection of ponies from different tribes that made one big country - uh, tribe together, somewhere far to the south of us. I don't really know all that much about them besides the basics. A unicorn is a kind of pony they have there."

"Ponies living even further south than your people? Truly, the world is different than what we thought," The mare mused. "I should probably stop asking questions, though. I'm sure you're going to tell us all about it later. Though now I'm honestly somewhat worried to hear the full details of what this "dark mage" pony did, wendigoes take him."

"Oooh! I forgot! That word that you just said, what is it? What's a wendigo? Is it the word we use for windigoes?"

"Hmm? Those do sound like the same word. Wendigoes are winter spirits of cold and ice, bringing about blizzards wherever they go. They look a bit like ponies, with hooves and equine faces, their bodies made of freezing mist. The stories say they seek out hateful ponies, attracted from leagues away by the coldness of their hearts. Of course, the cold they bring with them freezes everyone indiscriminately, so shamares have to step in and chase them away."

"Really, you just chase them away? No, nevermind, not getting sidetracked again. That sounds exactly like a windigo. My people had to deal with them in the past, though no one saw any for a very, very long time now."

"Your tribe managed to get rid of them forever? You'll have to tell me that story, Agate. They're not a terrible danger, but they do cause trouble now and then. As for chasing them away, well... It's not so simple. There are many ways of dealing with them, and a lot of ponies don't really agree which one is the best one. We'll trade stories later."

The filly nodded, trying to remember if there was anything else she wanted to know. Earthsong went to pour herself another cup of tea from the pot hanging over the firepit. The hut lapsed into silence, interrupted by the occasional sip from the mare.

True Sight returned eventually, interrupting their musings. Shaking off a few snowflakes, she turned towards the two. "Well, I talked to Frostbeard. As I predicted, he's interested in hearing this himself, and decided to wait a day to let ponies come back from their fishing trips and sort things out. Get yourselves to the great hall bright and early on the day after tomorrow."

"Very well. I'll make sure Agate doesn't sleep in," Earthsong said with a small smile. "Speaking of, I think it might be time to call it a day, Agate. And perhaps you should take a break from our lessons tomorrow. Think of what you want to say, and come find me if there's anything you're not able to explain. Come, I'll accompany you to your totem."

Getting up, she led the filly out the door. Checking the sky, Agate saw that the sun was almost gone, the sky a deep purple. They walked in silence, both still thinking about their earlier conversations. Earthsong was pensive, likely thinking about what Sombra did to the crystal ponies.

Agate was a little bit nervous, thinking about meeting this chieftain Frostbeard. She knew there was (most likely) nothing to worry about. The only thing the snowponies wanted in return for taking her in was for her to tell them about herself and the world south of their lands, so they probably wouldn't get angry at her if she made a few mistakes. Still, she was just a filly, and telling the history of the Empire to the leader of these ponies was a daunting prospect.

As they trotted along, Agate kept an eye on her surroundings. The village got a lot more quiet since the other tribes left. It certainly wasn't empty, and all the homes looked inhabited. But the streets weren't jam-packed with ponies anymore. As they went past a longhouse, something niggled at the back of her mind.

"Glacier Glider..."

Earthsong's ear turned towards the filly."Hm? What was that?"

"Oh, nothing too important. There was this mare, Glacier Glider. One of the first ponies that I met. True Sight brought her along when they tracked me down. She took me in for a night, and I wanted to thank her. I only figured it out later that she probably left with the other tribes."

"Glacier... I'm not familiar with the mare, but from the name, she sounds like a northerner. I'm certain you'll see her again."

"Yeah. It's okay, I think. I went to find her during that celebration right before she left. I didn't know how to talk yet, but I'm pretty sure we understood each other."

"I'm glad to hear that. I still feel a little guilty about how I treated you when I first saw you myself. It was terribly rude of me to act that way."

That made Agate pause. When they first met? She thought back. "What do you mean? I don't recall you doing anything rude when True Sight brought me over to your place."

Earthsong's ears folded, an embarrassed smile on her lips. "Oh, heh, you don't remember? Or, I suppose you didn't recognize me in the dark... I was the first pony to see you, I believe. You were standing on the outskirts of the village, and I challenged you to name yourself. When you answered in a strange tongue, I got really suspicious, and warned you of a terrible retribution should you have ill intent towards Snowpitt. Then I galloped off to find True Sight or another elder shamare, leaving you to stand in the snow. That was a... Really inappropriate way to treat a visitor."

Agate shrugged, slightly amused by the mare's embarrassment. "It's fine, really. I almost forgot about the whole thing by now. And I'm sure you weren't suspicious of me without reason."

"Well, you were an odd spirit that showed up well after the Calling, and no family reported any missing foals..."

"Calling... That's another thing I'm not familiar with, unfortunately."

The two were approaching Agate's clearing by now, the area bathed in the darkness of early evening. Earthsong looked around, considering something. After a moment's contemplation, she sat down on the edge of the clearing, patting the ground next to her. Agate took the invitation, sitting down as well.

"Well, it is not too late yet. I suppose I have time for one story. So, the Calling...

True Sight told you about the cycles of nature that snowponies learned to follow. When the tribes travel to Snowpitt for the Gathering, they lay down paths of enchanted spirit stones to help guide any lost spirits to the village. Usually, the shamares of a tribe do their best to seek out and lead any lost ponies home, instead of letting them wander the wilderness for months.

But if they are unable to find the spirits of departed ponies, they enlist the help of every shamare there is, from every tribe. That is the purpose of the Calling. A great many ponies gather in the ritual grounds in Snowpitt, shamare and regular pony alike. We light a bonfire to help light up the night, and we all, every elder, adult and foal, raise our voices in a mighty Song.

The very Earth, so silent and immovable, carries the sound of our song that night. For a brief moment, even the mightiest of winds are overpowered, as our voices reach the farthest edges of the most distant mountains and shores. The combined call of the tribes guides every lost spirit out of the cold darkness, into the light and warm embrace of their kin. To date, there has not been a single pony that we were unable to lead home this way. Which is why I was so surprised to see you appear months after the Calling.

There are tearful reunions aplenty, as the departed thank the ponies and say their goodbyes - unless they elect to stay on, of course. Those that have no ties to the land anymore and are ready to move on turn towards the bonfires, their steps easy and unburdened by the concerns of life. The almighty Sky lights his fires in the heavens, just as we light the fires on the ground. The spirits step into the flames, carried on the warmth and smoke to the Sky's eternal embrace. "

Agate was listening intently, making mental notes here and there. Naturally, the story only brought up more things that she'd have to ask about later, but she obviously wasn't going to interrupt Earthsong to ask questions. Probably the most interesting part was the description of the final destination. There was no scythe-carrying Pale Mare coming to retrieve you or anything of the sort. Were crystal ponies wrong about what happened after they died? Given that the snowponies actually had to deal with spirits all the time, that was probably the case.

Earthsong carried on. "Now, such an act has some consequences, of course. I don't mean the ascension of spirits, but the Song of Snowpitt. Usually, it is a very, very bad idea to call attention to yourself anywhere out there. And with the Song being so loud and mighty that it reaches all across the land, well... Needless to say, it brings the attention of more than just the spirits of our departed.

Ice bears, snowamanders, wolves, yetis, frost weasels, freeze fiends, drift burrowers, blizzard buzzards..."

Agate's eyes went a little wider. That sounded like a lot of monsters, and Earthsong wasn't stopping.

"...Wendigoes, ijiraq, akhlut, I even heard stories of the terrible floewolf sightings... I think I might be forgetting some, but yes, such a clarion call attracts the attention of a lot of beasts and every spirit, not just those of lost ponies. Fortunately, the fires and sheer amount of ponies deters most of them from actually daring to attack us, not to mention that a great amount of the predators simply end up fighting each other before they even get close to the village. Even with the southern plains being quite safe, you can still hear some terrible howls and sounds of battle coming from the tundra in the days after the Calling. When we venture out afterwards, we sometimes find the bones of the losers of such fights. Some are so terrifying that it's hard to imagine what the winners might have looked like.

Still, they prowl around the outskirts, hoping some foolish pony steps outside the village bounds. No one does, of course. And the guardian spirits and the many, many protective wards carved and placed all around Snowpitt make sure none of them, spirit or animal, are able to just barge in."

Wards? That sounded like the Empire's shield, but they clearly didn't have wards against the cold. "That's just... Wow, I don't even know what to say. My people don't have anything like that. I mean, we do have protective magic, but there's no events that would bring all those monsters rushing towards the Empire. It sounds scary. And dangerous."

The mare shrugged. "A little bit, I suppose. But in all my years, I have never heard of any actual deaths caused by the creatures. The sounds of distant monsters are indeed frightful, but these days, a fright is the worst you're going to get. According to some older stories, back when Snowpitt was smaller and not so well defended, ponies would build great snow and ice sculptures of the worst and most terrifying monsters they could possibly think of on the edges of the village, making them face outwards to scare the real monsters. Some would even make costumes and masks of beasts or spirits, to trick any that might have snuck inside. These days, it's mostly a foal's game. They like to compete on who can make the scariest face on a sculpture, and dress up as various creatures. Some go around "scaring" adults into giving them treats so they would "spare" the ponies from getting eaten themselves. Everyone gets through just fine as long as they don't leave the village for a few days."

"I guess that doesn't sound too bad... A scary holiday sounds strange, though."

"Heh. Yes, the Gathering is a sad, frightful, bittersweet time for everyone. It is all part of life, however."

Agate tilted her head. "Sad? But all the tribes get together again, so shouldn't you be happy? I mean, I understand being sad about the spirits, but..."

"Yes, but that is exactly it. Certainly, you greet everyone that returns from a long trip with joy and warmth. But when the tribes get together, we grieve for those that didn't come back, and remember the ones we lost." Earthsong chuckled, shaking her head. "And the opposite happens when spring comes around. It is natural to worry about your kin when they leave on a journey, but when the tribes go their separate ways, it is a big celebration. We don't celebrate them leaving, but the fact that we all survived yet another cold and dark winter, and we are ready to face the new season with a smile."

The filly nodded, memorizing everything. They sat in silence for a minute, until Earthsong got up, shaking off the dirt and snow from her rump. "I think it is time for me to go, Agate. Like I said before, I won't seek you out for lessons tomorrow. Wander around, clear your head a little. You have been an exemplary student. If only half of the foals were as attentive as you. "

"Alright. One last question: what is this "great hall" True Sight mentioned? All of the buildings I saw so far were just homes or workshops."

"Oh, I guess you haven't explored much yet outside the southern portion of the village, have you? You can find the great hall north of the ceremonial grounds in the village center. It's rather large, you can't miss it. Feel free to wander and explore, Agate. Snowpitt is your home now, for as long as you choose to stay, and you're welcome in every corner of it."

The filly nodded, waving goodbye. Today was an amazing day with lots of talking and learning, but it wasn't over yet. She remembered what happened yesterday, so she laid down on her back, gazing at the stars.

Spear Throw and Gnarled Root would likely be here soon.

❅ ❆ ❅

It took the spirits some time to arrive, but that was fine. It allowed Agate to review what she learned today, and to think about what she wanted to ask. As expected, their approach did not produce any sound, though she did notice a faint glow appear at the edge of her peripheral vision. Rolling onto her belly, she saw them enter the clearing.

"Hello again, Agate," Gnarled Root spoke. "I hope the evening finds you well." Spear Throw nodded, remaining silent.

"Hello Root, hello Spear." Getting up on her haunches, she motioned for them to sit down. "Thank you for coming by again."

"Oh, don't mention it. Not like we're terribly busy with things. A great many little concerns from life vanish when you're a spirit, so you find yourself with plenty of free time to help ponies."

Agate nodded, thinking about her own experiences. She missed the taste of food, but not having to eat was a decent tradeoff. Same thing with her sense of touch and not feeling the freezing cold anymore. "So, what are we going to talk about this evening? Are you going to tell me more history of the snowpony spirits?"

Spear Throw shrugged. "Perhaps. You said you had more questions yesterday. We can answer what we're able, though we won't know everything," he said, likely thinking of Agate's "why are we spirits" question.

"Alright, well... Some simple questions first, I think. Are there any rules to becoming a guardian? Or does anyone that asks to stay get a totem built for them? Also, are there any rules to being a guardian? Should I be doing anything?"

"Hmmm..." Both of the older spirits lidded their eyes, deep in thought. Eventually, Spear Throw shook his head. "I've never heard of a spirit being denied the request to stay on," he said while glancing at Gnarled Root. When she didn't add anything, he continued. "I can't really imagine the circumstances where such a thing would happen. The spirits of our kin are greatly respected, more so if they decide to stick around and help out the others instead of going to their rest."

Gnarled Root spoke up, elaborating on his point. "It does take quite a lot of ponies several days of effort to get a totem pole made. I suppose if every pony that died decided to stay, there wouldn't be enough ponies for that, or even enough trees and other materials, for that matter. But, you don't really need a totem pole - you found us fine by yourself, yes? It makes your long vigil much more bearable, though.

As for rules, well... There's no such thing that I ever heard of. The spirits of hunters and other ponies skilled in the wilds tend to help others of their kind, while the wise spirits teach the inexperienced younglings. You're in a rather unusual situation, aren't you? Kind of like a tribe helper, but with no knowledge of the land, or family to care for. Don't worry, though, you're not obliged to do anything. You are still a foal, after all."

"Looks like these ponies really are very kind to their visitors," Agate concluded. The mention of family brought her mood down a little, which didn't go unnoticed by Gnarled Root. The old spirit was perceptive.

"I see you're sad about your family, young one. Are they alright? Or did they perish alongside you? Will you go to retrieve them, bring them here as well?"

Agate shook her head. "No, they're still alive. I think. I am worried about them, but- well, it's a long story. I'm going to be telling the chieftain and other ponies about how I ended up here in the morning after tomorrow. They said it's going to be in the great hall. You're welcome to come and listen in. Everyone keeps telling me that they're dying to hear more about my tribe."

Spear Throw snorted. "Well, if they're really dying, then I suppose we'll have more company soon. I'm sure they'll want to stay around to hear your story."

Gnarled Root burst out laughing. It took Agate a moment to understand the joke, but she also started to laugh, feebly covering her mouth with her hooves. Laughing at ponies dying sounded wrong, but the way he delivered it in his deadpan voice was just so funny!

It took them a minute to compose themselves, while Spear Throw calmly sat there, like he didn't even say anything. Gnarled Root was the first to speak. "The rarity of your jokes only makes them better when they happen. Don't ever change, Spear." The stallion just snorted again, electing to remain quiet.

"I think... I think they'll survive a little longer," Agate said, still smiling. "Are you going to come?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything," Gnarled Root declared, with Spear Throw nodding along. "Don't be so surprised at ponies' eagerness to want to know about you. Discovering new ponies isn't simply a rare event, it's something that literally never happened in our entire known history. Or, new ponies discovering us, I suppose."

"Right. Will you wake up on time? Earthsong said she'd come to get me, but I don't know where your totems are. No, wait, I think I remember where Spear's is..."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll manage. The totem's enchantments grant us a relaxing rest, but we usually wake up quite early either way."

"Yeah..." Agate muttered, looking sideways at her own totem, the runes and crystals glowing softly. "I wonder how ponies even come up with things like this." She reached a hoof towards the wood, the crystals lighting up slightly brighter at her touch.

Gnarled Root tilted her head, watching the filly curiously. "I know the story of how the totems were created, actually. Would you like to hear it?"

The filly considered the offer, still rubbing her totem slowly. It was one of the few things that she could feel touching. "I think so, yes. I don't think I had all that many questions left. Except one, maybe, but I think it's one you won't be able to answer. The final destination, the afterlife... The place where the spirits go, what is it? What's it like?"

As she predicted, both of the older spirits shook their heads. Uncharacteristically, Spear Throw spoke first. "There are some things the shamares and ponies say, but none of it can be confirmed. No spirit ever returns. Most say that it is a cycle, same as with the material world. As your body returns to the Earth and becomes part of nature again, so does your spirit return to the Sky, and is reborn as a new spirit. Ponies tend to give their foals names of those departed for a generation or two, believing that it will grant them a part of the spirit's strength. Some ponies even take on multiple names from many ancestors, hoping it'll protect them from harm."

Agate twitched her tail, considering the idea. The snowponies had many interesting traditions, but having a whole bunch of names just sounded silly. How would you even introduce yourself? Pick one? But then you'd just have one name again. Use all of them? Then you'd sound ridiculous.

"Alright. I guess that answers that question. I'd like to hear the story about the totem poles, please."

Gnarled Root nodded, lowering her voice to an appropriate "story time" level.

"As the stories go, the idea of the totem pole came not from the southern or western tribes, but the northerners of the icy plains, where trees hardly grow. However, it was actually a long and convoluted journey until they reached that destination. It all started with a mare and stallion, a loving family. Unfortunately, their true names were lost to the winds of time. I'll use the ones I heard earliest, Warm Hearth and Icebreaker.

As you might have predicted already, Icebreaker fell to one of the many dangers of the north. Again, no specific details on how, but it does not matter for this story. Naturally, the stallion elected to stay alongside his mare, standing guard outside their igloo and protecting them from harm. Warm Hearth was saddened by the unfairness of it - without a totem, he would need to constantly focus just to see and hear, exerting his willpower day and night not to get lost in the darkness.

Now, there were known ways to grant a spirit strength, not the least of which was sharing a part of your own warmth with them. But Warm Hearth couldn't do it too often, as she had her hooves full with caring for her young foals. Months went by, and while Icebreaker never wavered, she never stopped trying to think up ways to help him, either.

One day, a daring explorer came back from his expedition to the deepest reaches of the north, with tales of amazing and bizarre places and creatures. One of them caught the mare's attention. The explorer spoke of huge, mighty wolves the size of three ponies or more, made not of flesh and blood, but of amazing, deep-blue colored ice and snow. He named them "floewolves", after the ice floes of the north.

What was even more fascinating about those wolves was that they were spirits, ones that could build bodies for themselves. The explorer found that out after one of the wolves started chasing him, almost killing him. But he was a canny one, and he always prepared well ahead. He set a trap on a foothill for just such an occasion, loosening some of the rocks so he could cause an avalanche, if needed. He galloped lightly over the snow, leading the huge predator right where he wanted it to go. The beast's heavy stomping loosed the rocks, crushing it into tiny fragments.

As he was examining the downed foe, he saw its spirit rising from the smashed remains, howling in anger and rage. The wolf was clearly unhappy with being bested, but it wasn't able to harm the explorer as a spirit. However, before the pony's very eyes, the fragments began reassembling themselves, the beast gazing at him malevolently as it slowly healed itself. Alarmed, the explorer quickly snatched the broken fangs and teeth from the ground, hoping it'd at least make the monster less dangerous if it managed to find him again.

The wolf howled again at this insult, blasting the explorer with a gust of wind. The pony laughed, seeing that at least for now, the monster was harmless. Giving its reforming body a strong buck for good measure, he fled the area, still laughing at the sound of scattering ice shards and angry growls. Still, he did not want to tempt fate, so he hightailed it out of there, fleeing all the way back to his tribe's encampment.

As proof, he presented the icy fangs of the floewolf to his tribe. None of the ponies dared to deny the truth before them - the ice was unbelievably strong, and the color was like no ice they have seen before. A freezing cold radiated from them, and not even a fire could melt it. The northern shamares were enthralled by it. It is said that they made mighty fang-tipped spears for the explorer, and learned to manipulate ice themselves by learning from those fangs... But that is a different story.

Warm Hearth was happy for the explorer's success, but she was mostly interested in the way those wolves manipulated the magical snow and ice. Could she build something similar for Icebreaker, so he would be able to rest and regain his strength, and perhaps even move, like the wolves did? She sought advice from the shamares, who were eager to learn and experiment.

It was not uncommon to build scary ice sculptures on the village outskirts as warnings. Instead, the mare built one in the shape of Icebreaker, lying down to rest. The ice and snow were blessed by the shamares, who sang and poured their strength into them. They even embedded one of the floewolf's teeth inside it. Icebreaker was called, and entered the sculpture, assuming the same position. After a few minutes, he emerged, flurries of snowflakes spinning about him.

He claimed that it was both invigorating and terrifying, like falling into the icy waters of the ocean. He felt strengthened, but absolutely freezing as well, something he hadn't felt in a long time. He was not able to possess the statue and move around like the wolves did, either. The one thing that caught ponies' interest was the claim that he could see through the statue's eyes, far better than he could as a spirit. Other guardian spirits tried the same thing, with similar results.

A few more attempts at it were made, but they all ended the same. Restoring the sight to their kinfolk's eyes would have been a great achievement by itself, but the ethereal cold from the enchanted ice made the spirits feel too uncomfortable. Eventually, the time for the Gathering came about, and the tribe packed up and moved to Snowpitt. They shared their knowledge with the other tribes, who were likewise amazed by the stories and touched by Warm Hearth's and Icebreaker's plight.

Aiding the guardians that had been selflessly sacrificing themselves even after their deaths stirred their hearts, and they all rose up to help. Many discussions were had. They talked for a great many days and nights, leaving only to eat and meditate, pleading the spirits of the world to give them an answer. They sang and dreamt, travelling through various worlds in dreams, bringing back small nuggets of knowledge from the blurred paths of the beyond.

The first thing that everyone agreed on was that ice was the wrong material - ponies lived in the snow, but their hearts were warm. Earth and stone were likewise discarded. The westerners suggested making a statue made of wood, and the shamares working their skills to charm it.

Ponies got to work. They had some limited success, but it was still marred by failures. A spirit was able to see through a statue's eyes, but the magic faded quickly, and the shamares had to constantly renew it. Still, step by step, they were discovering new and interesting things. One northerner shamare created charmed staves, woven with herbs, feathers, and hair from her own coat that also allowed a spirit clear sight, as long as they stood next to it. The magic didn't fade either, as long as the stave was jammed into the earth.

The southerners created better paint that was more durable, and became near impregnable when covered in resin. The runes and enchantments on the carvings lasted longer, and the guardians were able to stand watch inside them, their vision extended further than before. Ponies were happy, placing the statues and staves on the village outskirts, where the guardian spirits traditionally stood watch. They were immensely grateful, thanking their kin for restoring their full sight. Still, it wasn't enough. It felt incomplete.

Seeing this, the western shamares called the others to them, telling the other tribes of their immense forests. "Creating a shelter for an exhausted spirit to rest is a noble goal, but I think we're going about this the wrong way," their eldest said. "We carve the wood into the shape of a pony, but it is still just a dead, pony-shaped piece of a tree. As I have seen myself, no tree can live long without its roots. I say, let us take a whole tree with its roots, with the proper apologies to the tree's spirit, and then carve the likeness of the pony into it."

And so, they combined their skills into one. The westerner's knowledge of trees and woodworking, the southerner's paints and runes, and the northerner's charms and enchantments. Runes for clear sight, charms of healing and restoration, safe dreams and calm sleep. They toiled, carved, painted, and prayed to the Sky and Earth that this would work. They trimmed the tree, and bound the roots in every way they knew, sacrificing great chunks of their coats and tails to supply the magic needed. The tall totem pole was placed in the firepit of the great ceremonial grounds, roots firmly on the Earth, the top reaching towards the almighty Sky.

Icebreaker was presented with it, though he was hesitant. The totem pole positively glowed with the dedication, love, and warmth the ponies poured into their labor, and he felt he wasn't worthy of so much effort. At the urging of his wife, he went to touch it. The light flooded his eyes, blinding him. He felt warmth return to him, and - well, you know how it felt. You just went through it not that long ago," Gnarled Root laughed lightly, breaking her narration.

"Needless to say, the ponies were immensely satisfied with the results. They had found a way to ease the weight of the guardian's selfless work, paying back the kindness they were given. Some of the spirits objected, saying that they shouldn't "waste" so much effort to make them comfortable. Obviously, those objections were brushed aside. And the spirits didn't grumble anymore once they saw just how much better they were at doing their duties once they regained more of the senses they had in life.

Warm Hearth was delighted, of course. As the story goes, she was ready to drag the totem pole all the way north by herself, much to her tribe's amusement. They helped build a special sled for it, the biggest one they ever built, with over half a dozen ponies pulling it.

That wasn't the end of the tinkering with the design, of course. I see you have some spirit stones embedded in yours. That's a first. And I don't know who or when started adding the extra carvings to the totem poles," Gnarled Root said while indicating the circles of mountains and travelling birds on Agate's totem. "But I suppose since this story is about the first totem pole, those details aren't important."

"Wow..." Agate spoke softly.

The old spirit chuckled, swishing her tail. "Better story than last time, yes? Hopefully less sad, at least."

"Yes, much better, I think. Not that the last story was bad, just... Hard to listen to."

"Yes," Spear Throw agreed. "Some stories are painful, but they still contain important lessons. Best to experience the pain in a story than to experience it on your own hide."

"That sounds smart. Thank you, both of you. Are we going to make this a regular thing every night?" Agate inquired.

Spear Throw shrugged, while Gnarled Root smiled. "I'd love to! I'm always happy to teach, and I'm sure you have some interesting stories too. I'm sure we can meet many times before we run out of things to talk about. If none of us are busy, of course."

Nodding, the filly gazed towards the sky. "I'm not too good at telling the time yet, but I think it's really late. I think I should go to sleep now. See you next time."

"Goodnight, Agate," Gnarled Root chirped, while Spear Throw gave one of his silent nods before trotting away.

Agate took a long look at her totem, imagining the path through history it took to get here. Many, many ponies passing down the knowledge to their apprentices over the centuries, going back all the way to Warm Hearth and Icebreaker. However long ago that was.

"Well, if they can figure out something like that..."

She stuck herself inside it, letting the magic carry her away to sleep.

Poking Around

Agate opened her eyes, looking around. All was quiet and dark. As usual, no animal or pony disturbed her little clearing.

Briefly, her thoughts went to Earthsong and the lessons they were going to have today. Immediately though, she remembered that she was told to take a day off to clear her head.

"What do do, what to do..."

Instead of stepping out of her little totem home like she usually did in the mornings, she stayed inside, letting her thoughts wander, considering her options.

"I could go for a stroll outside the village. Not like I'd be in any danger. But I haven't even explored Snowpitt properly yet... Have I?"

Raking through her memory, she tried to make a mental map of the village from the places she'd been to. Street, street, the ceremonial grounds with the large firepit, more streets - if they could be called that - the area with the workshops where they built her totem, the street with the longhouse that Glacier Glider stayed in...

"I think I've only poked around the... Southern part of the village. I guess Snowpitt is bigger than I thought. I should go see where that "Great Hall" is, see what else I can find."

She closed her totem-eyes and stretched, opening her real eyes a moment later. The process was effortless now, no different than stepping out of a door from her home. Giving the clearing one last look to make sure there were no ponies coming to visit her that morning, she set off northwards at a lazy pace.

It looked like Gnarled Root was correct. No matter how long she slept, she had no trouble waking up quite early in the morning. Glancing at the moon, she silently made her way along Snowpitt's snowy streets. She was the only one out, the others likely still asleep or doing something inside their homes.

She took a twisting route towards the village center, going down streets she hadn't gone through before. While she could always feel the pull of her totem pole for easy navigation, Agate still wanted to get to know the place better. Trotting around, she took in the sights, stopping by some more interesting-looking buildings now and then.

She was slightly tempted to use her ghostly abilities and stick her head through the walls to take a peek inside, but that was likely an extremely rude thing to do. She certainly couldn't cause any damage or steal anything, but it would still be a pretty bad invasion of privacy. Turning away from one building that had some really elaborate carvings around the doors, the filly continued on her meandering path towards the ceremonial grounds.

Turning here and there, she eventually made her way to the ceremonial grounds. The place where it all began... Not quite accurate, but that was where True Sight first brought her before the rest of the snowponies. Thinking about that night, she compared her memories to the current situation.

The changes were minor. The crystals around the huge firepit had been gathered up, and the layer of snow was a bit thinner. Earthsong assured her that they did in fact have a proper summer, when the snow actually melted, with long days and warm evenings, and all the other things summers had. Agate had to admit that she was just a tiny bit skeptical, with how much snow there still was everywhere. Still, a few of the pines and firs were growing fresh buds, so it did look like the seasons were changing.

Circling around the central firepit, she scanned the streets that led north. Something niggled at her, something that she felt was missing. It took her a few minutes to puzzle it out, until it clicked.

"Street signs! I guess they don't really name their streets... Though since they don't build roads, I guess they don't even have actual streets. Huh. "

Shrugging, she picked one at random. This part of the town seemed to hold more residential buildings, far as she could tell. After a few random turns and going through several streets, she saw something in her peripheral vision. Turning her head, she saw what had to be the Great Hall.

"Whoa."

It appeared that her previous assessment of the snowponies was somewhat wrong. They did know how to build things more than a story high. The building was still far smaller than the Spire, but that was true of pretty much every pony-made structure. The Spire was huge.

There were some houses between her and the Hall, so she started walking parallel to it while looking for an opening. Not many details were visible from this angle, but Agate could already tell that it was an important location for the locals. The roof was decorated with wooden figurines, and something hung off the edges on lengths of thin rope.

Finding a path towards the building, she saw it in full. It looked around three stories high, by her rough estimation. The shape reminded her a lot of the longhouses she saw before, but bigger, and more elaborate. The beams making up the walls were huge, ancient forest giants felled and brought all the way here. She didn't know the first thing about building with wood instead of crystals, but it still looked like it took a rather impressive amount of skill.

Her ear turned as there was a soft clacking sound, accompanied by a low musical whistle. Looking for the source of the noise, she found what the ropes were for. A number of windchimes hung off the edges of the roof, providing a pleasant background noise in the Hall's surroundings.

Something else glinted around the roof. Squinting her eyes, she took a step backwards, but whatever it was failed to resolve itself. She noticed lines of similar glints going downwards towards the ground, and approached closer to investigate. On inspection, they turned out to be runes, the magical symbols the snowponies were proficient with. It was harder to see them than the ones on her totem pole, but after a while of scanning the walls, she saw that a large portion of the building was covered in them.

"That must have taken months... If not longer. Much longer, probably. Wonder what they're for..."

It was obviously magic of some kind. Thinking back to her conversation with Earthsong, she recalled the mare mentioning "protective wards" that helped defend the village. If that's what those were, then clearly they cared very much about protecting the Great Hall. Or perhaps it was more like a castle, a large fortified place to fall back to in case of danger. She filed it under "things to ask someone later."

Circling around the structure, she found the doors. They were big, thick double doors, made of similar wooden beams as the building, and likewise covered in runes almost everywhere. The only spots not warded were the paintings of two rearing ponies, their hooves touching where the doors met. The leftward pony looked like a regular snowpony with an eggshell coat and brown mane, but the one on the right caught Agate's eye. The pony's coat was green, with a bright golden mane - very unusual colors for the snowponies. Another thing to ask about later.

She stood there for some time, wondering where to go next. The doors were closed, and she didn't want to try barging in, especially with all the wards covering the building. Who knew, maybe you needed a special permission from their chieftain or something to that effect to enter. She'd see the inside tomorrow, anyway.

Turning around, Agate scanned the area. There was a patch of empty land around the Hall, with houses continuing in all directions. Nothing terribly interesting presented itself, so after a bit more pondering, she decided to simply keep going north and see just how big Snowpitt actually was.

Her journey went by uneventfully, the few groups of ponies she passed on the streets only giving her polite nods and some curious looks as she passed by. It was almost like being back in the Empire, going for a trot to meet her classmates. Until she remembered that she was a spirit, which made her smile a bit as she imagined the way crystal ponies would react if they saw her walking through the streets. There'd be far more than curious looks, and likely some screaming involved, too. A lot of screaming, probably. The snowponies, however, really didn't find anything strange about dead ponies trotting around their village.

She took a zig-zagging path, to cover more ground and possibly see more interesting landmarks. The novelty of examining wooden buildings was starting to wear off, though, and there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy along the way, with one small exception. In one intersection, she found what looked like a totem pole, which made her examine it more closely. There was no carving of a pony's face on it though, only more glyphs and runes cut into the surface, with a set of windchimes hanging off a hook.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a pony passing by, carrying a basket in her mouth. She stopped, then turned back to approach Agate instead. She turned towards the newcomer with some curiosity. It was the first new pony to approach her in quite a while. Putting down the basket, the pony addressed Agate, glancing at the windchimes.

"Is everything alright, el- um, spirit? Is something wrong with the wards?" The filly wasn't that much older than Agate, just barely a teenager.

"Oh, uh, no? I mean, I don't think so. I wouldn't know, honestly. This is nothing like the things back home where I'm from. I was just curious, since I didn't see anything like it before. Those are protective wards, right? Are they yours?"

The teen looked stumped for a moment, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Yes, that's what my mother told me. I don't know much about them myself. I'm not a shamare, so no, I didn't make them. I'm just a regular snowpony, so you'd be better off asking an elder about them if you want to know more."

"That's not... Nevermind. Don't mind me, I'm just exploring the village and the pole caught my eye. I'm sure it's working fine. Don't let me hold you up."

"Oh, it's alright," she brushed it off. "My parents always told me that the spirits should be shown respect, since they are old and wise and stay on to pass on important knowledge to others. I was just surprised to hear a spirit actually not knowing something and asking questions. I forgot that you're not from the three tribes. You're that traveler spirit from somewhere far away, right?"

"Yes, far across the southern mountains," Agate nodded. "I'd tell you more, but I've been told that pretty much all of Snowpitt wants to hear what it's like where I'm from, so there's going to be a big gathering in the Great Hall tomorrow morning. Come listen, if you want to."

The teenaged filly's eyes lit up. "Oh, that sounds great! I haven't heard about that yet, I'll have to tell my parents. We only came back from our fishing trip late yesterday evening. It was my first one! I even caught some fish, and Mom let me clean them all by myself!" She exclaimed proudly, gesturing towards the basket.

Bemused, Agate glanced inside. There were indeed several small fish inside, with their heads and scales removed. These ponies and their fish-eating ways continued to confound her.

"Congratulations? Being able to feed yourself is a vital skill as a grownup, my dad told me. I suppose you're on your way to being one."

"Yes! Thank you, wise spirit!" The teen was clearly so happy at the praise she forgot Agate wasn't terribly wise yet, or that Agate was actually younger than her. "I guess I should get home. I'll make sure to come to the meeting tomorrow." Picking up her basket, she waved to Agate before trotting off.

Waving back, she watched as the teen took a turn and went inside a house nearby. Turning her head back towards the streets, she tried to remember which way she came and where to go next.

"Eenie, meenie... This one."

The next several streets were likewise unremarkable, except she saw a couple more of the carved protective poles. Warding poles? She didn't recall seeing any in the southern half of the village. Probably not a direction the ponies expected monsters or whatever they were supposed to repel to come from.

Eventually, she made it all the way to the edge of the village. The sight was... Exotic and bland at the same time, a bit scary and also exciting. It was a rather flat expanse of snow, sparkling brightly in the light of the now fully-risen sun. The Empire was ringed by mountains on every side, and no matter where you looked, your gaze would land on the tall mountain peaks blocking the horizon. During her journey here, she had to make her way through the mountains as well.

This plain, however, stretched on into the distance as far as the eye could see, and she could indeed see quite far in the cold, clear air. Vast and seemingly endless, the only landmarks were the few trees and bushes dotting the landscape. It was probably strange to be fascinated by a bunch of flat land, but Agate couldn't help herself. It was just so different to what she was used to.

She looked behind herself just to make sure she was still in Snowpitt. Seeing the houses, the Great Hall, and the mountains in the distance drove it in further just how strange the open plain was. In the Empire, no matter how lost you got venturing out of the city, you could always find your way back just by looking at the Spire. It was impossible to miss, really.

Looking forward again, it looked like you could get unbelievably lost in the plains, though. The few shrubs and rocks really didn't look distinctive enough that you could navigate your way by them at all. Carefully, almost fearfully, she stuck her right foreleg forward. Agate knew that she couldn't get truly lost either, now that she had her own little light-house. Her totem's pull would guide her back to Snowpitt even with her eyes closed, but it was still a new experience for her.

Taking one last glance backwards, she took a step on the pristine snow. She was only planning to go on a short walk until the Sun started going down, but it still felt big and exciting. The horizon stretched on into the distance so far, it was impossible to tell where the land ended and the sky began. Another step, then another, a trot, a canter, then a full gallop.

Agate laughed, faintly feeling the wind on her coat as her mane flopped about. Normally, she would never do something as irresponsible and careless as leaving the town limits on a wild gallop into the wilderness, but as the other spirits told her, there was no real danger to her any more. A lot of the previous rules from life became irrelevant.

The gallop was certainly working wonders in regards to her task of "clearing her head", as Earthsong told her to do. She didn't even realize just how badly frustrated she was getting after cramming the snowpony tongue for weeks without any breaks whatsoever. She'd never hated school, but there, she at least had the weekends off.

It also brought back memories of her journey through the mountains, though the experience itself was completely reversed. Her mad dash through the darkness was unpleasant, her only goal at the time being the desperate need to find the source of the mysterious orange fireflies in the distance, the only visible thing around. Now, she was able to see leagues away, the glittering snow and the blue sky blurring in the distance. It made her feel... Alive again.

Not getting winded still messed with her perception of time, however. Fortunately, she was able to see the Sun now, watching it slowly descend from it's apex towards the west. When it was around halfway towards the horizon, Agate stopped, closing her eyes and turning around. She never tried to feel out her totem from this far yet, but distance didn't seem to be an issue at all.

Much like the crystal path she saw from the mountain, the totem glowed in the darkness even with her eyes closed, even if it looked like a tiny line from where she was standing. Opening her eyes again, she tried to tell her position without the aid of the totem. Just as she suspected, the open plain didn't offer any clues as to where she ended up. The mountain range in the south was easily visible, and there was a smudge against the horizon that was probably Snowpitt. The fact that she didn't leave any visible tracks in the snow didn't help either.

"Those other tribes must be very, very good at telling where they're going to find their way home again when they leave Snowpitt..."

Shrugging, she set off back towards the village. The snowponies demonstrated all sorts of interesting and amazing skills, and the ability to find their way around very well wouldn't have been the strangest, or the most impressive one.

"Maybe they are able to see their homes from far away, like I see my totem. Or maybe they can tell which way north is without a compass. Or maybe - Hello."

There was something directly ahead of her that was breaking up the pristine tundra plains. At first glance, it looked like a large boulder jutting out of the ground, but as she approached, she noticed that it was actually a whole pile of smaller rocks, stacked and arranged very neatly to form a pillar taller than she was. There were no markings or writing of any kind on them, but one side bulged out slightly in one direction, with a flat rock sticking outwards.

"Huh. Like a road sign... Neat."

Nothing was visible in the direction the rock was pointing to, which likely meant that it was quite some distance away. She turned back towards Snowpitt again, satisfied at having puzzled out the mysteries of tundra navigation by herself. After some more galloping across the snow, Agate noticed that she was getting close to the village, but it definitely wasn't the same spot that she left from. The buildings she was approaching were made of... Ice?

"Every time I think I have them figured out, they surprise me with something new without fail... How the heck do you live in a house made of ice without freezing?!"

These ponies were crazy. Seriously, did the cold not bother them at all? And these were definitely houses, as she confirmed the fact by examining one inside out. Strangely dome-shaped, but houses nonetheless. She recalled her apprehension of barging into someone's home, but this one had a chunk of the wall missing, so she assumed it was abandoned. It even had a firepit of some kind carved into the floor! That explained how they dealt with the cold, but then, how did the house keep from melting?!

On closer inspection, most of the icy buildings seemed to be in poor condition, with partially melted patches and sagging walls. She cocked her ears, listening for any sounds of habitation. All was quiet, without so much as a whisper anywhere around. This part of the village seemed abandoned, for whatever reason. Maybe because the houses started to melt in spring?

She took to examining the rest of the structures. They were indeed empty, both of ponies or any kind of personal effects. Unlike the wooden buildings that often had at least some personal touches added to them, all of the ice houses were rather plain. Or the ponies that lived there just cleaned up after themselves very well when they left. Save for a few sooty spots on the frozen floors, there wasn't a trace left of what they did or how they lived inside the strange homes.

Shaking her head and adding yet more things to her "weird stuff to ask about later" mental list, Agate made her way towards the wooden buildings she could see in the distance. She was going over the things she was going to talk about tomorrow idly, keeping an eye on the icehouses as she passed them by. Before she reached the divide between the wooden and ice buildings, something odd caught her eye.

She couldn't see it before through the buildings, but a large chunk of the field was covered in the black of ash and coal. Instead of the pristine white of the snow, it turned into a slushy black mess as the ash made the snow melt much faster, making a depression that reached the earth. There were a few melting piles of ice in there too, likely some of the ice structures suffering the same fate as well. Tilting her head curiously, she hopped down to take a closer look.

Most of the snow was gone, exposing the dirt underneath. She could actually see tiny stalks of dry plants poking through the ashes in a few places. Glad that she couldn't get dirty anymore, she approached one of the half-melted piles of ice. Judging by the size, it used to be one of the icehouses.

"So they're melting them on purpose?"

It kind of made sense and it didn't at the same time. Shaking her head and trying not to speculate, (because any guesses would likely end up being wrong, anyway) Agate tried to find her way again. Being low to the ground made it hard to see above the tall snow layer, so she trotted to the closest edge and tried to climb up, only to get a bucket of ashes dumped in her face. Naturally, they just went right through her, though she still jumped back in reflex.

"Gah!"

"Huh? Someone there?" A young voice sounded out. A moment later, a gray colt's head poked over the edge, looking at Agate with confusion through his long black mane. "Sorry, did I get you dirty? No, wait, you're a spirit. Spirits can't get dirty. Um, can I help you? What were you doing down there?"

"Just trying to get up. I was exploring and came across this place. The ice houses looked really interesting, so I decided to poke around a bit, then I found this place."

"Ice houses? Oh, you mean the igloos. That's what the northerners call them," he explained while putting the bucket upright. "They're all gone back to their territories though, so we don't need them any more. They're fun to play around in before they melt, though."

Igloos. Another word to memorize. "So that's why they're all abandoned. Thanks." Agate got closer to the edge again, only to get another bucket of ashes emptied all over her. She didn't jump this time, just looking upwards with a flat look as the black dust settled around her.

"Wasn't me!" The colt defended himself with a grin. Another face poked over the edge, a filly this time. She shared the colt's ashen coloration, only with lighter shades. "Sorry, uh... Oh, I heard about you. You're the traveler spirit. What are you doing down there?"

Shaking her head, Agate clambered out of the hole before anyone else decided to dump more ashes there. The colt took up explaining the situation. "She said she was playing around in the igloos and got curious about this. Maybe her tribe doesn't use ashes for fertilizer? Or maybe she's just not from a family of growers."

"I'm not," Agate replied, having managed to climb over the lip and onto the snow. "A grower, that is. We call ponies like that farmers. And I don't know what they use for fertilizer back home. My family used to make jewelry." At the two's blank looks, she grimaced. "Sorry, that's a word from my tribe. Umm, amulets. Bangles, bracelets and other things. So, this is a field for food? Is it okay for the northern ponies to build their houses all over it?"

"Oh yes," the foals both nodded enthusiastically. "It's great, actually! They leave lots of gifts throughout the winter. The plants grow like mad afterwards."

Agate blinked. "Gifts?"

"Oh, you know," the colt replied. "Fish skeletons, scales, other bits. They bring lots of dried fish from their ocean, throw the uneaten bits into holes in the snow, and we bury them in the ground when the earth thaws out. My dad told me how our ancestors noticed a long time ago that plants really, really liked fish, almost as much as ponies. They also like other stuff, like ashes. Makes them grow huge and tasty."

"And poop," the other filly added, making the colt snort. "The northerners leave plenty of that too, which also makes plants happy."

Agate wrinkled her nose. "Ew. That must smell."

The filly shook her head. "Actually, it doesn't. Almost nothing has a smell when it's frozen. The adults dig some trenches in the ground in autumn, and the northerners build their outhouses over them. We just bury the trenches before they start to stink."

"Oh. That's lucky. So, you two are far- er, growers?"

Both of the foals stood up straight, puffing out their chests in pride. "Yup!" The colt exclaimed. "It's a rare skill. Most ponies go foraging and just have tiny gardens, but there's a group of families that tends to the fields around Snowpitt. We're not so great at wilderness stuff, but we grow enough food to feed half the village by ourselves."

"That's pretty impressive. My people are a lot like that. We grow all the food ourselves. Only time we go out to gather things is for special herbs, I think," Agate mused. "So you're just fertilizing the field even if it's still snowed over? I don't think ponies back home did that."

"Not entirely," the filly replied. "It's to help the earth wake up faster. Ashes attract warmth from the sun, and melt the snow. Summers are short, and the sooner the earth warms up, the better. Just one of the many tricks discovered by our ancestors. Also, it's easier to just melt the igloos instead of breaking them to pieces. They'd take too long otherwise."

Agate was impressed by all the ways the snowponies found to survive and thrive in the north. They might have been crazy weird ways, but at the same time, they were obviously working. "Thanks for telling me all of this. I can't do much with the knowledge any more, but it's still very interesting to learn new things."

The two beamed at Agate. "It's an honor, wise spirit!" Agate smiled weakly, folding her ears. It looked like "wise" was the standard honorific that was given to spirits. She was probably going to be called that a lot, even though she was the one learning from the ponies.

"You don't have to call me that. I think I'm barely older than you. Actually, you might be my age," Agate said, pointing at the filly. "My name's Agate, by the way. Sorry for not introducing myself sooner."

"I'm Autumn Ash, and this is my brother, Cindertail. And, ah, we knew your name already. My parents were curious to learn more about you, and they talked to other ponies. They'll be a little disappointed to find out you're not a grower, but I'm sure they'll still want to know everything."

Glancing behind him, the colt reached for his empty bucket. "Speaking of parents, we should probably go home. We only went out to empty the buckets. If we take any longer, they'll probably think something happened to us."

The filly looked like she wanted to stay longer, but after a moment of chewing on her lip she nodded, smiling weakly at Agate. "Yeah, we should run home before they come looking for us. We can meet up some other time, yes?" She asked, picking up the handle of her bucket in her mouth.

"Oh, sure. I was really busy learning how to speak your tongue so far, but I think I should have some free time now. Come... I don't know, come visit my totem someday, if you find the time? We'll figure it out."

Waving goodbye, the two galloped off. Agate checked the sky. The sun was low, almost gone beyond the horizon. Closing her eyes, she found her totem's glow in the darkness again. It was time to go home.

❅ ❆ ❅

The trip back to her clearing took Agate through unfamiliar paths, but it was uneventful. Much like during her morning trek, the streets were largely empty. Making it back to her clearing, she assumed the now-familiar position of lying on her back, gazing at the stars.

She decided to sort out her thoughts a little and actually think about the things she was going to tell the ponies tomorrow, just so she didn't forget any important parts. Sombra's sudden appearance, hiding in the city, skulking through the city, their attempt to get away, her panicked flight... The trek to the mountains, the climb, the terrifying sight of the twisted Empire...

In her reminiscing, she completely forgot about her deal with the other spirits residing in Snowpitt. She didn't notice them until Spear Throw appeared in her field of vision. Blinking, she rolled over to get back on all fours. Gnarled Root was with him, standing a little behind the stallion.

"That looked like some intense stargazing, young Agate. Are we interrupting something important?" The mare asked.

"No, it's fine. I was thinking about what I was going to tell tomorrow, making sure I don't forget anything. My memory's pretty good, though. I think."

"Well. It's still a pretty important event for you, I imagine. Being presented to the entire tribe like that would make anyone nervous. If you want to skip our meeting tonight, we could go. We don't mind, I think," she said, glancing at Spear Throw. The stallion nodded silently.

Agate stood there for a minute, weighing her options. "It's fine. I saw a bunch of things today that I wanted to ask about. Maybe we can just keep it short tonight."

The two adults nodded, sitting down. Agate followed suit, trying to pick something from her mental list. Eventually, she decided to just go with the first one.

"I went for a walk today, all over the village. I found the Great Hall. It looked like a lot of ponies had to work on it to build something like that. Is there a story behind it?"

This time, Spear Throw was the first to speak, a tiny hint of excitement on his face. "Not much of a story. It can be summed up very quickly, though it did indeed take a lot of time and effort. This was a great work by ponies like me, the protectors and the fighters. My ancestors worked on it as well, and the story is passed down through the generations. It was, let me remember... Some hundred and twenty winters ago, I believe.

Now, I'm sure you remember the first stories you were told. About how hard the beginning times were for the snowponies, and how many lost their lives to all sorts of things. Hunger was a great enemy, but as it was defeated over the years, other things became bigger priorities. As rare as it was, some beasts still managed to find their way inside the village boundaries from time to time. The fact that Snowpitt was growing constantly and the boundaries kept changing didn't help much.

One cold winter, the village was beset by a massive horde of wolves. There were hundreds of them, and they harassed us for days. They managed to completely encircle the village, and the ponies on the outskirts were trapped in their homes. They later told everyone that the beasts scratched and gnawed on their doors, howling day and night. Some even tried to burrow underneath the walls to get in! The shamares and the guardian spirits tried to scare them away, but with so many of them, the ones that were forced to run would get turned around by the wolves waiting further out.

We fought them, of course. The hunters all took up what weapons they had and got to work luring them off in small groups, picking them off one by one. The shamares chased the packs away from from the homes, leading the families trapped inside deeper into the village. The wolves dragged some of us away, but overall, the losses were really small, considering how bad the situation looked at first. For three days we fought, finally managing to break them on the fourth.

They fled back to the forests, and though we still had to deal with the wolves when going out to forage for a while afterwards, Snowpitt was secured. We counted our losses, paid our respects to the dead, and went to fix up the damage. Interestingly, it turned out that the greatest danger was not the wolves, but the lack of safe shelter. Everyone took in as many ponies as they could into their homes, but since it was winter, the entirety of the three tribes were here. Ponies already tend to take a few guests in during the Gathering, and there was no space anymore. A large number were forced to sleep outside.

Everyone in Snowpitt donated their firewood and blankets, but with the cold winter and the access to the forest blocked, the wood was running out too fast. A day or two more, and hundreds would have frozen to death. The chieftain saw this as a failure on his part, and set out to rectify that. He called the best craftsponies and builders, and ordered them to create a building so vast and strong, that even a pack of floewolves couldn't chew through it, and where hundreds of ponies could take shelter inside.

There was no one singular, big hero of this story. All the ponies of Snowpitt got to work immediately, embarrassed as they were for failing to provide safe shelter for the visiting tribes. They did not blame us, of course, and offered their aid. The thickest trees were sought out, with the biggest sleds built to drag them back to the village. The shamares whispered their blessings all throughout the construction. It took over a year of sweat, hard work and hard thinking about just how to best make it work, but in the end, they managed.

Finally, we stood before it. The Great Hall, it was named. It was large, warm, and secure, everything we set out to do. Obviously, not everyone could fit inside, but it still had room for hundreds of ponies, if they all huddled down. The next Gathering, all of the leaders from the tribes were invited in, followed by many others. In time, it became known better as a spot to gather and talk rather than just someplace to run to when you're in danger, but everyone still knows it as the safest place in Snowpitt, if anything bad were to happen."

Agate sat there silently, committing the story to memory. Thinking about the Hall, something flashed in her mind's eye - the door. Specifically, the interesting design on it.

"The Hall, when I saw it - there was an interesting painting on the doors. Two ponies rearing up, and the one on the right had a green coat. Such coats are not uncommon among my people, but I haven't seen any green-coated snowponies yet. Do you know what it means?"

"Hmmm. Now that's a tough one." Gnarled Root, who had remained silent during the entire story, spoke up this time. "That is supposed to be a very important pony in our history. Some even call her the first snowpony, the one that taught the others how to survive and live in the cold. Others say she was a powerful spirit of the forests that decided to take pity on our ancestors, her green coat a mark of her true nature. However, she is so ancient, there are no stories about her that anyone is able to remember. Just about the only thing that we know for sure is her name : Flower of the Sun."

"I see... Well, I suppose I got my story for the evening. I'll see you tomorrow eve- morning, then?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Gnarled Root confirmed, getting up.

"My family will certainly come along," Spear Throw added, rising to his hooves. "I might spend the day with them. Don't wait on me."

Nodding and waving goodbye, Agate laid down on her back again, letting her mind drift.

"Tomorrow's the big day..."

Eventually, she got up, moving towards her totem. Best to get some actual rest.

Tales and Tribulations

❅ ❆ ❅

The next time Agate woke up, she decided to stay in "bed" for a while longer. Earthsong said she'd come to get her, so the filly decided to wait instead of getting up. She took the opportunity to explore more of the curious sensations the totem pole made her feel.

There was that feel of flow, like a faint breeze. Or warm water in a bath. It made her feel relaxed, but she deliberately fought it to focus on where it was coming from. It led her downwards, to the strange, branching limbs sunk into the ground. They weren't hers, yet at the same time, she could sort of feel them.

Roots.

It must have been part of the enchantment. She recalled Gnarled Root's story, and the ritual when they made her own totem pole. They poured a bunch of things into the pit dug in the ground, bound the roots with strings and ropes, and buried them in the earth. So this was how trees felt, sort of? It wasn't too bad, but only because she knew she could get out and move any time. Spending all her time half-asleep didn't sound very fun.

"I don't think I'd like to be a tree..."

A knock brought her out of her thoughts, reverberating through the totem pole. Opening her totem-eyes, she saw Earthsong standing next to her abode. Closing her eyes again, she jumped forward, landing noiselessly on the ground.

"Morning, Earthsong."

"Good morning, Agate. Are you ready to go?"

The filly briefly considered the question. Was there even something she needed to do? Not like she could brush her teeth or comb her mane to look more presentable.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I think. Let's go."

The mare nodded, turning northwards. Agate trailed along, lost in her thoughts. She wondered where Gnarled Root was. It was probably too late to go look for her now. She did promise to be there though, so maybe she just went straight to the Hall.

The two trotted along quietly, neither of them speaking. It was a little unusual. Earthsong usually talked to Agate about something, but perhaps that was simply because she wanted to teach the filly their language. Now that she considered it, Agate didn't know at all whether Earthsong was a chatty pony or not.

There were far more ponies out and about that day, and they all seemed to be going in the same direction. Some of them noticed Agate and whispered to each other in hushed voices, obviously excited. They didn't try to talk to her, but they did turn to follow her from a respectful distance. By the time they reached the Great Hall, they acquired quite a crowd trailing in their wake.

The huge double doors were open, sounds of chatter coming out of the building. Ponies of all ages and sizes were entering in small groups. Earthsong turned towards Agate, giving her an encouraging smile. The filly smiled back, trying to keep calm. She could handle doing talks in front of her class, but she never enjoyed it. She always tensed up her muscles so much that it left her shivering afterwards. Learning was fun, but having to "prove" that you learned something while the teachers poked and prodded you was annoying.

Even though this was far bigger and more important than her class, for some reason, it was easier for Agate to keep her composure this time. Maybe because she couldn't feel her heart frantically beating in her chest any more. Or tense up her muscles. She went through the doors, examining the interior of the huge structure.

There were three stories there, sort of. The reason she could see all three was that the upper two levels were more like extra-wide balconies, with the middle space left open. Likely so that everyone on every floor could hear the discussions and stories. Her previous comparison to a longhouse was accurate, as it was much longer than it was wide, not that it's width wasn't impressive. A pair of stairwells on both her left and right led to the upper floors. A number of windows dotted the walls, though most of them were closed. The floor was made of wood, with some rather nice looking rugs placed around the central area. Tables and chairs were arranged on the sides, with a rather impressive firepit made of large stones set roughly in the middle of the Hall.

A fire was crackling in the firepit, which obscured what was behind it. Making her way towards the other end of the building, Agate expected to see some kind of throne or platform, where this "chieftain" would be sitting imposingly over his people. However, that didn't turn out to be the case at all. There was a tiny, barely noticeable patch of floor that was slightly higher than the rest of the building, with a large rug laid out on it. A large stallion - though probably just slightly above average size for the snowponies - sat there, watching their approach.

Agate tried to remember her talk to True Sight before yesterday. She said his name was Frostbeard. He did have a rather impressive beard, though it didn't look frosty. It was a light chestnut color, along with his mane. His coat was a very light gray, with darker patches around his hooves and muzzle. He wasn't armed, though he did look like he could wrestle a yeti if the need arose. His eyes were sharp too, examining Agate intently.

"Good morning, chieftain," Earthsong spoke, stopping a few steps from the rug. There was no bowing, kneeling, curtseying, or scores of titles, either. Agate only knew tiny bits and pieces of how to behave around the royals, but even from what little she knew, the snowponies really did do things very differently.

"Good morning, Earthsong", the stallion nodded to the mare with a wry smile. "I would ask who is it that you brought before me, but I'm already aware that our guest has been residing in our village for a month now. And yet you bring her for me to greet only now? Are you trying to make me look like a bad host?" Much like Spear Throw, his voice was deep, rumbling, like the creaking of ice in winter.

Earthsong rolled her eyes. Agate tried not to smile. Between True Sight and now Frostbeard, it looked like the ponies in charge liked to tease Earthsong a lot. Or maybe all of the snowpony leaders were smartflanks. Meanwhile, the chieftain continued. "I jest, of course. I am well aware she wouldn't have understood a word I said back then. Now, though..." He turned towards Agate, getting up from the rug, towering over the little spirit.

"We open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guest of far away," he rumbled, swinging his foreleg in a wide gesture across the Hall. "I would offer you our warmth, but alas, I see that it is too late for that. Fortunately, I am aware that the shamares took care of providing you with a place to rest.

Now, as I'm sure you know, we never met any of your people before. Usually, any pony that perishes in the wilderness and makes their way back here warns their kin of what befell them. You, however, hold knowledge far more important and wondrous than that. I am aware that you are young, yet I'm certain that even what little you've learned so far would change our understanding of the world significantly. Would you do us the honor of sharing your wisdom?"

Agate nodded slowly, digesting all of the things that the chieftain said. It was strange, being addressed as some wise old pony traveler from far away. Foals didn't really get treated as having "wisdom".

"Yes, chieftain. Your ponies saved me and took me in. Telling them what I know seems like the least I could do."

Frostbeard nodded, moving away from the rug. "Then the floor is yours. Everyone is eager to start, I'm certain, but let's make sure that there's no more stragglers coming in." He moved away, making his way towards the double doors.

Agate glanced at Earthsong, who nodded to the filly. Slowly, she made her way onto the rug. looking all around. There were ponies everywhere, peeking from the balconies, sitting on the chairs, or just lounging on the floor around the firepit. Some were still finding their seats, while others were well prepared, with snacks and mugs of steaming drinks on hoof. Earthsong went away towards the firepit, where True Sight was sitting with another old mare. Agate hadn't seen her before, though judging from a number of amulets and trinkets on her neck and mane, she was a shamare as well. Curious.

A heavy thud echoed through the Hall. Raising her eyes up, Agate saw that Frostbeard had shut the doors, and was walking towards her. "I believe that is everyone that wanted to come," he proclaimed, his voice cutting through the quiet murmur of conversations ponies were having. Everyone quieted down, turning their eyes towards the spirit. The chieftain found a spot between her and the firepit, laying down and nodding to the filly. She bit her lip, wondering where to start.

After a few moments of composing herself, she began. "Hello, everyone. I'm sure all of you heard of me by now, though you probably don't actually know anything about me. My name is Agate. I am a pony from far away, across the southern mountain range. I am not a snowpony, either. My people are called "crystal ponies". I know the word "crystal" doesn't mean anything to you. You call the things "spirit stones". It's not the best translation, but it's as close as I can get.

My nation - my tribe, I guess you'd call it - is called the Crystal Empire. As you might have guessed, crystals - or spirit stones, if you prefer - are very important to us. It's what we use to build our homes, how we express our magic, it's what we're made of. Sort of. We're not really made of them, but we look like we are."

The news that they were made of crystal caused a small stir across the crowd. Some craned their necks, trying to get a closer look at the filly's shimmering coat. While she lost her hope and her luster in her run from Sombra, spending the time with the snowponies brought the shine back to her eyes and coat, even if it was harder to see now that she was a spirit.

"There is a great city, in the center of our tribe's lands, where most of us live. Beyond the mountains, there is a large circular valley, surrounded by even more mountains on every side, except for one narrow pass southwards. There's a number of outlying settlements and mining encampments as well, but the vast majority of us live in the Imperial City. It has stood there since ancient times, even before the great Windigo winter, though the current buildings have all been built long after it."

The mention of windigoes made some ponies' ears perk up. "I could just tell you about myself, but half of the things wouldn't make any sense without context. I... Don't know the ancient histories very well, but I'll try to remember as much as I can. Ours is not the only pony tribe your people have never met. There's a great amount of ponies, even more kinds and tribes that you never saw or heard about, that live even further south from the Empire. Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns...

As the story goes, all ponies used to live in Dream Valley - the same valley the Empire is in - since the very first generation. It was lush, warm and green. It was so long ago that no one knows what happened, but over time, different ponies started to dislike each other. They grouped up into three separate tribes, and became outright hostile to others. Maybe there wasn't enough space in the valley any more, or maybe there were other reasons. Either way, it kept getting worse and worse.

Until one winter, when things got really bad. The winter would not end. Ponies were starving and freezing. No plants grew, and fuel was being used up in alarming amounts. Naturally, the tribes all blamed each other, unknowingly making things worse. We now know that it was the windigoe's doing.

Stoking their hatred against each other only led to things becoming even colder, which eventually forced the tribal leaders to wise up just a little and recognize a hopeless situation. They all fled south, ordering their people to go along with them. The windigoes rushed after them, though some still remained to haunt the valley. I don't know exactly what happened to the tribes after they fled. Apparently, they managed to work with each other in the end and drive out the windigoes, barely in the nick of time. They built huge new cities and multiplied in those southern lands, combining their separate tribes into a new, big tribe that called themselves "Equestrians".

However, the valley was not abandoned completely. The pegasi all flew away, down to the last one. They were unfettered to the land, and they didn't mind migrating. But the earth ponies loved their land, and many of them were loath to flee. A hoofful of unicorns refused to run as well, not wanting to abandon their wizard towers with centuries of accumulated knowledge. While they were from different tribes, the two groups found kinship with each other in their plight. They formed friendships, and started to work together, desperately trying to find a way to stave off the cold. Uh, wizards are a bit like shamares - they were wise and powerful in ways of magic.

Ironically, while the unicorns wrote down the knowledge some time ago, it was the earth ponies who found out about the windigoes. With so few unicorns left, the earth ponies took to reading through the huge libraries. As they sifted through the thousands of tomes of the old wizards, they brought the relevant books to the remaining unicorns. Many ponies felt a great amount of embarrassment when they read exactly what caused the windigoes to grow stronger and freeze the world. But they also felt hope, as the books detailed their foe's vulnerabilities as well.

The precise details were lost to time, but together, they created a powerful item they called the crystal Heart. It struck right at the windigoe's weaknesses - as long as there were ponies that had love in their hearts, the Heart would strengthen those emotions, and cast them in all directions around it.

The windigoes had already mostly left the valley alone, since there was no more animosity between the remaining ponies. However, the hateful cold had seeped into the very being of the land so much that the unicorns said it might never thaw out again without magic. The Heart brought that magic, driving out whatever windigoes were left forever, and bringing summer to a small patch of land again.

There was much rejoicing and cheering. The remaining ponies had very little food left, little time to grow more, and only a small patch of land, but they had hope, and the firm knowledge that they just lived through far worse. They got to work rebuilding, and eventually, the small bands of ponies too stubborn to leave grew into a mighty and magnificent new tribe. Over time, they noticed that their coats were getting shinier and translucent, much like the crystal Heart. The artifact turned out to have some side effects, though the ponies wore them with glowing pride. They took to their new appearance with enthusiasm, discovering new talents for manipulating crystals, as well.

Eventually, the Equestrians discovered us. I don't know how that went, except that they were very surprised. They expected to find a frozen wasteland instead of a thriving people, I guess."

Agate quieted down, thinking on how to proceed. That was the story of how the Empire was founded. Now she needed to tell them of current events, and how she ended up in the north. Before she could open her mouth, though, Frostbeard raised a foreleg.

"I am sorry to interrupt, and it is best to ask questions after a story is finished, but... Those other ponies you mentioned, the pegasi - did you say that they flew away?" There was some mild disbelief in his voice.

"Oh yeah," Agate nodded. "Seeing a pegasus for the first time really was weird. They're just like regular ponies, except a bit leaner, and they have wings growing out their sides," she said while pointing with her forehooves towards her back, roughly where she remembered the wings were on a pegasus. "It looks strange as heck to see a pony fly, but fly they do. The Equestrians come to put on shows from time to time. We have a few unicorns of our own, but seeing pegasi is always interesting."

Murmuring broke out again, slowly rising in volume. After a minute of this, Frostbeard clopped his hooves loudly, making everyone quiet down. "Enough. Let her speak. We shall have plenty of time to discuss the idea of a winged pony later, impossible as it sounds."

"She's not lying, Frostbeard," True Sight butted in. "Not that I can see. And I can see a lot."

That made the disbelief vanish from some pony's faces, though others just looked even more flabbergasted. Did they think Agate was just making things up like a foal? She frowned a little. She didn't do things like that, and she certainly wouldn't do it during something so important.

The chieftain shook his head. "I did not intend to accuse our guest of lying. I just find the idea hard to wrap my head around. Then again, there are stranger things than flying ponies out there, are there not? As I said, our very understanding of the world is being challenged. This "Dream Valley", the windigoes, the fleeing ponies... It all sounds terribly familiar to certain parts of our own history. Could it truly be? The lands of the old green age?"

True Sight considered it, holding a hoof to her chin. Many ponies held their breath, looking at her in anticipation. This was clearly something important to the snowponies, but Agate had no idea what. Eventually, the old mare's eyes turned towards the filly. "Tell me, young Agate... Did ponies tell you stories of our people? Did any of them tell you the old tale of how we came to be here, in the snowy north?"

The filly shook her head. "No. I heard some stories, but never heard that one before. "

The shamare opened her mouth, then closed it again, shaking her head. "Sorry, force of habit. There will be time for that later. There are actually many stories of how the snowponies came to be. The Earth and the Sky, the snow and the wind coming together to birth a life, other somewhat silly ones... But there is one tale about us running from the windigoes, fleeing a terrible cold from a wonderful land that used to be green and warm forever. The similarities with what you just told us... It matches your story very, very closely. Perfectly, even. Given that our tribes have never met before, well... Could be that our tribes are very distant relatives, completely lost to time. It sounds like our ancestors did something similar to those "Equestrians", except they went in a different direction."

Everyone quieted down at that, pondering the possibilities of such an event. It made sense to Agate, though the snowponies seemed a bit more skeptical. No one in the Crystal Empire was too surprised when the Equestrians showed up one day, but the snowponies likely thought that they were the only ponies in the world. They clearly were very good at passing down knowledge as stories if they remembered the windigoes, but it seemed that the parts about the unicorns and pegasi got lost regardless. Or perhaps their ancestors just thought that every other pony froze to death, and didn't bother mentioning the other tribes in their retellings of the past.

Frostbeard shook his head. "The implications of this are interesting to consider, but this is ancient history by now. Seeing as your people successfully lived in Dream Valley since time immemorial, but you only came to us recently... I can only assume that something changed, for the better or for worse," he intoned, addressing Agate. "Will you tell us of what kind of upheaval drove you to cross the mountains?"

The ponies quieted down again, turning towards the little spirit. She sighed, collecting her thoughts. Recalling the horrors Sombra wrought on the Empire was unpleasant, but she would manage. "Sure. This next part is going to be unpleasant, though. Let me see... I'm just a regular pony. My parents made amulets and other accessories. We were just living our lives when everything just turned upside down all of a sudden.

Not literally, of course. One day when I came back home from school - ah, it's a place where foals go to learn things - my parents were waiting at home, discussing something. They told me that some ponies ran into their shop in a panic, shouting that some mad pony named Sombra had killed our chieftain, and was wreaking havoc in the city. It was so sudden and unthinkable, my parents weren't sure whether to even believe it or not. They weren't able to get more details out of those ponies, though. They ran off in a hurry, to "flee the city before it was too late".

Still, they decided to close the shop early and head home, just in case. Dad told my mom to pack essential travelling supplies, while he went out towards the city center to try and find out what was happening. We got our saddlebags and packed some food and blankets, before dad came galloping home. He didn't even need to get close to see what was happening. Those ponies that came to the shop were telling the truth.

Sombra must have stolen the Crystal Heart - the sky turned dark, and the shield protecting the Empire was gone. Cold winds blew through the city's streets for the first time in centuries. The Spire - the resting place of the Heart, home of our chieftains and an important building for defending the city, kind of like the Great Hall - was being twisted before our eyes. It used to be a beautiful tower of pure crystal, shining all across the land, as tall as a small mountain. Now, it was turning pitch black, sharp, jagged crystals growing all over it.

And the ponies... I don't even have the words to properly describe what Sombra did to the ponies. Not in your tongue, nor in my own. He twisted them as well, taking their very minds, binding them with evil magic. Groups of ponies wearing some kind of cursed helmets patrolled the streets, shouting to "surrender to their glorious chieftain Sombra". Anyone that resisted would get brutally beaten, a helmet would be forced on their heads, and they would immediately lose their free will as well. Anyone that surrendered would get tied up with ropes and dragged away somewhere."

"Madness," someone in the audience hissed with absolute disgust. Agate was paying only half of her attention towards the listeners while reliving those dark memories, so she didn't notice just how furious some of the ponies were getting. It was rather jarring, as she barely saw a snowpony frown, let alone get truly angry in the whole time she spent with them. It seemed that Sombra's actions were rather universally despised.

The hissed remark broke the dam, and a number of various curses, epithets, and ill wishes towards Sombra flooded forward. Almost immediately, Frostbeard stomped his hooves again, glaring at everyone with a silent scowl. The hall quickly went quiet, though everyone was far more tense now. Laying down, Frostbeard nodded towards Agate to continue. She gave a small nod back, picking up where she left off.

"It appeared that it was indeed too late by then. The captured ponies were combing the streets, and breaking into homes one by one, dragging out any ponies that tried to hide. Still, we managed to get away from our house with our supplies before they got to us. My uncle is a warrior, and he often gave advice to my dad, which let us slip by their patrol and hide in my parent's shop.

We... They made a plan to get away from the city. It sounded like a good plan. We managed to sneak through the entire city without anyone seeing us. But in the end, just when we were on the outskirts, a group of Sombra's ponies ambushed us. They got both of my parents, and they... They..." Agate quieted down, memories of her parents getting dragged down to the ground and beaten flashing before her eyes.

"Did they kill you? A foal?" Frostbeard rumbled angrily.

"No. No, they didn't get me. I managed to escape them. I was honestly surprised that it worked. I think those cursed helmets make the ponies a little bit dumb, actually. Uh, but that's not important. Anyway... I ran away from them, but I got completely lost. And I didn't know how to find my way very well. I knew that I would likely have to go back and surrender, but I was really, really scared that they would kill me if I did. So, I set off away from the city.

I didn't want to waste the chance my parents gave me, either. I had some food and a warm blanket, so I decided to try and find the way that led to Equestria. Like I said before, there is only one clear pass through the mountains. As you can probably guess, I didn't find it. When I reached the mountains, there was nothing there. I decided to climb up higher to get a better vantage point, just in case it was somewhere nearby. It wasn't. I was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with nowhere to go. Nowhere but back to the city, and Sombra.

I tried to go back, I really did. But he twisted the city with his magic in such a horrible way that it was hard to even look at it. The shining beacon of the north, a symbol of hope and warmth for everyone who saw it, was now a terrifying nightmare. The Spire was spewing out black clouds, blotting out the entire sky. Just seeing the sight filled me with unnatural terror, making me want to scream and run the other way. No matter how much I forced myself, I couldn't take a step towards the city. I don't know why Sombra did it, but the effects were the same either way.

I was trapped in the mountains, with nowhere to go. So, I just kept going north. I tried to survive, I really did. I ate pine needles, I found shelter to sleep in, but eventually... A blizzard came out of nowhere, and, well," she shrugged, pointing at herself. "It was too much. I didn't make it. I woke up in the darkness, blind and deaf. It took me some time to pull myself together. I didn't know what to do at first, but in the end, I decided to try and go back to the Empire and see if I could cause Sombra some trouble.

Something very strange happened while I was lost in the darkness, and I don't even know what. When I climbed the mountain to take a look at the city, it was gone. Not destroyed or damaged, but gone completely. There was nothing but bare ground where all the buildings and roads used to be. I couldn't understand it at all, didn't know what to do or where to go next. In the corner of my eye, though, I saw a tiny glowing line, no thicker than a hair, shining somewhere in the distance.

It was one of your paths, the ones you lay out with cry- spirit stones. With nowhere else to go, I went in that direction. It took me... I don't know how long it took to gallop all the way through the mountains to reach your lands. A week, maybe several? I couldn't see the sky properly, and wasn't able to tell the time. Eventually, I reached the path, found where it led, and... Here I am. You know the rest."

Agate expected another outburst of questions or exclamations after she finished, but everyone remained quiet. A number of ponies were glancing at each other, unsure whether to break the silence or not. Others were pensively looking at the ground or somewhere off in the distance, lost in their thoughts. It looked like her story really rattled them.

Frostbeard slowly sat up from his position on the floor, shaking out his mane. "So, if I understood this correctly... Your city, your tribe, your people - all of it is gone? Vanished from the face of the earth, without the tiniest trace that they even ever existed?"

Agate nodded, a frown on her face. "Yeah. I don't understand it. The ponies could have broken out and fled, sure. But they couldn't just uproot the buildings and take them along. Don't see how Sombra could have done it, either. I don't know much about magic, but I don't think there's anything that lets you stuff a whole city into a sack and run away with it. Sombra had to be powerful, to do everything that he did, but... I don't know. I just don't know."

Frostbeard raised an eyebrow in True Sight's direction. "A trick?"

The old mare rubbed her chin, considering everything that she heard so far. After a few minutes of consideration, she slowly shook her head. "I doubt it. Certainly, there are creatures that can beguile and bewitch even the most seasoned trackers, distracting them with false images and trickery. But it is much harder to fool a spirit's sight. Not to mention, the way Agate described seeing the place where her home used to stand is not how those tricks work. They drag your attention away from where you want to go, luring you off a safe path. Attempting to hide a village this way is far too blatant, as it doesn't actually stop anyone from finding it at all. If she could see the bare ground where the buildings used to stand, then anyone could just walk up to the place and effortlessly disrupt the illusion."

"That's not all, elder," Earthsong added quietly. "Remember what Blizzard Heart said about the northern wind, when we communed with the spirits? A vast open plain, one that was previously denied to it. This is no trick, unless someone learned how to trick the wind itself. Agate's people are gone, spirited away to who knows where."

True Sight frowned, raising her head. Her gaze settled on Agate, the shamare's emerald green eyes glowing faintly in the gloom of the Hall. It reminded the filly of the first time she saw the mare. After a few seconds, the elder spoke. "You don't have to say anything, youngling. I can see it in your eyes. And believe me, every single pony here feels it in their spirits. You want our help, understandably so. And we would gladly give it, even though we never met your tribe before. But, it seems that whatever strange magics this "Sombra" pony wrought - if he even is a pony - are beyond our ken. I have never heard of any power that would let you steal away an entire village either, nor how to reverse such a thing."

Agate sighed, lowering her head. Deep down, she knew that the city's disappearance was likely beyond the scope of any regular pony to solve. If the Empire was still there, perhaps they could have went there and kicked out Sombra. But now that it was gone completely, there was just nothing to do.

"I want to scream," she chuckled lifelessly. "I want to be angry, I want to be sad, I want to say that surely there's something you can do. But I just feel empty. I went galloping through the mountains to find the tiny light in the darkness because I had nowhere else to go. I think I kind of made peace that I might not see the Empire again. Still, it was nice to hope." A few quiet gasps came from the audience as they saw the faint prismatic effect fade from her ethereal coat.

Some ponies shuffled in place, likely debating whether to go up there and comfort the distraught filly. A transparent form soundlessly made its way through the crowd, quickly reaching Agate. Raising her eyes upward, she faintly felt a pair forelegs wrap around her from behind.

"Gnarled Root... You came," Agate said quietly.

"I did say I wouldn't miss it for the world, little one."

The filly nodded, leaning against the ancient spirit's side. Silence came upon the hall. Once more, Frostbeard was the one to break it.

"These are grave news, certainly. Much like everyone else's, my spirit was alight with curiosity and interest at meeting a new tribe of ponies. To find out that such a tragedy befell them is a painful blow, though I don't think this is the end. As Agate explained, this beast's Sombra's goal was conquest, not destruction. I doubt he went through all that effort to capture her people only to destroy his prize when he was finished. And if her tribe fell in combat against him, the city would still be there, and so would their spirits. Wherever her tribe was taken, they are likely still alive. I cannot imagine what kind of being could have the power to take them away like this, but if it was done, then it can be undone. Perhaps we will yet get to meet them someday, if they manage to find their way back home."

Agate sat there, chewing on his words. She already came to the same conclusions, more or less. It didn't look like the Empire was destroyed, rather it was taken away somewhere. Of course, that didn't help much with finding her parents, or the rest of the crystal ponies. The "where" could be anywhere.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, youngling," True Sight spoke up. "It's not a foal's duty to led the rescue of an entire tribe. They will manage, one way or another. Even if you never meet them in their life, you will meet them again afterwards. Either way, that is likely out of your hooves. However, you're more than capable of telling us more about them. Who knows? Perhaps some brave explorer might discover wherever your people ended up someday in the future."

Agate nodded slowly, sitting up straighter. It wasn't much, but perhaps making sure that at least someone remembered the crystal ponies was better than nothing. And perhaps... The filly shot a glance at the spirit she was leaning against. Gnarled Root decided to stay around for a long, long time. Perhaps she could, too. Long enough to find out what happened to the Empire.

"Alright. There's a lot that I don't know. I'm only ten years old, after all. But I really don't have anything else to do, so... If anyone has any questions for me, go ahead.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Really?"

That was probably the dozenth time this came up. Of all the things she got asked about, the part about everything in the Empire being made of crystal (including the ponies) seemed to cause the most disbelief amongst the snowponies.

"Yes, really. Really really. Really really really. Our houses are made of cry- spirit stones, and the ponies look like they're made of them, too. But it's only a look, we're not walking statues. We're flesh and blood, we eat and sleep, just like all other ponies."

"I can understand the "look" part. I mean, everyone can see your eyes," a pony somewhere in the audience spoke. "But houses? Those paths you mentioned - roads? The northerners barely dig up a few sledloads of spirit stones every year, to replace the ones other tribes lost and to trade. I don't think that'd be enough for even the foundations for a house."

Agate sighed, tapping her chin. It seemed completely natural to her, since she grew up surrounded by everything crystal. Everything. The crystal ponies sure loved their crystals. But with them being so scarce here, she could mostly understand the snowpony's skepticism.

"We don't just mine them and stick them together, though. Experienced artisans can shape, mold, and even grow crystals. A great amount of them are actually grown, not mined. Crystal ponies usually start testing their capabilities for crystal magic around their teen years, but... Well, maybe I can show you a little, if you bring me one," Agate said, remembering how she managed to make the citrine crystals light up a few times when she was out and about.

There was some shuffling and a low hum of conversation while they debated on who would go to retrieve one. Soon enough, a young mare showed up, carrying a sizeable chunk of citrine in her mouth. She gently set it down in front of Agate, retreating back to the crowd. The filly leaned down towards it, examining the piece with a critical eye. It was raw and unpolished, an off-white base of quartz that turned into a smoky orange with angular spikes dotted with flecks of dark red on top.

"Alright, no idea how much I'll be able to actually do. But... Here goes nothing. Watch closely," she said, while bringing her ghostly hooves towards the crystal. The audience all leaned in, holding their breaths.

Some foals exhibited the ability to work with crystals from a young age, often ending up as apprentices to various masters. Agate wasn't one of those foals, so being able to light up the crystals still surprised her a little. Almost as soon as her hooves touched it, the piece started to glow faintly. She focused, trying to remember what her mother told her about it. Something about resonance... Trying to find the right frequency for each crystal. Humming under her breath, she slowly ran her hooves up and down the crystal's sides, observing the effects. This made its core shine brighter, while putting her hoof there exposed the fault lines...

Slowly but steadily, the crystal lit up, bathing Agate and Gnarled Root in an orange glow. She didn't stop there, though. Doing her best to listen and feel out the crystal's vibrations, she tried charging it even more, but that just made the glow brighter. Scrunching her muzzle, she examined the fault lines again.

"How do I get you to grow?"

It took her a few minutes of groping, but she found a way to put her hooves just right in a way that made the whole crystal vibrate noticeably. She wasn't actually sure if that was good or bad, though. Biting her lip nervously, she hummed louder, trying to reach the breaking point.

"Here's to hoping I won't blow it up."

A few more minutes, and the crystal was glowing like a fire, with a loud, musical chime permeating the room. It still refused to change in any significant way, however. Agate noticed that her surroundings were getting dimmer, too. She recognized the symptom. If she kept going, she'd lose her senses again.

"Magic... It's all magic. I think I get it now... She tried to recall the feeling of resting in her totem, the sensation of a gentle breeze caressing her coat. She directed it towards the crystal in one final push, hearing a loud crack for her efforts.

The world went dark after that. A small shiver of fear ran through her, though she held herself together. "It's alright... I'm okay. Gnarled Root was holding on to me, and I'm surrounded by hundreds of ponies. They know how to bring me back. I'll be fine."

A wave of indistinct whispers rolled over her, almost like the sound of wind rubbing tree branches together in the forest. Cocking her ears, she looked around. She could still faintly see the closest ponies, though they were no more than black silhouettes framed in a faint orange glow.

"Wait, orange glow?"

Looking down, she saw that the crystal she worked so hard on was still visible. For all the effort she put into it, there were barely any changes. A few impurities disappeared, and one of the small citrine nubs on the top extended by about a hoof. That was to be expected, really. She was honestly surprised she got it to grow at all.

Stretching out her right foreleg over it, Agate took a closer look at herself. She was kind of translucent already, but she could barely see herself now. Squinting her eyes, she tried to bring the world back into focus. It didn't do very much, until she felt a hoof pat her on the head. A song reached her ears, and the dark shape of a pony in front of her resolved into Earthsong. The mare had her eyes closed, rhythmically tapping on the ground with her left hoof, her right one on Agate's brow.

Soon enough, Earthsong finished her song, opening her eyes. Smiling wryly at Agate, she raised an eyebrow. "That was quite the demonstration, but try not to overdo it next time, alright? You gave some ponies a bit of a scare there."

"Sorry. I saw it coming, but I felt like I was really close, too. I know I didn't do much, but it's actually pretty rare for foals my age to be able to work crystals like that."

"Didn't do much?!" True Sight asked indignantly. It was strange to hear such a tone of voice from the normally calm mare. "It takes shamares days to light up the spirit stones like that, and making them grow? We can't do anything remotely like it," she explained while picking up the citrine chunk, bringing it right up to her muzzle. After a few minutes of muttering something under her breath, she put it down, shaking her head.

Gnarled Root snorted, still hugging the filly from behind. "Well, Agate, it certainly looks like you made the doubters quiet down. And you have some rather impressive skills there."

"Like I keep saying, it's nothing impressive... For a crystal pony, anyway."

"Well, we're certainly not capable of the things your people are, so it's rather impressive to us," Earthsong refuted. "Perhaps you can teach us how to work the spirit stones better, since it comes so naturally to you."

"Uh, well... I'm not really sure I can. I mean, I can try, but I barely know what I'm doing myself. I'm not sure I can even put into words the things that I did there. This was the first time I actually did something with a crystal."

"Take your time and find the words, then. We're not going anywhere," Earthsong said, while back to her seat. True Sight followed her, leaving the glowing crystal on the floor. The onlookers took a little while to appreciate the crystal's glow before the questions started up again.

"So you look like you're made of spirit stones and your people grow them, but you really don't eat them?"

Agate sighed silently. "Looks like some ponies still have some silly questions left..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Without being able to see the passage of the sun, Agate lost track of time in the dimly-lit building. Judging by the fact that the gathered ponies took to frying fish and other foods over the huge firepit a few times, she guessed that her story time and subsequent questions and demonstrations took up the whole day. They really took learning seriously, or maybe they were just that curious about her.

The latter seemed likely, as they questioned her about the tiniest things - from the foods ponies in the Empire ate, to the kinds of plants and animals that roamed the countryside. By the time they were finished, the few rays of light coming in from the windows were gone, and the crowd looked a lot less energetic as they shuffled out. Agate was sitting down near the firepit with a few of her acquaintances and new ponies, wrapping up the evening.

Frostbeard, Gnarled Root, Earthsong, True Sight, and the old shamare that had been sitting with them were all there. The nameless shamare remained quiet the entire day, not saying a word. By the looks of it, she was almost asleep, her eyes half-closed all the time. Her ears were up and alert, however. The others didn't say anything about her, so Agate decided that the best course of action was to wait until they did.

"These Equestrians you spoke of still interest me greatly," Frostbeard mused. "If they are even half as numerous as you say, then their tribe must be truly successful. But if your people were several week's travel across the mountains, and they are farther south still... I am not sure we could reach them safely. Especially if we don't know how far they are. If every trip took several months of rough travel back and forth, contact between us would hardly be of any use for either tribe."

"Yeah. I really don't know the distance between us and them, but I know that it's far. It took them, um... I don't remember the exact amount, but it took them more than a few hundred years to rediscover the valley after they fled the windigoes," Agate supplied.

"A shame, but I suppose it is out of my hooves," he shrugged. "No matter how much I'd like to see a winged pony."

"That'd certainly be a sight I'd like to behold," True Sight agreed. "Though I suppose we're not going to, not in our lifetimes. Not without some help, at least. What do you say, Dreamcatcher? Seen any winged ponies in your visions?" She addressed the sleepy shamare.

She was indeed awake, opening her eyes a little more. They were cloudy, though she didn't seem to have any problems seeing her surroundings. "No wings. Strange things, strange ponies, angular buildings and unusual colors. No wings, though," she said in a raspy voice, stretching her legs. A few cracks emanated from her joints. "I have been trying to find out more about our guest for weeks, though the things I saw defy explanation. She managed to explain some of them today. Perhaps she could explain a few more."

Agate blinked, looking at the mare with some confusion. Earthsong leaned in closer to explain. "Dreamcatcher here is a master of visions and dreamwalking. She spends a great amount of time in a trance or asleep, wandering the spiritual world and trying to understand it's often strange and cryptic omens."

"She's right. I'm always half asleep," the old mare agreed. "More asleep than awake as I get older. Doesn't get easier, though. Trying to make sense of the stuff I see is like listening to the echo of an echo. Echoes of the past, echoes of the future... Always confounding, rarely useful. But I try. I tried looking for your home, for instance. A few shamares were worried that something terrible befell your tribe, and wanted to know if it would come for us. I was sad to learn that something bad did happen to you. But then, my dream trip doesn't make any sense, given what you told us."

She went quiet for a moment, likely trying to recall some detail about her dreams. "Right. Like I said, I tried to look for your people, a few weeks ago now. Visiting other places in dreams is possible, though not easy. I flew over the mountains you came from, and I think I found the valley you spoke of. A huge place, ringed by mountains. A giant of a mountain loomed on the northern side, standing sentinel over the valley."

"Yes! That's Dream Valley. The mountain - wait, I don't actually know its name. But yes, you're describing my homeland," the filly happily confirmed.

"Mmm, good. You see, I saw something else, though. A huge spike rising out of the ground in the middle of the valley, like it was trying to compete with the mountains. You called it the, what was it, the Spire? A central point of your people's city and power. I didn't know what it was at the time, but it stood out in the landscape, so I went to investigate. When I got closer, though, it vanished, leaving nothing behind.

Other shapes were dancing in the corner of my eyes as well. Houses of blue and red, shining in the mists of the dream. Yet every time I tried to examine them, they would vanish, then reappear, as phantom images. Still, I know a few tricks in dreams, and willed myself to appear near them. However, it was like I hit a wall. Finding something so solid is very rare in dreams, but there it was. I could wander through the empty valley, seeing echoes of your city, but if I tried to witness the city itself, I kept smacking into something. Like the place was frozen in ice."

Agate sat there, frowning deeply, a hoof on her chin. She pondered, thought, and analyzed, trying to figure it out. The others waited patiently for her to speak up. Eventually, she came to a conclusion. "You described the city correctly, so I think you were in the right place, but I have no idea what that dream could mean. Sorry."

She expected disappointment, but Dreamcatcher just cackled. "A rather common result from dabbling in dreams. Don't worry about it. Perhaps it will become clearer in the future."

"Now I really want to see this place for myself," True Sight mused. "It sounds like some kind of trickery after all. But I'm too old and my legs are too creaky for such a trip. However, in a few years I just might get my strength back..." She trailed off, a wry smile on her muzzle.

"What... How will being even older make the trip easier?" Agate asked, tilting her head.

The adults all shared a glance, unsure how to go about explaining the mare's joke. True Sight rolled her eyes. "She's already a spirit, you twits, you don't have to dance on the snow about it. What I meant, Agate, is that I am old. I have seen ninety winters, and I will be ninety one this summer. Now, some ponies reach a hundred winters and more, yet others fall earlier than that. I don't know how many years I have left in me, but the number is probably not very high. I'll be joining the ranks of spirits myself soon. And spirits, as I'm sure you learned by now, don't get tired from galloping any more. Before I move on, I am terribly tempted to go take a peek at this vanishing village of yours."

Agate lit up. "Really, you can do that? I mean, you would do that? Thank you!"

"Of course I can do that. Heck, you can do that. Spirits are not tied down to their totems, they can roam wherever they want. They just tend to stick close to their villages to help ponies. You could take the trip back to your tribe's lands yourself, if you felt like it."

The filly pursed her lips, considering the notion. It was true that she didn't get tired, and she didn't have anything preventing her from disappearing for a few weeks. Was it worth it, though? Would she see anything new? Going back and seeing the empty field where the Empire used to stand would just cause more pain.

Seeing her indecision, Dreamcatcher stepped in. "Don't tear yourself in half like this. Take your time, think it through. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"She's right, you know," Gnarled Root added. "There's no rush anymore. You have all the time in the world. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience," the elder spirit pointed out.

"Alright," Agate acquiesced. "Thanks for all the advice. And thank you for taking me in. I'll... I'll see what I can do about teaching you more about crystals. And I'll think about going to take a look at Dream Valley."

"We only did what was proper," Frostbeard insisted, standing up. "Needless to say, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want. And thank you, for telling us everything that you did today. I am certain that ponies are going to be retelling your story for many generations to come. The other tribes will certainly want to hear about you as well, when winter comes along."

The others stood up as well, signifying that the long meeting was over. Dreamcatcher swayed a little on her hooves, though Earthsong held her steady. The group made their way out of the Hall, Frostbeard closing the huge double doors behind them.

"I'll see if I can find out anything more about your people's fate, Agate, but don't get your hopes up too much. The ways of dreams are rarely straightforward," Dreamcatcher said, waving goodbye. "I wish you luck in your journey. Farewell."

With a few more farewells and goodnights, the ponies went their separate ways. Frostbeard accompanied Dreamcatcher, while Earthsong and True Sight made their way southwards towards their shared house. Gnarled Root was the only one left, trotting alongside Agate towards her totem.

"Well, I have to say, that was the most interesting story I have heard in ages. No one could have guessed there were such strange and amazing ponies living so close to us."

Agate snorted. "Us, strange? Please. You're the strange ones, with your crazy fish-eating, snowwalking, spirit calling, cold resistant fluffy ways. I am endlessly confused every time I see you strange ponies doing your strange snowpony things."

That made Gnarled Root laugh. "Hahahahah! No, no way. We are certainly not stranger than ponies that look like they're made of spirit stone, who grow their buildings and use their magic to keep summer forever in their valley. Ask any other pony, they'll agree with me."

"Well of course the other strange ponies would agree with another strange pony..."

They kept needling each other, pointing out the differences in their tribes in lighthearted jest as they made their way through the silent village. Upon reaching the clearing where Agate's totem stood, the two stopped, a little unsure of what to do next. Gnarled Root looked up at the sky, measuring out the Moon's position.

"It is quite late now, and Spear isn't here. And I think you've done quite a bit of talking and listening today. A whole lot of it, in fact. I think we can skip story time this evening. You should get some rest, especially after that performance with the spirit stone."

After a moment's thought, Agate nodded. She actually felt tired - not physically, but her mind felt sluggish again, and darkness was flickering at the edges of her vision. Apparently, it was still possible to tire yourself out even as a spirit. Trying her best to memorize the symptoms so they didn't sneak up on her in the future, she waved goodbye to the mare.

"Yes, I think I better go to sleep. I'll see you next time, Root."

The elder spirit went her way, while Agate went towards her totem.

"Hmm. One of these days, I should go visit her, just to see what her totem looks like. One more thing to remember," was her last thought before she drifted off.

Finding Your Flow

"Mmmm... Don't want to get up..."

The next morning found Agate sleepy, curled up in her bed. She didn't feel like getting out, but she knew that sooner or later, her parents would come along, and she'd have to get up anyway. Reluctantly, she dragged herself out, stretching her legs when she landed on the ground.

Only then did she remember that her parents weren't around anymore, it wasn't exactly a bed that she slept in these days, and... She didn't actually have anything to do that day.

"Huh, wait..."

Looking through her memory for all those "have to remember to ask someone about this later" or "do this later" things she kept adding to her mental list didn't reveal any promises or obligations to be somewhere or do something, either. She probably learned enough of the snowpony tongue to learn on her own now, she told them her story as promised, and no other things came up.

She was at a loss at what to do next. She had plenty of days off in the Empire when she could do whatever she wanted, obviously. Those were usually spent with friends or reading a book. The snowponies didn't seem to have books, though, and she wouldn't be able to turn the pages even if they did. As for friends...

She really liked the ponies that she met so far, but they all were adults. It was rather nice that, for the most part, they actually treated her as an adult herself. She wasn't sure if she could call them friends, though. As pleasant as she found them, after talking to them for a while, she realized that almost all of her interactions with them were them performing their duties. Dealing with a wayward spirit, greeting a foreign guest, teaching her how to talk, finding out what her arrival meant for the tribe...

And usually, adults had all kinds of important duties that shouldn't be interrupted. They really were nice, so they probably wouldn't mind much, but Agate didn't want to go bother Earthsong just because she had nothing to do. Who knew, the shamare was probably busy fixing up the defensive wards in the village, or something similar.

"Alright, who else do I know...?"

Pondering her predicament, she laid down on the ground, gazing up at the sky. The sun hadn't crested the horizon yet, and most of the stars were still visible.

"Gnarled Root and Spear Throw are interesting to talk to, but I already agreed to meet up with them in the evenings...

She still didn't know where Root's totem was, either.

"I could go looking for it, I guess... I think they tend to build totem poles on the outskirts of the village."

Thinking about wandering around reminded her of the two foals she met last time. Autumn Ash and Cindertail were certainly interested in meeting her again. The thought of trying to find them flashed through her mind, though she didn't know where they lived, either. She did invite them to visit her totem though, so they might show up... Someday.

"What would we even do, though?"

Her thoughts ran a full circle and came back to the fact that a great many things that she was used to doing previously were now impossible. Reading, playing with toys of any kind, drawing, playing games... She probably still could play tag, but not getting tired and being able to run through walls would give her all kinds of unfair advantages in most games.

Talking seemed to be the thing she did the most of these days. While that was partially because she needed to learn the local language, the trend would more than likely continue, given her limitations on interacting with the physical world. It was probably the whole reason spirits got saddled with the "wise" honorific. All they did was talk, listen, and teach, since it was all they could do.

"Hmm... Root did mention going out to find herbs, and Spear told me about protecting ponies. I don't know how to do any of that, though. I doubt any of the monsters would be very scared of me. I don't want to put any ponies in danger by bumbling about."

It seemed that being treated as an adult meant that she would have to act more like one, too. Less playing, more talking and passing on the wisdom to others. Which was weird for the ten-year-old filly, to say the least. Due to what happened to her, she skipped all the experiences of growing up and growing old, and got shoved right into the "wise old spirit mentor" role in snowpony society. The only reason she had any "wisdom" to pass on at all was because she wasn't local, and her meagre knowledge was a big curiosity for the snowponies.

Some of it might actually be useful, if she could articulate it properly. She recalled True Sight's request to instruct the shamares on how to charge the crystals better. She would have been happy to help, except for the fact that it was very hard to explain something when you had no real clue as to what the heck you were doing yourself. The things she did with the crystal were mostly instinct, part desperation, and the tiniest bit of actual knowledge.

"Ugh. Being an adult is hard."

Agate lay there, gazing at the sky. The stars were winking out one by one, slowly replaced by the glow of morning light. She didn't want to sit around doing nothing all day, but she wasn't all that enthusiastic about the things she could do, either. After an hour of sulking and running around in circles in her head, she sighed, and put her mind to the task before her.

"Alright. How do I best explain resonance, when I'm not one hundred percent sure what it means myself?

❅ ❆ ❅

The sky brightened, from a dark purple to a bright blue, the sun slowly moving across the heavens. Eventually, it moved past Agate's field of view, the light beginning to slowly fade again. She spent the whole day lying, sitting, and otherwise lounging in her clearing, trying to find the words to best explain how enchanting crystals worked.

Technically, it wasn't even enchanting - any crystal would glow if imbued with raw magic, which often happened naturally in crystals dug up in the mines. Even when enchanting, the light often wasn't even the intended goal, but simply a side effect of the magic itself, much like the light from a unicorn's horn when casting a spell. Which is why basic light spells were the easiest to cast for unicorns, and why practically every crystal pony didn't ever need to buy candles.

Of course, the fact that lighting up a crystal often needed only a short tap from a crystal pony didn't make it any easier to explain how they did it. It was like trying to explain breathing, or trotting. You just... Felt it, and did it. While Agate was extremely inexperienced in the doing category, she still felt the song of the crystal Heart, the thrum of power under her hooves as thousands of ponies gathered outside during various celebrations, lighting up the streets like bonfires.

She did her best to put the feelings into words, hard as it was. For all her efforts, she barely had anything, but something was probably better than nothing. Given how powerful the shamares appeared to be, the fact that they took days to simply charge the crystals likely meant that, for all their skill, they had even less of an idea of what they were doing with crystals than Agate did. Hopefully, that also meant that she could help them.

Sighing, the filly got up, stretching her legs and back. She couldn't get cramps anymore, but somehow, the act still felt satisfying after laying around all day. Checking the sun, she saw that it was late afternoon, or maybe early evening. Not late enough for Spear Throw and Gnarled Root to show up for a few hours yet, but probably too late to go seeking out True Sight with what she managed to put together.

She briefly considered practicing on some crystals to sharpen her skills, but seeing as the only ones around were stuck in her totem, that idea went nowhere. They were interwoven with the totem's magic, and messing around with them would have been rather risky.

After some deliberation, Agate decided to go for a short trot outside the village again. The last one was fun, and she didn't feel like talking to ponies all that much. She was all talked out from yesterday's storytelling. Stepping outside Snowpitt, she remembered what True Sight said to her at the end.

"You could take the trip back to your tribe's lands yourself, if you felt like it."

It was something that had been knocking about in the back of her mind while she was thinking about crystals. She was tempted to go back and take a look at the valley. At the same time, however, she was certain she wouldn't find anything. She didn't know if it was her logic or her fear telling her that, though. There was also a small issue of what to do if the Empire was there.

Her parents would certainly be sad to find out about what happened to her, but leaving them forever wondering about her fate would be worse. And they would figure it out eventually, regardless if she told them or not. There really didn't seem to be any easy, simple choices in the whole situation.

Forcing the thoughts from her head for the moment, Agate trotted southwards, gazing at the mountains in the distance. She tried not to think what lay beyond them, simply taking in the landscape. The plain leading up to the forest looked much as before, though there did seem to be several spots where taller stones were poking out of the diminished snow layer. Spring really was arriving to the snowpony lands, slow as it was.

Speeding up to a gallop, she tried to recall the path she took to Snowpitt from the mountains, but it was an impossible task. Seeing as she couldn't slip or injure herself anymore as a spirit, she didn't bother to look where she was putting her hooves at all during her trip. Her only goal at the time was to reach the mysterious glow in the distance.

She kept going south, aiming towards the forest lining the foothills. A brief memory flashed in her mind: darkness, a shadowed forest, an old pine tree, and a mysterious green glow within it's trunk. Was that the tree's spirit? The notion intrigued the filly. As Agate got closer to the forest, she picked out the closest tree that she could see.

Slowing down, she squinted at it. It was a short fir sapling, barely taller than an adult pony. The needles were green and healthy, but there didn't seem to be anything unusual about it. Blinking, she shoved her head between the branches, almost touching the trunk with her nose. Again, there was nothing unusual about the fir. Not that she was remotely knowledgeable about trees, but still.

Shrugging, she removed herself from the evergreen, taking a look around. A few more saplings dotted the immediate area, the forest looming dead ahead. Reminding herself one more time that she was in no danger from any animals, she entered the woods. Her surroundings immediately turned darker, the larger trees blocking most of the light.

Agate wandered the woods for a while, thinking about nothing and everything, letting her mind rest for a time. Everything was still and quiet, which helped her relax, but it also meant that every tiny sound and detail stood out even more in the forest's quiet. Such as the tracks that she found in the snow.

Seeing tracks was something of a curiosity for Agate. Ponies didn't leave tracks on the Empire's crystal roads, she didn't leave any since she became a spirit, and most snowponies seemed to be able to gallop over the snow without leaving any, either. Lowering her nose to the ground, she tried to tell if they were made by hooves or not, but the snow had partially melted, making identification impossible. Which probably meant that the tracks weren't fresh.

Looking left and right, the amateur tracker picked the direction that lead further south, following the trail. The tracks went in a straight line, weaving around the oldest trees. It didn't take long until she found the likely destination of the mystery traveler. Sounds of rushing water reached her ears, and soon enough, she was standing before a river, the tracks disappearing in the muddied snow along the shore.

"Oooh. I remember this."

Recalling her short underwater adventure in crossing the river, she clambered down the riverbank. The water was rushing by, chunks of ice bobbing in the water here and there. Taking a step toward the water, she expected to sink to the bottom again, but found herself standing on a thin, clear patch of ice instead. The sight made her shake her head - all of her experience was telling her that she was supposed to immediately fall through such thin ice, but her weightlessness made sure that didn't happen.

"Wait a second..."

She took a look at the ice under her hooves, then the water further out, then the ice again. Gears were turning in her head. After a moment, she turned towards the water, squinted, stuck her tongue out in concentration, and jumped. She almost missed due to how fast the water was moving, but managed to grab on to the edge, pulling herself up.

"I'm pretty sure this is cheating of some kind. Somehow," she muttered with a wry smile.

Agate was currently floating down the river, standing on a tiny chunk of ice, barely holding on with three hooves. There was no way the piece could possibly support her weight, if she had any. As it was, though, she was carried by the current, bobbing up and down wildly, completely unable to influence where her makeshift raft went even if she wanted to.

Giggling, the filly did her best to balance on the available surface with three hooves while simultaneously observing the river and the landscape passing by. It was quite hard to do while being tossed around left and right, but she managed to hold on longer than she expected. Still, even her ghostly tricks couldn't stave off the inevitable forever. The water carried her over a set of rapids, and the piece of ice she was riding flipped over, dumping the spirit in the river.

The current continued on without so much as a ripple. A few moments later, a pair of hooves reached out of the water, grabbing on to one of the stones standing in shallower water. Agate pulled herself out, a smile on her face. Scanning the water, she looked for more things she could ride. The rapids churned up the water too much, though, the current dragging any ice and debris underwater.

After a few minutes of fruitlessly looking through the water, she shrugged, jumping from one stone to another to reach the shore. Looking downstream, she saw that the rapids continued on as far as she could see. Turning upstream, she went back to the calmer patch of the river. This was way too fun to do only once.

❅ ❆ ❅

"If I wasn't dead already, that would have killed me. A whole bunch of times, probably."

After making her way back upriver, Agate kept trying to find more pieces of ice to ride, with wildly varying degrees of success. A lot of times, she simply missed, ending up at the bottom of the river. Predicting where the wildly bobbing ice chunks would go next was hard, but not impossible. With some more effort, she managed to plant her hooves on a few more improvised rafts. The best one she grabbed on to carried her downriver for almost half an hour, eventually breaking into tiny pieces on a sharp rock.

Climbing out of the river, she noticed that it was quite dark at that point. Closing her eyes, the filly found the pull and glow of her totem, beelining straight back to Snowpitt. She hoped she didn't miss the meetup with the other spirits while she was goofing off.

At a steady gallop, it didn't take long to exit the forest and reach her clearing. Glancing at the sky, she saw that the moon wasn't all that far above the horizon. It wasn't that late yet, then. Breathing a sigh of relief, she laid down on her back, engaging in her usual evening routine to pass the time.

The stars seemed just the tiniest bit dimmer than usual that evening, for whatever reason. Probably just the seasons changing. She tried to find some patterns to them again, but, as usual, nothing came of it, though it did not detract from the beauty of the heavens.

As expected, her stargazing was interrupted quite soon. Gnarled Root showed up, Spear Throw in tow. Agate rolled to her hooves, getting up to greet her guests.

"Hello, Root. Hello, Spear. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Agate," Gnarled Root replied.

"Indeed," Spear Throw rumbled. "My family enjoyed your story quite a lot." He paused after that, tightening his lips a little. "I apologize, that was improper. It was your people's and your life's story, and it was a painful one. Not the kind of fireside tale to enjoy and be entertained by. Still, they were interested in hearing about all the kinds of different ponies that live in faraway lands."

Agate considered his words for a moment before waving it off. "It's fine. I'd feel bad myself if I just made your entire tribe sad with what I told them. And I'm interested in listening to your stories too, even though they're also often dark."

"It's how life is," Gnarled Root agreed. "The true stories are not the same as the lighthearted ones that ponies sometimes make up for their own amusement. The real stories are the ones truly worth telling, though."

Agate nodded, sitting down. Her guests followed suit. The three sat in silence, Agate rubbing her chin in thought. Gnarled Root tilted her head questioningly. "Can't decide on what you want to ask, little one? Would you like me to pick a story this evening?"

"Not exactly. I think I might need some more advice, not a story. The kind of advice that you gave me in the very beginning, about being a spirit. I'm... Give me a minute."

Her guests nodded, waiting patiently for Agate to articulate her thoughts. She sat for some time, chewing on her lip. Eventually, she started. "I want to see my family again. I still don't understand a lot of this. How and why am I a spirit when no other crystal pony ever became one - far as I know, at least. But I do know I want to talk to my parents, at least one last time. Either way, it looks like it could take me a long, long time to find them, and there's nothing that I can do about that.

In the meantime, I'm staying here in Snowpitt. I don't want to just sit on my butt while I ask the shamares to try and figure out where the Empire disappeared to, though. They kept me busy while I was learning your tongue, but now, I'm a little lost at what to do next. I'd like to help, but I don't think I could do any of the things you two can. The animals probably wouldn't be afraid of me, since I'm so small. And I don't know the first thing about the kinds of plants around here, so I'd make a pretty poor scout, too."

The two spirits hrrm'ed, thinking about what she said. Spear Throw seemed to be considering her question, while Gnarled Root frowned. "Agate, I think it is very commendable for you to be so eager to help, but as I remember from your story, you are barely ten years old. That is not yet the age where you should be overly concerned about pulling your weight. I understand that you're feeling grateful to us for taking you in, but you are not in any kind of debt to the tribe. You should take some time for yourself."

"It's not just that," Agate disagreed, shaking her head. "I'm trying to find new activities because I can't do most of the things I used to be able to do anymore. Reading, writing... You can still do most of the things you did in life. Look for herbs, protect ponies... Everything here is still unfamiliar to me. And even if I find some friends closer to my age, I don't think there's all that much we could do together. Being a spirit means I'm no longer in danger when I go out to explore, but it's limiting in other ways."

Spear Throw raised an eyebrow. "You've been exploring?"

"Well, yeah. The way I got here... I was galloping through the mountains half blind, only looking straight ahead. I barely remember anything from my journey. I'm sure that I'll need to travel again sometime, sooner or later. So I've been exploring outside Snowpitt, a tiny little bit. I only went out twice so far, but I want to familiarize myself with the land a little more. It's also very interesting, as well. Our people live surrounded by mountains on all sides, so seeing the tundra stretch out endlessly in all directions was quite a sight."

Her explanation earned her a respectful nod from Spear Throw, and a smile from Gnarled Root. "See?" The mare spoke. "That's more like it. I understand that not being able to do the things you love any more can be disheartening, but you still have the freedom to discover and enjoy new things. If you truly take to exploring, then it's not likely you'll end up with nothing to do for a long, long time. Our lands truly are vast and amazing. Don't be a loner, though. I'm sure that plenty of foals your age would love to hear stories about your trips."

"I guess. It's weird talking to them, though. I met a few ponies while exploring Snowpitt, and they all treated me like I was old, or something. Kept calling me a "wise spirit". I just felt silly," Agate recounted.

At her explanation, Spear Throw snorted loudly, while Gnarled Root tried to stop herself from laughing by holding her mouth shut with her hooves. She almost succeeded at it, too. Agate just gave them a flat look while the two tried to get their giggles under control. After a minute, Gnarled Root reached out with a foreleg to muss up Agate's mane, which made the filly give her an even flatter look.

"Sorry, sorry. Well, a little sorry. Just a little, though. That was funny. You do have some interesting knowledge, but I think it'll be some time until you're able to pull off the whole "wise old spirit" thing, Agate. I suppose they got a little used to the fact that the vast majority of ponies that decide to stay on tend to be on the older side."

Spear Throw nodded, rolling his eyes a little. "And remember, spirits are supposed to help guide ponies. If they expect you to be a wise teacher, then feel free to teach them that you're not what they think you are. You're not required to play along just because some younglings are acting silly."

"Alright. I get it, I think. Thanks."

Gnarled Root tapped a hoof on the ground, considering something. "You know, you could come along with me sometime. I could teach you a thing or two about herb lore, if you want more things to do. Or, you could tag along just to explore around a little more. It's still a bit snowy, but new plants are going to be sprouting soon. I wouldn't mind some company when I start going out again."

"Oh... That would be interesting, I think. I must've seen more kinds of plants in pictures than I did for real. I won't be very good at it, but I'd like to come along," Agate nodded.

"That's good to hear. Don't just ask others to tell you what to do, though. Keep exploring, keep finding new things to enjoy. You've been dealt a bad hoof in life, certainly. No one is going to fault you if you go out to have some fun. I realize that it's going to be hard for you, without your parents to guide you and offer advice. I suppose you'll have some growing up to do. If you ever need to think things through, find a quiet place where you can be with your thoughts for a while. The world is still going to be there when you come back. And if you ever need more advice, I'm sure most ponies in Snowpitt would be happy to help, including us," she finished, Spear Throw nodding in agreement.

Agate nodded slowly, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. "I'll keep it in mind. It's a lot to keep, but I'll try. Does it ever get easier? As you get older?" At their questioning looks, she clarified. "Figuring out what to do when you're in a mess. Or even when you're not. Just... Figuring things out."

Gnarled Root pursed her lips in thought, while Spear Throw gave her a tiny, sad smile. Unusually, the stallion spoke up first. "Not really. For some, perhaps. There certainly are ponies that look like they're not even trying. They just glide through life without any effort, as if carried by the wind itself. But if they are, then I suppose they haven't really figured anything out either, have they? No, most of us are just trying to live our best lives without making too much of a mess along the way. It's a constant struggle."

The filly nodded again, remaining quiet this time. She gazed into the distance, lidding her eyes and folding her ears as she considered everything they told her. Losing everything she knew from her past life was a big shock, to say the least. And the future was uncertain, but the present was slowly getting better. Bit by bit, she was figuring out how to live with the snowponies, slowly getting her hooves under her again. And, in time, maybe she'd figure out what happened to the Empire, too.

"I'm trying to do too many things at once, I think. "One thing at a time", as ponies used to say," she thought.

They sat there for a while, the older spirits letting Agate ruminate on her thoughts. Eventually, the filly got up, nodding to the two. "Alright. That's probably enough for tonight. Thanks, you two. There's still a lot of things that I don't know what to do about, but I'll probably crack them eventually."

"As I said, we'd be glad to help, so if you need anything..." Gnarled Root trailed off.

Agate shook her head, frowning a little. "No, not unless you know how to pull knowledge of how to do something out of thin air. True Sight asked me to teach her how to work with crystals better, but I don't actually know anything about that. As you said, I'm not at the age where you're supposed to know such things yet. Sure, I know some things that can be done, but I don't have the foggiest idea on how to go about doing them. I'm just poking around in the dark."

"Well... Pulling knowledge out of nowhere is not something ponies can do, far as I know. Still, you showed off your skills in the Hall. You clearly have some talent. I'm sure you can learn, and let the shamares learn alongside you."

The filly shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe. Thing is - remember all those other kinds of southern ponies I told everyone about? Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies? They all have different kinds of magic, and they can't really do the same things others can. Same thing for crystal ponies. Even if I manage to figure out how to charge crystals easily, snowponies might not be able to repeat the things that I could do."

Spear Throw snorted disdainfully. "If that happens, then you still accomplished your task. It is not your fault nor responsibility if they cannot learn something you spent a long time working on. Do your part, and let others do theirs. That is all anyone can ask of you."

"Spear's right, Agate. Don't put too much on your shoulders. I'm sure a great many ponies are going to ask you exactly how your tribe managed to do the things you told us all about. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of ponies, even. Do your best to guide them in the right direction if you can, but don't feel bad if you're not able to. No one's asking you to do the impossible."

"I'll do my best, then. See you two tomorrow?"

"Of course. Good luck figuring out your magic."

With a nod and a wave, the guests departed, Agate turning towards her totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning found Agate sitting in her clearing, tapping a hoof on the ground, ears half folded. After some internal debate, the filly got up, leaving the clearing and making her way northwards through Snowpitt's snowy streets.

She decided to visit Earthsong and True Sight today, instead of going out to explore. While the ponies kept telling her that she didn't owe them anything, she still felt like she should pay them back. Sharing some crystal lore would be a good start, if she could figure it out herself first. After some thought, she had to admit that she wasn't completely selfless in her choice, either. She did want to learn how to do it herself as well, not just to fulfill True Sight's request.

Once she reached the house where the two shamares resided, Agate stopped, encountering a problem she hadn't considered before. She tapped a hoof on the ground, thinking it through. Then she scratched her head. Then she rubbed her chin. None of those thought-stimulating actions helped, however.

"How the hay am I supposed to knock?"

She already decided that sticking her head through doors (or walls) uninvited was a rude thing to do, but she completely forgot to think up of an alternative way to announce her presence. There didn't seem to be any other choices here, besides just yelling to see if anyone's home. And that felt kind of rude too, not to mention she'd look dumb. With a shrug, she approached the door, stopping at the last second.

Sticking her ear near the door (and possibly through it, she couldn't really feel it, after all), she listened intently, trying to find out if the two mares were awake yet. Some small sounds did reach her ear, which encouraged her to stick her whole head through. They were at the table, eating some breakfast. True Sight looked tired, chewing on a ball of moss with her eyes closed, while Earthsong was taking a drink from a clay cup.

"Um, hello," she spoke quietly, trying not to startle them.

Earthsong blinked in surprise, turning her head towards Agate sharply. The only acknowledgment she got from True Sight was an ear lazily turned in her direction. The old shamare was either unflappable, or really tired. Or both.

"Sorry. I would have knocked, but, well," Agate waved a foreleg, moving it back and forth through the door. "I couldn't really figure out how. No one really told me when they were explaining all this spirit stuff to me, and I didn't think to ask."

"Oh, well," Earthsong found her voice. "You see, there's... Wait, actually..." She trailed off, scrunching her muzzle. After a minute, she glanced at True Sight, who opened her eyes by a crack, continuing her lazy chewing. She stopped for a moment, considering Agate's predicament, then shrugged, going back to her munching. After a minute more of thinking, Earthsong shrugged as well.

"Well, Agate, it looks like there isn't a way for you to knock after all. Funny, I never thought about that before. When ponies go to seek aid or wisdom from the spirits, they usually go to their totem poles, not the other way around. Don't worry about it, though. You're welcome to visit any time."

True Sight grunted in the affirmative, reaching for another chunk of moss. "Just go through doors. Not like you can carry anything off or be a bad houseguest in other ways. Just don't wake ponies if they're asleep."

Agate nodded, coming inside fully. "So, um... Last time we talked, in the Great Hall... You asked me to teach you how to charge crystals," she said, nodding towards True Sight. "But I don't really know how to do it myself, or how to explain how to do it. It's supposed to be the easiest of all the things you can do with crystals, so maybe I could learn it, and then teach you. Or we could learn together. I think I need to practice on a few crystals first, though. More than a few, in all likelihood."

The mare kept chewing for a few minutes, making no sign of having heard Agate. When she finally swallowed, reaching for her own cup, she opened her eyes again. "Well, I can't say I'm too surprised. Given how young you are, I should have expected this. I'm sorry if I appeared demanding with my request. It's just that you did something that most elder shamares are completely unable to do, despite being able to summon the fiercest winds, call spirits across leagues of distance, or whatever else they're capable of. Spirit stones are something that vexed us for the longest time. We can feel the potential in them, but actually doing something with it is beyond our grasp. I was hoping you'd be able to teach us the secret of how to unlock it, but now I'm concerned that it might be something that only your people can do," she finished, taking a long pull from her cup.

"I've thought about it as well," Agate muttered. More loudly, she spoke up. "But if you're already able to charge crystals, then clearly you can do that much, at least. And lots of ponies use crystals. Lots of unicorns, and some earth ponies know their precious stones almost as well as crystal ponies do. Maybe I can make it easier for you. We won't know until we try."

Earthsong smiled at the filly's determination. "That's wonderful to hear, Agate. I'm sure we can spare some spirit stones for you to practice on. True Sight's a bit tired today, so I suppose I'm in charge. Let me finish breakfast, and we can be on our way."

Agate nodded, sitting down on the floor. Earthsong didn't take long, likely being close to finishing already when Agate showed up. After a few more mouthfuls of hay, the brown mare licked her plate clean before stowing it away. Getting up from her chair, she made her way towards the door, only to remember something and turn back towards her room.

"Almost forgot," she explained, emerging from her room and donning a pair of saddlebags. "You wouldn't be able to carry anything yourself. Let's go."

Agate got up, following Earthsong outside. The mare waved goodbye to True Sight, who lazily nodded back. Closing the door behind her, the shamare turned east, leading Agate down an unfamiliar road. The filly thought she walked through it at some point, but she didn't know what the destination was.

"So do you just keep all your crystals locked up somewhere until you need them again for the winter rituals?" Agate inquired.

Earthsong turned her ears towards the filly, a thoughtful expression crossing her face for a moment. "Mostly, yes. We don't really lock them up, as it were. They have no other use for us, so we just store them in a few shamare's homes and a main shed until winter comes around. Not like they go bad or anyone tries to eat them. Then we gather the shamares and do our best to breathe some life into them," she explained. Then she got thoughtful again. "Wait. Do spirit stones go bad? Were we doing something incorrectly? Is there some special way of storing them that your people use?"

The question took Agate by surprise. "Oh, um... I don't think so? Crystals are quite durable. We build lots of things with them, and they last a long time. The only thing that would be bad is if they went from hot to cold very fast, or vice versa."

"I heard you can break frozen rocks if you throw them in boiling water," Earthsong mused. "I don't think that's a danger for the spirit stones, though. We stack them up in woven baskets or boxes and leave them be."

"That should be fine. You said shamare's homes, though. You don't keep any in yours?"

The mare shook her head. "No, we live some distance away from the village outskirts, and the ponies just bring them to the closest shamare. In this case, it's Dreamcatcher. She lives in the eastern part of the village."

"Oh, are we going to see her?"

After a moment's consideration, Earthsong nodded. "We could just go to the shed and get some stones, but It'd be a little rude to pass by so close to her home and not say hello. Come, she lives just down this road."

Making a small alteration to their route, she lead the filly towards a rather large-looking house. It had two stories, and several attachments. Where the home where Earthsong lived with True Sight was compact, just the right size for the two mares, this looked like it could house a whole family, or perhaps even two. Despite the size, though, it was rather quiet. No sounds came from inside as the two approached the building, and the chimneys were cold and dead.

Earthsong let herself in, turning down a corridor in a manner of someone who was familiar with the place. Reaching a door with a curious accessory hung on it, she knocked softly. While they waited for an answer, Agate examined the door. It was adorned with something that looked sort of like a net or a spider's web, if a pony tried to make one. It was suspended in a wooden circle approximately a hoof wide. Three smaller circles hung from it on thin strings, and a number of feathers were hung off the circles.

"Come in," came the quiet answer from the room.

Earthsong opened the door, and the two went through. Agate's eyes were immediately drawn to the dozens of the same kind of ornaments hung everywhere. The walls were covered in them, and a large amount was hanging from the ceiling, as well. They clearly were the same kind of item, but each one looked unique. A few even had tiny crystals on them instead of feathers.

"Ahh, Earthsong, and the young wanderer in tow," Dreamcatcher greeted, without even opening her eyes. The old mare was laying down on a large rug, wrapped up in a blanket, leaving only her head and her forehooves exposed. She was fiddling with one wooden circle, weaving another web/net.

Earthsong went to sit down on the rug, Agate following her lead. "Hello, Dreamcatcher. We were passing by on an errand, and thought to visit you. How are you holding up?"

The elder shrugged, expertly weaving a thread through the web. "No better or worse than when we last met a couple days ago. Thought you'd be here on business, though. What errand brings you by?"

"True Sight asked Agate here to teach us some of her expertise on spirit stones, if you recall. Of course, she doesn't exactly have much experience at all, given that she's a foal. So, we were on our way to pick some up for her to sharpen her own skills before she can start teaching us."

"Aha. And here I thought you're here because the youngling got impatient and wanted to know if I managed to dig up anything more about her tribe. I did try, but... You know how dreamwalking is. Can't tell up from sideways sometimes, and certainly can't tell whether it is any good," she shrugged, getting Agate's attention.

The filly squirmed, not sure how to proceed with the strangely-speaking shamare. "So... Did you find something about the Empire?"

Another shrug. "In a way, yes. Now that I knew a little more about them, I went looking for your people again, the "crystal ponies", as you call them. I looked for their villages, I looked for their dreams, I looked for their tracks and signs, and no matter how far and wide I wandered the dream realms, no matter where I went, I would always end up in the same spot. Dream Valley. It's like they're still there, yet at the same time, the valley appears empty, with only a few ephemeral images of buildings and ponies flashing before my eyes now and then. Unfortunately, I don't really understand what that means. If they had perished, I would have been drawn towards the spirit realms, not a place in the living world. And yet, the place is uninhabited. I couldn't see a flicker of life in the entire valley. It is a puzzle that I am unsure how to solve, or where to even begin."

Earthsong turned her head, examining the other mare. "It sounds like you've been busy. When did you find the time?"

"Yesterday," she explained, pointing with her muzzle across the room. Agate followed where she was pointing. There was a table set against the wall, and two tall shelves on either side of it, stacked full with jars marked with odd symbols, feathers, spools of thread, and other knick-knacks. At first, she didn't understand what exactly the mare was pointing at, until she saw a small bowl with what looked like dried mushrooms on the table.

The sight prompted Earthsong to raise an eyebrow. "Magic mushrooms? I thought you only break those out for special occasions. So you spent the entire day dreamwalking? "

"Ha! We have a visitor that's a kind of pony we never even dreamt of meeting! Tell me, how exactly is this not a special occasion?" The old mare broke out in a fit of raspy cackles.

Earthsong folded her ears in embarrassment, while Agate hid a small smile. After her mirth subsided, Dreamcatcher continued. "Yes, I spent the whole day, and it's been fruitless. I'm not sure I should keep trying, to be honest. I keep getting led to the same place. What we need now is to understand why. And I'm not sure we can do that without going to take a look there ourselves, in the waking world. Which is not completely impossible, but not an easy task, to say the least."

"Something to solve in the future, then," Earthsong decided. "For now, I think we'll just retrieve our spirit stones for Agate."

"By all means, go ahead," Dreamcatcher waved them off. "You know where they're stored. Speaking of Agate - see something you're interested in, youngling?"

Agate went back to examining all the ornaments hung from the ceiling and walls at that point. It was uncanny how the old mare was able to tell where Agate was looking while she kept her eyes closed throughout the entire conversation.

"Just curious. I don't even know what these are, actually," she admitted.

"Ah yes, foreigner... I forgot how different you are. Anyways, these are called dreamcatchers. I think you can add two and two together," Dreamcatcher explained with a wry smile.

"They... Catch dreams? Literally?"

"Nightmares," she clarified. "Young spirits are particularly vulnerable until they get older. There are times when foals get terrible night terrors, all without reason or rhyme. Some foul spirits bothering them, no doubt. And there are very few shamares that deal in dreams, and they certainly can't protect everyone at the same time. Fortunately, a long time ago, a clever shamare came up with these," she explained, sweeping a hoof around the room. "They're not too hard to make, and anyone can use them. Just hang one up over a foal's bed."

"Huh. I think I remember having some nightmares, when I was younger... One of these might have been useful."

Dreamcatcher nodded gravely. "If your tribe doesn't have them, then I worry for your foals. Then again, perhaps the spirits are different in your lands... Either way, I'd offer you one, but you don't really need it anymore. Good luck in honing your skills. I'm sure the others will be interested in what you manage to achieve."

Getting up, Earthsong came over to the elderly mare to give her a parting hug. "Thank you, Dreamcatcher. We'll see you later. Don't tire yourself out too much."

Snorting, she waved them off. "I'm the only one that would manage to tire myself out by sleeping too hard. Go have fun. You know where to find me if you need me."

Earthsong led Agate out of the room, closing the door behind her. In a moment, they were outside, circling the house to reach a small, unassuming little shed a small distance away. Agate kept her eyes on the main house as they left.

"Was there something you forgot to ask Dreamcatcher, Agate? I'm sure we can go back if it's something important," Earthsong asked.

"No, it's just... This is such a big house, but it's all empty and quiet. Does she live here all alone?"

"Oh, that! No, not at all. She is actually from a rather large family, hence the house. She has two brothers and three sisters, and they have a... I don't remember how much, but well over a dozen offspring, and their children are going to have foals soon, too. Not all of them even live here, just two of her sisters and their families. It's just the timing. The youngest are off to the tundra for the summer, learning how to live and take care of themselves, while their parents are likely on a fishing trip," she explained as they approached the shed.

It was a simple, wooden affair, with no windows and a thick latch on the door. Undoing it, Earthsong pushed the door open, releasing a small puff of dust.

"Well, here we go. Looks like we're the first ones here since the spirit stones were gathered back up in spring."

Walking inside, Agate looked around. The space was cramped, with shelves lining the walls, while the middle of the room held a number of wooden boxes, with woven baskets stacked on top. The shelves had various tools and clay urns, which held little interest to her, but she could see the faint glimmer of crystals in the baskets. Earthsong approached one of them, opening it up.

Reaching in, she retrieved a small piece. Examining it in the dim light, the mare turned to Agate. "Is there something specific you're looking for? Bigger, smaller? Honestly, I wouldn't know the difference between a good spirit stone and a bad one."

Shrugging, Agate stuck her head inside the basket. "I'm not sure. I'm not going to be polishing or cutting them. I don't think quality matters very much in this case," she explained, taking a closer look at the selection. All of the crystals were raw, in the same natural forms as the day they were mined out of the rock. A few still held a very faint glow, but most of them were completely inert by that point. "Grab a bunch in several sizes, I suppose. I'll start with some small ones and work my way up."

Nodding, the mare started carefully sorting through the basket, stacking the crystals into her saddlebags, glancing at Agate now and then. As none of the crystals were met with the filly's disapproval, she soon had twenty of them, in varying shapes and sizes.

"That's it, then. Will you need anything else?"

"No. There's no tools or other materials to make this easier. Just skill and magic. I think we're done here."

With their business finished, Earthsong replaced the top on the basket, moving outside the dusty shed. After latching the door, she turned back towards her home, before reconsidering. "Where should I bring these, Agate? Set them up in your clearing?"

"I think so? It's not like anything will happen to them if they stay outside for a while. That's what you use them for, anyway. Ponies don't really come around there, so it should be a calm place for me to practice."

Changing her direction slightly, Earthsong went towards Agate's totem instead. The filly gave one last long look towards Dreamcatcher's home before catching up.

"Um, about Dreamcatcher..."

Earthsong flicked her ears. "Yes?"

Agate stalled a bit before forging ahead. "It's just something I noticed. You said that she has lots of brothers and sisters, and that they have a lot of foals, too. She doesn't, though. And you live alone with True Sight as well. Do shamares not... Have foals?"

Earthsong's expression turned wistful at the question. "Well. There's certainly no rule about it. Shamares can have all the foals they want, and some of them do. For some of us, though, the path we walk ends up being lonely. Some wander back and forth between our scattered settlements, only settling down when they get old, at which point they can't conceive. Others take not years, but entire decades to truly master their abilities, spending many lonesome moons in meditation and training, at which point they have the same problem. And lastly, some ponies seem to think that shamares are some kind of otherwordly beings, unconcerned with the breathing, beating, passionate aspects of life. Finding the right one for you can be hard.

In Dreamcatcher's case... I don't know if she wanted to have foals or not, but her unusual talents caused her a lot of grief in her younger years. She would sleepwalk, and sometimes talk to ponies in several voices, both asleep and awake at the same time. I must admit, the one time I saw her shuffling through the darkness, muttering to herself as the shadows danced around her in strange shapes terrified me. Still, her deep connection to the dream realm allowed her to glean all kinds of secret knowledge, and she ended up saving a number of pony's lives. Sometimes, before they even knew they were in danger. If she showed up at your door and told you not to go somewhere or do something you were planning to do that day, then for your sake, you'd better do as she told you to.

So, she pushed into the dream realm, but the dream realm pushed back. And like I said in my example, when she learned to fully hold her ground against the spirits of that place, it was almost too late to think about foals. Also, her reputation as the spooky shamare that brought grave warnings and cryptic messages meant that she was respected but also a little feared, and so ponies that didn't know her personally tended to keep their distance."

"Oh... That sounds a little sad, honestly. It sounds like she helped a lot of ponies."

"She did. And you shouldn't worry about her. As I said, she does have a huge family, and there were no shortage of ponies of all ages to keep her company. The ponies that she helped visit her often as well."

"I guess that doesn't sound too bad."

"It's not. We talked about her situation over the years, and she is fine with how things turned out. She told me that if she took the time to chase after stallions, then she would have had far less time to help others, possibly even leading to some ponies dying. She knew the choices she was making."

"That's really selfless of her, then. Shame about those ponies who were scared of her."

Shrugging, Earthsong made a turn past a house. They were close to Agate's clearing now. "Being the bearer of bad news constantly sometimes makes less clever ponies associate the bad news with you, unfortunately. Fear can be a powerful force, for better or for worse."

They made the rest of the way to the clearing in silence. Earthsong set down her saddlebags near Agate's totem, extracting the crystals one by one with her mouth, setting them up in a circle around Agate's totem. Soon enough, her bags were empty, and Agate was examining the citrine pieces, her muzzle low to the ground.

"I see you're eager to start," Earthsong remarked, slipping her saddlebags back on. "I know how important proper concentration is for these kinds of things, so I'll leave you be. Come visit us whenever you feel like you're ready, and don't feel rushed about it."

Agate nodded silently, and with a last wave, Earthsong was off. Plopping her butt on the ground, the filly reached for the smallest crystal she could find, a piece barely larger than a pinecone. "Alright, let's see how well I can pull this off again..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Ugh..."

Gnarled Root and Spear Throw found Agate sprawled facedown on the ground, her muzzle stuck in the earth. A number of crystals glowing in various ways surrounded her totem pole, bathing the clearing in warm orange light. After Gnarled Root poked the filly a few times, she made some muffled sounds before rolling over.

"Hey Root, hey Spear... Is it evening yet? I think I got a little carried away..."

"I'll say," Gnarled Root giggled. "It's rare to see a foal follow a task with such dedication that they manage to tire themselves out as badly as you did. How long have you been at it?"

"Hmmm... Well, when I woke up, I went to Earthsong and True Sight to get some crystals to practice on, we went to visit Dreamcatcher for a little bit, we got some and brought them here... I don't remember how late it was when we got back, but I've been slowly practicing since then."

"You are determined," Spear Throw complimented. "But if you tire yourself out too much, it will take even longer to recover before you can get back to your task."

"I know, but it's strange... On one hoof, I'm surprised I can do this stuff at all, but at the same time, it somehow feels oddly easy. I haven't invented anything new. I'm trying the same basic exercises my parents taught me, except I'm actually succeeding this time. It's almost like it's easier to do magic around here. Guess I pushed a little too hard, though."

"Well, it is good to truly know your limits. Now you know exactly how hard you can push. It still is valuable experience."

"Yeah, I guess... Not sure I'm up for stories tonight, though. My head feels a little fuzzy. Sorry you came here for nothing."

"Aww," Gnarled Root cooed. "Don't feel bad. You should feel proud of yourself. Having such passion for your craft is commendable. And the results are lovely," she reassured Agate, bending down to examine one of the brightest-glowing crystals. "Even though they are not laid out for us, I do enjoy seeing the spirit stones light up the tundra in the winter. Do you mind if we stay here a while? Feel free to go to sleep."

Agate blinked. "Huh? Oh, sure, I don't mind. Go ahead," she waved a hoof, getting up from the ground. "I promise I'll be more careful tomorrow. Going to sleep right after you arrived still feels a little rude."

"It's fine. Got get some rest. You really need it."

The filly nodded, going towards her totem. Her last sight before falling asleep was of Gnarled Root laying down on the ground, resting her chin on her forelegs in front of a glowing chunk of crystal.

Knowledge is Power

❅ ❆ ❅

"Ugh. Go away..."

Usually, Agate woke up by herself. That morning, though, someone or something woke her up, instead. There were odd scratching noises, along with some trilling sounds. Opening her eyes lazily, she scanned the area. No ponies were present, unless they were standing behind her totem. A moment later, she felt something scratch the top of her totem again.

Closing her eyes, she fell forward, landing on her hooves. The only clue of who or what her mysterious visitor was the sudden sound of beating wings. Looking around, she barely managed to see an indistinct shape, fleeing into the distance.

"Birds?"

After spending the winter with nothing but snowponies and trees for company, she almost forgot about the existence of other creatures completely. Shaking her head, Agate took stock of her surroundings. Her clearing was empty of living beings again, her only company being the crystals Earthsong set out yesterday. Looking around, she went to examine her work.

"Hmmmm..."

She circled her totem, muzzle low to the ground. A good five of the twenty crystals were glowing, some brighter than others. Sitting down, she started reviewing yesterday's events. She started with the smallest one there was, a piece a little bigger than a pinecone, experimenting with a couple bigger ones afterwards...

Evidently, charging the crystals was something she was indeed capable of. The question was, though, whether charging crystals was something she could teach others to do. With a sigh, she sat down, attempting to cobble together an actual lesson from her experiences.

"Find the right frequency... Feel the resonance, direct the flow inwards, don't let it spill..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent the first half of the day messing with crystals again, though this time, she was mostly doing things in her head, finding the best words to describe the process of charging one. Once again, she lost track of time, the hours passing by unnoticed.

Shortly after noon, though, something unusual happened. Just as she was sticking a hoof into a larger crystal, making it light up momentarily, her concentration was broken by a couple foalish voices.

"Ooooooohhhhh...."

"I didn't know she was a shamare. Wonder what's this ritual for."

Getting unannounced visitors was something rather rare for Agate. Turning around, she looked for the source of the voices. Standing right on the edge of her clearing were Cindertail and Autumn Ash, the two foals she met as she was going home from her tundra exploration.

"Oh, right. I did invite them to come visit me," she recalled, getting up and going over to greet them. "I guess they couldn't find the time until now." Out loud, she spoke, "Hello, you two. It's nice to see you again. I'm not a shamare, though. What gave you that idea?"

Both of the foals tilted their necks, looking past Agate and towards the clearing. Her totem was surrounded by an orderly circle of crystals laid out at equal distances, and some of them were glowing. Gesturing at the whole setup, Autumn Ash twitched her tail. "Well, I don't know too much about magic, but that looks like the kind of stuff shamares regularly get up to," she stated, her brother nodding in agreement.

Looking behind her, Agate could sort of see it. Shrugging, she turned back towards her visitors. "I guess it does look like it, but no, I'm not a shamare and I'm not performing any rituals. Not really, anyway. I'm just trying to figure out how to charge these, and then how to teach others how to do it," She explained, pointing at the crystals. "The shamares did ask me to teach them, since I'm naturally good at it. No, wait, I'm not, actually. My people are inclined towards working with crystals, but I'm still quite inexperienced, to say the least. I'm figuring out how to do it myself before I can start teaching others. It's a bit of a slow climb, but I'm getting there."

Cindertail's face fell a little. "Oh. I guess you're doing something important today. Should we come back some other time?"

"No, no," Agate shook her head energetically. "I think I need to take more frequent breaks while I'm at this anyway. Sometimes I end up staring at a crystal for an hour without thinking up anything new. So, uh... Come over here, I guess. I'd offer you a seat, but... Well, I don't have any. Hm. Not too sure how I'm supposed to receive guests, to be honest. Most ponies usually came to me with things to do, or were spirits themselves."

The foals giggled at Agate's awkwardness. Cindertail made his way towards one of the glowing crystals, plopping down on the ground in front of it. "The earth is fine. I don't mind, really. It's barely even cold these days." Leaning his muzzle down, he began examining the citrine chunk.

His sister circled Agate's totem instead, studying the carvings and runes intently. "Yeah," she spoke slowly, most of her attention focused on the artwork. "It's alright. Honestly, it'd be silly for us to expect for you to have a house, or something. Spirits don't really do that."

Agate nodded, wondering at how to proceed. She saw Cindertail reach out with a hoof towards the crystal, before pulling back. "It's okay, you can touch them. They're not that fragile, and I'm pretty sure they're not going to explode. I don't think I'm remotely strong or skilled enough to be able to do something like that."

"Pretty sure, huh?" He asked with a small smile. He picked up the crystal anyway, slowly running his hooves and muzzle over it. "Hmm... Almost expected it to feel hot, with how much the glow looks like a fire. Feels sort of like ice, though. Smooth, cold, but doesn't melt."

Autumn Ash joined him after a couple minutes, taking the proffered crystal from his hooves. "Spirit stones really are pretty. I've wanted to take a closer look at one for a while. I have to admit, though, I'm still having a hard time believing some of the things you told everyone during your story, Agate. Do your people really grow them? And then build entire houses with them?"

"There's some magic and sometimes reagent mixing involved, but yes. We do mine them out of the ground as well, but the demand for crystals is too big for just what we manage to dig up. You should see our city. Every building, every road... Everything's sparkling and beautiful."

"Wild. Sounds like an amazing sight, but also makes me think I'd get snowblind in moments. Like staring at snow in midwinter. It's just so bright, it makes your eyes water if you don't squint, or let your mane down over your face," she said, setting the crystal back on the ground.

Agate tapped her chin, considering the issue. "It's not that bad... I think. Sure, all the surfaces are a little reflective, but they're not as bad as snow. I remember how annoyingly bright everything was when I was running away from the Empire. Even if I got used to it because I lived there, the city wasn't half as blinding as being outside was."

Cindertail's ears were perked and alert, hanging on to Agate's every word. "You're about our age, but it sounds like you experienced a lot. I wish I could go out of the village for a while. Just... Without ending up as a spirit. Heh."

Agate rolled her eyes. "Yes, that was one experience I could have gone without. I did end up travelling much further than I expected, but it wasn't really my choice. As interesting as all this was, though, I'd prefer to be safe and back at home... Nothing to do about it, I guess. At least now that nothing else can really happen to me, I can go galloping through the forests and tundra all I want."

"Sorry, I... Sorry," the colt awkwardly apologized. "I know that our parents only want us to stay safe, but the lands around Snowpitt are the safest anywhere around. I don't want to go do something stupid like poke a sleeping yeti, or anything like that. I'd just like to go for a trot through the plains or woods now and then. Us growers don't really go out all that often. Some don't even join the nomads for their summer expeditions when they come of age, just spending their entire lives in the village. Snowpitt is fine, but it's like only eating hay for several months. You get bored of the same thing."

"I'm going to join the nomad groups," Autum Ash agreed. "Like Cinder said, living in Snowpitt is fine, but I want to experience more of the world before settling down. The only trees I ever saw are the few sparse ones planted around the village. I haven't seen a proper forest, or what a river actually looks like. Some other foals get to go with their parents on fishing trips, even though they're young. At least they're happy to trade stories."

"Well, I saw the forest," Agate mused. "Part of it, at least. And the river. That was actually quite fun. I made a game of sailing the rapids on floating chunks of ice. I don't think anyone could actually do it if they weren't a spirit. And I went on a gallop through the tundra before that. That was less eventful, but still quite interesting."

Both foals leaned in closer, eyes sparkling and ears straight. "Wait, what game? You did what?!" Cindertail cried.

"Yeah, tell us!" Autumn Ash joined in.

Agate leaned back a little, taken aback by their enthusiasm. "Uh, alright. The river first, I'm guessing?" At their eager nods, she settled in more comfortably. "Okay. Well, at least this actually gives us something to do. I was a little worried I made a mistake when inviting you to come over."

Twin frowns came upon the sibling's faces. Autumn Ash folded her ears halfway, twitching her tail. "What do you mean, "made a mistake"?

"Oh, well, it was only after I really sat down to think about it, I realized that I can't really do any of the things I used to do with my friends back home, now that I'm a spirit. I can't really touch things any more," she explained, waving a hoof through a small branch laying nearby. "I can't play with any toys or any games that require me to interact with anything physical. I guess I could play some games where you need to catch ponies, but It'd be unfair to others. I don't run out of breath any more, I can make impossibly sharp turns, and I can go through walls, trees, or anything else in my way. I was worried you'd just be bored with nothing to do with me."

The two visibly relaxed at Agate's explanation. Cindertail raised a hoof. "Actually, you could probably - no, wait.." He trailed off, reconsidering what he was going to say. "Maybe you could play dig- no, that wouldn't work either..." The visitors pondered Agate's predicament for several minutes, perking up for a few seconds here and there, before remembering something that made their suggestions moot.

Agate shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I remember some foals showing me some games back when I just arrived. I don't think I could play any of them even if I was still alive. Lots of them had something to do with chasing others or snow. And the only reason I can even walk on snow is because I'm a spirit, I think. I'm happy that we found something to do anyway. If you really want me to tell you what it's like outside Snowpitt, I'd be happy to oblige. I haven't been outside all that much, so I barely know anything myself, but I'm planning on going out more in the future. Maybe you two can recommend some places that you've heard about for me to explore."

The ashen-colored foals were smiling again. Agate took it as a sign to continue. "Alright, so. I was trotting through the tundra, trying to remember the path I took to get to Snowpitt from the mountains. I wasn't able to, so I just went exploring. Trotting through the forest, I found some old tracks that led me to the river..."

❅ ❆ ❅

They spent a few hours talking about various things before the sky started to darken, and the siblings had to leave for dinner. Agate told them of her trips through the forest and tundra, and a few snippets from her journey out of the Crystal Empire. They mostly wanted Agate to talk, but she got them to tell some things about themselves and their lives as well.

After dealing with big, important adult things for so long, it was nice to simply talk about foal stuff for a while again. Things they did, games they played, what kind of nonsensical things adults told them sometimes, things they'd do adults would disapprove of if they ever found out, hiding places that they'd make for any neat trinkets they found, and so on.

When they were done saying their goodbyes and Agate reassured them that they were always welcome to come by, the spirit filly turned back to her task. It didn't get any easier, but at least she didn't get as frustrated now that she had a nice break. After a few more experiments, seven out of the twenty crystals were charged. She circled the setup, checking whether any of them were noticeably losing their glow.

Once again, she was interrupted by a visitor, though the voice was more familiar this time. "Good evening, Agate," Gnarled Root spoke. "Still busy, I see, but at least you're not laid out flat on the ground this time. How goes your work?"

The filly shrugged. "Not bad? I think? I never did anything like it before, so I don't really have anything to compare it to. Still, I think I'm making progress, bit by bit. Might go and talk to True Sight tomorrow."

"That's good to hear. So, how are you feeling this evening? Up for a story?"

"Oh, sure. Give me a moment."

Circling the clearing, Agate examined the crystals one last time. Not noticing any obvious defects, she sat down in her usual spot by her totem, the other spirits sitting down in front of her. At first, she wasn't certain what kind of story she wanted to hear that evening, but her surroundings gave her an idea.

"So, how did this start?" She asked, gesturing at the clearing in a wide arc. "The "spirit stones" thing. Ponies use crystals for all sorts of magic stuff, not just as beacons for spirits. Well, we don't use them for spirits at all, but you know what I mean. Who figured out that spirits can see crystals from so far away? And how? Was it the same ponies that found them first?"

"Hmmmm..." This time, Gnarled Root wasn't the one with the answers. Spear Throw tapped his chin, digging through his memory. Nodding, he spoke up.

"I think I know the one, although it is not really a story on its own. Well, to be precise, the discovery of the spirit stones and their use are two separate stories, with the discovery not being a well-known event. Let's see...

As a young colt, I loved listening to stories about the wilderness and exploration from other tribes. Seeing as we live in quite different regions, their knowledge wasn't directly useful to me, but I enjoyed listening to their tales nonetheless. One time, one of their explorers told me the history of their first forays into what they call the Thousand Islands.

It happened quite some time ago. Eight hundred years ago, I believe? Not ancient history, but still quite old. The northern tribe was still young, and Nilas, their village on the shore of the freezing northern seas, was their only settlement. The area was rough, but the ponies that went off to form the northern tribe were the bravest and most capable, and perhaps just a little mad. At least, that's what others called them when they decided to migrate even further north when ponies began to run out of space in the plains. Still, despite the dangers and the hardships, they were growing and expanding rapidly.

You see, their decision to settle the region was not some foolish fit of whimsy. The first explorers found that the sea shore held great bounties, ones they gladly claimed. Besides the fish, crabs, and all sorts of other ocean prey, great mats of seaweed floated in the water, easy to collect and fill your belly with. Even their needs for firewood were partially met, as many pieces of driftwood would often wash ashore.

Naturally, it didn't take long for them to decide to start exploring further away from the shore. They built kayaks worthy of the sea, bigger and stronger than the ones we use to sail through our lakes and rivers. Although they found that the deep seas held nothing but freezing waters and terrible monsters that sometimes surfaced to snatch up the explorers along with their kayaks, they discovered a number of islands as well.

Some were little more than boulders sticking out of the water, roosts for a few birds without space for a pony to even stand on. A number were more useful, decently-sized islets with hills where you could take shelter from the wind, build supply caches for further journeys, and have a good night's sleep. And lastly, a few were truly impressive, with their own mountains, sheltered valleys and small forests.

All of the island's shores held the usual bounty of food as well, so even if an island was bare rock, it still held use to the northerners. In one such island, relatively large but empty of plant life, they decided to build an outpost. Despite its size, it was rather flat, and so the winds were howling through it endlessly. They found that the rock was soft in some places, however, and decided to dig out a number of caves instead of building upwards.

It actually took them quite a long time to discover the spirit stones. A hundred years, perhaps? The outpost was successful, being a fair distance from Nilas, and surrounded by many smaller islands. The northerners would migrate there every summer, curing fish and stockpiling food before moving back in autumn. Every year, they expanded their caves for both living and storage, bit by bit. Eventually, when digging deeper to make some more cold storage caches, they noticed that the usually dull gray rock had some strange glimmering shards in it.

At first, they thought it was ice, but the color was unusual. After bringing some of the rocks outside, they carefully chipped away the surrounding material to reveal strange, but beautiful angular stones that seemed to glow with the warmth of a fire, despite remaining cold. Naturally, the discovery set the outpost abuzz, and they began digging deeper, looking for more deposits.

That autumn, along with the food, they brought boxes of the colorful stones, sharing them out among their tribesponies. No one was quite sure what to do with them. They were unusual and pretty, but didn't seem to hold much practical value. Some ponies quickly took to using them as decorations while the shamares were busy examining them, trying to see if there was some inherent magic to the unusual material.

Naturally, the northerners wanted to share their discovery with the other tribes, and brought a few crates to the Gathering. Everyone was curious about the pieces of "frozen flame", as it was called at first. Despite the shamares of all tribes putting their heads together, though, they weren't able to do anything interesting besides making them flicker briefly.

And so, the spirit stones became a simple trading commodity for a few decades, along with pretty seashells and other trinkets the northerners would bring from their expeditions. They didn't become important for some time, which is likely the reason why the story of their discovery became largely forgotten.

Now, the one who ended up finally discovering the stone's abilities was not some wise shamare, but a regular northerner stallion. And he did it entirely by accident, too. He had lost his mare to an akhlut attack recently, and was grieving for her on the ocean shore. The beast dragged his wife off to the water, and her spirit was lost in the cold depths below. He stood there, cursing and screaming at the waves, swearing that he's spear the beast himself, if he ever got the chance.

He knew that the shamares would be able to call her spirit back during the Calling, and he'd see her once more. Still he grieved, for losing one's love is no small pain. After his rage was spent, he took off an amulet he was wearing. It was a gift from his wife, so that he could remember her whenever they got separated. Her eyes were the same warm color of the spirit stone, and he'd hold it to his chest often, remembering her warm gaze.

He began to sing a mourning song then, holding out the amulet in front of him. As he voiced his laments, his love and his pain, his longing and his commitment to protect their foals. As his voice shook the air, to his great surprise, his wife stepped right out of the waves! He was so startled that he dropped the amulet and reached for his spear, so sudden was her appearance. After making sure that it wasn't some water snatcher trying to drag him into the depths, they embraced, confused but happy.

Deciding not to tempt fate by lingering on the shore any longer, they retreated home, after the stallion retrieved his amulet. It took them a while to figure out how he had managed to summon her from the depths, when even the northern shamares usually weren't able to. He thought it was his song at first, but the mare told him that she heard nothing in the silent darkness. Instead, she explained, she suddenly saw a bright, but tiny dot, like a star in the night sky. With no other options, she immediately galloped towards it, watching it grow slowly in front of her. With every step, her surroundings slowly resolved themselves as she emerged from the depths. She assumed that it was the great bonfire of Snowpitt she was seeing in the distance, the warm orange glow lighting her path. To her surprise, it was the very amulet that she gifted to her love, instead. Somehow, he used its power to achieve something it took a whole congregation of shamares to do.

Other tribesfolk saw the stallion reunited with his wife, and news about the unusual event spread fast. The shamares wanted to know all about his achievement, though they were a little frustrated to find out how he had done it in the end. The mysterious stones stumped their predecessors for years until they gave up, and the current generation weren't sure that they'd be able to crack their secrets, either.

Now, we obviously know that they did succeed in the end, though it still took them a few more years until they managed to figure out how to make the spirit stones light up. Still, they were pleased with the results. What was a pleasant light to a living pony shone like a bonfire to the spirits, and they could see their glow leagues away.

And that's it, I think. We call them spirit stones since it was the only real use we discovered for them, besides just being pretty decorations. I don't remember when exactly the tradition to leave trails of spirit stones leading to Snowpitt arose, but it wasn't long after the northern shamares shared their newfound skills with the other tribes. Many of the spirits say that it makes finding the way home much easier, especially those that got lost travelling far away from their tribe's lands. And so, we continue the tradition."

"Still a dumb name for crystals..." Agate muttered under her breath.

Gnarled Root lowered one ear. "What was that, Agate?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that cry- I mean, spirit stones - arrrrrgh." The filly buried her face in her hooves, groaning in irritation. Gnarled Root looked at the scene with a bemused expression.

"Crystals... You've been using that word a lot. Your people's word for the spirit stones, yes? Is ours hard to pronounce? You've been doing fine with our tongue so far."

"No, it's not, and yes, I have been using it a lot," Agate grunted, rubbing her temples with her hooves. "And I feel so dumb every time I do. I know how to say "spirit stone", I can pronounce it, but by the time I remember, I'm usually already three words ahead. It's just that the words don't quite match. A crystal is not a stone. Well, kind of, but not really. There's differences in formation, the structure... Crystals have the crystal lattice, and... Ugh. I don't really have the proper words to explain it."

"Well... It's not a hard word. I don't mind saying "crystal". I suppose you would know more about them than any of us combined do."

Agate shrugged. "I guess. Crystals are really important to my people, you know? We call ourselves crystal ponies for a reason. Crystal Empire, crystal ponies, crystal Heart... I honestly don't think I can force myself to stop saying "crystal" any more. You don't have to change your language for me, though."

Smiling, Gnarled Root shrugged. "We'll see. Don't feel bad if you keep calling them crystals, though. I don't think anyone cares much, if at all."

"Right, okay. Sorry, Spear Throw. Thank you for the story, it was very interesting. The northern tribe keeps sounding more and more interesting the more stories I hear about them."

"They are. Living on the edges of settled lands is always exciting, though also more dangerous. The northerner's fierce attitude means they both survive and thrive in those wild territories, though. When I was younger, I was tempted to go join them myself, but things turned out a little differently than I planned at first. Life had different ideas, I suppose."

"I think I know the feeling," Agate nodded at the stallion.

He snorted, nodding back. "I imagine you do, better than me even. Your life certainly not only fell off the trail, but rolled down the whole mountainside, picked a few wrong turns, and then took a dunk in the river."

Agate chuckled, stifling a giggle. That seemed to signal the end of this night's meeting, the visitors getting up from their sitting positions.

"Until next time, Agate," Gnarled Root waved, Spear Throw giving the filly a nod.

"Next time," the filly waved, turning towards her totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

No birds disturbed Agate's slumber the next day. Opening her eyes, she looked around, before hopping outside.

Sitting down, she considered her progress so far. Should she go to True Sight yet? On one hoof, she mostly figured out how to charge the crystals, and wasn't too sure that she would come up with anything new. On the other, she'd only been at it for a couple days. Perhaps there was some room for improvement after all.

After weighing her options for a while, she decided to go talk to the shamare. Her goal was to teach others, not to get good at it herself. Better to see if she could even teach them the basics before thinking about honing her own skills. And besides, it wasn't likely that they would start learning on the same day. True Sight was likely busy with something or other.

The path to the shamare's home was a familiar one by now. Coming up to the building, she remembered the talk she had about her whole "being incorporeal" problem. With a mental shrug, she stuck her head through the door again. The two ponies were sitting at the table, as usual for this time of the morning.

She tried to get their attention without speaking this time, clearing her throat quietly. With a blink, Earthsong turned towards her, True Sight following suit.

"You know, it's odd to see your head just sticking out of the door," Earthsong mused with a small smile. "Come on in, Agate, no need to ask for permission. You're a welcome visitor in this house."

"Thank you. Right, so, um..." Agate approached True Sight, shuffling a bit awkwardly. "I did what I could, I think. I never tried teaching anyone anything before, so I've no idea how this is going to go."

"Time to see if anything useful will come out of my fool's request, then. I'll gather the others and we can take a crack at it tomorrow," she decided with a shrug. The old mare seemed completely unbothered by the possibility of failure.

"Oh, okay. Wait, others?"

"Well, sure. Oh, did you think that I'm the one that has to charge up the spirit stones? No, no, that is a job for all the tribe's shamares. It's not hard, but it does take time, and there's never been anyone that was ever good enough at it to undertake that task alone. Now, most of them are travelling with the nomads for the summer, so it'll only be me, Earthsong, and Dreamcatcher. If you manage to teach something to these dusty old mares, then we'll deal with passing it on to the younglings."

"I'm not dusty," Earthsong objected, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, of course not. You spend most of the day lying on the ground listening to the earth, and then walk away without a speck on your coat, yes?" True Sight asked, one of her signature wry smiles on her face.

"Why yes, because I shake myself off. Unlike some dusty old mares, I'm not yet so stiff that I'm unable to do that."

"For now," the elder chortled.

Agate shook her head, deciding to leave the two to their verbal needling. "I'll see you two tomorrow, then. Where are we going to do it? Should I wait by the totem, or come somewhere?"

That got the two shamares to quiet down and think. Earthsong scratched her head. "Well, I don't think there's any special place we need to go to, is there? Unless you actually have something in mind?" At her question, Agate shook her head. "Well, alright then. We could just gather by your totem, since there's already a bunch of spirit stones there. Unless you managed to light up all of them while you were practicing?"

Once more, Agate shook her head. "No, there's... Thirteen empty ones left. Should be enough, at least for the first day."

"We're agreed, then. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Be well."

Agate was about to step back through the door, before True Sight spoke up. Her expression was neutral, but her tone of voice was serious. "One last thing, youngling. I can see how tense you are about this. I understand that this is the first time in your life that you had to truly work on something that wasn't just a learning assignment. I certainly still remember how nervous I was about doing something by myself for the first time, things that later became routine and even dull. And I know from experience that me telling you this is not going to change much, but: don't worry too much about whether you succeed or fail. This isn't some grand project that's needed for our survival or anything of the sort. What feels like a heavy and crushing responsibility will appear little more than a tiny pebble later on. "

Agate grimaced a little. "You're right. It doesn't help much."

Earthsong choked on her tea, while True Sight's expression quickly morphed into one of mirth. "Hah! Oh Agate, you're truly one of a kind. A snowpony foal would have just said "yes, elder", and went off on their merry way," the old mare cackled.

The filly shrugged. "I just try to be honest. I understand what you're saying. I still want to do my best, though."

"Just remember that if you overdo it, it'll cause more harm than good in the end. Now then, off you go. I'd suggest for you to go and relax a bit somewhere, but I'm guessing that you're tempted to go and practice with the spirit stones some more. You're free to make your own choices, but you know which one I would choose."

"I... I guess. Thank you for your advice. Maybe I'll go wander around a bit." With a wave goodbye, Agate went through the door.

True Sight's words rang in her head. "If you overdo it, it'll cause more harm than good in the end." It sounded a lot like what Spear Throw said when he and Gnarled Root found her splayed on the ground after she spent too much time experimenting with crystals.

Refocusing on where she was going, Agate realized that in her distraction, she picked a random path, instead of going towards her totem. Finding the right direction was trivial - all she had to do was focus on her totem's pull for a moment. After a few minutes of weighing her options, though, she decided to heed the old shamare's advice and go for a trot somewhere.

Glancing at the sky, she saw it was still early morning. Her visit didn't take much time, and so she still had a full day to spend doing... Something. Continuing down the street, she considered her options. She could go north to explore the endless plains of the tundra some more. (She knew they weren't really endless, but they certainly looked that way.) Go south, and see if she could find anything interesting in the forest again, or...

"I wonder what's to the west of here. Or east. I think there's only more tundra there, though... Tundra to the north, west, and east, and the forest in the mountain's foothills to the south.

Exploring Snowpitt itself was also an option, but a less tempting one. She assumed that she already saw most of the important places in the village. And if she did find anything strange or interesting, it'd likely be another one of those odd snowpony things that would require someone to explain it to her before she could even fully understand what she was seeing.

Nodding to herself, Agate turned north. The forest was interesting, but her last gallop through the tundra did wonders to clear her head. Exchanging amicable nods with the ponies she was passing by, she scanned the skyline to find the Great Hall in the distance. Using the large building as a navigational landmark, she reached Snowpitt's northern border after a short trot.

Once again, she stood in front of the massive plain. The sight was a little less exciting than last time, but only a little. After taking a few minutes to appreciate it and psyche herself up a little, she took a step, then another, breaking out from a canter to a gallop almost immediately. Moments later, she was tearing through the snow, the landscape passing by.

❅ ❆ ❅

"There's something strange about this place..."

Agate was never the sportiest pony around. Whenever she galloped somewhere, it was because she had to. The vast majority of times, it was because she didn't want to be late to something. Some foals liked running around so much that they tended to get in trouble for it, bumping into things and getting underhoof when adults were doing important things. She preferred to move around at a comfortable trot or a canter, and just sitting down with a book somewhere during her free time.

The tundra had the strange effect of making her want to start galloping and never stop, for no apparent reason. Maybe it was the illusion of infinity, the way the plains seemed to stretch on forever without any barriers looming on the horizon. Or maybe it was because no matter how fast or how far she moved, the rather featureless landscape made it look like she was just galloping in place, without actually covering any distance at all.

Whatever it was, the spell was broken as she finally came upon something that changed up the monotony of the plains. It wasn't anything strange, just a small creek with a pond nearby that looked like it was dug by pony hooves. The bottom was lined with stones, likely to prevent the water from becoming scummy and slimy from pond weeds.

The area was empty at the moment, though there were signs of recent activity. Snow was torn up in many places, where only the tiniest stalks of dried grass remained uneaten. A number of tracks covered the area as well, though they looked like they were made by sleds rather than ponies or animals. From what she could surmise, one of the nomad groups passed through there on their way further into the tundra.

After nosing around for a while, Agate decided to lay down, gazing up at the sky idly. Tracing the shapes of a few thin clouds with her eyes, she glanced at the sun. At her rough estimate, it was around midday. It was still a little hard for her to tell the time around here, but she was slowly learning the paths of the Sun and Moon in the snowpony lands.

She managed to spend half an hour like that, trying not to think about anything important. Unfortunately, her thoughts eventually caught up to her. The Empire, her family, the snowponies, crystals... With a sigh, the filly got up, reflexively shaking herself off before trying to find the way she came from.

Clearly, her tundra navigational skills were still severely lacking, as she wasn't able to tell anything apart except for which side of the creek she came from, and a very general direction. She didn't see any of the navigational stone piles this time around either, so her path from Snowpitt to the creek with the pond was completely unmarked in any way.

"Looks like I'll have to cheat again," she muttered, closing her eyes.

She turned her face towards her totem's glow, opening her eyes once she locked on to it. With a small whinny, she reared up, charging off towards the village. It wasn't really cheating, she supposed, since the snowponies themselves needed their guiding stones to find their way. At least she assumed that they did. That was probably something to ask Spear Throw about that evening.

The trip back was slightly less spellbinding, since she was able to see the peaks of the southern mountains in the distance. Step by step, more and more things appeared on the horizon, and before she knew it, she was standing at Snowpitt's borders again. With a last glance towards the mountains, she stepped into the village proper, weaving between the buildings as she made her way to her clearing.

A faint orange glow greeted Agate from some distance away. For a brief moment, she was puzzled at what could be causing it, until she remembered the charged crystals lying around her totem pole. She smiled faintly as the clearing came into full view. It wasn't remotely like the Empire, but returning somewhere adorned with crystals still brought feelings of coming home in her.

Unfortunately, the feelings also brought memories of her actual home, and her smile turned into a frown. Shaking it off, she checked the sky. It was darkening, but not full night yet - she still had a few hours to kill until the time came for her nightly talks. Picking out a crystal, she sat down in front of it, repeating her lesson plans.

"Take a deep breath, calm down. Touch the crystal, get a good feel for it..."

❅ ❆ ❅

This time, Agate saw the approaching spirits before they announced themselves. It was far easier to notice their dark outlines when they were silhouetted in the crystal's warm glow, she noticed. Getting up, she waved towards them.

"Hello Spear, hello Root. It's nice to see you again."

Spear Throw nodded, while Gnarled Root smiled. "Hello to you too, Agate. Keeping yourself terribly busy, as usual?"

"More or less. You're not the only ones telling me to calm down a little. True Sight told me to try and relax a little more," the filly shrugged. "It's a little hard when I'm constantly surrounded by strange new things that I need to learn about, but I'm trying. I went for a gallop through the tundra today, and that was pretty nice, but in the end, I just returned with more questions that I wanted to ask. Relaxing is harder than it sounds."

Gnarled Root put a hoof to her mouth, suppressing a smile. "Ah, relaxing. It's truly a terrible task when you know you have something to do, isn't it? Well, Agate, I suppose we can't stop you from being your curious young self. And... I'll admit, I haven't really thought about your situation from your perspective before. You've been thrown into a place where not only the ponies, but the very earth under your hooves is completely unfamiliar. You made excellent progress so far, though. I'm certain you're going to be alright."

"I guess so. I'm slowly making sense of this place, bit by bit," Agate said, gesturing for them to sit down. Laying down on the ground, they assumed their usual positions.

"And I hope our lessons are helping you with that. So, anything that you want to know about this evening?"

"They are. And, well... I enjoy the history a lot, but I think I'd like to learn something a little more practical this evening. Today, when I... Actually, not just today, but the last few times I went out to explore, I wasn't really able to orient myself very well. Finding the way back was easy because I had my totem, but I'm pretty sure I would have gotten lost otherwise.

My parents... They always told me that I'm "observant". I am pretty good at noticing details and stuff, I think, and I never got lost in the Empire. Then again, getting lost in there is almost impossible with the Spire being visible from any part of the city, so, uh... Hold on," she trailed off. Tapping her forehead, Agate tried to find her train of thought again. After a minute of thinking how to best explain it, she continued.

"I guess I don't know what to look for? I don't leave tracks any more, so I can't even see which way I came from. I'm sure there's something I can look at to find my way when I'm out in the tundra or somewhere deep in a forest, but I don't know what. So, if I'm going to be exploring around Snowpitt - and further, eventually - I'd like to know how to do it best. It'd be a shame if I found something interesting and couldn't find it again because I didn't memorize the route properly."

"Pathfinding," Spear Throw nodded, his voice serious. "You wish to learn pathfinding. A crucial skill indeed, even if you're travelling with a group that contains experienced scouts."

For a moment, Agate wondered why did he say it with such weight, until she remembered the fact that he used to lead groups of foragers into the wilds. This was likely one of, if not the most important skill to him, save for his skill with spears. Clearly, he took the matter seriously. Unconsciously, she sat up a little straighter as he talked.

"Now, you mentioned this... "spire", yes? It is a building that can be seen from any part of your village, if I recall your story correctly. Such landmarks are indeed the most useful for pathfinding - even if you are not going towards them, you can tell where you are by checking your position in relation to them. Out in the wilds, mountains most often fill that role. However, even the mountains are not always visible.

When that happens, we turn our eyes towards even greater sights - the heavens themselves. Of course, the sky is sometimes obscured by clouds as well, but that does not happen very often. Out here in the south, the guiding star, Polaris, always shines bright in the north, by which we are able to tell all four of the cardinal directions. Granted, trying to find your path by something that is so far away only helps you with large distances - if you just lost a trail you were on mere moments ago, you need something smaller and simpler.

Now, as you know, moss grows almost entirely on the northern part of a tree's trunk, which makes it easy to find your path, if you know which way you need to go, or at least which way you came from, even if the deep forest's gloom. If you're familiar-"

"Sorry," Agate interrupted. "But I didn't know about that, actually. Moss grows... Only on the northern side of a tree?"

"Ah... Apologies. I shouldn't assume you know all the little details snowponies usually already know. Yes, the next time you are in a forest, keep an eye out for that detail. Granted, some old trees that are sickly or dying have their entire trucks covered by moss, but even then, the northern side tends to be the one covered by the thickest layer. Examine at least a few trees standing near each other, and if they all have moss growing on the same sides of their trunks, that means you know which way is north. It is not a perfect method, but it is extremely simple and quick," the stallion elaborated, Gnarled Root nodding along before speaking up.

"Yes, when you're looking for herbs in the woods, the mountains and the sky are usually obscured by the trees. You need to learn other tricks so you don't get lost, and also so you can find your way back to herb patches hidden inside the more overgrown and twisty parts of the forests. In some places, ponies have grown signal trees, saplings specifically curved to grow in a special way to point out the paths in the woods. Some of the oldest ones have been standing for hundreds of years now."

"That's... Amazing. I never would've thought of something like that," Agate marveled, shaking her head. "And, uh, Polaris? Astronomy wasn't really something I was very good at, either... And I bet we had a different name for it, anyway. If we could even see it, that is. There's this absolutely massive mountain that stands in the northern side of Dream Valley, and it blocks the entire northern skyline."

That earned her some raised eyebrows from both spirits. Gnarled Root stood up, gesturing the other two to follow. "You've never seen Polaris? Now that is just a crime. If I still could, I'd go give that mountain a piece of my mind. Perhaps climb to the peak to knock off a few boulders so that your tribe can appreciate the full view of the night sky. Seriously..."

Agate wiggled her ears, squinting at Gnarled Root a little. It sounded a bit like she was joking, but Spear Throw's expression was entirely serious as he trotted along. Clearly, the stars held some kind of special significance in snowpony culture. Shrugging, she followed the old spirit out of Snowpitt, to an empty patch of tundra southeast of the village.

Gnarled Root sat down, waving Agate over. Hugging the filly, she extended her right foreleg, pointing towards the northern sky. "Polaris," she intoned. "Also sometimes called "never moves". While the other stars shift with the seasons, it sits still patiently, right in the middle of the northern sky. A useful guide for the southern tribe for many centuries, one we are thankful for.

Not all tribes respect the same stars, though. For example, I heard that in the north, they barely care about Polaris at all any more. Since it hangs right above the northern pony's heads, that makes it useless for navigation. But that is a different story, I suppose. One for which you'd probably need a different pony - I only know the few stars that are needed to tell my way around the tundra."

"Do the stars have stories about them, too?" Agate asked, trying to memorize the one star in the dizzying array of the night sky.

"Oh, yes! Most certainly. I know a few, but only the general details. Like I said, that's not really my area of expertise. I wouldn't be able to do those stories justice if I tried telling them. There are some ponies that spend a lot of time studying the stars. When the sun goes away during the great darkness, they become the only way to tell the passage of time, among other things.

But, we are getting sidetracked. Let us go back to pathfinding. Now, take a good look at Polaris. If you remember to, try to do it every evening. You will see for yourself how the other stars slowly shift around it over time, while it patiently stays in its place. With just a little practice, you should be able to find it with ease..."

They spent a long time talking about all the ways a pony could find where to go in all kinds of situations and through all kinds of terrain, Spear Throw and Gnarled Root taking turns to teach Agate what they knew. She thought it'd just be a few tips, but the elder spirits kept going and going, piling on all kinds of amazing and bizarre ways to see, find, and remember details and landmarks. Halfway through the night, they actually cut it off early, just to let the filly get some rest. They promised to continue the lesson tomorrow, assuring her that there was still a great amount that they didn't tell her.

Head spinning, Agate went back to her clearing after saying her goodbyes for the night. Despite telling her to relax a bit, those ponies certainly knew how to keep her busy. Smiling tiredly, the filly went to sleep.

Students and Teachers

*Knock knock*

"Huh?"

Agate was woken up by the sensation of someone knocking on her totem. It was odd, a lot like a knock on the door to her room, but also a bit like she was getting poked in the side. Yawning, she cracked open her totem-eyes, looking down at her visitors. Earthsong was there, with Dreamcatcher and True Sight off to the side. Stretching, she closed her eyes, opening them again outside the totem.

"Morning, Earthsong. Is it- oh, I think I must've slept in a bit today," Agate mused, glancing at the sun.

"Only a little. Staying out late?" The mare asked, running a hoof through the filly's ethereal mane.

"Not usually, though I had a long talk with Spear Throw and Gnarled Root last night. I still have a lot of things to learn."

"And teach. It is doubtful that anyone can ever reach a point where they truly have nothing to learn any more, but today, it is time for you to become the teacher for once."

"Yeah..." Agate trailed off, looking towards True Sight and Dreamcatcher. The two elders were slowly walking in a circle around the totem, examining the crystals and quietly muttering to each other.

She waited alongside Earthsong by her totem until the two finished their inspection, coming over. Dreamcatcher picked up one of the larger charged crystals, while True Sight carried an empty one in her mouth. Motioning to sit, Earthsong pulled Agate in a little closer, the three shamares and the little spirit forming a small circle. The filly waited for a minute as the elders showed the crystals to Earthsong, the mare tapping and squinting at them. While she was busy with that, Dreamcatcher turned towards Agate, clearing her throat.

"So... You did this all by yourself, hm? In the span of, what, a day or two?"

"Kind of. I didn't spend the entire day at it, nor the one afterwards, and most of the time I spent just staring at the crystals and trying to figure out how to go about it best."

"Hmm. Impressive. You have raw talent, to be certain," The shamare said with a slow nod.

"Not really," Agate shrugged. "It's kind of my people's talent. I have seen ponies who were both younger and better at it than I am. I'm all you have, though."

"Exactly. And there's no reason to discount your abilities, either. So, how should we begin?" She asked, reaching out for the blank piece of crystal.

"Well, umm... First, maybe you could just show me how you usually charge crystals, and I'll try to figure out the differences?"

Dreamcatcher shrugged, glancing at the other two shamares with lidded eyes. At their nods, she held out the empty crystal, and the three took a long, synchronized breath, before slowly starting to hum. Agate watched them intently, trying to both see and feel what they were doing.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Like this?"

"I think so..."

"Let's try it, then, I'm not getting any younger."

A few hours had passed since they began. A few long hours, filled with stumbling, confusion, and strange terms they tried to explain to each other. Still, slow as it was, they were making progress. Three glowing crystals were lying next to them, with a fourth one on the ground in the middle of the circle. Scratching her head, Earthsong turned towards Agate.

"Could you try explaining that "resonance" thing again?"

"Right. There's some kind of really big and hard explanation for it that I didn't understand at all, but... It's a bit like a song. When you sing, you can feel your chest vibrate, right? And when several ponies manage to do it at the same frequency - the same speed, sound, uh... The same way you're doing it, instead of drowning each other out, you all sing in harmony, strengthening each other."

The mares nodded, their ears up and alert. Singing was something near and dear to the snowponie's hearts, and using the song analogy seemed to produce the best results. Taking a moment to formulate her thoughts, Agate plowed on.

"Now, every crystal has its own frequency. Fortunately, crystals of the same kind - like the citrine you have here - tend to have nearly identical frequencies. If you find the right one, you can charge them far easier. Thing is, we're talking about magical frequency, not actual sound. Some crystal ponies do hum to help them concentrate, but plenty do it without making any noise."

Predictably, they spent some time asking Agate about the different types of crystals, what did "citrine" mean, and other small things not directly related to what they were trying to do. She did the best she could, though she wished there was a real master here to help her with this. Still, she managed to correct a number of small mistakes and wrong ways they were trying to charge crystals over the few hours.

The first thing was to tell them to put the crystal on the ground, instead of holding it in the air or against their chests. Apparently, they were doing it this way because that was how the stallion who discovered their use did it the first time. It wasn't a big detriment to an experienced crystal pony, but for a beginner, it could mean the difference between successfully lighting up a crystal and achieving nothing. After a dozen of such small corrections and various levels of success, the shamares were raring to have another go at it, before getting interrupted by a loud growl.

"Oh, ah..." Earthsong folded her ears in embarrassment.

True Sight cackled while Dreamcatcher cracked a small smile. Shaking her head, Earthsong got up, going to the edge of the clearing to retrieve a set of saddlebags. Coming back, she started pulling out small bundles of food, passing them around. Glancing at the sun, she raised an eyebrow.

"We've been at this longer than I thought. Guess we got a little carried away."

True Sight shrugged, unwrapping a dried fish. "What can I say? Agate's foreign knowledge is interesting to listen to, if a little hard to understand sometimes."

Dreamcatcher gave an affirmative grunt, her mouth full. Agate waited patiently while they ate, glancing at the fish with bemusement now and then. She still wondered how the crystal ponies in the Empire would react to seeing the snowponies eating fish and doing other snowpony things.

After the three shamares filled their bellies and Earthsong stowed away her saddlebags, they refocused on the crystal in the middle of their circle. Earthsong laid down on her belly, extending her hooves forward.

"You know, it really did feel a little easier last time..."

"Because you're so attuned to the Earth," True Sight snorted. "Makes it easier for you."

Dreamcatcher remained silent, mimicking Earthsong's posture. The three took deep breaths, humming silently and pushing power into the crystal. Agate watched intently as small flickers of light started running through it's facets, moving upwards from the ground like a flame. In barely a few minutes, the warm orange glow from the citrine lit up their faces. Agate tried to clop her hooves together in approval, before remembering that she couldn't make sounds that way any more.

"You did it! That was much faster than the last time," she said, going with verbal praise instead.

The shamares poked and prodded the crystal for a bit, but eventually nodded, apparently satisfied with their hoofwork. Leaning back, True Sight rubbed her temples before letting out a jaw-cracking yawn.

"That was faster, yes, but not much easier. We don't have your knack for it, but I do think we'd be able to get it over and done with far quicker than usual. Slowly charging the spirit stones for days was always a terribly dull duty."

"Well, from what I could feel, you do seem to be losing some magic along the way, but it's not too bad. I'm sure you'll get better with just a bit more practice," Agate explained with a shrug.

"Ehhhhh," True Sight grimaced a little, making a so-so gesture with a hoof. "Practice or not, you still have your natural affinity for it, like we have ours. We, for example, are far better at chasing off or empowering... Spirits..." She trailed off, her eyes going wide.

After a moment, she slowly began grinning, her smile getting wider and wider as she seemed to realize something. Agate squirmed as the smartflank shamare's eyes twinkled with mischief as she stared at the filly with the huge crooked smile. What was she up to now?

Wordlessly, True Sight got up, going to retrieve one of the dark crystals from further away. The other three in the circle watched her with some confusion, though in Earthsong's case, it was also tinged with exasperation at the older mare's antics. Putting the crystal down in front of Agate, she cleared her throat.

"Say, Agate, could you put your hoof on the spirit stone, please? I would like to try something," True Sight asked in the most innocent voice she could muster.

The filly narrowed her eyes, glaring at the shamare. She knew she was up to something, but it was impossible to guess what. After a minute of staring at her faux-innocent expression, the filly snorted, reaching out towards the crystal with her right foreleg. Still grinning, True Sight put her own hoof on the top of Agate's head, applying gentle pressure. The filly blinked, trying to figure out what her game was.

"See, Agate, I had a thought... We are good at empowering spirits, while you are good at charging the spirit stones. What if..."

Agate didn't get to ask "What if what?", as the shamare hummed and let out a deep breath from her throat, her emerald eyes gaining a soft glow. Immediately after, the filly could feel the magic coursing through her ethereal body, being fed into her by True Sight. It was a lot like touching the totem pole the first time, everything suddenly coming into a sharp focus and getting brighter.

"Guuuuuh."

Except, she already had the totem pole, so this was overwhelming. She felt odd, disjointed sensations all over her skin and saw strange flashes of light, while her limbs twitched involuntarily. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the crystal glowing brightly, strobing with an uneven tempo. With some effort, she plunged her foreleg deep inside it, channeling all the excess magic into it.

*CRACK*

A few shouts came from the gathered shamares as an extremely bright flash lit up the clearing. True Sight lost her balance, letting go of Agate in the process. The filly rubbed her eyes with her hooves, trying to get her sight back. Shaking her head to make the sparkles dancing in her vision to disappear, she took stock of the situation.

Dreamcatcher was sitting where she was, looking around with closed eyes and a bemused expression. Apparently, the flash of light didn't impede her ability to somehow see through closed eyelids. Earthsong was still lying down in the same spot, a foreleg draped across her face. A long-suffering sigh left her muzzle.

"Tell me, elder, will you ever grow up and stop fooling around before you die of old age?"

There was a familiar cackle off to the side. Turning her head, Agate saw True Sight, splayed out on her side with a massive grin on her face. Slowly getting back to her hooves, the old mare schooled her expression to something a tiny bit more serious. Just a tiny bit, though.

"Fooling around and growing up are separate things, you know. You don't have to do the former just because you did the latter."

"And you're certainly the prime example of that," Earthsong replied, removing her leg from her face and rolling her eyes. Turning her gaze on Agate, she examined the filly. "Everything alright?"

Agate stood up, testing her balance. She still felt pins and needles all over her skin, but her sight returned to normal by that point. Shaking her head, she gave a sideways glance to True Sight.

"I'm fine, but I really don't think that you should try charging a pony like you would a crystal, even if I'm a spirit. That was weird. I think I could taste colors for a moment."

"Well, I wasn't exactly trying to charge you. You were supposed to act as a conduit and charge the spirit stone. And hey, that was only the first try! We're bound to make mistakes the first time. I bet we could do it way better if we tried again. And the results are interesting, to say the least," the shamare defended her actions, pointing towards where the crystal stood.

The rather sudden and unstable injection of large amounts of magic was evidently too much for it to handle, as it lay broken into three pieces. That wasn't the only effect, however. The crystal grew, and the individual chunks were as big as the crystal they started with. And lastly, instead of the orange of citrine, it now sported the deep purple colors of amethyst. Dreamcatcher took one of the pieces, rubbing it carefully with a hoof.

"It feels the same, and yet... It is different, ever so slightly. The color is certainly unusual."

Earthsong followed suit, True Sight rejoining the circle and picking one up as well. Agate watched with some amusement as the shamares tapped, sniffed, and tried to taste the differences in the crystal. Eventually, Earthsong blinked, remembering that they had someone far more knowledgeable about crystals than they were.

"Agate, is there anything you can tell us about this?"

"Sure. This is amethyst. It is another kind of crystal - or, as you call them, spirit stone. It's a colored variety of quartz, just like the citrine you have here. In fact, citrine and amethyst are sometimes found mixed together in the same deposits, which makes it easier to transmute one into the other, since they're so closely related. It's a moderately popular type of precious stone back in the Empire. It's not too hard to work with, or so I've read."

"I understood... Maybe half of that," Earthsong replied with a bemused smile. "It sounds like you have as many kinds of spirit stones in your homeland as we have fish over here."

"Oh, yes! There's hundreds. Crystals, gems, semi-precious stones... I learned about many of them, though I only know the basics. The most common uses, hardness, colors, and so on. For example, the violet color of the amethyst is a bit similar to the agate purple of my coat, though not quite the same. Or... How my coat used to be, I guess."

"Really now..."

Earthsong held up the amethyst against Agate's side, squinting at it. The filly guessed the mare was imagining how she looked while still alive.

"Your people really look like that? So unusually colored? And do they sparkle as well?"

"Yup. All kinds of colors, and we're shiny and sparkly. Usually, anyway, unless something bad happens."

"So odd... But I assume you must think the same of us."

Agate chose to remain quiet, though she agreed with the statement wholeheartedly. About the snowponies being odd, at least. There was nothing strange about looking like you were made of crystal. All crystal ponies looked like that, after all. Meanwhile, True Sight put her crystal down, though she still kept her eyes on it.

"So did you mean to transform it into a - what did you call it, amethyst?"

"No, this was completely accidental. I was too disoriented to try and achieve any kind of specific effects, so I just poured magic into it. I don't even know how to do stuff like this on purpose, either. Changing crystals into different forms is advanced stuff, and I'm just figuring out the very basics myself, like I told you."

"And I think we've figured out enough for today," Earthsong declared, getting up from the ground and stretching out her legs with a groan. Glancing at the sun, she nodded. "We spent at least a good six hours already. We'll start forgetting things if we spend any more time on this. Let us retire for now and let what we learned so far settle in our heads. We'll come back tomorrow... And hopefully there won't be any more attempts to make Agate explode or anything similar."

"Wha- Hey! You know full well I wasn't trying to do that. She would have been fine. Probably," True Sight huffed indignantly.

Agate rolled her eyes as the pair walked off from the clearing, arguing all the way, only stopping for a brief second for Earthsong to give her a goodbye wave. Her ear twitched as she heard someone clicking their tongue right next to her. Turning her head back, she saw Dreamcatcher, still lying on the ground. She shook her head, though she had a small smile on her face.

"Don't mind those two. True Sight tends not to take things too seriously, while Earthsong often ends up worrying about things far too much. They're perfect for each other, really, even if they end up arguing instead of learning from each other more often than not."

"Yeah... I've seen them do this a few times now."

"And I imagine they'll keep going at it for quite a while, until True Sight grows too old, at least. Or perhaps even long after that, too. Heh. So, are you really alright? Her little trick didn't harm you?" The shamare asked, looking Agate over.

Agate held out her forelegs, taking a closer look at herself. "I think I'm fine. I felt pins and needles all over afterwards, but they went away pretty fast. I'm still not sure how or what she even did. I never heard of magic like that. Crystal ponies often use magic as a group - it's even preferable, in most cases - but not on other ponies. Or through them."

"Hmm... More differences between our people, I suppose. It is certainly quite common for shamares to unite their voices as one and amplify their magic, for all kinds of purposes. However, one of the abilities we shamares are highly valued for is our ability to heal. While there are plenty of herbalists and healers that help with various ailments and wounds, we are able to use our spirits, our very Breath, to blow the sickness away and share our strength with ailing ponies. Such a procedure is an intimate one, however, and requires the trust of the pony it is being performed on. Something True Sight broke when she didn't even warn you of what she was about to do."

"Well, it did take me by surprise... Though I felt kind of overwhelmed, as well."

"Yes, there must be balance in all things. Returning strength to weakened and lost spirits is tried and tested, but you are neither weak nor lost at the moment. I suppose True Sight might have overfed you, in a way. It's probably a good thing that you stopped her in time. I've never seen a spirit throw up before, and I'm not sure I want to," She finished with a raspy chuckle.

"Ew," Agate wrinkled her nose.

"Exactly. Now then, I suppose I should be on my way as well," she sighed, getting up. Her eye lingered on the amethyst crystals for a moment.

"Would you like to take them with you? I don't really need them here."

Dreamcatcher considered the question for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, no need. I haven't brought any saddlebags with me anyway, and I'll have plenty of time to look at them later on. The storage is right next to my house, after all."

Agate nodded, waving goodbye to the elder as she slowly shuffled her way home. Once the mare was out of sight, the filly laid down on her back, rubbing her temples and letting out a quiet groan.

"Teaching is hard..."

With a long exhale, she sprawled out, stretching out her forelegs wide and lazily gazing at the sky with lidded eyes. Usually, she would have thought about what to do and where to go next, but after the teaching session, she felt too drained to go seek more knowledge that day.

However, it looked like the world didn't feel like giving her a break. After a short while of tracking the few sparse northern clouds moving across the sky, she heard some rustling and the faint sound of snow crunching under pony hooves. The filly ignored it at first, though she raised her head in surprise once she recognized the sound. Two familiar ash-colored foals were approaching her, looking around at the various crystals scattered through the clearing. Getting her hooves under her, she got up with a small sigh, turning to greet her visitors.

"Hello again, Agate," Cindertail greeted her.

"Not sure how you even managed to do it as a spirit, but you look tired. Were you busy with the shamares today?" Autumn Ash asked.

Agate looked over herself, trying to see what the other filly meant. Shrugging, she smoothed her mane down a little. "Yeah. Teaching is almost as hard as learning, apparently. Or maybe it's just because I'm not all that good at the thing I'm trying to teach."

"I'm sure you're going to do fine. The first days of doing something new are always the hardest. I remember when my parents were teaching me how and when to plant different seeds. It was very confusing, but soon enough, it became just another routine- say, what's that?"

While she talked, Autumn Ash idly ran her eyes around the clearing, examining the various glowing crystals Agate and the shamares practiced on earlier. Inevitably, her eyes were drawn towards the three amethyst shards, seeing just how much their purple glow stood out amongst the orange citrine pieces. Cindertail followed her gaze, his eyes widening.

"Oh, wow... I never saw a spirit stone like that before," He breathed, trotting closer to one. "You don't see colors like that in the tundra very often. Just like our mother's eyes... The color of early dawn."

"Or some flowers," His sister added. "This is definitely something new. Did you show the shamares how to make it, Agate?"

"Oh, um... Not really. It was kind of an accident. This kind of crystal is called amethyst, and I made it, with some... "Help" from True Sight."

The foals blinked at her slightly sarcastic way of saying "help", but didn't pry. Cindertail picked up one of the pieces, holding it up and examining the way sunlight filtered through the crystal, his sister joining in. As Agate watched the two turning the crystal over in unabashed wonder, an idea came to her.

"You know, if you like them so much, then you can keep one. Something nice to brighten up your day when you're bored."

The two foals snapped their heads toward her, their eyes wide.

"Really?"

"Can we?"

Agate shrugged, rubbing her chin contemplatively. "Yes, I think so. The citrine isn't really mine to give. But these three amethyst pieces used to be one citrine piece, before I transmuted it and it broke into three parts, so I'd say at least two of those are mine. You can take two, in fact."

They started to protest, and a small negotiation ensued, the siblings trying to bargain into not getting both crystals, saying that they didn't deserve such generosity. Agate kept insisting, arguing that it wasn't a big deal and she'd figure out how to make more of them, if need be. Eventually, they relented, choosing an amethyst each.

"Thank you, kind spirit!" They chorused.

Agate smiled, rolling her eyes slightly. It really wasn't a big deal. Back home, a raw, unworked crystal was something akin to a... Brick, perhaps. Just material to be made into something else. Not something you'd give as a gift, but snowponies seemed to value them a bit more, seeing how scarce the crystals were in the region.

"So, um..." Autumn Ash began, but trailed off almost immediately, holding her crystal to her chest. Taking a breath, she continued. "Our parents wanted to talk to you, actually. They wanted to know more about your Kree- Crystal Empire and stuff. If you don't mind, of course."

"Oh. Sure, I guess. I'm not doing anything else today until it gets dark. I think I have at least a few hours left," She confirmed, glancing at the sky.

The siblings smiled, getting up and getting ready to move out, though there was a small hitch - neither one of them had saddlebags or anything else to carry their crystals in. After a moment of thinking, Cindertail shrugged, picking up his piece in his mouth, his sister following his example. They nodded to Agate, leading the way.

The ghostly filly followed along, twitching her ears now and then. With their mouths occupied, the only sounds of their journey were the crunching hoofsteps on the now diminished snow layer. Agate kept glancing at their hooves now and then, which didn't go unnoticed. Cindertail shifted the crystal in his teeth carefully, trying to speak.

"Shomefin' wron', Agate?"

"Oh no, everything's fine. I'm just not used to hearing actual sounds from snowponies when they walk around. You have that crazy ability to walk on snow without making a sound or leaving tracks. I got snuck up on by so many ponies by now, it's actually surprising to hear you trotting around."

The siblings chuckled, though didn't bother trying to reply with their mouths full. The rest of the journey passed in silence, Agate trying to recognize the paths they were taking her through. Most of them were at least vaguely familiar by now, and she managed to accurately recall their destination - it was one of the houses near the field where the old, abandoned igloos once stood. Glancing behind the house, she saw that the field was now clear of snow and ice, though there were no signs of any plants growing there just yet.

Autumn Ash led the way, opening the front door and beckoning Agate inside. The filly followed, Cindertail bringing up the rear and closing the door behind him. The house was fairly large, with bundles of strange herbs hanging from the ceiling and various implements that Agate vaguely recognized as farming tools lining the walls. The siblings led her to a side door, faint clattering emanating from the room. A moment later, a mare's voice spoke up.

"Is that you, younglings? Why not greet your parents as you come home?"

"Mmmmmpfh," Autumn Ash explained the entire situation eloquently through the crystal in her mouth.

"Huh?"

Agate tried not to laugh as they entered the room. It was clearly the kitchen of the house, and it was far more impressive than the ones she saw before. Snowponies mostly seemed to use firepits or small fireplaces, but this family had a sizeable furnace cobbled together from stone, with several stovetops lining the top. A thick wooden table stood next to it, where an orange-coated and brown-maned mare was chopping some roots on a large chopping board.

Her purple eyes swept over the group, lingering on Agate for a moment, eventually fixating on the amethysts the siblings were carrying. She slowly put down the knife, tilting her head curiously.

"Oh my... Are those spirit stones? Something to do with your new friend? Did she want to show you something to do with them? That's usually the shamare's domain..."

"No, they're a gift," Autumn Ash explained, after spitting out her amethyst into a hoof.

"Yeah, Agate insisted that we take one each, after we said how pretty they were. They look just like your eyes," Cindertail added.

"Awww... That is very sweet of you," The mare coo'd, ruffling the colt's mane. "And of you as well. I thank you for your generosity, kind spirit. There's not much I can offer you, I'm afraid, but my doors are always open if you need anything. Oh, yes - I am Warm Spring, the mother of these two little troublemakers. It is a pleasure to meet you, Agate."

"Heeey... We're not troublemakers," Autumn Ash pouted.

"Oh, not always, certainly," Warm Spring agreed, though her smile was rather wry as she said it. "Now, Agate, as I'm sure my foals told you, my husband and I wanted to talk to you. I know that you are still very young... And won't be able to answer most of the questions we would really like answers to, most likely. Don't worry about that. It's just that, well..." She trailed off, trying to articulate her thoughts. Absent-minded, she picked up her knife again, methodically chopping up the vegetables. Agate noticed something oddly familiar about the roots. They were unlike anything she saw snowponies eat before, but something that was plentiful in the Empire.

"Are those carrots? I wasn't sure if you even had them up here in the north."

The two foals twitched their ears at the unfamiliar word before shrugging and going through one of the doors further inside the kitchen, likely to deposit their crystals in their rooms. Warm Spring was confused at first, clearly not understanding what Agate had meant. Tracing her gaze towards the chopping board, she stared at it for a moment until it clicked. Her eyes lit up at the revelation.

"Oh! Oh, you mean the feldmore?" She used another unfamiliar snowponish word that Agate immediately committed to memory. "Does your tribe grow them too? That is part of what I wanted to talk about, actually. During your story, you dropped hints about old times, when windigoes forced ponies to scatter to the corners of the world. About how your people and mine might have been one tribe, ages ago, just like the northern and western tribes branched out from ours. It sounded like we have some similar stories about those times, and this looks to be another piece of proof for that," She explained, dropping the carrots into a steaming pot.

"Well, okay. But I have to warn you, I know very little about plants. My parents made amulets and necklaces, and my entire experience with growing things consists of helping to clear out pests from my friend's berry bushes a few times."

"Oh, that is fine, plenty fine," Warm Spring waved her off. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Just the fact that you recognize some of the plants we grow and know their names is sufficient. It would help us answer a mystery the grower families have been puzzling at for generations. You see, while we have been cultivating some of the plants we find in the tundra, a number of the things we grow aren't found anywhere in the wild, like the carrots. We know how to take care of them, and how to preserve their seeds to grow more, but not where in the world they could have possibly come from. It's really not all that important, just something I would like to know about."

"I guess I can do that," Agate replied with a shrug. "I'd need to see what you grow rather than just the seeds, but I think I can recognize most of the plants we grew in the Empire."

"Excellent! Don't start without my husband, though. He should be here soon. "

Agate nodded, sitting down in front of the furnace, watching the dancing flames inside. Warm Spring soon had steaming bowls of soup ready, just in time for a large, black-coated stallion to show up. He introduced himself as Stout Branch, giving Agate a respectful nod. Warm Spring called her foals back, and the family sat down to have their meal. The mare apologized to Agate for making her wait while she couldn't partake in the food, to which the filly just shrugged, telling Warm Spring that she didn't have anything to do until sundown anyway.

After they were finished, the adults started peppering Agate with questions, alternatively asking her either about her knowledge of the time of windigoes or what kinds of plants ponies grew and ate in the Empire. Autumn Ash and Cindertail didn't participate much, though they did hang around to listen in.

Agate did her best to answer what she could, though she wasn't particularly knowledgeable in either one of those topics. Predictably, the conversation turned towards more general knowledge about life in the Empire, once she ran out of answers for the other questions.

They kept chatting for a while, exchanging stories about living in their respective lands. Warm Spring was diligent not to keep her too long, recalling the fact that the little spirit said that she had to leave by sundown. Once the light started fading, she tapped her hoof on the table, getting everyone's attention.

"Well, this was certainly an amazing evening, but it looks like it's time for Agate to go. I heard that she's very busy sharing knowledge with the shamares, and we shouldn't keep her too long just to indulge our curiosity."

The foals weren't too happy about it, but didn't complain. They went over to give Agate a parting hug, before promising to come visit her again when they were able.

"Spring means we're going to be much busier," Autumn Ash explained. "We'll need to help our parents with planting and stuff. I'm sure we can find some free time now and then, though."

"Alright. I know what it's like to suddenly be busy all the time. The last few months certainly have been a whirlwind of activity," Agate replied, shaking her head. "Don't think I'm too busy for you, though. You know where to find me."

Warm Spring smiled, waving goodbye. "It's been an honor to have you here, Agate. I hope you find out what happened to your people one day. I'd love to meet them myself."

"Yeah..." With a last wave and another respectful nod from Stout Branch, the filly was off. It was time to meet with Spear Throw and Gnarled Root again.

❅ ❆ ❅

She made it back to her totem pole just as her two spirit teachers were entering her clearing from the other side. Both of them slowed down to take in the sight before them. The whole place was haphazardly littered with crystals even worse than before, most of them glowing brightly.

"Busy day, Agate?" Gnarled Root inquired.

"Oh yeah. The busiest," She confirmed, rubbing the side of her head.

"Think you're still up for our lesson this evening?"

"I think so. You did say that there's still more to pathfinding."

"You need a schedule," Spear Throw grunted, passing by. As the other two spirits looked at him, he elaborated. "You're working with a lot of different ponies right now, correct? I'm sure they all have their own plans and things to do, and they don't talk about it with each other. Some days, you might end up with nothing to do, while other times, a dozen ponies might be vying for your attention at the same time. Instead of just going by other ponies' schedules, set up your own. Decide what you're going to do on a given day in advance."

"Oh... Huh, I haven't thought about that. Back home, everything was neatly arranged for me already. School days, weekends... I guess I'll have to choose what I want to do myself, now," The filly mused.

"Aye. Just something you have to learn if you're working with other ponies. Organizing fishing and foraging trips wouldn't be possible without getting all the participants to sort out their business and prepare to move out at a set time."

"Right. Just like we agreed to have our meetings in the evenings. I guess I'll talk to the shamares about when to have our lessons. And... Think about other things, too. That's all for later, though. Tell me the rest about pathfinding."

Spear Throw nodded, sitting down in front of the filly, Gnarled Root following suit.

❅ ❆ ❅

After that day, things fell into an orderly routine for Agate again. When she actually put some order into it first, of course. The next morning, she talked to her teachers/students about setting up a schedule for their meetings, with Agate having free time to do things on her own, instead of just sitting by her totem in case someone showed up. The shamares were very happy for her, satisfied by the fact that she was becoming a part of the community and finding her path in the world once more, after losing everything that she knew about.

Earthsong repeated the promise that Agate was welcome to stay as long as she liked, no matter how long it would take her to find her missing people. True Sight, meanwhile, reminded her not to worry too much and overwork herself, and to find some time in the day to have fun.

They would have their magic lessons every three-four days, with Agate practicing on her own from time to time. Her skills were still basic at best, but she was happy with her progress anyway. Mastering the basics was still better than what she could do before - which was pretty much nothing.

She spoke with Dreamcatcher a few times after their lessons as well. The perpetually sleepy shamare was still hard to understand most of the time, but the cryptic hints and puzzling nuggets of knowledge she gleaned from her dreams always left Agate wanting to know more.

Had the situation been any different, Agate would have just dismissed the whole thing as ramblings of a well-meaning, but kooky old mare. No crystal pony ever mentioned anything about dream-based magic before. But seeing as Dreamcatcher kept catching glimpses of the Empire, ones that Agate never told any snowpony about, her abilities were obviously very real.

Agate badly wanted to be able to undertake such dream journeys herself, just to get a glimpse of home again. Still, she fully understood that it was impossible. Different ponies had different skills and abilities, after all. It was like wanting to fly while not being a pegasus. To her surprise, though, Dreamcatcher disagreed.

"You may be right in that regard," She explained. "Barring certain tricks, you need wings to fly. But, matters of the spirit are not so well defined. Yes, shamares have their own unique strengths even among each other. But, we all have spirits, including your people, and even those distant foreigners of "Equestria" that you spoke of. I already know that your people can dream, and so must those other ponies, especially if they are indeed our distant relatives.

Even regular snowponies are capable of impressive magical feats, after spending some time to hone their skills. I do not know if that means you are indeed capable of learning proper dreamwalking. Even if you aren't, however, I'm certain that you would be able to put the techniques into use with your own magic, one way or another."

And so, Agate started taking lessons from a shamare again, though not to learn their tongue, but to try and attempt to learn some of their magic this time. True Sight and Earthsong were doubtful about their chances of success (and so was Agate, to be honest), but they didn't object. The lessons weren't quite like the exercises her parents taught her, but there were some similarities. Ways to focus, ways to train your mind, tricks to put yourself into the right frame of mind before going to sleep so you would be aware of the fact that you're dreaming, which gave you a chance to actually take control of the dream's direction, and so on.

Most of the shamaric exercises didn't really seem to do anything. Perhaps it was because she didn't have the capacity or the strength for it, or even because she was a spirit. On one hoof, losing your life weakened you and lessened the amount of ways you could affect the world greatly. On the other hoof, ponies with strong spirits were almost always still capable of performing the magics they learned in life. The whole thing was an interesting conundrum for the shamares - losing foals was a rare event, and young ones like Agate didn't really care much to stay on like she did. The spirits that hung around were old, well-experienced ponies, and they spent their time teaching, rather than learning. It wasn't well established whether spirits could learn new things, especially magic.

All of that was only one part of how she spent her time, though. Spring went on, summer approaching on it's heels. More sunlight and more warmth shone down on the earth, melting the snow completely and waking plants from their slumber. Soon enough, the snowponies began venturing out on regular foraging trips for fish, plants, and herbs.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Ahh, here we go. These are lingonberries - not quite ripe yet, but best to memorize the location in advance. Of course, we're still close to Snowpitt, so we don't really need to tell anyone in the village about these. Some hungry pony will find them easily enough. Come, let us see if any herbs have started sprouting yet. Some of them are late bloomers, you see."

As they agreed to some time before, Gnarled Root was leading Agate through various bushes and thickets, the two spirits completely ignoring the sharp thorns and other inconveniences that would otherwise impede a flesh-and-blood pony. The blurry mare was pointing out all kinds of plants they encountered along the way.

"There's all kinds of berries around, but you have to learn how to distinguish them - the berries themselves may look shockingly similar to each other, so you have to memorize the kinds of plants that they grow on. Except perhaps for cloudberries, those are very distinct and easy to recognize. Others, though, can look like edible ones, but turn out to be poisonous. The safe ones are honeyberries, cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries..."

Agate was doing her best to follow along and memorize as many plants as she could. She knew full well that she'd never be a herbalist like Root was, and likely wouldn't even have many opportunities to put the knowledge to use. Still, it never hurt to learn more about your surroundings. And even if the most she would be able to do was point some ponies to a patch of berries she found during her own explorations, that was enough for her.

"Oh, here's something. This little shrub is called swamp tea, or bog Labrador tea. No idea what a Labrador is, but that's how our ancestors named it. I think the name makes it's uses rather obvious. These plants aren't really all that rare, but ponies do like their tea, so the shrubs too close to Snowpitt get picked almost bare all too often. That forces ponies to venture out further, so if you find a big tea patch, you're still going to find ponies that would be interested in it's location. Now, as the name implies, they like to grow in boggy, marshy areas, which also contain more interesting things. Let's see if we can find some of them today..."

She couldn't really feel whether the land under her hooves was getting softer or not any more, but the way her surroundings slowly turned more wet and damp indicated that she was approaching some kind of wetland. Agate didn't really know the fine differences between a bog, a marsh and a swamp - all she knew was that those kinds of areas were deceptively dangerous and little fillies should stay away from them. She assumed that Gnarled Root would explain the way they differed from one another in time.

The mare kept poking her muzzle into all kinds of dark spots, looking for hidden blooms, roots, and mushrooms, pointing out a patch of moss that could be used to make poultices for wounds or some faintly glowing mushrooms that were useful in potions, IF one prepared them carefully. Some of the shady spots with fallen trees and other such places still had bits of frost in them, clinging on stubbornly despite the late spring weather. Agate examined one such nook absently, listening to Gnarled Root while she traced a curiously shaped piece of wood with her eye- wait.

"Uh, Root... Is that... A frog?"

"Hmmm?"

The elder spirit came closer, looking to where Agate was pointing. A tree fell against a hillock some time ago, forming a tiny, shady overhang. A few icicles were hanging off the bottom of the rotting tree, water droplets slowly gathering on their tips before falling on the leaf-covered ground. And under that dead tree, there was a brown frog, the bottom half of it's body covered in frost.

"Poor thing... I guess it got unlucky, like I did. I thought frogs go to hide somewhere for the winter, though," The filly frowned a little, feeling sorry for the dead critter.

Gnarled Root, however, had a smile on her face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about them,, Agate. The frogs don't really care about getting frozen. On one hoof, they're unable to live during the cold periods, and have to spend the entire time immobilized. On the other, they can get frozen, thaw out, and carry on like nothing happened. I'm almost envious of them, really. It's not dead. I bet it'll be up and moving about soon enough."

"What?! No. No way. I remember the stories about weird ice creatures that aren't afraid of cold, because they're made of cold. But a regular animal? You can't just - just - freeze, and then thaw out. You're pulling my tail," Agate replied with utter disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh? Why don't we take a rest and see for ourselves, then? Watch," The mare commanded, sitting down with a smile.

The filly stared at her for a long minute, but seeing as no more explanations or instructions were forthcoming, she followed Gnarled Root's lead, planting her rump on the ground and locking her eyes on the frosty brown frog. As she expected, little changed at first. The amphibian remained immobile, not breathing, moving, or showing any other signs of life. The remaining frost on it's body kept melting, disappearing completely after a few hours. Despite that, their target remained inert. Agate couldn't help but look at Gnarled Root again.

"The frost on the outside melted, but its insides need to thaw as well, yes? Let's give it a little bit more."

With a shrug, the filly turned towards the frog again. Usually, sitting still for hours and hours would have gotten boring or tiring, but Agate was already rather patient and stoic, and with the fact that being a spirit meant she didn't have any physical distractions whatsoever, she found herself able to stay still for quite a long time.

"How long could I keep this up, I wonder? Just sit in place without moving. A day, a week? A month? I'd go crazy sooner or later..."

When they left, it was still rather early morning. By now, the sun was going down, and with the sun low in the sky, it's rays shone directly under the fallen tree, making the icicles melt that much faster. After a while though, the shadows started creeping in, threatening to engulf the area in darkness. Before they could reach the hollow, though, something happened.

Slowly, ponderously, the frog blinked.

"What?!"

Gnarled Root burst out laughing, while Agate stared at the frog, slack-jawed. Slowly, it blinked again, its body starting to move. It was breathing, slowly at first, then faster. A leg twitched, then another. It turned its head by a hair, looking around. Its motions were still very slow, but it was still undeniable. The frog was moving. It was alive.

"That... That! That is SO not fair. Why can't ponies just... Freeze harmlessly and wake up later if it gets too cold?" Agate grumped, pouting at the cheating amphibian.

"Ponies are not frogs," Gnarled Root summed up succinctly. "They are colder than us, and I suppose getting frozen bothers them less. We are warm on the inside. If our fire goes out, we cannot reignite it. It's just the way things are."

"Yeah, I guess, but that still looks like cheating, somehow. I mean, seriously, how do they even do that? I never heard of any animal that could do something similar."

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's magic of some kind? Maybe their blood is special, or perhaps their spirits leave their bodies and wander the dream realms in great froggy legions until it is time for them to awaken again. You are right in them being unique - birds leave for warmer places, and most other creatures go to their burrows to sleep the winter away. These frogs, though? They just don't care. It is an enviable survival trait, I'll admit," The mare mused. "Either way, it is getting late. Let us go back."

Still shaking her head, Agate turned back towards Snowpitt. "Every time," she thought. "Every time when I think I heard or saw the weirdest thing I possibly could about this place, it throws something else at me."

❅ ❆ ❅

"There!"

"Have at it, lads! Spirits guide your spears!"

"Begone, beast!"

Just as she went on scouting trips with Gnarled Root, Agate also went on expeditions with Spear Throw. These were quite different in nature, though.

"Ha! My ancestors must be watching over me this week!"

One stallion's spear stuck true, cutting the yeti's enraged howls short and turning them into bloody gurgles. Agate winced at the sound, but she didn't look away. Not much, at least. She still watched from the corner of her eyes how the yeti collapsed, slowly ceasing its struggling, until it lay still in the bloodied snow. The stallion that threw the spear through its neck went to retrieve his weapon, immediately bowing and muttering at the yeti's body with the dripping weapon still clutched in his hooves. The other hunters joined the ritual, muttering and chanting to the fallen yeti's spirit.

Agate couldn't actually see its spirit anywhere, but she knew better than to ask. The snowponies clearly had far more experience with spirits than she did. The chant was something of a mix between an apology, a respectful farewell for a worthy foe, and a polite, but firm warning that if its spirit were to come after them with vengeful intent, it would find itself facing a great many more spears, as well as angry shamares.

Spear Throw looked on approvingly at the group as they slowly concluded the ritual, pulling out their knives and cutting into the yeti, skinning it for its coat and other parts. Agate looked away at that point, folding her ears. She was slowly getting used to the idea of ponies hunting animals, and the idea of fighting yetis wasn't foreign at all - her uncle Obsidian Spear told her stories of chasing them off plenty of times - but the whole butchering thing was still a bit unsettling for her.

"Don't feel guilty," Spear Throw's voice rumbled to her right. "It is not for everyone. Far from every snowpony is capable of doing something like this, and many would react like you do now."

"Okay," she replied quietly.

"I find that the best distraction from something unpleasant is to do something else. While they're busy, let us see what you learned so far. Come," He gestured, walking away a short distance from the busy ponies.

Agate already knew what she was going to have to do. While Spear Throw flushed out the yetis and made sure the group didn't fall into any ambushes, Agate was supposed to put her pathfinding skills to use and do her best to always know where they were in relation to important landmarks. It took a little practice to deliberately ignore her totem's pull and orient herself only with her eyes, but she managed. With a nod from Spear Throw, she began.

"We were sweeping the foothills of the Howling Peak today. It's twin, the Silent Peak is over there... Which means that North, and Snowpitt, is that way, some, um... Three day's travel away. There is a lake to the east a few hours away, where we can rest safely and recuperate," she recited, turning this way and that during her explanation.

"Good. You lack the true experience that walking a path several dozen times provides, but your eyes and mind are as sharp as a spear," He complimented, falling silent.

She nodded, going through the details of the expedition in her mind again. Much as Agate expected, she wasn't going to be of much use in situations that required fighting or scaring monsters, but Spear Throw took her along anyway, just to test her skills and have another pair of eyes with them.

"Snowpitt and it's surroundings are known to be the safest place there is, but that is because it is kept that way," He explained to her as a group of hunters were poring over some maps and planning how much food they would need to bring and how long they would be gone. "Over the centuries, our ancestors learned exactly how far various predators venture from their lairs to hunt for food, and how wide of an area we need to sweep every spring to make sure that they don't even get close to the village. It's a constant effort, dislodging any ambitious newcomers that think they discovered uncontested and plentiful hunting fields, but it is well worth it. We do this with the knowledge that the rest of Snowpitt can sleep peacefully at night, without worrying about getting snatched up the moment they step outside the village boundaries."

Coming back to the present, Agate saw that the party was getting ready to move again, their new trophies secured to their backs. As usual, she and Spear Throw took point, the two moving ahead and to the sides of the group, scouring the underbrush for any ambush predators waiting for the ponies to pass by. They haven't encountered any yet, but the filly still took her duty seriously and kept her eyes peeled, knowing that if she messed up, there was a real chance the next cooling body in the snow could be one of the snowponies. It was a slim chance, of course, as the hunters were quite alert and sharp-eyed themselves, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Before long, they had made it to the shore of the lake, the leader of the group nodding thankfully at the spirits. A couple ponies went to refill their canteens, while the others dispersed to gather firewood and prepare a firepit. Soon enough, they had a fire going, cooking food and exchanging stories, both new and old.

Naturally, Agate was a big curiosity for the grizzled group, and she was often invited to sit with them and share stories of the Empire. Some were interested in the Guard and wanted to hear stories about her uncle, while others were more curious about the path she took to get here and general information about the lands around the city. A few expressed interest in going there to explore themselves, though no concrete plans had been made yet.

"Exploration of the unknown is a young pony's game, you see," One older stallion explained. He was all gray, with his mane bleached white from the passage of time. "Sure, I still can plod along all day long and wrestle a yeti by the end of it, but my reflexes aren't what they used to be. When you're exploring someplace unknown, you need to be sharp and alert all the time, even when you're asleep, and that takes a lot out of you. I'm only so sure of my step because I walked these paths for more winters than I can remember."

"Yeah, and Snowpitt is full of us old geezers for the summer," Another stallion cackled, the rest of them joining in.

Agate scratched her head. She hadn't considered it, but it was true. Most of the ponies she saw in the village were either young foals, or middle-aged and older ponies. Remembering her first weeks there, she made the connection.

"I remember seeing a large number of ponies leaving the village soon after the other tribes left. I haven't learned your tongue by that time yet, so I didn't ask. Were those all the young ponies? Do they go trekking through the tundra for the spring and summer?"

The hunters all nodded, the white-maned stallion answering. "Aye, that they do. Most of them, anyways. Obviously, a number of experienced adults are there to guide them and teach them, and some of them stay in the village, but that's where the majority of them go. Some of the more spry and adventurous ones might be interested in forming a band for a trek south, but you'll need to wait for autumn for that to happen."

"Hmm. I see..."

"Might be good to scout ahead if you're going to lead them. You said you don't remember much about the path from this "Empire", if I'm remembering correctly."

"Y-yeah, I was kind of galloping in a panic without looking at where I was going..."

"A luxury only afforded to a spirit," He chuckled good-naturedly.

"Heh. Yeah," Agate agreed, turning her eyes downwards at the fire.

❅ ❆ ❅

Time passed. Spring finished, summer following in its wake.

When Agate wasn't busy learning one thing or another from various ponies, she hung out with Autumn Ash and Cindertail, recounting what she had learned and sharing tales of her own explorations. Their parents also wanted to talk some more now and then, bringing in ponies from other farmer families in their small community. The filly became something of a celebrity in their circles, as ponies considered her to be a spiritual bridge of sorts between them and their distant cousins (as they now considered them) in the Empire.

It took her a little while, but Agate eventually noticed that the Sun wasn't really going down any more. Shaking her head, she watched the fiery ball dip down, skimming the horizon and almost disappearing behind it, before apparently changing it's mind and just going right up again.

"Seriously... Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, hey, this one actually makes sense! The winter nights get so long here they last weeks, so it only makes sense they'd get extra-long days during summer, too..." The filly muttered to herself, sitting by her totem.

Unsurprisingly, the extra sunlight seemed to be doing wonders to the crops. While the soil in the tundra didn't seem all that fertile (She really, really wasn't an expert on that, but it did look that way judging by the rather short plants that lived there), the fields surrounding Snowpitt had rich, black, loamy dirt, likely the results of dozens upon dozens of generations of ponies expertly fertilizing and tending them with great care.

And it showed. Agate thought that the snowponies would have great trouble matching the output of the Empire's farms, seeing as they had the shield to keep them warm. To her surprise, however, she watched as the farmers grew carrots as long as her legs, cabbages as big as her entire body, and massive pumpkins twice as big as her body. Clearly, they knew what they were doing.

"Centuries of work and experience, passed down by our ancestors. These vegetables really don't deal with the cold well, but we know how to keep their seeds nice and safe until spring comes around again. Until then, we just need to keep them from getting frostbite if the weather suddenly turns foul," Cindertail explained proudly, carrying a rock on his back.

Climbing on a stone fence, he jammed it into a gap between two bigger stones. Agate assumed that it was protection from the wildlife, but the colt told her that it was actually there to act as a windbreak from the cold gales that blew over the open tundra.

Taking a moment to appreciate the sheer amount of different things that went into growing things, she waved goodbye to her friend, making her way back to her totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

Time passed.

Agate was restless.

It was small at first. Slowly, she started becoming a little less patient, a little less observant, a little more distracted. Eventually, she became quicker to get angry, or sad, or just go quiet. Something was eating at her, something that wasn't going away with time. In fact, it was only getting worse and worse, until one autumn evening, she snapped.

❅ ❆ ❅

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHH!!!"

Agate screamed, feeling a little better. Restless, she paced her clearing, moving back and forth in front of her totem.

"That... Was quite the outburst. Not something I'd ever expect from you, Agate," Gnarled Root spoke, appearing from behind Agate's totem. "What is wrong, little one?"

"It's... It's... I can't... Ugh." Agate slumped over, hanging her head low.

"Take your time," Spear Throw rumbled, lying down next to her.

"It's dumb," The filly muttered. However, the other two spirits remained quiet, waiting patiently. Agate sighed, gathering up her thoughts. After a good long while, she spoke again.

"It's... About home. About the Empire. I know that I was accepted into your tribe and offered a home here. Still, that was with the understanding that I was going to look for my people, to find my way back to them. And I also know that for now, there's very little that anyone can do about it. That I'm supposed to learn, to get better at things while some ponies hopefully put together an expedition to go south and see what became of the city.

I tried. I mean, I did. I learned, I listened, I did the best I could. But no matter what happened, no matter who I talked to, every conversation would inevitably turn back to the Empire or the crystal ponies. Whether I was learning about plants with Root, or pathfinding and animals with you, or magic with the shamares... Every time, I'd either compare things to how they were done back home, or the pony I was talking to would ask me about it. And every time, I'd get distracted, and start thinking about what happened to the rest of the crystal ponies.

A number of ponies suggested to me that I should try to go back, to scout out the area and find the best path southwards through the mountains, and possibly go take a look at the place where the city used to stand. Thing is, I just... I just can't. I don't know the path home. I know that if I just go south, I will find it. I can't possibly miss the huge mountain guarding the valley, and there's nothing that can really stand in my way. But..."

A pregnant pause came upon the clearing. Agate opened her mouth a few times, but wasn't able to say the words. Gnarled Root said them for her.

"But you're terrified of what you're going to find there - or NOT find there."

"Yes. Yes. I - I still don't know what happened. If what I saw was even true. I was still lost, panicked, half-blind and freshly dead. The best and smartest snowpony shamares and elders couldn't figure out what could have possibly happened to make the entire city vanish. What if it was some sort of trick, and my parents have been missing me the entire time? What if it wasn't, and there's not a trace of the city left? What if... What if I go there, and the city is there, but my parents are dead..."

"It sounds like not knowing is hurting you even worse than knowing would," Spear Throw pointed out.

"I - I guess so..?"

The stallion put his hoof on the filly's back, patting her gently. "Listen to me, Agate. You are strong. Stronger than most ponies that I know. Stronger than me, perhaps. Don't interrupt," He said as the filly opened her mouth to protest. "You lost your life, which is painful. You lost your family, which would lead most ponies to grief and ruin. But then, you also lost your entire tribe, which is simply unthinkable. Even if you lose your entire family line, you know that the ponies of your tribe would still comfort you and send their most heartfelt farewells to you. The very thought of losing everyone and everything, forever, could lead a pony to the depths of despair deeper than the ocean itself.

It honestly speaks to your strength of character that you broke down only now. Other ponies would have tried putting on a brave face for a week or two, but I'm sure they would have been screaming and howling at the heavens in rage and hopelessness soon enough. And I'm not sure most would be able to recover, either. So, yes, you are a strong filly, whether you believe it or not."

Agate said nothing at first. The three continued to lay there for quite some time, none of them moving the tiniest bit. Eventually, though, Agate stirred, a frown coming over her face. The frown turned into a scowl, and then into a furious snarl.

"Sombra..." She muttered angrily, slowly standing up. "I'm not... I'm not going to let you win, you fearmongering monster," She spoke louder.

A complete change came over the filly. Where she was listless, now she was trotting in place, looking south. Turning her head back and forth between the smiling Gnarled Root and a stern Spear Throw, she started babbling.

"I - I have to know. I don't want to. I hate it, I'm afraid, I'm terrified of what I'm going to find there. I'm afraid of wasting my trip and finding absolutely nothing, but finding something, anything, terrifies me even more. I-"

"And whatever you find there, you'll be stronger for it," Spear Throw assured her. "Do you fear it? Do you hate the idea of going there, but you're going to do it anyway? Good. That is how courage works, and that is how you learn to turn your resolve into unbreakable determination. Go, and come back stronger for it."

"Right, okay, alright. Just... I have to go. I have to go right now, or I feel like I'll never be able to," The filly moaned, fidgeting in place.

"Go, Agate," Gnarled Root waved her off. "We'll tell the shamares and all your friends what happened, don't worry."

Without another word, the little spirit turned tail and galloped south, disappearing into the evening gloom.

Closure

Agate galloped.

On and on, over the tundra, through the woods, across the bottom of the river that divided the foothills from the plains, she kept galloping, without sparing so much as a single glance backwards. The same energy that kept her back was now fueling her mad dash back towards the Empire.

"I have to know... I have to see."

She remembered what the snowponies told her, of course. How they confirmed that the Empire was gone with their own methods, through spiritual scrying and dreams. Still, seeing is believing, and she didn't fully trust what she saw back then. Many months had passed since that day, and with her memories becoming blurrier, the doubts only grew.

Agate knew that finding absolutely nothing was the most likely outcome of this journey. She was afraid of it, since she had no clue as to where the crystal ponies could have disappeared to and where to look next. And she was afraid of what she could find. Still, Spear Throw was right. Not knowing was eating her alive, and she had to go see and make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her that day.

"And to map out the path so I can tell about it to others, I suppose."

That thought finally broke Agate out of her trance. She slowed down to a trot, then a canter, before stopping completely. Looking around, she got her bearings.

Not getting tired or running out of breath still messed with her perception of time, apparently. On one hoof, she didn't end up all that far away from Snowpitt, relatively speaking. On the other hoof, the distance she covered would have taken a group of snowponies one, perhaps two days to traverse. Looking skywards, she checked the time.

"Late noon..."

It was late evening when she left. Bit more than half a day had passed, then. Three quarters or so. Shaking her head, the filly looked ahead. She was near the mountain pass that she originally took to enter the northern lands. It, and the twin peaks it sat between, were considered the southern border of the known world by the snowponies.

Taking a breath, Agate steeled her will and started moving again. Despite the incline, she made good time - climbing was easy when you didn't actually weigh anything. Approaching the pass, she eyed the rocky walls, trying to recall the first time that she passed through there.

It didn't look quite the same. Much of the snow that previously covered it had melted, exposing more of the mountain face and the sheer walls of the pass. What struck Agate as odd were the strangely angular corners and smooth ground in some places. It was almost like the gap between the two peaks was artificially widened, enough to let a cart pass through.

"That... Might just be exactly what happened," She surmised, examining one wall for evidence of tool use.

If the snowpony ancestors fled from Dream Valley, then this very well might have been the path that they took to get here. Excited, Agate stuck her muzzle to the ground and walls, looking for more clues. Erosion did its part, however, and there wasn't anything immediately obvious by that point.

Undeterred, the filly moved forward, glancing left and right all the time. If she could just find more paths that looked like they were artificially made, she could find an easy route that she could use to lead others through most of the mountain range, perhaps even all the way to Dream Valley.

It took her an hour of trotting while scanning her surroundings non-stop to find the next patch of road that was carved into the mountainside, leading east. Checking and memorizing her position like Spear Throw taught her, she continued on, ever observant of the terrain.

This part of the path was a little harder to follow, since it became covered in a layer of gravel over the years. Still, she was quite confident that it was pony-made. The rest of the mountainside was mostly smooth and sat at a steep angle, compared to the one stretch that was flattened by something or someone.

Things went much slower now that she wasn't galloping without looking at where she was going any more. Still, the ghostly explorer made good time, even with her constant stops to look around and see how she was moving in relation to the mountain peaks and other landmarks.

Her path took her down the southern side of the eastern mountain - the Silent peak - towards some mountain that didn't have a name. Far as she knew, anyway. Given that it sat in a cluster of mountains that both the crystal and the snow ponies considered unknown territory, it very well might have been completely nameless.

"...What if I named it?" Agate mused with a chuckle.

Shaking her head to clear the distracting thoughts, she looked around. There was a small valley at the bottom of the mountain, if it could be called that. More like a thin spit of dirt ringing the mountains, bit wider than a street, with some trees and shrubs competing for the limited soil. No clues as to where to go next, though.

"Pick a spot, and start going in a slowly widening circle," she recalled Spear Throw's pathfinding advice in case she lost a trail.

"Alright, here goes..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Turn east as soon as you exit the pass. Keep moving east until you find the path carved into the mountainside leading south. Follow it downwards until the end, then turn east again and follow the valley alongside the nameless mountain. The valley itself is a good place to rest, if it's summer or autumn. I think I remember all the gaps between the mountains being covered in snow when I came through during the winter, so finding shelter would be problematic during that time..."

Among the many things Spear Throw and Gnarled Root taught Agate about pathfinding were reminders that one should not only notice all the important details, but make sure to remember them, as well.

"No point in being aware of your surroundings if you just forget everything the moment you look the other way," Gnarled Root explained. "I'm being hyperbolic, of course, but after spending a whole day out and about, the important details of what you find might remain fresh in your mind, but the small parts like how you actually got there and how to find your way back to a specific place again might get lost. And often, those "small" details are the most important.

"It's like snow," Spear Throw added. "Every time it snows, it gets deeper, layer by layer. Do the same thing with your memories. See something, and you can remember seeing it. Repeat to yourself where and how you saw it, and you will have memories of both seeing it and remembering it. Describe your journey out loud to yourself at the end of the day, and you will have memories of seeing it, remembering it, AND speaking it out loud. It's a good way to make sure you don't miss anything.

"And now I have an excuse to think out loud all I want," Agate chuckled triumphantly.

The filly was sitting down, recounting, repeating and memorizing all the important parts of how she got there, "there" being a hole in the ground where a large pine tree once stood. The old tree had fallen over some years before, its roots ripping out a sizeable chunk of the earth as it fell.

Agate didn't really need any sort of real shelter from the elements any more, but she still felt more comfortable resting in the kind of place she would have used if she was still alive. Lying down in the hole, she tried to clear her mind, but her mind kept replaying the memories from the day's events.

After trotting back and forth through the thin valley for some time, she gave up on finding any kind of old trails or paths. No clues of any kind of ancient passages presented themselves to her, and she concluded that either the path got eroded to the point of nonexistence, or the ponies were simply able to make their way through this part of the journey without having to carve into the mountains.

After seeing things get dark, the filly stopped, wondering what to do. As before, she didn't feel tiredness or any other kind of detrimental effects she would have felt after moving non-stop for a full day. However, she still remembered that her mind needed rest, even if she didn't feel it yet. Seeing as keeping her mind clear was crucial for this expedition, she found a place to sleep.

"I wonder if I'll even be able to fall asleep without my totem..."

Falling asleep in the home the snowponies built for her was always extremely easy, the totem's magic lulling her to a deep and dreamless sleep. She did sleep as a spirit without a totem a couple of times, back when Glacier Glider took her in. It didn't feel much like sleep back then, but she was still able to drift off eventually. Closing her eyes, she got comfortable and did her best to clear her mind.

❅ ❆ ❅

The sleep was unusual. Agate kept drifting in and out of a strange semi-dream state, sometimes opening her eyes only to close them immediately after and drift off again. Odd colors, shapes and places showed up in her mind's eye, disappearing before she could comprehend them. Brief flashes of concerns about oversleeping would bring her to near-waking, but she would forget them moments later.

When Agate finally woke up fully, the only concrete thing she could remember from her jumbled dreams was the vivid sight of Dreamcatcher, giving her a nod right before she woke up. Out of all the other fleeting glimpses that Agate saw, the shamare was the only thing she recognized.

"Was that a dream?" The filly muttered, scratching her head in confusion. "No, wait..."

It being a dream didn't exactly preclude Dreamcatcher from being real, given her abilities. Agate pondered the significance of her appearance for a few minutes before shrugging and getting up, stretching her legs. Looking skyward, she tried to tell the time.

Much of the skyline was blocked by the mountains surrounding her on all sides, but she figured it must have been somewhere around noon. Agate still had trouble telling the time on some days, given how crazy long/short the days were during the changing seasons, but the late autumn days were still somewhat normal. Reorienting herself according to the mountain peaks, she climbed out of the hole, setting off southwards.

"Alright. Here we go again..."

Agate kept her head on a swivel, looking left and right for the best path ponies could take or would have taken in the past, moving between the mountains. The valley probably was the best candidate for it, but she still tried to do her best and take in as much detail as possible.

Besides the rocky terrain, there really wasn't much to see around there. With the terrain being so inhospitable, the most life that managed to survive seemed to be the few pine trees in the very bottom of the gaps between the mountains. Which was probably good, all things considered. It wouldn't really be possible to forage for food on a journey through the mountain range, but ponies could rest easy, knowing there were no dangerous predators anywhere near them.

The hours ticked by as Agate kept moving southwards, circling the nameless mountains. As her thoughts wandered, she idly considered giving them actual names. Should she? How did one go about naming mountains, anyway? Did you need to be an empress of those lands, or a princess, or maybe a chieftain? Squinting at the mountain to her right, she considered the idea.

"Hmmm... Eh. Can't think up anything good. And naming them after myself or my friends doesn't seem right."

With a shrug, the filly continued on, picking up the pace. She moved from a trot to a gallop, tearing down the valley towards the mountain in front of her. She still glanced from side to side now and then, but it was pretty obvious that the only viable path for ponies that weren't spirits was the one she was taking. She could have climbed the mountain walls without much trouble, but she wasn't sure that even the usually capable snowponies could navigate the sheer walls surrounding her.

A few hours of galloping later, she moved past the main bodies of the two mountains to her sides, fully curving around the western mountain. Her path led her to a (comparably) tiny peak in front of her, more of a shard of a mountain than a real one, and an absolutely massive mountain right behind it. Squinting, Agate looked at it, something tickling at the filly's mind.

"Is that...?"

She couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like the same massive mountain that stood on the northernmost edge of Dream Valley. If that was true, large as the obstacle was, that meant she only had one last mountain to circle around before reaching the valley. Puffing out her chest and glaring at the mountain, she got ready to gallop again, only to get interrupted by a ray of sunlight flashing right in her face from a patch of snow. Distracted, she looked around, only to see the rapidly lengthening shadows all around her.

The day was ending, darkness enveloping the land again. Agate briefly considered going ahead anyway, before discarding the idea. She was going to do it properly and map everything out, the way Spear Throw and Gnarled Root taught her. Scanning the area, she looked for any caves, rocky overhangs, copses of trees or other spots ponies could use for shelter. No such locations presented themselves to her, and she moved forward, keeping her eyes peeled.

Trotting ahead, she approached the tiny mountain, still looking left and right. This patch of the mountains seemed extra inhospitable, nothing but bare, jagged rock in every direction. Cliff, mountain face, boulder, angular ditch - wait. Angular?

"Well hello there."

By the looks of it, Agate had found the old trail again. Galloping closer, she eagerly examined the stone in front of her. There was another smoothed-down trail cut into the rock, starting at the foot of the small peak, leading upwards. It was barely visible, almost looking like a natural formation, but it was far too straight and even for that. She tried tracing its path with her eyes, but the curvature of the mountain blocked its destination. With a shrug, the filly started climbing.

It was a little confusing. Instead of curving around the mountain or easing the passage in some other way, the trail went straight up at the peak, and at quite a steep angle, too. The filly stopped several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, but the path's direction remained the same, with rough, uneven rocks on either side.

It didn't take too long to reach the apparent end. The trail cut off at a small flat space, nothing more than a small outcropping enough to fit two-three carts in. Immediately further, there was a snowy cliff, going straight upwards, with more steep mountain walls to either side. Agate circled the area several times, but couldn't figure out the purpose of the trail. It seemingly just ended there, on a random patch of mountain.

Huffing in irritation, she sat down, staring at every surface in the darkening evening gloom. Was there an avalanche? Or a rockslide? Did the trail lead west or east around the mountain, but got destroyed by the elements over the years? Nothing suggested that was the case, though. There wasn't even the faintest sign of any other artificial stonework as far as she could see.

Standing up again, she walked back to the trail, following it into the outcropping with her muzzle to the ground. Creeping forward step by step, she tried to pry the secrets from the weathered stone, watching for the faintest irregularities. Soon enough, her careful examination brought her right to the rock face. The trail seemed to continue right into the cliff. Tilting her head, Agate looked at the stone further. Most of it was covered in snow, the powdery stuff spilling out slightly.

"Hold on a second..."

Agate walked forward again, her head disappearing into the wall. And kept walking. A few more steps later, she entered a cave of some sort. The trail didn't lead to a random cliff, it actually went to what must have been some kind of underground passage! Elated, the filly looked around. Obviously, things were rather dark, but her spirit sight was still able to pick out the shapes and angles of the walls.

Unfortunately, she encountered a problem almost immediately. A few body lengths further in, the cave had collapsed, rocks spilling out from the ceiling. Looking at the mess, Agate chewed at her cheek, considering her options. She could have went outside and looked for another path. Or, she could probably keep going, simply phasing through the blockage. It wasn't something other ponies could do, so that path would be no use to others. However, she was immensely curious to see what the passage was and where it led.

The whole thing was definitely artificial. She even saw the splintered remains of support beams among the rubble. After a few more minutes of internal debate, she closed her eyes and focused, performing one of the exercises Dreamcatcher taught her. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, as if she was breathing again. With a hum, she slowly opened her glimmering green eyes again. Everything seemed a little brighter, the details resolving themselves into sharp focus despite the darkness.

"Thank you, Dreamcatcher," Agate muttered quietly, looking around with fresh eyes.

The shamare taught Agate a number of things to hone her spiritual abilities, including her spirit sight. All spirits naturally possessed it, seeing as they lost their regular sight when they died. However, most of them could barely see unless a shamare helped them out or they had a totem built for them. Some ponies, like True Sight, learned to use it while still alive, and were able to see things no other pony could, whether they were dead or alive.

Agate wasn't even comparable to True Sight, of course, but she could still enhance her sight a tiny bit. Keeping her focus, she started moving forward again, sticking her head and eventually her whole body inside the rubble. It was disorienting, but she tried to picture the floor, putting her hooves forward step by step. Suddenly, glowing, angular lines started appearing in her vision, distracting the filly. Blinking, she stopped, wondering just what the heck she was seeing inside the solid rock. Approaching one of the shapes, she almost facehoofed.

"Crystals. Of course. I could see them from massive distances since I became a spirit, and I guess I can even see them through solid rock now," She concluded. With a shrug, she moved forward again, emerging behind the blockage and looking around.

Almost immediately, she turned towards a wall, something catching her eye. There were chalky outlines on it, like some kind of writing, or maybe pictures. Refocusing her sight, the filly reared up against the wall, trying to decipher the symbols. They were a little smudged, likely from moisture, but the collapsed section probably blocked the airflow and prevented further damage.

Unfortunately, the letters appeared to be in Old Ponish. Then again, Agate wasn't all that certain she would have been able to read them even if they were written in modern Equish. On closer inspection, what seemed like straight lines turned out to be stains from the no doubt mineral-rich water that dripped off the walls years ago, making the writing completely unrecognizable. Shaking her head, she turned her eyes towards the image.

The drawing turned out to be rather straightforward. An elongated, smudged cloud with hooves - a windigo? - was pouring snow upon the ground, a few crude pictures of homes and dead trees buried under the mass. Two gruesome-looking pony skulls were drawn on both sides of the picture, likely warnings or remembrance for those who lost their lives to the blizzards.

Agate sighed, sitting down and considering the implications. This proved her suspicions and then some - those trails really were cut by the ponies fleeing the windigoes. The windigo winter must have been a truly world-shattering event for the ancient pony tribes, scattering them across half the world, from the deep north to the far south.

For a brief moment, she thought about getting up and seeing where the tunnel led, but she remembered the time. It was late evening when she came upon the trail, and it was likely already dark outside. Instead, she started repeating the day's journey to herself again. After a few repetitions, she yawned and closed her eyes, confident that she was able to recall all of the important details.

Lying down on the stone floor, she stretched out, repeating Dreamcatcher's instructions in her mind.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate slept.

Her sleep was fitful again, though it didn't last as long as before. After some more confusing images she forgot as soon as she saw them, the dream resolved into Dreamcatcher's visage. The dreamwalker looked around, her voice somehow echoing from behind Agate, despite the fact that the shamare wasn't even moving her mouth.

"Hello, Agate. How goes your journey?"

It took the filly a moment to gain enough awareness to remember the concept of talking, and then a few more moments to actually think of what to say.

"I am retracing the hoofsteps of your ancestors," She eventually replied.

That earned her a raised eyebrow. "That is a fascinating claim, Agate, if a little cryptic. Could you elaborate a little, please?"

Agate started thinking, which was enough to bring her to near-wakefulness, most of the dreamy haze lifting from her mind. Blinking slowly, she looked at the shamare standing in the cave before her.

"Wait, is this a dream? Am I just dreaming about you, or are you really here?"

"I could answer "yes" to all three of those questions, and I wouldn't be lying," Came the reply. A small smirk was visible on the elder's muzzle.

"Right, never mind. Well, when I was crossing the pass between the Silent and the Howling peaks, I noticed that it looked artificial. Not entirely, but it was widened and deepened, likely so carts or sleds could pass through.

As Agate spoke, images appeared around them, brief flashes of things she saw, the important details in sharp focus while the rest looked blurry. Dreamcatcher examined them curiously, tilting her head in Agate's direction.

"I'll defer to your expertise on this. We do not go around carving up mountains, so I wouldn't know what looks natural and what doesn't. Was there anything else?"

"Oh, yes! That was only the beginning. I immediately started looking for more pony-made trails, and found one not too far. I've been following it on and off for the entire time. There were a number of places where the rock was cut out and smoothed down, and it all lead south, towards Dream Valley."

More blurry images appeared around them, though they flashed by too quickly, Agate not really focusing enough on the details. Dreamcatcher help up a hoof, trying to get the filly's attention.

"Slow down. Step by step... Show me the important parts, please, if you don't mind. This sounds very interesting, but how do you know that our ancestors were the ones that did it? Did you just assume, because of the path's direction?"

"Yes, at first. But I found some proof right before going to sleep. It's right here, actually," Agate explained, trying to will the underground passage into existence around them.

The rocky walls surrounding her in the waking world appeared in her dream as well, the underground darkness swallowing the previous images. Agate got up, pointing at the wall, Dreamcatcher obediently coming over to examine the painting. She stared at it for some time, not saying a word. Agate blinked, simultaneously feeling like only a second had passed, and that they had been standing there for hours. Dreams were strange. Eventually, the shamare tore her gaze from the wall, though only momentarily.

"Very interesting," She declared, waving Agate over. "A bit damaged by time, though. I wonder how it looked like when it was made." Reaching out a hoof, she brushed the wall, the image blurring and resolving itself into something else.

Agate watched in awe as the drawing shifted and moved, the now sharper-looking windigo writing in the sky, raining chalky snowflakes into the valley below. Slowly, parts of the painting started disappearing, starting from the skulls, then the snow, and finally, the windigo itself vanished. However, something else appeared in its place - a mare was standing next to the wall, rearing up on her hindlegs and bracing herself with her forelegs, a stick of chalk held between her teeth. She was barely more than an outline, visible even less than a spirit, but the shape was unmistakable.

"Ancestors..." Dreamcatcher muttered, noticing Agate's awed look. "Echoes, Agate. Time matters a little less in dreams than in the waking world. The echoes of the past can be heard many years later, if you know how to listen. They are often of little use, but infinitely easier to decipher than the uncertain echoes of the future. I must say, you aroused my curiosity with your discovery. Let us go see these ancestors of mine, shall we?"

The filly nodded mutely, still watching the slow-moving shape of the mare rubbing the chalk against the wall, drawing the outline of the windigo. The scene soon began to fade as Dreamcatcher turned away, slowly cantering deeper into the passage. Scrambling, Agate went to follow, moving to walk alongside the shamare.

The two walked in silence for an indeterminate amount of time. Every now and then, the tunnel would branch, small passages snaking off somewhere deeper into the mountain. The pair examined a few of them, but they all turned out to be dead ends, leading nowhere. Looking at the walls, Agate squinted.

"I think this wasn't a passage they dug to get past the mountain. It looks like it was a mine, probably for crystals, or maybe metals. Those side passages must have contained pockets of materials that were mined out."

"And luckily for them, the mine provided them a convenient escape route when they needed one," Dreamcatcher surmised.

"Yeah..."

They went back to the main passage, moving through the mountain depths. Agate kept an eye out for more paintings, but the rest of the walls remained bare. Dreamcatcher kept her gaze straight ahead, though she kept moving her ears back and forth, listening for something. After a few more side passages, she raised a hoof, signaling for Agate to stop. The shamare stepped aside, the filly following along.

Nothing happened at first. Everything remained quiet, dark and dead. However, after a bit more waiting, Agate started to hear something. Twitching her ears, she tried to focus her vision. That proved unnecessary moments later, as a whole herd of ponies suddenly appeared out of the darkness, the sounds of hooves on stone clacking all around her. Flinching a little, Agate pressed herself against the wall.

"Whoa!"

Dreamcatcher said nothing as the shadowy herd moved through the tunnel. They were led by a huge stallion, moving at a steady, ground-eating trot, ponies of all kinds moving in line after him. Young, old, big, small... All earth ponies, however. The vast majority of them were nothing but shadowy figures, but some had a few glimmers of colors in their eyes or where their cutiemarks used to be. All of them were wearing saddlebags and all sorts of equipment, and were interspersed with pairs of ponies dragging small carts and wagons. Some had the wheels replaced with rough-hewn logs, evidently modified in haste to turn them into makeshift sleds.

"Ancestors..." Dreamcatcher muttered again, watching the procession, paying special attention to the ponies that had more color than the rest. As her gaze would fall on them, their forms would flare a tiny bit brighter for a moment before they moved out of sight.

Agate was burning with curiosity, but she had enough self control not to interrupt the shamare. She waited patiently as the long line of ponies snaked by, Dreamcatcher eventually waving a hoof, making the images fade. The sounds of hooves disappeared as well, nothing but the faint impressions of thousands of hoofprints remained on the stone floor.

"What you saw there... Not the ponies themselves, of course, what was happening there is obvious - but the few that were slightly more distinct than the rest... Blood calls to blood, and kin calls to kin. Those were, indeed, my very distant ancestors. Specifically mine, not just my tribe. Had they not walked this path, I do not think I would have been able to summon the echoes of their passage like that. Ironic, considering your mission. You set out to find out what happened to your people, and yet you're uncovering the forgotten history of ours. Thank you for showing this to me, Agate. I shouldn't keep you any longer."

"No, no, it's okay. I think you deserve to know about this, and it's probably better for you to see it yourself than just to hear me tell you about it later."

"Thank you, though I don't think that there is much left to see here. Well... Let us go to the end of this passage and see if we can find anything else along the way."

The filly nodded, taking point this time. The pair of disembodied ponies made their way through the old mine, stepping over a few stones that fell from the ceiling here and there. Though the old tunnel lasted this long without collapsing completely, it likely wouldn't last that much longer. Further proof of that fact came when they came across another collapsed section, passing through it, only to find that there was yet more rubble barely a few body lengths away.

If there were any more signs, clues or messages left by the ponies of old, they were gone by now. Squinting, Agate walked through the rubble, her dreamwalking spirit guide following along. After a stretch of darkness and odd shapes of the stones, they broke through, though not to another stretch of the tunnel. Instead, sunlight greeted them, the collapsed entrance to the mineshaft behind them.

Agate turned in a circle, trying to figure out where she was. The mine entrance was completely covered by rocks, no signs of something being buried there whatsoever. Trees dotted the area, moss and sparse grass growing in the meagre soil. There was a small patch of bare ground that might have been the beginning of a path leading off the mountain, but the rest of it was too weathered and overgrown. It seemed like, unlike the other side of the mountain, time managed to erode every clue that might have led to the discovery of the old mine.

Not that she needed the path, of course. She was on the other side of the mountain now, Dream Valley stretched out before her. She turned towards Dreamcatcher, the shamare looking on placidly.

"So, this is it... Dream Valley. I wanted to ask if you could do that time-turning thing to see what happened to the Empire, but you said it was only because of your connection to the ponies that you saw, right?"

"Yes, and it was not effortless, either. I am sorry, young one, but you will have to undertake the rest of this journey alone. I think I'll need to catch anap...." Dreamcatcher shook her head, sounding like she was somewhere far away.

"Uh, are you alright?"

"Everything's fine, little spirit. Like I said, that took effort. I'll be goingnow...

The shamare faded out, the dream-like qualities of Agate's surroundings blurring her surroundings and making her dizzy. The filly closed her eyes, shaking her head in confusion. Lying down on the ground for a minute, she kept her eyes closed before slowly opening them again.

"Well, guess it's time to get up. Wonder if the tunnel will look like it did in my dre- What?!"

Instead of waking up in the mine tunnel where she went to sleep, Agate was still on the mountainside, the buried mine next to her. Bewildered, she whirled around, scanning her surroundings. Everything remained the same as before.

"Wait, what?! What the - How? What? Was I sleepwalking?"

Shaking her head again, the filly sat down. When Dreamcatcher did her dreamwalking thing, she would wake up in the same place she went to sleep to. But Agate didn't have a body to wake up in, and the shamare did explain that dreams were one of the ways spirits could travel to other places, even other worlds... So if she was a spirit...

"Huh..."

The implications and possibilities in regards to dream magic were a little above her level. Or a lot, she didn't really know. Still a little confused at the fact she traveled during her dream (which wasn't remotely unusual in itself, but the fact that she stayed where she traveled to was weird), she did her best to get a grip on herself and focus on the present.

Looking into the distance, Agate did the thing she both anticipated and feared - she gazed across Dream Valley, looking for the familiar shape of the Spire. Nothing presented itself, though, the plains impossibly even, pristine, and Spire-free. She scanned the terrain, trying to find something, anything, but there wasn't anything that would have indicated that a huge city stood there less than a year before. She wasn't just seeing things back then - the Empire really was gone.

She let out a long breath, feeling the ball of worry and stress in her chest unknot slowly. The crystal ponies did disappear, but at least she knew where she stood now. She wasn't mistaken, or fooled by some magic of Sombra's. That really wasn't some trick that she saw back then. Looking down, she examined the mountainside, looking for the straightest path into the valley. It was time to take a closer look.

Jumping from rock to rock, she quickly made her way downwards, setting to a gallop immediately. There was no need to look for safe paths through the open and flat terrain, so she tore forwards with wild abandon, trying to cross the valley before darkness fell.

❅ ❆ ❅

The journey along the valley floor was uneventful. The plain was much like it was during her first trip - lacking plant life, quiet, and covered in snow. She was a little confused by the fact that there was still snow here while there wasn't any in snowpony lands, until she remembered the old stories.

"...the hateful cold had seeped into the very being of the land so much, the unicorns said it might never thaw out..."

Shaking her head, Agate refocused on her task. Given that there were no visible landmarks indicating where the city used to stand, she was a little worried about missing the place completely. Gaze down, she scanned the earth, looking for any kind of irregularities that would indicate that a building or a road used to stand there.

It wasn't very distinct, but she did notice a difference eventually. There was only a slight dusting of snow on a stretch of land before her, while her surroundings still had snow that looked at least hoof-deep. Gingerly taking a step forward, she bent her muzzle to the ground. The earth was a little uneven and bare, but that was it. Not a single piece of crystal or anything similar was present.

With a sigh, Agate set off towards what looked like the middle of the barren plot of land. It took her some time to reach it, and she tried measuring the time as she went along, comparing it to the time it used to take her to get around the Empire. It didn't help very much, seeing as she didn't really bother measuring time back then, but at least it kept her busy as she trotted along.

Some small part of her still expected to see signs of battle and destruction, not complete emptiness. A shard of crystal, a hole from a magic blast, pieces of a building's foundations buried in the earth, anything. However, the barren land remained the same. There were some slight indentations in the ground where buildings might have stood at some point, but that was it. The Empire really just up and vanished, down to the tiniest grain of sand.

Eventually reaching the middle of the barren earth, the filly finally saw the first thing that stood out in the unremarkable plain, not that it was overly impressive. A large, circular depression was sunk into the ground, it's edges smooth and even. She pondered at what could have possibly been there, until her eyes went wide.

"The Spire... This is where the palace used to stand..."

Slowly, she clambered into the hole, muzzle to the ground again. Like before, nothing was there. No crystals, no magic, no clue that there ever was a civilization that withstood the tribal schisms, windigoes, and a dozen other things besides. Sitting down at the deepest point, she lay down, performing Dreamcatcher's exercises again. If she couldn't see anything normally, perhaps her spirit sight would help.

❅ ❆ ❅

Nothing.

It was early evening by the time she reached the place where the Empire used to stand, and while she was focusing, darkness slowly fell upon the land. As she emerged from the hole, looking all around, she saw... Nothing. Gritting her teeth, she did her best not to lose her temper, as that would just ruin her concentration. Re-focusing, she looked back towards the Spire's former location, desperately wishing to find at least some kind of clue.

Ever so briefly, she managed to see images of the Empire as it used to be, but she wasn't sure if she was actually seeing it, or whether it was just her memories and imagination, showing her things that she was desperately trying to see. She was forced to admit that it was likely the latter, as after over an hour of wandering, the most she managed to see were some faint outlines of motionless ponies in the corners of her eyes. As soon as she looked straight at them, though, they vanished.

"I think I'm just seeing things by now..."

The filly stood there for some time, sorting through her goals and thinking about what to do next. Make her way to the Empire? Check.

Examine the area thoroughly and make certain that the Empire really was gone? Check.

Map out the route so snowpony explorers could safely get here too, if they wanted to? Not finished yet, but only because she went under the mountains through that tunnel. She'd finish that task on the way back home.

"..."

That was it, then. It was time to go back. Or... Go to sleep, maybe. With a frown, Agate looked around one last time, this time looking on into the distance rather than scanning the ground. The skies, the stars, the moon, the mountains ringing the valley... The familiar landmarks all were right where she left them. She left homesick, but she knew she couldn't stay here. Well, she could, but there was no point to it.

Looking for a place to sleep, she shot a look southwards. A light glimmered there for a moment, likely a reflection of the snow in the hills. She briefly considered going even further, all the way to Equestria, but gave up on the idea almost immediately. Chances were, they'd just get scared of her and run away. She didn't think the Equestrians would have the same relaxed attitude towards the spirits of dead ponies trotting around that the snowponies did. And even if they did, it likely wouldn't matter. They had to know that the Empire disappeared. Almost a year had passed since then, after all, and if they could have brought it back, they probably would have.

With a huff, the filly turned towards where the Spire used to be, settling down to sleep one last time before going home. No dreams or shamares interrupted her sleep.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate galloped.

It wasn't the same fear, uncertainty and determination driven gallop that she left Snowpitt with, but it wasn't a victorious return, either. She didn't really have anything to show for her trip except confirmation that the Empire was well and truly gone. Which still was some kind of result, but not one she really liked. Even if other explorers followed her path and came here, she wasn't sure whether they would be able to help in any way.

Pursing her lips, she tried to clear her mind from the annoying thoughts, focusing on moving forward. The trip back through the valley went by in a blur, the filly only slowing down when she reached the northern foothills. Looking left and right, she briefly wondered whether to circle the giant mountain from the east or west, turning west after a minute.

Going at a full gallop again, she kept glancing to the sides, looking for any obstacles or memorable landmarks, deftly moving through the rocky terrain. The going seemed far easier on this side of the foothills, more soil and trees creating a more tolerable terrain to travel through.

As the elevation began rising into the mountains proper, the trees began to thin noticeably, everything becoming rocky and barren. Chewing on her lip, she watched the sky, the Sun already going down behind one mountain. She really, really didn't feel like sleeping yet, nor was she feeling distracted or drained. She just wanted to get back home.

Making a decision, she bolted once more, though she did remember to keep her eyes peeled for the easiest trails and paths to circle the mountain. There were some uneven patches where she had to zig-zag back and forth, climbing up and down the mountainside, but none of them looked unsurmountable, just inconvenient.

Before she knew it, she was already halfway around the mountain, Dream Valley mostly obscured behind the mountain's massive girth. Shooting a last parting glance behind her, Agate continued on, briefly noticing a faint orange flicker in the far distance.

"My totem. I can feel it even all the way out here."

For the first time since she began the trip, a smile crossed the filly's face. With a feeling of blossoming warmth in her heart, she picked up the pace even more, moving her legs furiously. Galloping that recklessly would have left her winded in a couple minutes, if she still had lungs, but seeing as that wasn't an issue any more, she took full advantage of it.

She did finally go to sleep once she fully circled the mountain, finding a small, shallow crack/cave in the mountainside. Recounting the day's experiences to herself, she curled up on the floor, dreams of her family and her snowpony friends carrying her off to slumber.

❅ ❆ ❅

Seeing the mountain pass again brought mixed feelings to Agate. On one hoof, she felt relief, reassurance at returning somewhere familiar, and a measure of joy. On the other hoof, she wasn't sure if she should be feeling like that, given that this wasn't her original home. The filly sat down on the highest point of the pass, looking on into the vast tundra.

It's not that she didn't like it there, quite the opposite. Hence the feelings. She knew she was entirely welcome in snowpony lands, and she was also free to leave whenever she wanted. They told her as much. Turning back, she considered the vast mountain range separating her from Dream Valley.

"I'm not going to forget you..."

She got to her hooves, turning towards the tundra again, making her way downwards. It snowed since she was gone, and the surroundings were slowly regaining the blinding white luster Agate saw the first time she came to the tundra.

"...But I shouldn't distance myself away from my new friends."

The filly didn't feel like galloping for this part. She made her way towards Snowpitt in an unhurried trot, taking in her surroundings with a slightly confused expression on her face. She saw the tundra, she explored a fair amount of territory around the village, and was pretty confident about her pathfinding abilities at this point. However, for some reason, this stretch of the journey felt incredibly surreal to her.

After a good while of trotting, it finally clicked. While she was exploring, the seasons were changing, and the landscape changed as well. Now that it was snowing again, though, everything looked almost like the first time she passed through the place, and she just so happened to go through the same route. Blinking, she tried to shake off the persistent feeling of deja vu.

It wasn't quite winter yet, of course. The snow was barely a light dusting, compared to the massive drifts that were piled up during the true winter months. Still, winter was coming, with all the things that entailed. Moving through the forest in the foothills, Agate tried to remember the things the shamares told her all those months ago, about what happened in winter. The Great Gathering, when the other tribes came to visit Snowpitt and spend the winter, the Calling, when the shamares summoned the lost spirits of their kin, the long months spent in darkness, sharing warmth and knowledge...

"Oh, I guess this means that I'm going to see Glacier Glider again... Have I really spent almost a whole year here?"

With a start, the filly suddenly realized she forgot something. Something that was important! Or, it used to be. She turned eleven in summer! Did spirits celebrate birthdays? Probably not. There wasn't much she could even do to celebrate, anyway. Gifts and cake would be pointless, and she couldn't even blow out the candles.

Thinking it all through, she figured that it was probably meaningless now. Birthdays were for living ponies, a celebration for having lived a year longer, which no longer applied to her. Not like her body was changing, either - her mane and tail remained the same, constant length the entire time, and she wasn't growing bigger. Mentally shrugging, she continued on.

The realization of her unchanging nature made her think of something Gnarled Root mentioned several times. "You have all the time in the world now." Agate understood that, but only on an intellectual level. It took nearly a year and the sudden realization that time no longer held power over her for the statement to really sink in.

With her mind full of various philosophical thoughts, the trip to Snowpitt went by in a blur. Absent-mindedly, she crossed the river, reached the end of the forest, and finally crossed the short distance between the woods and the village, coming face-to-face with her totem. Blinking in surprise, she looked around. As usual, her clearing was dark and quiet. The sun was long gone, and the village was asleep. She'd have to wait until she could go and find someone to report to, not that she didn't feel like getting a good night's sleep, either.

"Well, Agate... Welcome home," She muttered, reaching a hoof towards the totem.

Long Night

Yawning, Agate stretched, relaxing in the totem's gentle magic. Sorting out her thoughts, she slowly set out the day's goals, trying to prioritize them according to importance. Visiting the shamares to report in was probably the most important one, though she was actually torn between going to see Earthsong and True Sight or finding Dreamcatcher to thank her for her assistance during her expedition.

She was also tempted to go see Autumn Ash and Cindertail, but she was sure the foals would understand if she had to wait a little. And the chieftain would probably want to hear the details of what she discovered (or, rather, failed to discover) too, which very well might turn into another storytelling meeting in the Great Hall. Seeing as nothing she found out required any urgent action, though, the filly was sure that Frostbeard wouldn't mind being told of her return second or third, either.

Plan of action (mostly) figured out, she hopped forward, landing on her hooves. Patting her totem, she turned towards the village. Though she really wanted to talk to Dreamcatcher about that crazy dream trip they had together, True Sight's home was much closer.

It didn't take long to reach the shamare's shared abode. Sticking her head through the door, Agate looked around. Unlike her previous morning visits, the pair was nowhere to be seen. Pulling her head out to look at the sky and confirm that, yes, it was actually morning, she stuck her head inside again, listening carefully. True Sight seemed to be still asleep, though Agate couldn't hear anything from Earthsong's room. Stepping deeper inside, she noticed a steaming pot hung over the firepit.

Figuring that either the mare would return soon, or True Sight would wake up, she opted to wait, sitting down by the fire. Watching the slowly crackling wood, she ran through the details of the expedition, making sure she didn't forget anything important. To her delight, the memory exercises they taught her really helped, and she was able to recall everything vividly.

Soon, the door opened, Earthsong stepping through with the handle of a bucket held in her mouth. Setting her cargo down on the table, she walked right by Agate, missing the ethereal filly completely. Stifling a smile, Agate resisted the temptation to jump up and spook her. Who knew, it was probably a dumb idea anyway. The shamare likely had some way of dealing with spirits jumping at her.

"Hello, Earthsong," The filly greeted the shamare, instead.

"Wh- Oh! Well now, would you look at that. And where have you been, young spirit? What business was so urgent that you just up and galloped away one evening?"

"Oh, well, you see..."

Agate didn't really get a chance to explain anything before the shamare grabbed her, effortlessly lifting the weightless spirit up and wrapping her in a hug.

"You silly puffin. You cheeky little tern. What were you thinking, just flying off like that? I know our input wasn't really necessary for this journey, but you could have at least come over to say goodbye!" Eeathsong admonished the filly, giving her a noogie.

"I know! I know! I'm sorry, I just-" Squirming in the shamare's grasp, Agate tried to explain, but the mare wasn't having it, starting to tickle the filly, making her flail wildly.

"Oh, I know what happened, don't worry. Your friends explained it to me the morning after you left. I was a little surprised, but I think I understand what made you do it. Still, just so there's no confusion, could you give me a quick rundown on why you were in such a rush to leave?"

Grumbling a little, Agate slipped out of the shamare's grasp, silently landing on the floor. Fixing her mane, she scrunched her muzzle at Earthsong, puffing out her cheeks. However, the shamare was uncowed by this display of dominance, booping the filly on the nose with a smile.

"...I didn't trust what I saw back then," She finally began, attempting to put her confused feelings into words. "I didn't actually see what happened, only that the city was gone for some reason. It was just too unbelievable, I guess. And, as time went on, my doubts only grew. I tried to suppress them, but they caught up to me eventually. I just snapped, I suppose."

"I see... And you employed the most sensible solution - you went there to see the truth of the matter for yourself. I can't blame you, Agate - the disappearance of your people truly is mind-boggling. I still have a hard time believing it myself, even though other shamares confirmed the same thing. I can only imagine I'd feel the same disbelief if Snowpitt vanished one day. Did you manage to find out anything new, at least?"

"No... Well, yes, but not about crystal ponies. Dreamcatcher uncovered something interesting about snowponies, actually, though I think I'll need her help to explain it all. In fact, this is probably the kind of story that most of the tribe is going to want to hear."

"And the other tribes as well," Earthsong mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Wait, are they here already? I didn't think I was gone that long. It took me... Two days to reach the valley? No, it was three, I galloped through the night on the first one... Slept in the valley, then turned back..."

Earthsong shook her head, interrupting the filly's counting. "No, not yet. The other tribes usually don't move out until there is a good cover of snow, to make traveling with heavily laden sleds easier. The first snow fell three days ago, and it will take at least a couple weeks until the first ponies start showing up. Still, a few weeks is nothing. And, given that none of them even heard the first part of your story, you're going to be one busy spirit when they arrive. I imagine they've been burning with curiosity the entire time."

"Oh, right. I haven't learned your tongue before they left."

"Indeed. Now then, let's see. We'll do a small meeting first, I think. Go see Dreamcatcher, of course. Is there anything you need to tell Frostbeard?"

"Well, I know that dealing with matters regarding other tribes is his duty, so I should probably tell him about my expedition, even if I didn't actually meet anyone. Some of the hunters wanted me to find the best route to Dream Valley as well, which I did."

As they talked, the two didn't notice the door to True Sight's room opening, the old mare sleepily shuffling towards the table. As she sat down, a chuckle escaped her when she noticed her visitor.

"Well now, look what the windigo dragged in. Did you have fun on your journey?"

"Oh, a little, I guess?"

"Great, I guess you're keeping up with my advice not to overwork yourself, then."

"Well, I try."

And that was it. No admonishments, no tickles or noogies. Agate watched with some amusement as True Sight carried on with her morning routine like nothing happened.

With an almost imperceptible roll of her eyes, Earthsong joined her, retrieving the pot from the firepit and setting it down on the table, pouring a few cups of water from the bucket into the pot and stirring for a few minutes.

"We'll go meet the others right after breakfast, alright, Agate?" She asked, emptying the rest of the bucket into another pot and stowing it away.

"Sure. Take your time."

❅ ❆ ❅

True Sight started asking what their plans were only after she had her breakfast and fully woke up. Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, the elder shrugged, deciding that she had time to join them for a visit to Dreamcatcher. The trio, led by Earthsong, made their way towards the shamare's family home.

Some of Dreamcatcher's extended family apparently returned from their journeys, as there was smoke coming out of the chimney and a few ponies were busy maintaining their equipment in the yard. Once they saw the visitors approaching, they politely ushered them inside, going back to their tasks immediately after. Moments later, the group was standing in front of the shamare's door, Earthsong knocking politely.

Nothing happened at first. Then, nothing continued to happen for a while. Earthsong knocked again, while Agate looked on at the door with some concern. Was Dreamcatcher alright? Did she tire herself out too much with her dream journey? That was days ago now, though, and the shamare should have recovered.

"Calm down, youngling," True Sight reassured Agate, a completely unconcerned expression on the elder's face. "She's probably just lost in her dreams again. This tends to happen more often than not when we visit her, really. It was just luck we caught her awake last time."

Soon enough, some shuffling and grumbling could be heard from behind the door. True Sight took that as an invitation to come in, squeezing by Earthsong and hobbling into the room. Agate followed along, glancing around. Little had changed since last time - the room was still decked out in lots of mystical-looking paraphernalia, though there were slightly fewer dreamcatchers hanging from the ceiling. Their host was lying down on her bed, a cloak draped over her shoulders.

The dreamcatcher's namesake looked around the room, setting her eyes on Agate before looking at True Sight and Earthsong. "So, you're here... But if you two are here too... I guess I'm awake, then."

"Right you are," True Sight replied with a yawn. "Kind of wish I was still asleep, but there you have it. Agate said you had something to tell us? Seeing as she was away, I can only assume you followed her along in the dream realm to talk to her."

"Hrrrm... I did, I did... Or did I? Now, what was it... Don't particularly recall anything specific..." Dreamcatcher closed her eyes, scrutinizing Agate from behind closed eyelids as she rubbed her chin.

"The tunnel, elder, do you remember? You found the echoes of your ancestor's passage in the old mine I discovered under the mountain. I'm not too sure I could really tell that part of the story properly myself." Agate supplied, making the other two shamares look at the pair curiously.

"Ah... Yes, yes, that was some days ago now. Let me untangle my memories a little bit, and I'll get to it," She replied, reaching for a teapot on a table by her bedside.

Earthsong poured her a cup, passing it to Dreamcatcher. The elder nodded, taking sips for a few minutes. Eventually, she cleared her throat, still holding on to her cup.

"Right, so. This little scamp -" She nodded at Agate, the filly folding her ears in embarrassment. "- Ran off all of a sudden. I wasn't too surprised, and I certainly wasn't worried, but I was curious, both about her journey and her progress. So, I did my best to keep an eye on her as she traveled, hard as that is. I managed to have a conversation with her in some dark place, which turned out to be some tunnel deep, deep under a mountain. Turns out, our little traveler here discovered the very trails our ancestors made and used as they fled the windigoes, way back when."

The shamare explained the mystical visions of the past that she managed to summon in her dream, while Agate told them about the old trails cut into the southern mountains that she discovered and followed to the collapsed mineshaft. She also did her best to describe the ancient painting/warning sign of the windigo in as much detail as she could, Dreamcatcher adding in a few details. True Sight and Earthsong listened attentively, nodding along. After they were done telling their story, the other two remained quiet for a while, mulling over the new knowledge.

"This means that our tribes truly are distant cousins, then. Our ancestors left, while Agate's people were the ones that decided to stay in the valley no matter what," Earthsong concluded.

"Some of the lore keepers and singers are going to be very unhappy with this knowledge, while others are going to be over the moon," True Sight added with a wry smile. "Seeing their expressions in the next Gathering is going to be fun."

Dreamcatcher grunted noncommittally, electing to remain quiet. After a few questions about the tunnel, the collected shamares all turned to interrogating Agate about the details of the final leg of her journey. It was quite clear that the impossibility of the Empire's disappearance was as vexing and confusing to the shamares as it was to the filly, and they asked her about every tiny thing that she saw or didn't see while examining the valley. They managed to drag out a rather bland final report of "I didn't really find anything" into a session that lasted a good couple hours, dissecting and weighing every tiny little thing that Agate told them. In the end, though, they were unable to offer the filly any new insights. She shrugged, waving it off.

"I appreciate you trying, I really do. But, like you taught me yourselves, you shouldn't feel guilty if you fail. I'm out of leads for now, but I'll come up with something eventually. Who knows? The other spirits have told me lots of stories about how the three tribes manage to accomplish amazing things when they put their heads together. Maybe someone will think something up during the Gathering."

"That's very nice and selfless of you to say, considering this is your lost family we're talking about. You're a strong filly, Agate, you really are," Earthsong complimented the spirit, gently petting her mane. "But, don't feel the need to be strong all the time. As you saw yourself, holding things in will only lead you to snap and do something rash in the end. Feel free to come to us if you need to share your doubts... Or just find a nice, secluded spot and have a good scream if you need to vent some anger. It helps, it really does."

"Uh... Okay."

With their business concluded, the trio got up to leave, saying their goodbyes to Dreamcatcher. When they were about to step through the door, though, Agate suddenly had an idea. Whirling around, she trotted up to the perpetually sleepy shamare.

"Um, elder... You taught me a lot about dreams and other things. What you did under the mountain - listening to the echoes of the past - could I learn to do that? You said you were able to do it since there was a connection to your actual ancestors there. Could I see what happened to my family and the Empire that way?"

"Ooooohhhh...." Dreamcatcher opened her eyes fully for once, her milky orbs boring into Agate. "What a sharp and interesting question, youngling. It is no easy feat, and not something a novice can perform. You saw yourself how that tired me out. However... Well, you have shown some ability at dreamwalking... Hmmmm...."

Agate waited with bated breath as the shamare evaluated her, the other two remaining silent as well. Eventually, Dreamcatcher clicked her tongue, shrugging. "If you keep learning, well... I can't say for certain, but it's not impossible." She concluded.

"Thank you, " Agate breathed, trying to contain her excitement.

Waving goodbye again, she left the room. Earthsong closed the door behind her, a small, approving smile on the mare's face.

❅ ❆ ❅

Next, they went to see Frostbeard. True Sight peeled off halfway there, saying she had important shamare business to attend to. In her bed. Earthsong chuckled, leading the Agate through the village. They went past the Great Hall, to the western part of Snowpitt that Agate hadn't explored much yet.

The chieftain's home looked a bit like the stallion himself - large and hefty. The walls were made of impressively thick logs, the foundation reinforced with stones and clay. As Earthsong went to knock, Agate noticed several runes similar to the ones carved into the walls of the Hall lining the door.

Unlike Dreamcatcher, the stallion was quick to answer. Throwing the door open, he raised an eyebrow at the shamare. "Ah, Earthsong. What brings you here today? Some bad omen or danger that needs to be taken care of before the other tribes arrive?"

"No, chieftain," She replied, shaking her head. "I was just showing Agate here the way."

"Oh. Apologies, little one, I did not see you there. What business brings you here?"

"Well, I went on a few trips with some hunters and Spear Throw as a scout. They told me a few things about how when you're... Exploring unknown regions, you're supposed to come report to the chieftain what you found after you come back? Well, I went on a journey recently..."

"Ah, of course," The stallion chuckled amicably. "Ah, the nervousness of youth. Don't worry, Agate I will hear you out. Although... Wait... " The look on his face turned contemplative, and then darkened. "There was only one way you were going to go out exploring, wasn't there? The south... And judging by your expression, you haven't found anything good about your tribe, have you? Well, come in, and tell me about it anyway. Will you join us, Earthsong?"

"Oh, I don't think I'll have anything to add here. Agate undertook the journey alone... And I should go get something to eat, I think."

"You can raid my pantry," The stallion grunted. "My doors are always open and my hearth tended for any of my tribesfolk. Come in."

While Earthsong went off to get some food, the stallion led Agate into a large room with a sizeable table in the middle. The legs of the table were rather short, and there were some cushions around it. Hopping on one, Agate noticed a number of maps spread out on the surface. They seemed to depict Snowpitt and its immediate surroundings. A couple dozen wooden carvings of ponies were placed on various spots.

"The Gathering is coming. Have to pick the best spots to house our visitors for the winter," Frostbeard explained, noticing the filly's curious look. Retrieving another old map and a stick of charcoal from a nearby drawer, he sat down next to Agate. "But, that doesn't concern you. I am listening. Tell me everything."

Agate launched into her story for the second time that day, sparing no details about her journey, the terrain that she saw, the (lack) of life that she encountered, and other details important to any pony that might be interested in taking the same route. For his part, Frostbeard listened attentively, only interrupting to clarify some detail or other, scribbling something on the map now and then.

Glancing at the old parchment, the filly saw that it was a rough sketch of the southern mountains, though it seemed somewhat incomplete. Given the snowpony tribe's usually dismissive attitude towards the south, she could only assume that their explorers didn't really bother poking around there much once they found it was mostly bare rock. Frostbeard was adding little lines and symbols along the route Agate was describing, drawing sharper definitions along the mountainsides.

Unlike the shamares, the chieftain didn't question her so much about the details of her dream and the subsequent examination of the Empire's former location, but he did want every detail about the journey itself. As such, it took a few hours again until they were finished. Earthsong came in with a bowl of food at one point, leaving quietly with a wave goodbye when she was done eating. Finally, Frostbeard put down the map, stretching out his forelegs with a groan.

"Well, Agate, I have to say that I am impressed. I will be honest with you - I was expecting something a little more foalish. However, you clearly have sharp eyes and a good attention for detail that matches some of the better scouts of our tribe."

"I had good teachers," Agate demurred, folding her ears. "Spear Throw and Gnarled Root taught me everything."

"Hmm, yes. Still, good teachers can do little if the student is not good as well. Anyway, thank you for the report, even if it only confirms what we thought for a long time - there is nothing for us in the south. The mountains themselves are barren, and the valley beyond... I do not think it would be appropriate to try and settle it, even if there wasn't a possibility that your people might come back there someday. Most ponies would be wary of claiming a place where such a cataclysm happened to another tribe. Still, I think some brave souls will be interested in seeing this supposed ancient homeland of our ancestors with their own eyes. I'll be sure to tell you if they find something new about your people, Agate."

"Thank you, chieftain."

"No, thank you, brave explorer. Going there to see the truth for yourself couldn't have been easy, but you did it anyway. Now, I'm afraid that I need some food too. I'd invite you for dinner, but, well."

Agate snorted, shaking her head. "I do miss food sometimes, but not getting hungry is a nice tradeoff. See you next time, chieftain. Good evening."

"Fair winds," Frostbeard nodded as Agate left the room.

Exiting through the closed door, the filly pondered where to go next as she gazed at the sky. The days were getting short again, and the Sun was already almost hidden beyond the horizon. Still, it was dark, not late, and there was some time left in the day.

"Hmm... I could go see Autumn Ash and Cindertail, but they do live on the other end of the village... Might be too late by the time I get there..."

With a bit more thinking, she eventually shrugged, turning back towards her totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I'm dumb."

Agate was currently in her clearing, her hoof planted rather firmly into her face. After coming back from visiting the chieftain, she decided to stargaze for a while until Gnarled Root and Spear Throw showed up for their nightly chat. However, she completely forgot that the two spirits didn't actually know that she came back. After quite a while of stargazing, it finally clicked, which led to her current embarrassed position.

With a sigh, the filly got up, her tail swishing in irritation. After a moment's thought, she started trotting towards Spear Throw's totem. Even if it was too late to talk, she'd at least go and say hello. Unless the stallion was away on a trip with the hunters again, but that wasn't too likely. They happened during spring and early summer, only happening in autumn if there was a special occasion, like a pony spotting a dangerous animal close to the village.

It didn't take long to reach his totem, seeing as it was relatively close by. Reaching a hoof out towards the wooden pillar, Agate stopped suddenly, putting her foreleg down. What would happen if she touched another spirit's totem? Not wanting to find out the hard way whether it was something bad, she circled it, stopping in front of the carving of Spear Throw's face.

"Hey, Spear Throw? You in there?"

She could see the glowing outlines of the runes carved into the wood, a faint aura of magic outlining the timber. It was similar to her own, but didn't have the pull nor the brighter glow that her own totem had. Curiously, she examined the other carvings. The pictures were different than the ones the snowpony artisans carved for her.

There was a scene on the bottom of what was presumably Spear Throw, throwing a spear towards a bear that was rearing up, claws out towards another pony. Further on, there were similar scenes, one with a pack of wolves surrounding a group of ponies, several of the wolves already on the ground with spears sticking out their sides, and one with a yeti in a similar situation. Higher up, there was another yeti, most likely the one that took the stallion's life. That one lay on the ground, broken and mangled, but Spear Throw was injured as well, several red splotches depicting heavy bleeding. Still, the stallion was standing proudly, a group of ponies taking cover behind him.

The eyes of the bust lit up, blinking a couple times before going dark. Moments later, the stallion stepped out, yawning a little. "Agate... Back from your journey, I see. How did things go?"

"Kind of... Like expected, I suppose. I didn't find anything or anyone. The Empire really is gone, and I wasn't able to find any clues as to what happened."

"And...?" The stallion raised an eyebrow, leaning a bit closer to the filly.

"Um... What...?"

"You were far less collected when you left. You faced your fears, yes? And how do you feel now?"

"Oh..." Agate's ears folded, the filly shrinking into herself a little. "I don't... I'm not entirely sure. After I calmed down a little, I focused on memorizing what I saw while going through the mountains. I was a little nervous when I looked into the valley the first time, but I managed. Seeing that I wasn't mistaken was... A relief, as frustrating as the city's disappearance was. I was..."

Agate went quiet, thinking things over. Her journey to Dream Valley and back again, her emotions and thoughts. The strange disappointment/relief combo, her resolution to keep going despite the fact she didn't find anything. Her slowly deepening acceptance of Snowpitt as her new home, and the snowponies as her new tribe. As she thought, her back slowly straightened, the filly standing proudly. She raised a hoof towards her chest, a feeling slowly crystallizing inside her.

"Stronger," She finally concluded. "It was hard. But I feel stronger for it, like you said I would."

"Good!" Spear Throw almost shouted in a rare display of emotion, slapping the filly on her back, making her sway on her hooves. "You have a strength of will that a great many ponies would find admirable. I won't tell you empty platitudes or useless words like "everything is going to be okay". Life does not work that way. I cannot know if you will find out what happened to your people. But I do know that, no matter what happens, you won't let it break you. You're stronger than that."

"T-thank you, Spear. Really," Agate replied, turning away in embarrassment.

"Don't mention it," The stallion said calmly, having returned to his regular stoic demeanor.

"So, ah... It's probably too late to have a chat, but I also wanted to tell Gnarled Root that I got back, too. I don't know where her totem is, though. I thought about going out to find it several times, but other things kept distracting me."

"I can show you. Come along."

With a nod, Agate fell into step beside Spear Throw, the pair of spirits soundlessly making their way along the outskirts of the village. The stallion went west, going past Agate's totem, snaking between the trees. A while later, he turned towards the village, going past a couple houses.

"It's not on the village outskirts, like ours are?" Agate asked curiously.

"It used to be. But, like I told you before, Gnarled Root is old. The village outgrew it's old boundaries, and her totem stayed where it was. It's not too far, though."

As he said, they soon reached Gnarled Root's totem. There were a few houses around, but there was still a respectful amount of space left for the spirit. Four pines grew around it in a semi-circle, with a few bushes in the gaps, all likely planted there on purpose. They all looked far younger than the totem, which looked... Worn. There wasn't any obvious damage or rotting, but the old wood was bleached almost bone white, and appeared incredibly smooth and weathered. The carvings and paintings of various plants were barely recognizable, only really visible if you got quite close and squinted hard. Still, the totem's enchantments evidently still held, as the runes were still glowing with power, all those years later.

"Wow..." Agate breathed quietly.

"Yes, it's quite a sight. She certainly earned the title of "elder" several times over. Now then..."

The stallion reached out towards the totem, brushing the surface ever-so-lightly. Some of the runes flared a tiny bit brighter, Spear Throw quietly saying "Knock knock" as he did it. They waited a little bit for the ancient herbalist to wake up, the mare eventually appearing, her ethereal body blurry as usual.

"Well now, Spear, to what do I owe the late-night visit? It's been a while since a stallion came to me at such an hour. Why, if you weren't so faithful to your wife, I'd suspect-"

"Hello, Root," Agate interrupted, Spear Throw rolling his eyes.

"Oh? Oh! Well look at that, the traveler came back! A pleasure to see you again, Agate. How are things?"

"Pretty well, I think, all things considered. I haven't managed to find out anything about the Empire, though I did accidentally discover some snowpony history. Everyone's been telling me that I'll end up telling lots of stories in the Great Hall again, once the other tribes arrive."

"Sounds like you found something interesting, then. I can guess that you already had to repeat your story several times, so I won't press for details. I'm sure I can wait a few more weeks until the Gathering. So, did you just want to come over to tell me that you're back?"

"Yeah, sorry for waking you up..."

"Oh, don't worry about it," She waved it off dismissively. "Not like I'm busy these days. I think we can chat a little before you go, though. So, what are your plans for the future now? You were learning pathfinding from Spear and me, which I'm assuming you applied in your journey. Is there anything else you're interested in learning next year, or are there any other expeditions you're thinking about?"

"Hmm... I haven't thought about it much, but I'm definitely continuing my lessons with Dreamcatcher. I think I learned just about everything about pathfinding that I could from you. I'd still like to keep up with our evening meetings, though..."

They talked for a little while, discussing the various things Agate could try doing in the future. The filly didn't have all that many concrete plans, but she figured that something to do would present itself. It always seemed to, keeping her busy with something or other. Eventually, the three spirits parted ways, going back to their totems.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Your pumpkins are still ridiculous," Agate remarked as she watched Warm Spring roll the massive thing into a shed.

"It makes me proud to hear you say that, Agate. It's truly a testament to our skill that we manage to grow vegetables that even you find impressive, I think."

"Yeah, I guess, though now I'm wondering how the Sun fits into all of this. Our days are not nearly as short over in the Empire, nor are they that long in the summer... But I think the fact that we're surrounded by mountains on all sides means we actually get less sunlight than you do, most of the time. At least the wind doesn't get too bad in the valley."

"Oh. That sounds... Unfortunate? I don't think I'd like to live in the shadow of a mountain, even if it did provide shelter from the elements. The northern winds can reach terrible speeds over the flat tundra plains, but I do enjoy the sunlight."

"And I liked being surrounded by mountains. When I saw the tundra for the first time, I couldn't tell up from down any more when I was looking into the distance. The way it just stretches out forever is dizzying."

The mare laughed, shaking her head. "Well, I won't argue with that. It's why we had to build our own guide stones all over the place, after all."

Warm Spring and the rest of her family were still busy dealing with their harvest, storing, preparing and preserving the various things they grew in their field. The foals were cleaning and slicing carrots and other smaller vegetables, while the adults dealt with the big ones. Some would be carefully stored for planting next year, a few that kept well would be stored to be eaten through the winter, while the majority were stacked up in temporary storage sheds, awaiting the arrival of the other tribes.

A trade and a feast would take place then, the separate tribes exchanging various foods with each other, both enriching their diets and getting a refreshing taste for something different. To Agate's amusement, even the plant-growing ponies were jittery in anticipation at being able to taste some of the exotic ocean-caught fish again. She had half a mind to start calling them fishponies.

Some kind of sound in the distance interrupted the filly's thoughts, making her ears twitch and turn towards the noise. It was indistinct, but constant, a bit like the muted murmur of a river. Slowly, it got louder, short snippets of voices and song reaching them. Warm Spring heard it too, listening for a moment before going back to sorting her vegetables.

"Well, it sounds like the first wanderers came back," She remarked, hefting a large cabbage.

"Wait, do you mean the other tribes? Or-"

"No, not yet. The nomad groups - you've seen them leave, yes? They aim to come back before the other tribes arrive, so that there's no confusion with too many ponies all appearing at the same time."

Agate nodded, remembering the massive exodus she saw back then. It still sounded a bit odd to her, leaving the city to live in the wilderness on purpose, but from what everyone told her, they enjoyed the experience immensely, talking about the time spent in the tundra with fondness and nostalgia.

"Can we go see them, Mom?" Autumn Ash asked, looking up from her pile of carrots.

"Next time," The mare shook her head. "There's still lots of things to do, and there will be other groups coming back. You know the rules, Autumn. You'll have the whole winter to relax from work, but only after we finish all our tasks."

"Yes, Mom," The filly nodded, her ears wilting a tiny bit. Still, she didn't argue, getting right back to it, her necklace sparkling in the afternoon sun as she cut and cleaned the roots.

The two foals had the amethysts Agate gifted them fashioned into matching necklaces, wearing them everywhere proudly, telling other ponies that the exotic-looking spirit stones were gifts from the generous and wise spirit from far away. Agate was a little embarrassed that they treated them as something that special, making sure to point out that the amethysts weren't enchanted and wouldn't bring them luck or protect them from harm or anything of the sort, and that they shouldn't go around doing silly things.

They assured her that they understood that, but they still played up the "wise spirit" thing, even though they knew she was pretty much their age. At this point, Agate was halfway convinced that they were doing that on purpose just to tease her. With a shake of her head, the filly got up from where she was sitting on one of the pumpkins, hopping down to the ground.

"I'll see you all later, then," She waved goodbye.

"Bye, Agate!"

"Come back any time."

❅ ❆ ❅

Besides her usual meetings with her friends, teachers and other ponies, Agate spent the next few weeks doing something she hadn't done since the last winter - wandering around Snowpitt and learning about the snowponies through observation. The village was buzzing with activity like never before, the inhabitants preparing for winter.

Craftsponies were inspecting houses, patching up holes and shoring up weak spots. A few last dead trees were getting dragged into the village from the forest, to be chopped up and added to the rest of the firewood reserves built up over the summer. Food supplies were being counted, the industrious ponies going on their final foraging and fishing trips before everything froze over completely, more and more snow already falling from the sky.

Large groups of young nomads were returning to the village every few days, laden with all kinds of cargo. Some were dragging their folded-up tents with them, others had woven bags full of dried tundra plants and flowers, while a few were bearing clay pots full of berries, proudly contributing their share of food for the winter, to their parent's approval.

Most were settling back in to their family's homes, though there seemed to be lots of intense debates between a number of the older ponies as to where some of the younglings should go. Despite the vigorous discussions, there was no animosity between the families. In fact, most of them were smiling and looked either very happy or proud of their children, and Agate didn't really understand what the big deal was about. She briefly watched one such exchange before moving on.

"No, no, just look at how much she's showing already," One older mare argued, rubbing a blushing young mare's slightly distended belly, the mare clinging desperately to a similarly blushing young stallion. "Your buck here clearly planted some good seeds there, and I bet my tail hairs she has not one, but two little eggs in her nest right now. Our house is bigger, and they'll need the space. They should move in with us."

"Then you'll be walking with your tail bare next summer. I'll bet it's a colt, and a proper big one, too," Another mare replied sarcastically. "And your house may be bigger, but it's also older and draftier. It's better for them where it's sturdy and warm, and we were planning to expand next summer, anyway."

There was a scoff from a stallion, though Agate already moved on and didn't hear his argument. Seeds? Eggs in her nest? What were they even talking about? Shaking her head, she kept trotting and watching, some of the ponies observing the wandering spirit curiously in return.

Once all of the nomad groups returned and were accounted for, it didn't take long for the first travelers from the other tribes to start showing up. The forest-dwelling westerners were the first, pairs of scouts coming into the village to cheers and warm welcomes, huge caravans slowly snaking towards the village in their wake.

Unlike with the nomad groups that returned rather casually, there was a bit more ceremony to the arrival of the other tribe. Agate watched as Frostbeard stood on the outskirts of Snowpitt, flanked by a dozen shamares. Besides True Sight, Earthsong, and Dreamcatcher, there were a number of younger shamares that returned with the nomads, ones Agate haven't met before.

The western tribe was led by a similarly burly stallion, decked out in a thick brown fur cloak and some kind of armor wrapped around his forelegs, bearing several spears attached to his side. He was also followed by an entourage of shamares. The only one that Agate recognized wore a cloak and an avian mask with a feathered headdress.

"Oak Bark," Frostbeard greeted the other chieftain.

"Frostbeard," The stallion replied with a nod. "Another year behind us. How are things?"

"All quiet in the south. Nothing besides the ordinary patrols to clear out the beasts nesting too close to the village."

"We are safe to enter, then?"

"Of course. We open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guests of far away. Come right in."

From the exchange, it was quite obvious that their entry was a foregone conclusion, but the stallions still wanted to observe the proper customs. Once the greeting was done, the shamares immediately broke their formations, some of them going to greet each other, others going towards their lodgings in the village, already well familiar with where they needed to go from their previous visits. The ponies pulling the cargo-laden sleds moved forward, the long caravan slowly dispersing among the buildings. Some locals guided them towards their lodgings or just trotted along, chatting with their inter-tribal acquaintances about what happened while they were separated. The two chieftains went their own way, talking quietly about something.

Agate silently observed it all, tucked away near the corner of a house. Most ponies didn't notice her, but it seemed that the avian-masked shamare either possessed the heightened perception their kind seemed to have, or the filly just got unlucky. Peeling off from the others, she beelined towards Agate, raising her mask up. Her blue eyes were piercing, but she had a kind smile.

"Well now, I remember you," The mare began, speaking with a slight accent. "Travelling little terror that terribly scared the tribes into a terrified tizzy," She tittered." Everyone was wondering whether you were some kind of bad omen, heralding destruction that was going to come for Snowpitt."

"Really? I didn't know I scared everyone that badly..."

"I'm exaggerating a little. It was brought up as a possibility between the shamares, but no, you didn't scare everyone."

True Sight and Earthsong caught up to them, True Sight smacking the avian mask lightly from behind, making it fall on the shamare's face in a crooked way. "Really, you're a bird in more ways than one. Flitting away in the middle of a conversation the moment something catches your eye."

Fixing her mask, she stuck her tongue out at the other shamare. "We weren't talking about anything important. This little spirit certainly is, though, isn't she? Bet she told you all sorts of interesting things while I was away. Is she even a snowpony?"

"Her name is Agate, and she is from the crystal pony tribe, which you can ask her yourself, by the way. She's right there, and she learned how to speak our tongue just fine. Agate, this is Sky Breath, the current eldest shamare of the western tribe," True Sight explained.

"Pleasure to meet you, Agate," Said shamare exclaimed with a short bow and a swish of her cloak.

"Likewise, elder."

"So, can I ask what the... Crystal ponies are? The word is quite foreign..."

"Well... I don't mind telling you, but it is a long story, and I imagine I'd need to repeat the same thing a thousand times if I told every pony individually. Last time I told it, I think half of Snowpitt or more showed up for it. Would you mind waiting until the northern tribe arrives, too? It'll be much easier when we can all gather in the Great Hall and I can tell everyone at once."

"Oh, I suppose. Patience isn't my strong suit, but I'm sure I can survive a week longer, or however long it takes for the northerners to get here."

"You'll get distracted by something in a moment, probably," True Sight snarked.

Earthsong rolled her eyes as the two old mares started needling each other, waving Agate over as she trotted away.

"Do those two not like each other?" Agate asked, looking behind her.

"What? Oh heavens no, they love each other. Poking fun at each other is one of True Sight's and Sky Breath's favorite pastimes. Sometimes, I think they spend half the summer just thinking up new and creative ways to insult one another. It's their way to "keep their wits sharp", or so they claim."

"So it's like a contest?"

"That's not an inaccurate description, actually. We're great friends with the other tribes, but ponies can be fiercely competitive, so naturally there's always some ponies from different tribes trying to prove that they're the best at something. I never cared for it myself, but it is sometimes fun to watch them go at it. Shamares attempting to compete with magic would likely cause massive devastation, though, so our contests mostly end up being verbal. Duels of wits, verse, riddles, and so on. I'm sure you'll see some of those come winter."

Agate nodded, looking around the now much fuller village. Sleds were being unloaded, ponies moving in to various homes, sometimes empty, sometimes with the locals inviting them in. Some ponies were setting up stalls, creating small marketplaces offering mushrooms, nuts, and other forest delights, trading them for tea and other local plants. Many sleds were loaded with firewood as well, bolstering the village's supplies.

"It's so different with so many ponies here," Agate remarked, looking left and right.

"And it will get even busier," Earthsong replied with a smile. "It gets a little cramped, but seeing all of our kin together warms my heart like nothing else."

"Yeah... Festivals are like that," Agate agreed, thinking about the Crystal Faire.

After some more light conversation, the two parted ways, Earthsong going to meet some other shamares while Agate continued her observations.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Long Stride."

"Frostbeard."

The meeting between the southern and northern tribe's chieftains was almost identical to the previous one. The two stallions met on the northern edge of Snowpitt, accompanied by their shamares, though the southerners were also joined by a few western tribe's ponies.

"How goes your expansion into the north?"

"Excellently. There's losses, of course, but that's a price to pay when dealing with the deep northern wilderness. Still, we're building new outposts and discovering more islands every year. There's at least twice as many ponies living on the islands now than we have in Nilas. I've been thinking of moving out from the coast myself, to be closer to the frontier. How are things back here?"

"Stable. Snowpitt is growing, though not at the breakneck pace your tribe is. Probably because most of the adventurous types go to join you northerners."

Chuckling, Long Stride nodded. "And we appreciate every brave soul. Are we free to enter?"

"Naturally. We open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guests of far away. Come rest your legs."

The permission to enter seemed a little redundant, since a few caravans of the northern ponies already arrived the day before, moving into the village without challenge. Unlike the western tribe, the northerners moved in multiple groups instead of one long caravan, arriving at different times. Still, like before, the chieftains were keen on observing the proper traditions.

Earlier, Agate watched the first arrivals dig around in the fields surrounding Snowpitt, building igloos for themselves and the rest of their arriving kin. Some of the northerners spread out among the longhouses and other lodgings provided for them, but most seemed entirely happy to spend the winter in homes built of ice and snow, of all things. That part still left the filly flabbergasted, but she mostly learned to accept their crazy cold resistance by now.

Briefly, the thought of finding Glacier Glider flashed through Agate's mind, but with how busy everyone was with unpacking and setting up, she decided to wait until things calmed down a little. It took a couple days for all the northerners to arrive and settle in, and by then the chieftains had already arranged a meeting in the Great Hall.

Agate was the most anticipated point of discussion, something that she was well aware of. A number of ponies from the other tribes already approached her, having heard small snippets about her from Snowpitt's locals and wanting to know more. She politely turned them away, informing everyone that she would happily answer all their questions during the upcoming meeting.

Soon after, she was making her way towards the building, both nervous and excited. She spoke in front of a crowd once before already, but this time, there would be even more ponies listening to her, including more chieftains and shamares. Trying to calm her jitters, she performed a few focusing exercises, stopping briefly before the double doors. Casting the last look at the carvings, she stepped inside.

All three floors were packed, the low drone of dozens of conversations drowning out the individual words completely. The filly quickly flitted between and under ponie's legs, making her way past the firepit towards the end of the hall. The shamares from all three tribes were gathered there, Long Stride and Oak Bark sitting among them while Frostbeard sat on the raised platform.

Seeing the filly, he nodded towards the other two chieftains, getting their attention. The stallions watched as Agate climbed on the rug, the rest of the Hall's occupants slowly noticing the spirit and stopping their conversations. A few moments later, the building was mostly quiet, though there was still a fair amount of whispering going on. Clapping his hooves together three times, Frostbeard spoke.

"Good morning, everyone. I am glad to see you all here once more, hale and happy. Usually, we begin these meetings with the latest stories from our northern brethren, seeing as they are constantly pushing boundaries and discovering new things. However, as I'm sure all of you are aware, we have received an astounding visitor from the south last winter. We here in Snowpitt have already heard her story, but I'm certain that the rest of you are dying to know just who she is and how she got here. She also has something new to tell us all as well, or so I've been told. Agate? The floor is yours."

Nodding, Agate took the vacated spot while Frostbeard lay down next to the other chieftains. Sitting down, she looked around at the sea of curious faces. Focusing for one last time, she closed her eyes for a moment, beginning her story.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Agate, and I am a crystal pony from a tribe that used to live in the valley past the southern mountains..."

Just like the first time, she needed to explain some things for context, such as what "crystal" meant, who/what the Equestrians were, and so on. The spectator's reactions were similar as well, curiosity when she was explaining their history and their struggle against the windigoes, and enraged disgust when she described the way Sombra enslaved the crystal ponies, both in spirit and body.

After she finished repeating the story of her arrival to Snowpitt, instead of taking questions, she kept going, explaining how the shamares tried understanding what could have stolen the Empire away, Dreamcatcher's odd premonitions and visions, and Agate's eventual journey to Dream Valley. Once she got to the part with Dreamcatcher appearing in her dream and summoning the visions of her ancestors, many ponies started talking excitedly, making the chieftains call for silence. Agate continued on, describing the empty spot of where the Empire used to stand.

"...Seeing as I haven't found anything in the valley, I turned back. The return journey was rather uneventful, so I don't think you need to hear the details of it. And that's it, more or less. That was around a month ago, and nothing really interesting happened to me since then."

Silence reigned across the hall, everyone digesting the information. "Hrn... Evil magic..." One shamare muttered eventually, though she didn't elaborate. The chieftains shared several glances, Long Stride eventually speaking up.

"I would pledge my tribe's aid in a heartbeat, if this was a problem that could be solved by spears and hooves. However, if that was the case, I am certain our southern kin would have done the same. I am assuming that even the shamares weren't able to unravel this mystery?"

"No," True Sight confirmed, shaking her head. "As Agate said, Dreamcatcher was the only one to make any kind of headway, and even that gave us practically nothing. None of us know of any kind of magic that could be used to make even a house disappear from the world without a trace, let alone a whole village with its inhabitants. Whatever foreign magic spirited Agate's people away is completely unfamiliar, and without knowing it, we cannot hope to counter it."

"Distant as they may be, it's shameful to leave kinfolk in a bind like this," The northerner grumbled.

There were mutters of assent from the gathered ponies, though none of them were forthcoming with solutions. Looking around, Agate considered the situation for a few minutes before clearing her throat, getting their attention.

"It's okay. I mean, it's really not, but you know what I'm trying to say. Ponies have told me several times not to tear myself apart with self-blame and worry. I know they mostly did it because I'm a foal, but you shouldn't do it, either. I appreciate any and all attempts to help, but you shouldn't blame yourselves if you're not able to find out what happened to the Empire."

Several shamares had small smiles at hearing that, looking at the filly respectfully. Long Stride looked like he ate something sour, but grudgingly gave a nod nonetheless. "Wise words, though this feels like we're giving up without even trying. Hay, I think I would like to see this Dream Valley myself, just to see this land of our ancestors if nothing else."

That provoked a big reaction again, multiple ponies raising their voices in offering to lead an expedition south, though there were a few who were scoffing at the whole premise. "Land of our ancestors? Chieftain, please. We are children of the tundra, the northern winds and snow. That fanciful story of us coming from the south is clearly incorrect," One mare said, which immediately led multiple ponies to spring up in defense of Agate's and Dreamcatcher's story, various versions about how and where snowponies came to be being argued back and forth.

"Called it," True Sight wheezed, laughing her flanks off.

The three chieftains glanced at each other again, watching their ponies with bemusement. Frostbeard said something to the other two, Oak Bark shrugging indifferently, while Long Stride rubbed his chin in contemplation. They had a brief conversation that Agate couldn't hear over the arguing, all three chieftains raising their hooves to give a few loud stomps after they were done talking.

"The exact history of how we came to be will likely never be known," Frostbeard began.

"However, I think some of you are dismissing our guest's claims far too easily, especially seeing as you have nothing but old stories to back up your own claims," Oak Bark added, addressing the crowd.

"While Agate here is clearly not a snowpony, but a pony nonetheless, from a different tribe. That alone is proof of a great many things, including the fact that we were wrong about the south being lifeless and dead. It is entirely possible that other parts of our knowledge about the world, no matter how ancient or often repeated they might be, are wrong as well," Long Stride concluded.

That stopped the arguments, some of the spectators looking smug while others were tight-lipped. Silence fell upon the hall again, several ponies taking the chance to retrieve cups of tea from a huge pot hanging over the firepit. After refreshing themselves a little, they started up conversations again, though at a polite volume this time.

"Would you object to us visiting your homeland, Agate?" Long Stride asked.

"What? No, of course not! That trip I took - I didn't just go there for myself. I learned lots about pathfinding through the summer, and I memorized the entire route and the important details in case any snowponies wanted to go there themselves. I just didn't bother telling all the tiny details during my story so it wouldn't drag on. I reported it all to Frostbeard, too. He has a map," The filly explained, nodding towards the stallion.

"Good, good," The stallion nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. "Now, obviously, we won't go just yet. We just got here, after all. Then, there is the Calling and its aftermath to consider... Yes, at least a few good weeks to plan this out properly, I think..." He trailed off, deep in thought.

Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, one of the unfamiliar shamares started asking questions. "Something about your story still bothers me, youngling. Do you truly not have spirits back in your tribe's lands? What happens to ponies when they die?"

"Well..."

❅ ❆ ❅

The shamare's question opened the floodgates, and Agate spent the remaining time of the meeting answering them all, at least the ones she was able to. It was late by the time they finally finished, and the crowd flooded outside in a rush, suddenly reminded of their hunger and other needs now that the exciting conversation was over. Many large pots and firepits were being set up all over Snowpitt, one of the first communal feasts getting underway.

Agate briefly thought about going to find some of her friends, but discarded the idea almost immediately. She felt like she was done talking for the day, choosing to quietly slip away and wander around, instead. Soon, she found a mixed group of ponies from various tribes, waiting by one of the firepits for the food to cook while a small group of bards regaled them with music. With a relaxed sigh, she sat down nearby, listening to the performer.

"Alright, now this song is an old favorite in the northern reaches. It's sometimes called the "trekking mare", or "northern explorer's song"," A mare explained, starting to bang on a pair of drums in a quick rhythm. Moments later, she began singing, another pony joining in with a flute.

"Well a trekking mare am I
And I'm telling you no lie
I gallop among the herds of windigoes
That trail across the sky
There's monsters all around me
And there's danger in the air
There's deep terrors in the water
They'll swallow you like an otter
And frost all in me hair

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death
But you go

Well I've slept among the herds of seals
And I wore the seaweed like a cloak
I crept by springs of boiling sulphur
And they nigh on make you choke
I stood knee-deep in freezing seawater
Got sick with a feverish burn
Been running rough
I've seen enough
To make your stomach turn

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death
But you go

There's free land and other opportunities galore
The young mares like the rush
And they all come back for more
But soon you're covered in scars
And you look older than you should
For every slip and fail
Made on the northern trail
You pay with flesh and blood

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death
But you go

Well a trekking mare am I
And I'm telling you no lie
I gallop among the herds of windigoes
That trail across the sky
There's monsters all around me
And there's danger in the air
There's deep terrors in the water
They'll swallow you like an otter
And frost all in me hair

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death

And it's go, mares, go
They'll freeze your very breath
And every day you're in this place
You're flirting with your death
But you go
But you go
But you go!"

The audience cheered, though some of them looked solemn, likely due to the somewhat dark depiction of an explorer's life. The bard smiled, though, winking at them. "Oh, don't look so down. We northerners know what we're getting into when we go out there. Well, most of us do. Here's one story of a stallion that got into trouble way in over his head, though," She said, nodding towards a stallion next to her.

He grinned, clearing his throat. "Now, some ponies say that this story is most likely made up, but I disagree. Surely ponies wouldn't do that? Just make up lies for fun?" He chuckled, some of the listeners laughing. "Either way, here is the story of the windigo's daughter..."

Songs of Snowpitt

The drummer started a slow beat in the background, though the stallion didn't start to sing, narrating the story instead as if he was the protagonist. Still, the story did rhyme, making it like a poem of sorts.

"So, little ponies, you wish to hear the story of how I became a spirit? Very well, though I have to warn you, it's probably not what you're expecting at all.

So there I was, a stallion hearty and hale
I feared no northern beast, nor freezing gale!
My family's home was getting a little tight,
So I decided to venture out and claim new land one night.

And although I had little experience and no accompanying band,
I still thought my odds were quite grand!
So I took a map, built a kayak and ventured out alone -
I would not back out of a challenge that I myself had thrown.

I travelled far and wide,
Through the Thousand Islands and other places beside.
Through the seas and the waves,
By the evening tides and the island caves.

But no matter where I went, the best places were already taken,
And bit by bit, my resolve was slowly shaken.
Then I realized my mistake and almost snapped -
I was "exploring" lands that were already mapped!

"What a fool," Angrily said I.
"If you want unclaimed land, away from the map's boundaries you should fly!"
And that's what I did, after I slept -
This defeat I would not easily accept!

So I packed my gear and went north,
Fearlessly venturing forth!
After a travelling a while, I saw a large island dotted with trees -
The joy almost brought me to my knees.

The place looked completely unclaimed -
And I felt that it could be tamed.
So I disembarked and set out to explore on hoof -
Before I made any claims, I wanted to see proof.

Everything appeared tranquil and silent -
Though unafraid, I was happy I would not need to get violent.
Then I got my gear and set up camp,
Starting a fire even though the wood was damp.

My sleep was fitful, and of frightful things I did dream.
It got worse and worse, and I woke with a silent scream.
Evidently, the island was not as peaceful as I thought.
I heard beasts outside that my smoky fire must have brought.

I was oddly feverish, shivering and weak.
Though brave, I was forced to admit that my odds looked bleak.
Instead of arming up and charging outside,
I decided to hunker down and for the dawn to bide.

The cold seeped into my body and my mind,
Fogging my thoughts and nearly making me go blind.
But then I suddenly saw a beautiful mare -
With slender features, gorgeous beyond compare!

I thought I might be going fruity -
Was I hallucinating this magnificent beauty?
I cried, "I swear, you are the loveliest creature I ever saw in my life!
Your presence is reassuring even in this terrible strife."

The mare whinnied in surprise, looking around.
In my delirium, she appeared to be floating off the ground.
Then she saw me and approached, looking shy.
And what I did was inappropriate, but I already thought I was going to die.

I puckered up and gave her a kiss -
Might as well have a last moment of bliss.
But a sudden freezing shock lifted the fog from my mind -
And I found myself in quite a bind.

A large windigo was staring me down,
His ghostly muzzle twisted in a frown.
A small, svelte one was floating off to the side, and...
Was that a blush on her ethereal hide?

"What happened?" I was trying to comprehend,
While the windigo was preparing for my life to end.
I pondered as I was contemplating my upcoming slaughter,
"Did I just make out with this windigo's daughter...?

Hoo, boy..."

The drummer then picked up the pace suddenly, other musicians joining in as the stallion's slow and calm narration turned into a frenetic tumble of words.

"Well, I jumped up like I was stung,
I didn't want to end up a windigo's frozen dung!
I galloped, I rolled, I tumbled out from the cave,
I didn't want it to become my grave!

Ooooooooooh~" He trailed off, taking a breath before breaking into song as the music got even faster, painting a picture of a panicked retreat.

"Oooh there's a windigo after my flank, oh my!
Nope nope nope, don't want to die!
Come on, fool, get down that slope!
Just gallop, no time to get a rope!

Get out quick, you dope!
Forget your spear, no time to mope!
The kayak's still there, or so I hope!
Seriously, how hard can I shout "Nope"?!

Quickly, grab an oar!
And flee like a panicked boar!
And even though my legs are sore,
I'm fueled by the terror in my core!

Oooh there's a windigo after my flank, oh my!
Nope nope nope, don't want to die!
I hope his daughter can buy me some time,
Or never again will I rhyme!

Paddle like mad, move with the tide!
And maybe I'll escape with my hide!
Maybe I won't keep my pride,
But I'd rather be shamed, but alive!"

Some of the audience members got up before the song started and stood in a circle, starting to dance wildly to the frantic drumbeat, moving clockwise. The goal appeared to be to move as fast as the music, without falling over and breaking the circle. The participants were all laughing, hooting and hollering, the routine apparently already familiar to them. Almost inevitably, a pony tripped up, and a good chunk of the dancers ended up in a tangled heap, laughing merrily. The narrator, meanwhile, caught his breath and continued the story in his normal tempo while the dancers untangled themselves and sat down again.

"So yes, as hard as it was to believe, I managed to get away from the furious windigo with my life. Yes, that was not the event that led to me becoming a spirit, but it's part of the story, and it wouldn't make sense if I just jumped to the end. Now then... I made it back to our village, and got my frostbite tended to by a shamare...

As I told her what happened, she looked at me like I was dumb -
Perhaps it was because my lips were still quite numb.
While I pondered on how to believably tell my story,
Half of me was worrying about becoming a windigo's quarry.

Before I could think something up, she was gone -
And I fell asleep from exhaustion with a yawn.
Waking up from my rest, I saw no one around.
So I sat and thought, making plans with a frown.

Although my first attempt did fail,
I was not going to bail.
I didn't care if the path was hard and rough.
I'm a northerner, I'm made of tougher stuff!

I thought long and hard, doing my best.
Eventually, I decided I'd head out towards the west.
Preparing more tools and supplies, I took a breath.
I muttered "No, this will not become my death.".

It took several days of exploration,
But eventually I found a promising destination.
A large rocky island, but with bounty of the sea -
Seaweed, fish, and wooden debris.

In the middle, there stood a tall hill.
I thought, "I'll climb it to get a good look around, I will."
It took me a while to clamber on -
By the time I reached the top, the Sun was almost gone.

Still, the amount of light was enough -
I saw the rocky shores, the island, and a steep bluff.
I was satisfied, but also tired.
Wrapping myself in my cloak, I lay down right there, having found what I desired.

Waking up next morning, I stretched with a yawn.
Rubbing my eyes, I smiled at the coming dawn.
Standing up, I went to answer nature's call.
If only I knew that it would lead me to a brawl...

For you see, at the bottom of the bluff there lay a fearsome beast -
And on my bones it would have loved to feast.
Sadly, my act got it's full attention.
When I heard it's terrifying roar, it caused me no small amount of apprehension.

Unnerved, I stepped closer and peeked down -
And the sight I saw gave me quite the frown.
For I have accidentally relieved myself upon a beast most dire -
A floewolf looked back balefully, it's cold eyes afire.

I immediately realized I once again stepped into some deep crap.
Yet all I could think of was "Oh, snap."
With another roar, the beast immediately gave chase.
Sighing, I fled, a pained grimace on my face.

Fortunately for me, I was quite high on the hillside.
My position gave me time to flee while it raged for it's injured pride.
Still, getting to the kayak was a close call.
It did it's best to chase me down, with clear intent to maul.

I paddled deeper into the water, it was time to bail.
Yet the beast gave a mighty leap, it's claws shearing half of my tail!
The splash as it hit the water caused a mighty wave.
I rode it, taking the opportunity to get away that it gave.

As I went further away, I gave a sigh of relief.
However, my relaxation turned out to be very brief.
Glancing back, I saw it right behind me -
Turns out, floewolves are excellent swimmers in the sea!

Uh oh..."

Agate knew what was coming this time, holding back a smile as the musicians picked up the pace again, even faster than previously, the spectators once again jumping up to dance along to the beat.

"Aaaah! There's a floewolf chasing me, oh no!
Why does this happen wherever I go?!
Gotta paddle faster, paddle away!
And I might survive another day!

Dodge it's closing jaws, quick!
The spear's useless, no matter how thick!
Keep paddling and flee!
And you just might get free!

Find a current, ride it!
Even if the beast won't quit!
Make sharp turns, behind the bend!
Misdirect the beast, my friend!

Use your smaller size!
Ignore its furious cries!
Zig-zag, don't go straight!
Force it to pull its weight!

Keep going, come what may!
And I'll live another day!
Best get someplace safe, or I'll regret
Not giving proper respect to this threat!"

Although the story of the unnamed stallion was filled with misfortune, the audience seemed to find great amusement in his antics. Given what the storyteller said in the beginning, Agate suspected that the whole thing was made up after all, but she knew better than to ask. She had enough experience with performers in the Empire to know that they never gave you a straight answer, just vague replies, cheeky smiles and sly winks.

As the music slowed down again, the storyteller continued on. "Once more, I returned to the safety of the village to recuperate and restock.

I thought, "Twice now I had to flee from harm.
Perhaps the third time will be the charm?"
Yes, twice in a row I did fail.
First losing my pride, and then my tail.

Still, confidence rose in my chest.
Others might have died in such events, but I lived, I did my best!
So I fell to my bed in a tired heap,
Ready to have a good night's sleep.

In the morning, I was fresh and rested,
Reassuring myself that I would not be bested.
To the north, the furious windigo may howl,
And in the west, the prideful floewolf might prowl.

My options limited, eastwards I went away -
And I saw nothing but water for more than a day.
I asked, "Is the east nothing but the ocean?"
I was not thrilled by such a notion.

As I mused, in the distance I heard a ghostly bray.
Was that the windigo, still trying to make me it's prey?
Shaking my head, I pressed on.
I was nervous, but my determination was not yet gone.

Finally, I saw a sight that made my heart soar.
Land loomed ahead, and I hastened to get ashore.
I was badly tired, looking for a place to rest.
Luckily, I found a thicket, making me feel quite blessed.

The place turned out to be the right choice.
It was impossible to get past the brambles without causing noise.
No predator could sneak up on me,
Not without waking me up and giving me time to flee.

The ground was mossy, and made for a soft bed.
With a tired sigh, I laid down my head.
I vaguely heard some noises in my sleep,
But due to my exhaustion, my slumber was still quite deep.

Waking up, I furtively looked around.
All was silent and empty - I had not been found.
Eating quickly and packing up, I went to explore.
Though not before memorizing the quickest path to the shore.

After trotting for a few hours, I was overtaken by confusion.
There was no northern shore - that meant only one conclusion.
This was either a peninsula, or an island of a massive size.
Which meant that it would be difficult to claim it as my prize.

"Smaller islands have smaller and fewer beasts," explorers tended to say.
Meeting monsters worse than I already did made me want to run away.
Pondering my choices, I sat down with a scowl.
My mood was not improved when from behind me came a growl.

Looking back, I could scarcely believe my eyes.
In the distance stood the floewolf, clearly intent on my demise.
"It must've took our meeting as a personal insult," I did surmise.
And then I jumped up and galloped away, for to daydream would have been quite unwise.

I wove between trees and obstacles, to force the beast to slow.
It worked, but its fury only seemed to ever grow.
It growled and barked, its voice like breaking ice.
But I kept going, and the increasing distance made me feel quite nice.

However, it was not meant to be.
Galloping on, I saw pursuing windigoes in the sky - not one, not two, but three.
"You're here too?! Come on, give me a break!"
I yelled as I came across a frozen lake.

Taking a breath, I charged forth.
With my retreat cut off, I had to keep going north.
The sound of my hooves on ice must've been quite loud,
For it attracted an even bigger crowd.

Galloping across the ice, I angrily grit my teeth -
As massive ice worms started bursting from beneath.
"This is ridiculous, what's going to come after me next?"
I asked as I was getting quite vexed.

Perhaps making such guesses wasn't for the best...
As I reached the shore, I tripped , falling into some beast's nest.
Quickly glancing around, I saw that it was a snowamander's lair.
It wasn't hard to figure out - the lizard was staring at me with a baleful glare.

Scrambling away, I yelled, "Don't mind me, just passing by!"
But the best wasn't content to let it lie.
It swiped it's claws at me, a near miss.
Then, it turned and gave chase with a freezing hiss."

The musicians had been slowly ramping up the music in the background, creating a tense atmosphere. Now, they picked up the pace again, starting another sequence of frantic drumbeats as the narrator's voice turned from tense, but collected, to panicked again.

"Oooooooooh~

There's windigoes on my left!
Even though I'm fast and deft,
The snowamander's right behind!
I'm really in quite a bind!

Ice worms burrowing underground,
Gotta gallop, climb that mound!
There's a floewolf on my right!
The future's not looking bright!

Something else burst from the snow.
You know what? I don't want to know!
Seriously, I don't care anymore!
All the monsters are after me by the score!

Now there's also wings beating in the sky,
Making me wish I could fly.
There's strange sounds beyond comprehension,
With growls and howls galore, keeping up the tension!

I really couldn't take much more.
"A curse upon you all!", I swore.
Yet to my immense surprise,
My pursuers stopped, making me rub my eyes."

Quickly catching his breath, the stallion continued more calmly, the music slowing down a little, but not by much.

"Looking around at my pursuers, I was slack-jawed.
Dozens upon dozens of monsters, both familiar and completely unknown, had me awed.
They were gathered in a semi-circle around me, yet they did not charge.
Was this a dream? It couldn't be. Yet they hesitated, though their numbers were quite large.

Feeling a presence behind me, I turned back, seeing the reason for their hesitation.
The massive star beast Canis Major, the Spirit of All Wolves, was the cause of the situation.
It was staring down at the collected menagerie of monsters that I managed to infuriate.
Clearly, their fear of the greater monster trumped their hate.

I could only guess that the hullabaloo got the star beast's attention.
With a yip, Canis Minor stuck its head out from behind the star beast, raising the tension.
The larger one immediately pushed it back with a hindleg.
It kept the small one behind it, even if it tried to whimper and beg.

The larger star wolf glared at all the gathered creatures, growling and baring its teeth.
Even the bodiless windigoes flinched back in fright - in this hierarchy, they were clearly beneath.
The message was clear: there would be no mercy for daring to encroach upon its lair and its pup.
With a sigh, I composed myself and retrieved my spear, hefting it firmly. It was time, and I was fed up.

I was completely surrounded on all sides,
And exhausted from my long gallop besides.
"Let's get this over with, then," I challenged, breaking the silence.
That was the signal, instantly turning the standoff into violence.

Now, I won't bother describing the awesome carnage and destruction that followed my proclamation.
The beasts all fell upon one another, tearing into their foes in ways so terrible, they defied narration.
However, I did not escape their notice, much to my frustration.
A great number of them charged towards me as well, sending me to my final destination.

Well, now I'm a guardian spirit, protecting tribe and kin.
In the end, I did not manage to win.
And ponies ask me, "Is there anything to learn?
Surely from your story, some kind of wisdom you can discern?"

Well, there's really not much.
Still, I can tell you such:
There's beasts galore out there, both known and unknown.
So when exploring, don't be like me - take your friends, never go alone.

And if you really want to avoid being part of such a slaughter...
Well, all I can really tell you - don't go kissing a windigo's daughter!
Hold on, what's that in the distance? A mournful windigo's neigh?
Oh, ah, excuse me while I go... Chase her - I mean, it - away."

Most of the audience laughed, Agate joining in. None of them seemed the slightest bit sad for the stallion's ultimate fate, which convinced the filly that it was a made up story after all. Well, that, and the impossibility of accidentally stumbling upon and getting a hundred different monsters all chasing after you. She didn't know all that much about animals, but both from what her uncle Obsidian Spear used to tell her, and what she learned from Spear Throw, they all tended to be quite territorial, and wouldn't live so close to each other.

She was also pretty sure that windigoes didn't have daughters, or other kinds of siblings. With a shake of her head and a smile, the filly got up and went to explore some more as both the musicians and their audience tucked into their food.

❅ ❆ ❅

Elsewhere, a matronly-looking mare was sitting in front of a gaggle of foals, holding up various mushrooms and explaining something, throwing some of the mushrooms into a bubbling pot nearby, while setting the others aside. What caught Agate's attention was the fact that several of the fungi seemed to be glowing faintly in the dark. Curiously, she approached the group, sitting down to listen once more.

"So what should we do if we eat one of the bad ones by accident?" One of the foals asked.

"Throw up," The mare replied immediately. "Shove a hoof down your throat and make yourself gag if you have to. And then, go find a shamare or a herbalist and tell them what happened. Remove as much of it from your stomach as you can first, though. Better yet, drink some water and then throw up. Gets more stuff out that way."

The foal's reactions were rather predictable, most of them grimacing in disgust. The mare wasn't having any of it, though. "It's far better than what will happen to you if you don't, believe me. Obviously, the best way is to not eat any of the bad ones. You should bring them to your parents first, anyway, but some of the worse ones, you shouldn't even touch. Want to stay safe? Then listen and memorize..." Clearing her throat, the mare began to rhyme.

"Now listen, foals, which mushrooms are good and bad for you.
You should not try to eat those with caps of blue.
If you see spots of any kind, best trot on by.
If you so much as lick those, you might well die.

Some with caps of red are edible, my foal -
But not the pointy ones, only those shaped like a bowl.
The small, bright orange ones that grow in one big group?
They are delicious, and make an excellent soup.

The plump, large brown-caps with undersides white like snow?
Magnificent when fried, but look carefully - for hidden under fallen leaves they grow.
Luckily for you, there's only one mushroom that's green -
And you can eat it without worry, just make sure it's clean.

The round, white and brown bulbs shaped like a ball are good and tasty.
But only while they're young, so when they start sprouting, go foraging and be hasty.
The flat-hatted, light brown ones grow twice as big as your hoof.
They're good at any size, so you're safe to bring them under your roof.

There's lots of other mushrooms galore,
But the rest of them you should probably ignore.
Some taste bad, some will give you the trots.
So don't go tasting them, or your insides will tie themselves in knots.

You might find some magical mushrooms as well, but best beware:
If it's glowing, to eat it you really should not dare.
Yes, the purple ones might interest a shamare.
But if you try it, it won't be a pleasant affair.

Tell the shamares about ones with glowing veins of blue,
And they'll make a potion to restore lost strength, just for you.
But do avoid the charcoal-black ones with a skirt.
If you even look at one long, you'll end up hurt."

"Really? Just looking is enough?" Another foal asked, disbelief coloring her voice.

"Simply noticing one won't hurt you, but if you stare at it, you'll start getting dizzy, yes," The mare confirmed. "And then you'll start throwing up, as if you ate something bad already. So don't go around getting into staring contests with the magic mushrooms. You won't be able to win them. Given how crazy the effects are, I don't think I need to repeat myself about the dangers of trying to play with the magical ones. They might look very pretty, but they're best either left alone, or for the shamares and herbalists to deal with, am I clear?"

"Yes, elder," The foals chorused.

"Good. I know that it seems odd, collecting mushrooms when so many of them are dangerous, but we're never in a position to pass by good food. Speaking of, I think the stew should be done by now. Get your bowls, and you'll see why it's worth to put in the effort. Properly prepared, they're really quite delicious."

As the sounds of talking were replaced with quiet slurps of eating, Agate got up, seeking the next interesting conversation to listen in on.

❅ ❆ ❅

After wandering around a little more, Agate was almost ready to turn back to her totem. The ponies were all eating, not really talking much, and she didn't want to interrupt by staring at them and being creepy while they had their feast. Some of them finished their food, though, continuing their conversations and lessons while others ate. She came upon a mixed group of ponies from different tribes - a number of the younger nomads hailing from Snowpitt, and a hoofful of older ponies that were (probably) northerners.

It was still a little hard for the filly to differentiate between the snowpony tribes. She did notice that the other two tribes tended to wear clothes and accessories far more often than the southerners. Other than that, though, there didn't seem to be any real physical differences between them. The northerners seemed to have a little more white-coated ponies among their number, and their coats tended to be just a little shaggier and longer, but that was it. The only other tell seemed to be their slight accents. Listening in, she tried to figure out if her assessment was correct.

"So, you have to go by kayak to get around anywhere in your territories? It sounds so different than the tundra. You just gallop where your hooves take you. I mean, we have lakes and rivers to paddle around in, but you can just circle around them," One of the nomads mused.

"It's not called the Thousand Islands for nothing," The northerner stallion confirmed. "It's all water. There's stories about bigger islands and some kind of landmass further out, but they're too distant to settle - yet. We're hopping from island to island, going further north every year, though. The chieftain is really hoping we'll reach a large enough island to build a proper settlement on eventually."

"Really, why? From what the others told me, you're doing just fine. If you keep going like you are, the northern tribe is going to be more numerous than us in a generation or two," Another southerner mused.

"Yes, but we're terribly scattered. We'd like to have our own safe settlements that our tribe can gather in, like Snowpitt or Highglade. Sure, Nilas is a nice and secure place, but it's really not very large. Some of the islands are big enough to house several dozens of families, but others can barely fit a group of hunters or a family. Some of us spend almost the entire fishing season by ourselves, only meeting with the rest of our kin at the same time we meet the other tribes in the Gathering. "

"Can't you expand Nilas? I know Snowpitt used to be much smaller than it is now."

"Not exactly... See, the winds get terribly fast and raging over the sea, even worse than they do over the tundra. Sometimes it gets so bad that the shamares have to step in. Nilas is built in a natural depression, next to a cove that provides excellent shelter from the storms. The village itself is safe, but if you try to build anything outside of the safe boundaries, you can expect your house to literally get blown away. Or freeze to a solid block of ice - if there's so much as a hole the size of a nostril in your walls, the wind will get in, and your walls will be covered in frost faster than you can blink."

"Wow... And I thought the tundra gales were harsh. I mean, we have to plug every tiny hole in our walls as well, of course, but that sounds wild."

"It most certainly is wild, that's for sure. We try to make our territory as safe as we can, but we can't just chase away the worst of the monsters from our borders like the southern and western tribes do," The northerner chuckled, shaking his head. "It's not like we can take a deep breath and dive to the bottom of the sea and hunt them, after all."

"And yet, you keep going further and further north," The nomad said, in a slightly confused tone of voice.

"And yet, we keep going further and further north!" The northerner exclaimed proudly, jumping up and spreading his forelegs wide, his demeanor the complete opposite of the southerner's. "The beasts might gnash and roar, and the northern wind may blow, but we forge on, no matter who or what tries to blow us from our course! Just like our great ancestors before us! Glacial Plains, the great explorer, or Alpine Glow, one of the first northerners! Haha!"

The nomads laughed, amused at the northerner's fiery reaction, though there was no disrespect in their amusement. In fact, many of them looked at the rugged traveler with admiration. One tilted his head, asking curiously while scratching an ear. "So, who's this "first northerner"? I think I heard how the tribe was first formed - there were great fishing grounds around Nilas, and a number of ponies decided to build a permanent settlement there - but I don't recall hearing specific names. Was it the first foal to be born in the village, or something?"

"Not quite," the stallion shook his head, still grinning. "She was actually from the western mountains. As for the firsts, she ended up being one of the first permanent settlers in the north, after rediscovering the northern shores. "

"Do you know her story?"

"Hmmm, I think I do. Give me a minute... *Ahem*.

As the morning sun looms over the mountains
And the howling wind echoes throughout the land.
A young pony now descends from the summit
To start on a journey that few can withstand.

From her lonely summit home atop the peaks
To the frosted forests of trees evergreen
Alpine Glow travels in search of adventure
In search of places she has yet to have seen.

In her heart lay the feeling of wanderlust
A desire to explore the great unknown.
Though most all can be seen from the mountain peak
There is one place hidden, a forbidden zone.

She remembers the tales her kin used to tell
Of a lost realm far beyond normal reaches.
Through the hail and the ice she goes heading north
In hopes of finding the fabled snow beaches.

There is said to be an abundance of fish,
And strange avian creatures who like to play,
As well as another one known as a seal
If all these await then she shouldn't delay!

Alpine Glow is strong, she's handled worse before
Even this fierce blizzard is no match for her,
Since she's always got on her favorite poncho
Passed down now for ages, it beats any fur!

And finally through the harshest of blizzards
Alpine Glow arrives to a sight for sore eyes
The legends, they were true, the beach is right there!
Overcome with joy, the poor mare nearly cries!

There really are puffins and even seals too
And look at the fish jumping out of the sea!
But perhaps what is most surprising of all
Is a pony awaiting, just who is she?

An ethereal glow radiates from her
Something suggests an otherworldly presence.
She approaches a nearly speechless Alpine
And imparts her a gift, one of strange essence.

A mystical looking relic, quite unique
With a curious mark never seen before.
"You have come far and have earned this, now go forth."
And with her task done, she vanished from the shore.

Young Alpine Glow was still very unaware
Of what truly she had been entrusted with.
What she held in her hoof was no mere trinket
But a key once thought to have been just a myth."

"Wait, what was that about? The spirit that she met on the shore?"

"I'm not too sure, actually. As I said, she rediscovered the northern reaches. No one really knows how many ponies found them before her, but it never went anywhere. Small groups or individuals ventured out plenty of times, tempted by rumors of untapped lands and bountiful food, but they were often ill-prepared, and it never ended well for them. The only knowledge about the north ponies of the time had were stories told by shamed and embarrassed spirits of the fallen pioneers, warning their kin not to get blinded by temptation for the great bounties of the sea, as it held even greater dangers. As such, the north was relegated to myth and rumor for a long time, especially seeing as the western forests and mountains were a plentiful and safer alternative to settle in.

Once the western tribe formed and truly took root, though, there were two tribe's worth of ponies interested in poking around the north, which led the more ambitious southerners and westerners to break away and form the northern tribe. There were some stories of the first settlers discovering ancient lost spirits of those first explorers, still wandering the beaches. Perhaps Alpine Glow met one of those spirits, one that stayed there on purpose to give her blessing to whoever successfully followed in her hoofsteps?

Either way, Alpine Glow ended up being one of the great pioneers of the northern tribe. Despite being born in the mountains, she took to the icy plains and seas like a fish to water, learning and teaching others a great many things about adapting and surviving in the harsh northern conditions. They say that when she passed on, surrounded by her family and kin, she just laughed, saying "I'm off for a trot. See you on the other side!". Her spirit rose up and immediately galloped off northwards, laughing and goading the rest of the tribe to keep up with the northern expeditions."

"Did she eventually come back?"

"According to the old stories, no, she actually didn't," The northerner mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps she went to her final rest one day, when she had enough of exploring. Or perhaps she's like that spirit, resting somewhere far in the north, waiting until her descendants manage to reach her. Time will tell, I suppose."

Agate listened in for a little while longer as the ponies discussed the differences between their respective territories and stories of distant ancestors. Soon enough, though, they decided to retire for the evening, the rest of the village going quiet as well. Following their example, the filly went to her totem, eager to get some rest.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning found Agate surrounded.

After waking up, the filly decided to keep her eyes closed for a while, feeling a little lazy. Various images ran through her head as she daydreamed, remembering all the stories that she listened to the day before. Eventually, though, she decided to get up, opening her eyes. The sight that greeted her was rather unexpected.

Her usually barren and empty clearing was occupied by a good dozen different ponies, the visitors spread out across the clearing, talking between themselves quietly with the occasional glance towards her totem. One of them noticed Agate looking at them, approaching closer.

"Traveler spirit? Are you awake?"

Agate blinked, examining the pony. He was a young stallion, white-maned with a gray coat that slowly faded to white on his belly, with black socks on his legs. Judging by the accent, he was a northerner. She was quite certain that she never saw him before. Mentally shrugging, she closed her eyes, hopping out of her totem and landing on the ground. Seeing her appear, the other members of his band got up, forming around the pair.

"I am, yeah. Been for a little while, but I felt like staying in for a little bit today. Can I help you?"

"Possibly. I was in the meeting in the Great Hall yesterday, and after discussing your story over food with a number of other ponies, we decided to form a band," He explained, gesturing widely across the clearing, his companions standing up straighter and puffing up their chests. There were twelve in total, all of them quite young, barely into their first true adult years. "We want to go to Dream Valley and see the place with our own eyes. Oh, my name is Icicle, by the way."

"Alright... My name's Agate, but you probably knew that already. Do you need my help for anything? You don't really need my permission to go there, I already told Long Stride that yesterday. Oh, and I think he mentioned about going there himself, didn't he? I think you need to talk to him, too."

"Yes, that was the first thing we did," The stallion confirmed with a nod. "He told us that he would allow me to lead the expedition, which is a great honor. Normally, we would never undertake such a trip in the cold months, but if the southern mountains are as barren as you say, there should be no true danger in traversing them, even in the dead of winter. As the chieftain said, it will be both a good test of our skills, and useful experience, as well."

"Alright, so do you need anything? I think I told Frostbeard everything I knew, but I guess I can try to tell you in greater detail, if you want to."

"Oh, yes! Apologies, spir- uhm, Agh- Agate. We had some questions that we thought up while we were making our plans. We actually wanted to know more details about Dream Valley and your people's settlements, not about the southern mountains."

"Really? Okay, but the Empire is gone, so... I don't know how much it'll help."

"That's not... About your main settlement," The stallion replied, rubbing his chin. "From the way you told your story, you made it sound like all of your people lived in the one, single village. But that couldn't be entirely right, could it? Was the settlement so large, it sprawled across the entire valley? Surely your people still had some kind of outposts or other settlements?"

"Oh... OH!" Agate smacked herself on the forehead, realization flooding her. "Yes! Well, not exactly. See, pretty much everyone did live in the city because of the shield's protection, but a few ponies had homesteads on the mountainsides, mostly the shepherds and woodcutters. Also, there were lots of quarries and mines on the eastern side of the valley... I'm not sure if ponies actually lived there, but... Hm..." Agate trailed off, raking her memory. She really wasn't too familiar with anything outside the city, her entire knowledge consisting of short snippets from the conversations she had and a few stylized maps the teachers in school used to show the foals. She moved her hoof across the snow, feeling the urge to smack herself again when nothing happened. "Draw a circle," She told the stallion. "I'll do my best to remember where the outposts were."

Icicle happily obliged, marking out a sizeable circle in the snow, the others taking a few steps back to give him space. Agate looked at the shape with lidded eyes, doing her best to impose the map of the Empire on it. After a minute, she started giving out instructions, the stallion adding small markings to the circle. "Let's start with the biggest things. I'm sure you'll go to the place where the city used to stand, right there, in the middle of the valley. Due east from there, there's a worn path to the quarries, you can't miss it. I don't really know if ponies lived there or not, but even further east, there's a number of mines in the mountains, and my uncle told me that the Guard had outposts there..."

Agate spent the next hour doing her best to recall any and all details about the outlying locations that crystal ponies lived or worked in. She really didn't know much, and felt bad at the possibility of accidentally misleading the stallion, but he was insistent on knowing every potential place where they might find clues, gently prodding her for information about every corner of the valley.

"Alright, I think that's the best I can do," Agate finally finished, looking at the snow. It was now decorated with small twigs, X's, and other markings to denote various areas of interest.

Icicle nodded silently, his lips moving but not making a sound. Several other ponies were doing the same thing, likely memorizing everything that Agate told them. One mare rubbed her chin thoughtfully, reaching into a saddlebag and retrieving a very thin wooden plank, scribbling some stuff on it with a stick of charcoal. After a few minutes of memorizing and marking, the stallion nodded, stepping back.

"This should help a lot. Thank you, Agate. We'll see if every trace of your people vanished, or whether the other places that you told us about are still intact. We'll bring you something to help remember your home if we find anything."

"Thank you. I completely forgot about about the other places I could have looked at. I feel a little silly now."

"Don't," He shook his head. "You are still young. You're doing remarkable things for your age already. Anyway, I'd love to stay and talk about your people, but today's meeting is starting soon, and I don't want to miss it. Will you join us?"

"Today's meeting? Oh, I completely forgot that you have those all winter. What is it going to be about? More stories and learning?"

"Not yet, the elders need to get the important business out of the way first. The shamares will ask the chieftains whether they'll need to perform the Calling this year - which they will, since there was a group of explorers of ours that never returned, dead or alive. That's what the first meeting of the year is always about, but everyone was more interested to know about you this time," Icicle chuckled.

"I hope I haven't held up any important business..." Agate said quietly, folding her ears in embarrassment.

"You haven't. Now, we really must be going. Will you...?"

"Sure. Lead the way."

The filly got up, the other ponies following Icicle as he went towards the Hall at a hasty trot. A few of Icicle's companions kept curiously glancing at Agate as they went along, but none of them asked anything. A couple of them whispered quietly about something between each other, but other than that, the trip went by in silence.

As they entered the building, Icicle gave her a parting nod, turning towards the stairs to the upper floors, his herd of followers clopping along. Looking around, the filly wondered where she should sit down so as to be the least obtrusive to other ponies. Eventually, she decided to climb on the rim of the stone-lined firepit, laying down with her back to the fire.

The meeting had begun about when the group entered the building, and Long Stride was talking, the three chieftains all sharing the platform. "...Doing quite well. Another successful season of fishing, stocking up, and slowly building up our outposts. No major discoveries of new lands or strange creatures this year. A few more islands added to our maps, but I doubt you want to hear about those. Honestly, at this point, we're running out of names for them."

"Not much to say here, either," Oak Bark shrugged from his sitting position. "Times have been peaceful lately. No big projects or threats that would require your assistance to deal with. No calamities either, thank the spirits. Some of our ponies are emboldened by the northerner's tales of exploration and are looking for passages through the mountains, to see if there are any more habitable valleys beyond. No results on that end yet, but we'll be sure to inform you all if we find something interesting."

Frostbeard went next, shaking out his mane and rubbing his beard. "And we did have some excitement here in the south, but you already heard about that. Our guest provided a lot of excitement and head-scratching moments to many ponies here in Snowpitt, but sadly, that was it. Agate's tribe is still lost to us, and there is little else to tell you all. A number of ponies are planning to go south to explore those lost lands more thoroughly. We'll see if anything comes from that, I suppose."

That seemed to be it, the three chieftains going quiet. A few murmurs passed through the crowd at the (lack of) news, the ponies seeming pleased, for the most part. After a moment of silence, True Sight stood up from where she was lying down, clopping her hoof on the floor twice. Straightening out as much as her old back would allow, she addressed the three chieftains.

"A lack of calamities is always good news, I would say. With that done, we are left with but one important question - the lost. We did not lose any spirits here in the south this year. What of the other tribes? Do you have kin that need to be called back home?"

Oak Bark shook his head, but Long Stride nodded, a solemn expression on his face. "Yes. A group of four explorers. They left well over two months ago. I don't think that they'll be able to find their way back on their own. All of them are quite capable, and I've no doubts that they managed to get quite far away before they met their demise."

"Then we shall perform our most sacred duty once more. None of our kin shall be left to languish in the dark and cold. We should go and start our preparations," True Sight confirmed solemnly, sweeping her gaze across the gathered shamares. The group nodded, muttering amongst each other as they slowly got up and started shuffling out.

The chieftains nodded as well, discussing the things they'll need to do. "We'll handle most of the walls, of course," Long Stride began, to the nods of the other two. "I'm sure we'll have no shortage of willing sentries, both young and old, so the perimeter should be fine. The westerner's sharp eyes will be of use, no doubt..."

Agate listened in for a few more minutes, but this meeting seemed to be more about logistics and preparations rather than snowpony history or other things that interested her. Ponies called out from both the lower and higher floors, volunteering for one task or another, the chieftains either approving or denying their offers. A few left the Hall with messages for others, and after a short while longer of them talking about things she didn't really understand all that well, the filly decided to go do something else.

As she got out of the hall, she heard a shout. Twitching her ears, she turned towards where the sound came from. The shamares were still in sight, moving slowly due to all the elderly members of the group. True Sight waved her over, before turning and shuffling along with the others. Trotting quickly, Agate caught up to the mystical mares, moving in alongside True Sight.

"Hello, elder. Was there something you wanted?"

"Just your company, if you're free. I didn't think that meeting would hold your interest for long, and the others became quite interested in you after I told them you've been teaching us magic," True Sight replied, gesturing towards the other shamares with her head.

Most of them were completely unfamiliar to the filly. She recognized Sky Breath, and Earthsong was off to the side, talking with a pair of younger shamares. One elderly snow-white mare caught her eye, though. Something about her was oddly familiar. Catching Agate's eye, she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, youngling? Something you want to know?"

"Uh, no, it's just that you look familiar. I think I met you briefly, almost a year ago, but I can't place your name. Sorry."

"Blizzard. Blizzard Heart," The mare replied laconically. "I helped teach you some words. I suppose you didn't really understand my name yet, so it didn't stick with you. No matter."

"Oh. Yes, I think I remember now. I was still a bit confused back then. Well, more than a bit confused, really."

"Hrn. Understandable," The elder grunted. "From what True Sight told us, though, you've come a long way. Teaching shamares your foreign magic? Quite interesting."

"As I keep telling them, it's barely anything. Making crystals glow is the most basic thing you can do with them. I can't really do any of the impressive stuff, like mold them into useful shapes and the like."

"Anything that helps cut down the time we spend on it still helps," One of the young mares cut in. "It's a dreadfully tedious task, important as it is. Are you going to be teaching us?"

"I guess I can? I wasn't planning on a magic lesson today, but I don't have any other plans," Agate shrugged.

"We'll take the lead," True Sight interjected. "We should see if we can teach Agate's techniques to others ourselves, without her help. You're welcome to join in afterwards, though."

"Alright then."

The slow-moving gaggle of shamares made their way towards Dreamcatcher's home, asking Agate questions about the kinds of magics crystal ponies could perform the entire way there. The Crystal Heart caught their interest the most, the mares comparing it to the wards they used to protect their own villages.

"It sounds immensely powerful. Just one artifact, able to push away everything? Not just creatures with ill intent, but also the cold itself?" Blizzard Heart asked with some skepticism.

"Yes, but it's not just the Heart's power alone. Literally every single pony in the Empire helps power it. It's more of a... Conduit? By itself, without the people, the Heart would be just a shiny prop. Also, it has to be placed in the right spot to work, too. The Spire, the roads, the whole city is used to channel the magic. It's like a... Like a spiderweb of sorts. Each part has to be connected to the other," Agate explained.

"Like a one, giant rune that covers the entire village? Fascinating..." A number of shamares muttered among themselves, wondering if they could learn to replicate at least some of the things the crystal ponies did.

Soon, they made it to their destination, swinging around the house and moving towards the storage shed. One by one, the shamares started retrieving the baskets with crystals, setting up right outside. Agate waited patiently as they stomped the snow down a little, stacking the crystals up in small piles all around in a circle.

In a short while, they had a properly mystical-looking setup, with a bunch of slightly crazy-looking mares sitting in a circle chanting strange words, a bunch of glimmering crystals surrounding them in strange shapes on the ground, and a ghost of a filly watching it all.

True Sight, Dreamcatcher and Earthsong took the lead, the three shamares that Agate taught now teaching the rest of their colleagues. The lessons went mostly smoothly, and a couple hours later, the rest of them were charging the crystals one by one, remarking how much easier this was.

Agate joined in to help, her rather meagre skills having improved significantly over the summer that she spent both teaching and practicing magic. She could charge a crystal in a few minutes now, without having to focus like crazy or getting drained completely like she used to before. She still wasn't able to reliably do anything bigger, like making crystals grow or transmute them, not without "help" from True Sight. And that usually went sideways in some way or another.

The old shamare enjoyed encouraging Agate to experiment and discover more about her magic, usually by prodding and needling the filly until she gave in. The results were mixed, including some crystals that grew bigger, several that changed from citrine into amethyst, a bunch that cracked and broke, and even one that exploded rather impressively.

After that last one, Agate vowed to be more careful, even though True Sight insisted that it was perfectly fine. "Well, it's not like anything can happen to you. All we have to do is find a tree to hide behind," She argued while Earthsong was busy picking out shards of crystal from her coat with her usual eye-roll.

Unsurprisingly, by the time they were about halfway through the pile of crystals, True Sight stretched, cracking her joints. With a nonchalant expression (but a voice with an undercurrent of mischief that Agate had learned to recognize), she spoke, addressing the others. "You know, this could go even faster, if we could convince Agate to try out something she told me about earlier."

Her suggestion was met with raised eyebrows from every shamare except Earthsong, who let out a long groan. "Elder.." Earthsong's reaction seemed to put others on alert, the group apparently already well familiar with True Sight's antics.

"I know better than to trust anything you're about to say," Sky Breath snorted. "True Sight you may be, but True Speech you are certainly not, you foal. So instead, I'll ask the subject of your claim. Agate, what is she talking about?"

While True Sight made faces at Sky Breath, the filly shrugged. "There's a way to charge these all at once instead of one by one, I think. You'd need to spread them all out evenly on the ground, so they all would be touching as much as possible, and then all do it at the same time. Crystals are quite conducive to magic, and with lots of them resonating at the same time, it should work. It helps that they're all the same kind of crystals, too."

"Resonating... Crystals..." Sky Breath spoke slowly, tasting the foreign terms. "We're still not half as good at this as you are, Agate. Are you sure we could do it?"

"Yes we could, if Agate took the lead on the ritual," True Sight interjected, speaking confidently.

"Riiight. You don't think she's too inexperienced for that? Did she even see a group casting before?"

"I think I have," The filly spoke, her voice thoughtful. "Way back when I just came here. You were all there, by the huge firepit in the middle of the village. After some talking - presumably about me - a bunch of you dispersed into small groups and started doing... Something. I think I recall Blizzard Heart and some of other shamares summoning an actual blizzard, True Sight and some others were throwing... Dice? No, I think it was something else..."

"Bones, youngling," Blizzard Heart explained. "And we were communicating with the spirits of the world, the wind and the earth, and other things besides. Some of us with talents in similar fields can pool our strength together to achieve greater effects. But I don't see how we'd be able to do that in this case. No one here has a talent for working with spirit stones except for you. Also, merely seeing it once doesn't remotely mean you can actually do it."

"But she keeps going on and on how this is the most simple and basic form of magic," True Sight argued again. "We're already able to charge the stones, so there's no reason why we couldn't do it as a group, much faster and quicker. We could be done with the entire task in an hour, instead of days that it used to take us."

"Agate?" Sky Breath turned towards the filly once more. She was clearly interested, but still deferred to Agate's opinion.

"It's kind of true," She squirmed awkwardly as all the shamares were now looking at her intently. "All kinds of ponies use crystals for magic, even those Equestrians that I told you about. My people just kept refining their skills for a... Long time. I guess- I guess we could try it."

After a few thoughtful glances between each other, the mares all nodded, standing up and pushing all the crystals into one place in a circle, leaving a small spot empty in the middle. Surrounding the circle, they all sat down, their sides and shoulders touching as they started breathing rhythmically, slowly synchronizing their breaths. Agate lay down in the empty spot, performing a few focusing exercises as well. A few minutes of focusing and breathing later, the silence was broken by a quiet, but slowly rising hum coming from the gathered mares.

*HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*

Agate felt the gathering magic around her, breathing in and out. She didn't need to breathe for a long time now, but it was a way to focus, and to feel her surroundings better. She could feel herself breathing in tiny parts of the magic, making her skin tingle. She raised a foreleg, slowly circling it in the air as if she was stirring up water. It was an odd sensation. It wasn't hers. She couldn't command it. It was a lot like when she rode on her father's back when she was younger. She could feel his muscles work and move to carry her, even though they weren't hers. However, with a tug on his mane, she could ask her father to change course, to direct all that power that she was currently riding. Something similar was happening here. She couldn't forcefully command the magic flowing out of the shamares, but they were trusting Agate with it. She could direct it. So she did.

"Put your hooves on the nearest crystal," She breathed, doing the same thing herself, wrapping the magic around her hooves and directing the flow. The shamares followed her directions in unison.

The hum increased, the crystals beginning to vibrate as well, some of them chiming like a bell. The one Agate was touching started to glow instantly, but that was to be expected. Biting her lip, Agate kept pouring the magic in, watching the surrounding crystals. Slowly but surely, they started lighting up too, both from where she was sitting and where the shamares were charging theirs. She almost faltered once she saw that, but managed to keep her focus.

"It's working. It's really working. Now, just... Keep it up for a little while longer."

They all sat there for some time, the orange glow getting brighter and brighter, making all the shamares look as if their coats changed color. Agate listened carefully to any changes in the hum's pitch, waiting for the point when the crystals would be fully charged. Once she heard it, she immediately took her hooves off, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Okay, that's enough, now stop. They're fully charged now, and if we keep going, things will get unpredictable. They might grow into more crystals, but they also might break or explode. I'm not good enough to control the more advanced effects."

The shamares heeded her advice, removing their hooves as well. One by one, they came back to reality, their eyes fluttering open and darting about. Judging by the rather pleased expressions they wore, the sight that greeted them was more than acceptable. A carpet of crystals covered the snow, all of them glowing brightly.

"How long did that take?" One of the younger mares asked.

"No more than an hour, I think," Sky Breath replied.

"An HOUR! This is great! Oh, wise spirit of the south, you're a gift most wonderful! Usually, this would take us two days, at least!"

Agate blushed at the praise, folding her ears. Several mares laughed at her reaction, Sky Breath reaching out and petting her mane. Slowly, the shamares all got up, examining the crystals more closely. Blizzard Heart tried to pick one up, only to find out that it had fused to two other crystals that were lying next to it.

"What the...?"

"Oh, that happens sometimes," Agate explained. "They're just stuck together, though, you can separate them quite easily.

The elder nodded, breaking the crystals apart with a crack. Holding one close to her eyes, she squinted at it for a minute before putting it back down on the ground. She muttered "Adequate," which was her only assessment.

"So, is this it?" Agate asked. "You're going to set them up in those glowing paths, and then... You're going to summon the lost spirits?"

"Not us, Agate," Sky Breath shook her head. "Well, I mean, yes, we're going to summon the spirits of our kin. We're too old to be galloping through the tundra dropping spirit stones, though. Other ponies will take care of that. We'll tell the chieftains, and they'll rustle up some energetic ponies with sleds, and they'll extend the paths."

"Extend?"

"Yes, when the other tribes move towards Snowpitt, they leave trails of spirit stones leading from their lands as well. They wouldn't help all that much if we'd only put them so close to the village."

"Alright. And then... The Calling? From what the others told me, it can get... Scary. You pull in all of the spirits, not just ponies, right?"

"Yes, an unfortunate side effect. However, it is our duty to our kin. They brave the wilds to protect and expand their tribes, with the knowledge that should they perish, we will always bring them back home, to share warmth and say our goodbyes to them for one last time, no matter what. Even if all the monsters of the north come galloping to Snowpitt, we'd do it anyway," The feathered shamare explained, her voice firm and without the slightest waver of doubt. The rest of the shamares nodded at that, all of their expressions serious.

"I... I can understand that, I guess. Being lost in the darkness was... Not pleasant."

"Exactly. We'd never leave our kin to languish like that. Now..." Sky Breath blinked a few times, looking confused. "Oh, well, I suppose we don't actually have anything left to do now, heh. Well, I'm a little hungry. I'm off to my lodgings to get some food. Some of you younglings go tell the chieftains we got things done ahead of schedule, yes? And, Agate - thank you for your help. We should talk some more later. Be seeing you."

With that, the group began to disperse, a few mares going to the chieftains at Sky Breath's behest, others going to get some food or warm up. With a few waves and goodbyes, Agate was left alone. Checking the sky, she saw that it was getting late already. After a few moments of thinking, she decided to wander the village some more before retiring. Maybe she'd hear some more poems or songs. Those were fun.

Night of Spirits

❅ ❆ ❅

After wandering through Snowpitt a bit, Agate decided to call it a day. Pretty much everyone was occupied with something, scurrying back and forth. A number were dragging sleds full of snow and ice blocks around the village, some of them going towards building more of the northerner's igloos, while others were brought towards the outskirts. There, groups of stallions were busy sticking them together into a rudimentary defensive wall. Elsewhere, others were still unloading, trading, moving, and securing various goods, adding to the sled traffic criss-crossing the village.

Those that weren't busy with physical tasks were organizing other things, talking about logistics and schedules and the plans for the next few weeks. Agate couldn't really help with any of that, nor with any of the manual labor. With a shrug, she went back to her totem.

The next morning, Agate's clearing was empty and silent again.

No ponies showed up to ask her anything, no birds landed on her totem to wake her up. After hopping out and habitually stretching her legs, she wondered where to go for the day. Judging from the scale of the preparations, the gathered snowpony tribes would likely be busy for at least a few more days, which left her with little to do.

After going through her options, she eventually decided to do something she hadn't done in a while: Go for a trot through the tundra. While she did go on many little trips with Gnarled Root and Spear Throw through the season, it was always with other ponies, and usually with a set goal, too. She missed the simple joy of wandering where her eyes took her, without anything to worry about.

Exiting the village through the south, she circled the outskirts, trotting northeast at a leisurely pace. Glancing at the ponies moving to and fro, she made her way towards the open plain, the snowy landscape stretching out into the horizon. The bizarre sense of infinity and endlessness that she felt the first time she laid her eyes on the tundra was mostly gone by now, though a spark of that wonder still remained. With a small smile, she reared up, and with a whoop, went from a trot to a gallop.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I wonder how far Nilas is... Or the sea."

After galloping for a while, Agate's pathfinding training kicked in. Even though she was trying to relax, her teachers were evidently quite good at their jobs, making keeping track of where she was second nature to the filly. She kept reflexively glancing left and right, memorizing the features, remembering the position of the Sun, the length of the shadows, and her relative position to Snowpitt.

Putting her skills to use, she did her best to remember her previous trips and some of the stories and directions she overheard the nomads talking about, successfully managing to find two of the "pony-guiding-stones", as the snowponies called them. Following their directions, she discovered a few (now frozen-over) watering holes and campsites, poking around for a bit before moving on.

The whole thing made her think of places even further away, such as the northern tribe's first settlement somewhere to the north, and their island outposts farther away still. Just how far away were they? Snowpitt's inhabitants already described the tundra as immensely vast and easy to get lost in, and the northerners claimed that their seas were even bigger than that.

Agate was a little tempted to gallop north just to see it. For someone raised in a valley with no real bodies of water to speak of, even seeing a lake for the first time was a fascinating experience for the filly. It was so wide, she couldn't even see the other shore in some places! And though that amount of water was astounding already, the sea was apparently far, far bigger than that. Hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of times bigger, if the snowponies could be trusted. And she didn't really see a reason for them to lie to her about that. According to them, they explored the northern sea for many generations now, and they still haven't discovered the other shore, only more and more islands.

"....Maybe someday," She eventually decided, turning back towards Snowpitt.

As she steadily galloped southwards, something in the distance caught her attention. Strange fireflies danced in her vision, their glow distracting her from her thoughts. Something niggled at her memories, the sight evoking images of galloping through the dark and snowy mountains. It almost looked like... Like...

"The crystal path!"

Changing her direction a little, she put on a burst of speed, a smile on her face. Though the memories were from the darkest chapter of her life, the glowing crystal path evoked nothing but warmth, reminding her of the amazingly warm welcome the snowponies gave her, providing her with a home and a place without even being able to talk to her.

It still took her no less than two hours of non-stop galloping to finally cover the distance. Stopping in front of the first crystal, she carefully ran her hoof across it, enjoying its gentle glow. With a slightly melancholy smile, she stepped on the path, following it towards Snowpitt.

Usually, Agate was quite well aware of her surroundings, but in this case, she got a little too lost in her memories. As such, she hadn't noticed the two ponies ahead of her almost until she walked right into them. Blinking, she returned to the present, examining the pair. It was a mare and a stallion, their gray coats helping them blend in the evening gloom. They had a sleigh with them, from which they were retrieving crystals one by one, adding to the path. They seemed to be almost finished, only half a dozen or so pieces remaining in the sleigh.

"So, are you the ones who build the paths for the lost spirits? Were you here last year, too?" Agate asked.

"WHAT!"

The mare jumped high into the air, shouting loudly. The stallion flinched, whirling towards Agate with wide eyes. Landing on her hooves, the mare turned around as well, raising a foreleg defensively. They blinked in surprise at Agate, who took a few steps back, folding her ears in embarrassment, pawing at the ground nervously.

"Um... Sorry for scaring you?"

Pursing her lips, the mare squinted her blue eyes at Agate. A few moments later, a smile split her muzzle. "Cheeky little foal, aren't you? Are you trying to scare us into becoming spirits, too? Heh, it was a good scare, but it'll take more than that to put me down."

"What, no! I was just following the path, and I just... Didn't see you there! I didn't even know you were here until I was right next to you!" Agate protested.

"And you thought you'd give us a reminder to always be watchful while in the tundra, eh? Heh heh," The mare chuckled.

Agate groaned, putting a hoof over her eyes. There was just no arguing with this mare. Clearly, she had already made up her mind about what happened. The stallion, however, was still wary of her.

"What do you mean, you were following the path? The Calling hasn't happened yet... Where'd you come from? And how did you get here?" He asked, his posture tense and his hackles raised, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

"I galloped," Agate replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "And I came from Snowpitt. I just went for a trot through the tundra, and saw the path in the distance as I was coming back. It... Brought back some memories, is all. Got a little lost in them and didn't see you there."

While Agate was explaining things to the stallion, the mare was examining her intently, squinting in the evening gloom. "Almost coatless... You're the traveler spirit, aren't you? Agate?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Finding out who she was seemed to put the apprehension the adults had towards her to rest. The stallion relaxed, while the mare went back to her sleigh with a chuckle. Picking up one of the remaining crystal pieces in her mouth, she went off towards the end of the glowing path, patting the snow a couple of times before depositing the crystal. After a glance at Agate, the stallion followed suit, pushing the sleigh forward and grabbing a crystal as well.

"I'm Snow Shoes, by the way," The mare introduced herself as she retrieved another crystal.

Agate nodded, reflexively peeking at the mare's hooves. Naturally, she wasn't wearing snowshoes, though she did have white socks that made it look like her legs were covered in snow. Agate wasn't sure if snowponies even knew what snowshoes were, given their ability to walk on snow with no trouble. Snow Shoes did seem to be extra good at it, not leaving a single mark while the stallion still left some shallow tracks as he plodded along.

"And I'm Wayfinder," The slightly darker-colored stallion said, picking up the last crystal and setting it down gently, turning back to examine the path with a critical eye once he was done.

"Looks nice and straight to me," Snow Shoes remarked.

"Suppose so. Have to aim it right, too. Can't have it leading away or past Snowpitt," He replied, turning around and searching for the village in the distance.

"It's good," Agate reassured him, spying the glow of her totem in the darkness. "It's aimed right at the village."

"I guess we're done here, then," The stallion said with a shrug, trotting over to the now empty sleigh. Grabbing the harness, he hitched himself up, with some help from Snow Shoes. Setting off at an easy trot, the pair went back towards Snowpitt, Agate following along.

Wayfinder kept looking around, while Snow Shoes was far more relaxed, humming a tune and smiling wryly while glancing at Agate now and then. Eventually, she spoke up.

"So, Agate, do you often go tromping through the tundra and looking for ponies to scare?"

"I told you, I didn't- You know what? No, I don't. You're actually the first ponies that I met on one of my trips. I think I'll make it a habit, though, but only if I see you."

The pair snorted, Wayfinder shaking his head and muttering under his breath. "Would do you some good to be more wary."

"Oh come on, the southerners are always going on about how much time they spend to keep their lands safe. It's not like they're making it up, either, you know that as well as I do. These months are the time to relax a little. I don't think you're being very polite to our hosts while being that high-strung," Snow Shoes replied with an eye roll.

"I... Guess you're right. Old habits die hard, though. Can't get too soft or I'll end up getting eaten when we go back north," He shrugged awkwardly.

"No one's asking you to get soft. Just relax a little. Being too cautious and jumping at every shadow is as much of a danger as being careless is."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"So you're northeners?" Agate asked, taking advantage of the lull in the conversation.

"Born and bred, yes," Snow Shoes said proudly, Wayfinder nodding along. "And you're... I'm not sure what to even call you. Southerner doesn't seem right, since you're from so much deeper south than the entire southern tribe."

"I'm a crystal pony," Agate replied with a shrug. "Doesn't mean much to you, I guess, but that's how we call ourselves."

"Right, crystal... That's what you said your people call the spirit stones, yes? Is that what brought you all the way out here from your lands? You saw the paths, and they reminded you of home?"

"Not really, no. We don't use these kinds of crystals at all back in the Empire, actually. They're all blue, red, or white. Some green here and there. I just saw the path when I was lost, from... Very far away, across the entire mountain range. It was the only hint of color that I could see in the darkness, so I went towards it."

"Really? That's a bit unusual, I think... I'm not really all that knowledgeable about spirits, but I didn't think that they could see the spirit stones from that far away. That's why we make the paths."

"Maybe it's because I'm a crystal pony," Agate shrugged again. "I think I can see them even better than the snowpony spirits can. This one time, during my trip through the mountains, I could even see... Huh..."

As she was talking, the filly looked back towards the crystal path, admiring the way it lit up the darkness. As she turned her head forward again, something odd flashed in the corner of her eye. Blinking, she tried to find whatever it was, but all she could see was the vast snowy plain all around her.

"Something wrong, Agate? Did you see something out there?" Snow Shoes asked, making Wayfinder tense up again.

"Nothing dangerous, if that's what you mean. Just... I'm not sure myself, give me a moment," Agate replied, performing one of her focusing exercises and sharpening her spirit sight.

Nothing immediately stood out to the filly. Sweeping her gaze back and forth a few times, she eventually saw the familiar glimmering, angular shape.

"Hm. Just a crystal in the snow. Nothing to worry about."

"Wait, where? That's not where the path is. Did we lose one? I don't see the glow..." Snow Shoes frowned a little, squinting in the direction that Agate was looking in.

"Maybe it sunk through. Suppose we should go retrieve it," Wayfinder shrugged, changing direction. "Can you point out where exactly it is, Agate?"

"Sure. Follow me, it's just over there."

The filly led them to a nondescript patch of tundra, making sure to keep her focus up. With a shrug, Snow Shoes began digging in the spot that Agate was pointing at, sending snow spraying in all directions. A minute later, she slowed down, looking a bit confused.

"Are you certain it's here? I still don't see anything, and I already almost reached the ground."

"Yup. You're almost touching it now," Agate reassured her, looking intently at a spot beneath the mare's hooves.

Hacking through the frost, Snow Shoes pulled out some frozen pieces of plants, examining them for a moment before popping them in her mouth and crunching loudly on the frozen snack. Seeing Agate's bemused look, she chuckled.

"What? You shouldn't waste food."

A few more strikes at the layer of frost revealed a glint of orange. With a victorious smile, the mare proceeded to uncover the citrine crystal before carefully picking it up.

"It's... It's not even charged," Wayfinder said with a confused frown, examining the dull crystal. "This isn't one of ours. All of the ones in the sleigh were glowing."

"...Maybe it's one we lost last year, or even a few years before," Snow Shoes proposed. "Not us personally, but you know. One of those that we lose every year."

"Do you lose a lot of crystals? What happens to them?" Agate inquired.

"Nothing unusual. Animals. The weather. Trickster spirits, or so some ponies say," Snow Shoes shrugged. "You know about the Calling, yes? How it attracts all kinds of creatures from the north? They sometimes stomp through the paths, scattering the spirit stones willy-nilly. Some get blown away or snowed over, and so on. We usually manage to find most of them, but the tundra plains are vast. A hooffull get lost every year."

"Hold up, how did you even see it? Spirits can't see regular spirit stones like that. The shamares need to work their magic on them first," Wayfinder asked, squinting at the crystal.

"Crystal pony," Was Agate's only answer, the tiniest hint of smugness in her expression.

"Hey, this is great! You could go hunting for lost spirit stones in your free time. I bet you could find loads of them if you can see them like that, even ones that were lost years and years ago!" Snow Shoes cried enthusiastically.

"...Can't exactly carry them, though."

"Oh. Right."

"I'm sure you would be able to find volunteers for your scavenger hunt," Wayfinder snorted, shaking his head. "But that can wait until tomorrow. For all the safety the southerners claim, I still don't want to stay around after nightfall longer than I have to. Let's go to Snowpitt."

"Alright, alright, we're going," Snow Shoes said placatingly, stowing the dark crystal in the stallion's sleigh.

The pair moved towards the village again, Agate tagging along. The trip went quietly at first, but it didn't take long for Snow Shoes to start peppering the filly with the usual questions about crystal ponies and life in the Empire. She was curious about the Crystal Heart's effects, especially the eternal summer under the shield.

"That sounds both amazing and terrifying at the same time. Warmth is nice, but to hold the seasons in one cycle forever... That is some serious magic."

"It's to balance out what's on the other side of the shield," Agate shrugged. "The land outside the shield is nearly eternally frozen, even worse than here, despite us being further south. The effects of the feast the windigoes had at the expense of our ancestor's squabbling and the subsequent winter still linger to this very day. When I went on my trip, there was already snow in the valley, even though it was only autumn."

"Wow..."

Wayfinder remained silent, though he did listen to their conversation quite attentively. They weren't too far from Snowpitt, and before long, they could see the faint lights coming from the closed windows of the houses. Agate kept them company for a while longer as they brought the sleigh to the now-familiar crystal storage shed. Unhitching himself, Wayfinder stretched with a pleased groan.

"Getting old for this..." He muttered under his breath.

"You're barely thirty," Snow Shoes snorted, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"Yup, really getting into my advanced years. You should pull the sleigh next year, I think. You're always going on about how you're faster than me."

The mare was about to reply with something rather crude, if her expression was anything to go by, but she remembered that Agate was standing nearby, watching the two with faint amusement. With a shake of her head, she turned towards the filly.

"Thank you for your company and the help finding the lost spirit stone, Agate. I'll be sure to tell the shamares about it tomorrow. I think we should go get some food in us now, though. The poor old lunk here clearly needs some energy."

"You're welcome. And thank you for making the paths. It was probably one of the paths you made that I saw from the mountains back then."

"Just doing our part. Scattering some spirit stones is easy. Other ponies contributed to the whole thing a lot more. Anyways, be seeing you," Snow Shoes said, waving goodbye.

Wayfinder gave her a parting nod as well, which Agate returned, the ponies going their separate ways. Returning to her clearing, she stayed out to stargaze for a little bit before going to sleep.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, the clearing was quiet again, though not for long.

As Agate woke up and stretched, trotting in place for a moment, she heard something in the distance. Flicking her ears this way and that, she noticed that the sound was getting closer. Figuring that whatever it was, it would likely reveal itself soon enough, she decided to sit down and wait.

It didn't take long. With some surprise, Agate saw a good dozen foals approaching her, laughing, shouting, and otherwise making more noise than it seemed possible for such an amount of ponies, as groups of foals tended to do. Blinking, she watched them get closer, most of them still roughhousing. For a moment, she thought that they were just passing by as they went somewhere else, but one by one, they started filtering into her clearing.

"Oh, is that her? Hello, spirit!" One of them shouted, pointing at Agate.

That caught the other's attention, and they slowly quieted down, gathering around the ghostly filly. Now that she was able to count them, there were fourteen in total, all of them around Agate's age, with a few being a couple years older. A few faces were vaguely familiar, likely locals from Snowpitt, but she didn't remember ever speaking to any of them before.

"Hello to you too. What brings you over this early? It's..." Glancing at the sky, she tried to determine the time, but it was still pitch black, and she couldn't find the moon. Nights had already gotten long enough that days were limited to a couple hours of feeble sunlight. "Well, I can't tell the time all that well, but it's probably early morning."

"We're going hunting!"

"No, doofus, we're going foraging!"

"You're both clueless, it's called scavenging!"

Agate watched the group argue with some confusion as they all shouted different answers at her. A few moments later, the chatter was cut through by a familiar voice.

"Searching is an appropriate term, too, since we're going to be looking for things we lost. Good morning, Agate," Snow Shoes greeted her, catching up to the gaggle of foals.

"Good morning, Snow Shoes. What's this all about?" The filly inquired, examining the mare. She was hitched up to the sleigh that Wayfinder was pulling the day before, looking a little sheepish.

"Well, I told the shamares that we finished the spirit paths yesterday, and I mentioned the thing with the lost spirit stone that you found. They were quite interested in that ability of yours, and told me to ask you if you would be interested in seeking out some more of them. However, you see, a few mares overheard us talking, and what with everyone being so busy, asked if I could involve their foals in this little hunt. The foals overheard too, and before I could say no or that I need to ask you if you're busy first, well..." She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"...Huh. Okay then," Agate blinked, after a moment of mulling it over. "I'm not busy today, no. We can go looking for crystals, no problem."

Naturally, the news made the foals explode in cheers, several of them zooming around excitedly.

"Yeah! We're going scavenging!"

"What's a kreestal?"

"I think that's what her tribe calls themselves, I remember listening to her story in the Great Hall."

"What? That's not right, she said we'd be looking for them."

"It's what my people calls spirit stones," Agate explained, raising her voice a little. "And we're crystal ponies, not just crystals. Anyway, uh... Let's go, I suppose? Snow Shoes will have to take the lead, though. We should probably look around where the paths usually are, and she knows their locations better than I do."

The mare nodded, raising her forelegs and clopping them together loudly, making the foals fold their ears instinctively at the sharp noise. "Alright, you crazy little swarm of fry, listen up. We're going outside the village, so if I tell you to do something, you do it, no questions asked. Yes, the tundra is as safe as safe can be right now, and even if some desperate animal didn't get spooked by the massive amount of caravans that passed through on their way to Snowpitt, we'll still be able to see them coming leagues away. Regardless, you should never get completely relaxed when you're outside village bounds. The most important thing is that you don't stray from the group. Stay near me, and everything's going to be alright. Let's go."

The gaggle of foals nodded, still talking animatedly, though the volume of their conversations went down almost to a whisper. After a moment of looking them over, Snow Shoes nodded back, turning east, the foals swarming after her. Agate followed along as well, taking a peek at the sleigh. It was mostly empty, though there were some sealed baskets and clay pots in it.

Unlike the day before, Snow Shoes didn't talk all that much, probably because of the foals she was keeping an eye on. The group circled the outskirts of the village, eventually exiting somewhere on the southeastern side. Squinting and rubbing her chin for a moment, Snow Shoes looked at the still-dark sky and her surroundings, eventually picking a direction. They trotted at a steady pace, the foals either trotting along or galloping ahead, though they seemed to have burned off most of their excess energy by that point, generally acting calmer.

Surprisingly soon, the mare stopped, turning to Agate. "Well, this is it. I think. Honestly, I have no idea how far the spirit stones got scattered from where they were placed. Might as well start looking around here, and circle Snowpitt at this distance."

"Alright," Agate replied, closing her eyes and focusing. A small part of her mind noticed her surroundings going deathly quiet, and it wasn't just from her concentrating on her other senses. When she opened her eyes again, she saw all the foals staring at her silently, their expressions full of wonder. Snow Shoes was looking on curiously as well, blinking slowly.

"You have... Interesting looking eyes, Agate."

"I know. There's more differences in how I look than just my lack of a long coat. Anyway... Let me see if there's anything around here."

The filly took a few steps ahead, the foals parting around her. Scanning the snow, she turned her head in every direction, eventually turning in a full circle. She could see the glow of a crystal path in the distance, but there were no loose crystals buried in the snow that she could see.

"Nope. Nothing," She concluded, to the visible disappointment of the foals. "Hey, calm down. The tundra is huge, there's no way we'd have found something on the first try. Let's keep going."

Agate took point this time, going towards the crystal path, scanning the snow intently every step of the way, her entourage following along. She kept quiet so as not to lose her focus on her spirit sight, and the others remained silent as well, likely not wanting to disturb her. The entire group glided across the snowy landscape almost soundlessly, the only noise being the very faint susurrations of the sleigh being dragged along. If someone were to stand with their backs to them, they likely wouldn't even have heard their passing at all, the fifteen ponies being as silent as the ghost that was leading them.

It couldn't last forever, though. Eventually, when they almost reached the glowing path, Agate noticed a stray crystal off to the side. It was a little hard to understand what she was seeing with her spirit sight, seeing as there were both properly placed crystals nearby and a (probably) lost crystal, but after a minute of making sure, she nodded confidently, pointing to the spot.

"I see one. Half a dozen paces or so to the left of the path, under the snow. Don't mess up the path itself."

That broke the floodgates, and the foals excitedly surged towards the spot that Agate indicated like a swarm of fluffy piranhas. Evidently, their snowwalking abilities could be used in more ways than one, as they started digging and spraying snow in every direction faster than it seemed possible. Snow Shoes just covered her eyes with a foreleg, a slightly crooked smile on her face as her front half was buried in moments.

"That's... A bit to the... Well, never mind, I think you all have it well in hoof..." Agate trailed off, giving up trying to give them a more precise location.

Shaking off the snow, Snow Shoes chuckled, patting Agate on the back. "Yup, best to just let them do their thing. I'm sure they'll have more fun this way, anyway."

It took a few more minutes, but one filly eventually cried in triumph, hacking at the frost beneath the snow with her hooves. "Ha! I got it!"

Some foals cheered, while others pouted in disappointment. Smiling, Snow Shoes went to the filly, giving her a pat and stowing the crystal in her sleigh. "Good job, but that's just one. Let's see how many more we can find, alright?"

"Yeah!"

At a glance from the mare, Agate nodded, focusing up once more. A moment later, she was ready to go again, casting her gaze around.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I think I found the most of them."

"No way, I did."

"If you want to argue which one of you found more, then you need to remember that it was actually Agate that saw them all first," Snow Shoes reminded the two arguing foals wryly, watching their ears fold in embarrassment.

It was a gradual process, but over several hours, the group managed to hunt down a good forty lost crystals one by one. Dawn (though the actual time was closer to midday) eventually came, the sun barely peeking past the horizon this time, giving everything a faint, ghostly illumination.

Snow Shoes took that as a signal to take a break, unhitching herself from the sleigh and retrieving the baskets and pots that Agate saw earlier. They were full of food, which got parceled out between the foals and herself. Agate took the opportunity to rest her eyes a little, splaying out in the snow while the others were crunching on dried fish and other preserved goods.

Once the break was over, Snow Shoes tidied up, putting the baskets back and hitching herself up again. Trotting up to Agate, she looked the filly over curiously. "You know, I don't really have much experience in working with spirits, and doubly so for foal spirits. Are you... Okay there, Agate? Do you need a break?"

"M'fine," Agate waved her hoof, rolling over and slowly standing up. "This is good practice for my spirit sight, I think. Dreamcatcher and the other shamares said that the only way to get good is not just to practice, but also to push your limits when you're able to."

"Alright then. You're our tracker, so whenever you're ready."

With a nod, Agate took a moment to confirm her location and the direction she was facing before setting off again, sniffing out - or, rather, seeking out - their metaphorical prey, her hunting party obediently following along.

They ended up spending the entire day on their task, scouring the area around Snowpitt in a large semi-circle as Agate led them in a zig-zag pattern, covering as much ground as possible. After another snack break and a whole lot of enthusiastic digging, their final tally was somewhere around a hundred crystals, which was almost enough to fill the sleigh to the brim. Snow Shoes was very pleased, as were the foals, who looked very proud of their contribution. Agate had to remind herself once again that crystals were more valuable here than in the Empire, as back home, such an amount wouldn't be all that impressive.

"Hoo. Okay, pulling a fully loaded sleigh is not that easy, heh," Snow Shoes chuckled, her posture slightly slumped. "Guess I owe Wayfinder an apology. Come on, little ones, let's go deliver these to the shamares so I can unhitch myself from this thing."

The foals cheered, picking up the pace slightly as the group made their way back towards Snowpitt. As they entered the village, Agate saw that the defensive ice wall that was being built over the last few days seemed to be complete. It wasn't all that tall, barely taller than an adult stallion, but it looked very smooth and slippery, with no place to get an easy hoofhold. They entered through a small gap, a pair of guards with spears giving them nods.

The village seemed a lot calmer now, all the ponies settled in, finished with their preparations, gift giving, trading, and all the other little tasks they were so busy with. Some foals were having fun building creepy, grimacing faces out of snow on top of the walls, using little steps made of ice blocks to clamber up, carrying little bits of snow and ice with mischievous expressions. The adults were watching them with faint amusement, giving bits of advice here and there on how to best make the snow stick together.

Snow Shoes led the group towards the ceremonial grounds in the village center first, instead of the crystal storage shed by Dreamcatcher's house, like Agate expected her to. Once they reached their destination, she saw why - the shamares were gathered there, along with a number of other ponies. Final preparations of some kind were being made there, with a huge stack of thick logs now present in the giant firepit, a few shamares fussing over it, murmuring and sprinkling the timber with some kind of substances they were pulling from small clay jars. Just like last year, the firepit was ringed with charged crystals, their orange glow already making the place look like it was bathed in the warm orange glow from a bonfire.

The shamares nodded to Snow Shoes as she approached the largest group, where most of the elders were congregating. Blizzard Heart stretched out her forelimbs, casting a quick glance over the group of foals before addressing the mare.

"Welcome back, Snow Shoes. How did your little expedition go?"

"You tell me, elder. I'm not a merchant, so I don't really know how much all this is worth. I think it's a pretty impressive haul, though," The mare replied, gesturing towards the sleigh.

Standing up, the shamare ambled over to the sleigh, looking in. For the first time since Agate saw her, a faint hint of surprise showed up on her usually expressionless face. She reached in to pick up a crystal, wiping off some pieces of frost and dirt stuck to it, examining it for a few moments before putting it back, looking at the nearly full cargo compartment.

"That is... Quite a haul indeed. And you found all of these just out there, lost in the tundra? Hrm. The young spirit has some truly interesting skills," She mumbled, rubbing her chin and giving Agate a sidelong look.

"It's really easy for me to see them. I didn't even train to do it or anything. When I use my spirit sight, I'm able to see them even through solid rock," Agate explained, which made Blizzard Heart look even more interested.

As they were talking, other ponies approached the group, mainly a number of mares. Evidently, they were the foal's families, as the young ones immediately started chattering to the adults about their day and how they were totally the ones that found the most spirit stones. The parents smiled approvingly, though they were also discreetly glancing at Snow Shoes as their foals talked. The mare rolled her eyes, and (also discreetly) pointed at Agate with a wry smile, which led the parents to change their expressions to something more skeptical. After a minute of squirming, the foals admitted that Agate was the one that actually found them all, which led to some gentle admonishments from the adults.

"It is good to strive and achieve things, younglings, but you should remember that trying to claim things others did as your own is no different than stealing," One mare lectured her daughter. "Now, what did you actually do, hmmm?"

"W-well, I helped dig out at least ten of them of myself..."

"See? You did your part. No need to try and make up things for no reason. You did well," The mother smiled, mussing up the embarrassed filly's mane.

After similar scenes played out with some of the other foals, the adults turned from lecturing to rewarding them for their hard work (though that was probably a lesson in itself, too), digging through their saddlebags and pulling out small clay jars of nuts, sweet berries, honey, and other treats for the foals, much to their shrieking approval.

"Um... I'm sorry, kind spirit, but I don't really have any treats for you..." One mare said awkwardly, seeing Agate watching the whole thing.

Agate snorted, shoving a hoof on her mouth so as not to burst out laughing. "It's-it's okay," She gasped, shaking a little from suppressed laughter. "I wasn't looking for any. I barely even remember what it's like to eat things."

The shamares chuckled while the mare smiled awkwardly. As the parents led their foals away, a few other shamares came over to examine their haul, whistling at the full sleigh. They patted Snow Shoes on the back appreciatively, while Agate received headpats.

"Wish I could find a jar of honey you could eat, Agate, but it seems that our thanks will be all that we're able to give," Earthsong sighed, rubbing one particularly dirty crystal clean.

"No worries. You helped me plenty. It's nice to return the favor."

"Satisfying as a good deed is, though, I think I'm done for the day," Snow Shoes groaned, stretching out a hindleg. "Should I bring these to the storage shed?"

"Yes. Don't think we forgot about you, though. Here. A little something for when we go back north," Blizzard Heart grunted, slipping a small package into the sleigh.

"Thank you, elder. Goodbye, Agate. It's been fun," Snow Shoes nodded, moving away.

"Goodbye, Snow Shoes."

The mare pulled the sleigh away with a small grunt, while the shamares went back to their seats. Blizzard Heart sat down on a log, beckoning Agate over. With a slight tilt of her head, the filly complied, sitting down next to the snowy mare. A number of familiar shamares were around, doing this and that. True Sight was slowly sipping on a cup of tea while she observed the proceedings in the firepit, while Sky Breath was slowly carving something out of a hunk of wood with a knife. Earthsong had cleared a tiny patch of snow from the ground, tapping the earth in a lazy rhythm. After a moment of contemplating something, Blizzard Heart spoke up.

"Could you tell me more about your ability to see the spirit stones through rock, Agate? When did you discover this skill?"

"A few days... No, I think it was more than a week ago now. Anyway, it was on my trip back to Dream Valley. When I discovered that mineshaft where Dreamcatcher later showed up in my dream, I had to go through a collapsed part. It was completely dark, but I could see some kind of glimmering shapes anyway, which turned out to be crystals when I got closer to take a look at one. I didn't even try to do it, but it happened. When I focus and use my spirit sight, I can see them very clearly now, through snow, frost, earth, and everything else. I think I always had a knack for it, though... I did see the crystal path across the entire mountain the first time," Agate mused, digging through her memories.

Blizzard Heart nodded, contemplating something with half-lidded eyes. After sitting silently for a few minutes, the old mare spoke. "Would you be willing to go on an expedition northwards, Agate?"

Agate's eyes went a little wide, thinking about the completely unexpected question. As she pondered her answer, True Sight flicked an ear in their direction, raising an eyebrow. "What's this about, Blizzard?"

"Spirit stones. Or a lack of them," Blizzard Heart replied evenly. At True Sight's still-raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "We might be running out of them soon. Needless to say, that would be a problem."

Several shamares frowned at the news. True Sight blinked in surprise. "That's the first time I'm hearing about this. When did this happen?"

"It might have been slowly happening for some time now, but first I heard of it was just this autumn. I overheard the miners that made the delivery of the spirit stones talking about how the deposits are getting "tapped out". When I questioned them about it, they explained that they're still finding spirit stones, but they're getting scared to dig any deeper in some places, as ponies can hear the distant roar of the sea through the rock. Kind of a hazard when you're digging around on an island, I suppose. And though it's been, hmmm... Dusty memories, how many years has it been since our tribe discovered the spirit stones?"

"Five, six hundred years? Or was it seven? I suppose we're lucky the deposits on that island were sufficient for that long of a time," True Sight mused.

"Right. We didn't need much, so ponies would only dig out a crate or two every year. Still, I suppose we were bound to run out some day, and unlike plants or fish in the waters, the spirit stones do not replenish themselves. Which is not something to panic about, but it might become an issue in the future. And yet, as our luck would have it, we are presented with a curious, foreign solution..."

It was blindingly obvious what the "foreign" solution Blizzard Heart referring to was, as the gathered shamares all immediately looked towards Agate, their expressions thoughtful. The filly squirmed a bit at the attention, her tail twitching. She expected them to say something more, but the elders remained quiet, not saying anything else. Gathering her thoughts, she spoke.

"You want me to... Become a northern explorer? To find another island with more crystal deposits?"

The task seemed a little daunting, but Agate felt some excitement, as well. She'd already heard lots of stories about all the crazy stuff happening in the north, and she was at least somewhat curious to go and see some of it. And while she had no idea about how to prospect and look for minerals, she was pretty sure that being able to see crystals through rock made her lack of formal training or knowledge irrelevant.

"Ah... Huh. I actually didn't think of that," Blizzard Heart mused, smacking her lips. "I would just have asked you to go take a look around at Shear, and maybe see if you can find more safe deposits there. Finding more islands would be quite good, though."

"Shear?"

"It's the island's name. Comes from the fact that it's so flat, like there was a hill that was shorn flat by the raging winds."

"Right, well... I... Well, I actually am interested in going to see more of the northern lands, and I don't have any real reason to say no, but..."

"But you have a duty to your kin," True Sight finished, her sharp eyes gazing at the filly with understanding.

"Yes, though I'm out of leads for now. I've been to the valley, I looked around, I did some other stuff... I have some plans and thoughts, but they'll take some time to actually do. I think I could go, if... If Icicle comes back from his expedition without managing to find out anything new."

"Icicle? Can't say I'm familiar with that name... What's this expedition in the middle of winter? Ponies almost never do those," True Sight scratched her head, a few shamares looking confused as well.

"He's going - well, him and a whole bunch of other ponies are going to Dream Valley later this winter. They want to take a look at some places that I missed on my trip," Agate explained, which made the shamare's eyes light up in understanding.

"Oh, that. Right, Long Stride came to ask us if there were any younger shamares that would be interested in going on a trip a couple days ago. I was too busy asking him if he was mad to inquire much about the actual details of the journey," The old mare chuckled, several other shamares smiling and shaking her heads. "I wasn't sure if he was seriously planning something or just toying with some ideas, but I suppose this answers my question."

"Yeah, they're planning it for real. A young stallion - Icicle - visited me yesterday. He wanted to know every detail that I knew about Dream Valley. I don't think that they set a time yet, but it sounds pretty serious. Long Stride himself will be going, apparently, but he let Icicle take the lead. So, yes. If they don't manage to find any more clues as to where the rest of the crystal ponies disappeared to... Well, I'd be happy to go travelling through the north for a while," Agate explained, looking off into the distance thoughtfully.

"Hrm. Well, I suppose that such a trip might be good experience..." True Sight trailed off, lost in her thoughts.

Picking up the conversation, Blizzard Heart spoke up. "You have my gratitude, Agate. Now, we still have the whole winter ahead of us before we return north, so don't worry about this entire thing. I'll go talk to Long Stride once we're a little less busy. Lots of things to do yet."

"Like the Calling?" Agate asked, looking sidelong at the firepit. The shamares were still puttering around it, doing shamare stuff.

"Indeed, the preparations are complete."

"When are you going to do it?"

"Tomorrow, at the last twilight of the day and night of the season." Seeing Agate's confusion, she elaborated. "The Long Night approaches. Tomorrow will be the last time we see even the tiniest sliver of the sun, until the next season starts. The dark will be cold and long, but it is in this dark that our beacons will burn the brightest, which will lead our lost kin to us."

Agate nodded, idly watching the shamares putter around the clearing. The conversation died off, the elders sitting quietly in either a contemplative or a melancholy mood - it was hard to tell. A few of the younger ones kept talking quietly, though they were hushed and subdued as well.

The hour grew late, and it didn't take long for the elders to start getting sleepy. Silent nods were exchanged as goodbyes, and one by one, they started filtering out of the ceremonial grounds. The younger ones soon followed suit, and Agate went with them, going back to her totem. She lingered for a moment once she got to her clearing, but decided to go to sleep. It had been a long day.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, Agate didn't stay around her totem for long. There was a strange nervous energy in the air, something that made her ethereal hair stand up and gave her goosebumps. It wasn't too hard to guess what it was - as she was stretching and looking around, she saw several ponies in the distance, all of them moving towards the village center. Despite it being morning, the village was otherwise empty and quiet - which meant that ponies were already congregating in the ceremonial grounds, even though there was still a fairly large amount of time until the ritual started.

Besides the fact that she didn't really have anything important to do that day, Agate was quite interested in the whole spirit-summoning ritual, so she decided to join the ponies heading towards the ceremonial grounds. The snowy roads were quiet, and that didn't change once she got closer to the village center. Usually, large crowds of ponies always produced noise, a constant drone of conversation and activity. However, that was not the case this time.

As always, the snowponies trotted through the snow without making a sound, passing by noiselessly towards their destinations. The ones already gathered were mostly sitting quietly, or talking under their breaths, their conversations swallowed up by the muffling effect of the snow that was piled up on almost every surface. Some were sitting with their eyes closed, not asleep but not entirely present, either. Agate had seen shamares do such things plenty of times, but seeing regular, everyday snowponies act like this was a bit unusual.

Making her way to a more open spot, Agate looked around, taking in the entirety of the ceremonial grounds. There weren't as many ponies there as she thought at first, but more were slowly filtering in, despite the still-early hours. No shamares were present yet, which likely meant that nothing was going to happen until they showed up. Glancing around some more, she looked for a secluded spot where she could sit down and wait, but before she could find one, a soft sound of a song reached her ears.

Usually, she wouldn't have tried to find who was singing it. It didn't sound like the kind of song one sang to an audience, or even wanted to have an audience for it at all. However, the voice was oddly familiar, though for the life of her, Agate couldn't place it. Turning her ears left and right, she tried to pin down the singer's location, slowly moving in their direction.

A few moments later, she saw her. A middle-aged mare, golden eyes, gray coat, and mane the color of faded straw. She was holding a tiny wooden figurine of a pony in her hooves, seemingly singing to it. A stallion was by her side, with two fillies between them. Though she hadn't seen her in almost a year, Agate recognized the mare immediately. Eyes wide, she furiously racked through her memory, trying to recall her name.

"I haven't even learned their tongue yet by then. In fact, I think her name was the first thing I ever said in the snowpony language. Think, Agate, think... R? No. B, H? No... I think it was a G... G, g... Two words, actually, both starting with G... Glad? No, but something with "Gla"..."

Meanwhile, the mare continued to sing, unaware of the spirit filly watching her.

"A star
Has fallen down
Her light is out
She's quiet now

So hush
Don't be afraid
It's time to rest
It's getting late

Don't worry about the past
Let's make this moment last
Know I'll remember you forever
The star will rise at night
I'll see you shining bright
And one day we'll be there together

My child
My sunshine
You're safe now
It's fine now

Get warm
By my side
Don't cry now
It's fine now

Don't worry about the past
Let's make this moment last
Know I'll remember you forever
I'll see you in the stars
We'll never be too far
And one day we'll be there together."

"Glacier. Her name is Glacier... Glacier Glider," Agate finally remembered, or rather, recreated the mare's name by sounding it out in her head as she remembered saying it. Fidgeting in place, she wondered whether she should approach the mare or not.

After a minute of indecision, Agate screwed up her courage, taking a few steps forward. She wasn't all that close to the family yet, but it was enough to bring her into their peripheral vision. Glacier kept her gaze on the little wooden figurine, while her husband's eyes were firmly on his wife. However, one of the fillies idly glanced at Agate, turning her head towards the spirit fully a moment later, her eyes wide. After taking a good long look at Agate, she smiled faintly, poking her mother in the side.

It took her a good five tries, but eventually the mare blinked, wrenching her gaze from the figurine and turning towards her daughter with a confused expression. Wordlessly, the filly pointed towards Agate, Glacier slowly following the filly's hoof to where she was pointing. There was no recognition whatsoever in her expression at first, which made Agate fold her ears in disappointment.

However, slowly, Glacier's confusion turned to thoughtfulness, and then to recognition. It was a curiously slow process, as it took a couple minutes each for her expression to slowly change from a confused frown to a discerning squint, and then a slowly growing smile. The mare was clearly a million miles away just then, but bit by bit, she dredged up the knowledge of just who this little spirit was from the recesses of her memory.

"Hello, Glacier Glider," Agate spoke quietly. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something."

"Arg- hmm. Agate! Hello to you too, little mysterious traveler. Don't worry, you're not interrupting anything. It is nice to see you again, and more importantly, to see you doing so much better for yourself. Well... Relatively speaking, of course," The mare coughed, looking over Agate's ethereal form.

"Yeah... I really am doing better, though, all things considered. Before I came across Snowpitt, I was afraid I might end up wandering around in the dark forever. There's still some things that I need to do and I'm not sure how I'm going to do them, but that's immeasurably better than sitting somewhere on a mountainside forever."

"Oh, you poor foal... I heard what happened to your people. That's a massive burden that you chose to take on yourself, Agate. Are you sure you'll be able to pull through?"

"Oh, what's the worst that could happen? I could get into a bad situation and die? Oh, wait..." Agate replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes a little.

Both fillies started giggling, while the stallion turned away, coughing into a hoof. Glacier Glider blinked slowly, before letting out a loud snort. "Well, I see that you certainly adapted to being a spirit exceptionally well. Most ponies... Well, they don't do that well," She trailed off, glancing at the wooden figure she was still holding. Shaking her head, she continued. "How are you managing, then? What have you been up to while we were away?"

"Oh, all sorts of things. I've been learning a lot, first and foremost. Language, then stories, then... Lots of stuff. Pathfinding, herbs, history, things about the other tribes, all the kinds of creatures you can find around here, some magic here and there. I even ended up teaching the shamares some magic."

"Really now, teaching shamares? You're becoming quite the little lorekeeper, aren't you? All this in less than a year..."

"Not really. I just know some bits of magic snowponies don't, and it's barely anything. And there's still so much I have no clue about. I barely even know what's going on right now, even. All I know about the Calling is the part that the shamares do, and what happens afterwards, but... Well, that's it, more or less. All the other ponies look almost like they're doing shamare stuff too, though."

"Ah, I see. Well, it is rather simple, Agate. Needless to say, during an event like this, your thoughts inevitably turn towards death, and those of your kin that you lost. Before and after the Calling, most ponies tend to engage in... Remembrance, I'd call it. Even though we get to say goodbye, the loss still tends to hurt on days like this, especially if a pony was taken before their time, like... Like you," Glacier Glider explained, looking sidelong at the wooden figurine again. Agate had the feeling that the mare was about to say something other than "you".

"Did... Did you lose..?"

"...Her name was Dancing Flurry," Glacier began, holding the figurine up for Agate to see. It wasn't very detailed, but clearly lovingly made and well-kept, the edges worn smooth. "It's been two winters now, and it almost doesn't hurt any more. Almost."

"Oh. I'm sorry..."

"Come now, don't be like that, you don't need to give me your condolences. Things like that happen, terrible as they are. You, though... You lost everything, and worst of all, you didn't even get to say goodbye. I'm sorry for your loss, Agate, I really am. Would you like a hug?"

"...Yeah."

Glacier Glider passed the figurine to her husband, which he stashed in his mane. Coming towards the mare's outstretched hooves, Agate was engulfed in a fluffy hug, much like the first time the two met, though Glacier didn't try to smother her this time. Relaxing, Agate took the time to enjoy the rare sensation of touch and warmth. They stayed there for a good while, sitting in silence much like the other ponies. Still, eventually Agate stepped back, sitting down on the ground.

"Thank you."

"Any time."

Glacier patted the ground next to her, inviting Agate to scooch closer. Sighing, the filly complied, laying down on the opposite side of where Glacier's daughters and husband were. They didn't talk, though Glacier Glider soon broke the silence.

"Say, Agate... What about your family? Do you have anything to remember them by, or remember them with?"

"Not really... What do you mean, remember them with?"

"Well, I mean... On days like this, we tend to talk about all of our kin, not just the recently departed. Knowing your family history is important, after all. So. I am Glacier Glider, sister of Ice Crack, daughter of Sure Grip and Steady Spear, granddaughter of Wind Whistler and Crushing Hoof on my mother's side, Silent River and Stout Pine on my father's side, great-granddaughter..."

Agate's eyes went a little wider with each name Glacier mentioned. Sure, Agate knew her grandparents, and they mentioned her great-grandparents a few times, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to list all of her ancestors like that, even if the mare didn't seem to know anything besides the names of the oldest ones that she listed.

"So... Would you like to share anything about your family? You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you bury things somewhere in the back of your mind, you might find that you'll forget them completely someday."

Agate frowned, thinking about her family. She did miss them, but not to the point of not being unable to talk about them. However, she almost never mentioned them to anyone during the time she spent with the snowponies. Whenever they had questions for her, they almost always were about the Empire and crystal ponies in general, not specifically about her. To her unpleasant surprise, she found that she couldn't remember the details of her parent's faces as well as she used to. Time was already taking it's toll.

"I... My name is Agate. Daughter of Radiant Cut, my father, and Garnet Necklace, my mother. My paternal grandfather is Coal Hoof, and my grandmother is Crochet Hook. My mother's parents... They don't talk to us. I don't even know who they are. My dad's brother is Obsidian Spear, my uncle..." Agate kept talking as long as she could, quietly refreshing the details of her family in the back of her mind. Silently, she vowed to do this more often, even if there was no one to listen to her. It would be supremely ironic for her to potentially spend years looking for her family, only to find that, in the end, she forgot how they even looked like...

Glacier's family listened to every word, even trying to memorize the foreign names. Once Agate was finished, Glacier Glider nuzzled her, smiling sadly. "Usually, different families discuss their family trees only when they become one, such as in marriage. Still, I would be honored to call you family, Agate, even if it would be mostly symbolic. I'd make a poor mother, only showing up for the winter months."

Agate blinked, chewing on what she just heard. "I might be going north soon, actually... Not forever, but for a while. One of your elder shamares asked me for some help with something."

"Really? I suppose they don't call you a traveler spirit for nothing. Can you tell me what's the reason?"

The conversation turned towards far less emotionally heavy then, the group discussing Agate's present and future plans along with her various exploits and ponies that she met, Glacier's fillies sometimes asking to clarify various details. Time quickly went by, their chat only interrupted by a short food break. As the family was eating some dried fish, Agate looked around. A lot more ponies were present now, most of those that had been waiting since early morning getting a quick bite to eat.

It didn't take long to see the reason for their rush to fill their bellies and get their strength up. There was the faintest hint of light in the eastern sky, the dark of the night barely lit up by the very edges of the Sun. The last twilight of the season was here, and the ritual would soon begin. Out in the distance, she could see some dancing lights between the houses, slowly but steadily approaching the ceremonial grounds. Torchbearers, most likely, coming to light the huge bonfire.

It was time for the Calling.

Author's Note

Snow Shoes.

And Wayfinder.

Northern Lights

The group continued gazing out towards the tundra for some time, but besides some far-off howls and roars, nothing interesting happened. Eventually, their observations were interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn from True Sight. Stretching her legs, the elder shamare grumbled under her breath a bit before turning away from the wall and slowly cantering away.

"Doesn't look like we're going to see anything interesting tonight. You younglings are free to stay and watch, but these old bones are calling me to bed. Goodnight."

Earthsong weighed her options for a moment before shrugging and following True Sight, after giving a goodbye nod to the trio of spirits. Agate glanced towards the ice wall, her demeanor curious.

"Is this something that ponies do during the Calling? Stand near the walls, and... What would you call it? Monster-watching?"

The other spirits chuckled, nodding in amusement. "Yes," Gnarled Root confirmed. "It's an odd mix between curiosity at what's out there, looking for some excitement without putting yourself in actual danger, and sometimes, showing off that you're not afraid. The last bit is popular among hotheaded teenagers. Fortunately, the sentries tend to step in before they do something really rash, like start jumping over the fence and competing which one of them can get closer to the monsters without getting eaten."

Spear Throw snorted at that, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath. Agate waited a moment for him to elaborate on whatever it was that he said, but the stallion remained silent. Shrugging, she cast her gaze across the tundra one last time. When no strange monsters or spirits showed up, she hopped off the snow ramp she was sitting on, noiselessly landing on the ground.

"Well, it doesn't look like we're going to see anything tonight, and it is getting late... I think? How do ponies manage to tell the time during the dark parts of winter, really? I guess it's possible when the Moon is out, but if the aurora is in the sky too, you can't even see the stars most of the time."

Gnarled Root scratched her head while Spear Throw shrugged. "Honestly, we don't really know. It's a bit easier for living ponies, since they can track the time by how quickly they get hungry, and things like that. When we became spirits, well... We kind of stopped bothering with it. The winter will pass, as it always does."

"Huh. Okay. Well, I think I'll go to my totem now. I'll see you two later."

"Of course. And feel free to drop by any time. We really don't have much of anything to do in winter anyway."

"Will do. Bye!"

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent the next few "days" out and about, wandering through Snowpitt and eagerly drinking in all of the new sights and experiences. Between the large number of western and northern tribesponies, the creatures prowling the village outskirts, and the ponies partaking in various odd customs for the Calling, there were certainly things to see.

The new arrivals were certainly a curious bunch. On one hoof, they seemed barely different from the local snowponies of Snowpitt - they had long, fluffy coats, were resistant to cold, loved fish, and, from what Agate had seen so far, they had identical societies. The chieftains led them, the shamares did shamare stuff and gave out advice, and the individual ponies did whatever they were good at.

On the other hoof, all of that changed every time they started telling stories. Though Agate would never even remotely describe the southerners as cowardly, the northerners seemed brave almost to the point of complete recklessness. Even though they all heavily stressed the importance of proper preparations before any expedition and cautioned the listeners not to try something they didn't have the proper experience for, immediately after, they'd launch into the craziest and wildest tales.

"Killing a floewolf? Yeah, no, we never figured that one out. Sure, you can "kill" one a whole bunch of times - not that that's an easy feat, mind you - but their spirits are really strong. Other animals, they live and breathe, and when you manage to take one down, it's not coming back, even if it's bigger, more dangerous and powerful than a floewolf. But those things? Solid ice, all the way through. Smash it to pieces, and it'll fly off to make itself another body, good as new. Ponies say that the wolf's spirit just dives into a glacier or any other large collection of pure ice, and starts working its magic. Takes them less than a day, according to the ones that saw the whole process. Of course, if you find one forming a body and you have something nice and heavy, like a mace or a good sledgehammer, well... Let's just say that, with a few good swings, you can really ruin its mood - and hour's worth of effort, heh heh.

Ah right, the whole "pure ice" thing. Took ponies a while to really notice that part of their behavior, but they really dislike taking ice that has dirt, rocks, or any other impurities in it. Sometimes, they try to stick their old body back together, but if you break it really badly, they'll wander off to make a new one. And if there's no large deposits of ice nearby, you're likely safe for quite a while.

Anyway, floewolves are probably not the worst thing that's roaming the north, but they're really strange and unpredictable. Flesh and blood creatures tend to stick to their territories, and we can understand most of them - they're just doing their part in the great dance of life, just as we are, and we're not angry at them when they try to make prey of us. But the stranger things, like floewolves... Well, they're a part of nature, certainly, but it's not a part we can make sense of. They wander seemingly without aim, riding the currents of the sea from one island to another, sticking around for indeterminate amounts of time before moving on. It's how they got the name - at first, they just look like regular, small ice floes floating in the water, you know? But then, you notice the legs, the claws and the fangs. And even though - as far as we can tell, anyway - they don't actually need to eat, they're still very enthusiastic hunters. With all that in mind, and the fact that breaking one's body only results in its pride getting injured and it coming back even angrier... Let's just say that there have been some creative attempts at getting rid of one permanently.

At first, we just tried to smash them, of course. Again and again and again and again. Surely there had to be a limit to how many times it could come back, right? It turned out that, no, there isn't one. Ponies tried hunting them, too - as in, smash one to bits, then chase the spirit down and keep smashing the body as it's trying to rebuild it. Didn't work either, but we did learn that if you humiliate one several times, it'll give up the hunt and flee far, far away, further than we could chase them, and likely stay away for a long time. Which was great, sure, but ponies are curious and inventive creatures, sometimes too much so.

One old hunter, Smoky Mane, got it into his head that, since the wolves were made of ice, they surely had to be terrified of fire. It wasn't the worst assumption to make, but... Well, the things can produce enough cold to freeze seawater, so I'd doubt that any sort of fire we could make would scare them. Anyway, Smoky didn't think so, and he found plenty of ponies interested in going on a floewolf hunt. His idea was to make a big pit trap, stuff it with easily flammable twigs and branches, and melt the wolf after they trapped it. He thought that the experience would be so terrifying for the wolf, it would never come back.

Some say that he didn't really think any part of his plan through, given all the difficulties that he faced. Firstly, the ground in the north is either very hard and rocky, frozen most of the time, or both, which makes digging pit traps hard. And floewolves never roam in summer, which meant that they had to do it in winter. Secondly, trees aren't exactly common in the north... At all. As such, getting enough fuel was quite a challenge, even with an entire band of hunters helping. And lastly, they had to work both quickly and stealthily once they found one, before it simply wandered away.

Still, they were determined, I'll give them that. It took them weeks, but they managed to gather a fair amount of firewood, stacked it in their kayaks, and went off to find a floewolf. Following the reports from other hunters and fisherponies, they tracked one to an empty island, and set to work. Lucky for them, they discovered a natural divot, which they quickly got to deepening. Soon, the trap was set, and the only thing left was the quarry.

Now, luring a floewolf where you want it to go is actually pretty easy. Unlikely as it is, if you ever find yourself chased by one, remember a few things: they swim fast, and run quite quickly over even terrain. And since they have no fear of death, they charge right at you, heedless of what's in their path. However, their icy claws actually give them absolutely terrible traction - if you make sharp turns, they'll slip up trying to catch you. Some ponies have made them fall off the sides of ravines and cliffs that way, and if you climb a steep hill, you can trip them up and make them crash to the bottom by simply throwing a rock at the right time.

Anyways, the trap was set, the wolf was there, and Smoky took it upon himself to lure it in, while his companions lay hidden in the snow near the pit. After getting the floewolf's attention by tossing a rock at it's head - great for making any kind of beast angry, really - he galloped away, the wolf going right where he wanted it to. Once Smoky dodged out of the way and the wolf fell in, his companions jumped out, swinging at its legs with hammers and maces and forcing it to stay in the pit. Several of the hunters brought fire charms, which they quickly tossed inside.

Now, the wolf didn't exactly enjoy the ground beneath it suddenly bursting into flames, but it didn't seem to be particularly terrified. Not only that, but the heat wasn't nearly enough to melt it, as it kept thrashing around and trying to climb out of the pit, seemingly with very little damage from the fire. After waiting for a bit, the disappointed hunters were forced to admit that the plan was a failure. Still, the creature was badly disadvantaged, so it took them little effort to smash it to bits and leave the island before it reformed.

There have been other attempts, certainly, each one stranger and stranger. One mare got the idea to freeze one - yes, freeze the wolf made of ice. How? Well, she thought that with how cold their bodies are, if one fell into a freshwater lake instead of the sea, it'd just instantly freeze into a block of ice. As I told you, luring one is easy, so setting up a trap was simple enough - all you needed was a lake and a floewolf. The mare got a few thick, long wooden poles, and got to chipping the ice in the right spots.

She was doing it alone, so it took her some time to get things just right, but eventually, she got a floewolf to fall into her trap. To her disappointment, it didn't seem to be freezing solid, no matter how many times she dunked it underwater with a pole. The funny thing that actually happened was that she eventually pushed it under the ice, and with how cold it was, the hole that she cut in the ice froze over, trapping the wolf underwater. That didn't really do anything either, but at least it allowed her to retreat to a safe distance before the thing managed to claw its way through the ice.

Then, there was the drowning attempt... Well, not exactly, but that's what ponies jokingly call it. A few fisherponies got the idea to sink one to the bottom of the sea with weighted nets, tying heavy rocks to the corners. They were hoping that it'd get stuck there, neither able to escape, nor to make another body. Again, not the worst idea, but... Lots of effort for questionable rewards. No net is going to last forever, anyway, especially against a creature that can thrash around tirelessly until the end of time.

Ah, I suppose I spoiled that story a bit, yes? Well, you likely predicted that outcome yourselves, anyway. To make it short - yes, they made the nets, eventually came across a migrating floewolf in the water, and enacted their plan. And it did work - for about an hour. The floewolf managed to take a few bites out of several kayaks as the fisherponies were throwing the nets, but the weight soon dragged it down. They quickly fled before they could sink and join the beast at the bottom, leaving one undamaged kayak with a pair of observers behind. And, as I said, the beast eventually shot out of the water, splashing around furiously.

So yes, we tried all kinds of things. Shamares were brought in several times as well, but they couldn't do all that much, either. They'd help a lot with taking one down, but weren't able to get them to stay away from our lands. There was one shamare, aptly named Wolf Spirit, that actually wrestled and fought the floewolve's spirits themselves, neighing and growling fiercely as she pounded them into submission. Still, no matter who or how badly we beat them, they always, always eventually come back.

Ah well. Not like there's a shortage of dangers in the north, so our outposts and villages are always prepared to fight anyway, if one of them happens to wander by. And every few decades, some ambitious pony decides to call for a floewolf hunt and take the fight to them for several months, heh. Even if we lose some ponies, that makes the things leave us alone for a few years."

The northerner chuckled, reaching for a cup of tea, his story concluded. Shaking her head, Agate trotted away. What was the point of going out to fight monsters that you couldn't actually defeat, only slow them down temporarily? Then again, the northern tribe was apparently thriving, so perhaps you needed to have that kind of attitude to survive in those regions.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Oooh, what is that? A spirit stone? It sort of looks like one, but the color is completely different."

"It's a special spirit stone, made by a special spirit! Agate said it's called "amethyst". She made it herself!"

"You can make spirit stones? Wow..."

After listening to some interesting stories and conversations here and there, Agate went to find Glacier Glider again. While she didn't really have all that much to talk about with the mare, she was interested in befriending her two daughters, now that she was able to communicate with them. After making their introductions and thinking about what to do, Agate suggested that they should go meet with her other foal friends in the village, Autumn Ash and Cindertail.

The fillies enthusiastically agreed, and soon they were tearing through the snowy roads of Snowpitt. Warm Spring happily took the visitors in, and moments later, the foals were chatting away in Autumn Ash's room. Seeing as they were from radically different backgrounds, they certainly had a lot of things to talk about, and the local foals were certainly eager to learn more about their northern cousins.

"So, what's your name?"

"I'm Spinning Flurry, and that's Flurry Spinner. We're twins," One of the snowy fillies explained.

"...Was your Mom trying to confuse ponies on purpose?"

Agate couldn't help but agree with the sentiment as she observed the giggling twins. While Autumn Ash and Cindertail did look alike with their black manes and ashen coats, they were still easy to tell apart. Apart from being a colt and a filly, of course, the splotch of rusty red in Cindertail's tail really made him stand out. Glacier's twins, though, were white through and through. White manes, white tails, white coats, with no distinct markings on either one of them. The only colors they had were the golden eyes they inherited from their mother.

It made for absurdly good camouflage against the snow, something that the fillies happily exploited, as they were all too happy to explain. Apparently, the duo were somewhat of a terror to a great many foals and adults, constantly sneaking about, burrowing through the snow and otherwise getting the jump on them. The adults actually didn't mind, and even encouraged them, saying that it was great stealth practice for when they get older and have to venture out on their own. Those that did get scared would only get teased by other adults for getting snuck up on by a foal, and the other foals eagerly took on the challenge of outwitting the dastardly duo.

The northerner foals, meanwhile, were inordinately fascinated by the pair of young farmers, as agriculture of any kind didn't really exist in the deep north. While they did forage plenty, the northern tribe didn't have any kind of arable land. Even the rather sparse tundra was fertile compared to the rocky islands that they inhabited, and the thought of growing your own food right next to your home instead of going out to forage far and wide was completely alien to them.

"So how do you actually make them grow?" Flurry Spinner asked. At least, Agate was reasonably sure that it was her.

"Make? We don't really... You know, "make" them grow. We plant the seeds, and the plants grow themselves. What we do need to do is to make sure that the soil is nice and fertilized, and that pests don't get to the vegetables," Autumn Ash replied.

"And that's it? They just... Sit there and grow?"

"Kind of? There's lots of other things we need to do if we want them to grow well, though. Bring the plants water, make sure they don't freeze if there's a snap cold, keep the fences maintained..."

"Huh. It sounded easy at first, but now I'm not sure if it's easier to do that all year, or just go out and catch yourself a fish."

After some more back and forth about their lives and daily activities in their respective regions, the conversation turned towards current events. All of the foals, Agate included, were curious about just what kind of monsters were prowling around Snowpitt. They debated whether to go out towards the outskirts and see if they could spot anything for a bit, before deciding to take part in a different tradition first.

"There's no guarantee we'd see something, though. I remember looking for hours and seeing nothing last year. Instead, let's go out and be the monsters ourselves! Heh heh," Spinning Flurry cackled, rubbing her hooves.

"Oooh, you want to go out and scare some ponies, right? Yeah, we can do that. It'd be nice to have more ponies on our team," Cindertail agreed, quickly running off towards his room.

The northern twins blinked in confusion while Autumn Ash went to a chest in a corner with a grin, opening it up and rummaging around. Moments later, she started pulling out various wooden objects. There was a wooden mask that sort of looked like a wolf (Or so Agate thought, she hadn't actually seen a wolf besides some pictures), two pairs of wooden boots with wooden claws attached to them, and a shaggy cloak. One by one, the filly equipped all of the items, turning towards the observers. Her expression was hidden behind the mask, and the way it was painted made her look fierce.

"Grrrrrrr."

Her growl could have used some work, though.

The two Flurries snerked, holding on to their muzzles with their hooves in an attempt not to burst out laughing. Autumn Ash snorted angrily behind her mask, whipping her tail around. Pinning her ears back, she dropped lower to the ground, as if preparing to pounce at the twins. At the same moment, Cindertail came back, sporting an almost identical costume. Noticing what his sister was doing, he took up an aggressive stance as well, managing to pull off a somewhat more impressive growl.

While the snowy fillies still weren't scared, they were certainly impressed. "That is so cool! Your disguises look really great! I wish we could have something like that."

"You don't have any? Why not? And how do you scare ponies?" Cindertail asked confusedly, lifting his mask up.

"We didn't want to bother our parents to make something for us, especially since we'd likely have to leave the things behind when we go back north. And our Mom has been... Busy with other things during the past few Callings," Flurry Spinner explained.

"And we couldn't think up anything better than what we already have, honestly. If we wore something, that'd just make us stand out. But with our coats, we can slink around completely unnoticed," Spinning Flurry elaborated.

"Hmmm. If we work as an easily-noticed distraction, and then you two set up an ambush in the snow somewhere nearby...." Autumn Ash trailed off, muttering under her breath.

The twin's eyes lit up. "Hey, that sounds great! Say, you're pretty good at planning this for someone that hasn't been out in the wilds."

The gray filly shrugged, but Agate saw that she was proud of the compliment. "I listen to a lot of stories. Come on, let's tell my Mom and let's go. Time's a-wasting."

The mare just gave them a good-natured eye roll and sent them on their way. Giggling nefariously, the group of five galloped through the village, eventually regrouping behind a small cluster of pines near a house. Glancing around, Flurry Spinner looked questioningly towards Cindertail and Autumn Ash.

"Alright, so, what's the best spot?"

"Huh? You told us you sneak up on ponies all the time, wouldn't you know better?" Cindertail asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, but you actually live here, while we're just visiting, so you should know the area."

"Oh. Good point. Hmmm...."

While they were thinking, Agate took the chance to clarify some things. "Alright, so, I heard about this tradition, but I never did anything like this before. There's nothing like this... Celebration? Event? Back in the Empire. What's the goal, exactly?"

"Pretend to be monsters and scare ponies," One of the Flurries said. It was hard to tell them apart in the dark.

"And if they do get scared, they have to give us treats so we don't eat them," The other one added, amusement clear in her voice.

"And it's all to do with the monsters outside? Pretend to be like them so they don't eat you if they break in?"

"It's what the stories say," One filly shrugged. "I don't think you could actually fool a real monster with a disguise, but who knows. Lots of weird things turn out to be true."

"All right," Cindertail clopped his wooden-booted hooves together, getting their attention. "Autumn and I know a pretty good place, I think. There's a narrow place with a few pines near one house. A great cook lives there, and lots of ponies go there to trade food with him and get tasty stew. The narrow part is off the main path, though, so there's still traffic, but not too much. We should be able to sneak in there, and we shouldn't end up having to wait too long for someone to trot by. Let's go!"

The group took off again, dodging and weaving between the homes and the trees, doing their best to remain unnoticed. When they reached the aforementioned spot, the foals quickly scanned the area before choosing their positions. The wolf siblings hid behind the pine trees, doing their best to melt away in the gloom. The northern fillies, meanwhile, went up right next to the path in a spot that was completely exposed. They got to work immediately, digging through the snow and disguising themselves as a pair of fluffy snowdrifts. Once they were finished and closed their eyes, it was near impossible to tell that they were even there.

Agate bit her lip, unsure what to do. Since she never participated in anything like this, so she didn't really know how to spook ponies. Normally, her simply being a ghost would scare the living daylights out of any pony already, but the snowponies didn't care about that part at all. Eventually, she decided to hide and watch, hunkering down behind a small snowdrift a few steps back.

Cindertail's prediction was soon proven correct - the would-be ambushers didn't have to wait long. The foals saw a number of ponies passing by through the main path some distance away, and eventually, one of them peeled off and moved down the side path. It was a stallion, and he looked like a perfect target - his eyes were lidded and he was licking his lips contentedly, likely distracted by a recent meal in the cook's house.

He passed by the two buried fillies without so much as a glance towards them. As he approached the pine trees, the wolf duo let out quiet growls, shuffling in the snow. The stallion froze, one of his forelegs raised in the air, but didn't seem particularly concerned. Pivoting his ears, he turned his head towards the siblings just as they burst out from behind the trees, growling and barking.

Grinning. he swiped at one of the "wolves" with his foreleg, grabbing Cindertail by the midsection. "Ha! What's this, a little pup trying to threaten me? It'll take something far bigger than you to scare me, you know. I've eaten bigger fish than you for breakfast. In fact, if such a small-"

Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by the twins springing into action. The fillies jumped from the snow, one of them stopping right behind their target as the other used her as a springboard, jumping off her back to land on the tall stallion's rear, bringing a flurry of snow and cold with her. Instead of yelling or growling, she let out a distorted nicker, mimicking the ghostly sounds that Agate heard the windigo make the day before. This had a far more pronounced effect on the pony, making him rear up and let go of Cindertail, shouting in surprise.

"BLASTED HATE SPIRITS! Back, you-" He jumped forward and spun around, looking at the scene with wide eyes.

The foals all sniggered smugly while the stallion assessed the situation. After a moment, he facehoofed, muttering something under his breath. The twin still on his back hopped off, trotting to join her comrades.

"Got too cocky too soon, looks like. Now you're going to get eaten, unless..."

"Yeah, yeah," The grumbling pony rolled his eyes, though he had his grin back. "Got a bit too relaxed here in the south, I suppose. Serves me right. All right, you little hellions, get over here and get your tribute. Little monsters," He snorted, pulling at a large necklace.

Instead of giving them treats, he gave them little shiny shells, carefully removing each one from his necklace. This was apparently a suitable prize, the foals happily taking the trinkets and stashing them in their manes or outfits. With another eye-roll and a wave, the stallion was off, the foals giggling and waving back. Curious, Agate approached the group, examining their prizes.

"It's... Almost like a gem, but... Not quite? Shiny, but... The colors are odd. Prismatic, even. Huh."

"You don't have seashells back in your lands?" Flurry asked.

"Not really. We don't have the sea back where I'm from," Agate shook her head.

Autumn Ash snorted. "We don't have them either, snowbrain! The northerners are the only tribe that lives by the sea!"

"Ooooh. Right."

After some light teasing and bickering, the group went back to planning more ambushes. Agate's participation, or a lack of it, was brought up. The filly insisted that she didn't want any prizes, as she had zero use for them, and said she was fine just watching. However, the rest of the foals were adamant on her at least joining in on the fun. Reluctantly, she agreed, but not before pointing out that she didn't really know how to scare anyone. No one actually saw pony spirits as threatening, after all.

"Right. That's a good question," Cindertail mused, adjusting his wolf mask.

"Stare at them," Flurry Spinner suggested.

"Huh?" Agate tilted her head.

"Don't say anything. Don't move. Just stand there. Menacingly."

"Oookay..."

It took them a little bit to think of a few more scenarios, but soon, they were ready to go again. Moving a little further down the path, they took up positions again, slightly differently this time. Agate was standing a small distance off to the side, while the twins were buried right next to the path. The wolves were in the reserve this time, hiding behind a boulder further away.

This time, their victim was a teenaged colt. He was far more lively than the stallion, moving at a quick trot. Noticing Agate standing there, he raised an eyebrow, nodding at her in greetings. When she didn't react, he frowned, slowing down at first, and then stopping completely.

"Um, greetings, wise spirit. Am I interrupting something? Should I turn back?" He inquired, to no reaction from Agate.

Looking a tiny bit nervous now, he glanced around. Everything was quiet and calm, so he turned back to the ghostly filly. Trying to follow her gaze, he scanned the snow, squinting at the shapes.

"Someone there...?" Me muttered, looking straight at a hidden Flurry Spinner and not seeing her.

Meanwhile, Spinning Flurry shuffled a bit closer to him, approaching from the opposite side her sister was hiding in. Ears cocked, he whirled around, scanning the snow. The filly froze immediately, only for her sister to start approaching the colt, making only the tiniest sounds as she shifted across the snow. Turning around again, the colt scanned the snow furiously, but still couldn't see the hidden filly in the dark. Turning towards Agate, he gulped nervously.

"W-what's going on here?"

Agate slightly tilted her head sideways in a questioning manner, still not saying a word. The colt raised a foreleg in preparation to move, only for more shuffling sounds to come from both sides. Eyes wide, he froze, not sure which way to look. As the shuffling got closer, he shot one last look towards Agate. That turned out to be a mistake.

"Aaaaieee!"

Spinning Flurry got close enough to him to nip at his heels, making the colt jump up in fright. Flurry Spinner moved in closer, the motion at his peripheral vision making the colt run instinctively. Galloping a short way away, he still tried turning around and seeing just what was it that nibbled at his leg, but that was cut short by Autumn Ash and Cindertail, howling and jumping out from behind the boulder. That was too much for the colt, and he galloped away, not looking back.

"Ahahahahah! Did you see his face?!"

The situation was the most amusing to the northern twins, who both collapsed right back in the snow, holding on to their bellies and giggling uncontrollably. The ashen siblings chuckled as well, though they were slightly disappointed at the lack of tribute. Agate approached the giggling fillies, still glancing in the direction the colt ran away.

"What's with the staring thing, anyway? How'd you know that would work?"

"Some - heh heh, some animals do that, apparently. Our Mom taught us about it. Some take staring at them as a challenge, and will attack you immediately. Others, however, will attack you if you look away, as they take it as a sign of fear. It's different, and you have to know how to act around them. And there's some monsters that can pretend to be ponies, but they're almost never able to talk properly. If a pony doesn't greet you back, you should immediately be very, very suspicious. Every foal gets taught that, and if you stay silent like you did, it really raises their hackles."

"I see..."

The group kept their scaring spree up for a few more hours, with various results. Some ponies got startled right away, others chuckled at whichever pair of siblings jumped at them first, but got spooked by the second pair waiting in the wings. Not every attempt was a success, but in the end, they did get a bunch of sweet berries, nuts, and a few more shiny trinkets from the amused adults.

Eventually, they got tired, though they were plenty satisfied with all of their prizes. Before parting ways for the day, they decided to go take a look at tundra, making for the village outskirts. As they got close, the Flurry twins tried to sneak up on one of the sentries, but he didn't so much as blink before effortlessly yanking one out of the snow, tossing her on top of her sister with a soft *floompf*.

"Dang it... These guys are too good."

Agate and the other two giggled at the fillies as they untangled themselves. Climbing on a rampart, they scanned the tundra, looking for monsters. Nothing was immediately visible, but they were content to sit and wait for a while, catching their breaths after all of the excitement.

After sitting for some time and chatting about small things, they heard some kind of cracking sound from far away. Eagerly turning their eyes in the direction it came from, they were disappointed when the tundra remained empty. Cocking their ears, they listened intently, trying to catch more sounds.

Nothing visible appeared, but they did hear something. What it was, it was nigh impossible to tell - it wasn't a roar, a wail, a shriek, a neigh, a growl, a howl, or any kind of other sounds usually associated with living creatures. Rather, it was almost like the sound of a rockslide, some kind of deep, rumbling noise that kept going for an unusually long time. A few moments after it started, the ponies could feel the vibrations in the ground. It really felt like a rockslide, and yet, it came from a patch of perfectly flat tundra. The sentry that previously caught the Flurries frowned, looking in the direction it came from.

"What... What was that?" Agate asked, her eyes wide.

"No clue," Spinning Flurry muttered, swallowing nervously. The other foals remained silent.

Agate bit her lip, wondering. Putting her hooves on the edge of the wall, she squinted into the dark, trying to see something with her spirit sight. Despite her best efforts, though, she wasn't able to make out any sort of shapes or creatures.

"I wonder if I could take a look... Not like anything can hurt me now, right?"

The other foals all looked at her, their eyes wide. Though they seemed fascinated by the suggestion, the sentry spoke up, shaking his head slowly. "I'm not sure if that's the best idea, little traveler."

Agate was surprised by the warning. "Really? Why? I've been told that spirits do this kind of stuff all the time, scouting ahead to see if there's any danger. I did it too, on a few trips. Is there something out there that can actually... Hurt a spirit?"

The stallion held his breath for a moment before slowly exhaling. "Simply put, we don't know for sure. There are stories, about how shamare spirits and other guardians went off to fight windigoes that were harassing their villages. Though they weren't exactly hurt, they did come back... Diminished. Most animals and monsters can't touch a spirit, sure. But creatures like windigoes? They're spirits themselves, and they know how to be spirits better than we do. And the Calling, well..."

The stallion trailed off, looking towards the tundra. No more sounds came from the plains, nothing but the whistle of the wind and the gentle susurrations of the snow being blown about. The foals glanced outside, but almost immediately went back to staring at the stallion with curious eyes. Seeing that they weren't going to give up, he continued, smiling faintly.

"Do you know what our biggest problem here is? What is the main reason for my warning for your spirit friend not to go out there?" At the foal's negative shakes of their heads, he went on. "Our problem is that we have no idea of where in the world these unknown creatures come from. Sure, some of the things we recognize - windigoes, even the occasional floewolf, other nasties that we deal with in the north. But the rest of them, the things we can hear but not see, of which we only sometimes find tracks, and even then we can't make heads or tails of them? No. Idea. At first, it was thought that they come from somewhere in the deep north, but over the centuries, as we kept pushing further and further north, we never encountered anything like them. Ever.

So, the ritual, the one that summons the spirits of our kin - and spirits of all kinds, like windigoes. What else does it summon? From where? There are tales the shamares tell, of great spiritual realms where spirits roam free and there's little to no matter - opposite reflections of our own world, where the Earth and the Sky reign supreme, the spirits flitting about, most of them having little to no power over the physical world. What would the spirits of those other realms be like? Could they hunt other spirits for sustenance, like creatures hunt each other here? I do not know, but if those spirits truly get attracted here by the Calling, then I would say that it is better not to find out."

Agate took a long look at the sentry. He was a stout northerner, judging by the necklace of seashells that was popular in his tribe. Two light spears hung by his side, a thicker and bigger one resting against the ice wall. A thick cloak adorned his neck and back, and he wore some kind of protective leggings. He didn't seem afraid, and given the stories that she had been hearing from the other northerners, the fact that such a pony was telling her not to go out and face whatever monster was out there making those noises made her take him seriously. Her expression likewise serious, she nodded slowly, the sentry nodding back.

"As the saying goes, some things are better left unknown. I cannot order you, of course, but that is my advice," The stallion said, going back to scanning the horizon.

"I suppose not every mystery needs to be solved," Agate agreed, sitting back down on the rampart.

❅ ❆ ❅

Time passed, as time tends to do. Agate spent the days talking and listening, mostly, with the occasional team-up to spook more ponies, with a couple hours spent observing the tundra afterwards. The twin Flurries and the ashen farmer foals became fast friends, clearly enjoying their success at combining their talents and working together.

The noises coming from the tundra slowly subsided, the creatures that were prowling the plains likely either going back to wherever they came from, or getting devoured by whichever one of them was the strongest and the biggest. A week after the Song was performed, everything was more or less back to normal in the village, which almost made Agate forget that, technically, the Calling wasn't actually finished until the lost spirits showed up. Which they did.

Agate was trotting down one of the many snowy paths in Snowpitt, idly thinking about all the things that she learned so far. She kept listening to all kinds of crazy stories from the northerners, which, one day, made her realize that she actually hadn't properly talked to a pony from the western tribe at all, or heard any of their history.

The realization struck her as odd. She simply found a good part of the stories that she listened to randomly, while trotting through the village. Various poets, elders, singers, and other kinds of storytellers would sit around with groups of listeners that Agate would join, if the story interested her. Even by chance, she should have come across a storyteller from the western tribe by then... Right?

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a pony galloping right by her, going towards the village center. Blinking in surprise, she froze, looking at the pony's rapidly disappearing form. It looked like a mare, her hurried hoofsteps sending up small sprays of snow with each step, something which was uncommon for snowponies. Looking around, she saw more ponies heading in the same direction, whispering about something. Moving noiselessly through the snow, she turned to follow, her ears up and alert. Moments later, the reason was made clear as the filly overheard a couple talking in low voices.

"Yes, they are finally here. Took them a whole week, but I heard that it sometimes takes the northerner spirits even longer, if they lose their direction. They really spread out far from Snowpitt, haven't they? A whole week, as a spirit..."

It wasn't hard to guess just who "they" were. The lost spirits of the northern explorers finally made their way back to Snowpitt. Eager to see the conclusion to the week-long event (and kind of curious to see other pony spirits), Agate sped off towards the ceremonial grounds.

Reaching the clearing, she stopped to take in the sight. The usual suspects were there, along with some other ponies. A bunch of shamares were crowded near the firepit, the fire stoked and burning merrily with fresh lumber. Besides the shamares, though, the northerner's chieftain was there as well, along with some ponies Agate didn't recognize. The four spirits were mixed in with the second group, talking with the unfamiliar ponies. Agate started approaching them to listen in, but stopped halfway when she saw a pair of the ponies hug one spirit, sniffling sadly.

One of the shamares saw her, waving her over. Trotting to her side, Agate circled the other group of ponies, joining the shamares near the firepit. The one that called her was young and unfamiliar, likely one of the visitors from the other tribes. Looking the filly over, she raised her eyebrows.

"Have you felt the call, little one? Come to join your kin in the serene quiet and cold of the final resting grounds?"

"Uh, not really. I never saw the Calling before, and I wanted to see how it ended. Also, I'm pretty sure that my kin aren't in the resting grounds of your tribes. Even if all ponies go to the same place, I think that my family's still alive."

"Are you certain, young spirit? I have heard of your plight, you know. Your promise to find your family again, no matter how long it takes. That is a great burden to bear for someone so young. There's no shame in following nature's path and going to your rest. You will meet your family there in the end," The mare spoke in a soothing voice, gesturing towards the firepit.

"Nope," Agate replied, plopping her butt on the ground. "I'm good."

"Oh."

The mare looked a bit put out at Agate's reply, uncertain what to do next. The other shamares, who had been silently watching the little exchange, all sniggered quietly, some of them shaking their heads with small smiles. The young one pursed her lips, but didn't say anything. Eventually, True Sight spoke up, still trying to contain her chuckles.

"Good try, youngling, but this one's will is stronger than some of the mares in this gathering. It'll take more than that to dissuade her from her goal. Keep talking to spirits when you can, though. It's good experience."

"Yes, elder," The mare muttered quietly.

Things went silent again, the only sounds in the clearing being the crackling of the fire and the low conversation between the spirits and the group of ponies. From how they were acting, Agate assumed that they were the families of the ponies that perished, and the chieftain was there to receive their final reports of just what they managed to discover and what killed them in the end. While she was curious about their discoveries, the filly didn't want to be rude and eavesdrop on personal family matters.

As they were talking, the clearing slowly filled up with other ponies that heard of the spirit's return. Like Agate, they too remained quiet, sitting down at a respectful distance from the group. There weren't nearly as many ponies there as when they were singing the Song, but still far too many for all of them to be family members. Most likely, they were tribesfolk, there to pay their respects to the brave pioneers.

It took some time, but eventually, the conversations wound down. There was a moment of silence as the group stared at each other, before the spirits gave a few last hugs to their families. Letting go, a couple of the spirits went towards the firepit, the shamares parting for them. Agate watched them with wide eyes, her curiosity and fascination burning.

The first one was an old stallion, from what she could tell. His face was wrinkled, and his coat bore many scars. His expression was entirely content, though, like the satisfied look of a pony going to rest after a long day's work. He stopped with his forehooves just inside the fire, the tongues of flame passing right through him. Raising a foreleg, he tried caressing the flames, a small smile on his face.

The next one seemed younger, and a bit more troubled. Though his steps were sure, he didn't appear very happy about the situation, which Agate found entirely understandable. Stopping right next to the fire, he stuck a foreleg right next to the coals, looking at it sadly.

"Can't feel a thing," He muttered. "No heat. No warmth. Just faint echoes of familiar sensations."

"Yes. It is over, lad. You are dead, as am I," The older stallion replied, looking sideways at him. "No more cold, either. No more pain. No more joy, and no more sadness. You did your duty. You knew the risks when you went out there with us."

"So I did... So I did."

"Let it go," One of the shamares said. "Do not think of the things left undone. You have earned your rest. Your kin will follow in your hoofsteps, carrying the flame forward. It is brave ponies like you that make sure it happens at all."

The stallion nodded slowly, looking at the fire with a faraway look. The older spirit turned back towards the fire as well, letting out a long sigh and looking towards the heavens. He stepped into the fire fully, his ethereal form getting obscured by the smoke and the tendrils of flame. Agate blinked in surprise, watching the process intently. He stood there for a good minute, not moving or reacting in any other way. Then, he reared up, and galloped away - not on the ground, but upwards, towards the sky, seemingly using the smoke itself as a ladder of some kind.

Slack-jawed, Agate watched him go. The younger stallion watched him too, craning his neck upwards. The spirit's form was already hard to notice sometimes, and before long, the galloping stallion became indistinguishable in the hazy sky, lost between the smoke and the faint aurora still coloring the edges of the heavens. The filly could have sworn she saw some faint motion going towards the moon briefly, but it was gone soon.

And that was it. Just like that, he was gone.

The younger one, instead of following his example, went back to gazing at the fire. The third spirit joined him, looking at the glowing coals contemplatively. Before Agate could take a good look at him, he jumped into the fire as well, not bothering to wait and think. He didn't look back, galloping fiercely and quickly, vanishing into the sparkling heavens. After watching him disappear, the hesitant stallion went back to gazing at the flames, not moving from his spot.

"Do you wish to remain? To become a guardian for your tribe?" One of the northerner shamares asked.

The stallion turned his ears, but otherwise didn't show any sign that he heard the question. After unblinkingly staring into the fire for a few more minutes, he slowly shook his head. "No... No, I don't think so. I greatly respect those that choose to stay on, and to make sure that their kin continue living their lives the best they can. But... I loved life, and now... Well, this isn't it. I feel nothing any more. It's like the old colt said, I'm dead. It's just... A little hard to take in, you know? Heh," He chuckled mirthlessly.

"And yet, you're not quite honest. You don't feel nothing. Something is still weighing you down to the mother Earth, keeping you away from the almighty Sky's embrace. Otherwise, you would be weightless, free, like the spirits before you. What binds you to this world still, brave explorer?"

He kept silent for a while again, mulling over something. Eventually, he raised his eyes, muttering quietly. "I feel like I failed. That I'm a disappointment."

Several shamares shook their heads. "No. There is no failure or dishonor on your part. You bravely ventured forth, to make sure your tribe and your kin had places to live, to learn of the dangers surrounding you, to secure their future. Your duty is done. Go now. Be at peace."

"Have I?" Instead of looking at the shamares giving him advice, he looked back towards where Long Stride, the northerner's chieftain was standing. The large stallion nodded firmly, his expression solemn. After lingering a moment longer, he shrugged, looking back towards the fire. "Well, I did want to meet my great-grandfather for the longest time... The stories my grandparents told me about him..." He muttered, stepping forward with a small, genuine, if slightly crooked, smile.

Agate kept watching, only turning her gaze away when someone came up right next to her. Looking up, she saw the fourth and final spirit, looking at her curiously. He looked youthful, with an easygoing smile and a relaxed expression. His eyes darted towards the bonfire briefly, making Agate look as well. The indecisive stallion was gone, all without making a sound. Chuckling, the final spirit shook his head.

"Well, it looks like it's time for my final adventure. Or is it? No one really knows what happens after you leave, after all. Who knows... I might have a great many adventures yet. Will you take the plunge someday, too?" He mused, taking a step forward.

"Good luck," Agate breathed, watching him. "I still have things to do down here. Someday, maybe. But not today. Not until I find my family, and my tribe."

"Yes... The strange foreign spirit. I heard about you, I think. Never did hear your story, though. Shame. It was one of the things I was looking forward to this winter. Your arrival was the most interesting thing to happen in centuries. So many things left unknown, so many places unexplored."

"I could... Tell you? If you're really interested," Agate suggested tentatively.

The stallion looked intrigued by the idea, glancing at the shamares. True Sight shrugged, waving him off. "Best not to leave anything unfinished, or you will not be able to pass on in peace. Go on, colt. Sit down and listen, if you're so eager to hear her story. I am certain she will indulge you."

With a wide smile, the colt lay down next to the firepit, looking at Agate eagerly. She rubbed her chin for a moment, remembering the previous times she told her story to the snowponies. Nodding slowly, she began the familiar routine.

"My name is Agate. I come from a tribe that are called "crystal ponies". We live - lived - south from here, in a valley past the mountain range..."

Author's Note

Costumes.

Stories of Winter

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate shifted in her sleep, her consciousness returning in a slow trickle. Stretching lazily, she thought about the events of the night before.

She spent some time telling the northern explorer's spirit about the Empire, herself, and the usual things she'd tell the curious snowponies. For his part, he was a very eager and attentive listener. She half expected him to want to stay around and keep exploring, but he just shook his head, smiling.

"No, I don't think so. My adventures on this Earth are over. Thank you for this last piece of knowledge, though. I truly appreciate it."

It was only after he was gone that Agate realized that she didn't even ask him his name. She thought about asking the other ponies, but in the end, decided against it. Idly watching the skies, she traced his path through the heavens as he disappeared beyond the moon.

"Having second thoughts about joining him?" True Sight asked, stretching her creaky joints.

"Ehh... Not really. Mostly, I'm just wondering how that works. I tried flying once, right after I died. Nothing happened," The filly replied with a shrug.

"Heh. Technically, they're not flying, not the way a windigo does. They just gallop through the sky, once they shed the last things weighing them down."

Agate rubbed her chin, thinking about the reply. "I didn't think spirits weigh anything... I don't disturb even the tiniest snowflakes when I trot around."

"It's a metaphor, youngling. You are correct, a pony's spirit is weightless and immaterial. And yet, if one jumps from any height, they fall down, just like everything else. Why do you think it happens? There are rules in which the world works, an order to things. Spirits tend to linger because they still cling to some part of their life, their past, which binds them to some of the rules of the living, too. But when they fully accept their nature, they realize that the rules that bound them to the Earth no longer apply," The shamare explained, in the usual "wise grandmare" tone of voice.

"I see... Thank you, elder."

With a nod, True Sight turned around and cantered away, the others dispersing as well. They stayed around while Agate was telling the stallion her story, but now, the ritual and the whole event was finished. The ceremonial grounds slowly emptied of ponies, with only Agate's ghostly form remaining by the firepit. She remained behind for a short while longer, staring at the dancing flames in the firepit, still shimmering faintly from whatever magic the shamares performed on it. The fire was finally allowed to go out, and once there was nothing left but glowing coals, Agate got up and left for her totem.

❅ ❆ ❅

Stretching lazily, Agate hopped out of her totem, lying down on the ground and gazing at the stars. Now that she was fully awake, she dug through her memories, sorting out the things she was going to do and the ponies she agreed to meet with later. Something niggled at the back of her mind, though, making her feel like she forgot something.

"Did I dream last night?"

Usually, even if she didn't remember what she dreamt about, she'd still recall tiny glimpses of it. Now, though, she couldn't even remember whether she dreamt anything at all, yet she couldn't shake the feeling of having forgotten something. After a few minutes of fruitless attempts at remembering whatever it was that she forgot, the filly huffed, giving up.

"Maybe I should visit Dreamcatcher..."

Between all the other things she did, Agate still kept up with her dreamwalking lessons with the shamare, not that they bore much fruit yet. The focusing exercises did help her with her spirit sight and her crystal magic, but so far, she wasn't able to affect her dreams in any way. Still, she didn't want to quit without giving it her all.

More than a week passed since they last met, given that the shamares were either busy or recuperating after the Calling. They'd pause their lessons when official events like that were happening, resuming them afterwards. Now that the Spirit Night was concluded, Dreamcatcher likely had more free time. Nodding to herself, Agate got off the ground, making her way towards the mare's home.

As she was trotting at a leisurely pace, she kept going through all the things she did and learned during the time she spent with the snowpony tribe. Agate made her way to Snowpitt during late winter, just a few days before spring officially started, which meant that almost a year had passed since that happened. Thinking back, she recalled her adventures, her highs and lows, and various attempts to find out what happened to the Empire.

"Here's to another year, I suppose..."

At the moment, she didn't have anything planned besides her lessons with Dreamcatcher. Other ponies did, though. Long Stride, the northerner's chieftain, and that young stallion, Icicle, were going to go on that expedition to Dream Valley soon. Agate really didn't know what was going to come of it, so she tried to keep her expectations low. Still, it was reassuring to know that the snowpony tribes were as curious about cracking the mystery as she was. One way or another, sooner or later, they would find out what happened to the crystal ponies, she was sure of it.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hello, Dreamcatcher."

"Ah, greetings, Agate. How are things?"

The filly took a moment to consider the question. "As well as could be expected, I guess. I'm still learning new things almost every day, listening to a lot of stories. I made some new friends. And I'm going to travel with the northerners to their islands come spring, I think. That's going to be interesting."

The mare flicked an ear, turning to look at Agate with her usual closed-eyed gaze. "Unexpected. May I ask the reason?"

"Sure. It happened when their elder shamare overheard me saying that I could see crystals through solid rock..."

Dreamcatcher listened patiently while Agate explained the northerner's predicament and her role in possibly solving it. When the filly was done, she nodded, but didn't offer any comments on Agate's plans. The two made small talk for a bit, before getting to their lesson.

The exercises were the same as always. Relax. Focus. Relax and focus. Do your best to shut out your surroundings and ignore the sensations from your body (that part was the easiest for Agate to achieve, for obvious reasons). Clear your mind of thoughts, let go of your senses, but do not fall asleep. Try to use the tiny spark of awareness to feel out the area around you, without using your eyes or ears.

Just like many times before, the results were varied. Agate could never quite achieve the "trance" state that Dreamcatcher described, nor did she manage to dreamwalk, or even become lucid in any of her dreams. Focusing on her spiritual senses came relatively easy to her, though, even if she didn't understand anything that those senses were telling her.

When she closed her eyes and shut out the world, instead of everything going dark like what happened when she died, she was able to perceive... Something. Some kind of odd pulling or pushing sensations, almost like a wind or a river's flow trying to carry her off somewhere. Faint, barely visible lights were slowly moving somewhere in the distance, their shapes fuzzy and indistinct. The first time she felt those things, she asked Dreamcatcher what they meant, but the elder just shook her head.

"By themselves? Nothing. The world is made up of all kinds of things, some of them not visible to the naked eye. What you feel is merely the slow, constant flow of magic, or the Breath, as some shamares call it. Some of them tried following the little nudges and pulls, thinking that it was guidance from some greater spirits, but nothing came of it. Far as anyone is able to tell, it is little different from the motion of the wind, or the water. Still, there are some stories about the flow getting disturbed, ripples and eddies emanating from the passage of some kind of immense beings. Usually, it is better to turn around and go the other way if you feel something like that, since the only confirmed source of such ripples are the constellation beasts, which are best left alone."

Some time later, Agate sighed quietly, stretching and slowly opening her eyes. Dreamcatcher never told her how long she was supposed to stay in the dreamlike state, simply telling the filly to keep it up for as long as she was able to without getting frustrated or distracted. With her already poor sense of time, that could range anywhere from around an hour to nearly half a day. Looking around, she tried to figure out how long she was under.

Dreamcatcher was still there, meticulously tying a few feathers together on an unfinished dreamcatcher that she was working on. It was impossible to tell the time of day with the darkness outside, but Agate was fairly certain that she didn't spend half the day going at it this time around. Getting up from the floor, she coughed quietly, making her presence known.

"Welcome back, Agate. How did it go? Any differences?" The elder asked, not looking away from her project.

"No, none that I noticed. Maybe I can't really get any better at this than I already am. Or maybe I'm learning, but I'm not noticing the progress. It's really hard to define it."

"Dream magic is that way," Dreamcatcher nodded slowly. "It is like trying to grasp smoke with your hooves, sometimes. Elusive, slippery, frustrating, and never consistent. Still, given all the previous lessons with similar results, I'd wager that you're not going to give up yet."

"No, I'm not," Agate confirmed. "I'll have to skip some lessons when I go to the north, I suppose, but I'll keep practicing."

"The journey may give you more experience than you'd think, actually. Many shamares journey to the other tribes, as I'm sure you heard already. Who knows? Perhaps you'll discover something new about yourself. Time will tell."

"Hmm. Heh..." Agate chuckled, shaking her head.

"Hm? What is so amusing?"

"Oh, nothing, elder, just some silly thoughts. With how you're able to hear echoes of the past and the future in your dreams, well... I just thought it'd be nice if I could peek into the future to find out whether I'll be able to learn it eventually. For which I would already need to be able to do that, making the question pointless."

Dreamcatcher opened her eyes, raising her head a fraction. Mulling on the paradox for a minute, she chuckled as well. "That does sound like a fun solution, but life almost never allows you to take easy shortcuts like that."

"Yeah, I know..."

Concluding the lesson, the pair said their goodbyes. Dreamcatcher continued her work on her namesake, while Agate went for a trot through Snowpitt, debating whether to visit the Flurries today. They were fun to be with, but they really needed to find hobbies other than stalking and scaring ponies.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate's hunch was right. A couple days later, Long Stride came to visit her, informing Agate that they were fully prepared for their expedition.

"It took very little actual preparation, honestly. We already have great amounts of preserved food that we brought with us for the winter, and our equipment was well maintained for our yearly migration, so we just needed to work out who was going to go with us. A fairly large amount of ponies expressed their interest, but taking two-three hundred bodies on a scouting expedition is a bit excessive, I'd say," The large stallion explained in his rumbling voice.

"So, you're fully prepared, then? Will you leave right now? Or tomorrow?"

"Not yet, and not quite. We will leave tomorrow, most likely, but before we go, I need one last bit of knowledge from you."

Agate tilted her head questioningly. "Okay? Did I forget to describe some part of the mountains? They're pretty hard to get lost in, honestly. Lots of mountain peaks to navigate with."

"No, nothing like that. I just need to know how much time each part of your journey took, so that I can figure out how much longer it will take us, and how much food we need to bring."

"Oh. Okay, um. Give me a moment," Agate replied, tapping her cheek with a hoof. It took her a few minutes to recall the days that she spent on her trip, since time was the one thing she didn't keep meticulous track of during the journey. "Okay, I think I got it. It took me three days on the trip forward, but it will probably take longer than that for you, since I went through a tunnel in the mountain, and you'll have to go around... Also, I galloped through the night once, so... Hmm... Well, it'll take you at least a week, probably..."

"HA! Hahahahah, oh my word, hahaaah," Long Stride burst out laughing at Agate's assessment, much to the filly's surprise.

Agate waited patiently for the stallion's mirth to subside, which took a little while. Finally, he managed to get his breathing under control, holding on to his belly with a hoof. "Sorry, sorry," He gasped out, a little hoarse. "It's just, well... I mean no offense, Agate, but it's rather obvious that, while you learned well from your teachers, you never went outside of your village while you were still alive. Going on an expedition for a living pony is so much different than it is for a tireless spirit."

"I did go outside... Once. But that journey didn't end well," Agate replied with a frown, trying to compare the memories of her flight from the Empire to her time as a spirit. To her embarrassment, she realized the stallion was correct. It took her... What was it, three or four days just to cross the valley and climb the mountain?

"Ah. My apologies if I brought back unpleasant memories," Long Stride apologized with a small bow.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just being silly, and didn't think it through," She waved it off. "So how long do you think it would take you to reach Dream Valley?"

"Well, hmmm... The journey forward will take longer than the journey back, since we'll be burying supplies along the way, and scouting out good spots for shelter, which we won't need to do on the return trip... With all that, I'd say at least twelve days if no blizzards force us to dig in, though I'm almost certain it's going to be fourteen or more."

"Two weeks?! Wow... It makes sense now that I think about it, but still. That's... More than four days for each one that I spent. Five, almost."

Chuckling again, the stallion shook out his mane, sending a bunch of snowflakes flying. "Mhm, yes. There is a lot that we have to do that you don't, even if you do sleep. Set up camp, break camp, watch for slippery spots, secure a whole bunch of supplies, make sure we don't end our day in an overexposed location... And then there's simply the fact that climbing mountains can leave your muscles burning like nothing else. Honestly, I am tempted to examine that underground tunnel beneath the mountain that you mentioned."

Agate's eyes went wide at that remark. "I really wouldn't recommend it. It's already partially collapsed, and it was never meant to be an actual passage, just a mine that ponies dug out to look for metals or crystals. If you try to break through, well... I don't know all that much about mines, but I'm pretty sure that it would be very, very dangerous."

"Aye, I figured it would be like that. Well, tempting as it would be to retrace the path of our ancestors, it's certainly not worth risking our lives over. I suppose we'll just have to go the hard way."

"I'm sure you can manage. The terrain is... Honestly not that bad, and I don't even have that "snowwalking" skill of yours. What got me in the end was the cold, and I'm sure you won't have any problems with that. And there's no dangerous wildlife that I saw, either... At least, not in those barren mountains. The rest of the valley might be a different story."

"Thank you, Agate. I'll keep that in mind. Do you have any last pieces of advice or knowledge that you'd like to share?"

The filly thought for a good minute, eventually shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. That should be everything. Say, if the trip forward alone will take you two weeks, then how long do you think the whole expedition is going to take?"

Long Stride shrugged, making a so-so gesture with a hoof. "At a rough estimate, about two weeks forward and, oh, ten days back or so, and the actual exploration? Depends entirely on what we do, or do not, find. Could take a week, or even a whole month. No telling, really."

Agate nodded, counting out the numbers in her head. They could be gone anywhere from a month to two whole months. While she knew that the time would feel like nothing once it actually passed, for the moment, she felt an impatient need to know what, if anything, they would find in the valley. Tamping down on the irrational emotions, she shook her head. "So, where will you be gathering before you leave? I think I'd like to see you off."

"I assumed as much. As such, I thought we could gather right here, in your clearing - if you don't mind the hubbub, of course. It seems like a fitting place."

"Of course, go ahead! I don't mind at all. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Indeed. Be well, little one."

Agate nodded, waving goodbye. She watched the chieftain go, sitting down and going through the conversation in her mind. However, she wasn't able to sit still for long, as a need to share the news with someone overtook her. Getting up, she went off to find her friends.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, Agate's little clearing was packed with ponies. She counted the heads, trying to ascertain the actual size of the expedition. It was a little hard, since a bunch of other well-wishers came over to send them off and were mingling with the group, but she finished the count at thirty, or perhaps thirty-three.

While she was counting, she'd let her gaze linger on the ponies, taking in the details. She was getting better at telling the three snowpony tribes apart, though it was made much easier this time by the fact that each tribe seemed to have rather distinct equipment and accessories.

The local southerners were wearing various clothes to ward off the cold, ranging from thick scarfs to long, fluffy cloaks sewn from yeti pelts, the white color camouflaging them against the snow. All of them were equipped with spears, most bearing tips made from sharpened bone or sizeable fangs, while a rare few were made from metal. They were the most colorful bunch, their scarves and other things often bearing various patterns painted on in bright colors. As Gnarled Root once explained to Agate, the tundra, while rather barren, did produce a number of beautiful flowers that could be used in making dyes, something the snowponies happily took advantage of.

The westerners, while less colorful, were more... Fanciful, if that was the right word. They too wore hats, scarves and pelts to ward off the cold, though the pelts were not the snow white color of the yetis, but rather a drab brown. However, they seemed to love decorating everything with feathers and beads, hanging them on everything from spear tips to necklaces, some even tying them into their manes, making themselves look like some kind of strange bird ponies. Whenever the wind blew or the pony moved, all of their little knick-knacks would sway, creating an odd, eye-catching rippling effect. Their weapons were the opposite of the southerner's ones, having far more metal than bone ones.

And lastly, the northerners were the strangest of them all. While the other tribe's accoutrements at least made some kind of sense, several of the things the northerners had were simply bizarre. One such thing was a long spear that Long Stride had strapped to his side, which was seemingly made of ice, of all things. Still, while Agate seriously doubted the durability of such a weapon, she knew better than to ask. From the way the stallion was wearing it, it certainly wasn't a toy or a novelty, and a faint glow coming from it suggested that it was not made from normal, brittle every-day ice. Not every northerner had icy weaponry, but a majority of them did, though there was some slight variation. Some were made of ice entirely, while the others had normal wooden shafts, with only the spearhead being made of ice.

For accessories, they had their seashell necklaces, with a rare few also having some kind of shiny, smooth, pure white gems mixed in with the shells as well. Agate examined them curiously, but couldn't place them. It was not a kind of gem or crystal that she ever saw or heard of before, which was a little surprising to the filly. They did have some familiar crystals as well, though, many of them wearing citrine bracelets on their hooves. From the three tribes, the northerners seemed to love jewelry the most, each member having at least three different pieces on them. Curiously, only a few wore animal pelts, most of them wearing thick, fluffy coats.

"I think... I think that's everything accounted for, chieftain. I never led a group this big before, but I think that's everything."

Icicle, the young northerner stallion that came to visit her before, was currently in the middle of it all. As Long Stride promised, he was allowed to be the leader of the expedition, despite the majority, if not all, participants actually being older and more experienced than him. While he was clearly feeling the pressure, he still managed to remain mostly calm, inspecting the sleighs full of preserves and camping equipment with a keen eye.

Grunting, the stallion nodded. "Seems we are ready, then. Time to say our last farewells, and be off. Been a while since I was able to go on a proper adventure, and my hooves are certainly itching to get moving."

The onlookers heard that, and, moments later, a chorus of well-wishes of all kinds resounded throughout the clearing. Some were invoking various spirits of nature or their ancestors to protect the travelers, others addressed the ponies themselves, telling them not to let their guards down despite the supposedly safe nature of the expedition, while a few were patting some of the younger group members on their backs, likely the proud parents of the brave pioneers. Agate didn't have the kinds of fancy traditional sayings or invocations the snowponies seemed to have, so she settled for a nod and a simple "Good luck.".

Icicle returned the nod, his expression serious. "I will do my best to find where your people might have gone, Agate, you have my word."

"Don't beat yourself up too badly if you don't. I've been there already, as you know, and there was nothing left of the city. Just holes in the ground where the building's foundations used to be, without so much as a speck of dust," Agate reassured him.

"We shall see," He spoke simply, nodding towards the rest of his group.

That was the last signal. All but a few ponies hitched themselves up to the large sleighs, some of them needing a team of two to pull it. The ones that didn't were lithe, but spry, likely serving as forward scouts and sentries. They were armed and dressed lighter than the rest, but their ears were up and alert, eyes darting about despite still being in the village. With a nod to Icicle, they hopped away, moving ahead of the main group.

"Still hard to believe there's an expedition in the middle of winter. It's completely opposite of what the ancestral wisdom tells us," A random bystander in the crowd commented.

Long Stride snorted in amusement, taking a step forward to check if the straps on his chest were attached comfortably. "Well, the wisdom is not entirely wrong. Sure, going north in the winter might be madness. But if you actually think about it, winter's actually the best time to explore the south. The snow makes it easier to pull things around on sleighs - I couldn't even begin to imagine dragging this much stuff on my back in summer, through raw mountain rocks and dirt. And since we're going south, the cold shouldn't be too bad. As Icicle said, we shall see, but I don't foresee any problems with the journey, barring unforeseen circumstances."

Satisfied, the large stallion began moving slowly, his sleigh getting pulled after him. The others waited patiently, joining the caravan one by one. Two more mares peeled off from the crowd, trotting along the snaking line of sleighs and ponies. Agate examined them curiously, as they didn't look like the warrior types that made up the rest of the expedition. In fact, they weren't even armed, unless you counted the large amount of odd amulets and pouches hanging from their necks, manes, tails, and all kinds of other places.

The filly didn't recognize the two, but she guessed that they must be shamares, despite their young age. Remembering her previous conversation with True Sight before the Calling, she surmised that the elder must have chosen those two to fulfill Long Stride's request to have a few shamares accompany him. Their expressions weren't too confident, but their steps didn't falter as they trotted along the caravan.

A few of Agate's friends and acquaintances were in the clearing, having heard of the expedition to the former lands of her tribe. Scratching his head, Cindertail watched the trail of sleds slowly moving southwards.

"Why didn't you go with them? I know you went once already, but you'd like to be there if they found something, right? Or maybe you could guide them better?" The colt asked Agate, his voice full of confusion.

"I... I don't think I'd be of any use, to be honest, If not an outright hindrance. I lived in the city my entire life, Cindertail. I have no idea what's on the fringes of the valley, and if I went with them, the places they would go to would be as unfamiliar to me as they would be to them. And yet, I'm sure that they would be asking me about every single thing, expecting me to know stuff just because I'm a crystal pony. At best, I'd make a lucky guess and be right. At worst, I'd mislead them."

"Oh... Huh. I guess you were a lot like us before you had to flee your home," He mused.

"Most crystal ponies were. Even those that went outside the city very rarely went beyond the valley's borders. You crazy snowponies and your wild travels... Heh. Maybe that's exactly what's needed to find new clues. A fresh look."

Autumn Ash gave Agate a sidelong glance, still watching the caravan slowly disappear in the distance. "And what if they don't find anything?"

"I'll figure something out," Agate said quietly, but firmly. "One way or another. As the other spirits have been telling me for a while, I have all the time in the world."

❅ ❆ ❅

After that exchange, the crowd left, leaving the clearing empty. Agate chatted a bit with her friends, but her heart wasn't in it this time. Sensing this, they made plans to meet up some time later, and left the young spirit alone. She stayed still for a short while, but wasn't able to keep it up for long. Restless, she got up and went for a trot through the village.

Huffing in irritation, she did her best to quash the emotions swirling in her chest. While she wasn't lying when she told Cindertail why she didn't go with the explorers, she did kind of want to go, though she really did think it was for the best that she sit this one out. Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of thoughts about the expedition completely.

"Heh. Just have to do that for a month or longer. Easy..."

After a minute of trying to think up a solution, a very simple one popped up in her head: stories! To get rid of the thoughts, she just had to replace them with new ones, and the snowpony storytellers certainly had a way with telling them, managing to weave magnificent and captivating pictures with nothing but their words.

Now that she had a goal, the filly trotted through the village with a spring in her step, ears up and alert. Talking was what the snowpony tribes did the most of during the winter, given that there was simply little else to do. While plenty of those conversations were private - extended families from different tribes reconnecting and recounting what happened since they last met, for example - one could still find at least half a dozen musicians, storytellers, lore keepers, adventurers, and other kinds of ponies doing their thing in front of a group of rapt listeners at any given time. Even the winter cold didn't stop them, the fluffy ponies easily withstanding at least a few hours of exposure before they'd even consider going inside somewhere to warm up.

Stalking through Snowpitt, the little huntress soon found herself a suitable quarry. At least, the target seemed suitable at first, but then Agate realized that the mare that was telling stories just finished one. Standing quietly, Agate waited to see whether she would start another one, or whether the filly should move on and look for another pony. Instead, however, an unexpected third option happened - the mare saw the filly, raising her eyebrows.

"Well now, it looks like I'm an even better storyteller than I thought, to attract the spirits from beyond. Did you come to take my place, little one?" The mare addressed Agate, chuckling. The mare's audience turned towards the filly, looking at her curiously, some of them whispering between themselves.

"Oh, uh, not really? I don't really have any stories to tell," Agate shrugged awkwardly.

"Really now, what's this? There's no need to be so humble. You set the whole three tribes abuzz with your story in the Great Hall, you know. Ponies were talking about it all through the preparations for the Calling and the Spirit Night, when they weren't busy, and they're going to keep talking about it for months, if not many years," The storyteller asserted, a number of ponies in the crowd nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, but... I'm not a storyteller. I just told that one because, well... It happened to me. It was - is - my story. I don't really have any other interesting ones."

Seeing that she was making the spirit filly uncomfortable, the mare waved it off, smiling sympathetically. "Never mind that, then. If you do remember any stories from back home, though, don't hold back. Lots of ponies would be interested in hearing those, I think. Now then, what brought you here? Was there anything in particular you wanted to hear, or were you trying to catch the tail-end of the story I was telling?"

"Nothing in particular, I was just- Wait, actually, hmmmm..." Agate trailed off for a moment, the image of the northerners flashing in her mind's eye momentarily. "Now that you mention it, I was kind of curious about the strange ice weapons I saw the northern explorers wield. Those are made of ice, right? And the spears actually work? Wait, no, that's not really a story. I guess the question is, who came up with the idea of using ice to make weapons? And how? I think one of my spirit friends briefly mentioned something about it some time back."

The mare clopped her hooves together happily, her eyes lighting up. "Oh yes, I know that one! And it's been a while since anyone's asked to tell that story. Alrighty then, give me just a minute to dust off those dusty parts of my memory... Hmmm... Yes, it was way back when...." The mare trailed off into mutters, closing her eyes.

The listeners seemed slightly disappointed that Agate wasn't there to tell a story after all, but most were interested enough in her request to stay and listen. A few got up and left, leaving gaps in the crowd. Agate took one of them, sitting down on an old log. While it didn't really matter to her whether she sat on a cold pile of snow or a log any more, she still found it satisfying on some level. Moments later, the storyteller felt confident enough in her recollection, clearing her throat and getting everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone, young and old, listen up. This is a story of adaptation and success, one of the many that our ancestors managed to achieve. To answer one of the young spirit's questions - the "how", specifically - the creation of the northerner's amazing weapons did not come about from the imagination of ponies, but by learning from the world around us, and taking its lessons to heart. Just like the stories say that the very first ponies learned how to fish from the bears, the magic of ice enchanting was gleaned from the terrible spirit-beasts that stalk the northern reaches, the floewolves. However, unlike the knowledge of fishing, it was gained in a far less, shall we say, peaceful manner, heh heh.

Now, as many of these stories do, this one began with a great northern explorer, who went by the name of Boundless Horizon. They say that, from his very foalhood, the young colt loved galloping through the icy northern tundra towards the horizon, losing himself in the endless chase. Needless to say, it caused no small amount of headaches for his parents. While they were certainly able to see that their foal had a wild and untameable spirit that yearned for travel and exploration, they knew all too well the dangers of going out without proper preparation, especially for a pony still so young.

They did their best to teach and support their child, only holding him back when it was necessary. For his part, Horizon was indeed very strong-spirited, but he was not foolish. When his parents warned him that if he kept running off like he did, he'd end up as a cautionary tale of what not to do, he took them seriously. Not wanting to be remembered as just another failure that got eaten by some beast, he did his best to rein in his wild instincts and temper them with knowledge and patience.

Diving into his studies, he did his best to learn, taking advice from both his parents and experienced explorers. There was certainly no shortage of tips and tricks coming from the elders - ropes and knots, flint and tinder, herbs and berries, nets and fish, storms and shelter, and many other things besides. It did strain him, however, and whenever he felt like his head was getting too full, he'd gallop off in a mad dash, though he did his best not to stray too far from the village.

Years passed, and the colt grew into a stallion. In truth, he was nothing overly remarkable - a great many northerners possess the same kind of restlessness and wanderlust, as I'm sure you're all aware. It is only time and their deeds that show which ones of them are just idle dreamers, and which ones truly have the cunning, the guile, the quick reflexes and endurance to go out into the northern wilderness and return not only alive, but victorious, raring to go again and again.

Well, time showed that Horizon was indeed such a pony. Funnily enough, though, while he loved galloping through the tundra, he hated sailing, which meant that it took him some time to actually get down to exploring unknown territories. At first, he worked as a messenger between the tribes, galloping tirelessly day and night. Later on, he started hauling cargo as well, becoming a fairly well-known merchant.

However, even with the added challenge of dragging a sleigh full of merchandise behind him, he eventually got bored of the repetitive back-and-forth trips. After some years, he was forced to accept the fact that if he wanted to see new horizons and unknown lands, he'd have to go northwards, across the sea. Grumbling a little, he sought out ponies that would teach him the finer points of not capsizing and drowning in the freezing waters.

He didn't become great at navigating the seas, but he was skilled enough to cross the waves without incident, eagerly debarking on unknown shores and galloping off. At that point, ponies began to notice him, though not in an entirely favorable light. You see, exploring the unknown by yourself is considered very risky - while large groups are equally bad, just about every elder and explorer will tell you that to travel without an extra two or three ponies to watch your back is just asking for trouble.

Despite that, though, there always are exceptions. Some ponies just work best alone, defying expectations and returning from every expedition with nary a scratch on their hides. After a few such successes, Boundless Horizon firmly established himself as such a pony, quickly dispelling the disdain the others had towards him. Trip after trip, island after island, he would come back with knowledge about every nook and cranny of the places that he explored, which islands were fit to settle and which ones weren't, adding to the tribe's maps and helping them expand their territory.

Some still thought that he simply survived through sheer luck, though that couldn't be further from the truth. All those years of galloping through the tundra built up his strength and endurance to legendary levels, his legs able to either crush any foe that tried to challenge him, or carry him away to safety faster than anyone could chase him. Besides that, he was cunning, always making sure to have a safe path to retreat in case danger arose.

There's some arguments whether he was the first one to see a floewolf, but he was certainly the first one to bring back actual proof to his tribe, not just terrified babbling about strange, icicle-covered beasts in the deep north, like some other explorers did. Everyone, from the youngest foal to the oldest shamare, was completely flabbergasted by his prize - huge fangs and teeth, sharp and strong, made of ice of the deepest blue that they ever saw.

Now, Horizon never cared much for glory and recognition, as he was travelling and exploring purely to satisfy his wanderlust and wild spirit. This time around, however, he was rightfully proud, displaying the trophy from what had to be a truly fearsome opponent. The entire tribe gathered around him, begging him to tell them just what sort of impossible creature he fought.

Acquiescing, he sat down, describing an island that he discovered far to the north. It didn't look unusual at first, but something about it put him on edge. Staying in his kayak, he slowly paddled along the shore, trying to determine just what was causing him such unease. Much like other islands, it was rocky, with sparse trees and bushes, and a few steep hills that he could see in the distance. It was rather large, too, which meant that it should have held more life than just the usual swarms of birds that inhabited the smaller islands.

As he thought about birds, he understood the source of his unease - it was oddly quiet, with only the smaller species of avians flapping around. Despite it being spring, most of the birds seemed to be actively avoiding the island, despite the large selection of unclaimed nesting grounds. His curiosity aroused, Horizon disembarked, immediately beginning to examine the sand and snow for clues.

He spent the entire day trying to find just what was so scary about the island, carefully moving in expanding half-circles from the beach and back. It was only when the Sun was setting when he found something - tracks of some kind of beast that he hadn't seen before. Whatever it was, he was able to tell three things from the tracks - it was big, heavy, and had some really long claws. Checking the direction of the tracks, he decided to sleep near the beach, as the creature seemed to prefer to remain deeper inland. After making sure that his kayak was ready for a quick escape if it came to it, he drifted off.

The next morning, instead of following the tracks, he immediately beelined for the steepest hill that he saw in the distance, looking in every direction. He trotted without making a sound, his snowwalking skill helping him move across the island unheard. He was ready to gallop away at the first sign of trouble, but to his slight surprise, nothing happened. Given how badly spooked the birds were, he'd been expecting to see entire packs of predators prowling through the island, but nothing materialized.

Reaching the hill, he found it to be exactly what he wanted. The spring sun hadn't managed to melt most of the snow on the ground yet, especially in the long shadows cast by the hills. However, the hillsides that faced the Sun were almost clear of ice, the rocks bare and damp in places. Knowing that the winter cold often loosened a number of boulders which would later roll and crash from the mountains once the ice thawed, he carefully climbed the hill, looking for unstable rocks. He loosened some, and even carefully rolled a few into a single spot himself, making use of his strength. It took him the better half of the day, but when he was done, he felt confident that even if something were to chase him, a rockslide should prove more than a sufficient distraction for him to get away safely. After catching his breath, he set out to find the mysterious predator.

Now, usually, meeting a floewolf is considered bad luck, but not when you're hunting for one. In that regard, Horizon certainly proved lucky. While he was trotting along and making at least half a dozen more plans for all kinds for traps, ambushes and potential escape routes, they all proved to be unnecessary as he saw his quarry in the distance - not that he understood it at first. While the floewolves are not the kind of predators that ever bother with stealth and sneaking, the fact that they're made of ice and snow can make them quite hard to spot against the snowy backgrounds they usually prowl in, to say the least. Horizon simply thought that he was seeing things, some kind of strange trick of the eyes, or perhaps even a mischievous spirit.

Well, the floewolf turned out to be very, very real, alright. Spotting the stallion, the beast let out an unearthly growl before charging right at him. To Horizon's credit, it only took him a fraction of a heartbeat to see the flashing claws and glimmering fangs and start galloping away. The chase was on.

Now, though he already worked hard that day moving those boulders, that was little more than a vigorous warmup for the rugged stallion. Laughing merrily, his mane to the wind, he galloped at full speed, glancing behind him now and then. Though the wolf looked truly terrifying, it didn't seem much faster than Horizon, which was all that he needed to know that he'd make it out alive. However, he wanted more than just escape, and so he led the wolf to his trap instead of running to his kayak.

At first, he thought he'd need to climb the hillside himself and loose the rocks, but as he felt and heard the heavy stomps of the ice beast, he surmised that its bulk alone would be enough to shift the deliberately precariously stacked boulders. Galloping right on the edge of the hill, he couldn't hold back a wry grin as the wolf barreled after him. Finding the spot, he galloped past it, whirling around and tossing a spear right at the wolf's head. He knew that it likely wouldn't do anything, but his only goal was to distract it for even a brief moment, which he did successfully.

The spear smacked into the wolf's cheek, making it stumble in surprise. The hard stomp slowed it down and shook the hillside, loosing all of the rocks right on top of it. It tried to jump away, but slipped on the smaller stones and debris, which slowed it just long enough for a huge boulder to drop on its upper back, shattering the creature. Howling in more fury than pain, it tried to crawl forward, but its forelegs were too badly damaged, breaking apart from the effort. It tried to gnash its teeth at the stallion, but that only served to make its head crack, as well.

Horizon held his breath as he stared in awe at the sight before him. He still expected his foe to be a flesh and blood creature, perhaps having found a way to use the ice and snow as either camouflage or armor. Instead, it turned out to be a bizarre incarnate of the north itself, even more than the windigoes - predatory, fearless, and very, very cold. When the wolf's body cracked, great freezing vapors exploded from the inside, coating everything around in a layer of frost.

Trotting towards the downed foe, Horizon breathed slowly, feeling the chill of the deepest winter emanating from the shards of ice buried under the rocks. Blinking, he bent down to examine the shattered head, only for an eye to turn and look right at him. Jumping back, he got ready to gallop away as the growling spirit rose from it's remains, glaring at the one that dared to strike it down with such impunity.

However, the spirit did not give chase, which gave Horizon pause. It growled and barked at him, but didn't seem inclined to attack. Observing it, he soon saw why - pieces of ice and snow were slowly skittering towards the rubble, forming into a pile. Some of the broken shards joined it, slowly knitting themselves together. The floewolf was rebuilding itself, right before his eyes. And judging from its disposition, it would give chase again as soon as it did. Until that happened, however...

Smirking, Horizon got closer. The wolf howled furiously, blasting him with icy winds. However, besides covering him in frost, it achieved nothing. Wiping his face clean, he decided to teach the overly arrogant predator some humility in defeat. Defiantly trotting up right to its face, he gave it an unimpressed look before turning around and bucking the unfinished body to bits.

Needless to say, that made the wolf lose its cool completely, gnashing and clawing at the stallion. However, while its ethereal claws did hurt somewhat, it was clearly far less powerful in its spirit form. Shaking off the frost, Horizon quickly bent down and smashed the remains of the wolf's head, scooping up its fangs and teeth into his saddlebags. Blowing the furious spirit a raspberry, he galloped away, feeling the warmth from the exercise melt away the ethereal cold from the wolf's attacks.

The wolf chased him for a short while, but soon gave up in favor of going back to creating a new body for itself. While Horizon was terribly tempted to stay and observe the floewolf's behavior a little longer, he knew not to push his luck. He did spend most of the day doing hard labor and galloping furiously, and he was certain that the wolf would recover its strength before he did. Not to mention the fact that wolves tended to hunt in packs, and he did not want to find out whether these ones behaved the same. He'd dealt with one, with proper preparation. A pack of such wolves would tear him to bits, preparation or not.

Packing up his gear, he pushed his kayak into the waves, paddling away. Navigating by stars, he paddled through the night, uncertain if the floewolf would be able to track him by its missing teeth. Despite the potential risk, he pushed on, determined to get back to his tribe and tell them about the dangers and the wonders that he discovered. For over a week, he did nothing but eat, sleep, and paddle, stopping to rest only on barren, uninhabited islands. Eventually, he saw the shores of Nilas, crying out triumphantly as he jumped from his kayak to pull it ashore.

The tribe was amazed, showering him with praise for his cunning, strength and endurance. For his part, he took it in calmly, still humble in his demeanor. When the shamares asked him to allow them to examine the fangs more closely, he hoofed them over with a shrug, saying that he thought about making a necklace out of them, but with how freezing cold they felt, he didn't really want to have them near his chest.

While strong, Horizon was not tireless. After a long, furious retreat from the depths of the north, he was exhausted. Telling the shamares to do whatever they wanted, he passed them the rest of the teeth as well, going home to get some well-deserved shuteye. Muttering and whispering wildly, the mystical mares scuttled off to their huts, eager to taste and unravel the magic of the floewolves.

No one really knew what to expect from that odd display, so the regular ponies mostly forgot about the shamare's behavior, spending their time asking Boundless Horizon for more details. Some just wanted to hear an exciting story, while others were more interested in ways to defeat a floewolf themselves, if they ever came across one in their own expeditions. Horizon made sure to mention that his spear was nigh-on useless, musing that one would need some sort of heavy crushing weapon to fight such a beast without having a trap with a rockslide prepared, like he did. It was only then that he realized he left his spear buried under the rubble, all the way in the north. It had been a really nice spear, too.

Fortunately for him, the shamares quickly fixed that issue. Working with a few craftsponies, they fashioned the fangs into a set of four spears, each one bearing the freezing might of the north. And though Horizon was an explorer first and foremost, he certainly still could appreciate a truly fine weapon. The fangs were fearsome, the normally brittle ice hardened by the floewolf's magic to such a degree that even metal spears could not measure up to them.

Everyone was joyful, celebrating the stallion's achievements with a feast. Already, many were talking about the tribe equipping itself with such weapons, something which would finally give them an edge over the northern monsters, which were fiercer and tougher than anything the southerners and westerners had to deal with. Some hunters even mused about going on a floewolf hunt then and there, just to get a set of such magnificent spears for themselves.

Boundless Horizon poured some water on that fire by reminding them that he escaped from that encounter unscathed and victorious purely because the circumstances aligned themselves just right for him to set up his trap. The creatures were still terribly dangerous, and they shouldn't do anything rash before they had a certain way to bring one down. While they grumbled, the hotheads were forced to agree.

Fortunately for them, the shamares didn't stop at simply making the spears. They studied the floewolf's teeth for weeks, looking, searching, feeling, dreaming, and meditating. They lived and breathed the freezing northern winds, feeling and hearing the furious gales ripping through the air, and they refused to let this frozen piece of ice confound them. It was a challenge, a riddle and a mystery, things that most shamares can't get enough of, and they took to unravelling the mystery with a furious effort. They spent the whole summer and autumn at it, and on the first day of the new winter, they proudly presented their chieftain with the first ice spear, made by pony hooves and magic. A mighty cheer arose from the northerners, silencing even the northern wind for a brief moment. Once again, the snowponies had learned the north's secrets, and were ever more prepared to face it's dangers.

Now, no one knows for certain just how the shamares actually make the spears. There's water involved, of course, and magic, but besides that, it's all rumors and hearsay. Some claim to have seen the rituals, glimpsing shamares sitting under the darkest skies in the cold of winter, quietly whispering to the water about true cold, the primal, actual cold between the glimmering, frozen stars, not this positively sweltering air of the northern winter, urging the water to remember the ancient times, before the Sun, before light, before warmth, slowly forming and caressing the spear with ice-encrusted hooves. Is it true? Ask a shamare, I suppose.

And that is the story of how the northerners came to possess those weapons. Not every northerner has one, since it does take time and effort for the shamares to make them, and they do have other duties. Some prefer to make the spears out of genuine floewolf fangs, too, claiming that it is more honorable and a better mark of one's success as a hunter to follow in Boundless Horizon's hoofsteps, instead of having one made for you, despite the danger of going out to face the spirit beasts. To each their own, I suppose."

Finishing her story, the storyteller gave a bow with a flourish, earning herself a round of applause and cheers. Since Agate couldn't really make any noise by clopping her hooves, she joined in the cheering. After the applause died down, she gave the mare a thankful nod, to which she replied with a smile and a wink.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate's plan to distract herself had been partially successful. While there were indeed plenty of ponies telling all kinds of stories and lessons to listeners both young and old, she found that she wasn't able to pay proper attention to most of them. While the teachings of how to get around in the wilderness by Spear Throw and Gnarled Root were practical and still applicable despite her being a spirit, the filly found herself completely uninterested in things that she had no use for.

Things like learning how to fish or the way to make a sleigh sounded interesting at first, but Agate would lose attention almost immediately when she remembered that she'd never be actually able to do any of those things, no matter how intriguing the theoretical knowledge sounded. As such, she mostly sought out the storytellers rather than teachers, listening to more poetry, songs, and stories of grand adventures and exploration.

And, of course, she kept up with her friends and her teacher. Day by day, or rather, night by night - the Long Night was really long, seriously - she spent her time learning, playing, and sometimes teaching or retelling her own story to curious snowponies that wanted to know more about her, talking to a few storytellers on a several occasions.

She was a little surprised to find out that they wanted to memorize her story well enough to be able to tell it themselves. They were amused by it, explaining to her that such an important event should not be allowed to be forgotten in case she had to leave, and no one else had the knowledge to retell the story correctly. Agate felt a bit awkward, but she understood that it wasn't exactly her that was so important, but simply the fact that she was a representative from a lost part of the world and history that their ancestors forgot a long, long time ago.

Days, then weeks, then a month passed, and before she knew it, it happened. As she was returning to her clearing from a lesson with Dreamcatcher, Agate saw something in the distance, approaching Snowpitt. They were nothing but vague shapes in the darkness at first, but eventually they resolved themselves into the forms of ponies. Patiently waiting by her totem, she kept gazing southwards until she was able to make out more details. Ponies with weapons and gear, dragging sleighs behind them, with Icicle and Long Stride taking point.

The expedition to Dream Valley had returned.

All That Remains

The approaching group was moving slightly off to the side of Agate's clearing, entering Snowpitt through the nearby path. She noticed the lithe shapes of the scouts trotting slightly ahead of the column, but they were far more relaxed coming back than when they were moving out.

Or maybe they were just tired. It was still a little hard to tell from the distance, but the explorer's postures seemed somewhat stooped and weary, unlike the proud, straight way they held their necks and legs before. Regardless, reaching the village boundaries reinvigorated them, and they were soon moving past Agate's clearing, deeper into the village.

Trotting out to meet them, Agate examined the ponies for any obvious differences. For one, they were not accompanied by any crystal ponies, which was entirely expected. Besides looking a bit worn down and being short a few pieces of equipment, though, everyone looked fine. No ponies were missing, which was probably a good sign, not that Agate expected them to run into any dangerous monsters. She was sure that wild beasts of all kinds were going to take up residence in the abandoned valley and surrounding mountains over time, but that would still take many years.

A ghost of a smile crossed Long Stride's face when he saw Agate. "Hello, little one. Don't tell me you've been sitting and waiting for us the entire time."

"No, I wasn't, I found plenty of things to do and ponies to talk to. So, how did things go? Did you all make it there and back okay?"

"Hrn. Yes," The chieftain grunted in affirmation. "I'm afraid I'm not really in a fit state to tell you much right now..."

"No, no, of course not! I understand, I'm not that impatient. And, uh, I can already guess that you probably haven't found any crystal ponies."

The large stallion shook his head silently. Agate nodded, the short conversation petering out. She decided to accompany the group to their destination, trotting beside them. Icicle, the appointed leader, was on the other side of Long Stride, both stallions hitched up to their sleighs. He looked even more tired than the older members of the expedition, but kept up the pace, his eyes narrowed, ears back, and lips pressed together tightly in an expression of stubborn determination.

Agate wasn't the only tagalong for long. As they went deeper into the village, other ponies quickly took notice as well. Some approached to offer congratulations, while others quickly galloped off, likely to spread the word. By the time the caravan reached the ceremonial grounds in the middle of the village, Frostbeard was waiting for them, greeting the two leading stallions with a nod.

"Welcome back. I see you're tired, so I only have one question: Is there anything we need to act quickly on? Danger, or ponies needing help?"

Both Long Stride and Icicle shook their heads. "Nothing," The younger one replied. "The valley is as barren as Agate said it would be. We have no injured, nor any monsters or ponies following us."

"Very well then. Go get some rest."

With a nod, the stallions parted ways. The rest of the column began dispersing as well, the various ponies going to their respective encampments and homes. The northerners and westerners stayed in their small groups, while the Snowpitt locals went every which way, some of them accompanied by excited family members, offering them snacks and discreetly checking them over for any injuries.

Some of the ponies that were following the group stayed around, chattering excitedly about all the possible things the expedition might have found in Dream Valley. Discreetly, Agate listened in on a few, but found most of them to be rather silly. She was pretty sure they didn't find hundreds of lost crystal pony spirits or anything of the kind, for example. She decided to slip away, before they started asking her about her thoughts.

Agate honestly didn't know what, if anything, they found, and wasn't interested in speculating idly. Knowing that they'd likely have a big meeting about it in the Great Hall tomorrow, she decided to wander around the village for a while. Debating on whether to go find something to do or just try to clear her mind a bit, she noticed a few shamares trotting by in the distance.

Looking in their direction, the filly stood still for a few minutes before trotting away.

❅ ❆ ❅

"So the expedition returned? Any big, immediate news?"

"Not really, no. For some reason, though, I'm still nervous about hearing what they found there. Hay, I feel almost afraid to hear that they actually discovered what happened to the rest of the crystal ponies, for some reason. I don't really understand it."

Earthsong nodded, taking a sip of tea from her cup as she studied Agate with lidded eyes. After seeing the shamares, the filly decided to visit her two old teachers, to talk about a few things that had been bothering her ever since the expedition left. It didn't really have anything to do with magic or spirits, but the shamares tended to be knowledgeable about lots of things, not just the mystical stuff.

"Most spirits don't really feel "fear", as such, any more," True Sight remarked from her seat near the firepit. "Are you certain that this is what you feel?"

"Oh, um... I guess it's more of a... A feeling of apprehension?" The filly ventured carefully, tilting an ear.

Earthsong hummed, savoring her tea for a moment. "Are you concerned about what might have befallen the rest of your people?"

"Yeah, I guess... I wasn't really thinking about it, though. Crystal ponies went through a lot of bad things, and I'm sure they'll make it through... Whatever happened to them."

The two mares studied the little spirit in silence again for a few more minutes, Earthsong taking another sip before continuing. "Are you afraid to face them, were some explorer to actually find where they disappeared to?"

"Afraid to... Face them?"

Nodding again, the earthen mare closed her eyes, recalling something. "It is not uncommon amongst spirits that lost their lives before their time. Do you remember the reluctant stallion at the Calling? He was feeling shame, as if he had failed at some task."

Meanwhile True Sight, as usual, cut to the heart of the matter after mere moments of deliberation. "Are you afraid of disappointing your parents? Hearing their pain as you carry the message of your own demise to them?"

Agate opened her mouth to speak, but stopped before saying anything. Rubbing her cheek, she slowly shrugged. "I kind of knew that they'd be sad. But I decided that I'd find them anyway, because not knowing is worse, in my opinion. And we'd all get to say goodbye, at least."

"Indeed. And does that make the apprehension go away?"

"...Not really."

The shamare's abode fell into silence, the two mystics letting the filly sort through her feelings on her own. Agate frowned, trying to pinpoint the source of the emotions and understand whether Earthsong and True Sight were correct. She wasn't completely sure, but she didn't think that the elders were wrong, either. After a good ten minutes of pondering, all she managed to say was "Huh."

The edge of True Sight's mouth upturned into a tiny grin, her voice tinged with light amusement. "Telling and trying to convince yourself of something is always a bit of a problem. After all, no one knows the holes in your arguments better than you do. And often, there is no other critic of you fiercer than yourself."

"I guess that's true," Agate nodded, looking off into the distance, her eyes unfocused.

"You're not going to let that stop you, though, are you?" Earthsong asked, a small smile on her face.

Agate's mind flashed back to her sudden departure to Dream Valley, and Spear Throw's lesson about courage. "No. No, I won't."

"Good. Then you know what to do. I expect you're going to be in the first row when Long Stride and the other explorers recount what happened during their journey."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Agate confirmed, recalling the route to the Great Hall from her totem in her mind.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, Agate woke up bright and early. Not that it was very bright yet, as the ever-present winter's sky was still blanketing the land. Gazing at the stars and Moon, she tried to tell the time, but eventually gave up, trotting off with a shake of her head. As beautiful and clear as the sky was here in the north, it was getting a little bit old.

"I can see everything just fine by moonlight with how reflective the snow is, but come on. Even if I can't feel its warmth any more, seeing the Sun is nice..."

Seeing as she had no other plans for the day, she just went straight to the Great Hall. Agate figured that even if she had to wait for a while for the ponies to gather, she'd definitely find something to do. Someone or other would start asking her about the Empire, or any of the other questions they often had for her. The rest of Snowpitt's inhabitants clearly heard the news of the expedition's return as well, a few early birds going in the same direction Agate was.

When she reached the building, the large double-doors were still closed, though she could see a faint light shining through the gaps. After stopping to admire the carvings for a few minutes, Agate cautiously approached the doors, attempting to stick a hoof through them. Though she was fairly certain that she would be fine, all the protective runes carved into the building still made her hesitate slightly.

She did feel an odd tingle of sorts in her foreleg and felt an unusual pressure, almost as if she was attempting to push through mud. Putting the leg down, she slowly trotted forward, going through the doors. When she got to the other side, she shook her whole body, strange tingles dancing on her ethereal skin. Wiggling her ears and twitching her tail, she waited until the strange phantom sensations subsided.

"Weird..."

Shaking her head one last time, the filly looked around the huge building. A few ponies were tending to the large firepit in the center of the ground floor, shoveling the burnt-out ashes into some buckets and pushing the still-smoldering coals closer together. Several bundles of firewood were resting nearby, ready to be used. Several other ponies were similarly puttering around, tidying the place up.

It didn't look like things were quite ready to kick off yet. Looking more closely, Agate did notice some more ponies sitting in dark corners, out of the way of the caretakers, but there couldn't have been more than a dozen of them. Deciding to look around a bit, she climbed the stairs to the upper floors, seeing as she never went up there yet, despite being in the Hall several times already.

Given the large hole in the middle of the floor, there was a surprisingly large amount of space up there. Lots of cushions, rugs, and a few low tables littered the area, covering the roughly hewn wooden logs. A number of large windows were present, though they obviously were closed to keep the cold out. While the faint light from the firepit was sparse, leaving everything but the edges of the hole dark, the acoustics were pretty good. She could still easily hear the low murmurs and faint clip-clops of the ponies moving about below.

Climbing to the third floor, she found the situation to be similar, everything slightly darker and quieter, but the sounds from below were still audible. Sitting down next to the empty space, she gazed downwards, relaxing and waiting. As her thoughts wandered, she remembered the large square in front of the Spire, where the imperial family would make addresses to the crowd, standing high up on their balcony. Blinking, she looked around, suddenly understanding why the building reminded her of the place.

"It's the same, but flipped upside down... The chieftains talk on the bottom floor, while the ponies crowd around and climb upwards... Huh."

Musing about this and that, the filly waited, pony-watching from her perch above. After a while, ponies started filtering in one by one, soon coming in twos and threes, and finally, in a steady stream, chatting excitedly as they spread out through the building. Once she noticed Long Stride's large form, she decided to get back to the first floor. The stairs were full of ponies, though, and she didn't want to scare or confuse them by going under their legs or trying to go through them. After a minute's thought, she shrugged and leapt off the edge, falling towards the firepit.

Most ponies didn't even seem to notice her, and the few that did appeared to be amused by her antics. Dropping right into the fire, Agate took a second to admire the flames dancing merrily right in her eyes, before clambering out. She decided to sit down right there, on the raised rim of the firepit, perking her ears and listening intently. Looking around, she saw more familiar faces - a good part of the ponies that went on the expedition were gathered at the end of the building, where the speakers usually sat. Curiously, they brought a number boxes with them, the containers stacked against the wall to her left.

Some shamares were there already, talking in low voices to the two young ones that accompanied the explorers. Noticing Agate, Long Stride gave her a nod, the filly nodding back. The northerner's chieftain took his seat on the central rug, waving to one of the ponies sitting further back. Icicle peeled off from the group to take his seat next to the chieftain, the young stallion clearly a little apprehensive about being in the center of attention. Still, he was clearly excited as well, his eyes wide and his tail swishing back and forth in anticipation.

It didn't take long for the other two chieftains to show up, which was what everyone else was waiting for. Frostbeard and Oak Bark trotted in together, looking outside for a moment for any stragglers before shutting the large doors. Taking their places in front of the crowd, they lay down, each one giving Long Stride a nod. At their signal, the northerner raised his forelegs and clopped his hooves together loudly, getting everyone's attention. The low drone of conversations died down almost immediately, the building descending into an excited hush.

"I do not think I need to tell you about the reasons for this meeting," Long Stride began, his rumbling voice echoing throughout the Hall. "As I am fairly certain that everyone that currently resides in Snowpitt, be they guests for the season or local dwellers, heard about the expedition to the south that we undertook, in the very middle of winter. I am pleased to say that it was successful, in... Most ways. We did not lose anyone, and we explored a great amount of previously unknown territory. However, we did not find any clues as to where our distant cousin tribe in the south have disappeared to, though we did discover... Some things. For those that did not even believe that the crystal ponies did indeed have a grand home in the southern valley, well. You'll see. Best start from the beginning, I suppose. Icicle?"

There were some predictably disappointed murmurs from the crowd at the news, though they quieted quickly when Icicle cleared his throat. "Thank you, chieftain. There is not much to say about the first leg of the journey. The river was frozen over with thick ice, and we had no problems crossing it, even laden with cargo as we were. Though the stories of all the southern lands being lifeless were indeed proven wrong by Agate, they still hold true for the southern mountains, at the very least. Besides a few hardy trees, nothing lives in the mountains proper, and the only obstacles we had to contend with were the wind and the steep mountain inclines.

Fortunately, the route mapped out by Agate on her previous expedition proved to be quite good. While the ancient trails were weathered and snowed over, they still proved useful. Cover was a bit sparse, but we found places to dig in when we weren't able to find a nook to hide in for the night. With no interruptions, we made good time, burying the extra supplies along the way and scouting out the mountains more thoroughly. More than a week later, we came across the giant mountain that watches over the valley.

I wish I knew its name, for it was truly humongous. We weren't even able to see its peak, so vast and imposing it was. It took us two full days just to circle a small part of it, despite the ground being even and covered in a convenient layer of snow. Still, we managed to do it, and after twelve long days, we finally reached the highest point between the two mountains that were guarding the northern border of the valley.

We could not see much of the valley floor yet, as the forested foothills of the titanic mountain stretched on for quite a while, blocking most of our view. Still, as we stood there, our steamy breaths ripped away by the harsh mountain winds, we couldn't help but admire the unbelievable place laid out before us. The westerners among us were the most stunned, commenting that it was completely unlike the few valleys they explored in their mountains.

Dream Valley was vast and open, a great circle of flat plain, instead of just a narrow strip of habitable land that was squashed between two mountains. And yet, it definitely was a valley, as we could see more mountains to either side of us, surrounding it on all sides. Those of us with the keenest eyes could see even more mountain peaks further to the south, completing the circle. Such a naturally well-guarded place clearly had massive potential for a settlement, and we eagerly set off downwards, hoping to find traces of Agate's people.

The foothills proved rather more treacherous, though, and we spent the whole day carefully dragging our sleighs through various sharp inclines and declines and sudden drops. After a good, long rest, we finally left the cover of the mountain trees, and set our hooves upon the valley floor. For a minute, we all just stood there, almost expecting something to happen. Nothing did, however. The valley was barren and quiet, both the foothills and the snow-covered plain. Perhaps the foul magics that the aberration named "Sombra" cast upon the place a year prior were still lingering, but for whatever reason, the only creatures that we met on our journey were a few small birds.

We asked the two young shamares in our group for their wisdom, but they were not able to say much, looking a bit dazed. They remarked that even the spirits were barely audible in the valley, as if they suddenly became poor of hearing. They dug in their ears with their hooves and tried their best to listen, but eventually gave up, shaking their heads. The only consolation was that they were not able to see or feel any magic, be it benign or hostile. Everything was simply dulled and dimmed, as if the valley itself was in a deep winter slumber.

With that, we set forward again, ears and eyes alert, lest we unintentionally awaken whatever was asleep there. It took us almost half a day to reach the middle of the valley, where we found what must have been the only remaining traces of Agate's people. Just like she described, there was nothing left but holes in the ground where buildings must have previously stood, no matter how closely we looked. The best trackers and scouts from all three tribes that we had with us scoured the area a dozen times, digging through the snow and trying to find something, anything at all, even a loose hair.

We spent the remaining half of the day and the entire next day trying to find something, to no avail. No scout nor shamare were able to sniff anything out, the shamares claiming that the spot felt especially quiet, "as if the world itself was holding its breath". We were both hopeful and wary of the possibility that our presence might unleash some trap or curse, as that might have at least given us some clues, but no matter what we did, nothing changed. Whatever magic whisked away the crystal ponies was, sadly, beyond our ken to unravel. With that, we gave up on the fruitless endeavor, and set out to explore the rest of the valley.

Trotting east, we eventually discovered a road, which brought our mood up a little. The fact that not every trace of habitation was erased gave us hope, and we enthusiastically followed it to wherever it led. The first location of note was a series of quarries, snowed in, but still visible as clearly artificial. Moving past them, we reached the eastern foothills, splitting up into smaller groups to explore the multitude of winding pathways snaking up the mountain. That was where we found out for certain that ponies of some kind did indeed live in the valley, until very recently."

Agate leaned in closer, as did most of the listeners. While she didn't care about something as silly as confirmation that ponies did, in fact, live in Dream Valley, she was interested in what the snowponies found, as it was outside the city borders, somewhere she had never been to before. As Icicle was talking, he nodded to a few ponies sitting behind him. Getting up, they went to the stacked boxes, slowly pulling them out of the pile and removing the objects within.

"Mostly, we found a large number of snowed-in mine entrances. Not knowing what they were at first, we dug out a number of the "cave entrances", hoping to perhaps find tracks of ponies that might have been hiding there. Nothing was there besides dust and abandoned tools, however. A few scouts delved deeper into a couple of them, coming back empty-hooved as well. While most of us were busy with that, one group found a tall stone spire, overlooking the mountainside. From what we found inside, it was clearly a sentry post of some kind."

Agate immediately recognized the items that were brought forth, not that they were hard to figure out. They were arms and armor of the Guard, same as the ones her uncle Obsidian Spear used to have. Five spears and five helmets were laid out on the floor, with one stallion awkwardly managing to wrestle a full set of armor onto himself, complete with sabatons. He trotted out next to Long Stride and Icicle, showing off the slightly dulled, but still gleaming steel. The crowd was awed, various exclamations of disbelief echoing through the building.

"They made armor made of metal?! How?"

"Just how rich in iron were they?"

"I'm not sure that's even iron, it gleams too much..."

"Is wearing metal not cold, how did they not freeze in those things?"

Icicle cleared his throat, making the crowd go silent. "Yes, we were quite impressed as well. It is clear that our southern cousins have knowledge of metal working that far surpasses ours. Despite the equipment sitting in that tower for a whole year, there was not a speck of rust on any of the items, even with the door being broken open, and snow managing to get inside.

Yes, a struggle of some kind had clearly happened there. We found many signs of violence - scratches and gouges in the floor and walls, broken furniture, shards of shattered cups and pottery littering the ground, and so on. Fortunately, there was no blood, so we can only hope that no one died in the battle. For some reason, the helmets were scattered on the floor, while the spears and armor were neatly stacked up in special racks clearly meant for that purpose. If someone defeated the guards, then why didn't they take all their equipment as a prize? I think our visitor said something about that during her story, though."

Agate blinked as many eyes fell upon her. "Yeah. It's those cursed helmets that Sombra's minions had, I bet. Whoever had a helmet forced on their heads would immediately become his unquestioning servant. So, I'd guess that the guard tower was broken into, the guards got overpowered, their helms were removed and the cursed ones forced on them, and then they were taken away as well. My parents saw it happen to a few guards from a distance. And the rest of the weapons and stuff probably were spares, or something."

Icicle nodded, rubbing his chin. "But why not take them as well? Surely they had value, especially for someone so impossibly greedy that they'd stoop even to stealing pony's spirits?"

"Well, I think that the dark magic in those helmets makes you a bit dumb. While we were escaping the city, there were a few guard posts we dodged around. They just sat in place, without even turning their heads. I guess they got told to "watch this street", and obeyed to the letter, without even thinking that someone could sneak by right behind them," Agate shrugged.

"Ah, I see... So, if they were ordered to capture and bring the guards in, and their only thoughts were of obeying those orders... No initiative, no reason to bother with anything else. No thoughts of your own at all, besides what you were told to do. That is... Sickening."

A round of dark mutters swept through the crowd at his conclusion. Biting his lip, Icicle stared at one of the helmets on the floor for a minute with a pensive expression, his mind clearly somewhere else. Shaking his head, he got up with a quiet "Excuse me," going towards the firepit. Pulling a pot from a nearby table, he filled it with water from a bucket, adding a hoofful of herbs from a sack, carefully setting it on the fire. Seeing this, a number of other ponies got up as well, shuffling around to get refreshments.

Once everyone had their drinks, Icicle went back towards the rug, nodding to Long Stride. Taking over, the larger stallion clopped his hooves, resuming the story. "Yes, though they clearly fought valiantly, it would seem that Agate's entire tribe fell to the madpony, if he even is a pony. We scoured the mountainside for days, but the only traces of ponies that we could find were a year old, with no signs of anyone managing to evade capture. Nothing but mines and abandoned cabins, cold ashes in their hearths and winds howling through open doors. After thoroughly examining that area, we began moving northwest along the valley's rim, looking for more homes or guard posts in the foothills.

It was the same story everywhere we went. Everything was abandoned in a hurry, with many places showing signs of forceful entry and struggle, the ponies gone, but their belongings left behind, including their stores of food. We felt a bit conflicted, as taking someone's supplies in winter is one of the worst things a pony could do, but at the same time, lots of it had spoiled already, and it was rather clear that the owners would not be back in time to reclaim them before all of it spoiled, if ever. Sending well-wishes and blessings to the owners, we feasted on the exotic preserves, wondering at the odd tastes.

I'll admit, the whole situation pained me in ways I haven't felt before. Seeing just the very edges of what the crystal ponies managed to build just made me want to meet them even more, yet I already knew that there was nothing left of their domain but barren land and holes in the ground, and we haven't managed to find any trace of where they might have went. All we can know about the kinds of things we could have learned from them or traded for come from Agate's stories, and the few glimpses we managed to see by looking through their abandoned homes."

As he was saying it, Long Stride got up, going towards the boxes as well. Rooting around, he carefully pulled out another item, going back to the rug and presenting it to the fascinated crowd. Agate stared at it incredulously, trying to figure out if she was seeing things. After confirming that she really wasn't, she jammed a hoof over her mouth, doing her best to contain her giggles at the sheer absurdity of it.

In his hoof, held high over his head, Long Stride was holding a fairly large water jug, made of sapphire-blue crystal. It wasn't even fancy or ornamented, in fact, it just might have been the plainest jug that Agate had ever seen. Clearly, it was just something someone brought with them to their cabin in the woods for the sheer utility of it. And yet, the stallion was holding it like some kind of grand crystal pony artifact, akin to the Crystal Heart itself.

What's more, the other snowponies seemed quite enamored with it as well, whispering appreciatively between them. While it must have looked like something very exotic to ponies that only used clay for dishes, and knew crystals solely as rough orange stones that they used for jewelry and rituals, Agate still had serious trouble keeping her laughter down. Sure, the glimmering deep blue color certainly stood out in the building among the earthen-colored ponies, but the thought of fawning over a jug still made a snorting chuckle escape through her closed mouth.

The stallion turned an ear in her direction, finding Agate after a moment of looking. Shaking his head slightly with a smile, he put the jug down on the floor, next to the helmets. "Well, it appears that our sole crystal pony resident is not overly impressed with what we managed to retrieve. Yes, I am aware that it is but a simple jug, if one that's made from something that we never saw before. This lone item just gets the imagination going, though. Agate, you told us that your people build entire buildings out of the same material, yes?"

"Yes, we do. Or did. Building-grade crystal is a bit different, but... Well, it's still essentially the same stuff."

He hummed thoughtfully, picking the jug up again and putting the bottom to his eyes, trying to look at the building's walls through the improvised lens. After glancing around for a bit and a brief "Huh," he put it down again, shaking his head. "It is strange to even imagine. Anyway... Where have I left off? Ah, yes. We thoroughly scouted the entire eastern mountainside, but every house, mine, and any other place where ponies might have hid was abandoned. We didn't see any structures of any kind in the south, and the details that Agate provided didn't mention anything of importance being there, so we kept going northwest, then west, and finally southwest, all along the valley's rim.

The whole thing took us weeks, but I don't think that I need to bother describing them much. There were mountains, rocks, trees, a couple abandoned buildings, and snow. Both the shamares and the scouts kept trying to find something, anything that they could follow, but it was for naught. The valley was scoured of life, and even the few yeti dens we found were abandoned. The only traces of ponies lead towards the center of the valley, which remained mystifyingly empty.

As we finished circling the valley and went back to where the city used to stand, the scouts galloped off, curious to see the passage leading southwards, towards this "Equestria" place. They were greeted by the sight of yet another stretch of snowy mountains, far more even, wider, and easier to navigate, but still rather barren. If someone ever were to try and go there to meet our even more distant southern kin, well... I can't imagine how many supplies one would need, and how long the journey would take. Heck, we don't even know which direction to go in. While I'd be tempted to go on such a grand journey myself, such an endeavor might actually take years, not months, and I can't bear to leave the tribe for that long."

A few skeptical ponies muttered amongst themselves at the number, shaking their heads. "Years? What could possibly make the journey so long, chieftain? We cross great distances from Snowpitt to our remote islands in weeks - it doesn't even take a month," One doubter addressed the stallion directly.

"Unique obstacles," Long Stride replied, with a crooked grin. "Certainly, our kayaks glide quickly across the water, but here, you'd need to trot the entire way, dragging everything with you. The southern mountains would be harder to cross in summer, when the snow melted. So, you would need to go in winter, or spring. And, no matter how strong you are, no one would be able to bring enough food to last long past the valley - remember, you would need to cross two sets of mountains. Foraging would be a necessity, which would take time - and be harder, if there's still snow about. Not to mention that the land, and its animals and plants might be completely unfamiliar that far south.

Put all of that together - unfamiliar territory, foraging as you go - along with the fact that you'd have no idea which way Equestria actually is, and you might end up wandering for years, for all we know. Turning back would still mean that you'd likely have to wait for winter to cross the mountains, spending the summer foraging in Dream Valley. And if you do find them, explaining - wait, hmmm..." The stallion trailed off, rubbing his chin for a minute. "Didn't Agate speak some completely incomprehensible tongue when she got here?"

"Yes," The filly confirmed. "Some of our words were vaguely familiar, but I had to learn everything from scratch, pretty much. And, um, there might be a problem if you're planning to use Dream Valley as a spot to forage before going on expeditions further south. Our old legends, well... When I went there in autumn on my own trip, there was already snow in the valley, when the ground was still bare even here, in the north. Our legends say that when the windigoes attacked our ancestors, their hatred for each other was so great and gave the windigoes so much power that the cold seeped into the land forever. We used our magic to slowly thaw the surrounding land and keep the cold out with the Crystal Heart, but now, well..." Agate trailed off, shrugging helplessly.

"Odd," Icicle said to himself in the ensuing silence. "It did feel colder past the mountains than here. Only very slightly, but I'm fairly certain that I wasn't just imagining it."

Both the speakers and the listeners went quiet, mulling on the information for a while. "That is an... Immensely inconvenient obstacle." Long Stride eventually concluded. "Even when there's little plant life, you can still usually find fish in streams and lakes. But we saw nothing like it in the valley. Such a long stretch of barren land immediately makes any expedition deeper south far riskier."

Oak Bark shook his head, letting out a long exhale with a sigh. "Well, it would seem that the old sayings ring true. The south is dead, and there is nothing for us there."

Frostbeard grunted, looking off into the distance somewhere. "Ironically, the south only became dead recently. No one knows how that saying came to be, but we can assume that our ancestors thought that the windigoes claimed all life beyond the mountains. We now know that it was false, as Agate's people managed to survive, and eventually thrive, where others have failed, only to be taken by a monster of a different breed."

The other two chieftains nodded, their expressions pensive. That seemed to be the end of the storytelling, despite the fact that Long Stride stopped when they were still camped in the valley. Still, it was rather obvious that nothing else of note happened during their journey, and they likely turned back to Snowpitt the next day.

The shamares, usually present in some way during important discussions, stayed quiet this time, though they were listening very, very intently when the two young ones described the conditions in the valley. Waving them over, the elders huddled together, whispering something and prodding the pair for more information. Judging from their nervous expressions, they weren't able to tell them much, if anything, that they haven't told the rest of the ponies. That didn't stop the inquisitive elders, though.

The mood in the Hall was predictably brought down by the news that the expedition brought back, the listeners remaining silent for quite a while instead of peppering the ponies with questions, as they tended to do. No one left, though, and eventually, a few ponies tentatively started asking more questions about where, exactly, the expedition went on their route southwards, and what they saw along the way.

Agate rocked a bit on the rim of the firepit, her mind far away. She didn't really have any questions for the expeditioners, but she didn't feel like leaving yet, either. The news weren't all that surprising to her, so she wasn't too disappointed that they hadn't managed to find out where the crystal ponies went, but the fact that they brought proof of the Empire's existence made her bizarrely happy for some reason. It didn't really make sense to her, but seeing the Guard equipment and the jug just hardened her resolve to keep going and find out what happened to the rest of her tribe.

An hour or two passed while Agate daydreamed and sorted through her emotions, as the ponies in the crowd asked various questions or got refreshments. She definitely wasn't happy, but she wasn't really sad, either, idly trying to think up something new to try. The gaggle of shamares left at some point, shuffling away with the two expeditioners, likely to interrogate them further somewhere quieter. As other ponies eventually started to leave as well, Agate thought about going with them, but was stopped by Long Stride, who was waving her over.

Trotting over to the speaker's rug, she examined the changed group. All of the expeditioners except for the northerner chieftain had left, getting replaced by the two other chieftains and five more stallions that she hadn't seen before. She couldn't quite tell which tribe they were from, but something about them looked oddly familiar. Tracing her eyes across their forms, she eventually caught it - the edges of their fetlocks were burnt and slightly sooty, just like Grandpa Coal Hoof's used to be.

"Greetings, Agate," Oak Bark addressed the filly, his expression slightly unsure. She had never spoken to the westerner's chieftain before, and he was clearly feeling a bit out of his depth. "I thank you for all the knowledge you have shared with our tribes so far. I hope that you're willing to indulge us one more time."

"Sure? Fair warning, though, I don't know the half, or even the tenth of the things ponies seem to assume that I know. You guys are used to spirits being wise and stuff, but I'm still a filly, even though I've been doing lots of adult stuff lately."

Oak Bark nodded slowly, while Long Stride smiled. "Knowing what you actually know and what you don't is quite a good trait to have. Shame most ponies seem to lose it as they grow up, becoming know-it-alls that actually know nothing, heh heh. Anyway, I'm afraid that we're going to need you to do some more "adult stuff" here, little one. Arbitration, for starters."

"Arbi- Alright, I haven't even heard that word before. What?" Agate tilted her head, tasting the unfamiliar concept and trying to memorize it.

"Arbitration is what happens when someone impartial and uninvolved in an argument makes a decision when two ponies or more are unable to come to an amicable conclusion themselves. It is one of the rather important duties that chieftains have, as unresolved conflicts leave resentment to fester between ponies, which eventually ends up in Windigoes showing up. Now, there is no actual argument here, but... Well, here's the situation: As I said, we have brought these from Dream Valley," He said, gesturing towards the trophy Guard equipment. The stallion that had been wearing the set of armor took it off before leaving, though not without some difficulty. A number of hairs torn from his fluffy coat got caught on the sharper edges of the breastplate and helmet.

Picking up a spear and examining the edge with a respectful expression, he continued. "If these were the items of perished ponies, there would be no conflict. No hunter, nor craftspony would want their equipment to be left abandoned and rot away, and anyone would be honored to wield the weapons of their brave kin that fell defending their tribe. However, your people are not dead... At least, we don't think so, even if we don't know where they were taken. Stealing someone's tools of survival is a heinous crime, but at the same time, we're quite sure that their owners are not going to be back to reclaim them. As such... As the only representative of your people, this becomes your decision, Agate. I know that it's a bit silly, but you're all we have. These are truly magnificently crafted, and could save pony's lives. May we claim these weapons and armor for our tribes?''

"Oh, wow. Okay, give me a minute. Hmmm..." Agate trailed off, idly examining the items. She didn't even think about such a question - the fact that they would keep the items was kind of a given. What else would they do, bring them back to Dream Valley? As Long Stride said, it didn't look like the Guard was going to reclaim them any time soon, and they found them fair and square. Though she never found anything bigger than a loose bit coin, she was familiar with the "finders keepers" saying. And when she considered the other things he said, she thought that both uncle Obsidian and grandpa Coal would probably agree with the equipment not going to waste.

"Yeah, you can keep them. I'm pretty sure the Guard wouldn't want them to rust away somewhere, either. Well, steel doesn't really rust... I think. You get what I mean, though," She finished, nodding to the stallion.

The other five stallions had remained respectfully quiet the entire time, letting their chieftains do the talking. However, at Agate's last sentence, they all sharply perked their ears up, staring at her with wide eyes. The eldest among them, a sooty off-white stallion dug into his ear with a hoof, his expression a mixture of disbelief and excitement.

"I'm sorry, youngling, but did these old ears deceive me, or did you say that these don't rust? This is truly not iron, then, this, this - steel?"

Oak Bark coughed, getting their attention. "Agate, this is Thunder Hoof, the eldest metalshaper of my tribe," He explained with a slightly reproachful look towards the stallion, making the filly's ears twitch at the new word.

"Ah yes... I am sorry for my lack of manners, Agate. I got a little overexcited," The stallion apologized with a small bow.

"It's okay," The filly nodded, mentally translating "metalshaper" into "blacksmith", fairly certain that that was what the word meant. "And yes, steel is... Well, it's actually mostly iron? It's made from iron... Somehow. Sorry, but that's one of the things that I don't really know about. Only reason I even know anything about metals at all is because my grandfather is a blacksmith himself."

The old stallion nodded, looking pensive. "It must be it, then. The lost art."

"Lost... Art?"

The old stallion opened his mouth to say something, only to descend into a coughing fit. One of the others smacked him on the back several times, turning to Agate. "The blacksmith families have stories of this "steel", at least I believe that's what the stories are about. A pale, shiny metal that is strong and durable, useful for all kinds of tools and weapons. Our ancestors knew how to make it, apparently, but the knowledge was lost over time. As the stories say, they had a great amount of it at first, but slowly, it whittled away over the years, with no way to replenish it."

"Why couldn't they make more, if they knew how?"

"There are no sources of iron here in the south - far as we know, anyway. Supposedly, the ancestors dug into the southern mountains, but found nothing whatsoever. It wasn't until the western tribe was established that we discovered a number of areas rich in metals around our forests, namely copper and iron. However, hundreds of years passed before we split off from the southern tribe, and with so many generations of blacksmiths having little to do but maintain old tools and work the odd chunk of copper that they managed to dig up, the skills were largely forgotten.

By the time we found a number of swampy areas rich in bog iron, we weren't quite able to recreate the steel. We tried following the instructions in the stories, but either something was lost over time, or our materials weren't adequate. Now, we snowponies aren't exactly known for giving up easily, and, naturally, various clever smiths kept trying. Some did manage to create a metal that was shinier and stronger than iron, but now that we have seen the kind of items your people have made..." The stallion shrugged helplessly, glancing at the equipment stacked beside him.

Catching his breath, Thunder Hoof picked up where the other pony left off. "We're not sure that we managed to make steel after all. Some kind of half-steel at best, maybe. The kind of metal that we managed to make doesn't measure up to what the expedition brought back. The quality is...Outstanding. I have never seen iron so, so... Flawless." He explained, fawning over the breastplate like a mother over a newborn, caressing it gently with a hoof, looking like he was tempted to bend down and kiss it.

Agate shrugged, shaking her head. "Well, like I said, I don't know anything about it. I only saw my grandpa's forge... Once, a few years ago, or at least there's only one time that I can remember. I didn't even see him making anything, just throwing something inside the furnace and pumping the bellows to get it burning before he shooed me out, saying that it was better that I don't start losing my hearing at such a young age."

Unfortunately for Agate, that only raised the stallion's curiosity. "Bellows, you say? What is that? Could you describe the furnace?"

"Oh, no. Here we go again..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate groaned, the usually calm and collected filly not even trying to hide her frustration any more. She was splayed out on her back, one ghostly hoof draped across her eyes. No matter how many times she told the snowponies that she didn't really know something, they'd still latch on to the tiniest details, which often were something she barely even saw once or twice, let alone knew how it worked.

"I apologize for this whole... Thing, Agate," Oak Bark coughed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "The stallions were following their passion, you know? The whole "steel" thing has been a thorn in their side for many generations, I believe."

The old blacksmith kept interrogating her for an hour or longer, his... Friends? Apprentices? Joining in with their own questions now and then, all of it because of a single glimpse of a forge that she managed to see years ago. She did her best to describe what bellows looked like and what their purpose was, not that she was fully certain herself. Still, as always, she did her best, including the usual warnings that she didn't really know what she was talking about.

They kept assuring her that they understood, immediately launching into more "so how does it actually work?" questions right after. Once the questions started repeating, Oak Bark stepped in, shooing the overenthusiastic blacksmiths away and telling them that metal was their talent, not Agate's, and that they should get to figuring things out themselves, instead of bothering the filly.

The other two chieftains seemed terribly amused by Oak Bark's predicament, silently watching him deal with his tribe's craftponies. Once they were gone, only Agate and the three tribal leaders were left in the building, sitting quietly amongst the expedition's trophies. Sighing, Agate got up, shaking her head.

"It's fine. Not like this hasn't happened to me before. Some ponies keep calling me a "wise spirit" and such. I guess snowponies are just too used to spirits knowing lots of stuff."

"Hrm," Oak Bark grunted noncommittally, not really sure what to say.

Frostbeard chuckled, the first sound he had made in a while. "Well, knowing how to create and work steel would benefit all tribes, so I can understand their enthusiasm, even if they did get a little overexcited. Really, I think we need the knowledge to actually use this bounty of metal..."

Dragging a hoof across her face, Agate glanced at him. "What do you mean? These things are already finished, you can use them just fine."

"Thing is, Agate, I'm not sure we can, or how much use they would be," The stallion explained, picking up a helmet and examining it from every angle. "The spears are magnificent, yes, but I'm not sure about this armor. I don't know what kind of foes your people fought, but most of it would not be very useful. Certainly, the breastplate protects your back nicely, but there's no protection for your neck, which is what many predators tend to aim for. Then, there's the sheer weight... Even a hardy stallion would get tired out faster if they were carrying so much metal on them, and our hunters do tend to cross great distances on their trips. It might even be much harder to snowwalk with the extra weight."

Long Stride nodded, picking up a sabaton. "Aye, speed and a long spear tend to be of more use than actual protection, especially since we deal with some really big things in the north, some of which can swallow you whole. Now, I do think that these metal hoof-guards would be amazingly useful at smashing up a floewolf, but the rest of it would serve far better melted down and reforged into a number of good spearheads, I believe."

"Well... I already told you that you can keep them. They're yours, do whatever you think is best. Good luck with reforging them, 'cause I have no idea how to go about doing that."

"I'm sure they'll figure it out. There's few things that better motivate ponies to improve than feeling like you're a master, and then having something far superior than anything you can make dropped at your hooves. This little discovery certainly lit a fire under their tails, heh heh."

Oak Bark snorted, shaking his head. "Yes, they'll probably jump into it the moment we return to our village, and end up with half of their coats burned off. As for the results... Well, we'll just have to see."

The other chieftains nodded, silence overtaking the building. Agate got up, trotting past the assorted Guard equipment and stopping in front of the crystal jug, her previously frustrated expression now one of mild amusement. "So, I guess that this is all that remains of the crystalline crafts of the Crystal empire. Not buildings, not roads, not artefacts of any kind. A jug."

"Not... Entirely," Long Stride ventured, his voice slightly hesitant. "You see, Agate, on our journey back, we have found something else, something that is a rather personal matter for most ponies, which is why I haven't told the others about it during my story. There is one more example of your people's craft that we have, something far more beautiful and impressive than a jug."

"Okay...?" Agate asked curiously, wondering what could they have possibly found that would cause such apprehension. Was it some powerful artifact? The Crystal Heart itself? No, that was ridiculous. And what was that bit about it being personal?

Following Long Stride towards the boxes, she glanced inside the open containers. There were more things in there that they haven't showed off, like a set of pickaxes in one, and some more metal tools in the others. They probably didn't think the tools were half as impressive as the weapons and armor, which, to be fair, was entirely correct. Nothing stood out as a special item, though.

The stallion opened the lid of another box, reaching in and pulling out a tiny clay pot etched and painted with some leaf motifs. It definitely wasn't made by crystal ponies, but what he pulled out of it was. It took Agate a good few minutes of staring at the delicate golden chain, the precise inlay, and the expertly cut gem to recognize the item.

"Hold on a moment... That's my necklace."

Seaward Bound

"Hm. I suspected as much, given the location."

The filly was stumped. Shaking her head and trying to rattle some thoughts loose, she absent-mindedly reached for the necklace, only for her hoof to pass through. "Wait, I had it with me... I had it when I... died."

"Aye, we discovered it along with the rest of your mortal remains. We got really lucky we even found them at all." Long Stride replied, putting the necklace back and tapping the same box that he pulled out the clay pot from. There was some kind of bundle of cloth in there, and Agate had a pretty good idea of what was wrapped up in it. "Everything was snowed over, which, while not too thick, still covered the entire mountainside. However, one of the scouts saw some scraps of fabric stuck in a bush, and alerted the others. In the end, we spent the bigger half of the day circling the area, and even then, we probably wouldn't have found anything if the young shamares hadn't worked their magic to track the fabric to where it came from. I think it's best if you don't look inside, by the way. It's not pretty. You fell in an exposed location, and the scavengers did their part. Everything was torn up, and probably the only reason the necklace wasn't taken by some curious crow was the fact that it was tangled up in the remains of your scarf."

"I wasn't going to. I saw my dead body once already, and it was the weirdest thing ever. I don't really want to know how it looks like after it was chewed on," She replied, averting her eyes.

"Understandable. Though our bodies return to nature where they belong after we die, the ways of their returning are rarely pleasant to watch."

"Right. So, uh... What are you going to do with it?"

The stallion blinked slowly, considering the filly. "Well, we were hoping you would be the one to tell us what to do, Agate. Even our separate tribes have some wildly different methods of burial. How do your people do it?"

"Oh." Agate sat down, rubbing her chin in deep thought. After a few minutes, she shook her head. "I have no idea. All I know is something I vaguely remember about a "pale mare" of some kind coming to take you away when you die. Nothing about what ponies do with the bodies."

That made him raise his eyebrows. "Really? Nothing at all?"

She shrugged helplessly, to which Frostbeard spoke up. "It is not too surprising. Foals learn of things as they come, and she is still young. Clearly, she didn't have to deal with any deaths in her family until she met her own."

Long Stride shrugged as well, sitting down in front of Agate. "Well, it's not like this is a hard problem to solve. We'll just do it in one of our snowpony ways."

"So... What are those ways?" Agate asked, glancing at the box now and then. "You said your tribes do it differently? Is there some kind of importance on how you do it?"

"Not really, as long as you don't do it the wrong way. The differences came mostly because of the conditions in the regions that we live in."

"So..."

"Right, right. Well, we northerners gain a great amount of sustenance from the seas, so it is only fitting that we return some of what we've taken when we pass on. Our tribe buries our fallen at sea, which is... Not really an option here, not unless you want to wait for some reason, and have it done when we travel northwards in spring."

"I... Guess not?" Agate shrugged, biting her lip. "Um, and how do the other tribes do it?"

Frostbeard and Oak Bark glanced between each other, the southerner chieftain going first after a small nod from the other stallion. "Cremation. We build a funeral pyre, and scatter the ashes... Or just let the winds do it for us. Once a pony's body is returned to nature, it is up to nature's spirits what to do with it. Sometimes, deaths coincide with the Calling, and we use the same bonfire that's used for calling spirits. Or, when there's no lost spirits to summon, we just build a regular funeral pyre in the ceremonial grounds."

"We also tend to cremate our fallen, though some of the ponies living higher in the mountains began doing what they named "sky burials". There are some rather... Ravenous vultures living out there in the west that are more than happy to help out."

"Wow, okay. So you just... Let them have at it?" Agate asked, wonder in her voice. While she really didn't know how ponies dealt with the dead back in the Empire, letting a bunch of animals eat you after you spent your life trying to avoid getting eaten still sounded odd.

"Sure. A body is nothing once the spirit is gone, after all. Just dead flesh. That's what all the spirits say themselves, anyway. Some ponies used to treat the bodies of their kin with unnecessary reverence in the past, but shamares put a stop to it one day. You didn't feel anything any more after you passed, did you?"

Thinking back to that night, Agate shook her head. "Not really. I mean, I felt very confused and lost, but I didn't feel cold or hungry any more. I was more concerned with what I was supposed to do next, so I just galloped off to try and figure things out."

"I see. So, what's your choice?"

"Oh, right. Uh..." Agate trailed off, scratching her head. "Cremation, I guess? Still a bit weird to be doing this at all. Ponies back home didn't really hang around after they died."

"And I'm certain you've been told before that that's what's weird to us. Just about every pony tends to stay to say their goodbyes, at least," The westerner's chieftain explained, shaking his head.

Agate shrugged helplessly, the whole spirit thing still way beyond her ability to understand. Rising from his sitting position, Frostbeard nodded to the filly, stretching his hindlegs. "It's settled, then. Soon as we have some... Actually, there's still plenty of time in the day. Let's get this over and done with. I think we can call this meeting to an end," He said, nodding to the other two chieftains.

Long Stride nodded back, getting up and cracking a yawn. "Think I'll go get some food in me, then. And maybe a nap. The journey was interesting, but it did take a lot out of me. Be well."

"Thank you for your aid and wisdom, Agate. Moon light your path. Farewell," Oak Bark likewise said his goodbyes, making his way towards the exit.

Frostbeard glanced around, going towards the boxes. Carefully sticking his hoof into the one with Agate's remains, he pulled out the tightly-bound bundle and put it on his back. Looking at it more closely, she could see that it was actually her old trusty crystal wool blanket, though it was terribly filthy, and even moldy in a few spots. Some parts were frayed as well, as if something tried to chew on it. Clearly, the year spent outside was not good to it.

Agate thought about all the other things that she had with her at the time. Saddlebags, hat, scarf... She didn't care about the clothes and other survival stuff in the slightest, since she didn't need them any more. If they weren't destroyed by the elements, she'd gift them to her friends, not that they'd need them. The snowponies had far, far better cold-weather clothes than what they made in the Empire. The only part that she felt slightly regretful about was the fact that the clothes were gifts from her parents. She'd have liked to keep something as a memento, pointless as it would be to have a hat or a scarf that she couldn't even touch, and which would rot away over the years anyway.

Thinking about rotting brought her thoughts back to the necklace. Gold didn't rust, and neither did gemstones. She didn't really have any sentimental attachment to the necklace, seeing as it was just a random piece of jewelry that her father picked out so that she would have something to trade with, if she needed to. She spent days wearing it and didn't even so much as glance at it, since she had her scarf wrapped around her neck almost the entire time. Still, when she thought about gifting it to someone, she felt a little hesitant.

"Should I keep it? ...Somehow?"

While she was lost in her thoughts, Frostbeard put the armor and spears away, tidying up the boxes. Nodding to Agate, he led her outside, stopping briefly to push the unburnt bits of wood in the firepit onto the glowing coals. His tasks done, he swept his gaze across the spacious building one last time before stepping outside and slamming the large double doors shut.

He led the silent spirit across the village, his long gait forcing her to almost gallop to keep up with him at times. The destination became clear almost immediately - they were going towards the ceremonial grounds in the middle of Snowpitt, which weren't all that far from the Great Hall. The paths were almost devoid of ponies, everyone likely sitting down to eat something after the long meeting. The grounds were completely empty when they got there, the pair the only living beings around.

Well, one living being and one undead filly, to be precise.

Carefully setting down his cargo near the edge of the firepit, Frostbeard examined it with a critical eye for a moment before nodding. "Alright, it's not snowed over too badly, so I won't have to dig too much. Stay here, Agate, I need to go retrieve some firewood. I shall be back shortly."

"Alright."

Agate sat there for some time, staring unblinkingly at her old blanket. She was simultaneously tempted to stick her head inside to take a look, and trying to restrain herself from doing it. She'd seen stylized pictures of skeletons in her schoolbooks, but as she learned, the real thing almost always ended up looking way, way different. Curious as she was, though, she didn't really want to find out what "it's not pretty" really meant in this context, so she managed to keep her curiosity at bay long enough for Frostbeard to come back.

He wasn't alone, three more stallions and two shamares following in tow. The unfamiliar stallions were there just to help him out with the firewood, dropping off thick bundles of branches before trotting off with a nod to the chieftain. The shamares were well known to Agate, though, being her real first contacts with the snowponies.

"Hello, Agate. This is an... Interesting occasion for you, I imagine," Earthsong spoke, eyeing the bundle of cloth on the ground.

"Hrm. Bit unusual, honestly. Normally, a pony either passes on in the village, or their body gets claimed by nature. Can't quite remember a case where we had an entire year between the spirit showing up and taking care of its mortal remains," True Sight remarked, glancing at the bundle with her sharp gaze as well.

Agate shrugged helplessly. "A lot of things about me keep ending up being unusual, or so ponies keep telling me. Most of the time, I'm just confused. Well, I've been less confused lately as I learned a lot about snowponies, but then something like this happens, and I'm back to being confused."

Earthsong nodded sympathetically. "In cases like these, the vast majority of snowponies feel like you, as well. Some are sad, others are apprehensive, but most aren't too sure what to feel about saying goodbye to what was recently a part of themselves. A few, those that feel they have many things left undone, get desperate. "My body is right there, can't you do anything?" And the answer is no, no more than you can blow against the wind or stop the flow of a river with a hoof. Attempting to fight against nature's cycles never ends well. All we can do is accept the undeniable truth before us, and move forward."

Agate tilted her head a little, considering the shamare's words. She wasn't sure what to say, or whether she should even say anything at all, so she elected to remain silent. While they were talking, Frostbeard kicked away the snow from a patch in the firepit, exposing the cold ashes beneath. Grabbing the bundles of firewood, he deftly built a pyre, picking up Agate's remains and putting them on top. With a nod to the shamares, he stepped back, sitting down near the edge of the firepit.

The pair nodded back, approaching the stacked wood. They retrieved a few knotted charms from some of the many accessories they were wearing, whispering something under their breaths and sticking their hooves between the branches, reaching deep inside the pyre. There was a slight glow and a sudden flash of light, at which they quickly pulled their hooves out, flames greedily licking the firewood already.

The fire spell worked differently than whatever magics the shamares cast on the bonfire during the Calling. There was no glow or phantom images this time, but instead, the fire began consuming the firewood at a truly impressive rate, producing so much heat that the snow around it melted right before their eyes. The wool blanket was engulfed in moments, quickly burning away to nothing. The contents were hidden by the flames, rising in a tall pillar from the enchanted pyre.

As Agate sat and watched, her ear twitched as she heard a loud growl from Frostbeard's stomach. "Thank you very much for helping, chieftain, but you don't have to stay here for my sake. You should go eat something."

"It's a chieftain's duty, rare as it is. Most ponies have families that watch over the proceedings. Lacking that, a chieftain presides over his tribesfolk. And I do consider you of the tribe, Agate, despite many ponies calling you a "visitor" or "traveler spirit". Either way, it doesn't matter. This won't take long," He waved her concerns away, looking at the bright pyre with lidded eyes, the light appearing extra bright in the gloom of the long night.

True to his word, the shamare-enhanced flames greedily ate away at both the firewood and Agate's remains, the pyre quickly collapsing in on itself, the last bits of fuel cleanly burning away. All that was left was a pile of glowing coals and ash, surrounded by a circle of melted snow. If anything remained of Agate's body, she wasn't able to see it.

"It is done," Frostbeard spoke, getting up. "It's unfortunate that this is the extent of what the expedition was able to accomplish, but some things are simply beyond our ken."

"It's not over yet," True Sight muttered, her expression set in a frown.

The stallion blinked in surprise, looking between the shamare and the remains of the pyre in confusion, before understanding dawned on his face. "Ah, you mean the mystery of the crystal ponies? Yes, I'm certain there will be other expeditions. No telling whether they'll have more success, though."

"We shall see," The elder replied simply, shrugging.

"I suppose we shall. Be well, you three. You know where to find me if you need me."

Before he could trot away, though, Agate suddenly jumped up, turning towards him. "Wait! Just a moment, please!"

"Hm? Something you forgot, Agate?"

"Yes, um, my necklace. The one that Long Stride brought back. Can I keep it?"

"Oh? Ah yes, of course. He may have retrieved it, but it is still yours. You can give it to whoever you wish."

That wasn't precisely what Agate was asking, but she nodded anyway as the stallion trotted off. To be fair, it was a sensible assumption to make. It's not like she could do much of anything with any physical item any more, let alone something that you could wear. And yet... Could she?

"What was that about, Agate? Something else of yours that they found?" Earthsong asked.

"Yeah. Most of my stuff was useless from the exposure to the elements and animals, but they found the golden necklace my father gave me before we left. I'm not too attached to it, but... I kind of wanted to keep it for myself," Agate explained, gazing into the distance with a thoughtful look.

"And how exactly are you going to pull that off?" True Sight inquired, her voice intrigued.

"Well... I can't exactly wear it myself, but... In a way, maybe I can."

Earthsong chuckled with amusement, shaking her head. "I think you've been spending too much time around shamares, Agate. You're beginning to sound like one. Cryptic sentences, saying something without actually saying it."

"Atta filly, you'll be annoying everyone around you with mysterious advice in no time," True Sight joined in the laughter, cackling with approval.

"That's not really my goal, but... Good to know, I suppose. What I was thinking was... Maybe someone could take the necklace and hang it up on my totem. You know, on that wooden bust of me."

"Oh, well. I think that would work," Earthsong mused, tapping her chin.

"You two have fun with that. I'm off to interrogate the younglings a bit more," True Sight nodded to them, shuffling away.

"Would you like me to carry the necklace for you, Agate?" Earthsong inquired after a moment's thought.

"Only if you're not busy with something important," The filly replied, shaking her head.

"No, I'm really not. The others are busy with their questioning, but it's pretty obvious that the two younglings won't be able to tell us much. So, where is it?" She asked, glancing around.

"Oh. Ooh. Darn. I think it's still back in the Great Hall," Agate recalled, grimacing slightly.

"No worries. Let's go retrieve it."

"Alright."

The pair made their way back to the building, Earthsong cracking the door open a tiny bit. Slipping in, they made their way deeper inwards, the mare's hoofsteps echoing surprisingly loudly through the silent interior. Galloping ahead, Agate began sticking her head inside the boxes, trying to find the little clay pot that contained her necklace.

"No, no, no... Wait, I'm silly."

Focusing briefly, she looked at the boxes again, sweeping them with her spirit sight. The vaunted crystal jug sparkled a deep blue on the lid of one of the boxes, and there was a faint glimmer deeper inside a different one, Agate's gem-seeing gaze helping her pinpoint her target. At her pointed hoof, Earthsong stuck her foreleg inside, pulling out the pot.

"Is it in here?"

"Yup, I can see it."

"That talent of yours still fascinates me. I'd love to talk to your tribe's elders about their curious magic."

"Oh, I'm sure they'd be very interested in all the crazy stuff you can do as well."

Making small talk, they left the building, closing the door tightly and making their way towards Agate's totem. Once they reached their destination, Earthsong went to examine the totem with a critical eye, paying extra attention to all the protective wards carved into it. After a few minutes, she nodded in satisfaction, retrieving her cargo from her back. Opening the clay pot, the mare poured the necklace out onto her hoof, letting out a quiet "Ooooh" at the sparkling golden chain.

"This is beautiful, Agate. Many ponies wear beads and braces of various kinds, but this... This is gold, yes? Not many ponies have anything made from gold, let alone something so finely crafted. I'm not sure any of the metal workers even know how to make a metal string like that."

Agate nodded, feeling some second-hoof pride. "Yeah. My parents made it. They're really good at it. The metalwork is my mother's."

"Mmm. Well, metal rarely works well for shamares. A little too... Rigid and inert, so we prefer to make our charms from other materials. Still, I can certainly appreciate the quality. Now then..." The mare trailed off, glancing at the totem again.

Gently picking up the necklace with her teeth, she reared up, putting her forelegs on the totem pole and moving a step forward with her hindlegs. With a twist of her neck, she deposited the necklace on Agate's bust, stepping back and landing on all four hooves again to admire the results.

"...Unusual, but it doesn't look out of place," She concluded after a minute's evaluation. "It won't get damaged by the weather, right?"

"No, gold doesn't rust at all, or that's what I've been told. Thank you, Earthsong."

"Don't mention it."

❅ ❆ ❅

Besides the return of the expedition, nothing else interrupted the daily routines of the wintering snowponies. They ate, slept, talked, learned, shared stories, and prepared for their yearly migration once more. Bit by bit, the night sky started becoming brighter each morning, until finally, the tiniest sunbeam shone from the eastern horizon, signifying the ending of the Long Night.

It was met with another celebration, though the visiting tribes didn't rush off to depart just yet. They wanted a bit more than a sliver of light, so they stayed around for a couple more weeks, even though they were clearly itching to go. Over the winter, Agate noticed that the snowponies turned somewhat lethargic, moving little and spending most of their time either listening or talking, or sleeping. She was a bit concerned at first, but the few ponies that she asked about it assured her that it was just a normal "winter sleepiness", whatever that was.

The coming of sunlight certainly woke them up fully, the village abuzz with activity, which was reflected in the celebrations, as well. Instead of the somber songs and stories of the Calling, ponies were dancing and playing music again, happily bouncing around to stretch their muscles after a long period of inactivity. Some scouts went for a gallop through the tundra, to check whether there were any lingering beasts left over from the Calling.

The surge of energy invigorated the elders as well, to an extent. The shamares didn't exactly start galloping around, but they did express their vigor in other ways. True Sight and Sky Breath, who had been quietly sniping at each other all winter, decided to have some kind of poetry/insult contest right in the middle of the village, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

"Bird feather, bird brain, bird mind.
A sparrow's mind and yours are the same.
To flights of fancy you're inclined -
To call you a shamare brings us shame."

Shaking her feathered accessories, the masked shamare grinned, chuckling at her competitor.

"Oh, True Sight - a sight so sad and poor.
She thinks herself oh so cunning and wise.
And yet, she's but a twit with delusions of grandeur.
No magic or skill, her sight the only consolation prize."

Sniffing disdainfully, her competitor tossed her mane, taking but a moment to think up a comeback.

"Oh, just look at you, spreading your sweet lies.
Can't even see straight, so you use your swarms of spies.
Not surprising you can't use your own head.
While I? I need not ask any spirits to know where it's safe to tread."

Making some strange-sounding birdcall, Sky Breath shook again, her tone of voice confused.

"Oh, she's a strange one, she is.
Bragging that she can't make spirit friends like this?
You're not a shamare, something I should have guessed.
Perhaps retiring in shame for you would be the best."

With a flat look, True Sight continued the duel.

"Won't is not can't, especially with a spirit so strong.
I stand on my own, while you need a whole throng.
You can call your birds, I'll slap them all away.
My spirit would stand against a dozen of yours, any day."

The idea of a verbal spar was still alien to Agate, but she couldn't deny that, despite the contestants just standing and talking, it was easily just as exciting as watching the jousting matches during the Crystal Faire, for some reason. The other onlookers seemed to feel the same, listening to the thrown insults with wide grins on their excited faces, trying to keep their laughter down.

After a few more verses, they stopped, snorting at each other. True Sight stuck her tongue out at Sky Breath, the westerner shamare reciprocating immediately. The crowd laughed, slowly dispersing and discussing which insults were better crafted, in their opinion. Agate couldn't help but smile as well, still marveling at the strange behavior of the two elders. She never even thought about fake-insulting her friends to practice actual insults, but it seemed that the two were indeed friends, despite only ever talking rudely to each other, even when they were not rhyming.

Trotting away, she made her way to a patch of land that was occupied by the northerners and their igloos, looking for a big one with special markings. The day before, Blizzard Heart went to visit her, wanting to discuss Agate's agreement to explore some of the northerner's many islands for crystal deposits. She confirmed that she was willing to go, and was told to visit the chieftain at sunup.

Finding the one that fit the shamare's description, Agate stopped briefly to marvel at the structure. She still had trouble believing that it was warmer inside than it was outside, and seeing as she wasn't able to feel cold any more, she'd likely never be able to feel it for herself and get rid of those doubts. Double-checking the few crude runes carved into the ice above the entrance, she went in through the short and narrow entrance, glancing around the cramped interior.

Tiny as it was, the igloo still had the essentials a pony needed to live. A few beds, a fireplace that somehow didn't melt the walls, and some piles of stored food and equipment. Several ponies were lying on the beds, including Long Stride, who was discussing something with an unfamiliar mare, two more mares listening in. Noticing Agate, one of them nodded towards her, getting the other's attention.

"Ah, good, our special-eyed scout is here. Hello again, Agate. How did you fare this winter?"

"Can't complain. I barely felt the cold," Agate shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Right, of course. Silly question," The stallion snorted, while the mares tittered quietly. "Anyway, Blizzard Heart informed us of your offer. Which brought much joy and lifted the spirits of many ponies of my tribe, once they heard about it. Even though they're not really important to our survival , spirit stones have been a valuable resource to us for a long time. We could live without them, but the other tribes need them for rituals and suchlike, as I'm sure you've seen yourself. Are you alright with travelling even further north from your home?"

"Sure. I mean, it's only fair. You went south to look for crystal ponies, the least I could do is go north to find some crystals for you, not that I wouldn't have went anyway. I don't really have anything important that I'm doing right now, or any urgent plans that are keeping me here," She replied with a shrug.

Her reply was met with smiles from all four ponies. "Excellent. In that case, I'm leaving you in the capable hooves of Seaweed and her companions here. While I'd like to accompany an honored guest like you personally, I'm afraid that being a chieftain brings a whole host of important duties. They will be your guides and companions on your journey through the north."

"Try not to break my igloo with your girthy stature, chieftain," Seaweed giggled, as Long Stride got up and turned to leave.

The other mares did their best to suppress their laughter as the large stallion rolled his eyes with a small grin. Laying down near the entrance, he slid forward, his frame seemingly getting stuck for a brief moment before he pulled himself forward, his sides audibly brushing against the walls of the narrow entrance. One mare let out a low whistle, while another whispered "Girthyyy..." under hear breath, which earned another round of laughter.

Once their giggles subsided, Seaweed shook her head, giving Agate a small bow. "Apologies, wise spirit. These two are Harpoon and Wave Splash. All three of us reside on Shear and tend to travel the surrounding islands, so we know the local waters quite well. We shall be honored to provide you with directions and transportation on your noble quest," The mare explained, while the other two gave short salutes.

"Okay. I'd prefer it if you called me by my name, though. The "wise spirit" thing makes me feel silly," She explained, feeling tickled by the "noble quest" bit. Was she some kind of fairy-tale adventurer now?

After a bit of thought, she had to conclude that she sort of was. Except it wasn't any kind of fairy tale that she ever read, not that she read all that many yet. Still, what kind of story had the main character die right in the beginning of the adventure?

"Very well. I have never worked with spirits before, or anyone quite so... Young, so you'll have to forgive me for any slip-ups, ah... Ag-ate," Seaweed nodded again, carefully pronouncing the foreign name.

"Don't worry about it. I really don't need any kind of special treatment. I went on a few trips with the local hunters before, so I'm not completely clueless about how to work with other ponies. Still, you're going to have to tell me what to do, I think. I listened to a bunch of stories from your tribe's storytellers, but I haven't even seen the sea before. I honestly don't have a clue what the north's like."

Harpoon grinned at her explanation, clopping her hooves together. "Oh, that'll be a sight, let me tell you. The sea is dangerous and treacherous, but there's beauty in it, too. We get some southerner nomads visiting Nilas every year, to trade fish for plants that they gather during the summer. The younglings that see the waves for the first time get slack-jawed without fail, heh."

"And I don't believe you'll need to actually do anything while travelling. Our job is to get you to the islands so you can examine them with your spirit powers, yes? Just jump in our kayaks, and we'll take care of the rest. And once we land, well, the next part is entirely up to you," Seaweed added.

"Alright, so... I don't actually need to prepare in any way. When do you leave?"

"Three days hence. Plenty enough time to say your goodbyes to your friends. Just come over to our igloo, and we'll move out together. Better than galloping back and forth between the crowd trying to find us."

"I'll be there."

❅ ❆ ❅

"You'll do well," Spear Throw nodded, confidence in his voice.

"I guess? The success of this trip doesn't entirely hinge on me doing something, though. They want me to find crystals, and it won't matter how good I am at finding them if there's no more deposits on their islands," Agate shrugged.

"What are the odds of that? Do spirit stones grow underground, like plants do? How far do they spread?" Gnarled Root asked, applying her experience as a herbalist to the situation.

"I really don't know. Knowing lots of things about crystals and knowing lots of things about finding crystals is not the same thing. There's, uh... Geology, and different rocks, like sedimentary or igneous, and... Well, I don't know. I'm not fully sure I know what those words even mean. I didn't exactly have time to learn all that much."

Chuckling, Gnarled Root shook her head, patting Agate on the head with a ghostly hoof. "You're going to do fine. Even if you lack knowledge, there's nothing like getting some first-hoof experience to help you learn something new."

"I suppose..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"That sounds amazing. I'm not planning to go off and join the northerners, but I do want to see this "sea" they keep talking about," Autumn Ash sighed, her thoughts far away.

"Yeah," Her brother agreed. "I'm definitely joining the nomads when I come of age, even if my parents say I don't need to. All those monsters they have in the north sound scary, but everyone says the southern tundra plains are the safest territory in the three tribe's lands. I want to get out of the village and see what's outside, so that I at least know some of what the storytellers are talking about, instead of just trying to imagine it."

"Mm. Travelling can be very interesting, but, well..." Agate trailed off, raising a foreleg and examining the ethereal, partially see-through appendage. "It can get a little too exciting. Watch your backs while you're out there, and don't get careless."

"Don't worry, it's not like we're going alone and unprepared. There's always a bunch of adults to guide the younger ponies and teach them about survival and all that," Cindertail reassured her, idly playing with his amethyst necklace.

"I know. Good luck with your plants this year. I have no idea when I'll return, so it might be winter again when I get back. Your summers are so short."

"Don't we know it. Spring is just a milder winter until stuff starts melting. Anyway, we'll be waiting for you! Bring back some interesting stories!"

"I will. See you later, you two," Agate said her goodbyes, waving to the two ashen foals.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hmmm. The time is almost upon us."

Agate didn't even get to say hello to Dreamcatcher before the mare spoke, all without even glancing at the silent spirit. Shaking her head, she waited for a moment to see if the old dreamwalker was going to say anything else before trotting into her field of view.

"Hello, elder. I'll be leaving with the northerners soon, to go explore their islands, as I told you before."

"Hm? Ah, Agate. Yes, I remember. Best of luck on your journey. Don't worry about the missed lessons. I am not certain I'd be able to help you much either way. Something strange has been happening in the dream realm lately, and I can't quite make sense of it. I think I'm going to be busy for a while, trying to untangle this mystery."

"Okay. Is it something bad?"

"Too early to tell. Some strange echoes are shaking the dreamscape. It feels like something is going to happen, but it is too indistinct. I cannot see or hear any ponies in the short glimpses that I manage to see either, only brief flashes of the heavens, sometimes at night, sometimes during the day. Perhaps it is something completely unrelated to events in this world. Still, I would like to observe it, whatever it is."

"I see. Best of luck with your search."

"And you with yours, Agate. Winds carry you on your journey."

❅ ❆ ❅

Sipping on a cup of tea, Earthsong considered the filly sitting in front of her. "Hm. You know, you really flipped our world upside down. Who could have thought that a visit from a lost spirit would change our understanding of the world so much?"

"Um, I didn't mean to?"

Sniggering, True Sight raised a hoof in a mock lecturing gesture. "That makes it even better! When things like that happen, you can claim all the credit without actually having done anything! And if it's something bad, then you can just say that it's not actually something that you did yourself, so you're not responsible for it."

Earthsong gave the elder a well-practiced eye roll as the old mare laughed. "Best of luck on your adventure, Agate. I do hope it's going to be successful."

❅ ❆ ❅

Finally, the time to say goodbye came once again. After having their traditional farewell feast of strange stews made from all kinds of leftover foods that they brought with them, the three snowpony tribes prepared to go their own ways for the coming year. It was still freezing cold, but sunlight was slowly warming the world once more, and after a long winter of mostly resting and eating, the massive herd of ponies were absolutely raring to get moving.

Excited, curious, and slightly nervous, Agate made her way to Seaweed's igloo. The mare had a sleigh full of her belongings prepared to go, attaching the harness to her chest. Harpoon and Wave Splash were nearby as well, all geared up and waiting for Seaweed to finish.

"Lmst thrr", Seaweed attempted to speak, her mouth occupied with the harness.

"Just in time. Our charge is here," Harpoon spoke, nodding at Agate.

"Hello, Harpoon, Wave Splash. Seaweed," Agate nodded in greetings at each one.

"Call me Splash," The mare waved.

"Alright. I don't exactly pack stuff any more, so... Ready when you are."

Done fiddling with the harness, Seaweed grinned widely. "Well then, hop on my sleigh and we'll get going! Some others are still puttering about, but there's no need to wait for every single pony. The tribe's going to form into a column leagues long, anyway."

"Hop on? I can trot myself, I don't really get tired any more," Agate asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"Sure, but you don't weigh anything either, right? Might as well enjoy the ride!"

"Well... Huh. Okay."

Clambering onto the cargo-laden sleigh, Agate curiously looked around from her new, elevated position. With a grin, Seaweed nodded to her companions, and the three trotted away, maneuvering between the tightly-packed igloos. Some already looked abandoned, while others still had occupants, various noises coming from the icy dwellings as the northerners broke down their temporary settlement and prepared to move.

The travelers made their way towards the village boundaries, exiting through a gap in the ice wall. Evidently, it had served it's purpose, as there were multiple clearly pony-made holes in it, allowing for easier access to the outside. Seaweed turned northwest, where Agate could see a small crowd, a few tall forms standing out in the mix. Groups of ponies of all sizes were moving in the same direction, their steps energetic and eager.

The filly recognized the chieftains, with the shamares of all tribes standing off to the side, some of them hugging and saying their goodbyes. She couldn't hear what they were talking about from that distance, but she assumed that it was likely another ritualistic farewell, much like the traditional greetings they exchanged when the other two tribes arrived to Snowpitt.

"So, anything from the scouts?" Seaweed asked the other two.

"Nope. "Strange tracks", as they usually say, but nothing living remains from the Calling. We're good to go," Harpoon replied.

"Awesome. Let's get going."

Despite the chieftains finishing their farewells with a few hoofbumps just then, Seaweed and her friends were not the first ones eager to get moving. Agate could see no small amount of ponies with sleighs in the far distance already, getting a good head start. However, the chieftains giving the signal roused everyone else as well, a great cheer coming from the crowd. With a neigh, Seaweed reared up and galloped away, her companions following alongside her.

Agate never rode a sleigh before, but she decided that she liked it almost immediately. It smoothly glided on the snow, providing her with a good vantage point to pony-watch, which wouldn't be possible if she was on the ground - all she'd see would be the legs of the adults surrounding her.

Some sleighs had foals riding on them as well, though they were mostly really young ones. The ones that could gallop were doing so furiously, with an infectious enthusiasm that matched or even exceeded that of their parent's. The elders were similar, only the weakest and oldest ones getting a lift, some of the sprightly ones even pulling light sleighs of their own, though obviously at a slower pace than the hot-blooded youths were.

There wasn't anything for Agate to do but watch, so that was exactly what she did. Constantly looking around, she felt a prick of satisfaction every time she recognized some part or other of the tundra from her previous exploration trips. Though she got quite far away from Snowpitt on her wild gallops through the plains, she knew that they were going to move much, much further away this time.

After an hour or so of galloping, the excitement and adrenaline wore off from her guides. They slowed down to a steady, distance-eating trot, only stopping briefly to eat some clean snow from the ground. The still-brief window of sunlight came and went, temporarily turning the snowy expanse into a blinding, sparkly canvas. The mares breathed a sigh of relief when the heavens darkened, making the terrain more bearable to look at.

They didn't talk much besides the most basic things throughout their journey, stopping to eat some dried fish and grass that they dug out from beneath the snow, and continuing right on. Once it was finally time to rest, the three quickly and efficiently set up a small camp, putting their sleighs in a triangle formation around the middle and building a small tent, curling up together in a fluffy pony pile.

"Do you need anything, Agate? I could set something up for you..." Seaweed asked from the tent, her voice slightly uncertain.

"Not really. Not only I don't feel hot or cold any more, I don't feel whether the ground is rough. Falling asleep outside of my totem is a bit hard, but I could probably sleep on a pile of pointy rocks in the middle of a campfire. Don't mind me, get your rest," She waved the mare off, lying down right in the snow.

"Very well. Goodnight, Agate."

"Goodnight, Seaweed."

❅ ❆ ❅

The journey went on like that for over a week, various ponies that more or less matched each other's speed and endurance naturally forming together into groups, building camps and moving out at the same time. It didn't take long for them to leave the area that Agate had explored, though the terrain didn't exactly change much. It truly looked like the tundra plain went on forever, vast and endless, the only breaks in the monotony being the guidestones the snowponies built, and the odd remains of strange beasts they saw now and then.

"What do you think that was?" Wave Splash asked, eyeing the large skeleton of some unknown predator with impressive claws.

"No clue. It's big like a bear, but it's not shaped like one. Though, to be fair, I don't think I saw what a bear's skeleton actually looks like," Harpoon replied, shaking her head.

"Looks like floewolf shards," Seaweed remarked, picking up a jagged chunk of blue-colored ice. "Guess they had a fight. Pretty easy to tell who won, I think."

"Is there any danger that it's still around?" Agate asked, staring at the blue shard of the mythical beast with unabashed fascination.

"No, all the crazy monsters clear out after a few weeks after the Calling. Guess they fight it out, and the winners quickly get bored and wander off back from where they came. Despite the tracks and bones and all that, no one's been attacked on a return trip... I don't even remember for how long. Anyway, we're actually getting close to Nilas. We should be there by tomorrow, if, spirits protect us, no sudden blizzard decides to dump a bunch of snow on us," The mare explained, tossing the piece of ice away and nodding to the others.

Without a word, they moved away, leaving the gruesome remains behind them without second glance. Agate's gaze lingered on them for a while, but eventually she turned forward again, eager to see the northerner's seaside village, though her main interest was the sea itself.

Despite the sea's description as something absolutely massive, nothing could be seen in the distance, not that day, not the day after, not even when the three mares began smiling widely, sniffing the air with pleased expressions. No matter how much Agate looked around, though, she couldn't see anything but the same old tundra on all sides.

"Are we... Close yet?" She asked politely, trying not to appear impatient.

"Oh yes! I can smell the seaweed already. Don't worry, not much left now. You'll be able to see everything as soon as we get closer to the edge of the cliffs," Seaweed reassured her, the others nodding along.

"Alright then."

As they kept moving forward, though, Seaweed's happy expression turned into a light frown as they came across a large mass of ponies, most of them sitting down and resting, while a small trickle kept moving forward. With a roll of her eyes, she gestured to the others, leading them off to the right. Curious, Agate glanced behind her.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not really. It's just that the paths down the cliffs are a bit narrow, and with that many ponies, they always get clogged. They really should carve out a few more so it doesn't happen. Fortunately, there's more paths off to the side, by the seal beach. Might as well go the long way around and say hello to some friends," She explained, quickly moving away from the crowd.

"Seal... Beach?" Agate confusedly asked, which made the mares break out in wide smiles again.

"Oh yeah, you couldn't have seen a seal either, could you? Come on, they're right down there! You're going to love them," Wave Splash gushed, taking the lead.

They soon came close to the edge of the tundra, and finally, Agate could see the fabled sea. Or ocean, she wasn't entirely sure - the snowponies would sometimes call it one or the other. The plain abruptly ended in a sheer cliff, the instant change in terrain slightly jarring. There was a fairly even slope leading downwards, going past a rocky cliffside and leading towards a wide sandy beach, a good part of it still covered in snow.

The sea itself... As Agate stared at it, she concluded that it did not look like a large lake, or anything quite like she ever saw before. While there was indeed plenty of water, it was not the relatively calm and placid water of the lakes, oh no. Even from all the way up there, she could hear a constant, neverending dull roar of sorts, the water foamy and dark, crashing on the shore in great waves that produced a shocking amount of sound. As the mares made their way towards the beach, the sound only increased, making her wonder whether she'd even be able to hear anything at all once they reached the sand.

"Take a good look. It's quite a sight, isn't it? Feel free to stare for a while. Most ponies tend to do that," Wave Splash encouraged Agate, waving towards the roaring waters.

"Alright..."

Tentatively, the filly walked up to the waterline, to the edge of where the crashing waves reached before receding back into the waters. She knew that she couldn't get hurt, but the whole sight was just so alien to her that she still hesitated. Much like the tundra, it was yet another endless landscape that had no borders or mountains in the distance that would neatly mark where one part of the terrain began and where it ended. She didn't know what she expected, but it was still odd to see the horizon receding further still into the distance.

"Perhaps that's why they're such enthusiastic explorers. There's just no end to the world, so they simply keep going. Though that sea doesn't exactly look all that easy to travel through," She mused, thinking about the snowpony's adventurous spirits.

Taking a few steps forward, she watched the water rush back and forth through her ethereal forelegs, completely unaffected by her presence. There were small pebbles and other pieces of debris on the bottom, getting ground against each other with each wave and producing strange, whispery sounds. A few odd-looking plants floated in the water here and there as well, most likely being Seaweed's namesakes.

Agate didn't know how long she stood there, hypnotized by the sea, but in the end, she knew she had to move. They were places to go and things to do, and she was sure she'd have plenty of time to stare at the sea later. Turning around, she went back to her guides, who took the opportunity to have a quick break to eat while she was busy.

'Ready to go?" Wave Splash asked her.

"I think so," Agate nodded in reply, glancing behind her as a particularly loud wave crashed on the shore.

"Then let us away! We still have the seals to meet!"

Agate followed along, electing to trot on the ground by herself rather than returning on the sleigh. It only took her a few moments so see a large group of strange, indistinct shapes dotting the beach right ahead. At first, they almost looked like a bunch of old, darkened logs that were laying on the ground, but it didn't take long for her to notice that some of them were moving.

"SEAL FRIENDS!!!"

Wave Splash was particularly enthusiastic about greeting the seals, unhitching herself from the sleigh once they were close enough and trotting over to the seal colony. For their part, they appeared surprisingly indifferent, not reacting to her with either fear or aggression. A number of them raised their heads and turned their whiskered muzzles towards the mare, but that was it.

"Huh..." Agate wasn't quite sure what to say yet. They certainly weren't like any kind of animal that she saw before. They were big, but they didn't look dangerous, their muzzles almost looking like a pony's. At the same time, they looked odd, what with their blobby bodies and very short limbs.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Seaweed commented, trotting over to Wave Splash, having unhitched herself from her sleigh as well.

"Well..." Agate thought, sweeping her gaze across the beach. One seal was hugging Wave Splash with its flippers, its bulk jiggling as the mare patted its side, nuzzling against it with a giggle. A trio of curious smaller seals, probably their young, were curiously sniffing Harpoon, who was snoofing and sniffing them herself, gently patting their heads. The rest were still relaxed, sleeping or seemingly just lazing about. One apparently tried to relocate to a different spot, bouncing and wobbling all over, but barely moving at all. Eventually it gave up, and just rolled sideways downhill before stopping and closing its eyes lazily. Overall, their bodies seemed to be ridiculously squishy, the one that Seaweed approached pulling its head so far back into its body that it practically made itself into a ball when she tried to boop it on the nose.

"...They're very silly-looking. Very, very silly," She eventually concluded, smiling a little at the strange, goofy creatures.

"Heh! I know, right? The first explorers weren't sure what to think of them. Just about any bigger animal usually turned out to be a danger, so they were quite confused when they found these guys. All big, fat, and round, with no claws, huge fangs, or any other things that made them appear dangerous. They suspected that they'd be able to spit acid, or breathe fire, or something crazy like that. In the end, though, none of that proved to be true. Not only that, but some of them were outright friendly," Seaweed explained, still trying to boop the seal, which seemed to be enjoying evading the mare's hoof.

"So you... Made friends with them?" Agate asked, glancing at the other seals again. A number of them were making noises that almost sounded like foals trying to say their first words, but they didn't manage to form anything coherent.

"Yup. They're still animals, but far as animals go, they're pretty smart. We have been working together to survive the harsh conditions of the north for many, many generations now."

"Really? How?"

"They help us fish. They chase great schools of fish right into our nets, and we share our catch with them afterwards. Also, we protect the colonies that form near our villages from various predators. We can't stand guard day and night, of course, but we still do our best, for which they are grateful. Some seals even learned to bring us seaweed from the depths of the sea, once they saw ponies pulling them out of the water. Even though I'm pretty sure both seals and ponies could survive without each other, it's been a very fulfilling partnership regardless. What with everything in the north trying to eat you, it's just nice to see a friendly face now and then, you know?" Seaweed explained, nuzzling the seal she was playing with, the seal snorting wetly at her and wiggling its whiskers.

"Oh, huh. I guess they really are smart. That sounds nice. We had crystal ewes that liked to live with us back in the Empire, but they weren't that clever... I think. Maybe."

Wave Splash extricated herself from the hug by then, trotting over to the rest of them. "Well, that was satisfying. I miss these guys during the winter, you know? Makes me worry how many they lose when we're not around to protect them. Wish I could take them with me, but I know that's not really an option."

"They are creatures of water, even if they rest on land," Harpoon shrugged. "Just like we have to return to land, even if we travel the seas sometimes. Can't defy nature."

"Mmmm-hmmm, and my nature is calling me north, towards my home," Seaweed exclaimed, standing up. "Come on, let's get to Nilas. It's right around the corner. Bye, seal friends!"

With a wave towards the resting seals, she trotted over to where she left her sleigh, the others following along. The seals made some noises at her exclamation, a number of them slapping their bellies with their flippers a few times before lying down again.

They weren't the only ones that got the idea to use the other path down, a few families trotting past, the foals shrieking excitedly at the sight of the seals. Hitching up again, the three mares and one ghost made their way forward, turning a corner which hid the village from their sight. The natural bay around which Nilas was built opened up before them in all its glory, ponies busying themselves around their homes that they sealed for the winter, checking for damage and settling in once more.

They had reached Nilas, the first settlement of the northern tribe. A fair distance already, and yet, merely the first stop before moving out even further north, across the freezing waves.

Northern Reaches

Nilas was a pretty interesting place. It was only the second snowpony settlement that Agate ever saw, but at the same time, it was only the third city that she saw, since the only one she knew previously was the Imperial city. And all three of those were rather distinct.

For all their differences in architecture and material, both Snowpitt and the Imperial city were built on flat terrain. Nilas, however, was adapted to the bay it was built in and around. The homes were constructed in sets of cascading rows, descending slowly from the very top of the cliffs to the beach. Some of the homes were not built but dug out, or at least that's what Agate assumed all the doors in the cliffsides were.

While the bay was quite large, the location clearly constrained the amount of buildings that the locals could fit, and it showed. Where Snowpitt was still relatively open, the dwellings in the seaside cove were really crammed together. The arriving ponies didn't even seem to have all that much space to move around in, slowly shuffling down the narrow paths in long rows.

"How do you all fit in here?" Agate asked, shaking her head a little.

"That's the thing, we don't," Seaweed replied, chuckling. "Less than a quarter - or maybe a fifth? - of everyone here actually live in Nilas. We'll all pile into the buildings or set up a bit higher on the cliff for the night, but tomorrow, a great many boats are going to be launched into the sea. There's lots of settlements on the islands, ranging to ones about half as big as Nilas to small islets claimed by single families. Anyway, there's still things to do before the day is out. Let's see if we can find somewhere to crash, and we'll head out."

Approaching from the bottom gave them a small advantage in that regard, as most ponies descending from the cliffs haven't reached that far yet. Seeing one family entering a cliffside home, Seaweed made their way towards them. Unlike the usual ritualistic greetings that surrounded inviting someone to their home, the entire exchange consisted of a "Hey, any space in there for us three?" And a "Sure, leave the sleighs outside." in reply. Perhaps the northerners had different traditions, or maybe they were just too busy with settling in after the winter.

Agate waited outside while the mares unhitched themselves and took their bedrolls and a few items inside, exiting moments later. Scratching the spots where the harnesses were attached in relief, they trotted towards the beach again, moving along the curved shoreline of the bay in the opposite direction of where the seal colony was.

Somewhere close near the middle of the curve, a number of squat buildings began appearing on the sand. They didn't really look like homes, as they were built rather roughly, and had no windows. Various carvings of fish and other creatures or lines of the snowponish runic script adorned the sizeable stone blocks that faced the sea, each and every one unique. Seaweed and the others seemed to know what they were looking for, passing by over a dozen of the buildings before stopping by one with a large seal painted onto the side, multiple crystals embedded into the gaps in the wall.

"Looks like we're the first ones. Let's get to work, mares," Seaweed ordered, the other two nodding.

Instead of looking for a door - which the building didn't have, apparently - they simply started pulling out the stone blocks one by one from a section of the wall. Blinking, Agate curiously observed the rather unusual way of getting into a building, wondering at its purpose. It was taking the three mares quite a lot of effort to wiggle each stone out, especially since they had to rear up to reach the topmost ones. It looked like a lot of work, if that was what they had to do every time they wanted to get in.

Fortunately, by the time they were halfway done, more ponies arrived, including some stallions. Switching with the mares, they quickly disassembled the rest of the wall, stacking the stones nearby. It was already getting dark again, and Agate couldn't quite make out what was inside.

"Should we bother taking stock by moonlight? Won't see much," One of the newcomers asked the group.

"Might as well pull them out, see if there's any obvious damage. We can check for small things in the morning," Another pony replied, going into the building, several others following along.

After a few minutes of grunting, shuffling, and other noises usually associated with physical labor, the group of ponies exited through the opening, with some kind of large, heavy object draped across their backs. It wasn't anything that Agate ever saw before, and it took her a while to even guess at its purpose. Raking through her memory, she faintly recognized the shape as something she saw in a book about Equestria - it was a ship. Or a boat, whatever the difference was.

The carrier ponies carefully maneuvered it outside, where they deposited their cargo on the sand, taking a few steps back and wiping their brows in relief. "One down, too many more to go," One pony chuckled, the group laughing along. Going back inside, the group went to retrieve more boats, while other ponies went to examine them for damage.

Agate surmised that they must have been sealed in there for storage through the winter, while the tribe was wintering in Snowpitt. Although the buildings seemed rather secure, the ponies still looked for the tiniest hint that something was loose in the boats, running their hooves and muzzles over the surfaces, squinting in the gloom of early evening. Getting an idea, she trotted over to the storage building, examining the walls more closely.

Besides the seal, there was a picture of an island surrounded by water, which she assumed was Shear, her current destination. And the crystals dotting the wall had to be there because the island was their only known source. Reaching up towards one, she focused, feeling out the shape and quality of the crystal. Soon, it started to glow, reaching its full potential moments later. Satisfied, Agate stepped back, examining her hoofwork. She could light them up fairly easily now, though she didn't really know how many she'd be able to do before getting tired.

"Huh, what? Did someone bring a torch? There's no need to burn good - oh, well. That's interesting," One pony remarked, blinking in surprise at the sudden burst of orange light.

"Oh, that's useful. Thank you, Agate. You're very generous," Seaweed said, smiling at the filly.

"Don't mention it. It's pretty easy for me to do these days."

"If it's not too much trouble, could you light up a few more, traveler spirit?" More ponies began asking, Agate replying with a shrug and beginning to circle the building, lighting up the crystals one by one.

The extra light delighted the gathered crowd, and they got to their boat maintenance with renewed vigor. Agate watched them, though she honestly couldn't make heads or tails of what they were even doing. It was easily as mystifying as some of the strange magics the shamares were capable of. All she really knew of boats was that ponies used them to get around on water like they'd use carts on land, and that they didn't sink even if you put heavy stuff into them... Usually.

"Feel free to wander around if you're bored, Agate. You don't have to stay with us the entire time. We'll spend a few more hours here, then go back to the home we set up in. Go see the sights if you wish to," Seaweed suggested, misinterpreting her somewhat confused expression.

Agate nodded, weighing her options. While watching them work was somewhat interesting, it was one of those things she'd never be able to make use of herself. And the settlement was quite intriguing, not to mention the constantly splashing sea she could hear all the time. With a wave, she got up and trotted off along the shore, scanning her surroundings for anything eye-catching.

Ponies from the other islands unsealed their boat storage sheds as well, some of them still examining theirs, while others went to their homes, having set the boats up in rows on the sand. Some had their supplies unloaded from their sleighs in orderly little piles, ready to continue on to the next leg of their journey.

The rows of storage buildings went on for quite a while. Glancing at the runes and pictures now and then, Agate noticed something odd nearby. Turning towards the sea, she approached a dark streak between the waves. The foamy surface of the water glimmered in the moonlight, but there was a long stretch of stones laid down on the seafloor, creating some kind of wall, right in the middle of the water. Climbing on it, she noticed that it wasn't the only one. A few lines of stones criss-crossed the waves diagonally, creating a strange mini-bay within the bay. Scratching her head, Agate tried to recall more of that Equestrian book about boats.

"Wait, I know what this is. It's a pear. Pier? Or a dock. Boats... Dock at a pier. Or they pier at a dock. Oh, whatever."

Rolling her eyes a bit, the filly jumped off the rocks, trotting back to shore. The book described the Empire as a "landlocked country", whatever that meant. To her, the only thing it really meant was that Equestrians had a bunch of words for things that the crystal ponies really had no use for. Water was perfectly fine where it belonged, in wells and drinking cups. Who even came up with something like boats, anyway?

Well, the snowponies did, as well as the Equestrians, apparently, so maybe there was something to it. Still, she decided to leave it to the ponies that knew it best, turning her gaze towards the cliffs, instead. Crossing the beach, she climbed a short staircase built out of the local rock, glancing around.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent a few more hours climbing up and down through the many levels of the bayside settlement, poking her nose into various nooks and crannies. The view from the top of the village was very nice, but even there, the ever-present sound of crashing waves was as loud as ever. She wondered how the locals managed to get any sleep with such a constant noise. Were their homes sound-proofed?

Making her way back, she marveled at how empty the streets became. After the initial flood of travelers and a brief burst of rushed maintenance on the homes and boats, everyone quickly settled in, tired after the day's activities. She watched with some curiosity and slight disbelief as the crowds disappeared, dozens of ponies somehow managing to cram themselves into a single house. The setup looked quite uncomfortable, but it explained the northerner's thirst for exploration and finding new islands to claim.

Glancing at the beach, Agate didn't see any movement around the storage building that she lit up. Remembering what Seaweed told her, the filly went to the cliff-house they set up in. The door was closed, but it wasn't much of an obstacle for her. Walking through, she glanced around before carefully stepping forward.

It was indeed a home, carved deep into the cliff, though examining it in closer detail wasn't really an option. The floor was covered in sleeping ponies, making movement difficult. Evidently, more travelers besides their little band asked the owners of the house to spend the night in there. Agate didn't need much besides a relatively flat spot to curl up in, but finding even that proved to be challenging.

Tip-hoofing around, she finally found an empty spot in a corner, trotting in a circle several times before lying down. Being cramped shouldn't have mattered to her any more, but it was still oddly uncomfortable. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out the muffled sound of the sea, managing to drift off to her dreamlike, half-sleep state after some time.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Agate?"

"Hrmf..."

Stretching, the filly faintly felt something running through her mane. Blinking, she got up, shaking her head to clear the fog from her mind. Seaweed was standing next her, running her hoof along Agate's back. The other ponies were awake as well, a good half of them already leaving, muttering their thanks to the owner of the house.

"Did you... Sleep well? You're usually very quick to wake up." Seaweed asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"I guess? Sleep is weird as a spirit. I don't exactly get tired and feel sleepy, but my thoughts get sluggish," Agate shrugged. "And I sleep lightly when I'm outside my totem."

"Well, if you're feeling tired, perhaps you could catch a nap on the umiak, if the rocking doesn't bother you. Either way, we're going to be moving out soon. Let's go, yes?"

Nodding, Agate followed the mare, slowly shuffling out of the dwelling. The other two members of their group were already outside, hitching themselves up to their sleighs. Seaweed followed suit, grimacing a bit as she attached the harness.

"Going to be so glad to be done with this for a while. No matter how I knot or tie them, the ropes always make me itch," She groused.

The others chuckled, grinning at their leader. "I'm sure you'll survive going a few paces down the beach," Harpoon teased, Wave Splash nodding along.

"Bleh," Seaweed rebutted eloquently, pulling the sleigh forward.

The lower levels of the bay were swarming with ponies, all of them preparing for the next leg of their journey in various ways. Small groups were checking the boats again in the pre-dawn gloom, while the others were sorting through the bits of cargo and equipment they brought with them. Most of them were carrying their empty sleighs into the same storage buildings the boats were kept in, the things clearly too large and bulky to take with them on their seaward journey.

While the others were still puttering around their boats, the ponies heading towards the same island - Shear, if Agate recalled correctly - were grinning in satisfaction, having done their maintenance the prior evening due to Agate's assistance. Greeting the filly with wide smiles and the usual titles of "kind, wise spirit", they hauled the boats along the sand, making their way to the dock - or pier, or whatever it was.

"By the way, Seaweed, you used an unfamiliar word before. What's an umiak?" Agate asked during a brief lull in activity, as one group of ponies ahead of them were loading their items into the boat.

"Oh? Ah, I see... You're really unfamiliar with sea travel. Well, an umiak is a large boat like this, meant to carry groups of a dozen or more ponies, along with their equipment," She explained, gesturing towards the one ahead. "And we have much smaller boats, for just one or two ponies. They're called kayaks. There's one right there."

Turning her head to where the mare was pointing, Agate saw a pony getting into a really thin, long boat, balancing carefully as he settled in, holding a long paddle in his mouth. Grabbing the tool with his hooves, he plunged it into the water, rocketing away with shocking speed. Blinking, she watched the surprisingly agile kayak align with the larger, slower-moving umiak that was launched before, escorting the boat along its path.

"They're fast," The filly remarked.

"They are, though it takes some skill to maneuver them properly without capsizing. Anyway, we're up next. Are you ready for your first journey by sea?"

"I guess? Is there anything I need to do?"

"Not really. Just hop in, we'll do the rest," The mare chuckled, patting the side of the boat.

Nodding, Agate followed the directions, observing the unfamiliar object. It was set down in the water, being held steady by a few ponies standing on the pier. Ponies still on land passed their items to the ones already inside, climbing in themselves afterwards. The lip of the boat was a bit high, so Agate had to hop upwards and hook her forelegs on the edge, clambering in. Feeling a little thrown off by the rocking from the waves, she moved out of the way of the busy adults, sitting down on a pile of cargo that was already secured.

Agate wasn't familiar with any of the other ponies going with them in any way, except for one. A young mare was sitting in the very front, leaning over the edge and gazing into the waters with an inscrutable expression. Agate didn't really know her, but she recognized her as one of the northerner shamares that she saw previously.

As more and more cargo and ponies were added to the boat, it sank deeper into the water, reaching an odd equilibrium between getting tossed about by the waves and holding steady. Paddles were handed out to roughly half of the passengers, which they used to push off the pier and maneuver themselves further away from the shore.

"Well, this is it. You lot better not tell me you forgot anything on the shore, because there's no going back now," An older stallion chuckled, the others smiling.

No one really spoke about it, but it was quite obvious that he was in charge of this boat, the ponies acting with familiarity. They clearly knew each other, which made sense, since they all lived on the same island. No orders or instructions needed to be exchanged, the ones with the paddles nodding and beginning to move in a synchronized fashion. The same thing played out on a larger scale as well, the other boats of the islanders from Shear forming up into a group as they paddled deeper into the bay, towards the open sea.

As the walls of the bay receded and they approached the endless expanse of waves, the shamare stuck her hoof in the water, concentrating on something as she swirled it around. The stallion and everyone else stopped, waiting for something. Knowing how shamares worked, it was likely some kind of mystical advice, or something to that effect. A few minutes later, she nodded, waving the dripping hoof. Agate noticed that the fur around her fetlocks had a bunch of salt crystals on it. How did that happen? Was it some strange shamare magic, or was sea water salty for some reason?

"No danger that I can sense. The currents are flowing along their usual paths. I think we are safe to proceed, elder," She spoke, dipping the hoof right back into the water.

"Thank you, Current Weave. Well, ponies, you heard her. Heave! Ho!" The stallion spoke, yelling out the last two commands.

As the ponies paddled, the name jostled something in Agate's memory. She faintly recalled a language lesson with the shamares, and learning to say that very name as one of the first snowpony words that she spoke. She wondered whether she should go up to the mare and say hello, but decided against it. She looked busy with her task, her gaze unfocused as she gleaned knowledge from the water.

Instead, the filly looked out towards the sea, sticking her head over the side. The sound of the crashing waves was almost gone, the only noises being the water flowing against the sides of the boat and the rhythmic splashes of the paddles. The wind was a little loud as well, but overall, actually being out at sea was surprisingly quieter compared to standing on the shore.

"Don't fall out," Harpoon cautioned her with a small smile. "You'll be fine, but we won't be able to fish you out."

"What... Would happen if I did?" Agate asked, tilting her head and looking straight down. Unlike the usually clear waters of lakes and creeks, the sea was dark and impenetrable to her gaze.

"You'll sink to the bottom," Harpoon succinctly summarized.

Seeing that her companion wasn't going to elaborate, Wave Splash rolled her eyes a little, turning towards the filly. "If you're asking what's it like down there, then, obviously, I don't know myself. No one truly knows, honestly. We only have the words of spirits that were lost at sea, and all they say the same thing - it's dark, creepy, and alien. You can't really see anything, even with your spirit sight. Some reported hearing strange sounds, ones they couldn't even describe properly. And the few that claimed they glimpsed creatures of the deep... Well, "bizarre" hardly begins to convey the oddness of the beings that call the seas home."

"Huh. Fish can get pretty weird looking, I guess," Agate muttered, thinking of the few specimens that she saw ponies eat.

"Hahaha! Fish? Oh, Agate, wait until you see an octopus. Or a squid. Or, oh! A jellyfish! Now that's a sight," Wave Splash laughed, shaking her head.

"Octo... What? I had crystalberry jelly before. But... Jelly-fish?"

The mare opened her mouth as if to explain, but after a moment's consideration, closed it again, shaking her head. Snorting, Harpoon spoke up. "They're really, really hard to describe in just words, Agate. You have to see them to really understand. Ponies and seals and even fish look a bit alike, to some extent. They all have eyes, mouths, faces, at the very least. Some of the stuff that lives down there, though... It's an entirely different world. We sometimes find things washed up on the shore that we can't make heads or tails of. Literally - we can't even tell which body part is what."

"Different world..." Agate trailed off, looking around at the endless expanse of water surrounding them on all sides, going who knows how deep.

The shore was already a thin line on the horizon, the boat gliding through the water at an impressive speed. The only other things that stood out in the sea were the other vessels, all of them keeping up a steady pace. After a few minutes of observation, though, she saw more signs of life. Flocks of unfamiliar birds were flying in the distance, diving into the water from time to time, probably catching fish. Strands of seaweed dotted the water here and there, and it was only the very surface of that alien world.

Although Agate didn't really know what else to say, the conversation that she dropped carried on, the northerners eagerly discussing all the weird stuff in the sea that they saw or heard about. Picking up where others left off, Seaweed scratched at her side, glancing at a few stray clouds in the distance. "I don't know, Wave, I think those thin, gangly crabs are pretty freaky-looking."

"What? Come on, crabs make sense, at least. They're like... Underwater spiders, or something. Jellyfish are way weirder."

"Octopi, crabs. All of you keep talking about small stuff. What about narwhals? Those horns look crazy dangerous. It's a good thing they're not aggressive, or we'd have so many holes poked into our boats," An unfamiliar mare chimed in.

As usual in situations like these, Agate remained quiet and listened, being completely out of her depth. Not that she minded, observing the sea with both ears perked and pointed back to the boat. The journey continued on, the team of six paddlers switching out with the other six ponies after a few hours, the tired but satisfied group munching on their preserves.

Sunlight came and went, though for once, the travelers seemed happier to see the stars than daylight, pointing out some constellations and adjusting their course accordingly. Agate didn't even know how much time they spent in the boat, but it had to have been the better part of the day.

Finally, they reached an island, the flock of boats congregating in one spot, the ponies that were previously paddling furiously now gently maneuvering the boats closer to land. Once they felt the sand rubbing against the bottom, the passengers disembarked one by one from the front, grabbing a few packs of belongings and hissing sharply as they landed in the freezing seawater. Working together, they carried the boats further onto the sand, breathing heavily after all the exertions.

"Is this... Shear?" Agate asked, glancing around.

"Mmm, no, not yet," Seaweed replied, followed by a long yawn. "This one's called Gull Island. We still have two day's worth of travel, at least. Fortunately, we don't call this region the "Thousand Islands" for nothing. There's plenty of little islands to stop and rest in along the way. Sure beats sleeping in the boat. Anyway, I'm beat. Let's get some shuteye."

Agate nodded, glancing back at the splashing waves. Following the tired ponies deeper inland, she found a spot to curl up in while they pitched their tents and sleeping bags.

❅ ❆ ❅

The tired travelers took their time to have a well-earned rest the next morning, sleeping in quite late. They weren't the only group on the island, another batch of boats arriving right when everyone was getting ready to sleep. Apparently, they actually were the regular inhabitants of the island instead of just stopping to rest, which caused some amusement to Agate's group due to the fact that they managed to arrive first.

"Hardy har har, very funny. We didn't have a spirit light up the night for us to get our boats ready early," The leader of the group grumbled after being "welcomed as a guest" to his own island.

Still, both groups were rather tired, so they went to sleep with just the bare minimum of joking at each other's expense. When morning came, they all ate together, wished each other kindness from the water and wind spirits, keen eyes and full nets on their fishing trips, hugged each other, and parted ways.

The journey continued on much in the same way as the day before. Teams of ponies kept paddling in shifts, the half that was resting spending the time in idle conversation or even sleeping somehow on the bottom of the rocking boat. It wasn't entirely unlike a journey through the wilderness, though it was still a bit strange to Agate. She wondered if pegasi felt this way when they were in the air, gliding from cloud to cloud. Were they afraid that they'd fall out of the sky and get eaten by strange land predators if they didn't find a safe cloud island to land on?

Fortunately for the snowponies, there was truly no shortage of islands, though not all of them were hospitable. Some were little more than jagged rocks sticking out of the water, dangerous to even get close to lest the boat crashed into a submerged boulder or something similar. Judging by some of the names, such as "Bird Poop Rock", the northerners tended to let their foals name the useless islands. No one knew who started the tradition, but they all happily carried it on. Not that the name was wrong - the island was, in fact, a rock that was thoroughly covered in bird poop, to the point it was hard to even tell what color the stone was.

They rested the second day on an island that they called "The Horn". There was clearly some significance to every name, but given how many islands the northerners discovered, no one really knew the stories of any but the biggest and most important island's names, let alone the tiny islets that they only used as rest stops or temporary fishing spots.

Although the crew were clearly tired and bedraggled from the intense pace they were travelling at, there was not a single complaint from any of the ponies. Quite the opposite, in fact - they were overtaken with a ferocious energy to reach their homes, eagerly sniffing the sea air and pointing out the various landmarks (seamarks?) that they passed by, dropping short comments about how close to their island they were getting.

With that attitude, they were paddling energetically once more as soon as they ate, with little to no conversation this time, focusing entirely on either resting or moving the boats forward. Seaweed briefly explained that the last stretch of the journey was possible to make in one day, but only if the winds were favorable and didn't churn up the waves or blow them off course, and even then, they had to give it their all, which meant little to no talking.

Agate had no issues with that, assuming her post on the edge of the boat, gazing across the vast expanse of waves. Her thoughts wandered, at first about Snowpitt and the familiar ponies that she left behind, but as they got closer and closer to their goal, she couldn't help but think about the point of this entire expedition. She was coming along to prospect the islands for more crystals, something she'd never actually done before, at least on purpose. Inevitably, small doubts began niggling at her, making her wonder whether she'd actually be able to recreate the same thing she did back under the mountain.

Fortunately for her, the shamaric training she went through included ways to calm and control your emotions, not just your mind. Focusing on her "breath", the filly stabilized herself internally, opening her eyes after a few minutes of calming herself and working through her doubts. Seeing that she was meditating anyway, she kept focusing, her eyes beginning to glow faintly. The sea still looked more or less the same through her spirit sight, save for a few glimmers in the depths that she wasn't even sure weren't tricks of the light. Regardless, she kept it up, deciding to get some practice in before they arrived at their destination.

Time started blending together, the filly lost in her meditation and the crew entirely consumed with nothing but the repeating pattern of splash, splash, splash, as they kept pushing onward. Daylight came and went without anyone even noticing. Eventually, something happened to break them out of their haze, but it wasn't them reaching their destination. At first, a strong wind began blowing in from the northeast, making the paddlers grit their teeth as the sea became agitated. Dark clouds appeared on the horizon, with a few loose snowflakes getting blown their way. The waves rose far higher than before, lifting them up and down wildly, and the weather wasn't the only obstacle to impede their progress.

"Something's approaching," Current Weave spoke, the first words in the entire day.

No other pony said anything, though every single one of them immediately tensed up. The elderly stallion began digging in a pouch, pulling out a bone whistle of some kind and blowing hard into it, producing a shrill shriek that cut through even the howling wind. The other boats, which kept to a safe distance during the journey, began congregating closer at the signal.

"We need to go. Shelter, now," The shamare said firmly, turning to look the elder in the eyes with a frown.

"Alright. Well, you heard her, ponies. Looks like we're not making it home yet. Better than getting eaten, though. Turn! To the west, towards Respite! Quickly now, Current Weave felt something in the water!" The stallion yelled to both his crew and the other boats, the paddlers quickly getting to work.

Agate wanted to ask what was happening, but she recognized that it was not the time for questions, and she could infer sufficient information from the shamare's warning, anyway. Something was hunting them, and they had few options besides landing on firm ground. Feeling a bit useless, she gripped the boat tighter, resolving to at least remain quiet and not get underhoof for any pony.

Current Weave dipped both forelegs into the water this time, splashing around and whispering something under her breath. Agate didn't even know how she knew that the mare was whispering, what with the loud wind and all, but she could swear she heard indistinct mutters coming from her direction. From the corner of her eyes, she could see ephemeral shapes flitting about the shamare, swarming around her forelegs and dancing in the water. One moment, they would look like fish, and the other, they would... Not.

The sea seemed to start working with them instead of against them a little more, the waves pushing the boats forward in the direction they were going in, instead of tossing them side to side. More ponies joined in the paddling, grabbing a few spare paddles and beating at the water. Those that didn't equipped themselves with harpoons instead, their expressions grim and fierce, ready to throw at the tiniest sign of a threat. The other boats still maintained a close distance, the other crews similarly prepared.

Harpoon, gripping her namesake weapon fiercely, kept scanning the horizon, until she yelled out suddenly. "I see it! Keep going, we're practically in safe waters already!"

Putting on a burst of speed, the paddlers pushed on, aiming towards a dark spot, illuminated faintly by the moonlit sky. Although the island appeared "close", distances in the sea could be deceptive, and they still needed to push on fiercely for almost half an hour until they finally relaxed with deep groans, collapsing on the bottom of the boat, the island now in full view.

"Um, are we safe yet? We're still in the water," Agate asked timidly.

"We are, traveler spirit," Current Weave confirmed, both forelegs still deep in the sea. "There are many underwater rocks around here, and the sea is relatively shallow. A beast of the size that was passing by couldn't follow us here without impaling itself."

"Passing by? So it wasn't actually after us?"

"Who can say? As you heard from others, we know precious little just how many and what kinds of creatures call the depths home. There are a number of stories about ponies that lost their lives at sea, but once questioned about the circumstances, they could tell almost nothing about what kind of creature it was, save for massive jaws suddenly closing over their boats. It does not happen often at all, but still, we find it best to avoid any of the leviathans of the deep, if we ever feel them surfacing," The mare explained, her face practically touching the water.

"I see..." Agate trailed off, going quiet again.

The crew was panting, clearly exhausted from the sudden sprint after an already long journey. Putting her weapon down, Harpoon took a paddle from Wave Splash, slowly pushing the vessel forward. After the elderly stallion looked at the other boats and made sure that they didn't lose any, he took another paddle, balancing out the forces as the pair slowly pushed the boat closer towards the shore.

The fleet slowly limped their way across the water, landing on the beach with a barely noticeable bump. Groaning and grumbling, ponies flopped out of the boats, getting splashed by the fierce waves as they dragged the vessels deeper onshore. Despite clearly being exhausted and in a foul mood, they still took their time to make absolutely sure their transport was secured before moving deeper inland.

"Hope this storm clears up by tomorrow, at least," Wave Splash grumbled, picking up a piece of driftwood in her mouth.

"We'll see. It's not too bad, though. With a good rest, I'm sure we can get to Shear even through these waves, as long as they don't get worse. We'd get soaked, but the island's real close now," The elder reassured her.

Agate glanced at the stallion dubiously. To her, the weather looked horrid, with the storm blowing droplets of freezing water and half-melted snowflakes almost sideways at the ponies, the clouds that were on the horizon now almost on top of them. Still, she didn't really know just what, precisely, constituted a type of weather that was too bad to travel by sea, seeing as she spent all her life under a magical shield that kept everything nice and sunny, so she didn't question him.

The quietly grumbling snowponies moved deeper inland, dragging their tired legs across the dunes. Unlike the rocky islands they saw on their way, this one had a fair bit of sand accumulated on it, which allowed for a sparse layer of grass to grow. Some of the ponies glanced longingly at the blades of grass now and then, but they all looked yellowed and dry, the stalks likely remaining there from last year.

The island was one of the smaller ones, and it didn't take long for the travelers to reach their destination. Among the dunes, a number of boulders protruded from the sand, their surfaces smoothed down by the wind. At a closer look, some of the bigger ones were hollowed out, while the small ones were stacked together, providing shelter from the wind and rain. There was barely enough space for a pony to crawl inside on their belly, but they didn't seem to mind, picking gaps under the rocks and wiggling inside.

"Come on in, Agate. We're not going anywhere for a while," Seaweed waved the filly over.

"It's okay, I don't really need shelter. I don't want to take up space for no reason," She shook her head, glancing around.

"You won't, silly, now come on. It's bigger on the inside," The mare reassured her, before diving into a tiny entrance made of three square boulders stacked together.

"Alright...?"

Crawling in, Agate glanced around. As it turned out, it wasn't just a mini-cave for a pony to lay down in like she assumed at first, but instead, it was a passage to a small underground chamber, with enough space for about four or five ponies, including a tiny campfire. The three mares from her guide team were there, with Current Weave tagging along. Wave Splash was adding minuscule bits of dried grass and splinters of wood to the fire, which seemed to have been built more for a morale boost than warmth.

"Oh, I see. It's kind of like an igloo," Agate surmised, glancing at the dome-like ceiling of the chamber, made of intricately stacked rocks, with sand and roots filling the gaps.

"Yup. No one really settled this place, but it's a good location to stop and rest between fishing trips," Seaweed explained, trying to wring some moisture out of her coat.

"Why didn't anyone? The northern tribe keeps running out of space, right?"

"The catch is a bit poor around the island. Can't build a proper house here, either. Too sandy, and too flat. If you build higher, the wind blows against it like a neverending howl, and if you dig deeper, the sand just seeps in, and so does the water. While we can live in temporary shelters and tents, it does get tiring after a while. The grass that grows here is nice, though. Seaweed is fine, but a pony does need some variety in their diet," She elaborated, giving up on the task and unrolling her bedroll.

"I see. Thanks," Agate nodded, getting a sleepy nod in return.

All four of the adults were clearly exhausted, including Current Weave, despite the fact the mare remained immobile for most of the day. Agate knew how tiring magic could be, though. And then, there was the fact that the shamare kept dipping her hooves into the freezing water, which had to be unpleasant. Both of her forelegs were covered in salt crystals, and she was warming them by the fire.

One by one, the other mares set up their sleeping spots as well, lying down with quiet "goodnights". Following their example, Agate went to sleep as well.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, there was no rush to get back to the boats. It didn't seem to be raining or snowing any more, but the wind was still present, a low, persistent howl that would stop for a brief moment only to start up again immediately after. Agate's group had a lazy morning of it, Wave Splash venturing out towards the beach to bring more bits of driftwood to start a new fire with, while the others brought more dried grass or went to talk to the others about the situation.

This briefly left Agate alone with Current Weave, the young shamare nodding at the filly as she brushed some of the salt from her coat. "Good morning, traveler spirit. I hope the journey is not unpleasant for you, so far from your totem. A great many ponies from the other tribes tend to get sick if they travel by sea, as well. I am glad to see that it, at least, does not seem to be a concern for you, for obvious reasons."

"Sick, really? Yeah, no, I'm fine. I don't mind travelling from Snowpitt, either."

"Unusual, but many things about you are. Most spirits tend to linger because they are reluctant to leave kin and tribe behind, and they stay in one place until they decide to depart. I know you seek your people, but the north is the last place likely to have answers to that riddle."

"Well, I'm here to look for crystals, not crystal ponies, so I'm aware of that. Your people helped me a bunch already, and I'm happy to help back. And Mom always said that I was the "quiet, curious and observant type". I guess I do like seeing new places, if that's what she meant by that," The filly replied with a shrug.

"Mmm. Differing goals... Curious indeed. Well, I'm certain that others have told you this already, but we highly appreciate your aid. Providing the spirit stones has become a point of pride for my tribe over the years."

"And like I keep telling everyone, I'm happy to help. You don't have to keep thanking me all the time," Agate said, crossing her forelegs.

The pair stared at each other for a solid minute before both of them chuckled, Agate letting out a little giggle. The mare went back to massaging her forelegs, while the filly's thoughts went to ways of finding crystals again. Getting an idea, she began focusing on her spirit sight, opening her eyes wider and scanning the ground.

Either it wasn't working, or there were no crystals on this particular island. Sticking her tongue out and keeping her focus up, she slowly got up and went outside, keeping her eyes trained on the earth. She was shaken briefly by the suddenly much louder howl of the wind, but refocused quickly, and went back to scanning the dunes.

Trotting around, she could see the glowing shapes of the ponies that were resting in the little underground shelters dug into the dunes, but no angular forms of crystals. It was quite obvious that the sand wasn't going to be hiding any of them, but none of the boulders that dotted the landscape contained any, either.

"Oh well... Nothing ventured... How'd the rest of that go?"

Figuring that she'd notice if the snowponies decided to depart due to how small the island was, she decided to wander around a little bit. Overall, the landscape was rather unremarkable, but it still intrigued Agate, seeing as it was still quite outlandish to her. Glancing left and right, she looked for the highest point, wanting to get a good vantage spot. It turned out to be a bit of a tall order, since the island really was flat. Shrugging, she picked a large-ish boulder, clambering on top.

More of the sandy landscape spread out before her, with little variation. Pursing her lips, Agate felt her curiosity wane a little. Weighing her options, she decided to go back to her guides, instead. Exploring was interesting, but she was on an official mission of sorts, with lots of adults involved. Putting on a more serious face, she hopped down from the boulder and turned around.

"Guess I shouldn't wander off unless they say it's okay, like when we were in Nilas..."

When she reentered the underground shelter, there was a slightly bigger fire this time, with all three of her guides lying around it. Current Weave was either snoozing or meditating, while the others were eating some dried fish that was wrapped in fresh-looking seaweed.

"Hey Agate," Seaweed spoke quietly. "Went to look around? Find anything interesting?"

"Not really. Just sand and boulders. The island is a bit... Plain," The filly replied with a shrug, sitting down next to the fire.

"Honestly, most locations in the north are. There's no massive mountains or ancient forests like in the south or west. The really interesting stuff is the wild spirits and creatures that roam the place, though... Well, there's a few spots of note here and there, like the hot springs in the islands further north. And Shear's spirit stone deposits, of course," The mare finished with a smile.

"When are we going there?"

"Bit later in the day. The storm ran its course, and though it'll be windy for a while yet, we're really close to the island now. We'll rest a bit more, then paddle like mad straight there."

"Alright."

The rest of the trip went by without any more surprises or close brushes with unknown creatures of the deep. After resting quietly for a few more hours, the travelers swiftly packed up the few belongings they brought with them, eagerly carrying their boats back out to sea and setting off after a very brief confirmation of their bearings.

The waves still tossed them up and down, but there was no rain or snow, and the powerful strokes of the paddles by the determined ponies carried them towards their destination at an impressive speed. Sunlight came, longer and longer with each passing day, which allowed them to see their goal as they approached. The sight of the island brought cheers from every single boat, the journey's end finally there.

Agate tilted her head curiously as they got closer. Shear was described as "very flat and rocky" to her, which made her imagine a terrain that was as flat as the surface of a table, barely above the water. Neither one of those things turned out to be entirely true, though. The island looked like a flat hill that actually sat at a fair height above the water, the sheer cliffs reminding her of the shore around Nilas, including a small bay that they were maneuvering into.

The bay looked like it couldn't even fit the dozens of boats in it and the cliffs weren't half as tall as those around Nilas, but the resemblance was still there. The one marked difference was the rocky beach that barely contained any sand, and was covered in pebbles and rocks of all sizes, instead. They crunched loudly under the hooves of the snowponies as they disembarked one by one, unloading their cargo with wide smiles and stacking their gear on their backs.

The process took much longer than the previous stops, since they were emptying all their stuff and taking it with them, but Agate wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. She waited patiently while the adults sorted everything out, circling the bay a few times and examining the pebbly beach and cliffs. The stone looked different than the one in the southern mountains, but she didn't know enough about it to even tell what kind of rock it was. Eventually, the travelers were ready to move, Seaweed approaching the filly with a wide smile.

"Well, Agate, let me officially welcome you to Shear!" The mare exclaimed merrily, waving across the bay in a grand gesture.

"Thank you. I can see why you say that this island is rocky. Even the beach is made of rocks," Agate replied, glancing at the boulder she was sitting on.

"Heh! True, though things have changed a little over the many years that we've been living here. We... Well, you'll see for yourself. Ready to go?" She asked, huffing a little at the weight of all the stuff she was carrying on her back.

"Of course. Lead the way."

Wave Splash and Harpoon joined them a moment later, their hoofsteps crunching loudly on the pebbles as the similarly cargo-laden mares made their way up the incline towards the cliffs. Seaweed took point, Agate easily hopping from rock to rock with her supernatural weightlessness while the adults had to step more carefully. There was a path cut into the rock to make it easier, but it was still somewhat steep.

As they reached the top, Agate curiously looked at the terrain spread out before her. Great patches of snow still covered much of the surface, though it wasn't very deep. She couldn't see any actual soil in any of the spots that were clear, but there was still plant life clinging to the surface. Vast carpets of moss and lichen were peeking out from under the snow, and she could even see the few forms of small, hardy bushes here and there.

There wasn't an obvious trail or path, but Seaweed clearly knew where to go. They weren't the first or the only ones to move out, ponies of all kinds making the same journey both in front and behind them. Though the boat Agate travelled on only contained adults, there was no shortage of families with foals, the younglings shrieking happily and running in circles around the grownups after having to sit still during the entire voyage.

Glancing backwards towards the bay, Agate considered the entire journey so far. The sea was interesting, and watching the waves splash on the shore was hypnotizing, but she decided that she preferred solid ground under her hooves, even if the deep water couldn't pose any actual danger to her.

It wasn't a very long trot to the village, but compared to the smaller islands that they camped on, Shear was quite large. After some time, Agate realized that she couldn't even hear the constant sound of crashing waves that accompanied her during the entire journey by sea any more. The howl of the wind was still present, though.

"Well, here we are. What do you think, Agate?" Seaweed asked, gesturing at the sight ahead of her.

"It's... Different," The filly said slowly, taking it in.

There was a natural depression in the rock ahead of them, roughly at the center of the island. It wasn't very deep, only about the height of an adult pony, though there were deeper holes here and there. It was rather wide, however, stretching on quite far into the distance. It was quite clear that the local inhabitants and their ancestors have done quite a lot of work to make it more suitable for habitation over the generations. There were channels cut into the rock for water to drain away, and a rather thick wall of stacked rocks circling the north and east sides of the depression.

Then, there were the subterranean homes. It was impossible to tell what the insides looked like, but from the outside, the entrances looked fairly impressive. The doors themselves were still narrow, but the thick walls looked very solid, the stones somehow bound together with some kind of gray, stone-like material. The typical snowpony runes covered the surfaces around the doors, and there were pictures of various northern animals drawn on many of the walls in some kind of mineral-based paint. A number of holes in the ground with covers over them dotted the spots further away from the entrances, most likely vents or chimneys.

"So, you really live underground, huh?" Agate asked after a few minutes of observation.

"We do, though no, we don't live in caves like animals, unlike what some ponies seem to believe," Seaweed chuckled, shaking her head. "There's plenty of space inside our homes, and they're very neat and well-built. Our ancestors chipped away at the rock bit by bit for many generations, and through their combined efforts, we're left with some very sturdy and solid homes. Come on, let's go, you'll see for yourself. Well, it gets dark inside so it might be a bit hard to see, but that's the only downside, really," Seaweed explained, eagerly leading Agate across the village.

"Eh. After a while of living in the same place, you don't even need light any more. I can find my way just fine with my eyes closed," Harpoon added.

The mares lead Agate to their home, which was sealed up for the winter, much like the homes and storages back in Nilas. While they moved a few rocks that were blocking the door, a stallion approached them, examining the group. He reminded Agate of the elder that was in charge of their boat, but at a closer look, he turned out to be a different pony. He did look fairly old as well, though, his entire coat and mane a bleached gray and his face wrinkled,

"Well well well. You four must be the group the chieftain told me about," The stallion spoke, looking at Agate with unabashed fascination.

"Oh! Elder! Didn't see you there," Seaweed twitched, quickly whirling around to face the stallion, Harpoon and Wave Splash stopping what they were doing as well.

"Well then, I guess I still got it in my old age," He chuckled raspily. "Mind if I borrow your spirit guide while you're busy here?"

"No, not at all. Agate, this is Silent Hoof, the elder of the village. We're going to be a little busy for a while setting everything up, so go with him, alright?" Seaweed asked, getting back to work.

"Okay. Hello, elder," The filly nodded, greeting him politely.

"Pleasure to meet you, youngling. We have a few things to talk about, I think? Well, not necessarily, but I think we do... Either way, right this way, right this way," He rambled a bit as he led Agate away, towards another part of the village.

The entrance of the house he led her to seemed rather ornate, though Agate didn't really know what all the symbols, windchimes and decorations meant. Trotting through the thick wooden doors, he went down some stone stairs into a rather impressive underground room. The ceiling was a bit low, but it was quite wide overall, with a fireplace burning merrily in the wall to the right. A table with six chairs was set up on the left side, and there was some kind of painting that covered the entire wall. Both the floor and the walls were as smooth as the ones in the crystal houses, which intrigued Agate. The snowponies never said they had the same abilities of stone manipulation that her people had for crystals, after all.

"Right, right! Let's see then. This is a bit over my head, honestly, but I'm sure we can sort this out," Silent Hoof mused, trotting over to the fireplace and warming his forelegs.

"I'm sorry, elder, but... Sort what out? Is there some kind of problem?" Agate asked, a bit confused by the stallion's language.

Blinking, the stallion shook his head. "Oh no, no. My apologies, I suppose I'm getting a bit muddled in my old age. You see, we're not used to dealing with spirits, you know? That's usually left up to the shamares. And the guardians tend to stick to their families and kin, so I'm a bit out of my depth here. All I know is what the chieftain told me."

"Seaweed said something similar. You don't really need to... Do anything for me, though. I'm the one who's meant to be doing things here, I think," Agate mused, rubbing her chin.

"Yes yes, of course," He chuckled, waving a hoof. "Technically, I didn't even need to talk to you. I've been told that Seaweed and her companions would report to me, and I would be able to direct the ambitious diggers into new deposits that you'd uncover, as well as mark the islands that also might have spirit stones hidden underneath the ground. It just seemed terribly rude, though, you know? Not greeting a guest to my island! Especially one going out of their way to help us like this. Terribly, terribly rude. I might be old, but I can do that much," He began rambling a bit again.

"Oh, well, thank you, elder, I appreciate it. I'll get to looking around as soon as possible. Is there, uh... Anywhere specific you want me to look?"

Tilting his head, the stallion considered the spirit. "I don't know. I got the impression that you were the expert in spirit- Hm. What do your people call them, again? Crystals?"

"Um, kind of? Compared to the average snowpony, I guess... My parents taught me about the qualities and the uses, though, not mining. Digging through the ground and putting the stuff you dig out to use are entirely different skill sets. I think I'd like to see your mines first, if I could? Even if they're depleted. I'd like to see the sort of rock that crystals tend to appear in."

"Of course, of course! You can do that, easily. A lot of the homes have entrances into the tunnels. It's where we used to - and still do - store food, after all. It's what they were originally dug out for. I'm sure just about everyone would gladly let you in to take a look around, though there's other entrances, too. And, here! After you're done sniffing around Shear, well, there's no shortage of islands to look through," He chuckled, getting up and going towards the opposite wall.

The painting on the wall that was partially hidden by the table turned out to be a map. The light from the fireplace wasn't entirely sufficient to see it fully, but even in the dim light, Agate was able to see dozens of locations and markings. Scanning it intently, she tried to figure out where Shear was, but had to give up after a few minutes. The map was crammed with islands, which either meant that they skipped through a great many of them on the way there, or the scale of it was quite large.

"Where's Shear?"

"Hm? Oh, silly me, of course you wouldn't know. My apologies. Right here," He said, tapping an island that was a bit closer to the floor.

Nodding, Agate looked through the map again. Now that she knew where she was and where she came from (Nilas and the continent were marked on the map too, near the very bottom), she tried tracing her route through the sea. It wasn't easy, but she thought she found where Gull Island, The Horn, and Respite were. Mentally marking the last island with a note of "no crystals there", she counted the ones that were closest to Shear.

"That's... A LOT of islands, alright... I don't think there's a thousand here, but..."

"Oh? Well, that's not the entire map of the north, of course! Not that anyone's claiming there's exactly a thousand islands in the northern sea, heh. But, this was made... Hmm, some time after Shear was properly settled, but before we ventured all that much further north. There's more islands to the west and east, too! And the settled ones have maps that extend further along the direction you're travelling."

"That's a bit overwhelming. We lived in one valley, and we did just fine. How do you keep track of them all?" Agate shook her head, her mind spinning.

"Well, honestly, we don't. The families that live on their islands know of their closest neighbors and their surroundings, and those neighbors know their surroundings, and so on. I don't think... There's any northerner that knows or has been to every island," He shrugged, considering the parts of the map depicting the world further away from Shear.

"Well... One island at a time, I guess," Agate mused.

"Exactly!" Silent Hoof replied brightly, patting her on the head. "Feel free to come in and take a look at the map any time - my doors are always open. Don't feel rushed, either - explore the other islands at your own pace. And whenever you find something, I'll be here."

Agate nodded, considering her entire mission. She still needed to get her bearings in Shear first and foremost before she could even think about going to other islands. She began thinking of how to politely say goodbye and excuse herself, wanting to go back to Seaweed. Fortunately for the filly, that question solved itself. A mare poked her head into the room from the door leading deeper in, glancing around.

"Good evening, traveler spirit," She greeted Agate before turning towards Silent Hoof. "Come on, father, it's been a long day of travel already. Let's get you to bed, and you can entertain your guests more tomorrow."

Rolling his eyes, the stallion grumbled a bit. "You know, I still remember the times you'd refuse to go to bed, you ornery filly. Why should I listen to you now? I'm still your elder, you know."

"Because we're at that point in our ages where the elders start getting taken care of by their descendants, including getting dragged to bed by force, if needed," She replied with a grin.

"You cheeky... Fff-fine. Well, Agate, I believe we discussed everything we needed to, anyway. You have free reign of the island, with my permission and my blessing. Feel free to poke your nose wherever you want to. Best of luck. Lots of ponies were very happy when they heard how you offered your help. No pressure, though!" He smiled kindly, nodding goodbye.

"I'll be sure to tell you as soon as I find anything. Good night, elder," She nodded back, turning around.

It wasn't hard to find the way back towards Seaweed's and the other's shared home. Walking through the door and down the stairs, Agate looked at the room. It was much plainer and smaller than Silent Hoof's, likely because it wasn't intended for meetings and discussions. The only noticeable features were the fireplace and a pair of shelves tucked into the corners, stacked with clay jars and various knick-knacks. Three more doors, one in each wall, led to other rooms.

The mares had finished tidying up and unpacking their belongings, resting near the fire with steaming cups in hoof. Wave Splash noticed Agate's faintly glowing form, raising her cup in toast and getting the attention of the others. "Welcome to our humble abode, Agate. Sorted everything out with the elder?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm ready to start whenever you are."

"Then we'll start first thing in the morning, after a good night's rest. Let's get some shut-eye, I'm sure we're going to be trotting around lots and lots tomorrow."

Twisting Paths

❅ ❆ ❅

One of the first things that Agate found out was that crystal deposits were not ubiquitous across the island. Once they all got up and got ready to go, her guides led her to the nearest entrance of one of the underground mines. Seeing as they were originally dug out for cold storage, the tunnels were connected to a bunch of pony's cellars, and they were very much still in use. After a bit of poking around, the group ran into some of the owners checking up on the state of their shelves, and they were happy to provide more details about the history of the place.

"Yes, when the spirit stones were discovered, a bunch of families started digging deeper to see if they could find some for themselves, but less than half actually found any. Many have wondered whether there could be more hiding just under the surface, especially lately, what with the other deposits running dry. Few are willing to just dig blindly, though. It's really hard work, which is disappointing if you don't actually have anything to show for it," A mare explained while checking a large clay pot for cracks.

"I could check, I think... Hay, that's exactly what I'm here for. I'd still like to see the places where the crystals actually were first, though," Agate replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Following some simple directions, they made their way down some twisty, narrow passages. It was pitch black, which Agate quickly solved by charging a crystal Harpoon had on a bangle she was wearing. The filly scanned the walls intently with her spirit sight as they climbed deeper, trying to see the familiar shapes of crystals in the orange glow. Not a single one presented itself, though, which made her worry a little. Surely there had to be at least one or two still in the walls that the snowponies had missed?

They passed a few bigger chambers, which likely held large deposits that got completely mined out, Agate still seeing nothing. Eventually, they made it to a dead end, the three mares sitting down near the entrance while she trotted around in a small circle, her muzzle scrunched furiously at her lack of success.

"Maybe there just aren't any left around here, Agate?" Seaweed asked after a few minutes.

"There should still be some, even a tiny shard that's too hard to see or too small for anyone to bother with, or something. I know I saw them when I was going through that mountain. Heck, I was able to see them through the snow while I was trotting around through the tundra. We had a big scavenging trip and everything because of it! Why can't I see them now?" Agate muttered angrily, squinting at the walls.

"Did you do anything differently the time you were able to see them through rock? Can you remember exactly what you did?" Wave Splash asked.

"I don't know, I didn't do it on purpose. I was just walking through some rocks in a collapsed section, and- Wait."

Freezing in place, Agate blinked a few times before trotting right up to a wall and shoving her head inside it. Everything instantly turned dead silent and dark. Snorting soundlessly, she blinked again. Slowly, familiar shapes began appearing in the darkness, making her smile.

"Okay. So that's how that works..."

Turning her head left and right, she examined her surroundings. This location really did look tapped out, but at least now she was able to tell it for certain. Only a few small glimmers greeted her sight in the immediate vicinity, though she was able to see something bigger deeper in the rock. Slowly stepping forward, step by step, she disappeared into the wall completely.

Which left three very confused mares in the mine.

"She's... Going to be alright... Right?" Wave Splash asked, scratching her head.

"Well, uh... Not like she needs to breathe, right?" Harpoon asked, still watching the spot where she last saw Agate's tail vanish.

"She's a sweet filly, but spirits are still weird," Seaweed added, the other two agreeing in low mutters.

❅ ❆ ❅

Moving through solid rock was strange. After stumbling a bit, Agate found that she was able to put her hooves down wherever she wanted to, which let her climb up or down with little effort, though it was a bit disorienting. She ended up standing sideways a few times, which made her head spin when she looked around. Periodically glancing back at the glowing forms of guides to get her bearings, she circled the mine shaft that they arrived through, scanning the rock the entire time.

She saw a few chunks of citrine here and there, but they didn't look like they were worth bothering with. There were some big deposits that she could see deeper in the earth, but she wasn't sure just how deep they were. Either way, they were likely unreachable, given that the snowponies were wary of digging too far and getting flooded. Agate wasn't able to hear the sea in this particular tunnel, but she certainly understood their reluctance.

"Guess we should go back up top and look for seams closer to the surface, now that I actually know how to find them."

"Hey," She said casually, reappearing from inside the walls.

"Gah! Don't do that!" Wave Splash shouted, jumping up in surprise and bumping her head into the low ceiling.

"Sorry," Agate apologized sheepishly, her ears folding in embarrassment.

Harpoon patted Wave Splash on the back as she quietly grumbled. Glancing at the pair, Seaweed stood up and stretched her legs, turning to Agate. "So, did you find anything?"

"Kind of? Nothing close by. At least I found out why I wasn't able to see the crystals before. Turns out, I need to stick my head into the ground. Or at least my eyes, probably. Anyway, let's go up and go through the places near the surface again. I should be able to tell whether there's anything that's easier to reach now."

Forming a line, the group climbed back up, Agate occasionally stopping to stick her head into a wall, or even walk into it fully to walk parallel to the mares as they ascended. She saw a few seams that she thought might be promising, but wasn't entirely sure, given that she didn't actually know what, precisely, constituted a large deposit to the snowpony miners.

As they began snooping around the cellars and tunnels closer to the surface again, they ran into a large, gray-coated stallion climbing upwards from one of the lower passages. He was actually carrying several baskets of rocks from below, in which a few glimmers of concealed crystals could be seen. Given that he was obviously a miner, Agate immediately took an interest in him.

"Name's Boulder," He introduced himself. "And I heard of you. Agate, aye? They say you can smell a spirit stone a league away."

"Not... Smell. Haven't smelled a thing since I died. And not really from that far, no. But if I look through the rock, I can see them, right in the walls. I haven't found much up here yet, but there's definitely a few deposits that you missed," The filly explained.

"Hrm. That's good. There's not many of us like me here, but we do enjoy being useful. Would be a shame if we had to quit," He drawled slowly, plodding along towards the exit.

"Not many like... You?"

"Miners," He grunted. Seeing Agate following him silently, he slowly elaborated. "It's hard work, up here in the north. I know the westerners have ways of digging through the rock. They light a fire, they say, and pour cold water on the stones right after, which makes them crack to pieces. But wood up here is a rare, precious resource. Sure, the sea keeps washing up bits of driftwood on the beaches, but it's a pittance compared to the huge forests they have access to. Tools are harder to get too, since the westerners are also the ones with access to metals. We trade for some, but all of that put together means there's few ponies interested in doing this kind of work. Though, some say that it's simply because there's few ponies like me, who feel more in touch with the stones than the snow. Who knows."

"I guess that explains how it took hundreds of years for you to mine out all the crystals. Compared to the amounts we mined or made back home, this mine seems really small," Agate mused, watching him empty his baskets and carefully chip away the stone clinging to the crystals.

"Crystals. I heard you using that word before."

"Sorry. It's a habit I'm not sure I can break."

" 'M not asking you to break it. Can you explain it? What's the difference between "crystal" and "spirit stone"?"

"Uh, well... Crystals aren't really stones. They are very similar, yes, but the way they're made, and the properties they have... Well, besides the crystal's magical properties, I'm not sure I have the right words to describe it. It's like, umm... Well, what's the difference between a tree and a bush? Is a bush a small tree? Are trees just tall bushes? They're very similar, but ponies call them differently. I'm not the one who came up with it, It's just what others explained to me," Agate shrugged, stumbling through her explanation.

He nodded, mulling on something, though he didn't say anything for a while. Hammering on a small chisel with a rock, he carefully separated a large citrine chunk, rubbing the dust off with a hoof and holding it up against the light. Satisfied with his examination, he slowly sounded out the word several times. "Cry-stal. Crys-tal. Crystal."

"You don't have to change your words for me, really," Agate said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"It's nothing new. We run into all sorts of strange, unseen, never-before-named things up here in the north. Some of them end up having several names, until ponies settle down on one. Clearly, you know far more about crystals than any one of us does, you've shown us that much," He explained with a shrug, sorting through his loot before dumping out the useless rocks.

"Well, alright then..."

"Are you going to look for more deposits now? Can I come with you?"

"I guess?"

He nodded, standing up and glancing at her guides. Slowly raising an eyebrow, he appraised them, squinting a bit. "I don't recall seeing you three in the tunnels before..."

Seaweed shrugged, dusting herself off. "Well, every foal on Shear has fooled around in there at least once, but no, we're not really the miner types. I don't see how you do it, really. I'm half your size, and the tunnels feel cramped already. And I keep almost tripping over my legs."

"Why are all three of you with her, then? You don't even need more than one pony to show the way down there, or anywhere else around Shear, really. Not to mention, while there's ventilation, it's slow. Too many ponies breathing up all the air for no reason is inconvenient," Boulder drawled out slowly, hefting his baskets on his back.

"Well, we... The three of us were chosen because we're quick with our kayaks and we know the surrounding waters. Our main goal was to ferry her to other islands, and to watch each other's backs while we were there. For now, we're just... Waiting until she's done with Shear, I guess."

"Then you should go fish, I think. Get yourself some fresh catch of the new season. I'll take up the honorable duty of being her guide. It is more fitting, I think, given that I actually know more about the earth here than you do," He said solemnly.

"That's... Fair, I suppose," Seaweed concluded, glancing at her companions and receiving shrugs in response. "I suppose we'll see you in the evening in our house then, Agate?"

"I'll be there," The filly confirmed with a nod.

"Let us go find some crystals, then," Boulder nodded at her, moving back towards the mine entrance.

Agate followed along, glancing curiously at the stallion. He seemed to have an unhurried air about him, taking each step and each word he said slowly, without any rush or excitement. As she found a large deposit of crystals that was only a few hooflength's deep, though, she was forced to revise her assessment. He was not slow, not at all. He was precise in all his actions. Measured.

After tapping the wall a bunch of times with a hoof, he nodded in satisfaction, picking up a stray boulder nearby. He did have a pickaxe, one that Agate recognized as one from the haul that the expedition to Dream Valley brought back, but didn't seem inclined to use it at the moment. Hefting the boulder in his forelegs, he rammed it against the wall, pulverizing the rock into dozens of shards, debris flying everywhere while Agate stood there, slack-jawed.

"Whoa."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Not bad, aye? Makes my forelegs and chest sting a bit, but it's actually faster than using a pick. Bit rough, though. Let's hope I didn't break any crystals."

Agate expected him to stay and keep going at the deposit that she showed him, but he shook his head. "No need. I just wanted to crack it open so that it would be visible. Come, let's find some more and mark them down. I'll figure out how to divide them among my friends later."

The deposits that were deeper in the rock required special measures, though. Agate could see and point them out, but her descriptions ended up sounding too vague for Boulder. It took a bit of head-scratching for them to figure out how to measure the distance and direction, but once they did, everything went very smoothly.

"Thirty-two steps," Agate said, emerging from a wall. "Slightly slanted downwards, roughly... This much?"

Nodding, Boulder took his chisel and began carving some snowpony runes and numbers into the spot that Agate emerged from, marking precisely where the crystal deposit was. The odd pair of huge stallion and tiny spirit filly stalked the tunnels for the rest of the day, meeting other ponies now and then. As Boulder explained to her, since there was little competition for miners, they were free to claim more or less any place they wished. Pretty much all inhabitants of Shear dug around and worked on expanding their underground homes and cellars when the weather turned foul and the furious northern storms wreaked havoc across the isle, but once they cleared up, the ponies went right back to fishing, foraging and other things, leaving the few dedicated miners alone again.

If any of the other inhabitants found crystals during their expansions, they'd usually call on the miners, letting them loose and not even asking any pay in return, save for maybe a few crystal shards. "We pretty much do all the work for them. They get more space, we get our fair reward. Afterwards, all they need to do is smooth down the floors and walls a bit, if that," Boulder explained with a shrug.

Once they were done prospecting, the pair climbed back out into the open, stars twinkling above them. Boulder removed a strip of cloth that he previously wrapped around his muzzle to stop the dust, taking a deep breath. Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he turned to Agate.

"Were you able to tell at all just how many crystals you saw in all those deposits? Enough to, hm... Fill up a room?"

"Let me think... The first one was fairly big, the second... Then that one... Hmm..." Agate trailed off, mentally tallying up her findings. A few minutes of thinking later, she shrugged. "Well, rooms are different sizes, so... The elder's meeting room - you've been there, right? Honestly, it's a very rough measurement, but I think you'd get a full room like that."

"Hmmm. Well, that's a few good year's worth of work, minimum. I'd say a decade or more, even. Some good trading could be done with such an amount. Still, it looks like this place is finally running dry," He surmised, his voice tinged with a touch of melancholy.

"There's the rest of the island, though, right? As long as the other deposits are not too deep..."

"Aye, that's also a possibility. For today, though, I think we're done. Go get some rest, and we can pick this up tomorrow morning, yes?"

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow, Boulder. Good night."

"Good night, Agate."

❅ ❆ ❅

It took them four more days to survey most of the island. Boulder happily lent Agate his knowledge about the colors and textures of the stone that he most often found crystals in, which she helped confirm or deny by seeking out the deposits with her sight. She saw a whole lot of them deep below the surface, but that was useless knowledge to them. Fortunately, she did find a few sizeable seams in fairly shallow spots, including a large one in a cliffside on a beach. It was even already partially exposed, the waves having eroded the rock over many years.

"Funny how no one found this before, but this was a bit awkward to get to. Bit risky to dig down too, what with the sea right next to us... Maybe if we build a low wall of some kind over the entrance..." Boulder mused, appraising the location.

"It goes up as well as down, so there's lots you can get here safely," Agate reassured him, after diving into the cliff and double-checking to make sure.

"That is good, then. Still, you're not going to stop here, are you? You'll still explore other islands?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. Not sure how many I'm going to manage, or how long I'll keep going. No one really told me how much time I should spend on this or if I should stop at a certain date. Or after finding enough islands with crystals."

"The more the better, I suppose. Plenty of ponies and merchants that visited Shear said they wished there were more sources of crystals. There's lots of demand for their beauty, but the vast majority go to the shamares for their trinkets and enchantments, and regular ponies are averse to buying them for that reason. I'm certain ponies on the other islands would be very happy if you found more deposits there."

"Alright then. So, I guess... We're done here. It was nice working with you, Boulder."

"Likewise, Agate. I hope your search is successful, both this one and any future ones you might undertake. Be well, and thank you for all the wisdom you shared," The stallion said, giving her a respectful bow.

"I barely shared anything... *Ahem* You're welcome, Boulder. I should probably go to Silent Hoof now."

They parted ways, though Agate didn't rush straight back to the village. She spent most of her time with her head stuck in the ground looking for crystals, which meant that she barely even saw how the island actually looked. Deciding to take the scenic route, she climbed up on the cliff, following the shoreline below.

The island itself was indeed mostly bare rock or loose pebbles, though the locals were slowly transforming it. Using the broken rocks they'd pull out of the mines, they built many little pens with stone fences, dumping their refuse in them. It took quite a while for the stuff to actually rot away due to the brief summers and cold winds, but bit by bit, the nasty muck was turning into soil, albeit one that was still rather poor quality, apparently.

"Our tribe often asked the southerners to teach us how they manage to grow so much food. They gladly gave us advice, but too often, it wasn't really possible to carry out any of their instructions. For example, they said we needed to mix the compost with ashes, or the soil would end up being too "sour". I had no idea earth even had flavors, and we only get small amounts of ashes from the few times we actually have a fire going. Still, we throw in the bits that we get. Haven't really managed to grow anything yet, unless you count some grass stalks that popped up," Wave Splash explained to Agate one evening, after the filly spent a long day diving through rock.

Out in the distance, she could see the shapes of more boats approaching the shore. Apparently, the northerners didn't just go to their islands and stay there until winter came around again. Plenty of ponies kept moving both between the islands and the other tribes throughout the year, ferrying various goods back and forth. Among other things, the locals loved getting herbs from the western tribe to flavor their food with, and wood was such a valuable material that it was worth your time to haul it all the way across the sea.

For the local wares, seashells were a a curious commodity. Some were pretty and traded by themselves, but apparently they were the main ingredient in something called "stone glue". Upon asking, it turned out to be the mysterious, stone-like material that the houses in the island were reinforced with. Instead of magic, it was an alchemical concoction of some kind that needed lots of heat to produce, which made it both very scarce and highly valued in the north. The northerners traded the shells and other things with the westerners, bringing back small batches of the glue to improve and expand their homes.

Hearing a foalish shriek, Agate trotted closer to the cliff's edge. A group of foals with baskets were collecting shells on the beach, the few braver ones trying to outrun the waves and grab something from the water. The others looked on, laughing when they inevitably got splashed. After watching them for a few minutes, she began moving again.

Though the sense of wonder and disbelief Agate had at first was mostly gone, seeing sights like that still brought it back sometimes. Despite the inhospitable terrain - inhospitable everything, really - the snowponies managed to survive and thrive in the harsh conditions of the north, each tribe managing to figure out ways how to best live in their respective environments. It was one thing to hear stories about faraway places like Equestria, but seeing them yourself was something else.

She took her time wandering about, glancing at the sky now and then. Agate knew that Seaweed and the others more than likely were out fishing and collecting seaweed, so she didn't bother turning back towards the village until the Sun began to set. They told her that the other families promised them plenty of food for working with her, but they were still happy to top up their own reserves a little bit while Agate was busy.

Trotting towards the elder's home first, she walked through the door and went downwards, glancing around. The room was empty and the fireplace cold, with the last rays of sunlight shining through a few slim windows set into the top of the wall. Instead of glass, they used citrine crystals that they stuck together, which gave the light an orange tint.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Agate called out, unsure whether she should walk deeper into the house. Of all the things she missed from having a body, being able to knock took up a surprisingly high spot in the list.

It took her a couple more tries, but eventually, Silent Hoof showed up. Trotting into the room, he stopped briefly to stretch one hindleg, his joints popping. He didn't notice her at first, slight confusion on his face. Finally glancing down, he blinked, shaking his head and chuckling afterwards.

"Silly me. Apologies, Agate. Foals don't really visit me for business, and you slipped my mind for a moment there. Now then, let's see... How goes your hunt for the spirit stones?"

"Well enough, I think. I don't really know whether what I found was a lot or not, but Boulder said that it's more than likely enough for him to keep working until he's old and gray, and I've yet to explore any of the other islands."

"Good, good! Hmmmm, Boulder? Ah, yes, I remember. Reserved fellow. Very stony-faced, heh heh. So you talked to the miners already? Well, I still need to mark things down on my map. Claims and all, can't have them fighting over who claimed what first, and all that. Let's see... I think I left it back in the other room, or maybe..."

The old stallion rambled on happily, turning this way and that as he tried to remember where he left the map. Trotting back through the door, he returned with a large, rolled up scroll, followed by his daughter that told him to go to bed the previous time. She carried a small lamp of some kind, a tiny flame burning at the end of it. Together, they unrolled the scroll on the table, weighing the corners down with small stones. At a wave from Silent Hoof, Agate hopped up on a chair, examining the map.

Unlike the one painted on the wall, it only depicted Shear, in a fairly detailed manner. Picking up a stick of charcoal with his mouth, Silent Hoof turned to Agate. " 'O ahea' " he spoke, nodding to her.

"Okay, um... Give me a moment. There was this depression, right here... By the way, Boulder chiseled out some markings in the rock, so even if I'm a bit off, I'm sure you can find them. Anyway, there was a big deposit right there..."

They spent some time meticulously marking everything down, Silent Hoof making sure to both make the sigils legible and not to damage the map. The last of the sunlight disappeared quickly, but the lamp was just enough to see by. Once they were done, the elder examined the map intently one last time, eventually nodding with satisfaction.

"Well! Looks like that's one crisis that's averted, at least for quite some time. Someone other than me will have to figure out what to do next time, heh. Hm, let's see, what else was there, what else... Oh yes, of course. The other islands. Whenever you're ready, then," He nodded, turning towards Agate.

"Alright. I have no idea how long each one is going to take, so... I'll just come back here after every island to report, I guess?"

"Certainly! You could hop from island to island, I you prefer, but if you do find something, perhaps it'd be better to return, before you forget which island it even was. Well, perhaps your memory's sharper than mine... Either way, you know where to find me."

Nodding, she climbed down from the chair and moved closer to the map painted on the wall. She examined it in the faint lamplight while the elder and his daughter carefully rolled the map up again. Once they were finished, they all said their goodbyes, and the filly made her way back to Seaweed's place.

Agate was a little curious whether the three were sisters, but when she asked them about it, they laughed, shaking their heads. As it turned out, while they had rather similar skills and talents - all three were good at navigating the sea and fishing - they were from different families. The house was built by their kin for young ponies that were just starting to find their own paths, the mares banding together for a few years before moving on.

"It's a great way to get experience on how to live by yourself without your parents holding your hoof. We haven't found anyone to settle down with yet, but we're all a bit too big to live in our parent's houses. It feels good to have your own space, you know? You want your own room at first, but as you get older, even that ends up being stifling. Honestly, if I had to deal with my parents babying me one more day, I'd have gone to live outside in my tent," Harpoon snorted, cleaning and sharpening her weapon.

As Agate expected, the trio only returned from their fishing trip recently, enjoying some fresh catch for dinner. The mares greeted her with polite nods, their mouths too full to talk. The filly waited patiently until they finished, performing a few focusing exercises to pass the time. Once they were done eating and tossed the fish skeletons and other inedible bits in a bucket, they began inquiring about Agate's progress.

"So, how did it go? You told us that you had most of the island covered already yesterday," Seaweed asked, picking at her teeth with a large fishbone.

"I did, and I finished it today. Got it all squared away with the elder, and Boulder marked all of the deposits that I found. We can start travelling to other islands now."

"Sweet! Have you picked a destination yet?" Wave Splash asked enthusiastically, trying to wipe the grease off her muzzle.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think you should be the ones to do it. I have no idea which routes are the best to take, what the currents are, and all that other sea travel stuff. Just... Get me to the nearest island and when I'm done, we can hop from it to the next one, and keep going that way," Agate shrugged.

"Alright! Time to show our stuff!" All three mares grinned enthusiastically, immediately launching into a lively discussion about which way they should go, citing twisting currents, names of unfamiliar islands, spots to rest along the way, and other things Agate had no clue about. She half-heartedly listened in for a bit, but soon went back to her focusing exercises.

Eventually, they all went to sleep, agreeing to get up bright and early tomorrow.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Whoa!"

"Haha! Kayaks are way more fun than the umiak, right, Agate?"

"...Yeah, I guess so."

The three were gliding across the waves, Agate hugging the front of Seaweed's kayak. The small, agile boats were incredibly swift, but the tradeoff was the fact that they were only suitable for one or two ponies, and each one that the three mares owned was only built for one pony. Usually, Agate's mode of travel would be suicidal for both the passenger and the driver, but seeing that she didn't actually weigh anything, they all decided that she'd ride in front, like some kind of bizarre ornament or good luck charm.

Once they got up and geared up, the mares led Agate to the northern beach. It was the one place on the rocky island that had sand, some kind of current bringing the stuff in abundance to that spot, but passing the rest of the isle by. It also had seals, the fat creatures honking and jiggling about merrily as various other fisherponies were getting ready for their own trips. Some of them were talking to the seals, seemingly trying to convince them to come with.

"Sorry seal friends, no fishing with us for a while. We need to go on a journey," Wave Splash cooed, nuzzling one whiskery seal that replied with a wet snort.

Retrieving their kayaks from under a rocky overhang, they immediately departed for their destination. The first target was a place they called "Screeching Roost", named after the many birds that built their nests on the steep, rocky hills. With their increased speed, they made it there in record time, approaching the island with at least an hour's worth of daylight left.

This one was different than the islands that Agate saw before. Instead of sticking straight up out of the water, it seemed to be partially submerged. A long stretch of sand trailed right below the bottoms of the kayaks, the water no deeper than a pony was tall. The seafloor rose very gradually, and by the time they reached land, the mares were using the paddles to push against the sandy bottom, instead of paddling in the water.

Disembarking, Agate examined the shore critically while the mares dragged the kayaks higher up. She was fairly certain that sand could not contain crystals, but she could see the rocky hills that her guides mentioned previously. They were some distance away, but even from the beach, she could see the tiny dots of birds flocking around them.

"Judging by your expression, you're somewhat unimpressed," Harpoon noted.

"Well, I don't think that there's anything I can find in sand. It's loose all the way to the bottom, right? Guess I should go examine those hills, though. Might be something there."

"Need us to do anything?"

"Not really? You can rest a bit. You were paddling really hard there."

"Yeah, problem with that is, your forelegs get tired while your hindlegs get numb and ache for some exercise," The mare chuckled, shaking her head. "Come on, we'll trot with you for a while."

"Alright."

The group made their way deeper inland, glancing around. Even though the islands have been thoroughly explored and visited by multiple ponies in the past, the mares were far more alert, keeping their ears up and their weapons close by. Now that they weren't travelling in a large herd like they did before, they couldn't afford to be careless.

Low, hardy grass covered the sandy soil, tiny green shoots barely visible through the old and dried stalks. Spring was arriving to the north surprisingly quickly, given that the tundra was still covered in a deep layer of snow during their journey a week prior. It was as if the air was warmer around the islands, which couldn't be right, since ponies told her that the sea was cold.

Shrugging at the oddities of uncontrolled weather, Agate continued her trek through the dunes. It took them a little while to reach higher ground, by which time the Sun began to set. Fortunately for her, the amount of light didn't really affect her abilities. Getting close to one of the hills, she examined it, hearing various bird calls from higher up.

"Uh oh. I think those are gluttons up there," Seaweed remarked, watching a few of the birds in the sky.

"Guess we better back up," Harpoon chuckled, quickly turning around and trotting a short distance away.

"Huh? Gluttons?" Agate asked, turning back towards her guides.

"Yeah. Some also call them stinkers. They feed on dead things, mostly, which makes them smell... Quite unpleasant, let's say. We're usually fine with them - they even follow our fishing boats and eat the bits of fish we throw away, sometimes - but if you get close to their nests, they tend to get you to leave by vomiting all over you. And given what they eat... Well, ponies say the stink lasts for days, and if it gets in your eyes, you're going to have real problems. You'll be fine, but we're going to back up a little, alright?" Seaweed explained, slowly trotting backwards.

"Oh, sure. No problem. I'll just... Get to work, then," Agate nodded, focusing her sight.

Falling into a rhythm that was starting to become more and more familiar, she held her focus for a good minute with her eyes closed, opening them and immediately sticking her face into the stone. Turning in every direction, she scanned the depths of the hills, looking for the familiar glimmers of crystals. Failing to find any, she circled the hill, finding another spot and repeating the process, stepping halfway into the cliff this time.

"Nothing here..."

After she made sure nothing was there, Agate returned to her guides, shaking her head. "Nothing in this one. I'm going to trot around for a bit, examine the other locations. Since they all have bird's nests, you should go and make camp. I'll be done in... A couple hours, I think."

"Sure thing. We're going to set up a bit closer to the beach, perhaps behind that one big dune that we saw. Don't overwork yourself," Seaweed nodded, getting up and leading the others away.

"I'll be fine," Agate reassured the mare, turning back towards the hills.

❅ ❆ ❅

In the end, Agate wasn't able to find any crystal deposits on that island. They moved on to the next one, and the next one after that, and so on. Agate saw squat islands, tall islands, sandy islands, rocky islands, flat islands, curvy islands, elongated islands, big ones, small ones, and just plain odd ones. Some only took a day to examine, while others needed more time to comb through.

A good portion of them were either inhabited, or used as resting spots and fishing grounds by various families. They were always happy to see the group, treating Agate and her guides with respect and warmth. Usually, the travelers would have had to come back to Shear and resupply due to the very low cargo capacity of the kayaks, but the islanders were more than happy to host and feed them, which allowed them to continue their travels without having to backtrack.

For Agate, the novelty of sea travel and the different islands slowly wore off, though it was still fairly interesting. True to what Seaweed and the others said during the first journey by sea, though, the strangest and most fascinating things were the bizarre creatures that sometimes surfaced from the depths.

"What in the world is that? Some kind of weird seaweed?" Agate squinted, seeing something colorful bobbing in the water.

"Hm? Maybe we can fish it out, we could use a sna- Oh! Hahah! No, Agate, that is definitely not seaweed," Seaweed laughed, following Agate's gaze towards the spot she was looking at.

"Then what...? It's so... Slimy looking, and splayed out all over the place with those, those.."

"Tentacles, Agate. That, little filly, is a jellyfish. What do you think?"

All three mares looked at Agate, trying to hold in their laughter as the filly scrunched her muzzle at the incomprehensible creature. She kept trying to find something that would mark it as an animal - eyes, nose, mouth - but kept coming up empty. At the same time, it didn't look like any plant that she ever saw. Giving up after a few minutes, she shook her head.

"That's a fish?"

"Of a sort, heh!"

"I'll... Take your word for it."

Laughing, the mares paddled away, leaving the fish made of jelly behind.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Oh, hello there, friend! How are you doing?" Wave Splash asked, smiling at a seal that suddenly surfaced near her kayak.

The seal snorted, wrestling with a tangle of red limbs that wrapped itself tightly around most of it's body, flexing it's neck back and forth and trying to bite at the mass of tentacles.

"Is that another jellyfish?" Agate asked.

"No, that's an octopus," Harpoon said, unconsciously running her hoof along the shaft of her weapon as she watched the two creatures wrestle.

"Should we... Help the seal?"

"Probably not. They eat octopi all the time. This one just grew a bit too large, apparently, but I think he'll manage."

They all watched the watery wrestling match with bated breath for several minutes. The seal didn't look particularly concerned, though, so Harpoon didn't intervene. It took the animal a whole lot of tries, but after a bunch of wiggling and rolling, diving and resurfacing, it finally managed to get a good grip on the octopus's main body with it's teeth, chomping on it fiercely and pulling it off itself.

The water got muddled with some kind of inky black substance, but they could still see the mass of tentacles twitch a bit before it stopped moving altogether. The seal dropped it from it's mouth, examining it critically before chewing off a tentacle and slurping it up.

"Aww, just look at you, you successful hunter, you!" Wave Splash cooed, reaching for the seal before pulling back as her kayak wobbled.

The other mares giggled as the seal blinked curiously. Grabbing the rest of the octopus, it swam closer to Wave Splash, looking at her with those big black eyes, wiggling it's whiskers a bit.

"Are you offering it to me? Aww, you sweetie, you really don't have to. Come on, eat up, you need to bulk up after winter," She waved it off, smiling at the seal.

The seal snorted, shaking it's head and splashing in the water a bit. Dropping the octopus again, it chewed on it half-heartedly, it's demeanor somewhat unenthusiastic.

"I think that's too big to eat in one go, even for a seal," Harpoon remarked.

"Well... It's terrible to waste food..."

Reaching in with the shaft of her weapon, Wave Splash retrieved the tentacled mess from the water, carefully setting it down across her kayak, with half the tentacles on one side and half on the other. The seal snorted and honked, swimming off into the distance.

"Thank you, friend!"

For the rest of the trip, Agate couldn't keep her eyes of the sucker-covered tentacles swaying about, making it appear as if the creature was still alive. Sea animals were weird.

❅ ❆ ❅

Not all meetings with the dwellers of the deep were benign, though. They didn't encounter any leviathans, fortunately, but something still tried to make a meal out of them. At a nondescript patch of water between two islands, they caught the attention of one of the many northern predators that sought to make ponies its prey.

"Harpoon, I think there's an eel in the water," Seaweed spoke quickly, her voice tense.

The mare reacted instantly, dropping her paddle and pulling her weapon off her back. Agate didn't know what an eel was, but the mares clearly had a strategy planned out for such an encounter. Seaweed began splashing the water loudly with her paddle, while Wave Splash also reached for a harpoon, making sure not to let her paddle fall into the water. Looking down, the filly tried to see the creature that was chasing them.

It was really hard to tell whether there was actually anything down there, the water black and murky. When she focused her spirit sight, though, she could see an undulating, serpent-like form circling them, steadily approaching Seaweed's kayak. After two more circles, it darted in so fast, Agate could barely even comprehend what happened.

A slimy-looking head and a maw full of huge teeth burst out of the water, chomping on the paddle and biting half of it clear off. The eel was entirely black, which camouflaged it very well in the water. When it burst out, though, Wave Splash and Harpoon had a clear shot. They quickly threw their weapons, skewering the eel from two sides.

It made no sound, though it thrashed fiercely, making Seaweed's kayak rock as she quickly paddled away with half her paddle missing. The harpoons had ropes attached to them, which the mares tried to pull back in, but the beast was too fierce. Wave Splash was forced to let go of hers lest she capsized, while Harpoon managed to yank her own out, ripping a chunk of meat from its neck.

The wounds were fatal, and its twitching kept getting slower and slower, the fish sinking back into the depths. The mares weren't inclined to stay around and finish it off or try to fish it out, though, swiftly going back to paddling with extra speed from the adrenaline rush. At Agate's questioning look, Seaweed shook her head.

"They are known to sometimes attack in swarms, and the blood in the water might attract bigger predators. We'd best make ourselves scarce, especially seeing that we're down a harpoon and I'm slower with just half a paddle."

"It all happened so fast. Are they a big danger in the sea? I don't recall hearing any stories about them..." Agate mused, scanning the water for more of the slithery forms.

"They're not... Very dangerous, as long as you have someone to watch your back. They rarely attack ponies, and when they do, it's pretty easy to bait them out like we did. They probably think we're some helpless animal splashing in the water, so they don't try very hard to be stealthy, which helps us a lot. If they were a little more careful, well, they'd be a bigger danger," The mare explained.

"As for the stories, far from every animal gets them. Just the really... Big and flashy ones, I guess. Or magical ones. There's lots of fairly regular creatures in the north that don't really get covered in epic legends and those kinds of retellings. The eel... Eh. Relatively dangerous, but not something you can turn into a proper, dramatic story by the fireside. As you said yourself, it happened very fast," Harpoon added.

Agate nodded, still keeping a lookout. Nothing else bothered them during the journey.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Well, well! Very impressive, very impressive indeed. Quite the journey. Ah, reminds me of my youth, back when I was spry and energetic... Anyway, let's see... This one, that one, and the one after that..." Silent Hoof muttered, dipping a brush into a pot of paint.

The group of prospectors were back in Shear, sitting in the elder's map room. They spent a month and a half travelling from island to island, having managed to examine a good thirty islands during that time. While Agate's guides were tired, they were entirely willing to keep ferrying her around all the way up to winter, if need be. After a couple days to rest and maintain their equipment, of course.

The elder was adding either tiny X's or symbols of crystals to the islands that they pointed out. The search was not very fruitful, though not a complete failure, either. Shear was not the only place with crystal deposits after all, Agate having discovered accessible deposits in three more islands. While the stallion was busy, they scanned the map, trying to choose their next destination.

"We could go south..." Wave Splash muttered.

"There's a few more islands to the west, though, even if they're smaller," Harpoon pointed out.

Neither one of them had any strong feelings which way they should go, lazily pointing out various options. Silent Hoof, however, frowned, examining the modified map. "Now this looks interesting..."

"What is it, elder?" Agate asked.

"Well. If you look here... Shear. Then, Seal's Flipper. After that, Winged Isle, and finally, Mossy Rock. Shear, and the three islands that you managed to find crystals on, all form a line," He explained, tapping the wall.

That made them all focus, the mares sitting up straighter. Seaweed squinted, following the elder's hoof. "Hmm, so it does. Which stands to reason that, if we were to follow it, we would have better odds than choosing at random. And it goes... North-northwest, towards... Oh. Hrm. That's..."

Agate tilted her head, wondering what the mare's reaction meant. Her lips were pursed tight, and the others weren't looking very enthusiastic, either. Looking at the part of the map the chain of islands led to, she saw markings that didn't really make sense to her. A good part was white instead of the gray or sandy colors used to mark islands, and there was a number of jagged spikes drawn sticking out of the sea.

"What is that place?" She asked the silent ponies.

"It's called the Twisting Spires," Silent Hoof began, after clearing his throat. "It's an odd location. There is an island there, surrounded by lots of jagged rocks sticking out of the water. Which isn't strange in and of itself - what makes it unusual is the very strong currents surrounding it, which suck in anything floating in the water, including the vast majority of the ice floes that drift in from the north, which then get trapped between the spires. The island ends up being encased in a shell of ice of sorts, which lasts for most of the year."

"Yeah, the place blocked the way for quite a while for our ancestors. You need to swing around it in a wide arc if you want to go further north, and while the island itself is not completely inaccessible, you can only really approach it from the south when all the ice melts, which sometimes takes all the way up to autumn. You see, after the big ice floes drift in from the north, they slowly break apart as they melt, and the sea on the southern side gets covered in hundreds of pieces of ice, all of them grinding and smashing against each other as the currents drag them back and forth. Trying to enter those waters in a boat is suicide," Wave Splash elaborated, glaring at the map with her hooves crossed.

"Okay, so... We've been at this for, umm... Two months now? I guess there's no way to get to it safely for some time, then?" Agate inquired.

"Not quite, youngling. Even when it's covered in ice, you can get to it from the north relatively easily... If you have the stomach for it, of course, heh heh. The solid ice sheets on the north side get pushed all the way against the shore, and a pony can just hop on and gallop all the way to the island, if they find a suitable spot to disembark. Obviously, they need to either drag their kayak up on the ice with them, or have a partner waiting for them when they come back to ferry them home. It's a challenge, but nothing insurmountable, heh. Ahh, good times," Silent Hoof chuckled, reminiscing about something.

Agate glanced at her companions. The mares didn't look particularly enthusiastic, but she could recognize the glint in their eyes that most northerners seemed to get whenever they heard the word "challenge". The three glanced between each other for a few minutes, before Harpoon spoke up.

"I haven't been that far north yet, you know. Seems like a good opportunity."

"Mmmm, well... I'm not one to back down from a challenge..." Seaweed continued.

"If our mission points us there, then I think we're obliged to go," Wave Splash opined.

They all turned to Agate in a creepily synchronized fashion. Blinking in surprise, she folded her ears. "Uh..."

"The final say is yours, of course," Seaweed nodded at the filly.

"Well, I mean... Not like anything bad can happen to me, but I don't want you to put yourselves in danger for no reason. So, if it's really not dangerous..."

"Life's a danger," Silent Hoof shrugged. "But no, as long as you do everything right, everything is going to be fine. With how cold all that ice makes the air around the island, there aren't even any predators living there. It's quite barren."

"I guess we can go, then?"

The mares grinned. Wave Splash hopped off from her chair, trotting closer to the map. "Alright! Now, we can swing around from either direction, but there's almost no islands on the eastern side, and sleeping in a kayak is precarious, to say the least. We should island-hop through here, starting with..."

She started listing various names, plotting a route along both familiar and unfamiliar islands. The others chimed in with suggestions now and then, listing pros and cons. Agate sat back and let them go at it, seeing as they were the experts. Names of islands drifted in and out of her ears, until the final one made her perk up.

"...And then, we can get a few day's rest and some advice at Fanged Shore before going for the Spires."

"Fanged Shore?"

"Yes? Is there something about that island, Agate? It's the biggest settled one around there, and we could use the rest," Wave Splash asked curiously.

"Nothing wrong, just a familiar name that I remembered from a conversation. Some... Friends of mine live there."

"Well then, that sounds great! I don't think either one of us actually know any of the locals there. Why didn't you say you had friends before, by the way? We could have swung by to visit them. Meeting only during the Gathering is a bit limiting."

"Um, well, this is an important mission, right? Ponies said so, at least. And it's not like they're close by... Right?"

"Hmm, well... Let's see, this distance, that island there, that passage..." The mare trailed off, looking at the map and doing calculations in her head. A few minutes later, she nodded. "I suppose you're right. The trip could take us anywhere from a week to ten days, I'd say. Or more, if there's a storm. Either way, it doesn't matter, because we are going there now."

"Guess we know our next destination. Come on, then, we have some equipment to patch up and replace," Seaweed nodded, getting up from her seat.

Saying their goodbyes, they left the elder's home, preparing once more to hit the (metaphorical) road.

❅ ❆ ❅

After some proper rest, food, and maintenance, the group was speeding across the water once again. Turning west at first, they traveled through some islands that they already examined before reaching new ones. Agate still checked them for crystal deposits, but each one turned up empty, which only made them more curious to find out whether the elder's hunch was right.

Meanwhile, the three mares, while youthful and energetic, also had a bit of youthful overconfidence. Even without bad weather slowing them down, the trip still took eleven days. The unfamiliar waters confused them, or so they claimed, though it was obvious that the sheer distance was an impediment as well.

Regardless, they made it to Fanged Shore in one piece, if a bit worn out. Stone spires surrounded the island, both in the water and on the shore as well, which was clearly where the name came from. They didn't look very sharp, eroded by the waves as they were, but the sight was still impressive.

Groaning, Seaweed dragged her kayak up on the beach in a tiny bay, rubbing her sore legs. "Well, that hurt."

"We'll get stronger for it," Harpoon replied, grunting as she pulled her own kayak up.

"Wish we could just skip to that part," Wave Splash snorted with a wry smile.

Agate looked around curiously, trying to find a trail or a path of some kind. While the island was clearly inhabited, snowponies never really bothered with paths, northerners doubly so, not even spending the time to put up a guidestone like the southerners did in the tundra. Fortunately for them, it was usually easy to find the settlements, even on the bigger islands.

"Ugh... Mind if we catch our breath a bit, Agate?" Seaweed sighed, flopping down on the sand.

"It's fine, take your time. I'll go to try and find which way the village is. Be right back," She nodded, trotting off.

The search didn't take long. All she needed to do was find a relatively high spot, and look around. Even with how rarely the northerners lit fires, she could see a few trails of smoke in the distance, which she followed with her eyes to find their source. The village on this island looked rather impressive even from a distance, potentially being bigger than the one on Shear.

"Found it," She announced, coming back to her companions.

"Well, might as well get a move on," Seaweed grumbled, grabbing her gear and slowly climbing up from the beach.

In some of the less-populated islands, visitors would warrant the heads of the families coming out to greet them personally and inviting them into their homes. The inhabitants of Fanged Shore were clearly too numerous for that, though they still gave the group curious looks as they passed by. Then again, it might have been due to the fact that Agate was accompanying them.

"Alright, Agate, I'm guessing that you don't actually know where to find this Glacier Glider mare?" Seaweed asked, shaking some sand from her coat.

"Not really," The filly shrugged. "Not like I've been here before."

"Time to ask, then."

It took asking five different ponies, but eventually, they were directed to a sturdy-looking home, built next to a large mossy boulder. It was partially dug into the ground in the traditional northerner style, though the local soil at least looked easier to get through than Shear's solid rock.

Standing before the door, Seaweed turned her head towards Agate. "So, would you like to knock and introduce us to your friends?"

"I can't knock," Agate said with a small, awkward smile, demonstrating by partially passing her hoof through the wood.

"Oh... Right. Silly me," Seaweed blinked, turning back towards the door and rapping her hoof on it several times.

There was some faint shuffling from deeper inside, which slowly resolved itself into the sound of unhurried hoofsteps. A stallion opened the door, Agate recognizing him as Glacier's husband. He looked Seaweed up and down with a raised eyebrow, his expression mildly curious.

"Well now, it's a big village that we have here, but I know I haven't seen you around before. What brings you travelers to my home?"

Unconsciously straightening out her back, Seaweed cleared her throat. "A mission from the chieftain himself, though it is not tied to you. The reason we came to your abode specifically is our spirit guide," She explained, stepping aside and pointing to Agate.

"Hello, elder," Agate spoke, nodding towards the stallion. She didn't think she even talked to him properly before, but she was certain that he would remember her.

Both of his eyebrows went up in surprise at seeing the spirit. It took him a minute to recognize the filly, which only made him more surprised. "Well now, this is unexpected, to say the least. I remember hearing of your mission, Agate, but you're quite some ways away from Shear. What made you take such a drastic detour?"

"It's a long story, but we think that there's a good chance of finding crystals in the Twisting Spires isle. Since we have to approach it from the north, we had to come here, and it'd have been very rude if I didn't visit you while I was here," Agate summarized.

"True, true. And this is where you'll be staying, obviously, we'd bring unspeakable shame on our family otherwise. I'm certainly not leaving a daughter in the cold, even if it's no longer a danger to her. That includes your companions, obviously. We open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guests of far away. Will you partake in our warmth?" He waved a foreleg inside, reciting the traditional phrase.

"Thank you, we are grateful for your hospitality," Seaweed nodded, her expression a little confused. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she bent down towards Agate as their host turned around and went inside. "Daughter?"

However, he heard her anyway. "My wife adopted her, in a way. Not that she moved in with us, but family is family, no matter how distant."

"Oh. I see..."

The group of travelers followed him inside, entering a large room that was clearly used for food preparation. Pots of salt lined the shelves, with lots of knives and chopping boards hanging off the walls. Drying fish and stalks of seaweed hung from the ceiling, while Glacier Glider was gutting and cleaning fresh catch from a large basket.

"Who was it?" She asked, keeping her gaze locked on the fish.

"You'll never guess who the wendigo dragged in," He chuckled.

"Hmm? What, did my cousin drop by? It's really not like him- Oh. Well now," She said, looking at the visitors with slight disbelief.

"Hello, Glacier," Agate waved.

"Agate! You cheeky ghost, what are you-" She shouted, standing up and raising her forelegs as if to hug the filly, but changed her mind after remembering that she was covered in blood and bits of fish guts. "Heh, sorry. Got some fish to deal with, first."

"No worries."

Her shout alerted the other inhabitants, and moments later, the Flurry twins were firing off questions aimed at Agate, one of them managing to jump on Harpoon's back and startling the mare. After telling the naughty filly to apologize, the family sat their tired guests down, demanding to know the full story of what brought them there.

"Alright," Agate began talking while Glacier kept cleaning fish, having roped in her twins to help. "We examined around thirty islands, and while looking at the map, Shear's village elder noticed something..."

Celestial Omens

The very first thing Agate's guides did was rest. They needed a good night's sleep (preferably two) and lots of good meals, which their hosts were plenty happy to provide. While they were taking a break from paddling, though, it didn't prevent them from talking. Glacier Glider grilled the mares on their experience with "icewalking", which was apparently separate from their snowwalking skill.

"So, how good would you say you three are?"

"Well, it's not something we did very often, but we're definitely not completely inexperienced in it."

"Ahhh, I see. Enthusiastic beginners, then," The older mare chuckled, making the three purse their lips.

"Hey now, we're not some helpless foals. The chieftain wouldn't have let us take this on if he didn't think we were capable of it," Harpoon bristled.

"Oh, sure, but I doubt he thought you would have to engage in anything but ferrying Agate. Do you think you're skilled enough to sidle up to a slippery, uneven-surfaced ice floe in a kayak, climb out while dragging the kayak with you, and navigate the treacherous landscape until you reach the shore without slipping through a hole and having to take a swim?"

They frowned, folding their ears back and glaring at Glacier Glider with narrowed eyes. For her part, the mare was completely unbothered, brushing one of her twins with an amused grin. She didn't bother saying anything else, waiting for the three to come up with a satisfactory answer, which didn't appear to be forthcoming. Shaking his head with a similar grin, the stallion spoke up as well.

"Speaking of swimming, how good are you at that, hm? Taking a dip doesn't have to be the end of the world, but it can be, if you're completely unprepared for it."

This time, surprise and confusion colored the mare's faces. "How? I know some mad ponies take dips in the sea to try and learn, but it's a waste of time and good firewood. You barely have enough time to try before your limbs go numb, and have to spend ages afterwards warming up again. I think I heard that some southerners swim in their lakes during summer, but the sea is still barely above freezing, even in the warm months," Seaweed asked, skepticism in her voice.

"Yes, all of that is correct. Surely you heard of certain special places that keep some of the northern islands warm, though? The hot springs on this very island, for instance?"

"I... Heard of them, yes. Ponies say they're used for healing and relaxation, though, not... Training?"

"Mmm, well, when you get inside one, then it gets really hard to do anything but lie there and enjoy the warmth, I'll admit that much, heh. But, you can paddle around in them a little and get a feel what actually happens if you end up treading water. And I don't mean "paddle" as in a kayak paddle, I mean paddling with your legs. It's a way of swimming," He explained.

Silence descended on the home again. Agate herself didn't have any part in the conversation, so she did her thing and listened quietly. The two older adults clearly felt that they made their point, waiting for the three young mares to come to some kind of conclusion. It took a while, but after a lot of glancing between each other and silent facial mimicry, Seaweed sighed and shook her head.

"I suppose we're not qualified for this leg of the journey, then. What do you suggest? Are you going to take over from us while we wait for you to come back?"

"Well now, there's no need to sound so forlorn, dear," Glacier's grin changed to a more soothing smile as she measured Seaweed up. "And no, I wouldn't dare to ask you to sit on your flanks like foals while we run off with your spirit guide. How about we give you a few lessons, hm?"

The mare's expressions turned a bit more hopeful. "Yeah?"

"Sure. I do think that I should be the one to go to the Spires with Agate, though. It is not an expedition someone completely unprepared should take, I think, even if the risks are relatively low. However, you are more than welcome to disembark on the ice and have a few lessons with my husband. It's where most of us go to get some real experience in icewalking when we're old enough."

"Can we come, Mom?" One of the Flurries asked.

That made the mare go silent, her gaze turning blank as she pursed her lips. Absent-mindedly, she squeezed the twin she was grooming too hard, making the filly whine quietly. She didn't seem to notice, though, her mind clearly somewhere far away. Her husband had to take her hoof and gently, but firmly pull the mare away from her daughter for her to come back to the present.

"They're going to be fine. Nothing can hide on the naked ice, and we'll have Agate's companions with us, too. And the fillies have to start learning," He spoke firmly in a low voice, looking Glacier Glider in the eyes.

"...Right, of course. Can't keep them at home forever. Would be even worse for them later on if they don't get any experience. Alright, you two," She turned towards her twins, her blank expression turning stern. "You can come, but no shenanigans. No goofing around, and you follow every command. If I, Moss, or even any of Agate's friends tell you to get back from somewhere, jump, or hide, you do it. No talking back, no thinking about it. This is going to be the real thing, so you'd better act like it."

"Yes, Mom," The pair chorused, slightly spooked, but obviously excited as well.

The traveler trio were a little confused by Glacier's reaction, but they didn't pry. Clearing her throat, Seaweed raised an eyebrow. "So, what's our plan of action for the next few days, then?"

"We'll start with the hot springs, of course. Nothing quite like a good soak for your sore muscles after a long trip. You're going to love it, you'll see," Glacier replied, gesturing to the other twin with her hairbrush.

❅ ❆ ❅

"This is weird," Agate remarked.

Currently, every still-living pony was soaking in a large, steaming pool of water. Agate was sitting on a rock nearby, examining the thing. She never heard of a "hot spring" before, not even from the Equestrians. Her travelling companions were slightly less surprised, seeing as they at least knew about their existence, but they never actually saw one before, either. It took a bit of coaxing and cajoling from the locals to get them to enter the seemingly near-boiling water, but once they did, their skeptical expressions turned to brief shock, and then, wonder.

"The north can get pretty weird, yes. Far as it goes, the hot springs aren't even that strange," Glacier Glider shrugged, holding one of her fillies up as she paddled in the water.

"I thought it would be even hotter than this, what with so much steam and all," Wave Splash remarked, attempting to mimic the filly's motions and swim through the pool.

"It's not that hot here, but yes, if you go upstream, you'll end up as mare soup," Glacier Glider explained,

They weren't sitting at the source of the water, which was another heavily steaming pool some distance away. The one they were in looked like it was dug out on purpose, with a neat wall and a shallow bottom made of smooth stones. The water drained out into a small stream that was still steaming as it ran towards the sea.

Obviously, Agate couldn't feel the warmth any more, nor could she learn to swim, so she decided to poke around, instead. Seeing as they told her that they'd be resting for a couple days, she had plenty of time to explore without having to worry about leaving at a moment's notice. Leaving the others to their relaxation and awkward paddling and splashing with a wave, she trotted off to examine more of the island.

Fanged Shore (or just Fangs, as the locals told her), was a little unusual compared to the other islands. It was still rocky, windy, and relatively flat, but there was a layer of soil that supported fairly abundant plant life. Trotting about, the filly even saw little copses of pine trees among the grassy meadows. It was a bit hard to tell whether they were there naturally or whether it was more fertilizing and planting efforts by the northerners, but either way, they seemed to be doing well. Perhaps the strange underground heat that warmed the hot springs made the whole island warmer, too?

Since she had been travelling for a good couple months, days were far longer now than when she began her journey. While she got used to the dark, both seeing sunlight and having a greater line of sight still felt satisfying in some strange way she couldn't really properly describe. She took her time aimlessly trotting about, looking at the unusual rock formations and whatever other things that caught her eye.

"Maybe I needed a break, too..."

After exploring some of the land, she went to the seashore, staring out across the alien landscape. The "fangs" were a curious sight. Given all the other crazy stuff she heard about the north, she almost expected them to be actual petrified fangs of some ancient beast, but they really were just weather-worn rock spires. Looking at the splashing waves, she fidgeted in place for a bit before shrugging and slowly stepping into the water.

Though she went through a river a few times, having the waves close over her head still felt odd. The sea was much louder, the crashing and splashing still audible even underwater, echoing through her entire being. Shaking her head, she stepped in deeper, where the sounds became more muffled, fading to a low murmur in the back of her head. Finding her target, she approached the spire.

It didn't look much different underwater, except for a bunch of small, shelled creatures stuck to its surface. Nosing around, Agate went back and forth across the sea floor for a while, though she didn't dare go deeper when things started getting dark and murky. She didn't really feel afraid, but it still felt wrong, somehow. Glancing at a crab scuttling by, she decided to leave the sea to the sea creatures, turning back to shore.

Trotting back to Glacier's family home, she saw faint movement by the mossy boulder next to the house. Squinting, she managed to recognize Glacier Glider's husband as he went through the door, carrying a bucket in his mouth. Shaking her head, the filly tried to remember his name.

"Moss, moss, moss... That's what Glacier called him yesterday, but I know the Flurries told me his full name... Come on, Agate... Moss... Hoof?"

There was something strange about that stallion. He was aggressively inconspicuous, managing to actively blend into the background without even doing anything, especially if he was in an environment that matched his dark, moss-colored coat. If that was his special talent, he was pretty darn good at it. Most of the time, you couldn't even tell he was there unless he talked. He certainly didn't seem to mind remaining unnoticed, either.

Shaking her head, she kept trotting towards the house herself, ready to get some sleep.

❅ ❆ ❅

They spent another day relaxing and having swimming practice, while Agate went wandering once more. She got to play with the Flurries a bit, and they showed her a bunch of nooks and crannies that they liked to hide in. The day after that, though, it was back to business.

Glacier Glider and her husband rustled up two double-seater kayaks, one of them their own, and a second one that they borrowed from another family. After gearing up, they carried them down to the beach, setting them down and giving one last warning to their daughters.

"Remember. No fooling around."

"Yes, Mom," The two chorused, though they were obviously tired from the constant reminders.

"Alright then. One to each kayak, off you go," Glacier nodded.

Agate's companions retrieved their own kayaks, and minutes later, all five of the slim boats were in the water. The twins couldn't contain their giggles when they saw Agate's method of travel, and even Glacier Glider snorted at the way the filly was hugging the prow like a pony-shaped limpet.

The locals took point this time, moving parallel to each other while the three travelers followed in their wake. Their destination was "pretty close", which still meant a few solid hours of non-stop paddling until they saw it on the horizon. As promised, the island wasn't visible at all, their line of sight blocked entirely by a mass of bluish ice bobbing in the water.

"Turn westwards now, we need to approach it at an angle. You can probably feel your kayaks getting pulled ahead, yes? That's the very same current that brings all those ice floes here. It's manageable, but for someone that hasn't done this before, it's better to be in the calmest waters possible," Glacier Glider called out, making the course adjustment herself.

The group followed obediently, and soon enough, they were all staring at the massive wall of ice in front of them. The surface wasn't high above the water at all, but it still wasn't low enough that a pony could just reach out with a hoof and step out of their kayak. Glacier Glider glanced left and right with a contemplative expression, looking for the best spot to disembark.

"Give me a minute," She shouted, paddling away to the left for a few minutes before turning around and going in the other direction. Finding a smoother spot that she deemed suitable, the mare whistled to the others, waving them over. Once they got close enough, she patted the filly in her kayak before tossing the paddle onto the ice. "Watch me closely."

Moss Hoof clearly knew what to do already, backing his kayak up to the ice and stabilizing himself. Agate's companions followed Glacier's command, though, intently observing the mare as she put her forehooves on the edge of the ice floe, getting a good grip before using both her hindlegs to hop forward, and her forelegs to pull herself. The kayak rocked a tiny bit in the water, but remained upright.

"You have to get the angle of your hindlegs right. Push down, as straight as possible, and try not to do it too hard. Use your forelegs as much as you can," She explained, pulling a length of rope out of a saddlebag. Tossing it to her daughter, she waited until she had a good grip on it before helping her climb onto the ice. Pointing to the filly to stand next to her, she made a sliding loop with the rope, carefully maneuvering it into the water and onto the prow of the kayak. "I could ask Moss to do this, but this is how you do it if you're by yourself. Just get a good knot on the kayak, and you can pull it out pretty easily. You could do it before you jump onto the ice, but then you need to either hold on to the rope somehow while you jump, or throw it first, and that could end badly if your hoof gets caught in it, or something. Slipping backwards into the water is bad enough without also being tangled in rope."

Moss Hoof went next, picking up his Flurry twin and lightly tossing her into her mother's waiting hooves with a small "whee" coming from the filly. Just like with Glacier, the act barely rocked the kayak, the stallion clearly an expert at keeping his balance. The paddle went next, and lastly, the stallion himself grabbed on to the edge, hauling himself over without bothering to jump. Working together, the husband and wife team easily pulled his kayak up, depositing it on the ice.

"Well, younglings, your turn. Don't worry, even if you fall in, we'll fish you out," Glacier grinned at the three watching mares.

To their credit, the mares didn't get riled up, approaching the edge carefully. Pursing their lips, they rubbed their hooves back and forth on the ice, testing their grips and looking for a suitable spot. Reaching out, Agate found that her supernatural grip and weightlessness worked as well as ever, so she took the liberty to clamber on while the trio figured things out. Glancing around, she examined the ice floe.

It was hard to tell just how large it was, which meant that it had to be quite large, the bluish ice extending into the distance. The surface was relatively flat, though it wasn't completely even, occasional dips and rises marking the frozen landscape. It almost felt like solid land, the waves unable to shift the large mass in a significant way.

"There you go, just grab onto my paddle. If you help someone up, always make doubly sure that you have a good grip yourself," Glacier Glider said from behind Agate.

Turning around, the filly watched as her guides disembarked, Harpoon getting a hoof from Glacier. They weren't doing that bad, in her opinion, but it was still obvious that they needed to expend much more effort than the local pair did. Helping each other with their kayaks, the entire group and their transports soon were secure on the ice, a few dozen paces away from the edge of the water.

"Well, this is big. Bit hard to imagine that there's actually nothing but water under our hooves," Wave Splash remarked, tapping on the thick ice.

"Some of the ice floes that float in do get quite massive. Now then, let's warm up our hindlegs after sitting all this time. You need all your legs at their best for this," Glacier Glider ordered, doing some stretching exercises with a quiet groan.

The mares complied, the twins and Moss Hoof joining in as well. After a few stretches and hopping in place, Glacier Glider took off, galloping at full speed across the ice. Stopping their stretches, the mares and fillies watched her with slightly wide eyes as she laughed, making impossibly sharp-looking turns while circling the group.

A chuckle from their side forced their attention away as Moss Hoof nodded towards his jubilant wife. "Well then, what do you think? I'm certain you were still going to make a case for going with her to the island. Think you can keep up?"

Glacier Glider lived up to her name as she alternated between gliding and galloping on the ice, seemingly able to control precisely just how much grip her hooves had on the slippery surface. She had a massive smile on her face, clearly enjoying the experience as her mane and tail flowed freely behind her in the northern wind. Galloping towards a sharp rise, she climbed up the almost vertical chunk of ice before kicking off and flipping over once she reached the top, twisting her body in the air and sliding down the same path until her momentum ran out. The twin Flurries oooh'ed at her acrobatics, clearly impressed. Panting lightly, the mare returned to the group, beaming. "Stars, I missed this. Go on, then, don't wait on me. Show me what you got."

Their ears pinned back, the trio tried to emulate the older mare, but, once again, their lack of experience showed. They really weren't bad in any way, but their galloping was marked by the occasional stumble, even if they never fell over completely. They did have problems with turning and slowing down as well, hitting the ice hard with their hooves and sending small shards flying in all directions. Observing them, Agate flicked her ears at the loud clip-clops as something felt off to her. It took her a minute to figure it out that actually hearing the sounds of hooves was the source of her confusion, seeing as she got used to snowponies being completely silent while moving through snow.

Moss Hoof shook his head with a click of his tongue at their performance. "That's not bad, sure, but there is a lot of room for improvement," He remarked, his wife nodding in agreement. "Not much that can attack you on the ice, but the environment can be your enemy just as fine. Let's say, the ice floe cracks, and you're stuck on one side while the chunk with your kayak starts floating away. You need to react immediately, and gallop as fast as you can so you can jump across the gap. A single stumble can mean the difference between making it and taking a swim."

"Yeah yeah, we get it," Seaweed breathed out in resignation. "We need more practice, and we'd take much more time going back and forth between the island."

"It's more than just time. If that was it, I'd happily send you off myself. It's actually much trickier to get back on to the ice from the shore, and vice versa. Bits and pieces tend to break off, and you sometimes need to hop from one to another to get to land. Or, there's big gaps between the ice and the shore, and you have to gallop back and forth a lot until you find a suitable spot... Either way, I assure you, this isn't for me to show off how I'm better than you. You could get into real trouble out there if you went in unprepared," Glacier Glider explained, picking up the paddle from her kayak and slinging it across her back.

"Alright, well... Good luck, then," Seaweed nodded.

"You too. Listen closely to Moss here, and you'll be as good as me in no time! Coming, Agate?"

"Sure. Lead the way."

Agate trotted over to Glacier Glider as she tightened the straps on her saddlebags, making doubly sure that everything was secured. Despite the ice and the island supposedly being safe, she still had a spear with her, along with the paddle. A lone scarf hung from her neck, the air apparently warm enough to forgo more clothing. While the mare was checking herself over, Moss Hoof got to instructing the others.

"Alright. Line up, all five of you. Now, if you truly want to master this skill, the first and most important thing to remember is this: snow and ice are not the same. I know it's a reflex to fall back on your experience, but this is different. To begin with, watch the way my hooves land when I..."

His voice faded into the background as Glacier Glider yanked Agate upwards, depositing the filly on her back. The filly let out a quiet "meep", unused to physical interaction. Smirking lightly, the mare patted Agate before rearing up and galloping off towards the south. "Hold on tight. It'll be quicker this way," She quickly explained, her hooves thundering on the ice.

Sitting on the mare's back, Agate got to see the extent of Glacier's skill first-hoof. She galloped forward without the tiniest slip-up, managing to avoid getting her hooves caught in any of the cracks, dips, jagged edges or holes in the ice. On the smoother sections, she'd just slide ahead using her momentum, going back to jumping and dodging obstacles when the surface turned rough again.

Though they spent a few hours paddling already, the northerner mare was clearly as tough as the rest of her tribe. She kept up a steady pace, her gait unfaltering and her breathing even. Fortunately, for Glacier Glider, though, she didn't have to test her endurance too harshly. It didn't take long at all for the island to appear in the distance, which seemed to be partially hidden behind large pieces of ice that washed ashore.

Glacier's previous prediction turned out to be entirely true, however. When they got closer, they saw that instead of an easy path to the shore, there was a large gap of open water between the island and the jagged edge of the ice floe, riddled with smaller bits of ice. Critically examining a few of the larger floating chunks, she silently shook her head. Squinting as she looked into the distance, she glanced both ways before choosing to go to the right.

Whether it was a hunch or keen observation skills, the mare quickly found what they needed. As she galloped near the edge of the water, they both saw the ice slowly curve towards the shore. A long tendril of badly cracked ice extended from the ice floe to the ground, laying motionless in the water.

"Perfect," Glacier Glider muttered under her breath.

"Um, is that safe? It's all broken to bits," Agate asked tentatively.

"Yes it is, but don't worry. See how it doesn't move with the waves? That means it's firmly stuck against the sea floor, even if it's broken to several pieces. My weight isn't going to displace that much ice, even if it's unstable," She reassured her passenger, only slowing down marginally as she hopped across the sizeable cracks.

Some crackling sounds emanated from below her hooves, but the bits that broke off were small, falling down into the water with quiet splashes. No more than a minute later, Glacier Glider was triumphantly standing on the edge of the ice, the shore several pony lengths below her. Frowning slightly, she began hacking at the ice with her hooves, chipping it off bit by bit.

"Is... Everything alright?" Agate inquired.

"Of course, but this is a bit high for me. You might be weightless, Agate, but I'm not," She explained, trying to smooth the jagged edge down a little.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Nodding wordlessly, the mare continued her work, loud cracks echoing around them. It took a few minutes of constant pounding, but eventually, she managed to make a sharp slope out of the sheer drop. Sliding down, she still had to fall a bit, but the distance was manageable. Landing with a small "oof", she picked herself up, looking around.

"Well, Agate, welcome to the Twisting Spires. Both the region and the island are called that, so I suppose I should welcome you the island of the Twisting Spires. Where to now?"

"Oh, right... I keep forgetting that I'm technically in charge of the whole exploration part. Alright, what I really need is rocks. Cliffs, hills, mountains, stony flats, whatever is out there that is not sand. Can't find any crystals in sand," The filly explained, tapping the shore soundlessly.

"Well, it's been a while since I've been here, but I think there's a hill sticking out on the, hmm... East, west... Yes, the east side of the isle. Let's go see what we can find," Glacier nodded, removing the paddle from her back and resting it against the ice.

"So what was the paddle for?"

"Oh, just in case I had to improvise and use one of the ice chunks as a raft to reach the shore. Still might have to do it to get back on the ice," She explained, tapping one of the smaller bits of ice that was slowly melting on the shore.

"That sounds risky. Couldn't you bring your kayak, instead?"

"Technically, yes, but it would take a lot of effort, and you saw how thick and tall the ice actually is. I wouldn't be able to actually climb back on the ice floe from a kayak, or I would have to leave it behind even if I managed to clamber up."

"This place sounds all kinds of complicated."

Chuckling, the mare shook her head. "It is, but we got it all figured out. Sure, it sounds risky, but only if you go in without knowledge or backup. If someone knows you came here and you get stuck, they can come and pick you up, no problem. Anyway, let's get a move on."

Agate nodded, following along as Glacier Glider led her onward. The island didn't look different from all the other islands that the filly visited, being a mix of sandy shores and a rocky middle part. The only unique bit was the occasional patches of frost and snow still remaining in shady spots, the nearby ice floe clearly keeping the temperatures low.

The next part was fairly routine to Agate by this point. She followed her guide, scanning her surroundings for any interesting rock formations and the like. Their journey went on without interruptions, as even most of the northern birds avoided the perpetually cold island.

Stopping to stick her face into the ground now and then, Agate heard Glacier snigger quietly. As she glanced at the mare, she shrugged helplessly. "Sorry. You just look silly like that."

Snorting, the filly shook her head, continuing her prospecting. She did manage to find some deposits deep down in the earth, which meant that Silent Hoof's hunch was correct, though she still needed to find something closer to the surface for the whole thing to be of any actual use to the northerners. Their time for the day began to run out, though, the Sun slowly setting in the west.

Noticing the lengthening shadows, Agate turned to Glacier Glider. "You should find a place to camp. I can keep working in the dark just fine, but you'll end up stumbling about. if you keep following me."

"My night vision's not that bad, but I suppose I might as well rest. It has been a long day," The mare shrugged, looking around.

They found a dip in the ground that was filled with soft sand, Glacier Glider happily setting up a thin bedroll and having a quick dinner of dried fish. They talked a while about Agate's travels and adventures in the northern tribe's lands before going to sleep, the mare curling up while hugging her spear.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, they had lots more time to explore, given that they didn't have to spend time travelling to the island. Agate kept trying to sniff out good crystal deposits, but didn't manage to find anything useful until midday, when they reached the hill Glacier Glider mentioned. When they did, however, she found the motherlode.

"Is that... Ice? It's covered from top to bottom... I'd have thought it would have melted by now, even with all the ice floes around the island..." Agate mused, squinting at the sparkling hill in front of them.

"Ice, where? I think that's just the color of the rock, Agate. I guess the milky white looks a bit like ice from a distance. Bit too dull to be ice, though," Glacier Glider disagreed, scanning the hillside.

"Dull? But it's so sparkly, it can't- Hold up a moment. Could it be?"

Suddenly excited, Agate galloped off towards the hill. Glacier Glider blinked in surprise for a moment, before tearing off after the filly. With her longer legs, it wasn't too hard to catch up, and she kept the pace alongside the excited spirit, curiously glancing at Agate from the corner of her eyes.

After a few short minutes, they reached the foothills, Agate immediately latching on to the rock. She poked, prodded and nuzzled the hillside, muttering something under her breath the entire time. As she ran her hooves along the white veins, they would sparkle for a few brief moments before turning dull again. Glacier watched the filly for some time with amusement and curiosity, but eventually, her restraint ran out. Clearing her throat, she addressed the intensely focused spirit.

"Find something interesting, Agate?"

"Yeah. Milky quartz, if I'm not wrong. Lots of it, though I hope it's not too opaque. There's veins all over this hill, and probably a bunch underneath, too. Hmmm..."

"Quartz... That doesn't look like the flame-colored spirit stones. What is it?"

"It's... It's basically the same thing, just a different color. Citrine, the crystals you call spirit stones, are a form of quartz, with a bit of color from the impurities mixed into it. Pure quartz is completely colorless and see-through, and then there's this, which is called milky quartz. It's still a crystal, but the cloudiness makes it almost worthless as a gemstone, though there's some uses... And there's a chance that if you dig deeper, you'll be able to find purer crystals below," Agate explained, still slowly rubbing the rock.

"So you're saying... This entire hill is stuffed to the gills with spirit stones?" Glacier whistled, running her gaze along the hill. It was fairly large, extending in both directions for quite some distance.

"Well... Yeah, and I could be wrong about the quartz being mostly milky quartz, too. Maybe it's only the surface of it that got scratched and rough due to erosion. Really, there's no way to know besides cracking it open and taking a look."

"Huh. Well, I have no clue how to dig through stone, but parts of this hillside do look quite loose..." The mare mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"You don't have to. I'm sure there are experienced miners that would love to have a go at it. A deposit this big and so easily accessible will get them excited, I'm sure. Well. The deposit is accessible, but getting to the island is trickier... I'm sure they'll figure it out, though. I wonder how no one discovered this yet, with it being so big and all," Agate pondered, climbing up and down the hillside in a zig-zagging pattern, examining the surface texture.

"Hey, the majority of us northerners have no clue what's hidden in the earth and how to recognize it," Glacier Glider shrugged. "Most of the miners and smiths live in the western tribe. Only the ponies living in Shear have a bit of knowledge about it all, and even then, these look different from what they dig up on their island. Also, this place is mostly used as proving grounds for our youths. The lack of dangerous beasts and suchlike makes for a great place to get some real experience without much risk, but again, the younglings aren't likely to go digging in the hills for rocks when they're busy learning."

"I see... Well, either way, it looks like this mission was a success, to say the least. I should still examine the western half of the island, but this alone should be enough to keep ponies busy for... A long time."

"Oh? Truly a grand discovery ponies are going to immortalize in stories, then. If that's the case, then I really want to get a memento for myself," Glacier Glider grinned, tapping the stones and looking for loose pieces. "Can you help me out here, Agate? Not quite sure what I'm supposed to be looking for."

"Oh, uh, knowing how to use crystals and digging for them are quite different things... But... Well, let me see if I can find some fragile rocks..."

The pair spent the second half of the day nosing at the hillside, trying to find a good trophy for Glacier Glider. The mare didn't have the tools or the raw strength to just smash the rock apart, so she had to look for a really easily accessible deposit. Fortunately, Agate was quite good at locating them, and found a large spike of quartz that was sticking out of the rock.

Locating a few loose stones with various shapes, Glacier Glider got to work. Some, she used as chisels, tapping them against the hillside, others she tried to use as pickaxes, grunting angrily and pounding at the rock. Her lack of experience at mining clearly showed, but was overtaken by her sheer persistence. A good few hours of smashing, grunting, and cursing later, she was left with a (mostly) clean spire of quartz that was milky at the bottom, becoming almost completely pure and see-through at the top.

"My goodness, would you look at that. It's... Beautiful," She breathed, admiring the crystal.

"It's a pretty nice piece, yeah," Agate agreed, inspecting the piece.

Glacier Glider was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the sky getting dark. Blinking rapidly a few times, she shook her head. "Wow, the sunset really snuck up on us. I didn't think it was this late. I guess I lost track of time while smashing those rocks. Still, it got dark so suddenly- Wait, that's not right. What is... Happening?"

Her voice turned fearful, her expression completely flabbergasted. Glancing around in surprise, Agate tried following the mare's gaze. She was looking skywards, towards where the Sun was, or... Should have been. Instead, the Moon moved to block out most of it, bathing the land in premature darkness. There was something obviously magical and unnatural about the phenomenon, waves of darkness emanating from the normally silvery satellite. The filly was immediately reminded of Sombra's dark magic, and the way it seemed to crawl across the sky in a vile, sickening fashion.

"Don't you dare... Get away from her, you sick bastard..." Glacier Glider muttered, glaring angrily at the Moon.

"Huh? Who are you talking to, Glacier?" Agate looked at the mare in confusion. She couldn't have meant Sombra, could she?

Flinching, she turned to look at Agate with wide eyes, as if she forgot that the filly was there. "N-nothing, Agate. Just... Silly old legends about the world that I didn't really believe in. Until now. Maybe you should... Maybe you should look away."

Not Sombra, then. "Why? What is happening?" Agate asked, completely lost.

"I... The Moon is... I honestly don't know," Glacier sighed, shaking her head.

"Well, it only seems to be happening in the sky, so... We shouldn't be in danger, at least? I think?" The filly ventured forth hopefully, trying to make some sense of the situation.

Pursing her lips, the mare considered it. "Yes... Yes, I suppose that is true... For now, at least. I'm not sure what this omen means for the rest of the world, but... I suppose we should just wait and see what happens."

They did exactly that, gazing at the celestial phenomenon. It didn't take too long for things to change, with some kind of bright, rainbow-colored beam rising from somewhere in the south, streaking across the sky and smashing into the Moon. There was a bright flash, and a dark scar formed across the bottom side of the silvery sphere. Waiting with bated breaths, they watched as the Moon slowly moved away from the Sun, the light bathing the land once more.

"What was that?!" Glacier Glider shouted.

"I don't know, but for a while, it almost looked like Sombra's dark magic," Agate muttered, shifting uneasily.

That made Glacier whip her head around at alarming speeds, looking at Agate with wide eyes. "What? Are you sure?"

"Kind of? I don't think he was powerful enough to mess with the Sun or Moon, though... He blocked out the sky with his magic back in the Empire, but day and night went on as before."

"Right... And whatever happened, it seems it was stopped fairly quickly... Whatever that attack was that struck the moon, it didn't look like the darkness that was pouring from it, except... What was that scar that was left on the Moon? Did you see it?"

Agate thought, nodding slowly. "Yeah... I can't really make much sense of it, though. It didn't look like anything recognizable, just a dark splotch with a sharp bit sticking out of it. A unicorn's horn, maybe? The white spot at the bottom almost looked like an eye..."

"Unicorn? Not sure what that is. Looked like a narwhal to me," Glacier Glider shrugged, going back to scanning the sky.

"Narwhal... I heard of those before. Never saw one yet, though."

"Average-sized whales that live in the north, Agate. They don't bother us, and we don't bother them. They have these huge horns on their foreheads that make them stand out, but otherwise, there's nothing terribly unusual about them. They eat fish, they swim around, and occasionally, they get hunted by the mighty thunderbirds. I never heard of a celestial narwhal, though..."

Agate slowly shook her head, pursing her lips. "This is pointless. I think we need to ask a shamare about what happened there, because it doesn't look like any one of us has any clue. I wish True Sight or Dreamcatcher were here..."

"Ah... Very true, Agate. Far from every island has a shamare, so we don't get to talk to them as often as the ponies from other tribes do. But this does look like a job for them to figure out. I suppose we should... Get some rest and prepare to move out? I'm sorry, I know that you haven't examined the other half of the island, but I think I'd like to return to my kin now."

"Of course. If this means some kind of danger... Let's find a place to rest. Don't forget your crystal, though. You worked so hard for it," Agate pointed out, trotting downhill.

"Right, right," Glacier nodded, scooping it up and depositing the shining piece in her saddlebag.

❅ ❆ ❅

Despite their apprehension, nothing else out of the ordinary seemed to happen. The sunset appeared to come a bit late, and the scarred moon looked like it was slow to rise, but they weren't able to tell whether it was happening for real, or their nervous minds were just making things up because they expected to see something strange. Shaking their heads, the pair went to sleep.

The Sun rose on schedule the next morning as well, and the sky was clear of any signs of dark magic or other tampering of any kind, which gave them a boost in confidence. Quickly galloping towards the northern shore, they found the spot where they landed, the ice still in place - and still rather inconvenient to try and climb up on.

Huffing, Glacier Glider immediately got to work, smashing the ice with both her hooves and a some rocks, making a series of hoof-holds. Gesturing for Agate to get on her back, she retrieved her paddle and backed up a fair distance before galloping furiously straight at the ice floe, using her momentum and impressive grip on the ice to run almost straight up the slippery surface. Landing on all four hooves, she didn't stop for even a brief moment before thundering off.

Alas, whether it was her previous angry bucking at the ice or simply bad luck, the piece they were on rose from the water with a series of grinding cracks, shifting and floating away from the main mass. Glacier Glider was completely unfazed, though, the event barely earning a roll of the eyes from the mare. Using the paddle as a pole-vault, she used it to jump across the gap, swiftly slinging it across her back once more and galloping away.

Agate was highly impressed by Glacier's skill and reflexes, but she remained quiet, not wanting to disturb the hyper-focused mare. Despite her rattled demeanor, the highly experienced northerner kept galloping across the ice with her previous grace, without tripping or slipping up.

By the time they reached the edge of the ice floe where the kayak was stashed, Moss Hoof was already waiting, along with Agate's companions. The trio looked slightly on edge, always keeping a hoof close to their harpoons. Galloping straight into a hug with the stallion, Glacier immediately got to business, speaking in quick, clipped sentences.

"The fillies?"

"Safe, back home. We had a good couple days of practice with them and Agate's friends, but obviously, I didn't bring them here today."

"Any clue what that was all about?"

"None. We were paddling as it happened, and just thought some storm clouds passed across the sky in the distance. Other ponies told us about the event, and we had to see the Moon afterwards to be sure they weren't making it up. I'm guessing you have no clue, either?"

"No, but I know when I shouldn't test my luck. Let's get back to Fangs and our children," She nodded firmly, getting a nod in return.

"You alright, Agate?" Seaweed inquired as the filly went to her usual spot on the mare's kayak.

"Sure, I guess. A bit confused, but really, not like anything bad can happen to me," The filly shrugged.

"Right, right. Let's just... Go back, I suppose," Seaweed nodded, her eyes darting about, looking unsure at just what to say.

The return journey went by silently, the adult's entire focus and energy spent entirely on paddling and getting to their destination as fast as possible. Stowing their kayaks and returning the one they borrowed, Glacier returned home to her daughters while Moss Hoof went to trot around and see if anyone had any news.

Meanwhile, Agate and her guides sat glumly in Glacier's home, resting and gathering up bits of supplies for their return trip. No one even said anything, but it was rather obvious that Agate's exploration trip ended with the strange celestial event. The usually stoic northerners weren't really panicking, but they still were somewhat spooked, and clearly not interested in taking unnecessary risks at such a time.

There was little talking overall, and after the day ran it's course with no significant news, they all went to sleep. The next morning, there were many farewell hugs and invocations to various spirits for a safe journey for Agate and her guides. Glacier's family escorted the traveler group to the beach, sharing some last-minute advice.

"And remember, you have two choices of islands after the third one - Seal's Tail is closer, but then you'll need more time to reach the next island the day after," Glacier Glider explained, gently petting Agate's mane.

"We'll remember," Wave Splash assured the mare, carrying her kayak into the water.

"Then... Spirits be with you. Get home safely."

"Well be back yet, you'll see," Seaweed said with a small grin. "Still have to get better than you at navigating the ice floes."

"In your wildest dreams, youngling," Glacier Glider snorted, smiling.

With a last nod and a few splashes, they were off. The journey back to Shear was not going to be easy or short, but the mares were clearly determined, and now, they were armed with more navigating experience and advice, steadily pushing their way southwards.

❅ ❆ ❅

As they traveled, the situation was largely the same. Nothing bad actually happened to any of the ponies that they visited, but the northerners were apprehensive at what the strange omen could have meant. They were only a couple months into spring, and they had to catch a lot of fish to restock their stores. And if the celestial event meant that they would have to flee to safety in the south, that would mean almost definite starvation with just what they managed to catch so far.

As such, even those that usually only travelled, like other explorers or merchants, were mostly busy fishing and foraging, nervously waiting for word from the shamares about what to do. For their part, the couple shamares that they did meet along the way were as lost as the everyone else, saying that they would need the wisdom of all three tribes in the Great Gathering to crack this mystery.

Once the group reached Shear, there was a short meeting with Silent Hoof. He was delighted to know that nothing untoward happened to the intrepid trio, and happy to hear about Agate's findings in the Twisted Spires, but did point out that, most likely, no one would be interested in going mining for the next year or two. There was some discussion about what to do with Agate, seeing as the elder wanted for the three young mares to get to stocking up on food as well.

They felt that they were honor-bound to escort Agate back to Nilas, but the filly talked them down, saying that she could wait for an opportunity or even gallop along the bottom of the sea, if it came to that. Fortunately, they didn't have to do anything quite so drastic, as they found a merchant that was preparing to travel south soon.

He was a bit leery of taking on extra passengers, until they pointed out to him that Agate didn't actually weigh anything. Sheepishly apologizing, the stallion agreed. A couple days later, Agate waved goodbye once more, this time to her northerner companions that she spent months travelling with.

The merchant stallion barely talked, his focus fully on paddling and periodically glancing at the sky. Before she knew, Agate was standing on the shore of the large bay, glancing around at the inhabitants of Nilas. They were curious to know whether the merchant brought any news, but after some short explanations that no other significant events really happened, everyone went back to their business.

For her part, Agate didn't really have anything to do in Nilas. Climbing the cliffs, she gazed upon the familiar, endless plain of the tundra, the sight bringing a small smile to her face. Closing her eyes, she sought out the tiny flicker of warm flame that was her totem, feeling the familiar pull towards her home. Rearing up with a whinny, she galloped off towards Snowpitt.

Passing by unfamiliar guidestones, the filly galloped day and night, forgoing sleep in exchange for covering more distance. Her mind felt really sluggish and foggy by the time she got back, and she didn't even think about talking to any of the ponies she knew, simply bee-lining straight towards her totem. Diving in, she fell asleep almost immediately, carried off to a deep, dreamless slumber.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hmmmm..."

Agate shifted lazily, half-awake, but not quite lucid.

"What was I doing again? Looking for crystals? Shouldn't sleep in, the others are waiting..."

For some reason, though, that sounded completely wrong. The confusion and slight concern slowly brought her awareness back, and with it, the memories of the frantic, hurried journey all the way from Fanged Shore to Snowpitt. Now that she was back, the whole trip seemed like a blur that passed by in an instant, even though it took more than two weeks.

"How long was I even in the north? I think I completely lost track of time at some point..."

She spent some time with her eyes closed, doing her best to sort out her memories. Eventually, though, she felt like she had to wake up, even if she still felt a bit out of sorts. Hopping out of her totem, she looked around, trying to tell the time of day. Seeing the Sun in the west, she surmised that it was afternoon, which meant that there was still time to find some shamares to talk to.

Scratching her head, she tried to decide whether to go to True Sight and Earthsong, or try finding Dreamcatcher. True Sight was the most respected elder among the shamares in Snowpitt, but Dreamcatcher was the one with the knowledge about the future, and Agate recalled the sleepy shamare telling her about something happening with the heavens and the dream realm before she left. In the end, she decided to visit Dreamcatcher first.

The locals all greeted her with polite nods, but didn't bother the filly with any questions, despite clearly being curious about her return. Making it to Dreamcatcher's home, Agate politely greeted her family members, asking if she could visit the elder, quickly receiving a confirmation. Still wishing she was able to knock, Agate entered the mare's room, looking around.

Dreamcatcher had been busy while Agate was gone, that was for certain. Several dozens of new dreamcatchers hung from the ceiling, the mare herself busy putting together another one as she sat by her crafting table. The filly sat down out of sight and waited patiently until she was finished, not wanting to interrupt the delicate work.

When she was done, Dreamcatcher rubbed her chin, stretching her back with a small crack. "Hmmm. Was there a visitor, or did I fall asleep and dreamt while working again..."

"Right here, elder," Agate made herself known, stepping into the mare's field of view.

"Ah... Agate. Yes, the young traveler. Well then... Back from your expedition, are you? How long were you away? Sorry to say, but I never was all that good with time, what with trotting the dreamworld and listening to the echoes of the past and future so much."

"Well, I lost track of it myself by the end, but I think I spent around three months away from Snowpitt. I would have stayed longer, but... Well, something happened. I don't even know what to call it, but I'm sure you know what I mean."

"Yes, the celestial clash. That's what most ponies took to calling it, anyway. Not sure if that's an entirely accurate name for it, but it's definitely not inaccurate, either. There was some kind of fight, a battle of supreme celestial spirits, but that is the extent of the details that I managed to glean. Who, what, how, why, or even what the end results of it were still elude me, and I'm doubtful that I will ever manage to unravel that mystery. The faint echoes of the magics spent in that conflict were completely unfamiliar to me," The elder explained with a shrug.

"When the sky was covered in darkness, I thought that it could be Sombra... But thinking on it, I'm not convinced that it was. Do you think there's going to be some kind of danger for your tribe coming from this?"

"I considered such a possibility at first, but as the days went by, it didn't appear like that was going to be the case. I did hear echoes of furious snarling and gnashing in the dream realm for a short while, but none of it translated into events in the waking world. The Sun still rose and set, and the Moon didn't attempt to usurp its place in the heavens again. There were no drastic changes in the weather, sudden monster attacks, or anything else that had any effects on our lives. It seems that whatever happened, it is far beyond our sphere of concern. Or understanding."

"I wonder if it's anything to do with Equestria..." Agate muttered.

"Hm? What's that, Agate?"

"Oh, nothing, just something about that nation of ponies far to the south that I told you about. According to the stories they told us, their princesses - their rulers, they're kind of like shamares and chieftains at the same time - move the Sun and Moon with their own magic every morning and evening. I wondered if they had anything to do with it, even though I'm not too sure I even believe that story. Lots of adults said that they had to be bragging and making it up in order to impress us or scare us, or something like that."

"Hmmm... A single pony moving the Sun? Or the Moon? Wielding such power over the heavens? The strength of spirit... No, surely not. I'm afraid that I agree with your kin, Agate. That sounds impossible beyond any belief. Perhaps the spirit of the Sun could take the shape of a pony and visit the Earth, but even then... The being would not be a pony. And why... No, the whole premise sounds absurd," The mare muttered, thinking it over.

"Like I said, I wasn't sure I believed it myself," Agate shrugged. "I guess there's really no way to know. What do you think that black splotch on the Moon is?"

"Mm. Looks like a narwhal. Some ponies are already claiming that it was a celestial beast that was slain by the beam that struck the Moon, and now its corpse is lying across the bottom, with the top if its head visible from the ground. Some say it fed on stars or tried to eat the Moon and got punished for it, others claim that it was some great hunter in foreign lands that launched the mighty spear of magic, aiming to kill the creature for no reason other than empty glory. Ponies are quick to make up stories, but there's no real knowledge yet, if there ever will be."

Agate nodded, not even bothering to try and bring up unicorns. Even though she told them about Equestria, the snowponies didn't really know what a unicorn looked like, so she couldn't really blame them, not to mention the fact that she wasn't sure herself. What would a unicorn be doing on the Moon anyway, and such a big one, at that? The only thing she knew for certain was that she really wanted to see a narwhal.

"Alright, well... Thank you for your time, elder. I'm back now, so... If you're free, we can resume our lessons again," Agate said, standing up.

"Hmm. Well, I think I'll need some rest for a little while, but yes. Barring any other strange events, I think I'll have enough time to teach you a thing or two. See you later, Agate," The mare replied with a nod, turning back towards her crafts.

"Be well, elder," The filly waved goodbye, exiting through the closed door.

Next, Agate went to True Sight's and Earthsong's shared home, but the shamares weren't there at that moment. Shrugging, the filly trotted off to try and find her other friends, mentally preparing for the inevitable barrage of questions and requests to recount her travels through the northerner's islands. Despite all the strangeness and confusion, life continued on.

The Truth Will Set You Free

❅ ❆ ❅

"Sorry, Agate, but I can't see that far. Or, rather, I can't make out any details. I can see some kind of faint ribbons woven from magic around the Moon, but that's it," True Sight shrugged. "Maybe I would be able to tell you more if I had actually seen the whole thing unfold, but I happened to be at home at the time. Overall, this mystery seems no easier to crack than the disappearance of your people. Harder, even. We can't exactly travel to the Moon and look around."

"Mhm. Even the shamares with affinities to the sky and winds can't reach that high, let alone those who's talents are tied to the Earth," Earthsong nodded. "Mares like Dreamcatcher are the only ones that can even get a glimpse of what might have happened, and even then, it can be nigh impossible to understand what you're seeing, let alone explain it to others."

"Yeah, Dreamcatcher told me something along those lines already. That whole eclipse thing was really weird, but as long as nothing bad comes from it, I guess it doesn't matter if the Moon looks... A bit odd," Agate trailed off uncertainly, scratching her head.

The filly was sitting down with the two shamares in their home, having found them the day after. After a predictably long mix of a conversation and an interrogation with Cindertail and Autumn Ash about her adventure the previous evening, she turned in for the night, going to visit the mystic elders as soon as she woke up.

"We'll see if it matters or not yet. While we depend on the Sun and Moon for light, warmth, navigation and other purposes, the spirits of our departed go to the resting grounds beyond the Moon for their final journeys. It would be terrible if that mark on the Moon somehow impeded their passage, though we have no indication that it does. There's going to be a lot of guesswork and attempts to figure out how things might have changed in the future, but if it truly is nothing more than a change in appearance, then everything should settle down in a year or two," True Sight summarized.

"A year or two..." Agate sighed. "...Were things like this when I showed up?"

"Hah! A lot like that, yes! We were guessing whether some kind of titanic beast devoured your entire tribe and was coming for us next, and similar possibilities. You learned our tongue fairly quickly, though, so most of the random guesses were thrown out when you started talking," True Sight chuckled, remembering the discussions.

"I guess I should just try to carry on as normal, then."

"It's all we can ever do, Agate. A dose of caution is fine, but panic never did anything good for anyone," Earthsong nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

For the most part, the mood in Snowpitt seemed to fit the shamare's advice. There was a slight undercurrent of tension, or perhaps anticipation for something to happen. However, the ponies still did all the things they usually did - fishing, foraging, collecting herbs and so on, the only difference being the occasional glances towards the Moon whenever it was out.

Now that she was done with her expedition and didn't have any other projects, Agate went back to the same things she did the previous year. Putting in the knowledge of herbs and navigation that she learned from Spear Throw and Gnarled Root, she went out to look for rare plants for the locals, or joined them as an extra pair of eyes in their trips to secure their territories.

She went back to Cindertail and Autumn Ash after each trip, sharing her experiences with the excited foals eager to hear more about life outside the village. It was still a few years too early, but the pair kept talking about their plans to spend a year with the nomad groups once they got older. Still, the time wasn't too far away, either, the siblings growing day by day, already getting taller than Agate.

The routine was interspersed with lessons from Dreamcatcher every week or two, or small talks with other shamares. Now and then, Agate saw messengers from the other tribes trotting about, more than she could recall seeing previously. Whenever she asked, though, the answer was the same: everything is mostly normal, no real news to speak of. There were no more celestial disturbances, at least not as overt as the one that started it all.

As summer waned and nights became longer, some ponies began grumbling that the stars were "off". It was subtle, but the navigators and the shamares that read the skies were swearing up and down that the stars were ever so slightly out of their usual positions, either a pair of them being too close to each other, or a whole constellation getting pitched at an angle, as if the heavens were arranged by an inexperienced hoof. It wasn't so bad that the snowpony tribes weren't able to find their way any more, but it still kept the undercurrent of tension from going away, everyone still anticipating that some sort of culmination or another calamity was going to come out of it all.

And yet, autumn came and went, and still nothing world-shattering happened. The Gathering was an exceptionally happy occurrence that year, all three tribes finding great reassurance and comfort in seeing their distant kin arrive from the far corners of the world. The ponies were hale and hearty, bringing lots of food that they kept extra busy gathering over the season, and the celebratory feasts did a lot to relieve the collective stress and frayed nerves of the gathered ponies.

Many were expecting some kind of grand explanation from the shamares, one that would put an end to the worrying and speculation for good. Unfortunately, nothing like that was forthcoming. At the meeting in the Great Hall, all the collected shamares could do was shrug, having noticed the discrepancies in the heavens themselves, but unable to divine the meaning behind them, no matter how many times they cast their bones or called out to the spirits to grant them wisdom about the matter. They promised that they'd put their heads together now that the three tribes were in Snowpitt again for the winter, but warned ponies not to get their hopes up.

With that matter shelved for now, it turned out that there wasn't really much to talk about. There were no new stories about dangerous adventures and unknown monsters, seeing that even the northerners spent the season mostly sticking to well-explored and safe territories. Completely inadvertently, Agate indirectly became the main topic of discussion again, this time via Glacier Glider.

"Just look at that. Isn't it magnificent?" The snowy mare asked proudly, holding up the large quartz spike she dug up in the Twisting Spires.

It was almost as long as half of her foreleg, which was a fair bit larger than most of the citrine crystals the ponies on Shear dug up. The size wasn't the main reason why ponies were curious, though - it was the material. The spire was milky at the base, slowly becoming purer and clearer going upwards, the top half being almost completely see-through. The only other kind of quartz that snowponies ever saw were the few amethysts that Agate transmuted, and those were met with abject fascination by just about everyone that saw them.

Agate could see that Glacier Glider polished it, smoothing down the surface and removing any clinging bits of rock, significantly enhancing it's beauty. Back in the Crystal Empire, the crystal would earn a "not bad" for an apprentice, but here, the crowd was far more impressed, oooh's and aaah's echoing across the large space. Inevitably. the question of "So where did you find it?" was asked.

"Well, technically, I didn't find it. I just dug it up, though I was the guide for the scouting expedition. Apparently, there's a massive deposit of these that's been sitting in the Twisting Spires, right under our noses. Not too surprising, considering the... Peculiarities of that place. Ponies don't exactly go there to look around or settle down. The island's been long dismissed as barren, which is still true, but now we know there's something valuable in there."

"So who did find it? Who were the other ponies on your team?"

"Oh, just one pony," Glacier Glider grinned, many of the northerners laughing knowingly.

The revelation was met with a wave of whispers. Going out alone was considered reckless, and two ponies was a bit better, but still thought of as pushing your luck. It was pretty clear from their reactions that most ponies in the other tribes didn't really know about Agate's expedition yet, or what the Twisting Spires were like. Shaking her head, Glacier Glider cleared her throat.

"Come now, surely you can guess who and how helped me find it. She's been the talk of the tribes for some time now."

There was a moment of intense thinking before many ponies turned their gazes towards Agate. Snorting quietly, the filly rolled her eyes at the attention. Once the inevitable questions started ringing out, the filly got up from her spot, trotting over to the speaker's carpet. Laughing quietly at the expression on Agate's face, Glacier Glider shrugged.

"Well, I wasn't going to take the credit for your achievement."

"Yeah, yeah. I guess it's time for another story. This one's much less dramatic than my first one, though," Agate warned, turning to address the crowd. "There's no monsters or close shaves... Well, there was one or two, I suppose. Anyway, the northerner's elder shamare and the chieftain asked me to help them out with an issue. Their crystal deposits were running empty, and I recently discovered the ability to see them through snow or even stone..."

While the story was indeed far less exciting, the crowd loved it all the same, praising Agate for her selflessness and helpful nature. Seaweed, Harpoon and Wave Splash joined her on the rug, and some of the many ponies she met on the way came in to add their piece. There was a lot of interest in the crystal deposits that Agate discovered, many ponies eagerly asking the northerners whether they would have more of them to trade now.

Those who knew about mining poured some water on that fire, pointing out that most of the deposits were still underground, and digging through the Earth took time. Then there was the matter of the Twisting Spires, and the unique issues associated with travelling to the island. However, that only served to spark a long discussion about overcoming them, various suggestions and questions being thrown about. In the end, a number of ponies from the western tribe expressed an interest in travelling north, suggesting a large combined expedition of northerners and westerners to descend upon the island during those few months when the ice floes around it finally melted away.

That, in turn, started yet another discussion of just how the westerners were going to get there, seeing as the tribe wasn't nearly as experienced at seafaring as the northerners were, nor did they have even remotely the same amount of boats, only navigating their rivers and comparatively short distances away from the sea shore to fish. Various deals and offers were made, the logistics of it all getting hammered out bit by bit.

Once the attention moved away from her, Agate tried to return to her silent lurking, but was intercepted by Glacier Glider, the grinning mare dragging her off to where her twins were sitting. The snowy fillies had already tracked down Cindertail and Autumn Ash, clearly plotting something as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Agate! Just who we needed. We have big plans for this year's Calling..."

❅ ❆ ❅

The apprehension about the Moon and stars still didn't go away, but the snowponies kept busy regardless. Agate's discoveries rekindled their adventurous spirits, while the filly now had many things to keep her occupied herself. After spending another winter playing with her friends and listening to the great variety of stories and songs told by the lore keepers and storytellers, she was invited on another expedition to the north.

"Well, you only examined thirty or so islands, right? There's lots more than that, as I'm sure you learned yourself by now. And your last journey was rudely cut off in the middle, wasn't it? If you ever feel like travelling through the north again, there's no shortage of ponies eager for the honor to be your companions and guides," Long Stride explained.

"Huh, well. It was pretty interesting, seeing all those different islands. And the strange northern creatures. The seals were really funny..." Agate mused, tapping her chin.

She ended up agreeing, and her pilgrimage to the north became a yearly thing. Sometimes, she only spent a few months, other times, she'd spend the entire season with the northerners, only returning to Snowpitt along with the winter. Not every day was spent looking for crystals, either. Some times, she spent weeks with Glacier Glider's family, going on fishing trips or learning more about the north from the locals. No matter what she did, though, she never really ran out of things to do. With her days busy, Agate didn't even notice as a year passed.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

While the filly "had all the time in the world", as the other spirits told her, time still kept it's firm grip on the other ponies. As her foal friends grew up into lanky teenagers, the elders grew older. And True Sight, who was already ninety years old when Agate first showed up, hit ninety-five that summer. While their strength of spirit allowed some shamares to live exceptionally long and remain relatively spry even into their twilight years, even they had their limits. That autumn, the cheeky, smartflank and impossibly sharp elder finally met her end. At ninety five winters, True Sight passed away in her sleep.

"Well. That was unpleasant," The mare remarked, stretching her ethereal, partially translucent legs.

She was surrounded by all the shamares in Snowpitt, their chieftain, and a number of other ponies. Their expressions were solemn, though no one was crying. Many knew that the time was coming, the elder mare becoming more and more lethargic the previous months. Though she was widely known as a joker and a pain in the butt, she was a genuinely capable shamare that helped a lot of ponies during her lifetime, and a sizeable crowd turned out to pay their respects.

Agate was among them, having been invited personally. She would have shown up regardless, obviously, having gained a fair amount of respect for the wise-crack mare herself, but True Sight was extra insistent on making sure that Agate was there. Picking the filly out from the crowd, she gave one of her signature grins.

"Well then, Agate, ready to go?" She asked, trotting past all the slightly confused well-wishers.

"Go? But... I'm not going to the resting grounds yet, elder, you know that," Agate replied, flicking her ears in confusion.

"Yeah, well, me neither. That's not where we're going. I told you that I wanted to take a peek at Dream Valley myself some time ago, haven't I? I didn't forget, nor did my curiosity diminish. Shall we?"

Agate's eyes went wide at the reminder. She never gave up on finding her people, and neither did the rest of the snowpony tribes. While she went on her expeditions to the north, the northerners and adventurers from other tribes organized a few more trips to the south during the winters. However, they turned out to be as fruitless as the previous ones, never finding anything more than the slowly decaying structures that have already been thoroughly examined.

With their lack of results, there hadn't been any journeys to Dream Valley in the last couple years, and Agate hadn't made any big breakthroughs with her shamaric magic training either, though she was slowly getting better at it. Having True Sight take a look around with her legendary piercing gaze was one option that wasn't explored yet, which, quite obviously, hinged on the ability for the elder to actually get to Dream Valley.

"I... Yes! Yes, I think I'm ready. It's almost winter, and I'm not really busy at the moment. I can disappear for a while, no problem," Agate nodded eagerly, already digging through her memories for the route she'd need to take through the southern mountains.

The conversation was met with excited babbling from the gathered crowd, well-wishes sounding out from the onlookers. Some offered to come with, but True Sight quickly shot them down, shaking her head with a roll of her eyes. "Spirits only, younglings. You won't keep up with us, no matter how spry you are, or how old I am. This trip is for Agate and I."

Shaking her head with a slight grin, Earthsong trotted over to True Sight, giving the ghostly mare a hug. "You'll truly never change, elder. Try not to get into too many shenanigans with Agate, alright?"

"What, me? Shenanigans? Never," The mare scoffed disdainfully, to a great many eye-rolls, groans and laughter from the crowd.

"Good luck to you, True Sight. May you succeed where others failed," Frostbeard nodded to her, the chieftain managing to keep his expression serious.

"We shall see. I promise nothing," She shrugged. "Anyway, I guess I shouldn't gallop off just like that. We still need to take care of my body, and little Agate should get the time to say goodbye to her friends. Let's meet here in a few hours, alright, Agate?"

"Sure thing!"

The crowd began dispersing, some going towards the ritual grounds or to gather firewood for the shamare's cremation, while Agate excitedly galloped off to find Cindertail and Autumn Ash, followed by her spirit teachers. She was a bit too excited to stay long with each pony, not that the situation needed much explaining. For their part, Agate's friends were used to her constant travels by now, only wishing her luck on her latest journey.

Coming back to True Sight's house, the filly trotted in place excitedly until the old spirit showed up. She was only accompanied by Earthsong this time, the mare bending down to give Agate a hug and a pat on the head. Heaving a heavy sigh, she gave the pair a long look.

"Well, I knew the time would come. Doesn't make things much easier, though."

"Oh, calm down, you worrywart, this isn't the last you've seen of me, I'm not going to gallop off to the sky right after I'm done with the journey. I still have to tell Sky Breath what a birdbrain she is one last time, so I won't leave until the others have arrived for the Gathering, at least," True Sight waved her off with a scoff.

"Hmm, yes, I'm certain they're going to be terribly torn up when they hear the news. Just devastated," Earthsong nodded, her heavy tone of voice becoming much flatter at hearing True Sight's reasons for remaining.

"I know, right? What are they going to do without my wisdom?" The elder nodded back, deadly serious. "Anyway, I guess we shouldn't dawdle around. There'll be plenty of time to listen to my invaluable advice after we're back. Shall we be off, Agate?"

"Sure, there's still at least a few hours of sunlight left. We can cover a fair amount of ground yet," Agate nodded, waving goodbye to Earthsong and eagerly trotting away.

"Hmm, feels strange to be able to stretch my legs so much again. Feeling light as a feather, though I don't weigh even that much now," The old mare mused, shaking her legs and hopping around experimentally as she followed the filly.

Agate examined her curiously as they made their way outside the village boundaries. Much like any other elder, True Sight used to canter with a hunch, in a slow, unhurried fashion, her limbs not as flexible as a younger pony's. Now, though, she was skipping along, her neck arched and back straight. She still looked old, though some parts of her seemed to have gotten a little younger, or perhaps it was simply because it was a little harder to make out the fine details now that she was a spirit.

"Ahh, it's been a while since I went out anywhere," She continued. "Quite a while. Care to give me a rundown of where we're going, Agate?"

"Well, first, we need to cross the tundra and the forest leading up to the southern mountains. There will be a river we'll have to get across along the way, but that's not really a problem to us. There's a mountain pass we'll have to climb, and then it's going to be nothing but bare mountains all the way until Dream Valley," Agate summarized.

"Sounds simple when you put it that way, but I remember the others grumbling when they returned from their expeditions south, heh. For all our experience with the tundra plains, climbing mountains is something else. Still, though, we're both capable of cheating a bit right now, aren't we? How about we gallop for a while? Been ages since I did that, too," True Sight suggested, grinning excitedly.

"Oh, sure. You can gallop without running out of breath pretty much forever now, though your mind gets foggy if you don't sleep for a long time," Agate explained, picking up the pace.

"Getting taught things by a spirit feels strange after I spent so much time dealing with spirits myself," The elder mused, trying to match Agate's pace with her longer legs.

They continued their journey in silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. Agate was nervous and excited to be going back to Dream Valley once more, running through her memories of the paths she took and looking for familiar landmarks. True Sight, meanwhile, was busy experiencing the differences between having a body and being a spirit, glancing around every which way with her glowing eyes.

The elder was amused by being able to move underwater, attempting to say something before realizing that she wasn't really able to speak under the rushing river. Climbing out, she reflexively started shaking herself dry, even though there wasn't a single droplet clinging to her ethereal form. She didn't even realize what was happening until Agate started giggling at her.

"Oh, right. Silly me."

The late autumn days were rather short already, and darkness soon fell upon the land. The pair glanced at the Moon, still marked with the mysterious scar. Though the shamares performed all kinds of rituals, from attempting to dreamwalk to the Moon to scaring the celestial narwhal away, the mark persisted. There was some kind of barrier around the Moon that pushed the dreamwalkers away, or so they claimed, and no other attempts yielded any results, let alone reveal any new information.

Fortunately, the world seemed to function as before, and even the instability in the stars faded away after a few years. Not seeing a point in bothering any more, the shamares ceased any further attempts at meddling with the Moon, giving helpless shrugs whenever ponies asked them about it. A number of stories about sky narwhals made of darkness sprung up, and though no pony ever saw such a creature before, they weren't really able to deny the possibility of their existence either, given the mark on the Moon.

Galloping through the night, they reached the southern foothills. Glancing at the sky, True Sight hummed. "So, Agate, how long is this journey going to take for us?"

"Well, the last time I did it alone, it took... Four or five days to get to the valley, I think. There was a day that I galloped through without resting, though. But, I was also scouting the route as I went along, so... Four, maybe three days? Do you need rest, elder? I still remember how hard it was being a spirit when I didn't have a totem. I had to constantly focus just to see, the world fading in and out constantly."

"Hmmm, well..." She smacked her lips, looking around. "Seeing was never an issue for me. Those of strong spirit can hold themselves together just fine, at least for a time. I think I'll be alright, though skipping sleep might be a bad idea. I suppose we should recuperate before tackling the mountains."

"Alright. We can sleep on any surface, so let's just find a spot that looks nice and get some shut-eye. There's still a lot of galloping to do."

"Aye aye, expedition leader."

❅ ❆ ❅

They didn't talk much during the next few days, save for True Sight asking Agate about some detail or other about the mountain paths they were following. Without having to stop for food or much rest, they swiftly navigated through the rough terrain, arriving at the base of the giant mountain after a couple of days. Looking upwards, and upwards, and upwards, True Sight whistled.

"That's a big one."

"Yeah. It's too bad I never learned its name. I know it has to have one," Agate nodded.

"I'm sure you'll learn it someday, whenever you find your people. Speaking of... I remember your story about some kind of old underground passage. Can we still see it?"

"Probably. I imagine it's been slowly collapsing more and more, but we can still move through the caved-in sections just fine. Let's go, it's just up there," Agate nodded, climbing the steep incline that led towards the entrance.

Leading the mare to the entrance, she confidently trotted right through the boulders, True Sight blinking and following behind her after a moment, chuckling quietly. Making it past the blockage, they both focused on their spirit sight, examining their surroundings. There was nothing interesting just yet, so Agate went in deeper with a wave, looking for the painting of the windigo on the wall.

"Here it is... Dreamcatcher was able to work her dream magic on it, but... Well, there's not much you can make out besides the windigo," Agate explained, pointing towards the smudged picture.

"Hum... Curious..."

True Sight stared at it for a few long minutes, tracing every detail with her magically sharpened gaze. She didn't cast any spells on it, but seemed satisfied with her own examination, nodding silently to Agate and moving away from the ancient warning. Nodding back, the filly led them forward, through the abandoned depths of the mountain.

By the time they emerged from the mine, it was quite late, and not much could be seen in the darkness. Laying down by a cluster of pines, they got some sleep, waking up when the first rays of sunlight rose over the mountaintops. Looking around, True Sight frowned a bit, taking in the sight of the valley for the first time.

"It's a bit dark, isn't it, Agate? The mountains block out a lot of light. Dawn already broke some time ago."

"Yeah, I guess so. With how tall the mountains are on all sides, I think our days end up being as short as in the north. Maybe even a bit shorter? We never really had any problems with it, though. The whole city was built from crystal, and there was a soft glow coming from the barrier all the time, so even in the darkest night, you could still easily find your way around," Agate shrugged.

"Still find it hard to believe your people built your city in such a crazy way. Let's go see what we can find then, hm?" True Sight nodded towards the bottom of the valley, still partially shrouded in the shadow of the mountains.

"It wasn't crazy... It was a very well-designed and beautiful city. Until that monster ruined it..." Agate muttered, leading her charge down the mountainside.

The old mare glanced at Agate sadly, but didn't say anything. Once they reached the valley floor, she whistled again, this time at the amount of empty space. Though the mountains did seem rather restricting and imposing with how they loomed all around you, the valley itself was impressively spacious, wide and long enough that she almost wasn't able to see the southern border of the mountainous circle.

Agate kept moving forward, and True Sight followed along, though she began scanning her surroundings more intently as she did, her expression one of intense focus. Both of them kept entirely silent, for differing reasons. Agate kept slowly increasing her pace until she was galloping as fast as she could, the elder shamare noiselessly following along. It still took them a few hours, but soon, they were standing in front of a mostly nondescript patch of earth.

"It... Started here. The street... I can barely see it. It's already eroded," Agate pointed at a slight indentation in the soil, a long trail leading further southward.

Frowning, True Sight shook herself. "This is unpleasant. I can feel it, the way those younglings described it... The Breath, it's almost like a lack of air... I might not be able to last long here, Agate. Let's hurry up. Lead me to... Wherever you think is most important."

"The seat of power," The filly nodded immediately. "The Spire, the location of the Crystal Heart. Let's go."

Galloping ahead, they made their way towards the former epicenter of the Empire. Once they reached the holes where the Spire's foundations used to stand, True Sight immediately got to work, circling the area at a steady trot and scanning everything with her spirit sight.

At first, she frowned in confusion, then in anger, then confusion again. Pawing at the air, she trotted back and forth in several spots, before moving on and trying the same thing elsewhere. She took almost an hour before returning to Agate, shaking her head.

"I don't understand, Agate," She said, her voice sounding fainter, her whole body having turned barely visible. Only her eyes were still clear, but it was obvious that she expended a lot of power.

"Did you actually see something, elder? That's already a lot more than any other pony managed to do," Agate eagerly inquired, her voice laced with hope and desperation.

"No more than Dreamcatcher, I'm afraid. I can see glimpses of your people, and the city you spoke of. They're right here, and yet at the same time, they're not. I have never encountered a trick or illusion that I was not able to see through, but it does not feel like an illusion. And yet, whenever I try to grasp it, just a tiniest thread, they vanish before my eyes. Hrmph... Strange, foreign magic indeed..." She grumbled, pacing back and forth.

"Is... Is there anything else you can do?"

"Well... It might be like like trying to tell the size of a lake when you're floating in the middle of it - you can only see the whole thing clearly from a distance. If we're standing in the middle of this magic, then perhaps I can figure something out if I look at the entire puzzle from some ways away. Let's move a bit further out," The shamare suggested thoughtfully.

"Okay, um... Does the direction matter?" Agate asked, glancing around.

"Well, we already came from the north, so let's try looking at it from the south, I suppose," The elder shrugged.

Moving away at a quick trot, they reached the former southern border of the city, turning around and looking at the plain in front of them. Grunting, True Sight squinted and stared in the direction that they came from for a while, eventually shaking her head angrily. Muttering under her breath, she started looking in other directions.

"There has to be some kind of thread somewhere, magic is just woven like that... And no one is capable of doing it without leaving even one loose end..."

Despite her disappointed complaints, though, the old mystic was not able to find whatever it was that she was looking for. Trotting around in a circle once more, she scanned her surroundings on all sides, eventually stopping with her head turned southwards. Narrowing her eyes in a glare at something that she saw, she turned to Agate.

"Tell me, Agate, is there anything significant in the southern mountains?"

"Not... That I know of? The mountain pass leading to Equestria is there, but... Well, it's just a place. I'm assuming you're asking about magical stuff?"

"Mmm, yes, I am," She nodded. "And I can see something in the south. Some other glimmer of either a spirit, or magic. I'm sorry to say that I can't really understand what I'm seeing here, and since we're lacking any other leads... Mind if we check it out?"

"Well, not like we have any other options. Let's go," Agate nodded, immediately galloping away, True Sight in tow.

Thanks to the valley's size, and the fact that they needed to climb for a fair bit as well, by the time they reached their target, evening fell upon the valley again. Blinking in the slowly gathering gloom, they examined the structure in front of them, both ponies curious, though for different reasons.

It was built of wood, not crystal or even stone, which clearly marked it as Equestrian. It appeared to be an inn, a sign hanging above the entrance proclaiming it to be the "Final Stretch". It wasn't newly built, either, nor was it abandoned. The windows were all shuttered or boarded over, but there was a faint golden light spilling out from between the small gaps in the boards.

And what caught True Sight's attention were the protective wards woven all over the place. The whole building was spider-webbed in faint lines of magic, with something magically powerful that she could see on the second floor. It didn't look like the snowponish runes, but she could still guess at their purpose. Raising a foreleg, she pointed towards a glowing string that was stretched across the porch, in front of the door.

"Can you see these, Agate?"

Focusing on her own spirit sight, the filly nodded slowly. "Yeah... I can. Someone's here."

"Well then... Should we knock and ask if they know anything?"

"Can I knock?"

❅ ❆ ❅

Storm Chaser stretched, quietly grunting in pleasure as his unused muscles got a tiny workout. While he'd go out flying every day, even in the cold weather, the short flights weren't entirely sufficient for the rather fit soldier. Running his eyes over his body, he tried to figure out how much time it would take for him to get back into a shape that was acceptable for a Royal Guard once he got back to civilization.

Thinking of civilization inevitably got him thinking about the remaining time on his unusual posting. It was late autumn, and winter was already nipping at its heels, especially in the valley. That meant that three quarters of his term were done, and once spring arrived, he and his partner would be relieved, and the accursed posting would (hopefully) be dissolved.

Contrary to what a pony would think, though, the assignment was not a punishment detail, far from it. Despite being stuck on a mountainside several week's of travel away from settled lands, the guards were chosen from the best and most disciplined that the higher-ups could find. This was an actual, important mission that was carried out following direct orders from Princess Celestia herself.

Though it had been delayed for a few years because of protests from the generals claiming that the legions were stretched too thin by having to deal with the upheaval caused by the Celestial Schism, Princess Celestia's eternal youth evidently kept her memory as sharp as ever. Once things calmed down a little and she restored order to Equestria's cities, she gave the orders to her court mages and the Guard to set off towards their former ancestral homeland once more.

The pain of the Crystal Empire's disappearance was felt all across the nation, despite its distance from Equestria. Though very few Equestrians personally knew the odd crystalline ponies, they were often spoken of with respect, their sheer bull-headed determination to remain in their homeland and fight the windigoes or die trying being a point of both inspiration and an occasional jest.

Storm Chaser happily volunteered for the assignment, as did Jade Barrier, his partner. They both had the same rank, which was highly unusual, but the same could be said of the entire mission. Taking in the irregular circumstances, it was decided that the two stallions might work better together with a looser command structure, especially seeing as it was going to be only two of them for the entire year.

They were stationed in an abandoned inn that some clever businesspony built right on the edge of the Empire's territory. It was a good spot to rest and recuperate, especially for heavily cargo-laden merchants that overestimated their chances of crossing the mountain pass in one go. Now, it served as their base, the two stallions diligently carrying out their duty.

Hearing a sharp intake of breath, the pegasus glanced towards the suddenly alert unicorn. Raising an eyebrow, he trotted over to where his equipment was stashed. "What's up, Jade? I haven't seen you jump up like that yet."

"Something's triggered the wards," He replied with a frown.

"Hmm. Suppose it's a yeti, or something less dangerous? We haven't really seen anything yet, and it's been nine months already," Storm Chaser asked, putting on his helmet and hefting his spear.

"I'm not sure that it's an animal. It's too rhythmic, almost like someone's trying to knock," Jade Barrier replied, conjuring his namesake shield in front of the door.

"Really? That's... What, did some adventurers from Equestria want to see the site of the Empire? There's no one around for leagues and leagues, and the crystal ponies are long gone," The pegasus mused.

"Well, you know what some young nobles are like. They'd do something like this just to be able to brag to their friends later," The unicorn replied with a disdainful snort.

"Alright, well, if there's not too many of them, I suppose we can let them stay the night. Ready? Open the door," Storm Chaser nodded to his partner, putting on his "Serious Guard" face.

"*Ahem* Identify your- self?"

Both stallions blinked in confusion at the sight in front of them. Two illusions of ponies were standing in front of the door, one of a young filly and one of a rather old-looking mare. They weren't terribly well done, the mare looking fairly translucent. Their eyes were the most detailed and realistic ones they ever saw on a conjuration like that, though, moving as if they were actually looking at the stallions. Glancing around, Storm Chaser called out.

"What is the meaning of this trickery? This is a very odd place to be performing such pranks. If you are afraid, do not be. We are of the Royal Guard of Equestria. Dispel these illusions and come forward."

"Illusions?" The filly said, tilting her head in confusion.

That got the guard's attention again. Making illusions talk was high-level magic, which was quite odd to encounter so far away from civilization. Regardless, whoever the travelling performer was, they weren't fooling the stallions. Rolling his eyes, Storm Chaser puffed up his chest, tapping the floor with the butt of his spear and raising his voice.

"These are indeed impressive, but you're not fooling anyone. Come now, we can see right through them. Whoever you are, dispel these conjurations and show yourself. And if this is some attempt to lure us out of the building into an ambush, we're not falling for it. If you do not reveal yourself, we'll simply shut the door and leave you out in the cold."

"See thr- Oh! You think we're some kind of unicorn tricks? I remember those from when they visited the Empire during the fairs," The fake filly mused.

Pursing his lips, Storm Chaser examined the illusionary duo more closely. Somehow, they looked more alive than any other illusions that he saw, moving and fidgeting in ways only real ponies did, unlike the manual motions conjured by the unicorn performers. He opened his mouth to speak again, only to stop dead at what he saw.

The mare was poking at Jade Barrier's shield with an expression of utter fascination, rubbing and tapping the surface. What alarmed him was the fact that tiny cracks were appearing in the spots that she touched, which was supposed to be completely impossible. Illusions were not capable of something like that, especially not ones so low-powered that they were see-through.

Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, he glanced back at his partner. The unicorn's pupils turned into pinpricks, and his expression was one of utter terror. "Jade...?" He whispered hoarsely, receiving no answer. Though there was no obvious threat yet, the unicorn never displayed needless fear or paranoia yet, and this reaction put the pegasus on edge. Feeling his heart rate pick up, Storm Chaser turned back to the impossible duo, addressing the filly. "W-what are you, and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Agate. Oh, uh, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir. Sorry for my poor manners, I just... Never mind. We were trying to find out what happened to the Crystal Empire, and Sóþ Gesihþ saw this building all the way from the valley. We were surprised to see that it's occupied, and wanted to ask you what were you doing here," The ethereal filly explained politely.

Though her demeanor was of a very well-mannered foal and that helped him calm down him slightly, Storm Chaser knew that appearances could be deceptive, and he didn't let his guard down. "What happened? The Empire is gone, everyone knows that. Sombra cast his curse... And you didn't answer my question. What are you? And what was that strange-sounding name?"

The filly's eyes went wide, the ethereal pony rearing up and putting her forelegs on the barrier. "You know what happened?! Tell me! Please! I've been trying to find out for years! Where did they all go?! Where are my parents?!"

Feeling his temper rise, Storm Chaser yelled. "Enough tricks! What are you?!"

"I'M A GHOST!!!" The filly shrieked furiously, making the mare glance at her briefly.

The sound made Storm Chaser spread his wings in a panicked reflex, which immediately turned the mare's attention on to his feathers, the apparition staring at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. He felt like he was being examined down to his very soul, which, if what the filly just said, was not out of the question. Meanwhile, the little ghost kept shouting, tapping against the shield with her hooves.

"My name is Agate! Daughter of Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace! Granddaughter of Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook! Pony of the Crystal Empire! There, I identified myself as well as I possibly could! Now tell me what happened to my people!"

Storm Hoof gulped nervously. "But, you're, you're..."

"I'm dead, yes," The filly confirmed casually, rolling her eyes and calming down a little. "I got chased by Sombra's minions into the snow and froze to death. Now, no more questions! I answered yours, and you answer mine. What happened to the Empire?"

Feeling weak in the knees, the pegasus did his best to keep his composure. The claims of ghosts by themselves would mean little to him, but Jade's shield that was covering the door had a few sizeable cracks running through it by that point. "Are there more of you? Ghosts aren't real. Did the curse-" Seeing the filly grit her teeth in anger, he quickly changed course. It's not like the knowledge wasn't public. "Sombra. You... If you're really from the Empire, you know who he is, I imagine. The Princesses came to battle and dethrone the usurper once they learned what happened, but he gathered too much power at that point. Though he was crushed, he managed to cast a powerful curse on the entire city before they managed to banish him."

"Curse... What kind of curse? What did he do? Sóþ Gesihþ said that she could still see the city, right there..."

"What is that strange language?" He asked, glancing at the elderly mare. Looking at her still made him nervous, though she went back to examining the shield instead of him.

The filly smacked herself. "Oh, duh. Sorry, I didn't even realize that I was speaking her name in snow- Hold on, you didn't answer my question! For someone constantly demanding that I answer yours, that's quite rude! Now tell! Me!"

"I, I, um, I'm a pegasus warrior, not a mage. I can only explain it in a rather crude way, to the best of my understanding," He stumbled awkwardly, glancing at his partner. The unicorn was still doing his best impression of a statue, though.

"Well good, since I'm not a mage either, that means that I should understand it, too. Go on," The filly nodded eagerly.

"He... Froze them in time. The Empire - the ponies, the city - are still right there, except they're... Well, gone. Though some unicorn sage said that a more accurate description is that they were banished to the future, since if they were simply frozen, we could still see them. Either way, for them, time has stopped."

"Banished to the... Future?" The filly frowned, mulling on the concept. "To, um... What future? How... far? Is that the right word?"

"We... Don't really know," Storm Chaser admitted awkwardly, hoping that it wouldn't cause another outburst of anger. "We're here to try and find out, actually."

"Really?"

Seeing that the filly was keeping her composure, he nodded. As he was never given orders to keep the mission secret, he slowly shrugged. "Yes. A bunch of highly acclaimed wizards set up a magical array on the second floor to measure the curse's decay rate. We're here to protect it until it's finished, and then we're going back to Equestria."

"Can't you just... I don't know, do it yourself? Like your unicorn friends do, just cast a spell and find out? Or even break the curse?" She asked, though by her town of voice, she already knew the answer.

"They... Tried," He ventured forth carefully. "The Princesses themselves both tried, and their best court mages, and even a whole bunch of volunteers. None could find a way to successfully unravel it. Breaking is possible, but..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, again, as the mages explained it to me, breaking a spell is like smashing a rock. You need lots of brute force, and it can get messy. If you know what spell it is, you can safely unravel it, instead. Yes, Equestria has the raw magic to break the curse on the Crystal Empire. However, it would be like trying to retrieve a delicate glass sculpture stuck in a jar by smashing it apart with a huge boulder. It would break the curse, yes, but..."

"...It would break the Empire and all the ponies to bits along with it," The filly finished for him, despondently looking downwards.

"I'm afraid so," He slowly nodded.

"How long? Do you have any clue?" She asked, raising her eyes again.

"Well, um..." He hesitated, grimacing slightly.

It didn't go unnoticed by the sharp-eyed filly. "You know something, don't you?"

"I... Yes. The array... It was built because, and I quote, "Trying to measure the decay of that blasted monstrosity is like trying to figure out how fast mountains crumble by staring at one. It's too slow for a normal pony to even notice. It could take a decade, though the more likely answer is centuries or even millennia." That was what the wizards told me before ordering me to never enter the second floor and keep the door sealed."

"Wait, I know those. Decades means tens, centuries means hundreds, and millennia... Uh... Oh."

There was a long, tense moment as the filly and the stallion stared into each other's eyes. The silent old mare kept tapping at the barrier, the thing almost broken by this point. Storm Chaser tensed up, preparing to flee, if the situation came to it. While he was a trained guard, he seriously doubted whether he could even slow them down with his spear, if the two charged at him. Feeling his heart beating like crazy, he saw the filly's muzzle slowly twist in anger. Fortunately for him, her fury was directed at someone else.

Taking a step back, she turned around, screaming her rage into the heavens. "SOMBRA!!! You windigo-borne son of a floewolf! I hope you get eaten by an akhlut! I don't care how small or weak I am, If I ever find you, I swear, I'll make you regret it! You total-" She continued what must have been an impressive string of invectives in a foreign tongue of some kind, the old mare turning towards her with an impressed expression.

Looking down at the crushed spirit, Storm Chaser finally realized that this entire situation truly was real, and not some fevered dream. "I am... Sorry for your loss," He said lamely.

"I don't care!" She yelled, whirling around and jumping forward, smashing through the weakened shield.

"I-I'm sorry?" He took a few steps back as the glimmering shards of the barrier faded back into the æther.

"I made a promise! And I'm not going to break it, you hear me?! I'm not going to let him win! I will see my parents again! Even if it takes a THOUSAND YEARS!!!"

Not really knowing what to say, the stallion stood there, his spear reflexively held in a defensive position, his wings flared and quivering for a sudden takeoff. Seeing his expression, the filly cringed a little, her ears folding. Turning around and stepping back outside, she called out over her shoulder.

"I am sorry for scaring you, sir. Thank you for helping me out. I won't bother you again. Good night. Let's go, True- Ugh, I mean," She trotted away, saying something in that foreign language to the mare.

For her part, the mare remained silent, shooting one last appreciative look towards the two stallions and giving them a lascivious wink before turning around and trotting after the filly. For a long moment, Storm Chaser looked at their retreating forms, only daring to move when he was sure that they were completely gone. Closing the door, he trotted over to Jade Barrier, punching him in the shoulder.

"Wow, great backup you provided for me there, partner."

Still stuck in his stupor, the unicorn squeaked. Going from stock-still to shivering, he collapsed on the floor, breathing like he just galloped a marathon. Looking him over, Storm Chaser tried to look for any obvious injuries, but unsurprisingly, wasn't able to find any. Waiting for the unicorn to compose himself, he kept giving him a flat look.

"D-d-don't look at me like that! You don't know what it's like for Death to touch your soul!" Jade Barrier finally shouted.

"Death? Well, if you're calling that Death, then I just talked to it, and I was standing closer than you, if you'll recall," Storm Chaser grumbled.

"Not the filly! The silent mare! With the ancient name! That was the Pale Mare herself, it had to be! Guiding the lost spirit around! You don't know how it felt when she touched my magic! Death's touch itself, and if she touched either one of us, we'd be dead too! She could unravel my shield with barely a touch, you saw that! It felt like a whole legion of skeletons was doing the can-can on my grave!"

"That's an... Oddly descriptive feeling."

"Shut- shut up," Jade Barrier laughed hysterically.

"So... That was all real, then," Storm Chaser asked, though it came out as a statement rather than a question.

"I... Yeah. It was," Jade Barrier confirmed after a long pause.

"Tartarus damn it... Lost souls. I never believed in ghosts, but then again, we never saw or heard about dark magic of that magnitude unleashed upon the world, either. There's nothing we can do, is there?"

"No. You heard her. She wants to see her parents. And we know that's not possible until the curse runs its course. And don't even think of reporting this to the higher-ups. It'd instantly get dismissed as a case of cabin fever, and if we insist that it really happened, we'd get discharged from the Guard for being insane. No one is going to believe us on this, ever."

"Damnation... Celestia have mercy on her soul."

"Celestia have mercy on ours, too. I don't think the crystal ponies hold Celestia in a very high regard."

Trotting away, Storm Chaser sighed. Removing his helmet, he put his spear away, moving towards the storage rooms. A number of rooms in the abandoned inn were converted into pantries, with enough supplies for the two stallions to last the entire year. Given the length and the unusual circumstances of the mission, they were afforded some supplies that were usually not available to the Guard.

One of those was a pair of large casks, filled with strong applejack. Normally, alcohol, if given at all while on deployment, would be strictly rationed. In their case, though, they were trusted and known to be disciplined enough not to drink themselves into a stupor. Either way, the amount that they had would only be enough to keep them nice and drunk for a few weeks at most, if they really went at it. The idea was for them to consume it sparingly and have something to warm their bones on cold winter evenings. Which was exactly what they were planning to do, but Storm Chaser knew that they were about to make a noticeable dent in their reserves this evening.

Filling up a pair of mugs, he carried them back to Jade Barrier, who managed to compose himself, sitting despondently on a rug in front of a fireplace. The pegasus didn't even have to say anything, the unicorn wordlessly picking up a mug and clinking it against Storm Chaser's.

"May she find peace one day."

"May she find peace."

The pair of shaken soldiers took a deep swig each, watching the branches in the fireplace slowly burn away.

The Long Wait

❅ ❆ ❅

"I've never seen you so angry," True Sight remarked quietly.

"I don't really... Get angry. The only one that can get me angry is Sombra, I think. I don't remember ever being that angry before learning about him," Agate huffed.

"Mm. Angry doesn't even fit, I think. Utterly furious would be a better description. Or murderously enraged, even."

"Right... Sorry about that," Agate looked away in embarrassment.

"Now now, there's no need to apologize. I know you're a sweet filly, and if someone can make you that furious, clearly, they must have done something truly heinous to cause that. Did you find out something else about what that abomination did?" True Sight reassured her in a soothing voice.

"...Yeah. I found out what he did to the Empire."

"Really now? Don't keep me waiting, then."

"He, ah... Banished them to the future. The ponies, the entire city itself. Everything."

"Banished to... What? How? Where?"

"Right where they always were, apparently. Everything is still there, or that's what that stallion said. Which explains why both you and Dreamcatcher can see them. They didn't go to a different place, they got... "Frozen in time", as he explained it."

That made True Sight go quiet for a long time, frowning in confusion. The pair kept trotting downhill, away from the inn where the Equestrian guards were stationed. As they reached the valley floor and slowly began approaching the former - or perhaps still current, in a way - site of the city, the mare shook her head.

"That sounds like madness. Freezing time? I have never heard of such an idea. Sure, Blizzard Heart could summon a cold so fierce that a rushing river in the middle of summer would freeze solid. But in all my years, I have never heard of a spirit of time that you could call on. The only things related to time we are able to do are the premonitions and visions the dreamwalkers sometimes have. Not... Freezing time like a bucket of water."

"I know. It's not something I ever heard about, either. Or even anything the Equestrians heard about, apparently. They said they had their best wiz- I mean, shamares examine the place. None of them could safely unravel the magic. They said that now they're here just to measure how long is it going to take for the curse to run out of magic. And then they'll... Wait, I guess."

"So, those were the Equestrians you spoke of? And that winged one - that was a "pegasus", yes?" True Sight hummed curiously.

"Oh yeah... Sorry for leaving you out of that conversation. Yes, they were Equestrians. And the horned one is called a "unicorn".

"Don't be silly, Agate. It's not like I would know what to ask them about even if I spoke their tongue. I wonder which bird did he steal those wings from. Hmm..."

Snorting, Agate shook her head. "I don't think that's how pegasi get wings, elder."

"It has to be. Either that, or some distant ancestor of theirs was the first one to do it, and then passed it on to his or her children. How else do you explain it? He had no feathers anywhere else, unlike birds, and he was built like any other pony, with long legs to gallop through the plains. Except for the wings, which he clearly stole. Not that I'm saying the act is not impressive, but still."

Agate opened her mouth to argue, but realized that she didn't really have anything to say to refute the mare's claims. As she giggled quietly, her mind conjured images of pegasi foals attempting to sneak up on bird's nests to steal their wings for themselves. She honestly wasn't sure whether the mare was trying to make her laugh on purpose or not.

They trotted in silence for a while until True Sight spoke up again. "So that narwhal pony... Unicorn, you said? That was an interesting bit of magic he conjured on the door. Never seen anything like it..."

"It was a shield spell, I think. The Empire's shield was a lot like it, except more of an amethyst color. And it was a lot bigger, obviously."

"I know you mentioned the artifact's power before, but that is still an impressive feat. I'm assuming the shield was crafted more meticulously than the way that unicorn did it, though. His weave was a bit sloppy in places, enough for me to mess with it despite not seeing magic like that before."

"I think you scared him, elder," Agate said with some slight amusement, remembering the guard's face. Although she felt a little bad for scaring them, she also couldn't help but feel a little tickled at them being afraid of her, of all ponies.

"Heh! Good motivation for him to shape up, then."

They kept talking with an occasional period of silent contemplation in between, making their way across the valley. Once they got close to the epicenter of the magical deadzone, True Sight shuddered, grimacing. Agate frowned as well, the area feeling extra oppressive now that she was aware that the Empire was right there, just out of reach. Picking up the pace, they galloped away, back towards the mountains.

Once they gained some distance, True Sight spoke up again. "So, what made you so angry? Was it just finding out about the curse, or something else? You seemed to be irritated with those stallions before you snapped."

"I kind of was, yes. That pegasus kept shouting questions at me and refusing to answer any of mine, so I got a little angry with him. Not nearly as angry as when I found out what Sombra did, though."

"So, the frozen time... How long until it melts?"

Pursing her lips, Agate went quiet. A few minutes passed before she shook her head, sighing. "They're not completely sure yet. But it could be a thousand years or more."

"Ah. I see. That explains your reaction quite well."

That little bit of information quite thoroughly killed the rest of the conversation. They continued on in silence, getting closer to the northern border of the valley. Agate felt like galloping through the night just to get some more distance from the place, but it was rather obvious that True Sight needed to rest. The mare's form was becoming more and more indistinct, her sharp eyesight failing as she squinted, expending effort just to see what was in front of her.

"Come on, elder, let's rest for a while," Agate urged, noticing a small abandoned quarry nearby.

"Never lost my sight before..." True Sight muttered almost inaudibly, sounding slightly shaken.

"It's unpleasant, yes. The whole world turns dark, I remember that much. Rest your eyes for a while. We're not in a rush to get anywhere, after all."

Climbing down, they curled up in a corner, closing their eyes and drifting off into the semi-sleep state spirits usually experienced.

❅ ❆ ❅

The journey back to Snowpitt took twice as long as going forward. Not only did they not push ahead as hard as they did before, they needed to rest more often, the region somehow managing to be inhospitable to spirits. True Sight would stop to look around and meditate now and then, her expression puzzled.

"Is this why your people's spirits do not manifest, Agate? It's not just the valley, or the frozen spot where your city used to stand. It's like the mountains themselves are blocking off the flow of the Breath. Even the trees and the earth here look... Dull."

"Maybe? I really don't know much about it, elder. I did go some distance away from the valley before I died, and I haven't really heard any stories about ghosts showing up in the Empire before. Maybe I was able to keep myself together because of the distance. Or maybe it even was the dark magic coursing through the region that allowed me to manifest," Agate shrugged.

"Hm. Not something we're likely to find out, I suppose."

As they trotted northwards, their expressions ranged from neutral to pensive, both ponies turning over the information that they learned from the journey in their heads, considering the various conclusions and implications of it. Over the course of a day, though, True Sight's face started turning more upbeat, the old mare constantly glancing at Agate with a calculating look.

It was an incredibly gradual process, so much so that Agate completely missed it until True Sight was grinning from ear to ear, looking like she was trying to hold in her laughter. Glancing around, the filly tried to see what the source of her amusement was, to no avail. Nothing surrounded them but the bare mountain rock and a small layer of snow.

"What's so funny, elder?"

"Well..."

"Yes?"

"You said how long the time is [probably going to stay frozen..."

"...Go on."

"But..."

"Yyyeeessss?"

"Well, I just realized..."

"..." Agate didn't even say anything, giving True Sight a flat look.

"You didn't actually say what you were going to do next, now that you know what happened and what the situation is," The mare finally finished.

Agate remained silent, pursing her lips and trotting on without saying anything. For some reason, that caused True Sight to howl with laughter, covering her face with her forelegs.

"No. Nononono, noooo... Agate, you complete madpony. Don't tell me you're seriously planning to wait a thousand years for your people to return?"

"Yeah? What if I do? What's so funny about that? As the other spirits told me, I have all the time in the world."

"Nothing! It's not funny at all, it's kind of terrible, in fact! The funny part is that I'm a fairly good judge of character, and you look like you have the backbone - figurative, of course - to actually pull it off! Ahahaha! Oh, Agate, do you have any idea what you're signing up for? Oh, there'll be legends about you and your timeless fortitude. Few spirits last over a hundred winters before they get tired and move on," True Sight explained, shaking her head.

"Gnarled Root is over two hundred, as I recall..."

"Yes, and look at what happened to her. She can barely keep herself together, her form hazy and blurry. She already forgot almost everything about being a pony, and I don't think she's going to last very long now before shedding the last bits that are keeping her here. We'll be adding her totem to the pyre in the ceremonial grounds any Calling now, I bet. Do you think you can last five times as long without giving up? Without forgetting why you're even still here?"

"I... She stayed just to help out. I have a bigger goal. I promised myself that I'd see my parents again, and I'm not going to let Sombra win," Agate spat the dark mage's name angrily.

"You have no idea what it's like to grow that old, though, ambitious little youngling," True Sight pointed out with a smirk.

"Neither do you, elder," Agate snorted right back.

"Whu- What? What's that supposed to mean? I'm almost a hundred!"

"Yes, but you're not a thousand. You don't know what it's like to grow that old, either," Agate grinned.

"This- You- Amazing. I'm witnessing a legend in the making. Oh, they'll call you "the most stubborn filly in all of existence", probably. Or "too headstrong to quit", maybe. Or perhaps just "that crazy pony that's been sitting around for almost a thousand years", heh heh."

"The thought of it really amuses you that much, elder?"

"The sheer ridiculousness of it all is what amuses me. Frozen time, strange magics... My last years have certainly been full of interesting events. Were I to hear this all as a tale from some traveler, I would ask them whether they discovered a new type of mushroom that grants you absurd visions. And then ask them for a sample," True Sight shook her head with a grin. "The situation is not funny otherwise, and I do not envy you the task you set upon yourself. Are you certain you want to do this?" She asked, schooling her expression into something more serious.

"I... Yeah. I have things to do. Ponies I know. Friends. An adoptive family of sorts. I barely noticed as the last few years went by. I bet I won't even notice as the rest of them go by, too," Agate nodded slowly.

"You might not notice as you start to forget things. Time tends to do that to you," The old mare pointed out.

"I'll remind myself. Every year, every month, every time I go to sleep. Ponies taught me how."

"Yes? Remind yourself of what, precisely?"

"My name is Agate. Pony of the Crystal Empire, my home that was stolen and hidden away in the Dream Valley by the monster Sombra. I am the daughter of Radiant Cut, my father, and Garnet Necklace, my mother. Granddaughter of Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook...

❅ ❆ ❅

They made their way back to Snowpitt just a day before the first snow of the season reached the southern plains. With how little fanfare there was around True Sight's and Agate's unannounced journey, the inhabitants of the village didn't really start clamoring to know how the trip went or whether they managed to find out something interesting. Politely telling the few curious ponies that it was a story for the Gathering, the pair went their own ways, though True Sight would visit Agate and the other spirits more often, listening to their spirit stories and talking about spirit stuff.

A few weeks passed, and the nomadic part of Snowpitt's population returned, followed by the first ponies from the other tribes soon after. After the traditional greeting between the two chieftains was concluded, the westerners poured in, including their shamares.

Agate watched as Sky Breath trotted over to Earthsong, quirking an eyebrow. "Surprised I'm meeting the even-headed half of the Snowpitt pair first. What happened, did the sharp-eyed twit finally realized that she's dull in mind and wit, and decided to hide in shame?"

"You wish, bird-brain. Maybe if you had my sharp eyes, you'd have seen me coming," True Sight crowed from behind her, having snuck up on the mare.

Whirling around, Sky Breath opened her mouth to say something, only to see True Sight's condition. In the end, all she managed was a short "Huh."

"Yeah? Finally ran out of things to chirp about?" The translucent shamare chuckled with a grin.

"Hmm. This spirit seems annoying. Perhaps I should consider banishing it... Would certainly do the locals a favor..." Sky Breath muttered with a small grin, sizing True Sight up.

"I'd like to see you try," She taunted, idly examining a hoof and projecting an air of indifference.

The westerner's elder reared up, taking a deep breath and humming a chant of some kind with a gleeful expression, only to stop as Earthsong lightly smacked her on the back of her head. "I swear, it was bad enough when I had to deal just with her. Don't tell me I'll have to wrangle you too, now that she's a spirit."

"Come on, she was asking for it," Sky Breath rolled her eyes. "Not like I can hurt her any more."

"Yes, but the rules still apply. You know that she'd fight back, and then there's no telling how far you two would take it until common sense would kick in," Earthsong chided the feathered mare.

"Yes yes, collateral damage, and all that. I'd kick her flank before she managed anything, though," Sky Breath grumbled.

"In your dreams, featherhead," True Sight cackled.

Agate managed to contain her sniggers as the two elders resumed their usual needling, trotting away. They were followed by Earthsong, who just seemed to be thoroughly done with the whole thing. Glancing around, the filly decided to pony-watch for a bit as a stream of heavily cargo-laden ponies poured into Snowpitt, moving to settle in for the winter.

❅ ❆ ❅

The northerners weren't far behind, beginning to arrive from their scattered islands a week later. Agate was a little more excited for their arrival, seeing as she had personal acquaintances among them. Waiting a little distance away out in the tundra, she greeted the passing ponies, scanning the groups for familiar faces. Some slowed down to exchange a few words with her before moving on, eager to finish the final leg of their journey.

As Agate traversed the northern reaches, her reputation with the northern tribe kept increasing, and even the ponies that she never met before gave her respectful nods as they made their way into Snowpitt. Stories about the filly were springing up amongst the northern tribesponies, including silly ones claiming that a visit from her would bring luck to that island for the season. While she rolled her eyes whenever she heard them, she learned that the best course of action was to just let the ponies have their fun.

Many of the sleighs and ponies were decorated with pieces of either citrine or quartz, Agate's searches for crystal deposits having borne fruit. Now that the supply had increased greatly, crystals no longer were such a precious commodity that only shamares and some northerners could afford to have them, not to mention the ponies from the other tribes. And even those that did already, could get a lot more now.

They were not hauling a bunch of pretty, but still heavy rocks on themselves just the decoration value, though. Given her area of expertise, Agate got asked a lot about crystals whenever she visited a new island, and it eventually led her to explaining the methods on how to charge them and recounting the story of how she taught the shamares to do it. It was harder for the average pony, but the snowponies weren't the type to quit when things got tough, and the north was saturated with magic, which made things easier. She ended up becoming a teacher during the long winter months spent in Snowpitt, sharing her skills to help the ponies light up the long night. It was odd to see how something as simple as a light source could be so valuable, but the unique conditions of the northern winters meant that Agate's knowledge was always in high demand.

Bit by bit, her lessons were trickling down and through the population, and every year, more and more travelers were carrying charged crystals instead of torches with them. Her teachings were especially appreciated amongst the northerners, given the scarcity of firewood in the largely barren islands, and the fact that almost all of them built their homes completely or partially underground. Despite the need to spend a bunch of time learning a new skill, both the smokeless nature of the light and the reusability of the crystals made it worth their while, not to mention the fact that a crystal's light couldn't be blown out by the fierce northern winds. There were already stories popping up about how ponies managed to find each other and get to safety during blizzards by following the glow, which made the filly quite happy.

Sitting down, Agate lazily scanned the latest group of dark shapes approaching her, trying to recognize any familiar features. That night, no extra light was needed - the sky was clear, and given how blindingly reflective the snow was, starlight and moonlight were more than enough to navigate through the tundra. She could still see the faint glimmers of tightly-wrapped crystals the ponies carried in their packs, though, her affinity to the crystalline magic working with little to no effort. And while she couldn't recognize the ponies from that distance yet, she did recognize a familiar crystal one of them was carrying.

"Hello, Glacier Glider," Agate greeted the one she was waiting for, once the group got a little closer.

"Well now, a welcoming committee? Just for us? What's the occasion?" The mare asked with a grin, the other ponies from Shear snorting quietly.

"I don't think one pony counts as a committee," Agate pointed out.

"Oh, you and your killjoy logic," Glacier Glider replied with a roll of her eyes. "How are you doing, then? Anything new in the south?"

Turning around, Agate trotted alongside the caravan in thoughtful silence. Flurry Spinner and Spinning Flurry showed up a few moments later, flashing the filly matching grins. The lanky teenagers had heavy packs and even spears hanging off their sides, adult responsibilities already catching up to the young twins. Other ponies could be heard sighing in relief as Snowpitt came into full view.

"Not really, no," Agate finally answered. "True Sight, the elder shamare of Snowpitt passed away, but that's more or less it for news about the southern tribe. There was... Something else, though. We went to try and look for more clues about my people, her and I. And, well... We found them. Or, to be precise, we found where they are."

"Ah... Does that mean you'll be leaving us, then? You came here to say goodbye?" Glacier Glider asked, which caused a number of ponies to shoot concerned looks her way.

"Mmm... No, I don't think so. Not for a long, long while yet."

The Flurry twins snorted and rolled their eyes as Agate went quiet again. "Ok, Agate, you need to stop hanging around shamares so much. Now quit being cryptic and tell us what's up."

"It's one of those long stories best saved for a meeting, I'm afraid," The filly refused with a small smile. "The short version, though, is that we know where my people are, but there's some magic that's preventing me from going to them. It will fade, but not for... Well. I don't know exactly how long myself, but there's no rush for me. I'll have to find something to do to pass the time, really."

"Well, at least you finally found out what happened, right? You've been trying various things for quite a few years," Flurry Spinner asked.

"Sure, It's a relief, in a way. I didn't even know if they're all still alive, or whether I was just chasing ghosts. And daunting as it is, at least I do know what I'll need to do to meet them again..." Agate trailed off, gazing into the distance.

Seeing that the filly wasn't in the mood to discuss the topic any further, the northerners changed the subject to more mundane matters. Agate nodded along as the twins told her stories of their first fishing trips and visits to other islands, idly wondering how many years it would take her to visit each and every island that the northern tribe claimed.

❅ ❆ ❅

Once the northerners were all settled in, the usual reunions of distant families, trading, feasting, and celebrating took place. Since it was only True Sight and Agate that went south, ponies from the other tribes didn't have any clue about their trip. When they heard that the pair of spirits managed to crack the mystery of the Crystal Empire, though, they were very eager to find out more. Quickly wrapping up all the official meetings, they ushered the unusual duo onto the speaker's rug.

"Alright, so... I guess I should start?" Agate pondered, tapping her chin. "This idea came about quite a few years back, actually. True Sight thought it up, but wasn't able to carry it out."

"Yeah, the creaky old bones weren't so good for climbing mountains any more. Amazing how much easier it was when I decided to leave them behind at home," The shamare chuckled.

It didn't take them long to cover the gist of what happened during their trip to Dream Valley, seeing as it was very quick and uneventful for the incorporeal ponies. Judging from the audience's expressions, they all expected True Sight to discover something by herself, which caused a wave of quiet murmurs when she got to the part where they had to give up and trot off with nothing. Hearing about what - and who - they found at the abandoned inn immediately made them quiet down, though.

They both gave their own versions of the encounter, given that True Sight didn't understand the conversation Agate had in Equestrian. There was a hushed silence and a lot of either fascinated or disbelieving looks when True Sight described the unique features and strange magic of the pair of Royal Guards in great detail, some of the snowponies looking intrigued when the elder mentioned the pegasus's "stolen" wings.

Meanwhile, the shamares listened with rapt attention when Agate started relaying what the Equestrians told her about the curse and the ways they tried to counter it. The rest of the audience were wide-eyed with shock and confusion, seemingly not sure how to even react to the news. On one hoof, they now knew what happened to the mysterious crystal tribe. On the other hoof, that knowledge wasn't of any use to them, and, more than likely, neither they nor any of their immediate descendants would be able to make contact with the Empire.

"...And, well, that's it. We made our way back across the mountains once we found out what happened. It looks like my people never really "went" anywhere, technically, which is why neither any of the trackers or shamares were able to find any traces of them. Unless the Equestrians were wildly wrong about their time estimates, or some shamare figures out how to mess with time, the only way our tribes will ever meet is when the curse runs out of power some time in the future," Agate concluded.

Her conclusion was met with a wave of whispering, which Agate entirely expected. The snowponies were really excited to find the crystal ponies, something which they mentioned to her many times. What she did not expect was for the whispers to sound concerned or scared rather than sad or disappointed.

"So it's a graveyard... Full of trapped ponies," One pony said out loud, scratching his head.

"They're... Not really dead," Agate corrected him.

"But the trap is still working, and very strong, if what you said is true. I wanted to visit the valley myself someday, but I don't think I'll be going now. I don't want to fall in and be frozen for a thousand years," Another onlooker spoke from the crowd.

"I don't think... You can really fall in... Well, not that we really know how it works..."

That started another wave of whispers, many ponies shaking their heads.

❅ ❆ ❅

Despite having spent quite a few years with the snowponies, Agate clearly hadn't learned everything there was to know about them yet, as the events of the meeting showed. Although the northern dwellers lived and breathed magic, finding a great many magical solutions to their lack of resources - spears of enchanted ice instead of steel, magical wards and runes, spells woven into charms, and so on - it was a double-edged sword.

There were just as many magical monsters, spirits, plants, and other dangers lurking in the north, and whenever they encountered something new, even the brave snowponies usually took their time to slowly and carefully learn about whatever the thing in question was, often employing the aid of shamares. The elders and mystics almost always managed to glean some knowledge from them, even if all it amounted to was "If you see it again, turn around and run..."

But when the same shamares were helpless to do or even explain anything, even the most reckless snowponies knew to leave well enough alone. Just like True Sight, not one of the shamares in the meeting ever even heard of the notion of freezing time before, and weren't able to confirm or deny whether wandering through the valley carried the risk of getting caught in the trap yourself.

Now that they were aware that there was a powerful curse put upon Dream Valley that even their wisest and most capable elders weren't able to undo, let alone understand, the interest to see the lands that their distant ancestors came from dropped to nil. Even the fact that they could potentially meet Equestrians got completely forgotten, apprehension winning out over curiosity this time around.

No more expeditions would set out to Dream Valley any time soon, not that Agate wanted them to go - she already found out what happened to the Empire, after all. It was just a little strange to see the dichotomy of the ponies that wielded strange and powerful magics with shocking ease to be afraid of a different set of strange and powerful magics.

Not that Agate couldn't understand their reluctance, of course. She didn't really think they could "fall in" to the curse, but she did remember the horrifying way the Empire looked with Sombra's dark magic pouring out over the entire landscape and blocking out the Sun. Even if they didn't see it themselves, she couldn't really blame them for wanting to stay away from a place that had such terrors unleashed upon the world.

After everything was said and done, she went back to her usual things. Talking, learning, listening to stories, with the occasional lesson about using crystals that she'd give out herself. Still, ponies noticed that she wasn't going anywhere despite her family being among those that were trapped, and it didn't take long for them to add two and two together.

"So, you're really going to wait no matter how long it takes? Even a thousand years?" Cindertail asked, awe in his voice.

"I said as much to that pegasus, yes," Agate confirmed with a nod.

"That's mad," Spinning Flurry said, shaking her head with a grin. "Is it just you, or are the rest of your people crazy, too?"

"I don't think your parents would blame you if you left, you know. I don't think anyone would, knowing the situation." Flurry Spinner added.

"Yeah, but they'll never know the situation if I don't show up. Not that they expect me to show up, mind you. No one really believes in spirits. Well, pony spirits. We do have stories of other spirits like the windigoes. Also, I'm not crazy. I just happen to be living in crazy times, apparently. None of this is normal, not for my people, nor your own," The filly replied with a shrug. "And, I suppose... I might have taken this a little personally. I don't want to allow Sombra to ruin my family's life... More than he already did, that is. I bet he doesn't even know I exist, but I'm still going to stick it to him by sticking it out."

Agate and her group of foalhood friends were having a little get-together in Warm Spring's family home, discussing their respective futures with each other now that they were older. Over time, the two families of hardy northern explorers and settled farmers got introduced to each other through Agate and each other's foals, which eventually led to Glacier Glider's family spending their winters with them. It was quite clear that the two families with diametrically opposed occupations had practically nothing in common, but they were still respectful to each other, even if the things Warm Spring did looked like incomprehensible magic to Glacier Glider, and vice versa.

"So how are you going to pass the time? Go to sleep like a bear for a thousand years?" Autumn Ash inquired, coming into the room with a bowl of nuts and berries on her back.

"I don't know if I can do that, and I don't want to. With all the things I'm doing, I barely even noticed as several years went by until True Sight passed away. I guess I'll just... Keep going. It doesn't look like I'll run out of things to do any time soon."

"Hmmm... Maybe you don't really notice the years because you don't change, Agate. It's really different for us. I still remember when adults looked like giants a few scant years ago..." Flurry Spinner said, reaching for the bowl.

"I feel bulky and weird. Hiding's way harder now, but I suppose having longer legs to gallop with is better," Spinning Flurry nodded, crunching on some nuts.

"What do you mean, I don't change? I learn new stuff, I do new things, stuff that scared me even while I was a spirit," Agate asked, squinting at the snowy twins. It took her a bit of time, but she learned how to tell the two apart, not that they made it easy.

"Yeah, but you're not getting bigger," Autumn Ash pointed out, poking her brother as an example. Despite her being a year older, the teenaged colt that was growing into stallion was almost a head taller than her.

"Well, yeah. I don't think... Spirits can grow. You probably need a body for that," The perpetually small spirit filly replied with a frown.

"The adult's spirits are big, though."

"Because they grew up with their bodies, maybe?"

"I guess so," Autumn Ash conceded.

"I don't think you're entirely right, though," Cindertail slowly said, his voice contemplative.

"Hm? How so?" His sister cocked an eyebrow.

"I think Agate did change a little bit from when we first saw her. Just a tiny little bit, though, so we didn't even notice. Try to remember the first times we saw her," The lanky colt argued, tilting his head and examining Agate from various angles.

This led to the rest of the group doing the same, squinting or trying to look at Agate from the corners of their eyes while recalling and comparing the first images of her that they could remember to what they were seeing now. After a few minutes, most of them pursed their lips, shrugging uncertainly.

"I'm not sure. I think she might be a tad different, but I can't pin it down," Autumn Ash shrugged.

After another pause, Flurry Spinner raised a hoof. "I think her mane's a little different. I think I remember the ends of her mane being crazy even. It looked almost like you could cut something with it, like the edge of a knife. And maybe she got a tiny, tiny bit taller. Maybe."

"Huh? My mane? Well, my mother used to cut my mane, and because she's a jeweler, she'd always do it very precisely. Since it didn't grow any more, I can't say I thought about it much. Or my tail, or my hooves, now that I didn't need to trim them," Agate mused, running a foreleg through her mane and trying to find a difference.

"Well, it's a bit more loose now, I think," Flurry Spinner shrugged. "Little bit longer, maybe. Not much."

"What will she do if she needs a manecut? Find a pair of spirit scissors?" Autumn Ash pondered.

The room fell into silence again as the group considered the question. After some thinking, Agate shook her head. "I'll need to ask a shamare. Thing is, I have seen snowpony spirits that don't look entirely normal. Gnarled Root, one of my teachers, is over two hundred years old, and she's kind of... Blurry, like you're looking at her from a distance, or through water. Some of the stuff they taught me included appearance, but it wasn't anything about how to look different or get bigger. As they explained, it's a matter of focus... Spirits are only held here by their will. Those that can "keep themselves together" can trot around and do stuff, like me, though it's still hard without a totem. The lost spirits of ponies with weaker wills are barely or not visible at all, their forms blurry and barely holding together."

"Why does Gnarled Root look blurry, then? She has a totem, right? Did it wear down over the years? I think I've seen it before, and it was bleached white by the passage of time," Cindertail inquired.

"Yeah, but the enchantments on it are still holding, I've seen it myself," Agate shook her head. "No, I think it's because that after all this time, she doesn't remember very well what she even looked like. So she still remembers that she's a mare, but not much else."

"So you look like this because you remember yourself looking like this?" Spinning Flurry asked, her voice getting intrigued.

"I think so... I remember being lost. Blind, deaf, I couldn't even see my own body. I remember having to sort of... Force my legs into being again," Agate mused, slowly waving a foreleg in front of her own face, reliving some unpleasant memories.

"What if you remember yourself looking differently? Like an adult?"

"Huh? But... Thats sounds weird. I can't "remember" myself looking like that, since I've never been an adult," Agate replied with a confused frown.

"She'd probably need to be a teenager first, anyway," Cindertail mused. "You can't skip ahead in the trail of life, that's what my parents told me when I wished I was bigger already."

"Back up, that's still going way too far. Everything big starts from a small seed. Agate, can you tell us if your mane is actually different or not?" Autumn Ash asked her, slowly trailing a hoof through the filly's ethereal tail.

"Well... I think it is a bit longer, actually," Agate confirmed after a few more gropes with her forelegs.

"Any clue what caused the change?"

"Well, I mean... It could have just grown...? But my hooves didn't grow at all," The filly mused, examining the underside of her legs this time. "I did kind of get a bit jealous of your crazy long and fluffy snowponish manes and tails now and then."

"Get jealous of our height, then," Cindertail chuckled.

"...Eh."

"What's the matter, Agate? You really don't care that you're the only foal left among us?" Flurry Spinner chuckled mischievously.

"I look like a foal, I'm not an actual foal any more," She grumbled. "I'm at least as old as you all are, and I already did all sorts of crazy adult stuff for years while you all were as small or even smaller than me. You kept bugging me to tell you the stories, remember?"

"Still a shortstack, though," Spinning Flurry grinned.

"..."

Agate opened her mouth, only to close it a few moments later. Pinning her ears back, she angrily scrunched at the smartflank snowpony. The rest of them laughed, hiding their smiles behind their hooves. This went on for a while, until the others were forced to give up. They knew they weren't going to outlast her. The stoic filly ended up being the straight-mare of their group in pretty much every situation, keeping her look up long after their giggles died down.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I do think that this is something you should try to learn about, though," Spinning Flurry apologized with a smile.

"Eh, well... Some adults do act weird around me sometimes. I did think it was strange how they kept calling me a "wise old spirit", though most of them managed to stop themselves before calling me "old". I guess it'd be nice to grow a little bigger. I don't want to look old, though."

"I'm sure that's fine, Agate. And, I guess... You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Stay as a filly if you want. Being young was still plenty fun," Flurry Spinner reassured her.

"I don't even know if I can, but you got me curious. Now I feel like getting bigger than all of you just to put you in your place. Either way, small "body" or not, I'm not getting younger. In my head, well... I don't know what to think, honestly, but like I already said, I've been doing adult stuff for some time now. I don't think I can really call myself a foal any more, even if I still enjoy playing around. I'll need to talk to some shamares about this, that's for sure."

❅ ❆ ❅

Finding a free shamare wasn't really an issue, given that all three snowpony tribes were in the same place for the winter, including their mystics. Still, Agate preferred talking to True Sight or Earthsong, having built up a kinship with them. True Sight, however, tended to wander around a lot more these days, which led to Earthsong being the only one of them that was at home when Agate came over.

"Well now. That is certainly an interesting question. One that I'm not sure I'll have a satisfying answer for. Not too certain that other shamares would know about something like this, either. Hmmm..."

"Is it because I'm young? I remember you - or maybe it was True Sight - telling me that foals don't really hang around or become guardians after they pass on."

"It is true, they don't. They don't have the accumulated wisdom to pass on to their kin, and very few of them have a feeling of duty towards the younger generation that adults build up as they get older. Even the very few that insist on staying with their families are encouraged to move on, and it doesn't take long until they do. You truly are a unique case, Agate."

Humming thoughtfully, Earthsong went to the firepit, puttering about with a clay pot and making herself some tea. Normally, such a sudden break in conversation would be considered rude, but Agate already learned long ago that shamares rarely behaved in a manner that was considered "normal".

With how much they were expected to know, whenever they encountered a question that they didn't have a ready answer for, shamares often had to sift through a lot of knowledge that they accumulated over the years. They could go quiet for half an hour right in the middle of a conversation, digging up every tiny little thing that might be relevant to the issue, and it was a bad idea to try and rush them. Fortunately for Agate, she wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere.

Eventually, the earthen mare spoke up once more. "There's the reverse, of course. The spirits of older ponies often look different than their bodies did, though I have never heard of them appearing completely as they were in their youth. Still, you must have noticed that True Sight's appearance changed a little. Not much - most of it was posture, as she wasn't limited by achy, cracking joints any more. And being able to do things like gallop freely or fully stretch your legs to stand tall and proud, things that you stopped being able to do a decade ago or more, does put a pony's mind back to a time when they were younger, which gets reflected in their spirit's appearance."

"So a spirit's appearance can change, but no one's ever heard of spirits getting older or growing up, only the opposite," Agate summarized.

"Mm, yes. A spirit's shape is more... Flexible than the material body. It is not my domain, but I have heard tales told by the dreamwalkers that they are capable of shapeshifting into completely different creatures when they are on their dream journeys, though they always turn back into a pony when they return. Then, there are some ponies who's bodies certainly do not reflect their spirits. If a foal shows incredible skill or maturity for their age, ponies often call them "an old spirit in a young body". Still, I have never heard of spirits trying to permanently change their look just for the sake of it. At that stage, no one really cares about their looks any more."

"I can't say that I care too much either. This isn't me trying to... Look pretty, or something. Still, looking like a foal forever will probably confuse ponies in the future. It's already confusing my friends."

"That is understandable. Still, the only advice I can really give you is that you shouldn't try to force it too hard. I could talk to you about it for days, weeks, even months on end, but the journey to adulthood, no matter how many times an adult describes it, still has to be experienced for yourself - you can't just make it happen. I still don't know what kind of path it is for a spirit, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. The small changes you described - longer mane, wispier tail - show that it should be possible."

Agate raised a foreleg, examining the appendage. Though she changed little outwardly, others sometimes mentioned that her demeanor had changed greatly from the lost, wide-eyed filly that she was when she showed up the first time, which was reflected in her eyes and look. She wanted to take a look at herself in a mirror, to see if she would be able to notice the changes that others told her about, but proper mirrors weren't something the snowponies managed to invent. Still, some northerners figured out how to make adequate substitutes from polished bits of obsidian, which were almost as good as a glass mirror, if a bit small. Making a mental notice to track down someone who had one, she nodded to Earthsong, putting her leg down.

"Alright then, I guess we'll just see what happens. Growing a bit bigger sounds interesting, but I wouldn't want to change so much my parents wouldn't recognize me any more, anyway. Thank you, Earthsong."

"They might not recognize you yet, Agate, even if you look completely the same on the outside as you always did. The way you carry yourself can have a profound effect on how others see you. There are many stories of parents that let their children out into the world, only to end up not recognizing them any more when they came back as hardened, mature adults," The shamare explained gently, shaking her head.

"Well then, even if they don't recognize the person that I might become, I hope they'll still recognize me. Whatever I might be, I'll still be Agate," The spirit thoughtfully replied, her gaze lost somewhere far away.

"Wise. Even as a mighty tree grows thick and tall, you can still see the form of the sapling that it began from in it. I'm certain that you'll be able to convince your family, even if they don't believe you at first. Still, though, this is quite a quest you decided to undertake."

Tilting her head, Agate tried to puzzle out the shamare's tone of voice. It was tinged with a bit of disbelief, but not judgmental. "What do you think about it, Earthsong? I talked to a number of ponies about it already. Most seem to think that I'll give up after a few decades, at most. A few tried to convince me not to "torture" myself and "follow the natural order", which is silly. I've been having plenty of fun so far. Only True Sight and maybe some of my friends think I'll succeed. What are your thoughts on it?"

Humming, the mare tapped her chin. "Well, there's certainly no shortage of legends and stories of brave ponies taking on seemingly impossible tasks, ones that their contemporaries considered utterly mad or suicidal. Sailing across the frozen seas to find new lands, for example. And yet, what was thought to be a foolish venture became the northern tribe's very way of life. Now, one of our duties is helping the spirits of our kin to let go and move on to their final rest, but it must be done by truly resolving whatever issues are plaguing them, not by sweet-talking or strong-hoofing them into leaving. Clearly, this cannot be done until you meet your family, and there is nothing unnatural about desiring to do that. The love for your kin is the greatest power in the world, one that terrifies even the wendigoes and allows you to defy death itself, for a time. So I say, go on with my blessing, and outlast that vile curse if you can. I won't be around to see it, but I do hope you get to meet your family before deciding to move on."

"I see. Well... Thanks again, Earthsong. For all your advice, and... Everything, really," Agate nodded, getting up from her sitting position.

"You're quite welcome, Agate. It's nice to be able to do this much, at least," Earthsong replied, her voice wistful.

Blinking slowly, Agate froze, tilting her ears. That sounded pretty strange for the mare to say. "Is everything alright, Earthsong?"

"Oh, um..." Shaking herself out of her funk, the mare gave a rather poorly faked smile. "It's fine, Agate. Just some stray thoughts. Don't worry about it."

In the past, the filly would have shrugged and moved on, taking the mare at face value. Now, however, she felt conflicted about it, wanting to know the cause of the bout of melancholy. Was this her growing up? Slowly sitting down again, Agate pursed her lips before speaking up.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Narrowing her eyes a little, the mare snorted. "Well now, it seems we have a nosy little helper spirit. I see you certainly learned a thing or two while spending time around shamares, haven't you? Ah, I forgot, Dreamcatcher is actually tutoring you... Little apprentice shamare. I appreciate the concern, but it's nothing important, and there's nothing to be done about it, anyway. I'm certain you've heard about me and True Sight? Our relationship?"

"Um... I remember someone telling me that you were a perfect match. True Sight worries too little, and you worry too much," Agate ventured.

Earthsong snorted and rolled her eyes, though there was a small grin adorning her muzzle. "You could say that. It's not without reason, though. You know that I don't panic blindly. The past few decades have been... Easy. Not a single true calamity of any kind. And I worry, because history always, always repeats. Whenever you get too relaxed, disaster strikes. There are dozens, no, hundreds of stories about seemingly endless good times suddenly going sour. I did my best to learn from my elders, but I have no true experience in dealing with serious issues. The most I ever did was find a few lost foals in the woods and deal with the day-to-day life and yearly rituals."

"Well, uh... All those ponies in the stories still pulled through, right? Otherwise, there would have been no one left to tell those stories to," Agate reasoned, thinking intently.

"And that is something True Sight would say, though with a hefty dose of snark. Perhaps you can be her replacement," Earthsong chuckled. "Either way, this is not your concern. Much as I hate it, the future is stubbornly hard to predict, and we'll just have to deal with it as it comes. And you have plenty of things to think about in regards to your own future, don't you?"

"I guess so..."

"Be off, then, and since I'm so good at it, leave the worrying to me. I'm certain there will be more experienced shamares here soon either way. Blizzard Heart is getting on in her years, and she might retire to Snowpitt next winter, or perhaps even this one. I won't be the eldest shamare in here for long."

"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? I always got the feeling you were younger than True Sight by a fair amount, but couldn't quite place it."

"Hm? Oh, I'm fifty-five. I have at least a few good decades more in me, so we'll be seeing plenty more of each other."

"Alright then. Be seeing you, Earthsong."

"You too, Agate."

❅ ❆ ❅

Coming back to her clearing, Agate sat down in front of her totem.

It was something she had been doing more of since coming back from Dream Valley. She'd done it quite often, back in the day - trotting in circles, lying on her back and stargazing, thinking out loud about her situation, the strangeness of snowponies, the mystery of the Empire's disappearance. As she got busier and busier, though, actually doing things completely took over the otherwise free time she used to spend thinking about doing things.

"Huh. Back in the day... Strange to think that so much time actually passed, yet it all feels like it was yesterday..."

Idly running through the memories of the past few years, Agate slowly scanned the clearing around her, not looking at anything in particular. Half-formed thoughts and questions rose and fell in her mind as she reminisced. Would it be that simple? She'd spend a thousand years living with the snowponies, and when the Empire came back, it would seem like it all went by in a blink of an eye? Or would the sheer amount of memories overwhelm her, making her forget why she was even doing it in the first place?

Inevitably, her gaze fell on the most notable feature in the clearing - her totem. Tracing the lines and runes, she caught the glint of gold from the necklace hanging on the neck of her bust. Getting up, she slowly approached it, reaching out and caressing it with an ethereal hoof. A small smile crossed her face as she put her hoof down, taking a step back.

"No, I don't think so. I'll never forget my family or why I'm here. And I'll keep reminding myself as many times as I- huh..."

Something about the totem looked different. Examining it in more closely this time, she trotted around it in a circle, rearing up and sticking her muzzle close to the wood to look at the runes and the carvings in greater detail. After several passes, she shook her head, moving away again.

"Nothing's faded, the wood's not damaged, I can still feel the magic just fine, but... No, it's not the runes! Of course I miss something that I'm supposed to be good at noticing..."

The crystals that the craftsponies embedded into the trunk of the tree had grown. When the totem was freshly made, they were stuck inside the wood, in two parallel lines going from top to bottom. Back then, only the very tips poked out from the holes they were set in, which was no longer the case. Now, the citrine spikes extended a good hooflength out from the holes, and they seemed to have gotten a tiny bit thicker, as well. The formerly bare tree almost looked like it was coming back to life, albeit sprouting some very unusual branches.

"That's... New..."

Noiselessly tapping her hoof on the ground, Agate wondered what it could mean. The relation to the fact that she was a crystal pony was immediately obvious, but she had never messed with the totem, either on purpose or accidentally. Pursing her lips, she sorted through her knowledge about crystals.

"Okay, so if this wasn't done by me, and I assume the snowponies didn't do anything to cause this, which is highly unlikely anyway... No, crystals grow naturally in... Areas of high magic. And the totem is laced with enchantments all over... Hm."

Agate was still very much a novice in magic, but she did pick up a few things through her lessons and talking with shamares, not to mention practicing on her own. Carefully running a hoof along the totem's surface, she closed her eyes, trying to feel out the tangled web of magic that was woven on it, around it, and through it.

Everything seemed to be working just fine, which was what she expected. She was fairly certain that she would have noticed if something was off whenever she returned to her totem to sleep, but having the confirmation was still nice. In fact, the enchantments seemed to be even stronger, the extra magic stored in the crystals resonating with the runes and providing additional power.

Scanning the totem with her spirit sight to make doubly and triply sure that everything really was okay, she eventually nodded to herself, sitting down for one last task before going to sleep.

"My name is Agate, pony of the Crystal Empire..."

The Great Change

❅ ❆ ❅

Time passed.

The winter seemed longer than usual, given that various ponies kept bringing up Agate's decision to wait for the Empire to return, which kept bringing the issue of time back to the forefront of her mind. Once the chatter died down a bit, though, things gradually returned back to normal.

It was slow at first. As everyone knew, time has the annoying habit of moving much slower than usual when you're actually waiting for it to pass. Once Agate finally forced herself to stop counting the days and thinking about just how many there were still left to go, she managed to more or less go back to her usual life with the snowpony tribes.

No more world-shattering events happened, and the population mostly acclimated to the strange mark on the Moon. Having moved past their "anticipating hard times" mode, they once again turned towards the usual things they did - fishing, foraging, and expanding their reach across the vast expanses of the north.

Some of the recent events made them reconsider the way they did that, though. Once again, Agate unintentionally became a pivotal character in a shift in how the snowponies viewed the world. Her discovery of highly valuable crystal deposits on the Twisting Spires island, a location previously considered barren and near useless except as a proving ground, inspired some of the explorers to turn back inward, instead of exploring new territories.

With a fresh perspective and many hundreds of year's worth of accumulated experience that their ancestors didn't have, the three tribes began scouting their already established territories for other valuable resource caches that the previous generations might have overlooked. A more detailed examination turned up a number of potentially good spots to build more villages as well, the next waves of settlers claiming places closer to home instead of going to the fringes of the northern or western tribes, as was customary for quite some time.

Even the southern tribe, which, paradoxically, had only one permanent settlement despite being the oldest of the three tribes, began to look for suitable spots to build more villages in. There were multiple reasons for the decision, though the most obvious one was the simple fact Snowpitt was getting a bit crowded. Sure, the village largely emptied out on summers when the nomads moved out, but during the Gathering, living arrangements were starting to get uncomfortably tight, even for ponies that were used to sleeping in big fluffy piles to save warmth.

The elders of the tribe decided to stick with what they knew, and picked a spot that was fairly similar to the location Snowpitt was built in. Some distance to the east, along the river running from the west towards the sea, there was a long stretch of land between the foothills and the plains with a slight downslope, the rain likely having eroded the earth over the eons. It looked like a good natural windbreak, which was always a desirable quality when building a home in the northern regions.

A sizeable patch of forest covered the foothills on the other shore, promising plenty of resources and building materials for the future settlement. All in all, that covered most of the basic needs like fuel and water, and the snowponies were plenty capable of producing the rest themselves. Even though the farmer families warned them that it would take years, if not decades, of composting and fertilizing to turn the rather poor tundra soil into something they could grow their impressive harvests in, the pioneers were undaunted - after all, it was merely a question of when, not if, they would achieve their goal. Moving the rocky tundra soil was not easy in the slightest, but the hardy inhabitants of the plains were no strangers to hard work.

A great many stones were dug out and stacked up, foundations and windbreaks were built, fields marked out and prepared, with lots of other little tasks that needed to be done to establish a proper settlement. A lot of discussion and planning went into it as well, with hunters, elders, and other clever ponies making various suggestions on how to position the houses to create the best defensive points, security being an ever-important concern even in the relatively safe lands of the southern tribe.

However, not every pony thought it was a good idea. A number of said discussions also included some cranky elders complaining that it was a serious break from tradition, and that their ancestors had their reasons for doing things the way they did. The plains were very sparse in food, they said, which was precisely why the nomads had to be constantly on the move, instead of settling down permanently in one spot, which would lead to starvation long before they could establish their farms.

It didn't take long for logically inclined ponies to start poking holes into those arguments, which led to some raised voices and complaints about disrespecting their elders, even though no small amount of ponies arguing for building more settlements were elders themselves. Eventually, Frostbeard stepped in, swiftly putting an end to the nonsense.

"Traditions are merely things we have been doing for many generations, sometimes without even knowing why we're doing it. It is beyond obvious that having permanent, secure settlements is superior to a nomadic life, otherwise those very ancestors would have kept wandering, never returning to Snowpitt for the winter. So why do you think that they began doing it in the first place? A few dozens of families feed half the village with what they grow in their fields, so why didn't they all turn to growing vegetables instead of grazing the plains? Immediacy is the clear answer. Growing takes time, which is not a luxury you can afford when you're starving, which more than likely forced groups of ponies to wander off, and keep wandering. And somehow, we turned starvation into a tradition, of all things. Well, those of you who are complaining seem to have forgotten that adaptation to the ever-changing conditions of the north is our greatest tradition. Each of the three tribes learned and adapted to their surroundings accordingly, and that included stopping the behaviors that were not only no longer useful to them, but sometimes, outright detrimental," The chieftain spoke firmly.

Though the complainers clearly weren't happy, no one could really argue with the chieftain's wisdom. Not that the settlement's construction would have stopped because of a few neighsayers, of course, but it was always better to thoroughly air those kinds of issues out instead of just ignoring them and letting them sit and fester.

It took more than a year for ponies to actually start moving in - with the short summers, the ideal window of time for construction work was rather short as well - but eventually, the village of Green Bough was born.

❅ ❆ ❅

"So you're thinking of moving to the new village?" Agate inquired.

"Yes, I'm quite set on it. My parents don't exactly disapprove, but they're telling me that I'm just a bit young to be striking out on my own just yet. They're not entirely wrong, I suppose, but they don't know everything about the situation," Cindertail replied with a shrug.

It was late autumn in Snowpitt, the group of friends having met up in Warm Spring's home. Autumn Ash was listening to the conversation while slowly sipping some tea, likely already having had the discussion with her brother some time before. The two teens spent the summer travelling with the nomads, finally fulfilling their dream to go out and have themselves an adventure. They both loved it, the siblings maturing from the new and intense experiences in various ways.

Cindertail, despite still being stuck somewhere between "adult" and "teenager", definitely leaned more towards the adult side of things now. While he certainly wasn't skinny before - farm work involved lots of physical activity, after all - spending months constantly on the move made the young stallion fill out noticeably, trimming any excess fat he might have had and giving a sharper definition to his sizeable frame. His demeanor changed too, the foalish wonder and uncertainty getting replaced with adult-like decisiveness and desire to go his own way.

His sister likewise changed and was a bit ahead of him in her transformation, seeing as she was a year older. Though naturally, being a mare, her puberty didn't cause her to bulk up nearly as much as Cindertail did. Agate still caught her stealing glances at her brother now and then, clearly not too happy about the fact her "little" brother now towered above her.

"What is the entirety of the situation, if it's not a secret?" Agate asked, which earned a chuckle from Autumn Ash.

"My little brother found himself a maaare... Poor little sod, got stolen away by the first shaggy wanderer that he met..." The sing-songed, hiding her sly grin behind her teacup.

"You... Be quiet," Cindertail shot back with a frown. However, Agate was pretty sure that if the snowponies didn't have such thick coats, he'd be blushing. "Bet you're just jealous that I found someone. Or you're disappointed that you won't be able to boss me around any more."

"You really think so poorly of me, dear brother? Think of all the fun we had over the years," She replied with an exaggerated pout.

"Yes," He retorted simply, without an iota of hesitation, Autumn Ash snorting in response. "Anyway, Agate, it's not a secret - well, it's a secret between us, alright? Things are still a bit uncertain for me. I spent a lot of time talking with my marefriend. About us, the future, what we wanted to do, and so on. We both agreed that moving to Green Bough was an amazing opportunity that we shouldn't miss, but we're both still young, and we'd definitely need lots of support in setting up. My family would happily provide the seeds and knowledge, of course, but they're hardly able to leave Snowpitt. Her family are fisherponies and foragers, though, which would be invaluable in feeding us for the first few years, not to mention that they'd be easily able to travel between Snowpitt and Green Bough, if they didn't decide to outright move to the village as well."

"What's the uncertainty, then? It sounds like you thought everything through quite well," Agate asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's a bit unusual for such different families to mix. Not unheard of, certainly, but there's always a bit of confusion on both sides for a little while. To the ponies that are masters of surviving in the wilderness, we growers sometimes look like helpless fools, from their point of view. I know how to do lots of things, but I don't even know how to haft a spear, for example."

"Yeah, they treat us like a separate tribe, sometimes," Autumn Ash added with a snort and a roll of her eyes. "They're plenty happy to trade with us for food, but if we really get talking, they start acting like we're a bunch of foals. So what if we barely know how to snowwalk? We still produce far more food in a year than they could ever hope for."

"Oh, so her side of the family is... Disapproving of you?" Agate looked for a word, rubbing her chin.

"More like... Unconvinced, I think. Unimpressed? In their heads, they know that I'm plenty capable of many things they're not. In their hearts, though, I'm guessing they can't get over the fact that I appear as a helpless fop that wouldn't be able to so much as catch a fish for dinner," Cindertail explained with a crooked grin.

"You had to learn some of that stuff while you were out with the nomads, though, right?"

"Oh, I did," He confirmed with a nod. "And I'm thinking of spending the next summer with them, too. Sharpen up those skills a bit more, show them that both my mare and I are committed to this and that it isn't some momentary flight of fancy. They'll just have to accept it, or risk really ticking off their daughter. And spirits, she's not someone you want to make angry. She's lithe and graceful, but the fierce glint in her eyes..." He trailed off with a wistful, dopey smile on his face.

"Yup, hopelessly lost. She really reeled him in like a fish, alright," Autumn Ash snorted, Agate joining in with a few giggles while Cindertail tried to school his expression into something more serious.

❅ ❆ ❅

Seeing as both Agate's journeys to the northern tribe's territories and the nomad's wandering through the plains took time during the warmer seasons, she never really learned much of what the latter involved. Both Autumn Ash and Cindertail thoroughly assured her that she wasn't missing anything, though, and it was only really an "adventure" in the sense that it was a new and interesting experience for them, nothing at all like the kind of stuff Agate got up to in the north.

As they explained, they spent most of the time moving, grazing, foraging, and so on, and there was almost no excitement or change in the routine the entire time. There was little to no use in having a guardian spirit accompanying them, especially one with such highly sought-after skills like Agate. While she still was mildly curious about it, Agate took their word for it.

Cindertail did end up moving to Green Bough and marrying Swift Hoof, the mare he fell so hard for. Agate was invited to the wedding, which she happily accepted. Weddings were the kinds of events where entire family trees would show up, and having guardian spirits watch over one was considered a great blessing. Even though Agate wasn't even remotely related to anyone there, the ponies were very happy to have her regardless.

There were many ceremonies and rituals to bind and bless the couple, protect their new home from malevolent spirits, and so on. Some looked vaguely familiar from the few details about weddings that Agate remembered hearing back in the Empire, though lots of others were different. They didn't exchange jewelry, for one, at least not the kind that Agate was used to.

She remembered multiple customers asking about wedding bands when she spent time in her parent's shop, and it was always gold, or even platinum, with all kinds of fancy gems. Though snowponies did wear gold and copper jewelry, they didn't seem to associate it with getting wed. Instead, the families gave the newlyweds all sorts of hoof-made charms and trinkets, some of them glowing faintly with the sheen of magic. Swift Hoof gave Cindertail an elaborate necklace that seemed to have hair from multiple snowponies woven into it, while he gave her one with the amethyst that Agate had made and gifted to him years back.

Though she couldn't partake in the traditional feasting, Agate still enjoyed listening to the various songs and watching the unique wedding dances and suchlike. Once it was all over, she wished the new couple well and promised to visit from time to time, Swift Hoof's family clearly being delighted at having such a well known guardian spirit keeping an eye on them.

Autumn Ash, meanwhile, decided to remain in Snowpitt. It took her a few more years to find love, but she got married eventually as well. The circle of time kept turning, Agate's various friends and acquaintances starting families, occasionally moving to live in a different place, and, soon enough, having foals of their own.

It was a bit hard to keep track of them all given how scattered they were, but Agate still did her best to keep in touch with her friends, which was made much easier by the yearly gathering of the tribes. Some of the foals viewed her as an eccentric aunt of sorts and were happy to see her, while others were a bit spooked by her unusual appearance and behavior, which always made her laugh a little.

❅ ❆ ❅

While new life started, inevitably, the same turning of the circle meant that the old one passed away, which even included the spirits of those already dead. As True Sight predicted, Gnarled Root didn't last much longer, requesting that her bindings be undone a few years later.

In a way, it was the reverse of the ceremony they held for Agate when they planted and bound her totem. A large crowd of ponies gathered around Gnarled Root's totem, bowing their heads in a moment of silent respect before going at the earth with shovels and picks. There was not much singing or magic, though the atmosphere wasn't really what one would call sad. Solemn, perhaps, but not sad - some were smiling gently, while others were recounting the many things the old spirit taught them or their kin to the younger members of the audience.

It didn't take long to dig up the enchanted tree. With a big push from a pair of hefty stallions, it was tipped over, and was soon resting on the backs of a dozen-strong group of sturdy carriers. The drummer that was leading the procession started a steady beat, the ponies stepping in synchrony with the sound.

Gnarled Root herself was standing off to the side, humming some indistinct melody, her eyes closed. She appeared carefree, completely and utterly. No worldly matters concerned her any more, and she was almost floating off the ground already, ready to gallop off into her final journey. The only reaction she showed at all was a soft "Oh" when the totem was uprooted, the runes on the old timber getting dimmer with the disruption of the web of enchantments and their source of magic.

Agate and Spear Throw were silently standing beside her, the pair already having said their goodbyes the day prior. As the procession began to leave the clearing, Spear Throw gently nudged the distracted spirit, making her blink and look around in mild confusion before turning to follow her totem. Trotting along, they slowly but steadily made it to the ceremonial grounds, where the lumber for the enchanted bonfire was already stacked up.

The totem was carefully worked into the middle of the pile, remaining upright while smaller logs and branches were stacked around it. Burning it wasn't really a requirement for undoing the enchantments, nor did the spirits have to wait until the Calling if they wanted to go, but Gnarled Root's request happened to coincide with the event, and the inert totem pole would have been added to the bonfire anyway, as was the custom.

The remaining pair of spirits watched as the ritual began, the shamares throwing their torches onto the pile of lumber. Though it itself could be infused with magic, pure flame was a well-known way to safely undo enchantments of all kinds, whether malevolent or benign. As the flames rose, it didn't take long for the last vestiges of the magic laced on the totem pole to fade away, carried away with the rising smoke.

Gnarled Root turned back towards them one last time, her already hazy form barely visible against the backdrop of the darkness of the Long Night and the roaring bonfire right behind her. She opened her mouth slightly as if to speak, but no words came out. Tilting her head, she looked confused, as if she actually forgot how to talk. Trying again, she cleared her throat, her gentle smile back on her face.

"Well, I'm really done this time. Over the years, I had many moments where I considered doing this, but there's no going back now. It's been fun, you two. Good luck with your quest, Agate."

"What's it like? Staying around this long?" The filly inquired quietly.

Tapping the side of her head, Gnarled Root shrugged after a minute's of consideration. "It's hard to put into words, honestly. You keep doing something you love for a long, long time, and you slowly lose your passion for it. But if you feel like you're duty-bound, you keep going anyway. Then one day, you just wake up, and go at it with renewed enthusiasm like it's the first time you're doing it again, until you start losing it once more. Honestly, I don't know what's it going to be like for you. You have entirely different reasons for staying. Me, well, I just woke up one day, and when I thought about teaching more ponies, I just felt... Nothing. There was no connection any more, no spark. Again, though, you have different goals. And as the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way. If you truly will it, you will meet your family again, Agate... As I might just meet mine. Farewell."

Without a moment's of hesitation, she turned around, and trotted right into the fire, her form becoming lost in the blinding light. They weren't able to see her ascent, as the shamares already began weaving their magics and singing the Song, the flames becoming almost unbearably bright for any spirit observing them. Agate and Spear Throw kept watching, though, staying through the entirety of the blinding and deafening summoning ritual, and long past it. Once it was done and the fire was low, they shared a look, giving a silent nod to each other before parting ways.

❅ ❆ ❅

Spear Throw didn't stay around all that long after that, either. As he said, he was only waiting for his wife to pass on, which happened some six years later. His family proudly told various stories about his courage and skill to the listening onlookers as his totem was dug up, and likewise carried off to the ceremonial grounds.

He didn't exchange all that many parting words with Agate, even less than they did with the badly distracted Gnarled Root. He gave her a deep, respectful nod, simply saying, " 'Tis a monumental task that you took on yourself, and I don't think you did it because you don't understand the enormity of it. As you clearly intend to walk this path to the end - remember our lessons, and you will prevail against the beast."

"Thank you, Spear Throw, for everything. I hope it's a pleasant destination, wherever you are going."

With a nod from him and his wife, the pair nuzzled each other one last time and galloped off, their tails still lovingly intertwined. Agate watched them go, only realizing the entire situation a few hours after they were gone. True Sight didn't hang around long, Gnarled Root left years prior, and Spear Throw had just left. No new guardian spirits had joined them during those years, and Agate was now the sole guardian spirit in Snowpitt.

It was a bit strange for her, being the only spirit left, the snowponies finding it unusual as well. The ranks of guardian spirits always swelled during hard times, those unfortunate enough to have lost their lives making sure the same fate didn't befall their kin. However, even during good times, there were always some spirits around, which wasn't really the case any more - even with Agate still there and largely considered as one of their own, she was gone on her expeditions a large part of the time. The ponies weren't sure whether to worry about the abnormality of the situation, or to take it as a good sign that times were so great that they didn't need any extra help and that the spirits of their kin could rest easy.

The situation wasn't universal, of course - other villages still had guardian spirits watching over them, especially those of the northern tribe. Agate hadn't seen them during the first few journeys, but Nilas had at least half a dozen totems at any given time, tucked in an alcove some distance away from the salty sea spray. Some islands did too, despite the effort of having to transport the tree across the water.

It was quite interesting to talk to them, seeing as they didn't really bother going to the Gathering. Agate was curious how they passed the Long Night, to which she received differing replies. Most of them spent their time chatting and patrolling their empty villages, making sure no beasts set up their lairs in the locked-down homes, though a few learned to enter a trance-like sleep and simply slept the winter away until their tribesfolk came back. Though she was intrigued at the concept and tried learning it, Agate really didn't feel like using it any time soon. She still had plenty of things to do, after all.

❅ ❆ ❅

Decades went by. Some things remained the same, while others changed. The landscape shifted a little bit, more villages or outposts being built in the tundra, and more islands being discovered by the northerners. Agate slowly changed as well, her appearance partially shifting into that of an adult. She never really grew all that large, her form becoming an odd mix of youthful and adult features, looking kind of like a petite young mare. The largest differences were her mane and tail, which became longer and wispier, the edges trailing off as they gently fluttered in the ethereal wind.

Agate was happy that she didn't look like a foal any more, at least, not that her appearance was any less exotic to the snowponies. Despite her hair growing out, she still looked like a crystal pony, with no coat and a faintly shimmering, ethereal hide. Not to mention, the local ponies were much stockier and bulkier than her, their limbs and bodies far better suited for the northern cold.

Thirty years after she first arrived in Snowpitt, the northerners finally discovered the location of a fabled island that their explorers had been whispering about for close to a century, the prior knowledge of it coming from the spirits of those that recklessly ventured out too far and got themselves lost. Not only was it massive, but it was also warm, outright hot in some places, despite being deep, deep in the north. A great many volcanoes dotted the entire area, both underwater and on the island itself, the blazing warmth of the Earth's Blood keeping the northern cold at bay. Some creeks were so hot they were almost boiling, while the ground was too hot to trot on in some spots. After some deliberation, they decided on a simple name - Green Land, reminiscent of the mythical summer lands that their ancestors came from.

The warmth was so great that even trees had managed to sprout on the island, vast forests covering large parts of the magnificent place. Needless to say, the northerners were in utter awe at such a location, immediately calling for it to be settled. While the chieftain and the elders agreed, they decided to exercise caution, as they knew the risks of blindly rushing into poorly explored territory.

Though the usual array of cold-loving monsters seemed to avoid the place, which made it even more attractive, it was not completely without inhabitants. It only made sense, really - such an oasis would have certainly attracted other life, and it did. As they explored the island, the northerners finally solved a mystery that they were very curious about for a long, long time - they finally found the location where the thunderbirds went to roost.

Thunderbirds weren't something even the bravest northerners wanted to tangle with. Although there wasn't a single incident of them ever preying on ponies, they were still spoken of with fearful respect, as pretty much everyone agreed that the only reason they didn't hunt ponies was simply the fact that they were too small. The predatory birds were absolutely massive - according to some hunters that got to observe one carrying off a whale, a single talon of the creature was the size of an adult pony. The scout that was the first to see one on the ground claimed that he witnessed it effortlessly plucking entire trees from the earth, likely carrying them off to build it's nest. It's wingbeats were so powerful, they sounded like thunder, and lightning seemed to follow in it's wake as it sped across the sky.

However, no matter how indifferent a creature might be to you, whether predator or prey, its behavior can change drastically if you dare approach its lair, which was exactly what the would-be settlers planned to do. The scouts noticed that the island didn't contain animals much larger than a fox, which made a lot of ponies quite nervous. The adult birds couldn't hunt something that small, but what about the hatchlings?

As such, the settlement efforts were very, very carefully planned. The first village was built into the edges of a forest, as far away from the mountains that the birds roosted in as possible. It was hoped that, were the thunderbirds take offense at the ponies settling this close to their nests, the inhabitants would be able to run away and hide in the forest before fleeing the island. A number of shamares came with them, ready to aid with confusing and befuddling the thunderbird's sight or helping camouflage the ponies with their magics, if need be.

Fortunately, nothing like that came to pass. The mighty avians would fly by overhead, shaking the air with their wingbeats, but didn't seem to care about the ponies in the slightest. As a few years went by without incident, not even the thunderbird's younglings venturing out on land much, the northerners relaxed a little. More settlers began arriving, wondering at the incredible bounty and warmth of the land, not to mention the size. The scattered northern tribe finally had a place of their own they could all gather in, hoping to build a grand village to rival Snowpitt in size and scale.

It was all looking good for the snowponies, though it would come crashing down soon. The good times kept on going, until they didn't. In the end, Earthsong's worries proved to be at least partially correct, though there was no external event like a brutal winter or their fishing stocks suddenly collapsing that caused the troubles. Instead, friction began to appear between the disparate tribes. Although the snowpony lore keepers unanimously agreed that the incident they came to call "The Affront" was the start of it all, Agate didn't entirely agree. She could see that the immensely different lifestyles that the three tribes had were making them drift away from each other, the southern and western ponies sometimes whispering fearfully about the strange and bizarre things the northerner adventurers brought or told them about. The respectful awe that they used to listen with was slowly turning into concern that the northern tribe was venturing too far and too deep into the lands of strange polar beings, some ponies saying that the northerners were turning into some kind of fey spirits themselves, what with their strange magics and mastery over ice and water.

Of course, the incident didn't help things, putting it mildly. While the northerners badly wanted to build their settlements on the Green Land isle as fast as possible, they didn't want to rip up too many forests for the lumber, lest they anger the thunderbirds by stealing all of their nest-building materials. They also needed many tools and resources, all of which had to be transported by boats, from many scattered islands by many separate ponies. The disorganization meant that the building efforts were difficult, along with having to tend to other needs, such as food. One shamare, relatively young but already quite skilled, decided to take it upon herself to help and guide her tribe in this time of need, summoning great shoals of salmon right into the fisherponie's nets several times, a single day's catch being enough to feed the entire tribe for weeks.

It didn't sound like something terrible at first, but shamares were taught, and taught other ponies about balance for a reason. The event came to be called The Affront because they caught so much fish that the western tribe noticed a serious dip in the quantity of salmon that went to spawn in their rivers that autumn. While it wasn't remotely close to causing a famine or anything of the sort, it was still a point of concern for them. Unlike the sea-bound northerners, they did have lots of food sources other than fish, but the autumn salmon migration was an important event with a near-holy status in the tribe.

They didn't know what to make of it at first, only figuring things out during the Gathering. Once they learned of the northerner shamare bewitching great stocks of salmon for her ponies to catch, they were not happy. A meeting was called, and for the first time, Agate got to witness snowponies being truly angry at each other.

❅ ❆ ❅

"This is an outrage. An utter affront to every piece of wisdom the shamares and the elders teach us. You are not fit to be a chieftain if your tribe behaves like this, Jagged Ice," Oak Bark grumbled, hunching slightly on the rug.

The westerner's chieftain grew old over the years, though he remained in charge of the tribe. Frostbeard was likewise still nominally leading the southern tribe, though his son Swift Dash, a fully-grown stallion in his own right, was already considered the acting chieftain by the majority of the population. The northerners got a young, fresh, bright-eyed chieftain, though, the tribe preferring the vigor and strength of youth, not that the young stallion lacked experience in holding his own in a debate.

"And yet, it was the wisdom of the shamare to do it. You yourself should know well that even the chieftains should not interfere and overrule the shamares, elder. Perhaps you oughtn't question my role as a chieftain while suggesting I do something that a chieftain shouldn't do yourself," He spoke after a pause, calmly reasoning out his argument.

Silence fell upon the Great Hall, Oak Bark scowling angrily. Frostbeard and Swift Dash glanced between each other, both stallions sharing tiny shrugs. As a neutral party that wasn't affected by the northerner's actions, they clearly weren't too sure who's side to take. While the act seemed rather wrong, the westerners themselves admitted that it didn't actually threaten their food stores much, and Jagged Ice had a point.

The shamares were present as well, of course, and they were a bit more judging towards their peer. The accused northerner seemed unbothered, however, speaking up after a number of ponies looked towards her after the chieftain's exchange. "I did what I felt was needed, to help my tribe. It is not like I plan on doing it all the time. This is a very important time for us, and every single one of us is pitching in, shamares included."

""Not all the time" is a rather vague answer, Thundersnow, and it is highly questionable whether it was right of you to do it in the first place. How long, exactly, do you intend to keep interfering in the natural cycles of the fish?" Earthsong asked quietly.

The southerner shamare grew old as well, though she was still sitting straight and firm, the only real sign of age being her partially bleached earthen mane and coat. At her question, Thundersnow pursed her lips before shaking her head. "As long as it takes, elder. As long as my people need it, and the construction of the settlement is unfinished."

That was the wrong answer, apparently, as more shamares scowled at her, though both Thundersnow and the rest of the northerner contingent didn't seem bothered by it. Tilting her head, Agate tried to remember whether she ever met the mare before. She learned about lots of places and ponies from her constant northern expeditions, and Thundersnow already built up a sizeable reputation. While she was a bit younger than Agate at thirty-eight, she was already a popular character among the northern storytellers.

According to the stories, she was born during a strange weather phenomenon, the same one for which she was named. Normally, thunder and snow didn't mix at all, except for very, very rare occasions. She was born during one, as if she herself was causing the spirits to rage and clash in such a tremendous manner. However, she allegedly remained utterly calm despite the furious storm, only babbling happily and clopping her hooves at the peals of thunder. It seemed like she was playing at first, but her mother noticed that her clops came a little early, right before the thunder actually struck, and the count of clops always matched the exact number of thunder strikes. Once she fell asleep, the storm immediately quieted down as well, making the wide-eyed mother rush off to the shamares to tell of a possible tremendous spiritual strength as soon as she was able to.

Those gifted with great skill were highly respected in all three snowpony tribes, most believing them to be some great ancestor spirit of theirs, reborn anew to lead their kin to a better future. As such, she quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the de-facto leader of the tribe's shamares around the time of Green Land's discovery. Despite her youth, even the elders heeded her advice and respected her skill, though ponies in other tribes grumbled that the only reason other shamares weren't performing such flashy displays of power was because they knew how to be disciplined and hold back, instead of needlessly riling up the spirits and wrecking the natural balance of the world.

Either way, that was the situation they were in. Agate herself wasn't entirely sure what to think herself, not that it mattered much. She was not part of this conversation, merely an observer. Still digging through her memories, she faintly recalled exchanging a few polite words and niceties with Thundersnow a few years back, but that was the extent of their interactions. The mare acted respectfully towards Agate back then, like all northerners tended to do, and didn't seem overtly arrogant or malevolent, unlike the picture the other ponies seemed to paint of her.

"I don't think that's a valid reason," Earthsong spoke after a pause.

"And who gets to decide what is valid or not, elder? What terrible crime did I even commit? I will concede, I might have made a mistake when I decided to lure the salmon. I will own up to it, and the blame should fall squarely on me, not the rest of my tribe. There are plenty of other fish in the seas, ones that do not migrate westwards to spawn, ones which I can call on with the same ease. However, this minor slip-up will easily fix itself. There is going to be more food for the newborn salmon now, and the population will easily rebound. Not to mention, it was but one generation that we thinned, and there are plenty more in the waters," Thundersnow rebutted.

"Regardless of how easily fixed, the point remains that it was still wrong," Oak Bark grumbled again.

"And why is it so important that the settlement be constructed this fast? Why must you rush so much, enough to stir up this conflict amongst the tribes?" Earthsong inquired, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Why? The same reason Snowpitt even exists, elder. So our tribe has a safe harbor to call our own, somewhere to retreat and meet together, to trade and winter, and do the myriad of other things that your tribes are capable of doing, ones which we are denied due to the scattered nature of our people."

"That... You just said it yourself! Snowpitt already exists for that very reason! It is a shelter for any tribe should anything happen, and we all gather here to winter, to trade and exchange knowledge, just like you're doing right now! The Gathering is our greatest tradition, and your official goal is to shatter it?!" Oak Bark shouted, losing control of his temper.

Thundersnow appeared completely unimpressed, however. "Seriously, chieftain? You say such a thing? My chieftain was right, you are a hypocrite. Do you think we are not aware that a large number of your own tribesponies stopped attending the Gathering for over a decade now?"

"That- that's not the same-"

"It's exactly the same, chieftain. Snowpitt is spilling far beyond its borders, barely even able to contain the southern tribe, let alone us. I think I heard that some of the ponies in the newly built villages here in the south are remaining in their new homes instead of attending as well. Times have clearly changed, and the northern tribe must change with them if we are to survive. Just like you have Highglade and they have Snowpitt, we need proper wintering grounds, too. Do you have any idea what it's like on an exposed, flat island during winter? The sheer force the freezing sea gales have, the cold that can leave even the most tightly bundled-up pony frostbitten In moments?"

"Your survival is not threatened by the construction taking a year or two longer... Snowpitt can still shelter you well enough."

"Can it? The journey is not an easy one for the elderly, or the very young. Not to mention the sheer length of it. It might take you a week or less to reach your mountains. It takes us four times as long to cross the tundra and reach the very furthest islands. Just the provisions needed for that amount of time alone..."

They kept going back and forth like that for quite a while, neither side seeming to have a decisive argument to end the disagreement in their favor. Despite Thundersnow's concession that she made a mistake and promise not to bewitch any salmon again, the westerners didn't seem mollified at all. At some point, Jagged Ice offered to give the majority of the dried salmon that they still had to the western tribe as an apology, which they snidely refused. Needless to say, that action only served to divide the tribes further.

While the shamares of both western and southern tribes were disapproving of Thundersnow, the regular ponies were more ambivalent. The westerners weren't happy, but to the southern ponies, their simultaneous refusal to accept an apology gift and persistent hounding of the northerners appeared like an attempt at a deliberate provocation, something which was highly looked down on in snowpony society.

In the end, nothing was gained from the exchange except for the airing of bitter recriminations. When everything was said and done, the leaders of all tribes went their separate ways, while most of the regular tribesponies seemed too out of it to even know what to think, the unpleasant sight of their elder's angry squabbling clearly having shaken them. One by one, the dazed-looking ponies quietly shuffled out of the Great Hall, shooting nervous looks towards the northern sky from time to time.

On the face of it, it didn't even look like much to Agate. A heated argument, with some raised voices and shouting now and then, which didn't even happen that many times. It certainly didn't compare to any of the stories of old about the inter-tribal conflicts between pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies. No one was suggesting the northern tribe be barred from the Gathering, or threatened with violence, or that they had to pay some extortionate amount as tribute, or any of the other things common in the retellings of those dark times.

However, even such seemingly small conflicts were rather alien to snowponies. With their society and traditions forming around the fact that windigoes were living right next door, and the first settlers having to struggle to survive in the alien landscape for many generations until their descendants adapted to the northern conditions, harmony between the ponies was as vital to their survival as having food to put on their plates.

❅ ❆ ❅

No windigoes showed up to harass the village during the remaining winter months, which put everyone slightly more at ease, save perhaps the chieftains and shamares. Even the regular western tribesponies calmed down a little, once they saw that the northerners didn't actually mean to do them harm, just shrugging helplessly and pointing at the shamare that orchestrated it all.

Meanwhile, Thundersnow remained largely unapologetic, firmly maintaining that, at worst, she made a minor error, if that. During other meetings, she remained perfectly composed, despite the numerous accusations of short-sightedness, recklessness, and foolishness thrown her way by Oak Bark and some shamares. None of it rattled her in any way, though, and if it did, she didn't let it show, calmly going about her days.

Jagged Ice remained silent most of the time, but it was clear that he was listening to and thoroughly analyzing every argument that was put forth, replying swiftly and concisely whenever he was called to speak. Though he never actually openly endorsed Thundersnow's actions, he didn't allow blatant badmouthing of his tribe's head shamare, either. Overall, even to his detractors, he emerged as someone worthy of respect, despite his young age - Agate wasn't certain, but she thought he was in his late twenties, which was quite young for a chieftain. Some westerners even began whispering that they needed a younger chieftain themselves, once they saw how well he handled himself in the debates.

Once spring came and it was time for the three tribes to go their separate ways once again, things were noticeably colder between the tribes. Still, despite the somewhat awkward atmosphere, they managed to keep their behavior somewhere between cordial and professional. While great changes were clearly upon them, they clung to their remaining traditions even more fervently, even if some of the ponies reciting the traditional farewells and well-wishes didn't sound entirely sincere.

Oak Bark and the western shamares were clearly still bitter about the whole thing, glaring towards the stoic northerners as they left, though that was the extent of their actions. Their tribesponies were a little more relaxed, though, having decided that the whole conflict was largely between shamares, which was way over their heads, and definitely not something they should get involved in.

Meanwhile, the southerners were largely shaking their heads in disappointment, looking on at the two leaving tribes like parents at a pair of squabbling children. Which was not an entirely incorrect comparison, seeing as the other two tribes did split away from the southern one, many years ago.

"You should know that Snowpitt will always remain a safe place to seek shelter in no matter what happens, even if it means expanding it's borders to ten times what it is now," Frostbeard reassured Jagged Ice.

"And I appreciate it, elder, but we both know that even with you building new villages and growing more food, that many ponies would not be able to survive for long in such a small area. I do not seek to undo our ancient ways at all, but the Gathering is a young pony's game now, and there is nothing that can be done about it any more. We are the victims of our own success, I suppose. Now, I must make sure that the success doesn't turn into disaster. Be well," The northerner chieftain replied with a respectful nod.

"You too, chieftain. Try not to go too crazy with the magic."

"That's... Really not my territory to trespass in," The young stallion grimaced. "I want peace between our tribes as much as anyone else, but you know that you're not supposed to go against the decisions of shamares, even if their orders seem odd. And Thundersnow... She helped the tribe a great many times."

"Make sure her help doesn't do more harm than good," Earthsong said in a low voice, glancing at the mare in question, who was standing some distance away, talking to some of her tribesponies.

Shooting a look between the two shamares, Jagged Ice shrugged helplessly, looking at Frostbeard with a "What am I supposed to do here?" expression. The old stallion pursed his lips, eventually shrugging himself. With a sigh, the northerner gave them one last nod, turning around and calling out to his tribe. With a cheer and a heave, the caravan moved out, the tribe eager to get back to their native territories.

Agate watched them go, still not quite sure what to think or how to feel. She liked the northern tribe and had lots of friends and acquaintances among them, but that didn't mean she was going to blindly defend them when they did something wrong. As Thundersnow said, though, what she did didn't seem all that bad. No permanent harm came to either any pony, or the world at large.

"So, will you be going on your usual northern jaunt?" Earthsong asked the ponderous spirit, glancing towards the retreating forms of the northerners.

"Yes. I've been doing it for so long, it's second nature at this point. I think I spent more time with them than I have here in the south, given how long I'm usually gone," Agate replied, nodding firmly.

"How's that going, then? It's been decades. Surely you must have explored every nook and cranny of their islands by now?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised, elder," Agate shook her head with a chuckle. "There's scores and scores of islands. That's not all I do, though. I have been spending more time teaching ponies about crystals than scouting, not to mention that, quite often, a good part of the journey is taken up by me meeting up with various friends."

"Mmm. You have an adoptive family of sorts, don't you?"

"Yeah. I don't get to spend all that much time with them, but it's still nice. There's lots of ponies that want to meet me, actually, but I just don't have time for them all."

Giving Agate a discerning look, Earthsong smiled lightly. "Perhaps you could tell them not to mess with nature's cycles too much, then."

Raising her eyebrows, the spirit turned her heard sharply towards the shamare. "What? Me?"

"Certainly. From what I heard, and what you just said yourself, the northern tribe highly respects you, don't they? You brought a lot of wealth and knowledge to them."

Pursing her lips, Agate tapped a ghostly hoof on the ground contemplatively as she thought about how to best reply. Flicking an ear uncertainly, she shook her head. "I'm not sure how much, or if I should interfere in this at all, elder. You snowponies have accepted me as your own, and I do care about you all, but I'm still a crystal pony. As much as I've learned of your ways, I haven't been raised on your traditions, and I'm not the kind of pony that knows what's the best way forward in situations like these. I teach some crystal magic here and there, not... Hmm, what's the word? Politics? Proper behavior between separate tribes? I hardly even know any of the rules about that. I never hung around the tribe's chieftains much."

"I suppose you're mostly right. Your position does lend you a lot of credibility to serve as a neutral arbiter, though. I don't think there's a single pony, in any of the three tribes, that would think you have some ulterior motive. You've firmly established the honesty and kindness of your character quite well over the years."

"Arbiter... That's not a word I heard in quite some time. I'll... See what I can do, elder, but I really, really can't promise anything. I mean, Jagged Ice offered the westerners the gift, which they simply refused. Isn't an apology gift the proper way to solve things like these?"

"Hrn, yes," Earthsong grimaced, like she bit into something bitter. "Oak Bark has been the westerner's chieftain for most of my life, and I never thought that he could be so prideful. His irritation was understandable, but a leader should be able to keep a cool head in matter such as these. Sadly, it is near impossible to get a true measure of one's character and behavior in a crisis unless one actually happens."

Agate nodded slowly, gazing off into the distance. The two mares stood in silence for some time, turning things over in their heads and pondering the situation. A sudden gust of wind blew by, tossing both the living and the ethereal pony's manes about. Glancing at Agate's form, Earthsong smiled again.

"You really grew into a lovely mare, by the way. Very exotic. The colts would be all over you, if, you know. You were still alive."

Agate snorted at that, shaking her head with a grin. "Sure, all over me to drag me away and stick me near a fireplace for the rest of my life, maybe. I still get comments from some ponies about my lack of coat and whether I get cold, even as a spirit."

"Hah! Whenever our peoples finally manage to meet, the event is sure to be interesting. If that happens at all, I suppose. A thousand years is a long time..."

"Bit less than a thousand now. But they'll meet, I'll make sure of that. I'm certain there will be no shortage of ponies that will want to come with me to see the Empire."

"Your determination truly is legendary, Agate. I only hope that they'll be able to do it as united people, instead of squabbling foals."

Sighing, Agate rolled her eyes. "As I said, I really can't promise anything, elder, but I'll see what I can do - if anything even needs to be done. Perhaps this will simply blow over."

"Hm, well, Thundersnow seemed rather set in her path... She might truly have good intentions, but I fear that may well be her undoing. Using such power so recklessly..." Earthsong trailed off for a moment, shaking her head. "But, I suppose I already talked your ears off enough about that topic. You'll be going, then? I suppose I'll see you again come autumn."

"Yeah. I might drop by in a dream, we'll see. Be well, elder."

With a nod, Agate turned and trotted away, her mind buzzing with thoughts.

Friction

The pair made their way to Thundersnow's abode. She lived close to the center of the village, where the chieftain and other important ponies made their homes. It was a decently-sized affair, perhaps on the large side for a single pony, but shamares often needed the extra space to store all the mystical paraphernalia, ingredients, tinctures, potions, and other such things.

The house itself was built of stone, a material most northerners coveted. While they built and lived in all kinds of improvised dwellings, the rough northern weather made them want for their homes to be made of the strongest stuff they could get their hooves on, often preferring to dig into the ground rather than to have something that would get blown over in a storm sticking out above ground.

With the settlement being so new, though, the vast majority of the buildings were made of wood. Stone took far more time to work, and while just about every family was slowly stockpiling good-sized rocks and setting out the foundations for future buildings, only a few stone buildings were already finished. Agate could only guess that Thundersnow either had a big, rich family that supported her, or the northern tribesponies felt great respect for her and got together to complete the construction as fast as possible.

As they approached, Agate could see the faint glimmers of various runes and magical trinkets, both inside and outside, including a number of crystals. Back in the day, that would have required concentration, but using her spirit sight was almost second nature by that point, requiring little to no effort.

The thick door creaked a bit as it opened, some dust floating about. The shamare huffed, stepping inside while taking off her travelling cloak. Gripping it in her teeth, she flapped the article of clothing about, mostly succeeding in getting rid of the dust that had accumulated while she was wintering in the south.

Agate took the opportunity to examine her more closely. Thundersnow had a dark gray coat, much like a thundercloud in the distance, with a stunningly white mane and tail, and white fetlocks. Underneath her cloak, she was wearing a curious harness that stretched diagonally across her chest. A number of charms and tiny clay bottles were attached to it in easy reaching distance. Apart from that, she had two thin copper bangles on her right hoof, and a few shiny seashells woven into her tail.

"Well then. Let's get out of this thing, at least for a moment..." The shamare muttered, reaching for a small hook that held the harness together. While she was busy undressing and putting her travelling gear away, Agate glanced around the interior of the home.

It was obviously a rather new building, the walls plain and the furnishings sparse, with only a few personal touches here and there. The only things of note were the fireplace with a small rug close to it, a stout table with a set of chairs set against a wall, and a wooden stand that Thundersnow was hanging her harness and cloak on.

Stretching out and shaking herself, the shamare smiled in relief. "While travelling can be fun and enjoyable, the yearly migration is a bit excessive. It'll be nice to finally sleep in my own bed, instead of camping outside or snoozing in a boat."

"Say, why didn't you stay here through the winter with the others, if working on the settlement is so important?" Agate inquired.

Thundersnow froze for a moment before shrugging. "It's the elder's and chieftain's jobs to go and catch up with the other tribes. Now, I'm not the eldest, but I am among the most highly regarded shamares of my tribe, so off I went. I'm not sure if I'll go next year, though. Perhaps it would be for the best if I didn't, let them think they chased me away. Suppose I'll ask the chieftain sometime."

Agate nodded as her host talked, looking around the room. Finding everything in order, she went through the door on the right. Given the runes carved into the wood, it wasn't hard to guess that it was where the mystical workshop and storage was. The guess was immediately proven correct as the spirit stepped inside, blinking at the gloom. Though she could see many little glimmers, it was quite dark - everything was sealed tight, including the solitary window.

"Darn, need to make some light. Where did I hang that thing..." Thundersnow muttered, groping around.

Agate immediately saw what the mare was trying to find. Trotting noiselessly towards a string of small quartz crystals hanging from the ceiling, she slowly ran her hoof through all of them, lighting them up one by one. Blinking, Thundersnow watched her with clear fascination.

"You're so fast with those. It would take me ten times as long."

"It's where my talents really lie, not with dream magic or other things," The spirit replied with a shrug.

Glancing around, she saw more crystals, lighting them all up one by one. Soon, everything was bathed in a steady glow, revealing the contents of the room. Unlike the previous one, it was quite obvious that Thundersnow spent a lot of time there. The entire floor was covered by an intricate ritual circle, with bits of ash and scattered dried plants in strategic spots indicating that it already saw some kind of use. Every wall was covered in shelves full of jars and trinkets, save for a large work table placed below the window. Right above the table, the wall had a few pieces of parchment attached to it, depicting a fish of some kind, a vaguely familiar northern bird, and an unfamiliar skeleton of some creature.

Nodding, Thundersnow performed her own examination, opening a few jars, smelling some dried herbs and smiling in satisfaction. "Looks like everything's in order. I had some ponies come in and set a fire now and then so it doesn't get damp or moldy. Doesn't smell like anything unpleasant got in. Hm... Suppose I should go check the pantry and go out to stock up a bit... Never had a guest stay over before, but then again, you don't actually need much... Do you?"

"Hardly need anything," Agate confirmed with a small grin. "I can sleep anywhere and don't eat."

"Hrm... And yet, it still seems terribly rude to make you sleep on the floor..."

"Eh. I can sleep on that rug near the fireplace," Agate shrugged.

"I suppose... Well, I need to take care of a few more errands us still-living ponies need to deal with, such as food. Make yourself at home, I guess. And don't feel obliged to be at my side day and night. Go spend time with your kin whenever you wish."

"Will do, Thundersnow."

❅ ❆ ❅

Thus began Agate's partnership with the controversial shamare.

The first days weren't very eventful or interesting. While enthusiastic, Thundersnow clearly didn't have a clue what to really ask of Agate, so they spent a fair amount of time getting a feel for each other and figuring out their strengths and weaknesses, trying to think up of ways Agate could help.

The spirit ended up giving her a few lessons on crystals, with mixed results. Though Thundersnow was certainly powerful, she didn't seem to have the knack for the precise sort of magic enchanting crystals needed. She could mostly brute force the results she wanted, but that had its limits. As she herself explained, her true talent largely lay in the wild side of the spectrum of shamaric abilities, like the thunderous snowstorm that she was named after.

Of course, that didn't mean she only ran around causing or chasing away storms all the time. As most shamares did, she did have skills in relatively mundane areas as well, such as working with the various herbs she had in her storage. While the island's flora was largely familiar, the settlers did find some new plants, which was always an interest to the mystics. Agate got to put her rarely-used herbalist knowledge to the test, going out to find patches of curious mosses and odd grasses. Once they were brought back, the shamares would divide them amongst themselves, very carefully tasting and testing the tiniest bits to see what kind of effects, if any, they would have.

They mostly spent the first few weeks in the settlement, working on charms and tinctures for the occasional sick pony, with the odd discussion about magic thrown in. While crystals still were a relatively unfamiliar territory for the snowponies, the same could be said for their methods of enchantment and Agate. She'd seen them weave strings of their coats with bits of herbs and other things over the years, and it still boggled her mind when the resulting trinkets produced fairly impressive magical results. It made sense that their coats were magical, given just how ridiculously cold resistant they were, but using your hair for magic still seemed strange to her.

After a while, Thundersnow decided that it was time to go out and do some shamaring. The ponies needed food, and though they were capable of catching enough to feed themselves just fine, she still wanted to help cut down on the time spent foraging and fishing, so they could fully focus on settling in. While the warm island was shockingly good for farming compared to pretty much every single other northern territory, the northerners didn't really have the faintest clue on how to set up farms, so they were stuck feeding from the land and sea until they could get a few ambitious southerners to move in and kick things off.

"So, this is what got you into trouble with the western tribe?" Agate asked, glancing at the splashing waves.

"Kind of," The shamare confirmed with a grin. "Not here, of course. Way further out south, close to the mainland. I overheard some of my tribesfolk talk about how they spent so much time building, they weren't sure their supplies were going to last the winter, and I... Nevermind. The details aren't all that important. Anyway, I don't think there's even any salmon this far north. Then again... Eh, not like it matters, it's not the fish we're going to be catching today."

She was wearing her harness, equipped with all the little knick-knacks, potions and charms, along with a set of saddlebags stuffed with even more shamaric stuff. They were floating in a boat not too far from Green Land, along where the fisherponies said the catch was fairly good. Many dozens of other boats dotted the waves as well, a large portion of the population having gathered for the special, shamare-blessed fishing trip. Bits of food were dropped into the water as both offering and bait, though they were all waiting for the signal from Thundersnow to actually start casting their nets.

"Right then, best get to it," The mystic nodded, sitting down on the bottom of the boat and digging through her saddlebags.

The first item she retrieved was a candle of sorts, though made from fish oil and ground up herbs set in a clay pot, instead of wax. The things produced lots of smoke and almost no light, but that was by design. Apparently, they smelled pleasant and some of them helped you relax if made from the right plants, not that Agate could smell anything any more. And the ones used by shamares often had magic-enhancing effects, too.

Two more candles followed the first. Thundersnow set them up in a triangle around her, carefully setting them alight and taking a deep breath of the trailing smoke, a content smile stretching across her face. Taking another deep breath, she retrieved a pair of wrapped bundles, setting them down and opening them to reveal two small piles of fish skeletons, the bones in the first pile around three times bigger than the other. With a third breath, she picked them all up and ceremonially tossed them overboard with a mutter.

"Circles within circles, this circle is complete. Cycle of life, cycle of death, the remains of death feed the new life."

That step complete, she rose, carefully leaning overboard and sticking her hooves into the sea in the way Agate saw shamares with an affinity to water do. The smoke curling around her, Thundersnow began humming and chanting, slowly swirling her forelegs in circles. It didn't take long for the targets of her summons to show up, silvery, fish-like forms of water spirits darting about. With a small smile, she began whispering instructions to them, a few bits of which Agate managed to overhear.

"Chase and glide, herd them up and don't let them divide... The small fry can scurry away, but the old ones will give us a feast today..."

Agate watched with some curiosity. Though she was a spirit herself, she didn't really get to see all that many non-pony spirits. As far as she understood, it wasn't too different from ponies and animals - some of them might appear alike at first glance, but the similarities were really superficial, including the ways they communicated. Not every shamare could talk to every spirit, and even then, some could only summon and command them, but not actually listen and understand.

After a few moments, she noticed that the water spirits became more defined, looking a lot like the still-living forms of the skeletons Thundersnow threw out before. The bigger ones were clearly predatory, all sleek and sharp-toothed, while the smaller ones looked like prey, darting about with great speed.

"Go," The shamare breathed, and the swarm dispersed, the bigger spirit-fish seemingly chasing after the small ones.

Leaning back, Thundersnow kept looking into the water, though she pulled her hooves out. Agate herself couldn't see anything, but the shamare must've been getting some kind of information, as she nodded in satisfaction after a while, turning towards the nearest fishing vessel and giving the occupants a nod.

The fisherponies nodded back, releasing a quick, sharp whistle towards the other boats. With smiles and eager grins, the rest of them readied their nets, alerting the entire fleet with similar signals, the sharp sounds carrying over the waves. It didn't take long for the action to begin, the sea that was calm mere moments before turning into a complete frenzy of pulling great, wriggling masses of fish out of the water, the water churning and splashing from all the activity.

From what the northerners told her, Agate knew that fishing was a fairly complicated matter. There were multiple tools - nets, fishing rods, even harpoons for some of the really big ones - and different methods, and even if you were an old hoof at fishing, you could go for weeks without catching anything if you didn't have a seal friend helping you by chasing the fish up from the depths. This seemed to be even better than fishing with seals, though. The fish were practically jumping into the boats, the ponies barely managing to keep up.

Whether they could smell the blood or just saw what was happening, a swarm of birds soon showed up to join the fray, their bird calls adding to the cacophony. The nimble avians would swoop in and catch the guts and other bits of refuse the ponies were throwing out of their boats right from the air, merry laughter echoing from the observers at the displays of flying skill.

As she slowly scanned her surroundings, Agate could see the occasional flash of the water spirits among the fish, darting in and out of the depths, either guiding or chasing their quarry towards the surface. Although she wasn't participating in the event at all, she did want to see the whole thing, and not just because of the whole drama surrounding that particular method of fishing.

A short while later, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Blinking, Agate turned her head upwards, scanning the skies. Something wasn't quite right. Squinting and focusing, she tried to understand what she was seeing. There were loads of birds filling the air, their flight paths criss-crossing and almost colliding, but higher up, there were...

"More birds?" She muttered, confused.

Thundersnow's ear twitched and turned towards Agate, but she didn't say anything, her forelegs back in the sea as she slowly splashed the water and hummed some shamaric chant. The smoky candles had almost burnt out, and as she looked through the last wisps of smoke rising into the sky, Agate finally understood what was so strange about the birds circling above.

"They're spirits," She spoke aloud, puzzled about what she was seeing.

Thundersnow still didn't say anything, but she did turn to look at Agate from the corner of her eye with a questioning expression. Pursing her lips, Agate thought for a moment whether interrupting the focused shamare was a risky move or not, before deciding that it was better to ask.

"Thundersnow, I saw you call the water spirits, but did you summon the spirits of the birds, as well?"

"Huh? Spirits... What? These birds are all still alive, and..." The shamare trailed off, speaking slowly and swaying with the rocking of the boat. Whether it was the magic exertion or the herbal smoke she breathed in, the mare was clearly a bit out of it.

Wordlessly, Agate pointed right up with her hoof, an action at which Thundersnow only frowned with confusion. It took several slow blinks for her to finally get it and raise her face upwards, gazing at the sky. Unfortunately, that turned out to be too late. While they were talking, the bird spirits were circling lower and lower, and when they saw the mare's unprotected face, they all swooped down with an unearthly shriek.

"YAAARGH!"

Thundersnow only had enough awareness to cover her face with a foreleg before they reached her, clawing and pecking her with their ghostly claws and beaks. The flock wasn't all that discriminate with their targets, however. Though their main target was obviously the shamare, there were hundreds of birds, and those that couldn't find an opening spread out in every direction, assaulting ponies left and right. Even Agate wasn't spared, gasping in shock as she felt pain for the first time since she died, claws raking across her back and neck.

"Arrrrgh!!

"What is happening?!"

"GET THAT THING OFF M- *splash*"

"PONY IN THE WATER!!! PULL HER OUT, QUICK!"

The already frantic fishing expedition turned into complete bedlam. Between the loud splashing, panicked shouting, and screeches from both living and dead birds, the northerners could barely even hear themselves, let alone others. Smacking the birds away with her hooves, Agate snorted angrily, turning around again and again as they kept circling her, looking for a weak spot. Shaking her head, she looked at their main target, the shamare curled up into a ball on the bottom of the boat as the birds kept assaulting her. Before Agate could take a step to try and help her, though, Thundersnow surged upwards, releasing an explosive breath.

The breath was almost literally explosive, as a blast of wind scattered all the bird spirits, panicked shrieks echoing around as they attempted to right themselves in the air. They wouldn't get that chance, though, as Thundersnow continued her counterattack. Pulling a number of charms and pouches from her harness, she began throwing them at the largest clusters of spirits, scattering them even further with sudden blasts of flame, puffs of oddly-colored smoke, or loud bangs. That was only the beginning, however, as she took in another massive breath, letting out a furious avian cry.

The war cry rallied the local, still-living birds that had been circling around in confusion, similar shrieks answering the shamare with enthusiasm. They fell upon the spirits, and though they couldn't actually kill them, their attacks seemed to hurt the attackers, just like their own attacks hurt the living creatures.

Grunting angrily, Thundersnow used the reprieve to truly gather her strength. While the birds were fighting, she began whispering, then chanting, then howling like a furious gale, the winds almost immediately answering her in kind. Raising a foreleg, she circled it around as if she was swirling the water, the wind following her directions as it swept up the aerial combatants. Oddly enough, the spirits seemed more affected than the material birds, getting blown away far into the distance.

Meanwhile, the fisherponies took the opportunity to right their boats and restore order, as much as they were able to. A number of them began speeding towards the shore, while a couple approached the boat Thundersnow and Agate were in.

"Shamare? Are you alright?!"

"Urrrg..."

Shaking her head, Agate got closer, twitching slightly as she moved. She still felt some pain, something which threw her off quite badly. Doing her best to focus on the situation at hoof, she examined Thundersnow. There were no injuries that she could see, but she was fairly certain that the mare was feeling plenty of pain as well. Her pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, and she was shaking all over, breathing heavily.

"They dare," She whispered, barely audibly.

"Thundersnow?" Agate asked in a low voice.

"THEY DARE!!!" The shamare suddenly howled furiously, standing up straight and staring southwest, her eyes still wild and somewhat unfocused.

Agate grimaced, the ponies in the boats shrinking back. It wasn't too hard to understand what Thundersnow had meant. The flock of birds immediately reminded Agate of Sky Breath, the old elder shamare of the western tribe. Though the avian-masked shamare was gone now, her brand of magic and affinity to birds and other animals was a common one in her tribe's shamares, just like water was a common affinity for the northerners, or earth for the southern tribe. Despite being rattled, Thundersnow had clearly figured it out as well.

Turning towards the ponies in the boats, Thundersnow yelled angrily. "Get back! And get out!"

"Shamare? W-was it something we did?" The mare in charge of the nearest boat asked fearfully.

With a groan, Thundersnow massaged her temples, taking deep breaths and clearly trying to contain her anger. "No, no, no one here did anything to cause this. I am sorry for shouting at you, the situation was very shocking, and I'm still a bit muddled from the ritual. This was not the spirits getting angry at us for not performing the proper rites, or anything like that. No, it was a deliberate attack. An insult most shocking, one which I intend to answer in kind. You should secure your catch and go to shore now. The weather is going to get a bit... Wild."

"Deliberate... Attack?" The mare pursed her lips in confusion, tilting her head at Thundersnow's grim tone of voice.

"Oh yes. If you had a chance to look at them - have you noticed that almost none of the bird spirits were of local birds that live around our islands?"

Dark mutters came from the other ponies in the boats, the mare slowly nodding and waving a hoof in a signal. Every remaining boat turned towards the shore, ponies slowly paddling away while others still kept gutting and slicing up the fish, tossing the innards to the flocks of the victorious local birds. The avians happily gobbled up the offerings, trailing the boats and shrieking proudly the entire time.

Glancing sideways into the distance, Agate shook herself to try and get rid of the stinging sensations. "Answer in kind?"

Blinking, Thundersnow looked at Agate, as if she forgot that the spirit was even there. "Ah. Yes. Tell me, Agate, have you figured out the nature of what just happened?"

"It was the westerner shamares, right? I saw them call flocks of spirit-birds like that in the past."

"Indeed! You are entirely correct, unfortunately. It seems they decided to escalate this... Entirely one-sided spat they have with me. Well, it was one-sided. It would seem it is time to make it less so. Not only was this a most grave insult, in their careless foolishness in attempting to "punish" me, they attacked others of my tribe, as well! Simple bystanders, who had nothing to do with my actions. And they have the gall to say that *I* use my powers frivolously and without thought about the consequences! The nerve!"

Agate opened her mouth, only to see something on the horizon. "I think the birds are actually coming back. The spirit birds, that is..."

"Hrm, yes. I didn't really put all that much strength into getting rid of them. I just wanted them out of my face and a moment of peace to focus properly."

"Do you think they waited for this? Specifically for you to do the fish luring ritual again before attacking, to... Send a message?"

"Oooh. Hmmm. Curious notion, but... I doubt it. More likely, they attacked me because I left the village and all the protective wards around it. The minds of spirits can be cunning and clever, but they are rarely wise, at least the animal ones. I doubt they could even recognize what I was doing. They simply saw the opportunity and took it. Now then... Pardon me, Agate, but I need to focus before they come back."

"Alright..."

It wasn't hard to deduce what Thundersnow intended to do. The shamare was in her absolute element now. No bystanders nearby that could be harmed, just the open sea and the sky, the wild spirits at her beck and call. Breathing in and out, she began whistling, talking the language of the wind. Despite what she just went through, there was a wild, slightly crooked grin on her face as she worked her magic.

Looking into the distance, Agate could see that the flock of spirit-birds was actually quite smaller than what hit them the first time, only the most persistent and ornery ones coming back for a second round. Despite their determination, though, they stood no chance whatsoever, now that they lost the element of surprise. Thundersnow was howling up a storm - literally.

"HOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

It was strange to actually hear such sounds coming out of a pony's mouth. It matched the howl of the wind almost perfectly, and if Agate wasn't looking, she was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The waves got choppier as the weather turned wild at the shamare's call, the sky roiling and churning. It didn't seem to deter the birds much, though, and Agate remembered her own bird-flight through the north. Back then, the wind didn't bother her either, but Thundersnow clearly knew how to give it more kick, breathing magic into it to scatter the invaders. Then, with a flash of light and a boom, a lightning bolt struck through the middle of the flock from the darkening sky, making the last of them flee back where they came from.

Waving her hooves wildly, Thundersnow kept making various noises, seemingly trying to herd the wind in a specific direction. After a short while, it seemed to work, the gales beginning to blow steadily to the southwest. Catching her breath, she grabbed a small clay bottle from her harness, ripping the cork out with her teeth and greedily gulping down the contents. Taking in a few more deep breaths, she held a hoof on her chest for a moment as she closed her eyes.

"Hmpf. That's the end of that, I think..."

"So... Did you send a storm to the western tribe for this attack?"

"Ah... Wish I could, Agate, I wish I could. Alas, a storm is not like a spear, not at all. It does not fly precisely without so much as a sound until it hits its target, oh no. A storm wrecks everything in its path, and there are a great many of our islands along the way to the western tribe's shores. I did send some northern winds their way, though. Chase those damned birds back to whoever summoned them, make their spring a little colder. Ugh. What an annoyance... Can't say I saw this coming, not at all."

"Me neither. I think we should stop talking, though, and you should start paddling. The winds are blowing us away from the island."

"Ah. Quite. Let's get out of here and back to the village."

❅ ❆ ❅

Though the weather turned foul, the northerners didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest, the gale paling in comparison to the wrath of the winter storms they learned to endure. The unexpected avian assault did rattle them, though, some of the more nervous ponies glancing at the sky now and then as they secured their boats and catch.

Despite the interruption, the amount of fish they caught was staggering. In all likelihood, they would have had to stop and return to shore soon anyway, if they didn't want to capsize under the weight of their bounty. As such, the overall mood wasn't as festive as it would usually be with such a huge catch, but it wasn't fearful or panicked, either. A few ponies got soaked, wringing water and picking bits of seaweed out of their coats, but overall, there weren't any visible injuries.

Some ponies did sustain invisible injuries, though, carefully examining their backs or their legs with confused and slightly pained grimaces, trying to shake or rub the pain away, with little results. As Agate and Thundersnow reached the shore and disembarked, half a dozen ponies rushed towards them, helping them secure the boat while peppering them with questions.

"Shamare, I feel a strange pain, but I see not a drop of blood on my foreleg. Is it some kind of curse from the bird spirit?"

"Did they cut my spirit? I hurt inside..."

"Is there some kind of ointment for this? I don't want it to hurt forever..."

Thundersnow cleared her throat, calling for attention. "Worry not, this is nothing serious. Yes, your spirits can be injured, and feel pain. There are stories of ponies that lost their limbs, but still felt pain in them from time to time, the flesh gone, but the spirit still experiencing pain. This is what we shamares have learned to call "phantom pains". These, though? They're superficial scratches, nothing more. Some spirits do have enough strength to hurt and even kill you without leaving a mark on your body, but those are few and far between, and certainly don't include those birds. The pain should fade in no more than a day or two, if not a few hours. Now, I'm sure you have more questions, but we should finish with the tasks at hoof and get back to the village for those."

As the ponies nodded and went back to work, Agate pursed her lips, examining her own back. She could actually see faint lines where the birds clawed at her, and they still stung a little. "Hm. I didn't think I'd ever feel pain again..."

"Usually, you wouldn't. It is indeed very rare for a spirit to experience something like that. We shouldn't have felt more than a tingle. In this case, though, I think the shamares that cooked this up breathed quite a large amount of extra strength into those birds, perhaps even put some kind of charms specifically on their claws so they would hurt more. An interesting workaround to having to summon a powerful spirit that'd be capable of something similar, yet might be uncontrollable. Pretty clever, I have to admit. Too bad that cleverness was spent on such a petty act."

"What are you going to do about the whole thing?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. My pride is telling me to travel southwest and flatten their forests to teach them some humility, but I am not stupid, no matter what those foals say or think about me. This was a clear provocation, and if I give in to my anger, I'll only make myself look like the guilty fool that they make me out to be. I suppose I shall simply have to wait for an opportunity to present itself... Unless the chieftain decides otherwise. He will find out about this, and I don't think he'll be very happy."

❅ ❆ ❅

"I am not happy to hear about this," Jagged Ice grumbled.

After coming back to the village, Thundersnow decided to go and report what happened to the chieftain herself. She did need to calm a few more of the fisherponies that were attacked, but that didn't take long. Along the way, a number of shamares joined them, having felt the disturbances and the riled up wind spirits blowing about. Together, they made their way to the chieftain's home, where Thundersnow proceeded to tell them what happened.

"I didn't think you would be, chieftain. I was quite furious myself," Thundersnow agreed.

"Was? I would still be quite miffed, I think," A shamare snorted.

"They probably think this "evens the scales", or something like that. What Thundersnow did is not even remotely comparable to deliberately assaulting us, though," Another one added.

"In our main sanctuary city that we're still building, no less. Can you even imagine any tribe deliberately assaulting Snowpitt? Madness," A third one agreed.

"Well, they clearly don't consider Smoky Bay of equal worth or importance to Snowpitt or Highglade, they made that much quite clear during the Gathering," Jagged Ice sighed.

"This can't go unanswered," One of the shamares groused, to which Thundersnow shook her head.

"As I already said, elder, I don't think doing anything rash would be a good idea. We would make ourselves look like the villains, and might even end up alienating the southern tribe, as well."

Jagged Ice grunted in agreement. "She is correct. The westerners were posturing and postulating about how morally bankrupt our tribe supposedly is. They would use whatever retribution we enact against us, not to mention they might outright lie and deny that the attack had anything to do with them to begin with. No one got truly hurt, so the best course of action would probably be to confront them during the next Gathering... If, and only if, this was a one-off event. If there are any repeats of this... I honestly don't know what we're going to do."

There was a long minute of silence as the enormity of what they were truly discussing sunk in. They were talking of going to seek retribution. To fight, to battle, to war, with one of their own sister tribes. Not wild beasts or strange spirits. Other living, breathing ponies. Nothing even remotely like this ever happened in the entire snowpony history.

Clearing her throat, Thundersnow was the first one to break the silence, changing the topic. "Speaking of that, chieftain, I was thinking about not going next year. Let them think they scared me off, if they think themselves so mighty. I don't really care what they're going to say about me in the meetings. I could just stay here and get more work done."

Jagged Ice rubbed his chin thoughtfully at the proposition. "Interesting thought. It could go either way, though. They might claim it as proof of your guilt, saying you were too afraid to show your face because you knew how terrible your actions were."

"Gah! Spirits, there's just no winning this, is there?"

Snorting, the stallion shook his head with a wry grin. "Oh, I'm sure we'll overcome this nonsense, one way or another. We dealt with far, far worse things than this, this... Tantrum the westerners are throwing. I have to say, though, the matters of spirits are largely beyond my ken. If they try to pull something like this again, will you be able to deal with it?"

"Without a doubt, chieftain," Thundersnow rolled her eyes disdainfully. "I'm certain it took multiple shamares to conjure up that flock of birds and give them so much strength, and I managed to deal with it alone. Not only that, but they took me by surprise, too. I'll be more aware now, and I'll call on the others, if need be."

The other shamares all agreed as Jagged Ice slowly nodded, his expression thoughtful. He seemed slightly skeptical at their ability to provide assistance swiftly enough, given that, besides Thundersnow, they were all quite old and could only amble about at an old pony's pace. Still, he didn't challenge their assertions.

"I suppose this meeting is concluded, then. Be safe, Thundersnow, and inform me the moment something suspicious happens."

"I will, chieftain. Be well."

❅ ❆ ❅

The shamare group chatted as they left the chieftain's abode, theorizing the possible ways the westerners could have summoned and sent the bird spirits at Thundersnow, trying to figure out the ritual and possible countermeasures, or come up with a version of their own. Just like in the meeting, Agate didn't really talk, only listening and silently trotting along.

"I wonder how they tracked you down, though. They can't just tell them "Go and hunt down Thundersnow". Unless those spirits actually saw you before, they wouldn't know what to look for," One shamare wondered.

"Hey, that's a good point. Or did they just send them to attack the first shamare they could find?"

"If so, that is an even dirtier attack than I thought," Thundersnow mused. "But, I think they must have had something from me to use as an anchor, to give them the scent. Could be something as simple as a strand of my coat they picked off the floor in the Great Hall."

"Hmmm... That would mean they planned this attack long before they even left Snowpitt, though."

"Spirits, Thundersnow really ticked them off with her little fishing trick, didn't she?"

"No kidding..."

The conversation carried on until they reached Thundersnow's home, whereupon the elderly mares dispersed. Coming inside, the mare removed her harness, letting out a long groan while massaging her temples. She continued rubbing, slowly moving downwards along her face and neck, where the birds were clawing at the hardest.

"Ugh... What a day. I feel like sleeping through the whole of tomorrow, but I know I'd just wake up eventually."

"I knew a shamare that could do that with no effort. It was harder for her to wake up than go to sleep, really," Agate supplied.

"Mmm... Sounds kind of inconvenient, honestly. Some kind of dreamwalker, I presume?"

"Yes, my old teacher. She's gone now, but I still meet her in the dream realms... Sometimes."

"Interesting, but I doubt I'll be learning about that any time soon. Dreamwalking is the one area of magic I really have no expertise on. Well, I suppose there's more, but that's besides the point. Plenty of work to do while I'm awake already. Can't imagine having to work while I'm asleep, too... And I'd probably wake up so hungry, I'd end up chewing on my bedding. Speaking of food..."

Her stomach let out a huge growl, making Thundersnow grab herself by the midsection with another groan. Fortunately for the mare, her pantry was well stocked. While shamares hardly, if ever, went out to forage for food themselves, going hungry for them was almost never an issue. The medicines and charms they produced were always in high demand, and high-end stuff like the magical ice weapons they made could earn them a pledge to provide food for a whole year.

Grunting in either exhaustion or pain, she dragged herself to the pantry door, throwing it open. After a moment's thought, she retrieved a huge dried fish, something a pony would eat in two or three sittings, not one. Unceremoniously dropping it on the table, she dug in, not even bothering to get a plate. After a few large bites, she glanced towards Agate, standing idly by the fireplace.

"I think I'll be out of it for today and probably tomorrow, Agate. Go... Have some time off, I suppose. I made it sound easy, but that whole thing did take a lot out of me. I'll need to recharge, then replenish my charms... Hrm, will need to brew more potions, too... Better to be on the safe side..."

"Alright then. I'll find something to do."

❅ ❆ ❅

After a moment's thought, Agate went to see Glacier Glider. She knew that the mare and her family definitely participated in the fishing, even if the matriarch herself was getting on in years. She also guessed that they would definitely be interested in hearing what happened from the spirit herself.

"Knock knock!"

Muffled noises of hooves on floor sounded out from inside, Flurry Spinner opening the door a few moments later. A few foals were darting between her legs, getting in her way in the most inconvenient ways foals always seemed to find.

"Auntie Agate! Auntie Agate is here!"

"Sure am. Thought I'd check in with you little seal pups. May I come in?"

"Not like walls or anything else would stop you," Flurry Spinner quipped, turning around and waving her in.

She led the spirit towards the back of the house and back outside, where the rest of the family were working on preserving the fish, hanging them up on smoking racks or tossing them into a barrel filled with brine. The foals groaned when the adults directed them to get back to work, making their parents roll their eyes.

"You lot sure as hay don't complain when it's time to eat the fish, so quiet down and get to it. It's high time you started to learn the basics, at least," Glacier Glider chided.

"Yes, grandma..."

Snorting at their tone, she turned to Agate. "So, my wandering daughter, what brings you here this time?"

"The whole mess with the fishing trip. Thundersnow is exhausted, so I don't have anything to do at the moment."

"Hmm, yes, we were actually a fair distance away from where her boat was, so we didn't see all that much, but I did notice something fishy going on," Glacier Glider nodded, grinding off the scales from one particularly large specimen.

The entire group paused for a second before collectively groaning, Agate letting out a chuckle. Shaking her head, she sat down, launching into the story of the sudden attack by foreign bird spirits. The family remained quiet and didn't look particularly surprised, likely having heard some details from the other fisherponies already. Even after Agate was done, they remained silent, only shooting glances towards Glacier Glider now and then. Pursing her lips, the old mare paused in her task before shaking her head.

"There are a great many stories we tell our foals, as I'm sure you know very well by now, Agate. And the vast majority, if not all of them, have a lesson to teach. There are stories of ponies that meddled in the dealings of shamares, and they... Rarely end well. Some have attacked shamares that were seemingly assaulting an innocent pony, only for the pony to turn out to be a shapeshifter that repaid their kindness by attacking and taking a chunk out of them before getting beaten back. Others went to areas barred by shamares, getting led astray by bodiless voices and bizarre sights, sometimes returning days later on the brink of death, sometimes not returning at all. Or, much simpler, they'd catch the last pair of fish from a pond, feeding themselves for a day and making the area barren for years."

"Right. I can't say that I saw much of the scary stuff shamares have to deal with sometimes, but... Well, today was one of them in a way, I suppose. I guess I'd be more nervous around shamares if I was still alive. What, exactly, are you trying to say, though?"

"I'm saying that, much as I hate it, I don't want to get involved in this spat. Even though everything points to the westerners being nothing more than craven cowards, they may have their reasons... Emphasis on the "may". Honestly, I don't believe they do."

"Yeah, no kidding. Thundersnow is not some rampaging windigo that needs to be taught a lesson," Spinning Flurry exclaimed disdainfully.

"Right. For us regular ponies, though, getting in the middle of fighting shamares is a tremendously bad idea. Even if one side is obviously in the wrong here, the warnings from the stories still apply. It'd probably still end badly for us," Glacier Glider finished with a sigh.

"So, should we avoid Agate while she's out and about with Thundersnow?" Flurry Spinner asked.

"I'm pretty sure you're plenty safe while in the village, but... Those birds did start attacking other ponies that were close by, too," Agate shrugged.

"Some distance might be wise. We had the younglings with us on the fishing trip as well," Glacier Glider nodded, glancing towards the foals.

"I'm still going to drop by from time to time, though."

"Of course, Agate. You are a welcome visitor in my home, come blizzard or flood."

They spent the rest of the day chatting about less serious topics, the foals screaming happily when they were finally done dealing with the fish. Agate got to lead the rambunctious half-dozen of her nieces and nephews to the nearest hot spring, the adults trailing behind at a more sedate pace.

Though she was more or less an adult, Agate still felt a kinship towards foals, though it didn't always go both ways. Some found her spooky or odd, given her unusual looks, but the ones in her adoptive family were always happy to see her. They said that it was because she always had interesting stories and impressive magic, but Agate had a sneaking suspicion it was just because she was immaterial, and couldn't twist their ears when they inevitably started goofing off.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next few days were calm, Thundersnow mostly eating, sleeping, and making the occasional charm. While the shamare was recuperating, Agate went out to scout around a little more, marveling at the sheer amount of hot springs and volcanic rifts the island seemed to have. Though she thought she had seen just about everything after decades of travelling through the northern islands, once again, she was proven wrong, the rough, rugged landscape appearing both intimidating and oddly beautiful. It suited the northern tribe's character just perfectly, really.

"Find anything interesting today?"

"Maybe. There was an amazing cave some distance to the north. The walls were all old obsidian, still looking like it just froze solid, and there was a completely still, clear, beautiful pool of water at the bottom. I don't know if the others have discovered it yet."

"Mmm... Sounds like a nice place to retreat and meditate for some time... I'll have to find the time someday. For now, though - ready for a trip outside the village?"

"Me? Sure. It's not like I'm the one in danger," Agate pointed out with a snort.

No one was too sure whether there were any more nasty surprises the westerners sent their way, so stepping outside the village's wards was a slightly daunting action. Just slightly, though. Thundersnow certainly wasn't going to let that stop her, especially now that she was on alert.

Though they didn't ask for it, a few of the other shamares accompanied them to the settlement's borders. It slowed them down a bit, but they didn't mind. Stepping outside, Thundersnow took a breath and puffed her chest, looking around with a stern gaze. When nothing happened for a few minutes, she snorted, shaking her head and glancing backwards.

"Doesn't look like there's anything. I should be back in a couple days. Let's go, shall we, Agate? We have a boat to catch."

They made their way to the bay, where a few dozens of ponies were milling about, busy either loading or unloading various trade goods, or slowly improving the rudimentary docks. Thundersnow glanced around, finding the crew she was looking for and climbing in. With a nod and a polite greeting, they were off to one of the many islands.

Such wanderings were quite common for the younger northerner shamares, those that were still fit for travel hopping from island to island and helping the inhabitants with whatever ailed them, while the elders would settle down in the biggest islands, most of them now having moved to Green Land. Thundersnow wasn't a spring chicken any more, but she was still plenty young, so she gladly took up the duties.

The main issue was actually knowing what, or even whether they needed anything at all, so all the separate islanders tried to visit their neighbors at least every few weeks, sharing news about everything from odd sightings in the seas to an illness having befallen their kin. The method was tried and true, but sometimes a bit slow to reach the ears of the ones they needed to reach, when there was a need for a shamare in a hurry.

If a pony badly needed help, their families would try to bring them to the bigger islands with a shamare, though that wasn't always an option, either. Sometimes, an entire island would fall sick and be too weak to travel, which was an issue due to the lack of various healing herbs that didn't grow on most of the northerner's rocky islands. The lack of medicine potentially meant more deaths, which was why the shamares still wandered, trying to give their tribe's territories a more or less even coverage of shamaric aid.

This particular call-out turned out not to be anything overly serious, a few ponies complaining of persistent gut pains being diagnosed with parasites and given some medicine from Thundersnow's bag. After they returned from the trip, though, the shamare smacked herself, groaning in exasperation.

"Argh! Why didn't I think of this before?! It's so obvious! Bird!"

"Birds? Where?" Agate asked with a hint of alarm, looking around.

"No, not the westerner's summoned birds. You! You're a bird!" Thundersnow exclaimed dramatically, pointing towards Agate with a foreleg.

"I am?" The spirit, who was pretty sure she was a crystal pony, blinked.

"Well, not right now. But you can be!"

"Oh, right. The whole shapeshifting thing. What brought this on?"

"Well, you thought that ability up so you could travel faster, right? And to see some interesting sights from up above, I'm guessing. Anyway, you could travel from island to island far, far faster than even our fastest kayaks. And you could even ask the ponies what they need, so if it's something as simple as a potion, I wouldn't even have to come out myself. I'd just send a pack of medicine along with a merchant or some other pony traveling in that direction," Thundersnow explained, clopping her hooves excitedly.

"That.... Makes sense, I guess. I barely know anything at all about diseases and stuff, though. I don't think I could actually diagnose the ponies," Agate pointed out.

"No matter. As long as you get the symptoms... It's not ideal, but it would still help a lot. And hey, maybe you can learn a thing or two about healing while you're at it. You learned so many different things already, after all."

"I guess so."

And so, Agate became Thundersnow's messenger bird. Though hopping from island to island was nothing new for her, the novelty of employing the still largely untested dream magic made it exciting once more.

With the lack of experience, there were some hiccups along the way, of course. Ending up on the wrong island, flying way off course or forgetting to ask something basic were common mistakes. Fortunately, Agate's speed usually made the mess-ups easy to fix, and she was improving fast.

Word about her new abilities spread, and where, at first, the northerners would react with suspicion or outright hostility when she'd just drop in from the sky and shapeshift right in front of them, they began to recognize her even in her avian form, laughing and sending her on her way if they didn't need any assistance. As much as she disliked getting titles attached to herself, "bird spirit", "unbound soul", and "wind rider" became added to the list of things the northerners called Agate.

With something crazy almost always happening in the north, there was always something to do or someplace to get to for the shamare and crystal pony spirit duo. And when there wasn't, then there were plenty of preparations to make for a time when you needed to gallop out your door in a hurry. Time flew like the wind (or like Agate in a rush), and, eventually, the season ran it's course.

During the year, no more overt attacks came from the western tribe. While flying about, Agate got chased by birds a few times, both material and spirit, but it didn't look like they were deliberately sent after her.

While the time helped the chieftain and the elders of the tribe cool down, they still weren't going to take the westerner's affront lying down. Preparations for the Gathering weren't done with much enthusiasm, though there was grim determination aplenty, as if they were going on a floewolf hunt instead of a meeting with their sister tribes.

"Well. Last year really took me by surprise. Let's see what madness this year's Gathering brings," Jagged Ice grumbled, idly looking at the silently falling winter snow.

"We'll overcome it, chieftain. In fact, I think the best solution would be to just ignore the westerner's tantrums, if they try to start anything again. Don't even acknowledge any of their nonsense," Thundersnow supplied reassuringly.

"They have no excuse whatsoever for anything like that this year, unless some of the tribesfolk did something without my knowledge. Think they'll brag about the attack during spring?"

"We'll see. If they do, I say we just ignore that as well. Show them that their petty revenge seeking is beneath our notice."

"I suppose. Let's get going."

Going In Circles

Agate watched the conversation from a little ways away, sitting on a thick boulder overlooking the bay. She decided to travel south the same way she went north - by wing, staying behind just long enough to observe the migrating ponies take to the waves. She waved to Thundersnow, the mare and nearly the entire expedition waving back before pushing off the shore and paddling away.

The fleet of boats was fairly large, but the traffic coming in actually outweighed the group going south. As Smoky Bay expanded, more and more families were able to come and winter in the mild and pleasantly warm island, the elders taking care of the homes while the adventurous younglings were off in the distant fishing grounds. Many of the arriving ponies waved to Agate as well, cries of "bird spirit" from the foals reaching her ears.

Snorting, Agate couldn't keep a small smile off her face. Though she still disliked being that well-known, she couldn't deny that her new abilities were lots of fun, which meant that ponies would inevitably end up talking about them. With all the flying, she was getting better and better, to the point she thought she reached a new level in her skills.

The improvement in her abilities didn't go unnoticed by the mystics of the tribe, which prompted them to share some of the deeper secrets of their craft with Agate. As a spirit, she hung around shamares quite a lot already, but she still wasn't one herself. With her magic getting better and better, though, they started to view her as a shamare of sorts, instead of just an exotic traveler with a few magical tricks up her sleeve. As the shamares explained to her, some of the magic-related things they did were done out of habit rather than necessity. Some shamares muttered mystic words and spells while they wove their charms or made enchantments, while others did not, and yet, their efforts would yield the same results. Apparently, the catch was a mixture of will, belief and perception. Some young ponies had great spiritual strength, but had little confidence in themselves, or just plain didn't believe that they were capable of powerful magic.

The solution to that was to teach them "magical" words and chants. While some words did have power, they still had to be spoken with will and intent - if a pony just spoke them out loud with no clue about what it meant, absolutely nothing would happen. The chants often helped the trainee shamares focus, though, bringing forth the true source of power - themselves. Eventually, some of them lost the habit, weaving their spells with pure will and focus.

Agate didn't know whether her dream magic and shapeshifting worked the same way, but she felt the analogy was fairly accurate. At first, she needed to fall asleep to be able to shapeshift, but, as time went on, she noticed that it was getting easier and easier to reach the mental state needed to sprout wings and take off. After a while, she wasn't even sure if she needed to relax her mind that much to shed her mental constraints and achieve what she wanted - she'd shapeshifted loads of times, so she certainly already believed that she was capable of it, even when she was awake. Or perhaps, as Dreamcatcher said that one time, life really was but a dream. Who knew.

As such, she decided to try and fly south without falling asleep. It was a fair bit harder, as she actually had to think and decide on the shape she wanted to become, instead of her subconscious just somehow doing all the work for her. Agate was resolved, though, even stalking a few specific northern birds to study their looks and feathers. She picked a tern as the one she decided to imitate, the relatively small and lithe birds apparently being known for their long-range flight capabilities.

"Alright then... I'm not a pony, I'm a swift little bird..."

It was odd, contorting yourself into a new shape. Not just because it wasn't possible while you were still alive, but also because spirits had to expend effort to actually maintain their pony forms, or risk dissipating. Hijacking the process to change into something else seemed like a clever trick, but it also carried its risks. As Agate herself experienced, it was easy to get lost in the fun of flying, and if she thought of herself as a bird a little too hard, she might just become one for real, forgetting how to trot and talk, endlessly soaring through the northern skies. She did her best to firmly keep up the thoughts that this was just temporary, that she was still Agate underneath it all in the back of her mind every time she flew.

She started with her forelegs, picturing feathers on the appendages, slowly moving them to her sides in a way that would be quite impossible for a living pony without dislocating their joints. Squatting down, she saw the world get bigger and bigger as her whole form shrank down, the feathers moving to cover the rest of her body as her hindlegs became thin as twigs, hooves turning into small talons. A few minutes of focusing later, she shook herself, glancing over her translucent form.

Everything looked good. With a final glance, Agate took a moment to steel herself before hopping forward with her avian legs and spreading her wings. She wobbled in the air a bit at first, but with a few more powerful strokes of her wings, she was soon flying as well as any time before. Some ponies noticed her as she went by, whistling or waving to her as she gained altitude. It wasn't long until she caught up to, and then passed the fleet travelling south. Following the tiny glowing ember of her totem, she aimed straight towards Snowpitt, letting the pull of her little lighthouse guide her.

❅ ❆ ❅

The distance from Green Land to Snowpitt was quite large, but Agate was essentially tireless, and much faster than she was in the past. Still, the journey did drain her mentally and magically, so when she reached her destination, instead of going to talk to anyone, she just went straight to her totem to get a good night's sleep. Landing on top, she didn't get to think about what to do next as she was sucked in with a surprised squawk, her ethereal feathers falling around the totem in a shimmering cloud before dissipating.

Snorting with wry amusement, she wiggled about, getting comfortable in the totem's field of soothing magic. While she got used to prolonged journeys in the north, sleeping wherever, coming back still felt incredibly pleasant and relaxing. From what the northerners told her, soaking in a hot spring was the closest sensation she could use to describe resting in her totem.

The next morning, she took her time getting up, enjoying a short moment of peace after her frantic months of working with Thundersnow. Lazily exiting her totem, she turned around, examining the pillar with lidded eyes. Her body wasn't the only thing that went through some changes over the years, the crystals in her totem continuing to shift and grow, making the whole thing look quite different than the day it was planted there.

Back in the day, she decided not to mess with the crystals in fear of breaking something, but, over time, she couldn't resist poking around a little, worried that doing nothing might end up being worse in the long run. Even though the tree was enchanted to be extra durable, it wasn't unbreakable. Her main concern was the embedded crystals growing too big and splintering the lumber, so she tried to guide their growth outwards rather than inwards.

She was fairly certain that, if the totem broke, it wouldn't really hurt her, nor would the snowponies blame her for it, given that it was their design choice to build it that way. Still, she didn't want to just sit by and do nothing, either. It would have been pretty rude of her to just let the home they gifted her to fall apart without even trying to do some maintenance, and then expect for them to build a new one.

Fortunately, although Agate's crystal manipulation skills still were somewhere between "novice" and "apprentice", that was sufficient for what she needed. The crystal spires were already growing lengthwise, so she just had to make sure that they didn't grow in width, subtly manipulating their structure to make superficial faults that worked as drainage channels for the flowing magic, directing it all outwards.

As she watched the "branches" of her bewitched tree grow over the years, she had another idea. Well, it wasn't entirely her idea. As she observed the process, she noticed that the crystal was ever-so-slowly spreading out along the surface of the totem, the bare log looking like it was growing back its bark as well. She did her best to encourage that, surmising that encasing the totem in a hard crystal shell should protect it from the elements for eons into the future. Agate remembered how weathered Gnarled Root's totem looked after a few hundred years, and, while it still stood strong and undamaged, she was planning to stay around several times longer than the old herbalist did.

While she was giving the totem a once-over, she couldn't help but look at the artistic carvings the artisans made, their work still lovely even after several decades of being subjected to the elements. There was her bust, of course, carvings of the mountains, a set of hoofprints going around in an endless circle, and...

"Huh, wait. The birds..."

Agate pursed her lips, moving in close enough that her muzzle was almost touching the totem. One of the carvings was a flock of birds, their forms looking oddly familiar now.

"Are those terns?"

Naturally, Agate had questioned shamares about stuff related to her totem many times, and not just regarding the raw mechanics of how it worked. She knew about the symbolism behind her specific carvings, but didn't really give them much thought, given that the pictures were chosen in a bit of a rush, according to the ponies that made them. She thought the crystals embedded in the wood represented her better than anything else, given that the images were supposed to depict her history and nature. Now, she wasn't so sure any more.

"It has to be some kind of weird coincidence...Right? They made this decades before I even thought about flying... And it was supposed to be purely symbolic."

She spent a few more minutes staring at the carvings in slight confusion, Thundersnow's words about the thoughts and expectations of others affecting her life echoing in the back of her head. Eventually, she snapped out of it, shaking her head and trotting off. She had things to do and ponies to talk to.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hello, Earthsong."

"Oh! Oh, hello, Agate! I didn't see you there. You're as silent as ever."

"As if you snowponies are any different. I was constantly getting snuck up on by everyone and their grandmother, until I learned to be even more aware of my surroundings than usual. Anyway, are you free for a while? I have things I want to talk about, and it might take some time to go through it all."

"Mmmm... Yes, barring any emergencies, I'm free for the day. How did it go with Thundersnow?"

"If I had to summarize it, I would say "unexpectedly". I don't think anything but the full story will do, though. Since I flew ahead, I managed to arrive well before any northerners..."

Earthsong listened quietly as Agate told her about the events during the year. Though shamares always tried to be stoic and aloof, the spirit could tell that Earthsong wasn't happy that she didn't try to use her influence to order Thundersnow around, but she didn't comment on it. Once Agate got to the spirit bird assault incident, though, the shamare's calm facade began to crack, and by the end of it, she was facehoofing with both forelegs, rubbing her face and groaning in exasperation.

While Agate recounted the less important things that happened afterwards, Earthsong went to make a cup of tea, shaking her head. Waiting for the tea to brew let her calm down a bit, and when Agate was done, she was mostly back to her collected self, though she obviously still was quite unhappy.

"Alright, Agate... Are you sure it was the westerners that caused it?"

"I don't know, elder, but I don't see any alternative options. It doesn't sound like it's something that could happen by itself, and I saw flocks of birds exactly like it being called by westerner shamares in the past already. And I'm pretty good at noticing details and seeing stuff. I spent years and years on scouting trips, remember?"

"I remember, Agate... And what is the northern tribe planning to do about this provocation?"

"Nothing, probably."

"Really? That was quite a grave crime, I would say..."

"The northerners are tough, elder, they're used to dealing with wild things and attacks. I don't know what they'll do for sure, but I heard them talking about taking the high road and just ignoring the whole thing. If they don't change their minds on their way here, that's probably what they're going to do."

"Spirits grant us that they don't have a change of heart, then, and that this will be the end of this ridiculous spat..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent the next couple of weeks catching up with various friends and acquaintances she made over the years. As usual, the westerners arrived a little earlier than the northern tribe, settling in to their regular spots with little fanfare. There were some curious looks towards them, ponies wondering whether the woodland tribe would have any more complaints this year, but if they did, they chose not to air them. Or not yet, at least.

The northerners were quick to follow, arriving during a mild (for them, at least) blizzard, chuckling and laughing at the comparatively feeble southern weather. They too settled in without much issue, though Agate couldn't help but notice that the fields and longhouses assigned to the visiting tribes by the southerner's chieftain were spaced out just a little bit further apart than the previous years.

Things seemed civil and calm, but that was to be expected. The visitors were busy settling in, not even coming into much contact with each other. The true state of things would only be revealed during the first meeting of the year in the Grand Hall, which is precisely where the gathered tribes went as soon as they got comfortable. Agate went with the southerner shamare contingent, sitting down with the mystics and observing the three chieftains engage in their ritualistic greetings.

Swift Dash introduced himself as the chieftain of the southern tribe this time, Frostbeard still being present, but sitting further back, clearly only filling an advisory role now. Jagged Ice and his contingent of elders and shamares were cool and collected, while Oak Bark, besides being a bit older and his limbs slightly more crooked, seemed a bit... Odd. Agate wasn't entirely certain, but it looked to her as if the old stallion was smug about something, while trying not to let it show. His shamares gave off the same vibe, surreptitiously shooting stealthy glances towards Thundersnow.

As the host, Swift Dash began the proceedings. "Well then, let us begin. As you all heard, I took over the duties of chieftain this fall. The southern tribe continues to prosper and grow, slow as it may be. Two more potential sites for new settlements have been found. The tundra is still as sparse in good soil as ever, though, so growing new villages takes no less time than growing an entire tree from the ground up. Still, it's steady work, since we're not usually dealing with any dangers. All we need is time, which we have in abundance. Any news from our sister tribes?"

Usually, the speakers went by seniority, and since in the gathering of the tribes, the western one was the second oldest, Oak Bark spoke up next. Before doing so, though, he shot a long, disdainful glare towards Jagged Ice. The awkward pause made most of the ponies in attendance glance between each other, expecting the resumption of hostilities from last year.

"A fine enough year, despite the unpleasant beginning. Some of our more daring explorers are saying they have found a potentially habitable valley between a pair of mountains, though it remains to be seen whether it's actually worth settling. Other than that, I can't say that there's anything newsworthy."

Swift Dash pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before carefully phrasing a question to Oak Bark. "A calm year, then? Everything went well, including your seasonal autumn festivities?"

"Of course," Oak Bark sniffed, letting some of that hidden smugness through. "The salmon migration would not be interfered with again, we made sure of that."

There was another pause as the audience tried to figure out the implications of the vaguely ominous statement. Swift Dash furrowed his brows thoughtfully as he glanced towards the northerners, but Jagged Ice remained completely impassive, showing no reaction whatsoever. Thundersnow couldn't entirely keep herself under control, though, letting out a tiny snort as she covered her muzzle with a hoof. The action didn't go unnoticed by the western shamares and their chief, the mystics scowling at the amused northerner.

"Nothing grand to report this year either," Jagged Ice began after a moment. "None of our explorers are out and about, and they probably won't be for at least a few more seasons. We're still poking around Green Land, and Smoky Bay is expanding as fast as we can build. I'm sure my people will dig up something exciting again when we properly settle in, but the news will likely be the same for some time."

"Hah. Nothing exciting to report at all? I guess you learned your place, then, pup. Sit quietly in your islands where you belong," Oak Bark remarked disdainfully, making a good part of the listeners, including Agate, go wide-eyed. While snowponies traded insults and barbs often enough that they made actual games and contests out of it, it was always in good faith, and this was not it.

"Excuse me?" Jagged Ice inquired, his voice still controlled and flat, though Agate could see his muscles shifting slightly as he tensed.

"Oh, nothing," Oak Bark tried to wave it off, likely noticing the less than favorable reactions from the surrounding ponies. "Just curious that you didn't deign to mention the punishment the spirits surely enacted on your tribe for your transgressions the past year. No matter."

"And... How would you know what the spirits of our islands think of us, chieftain? We are quite far away, after all, and live in fairly different territories. Did your shamares visit some of our islands to commune with the spirits? Either way, no. For your information, nothing like that happened to our tribe," Jagged Ice replied, his tone of voice highly skeptical.

"Really. Nothing?" Oak Bark scowled, glancing towards his shamares, who's expressions were quite sour as well.

"No. Both the building and the fishing have been great, and there were no unusual maladies or curses that my people reported," The northerner chieftain replied with a carefree shrug.

The whole exchange seemed to amuse Thundersnow beyond her capacity for self-control, her whole body shaking as she jammed both hooves on her muzzle in a heroic effort not to start laughing her flanks off. While Oak Bark kept frowning, he didn't seem sure on how to proceed. His shamares were a bit more certain, though, one of their elders pointing an accusing hoof at Thundersnow.

"Quit playing tough, you arrogant twit! We laid you out for at least a month with the spirits we sicced on you, and if you keep trying to play it off, we'll do it again, to make sure you really learn your lesson!"

If the mare intended to put Thundersnow down, it had the absolutely opposite effect. The shamare began howling with laughter, barely able to keep herself from collapsing on the floor. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! YOU FOALS! YOU- YOU- AHAHAH, YOU ABSOLUTE NEOPHYTES! AAAAAHAHAH!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Swift Dash rumbled, turning his head back and forth between the two tribe's representatives while trying to make sense of the developing situation. Meanwhile, Thundersnow kept going.

"A month?! I've- I've been mildly sore for a COUPLE DAYS afterwards! Ahahah, heh heh heh..." Thundersnow mostly managed to stop laughing, though that was purely because she ran out of air, and began wheezing at that point. "You weaklings thought you hurt me with that cheap trick?! Oh, ancestors, protect me from harm, I might die of laughter..."

"What?! Arrogant wretch! You're lying through your teeth! There were a good half a dozen of us in that ritual, and we poured our strength into it!"

"And I blew it all away all by myself! Ahahah!"

Earthsong, meanwhile, was sharing significant looks with the rest of the southern shamares. "You all heard that, right?"

The southern cabal of mystics all nodded, their expressions solemn. Agate didn't ask to keep the information about the attack of spirits completely secret, but she did tell the shamare not to spread it around in case the westerners tried denying it, starting a back-and-forth round of unprovable accusations. Earthsong agreed, wanting to find out the truth herself, only sharing the story with the other shamares. Agate wondered if she told Swift Dash, but the southern chieftain didn't seem aware of what they were talking about.

While the shamares were trading insults, each chieftain was doing his own thing. Swift Dash was confused, but also clearly getting more and more frustrated at what was happening, his face twisted into a scowl as his eyes darted back and forth. Oak Bark was furious, snarling at the northerners while Jagged Ice was still sitting calmly as ever, cool as a cucumber. The only emotion on his face was faint amusement as Thundersnow laughed off the westerner's assault.

It didn't take long for Swift Dash to try and bring order back to the meeting. Clopping his hooves loudly, he roared. "ENOUGH!"

Try being the key word, though. A brief silence descended on the Hall, but it didn't last long. Oak Bark only shot him a disdainful look before shaking his head. "Sit down, pup, this isn't any of your business. These upstarts think they can insult my tribe again and again with impunity? I'll have to teach them otherwise, it seems."

"We, insult you? What was that about the spirits punishing us? And then the slip of the tongue as you admitted it was actually you behind the attack and that you made it all up, you conniving, lying coward? Your own actions insult you more than we ever could," Jagged Ice rumbled, giving Oak Bark a flat look, the old stallion's eye twitching in barely contained rage.

"What attack?! What, exactly, are you two arguing about?" Swift Dash inquired fiercely.

He was ignored by Oak Bark, who was reaching for a clay mug next to him. While Jagged Ice opened his mouth to answer, the westerner's chieftain lobbed the mug at Jagged Ice with a fierce roar, aiming for his head. The young stallion's reflexes were sharp, though, and he managed to close his eyes and nod his head, deliberately headbutting the mug with his forehead, the poor thing shattering into tiny shards. Giving his head a tiny shake to dislodge any remaining bits of clay, he opened his eyes again. He said nothing, but his disdainful look towards Oak Bark spoke plenty.

There was a tense moment of absolute silence, where you could hear a pin drop. Where his previous insult made the listeners go wide-eyed, the actual physical assault made them go slack-jawed, including Agate. A snowpony attacking another was not unheard of, but the current circumstances made it extremely shocking.

"YOU DARE?! IN MY HOUSE?!" Swift Dash, meanwhile, lost the final bits of his patience, standing up and furiously shouting at Oak Bark.

"I told you to mind your business, foal," Oak Bark growled as he stood up as well, beginning to approach Jagged Ice.

"I am the chieftain of the southern tribe," He spoke firmly, stopping Oak Bark in his tracks by pressing a hoof into his chest. "And I will be addressed as such. And I will not have my hospitality and Snowpitt's sanctuary spat on in front of me and do nothing. This is my business, thank you very much. Now, either you immediately sit down and explain yourself, or-"

"Chieftain of a few months? Please."

Oak Bark clearly wasn't inclined to listen. Smacking Swift Dash's hoof aside, he tried to sidestep him, but the other stallion had enough. With an angry cry, he raised a foreleg, smashing Oak Bark across the head in a vicious backhoof. The older chieftain shouted in pain, barely able to keep his balance. Swaying on his legs, he stared at Swift Dash, breathing heavily.

"Y-you dare-"

"Silence!"

"You don't tell me what-"

Swift Dash's answer was another hoof to his face, which made Oak Bark collapse to the ground like a sack of carrots. There were a number of gasps from everyone watching, including the western shamares, who started muttering darkly, some of them seemingly reaching for their powers. Seeing this, Earthsong tapped the floor, making the westerners jolt suddenly, as if the ground stung them. Seeing the southern elder's warning glare, they settled down, though their expressions were even darker.

"Spare not the cold-hearted windigo-borne, for along with himself, his greed and foolishness will doom the entire tribe to the cold of a thousand winters. Cast him out to be with his windigo kin, lest he bring death to your kin, turn the fire of your hearth to ashes and ice, your food stores to rot and naught, and your spirit to hopelessness," Swift Dash intoned ritualistically, standing over the prone form of Oak Bark.

Agate wasn't all that familiar with snowpony laws. As a spirit, most of them didn't really concern her any more, and she only brushed up against them briefly in her travels, or heard small snippets through stories. Even then, they were largely about property rights - who would get to claim which crystal deposit that she discovered, and so on. This definitely had the feel and sound of a law, though.

Oak Bark, meanwhile, didn't even try getting up, staring at Swift Dash in disbelief. "Y-you can't banish me! I'm a chieftain!"

"The law doesn't mention there being any exemptions for chieftains," Swift Dash spoke plainly, having managed to get his anger back under control.

"You can't- Frostbeard! Tell your son to cease this foolishness!" Now slightly panicked, the westerner turned towards the former chieftain of the southerners.

Frostbeard gave his son a long look. Swift Dash stood his ground, though, not even turning his head to see whether he had his father's approval or not. A wide smile slowly split the old stallion's face, Frostbeard nodding serenely. "I have never been more proud of you than I am now, son. It seems that I raised you well."

"You did, father. Thank you," Swift Dash spoke, briefly glancing towards him before turning back to Oak Bark.

"This- This is ridiculous! Banishment means nothing, that old law is obsolete! Snowpitt isn't the only settlement any more, I'll just go back to my tribe!" Oak Bark shouted, wide-eyed and breathing heavily.

"Do you think they'll accept you?" Swift Dash inquired with raised eyebrows, turning his gaze upwards, towards the gathered crowd.

For the first time since they arrived, Oak Bark looked away from the central bit of the floor where the elders and chieftains were gathered, and looked outwards. To his unpleasant surprise, his tribesponies were clearly quite unhappy with what he did, many shaking their heads, while some of them even shouted insults at him.

"Disgrace!"

"You brought shame upon our tribe!"

Social standing was another area that Agate wasn't too aware of, but she did know a bit more about it than laws. And she knew enough to understand that any social standing that Oak Bark, as a respected elder and long-time chieftain of the western tribe had managed to build up over the years, just took a massive nosedive. It didn't just go to zero, it went well past it into the negatives.

A single act like a thrown mug wouldn't have caused such an uproar if it happened between two regular ponies, and probably wouldn't even be considered anything noteworthy if no one else had seen it. But chieftains were held to higher standards - ponies expected them to be the paragons of unflappable, well-disciplined warriors, ready to spring to their tribe's defense. And such a petty act, along with his apparent secret attack on the northern tribe, shattered Oak Bark's image harder than he shattered the mug. Not to mention, doing it in Snowpitt, the great snowpony sanctuary city, the one oasis of peace in the otherwise largely unforgiving wilderness, made it doubly wrong. Even if other safe settlements existed nowadays, the sentiment still remained.

"I... I..."

"Last chance, Oak Bark. I give you one last mercy. Apologize to Ja- No. No, apologize to everyone here. Your behavior insulted the entire Gathering of the tribes. You spat on our traditions while accusing the northern tribe of doing the same, and you spat on my hospitality by engaging in this in Snowpitt."

Taking in a shuddering breath, Oak Bark managed to stand up, though his legs were still shaking quite badly. Gritting his teeth, he took a few more breaths, trying to stabilize himself. "I... Apologize... For my outburst. I should not have given in to the provocations of-"

"What provocations?" Jagged Ice inquired calmly, still calmly sitting in his spot.

"You called me a conniving cowa-"

"Yes, after you admitted that you connived an attack on our tribe, and tried to pass it off as the spirits being mad at us, like a coward."

Oak Bark hissed, to which Jagged Ice stomped a hoof, furrowing his brows. The old stallion took a few more breaths, attempting to recompose himself. Glancing around at the disapproving audience one last time, he grunted. "Very well. I see now that there is not much I can say here. Nothing that would change anything much, anyway. So, then, hear this. I have failed in my task as a chieftain. I have failed my tribe, after the affront caused by the northerners. I let my anger, rightful as it may have been, to get the better of me, and act in a way unbecoming for one of my years and stature. For that, I apologize, to every pony here in the Hall. There. Happy?"

Swift Dash gave him a flat look, clearly unimpressed by the not-apology that still put most of the blame on others. Jagged Ice, meanwhile, maintained his indifferent demeanor.

""Happy" would imply that I sought this, or that I orchestrated this somehow. Everything that just happened to you, chieftain, was done by yourself, to yourself. I couldn't care less."

"Alright then," Swift Dash grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Since the northern tribe doesn't seem interested in seeking restitution, I will not push this matter further. However, this is not over. Would someone care to fill me in on this mysterious attack that I keep hearing about?"

"Since my words don't seem to carry any weight here, I have nothing to say," Oak Bark scoffed, slinking off back to his spot and slumping down on the floor, where a shamare began examining the bruises on his head.

"Then perhaps you should have kept silent. Anyone else?"

Predictably, Jagged Ice spoke up. "My shamare, Thundersnow, would probably be able to do it best, since she was the main target. Or, if you're concerned about her being biased, Agate, the traveler spirit, witnessed the whole thing herself, point blank."

Nodding, Swift Dash returned to his seat as well. "You've conducted yourself very well so far, Jagged Ice, but as everyone knows, when two parties feud, it is always best to get an uninvolved bystander's opinion, and I am certain Agate will remain neutral, even with her ties to your tribe. Traveler spirit? May we partake in your knowledge?"

"Very well, chieftain. Here's what happened..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Given how seriously everyone was taking this, Agate did her best to describe what she saw, providing as detailed of an account of the events as she could. Once she was done, Thundersnow added a few more bits and pieces from her perspective, completing the picture - from their side, at least. Everyone was curious about the western tribe's take on the event, but they kept quiet, not uttering a single word since Oak Bark sat back down.

"Disappointing," Was Swift Dash's conclusion.

"Very much so, chieftain," Earthsong agreed. "While everyone wishes to see injustices righted, there is such a thing as overreacting. Much as I disapprove of the way Thundersnow uses her shamaric magic, what the western tribe did is a dozen times worse."

"I'm really quite alright. It wasn't nearly as bad as others make it out to be," The shamare in question grinned cockily, tossing her snowy mane with a flourish.

"Intentions matter, however. What they intended to happen was quite bad," Earthsong retorted with a frown.

"Hurt my spirit so badly I'd be helpless? Yes, quite the goal. What if my people needed something from me, something important? What if there was a sudden danger of some kind? So reckless..."

Thundersnow kept shooting looks towards the westerners as she spoke, goading them to say something. However, while they certainly made all kinds of displeased expressions, they remained stubbornly quiet. Earthsong wasn't having it, though, addressing them directly.

"Why do you not speak, oh wise elders of the western tribe? Do you truly have nothing to say for yourselves? Usually, that might give one hope that you actually understand the depth of your crime and are regretting it, but judging by your bitter expressions, you seem to be under the odd - no, downright mad - impression that you're still the aggrieved party in this conflict."

"That's because we are. Do you think we're going to take these insults lying down?!" Losing her composure,one of the shamares spat angrily, the others glaring at her. No one seemed particularly impressed by the outburst, however.

"What insults? The mockery for your failure to cause any real harm to Thundersnow is well deserved, I feel, and any other grievances you might have were already settled last year. As I recall, you yourselves refused the proper compensation from the northern tribe," Swift Dash grumbled, having little patience for the westerner's antics as well.

Agate could almost hear the sound of grinding teeth as the shamare glared at Swift Dash with such unbridled fury that even the well-disciplined stallion was taken aback. Blinking slowly, he, along with many other confused ponies in attendance, studied the mystic's face, trying to understand just what in his words set her off.

Unfortunately, that only made the westerners double down on their silence. After a few more failed attempts at coaxing an answer from the western tribe's elders, and the topics exhausted, the meeting was called to a close. As the ponies shuffled outside, Oak Bark and his contingent did their best to leave with their heads held high, but their efforts were marred by the old stallion badly swaying on his hooves, and the common tribesfolk trotting past him without any acknowledgment.

❅ ❆ ❅

"That was... Something," Agate concluded, sitting in Earthsong's home.

"Mm, yes, well summarized, Agate. It was indeed something," The old mare agreed, grinning wryly.

"It feels like my first days here all over again. I'm watching you snowponies do stuff, and I can't make heads or tails of it."

"Unfortunately, neither can I," Earthsong let out a melancholy sigh, losing the grin. "Oak Bark is prideful, that is eminently obvious. We already found that out last year, and he demonstrated it again now, when he disrespected my chieftain. But I expected better from his shamares. It feels like something else is happening here, but I don't understand what."

"What do you think is going to happen now?"

"With the way things have been going so far, I am leery of making any guesses. The only thing I can say with some certainty is that the western tribe will have a new chieftain very soon, perhaps even this winter, though I think they'll want to return to the rest of their tribe first."

"How are new chieftains chosen? That's not something I ever looked into, and there doesn't seem to be a specific set of rules, not that I heard of, anyway."

"Because there isn't. Different times call for different kinds of leadership, and it'd make for an awkward situation if we thought up some terribly specific way to become one, only to then find out that no pony fits the criteria, heh."

"Hmm. That's the opposite of the way we did it in the Empire... I think."

"Oh? And how did your faraway tribe do it?"

"The titles were passed down from parents to children, ranked by age, eldest going first."

"Oh? Family only? That seems... Hm. What if the children don't quite measure up to the standards? Or if something befalls the family, and there's no heir?"

"Other family members step in... I think. Brothers, cousins. I was still quite young then, I haven't learned much besides the basics."

"Well, there have been family lines that held the title of chieftain for hundreds of years, but that was only because the chieftains did their best to raise their sons properly. There is a level of favor for the children of chieftains that did their duties well, but if they turn out to be unimpressive, other ponies tend to step in."

"And how exactly does it work? What's the actual process of becoming a chieftain?"

At that, Earthsong got a wistful look, looking off into the distance. "Ahh, it's been a while since I told any stories. Well, let's see... If there's an open position, and more than one pony aiming for the role, a challenge of some kind is thought up by the elders of the tribe. It could be many things - a quest to retrieve a rare herb from some dangerous part of the territory, or perhaps tracking down and slaying a fearsome beast that's been bothering the tribe. And, if the previous chieftain died violently to some monster, then the incoming one is invariably expected to track it down and avenge his predecessor, even if there's only one pony that's eligible to take the role. Or, it could be a more direct contest, pitting the opponents against each other - a race of endurance, followed by a test of strength, ending with a sparring match, until only one remains."

"So, a chieftain is expected to be strong... Frostbeard got quite old before retiring, though."

"Yes, but wisdom is also an essential part of being a chieftain. If a pony is physically weaker than their opponent, but manages to outsmart them in some stunningly clever way, the tribe always tend to favor the cunning one. There is also the matter of self-control and discipline. A chieftain must be strong to lead and protect his kin, not to put them down. No matter how strong, boorish braggarts get tossed aside without a second thought. Still, extra wisdom comes with age, and if a chieftain demonstrates that he possesses wisdom after his strength begins to wane, the ponies are more than happy to keep following him."

"And if the old chieftain is still around, but... Hmm..."

"Doesn't want to get replaced?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I thought Oak Bark might feel that way, yes. It's a rare event, but it is not unheard of for a warrior of the tribe to throw a challenge to the chieftain, if they feel that he's behaving improperly. It only happens when the majority of the tribe feels the same way, though, because if the old chieftain was well respected, no one would follow the challenger's orders even if he won."

"The western tribe did seem unhappy with him," Agate pondered, lying back and gazing at the ceiling.

"Yes, which is why I'm so certain that they're going to replace him soon."

"So... Do you think this feud might end with Oak Bark getting replaced?" The spirit asked, turning back to look Earthsong in the eyes.

"Spirits willing, Agate. Spirits willing," The old mare sighed, slumping down a little.

"I'm a spirit. So if I will it...?"

Earthsong stared at Agate for a long minute before snorting and taking a swipe at the giggling spirit mare. "I swear, you take far too much after True Sight sometimes."

"I wonder what the old goof would have to say about this whole thing."

"Me too, Agate, me too."

❅ ❆ ❅

It was a long and cold winter. Not for any supernatural reason, though, as the shamares assured the gathered tribes. No windigoes or anything else out of the ordinary circled the skies. The weather just decided to turn particularly biting that season, far as anyone could tell. Heavy blizzards passed by several times, only for the sky to turn stunningly clear afterwards, every single drop of moisture having frozen solid. Bright stars glimmered above Snowpitt, the snowponies partaking in their usual rituals.

Much like before, the regular tribesponies largely didn't participate in the feud between the western and northern tribes, much to the southerner's relief. They really didn't want their calm city to turn into some kind of battleground, and they mostly got their wish. While some westerners were noticeably colder towards their cousins, Swift Dash's threat to kick their chieftain out during the first meeting more than likely made them reconsider doing anything foolish, and the majority didn't approve of his actions either way. Meanwhile, the elders of the two tribes studiously avoided each other the entire season.

The only noticeable results of the tension were some friendly (or, perhaps, just pretending to be friendly) challenges thrown out to the northerners. Fortunately, the worst that came from those were some bruises and tufts of missing coats littering the snow after the vigorous wrestling matches were concluded.

Agate spent the winter as she usually did, listening and talking. She chatted with Thundersnow now and then, though it was on simple topics, the shamare taking the time to meditate and recharge, spending half the time happily hibernating in her igloo.

When spring rolled around and it was time for the tribes to go, the send-off was a little tepid. Oak Bark barely stuck around to mumble the traditional phrases and farewells before slinking off, his tribesponies already moving far ahead of him without waiting for his signal, clearly demonstrating that they didn't consider him their chieftain any more.

There was a brief flare-up of tensions, though, as the westerner shamares trotted up to Thundersnow, surrounding her in a half-circle and glaring at the supremely unbothered northerner. While such a situation would intimidate just about any pony, the only reaction on Thundersnow's face was a mild sneer.

"Can I help you, younglings?"

Several of the westerners let out angry snorts at the insult, while their leader raised a foreleg to jab Thundersnow in the chest. "Listen here, you arrogant, wretched upstart. We had just about-"

"No," Thundersnow interrupted, roughly smacking the offending appendage away. "You listen. I had just about enough of your ridiculous posturing, neophytes. We've established quite thoroughly that the lot of you barely measure up just to me, let alone the rest of my tribe's shamares. Continue with your foalish tantrums, and I will crush you. I ignored one attack. I will not ignore another. Annoy me at your own risk."

"Ignored? We felt that cold front you sent on our forest for weeks. It ruined our spring," Another shamare hissed.

"Ha! And that was merely to blow your damned birds back to where they came from. Imagine what I could do if I really got ticked off," Thundersnow cackled condescendingly. "You did a lot more than attack me, you attacked my tribe. Do that again and you will regret it."

They might have stood there trading threats and measuring their respective skills for hours, if not for the thousands of observers from all three tribes. The altercation didn't go unnoticed, and both Jagged Ice and Swift Dash were making their way over, along with Earthsong and some southern shamares. Seeing this, the westerners huffed, turning tail and making after Oak Bark.

"We shall see who will have the last laugh," Their eldest spat as she trotted off.

"Everything alright, Thundersnow?" Jagged Ice inquired, squinting at the fleeing westerners.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, chieftain. Just some fragile egos and impotent threats they can't actually carry out," Thundersnow reassured the stallion, waving the whole thing off.

"If you say so..." The stallion sighed, clearly not fully believing her.

"They still refuse to let go of this thing, it seems," Earthsong mused.

"Well, I don't. I have far more important things to do," Jagged Ice replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Best get to it, then, chieftain," Swift Dash nodded to his northerner counterpart, the two chieftains performing their ritualistic farewells before the northern tribe moved out.

❅ ❆ ❅

This time around, Agate decided to move on hoof, travelling with the migrating tribe the old-fashioned way. She was pretty sure that she was going to get plenty of flying practice later on anyway, and didn't feel like rushing ahead. Thundersnow was very happy when Agate told her that she wanted to keep working with the shamare, not really seeing any reason to quit just yet.

They made their way across the tundra and reached Nilas with no issues, taking to the water with the usual vigor of the seafaring tribe. The first week of travel went smoothly, the travelers meeting a number of fisherponies from Smoky Bay already encamped on their islands, eager to get a head start on the new season.

On the second week, though, the western shamares demonstrated that they didn't heed Thundersnow's warnings after all. Barely a league from an island they were moving towards, a sudden, furious storm engulfed the fleet of boats, the ponies paddling furiously to cross the last stretch as the waves tossed them to and fro.

"Hold on! We'll be jumping out in a moment!" The stallion leading their boat shouted, the occupants nodding, not even bothering to shout acknowledgments through the noise of the gale.

Thundersnow didn't seem very scared of the situation, her expression analytic as she attempted to scan the skies through the splashes of sea spray tossed in her face by the wind, muttering something under her breath as her ears turned back and forth, as if listening to a conversation between multiple ponies. When her time came, she gracefully leapt from the boat, helping the ponies drag it up on higher ground.

"SECURE THE BOATS AND GET TO SHELTER!" Jagged Ice roared, his voice briefly overpowering the storm. "KEEP CALM AND DON'T RUSH, THIS IS HARDLY THE WORST NORTHERN WEATHER WE HAD TO DEAL WITH!"

"Don't think it's northern, chieftain," Thundersnow muttered under her breath, Agate barely managing to hear her.

"Do you think... Westerners?" She asked, glancing at the shamare.

"Heh. Your hearing is too good, Agate. Yes, everything about this storm screams "unnatural". I can almost smell it. Not to mention, it came from the west. That almost never happens. Storms pick up speed and move from the eastern sea to the west, crashing against their mountains. A storm coming from there... Not completely unheard of, but I think it's too much of a coincidence. I need to listen to the wind spirits a bit more to make sure, but I'm fairly certain already."

"Are you going to chase it off? Make it go away?"

"Mmm... I probably could, but I don't see the need to waste my strength. We're on a safe island with good shelter now, so we might as well wait it out... And then, I can plan a response."

Escalation

Needless to say, Jagged Ice was displeased when he was told what Thundersnow discovered. When they overheard their conversation, a few of the travelers couldn't believe that the westerners would be that brazen. There were other shamares in their group as well, though, all of whom confirmed the findings after spending some time outside and observing the storm.

"The wind spirits are really having fun playing with the water spirits outside," One shamare remarked, shaking moisture from her coat.

"Is that what this is to them? A game?" A stallion grumbled, his ears folded due to the howling gales outside.

"Not always, but fairly often, the answer is yes. They don't really understand how this affects or inconveniences us, they're just doing their own thing. Most of the spirits have little malice, though they can get cranky if you try to wake them when they're supposed to be asleep, like, say, trying to conjure a snowstorm in the middle of summer. Things like that are quite likely to backfire."

"And how long until they tire themselves out?"

"No longer than a regular storm, I think, so quit complaining and take the chance to rest. We'll be on our way soon."

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'd rather stay in Smoky Bay next year, though..."

Overall, the atmosphere was a little grumbly, but the northerners were taking it well. The travelers busied themselves with small maintenance tasks, whittling little crafts to pass the time, or just taking the chance to get some extra sleep. They weren't happy, of course, but they trusted in their leaders, who were setting an example by doing their best to remain calm and collected.

"I wonder who's actually doing this," Jagged Ice mused. "Has it been a full two weeks yet? It doesn't take them all that long to reach their villages from Snowpitt. They might well have a new chieftain already, and this makes me wonder if he's following in Oak Bark's hoofsteps. Shouldn't be happening, given how hard his tribe disowned him..."

"Those shamares might well be doing this by themselves, with the new chieftain, if they even have one, not even aware of it. Or, perhaps they rushed to make this happen right before they chose one," Thundersnow supplied.

"Hmmm, yes. I wonder if it means that things like this will become a regular occurrence. What to do, what to do... Need to send a messenger to the westerners about this, of course, but I probably should wait to find out who their new chieftain actually is, first..."

"Mmmm... No, I don't think so, chieftain."

"Hmm? You think I should send a message addressed to "whoever's the new chieftain"? Doesn't seem entirely right..."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, I don't think you should get involved, chieftain."

That made Jagged Ice pause, the stallion raising his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what? Involved? My tribe was attacked and I'm the chieftain, I'm already involved. Defending my tribe is literally my job."

"Yes, from regular dangers. Defending the tribe from magical threats is a shamare's duty," Thundersnow rebutted.

"I'm not sure that's... Entirely the case..." Jagged Ice trailed off, uncertain what to say. He clearly wanted to argue, but wasn't too sure what to say.

"Oh, sure it is. I'm their main target, and they're using magic to send spirits after me. This falls squarely under the purview of shamares."

"Hrmf. I still want to know who their new chieftain is..."

"I'm certain we'll find out soon enough. Juicy rumors seem to be able to travel faster than the ponies carrying them, somehow. I'm sure the news will arrive the moment the first merchants of the season start their routes."

"I suppose."

The chieftain clearly wasn't happy at being sidelined by his shamare, though he didn't have much choice but to let it go. The conversation died down, all ponies looking like they were deep in thought about something. Meanwhile, Agate pondered what kind of "response" to the westerners Thundersnow was planning. She expected Jagged Ice to ask the shamare about it, but it looked like his trail of thought was disrupted quite badly by what Thundersnow told him.

No more important conversations happened that day, and, as promised, the storm ran out of strength by tomorrow. The winds were still blowing a bit harder than usual, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. With a heave and a ho, the group retrieved their boats and set off towards the next island.

❅ ❆ ❅

After some thinking, Thundersnow decided that it would be best to return to Smoky Bay before engaging in anything big. As such, she spent her efforts on making their journey faster, asking the water spirits to help the currents carry them swiftly to their destination, or soothing the air spirits when the weather started acting up.

Some of the ponies in the fleet peeled off to go to other islands, their numbers dwindling more and more as they got closer to Green Land. Once they finally reached the shore, about half of the original number remained, all of them tired but happy to finally reach their home. A number of scattered cheers greeted them from ponies that were puttering around the docks, the locals galloping up and helping them carry their boats.

"Hrm. I can see why there's fewer and fewer ponies going to the Gathering every year. My forelegs are sore something fierce, while my hindlegs have fallen asleep completely," Jagged Ice sighed, rolling and rubbing his shoulders.

"Perhaps we shouldn't go at all, chieftain? The distance is quite large," Thundersnow inquired, running a hoof through her mane.

"No, no... We do need to maintain contact with our sister tribes, and the Calling needs the combined strength of the three tribes to work. I don't think I'm going to be doing this once I get older, though."

"Mm, yes... Nor will shamares retire to Snowpitt when they'll get too old to travel any more. Times are changing for us all... Best make sure we don't get swept away by the tide."

"Thinking about the westerners?" Jagged Ice inquired with a grunt, his joint popping as he stretched a leg.

"Indeed. I have some thoughts, but nothing too concrete just yet... Of course, it's best not to set myself into a path too firmly. Better to be fast and adaptive, like a wind or water spirit... Anyway, I have things to take care of. Coming, Agate?"

"Sure. Let's go."

The pair made their way to Thundersnow's home, unsealing it much like last year. This time, the shamare immediately started digging through her workshop, stacking bits of various magical and mundane materials on her workbench, humming thoughtfully the entire time.

"Say, Agate, would you be willing to help me with some magical experiments? If I'm going to be dealing with the westerner's nonsense, I'll need to stock up on charms, and I had some ideas about how to make better ones, possibly using crystals. And I could use your expertise on the last bit."

"Sure. I'm hardly an expert, though."

"Oh? You give lessons all the time, though."

"Yeah, on the basics. Light them up, that sort of thing. It's been decades, though, and I haven't really improved in any significant way. All I know is from the stuff they teach to foals, to test them and see if they can do magic yet. Well, I did figure out how to grow crystals, but that's it. At this point, I think I'm more capable at dream magic and other snowpony stuff instead of doing things with crystals."

"Still a lot more than we can do. So, I was curious: If you can grow crystals, can you make them grow in the shape that you want, or do they just grow however they want?"

"Well..."

They spent a few hours discussing Agate's capabilities and limitations in regards to crystals, agreeing to perform some experiments the day after. Once they were done, Agate went her own way, going to visit Glacier Glider. As expected, her adoptive family gave her a warm welcome, and it didn't take them long to start grilling the spirit about interesting news from the Gathering.

Hearing about Oak Bark getting punched in the face was met with varying levels of amusement, though the news of the sudden storm brought the mood down again. With a roll of her eyes, Glacier Glider changed the topic to more simple things, not wanting to darken the evening too much with bad news. The family spent the evening chatting, the late hour eventually catching up to them as they went to get some shut-eye.

❅ ❆ ❅

Getting better at manipulating crystals was something that Agate was interested in, but she largely abandoned her attempts to improve in that area. Mostly, it was due to her assumption that she needed a body for the more advanced stuff, as the next levels involved physically kneading and molding the crystals, which is how they built the homes and roads in the Empire, merging the crystals into one, solid mass.

She forgot about the cleverness of the snowponies, though. They were curious and inventive, thinking up all kinds of workarounds for the issues they encountered in the north, and that included shamares and their magic. After some thinking, Thundersnow asked Agate a simple question that left her scratching her head.

"So, could you bring the crystal to the state where it is moldable, while I form and knead it with my hooves?"

"I... Don't know if that's possible, but... I see no reason why it shouldn't work."

Thus began their experimenting. The pair spent many days in Thundersnow's workshop, hunched over the ritual circle as they tried to harmonize their magics, holding on to a chunk of crystal and willing it to change into what they wanted. It took a lot of tries, some adjustments to the circle, a couple of minor explosions, a bunch of broken crystals, and a lot of breaks, but eventually, they managed to make it work. The whole thing provided Agate with loads of new experience, deepening her understanding of how crystals and magic interacted, giving her ideas and fresh perspectives on her skills.

"This is lovely," Thundersnow sighed, holding a small, slightly angular, deep purple sphere in her hooves. "A-me-thyst, you called it?"

"Yeah. I made some before, though it was in the same shape as the original quartz that I changed it from. This is... Better. Improved."

"So, is it like... Well-purified metal? Better able to perform its function? More durable, and so on?"

"Something like that, yes. It is more durable, though the sole value of a crystal is to store magic and hold enchantments... Well, the most important one, at least. My people used them for everything, from magic to buildings. I haven't really considered it before, but while crystals are the best material for things to do with magic, their natural spire shape actually isn't the most ideal... For holding magic or durability. That sphere should be much, much harder to break, and hold magic better."

"Interesting. A secret of your people's lore?"

"I guess? Though I doubt it's much of a secret. I imagine this is still basic stuff that I would have known ages ago, if I had access to a book, or would be able to talk to a master. Without that, I'm stuck rediscovering the same things my ancestors probably figured out a thousand years ago already."

Getting up, Agate trotted over to the prone form of Thundersnow, both of them quite tired. Darkness was creeping into the corners of Agate's vision, while the usually fiery shamare was uncharacteristically subdued. Still, the results were well worth it, in both of their opinions.

After a lot of effort, they managed to create a crystal vessel that was superior to it's counterparts in the wild. Not only was the sphere more durable, during their experiments, Agate noticed how impurities affected the flow and storage of magic, and tried to find a way to get rid of them.

She had to figure out how to overcharge the crystal without it either growing or breaking apart first, saturating it with so much magic that it became malleable. Thundersnow was crucial for the next part of the process, kneading and pounding the crystal while Agate guided her hooves and tried to force the unwanted impurities out, ironing out the imperfections in the crystal itself in the process as well. Sometimes, she couldn't even tell where her own hooves ended and Thundersnow's began, their forelegs blending into an indistinct blur in the fierce glow of magic.

Theoretically, the resulting crystal would hold enchantments better, not that they had the strength to really try anything at the moment. The most Agate could do was give it a light poke with her hoof, the sphere faintly lighting up from the inside, the crystalline surface fracturing the lights in a lovely show.

"Beautiful. And this amethyst - is it more powerful than quartz?"

"Not... Really... I don't think so, anyway. It's still quartz, just slightly different. I think some crystals and gems might be better suited for specific enchantments, but I have no idea about any of that. If I ever find out, it's going to be through trial and error."

"Mmm... Yes, this is more than enough for now. Let's get some rest, Agate... Maybe even take tomorrow off. I think we deserve it."

"Fully in agreement with you there."

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, they decided to go for a trot around the island and stretch their legs, on account of spending several weeks almost exclusively indoors, with little to no movement. A few other shamares decided to join them, insisting that they'd better accompany the pair if they went outside the settlement borders - according to them, some suspicious spirits were seen circling the skies around Smoky Bay.

"Ooof. My legs are sore," Thundersnow complained, trotting along the path.

"I can't feel my legs at all," Agate supplied.

It took the shamares a minute of staring until they got it, several of them snorting. In total, four more ponies joined their party, including the one that bonked Agate on the head that one time. As Agate learned, her name was Pine Needle, the somewhat crotchety mare still giving the spirit the stink-eye now and then.

"That's what you get for not spacing out those research sessions. Once you get older, though, this is how it's always going to be. Better start getting used to it," She spoke, glancing around.

"I think I'll enjoy being spry while I can," Thundersnow chuckled. "So, you think there's another ambush waiting for me outside?"

"I saw something strange in the clouds when I went out to meditate yesterday, elder," A young trainee shamare spoke softly, having remained silent until then.

"Mmm. More of those bird spirits the westerners sent?"

"I think so, yes. They were quite high up, but I could see the faint forms... I can't say for certain, but I don't think they were wind spirits, elder."

"Well, there's five shamares and a fairly powerful spirit that's kind of a shamare herself here... Shall we go spring the trap?" Thundersnow mused, rubbing her chin with an excited grin.

"Might as well. It's our job to deal with stuff like this, after all, though it's still unusual for the cause of the trouble to be other ponies. Either way, we prepared for whatever might be out there," Pine Needle grumbled, absently rubbing her baton.

The other shamares made various noises of agreement, the trainee nodding slowly. Agate shrugged and nodded as well, not really sure how much use she'd be, but still willing to help. Noticing the young shamare's hesitation, Thundersnow patted her on the back, giving her a smile.

"The most important thing is that you don't panic. If it gets too much, gallop back to the village, or get on the ground and curl up. I'm sure we'll be making enough noise to take up all of their attention. However, if it's anything like last time, then it's not going to be anything too bad. Just don't seize up, and if they come for you, you come for them. Our tribe doesn't bend over for just any fool that can call up some birds, do we?"

"Of- of course not, elder," The trainee nodded, straightening out her back a little.

The rest of the trip was made in silence. The path took them close to the seashore, a well-trod trail leading them to the docks, while a few less visible trails lead to various nooks and crannies where shamares liked to meditate and commune with the spirits. The young mare led them to one such spot, a large boulder that was angled on one side, allowing a pony to easily climb on top. The wind blew strongly and unrelentingly here, giving a pretty good clue which kinds of spirits would respond best in this location.

Thundersnow climbed on top, while the other shamares removed their saddlebags and prepared for battle. It didn't look like the usual preparations warriors would do at all, but their intent was still clearly expressed by their postures and their faces. All of them dipped their hooves into some kind of oil, rubbing them together before drawing swirly patterns on each other. A couple pulled out small satchels stuffed with dried herbs, kneading them and inhaling the scent with small smiles. One set up a simple triangle with three candles, lighting them up just as Thundersnow shouted.

"I see them! And it looks like they saw me, too! Wind Whisper was right, here they come!"

"Let them," Pine Needle muttered, giving her baton a few practice swings.

Agate squinted, looking upwards. Thundersnow was climbing down from the boulder as fast as she could without falling off, a number of familiar glowing forms streaking towards her from the sky. Agate wasn't sure, but they seemed bigger, or perhaps they were glowing brighter than the last time. Rolling her shoulders, she prepared herself, the long time spent as an immaterial spirit making her mostly forget what it was like to actually hit something.

The others began their focusing exercises, steeling themselves against the oncoming flock. Wind Whisper acted accordingly to her name, starting to whisper something under her breath as Thundersnow joined the circle, humming and raising a hoof over her head. The birds were following right behind her in a long, almost solid stream of ethereal claws and beaks.

"Let's see how they like this. Flames!" The shamare that lit the candles shouted, throwing a charm at the ground in front of the group.

In the split second that it took for it to land, Agate recognized it as the same kind of charm that they used to burn her body all those years back. Travelers often told her how they were extremely useful, being able to produce a comfortable fire even from completely sodden lumber. Alone, though, they only burned for a brief while, but it was enough for their purposes. The sudden pillar of flame made the birds scatter and split up, Thundersnow adding to the effect by lowering her hoof and letting out a hissing breath, fanning the flames with a sudden gust of wind.

After that, everything turned to chaos. The birds began going for them individually, each of the shamares employing different tactics. Agate began whirling around, smacking and bucking the birds, feeling an odd satisfaction at every faint thump that her hooves produced as they connected with the attackers. While actually fighting was still quite alien to her, she did both talk, observe, and travel with a lot of explorers and hunters over the years, and got to see how they moved and fought.

"Ha-haaa! Come at me, foolish beasts! I'll hit you so hard, your summoners are going to feel it!"

Pine Needle, despite being quite old, seemed to be having a blast. She swung her "spirit whacker" with great enthusiasm, pained squawks sounding out from the spirits as she pounded them flat, the birds flopping on the ground helplessly before limping away, clearly not wanting to get a second taste.

While others lacked melee weapons, their hooves were still as useful, and the oil paint seemed to grant them some measure of protection from the bird's attacks. They did their best to maintain the circle formation, kicking out and stomping on the birds as they fell. Thundersnow scattered the flock with a gust of wind when things were getting too cramped, sending a bunch of the spirits spinning out of the air.

The shamare that tossed the fire charm seemed to have either an affinity for fire or for making charms, as her saddlebags were stuffed to the brim with them. Whenever others managed to bring down a large group, or a number of birds bunched up, she'd throw one right in the middle, the sudden rush and roar of the flames almost overwhelming the panicked and pained cries of the birds.

"Don't like it? Then get lost! There's plenty more where that came from! Go back to your forests!"

Meanwhile, Wind Whisper mostly played defense, muttering under her breath and hitting any birds that got too close. As she was still quite young and inexperienced, her influence was much subtler, the wind not responding to her as swiftly or precisely as it did for Thundersnow. The other two shamares who's names Agate hadn't learned didn't seem to have magical skills suitable for the situation, but they held their own with kicks and bucks, neighing angrily at every peck and claw from the birds.

The attack was definitely fiercer than the previous one, but they didn't have the element of surprise this time around, and Thundersnow had backup, too. While the spirit's attacks still hurt, the group stood firm, drawing strength and determination from each other.

As the fight progressed, their surroundings slowly turned violent as well, the winds howling angrily as they spun in a circle around the group. Agate wasn't sure if the shamares did it themselves or whether the spirits that they befriended came to their aid of their own volition, but it worked in the northerner's favor. The birds had even more trouble getting close to them now, giving them a chance to catch their breaths.

"*Huff*, the spirit is willing, *huff*, but the flesh is old and creaky," Pine Needle panted, getting a better grip on her baton.

"Yes, we thinned them out quite a lot, but those that remain are really persistent. Let's see if we can finish them off in one fell swoop. Tinder, can you give me a big flame?" Thundersnow asked, rearing up on her hindlegs and waving them wildly in the air.

"Just say the word," The shamare with the fire charms grinned, pulling out a whole bunch of them and aiming for the candle triangle, the flames somehow still burning, despite the commotion around them.

"Alright! When I give the word, scatter!" Thundersnow shouted, stirring the air around them with her hooves, seemingly with no more effort than it would take to stir a pot. The winds obeyed her every gesture, sucking in the remaining bird spirits into a whirlwind that formed around them. "Tinder! Now!"

"Done, Thunder!" Tinder yelled back, tossing the charms onto the candles and immediately rolling away.

The remaining shamares jumped away as the charms ignited, the sheer number of them turning into a massive inferno. Thundersnow did something similar to what she did in the beginning, directing the wind to grab and blow the fire towards their attackers, the twister made of wind turning into one made of fire.

Needless to say, the effects of something like that were tremendous. For a brief moment, the mixed cacophony of caws, cries and yells was completely drowned out by the combined roar of wind and fire. Agate could feel the blistering heat, not really having considered that the warning to dodge applied to her as well. Fortunately for her, while intense, the fire burned out moments later.

Blinking the dancing spots from her eyes, she rubbed her face, feeling oddly tingly. Glancing around, she didn't see a single spirit besides herself. A further examination revealed a few faint forms fleeing westwards, though those quickly vanished into the distance. A sudden and deathly quiet overtook the place, as if the wind itself that was roaring mere moments ago was tired out from that display. The only sounds were the pops and crackles of embers smoldering on the surrounding rocks and boulders, slowly going out.

"Well," Thundersnow began, letting out a cough and thumping herself on the chest a few times. "Ahem. Well then - it looks like we're-"

BOOM.

Everyone froze, including the shamares that were halfway from picking themselves off the ground. Agate looked around again, wondering at the sound and its effects on the mares. It sounded like thunder, but at the same time, it wasn't quite right. It didn't have the whole... Rolling thing thunder did, where it hit, and the grumbling sound would continue for a while. Instead, it was a single, solid boom, ending as soon as it began.

BOOM.

It wasn't hard to track the direction of the sound, and then, to see the source. A thunderbird rose from its mountain roost, flapping its way to wherever it was going. Agate had to close her eyes and shake her head at the mind-boggling sight, turning back towards the bird a few moments later. When a pony looked at one of the gargantuan avians while the sky was clear, they appeared as if they were regular birds flying so close that you could reach out and touch them. But if there were other things in your field of view that you could use as a point of reference, like mountains or clouds, the sheer scale of the creatures made itself apparent, making your brain seize up.

BOOM.

With its massive wingspan and powerful wingbeats, it only took a few flaps for the bird to clear the entire island and move out towards the open seas. The shamares slowly let out the breaths they've been holding as the loud booms quieted down, though they didn't disappear completely. Even when they could no longer see the thunderbird, the faint sounds of thunder still reverberated in the distance.

"Do you think... We riled it up?" Wind Whisper asked quietly, stretching her legs and trying to unclench her tense muscles.

"I highly doubt it. This was a commotion, sure, but... They make their nests near, or perhaps even on the tops of the fire-spewing mountains. Compared to that, I highly doubt they even noticed, let alone cared about what happened here. Still... Hmm..." Thundersnow trailed off, looking into the distance thoughtfully.

"What's on your mind, Thundersnow?" Pine Needle asked, waving a foreleg back and forth until a crack sounded out from her joints, her expression turning marginally less grumpy.

"Well, I've been thinking about getting back at those fools. This is the second attack this year, and it doesn't look like they intend to stop. But I don't think Green Land is the best place to do it from. Even if no bystanders got caught in the mess this time, next time might not go so smoothly. Also, the sheer distance is a bit of a hindrance. I feel like getting up close and personal would be for the best."

"You'll be going southwest, then?"

"Soon. I feel like I should stock up and make some equipment first. That spirit-whacker of yours was amazingly useful in this fight."

"Ha! And all of my teachers said that such a tool would be useless! "Dealing with spirits is not like dealing with beasts that the hunters tangle with, youngling. They are wily and ephemereal, and you will need to learn how to harness the strength of your own spirit to call them out, and either appease them somehow, or force them into submission. You won't be able to just whack them on the head to make the problem go away, you'll need cunning and cleverness." Well guess what?! I must've whacked a good several dozen of them, and I'd say that worked to make them go away quite well! Who's laughing now, you old crones? Who's laughing now?! Ha ha haaaa!" The unusually melee-inclined shamare guffawed, waving her weapon with glee.

"To be fair, we didn't have such direct attacks from spirits in the past," Thundersnow pointed out with a grin, the other shamares trying to contain their giggles at the enthusiastic elder.

"Well then, it must have been fate that gave me the inspiration! Anyway, if you're going to leave... You'll be needing help, or it'll be just you against their entire tribe's shamares. And I'm afraid my bones are a bit too old for vigorous travel," Pine Needle pointed out, her victorious expression turning somewhat sour again.

"I'm not so sure. I'm quite capable, and I do have Agate by my side. If I stock up properly... Well, I would need food... Some travelling companions would be invaluable, yes, though I think I might need some fisherponies and hunters, instead of more shamares. Maybe one or two, just to watch my back now and then," Thundersnow pondered, slowly turning and trotting back towards the settlement.

Perking her ears, Wind Whisper approached her, her muscles still twitching from phantom injuries caused by the spirits. "Elder, I know that the wind and storms are your domain, but I heard that you have plenty of skills in other fields. Why don't you send some spirits to hunt the westerners, like they do?"

"Well, I'd need something to point them specifically to their shamares... You weren't there, but the first time it happened, their birds attacked everyone around, not just me. And while I'm sure I could call on great flocks of birds, I'm less confident in giving them precise orders, or enforcing them so they wouldn't forget them a day or two later. The westerner's affinity to their feathered friends is quite impressive... I could call on some water spirits, I think, but they wouldn't exactly be able to go to their forests. Hmm... No, I think I'd get the most use of my skills if I get closer. Yes, the wind spirits will sniff them out for me, and then..."

Thundersnow trailed off, muttering and planning under her breath. The other shamares escorted her back in silence, occasionally stopping to rub their backs or sides and grimacing in pain. Using her spirit sight, Agate could actually see the scratches and claw marks, faint wisps of magic leaking from the spiritual injuries.

As they reached the main road, other ponies that were out and about on their business began pointing at them and whispering, likely having seen the whole showdown from the distance. Seeing this, the mystics straightened out their backs and steadied their gait, projecting an aura of calm authority and demonstrating that it was nothing to be concerned about. Once they reached the settlement, they split off from the group one by one with a few simple goodbye nods, going towards their respective abodes.

❅ ❆ ❅

As both Agate and the shamares expected, the attack aroused the local's curiosity. Whenever they went out, ponies would approach them in twos and threes, inquiring about the situation with the western tribe and whether they had any plans of dealing with them. Thundersnow let it slip that she was planning to travel southwards, and it didn't take long for that tidbit to make it's rounds both across the settlement and the nearest islands.

While most ponies knew not to get between fighting shamares, the northern tribe wasn't exactly known for being timid or overly averse to risk and danger, especially when threats to their tribe were involved. The numbers weren't too great, but a bunch of volunteers began arriving, eager to help Thundersnow knock the arrogant westerners down a peg or two. Most were old and grizzled, ponies that already raised their children to adulthood and made peace with the possibility of falling in battle in defense of their tribe. A decent chunk were young and sprightly, though, looking for experience and to prove themselves, their hooves itching to go out and travel after spending the last few years helping with construction in the Smoky Bay.

All in all, around thirty ponies showed up over the course of a couple weeks. Thundersnow spent the time preparing and stocking up the best she could, the volunteers doing the same. Now that they mostly figured out the process, she made a few more crystals with Agate, eager to try and incorporate them into snowpony enchantments.

"Now, this is the pattern of runes that befuddles the sight of hostile spirits and beasts. Let's test the potency of the enchantment, shall we?" Thundersnow inquired, pressing down on a rune-covered parchment with with her hooves, a glowing amethyst sphere set on top.

"How are you going to do that?" Agate inquired, examining the largely unfamiliar magic.

"Well, there's no hostile spirits around, but that specific part can be removed," She explained, putting her hoof over one section and focusing. "If I leave just the confounding element active... There we go. What does it feel like?"

"Euuurgh," Agate complained, squinting and rubbing her eyes with a foreleg. "It's like... Stars, it's been so long since I felt that... It's like when you wake up with your eyes completely gunked up, and it hurts to open them, and you just want to close them again. No wonder monsters avoid your villages, if that's what they get whenever they look at them."

"Heh. Good to know that it's working so well. Usually, powerful spirits like you can resist those effects. It looks like crystals really do improve things," Thundersnow mused, picking up the amethyst and stopping the magic.

"That was weird. I never felt anything like that, even though I passed by thousands of wards and stuff over the years."

"Well, you never had any ill intent towards us, did you? I remember the stories of your own tribe's defenses. The shield from the, ah, Crystal Heart, was it? It only prevented beings with hostile intent from entering, did it not? Or was it an impassable wall?"

"No, lots of ponies went outside and back every day," Agate confirmed, blinking the last of the uncomfortable feeling out of her eyes.

"Well, this certainly won't have even a fraction of that artifact's power, but I'm sure it will help regardless. Ancestors..." The shamare sighed, shaking her head. "I'd love to sit and experiment for months, but I don't think I can really afford to. What say you, should we get this expedition moving?"

While most of the other shamares weren't coming along, they happily provided a bunch of supplies as well, giving her sacks of small jars with tinctures and potions. Tinder gave Thundersnow a saddlebag stuffed with fire charms, while Pine Needle unceremoniously tossed her spirit whacker to the surprised shamare. At her look, she shrugged.

"I'll just make another one. This isn't some irreplaceable artifact, and you're almost definitely going to need it more than me."

To their surprise, Wind Whisper decided to come along, though she didn't look particularly happy about it. The young mare stood off to the side, letting the wind caress her mane and listening to something others could not hear. Seeing her demeanor, Thundersnow shook her head, approaching the apprentice shamare.

"You don't have to come along, you know. No one's forcing you."

Wind Whisper gave her a long, blank look, eventually smiling mirthlessly. "It is time for my Journey either way, elder. It's just not the way how I imagined my trip would go."

"Ah. I'll admit, that part slipped my mind completely. I don't think there's going to be many of our shamares travelling west to partake in the westerner's "wisdom" any time soon. You could go south, though?"

"I visit Snowpitt every Gathering anyway," Wind Whisper replied with a shrug. "This should be a learning experience either way, even if it's not how it usually goes."

"I will do my best to teach you what I know," Thundersnow reassured her, patting the younger mare on the shoulder before turning towards the rest of the ponies. "Well, everyone, while I'm sure some of you, like me, would like to prepare more before moving out, the truth is, we have little idea of what else the westerners might send at us. The best we can do is stick to the greatest strength that defines our tribe: Adapt and overcome! Our ancestors overcame everything the deep north threw at us, and we will likewise overcome anything the conniving westerners think up. Let us go!"

A cheer rose, both from the expeditionary force and the crowd of onlookers. Without delay or fanfare, the group made their way to the bay, retrieving their boats and stowing their equipment. Before long, they were paddling away from Green Land, moving southwest.

❅ ❆ ❅

Taking part in a seaborne expedition was old hat to Agate at this point, and this one went largely the same, despite the rather different goal. None of the participants were really happy about going out to confront the westerners, but they were determined to see it through.

They went from island to island, their journey unimpeded by anything supernatural. The weather wasn't always on their side, but there didn't seem to be anything to it other than the natural climate of the north. No spirits stalked them, though they didn't know whether it was because the westerners were gathering strength after the last ritual, or they thought that Thundersnow was still in Smoky Bay, and sent their attacks there. The northerners were confident that the shamares that remained behind could deal with whatever came, though.

Everyone brought provisions, of course, but they all knew that relying solely on those wouldn't end well, especially given the uncertain time frame of their mission. It slowed them a bit, but they spent some time catching fish and seaweed around uninhabited islands and trading or doing odd jobs in the populated ones. There was always something to do for a travelling group, and they often split up every which way, taking messages or cargo for payment, meeting up on some bigger island further down the route.

Usually, Agate didn't have all that much to do on these trips while they were at sea. She couldn't exactly help with paddling, and her magical talents were mostly tied to the earth. This time, though, Thundersnow kept talking to her about crystals, asking her to charge or attempt to change them in various ways. Recovering her magic always took longer than it would have if she rested in her totem, so she spent quite a few days half-asleep, splayed out on the bottom of a boat and gazing at the sky in a dreamlike state.

After a few weeks of travel, though, their routine changed. As they were getting quite close to the westerner's territories, the group stopped doing side jobs, travelling together again. Everyone was much more alert, and Thundersnow had to stop her experiments with Agate. Once she recovered from the last one, the shamare asked her to use her shapeshifting skills to scout around and see if there was anything heading their way, as well as to get the lay of the land.

Thundersnow's plan was to find an uninhabited island somewhere not too far from the westerner's shores, and set up a base of operations there. Even with the northern tribe expanding across the entire region, there were still some islands that were left alone, either due to being barren, or because the tribesponies collectively agreed to leave them empty as resting and resupply spots for merchants and travelers.

Plans can change quite drastically with the right circumstances, though, and it didn't even take for contact with the enemy to occur for that particular plan to get tossed. During one of her flights, Agate ranged out quite far northwards, not really noticing the distance she was covering as she pondered the whole situation, wondering how this conflict was going to develop further. She was only knocked out of her thoughts when she spotted a huge mass of white floating in the ocean. Circling the ice floe, she considered it for a few moments before turning back. Once she returned, Thundersnow was very, very intrigued by what she found.

"My my, how interesting... How big did you say it was?"

"Well, it's a bit hard to tell the size of things when you're that high up," Agate mused, pursing her lips in thought. "Everything looks tiny, but I'm pretty sure that ice floe was massive. Easily as big as some islands, and definitely bigger than the last one we rested in. Twice as big, if I'd have to guess."

"Ancestors, this has to be either an omen, or a stroke of luck..."

"What do you mean, Thundersnow? How is a massive ice floe in the sea of any use to us?" Agate inquired, several onlookers also looking a bit confused.

"You'll see. Everyone! To your boats! We have an ice floe to catch! Agate, will you guide us? If it's as big as you said, it shouldn't have moved much, and it shouldn't be hard to find again, either."

"Sure, I guess? I haven't memorized the location all that well, so I think it'll be best if I fly for this one. Get going, and just follow me."

The ponies all nodded, getting ready to move out as Agate worked her magic, picturing feathers appearing on her forelegs as her ethereal body shifted and changed. Before long, she was back in her bird form, shaking out her wings and taking off. She circled around the expeditioners a couple times while they paddled a sufficient distance away from the shore, crying out in an avian fashion to get their attention.

The northerners were very swift in their boats, but still not as swift as a spirit in flight. Agate had to constantly circle around, eventually deciding to land on the prow of the leading vessel instead. She'd take off again to get her bearings now and then, making a few circles before returning to point towards where they needed to go.

It was a bit of a backtrack, though they were moving straight north instead of northeast. The distance was quite large, and despite setting off quite early, it was dark by the time they reached the ice floe, the frozen mass shining brightly even in the darkness of the night. The tired paddlers rubbed their eyes, looking for a spot suitable to disembark and bring their boats over.

As Agate considered the sight before her, the pieces began to fall together in her head. The same thing was clearly happening with the rest of the expedition, the tired ponies grinning crookedly as they examined the ice floe, as if appreciating a particularly daring stunt. Thundersnow clearly wanted to turn the huge mass of ice into a floating base of operations. It was strange, unusual, and possibly a little bit crazy, but the northern tribe absolutely thrived on all of those things, and their approval was clear in their expressions as they disembarked. The shamare clearly didn't need to spend any time selling the idea to them.

"Well, Agate, what do you think? All the drinking water we might need, and a conveniently mobile encampment that doesn't mean sleeping on a boat. So many uses! We can make sure we get far away from populated islands so our kin don't get caught up in any of our clashes with the westerners, we can fish safely in the open waters, and sleep soundly on a solid surface!" Thundersnow exclaimed gleefully, tapping her hoof on the ice.

"How solid is it, really? I know it's really wide, but... Also, can you really control where something this big will go?"

"I'll sound it out tomorrow, but I can already tell that it goes quite deep. As to steering it... Well, the weather may be my domain, but seeing just how much time we spend on the water, I made sure to make plenty of friends among the water spirits, believe me. Might take a little effort until I get the hang of it, but I bet I could ram this thing right into the westerner's shore, if I felt like it."

"If you say so. Where are you going to live, though? You'll build igloos?"

"Yes indeed! There's certainly no shortage of materials. Spirits, this thing goes on for leagues... Oh, this will be interesting in so many ways..."

Agate left them to set up camp, the exhausted travelers deciding to just bundle up in their boats for the night. After trotting around the glimmering landscape for a bit, she joined them, dreaming dreams of snowy landscapes and strange spirits.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next few days were spent settling in, the regular ponies carving up great chunks of ice to build a proper northern encampment, while the shamares did their thing. When she wasn't practicing crystal magic with Agate, Thundersnow spent her time teaching Wind Whisper everything she knew. The young mare wasn't the most skilled or powerful, but she was an eager learner, and it showed.

"Now then, we should put some defensive wards on the igloos. Nothing too big, something we can work on and improve later, if the need arises. Here, you carve the ice like this..."

"Like so, elder?"

"Yes, very good. Now, breathe some power into it..."

Once more, Agate couldn't really contribute, so she went flying, trying to see just where, exactly, they were in relation to the other islands. Their group had some well-traveled ponies, but the Thousand Islands was a very, very confusing region, and each pony usually only knew a small portion of the whole. Getting a better lay of the land would only benefit them in the long run.

On its own, the massive ice floe was slowly drifting southeast, which wasn't the direction they needed to go. It did take a bit of trying, but Thundersnow demonstrated that she wasn't the kind of mare to make promises she wasn't able to deliver on. Calling upon the sea in an impressive show of power, she nudged it southwest, towards where their opponents lay.

Such a massive mode of transport wasn't exactly subtle, of course, and that was putting it extremely mildly. They passed some islands along their way, their inhabitants awed and impressed by the scale and ambition of the craft, once they saw that the ice floe was not only inhabited, but went at the direction of a shamare. They gave blessings and gifts to them, exclaiming that the northern spirits clearly approved of their mission, a view that Thundersnow shared.

Such a reaction spawned rumors, of course, the news spreading among the local islanders like wildfire. And, since they were quite close to the western territory, it wasn't too much of a stretch to guess that the westerners would find out about it quite soon as well. There was no shortage of merchants making their rounds through the area, and they traded in news as often as they did in goods.

Thundersnow wasn't worried, however, smiling from ear to ear as they slowly floated south. In fact, she was hoping the western shamares would hear that she was coming for them. It wasn't just to give them a fright, though she relished the thought. She also wanted them to try and attack her first, so she could task some spirits with tracking down the source and finally send a proper response herself.

About a week after they landed on the floe, a whole bunch of extra passengers unexpectedly joined their crew. A rather sizeable pod of seals flopped out of the water, snorting and honking curiously at the ponies. Their arrival was the last straw - in the opposite meaning of the saying, that is. If any of the ponies still had even the tiniest sliver of a doubt about their undertaking, being joined by their favorite friends and companions removed it completely. Thanking the spirits of the north for their blessings, they fished and played with the seals, stocking up and preparing for whatever the westerners were going to throw at them.

They named their vessel "Battle Glacier" - which was incorrect, of course, since it was an ice floe and not a glacier, but the name stuck. Even Agate, who usually really didn't care much about these things, had to admit that a floating base on a massive ice floe, directed and steered by powerful magic of but a single individual, slowly encroaching upon the ponies that sent cowardly attacks towards them was a pretty damn awesome sight.

If only its purpose wasn't to go and fight members of their sister tribe...

Cold War

It took a few more days after the seals came for something to happen. A storm suddenly rolled in from the south, a stunningly violent one for a calm spring day. The clouds were dark and charged with lightning, the water droplets practically moving sideways due to the force of the wind. Grinning wryly, Thundersnow strutted outside, taking a long whiff of the air before ushering the regular ponies to their igloos.

"They should have stuck to their birds," She shouted over the noise to Agate and Wind Whisper, still smiling. "I'd have far more trouble with those than the air spirits. Oh yes, they have been my friends before I could even talk properly. Wind Whisper, you just watch and listen, no need to expend your strength. I'll deal with this."

The young mare nodded, having to struggle a bit just to keep her grip on the wet ice and not get blown into the sea. Agate kept silent, not really having anything to say. Glancing around, she took in the weather, trying to figure out how to spot the differences between a natural and a shamare-summoned storm. Besides its sudden appearance, though, it looked like any old storm.

Taking another deep, deep breath, Thundersnow performed her wind howl, getting the wind spirit's attention in their own language. Agate kept her ears perked as the shamare continued her conversation, but the bits she managed to catch just sounded like more wind noises, such as whistling or leaves shaking in the branches.

This went on for a little while, Thundersnow employing all kinds of ways of communication, from whistling to dancing around, gesticulating wildly all the time. As with most shamaric magic, it looked incomprehensible to Agate, though Wind Whisper was watching with rapt attention, her eyes wide with wonder.

The odd thing was that the winds not only didn't seem to be calming, but they were getting even more violent, if anything. Thundersnow's shock-white mane and tail were getting tossed about in every possible direction despite getting wet, the entire storm's fury concentrating in a small space around the mare. A bolt of lightning even struck the ice floe not too far from them, briefly blinding and deafening the pair of observers. Thundersnow's demeanor was still calm, though, the mystic smiling serenely as the wind almost lifted her off the ice. She was clearly in her element.

When it came, the climax of Thundersnow's efforts was oddly sudden. The winds kept raging around the shamare for a bit more, until it all just... Stopped. The small island of violence became an island of tranquility, everything around them coming to a deathly still. They could still hear the storm howling in the distance, but their immediate surroundings were as calm as calm can be.

"Huh," Agate breathed quietly, impressed by such a complete turnaround.

That wasn't all, though. After taking a few moments to catch her breath, Thundersnow began dancing again, whistling and gesticulating southwards. It wasn't hard to guess that she intended to return the summoned storm right back to its senders. Gradually, the wind picked up again, the grumbling clouds getting pushed southwards at the shamare's behest. She watched them go with a satisfied look on her face, the storm becoming even fiercer than it was when it came upon them.

Though she looked mostly spent, her legs shaking a little and her breaths heaving, Thundersnow still stood strong, arching her neck proudly as she gazed upon her hoofwork. Absently brushing some water out of her coat, she looked around for any damage. The lightning cracked a good chunk of ice off the main body and the rain melted off a thin layer from the surface, but the damage to their vessel was superficial, given just how massive the ice floe was.

"That should send quite the message," She finally spoke, turning towards the encampment.

Cheers arose from the direction of the igloos, a number of pony's heads peeking out from the entrances. While they did take shelter, they clearly wanted to see the whole thing go down, opting to observe discreetly instead of just waiting it out. Now that the worst of it was over, they came out, wonderingly looking around. Though the wind was blowing hard, it was now their familiar northern wind that was on their side, rather than the southern one that assailed them moments before, and they greeted it with smiles.

"What exactly did you do, Thundersnow? Just send the storm back, or was there something more?" Agate inquired, trotting up to walk alongside the tired shamare.

"Nothing more than what they tried doing to us," She replied with a shrug. "I convinced the spirits to go back to the ones that called upon them in the first place, though I did add a bit of a kick to the storm. Those fools should hope that their homes are sturdy, or they'll get their roofs ripped right off. I told them back in Snowpitt what would happen if they dared to attack my tribe again. They chose not to heed my warning, which they are free to do... As they are to suffer the consequences for their actions."

With a nod to the onlookers, she made her way to her igloo, clearly intending to take a nap. Respectfully nodding back, the ponies went back to their tasks, chattering excitedly about what they just witnessed. Wind Whisper, meanwhile, remained where she stood before, ears perked as she listened to the wind.

❅ ❆ ❅

Thus began what snowpony lorekeepers later referred to as the "Spirit War of Woods and Ice", though the northerners actually had some trouble with the ice part. The journey from Snowpitt to Smoky bay and then going southwest took almost two months, not to mention the time Thundersnow spent preparing back in Green Land. Spring was in full swing, with summer looming on the horizon. And summer meant warm weather with lots of sun, which meant bad news for the slowly melting ice floe.

Fortunately for them, the northern tribe's shamares knew how to manipulate ice well enough to make weapons out of it, so magically reinforcing a good chunk of the ice floe to stop it from melting wasn't too large of a task. Still, that did mean spending effort fighting both the seasons and the westerner's attacks, which put even more responsibility of Thundersnow's shoulders.

That was not to say that Wind Whisper didn't carry her weight. The young trainee spent lots of time listening, both to the spirits and to her elders.

"Hmmm..."

"What's the matter, Wind? Do you hear something coming?" Thundersnow inquired, absent-mindedly examining the ice around them.

"It's... Already here, elder. Can you feel that gentle breeze from the south?"

"Yes, though it's not particularly strong, so I don't see what- Oh! Oh, I think I know what you mean. It's warm, isn't it?"

"Yes, that is my concern. I can hear the faint whispers... I think the wind spirits were nudged to blow this way, though it was done very subtly."

"Well now, how impressive! It took them this long to finally do something that's actually clever for once. Instead of attacking us directly, they're trying to melt the ice right from under our hooves. Heh heh... Let's see, then. How about we work together on this one? You gently nudge the spirits to blow, say, a bit more east, and I'll call upon the northern winds to come to our aid," Thundersnow suggested, tossing her mane back with a flourish and sitting down in a meditative position.

Perking her ears, Wind Whisper nodded slowly, her expression not entirely certain, but still determined. "Very well, elder."

Since they were not in a rush this time, their respective rituals were far more calmer and orderly than when dealing with violent weather. Bit by bit, the gentle breeze slowed to the point it was barely even noticeable, getting overtaken by a more vigorous wind blowing in from the north soon after. With a smile, Thundersnow proudly patted Wind Whisper on the back, the young mare giving a small smile in return.

❅ ❆ ❅

That wasn't the only trick the westerners tried to pull. A few weeks later, one of the ponies that came with them, an old, faded-brown colored stallion that simply introduced himself as Stout, trotted over to where Thundersnow was meditating.

"Pardon me, shamare."

"Hmm? Was there something you needed, elder? Any trouble in the water, or the air?"

Though Thundersnow was the leader of this expedition, the regular ponies were pretty much doing their own thing and acting as support in the background rather than taking direct orders all the time, so they developed their own hierarchy, with Stout becoming the leader of the non-mage ponies by virtue of being the most experienced among them.

"Not exactly as such, but water might be the issue. Looking at the sky, I believe we are moving eastwards, with a touch of north. Now, there's no currents here that go that way, we spent enough time fishing around here to learn that. None that go there naturally, anyways."

"Ahhhh... So they are trying to get rid of me by simply shoving me away," The shamare grinned, though she was interrupted by a yawn. "Blast it, I'm too tired to deal with this right now... Then again, why bother? Let's use this to our own advantage."

"How do we do that?"

"I'll nudge the water spirits ever so gently, so that they take us by some islands where we can do some trading. And when we're done and I catch my breath a little, I'll send us floating right back to the westerner's shores. Remind me again, which ones were the biggest in the region, specifically to the east of us?"

"Hmmm..."

Agate, having listened to the conversation, butted in. "There's only one really big one, I think, called Curved Shore, though Shell Island is quite populated despite its small size, and it's popular with traders."

"Excellent. Thank you, Agate. Your scouting flights really are invaluable at helping us navigate these unfamiliar waters. Now then... Shell Island, perhaps? Agate, could you give me a direction?"

"Sure. Give me a moment."

"No rush. This thing moves like a glacier, after all. Heh."

Once they got close to their goal, the fisherponies and the rest paddled off with fresh catch that they got with the help of the seals, coming back with small bundles of wood or other necessities. At some local's requests, they even traded off chunks of the ice floe, drinking water being in high demand on some islands. Once they were done, Thundersnow did her thing, and they were moving west again.

The westerners tried the same thing a few more times, and though it greatly tired Thundersnow, she still managed to bring the Battle Glacier back to the western shore, making sure to get the most use out of it every time, letting the ponies get their trading done before moving out. Eventually, they gave up on shoving the ice floe back and forth, and went back to their previous methods.

❅ ❆ ❅

Though sending storms at Thundersnow seemed like a fool's errand, given her affinity to wild weather, the westerners still tried it on occasion. Perhaps it was pride - they didn't want to admit that she was their superior in that regard, or perhaps they were simply trying to wear her out. On the latter choice, it was working, whether it was intentional or not.

"Hooo... That'll... *Gasp* Show them. Ugh..."

"Are you alright, Thundersnow?" Agate inquired, eyeing the quivering shamare with a critical eye.

"I am fine, Agate. Just... Phew. Need a breather. Wrangling storms this big is not easy, even if I make it look like it is," The shamare waved it off, though she had to immediately put that leg back down on the ice to keep her balance.

"Go take a rest, then. Nothing ever happened right after we beat off another attack, so I don't think anything is going to happen now. We'll keep watch, right, Wind Whisper?"

"Of course, traveler spirit."

"Sure, sure... Just a... Short nap."

They all watched as the tired mystic ambled to her igloo, trying not to trip. Once she went in, Wind Whisper gave Agate a respectful nod, and went closer to the edge of the ice floe, going back to her quiet listening. Pursing her lips, Agate kept watching Thundersnow's igloo for a while, eventually shaking her head.

"She can't keep going like this..." She thought out loud, the old habit never really having gone away.

"Hm. She is quite powerful, but shamares are still ponies... Are you afraid she'll hurt herself? She's too disciplined for that from what I saw, but I know little about shamares," An unfamiliar voice spoke from behind Agate.

Blinking, the spirit turned around, examining the pony that overheard her. It was a young mare, one that she recognized by face, but never really got her name. Agate was on friendly enough terms with everyone in the expedition, but she spent most of her time around Thundersnow, so didn't really have the time to get to know anyone.

"Ah, hello. Didn't see you back there. As to your question... I'm not sure. I spent some time with Thundersnow, and she is fairly disciplined, but I never saw her give up or back down. And if getting some rest means giving up the fight, well... I really am not sure what she's going to do."

"Are you planning to do anything about it? Occupy the westerners for a while with some clever trick, or perform some protective magic to keep them off our backs?" She asked eagerly, leaning into Agate so closely, their muzzles were almost touching, her deep blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Oh, ah... I'm not one with flashy magics like that, really..."

"Oh? But my grandmother said you had all sorts of tricks up your sleeves, and you surely got better since then! Though, she did say the most you did back in the day was scouting..." She trailed off thoughtfully, gazing into the distance.

"Grandmother? Let's back up a little, I don't even know your name yet. And who is your grandmother? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your family," Agate said, looking the mare up and down. Blue eyes, gradient, creamy coat and mane that slowly turned dark gray as it went lower... Nothing rung a bell, though.

"Ah, well, it was quite some years ago now, and you didn't travel with her all that much, from what she told me. But those journeys were most memorable, according to her! Her name is Harpoon. Oh, silly me... My name is Spear Whittle, daughter of Salmon Scale and Fishtail, granddaughter of Harpoon and Net Weave."

None of those names jumped out to Agate, save one. "Oh, Harpoon... I remember her. There were three of them, on my very first expedition. Harpoon, Seaweed, and... Dang it, who- Oh yes, Wave Splash. I never kept in contact, though... I met hundreds of ponies just that time alone."

"No no, don't feel bad about it! Of course you can't keep up with everyone you meet, especially when you travel as much as you do. You must have went on dozens - no, hundreds of expeditions over the years, and met thousands of ponies. Why, there's a bunch of us here because of you, and I doubt you were with any of our ancestors all that long."

"What do you mean by here because of me?"

"Well..."

That was when she learned that not everyone came on the expedition because of Thundersnow. Almost half of the thirty that came, thirteen ponies to be precise, actually came there because of Agate. Their parents or grandparents told their children stories of their adventures with the traveler spirit, and when the news came, they wanted to experience it for themselves. So, it wasn't just a single group on the Battle Glacier, one that was entirely Thundersnow's posse. Agate had a posse all of her own, eager to talk to her and even perform tasks for her, if she had any.

"Well, this is interesting," Agate mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she observed the ponies sitting in front of her.

"What are you thinking, Agate?" Spear Whittle inquired, the mare seemingly becoming the leader of the group without being aware of it, the other ponies respectfully lining up behind her.

"Mostly, I'm thinking about how to solve this whole mess. I've been thinking about it for over a year, though, so don't expect some kind of grand wisdom from me. All I can tell you so far is that this isn't working, and I don't think we can keep this going all that long."

A number of ponies exchanged uncertain glances, Spear Whittle speaking up again after a moment of considering Agate's words. "Could you elaborate a little on your thoughts, please?"

"Hm. Well, to try and summarize, I'm not sure Thundersnow can keep up with the strain of fighting the westerner shamares, and it doesn't look like they're going to give up any time soon. Even if Thundersnow could handle it, we could end up staying here for years, just tossing storms and spirits back and forth."

"Well, what else are we supposed to do? They attacked us first, and they kept attacking us afterwards! The only way I see is to keep going until their spirits are broken and they give up!" A young stallion from the back exclaimed, his fiery statement being met with mutters of agreement from the crowd.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to justify their actions in any way. Just... From what I saw, our adversaries are immensely prideful, and Thundersnow is... Similar in her demeanor. Breaking down their will could take not years, but decades, if it works at all. Something tells me they might end up bringing destruction upon themselves rather than back down, and in the meantime, the battle could cause irreparable damage to many things, from inter-tribal relations to the environment. What I want is a solution that is both swifter than that and... Permanent would be the word, I guess."

"By permanent, do you mean...?" The same stallion trailed off meaningfully, hefting his spear in a manner that conveyed exactly how he interpreted the word.

Huffing, Agate shook her head. "That could end very badly for the northern tribe. Rightful or not, killing their shamares would forever paint the tribe as the villains in the other tribe's eyes."

"You know that it's just luck that no one died from the westerner's attacks yet, right? My cousin was in Green Land when they sent their birds there last year. She got nicked and fell overboard. In other circumstances, that might have well been a death sentence. And that storm after the Gathering, when the chieftain was travelling back north? We are brave, not foolish, and we know not to go out to sea during storms. If they were any further from an island than they were, there would have definitely been casualties," A different stallion spoke, his voice quiet, but firm and filled with conviction.

"Well, luck or not, if we kill first, we'll still look like the bad guys. And I know that the northerners are finally self-sufficient and don't strictly need the other tribes any more... But is that how you want to live? Cast off your sister tribes as soon as they're of no more use to you?" Agate chided her followers, her words making most of them fold their ears in shame.

"What do you suggest, then?" Spear Whittle asked.

"Urg... I don't know, but I'm not the only pony involved in this. So far, my only thought is that we need the chieftain. No, both chieftains. I know that shamares can overrule chieftains in some areas, but right now, the westerner shamares are acting like a bunch of foals, and they need to be brought in line. Problem is, we don't even know the name of the westerner's new chieftain yet. Jagged Ice... He wanted to negotiate with the westerner's chieftain, once he found out. He needs to be told exactly what is happening here. I think... I think what I need most right now is a messenger. Probably more than one," Agate pondered, her brows furrowed.

"You can fly faster than any of us can paddle, though?" Spear Whittle pointed out.

"Yes, but my magic is limited. I can't be everywhere at once, and flying to Green Land would still take a full day or more, and I would need rest... And Thundersnow needs my help, something I can do, but you can't. So. Who is willing to take a message for me?"

It took a few moments, but eventually, all thirteen ponies raised their hooves, smiling with excitement.

❅ ❆ ❅

Though Agate couldn't help with talking to nature spirits or other shamaric stuff, she did perform no small amount of magic to keep everyone safe. Among all the safety measures Thundersnow made to keep their floating encampment safe were the crystals that helped power the sight-confounding wards against hostile beings.

While the two shamares were more powerful, Agate was still a crystal pony spirit. It took her only a fraction of the magic they would have had to spend to recharge the crystals, though even that amount taxed her sometimes, given how intense some of the attacks were.

The wards definitely did their job, though, the flocks of westerner's bird spirits circling the ice floe in confusion, crying out in anger and frustration the entire time. They knew their quarry was somewhere nearby, but most of them weren't quite able to see it. Now and then, a lucky or particularly strong specimen would charge down at them, followed by a small wing of its kin. Such scattered attacks were laughably easy to repel, however, and they dealt with the aerial raids without too much issue.

Mostly, Thundersnow would repel the westerner's attacks and send a response if she wasn't too drained, though she did toss a few storms here and there during the periods when she was able to get enough rest. Nothing either group did seemed to have any effect on the other side, though. While the northerners couldn't really see how well - or how badly - the western shamares were doing, their attacks didn't stop or slow down. And while their adversaries did their best to get rid of them, none of the ponies in the expedition felt like they should give up, either. This stalemate kept going all throughout what remained of spring, the entire summer, and well into autumn. While Thundersnow was still tired, she managed to keep going, though not without support from everyone in the expedition.

"They just keep coming!" Wind Whisper yelled, smacking down another bird spirit swooping down at her.

"Ancestors, they really wrangled up a lot this time, haven't they?" Thundersnow grumbled, waving Pine Needle's spirit whacker around.

"Thundersnow, I don't know how long I can keep going!" Agate shouted, seeing blackness creep into the edges of her vision as she kept the wards up.

"Hold on just a while longer! We can deal with this!"

Usually, the non-mage ponies would take shelter during such attacks, but a few stallions just happened to return from a fishing trip. Two quickly dashed to their igloos, but one slowed down, intently examining what Thundersnow was doing.

"Shamare, could I use that weapon?" He asked, dodging the swooping birds.

"What? Use the... Yes! Yes, of course! Oh, I've been stupid, I should have made more, enough for- Gah! Catch!" Thundersnow yelled, tossing the rod to the stallion and smacking herself for her shortsightedness.

With a grin, the old hunter took a moment to feel the weapon's weight and balance before jumping into the fight, smashing the spirits apart with great swings. Thundersnow and Wind Whisper took the momentary respite to catch their breaths, the elder shamare's eyes darting about as she tried to think of a solution.

"Warriors!" She yelled, galloping to her igloo. "I need your aid!"

Spirits really weren't their area of expertise, but the hunters still assembled fairly swiftly, despite the rather doubtful looks on their faces. Almost immediately, the birds started going for them, and, much as they expected, their spears and harpoons didn't have any effect on the ethereal creatures. Some tried to use their hooves, but in their confusion and uncertainty, their swings were slow and easily avoidable.

"Here! To me!" Thundersnow yelled again, emerging from her igloo with a few clay pots. "Dip your spears and rub your hooves in this!"

She immediately started applying the same oily paint Agate saw the shamares use back in Green Land on their weapons, the ponies quickly getting the idea and grabbing the clay pots themselves. Naturally, the bird spirits took the opportunity to swarm the group, but the experienced hunters were used to the sensation of animals clawing at them. Wincing in pain, they grimaced angrily, immediately turning around and getting into the fight as soon as the painting was done.

"Yaaaargh!"

"Choke on this, you damned flying pillows! You chose the wrong mare to try and eat!"

"Ancestors, guide my aim!"

Seeing this, Agate let go of the crystal, the ward rapidly losing power due to the sheer amount of creatures that were trying to penetrate its defenses. Collapsing on the ice, her mind foggy, she watched as the birds that were circling around finally saw their targets, attacking the ponies with victorious cries.

Their victory was not to be, however. While the paint didn't seem to work as well as it did when shamares used it, it worked well enough to cause noticeable pain and disrupt whatever enchantments the westerners put on the birds, if they got hit a sufficient amount of times. Despite the much larger than usual numbers of hostile spirits, the ponies that were actually experienced in melee combat tore through their opponents with ease.

After the fighting was done, the victorious ponies cheered, still looking a bit confused at the lack of blood from their injuries and other oddities from fighting spirits, but pleased with their success nonetheless. None of them noticed the one casualty from the battle, save Wind Whisper.

Approaching Agate, the young shamare laid down in front of her with a concerned frown, looking into the spirit's glazed and unfocused eyes. Closing her own, she took in a deep breath, aligning her muzzle perfectly with Agate's as she breathed out. Seeing the spirit's eyelids flutter, she kept going as the fog slowly lifted from Agate's mind.

"Blarg," She spoke eloquently, trying to wave a hoof, but only succeeding in a lazy flop.

"Shhh," Wind Whisper shushed, continuing her treatment.

After a few more breaths, Agate managed to sit up, feeling weird and tingly. She saw shamares using the same technique to help sick ponies heal, but it had been a long, long time since she needed help herself. Shaking herself to try and get rid of the odd tingles, she nodded to Wind Whisper.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Just doing my part, small as it is."

The whole thing didn't go unnoticed by the others, though most of them kept a respectful distance. The ponies from Agate's group were more curious, though, surrounding them in a small semicircle. Once Wind Whisper was done, several of them lay down next to Agate, examining her.

"Is there any way we can ease your burdens?" Spear Whittle asked, glancing at the crystal from the corner of her eye.

"Not unless you can help me charge that crystal, no," Agate shrugged, rubbing her face with her hooves, not really expecting what happened next.

"Could we?"

"I already learned how to get light from these so I can save on wood and don't have to use a torch."

"I did too, is that enough to charge this crystal?"

"It looks different, though, does it work the same?"

Blinking, Agate considered the situation. She had been teaching ponies how to use crystals for a while now, and she saw plenty of them using them during the dark months to light up their surroundings and homes. The ward required significantly more power than producing light did, but channeling magic into it was the exact same process.

"Well... That's an interesting question. You probably can. I'd love to find out, but I'm a bit tired now. How about we go somewhere a bit more relaxing and we talk about things, first?"

Of course, the Battle Glacier didn't exactly have anything other than plain ice, at least at first. Still, the ponies had some free time between fishing or trading trips, and they spent it in various ways. Some improved their dwellings, while others engaged in making ice sculptures, decorating their surroundings with statues of various real and mythological ponies and creatures, ice carving being a popular pastime in the northern tribe. Agate was still surprised just how detailed and realistic some of them were.

One of the other things they built was a small meeting hall of sorts, though it was just an extra large igloo that was a bit oblong instead of being perfectly circular. Bending down, Agate slid inside, her crew following after her. Once they were all there, she reflexively counted heads, stopping at nine. The missing ones were out on messenger runs, only having left recently.

"So. We've been here for a good part of the year. Doesn't feel like we achieved all that much, though," Agate began, after the silence dragged on for a bit too long.

"We haven't backed down either, though. The westerners would have kept sending attacks at Green Land, probably catching more unaware ponies in their shenanigans," Spear Whittle shrugged, the others nodding.

"Right. Still, when ponies fight beasts, it's usually over quickly. That's what I learned both from stories and my personal experience, at least. One wrong step, and that's it either for you or your enemy. This... I honestly didn't know what to expect from this whole thing, since I didn't have any experience of ponies battling other ponies... Not that anyone in the three tribes does, either. I don't think anyone here expected this to be such a... Such a... Slog."

"Hmmm... That's true, I suppose. I don't think we did." Spear Whittle agreed with a slow nod.

"What about the chieftain? Any news from that front?" A different mare asked.

"The last messengers returned a couple days ago, while you were out fishing. Not a lot of news, unfortunately. Each run only brings us crumbs," Agate groused.

Which was true. The northern reaches where the tribe made their homes was a vast territory. Not that they were unaware of the fact, of course, but the sheer distances really made themselves apparent when you tried to have a conversation with someone that was on the other side of the northerner's lands - or waters, as it were.

The messengers took weeks to make the journey one way, and then had to spend weeks again just to get back, making the whole information process move at a glacial pace. Jagged Ice was very happy to receive Agate's missives, and he shared everything that he managed to find out with her.

The first thing that they learned was the westerner's chieftain's name, Firm Root. Jagged Ice didn't know much about the stallion. Apparently, he was the second in command after Oak Bark, and he would stay behind and look over their people during winter, while the migrating portion of their tribe would go to the Gathering in Snowpitt. That made him a bit of an enigma. He didn't have any interactions with any of the northerners involved in the conflict, which was potentially a good thing, as that should have meant that he wouldn't have any prejudices against them. At the same time, though, he was Oak Bark's right hoof, which could also mean that the former chieftain and his shamares twisted his knowledge about them.

Jagged Ice sent messengers of his own to talk to the stallion about the conflict between their tribes, but he had the same problem that Agate did, except it was even worse for him. His messengers had to travel across the sea and the western forests to reach their destination, and that was only at first. As the clashes between Thundersnow and the western shamares really kicked off, travelling ponies of both tribes started avoiding the region, not wanting to get caught in a rogue storm or be attacked by spirits. Just like the northerners, the other tribes also had cautionary tales about what would happen if a pony got caught between feuding shamares. The situation meant that the chieftain's messengers had to travel south, gallop across the southern tribe's tundra, and only then reach the forests, being forced to make a half-circle instead of going in a straight line.

Fortunately, the westerner's new chieftain appeared reasonable, at the very least. From what Jagged Ice told Agate's ponies, Firm Root heard his messengers out and was respectful enough in his replies, but he wanted to know more details about what happened in the past and was happening now, as all his knowledge was second-hoof. Jagged Ice provided him with all he could, including reports from Agate, but the amount of time it took for the ponies to go back and forth meant that the two chieftains barely managed to exchange some half a dozen messages throughout the entire season.

Still, the stallions at least came to more or less the same conclusion - namely, that both of their tribe's shamares were acting a bit too wild. According to Firm Root, when he tried to question his shamares about the whole thing, they would either dismiss him outright by telling him not to poke his muzzle into things that are beyond his ken, make up some story about how they have to meditate and that they should not be disturbed, or otherwise dodge the question. Despite that, though, they couldn't exactly hide that they were in an actual war with Thundersnow, given the sheer amount of storms that were devastating their coastline. Seeing that they tried to evade scrutiny rather than directly stating they were in a battle against a foe that supposedly attacked their tribe made him highly suspicious.

Likewise, Jagged Ice wasn't quite happy with Thundersnow. The way she gathered the warriors and just went off without even informing the chieftain was extremely out of the ordinary, and could earn a pony some serious punishment, if they weren't a shamare. It was quite unprecedented, and while ponies obviously had freedom to roam and explore the wilderness as they wished, going on an armed expedition into another tribe's lands was an entirely different matter. Though they were provoked by the attacks, taking retaliatory action like that still should have been discussed with him beforehoof.

As such, both of them agreed to fully talk it out and get to the bottom of what was happening during the Gathering, seeing as winter was already quite close. That was the last message that Agate received from Jagged Ice. While she didn't know if her ponies would reach the chieftain in time, she sent them off to deliver her final situation report and her thoughts regardless, telling them to travel south to Snowpitt if they couldn't make it to Green Land in time.

"And that's the situation. The chieftains are going to try and work something out during the Gathering."

"What happens to us, though?" Spear Whittle pondered.

"What do you mean? Thundersnow always went south with the chieftain, so I thought we'd make our way to Snowpitt separately and meet him there. I think you could go north to Green Land if you want to, though."

"That would mean disengaging from the fight, though, and leaving the Battle Glacier to probably get destroyed by the westerners, with no guarantee that leaving will end this. There's no telling if the chieftains will actually be able to come up with something. With that in mind, do you think Thundersnow will want to leave?"

"I... I have no idea..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hm.... No, I don't think so. Tell the chieftain I will remain here through the winter."

Spear Whittle's concerns turned out to be entirely justified. Thundersnow did not want to leave. A few days after their meeting, a messenger from Jagged Ice came to Thundersnow, with a reminder that winter was right around the corner, and a request to join him in Snowpitt.

The stallion seemed a little lost, shifting his weight on his hooves as he considered the shamare's response. He clearly didn't have any obligation other than to deliver the message and go, but he also probably wasn't expecting Thundersnow to refuse. Considering how to proceed, he tried again.

"Are you certain, shamare? The Gathering is important. The chieftain will be having important talks with the new westerner chieftain about this entire situation, and it would probably be best if you came. You are quite heavily involved in it, after all."

"Yes, involved in defending my tribe," Thundersnow huffed. "Tell me, will the westerner's chieftain take his shamares with him? Will they leave, or will they continue sending their beasts and spirits at this region through the winter?"

"I... I do not know."

"Well then, I am staying," She declared, turning away from the messenger, and towards the expeditionary crowd. "Hear me, all of you! Winter is coming, and things will get cold and unpleasant. What does that even mean for us, though? We of the northern tribe scoff at such things. We spent the entire season on an ice floe, sent to us by the very spirits of the north, and we are none the worse for wear. Usually, the change in seasons would mean migrating to somewhere more comfortable, but we took on a serious task when we came here. A duty. I never told you how long you might have to stay with me, because I didn't know myself. As such, I will not blame any one of you that decide to leave - you are free to do so, with no ire from me. But I, I will not leave until those arrogant fools that dared attack us leave. If they flee and finally cease their attacks, we will all go to Snowpitt and spend the winter there. If not... Well, we already have well-warded and reinforced igloos, with no small amount of preserved fish and seaweed that we caught through the summer. We will do just fine."

The gathered ponies took a few moments to think her words through and glance around, gauging the mood of their compatriots. None of them stated any intentions of leaving, and after a few moments, Stout shrugged, taking a step forward.

"I can't say I care much whether this lasts a month or a decade more. I'm an old wolf, and there's not that much for me to even do any more. My children are all grown up, and I taught them all I could years ago, but I certainly don't like the thought of them getting caught up in some storm or other nonsense the westerners send at us. I'm seeing this through until the end, one way or another."

The rest of the group made similar exclamations. Some were more subdued than others, but none of the ponies looked like they were unhappy with staying, the differences coming more from their attitudes towards the situation. Some were enthusiastic and aggressive, while others were solemn and grim, but the decision was unanimous. As long as Thundersnow decided to remain on the Battle Glacier, so would they.

"I knew that the spirits of my tribesfolk were not so easy to grind down. We remain," Thundersnow smiled, with no small amount of satisfaction. Turning back towards the messenger, she nodded to him. "As you can see, my mind is made up. If the westerner's chieftain wants me to go, then he'd better get his shamares to go first. I'm not going anywhere until that happens."

"But it was our chieftain that... Nevermind," The stallion sighed, shaking his head. "I see that you're not going to budge on this. I suppose I'll just... Go now."

With a nod to the others, he trotted away, back towards the edge of the ice floe and his kayak. Agate watched him go, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. Silently trotting over to Thundersnow, she addressed the shamare.

"Do you think this is the right choice? What harm is there in leaving?"

"Do you think the westerners will just stop attacking, Agate? Not to mention, if I go, I know those cowards would crow for ages about how they managed to scare me off. No, I gave them a clear warning about what would happen to them if they kept it up. They did it regardless, and I am not leaving without teaching them a hard, painful lesson," Thundersnow angrily ground out.

"All they'd be attacking is an empty region... Or, if we left for Snowpitt, that would mean they'd attack the southern tribe itself, if their spirits follow you there. I don't think the southerners would take it kindly."

Thundersnow's eyes went wide at the implications. "Oh my spirits! Now that would be one heck of a mess! Oh, just imagine the fools that called me undisciplined and out of control commit such an act! Hah! Oh, that- no, no, no... I shouldn't think like that, like the conniving westerners. They tried to pass their first attack off as the spirits themselves enacting their justice, remember? No, as amusing as it would be to watch them provoke the southern tribe, I will not stoop to their pathetic level and go hide in Snowpitt in hopes that they'll turn the southerners against themselves. No, I have too much pride and self-respect to do something like that. I will deal with them myself."

"They've been holding on for some time, though," Agate pointed out.

"Yes, well, they have a tiny bit more will and spine than I expected, I will give them that," Thundersnow begrudgingly admitted. "But winter is our domain, of the tribe of ice and water, of storm and blizzard. We shall see how they shall fare during the cold months."

"I see. I guess your mind's really made up."

"It is. I have not chosen this path, they did. But I will not stray from it now, not until they themselves change their course."

With that, the conversation was over. With a nod, Thundersnow went back to her igloo, while Agate lingered for a moment longer, before going to the edge of the ice floe, looking southeast. The messenger had left already, and she could barely see his swiftly retreating form. Lightning grumbled somewhere in the far distance, the whole region being plagued with non-stop bad weather for the past month.

Though Thundersnow spoke of protecting the region, the truth was, just about every pony, northerner or westerner, already moved out, long before the time for the migration south even came. The messengers, the merchants and whatever other travelers that had plied that route had gone, the risk far outweighing the potential profits. It was not mere superstition and fear of the shamares, though. Their concerns were very real and well-founded, the conflict taking its toll on their surroundings.

At first, it was only the storms that the shamares called up on and sent at one another. They haven't seen a single natural storm the entire season, as if nature spent its strength entirely at the behest of the shamares, taking the time to rest when they weren't fighting. Bit by bit, though, the weather turned foul.

It was as if the entire region was getting riled up. Not just the animals or the ponies living there, but the region itself. The wind, the water, probably the only part remaining calm being the earth. When Agate performed her shamaric focusing and meditation exercises, she could feel the very fabric of magic shifting ever so slightly faster, the usually ponderous and glacial field becoming more agitated.

Whether it was just another symptom or the cause, it translated into real events in the physical world. The spirits of air became chaotic and unpredictable, blowing against one another in frantic exchanges. One moment, they would have a strong, warm breeze from the south, carrying with it the scents of pine needles. Moments later, it would be replaced by a freezing headwind from the north, with the scent of sea. Such clashes caused incredibly sudden and wild storms, with twisting gusts that blew one way, and then flip around and blow the completely opposite direction faster than you could even blink.

The air constantly felt charged with static electricity, and Agate could even see the occasional spark dance on the coats of the snowponies during particularly lightning-filled storms. Though her seldom-employed sense of touch was almost nonexistent, even she could feel something dance on her ethereal coat when lightning struck nearby, making her shiver and shake herself at the largely forgotten sensations.

The waves that rose from the sea were massive, making even the normally stable and rather ponderously moving Battle Glacier rock and bob up and down from their strength, the water splashing over the sides of the glacier. While the encampment was safe, it was still an unpleasant experience whenever that happened.

Spirits glided through the cloudy sky, their cries echoing and sounding eerie throught the furious gales. It wasn't clear whether it was the westerner's birds or not. The ponies saw plenty of avians, though among them were many forms that definitely hadn't participated in the previous attacks sent by the forest tribe. It was impossible to say whether they were simply new recruits by the shamares or whether the constant expenditure of magic and rituals awakened them by accident, dragging the new batch of bird spirits into this conflict. Either way, besides the massive flocks, they now had to watch out for lone attacks as well, every successful defense now leaving several unusually persistent specimens that would only flee temporarily, biding their time as they circled the skies.

Though Thundersnow and the western shamares would usually send something to each other at least once a week, by Agate's reckoning, the final three weeks were spent shooing away the wildest weather and trying to protect themselves, not anything to do with the westerners. Both Thundersnow and Wind Whisper agreed that the storms that happened probably weren't sent by their foes, though they still did their best to nudge them southwest, not wanting to waste the opportunity.

All of that was unpleasant, of course, though nothing the northerners couldn't deal with. Among the many magics Thundersnow employed to ensure their victory were runes for the hunter's spears, painted and carved to cause pain to spirits and more cold enchantments for the Battle Glacier, though the majority of those were done by travelling shamares that periodically came to their vessel to aid them in their undertaking. While they lost a great deal of mass through the summer, the ice floe shrinking to perhaps only a fifth or a sixth of it's size, it was still big enough to comfortably house them all, given how huge it was in the beginning.

Still, everyone in the expedition knew that there was a very real possibility that, come winter, there would be creatures that they wouldn't be able to deal with. They did not speak of it, as mentioning the names of some beings meant that they could hear you and be summoned by your words, but there were plenty of glances northwards from the expeditioners, the frequency increasing with each day as the seasons changed.

Windigoes weren't something the snowponies feared too much. After all, they weren't just spirits of hatred - though seeing one was not a good omen, they were also heralds of winter, and one would often be able to see some circling the skies around Snowpitt after the Calling. While they were remembered as the ones that destroyed the ancient pony homeland and forced their ancestors to flee their lands, the lorekeepers and the general population largely agreed that it was the fault of their predecessors that caused the windigoes to attack them like they did.

Come spring, they would leave without fail, and it was unheard of to see them during any season other than winter. As such, they were simply accepted as a natural part of nature's cycles, albeit an unpleasant one that was best avoided until it went away. Unless, of course, the heralds of winter found ponies with hearts as cold as their own, at which point they wouldn't budge, extending winter forever - or, rather, until they claimed their prey.

No one knew for certain whether the ancient scourge of ponykind would show up, but with how messed up their surroundings were getting, more than likely, their chances of remaining undetected were close to zero. Even if they didn't hold any true hatred for the westerners, fighting out of concern for their kin rather than spite, they didn't exactly love the conniving shamares, either. Not to mention, it was entirely possible that it would be the westerners that would attract the windigo's attention, which would mean bad news for the northerners as well. It didn't matter whether it was but one in a hundred, when windigoes came for a pony, everyone in a large area around them suffered, which was why the laws on banishment of ponies that were causing internal strife and grief were so strict.

Still, the windigoes were not invincible. There were ways to deal with them. Ponies found their methods, from the Crystal Heart to the spiritual magics and wards of the shamares. Either way, though, everyone in the expedition could be certain of one thing - whether the unusually aggressive weather would translate into equally fierce blizzards, or if the windigoes would come to bother them, it was going to be a cold, dark winter.

Winter's Heralds

The changing of the seasons usually came with phenomena that repeated every year, ones that experienced ponies could easily recognize. The switching of wind directions, migratory birds leaving or arriving, days reaching a certain length, seals having pups, the salmon migration upstream, and so on.

With the skies perpetually cloudy and nature around them being knocked so badly out of balance as it was, though, even telling which part of the year it was became a little harder than it should have been. The expeditioners ended up having to manually count the days since the last seasonal phenomenon that they could recall, tallying up the time until winter officially began.

The Sun disappearing from the heavens and giving way to longer and longer nights made for a very easy to notice indicator even with the overcast skies, of course, but once the Long Night began, it became essentially impossible to tell the days apart. They resorted to just counting them by the amount of times that they slept, though that still ended up with plenty of confusing moments when ponies slept in shifts, a small number of them taking up sentry posts.

Timekeeping wasn't really vital to their operations, but the knowledge still brought some reassurance and stability. When things turned so chaotic that a pony couldn't even tell which part of a season it was, it inevitably brought morale down.

Given that most of the trouble they had to deal with was of a mystical nature, the other ponies still had periods of free time, most of which they spent trying to somehow improve their encampment. Some took to building little overhangs and igloos for the seals to hide in, not wanting their blubbery friends to get caught up in a storm or get attacked by the westerner's spirits. Though seals seemed to care little about the cold, they still liked their new dwellings, and even the durable divers probably wouldn't have done all that well if they got hit by a stray lightning bolt.

Meanwhile, Agate's group got more into the mystical side of their defenses, her followers joining her in powering the wards. They were more of a hindrance than help at first, the unusually large number of inexperienced participants throwing each other off, regardless of their individual skills in crystal magic. Agate had to teach them some shamaric exercises about focusing and working in tandem with others before they could actually be of use.

When they saw their practice sessions, the rest of the expeditioner's reactions ranged from confused to highly skeptical. There was a fair amount of non-shamares that could craft the single-use magical charms and carve runes, as well as a growing amount that could charge crystals to get light, but group magic like what Agate was trying to teach them was considered above the level of a regular pony, even one that had some magic tricks up their sleeves.

Agate knew better, though. Back in the Empire, they didn't have all that many ponies that were powerful enough to be considered a mage or a wizard, but every pony was capable of performing at least a baseline level of magic, and it really was every pony. The reason wasn't some kind of in-born talent, but simple training and exercises that every foal was taught, so that they could eventually contribute to powering the Heart and protecting the Empire. Sure, being a crystal pony probably helped, but she was fairly certain that the snowponies could do it as well. She taught them how to do it individually already, so doing it as a group shouldn't have been hard to learn.

It did take some effort, but after a few weeks, she had her own little casting support group. Her followers huddled around the dais that contained the whole ward setup with the amethyst sphere, leaning forward with their hooves extended forward as they focused on the flow of magic around them, outside of them, and from them towards the crystal.

Having a whole group do it at the same time made the process exponentially less taxing, as even though they were only capable of contributing a small amount of magic individually, together, the flow was enough to keep the wards going without having to strain and force magic out of yourself. Strain inevitably caused stress, which caused loss of focus, which caused wastage of magic, and a whole cascade of slip-ups and failures that would end up with whatever you were trying to maintain promptly running out of power.

Once they got to the point they could pull it off nearly perfectly, the disbelieving expressions from the others changed to ones of respect, though some still looked flabbergasted, hardly being able to believe that Agate actually managed to do it. They really did do it, though, the group sitting serenely with their eyes closed as they helped keep their defenses up during the attacks, even Thundersnow looking a bit thunderstruck as she watched them.

As she sat there and helped channel the magic, Agate was often struck by an odd, powerful sense of nostalgia. Try as she might, she couldn't really figure it out. The activity filled her mind with images of the crystal Heart, and of various festivities and rituals related to charging it that she could still faintly remember. She never got to participate in those when she was still alive, though, lacking skill and strength in those days due to her youth, so she didn't understand how she could be missing something she never actually experienced in the first place.

❅ ❆ ❅

There was one event that was both completely unmissable and a good signifier that the Long Night of the season truly began. At least, it was completely unmissable to Agate, and far less so for the ponies that were still alive. The Calling rolled over the plains and the seas, its clarion call summoning spirits from the farthest reaches of the north, both those of lost ponies and ones that they would have preferred to to stay away.

It was the first time Agate got to experience it from far away rather than sitting in Snowpitt, and she was impressed. Sure, she certainly felt its power back when she got slammed in the face with it point-blank back in the day, but distance could dampen the power of even the most loudest shout or spell. Despite that, though, she could still hear the Song and even see flickers of the magically augmented bonfire in the distance, the sensations seemingly being carried through magic itself, rather than air or light. Most of the words did become a bit muffled, but given that they were some couple of week's travel away from Snowpitt, it was still quite a feat.

It took her a little while to notice that the others didn't seem to hear it at all, not even the shamares. Once they were told of the event, most of them got in a contemplative mood, several ponies idly remarking that they would be either with their kin on one of the bigger islands or in Snowpitt at that moment. The abnormality of their current situation was clearly something that occupied their thoughts quite often.

Some wondered if the Call meant that there would be hordes of agitated spirits passing by as they went southeast to seek out the source, but nothing like that happened. The first of winter's heralds arrived a couple weeks after the event, and it was entirely up in the air whether it was due to the Call, or just random happenstance. Regardless, arrive it did, though it was not the one that the expeditioners expected to see.

"...wolf! Everyone, get your weapons and get ready to fight!" One of the sentries yelled out, galloping like mad from the edge of the water.

"What was that? What did you see?!" Stout yelled out, dropping the fish he was gutting and galloping towards his igloo.

"Floewolf! I saw a small ice floe in the water, and it saw me. I saw its eyes move, and it immediately began swimming towards me. FLOEWOLF!!! An ancestors-damned floewolf is coming for us, get ready for battle!" She kept yelling, rousing everyone in the camp.

That certainly got everyone's attention, every single pony arming themselves with everything they had, their expressions grim. Many of them were experienced veterans, and knew that they were in quite a bind. A floewolf was already quite a formidable opponent on the best of days, but the main issue was that it also required special weapons as well, weapons which they did not have. Spears and harpoons were the favored arms of the northern tribe, but the icy monsters barely felt their sting. Heavy, bludgeoning weapons were best suited for smashing them apart, but since they had next to no use almost anywhere else, no pony ever carried them outside of dedicated floewolf hunts.

Pursing her lips, Agate weighed her options for a few long seconds before galloping towards where the sentry came from. She didn't know whether the wolf could hurt her or not - given how magical it was, it probably could - but since she couldn't exactly die twice, she decided to do her best and distract it, hopefully buying the others a few more moments to prepare.

While she spent decades on expeditions all across the northern islands, she never actually saw all that many of the strange beasts and monsters that the northerners fought so often. Besides spears made from their fangs and shards of blue ice, this was the first time she beheld a floewolf in the flesh - or ice, as it were.

"My my, what big teeth you have," Agate muttered, taking in the creature before her.

She only had a few moments to get a look before it charged at her, letting out a strange growl that sounded like cracking ice. Dodging its swipe, she kept processing the details. It was big, huge even. Roughly twice the height of a pony, and at least three times as wide, if not more. Despite the sky being dark and cloudy, she had no trouble whatsoever in seeing it, its powerful spirit lighting up its form from the inside, as if it swallowed a lantern. It had long, sharp fangs that stuck out from its icy jaws, the things seemingly too large for it to even properly close its mouth. Likewise, its paws were adorned with similarly long and wicked claws, their swipes leaving faint afterimages in the air as it tried to nab Agate. Its eyes had no pupils, only glowing with a malevolent blue light.

As she danced back and forth, Agate recalled all the teaching stories and legends about floewolves. The information they provided proved to be entirely correct - the monster was single-minded in its purpose to the point of recklessness and showed no fear whatsoever, fully aware of its immortality.

Where it kept slipping and losing its balance on the ice, ironically unable to find purchase despite being made of the same material, Agate was able to hop away quickly due to her weightlessness and supernatural ability to get a grip on literally any surface. The floewolf didn't care that it was leaving itself wide open to possible counterattacks (not that Agate had any, unfortunately), focusing it's entire efforts on attacking.

Before she saw it, Agate was a bit worried that it was going to just ignore her, given that she was a spirit. Most animals did, but this thing didn't seem to care in the slightest, happily chasing after her. As she stared it down after another unsuccessful attack, it growled again, clearly frustrated by its overly nimble prey.

"What's the matter? Not quick enough? You might as well give up!"

Agate didn't know whether floewolves understood pony speech, but this one definitely seemed to at least understand that she was mocking it. With an angry gnash, it pressed itself lower to the ground, crackling sounds coming from its joints as it jumped at her, claws outstretched. Trying to escape its reach, she made a split-second decision and dove forward, ducking under her foe.

"Yargh!'

Unfortunately, she did not escape that maneuver unscathed. The floewolf kicked out at her with its hindlegs as it landed, its claws shearing off a good chunk of her tail. Agate was surprised that it hurt, until she remembered that her tail wasn't really made of hair any more, but her own spiritual manifestation. It hurt as if a bit of her own body was cut off.

While she had mostly forgotten about things such as pain through the years, the few unfortunate encounters with the westerner's spirits both reminded her and helped her build up a tolerance. Instead of standing there and screaming, she grit her teeth, immediately whirling around as the floewolf did the same. Though its jaws didn't bend, Agate could have sworn there was a smirk on the monster's face.

"Oh hey, a bit of my tail. That the best you can do?"

It didn't growl this time, only preparing for another charge. Agate did the same, but the short moment of silence allowed sounds from further away to reach them. Upon hearing the shouts and commands from the encampment, the wintery monster immediately turned its head in their direction, listening for a brief moment before bounding away.

"Hey! Get back here!"

Agate gave chase, but despite its bulk, the ice monster had longer legs and larger steps. It bounded far ahead of her, the sounds and sights of still-living prey apparently taking higher priority. Fortunately for the expeditioners, Agate's distraction bought them enough time to get ready. As it approached the encampment, it was greeted by a sudden fireball engulfing its head, courtesy of Wind Whisper tossing a fire charm at it.

The floewolf didn't appear to be hurt much, but the flames did blind it for a short while as it fiercely shook itself, yowling angrily the entire time. Once Agate caught up, she heard Stout shouting at the other ponies.

"Now REMEMBER what I told you! If you die because you didn't listen to me, I'll make sure to personally tell all of your ancestors what a stupid embarrassment you were! No heroics, just keep dodging and harassing it!"

A few acknowledgements of "yes, elder" sounded out, the rest remaining silent. Galloping by the floewolf, Agate assessed the situation. Every pony had spread out all over the encampment, keeping distance from each other, likely so they'd have space to run if it came for them. They also positioned themselves behind igloos, putting obstacles between the predator and themselves.

A moment later, the fire burned out, and the wolf was back in action. Sweeping its cold gaze across the encampment, it seemed to become paralyzed with indecision at which target to actually go for first, now that it was presented with so many of them. Stout made that decision for it, chucking a harpoon right at its forehead, chipping off a few small shards.

"Come get some! You think yourself a master of the north? Let's test that!"

With a roar, the beast answered the challenge, bounding straight for the old stallion. It was a clever ploy, as he was right in the middle of the encampment, which meant that the wolf instantly became surrounded on almost all sides by the others. Meanwhile, Stout used the time to dive behind an igloo, making his foe crash into it, visibly denting the wall. A few others chucked spears or harpoons from the sides and its rear, but like before, they only did superficial damage, the few scars in its icy hide going completely unnoticed by the floewolf.

Stout kept using the igloo as cover, running back and forth at least half a dozen times, confusing the angry predator whether to go left or right until it gave up, clawing its way upwards on to the igloo itself. It clearly didn't know that it was actually hollow, and its angry stomps on the already weakened structure made it collapse, taking the wolf down with it.

"Eat this!"

Stout made good use of the opportunity, giving the wolf a swift buck in the face, shattering an ear and cracking an eye. It roared angrily, but since its forelegs were trapped in the rubble, it couldn't do anything to retaliate. Similarly, a couple heavy-set stallions galloped up to its hindlegs, performing a rather impressive maneuver by planting their forelegs on the ice and using their grip to spin around and slide the last length towards the floewolf with their rear legs pulled in, giving a synchronized buck to its left hind leg, shattering it at the knee.

A round of cheers rose up from the onlookers, but the older veterans among them immediately shushed the overly exuberant youths, glaring at them harshly. They knew that the fight was far from over, and the stallions near the floewolf demonstrated that by fleeing as fast as they could, rather than pressing their attack. Their cautiousness was rewarded when it managed to burst out of the remains of the igloo a mere moment later and jump towards Stout, who dived behind yet another igloo.

Its claws left deep gouges in the ice as it clawed at the obstacle in its way, the floewolf clearly being made of tougher stuff than the igloo. While all of this was happening, Agate kept looking around, wondering if there was anything she could do to help. Their wards didn't affect the monster at all, the monster clearly being a level of power above what they could deal with.

She noticed the shamares nearby, both of them seeming a little unsure of what to do. Wind Whisper was holding another fire charm in her hoof, looking at the fight with wide eyes and shaking legs, her ears folded and her tail tucked between her legs. Meanwhile, Thundersnow was breathing heavily and gathering power, with her hoof idly wandering across her bandolier. Groping at one thing after another, she discarded the potions and charms one by one, grimacing angrily. She clearly wanted to do something, but hadn't decided just what would be the best course of action.

Pursing her lips, Agate charged in, approaching the floewolf from the side with the missing leg. It briefly got a foreleg stuck in an igloo again as it punched a hole in the wall, which gave the ponies another few seconds to launch an attack, though this time, they only managed to jab it a few times with their spears before having to retreat again.

"That's good! Keep going like that, even if it takes a hundred tries! Hack it down piece by piece, no matter how small the damage is with each run!" Stout shouted, having relocated himself behind yet another igloo.

The floewolf pulled itself straight, attempting to rear up. It didn't quite work due to the missing leg, and it roared with a fury and an intensity that it hadn't displayed before. It wasn't just an expression of anger or challenge this time, though, but an attack in and of itself. Freezing arctic gales blew from its maw like some kind of inverted dragonfire, and Agate could see the coats of the ponies caught in its path immediately get covered in hoarfrost. Even she felt the cold, something she thought she'd never have to feel again.

Gritting her teeth and powering through the sudden fear, she jumped at the beast's flank, attempting to cause another distraction. Even though she had no illusions about actually hurting it, it went even worse than she expected. Once her hooves made contact with the floewolf's icy carcass, she felt a sudden burst of cold across her legs, letting out a pained moan and reflexively kicking off the surface.

Eyes wide, Agate felt true fear for the first time in decades, unpleasant memories of her untimely demise in the blizzard clouding her mind. Though the pain faded quite quickly, the memories did not. She stumbled away, seeking cover herself, not even seeing whether her distraction had any kind of effect. It was quite clear that the floewolf's spirit was far, far more powerful than what Agate could hope to challenge.

Still, Agate didn't go through many shamaric focusing exercises and listen to all kinds of brave warriors for nothing. Smacking herself on the side of her face to snap herself out of it, she collected herself and climbed on the igloo, assessing the situation.

Fortunately, nothing too bad seemed to have happened while she was panicking, though she did see a mare getting dragged off towards the shamares, one of her legs bleeding from several deep gashes. She didn't have any other visible injuries, though, and Agate was fairly certain that the wound was entirely survivable if it got treated quickly, which Wind Whisper was seeing to.

The floewolf hadn't sustained any more noticeable damage, though its missing leg did prevent it from jumping, something which the others exploited to its fullest. A pair of lithe, nimble mares took up positions next to it's flank, jabbing it's injured leg and rear with spears over and over while a number of stallions surrounded it on all sides, ready to jump in and start kicking and bucking the moment it gave them an opportunity.

*CRACK-BOOM*

That opportunity presented itself when a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the floewolf dead on, making it yelp in surprise and confusion for the first time. Unfortunately, the sudden light and sound also stunned the ponies, so the entire fight ground to a halt as everyone tried to recover their bearings, the warriors jumping backwards to safety.

Thundersnow had finally stepped into the battle, slowly trotting towards the invader as she kept communicating with the spirits around her. Huffing angrily, the floewolf identified this new threat, turning towards the shamare while roaring at her with its ice breath again, only to be struck by lightning a second time. Steam rose from its surface, cracks forming and chunks falling from the impact site.

Ripping the icy crust from her face, Thundersnow hissed from the pain, her expression livid. This time, a good half of the ponies jumped forward instead of backward when the lightning bolt struck, neighing furious battle cries as they laid into their stunned foe. Thundersnow galloped forward as well, grabbing the monster by the chest right as it was about to swipe at a retreating stallion.

Suddenly, everything froze. Not literally, but both Thundersnow and the floewolf stopped moving entirely, the monster stuck with a paw raised in the air as the shamare kept her hooves locked on its chest, her face stuck in a furious grimace. The onlookers blinked at the surreal scene, not sure whether to flee or jump in. It took a few more breaths until someone in the crowd spoke up.

"Should we... Intervene? Or would that break the shamare's spell?"

Stout gazed at the frozen combatants with a scowl, his muscles tense. Thundersnow wasn't saying anything, and Wind Whisper wasn't around to offer her input, treating the injured some distance away. Snorting, he jabbed a hoof towards the silent duo.

"Doesn't matter if we break her magic! It's injured now, if we all jump it at the same time, we'll smash it to bits! Everyone together, and aim for the joints and legs! NOW!!!"

Following his command, the expeditioners all surged forward, those that still held weapons dropping them on the ice and moving in to attack with their hooves. Moments later, they were smashing the monster apart, a couple of ambitious ponies even using their comrades in arms as platforms, jumping off their backs onto the back of the floewolf, stomping at the weak spots where it got hit by lightning.

Some of their strikes didn't seem to have much effect, though others managed to tear away great chunks of glowing blue ice with each hit. Agate recognized the most successful ones as the same ponies that had a hobby of making ice sculptures. Apparently, their skills in ice manipulation could be put to more than one use.

"Rrrrrrrargh!"

Something or someone roared, though through the bedlam, it was hard to say whether it was the floewolf, Thundersnow, or both of them. While bits of its body were getting hacked away, Agate could see its spirit clear as day, shining as if nothing happened. Getting closer, she started seeing a sort of aura or double image around the wolf's icy body, as if its spirit was disconnecting from its damaged vessel. Looking at Thundersnow, she noticed that her hooves were holding on to the wolf's spirit rather than its body, the pair staring balefully at each other as they were locked in some kind of spiritual duel of wills.

Slowly, Thundersnow's body regained its motion. At first, she began breathing heavily, clearly having spent a lot of her strength. The second thing that began to move was her forelegs, the angry shamare slowly wrenching them to the side, away from the wolf's badly damaged body.

"Close your eyes, everyone!" Stout shouted, clearly seeing the same thing Agate was.

When the duel finally ended, it ended in Thundersnow's favor. With a sudden crack and a furious neigh, the shamare slammed the floewolf's spirit sideways into the ice, a sudden spray of snow and cold blasting out in all directions. Its body, already almost cut in half by the angry snowponies, collapsed entirely, the will animating it gone.

Everyone immediately started rubbing the frost and snow from their eyes, glancing around, their muscles still tense. One by one, they began relaxing, seeing the legendary monster finally defeated at their hooves. Several ponies coughed from the sudden, biting cold that was invading their airways, while there were a few nervous chuckles from the rest. The chuckles soon grew to a bout of hysterical laughter, slowly getting replaced with relief and triumph.

"We did it! We actually did it!"

"Ancestors, thank you for lending me your strength. I know I would have died without your aid."

"Take that, monster! The northern tribe fears no foe! We are the masters of the north!"

The last statement clearly didn't sit all that well with the floewolf. Just like the legends and stories said, its spirit didn't disappear after its defeat, rising up and growling angrily as it scanned the faces of those that dared to challenge its dominance as the supreme predator of the polar regions. The gathered ponies didn't show much fear, though, since they also knew that when its body was broken, the floewolf wasn't a threat until it made a new one.

"Growl all you want, we broke you to bits, and we'll do it again if you dare show your face here a second time!" The same stallion shouted, spitting at the defeated foe.

The floewolf raised an ethereal foreleg in the stallion's direction, its claws outstretched. Before anything could happen, though, a hoof shot out from below, grabbing it by the paw. Thundersnow pulled herself out from under a thin layer of snow, glaring at the spirit.

"And what do you think you're doing? I'm not done with you," She hissed, her eyes narrowed and her voice tinged with barely restrained fury.

At first, the wolf growled, trying to free its appendage and smack Thundersnow with its other leg. She just grabbed on to that one as well, beginning to twist them both in a way that would be excruciatingly painful for a creature of flesh and blood. As she kept going, the slack-jawed observers heard the floewolf begin to whimper in pain and fear as it tried to pull away, something which was completely unheard of.

"I! AM! THUNDERSNOW! GIFTED STRENGTH UNPARALELLED BY THE SPIRITS OF MY ANCESTORS AND THE NORTH! AND YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?! THREATEN MY TRIBE, AND THEN YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST LEAVE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED?!"

The enraged shamare clearly intended to teach the floewolf a lesson it wasn't going to forget any time soon, twisting its forelegs further and further as the spirit writhed in pain. Eventually, she let go, only to step forward and smash it in the face, grabbing it by the muzzle every time it tried to flee and continuing the beating. She then pulled out the spirit whacker, walloping it in the side as she kept a hold of it with one hoof.

Everyone around her stepped away to a respectful distance, completely stunned by the spectacle. This was completely new ground, something which hadn't been done before. While shamares in the past did try to banish floewolf spirits after they were defeated to make sure they wouldn't return, it didn't work for long, and there were no real accounts of someone managing to simply overpower one's spirit with pure brute force. Thundersnow seemed to have brute force in spades, though, stomping her foe over and over and over again.

Still, no one was tireless, and even the mightiest shamare of the northern tribe had her limits. Her swings slowed down bit by bit until she stopped completely, breathing heavily as she still held on to the now blurry and mangled form of the whimpering monster's spirit.

She still had one final trick up her sleeve, though. Reaching for her bandolier, she pulled out one of the crystal spheres she had made with Agate, fully charged and glowing with power. Letting out a hissing breath, she focused her power one last time, letting go of the floewolf's ethereal hide.

It immediately scrambled upwards, attempting to flee, but it was not to be. Using the magic stored in the crystal, Thundersnow yanked it back to herself, forcing it to face her, looking into its eyes. She spoke to it, her voice now laced with a cold, deathly threat rather than anger.

"See this, beast? Strange, unfamiliar magic, isn't it? So, so very interesting, though. A kind spirit taught me some of it. You can store power in these that you can use later, like you would store a potion in a flask. You can also make amazing artifacts with it, make charms and wards and all kinds of things last a long, long time. And if you come for us again? I will bind you to this little rock, and I will make sure that the bindings last a very, very long time. And then, I'll chuck it into the bottom of the ocean... Or maybe I'll bring you home, and make sure to teach the others how to renew the magic so you can't bother anyone ever again. Now flee, and if I see you one more time... You. Will. Regret it."

Agate still wasn't sure if floewolves understood pony language. This one sometimes seemed to react to things that ponies said, though those instances might have been complete coincidences. Regardless of that, though, it most certainly understood the absolute beatdown it received at Thundersnow's hooves, and the fact that she was a very, very dangerous being. The moment the shamare let go, it yipped in a panic, turning tail and immediately running off as fast as its legs could carry it, occasionally stumbling with its forelegs.

Thundersnow's exclamation received more than one raised eyebrow. Imprisonment was considered a cruel and unnatural torture method among the snowponies, something that deliberately interfered with the natural cycles and circles of the world. They had no jails, and it wasn't used as a punishment for any crimes that Agate was aware of. Criminals were forced to pay restitution in accordance to the severity of their crime, with those refusing or with crimes too great to be forgiven getting banished, letting nature take its course.

No one said anything, though. Perhaps they were too tired from the battle to think about it, or perhaps they thought that it was simply an empty threat made up on the spot by Thundersnow, with no real intention to carry it out. Or maybe they just didn't feel like questioning a shamare of such power. It wasn't every day that they saw a floewolf getting wrestled into submission, after all.

The victory didn't come easily, though. Moments after their foe was gone, Thundersnow let out a shuddering breath, her legs shaking before she collapsed. Several ponies immediately jumped to help her, while no small number of other combatants suffered similar maladies once their adrenaline wore off. Carefully checking themselves and each other for injuries they might have missed, they slowly sorted through the shards of ice and snow, picking up their weapons and assessing the damage to their camp.

❅ ❆ ❅

What followed was a celebration, though not the kind Agate experienced before. She was used to cheers and jubilation that she often got showered with after returning from a scouting expedition with information about more crystal deposits, the ponies happy with the news of more potential wealth that they could dig up.

This was different, though. There was no singing, dancing, cheering, or other raucous activities usually associated with celebrations. The ponies all sat in almost complete silence, occasionally trading little snippets of the battle and musing how they could have potentially performed better.

As Agate observed them, she surmised that such a warrior's celebration, as she dubbed it in her head, must have been how they commemorated their victories after a particularly challenging battle. Singing and dancing was for the helpless ponies receiving news of a defeat of a dangerous foe, while the warriors that just danced the most dangerous dance of all, the one of life and death, weren't inclined towards such frivolities, having exhausted their strength in the actual fighting. Instead, they spent the aftermath in quiet contemplation about the world around them and their own mortality, something the younger ponies were faced with for the first time in their lives.

That was not to say that they were melancholic or sad, though. Agate could practically feel the silent, powerful pride oozing off the victorious warriors. Even the injured ones had small smiles on their faces, despite having to lie down and ask for someone to drag them if they wanted to move somewhere.

When everyone and everything was accounted for, they had three casualties with serious injuries such as deep lacerations and cracked bones, things that would take them out of action for at least several weeks, even with the aid of shamaric healing. Some half a dozen ponies escaped with bruises and small cuts, wearing their wounds as a badge of honor. The rest were perfectly fine, their only issue being exhaustion.

Thundersnow was among their number, the only signs of life coming from her being extra-slow blinks and barely noticeable breathing. Everyone had gathered in a close circle, packed together so tightly that Agate couldn't even see the ice underneath them. In the middle, they set up a small metal brazier that they bought after settling in on the Battle Glacier, feeding bits of their limited firewood reserves into it.

The heat from the flames was exploited as much as possible, a clay pot with tea steaming on top as fish speared on sticks roasted right below it. Once they decided that the tea was done, the pot was carefully removed as they shuffled the fish around. It was only enough for a small cup for everyone there, but they smiled and savored it as if it was the sweetest nectar from the tundra wildflowers.

The warm drink revived the crowd a little, at least enough for them to start working through the food, though they had to supplement that with other supplies. The tired ponies started slowly, but as their energy returned, so did their appetites, and they were soon wolfing down their dried fish and seaweed. Once they were satiated, conversations slowly sprang up between them again.

"For an unplanned hunt, this went quite well. We had the support of a shamare, of course, but these fights end with deaths as often as they don't. You all did good," Stout tiredly complimented the younger ponies in the crowd, stretching his legs as his joints cracked.

"I remember the stories saying that floewolves are blinded by pride, returning to the site of their defeat again and again until they finally acknowledge the superiority of their opponent. Do you think this one learned the lesson from Thundersnow, or will it come back with even greater fury?" Spear Whittle pondered, gazing at one of the floewolf's fangs that she was holding in her hoof.

"Good question," Stout shrugged, glancing at the shamare.

"I doubt this one will," She slowly drawled, lifting her eyes towards Spear Whittle. Gesturing to the young mare, she took the fang, rolling it between her hooves with a critical look.

The fangs were a great prize, both for the prestige and their value. There weren't enough for everyone to get one, though there were no disputes over who got what. Everyone there was well disciplined, and listened to their elders as they decided who was the most deserving. Stout and a few other older ponies parceled them out, from the biggest fangs that would make a fine spearhead, to the smaller teeth that would only be useful for a javelin. Those that didn't get any received promises of gifts from those that did, as all of them contributed fairly to the battle.

Pulling out a small knife with an intricately carved handle made of some kind of very shiny bone, Thundersnow breathed in, focusing on her magic. Several ponies raised their eyebrows at the barely-recovered shamare, but the procedure seemed to need just a drop of magic. With a few subtle motions, she modified the root of the fang and chipped off a few irregularities from it, making it more suitable for use as a spearhead.

After giving it another long look, she nodded, passing it back to Spear Whittle, who immediately began replacing her old spearhead with a wide grin. Glancing around, Thundersnow looked for more ponies with fangs. She worked on them in an unhurried fashion, flicking and grinding bits off while muttering quietly under her breath, sealing in the floewolf's magic and improving their shapes.

"I wonder where they come from," Someone in the crowd mused.

"The deep north, I suppose," Another replied.

"What is the deep north, though? Back in the ancient times, the shore of the sea was the deep north. Then we pushed north. And pushed. And pushed. How far north does the north go?"

"Go there and find out," An old stallion smirked, earning a small round of laughter.

"He's right, you know. No other way to know than to go exploring. Though I do wonder if there's a place where the air gets so cold, a pony couldn't take a single step further without their lungs freezing solid," Stout added, munching on a fish on a stick.

"Green Land is the northernmost we got to, but it's also a fair distance to the west. I wonder if we'll find anything like it if we go further north. I mean, more warm islands like that. Will it just get warmer from then on? Would we find more lands of eternal summer, like our ancestors had?"

"It's only warm because of the Earth's Blood leaking from the fire mountains, though. If you go further out, it's colder than ever," Stout shook his head." And there were stories from some explorers of old about a massive land covered in ice if you kept going straight north, if we can even call it land. From what they said it appeared to be a massive glacier, the size of the southern tribe's tundra territories, if not bigger.

"How come we have so many stories about ponies going that far hundreds of years ago? We barely settled Green Land a few years ago. What was the point of going that far, if they even actually did it at all?"

"Well, they were scouting for something interesting, I suppose. I mean, consider Green Land. If we had discovered it a hundred years earlier, there would certainly be a big wave of settlers heading there, regardless of the fact that we haven't explored and settled the islands leading up to it," Another old explorer stallion shrugged.

"I guess that means there's probably little else of interest in the north. Just ice and floewolves. And windigoes, wherever they come from."

"Don't speak their name out loud, blockhead, I don't want to have to deal with them right after this fight," A mare groaned.

"Oh, come on, I doubt one is going to come for us right now, and when they do, it'll be because it's winter, not because someone called them," The stallion dismissively waved it off, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I never heard of them working together anyway."

"That's interesting..." Thundersnow muttered, not raising her eyes from the fang she was working on.

"Shamare?" Stout inquired after a moment of silence.

"The windigoes... And the floewolves. Tell me, all of you here - has anyone ever heard of them being seen together, at the same time?"

The question got everyone's attention and curiosity, the ponies muttering under their breaths as they raked through their memories of legend and stories. One by one, they all shook their heads. their expressions ponderous at this curious revelation.

"What does it mean, shamare?"

"Well... I have no idea, honestly. We can only guess. Floewolves are the very embodiment of predators. They hunt, solely for the purpose of the hunt, heedless of anything else, including their safety. Windigoes... They hunt too, but... They do not attack indiscriminately, not at all. They seek out very specific prey, and even then, they are conniving and cowardly, hiding in the blizzard clouds and doing everything not to reveal themselves. I'm not sure if what they do can even be called hunting... And they certainly don't seem to need food any more than floewolves do."

"What do the windigoes do, then?" A pony asked, not worrying about saying the name now that everyone was doing it.

"Maybe they're reaching out to those they see as kin," Thundersnow shrugged. "Those who cause strife on purpose are called kin of the windigoes, after all."

"Kin? They do look a bit like ponies, but..." A mare mused, her expression skeptical.

"Yes, not quite like us. But, we have learned that we have lost kin scattered all over the world, apparently. Agate has brought a lot of old and forgotten history to us. Who's to say that there weren't ponies here that came before even we did? An ancient, distant cousin tribe. And they... Didn't fare as well as we did. And they must have been quite mad and hateful towards the cold world that ended their lives, turning them into what we see today. Hateful beings, only caring about bringing the same misery they experienced to others. Also, who's to say how ponies end up looking when they get taken by the windigoes? Has anyone ever seen the spirit of a pony that got banished from the tribes? From what I know, they disappear without a trace."

"That... Makes sense as an explanation, but it's all just a big guess," Stout pointed out.

"Certainly. This is not some hidden lore whispered to me by the spirits. I am merely musing, as you all are," Thundersnow agreed with a crooked grin. "That's a shamare's lot. I watch the world, and I try to understand it. I learn, I apply what I learn to other things, and I try to understand them, and so on. For example, there are powerful beings in the world, ones with powerful spirits. Most move on, but some linger, their strength often reflected in how strong they were while still alive. So, is that what floewolves are? Spirits of exceptionally powerful predators that gorged themselves upon the lives of their prey, ones that decided to continue their hunt rather than move on, their power enough to build themselves new bodies woven from the very cold and ice of the north?"

"So... Are they?" A mare asked timidly after everyone went silent, not really having an answer.

"I have no idea," Thundersnow shrugged. "Again, I am merely applying what I know to what I don't know. But, if the wolves are predators... And the equines that became windigoes are prey... Or, rather, were their prey in the distant past... Well, just think how similar, yet completely opposite these two menaces are. Floewolves are very, very powerful physically, but if you destroy their shell, their spirits are not particularly dangerous. Windigoes, on the other hoof, have no bodies, despite almost certainly having enough spiritual power to conjure enough ice to bury a mountain, let alone make a body for themselves. And yet, they don't. They hide and circle the skies, their hooves never touching the ground, where the floewolves roam. And in their hatred, all they can do is watch, and lash out against everyone around them that's actually vulnerable to the cold."

"...Wow."

"Just guesses, of course. Perhaps we'll find out someday, when our explorers venture deeper north. Maybe there's some kind of battleground somewhere in the glaciers, where the floewolves and windigoes rage against each other. Or perhaps we'll find some kind of breeding ground, heh. Time will tell. Until then, we'll just have to do what we always did - smash them to bits or chase them away," Thundersnow nodded, passing another fang to its recipient.

❅ ❆ ❅

While it was mostly a shamaric conflict, with the main action being the constant wrangling of the weather and spirits, the other ponies still managed to have the occasional adventure of their own. The fisherponies would come back with stories of fighting off huge eels, having to whack a bird spirit that tried to sneak up on them, and similar things.

One time, they came back with news of a huge battle between them and some kind of whale or shark that tried to eat their seal companions. It did get a seal, but they managed to bring it down with their harpoons, getting a grim sense of satisfaction for avenging their friend.

Seeing as snowponies usually went away to their wintering grounds, actually being able to protect seals was a rare opportunity. Normally, they'd defend the little seal pups on the beaches during spring and go fishing with their parents later, but as the seasons changed and the ponies migrated, they understood that all the predators that they were holding back had a feast. It was the circle of nature, of course, but they did love their jiggly, whiskered friends, taking every chance to defend them from the many, many beasts that tried to eat them.

Thundersnow took an unusual interest in their slain foe, asking for the fisherponies to bring its body onto the Battle Glacier so she could study it. It wasn't all that strange for a shamare - they often had bones collected from many different creatures for all kinds of purposes, from ornaments to divination. It wasn't something Agate ever saw Thundersnow engage in, but she was versed in all kinds of shamaric magic, so neither Agate nor the others questioned it.

❅ ❆ ❅

It took over a month from the day winter began for a windigo to finally appear. Like Thundersnow said, it was conniving - it took up refuge in the roiling clouds above, attempting to hide from their sight as a heavy blizzard began dumping snow onto their vessel. The attempts at stealth weren't particularly successful, though, given that Agate and the shamares could see it plain as day with their spirit sight.

"Been a long while since I felt cold, and now, I felt it twice in the same year," Agate breathed, watching the slowly circling form above them.

"The cold really does cut to your very spirit, then?" Spear Whittle asked, her expression brave, though even she couldn't help but shiver a little.

"It really does, yes."

"And we'll make sure our warmth cuts to its very frozen heart," Thundersnow grumbled angrily, craning her head upwards.

"You know the way to banish a windigo, then, elder?" Spear Whittle asked.

"Well... I know the way, or, rather, I've been told the ways by my teachers. I never really had to employ them yet."

"You don't sound too certain about this."

"Then I clearly need to practice the methods on a live target for me to acquire confidence in them. Everyone! Gather round! We have an unwanted visitor," Thundersnow shouted, gathering the camp.

It didn't take long to explain the situation, many ponies grimacing at the news. Even the floewolf returning for a second round would have been received better than the arrival of the windigo. Brave as they were, the northerners didn't exactly have a way to fight the spirits, and it was an iffy affair even for shamares.

"I love my family. I love my children. It is why I came here, not because of blind hatred for the westerners, or anything like that. Don't suppose we can explain that to it so it gets lost?" Stout grumbled.

"As nice as that would be, I'm afraid not," Thundersnow replied, her sour expression mirroring the stallion's. "And don't worry, everyone, I'm not going to go around interrogating ponies whether they're angry or not, nor am I going to try to find the ponies it's attracted to so I could kick them out. We've all been stuck here for some time now, and we all got frustrated at the westerners stubbornly clinging to their madness and arrogance. It is only natural that some negative feelings arose from that. No, we'll have to get rid of it more... Directly."

"I like the sound of that. Will you lure it down here so we can give it a good walloping? The spears you improved should work as well as they do for the westerner's birds, right?" A stallion asked, hefting his new floewolf-toothed spear.

"Mmm... Not sure if I can. That's not something that's ever been done before, I think. But it is going to get what's coming to it, don't worry. First and foremost... It fears the love and unity that we hold in our hearts for each other. Now, it's not something that can be stirred into action artificially, but... How about you all think about your homes and your families, and the loved ones you left behind to come here? You must miss them by now, yes? Immerse yourself into your memories, and let your hearts carry you to the distant hearths of your kin. Meanwhile, I'll gather my strength for something stronger."

"There is a story about several families on a small island that made a windigo run away in fright after they began singing songs about love with great passion," Stout mused.

While Thundersnow trotted away to find Wind Whisper, the other ponies spent a few minutes shuffling and thinking quietly, either about their families, or trying to remember a fitting song for the situation. Just as the two shamares were returning with the brazier and some magical ingredients, Spear Whittle slowly began to sing.

"I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
There is no sickness, toil or danger
In that warm land to which I go

I'm going home to see my mother
I'm going home, no more to roam
I'm just going over the plains
I'm just going over home..."

Agate recognized it as a song that was favored by long-distance explorers and other travelers, one that inevitably evoked thoughts of home. One by one, the others joined in, their expressions pensive. Their voices wavered at first, but bit by bit, they gained confidence, the volume rising as the shamares started a fire and began preparing for whatever ritual they had planned.

*Neeeeeeeigh!*

By the sounds of it, the windigo did not approve of their musical performance. There was a sudden gust of freezing wind, cutting them to the bone and making them cough and gasp at the freezing air. Thundersnow hissed as a tiny, wavering flame that she managed to start was put out.

"Keep going!" She shouted. "It fears us, that's why it's trying to disrupt you!"

Spitting out the snowflakes and clearing their eyes, the ponies obliged, doing their best to keep their stoic expressions from turning into ones of fury at the arrogance of the winter spirit.

"I know dark clouds will hover on me
I know my path is rough and cold
But tundra fields lie out before me
Where weary eyes no more shall weep...

Agate watched as the windigo circling above became more and more agitated as they kept going, its slow circling becoming erratic as it writhed angrily in the blizzard. It clearly wasn't happy that the ponies were resisting its efforts to break them down.

Meanwhile, Thundersnow wove strange figures over the brazier with her hooves, while Wind Whisper tended to the growing fire. They tossed some smoky shamaric herbs in there, along with a few drops of tincture that gave the flames a faint ethereal glow. Oddly, part of the smoke spread around them, instead of rising into the sky.

Agate watched the smoky tendrils curl around various ponies with curiosity, the smoke acting more like an animal or a plant vine. It slowly wriggled along the surface of the ice, creeping upwards along the legs of the singers, though it never actually touched them. Soon enough, they were surrounded by a light cover of smoke.

The others didn't seem perturbed by all this, continuing their song, though Agate noticed that the final verse was approaching. Thundersnow looked like she knew it as well, making more gestures with her hooves and pulling the smoke back into the brazier just as the air was vibrating from the final words of the song.

Making more gestures, she wove something out of the smoke, collecting the heat of the fire as well. Infusing her creation with the magic she gathered from all the ingredients, she held it in her hoof for a moment. It looked vaguely like a bird made of smoke with eyes of fire, with a barely noticeable pink aura surrounding it.

"Go," She whispered to it, and it immediately took off, aiming straight for the windigo.

"What was that?" Agate inquired curiously.

"A spell. Not a real creature, if that's what you assumed. Just a bundle of magic given form and strength, borne upwards by the wind spirits to seek out the intended target."

*WHINNY!*

"And there it goes," Thundersnow calmly exclaimed with a smug smile.

Though it was too high up to see what the spell actually did, the magically inclined ponies saw the windigo turn tail and run, angrily shedding frost and snowflakes in its wake. Agate noticed that some of her students seemed to be watching it as well, their eyes tracking it as it fled southwards. The oppressive cold began to fade, though it did not disappear completely.

"That seemed... Easy," Stout commented, his expression a bit unsure.

"Yes... Unfortunately, there is a good chance it will return soon. Or, rather, there is a good chance more will show up - they are not solitary, like floewolves. One is manageable, but I've been told that getting rid of them when there's a whole herd can be annoyingly hard. Then again, given the direction it fled, maybe the westerners will keep them occupied for a while," Thundersnow huffed.

"What do we do, then?"

We keep going, of course," Thundersnow snorted dismissively. "They work slowly and insidiously. There's plenty of time to run away if things get bad. If we'll see the situation truly become completely unsalvageable, we will leave, and let the westerners deal with what they have wrought. Until then, though, we keep going."

Crossing The Line

Though the windigo ran off to the westerners, it didn't take them long to send it packing, either. Where the conflict previously still included the occasional attack of some kind, the arrival of the winter spirit changed it up a little. Both sides were forced to deal with the interloper instead of assaulting each other, and it turned into a game of "punt the windigo", the shamares from both tribes kicking it back and forth.

Agate was surprised to see that Thundersnow was able to do such things with relative ease. To Agate, they were the terrifying demons of ancient mythology that almost ended ponies as a species. As she watched and learned, though, she understood that their view of windigoes was quite different. Yes, they were powerful and their presence was feared, but windigoes were also a part of daily life for the snowponies. Unlike the crystal ponies, who only had ancient myths and legends that they recounted to their foals, snowponies had to deal with the real thing for many, many years.

Despite all those stories warning foals not to mess with dangerous things, every once in a while, the occasional brave shamare tried something to make a windigo go away. And sometimes, one method or other even proved successful. It wasn't a permanent defense like the Empire's shield was, but shooing off a windigo, even for a short while, was usually enough for the ponies that attracted them to work out their issues with each other. As such, while the main defense still was loving your kin and neighbors, the shamares did have a bunch of ways to fight back.

The main obstacle was actually reaching the airborne targets, which disqualified shamares that didn't have friends amongst the air spirits, or figured out some other clever way to perform ranged attacks. Thundersnow mostly wove little balls of magic that she asked her spirit companions to hit the windigo with. It was an efficient enough method to deal with one windigo, but when more of them began showing up, it became a bit too slow.

Once the pressure began mounting, she experimented with other ways, finding what worked and what didn't. On one hoof, she found that striking the windigoes with lightning was only moderately effective. On the other hoof, lightning, snow, and thunder were in her name, and she could call up a lot of lightning. Not to mention that turning the very blizzards that the windigoes conjured against them was immensely satisfying, the clouds that they would hide in becoming lightning-charged deathtraps.

On more than one occasion, the sentries saw the windigoes circling the Battle Glacier from a distance, giving Thundersnow more than enough time to prepare. The moment they would try to get closer, the roiling clouds would explode in a barrage of lightning bolts, sending them fleeing in a panic, their indignant cries at getting swatted down over and over again echoing across the waves.

Unfortunately, as much as they hated that their prey was fighting back, the windigoes kept returning, and they brought more and more friends with them each time, too. First, it was just the one, then it became three, then five, then eight. The only reprieve was that after each defeat, they turned tail and fled for anywhere from several days to a few weeks. The months were ticking by, and with spring arriving soon, the expedition leaders were hoping that once the seasons changed, the windigoes would stop coming back.

Of course, there was always the possibility that a herd that would be too big for the expedition to deal with would show up...

❅ ❆ ❅

"How many of them even are there?" Thundersnow grumbled, wiping the snow from her face.

"I count thirteen, elder," Wind Whisper spoke quietly.

"Good grief..."

Agate watched in silence, not really having anything to add. They managed to survive through most of the winter, spring being only a few days away, by their count. The hostile atmosphere in the region kept attracting more and more windigoes, though, making life progressively more unpleasant. Ponies had to spend more time in their igloos to hide from the cold, and things got a lot quieter on the Battle Glacier.

Their seal companions had left a couple weeks earlier, the ponies waving them off with bittersweet smiles. Agate was confused at first, until they explained to her that seals migrated to their breeding grounds to raise their pups, which meant that spring was arriving soon. It was still strange to Agate just how ridiculously cold resistant the animals were, being able to shrug off even the windigo-conjured blizzards.

"I'm not sure I can deal with this right now. I was busy working on some things, and I'm quite spent. To your igloos, everyone! Cuddle up and start a fire. Seal the entrances, and leave only small gaps for air. I'll reinforce the wards a bit and get some rest. All of you should do the same. Conserve your strength, and don't let the windigoes get to you," Thundersnow instructed, sighing as she cast her gaze across the encampment.

Everyone nodded, grouping up and going to their igloos. Almost all of them shared a living space, whether they were in a romantic relationship or not, both to conserve the limited space on their vessel, cut down on the amount of building they needed to do, and, of course, to share warmth.

As usual, Agate didn't really need anywhere special to sleep, so she usually slept in Thundersnow's igloo, the shamare's icy abode slowly turning into a miniature version of her house back in Smoky Bay. Runes decorated the walls and ceiling, warding off malicious creatures and the like, while a small chest held Thundersnow's dwindling shamaric herbs and other ingredients.

"Annoying pests..." The shamare grumbled, moving a few chunks of ice to block off most of the entrance.

"What if they come back after this, even when spring starts? Their whole thing is to extend winter for as long as they feel like," Agate mused.

"We'll deal with them or flee, I suppose. Not like they harm us much. We have food, and we can fish for more. And their cold actually helps keep the ice from melting," Thundersnow shrugged dismissively.

Agate's eyes slowly grew wider as the implications of what Thundersnow just told her sunk in. According to the legends, it took just a few windigoes to bring the entire pony civilization of the time to its knees, though it did take them some time to make things that bad. And here, a whole herd of thirteen, all of them concentrating their attacks on a group of thirtysomething ponies, couldn't even make them budge.

The main cause of friction between the pony tribes back in the day was the lack off food, which was not a concern for the northerners. They didn't need to tend to farms and grow plants - they could sustain themselves with fish and seaweed from the sea. And while they did see the occasional chunk of ice in the water, ponies told Agate that the sea very rarely froze over completely, save for some places in the far north. Unless the windigoes were able to freeze the sea completely solid, then the expeditioners could continue their efforts almost indefinitely, which probably wasn't the case for the western tribe. They depended on forage from their forests, as well as fish from the rivers. Rivers which would freeze far more easily than the sea.

While Agate was mulling on the situation, Thundersnow puttered around her dwelling a bit, tapping on the walls and having a small snack. After a short meditation session, she sat down in front of one of the crystal spheres she made with Agate, this one being embedded in the ice, right over the entrance.

"Tell me, Agate... Can you feel the cold? The breeze?"

Focusing for a moment, Agate nodded. "Yeah. Strange to feel the wind ruffling my mane and tail again. It's the windigoes, right?"

"Indeed, and I think they may be singling me out. I must've hurt their pride. They're really blowing their pestilent winds towards me."

"It's not too bad though, is it? I've seen snowponies shrug off some ridiculous temperatures before."

"Yes, though that was regular cold. This windigo magic, it cuts to your very spirit and saps your strength, bit by bit. Usually, I'd be able to resist it without too much effort, and even spending a night asleep wouldn't do much harm. Still, with there being thirteen of them... I want to wake up with my full strength tomorrow, so I can really let them have it. If I don't send them away quickly, I don't think I'll be able to fully recover any more. Will you guard my sleep, Agate?"

"I... Alright. But I don't know how long I'll be able to do it," Agate nodded, pursing her lips and glancing at the crystal.

"Do your best. I'm certain you can last until morning. Goodnight, Agate."

"Goodnight, Thundersnow."

Trotting over to the crystal, her ears pinned back and a slight grimace on her face, Agate reached out. Instead of a confounding ward that made hostile creatures fail to see you, this was a simple defensive one, protecting an area from malevolent magic. The sphere had run dry, and with a poke, Agate refilled it, watching a small shimmer run through the walls of the igloo, the runes lighting up more brightly.

She could feel the mild strain as the two magics clashed and the freezing breeze from the outside stopped. It wasn't much, but she would have to keep it up the entire night, a feat she wasn't quite sure she was capable of.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Thunder... Snow..."

Agate felt a shiver run through her body, the foreleg she was touching the crystal with so transparent, she could barely even see it.

"I... Can't..."

She didn't know if the windigoes were intelligent, cunning, or could actually feel what Agate was doing, and reacted accordingly. Either way, they gradually intensified their assault, putting more and more pressure on the ward.

"Keep... Going..."

It was so gradual and subtle that, for a good while, Agate didn't even notice it. By the time she did, she had already burned through a lot of her magic reserves. Gritting her teeth, she frantically tried to run through various solutions to her predicament, but the magic drain already took a toll on her. Brief flashes of getting her followers to break into the igloo and help her flashed through her mind, but it was already too late. Getting drained always impacted her mental state, and through the fog, she didn't even think of actually letting go of the crystal that she was still powering.

"Thunder..!"

Agate didn't see or hear whether Thundersnow woke up. In fact, she couldn't hear or see anything, floating in a dark and soundless void. It wasn't a completely unfamiliar experience for her, but it had been quite a while since she felt it last, to say the least. Things never got that bad ever since she got her totem.

"Totem."

Flinching with a body she couldn't even see, Agate cast her blinded gaze around the void. Everything was nothing but blackness, save for one small, glowing firefly somewhere in the distance. It captured her entire limited attention, and she willed herself towards it.

"Totem."

"Home."

"Rest."

"Sleep."

"Safety."

Agate wasn't sure how she moved. Perhaps she galloped, perhaps she flew. Either way, when she tried to remember the event later on, her memories were completely blank. Still, she somehow locomoted herself to her totem, the sight of the partially crystallized log almost bringing tears to her eyes.

"Rest..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate's eyes shot open, the spirit looking around in a panic. She was back in her totem, the soothing trickle of magic surrounding her. Bit by bit, she sorted through the fragments of what happened that caused her to end up back in Snowpitt.

"Oh boy... I hope Thundersnow and the others are alright. I really messed up."

Getting exhausted was always a danger for a guardian spirit that was away from their totem, which was why none of them really travelled around like she did. All spirits really had were their magic reserves, and losing them meant losing everything, not just their strength.

While she was berating herself for getting careless on one side, she was also feeling angry at herself for being so weak. Even if she knew that spirits weren't exactly known for great magical feats, she couldn't completely suppress the feeling of disappointed shame that gnawed at her.

Shaking her head, she mentally smacked herself. Mimicking breathing in and out, she sunk into a meditative state, trying to get rid of the worst of the negative emotions. As much as she wanted to take wing and fly back to Thundersnow and the rest of the expedition, she knew that she wouldn't be of much use if she wasn't able to keep a cool head.

"All of them are very capable ponies... I'm sure they'll manage without me for a while."

She didn't count how much time passed as she rested, doing her best to accept that she did a mistake without feeling guilty about it, enjoying the soothing sensation of finally being home after so much time spent travelling. Eventually, once she felt composed and brimming with magic, she hopped forward, landing in her clearing.

"All right... Plan of action, plan of action... I should probably visit Earthsong before I rush back."

Trotting in the direction of the shamare's house, she glanced around Snowpitt. She could see only a few ponies in the distance, which could mean one of two things - either the hour was late and everyone was asleep, or her trip here and the subsequent rest period took many days, which meant that the three tribes were already done with their wintering and went their separate ways, emptying the settlement.

Agate wasn't sure whether that would be a good thing or not. She was curious to hear what Jagged Ice and Firm Root talked about during the winter, but she was also worried that the westerner's chieftain wouldn't take too kindly to her, given that she was actively helping Thundersnow in her fight against the shamares of his tribe.

Approaching the home, she silently moved through the walls, glancing around. Earthsong wasn't in any of the main rooms, which led Agate to her bedroom. The shamare wasn't there either, which left Agate with a bit of a conundrum. She didn't know where to go look for her quarry, but at the same time, Earthsong was old. Despite her robust health, the elder couldn't have gone too far... Probably.

"If I was Earthsong, where would I be?"

Unfortunately, no sudden wisdom came to Agate. Flicking her tail, she trotted outside, trying to find a pony to talk to. Fortunately, it didn't take too long, and after a long-winded "welcome home" to the unusually long-gone traveler spirit from a local stallion, she was directed to the Great Hall.

Approaching the building, she thoughtfully tapped a hoof as she stared at the closed double doors. She knew she wouldn't be harmed even if she tried to go through, but the sheer amount of defense wards put on the building would still make it feel like she was trying to swim through mud.

Focusing for a moment, she flapped her forelegs, the appendages near-instantly morphing into wings. With a few more flaps, she reached the second-story balconies, flying inside and making a lazy circle down, looking around as she did so. There were far fewer ponies in the audience than in the first meetings of the year, though she could see that a lot of important figures were present, including Jagged Ice, Earthsong, and a stallion that was probably the westerner's chieftain.

While her flight didn't make any sounds as she didn't actually displace any air, her somewhat dramatic entrance didn't go unnoticed. As Agate touched down next to Earthsong, she shed her feathers and sat down, trying to catch the thread of the conversation. However, whatever the chieftains were talking about, they both stopped, curiously observing the unannounced visitor.

Jagged Ice was the first one to break the silence, shifting in place to face her. "I must say, I did not expect to see you personally, Agate. Did Thundersnow finally see reason and came here with you, or...?"

The part of the question that was left unsaid was quite obvious. Jagged Ice knew the reason why Agate decided to use messengers rather than fly herself, and her presence in Snowpitt could have easily meant that the expedition met a grisly fate. Agate shook her head at his inquiry.

"Neither of those things, chieftain. I got overwhelmed and had to return to my totem to recover."

"So this is the illustrious traveler spirit. I have seen you a few times in the past, but I don't believe we ever spoke," Firm Root said, sizing Agate up.

"I can't say I ever heard of you or saw you before, chieftain. We are largely unfamiliar," She agreed, similarly studying the stallion.

As was usual for chieftains, he was stout and hale, towering over the smaller ponies around him. His coat appeared black at first, but on second glance, it was actually a shade brown so dark, it looked black in the gloom, his mane being only a shade lighter. His neutral expression didn't show any outward hostility towards Agate, which made her relax a little.

"Well, since you're here, perhaps you could tell me what has been happening in our territories that border the sea? It's been quite a mess to attempt and unravel, and as I understand it, you're a direct participant in those events. I heard the retellings from Jagged Ice, of course, but I'd like a first-hoof account."

"Of course, chieftain."

Agate launched into the explanation, omitting no details. To her surprise, Firm Root didn't show any reaction whatsoever, simply listening to Agate as she recounted the various attacks and counterattacks the feuding shamares sent at each other over the season. He was either unbelievably disciplined, or just wasn't emotional at all. His expression was ponderous, and his only reaction was the occasional thoughtful stroke of his beard.

"Quite a mess," He summarized after Agate finished. "They attacked you first each time, then? Even when you arrived to our shores on that... "Battle Glacier", your shamare still held back until ours struck you first?"

"That is correct, chieftain."

His only response was a long sigh, his expression unchanging. Silence fell over the building. Both chieftains had small entourages of other warriors and elders with them, but none really had anything to say, either. Agate could only assume that they already discussed the topic through most of the winter to exhaustion.

"This has to stop, chieftain," Jagged Ice finally ventured forth.

"We already agreed on that, yes. The merchants and other travelers are not happy. That was the main shipping lane for many of them, not to mention the devastation the actual residents of the region suffered. But all my life, I've been told that others should not meddle in the affairs of shamares. Just like my father has been told that, and his father before him, and so on for unknown generations. "It is outside your ken", and all that."

"They are meddling in the affairs of the tribes, though, with no regards for the consequences. I've been told shamares always think about those before acting."

"Very true..."

Agate watched them talk, biting her lip thoughtfully. After a short while, she shook her head, standing up from her position. Her action raised some eyebrows, Jagged Ice turning towards her again.

"Leaving so soon, Agate?"

"Yes, chieftain. No offense, but it doesn't sound like this meeting holds any value to me. If I understand what I'm hearing correctly, you haven't decided on a course of action yet, and I doubt the shamares have stopped fighting in the meantime. I think my time would be better served by going back and doing my best to stop them from killing each other while you figure out what to do."

"Perhaps that would be the best outcome, actually," Firm Root spoke with just a touch of annoyed sarcasm, making Jagged Ice turn back towards him.

"What? Them killing each other?"

"Yes. If we are not supposed to interfere, then what? It's the only logical outcome of this spat, if things keep going the way they are."

Pursing his lips, Jagged Ice shook his head. "While I am disappointed in Thundersnow, she is of my tribe, and has worked hard for our people. I'd prefer to bring her back into the fold."

"So would I with my own shamares, but from what the traveler spirit told us, we really have but one option - go there, clonk our respective shamares over the head, and drag them off to our respective territories... Or perhaps to Snowpitt, to force them to finish their feud and definitively sort this out, instead of having them come back and do this all over again years later."

"You're more than welcome. We'd make sure they stay in line," Earthsong quietly supplied.

"Many are the warnings of terrible curses that shamares can supposedly bring down upon you. And yet, I am just about committed to doing exactly that. I think I could find a few spirited warriors in my tribe that would accompany me as well," Jagged Ice said, glancing towards some of the stallions sitting close by, the northerners proudly sitting up straighter and puffing out their chests.

"Looks like you do have a plan of action of sorts," Agate mused. "I should probably go anyway. It's going to take some time for you to get there anyway, and - hm. Speaking of that, what time is it? I lost track completely, and I don't know how long I spent in my totem."

"It is spring. We are all moving out tomorrow. This is the last meeting of the year," Firm Root supplied.

"So I spent a good couple days sleeping... I hope the windigoes didn't hurt anyone. Anyway, chieftains - I am happy to hear that some kind of solution is finally being put to action, even if it doesn't sound like the most ideal one. Something is better than nothing. I'll go back to Thundersnow now. Should I tell her anything, chieftain?" She asked, addressing Jagged Ice.

"No, I don't think so. I'll send a messenger ahead of me, to deliver a final warning and the order to retreat and come to Snowpitt. If she fails to heed it, I'll arrive in person," He said, shaking his head.

"That might take quite a while. The journey between Green Land and the territory..."

"I'm not going to Green Land. I'll be going to Nilas, and then I'll travel westwards along the coastline in a kayak, along with my warriors. I will see this through personally. There's no shortage of experienced elders and wise ponies in Smoky Bay. The settlement can manage just fine without me for a while longer."

"Very well, chieftain. I'll be going, then."

❅ ❆ ❅

Flapping her ethereal wings, Agate flew over the tundra. She didn't actually know exactly where the Battle Glacier was in relation to Snowpitt, but she was fairly certain she'd be able to find it as soon as she noticed some familiar islands. It was strange to see clear and sunny skies after spending the entire winter with the sky covered in dark, gloomy clouds.

The Sun didn't stay in the sky very long yet, but even the brief appearance was enough to lift Agate's spirits a bit. As she flew through the now dark landscape, though, she became confused and a little worried that she was going off-course. The clear sky kept going well into the distance, the stars and the Moon twinkling in the clear night air, with no sign of the dark mass of clouds surrounding the region that she shamares were battling in.

"Don't look at the Moon."

As she reached the shore and went over the water, Agate began recognizing the landmarks she was passing over. Still puzzled, she occasionally made a small circle to make sure she wasn't seeing things before moving on. There were some scattered clouds here and there, but nothing quite as cataclysmic as it was before. The only sign of the battles that took place there were the few forms of bird spirits that she saw flitting about in the distance.

Analyzing their flight paths, she stealthily approached what she correctly suspected they were circling - the Battle Glacier. She could see a bunch of glowing forms on it with her spirit sight, which meant that the expedition was still there. Going into a deep dive, she skimmed the waves as she got closer, only realizing the depth of her mistake once it was too late.

Dodging a javelin chucked by Spear Whittle, she wove from side to side as the sentries tried their best to stab her with their weapons. Circling around them, she looked to the side, to see if there were any other ponies that saw her. Fortunately for Agate, it was only two sentries, and if any other pony saw her, they probably weren't concerned about just one bird spirit.

"Get it, dang it!"

"I'm trying, but this one's slippery like an eel! Stay still, you pest!"

"Small one, too. I guess the westerners ran out of the big bird spirits."

Chuckling in her head, Agate swiftly changed course, going sharply upwards before diving right at Spear Whittle, landing on her back.

"Agh! Get it off!"

"Stay still!"

Immediately transforming back into her pony form, Agate smirked with some amusement as the two ponies sputtered and tried to clear the ephemeral feathers that flew off her from their field of vision. When they vanished, Spear Whittle's partner froze, pointing her spear towards Agate with a confused expression.

"What are you waiting for? Get that limpet off me!"

"Is that really how you greet your teacher and famed traveler spirit, Spear Whittle?" Agate inquired, giggling into the mare's ear.

"What?!"

With a wry grin, she climbed off the mare's back as the pair composed themselves. A few moments, she was getting crushed between two fluffy ponies that were cheering their idol's return. With a good-natured roll of her eyes, she extricated herself, willing her squished immaterial form back into the proper shape.

"So, how are things? Is everyone okay? Did Thundersnow make it out alright?"

"We're all fine, Agate, thanks to you. You should have called on us, you know. We could have helped you," Spear Whittle grumbled lightly, bopping Agate on the nose as her partner trotted off to the camp to tell the news of Agate's return to the others.

"Yeah, yeah, I messed up that time. I know. What happened, though? Did Thundersnow banish the windigoes? The skies are mostly clear, and everything seems almost... Calm now."

"Well... Partially, yes."

"What does that mean? Did some shamare arrive to help her out?"

"Not exactly, but kind of? See, Thundersnow and Wind Whisper prepared for a big, big ritual. Something real hefty, if the amount of meditation and preparation was anything to go by. I think Thundersnow was extra mad that the windigoes made you flee."

"Go on..."

"Well, with how big it was, it was an all hooves on deck kind of situation. The others stood watch to swat away any ambitious birds that decided to take the opportunity to attack, while we made sure the defensive wards were maintained. I think we might have even baffled the windigoes a little bit. The shamares made the wind all swirly, and a spot opened up in the sky above us, slowly pushing the clouds away. I guess all the motion riled the clouds up as well, though, since they began to get grumbly with thunder. It wasn't long before the windigoes began getting blasted. It was quite a sight, I tell you. A whole herd of windigoes, neighing in outrage and pain as our shamare dished out the punishment. The freezing winds they blew at us were fierce and biting, but we stood our ground, cheering and laughing in defiance."

"Hm... A bit odd to push the clouds away... She needs them for lightning, right?"

"Yeah, apparently, there was some kind of plan to herd them into the open spot in the sky right above us, and then blast them with something big. I don't know, Thundersnow didn't tell us all that many details. As it turned out, though, we weren't the only ones with a plan to get rid of the windigoes that night. Through the open sky, we could see the aurora, its magnificent glow lighting up the night even through that small hole. And then... The aurora came down."

"Came... Down? The whole thing? But it's so massive..."

"Well, not the whole thing, I guess. Just these small... Tendrils, I guess you'd call them. Small little lines that trailed lower from the big glowing ones way up in the sky. What with the freezing wind stinging our eyes and the distance, we couldn't really see all that well, but it sort of looked like the aurora set the windigoes on fire. They didn't like the great Sky Fire's touch, I'll tell you that much. What with the lightning barrage just before, and the attack from the aurora right after... They fled like mad, and we haven't seen them since. There's still a chance they might come back, I guess - it's only been a few days, after all - but I have this feeling that we won't be seeing them again until next winter."

"Wow. Just... Wow. I never heard of anything like that before," Agate exclaimed, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Neither had Thundersnow, apparently. She was very impressed, though a bit worried as well. Apparently, she felt that someone on the southern shore was the one that did it, which more than likely means that it was a westerner shamare. Which, of course, means that they still have tricks they haven't employed against us yet."

"So, did they try to do something like that to the expedition?"

"No, actually. Maybe it was a very taxing ritual, or maybe it needed some kind of special ingredients, I don't know. Still, they did continue their attacks. The very next day, another furious storm blew in from the west, and Thundersnow had to disperse it again. Wind Whisper said the air spirits told her that it was the usual culprits."

With a sigh, Agate rubbed her forehead. "They're still not giving up, then."

"Afraid not."

"Well... This is all going to end soon regardless, one way or another."

"Yeah? What do you mean?" Spear Whittle inquired with some trepidation at the finality of Agate's statement, raising her eyebrows.

"I talked to the chieftains of both the western and northern tribes back in Snowpitt. They're planning to end this, even if they have to come here themselves, grab the shamares by the scruffs of their necks and drag them to Snowpitt by force."

"Really? Huh. Well. If it's really both tribes, then I guess it's not too bad. We did come here to make the westerners end their nonsense, so I'd still count it as a win."

"Let's just hope Thundersnow sees it that way, too."

❅ ❆ ❅

"I am sorry for foisting that task on you, Agate. I'll admit, I haven't really thought it through when I asked you. With your impressive skills, I forgot you don't actually have the magic reserves of a shamare. I guess my mind was just a bit overwhelmed with all the things I had to deal with."

The shamare in question was very pleased with Agate's return, apologizing to her in front of the entire camp. Agate herself accepted the apology with a small grimace, seeing the whole thing as mostly her fault. She didn't want to make a scene out of it, though.

"It's fine, really. I was more worried about you guys. All I needed was some rest. Spear Whittle already told me that you're all fine, though, and even got rid of the windigoes, to boot."

"Mmm, yes... With some outside "help", as I'm sure you heard.

"Right... Still no end in sight to this conflict, then?"

"I'm afraid not, Agate. They're still continuing their attacks, and show no signs of stopping."

"What about that thing with the aurora? If they have such power, why haven't they used it against us?"

"I am honestly not certain. It could simply be impossible to get it so low to the ground. The windigoes are fairly high up, after all. I have no other guesses, unfortunately."

"Thundersnow, the way things are going, this conflict might well end up lasting for years, if not decades. We haven't accomplished anything in a whole year of fighting. Both sides appear to be at a complete stalemate, without either one of us gaining any ground. I really think you need to consider all possibilities, including retreating for a while and rethinking your strategy."

Taking in a deep breath, Thundersnow groaned. "Yes, the thought of shackling myself to the westerners for years isn't exactly appealing. While I am working in defense of the tribe, this is not something I was planning to do for the rest of my days. I will... I will think on this, Agate. However, until I can think up a better course of action, the fight is still on, and they are still attacking us. As such, we keep going."

❅ ❆ ❅

Thundersnow didn't ask Agate anything about her trip to Snowpitt, and she didn't volunteer that information. While all her plans were genuinely for the benefit of both Thundersnow and the northern tribe, Agate wasn't entirely sure how Thundersnow would react to finding out that she technically conspired with other ponies behind her back. It was her own tribe's chieftain rather than their enemies, of course, so it wasn't much of a conspiracy, but still. The combative shamare clearly didn't respect anyone's authority but her own.

It turned into a waiting game, counting each day as it went by. Agate wasn't sure how long it would take for the chieftains to reach their respective shamares, but it was probably at least two weeks, if not more. Given that they already spent close to a year at it, a few more weeks shouldn't have been a problem. However, the westerners clearly spent the winter thinking up new tricks, ones which they deployed as soon as spring arrived.

"What's that?" A sentry asked.

"Looks like some birds," A stallion shrugged after a few moments of looking.

"Real or spirits?" A third one inquired, reaching for his harpoon.

"Spirits are real too. But yes, they're flesh and blood. Probably nothing to worry about."

"They're getting closer, though. And I don't think I saw their kind before..."

"Hmm... You're right, they are getting closer, but the wards should- SPEARS!!! We're under attack!"

The yell alerted the rest of the camp, and the warriors reacted swiftly, their reflexes honed to near perfection at this point. Reaching for their weapons, they either stood firmly or got ready to throw, depending on their fighting styles. Several of the approaching birds were soon skewered with javelins, ones that managed to dodge having to try and avoid impaling themselves on the defender's spears.

The bodies of the dead birds impacted the ice with uncharacteristically heavy thumps, this particular breed being impressively big. Ponies dodged out of the way of the twitching claws, not wanting to get sliced as their foes writhed in their death throes.

All together, the attack only lasted a few moments. Unlike the massive flocks of spirits, there was barely a dozen of the birds, which didn't take long for the defenders to deal with. Everyone was a little stunned at the suddenness and ferocity of the attack, though, and there were a few ponies that had gashes in their legs and sides. The injured quickly galloped off to bind their wounds before they bled out, while the others warily looked around.

"What just happened? Is this the westerner's doing?"

"It has to be. Are there going to be more of them, like the spirits?"

"Ancestors, I hope not. Those just hurt a little, but a living one could slice through my neck with those daggers they have for claws. If we have to deal with hundreds at a time..."

"I don't think they can summon that many, lest they risk killing off the entire population," Thundersnow declared, trotting over.

"Are you alright, Thundersnow?" Agate inquired, noticing that the shamare had a tuft of coat missing, and her bandolier with charms and potions was sliced through.

"Yes, luckily for me, they only got a bit of my coat. A half-step in the other direction, and I might well have been dead."

"Shamare? How did they get past the wards? I thought you said that those small, individually weak beings shouldn't have been able to see us, at least not that easily. These ones didn't hesitate for a heartbeat," Stout asked, yanking out a javelin from a dead bird.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Let's see here..."

She trotted over to one of the bodies, squinting at it. After making sure that it really was dead, she began running her hooves across its feathers. Flipping it over, she kept her examination up until she gasped, yanking something from the bird's neck and holding it up, studying the object with great intensity.

"An amulet... Of... Hmmm, this rune there, that's... An amulet of true sight! And they stuck it on a bird! No, wait - they must have stuck them on all of the birds! Everyone, search their bodies! See if they're wearing more of these!"

The ponies quickly complied, returning with their loot to Thundersnow. Collecting all the amulets, the shamare studied each one for a few moments, muttering under her breath. Nodding, she hesitated for a moment before shrugging and giving the entire pile to Stout.

"Share these out amongst yourselves, I suppose. These will work just as well for a pony as they did for those birds. Honestly, I didn't even think they would work on those birds. That thought never even occurred to me. The westerners really are clever with their tricks, I'll give them that. Those amulets take time to make, but they almost got several of us in this attack. If our sentries hadn't been that eagle-eyed, it would have been a lot worse than a few scrapes."

"And they wasted the lives of innocent animals in their pursuit," Spear Whittle said, gently closing the eyes of a bird she downed.

"Yes, quite dishonorable, isn't it? I think I'll take a few of their bodies... See if I can soothe their spirits, perhaps find something out. The rest... Give them their rites and bury them at sea. The waters will reclaim their remains."

"Yes, shamare."

"Agate, could you help me with something? I had a few thoughts," Thundersnow asked, carefully hefting the body of one of the birds on her back.

"Sure."

Thundersnow led Agate to her igloo, depositing the body nearby. Crawling inside, she went to her chest of ingredients and retrieved an amethyst sphere, holding it in her hooves. It was completely dark, the magic fully drained.

"Think you could help me charge this? No need to go overboard. Just... Give what you can. I might need extra magic in the future, if the westerners keep coming up with things like that."

"Alright. I can do that."

❅ ❆ ❅

Everyone was a bit on edge after the attack. Even more so than usual, that is, which is why several visitors arriving in kayaks a couple days later was met with surprise and some suspicion. At first, Agate assumed that the chieftain's messenger had arrived, but then she remembered that it was nigh on impossible for him to get there in just a few days.

However, it turned out that their visitors were ponies from their own tribe, which raised the spirits of everyone there. While the region was still largely abandoned, a shamare that introduced herself as Herb Extract and her couple of escorts decided to swing by. According to her, she was travelling the very edges of the territory that still had ponies living there, and recalled Thundersnow's battle, as she had visited them last year already.

The shamares and their guards immediately broke off into several groups, excitedly asking each other about how they spent their winters and the battles they went through. The shamare's escorts were suitably impressed by the floewolf-fang tipped spears the warriors showed them, while Herb Extract was eagerly drinking in all the descriptions of the various magics that both Thundersnow and the westerners employed against each other.

The shamares ended up trading some ingredients and the like, though it was mostly Herb Extract giving Thundersnow things to refill her stocks. Feeling guilty, she called Agate over, the famous flying traveler spirit immediately catching Herb Extract's attention.

"Agate, could you do a favor for me?"

"Sure, Thundersnow, what do you need?"

"Well, Herb Extract here has given me many gifts, ones which I cannot reciprocate right now. However, she, like many of our kind, are highly interested in your crystal magic. Would you be so kind as to give her a few personal lessons on my behalf?"

"Yeah... I think I can do that. We'll need something to practice on, but-"

"I have a few crystals I carry with me," Herb Extract enthusiastically jumped in.

"Then it's not a problem at all. We can start whenever you want to."

❅ ❆ ❅

Herb Extract and her companions did spend the night on the Battle Glacier, but while they were happy to help Thundersnow restock a bit and catch up, they still didn't want to linger too long. As Herb Extract herself said, she was a healer, and she wouldn't be of any use in a battle, not to mention that she had duties in other places. The next morning, they paddled away, though not without telling Agate where they were going next.

The purpose of that was to give the shamare those lessons, as there was only so much Agate could cram into a single day. As such, come evening, she took wing, seeking out the island Herb Extract landed on. Agate still returned to the Battle Glacier to sleep, but her interactions with the ponies there were minimal, so she didn't follow who was doing what too closely.

Three days hence, returning from a relatively long flight after she gave Herb Extract her final lesson, Agate landed on the Battle Glacier, noticing something strange. The ponies were packing things, sweeping up loose trinkets and securing valuables in their kayaks. Their faces varied from grim to dejected, and she couldn't see Thundersnow anywhere. Needless to say, such a sudden shift in everyone's mood surprised her.

"What's going, everyone? Are you leaving? Did Thundersnow finally change her mind?"

Noticing her, several ponies raised their eyes towards Agate, their gazes looking dead. A couple opened their mouths as if to say something, but then slowly closed them again, lacking the words. Puzzled, she began examining them with her spirit sight, looking for signs of magical maladies.

"What's going on? Was there another attack? Are you all injured?"

"No, traveler spirit. We are not injured, not bodily, at least," Wind Whisper spoke softly as she approached Agate.

"Then... What's going on?"

"We are leaving. We have failed. Thundersnow... Is dead."

"WHAT?!"

Oaths And Secrets

In the future, thinking back to that moment, Agate often questioned herself whether there was anything she could have done differently to prevent that outcome, but couldn't really come up with a reasonable argument. Despite her nascent dreamwalking powers, her dreams didn't carry any premonitions or glimpses into various possibilities, and she hadn't noticed anything in the waking world, either.

"How? What happened?" She hurriedly asked, a sudden gust of wind tossing her mane about.

"A... Monster of some kind dragged her off into the depths. That was yesterday. Even with all her power, even if she won against it, I don't think she's capable of breathing underwater. The warriors waited and circled the area in their kayaks, waiting for her to surface. She did not," Wind Whisper explained, looking at a nondescript patch of water.

"Monster of some kind? I know there's lots of weird stuff in the sea, but I thought your tribe is already familiar with most of them... At least this close to the shore, anyway. Ponies have been living by the shore long before they took to the waves, right?" Agate continued, shaking her mane out of her face.

"That is correct, but... It wasn't a normal creature. I wasn't the one who saw it happen, though. The sentry could describe it better than me," She said, pointing to a stallion examining his kayak.

Feeling their gazes on him, the stallion looked up, trotting over to the pair. He wasn't one of her followers, but Agate still recognized him, having learned the names of every pony in the expeditionary group during the time spent on the Battle Glacier.

"What happened, Coarse Coat?"

"It was a day like any other. A ritual like any other. Thundersnow said that she needed to talk to the water spirits, to adjust our course a bit. Nothing seemed out of place. I was standing a small distance away from her, looking out for any more birds and suchlike while she splashed her hooves in the water. Then, she started muttering something. I think I heard her say "What do you think you're doing back here?". Shamares often say strange things when they're communing with the spirits, so I didn't think much of it. I only knew that something was wrong when she gasped in pain. I immediately turned towards her, but it was already too late. She was getting dragged into the water, and I could only see the faintest image of the monster before it dove into the deeps with a splash."

"So what was so unusual about the monster?"

Grimacing, the stallion rubbed the side of his head. "It was like a shark, but at the same time, it was not. It was as if it couldn't decide what animal it wanted to be. It had the body of a shark - at least the head, from what I could see - but it also had bird's legs and claws. There were four of them, and they were coming out of the sides of its jaws and the top of its head. It used them to grab on to Thundersnow, and it was clearly very effective. She was gone faster than I could blink. Strangest damned thing I ever saw."

"I... Have heard stories about shapeshifters before..." Agate mused, forcing her flowing mane down with a foreleg.

Wind Whisper nodded, her expression pensive. "Indeed, there are many tales about strange beings that have shapeshifting powers similar to yours, but ones they can use just as easily on their flesh, rather than spirit. Supposedly, they like pretending to be other animals, and even ponies on occasion. This is the first time I heard about one taking on such a strange form, but it clearly knew what it was doing, given how quickly it dispatched Thundersnow. I never heard of them getting captured or anyone being able to call on them, though... So I don't think this could have been the westerner's doing."

"I... Well. There's nothing else to do, then. So much for all my - pfff! - plans. Not that I had many," Agate sighed, spitting out a stray bit of mane that got blown into her mouth.

"We heard about those," Stout spoke up from behind her. "Spear Whittle and the others from your group told us about the missives you sent the chieftain. Damned shame we were getting so close to a peaceful resolution, only for it all to come crashing down days before it could be done. No clue what's going to happen now."

"Do you think I did the right thing, Stout? Should I have tried something else?"

After a long moment of thinking, the old stallion shrugged. "If I had seen any alternative pathways, I would have suggested them. Contacting the chieftain was clever, and yes, it was the right thing to do, I believe. I'm honestly not sure what I would have done myself. Over the years, there were times when shamares saved both my life and the lives of my kin and companions with their magics. This, debacle, though... If the chieftain showed up in person and ordered me to subdue Thundersnow, I think I might have just followed that order. Too late to talk about what if's, however. We need to deal with the right now, and right now, we need to get to safety. Thundersnow is dead, but our enemies are not, and if they send more attacks towards us, it won't end well for the rest of the ponies here."

"He's right, Agate. I can't pick up and continue where Thundersnow left off. I learned so, so much during the time I spent with her, but... It is still far too heavy of a load for me to bear. Every single time that I felt I unlocked a new level of strength, a step above what I was the day before, things would just escalate two steps higher. We have to go," Wind Whisper agreed, bowing her head.

"Hey, I'm not judging you or saying you should stay. Get the heck out of here, and don't- Grrrr! What's with this wind?" Agate grumbled, brushing her mane out her eyes.

Wind Whisper blinked at that, raising her head and staring at Agate with curiosity. Trotting closer, she gently brushed her hoof across Agate's mane, her ears perking and turning every which way. Agate just stood there, confused at the whole thing, until she realized something. The wind never really affected her, not her mane, nor when she was flying through rough weather. This was something else. This was magic.

"Wind Whisper? What's going on?" She asked, suddenly nervous.

"The tuurngait... They whisper..."

Agate recognized the term. They were a shamare's helping spirits, ones that often stayed by their side and could be quickly called upon in an emergency. Unlike the spirits that required effort and rituals to call upon, they were not very powerful, but they were always ready to help, sometimes whispering little bits of advice or secrets into the shamare's ears and guiding them along in dire situations, or so they claimed.

Agate never had any herself, but she did hear a few personal accounts from the shamares that she talked to over the years. And from those stories, she gathered that getting little tugs and pulls on your mane or ears was a method that was favored by some of the tuurngait when they wanted to guide you to some destination. Usually, it was towards a lost pony or something similar that the shamare was trying to find. In this case, Agate could only guess that someone wanted her to find them.

"Can you... Tell me what they're saying?"

"Mmm... No. Nothing but your title. Traveler spirit. All I can tell is that you're being called upon, by... Someone. At first, I assumed it might be Thundersnow, but I don't recognize these spirits."

"And they're leading me towards... Let's see," Agate said with a slight frown, slowly turning in a circle and observing which way the wind was pulling her mane.

"South... Southwest," Wind Whisper breathed. "Straight towards the westerner's territory."

"Hrm..."

"Are you... Going to go?"

"Well... Even if this is some kind of trap, what's the worst they could do to me, really?"

"I don't know, but the westerners have employed some very cunning tricks against us. Be on your guard."

"I will. It doesn't take much concentration for me to just fly off, though. I think I'm going to be fine."

Trotting to the edge of the ice floe, Agate looked into the waves, pursing her lips and looking down before raising her head again, looking towards where the spirits were pulling her. Following behind her, Wind Whisper tilting her head at Agate's actions.

"Were you thinking of going down there? To look for Thundersnow?"

"I was, actually. I know some spirits get stuck on the bottom of the sea if they perish there, and have to wait for the Calling to see the way out. But... Even if she is there, then there's not much I can do for her anyway. This summoning, however, seems important."

"I don't think Thundersnow would become lost. She had a remarkably strong spirit. If she really perished, then her spirit more than likely already made its way out somewhere."

"Alright. In that case, I'll be going. You guys... Gather up everything useful from here. Take the warding pole with you. And take Thundersnow's things, I suppose. I don't think she'd like it if we left them here to sink when the Battle Glacier eventually melts. We made some very good crystals together."

"Yes, the warding pole was the first thing I retrieved, and I already took the crystal from her igloo's walls, and her ingredient chest. I think we got everything."

"Good. Spear Whittle! Come over here for a moment," Agate called out, waving the mare over.

"Yes, Agate?"

"Help Wind Whisper charge the crystal before you leave, and try to group up close together if you see someone or something following you. Recharging the wards will probably be impossible when you're all in your kayaks."

"Will do."

"Alright. Okay. So... I suppose this is goodbye, for now. I'll- oh! One more thing. Remember that the chieftain said he'll send a messenger ahead of him, so if you see any ponies heading in your direction, be sure to flag them down so they don't waste time looking for you. Other than that, you should go straight to Nilas. That's where Jagged Ice said he'll go before coming here. I'll find out what this summoning is about, and I'll either catch up, or meet you all in Nilas."

"Yes yes, quit worrying about us, we'll be fine. We'll haul flank for a day or two, and that should be plenty enough to get us out of the danger zone. You watch your own back, yeah? You're going into enemy territory all alone."

"Again, not much they can do to me any more. I'll be going, then. Be safe, Spear Whittle, and the rest of you, too."

"Fair winds, traveler spirit. May our paths cross again."

With matching nods, the pair parted ways, Agate taking to the skies while the others began putting their kayaks into the water, their preparations to leave complete.

❅ ❆ ❅

As she flew, Agate could swear there were faint wisps of light dancing just at the edge of her sight, but when she turned to look at them directly, they vanished. She could only assume that those were the tuurngait, nudging her along to her destination.

Deciding not to bother trying to catch the elusive spirits, she cast her gaze downwards instead, looking at the landscape. It didn't take long for her to reach the shore and see for herself the devastation that the shamaric conflict had wrought upon the land.

The famous forests of the western tribe were no more, at least as far as this patch of shoreline went. Almost no trees were standing upright, and even those that survived often had many broken branches, gouges, and other scars, which probably meant that they were going to wither and die as well. The constant storms that Thundersnow sent towards the shore didn't care what stood in their path as they barreled their way deeper inland, towards the shamares they were bidden to hunt down and release their fury on.

Grimacing, Agate did her best to focus on her task and try to find the shamare that had called her there. Using her spirit sight, she kept scanning the shoreline, but nothing stood out. Continuing her flight southwest, she kept coming across patches of trees, all destroyed in various ways. Uprooted, broken in half, even burnt to charred stumps, the last one likely caused by a lightning strike.

Eventually, she flew over a village that was built fairly close to the shore. There were no lights in the buildings, whether from the spirit glows of the ponies, or the fires in their hearths. She felt the wind jostle her about, though, so she began circling the place, looking for signs of life.

The village remained empty, but she did notice the glows of several ponies standing under a massive fir, one of the few trees in the area that didn't look too badly damaged. Considering the situation, she stayed in the air for a little while longer before slowly descending into one of the branches of the tree, attempting to catch a glimpse of just who had called her there.

Her stealthy approach didn't work for long, though, as the same spirits that had been guiding her there swiftly informed their master that she had arrived. She heard someone clear their throat, before, to her slight surprise, a stallion's voice sounded out.

"Traveler spirit? Are you there? I swear upon my honor, I mean you no harm. This is a peaceful overture. I only wish to talk about matters that, I believe, greatly concern us both."

Hesitating for a moment, Agate steeled her nerves before diving down, swiftly landing on the ground and immediately changing back to her pony form, her feathers suddenly flying everywhere, as usual. The brief distraction let her get a good look at the speaker and his companions, which surprised her even more.

The group was made up of a stallion and two mares. It wasn't a bodyguard and two shamares, though. It was a shamare and two bodyguards, and the shamare was the stallion, with the mares being his guards. The stallion was wearing full shamaric garb, including a feathered headdress that the westerner mystics favored. He certainly looked the part, including his piercing pale blue eyes, which didn't seem to have pupils. Just like many other shamares in that situation, though, he didn't seem to have any trouble whatsoever with being able to see.

"I am here," She announced calmly, not too sure about the protocol in this situation.

"Ah... What a curious method of travel. Are you open to converse with me?"

"I wouldn't have come here otherwise. What did you want to talk about, and, if I may ask, who are you? I never saw or heard about you before. I don't think so, at least."

"Well, I am quite the hermit... And I'm afraid I haven't visited Snowpitt in quite a while, so I doubt my name is well known, if at all. I am Polaris. And these two are my shieldmaidens. Kochab, North Star, leave us, please. Do not worry about me. There is not a living soul anywhere near us, and I am certain the traveler spirit is not willing nor capable of harming me," He introduced himself, waving the two mares off.

His guards gave Agate a long look before nodding, trotting off with a brief "Yes, elder.". Agate and Polaris watched them go, until the stallion deemed that they were far enough for the conversation not to be overheard. Turning back towards Agate, he immediately opened up with a rather interesting question.

"Tell me, traveler spirit, do you know if the shamare known as Thundersnow is still within the realms of the living?"

"That is such an interesting question," Agate mused, not sure whether to answer or not.

"Yes? Why is that?"

"The implications. We thought it was some kind of monster, but if you already know about it... It implies that you had a hoof in her passing. Yes, she is dead."

"Ah... In that case, I must ask you to swear upon whatever you hold most sacred that what we will speak of here will not be spoken of to others, unless with the greatest of consideration to the consequences of such an act."

Agate pursed her lips, pinning her ears back as she sorted through the very formal and dramatic request. Snowponies took their oaths seriously, with the understanding that whatever you swear upon would either perish or disappear from your life forever, should you break your word. With a small sigh, she put her hoof on her chest, and turned to look Polaris in the eyes.

"I swear upon my homeland and my people, the Crystal Empire, that I will not divulge whatever secrets you decide to share with me to anyone lightly, without thoroughly thinking it through and considering the potential consequences."

"Very well. In that case, you are partially correct. I did not actually know for certain that she's dead, though I did suspect it. You confirmed it for me. As to her passing, well... I suppose, in a way, I killed her. Partially, at least," He sighed, head drooping and his ears folding slightly.

"How in the world do you partially kill someone?" Agate asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I sent her own creation back at her," He explained with a mirthless chuckle. "Instead of trading tiny crumbs of information question by question, how about I just tell you everything that happened, and we'll go from there?"

"Works for me. I'm listening," Agate nodded, sitting down.

He likewise sat down, gathering his thoughts for a moment before starting. "As I said before, I am a bit of a hermit. Shamares are often somewhat distant from the rest of society, but I was even more so. As such, I was not even aware of the petty conflict between our tribes that was apparently happening right outside my door, until it broke that door down. My mares informed me about the arguments that arose from Thundersnow luring the salmon into the northerner's nets before the yearly migration, but I had no idea about the cowardly attacks that my tribe's shamares cooked up. I had to find that one out directly from them, after Thundersnow began retaliating by blasting the shore with storms.

I was... Immensely disappointed. The elders, which are supposed to be founts of wisdom, discipline, and patience, were squabbling like petty fools, seeking terrible revenge for a relatively minor slight. I truly cannot comprehend whether they were so utterly insane that they thought their actions wouldn't invite consequences, or whether they were so short-sighted that they didn't think that far ahead. From what little bits I gathered, some shamares actually thought their "display of power" would intimidate the northerners. Intimidate! The tribe that is most famed for its rough territories and their stoic attitude to danger! Madness!

Well, whatever they intended for their attacks to cause, the reaction could have been easily predicted even by a foal. The northerners got angry, and retaliated. I... Won't bore you with the details about what happened on our side of the conflict. They don't hold any real importance to this story. To summarize, I did my best to help defend our ponies from the worst of the effects, and mitigate what damage I could. I never launched any attacks myself, though that didn't stop the other shamares taking advantage of my protection and continuing their assaults instead of taking a moment to think and realize how pointless this whole thing was.

When the windigoes started showing up, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. Again, any fool could have seen it coming. I watched as the other shamares kept shooing them away, but I knew that it wouldn't work forever. They kept coming back, and in bigger numbers, too. I meditated and I pondered, and I knew that the only way to send them away for good was to hit them very, very hard. Which is what I did, when spring finally arrived."

"You're the one who called down the aurora itself upon them," Agate couldn't help but interrupt, feeling her eyebrows rise to the top of her forehead.

"Yes, I was. If only you could hear how the others praised me. Oh, how they praised me, while preparing more rituals and creatures to send at Thundersnow. It made me want to vomit. All I ever wanted to do was to gaze at the stars and glean some knowledge from the heavens. I built up a rapport with the wind spirits to clear the skies on cloudy nights, not to battle storms sent my way.

I was sick from it all, and was seriously considering leaving altogether. Perhaps find another secluded spot somewhere in the mountains, and just let those fools get what was coming to them. Unfortunately, I seemed to have chosen a poor spot for my ponderings. I enjoy the soothing sound of running water, so I usually meditate by the river. As I sat there, though, something came out of the water and grabbed me. Some thing, not truly alive, yet made from the bodies of dead creatures.

It was... A shark of some kind, I don't know the breeds of those creatures all too well, with multiple legs of great eagles sewn onto its head, which it used to latch on to me. Its body was partially gone, rotten or cut apart, and then reinforced with sinew and rope and bits of wood. Even its eyes were quite damaged, but it also had an amulet of true sight sewn onto its forehead, which clearly allowed it to see well enough to seek me out. I couldn't see its spirit, but it had a faint purple aura around it, with some kind of heart inside its chest, multiple enchantments woven together in some kind of crude, vile mockery of life."

Though Agate was usually quite good at self-control, she had to forcefully bite her lip to stop herself from interrupting him again. As Polaris described the creature, the entire puzzle fell into place in her mind, piece by horrible piece. She didn't want to believe it, but there were literally no other possibilities that she was able to see.

The body of the shark that Thundersnow asked the fisherponies to bring to her, which she kept in a small, separate "workshop igloo" that she had them build.

The bodies of the eagles that attacked them, and the couple that she decided to keep as well, the others remarking on their unusually long and sharp claws.

The amulets of true sight, one of which she clearly decided to keep for her secret project.

And lastly, the purple glow from an enchanted "heart". The kind of glow that just happened to be produced by amethyst, such as the crystal spheres she and Thundersnow made together.

Meanwhile, he continued. "I was stunned and horrified, though I managed to collect myself and figure out that I should attack the enchantments rather than try to struggle physically. Instead of pulling away, I slammed my hooves forward, wrestling with the false spirit of the creature. It wasn't easy, as it was infused with the will of the one who created it. Still, I did manage to overpower it, though I was neck-deep in the river by the time I did.

I'll admit, I did not give any thought to what I did next. I was cold, stunned, scared, and disgusted by the stench of the rotting carcass that just tried to kill me. I ordered the thing to go find its creator, and carry out the same orders that were given to it by its master. It was only after I clambered out of the water that I started actually thinking about what just happened."

"So... Thundersnow. She made some kind of... Undead aberration to hunt down westerner shamares," Agate whispered despondently.

"Yes. It was clearly the work of a powerful shamare, and there weren't exactly all that many candidates. I didn't know for certain, but when you told me that she was killed by "some kind of monster", it was the final confirmation. At the very least, it sounds like the other ponies that were with you didn't manage to see the thing's true nature," He sighed deeply.

"You sound quite... Regretful? You were only defending yourself. Don't blame yourself."

Giving Agate a long look, he tilted his head slightly as he considered her. "Those are interesting words to hear from one who was her companion. The stories about you being a neutral arbiter and generally just and fair are true, it seems. This gives me some hope that we can still find a solution in this mess, before this ends us all."

"I had no idea she was working on something like that. Much like you, I only helped them defend themselves while I was doing my best to work out some kind of plan or solution for this mess. I think I see now why you wanted me to keep this a secret, though. If others found out..."

"Yes," He ground out angrily, his limbs twitching. "Yes, damn it all! If they hear about this, the shamares will have a field day with this! And even if they don't, Thundersnow's death alone could cause an all-out war regardless!"

He stood up and began to pace, no longer able to contain himself. Though shamares tended to be eloquent and self-controlled, it was evident that his hermit life didn't give him many opportunities to practice those traits. His speech became rambling as he gesticulated, pouring out his frustrations with his tribe's shamares.

"If any kind of knowledge about what Thundersnow leaks out, it will be a retroactive justification for everything those fools did! They won't just rest with that knowledge, though, oh no! No no no, they will crow and croon about it far and wide, like a bunch of scavengers that just discovered a fresh corpse to feast on! They will harass the northern tribe at every possible opportunity, and we already know that the northerners don't take threats and insults lying down! They well might brag about Thundersnow's death, which could be even worse! They can't be allowed to claim her death as some kind of victory for themselves, they just can't!

Even if they think that some kind of monster killed Thundersnow, some ponies in the northern tribe will still suspect my tribe, and not without reason! After all, we are well known for taming many forest creatures and making friends with many animal's spirits! And now, we are known for employing them as weapons, as well!

Madness! It will be madness and death everywhere! Regardless of who does what and how it develops, in the end, the windigoes will swarm us all in the hundreds. Our lands that we worked so long on, to make them habitable and livable, will become desolate icy wastelands, the only sign that there used to be life there being the mournful cries and wails of the lost spirits wandering through the ruins of their former homes..."

Sitting quietly with her ears folded, Agate waited for Polaris to cool down and catch his breath, the agitated stallion heaving after his rant. After he collected himself, his posture drooped in embarrassment. Taking a few more deep breaths, he sat down again, looking at Agate. It took her a few moments to realize that he had finished telling her all that he wanted to tell, and was waiting for her to ask questions.

"I'm slightly confused as to why you would tell me about the undead abomination in the first place. It only increases the amount of ponies that know the secret," Agate slowly ventured forth.

"I wasn't certain whether you knew yourself or not, given you were working with Thundersnow. Even partial knowledge could be enough for you to put things together yourself later on."

"So you wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally tell anyone without knowing how your tribe's shamares would use that knowledge."

"Precisely."

"And... Now you want my help to somehow stop this from escalating further."

"Yes. By my ancestors, yes. As I said, you are known for not taking sides based on who you favor. Even if you have links to the northern tribe, I was hoping you would be willing to work with me to somehow stop this madness. Not that I have any ideas what to actually do next," He laughed bitterly.

"Well... I did put some plans in motion... Though it would be more accurate to say that I aided the plans of the chieftains."

"Tell me," He gasped desperately, suddenly leaning towards Agate. "Tell me everything. Please."

Agate told him of her reports to the chieftains, and her unplanned trip to Snowpitt. He raised his eyebrows when she told him about the chieftains of both tribes getting so frustrated that they vowed to deal with the issue themselves, becoming thoughtful.

"...And that's basically it. A week or two more, and they would have separated the shamares by force, if it came to it."

"This... This is interesting... But how do we use it?"

"Your shamares need to go, I think. To Snowpitt, that is. I don't think the southern tribe approves of their actions very much, and neither does your new chieftain. If they see that everyone is against them, I think they should stop acting out so much, especially if both of the western and northern chieftains formally proclaim that their tribes are at peace. I know shamares aren't used to their authority getting challenged, but even Oak Bark quieted down when he was threatened with banishment."

"I... Yes, that makes sense, I think. Hm... Is there anything for me to actually do in this plan? I don't want to interfere and mess things up."

"Yes, actually. Thundersnow was quite resistant when the chieftain told her to retreat. With how much you said they praised you, the shamares should hold some respect for you, right? Do your best to convince them to go with the chieftain when he arrives, even if you have to make up false pretenses."

"I am... Not the most eloquent speaker..." He slowly said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Right, hermit. Just... Appeal to their egos, or tell them that a mysterious spirit informed you that Thundersnow is no longer on the Battle Glacier. That's not even a lie. I am a spirit, and I am telling you that she's no longer there. She didn't surface after getting snatched, and... We don't even know if her spirit is down there or whether she made it to shore. Tell them that she might have fled to Snowpitt, and how satisfying it would be to head her off there. Also, add that even if she didn't, any attacks that she would send towards the shamares would end up going to Snowpitt, which would anger the southern tribe."

"Oh my. That last part. It's so... Cunning."

Chuckling sadly, Agate shook her head. "Yeah, that was what I suggested would happen to your tribe when the chieftain told us to go to Snowpitt for the Gathering. Thundersnow was too proud to win that way, though. She insisted that we remain through the winter, and keep fighting."

"Alright. I think... I think I can do this. Make a nice bundle of arguments, feed them to the shamares one by one..."

"Don't appear too eager or insistent. Let them convince themselves, rather than beating them down and giving them doubts."

"Hrm. You are quite knowledgeable in the tricks of speech and presenting arguments in clever ways, I see."

"I had some clever teachers," Agate smiled, thinking of a certain incredibly smartflanked shamare with a piercing gaze.

"Very well, then. I agree with your plan. I shall do my best to play my part as well as I am able."

"So will I. I think I should go now, to talk to Jagged Ice and tell him to return to Snowpitt. I'll... See you later, Polaris, or maybe not. I imagine you'll be going back to your hermit life after this mess is over."

"I will, though you are more than welcome to visit. Fair winds, traveler."

The two co-conspirators parted ways with a nod, off to carry out their plans and hopefully prevent the two tribes from destroying themselves.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate weighed her options as she flapped her wings. It was quite late, and she felt heavy after her talk with Polaris. Despite the weight being entirely metaphorical, her thoughts still damaged her concentration, making it that much harder to maintain the delicate balance needed for her to keep her feathers.

Instantly discarding the thought of going back to the Battle Glacier, she kept flying until she saw an island, instead. Finding a nook where the sound of the crashing waves wasn't too loud, she curled up, doing her best to try and fall asleep. It took her a long, long time until she finally did, though, the shock and disbelief at what Thundersnow did constantly running through her thoughts.

Once she woke up, she didn't even want to move, rolling over onto her back and listlessly staring at the sky. A small part of her mind analyzed the situation and helpfully whispered to her that it was going to take at least a week for the rest of the expedition to reach Nilas, so she didn't have to rush anywhere. With that convenient excuse, she kept lying there, staring as the darkness slowly turned to day and back again.

Once the moon crept across the sky, though, she felt like it was watching her, so she was forced to finally roll back to her hooves again. Not having anything else to do, she shapeshifted, taking off towards the east. Following the coastline, she noticed that Nilas wasn't the only settlement by the sea, though there weren't many.

Eventually, she made it to Nilas, various memories of her very first time seeing both the village and the sea resurfacing from the depths of her mind. Focusing on those memories rather than recent events, she circled the place for a while, occasionally glancing down to see whether any ponies from the expedition already made it there.

None had, which made sense. Finally swooping down, she changed back into a pony, catching the attention of a few curious northerners. Inquiring them about the chieftain's whereabouts, they confirmed that he was in the village, currently being hosted by the village elder in his cliffside home. Getting the directions, Agate nodded in thanks, trotting off to see Jagged Ice.

Once she arrived, it was easy to convince him to have a private meeting with her, though a couple of his most trusted warriors and a shamare also joined in, given that they were sharing quarters nearby and overheard her request. It wasn't ideal, but Agate agreed, not entirely certain just how much information to divulge to the group.

"This is Tinder," Jagged Ice introduced the shamare, which Agate recognized from the battle on Green Land. "And these are Ice Crack and Club Smash, an experienced pair of veterans of the north."

"Pleasure to meet you all. I am certain you understand that I wouldn't have come here without an important reason," She immediately began, receiving silent nods from the others. "Well, I'm not sure how to ease the news, so I'll just be direct: Thundersnow is dead. The others have given up the fight and are arriving here as we speak. They should be here in three - four days or so."

"Dead," Jagged Ice breathed, saying nothing more.

"I'm afraid so, chieftain. I didn't see it myself, but others did."

"How? Who?! Did those westerners manage to off her?"

"No, chieftain, I don't think so. According to the sentry that saw it, some kind of shapeshifting monster dragged her down into the depths of the sea. She did not surface again, and we haven't seen her spirit, either."

"That... Still doesn't entirely discount the westerners from being the culprits..." He muttered, both the warriors and the shamare nodding in agreement.

"Wind Whisper, a young shamare that was with her said that there's not a single known instance of a shamare managing to summon and control a shapeshifter, though."

"Not a known instance, yes. But, from what you told me, they have been thinking up new and clever ways to attack Thundersnow during the time they've been fighting, yes?"

"Ah, well, that is true..." Agate trailed off, pursing her lips, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Hm? Is there something else you know about it?" Jagged Ice inquired.

"Well, they did send a flock of birds soon after I returned to Thundersnow... Live birds, I mean, equipped with magical talismans that allowed them to bypass our wards."

Tinder's eyes went wide with curiosity, while the chieftain's and the warrior's faces turned into frowns. They grumbled under their breaths, becoming more and more convinced that the westerners somehow had a hoof in this. Which they technically did, due to the involvement of Polaris. It was exactly as the stallion feared - Thundersnow's death was igniting embers of discontent and anger towards the western tribe.

"Live birds, equipped with magic... Completely unheard of in the past, just like taming a shapeshifter, hrm," Ice Crack mumbled, his friend nodding in agreement.

With a heavy sigh, Agate shook her head. "You are right to suspect the westerners, but that is not the whole story. I know more about what happened to Thundersnow. BUT," She stated firmly, raising a hoof. "I swore a most solemn oath not to divulge that information to anyone, unless in the most dire of circumstances. And I swore upon my people, the Crystal Empire. I can tell you more, but only if you swear an oath as well, to never tell anyone unless I allow you to. This could well lead to a war between the tribes."

The four were stunned by Agate's sudden exclamation, the sudden twist taking them completely by surprise. One by one, they glanced at each other, unsure what to do. Eventually, they shrugged and put their hooves on their chests, taking in deep breaths and schooling their expressions into something befitting the dramatic occasion.

"I, Jagged Ice, chieftain of the northern tribe, swear upon my life and my very spirit that I will not speak of this unless you permit me to. May the spirits of the north drag me down to the depths if I break this oath."

"I, Tinder, swear upon the spirits of my ancestors and my kin that I will not speak of this unless you permit me to. May the deep fires of the Earth silence me forever if I break this oath."

"I, Ice Crack, swear upon my family that I will never speak of what you're about to tell us unless you permit me to. May my kin forsake me to wander the cold wastelands forever should I break this oath."

"I, Club Smash, swear upon my honor that I will never speak of this secret to anyone unless you permit me to. May my name be cursed and cast in shame forever should I break this oath."

"Alright," Agate sighed. "Here goes..."

Much like Polaris did, Agate gave them the whole story, with the little bits of context that she herself didn't know the meaning of yet back then, such as the request to keep the shark's body. At first, the listeners were just confused, though as she kept giving them more details, their reactions began to vary. Tinder was shocked, while the two warriors were clearly repulsed. Jagged Ice, meanwhile, was furious, the normally disciplined stallion completely losing his composure.

"THAT FOOL!!!" He roared, smashing a wall so hard, shards of stone flew everywhere. "WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING SO TREMENDOUSLY MORONIC?! WHY?! SHE COULD HAVE ASKED FOR HELP! SHE COULD HAVE RETREATED! THE ARROGANT, PRIDEFUL IDIOT! AND I TOOK ORDERS AND ADVICE FROM HER! COUNTLESS TIMES!"

"Chieftain, you are not at fault for what Thundersnow did!" Tinder shouted, shielding her face from the rocks as she lay on the floor.

"AM I NOT?! I AM THE CHIEFTAIN OF THE NORTHERN TRIBE! And I have to answer for what the tribe does! I am not half as angry at her as I am at myself though! I was young! Inexperienced! Well, what's better than a powerful, very capable shamare to advice a young chieftain, right?! I should have reined her in months ago! Years ago, even! Do you remember, when I wanted to contact the westerner chieftain, and she dismissed the idea immediately? That was far from the first time she overruled me, and I should have not listened to her!"

"Chieftain, it is not the chieftain's place to question shamares-"

"IS IT NOT?!" He roared again, stomping his way over to Tinder and picking her up by the scruff of her neck. "Well, I'm questioning that statement! I am questioning it VERY HARD! I think it's time to begin questioning shamares a lot more! Look at me! Look me in the eye and tell me that Thundersnow was not a tremendously arrogant, prideful fool, one that should not have been listened to! TELL! ME!"

Tinder could only whimper, the mare partially choking from the chieftain's grip. Jagged Ice was on a roll, though, and he didn't wait for the shamare to compose herself and say something. Tossing her on the ground he continued on, in a slightly lower volume.

"Beyond your ken, as they kept telling me. Interfering in the affairs of shamares is beyond my ken. And yet, shamares interfering in the actions of chieftains is not beyond their ken? Where does the shamare's sphere of influence end, exactly? And what about creating undead crimes against nature? Is that beyond my ken? I don't think there's a single pony that wouldn't be horrified and disgusted by what Thundersnow did! I think this whole debacle clearly shows that things such as dealing with conflict with other tribes are far, far beyond the ken of shamares, and they should shut up and follow the chieftain's orders when he tells them to do something in that regard," He angrily ground out. "Are you going to fight me over this?"

Agate watched the whole thing play out, slack-jawed and stunned. Tinder was lying on her back, her breathing panicked and her eyes darting everywhere, with the massive form of the chieftain looming over her. The two warriors haven't moved from their spots, their expressions quite different. They were looking at their chieftain with admiration and respect, clearly approving of him reasserting his place in the hierarchy of the tribe's leadership.

It was quite clear that Jagged Ice's question wasn't rhetorical, as he looked ready to tear Tinder limb from limb. For all her mystical power, the shamare was physically fragile compared to a warrior, as all shamares tended to be. She whimpered again, frantically shaking her head.

"No! No, no, I will not fight! You are right, my chieftain, I apologize! I spoke out of turn!"

"Good. Good. Now then..." He took a few deep breaths, reining in his fury. "Remember your oaths. We will not speak of what Agate told us. We are going to wait for the other ponies from that damned expedition to return, then all of us will travel back to Snowpitt, and, spirits willing, we will sort this out with Firm Root, so that this does not escalate further. Understand?"

"Yes, chieftain," Tinder muttered quietly.

"Yes, chieftain!" The two warriors saluted, much more enthusiastically.

Author's Note

Polaris and his shieldmaidens.

Hierarchic Rearrangement

Agate spent the next few days in Nilas, awaiting the return of the others. She had a few more private conversations with Jagged ice, giving him a more detailed rundown of what happened during the year they spent fighting the westerners. He largely agreed with Polaris and Agate, hoping to put the western shamares in their place and head off any further conflicts.

As for himself, any and all inclinations to seek retribution against the western tribe seemed to have left him, the stallion simply hoping to achieve lasting peace. During the occasional flight, Agate often saw him pacing about outside, deep in thought, occasionally muttering under his breath. From what bits she managed to catch, Agate guessed that he was preparing some kind of speech to argue his position of chieftains having the right to overrule shamares in certain areas to the other tribes.

The others arrived one afternoon with little fanfare, calmly disembarking on the docks and taking their kayaks towards the storage sheds. Diving down, Agate greeted Spear Whittle and the others, quickly counting heads and coming up with one extra.

"Uneventful journey, I hope? Did you pick up the chieftain's messenger?"

"Yes to both questions. What about you? What was that summoning about?"

"I'm afraid I can't talk about that, Spear. I'm sorry, but it's a genuine, extremely dangerous secret that might kill you if you knew it."

"Wow. Um, okay. I'm fine with not knowing something that might kill me," The young mare grimaced.

"Thank you for not trying to get me to say it. Wind Whisper, can I ask you something real quick?"

The young shamare, who was curiously listening to the exchange, shrugged. "Of course, what is it?"

"You have all of Thundersnow's things, right? Including the amethyst spheres?"

"Yes, the one from the wards and the igloo. I'm assuming they're valuable? Did you want me to give them to someone?"

"No... No, no need. You can keep them if you want," Agate muttered, slightly distracted.

She was using her spirit sight to examine the box of Thundersnow's belongings for the third crystal that used to be there. Just as she suspected, she saw nothing. Wind Whisper had two, and the third was used in the creation of the undead hunter-monster.

"Really? They're quite interesting, and I'm still inexperienced in working with crystals..."

"How else to gain experience than to practice? Consider it a reward for all your efforts during this expedition. What you did wasn't flashy or dramatic, but you helped everyone as much as you were able," Agate waved it off.

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Now, I think you should go to talk to the chieftain. I think he'll want you all to accompany him to Snowpitt."

❅ ❆ ❅

Much like the journey to Nilas, the trek to Snowpitt was uneventful. The only issue was not knowing whether Firm Root managed to wrangle his shamares into going there as well. Agate was tempted to fly over to the westerner's territory and try to check in on the situation, but given that even Polaris knew that she was working with Thundersnow, she suspected that her presence would only cause problems. The only thing they could do was to keep moving and hope that the same thing was happening in the west.

Agate also considered flying ahead to rest in her totem, but she stuck it out, somewhat happy about the unbelievably monotonous tundra plains for once. She used the time she spent mindlessly trotting forward to process her thoughts and feelings in regards to Thundersnow, and the things she apparently did behind all of their backs.

The secrecy with which Thundersnow engaged in her project implied that she was aware that it was a questionable thing to do. She went ahead with it anyway, though, which was slightly confusing. Even if she did succeed in killing off the westerner shamares with the thing she created, being dead didn't exactly stop ponies from talking, including about what killed them. Agate could only guess that Thundersnow had hoped that her creation would act too swiftly for its prey to figure out what was happening before they drowned.

Agate just couldn't figure out why she did it, though. On one hoof, no one exactly said that they were going to go easy on the westerners... It was an expedition to wage war, small scale as it was, and Spear Whittle and the rest had a point when they said that the westerners could have killed ponies with their attacks. On the other hoof, Thundersnow kept sending storms from the Battle Glacier, instead of leading a charge directly into the lands of the western tribe, which, with sufficient stealth and preparation, would have definitely ended up in more than one westerner shamare ending up on the wrong end of a northerner's spear.

Did her pride demand that she defeat her opponents purely with her magic alone? That didn't sound right, as she took Wind Whisper and Agate with her, as well as receive additional help from other travelling shamares that dropped in now and then, not to mention the rest of the crew. They all pitched in quite a lot, and Thundersnow never complained.

Did something change? Did she see that the stalemate really could drag on for years and years, and took it upon herself to expedite things? That was a viable explanation, as she didn't seem to consider even a tactical retreat with the intention of regrouping and coming back later as a viable option.

Still, the whole thing just looked like a desperation tactic to Agate. It seemed poorly thought out, couldn't exactly get any shamares that were hiding deeper inland, and risked taking out the wrong target - which is what happened, given that Polaris could barely even be called a participant in the conflict.

Desperation didn't make sense either, though. Many were the stories warning ponies that the most dangerous enemy is the one that's driven into a corner and has nothing to lose any more, driven to a mad frenzy by fear and survival instinct. Nothing seemed to faze her, though, not even the close call with the still-living eagles. Thundersnow wasn't afraid...

Was she?

Polaris calling down the aurora upon the windigoes was something that was unheard of, and clearly required immense power. Power to rival or exceed Thundersnow's, even. And he did say that he wrestled with the will that was animating the undead creature... The will that was imparted by none other than Thundersnow. Did she fear this new apparent challenger and his mastery over the heavens themselves?

In the end, all those empty musings were quite meaningless. Try as she might, Agate couldn't really recall any clues from her interactions with Thundersnow about what the mare was planning. As such, there was no way to know her motivations for certain without asking the mare herself.

Which should have been an option. It was unheard of for shamare's spirits to require guidance. While death did diminish their powers, Thundersnow was fully capable of climbing out of the water and going straight back to haunting the westerners. Or, at least, she should have been. Agate was as confused as the others at the lack of news about the shamare at first, though once she thought more about what Polaris told her, she began to wonder whether getting attacked by her own creation somehow injured Thundersnow's spirit.

It was yet another completely baseless bit of speculation, but Agate resolved to dive to the bottom and scour the seabed if Thundersnow didn't appear soon. While all the guesses didn't bring her any closer to the truth, it did help her to work through her confused feelings in regards to the shamare. Agate didn't approve of what Thundersnow did, but she couldn't really condemn her either, especially given that the westerners tried to kill her as well.

Eventually, they reached Snowpitt. Their return was met with far less fanfare and ritual than the yearly migration, though there was a lot more curiosity this time around. Given the expedition's abrupt departure from their floating base, they were far ahead of the schedule, and didn't expect Firm Root to arrive for at least a few weeks. The ponies dug in, the expeditioners happy to finally stand on firm ground again after being surrounded by nothing but igloos and ice for almost a year.

❅ ❆ ❅

The time waiting for Firm Root to arrive was not just spent resting. Now that Agate wasn't in a rush any more, Earthsong and the rest of the southern shamares and elders got to interrogating her about every tiny detail in regards to what happened during both the events that lead to the conflict, and the conflict itself. Sometimes, those meetings involved one or both of the southern and northern chieftains, sometimes none.

Similar conversations were happening across all levels. The shamares also questioned Wind Whisper quite a lot, given that she was Thundersnow's right hoof, though others thought that Agate fit that description better. The chieftains liked to talk to Stout and Spear Whittle, the contrast of young and old leaders of their bands making for differing points of view as they told their stories. And the regular ponies talked a lot to the warriors and explorers, listening to their retellings of fighting the floewolf and all the crazy stuff that the shamares pulled on each other with awe.

During all that talking, Agate was a bit worried that something that might threaten the secret she swore to keep would come up. Fortunately, none of the others really knew anything, and the attack of the "shapeshifter" shark was largely put down as an unfortunate accident, one that Thundersnow should have been able to prevent had she paid more attention and hadn't exhausted herself trying to fight the western shamares almost all by herself.

Overall, in the eyes of the southerners, the northern tribe acquitted itself fairly well during the conflict. They didn't retaliate as strongly as they could have, and Jagged Ice did his best to keep the peace, as evidenced by his diplomatic efforts during the winter and his continued presence in Snowpitt. Where opinions in the beginning were against the northern tribe, they slowly shifted to neutral after Oak Bark's debacle, and with the latest news, the populace was largely in support of them.

The only thing left was to see what the western tribe would do. Agate noticed that Jagged Ice occasionally dropped small suggestions and musings that questioned the all-encompassing authority of shamares during his talks with Swift Dash, likely seeding the soil for when Firm Root arrived and they held their meeting. And, after weeks of waiting, they finally came.

❅ ❆ ❅

*knock knock*

"Huh?"

Agate shifted in her totem as someone knocked on it. Stretching out, she hopped forward, looking for the culprit. An unfamiliar young colt was there, looking at her curiously before remembering his task.

"Hello, traveler spirit! One of the elder shamares sent me to tell you that the westerners have arrived! And... That's it, yes. She said you'll know where to go next."

"Okay, thank you," she replied to the energetic youth, who nodded and bolted off faster than she could blink.

Glancing at the sky, she tried to gauge the time. It was roughly a couple hours after midday, which meant that they couldn't have arrived all that long ago. Chances were, they were spotted before even entering Snowpitt. Agate began moving towards the Great Hall immediately, though. Normally, guests would be welcomed and given lodgings to recuperate after a trip, but pretty much every elder and both chieftains agreed that the best course of action would be to immediately herd the westerners into the Hall and get this sorted out once and for all.

Once she reached the building, she noticed the entire northerner contingent standing by one of the walls, seemingly hiding behind the corner. Raising an eyebrow, she trotted over, demonstratively looking the group up and down. Spear Whittle chuckled, grinning at Agate.

"Don't look at me like that. We're not doing anything weird."

"If you're not, why do you feel the need to say that?"

"Word is, the western shamares don't even know we're here, and would refuse a meeting if they did. We're letting them all get comfy before we stomp in and the doors are locked," She explained with a slightly vicious grin.

"Ah. Gotcha. Well, I haven't seen any ponies going in as I arrived. I think it might be time?"

"Yes," Jagged Ice nodded. "Let's go, everyone. Let's finish this."

In a synchronized step, the northerners calmly, but swiftly shuffled in, a couple southern warriors shutting the doors behind them. As they approached the ponies on the other side of the firepit, Agate could hear the conversation happening between the southerners and the western arrivals.

"...meaning of this, Swift Dash? Our legs are aching after the journey here."

"You can rest just fine right here, can you not? And you have to admit, this is an unusual situation, to say the least. Firm Root wanted to sort out your problems with the northerners really badly and he asked for my help."

"We'll be plenty happy to tell you about all the horrible things they did to our shores after we get some rest. After all, it's not like- THEY'RE HERE!" A western shamare screeched as they all came into view.

"But of course. It would be quite hard to arbitrate without the other party being here," Swift Dash calmly replied.

"You were seriously expecting to just slander us without us making our counterpoints, Birdsong?" Jagged Ice asked dryly, going to take his place near Swift Dash and Firm Root.

Agate was happy that he said the name, because up to that point, she wasn't even completely certain of what the westerner's chief shamare's name was, let alone her underlings. Meanwhile, Birdsong's face twisted into an ugly expression of furious rage.

"Shut your mouth, you wretched fool!"

"Hm, me? You don't even know how arbitration works, yet I'm the fool?"

"I said-"

"Enough, Birdsong," Firm Root said calmly.

The shamare looked like she was going to argue, but after a moment of thought, she changed her expression into one of smug superiority.

"You're right, chieftain, of course. There's no need to listen to these wild beasts. If that is the meeting's purpose, then we'll be on our way."

"The door is closed, and it's remaining that way until this meeting is through. And it is not through yet," Swift Dash stated.

While that was happening, the new arrivals found places to sit. Taking her spot near the northern shamares, Agate scanned the westerners, feeling her eyebrows rise a little. While they complained about aching legs, it didn't look like the journey was the cause. The shamares looked pitiful, with some of them covered in bandages or semi-bald patches. Focusing on the injuries, Agate could see the roughly trimmed patches had a few leftover singed hairs here and there. The only conclusion she could draw was fire or lightning strikes. It seemed that the westerners didn't escape Thundersnow's wrath unscathed, especially given that it was already several weeks since the conflict stopped. Curiously, Agate saw Polaris sitting further in the back as well.

"Seriously? First you threaten to banish Oak Bark, now this? Imprisonment with these, these-"

"I'll remind you that your own tribe didn't find Oak Bark's actions very impressive. You might want to be more careful with the kind of behavior you endorse," Swift Dash said dryly, while nodding at Firm Root.

"No, no, let them talk. Go ahead, Birdsong, lay out the depths of your foolishness before everyone here," Jagged Ice protested with a barely noticeable smile.

"Grrrrr..."

"What is the meaning of this, then, Swift Dash?" Another, slightly more calmer western shamare asked.

"I already explained it. Both the western and northern chieftains are in agreement that the conflict between their tribes is stupid and pointless. And they want peace between their people. And the only ones standing in the way of that are... You."

"Tell that to Thundersnow, that damned-"

"Thundersnow is dead," Jagged Ice dropped, not elaborating further.

That completely derailed the conversation, but only for a few brief moments. Birdsong's eyes began to glow with glee, the old shamare starting to cackle and wheeze as she slapped her knee.

"Ha! Serves that damn rotten fool right! So, we got her with our little spring present, did we? We-"

"A shark dragged her to the depths while she was performing a ritual."

"...Oh. Well then. We... Uh... We still..." Birdsong trailed off, unsure how to gloat this time.

"Why isn't she here, though?" The second shamare inquired, her eyes darting around, as if trying to find Thundersnow's spirit hiding behind a corner.

"We're not sure. She didn't emerge from the sea, as far as we know. Either way, it doesn't matter. She is dead, and your foolish chieftain got replaced with a wiser one. Now, will you cease your foolishness? I haven't seen the devastation supposedly caused by Thundersnow myself, but judging from your state alone, it seems to me that you should have learned not to poke the floewolf with no good reason."

"Us?! After getting attacked by Thundersnow again and again?! If you beg for forgiveness, maybe we'll deign to-"

"You sent the attacks, multiple ones, before she finally retaliated. And secondly, this is not your decision. It's Firm Root's. Keep acting out, and see what happens. Oak Bark thought he was untouchable as well," Jagged Ice said, his calm voice getting a steely edge.

"Pfff! You really think he'd dare to try and banish a sham-"

"Yes," Firm Root finally spoke.

"WHAT?!"

The meeting turned into bedlam as the entire contingent of western shamares, save Polaris, began shouting all at once. There were a good dozen of them, and they kept pointing hooves at either Jagged Ice or Firm Root while yelling out their protestations, but neither chieftain seemed particularly impressed. As the neutral arbiter, Swift Dash began stomping his hooves in an attempt to shut them up.

"ENOUGH! What a bunch of "wise" elders you are. Screaming like a bunch of foals."

"You don't get to tell us what to do! We are shamares!"

"Oh, I quite disagree with that statement," Jagged Ice grinned, his eyes glinting dangerously.

Birdsong and the others opened their mouths to argue again, but Jagged Ice stomped his hoof down as well, the strike making the floor shake a little. The shamares cringed back from the fierce stallion that was only half-sat and looked like he was about to jump them. Giving them one final look, he sat down back again.

"Now... Where was I? Oh, yes. This has been knocking around my head for a while now. I think it is high time we draw a clear line around just where, exactly, a shamare's authority ends. And, given what we all learned from this conflict, it seems abundantly clear to me that their current authority far exceeds what they should actually be afforded, especially in attempting to tell chieftains what to do," He said, surreptitiously glancing at the other chieftains, though his statement certainly caught the attention of the southern shamares as well.

"That is an... Interesting statement, Jagged Ice. I think it needs to be a bit more detailed, though," Earthsong spoke with a confused frown.

"Oh, certainly. To begin with, Thundersnow was incredibly influential. She was quite skilled and respected, and sometimes, it felt like she was running the tribe, not me. She was already well known among my ponies before I became chieftain, and I ended up following her... Suggestions more than once. All because she was a shamare with great power - yet, quite clearly, that power did not, in fact, translate to good problem-solving, leadership or decision-making skills. Everything went well for quite a while, of course - until it didn't. And then, we got to truly see just how unsuitable she was for a leadership position."

Birdsong looked like she wanted to say something inappropriate about Thundersnow, but two quick glances from both Jagged Ice and Firm Root quickly made her shut up, the shamare studying her chieftain with some concern. Meanwhile, Jagged Ice continued laying out his position.

"The same could be said about the westerner shamares that are sitting here right now. Complete, utter foolishness and arrogance. They thought they could command me and my tribe, order me around and tell me what I should do or not do, in my own lands. They thought they could attack us over a petty insult that they created in their own heads, and then have us apologize for defending ourselves. Absurdity of the highest degree."

"Your tribe was destroying the balance! And that fool stole from us! And not just any trinket or fish, but the salmon migration!" Birdsong shrieked again.

"If we were destroying the balance in our lands, how does that concern you? We would have been punished by the consequences, if there actually were any. And... The salmon migration are fish. We even offered Oak Bark to pay back the same weight in other fish and what salmon remained, if you recall-"

"Which was an insult! And there were plenty of consequences!" She shrieked again, making Agate roll her eyes and finally lose her patience.

"No, elder, as I recall, there were no consequences whatsoever, you just lied and pretended that the first birds that attacked us were the spirits getting angry at the northerners, but then immediately got called out and admitted that it was a complete fabrication. And how was the northern tribe offering restitution an insult?!"

"Ah, I think I can explain that one," Firm Root butted in. "This is something I talked about with Jagged Ice during the winter. We... How to put it best... We hold the salmon migration in a... Special regard of sorts in the west. To us, it's a sacred event, not just a chance to fill our stores and bellies. And, apparently, the northerner's perceived lack of contrition for disturbing such a holy occasion and, from Oak Bark's view, insufficient restitution that they offered, was taken as a grave insult by him and his shamares. I, however, do not hold such aggressive views towards the northerner's mistake."

"More the fool, then! You should-" Birdsong kept shouting, though others weren't having any of it.

"You don't get to order him what to think. He can listen, but he is your chieftain, not the other way around," Jagged Ice intervened.

"I! Am! A! Shamare! I don't follow orders from anyone!"

"Exactly why we are in this mess," He snorted with a roll of his eyes, as the other chieftains tried not to laugh.

Agate, meanwhile, tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So then, you agree that Thundersnow was doing the right thing?"

"What?! Absolutely not! Where did you even get that from what I said? Are you completely addled?" Birdsong sputtered.

"Well. She was a shamare. And shamares aren't supposed to be questioned. And she did what she wanted. So..."

"That's completely different!"

"How?"

"She, she destroyed the balance of nature! You're not supposed to use your powers to just empty the waters of fish like she did!"

"She didn't do anything like that. We were busy with constructing Smoky Bay, and, on occasion, she would call for a great fishing trip. The amount we pulled in one day was magnificent, but then we'd spend weeks or months building and exploring, instead of fishing. Overall, I think we fished less than we usually do. Not to mention, those were untouched waters, teeming with fish. And, once again, those are our lands. We decide how we manage them, not you," Jagged Ice pointed out.

"She attacked us! Sh-"

"We already established that you attacked her first," Agate cut her off.

"She destroyed our shores! Entire forests felled! Terrible lightning, wind so strong you could barely breathe through it, rain that immediately froze as it landed, coating entire ancient groves in a layer of ice so thick, trees as wide as a pony broke!"

"Yes... The consequences of your actions after you provoked her are not pretty, are they?"

"The- The windigoes! Her vile presence called the most ancient enemies to our shores!"

"Debatable whether that was you or her. Both, more than likely. Either way, she is dead. That culprit is dealt with. You, on the other hoof... How did that law go? Ah, yes... Spare not the cold-hearted windigo-borne, for along with himself, his greed and foolishness will doom the entire tribe to the cold of a thousand winters. Cast him out to be with his windigo kin-"

"SILENCE! You don't get to judge me! You're Thundersnow's right hoof, part of the northern tribe! Anything you say is clearly biased and tainted!"

"Part of the northern tribe? My totem lies here in Snowpitt... And while I do have family among the northerners, I always strove to be neutral."

"Ha! Please. You spent years and years gallivanting across the northern lands, looking for spirit stones and bringing great wealth to their tribe. You're practically the patron spirit of their entire tribe at this point."

"I... Guess? Everything I did, though, I did because I was asked to. Blizzard Heart, if you even know that name, told me about overhearing some ponies talk about their crystal deposits potentially running dry. All she did was ask me for help, which I provided, seeing as I had nothing else to do. Back in the day, Oak Bark asked me to talk about steel to your smiths and whether your tribe could keep the armor that the explorers found back in Dream Valley as well, you know. I said yes, but I'm guessing you conveniently forgot that event, or you're going to say that you never heard of it to begin with."

"That's hardly comparable-"

"*AHEM*", Firm Root cleared his throat. "We do not judge a pony's character by how much wealth they brought to your person or tribe, but by their actions. While she spent many years helping the northerners, including the recent battle, I have no reason to doubt Agate's honest intentions. She has been sending reports to Jagged Ice the entire time, attempting to find a peaceful solution."

"This- this means nothing. You don't have any right to-"

"I think I heard enough," Swift Dash spoke up once more. "Both sides have made their points and arguments. And, it seems to me that with the replacement of Oak Bark, there is no more argument for further conflict between the western and northern tribes. Does either chieftain seek restitution for any of the actions taken by their respective shamares and warriors?"

"No," Jagged Ice shook his head.

"We don't either. Let us bury this foolishness," Firm Root agreed.

"In that case, will there be peace between the tribes once more?"

"We never really went to full-out war anyway," Jagged Ice shrugged. "Just some, ah... Hotheaded rogue elements, shall we say. Can't say the same for the former western chieftain, of course, but with how quickly he was replaced, it is pretty clear to me that the western tribe as a whole is not our enemy and does not hold the same views as Oak Bark did. But yes, since it seems to be necessary, I formally extend an offer of peace between the northern and western tribes."

"I accept your peace offering, and I am likewise happy to leave this nonsense behind us. I can see that the incident that started this entire mess had no true hostile intent behind it, and was an honest mistake by Thundersnow. Shame that it led to her losing her life, but that was the consequence of her own overconfidence."

Birdsong and her cabal were fuming, though. "You think this will just end like this? We will not-"

"Oh yes you will," Jagged Ice said simply.

"Weren't you the one that said that leaders of one tribe have no right to give orders to other tribes? Then practice what you preach and shut it already!"

"Hmm. Good point. Firm Root?" The northern chieftain raised his eyebrows at this western counterpart.

"Ah, yes. There is still the whole mess of our seaside to clean up, isn't it?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Birdsong narrowed her eyes at her chieftain.

"Many merchants and refugees came to me with stories about how bad it has gotten over there. Not just your fighting, but all the spirits that you riled up now running amok and making both travel and living there a pain. Someone needs to soothe the spirits and return order to the region, and I can't think of anyone better than the ones that actually caused it in the first place."

"We will do no such thing! Tell Thundersnow and the rest of her northern minions to undo their mess!"

"If you will do no such thing, then you will not be a part of my tribe any more," Firm Root laid out his threat with absolute calm.

"You would- You would dare to provoke your shamares like that? I- we- we could wreak unspeakable things upon you!" Birdsong attempted to sound threatening, but her stammering speech made it abundantly clear that she was finally feeling truly afraid as she saw that everyone was against her.

Scoffing at the shamare threatening her own chieftain, Jagged Ice nodded to Firm Root. "You know, I have with me a good thirty ponies that accompanied Thundersnow on her expedition, and stayed with her the entire time. During the year, they got quite a lot of experience in dealing with all of the "unspeakable things" that the shamares kept sending at them. I could lend them to you, if you'd like. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to make sure that your shamares stay in line... And take other measures if they don't. They acquired some very nice floewolf-toothed spears during the winter."

"You wouldn't dare," Birdsong whispered, her voice hoarse from fear as the rest of her shamares huddled together and cowered from the sudden vicious looks and bloodthirsty grins the expeditioners sent their way.

"Wouldn't I? I just might, though I'd like to think that my own tribe has warriors with enough backbone to take down a shamare, if it comes to it," Firm Root mused.

Frantically glancing around, Birdsong turned her head back and forth, as if to find some kind of solution that was just out of sight. She found nothing but disapproving stares coming at her from every direction, though, save for one. Polaris still sat in the back, his expression firmly neutral, though Agate could see the relief in his previously tense posture.

"Polaris! You told us that we needed to come here! That Thundersnow was gone, and the spirits whispered to you that something grand was going to happen in Snowpitt! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Well, elder... It is not like they lied to me, did they? Something grand is happening. It will be quite a large shift in our society, if the northern chieftain's ideas catch on. It is simply not something grand that happened in your favor," He slowly spoke, carefully picking his words.

"You wield great power, though! Tell them to stop this madness! Your authority will be held as lesser than theirs as well!"

"And yet, I can see no arguments against what the chieftains said. And, quite honestly, I never gave a damn about my "authority". I certainly don't plan to ever meddle in the politics of the tribes, and I find the chieftain's suggestion that shamares shouldn't stick their muzzles where they don't belong entirely sensible," The stallion shrugged dispassionately.

"This, this, this is..." The defeated shamare trailed off, at a loss for words.

"This is the end, Birdsong," Firm Root supplied. "Are you going to follow the orders from your chieftain, or do I have to grab you by the scruff of your neck and toss you out of Snowpitt myself?"

She glanced at the other westerner shamares one final time, but found only helpless shrugs and fearful looks. Taking in a deep breath, she grit her teeth and turned back to Firm Root. "Fine. I will comply with your orders... Chieftain."

"Better. Now, we-"

"Don't expect me to be happy about it, though," She added, making a number of ponies groan and roll their eyes.

"For the love of..." Swift Dash sighed. "Birdsong, if you behave like a foal, you will be treated like one."

"Insult after insult! You really expect me to take this lying down?"

"Alright, that's enough. Since the matter is concluded, and since these foals obviously can't behave themselves, I think they should be removed from the meeting."

"I agree," Jagged Ice nodded.

"No objections," Firm Root shrugged.

Agate watched as the fuming shamares were escorted outside, muttering darkly the entire time. She was reminded of the scene with Oak Bark, specifically the sudden and instant loss of respect. While foals were allowed to attend the meetings in the Grand Hall, they were expected to be well behaved, and would be removed if they acted out. It might not have meant much to a foal, but it was a fairly big slap to the face for the arrogant elders.

"And don't think of doing anything shady!" Earthsong called out after them. "If you mess about in my home, the land will tell me, and I will make sure that you will find no peace anywhere on this Earth ever again."

The bedraggled band of shamares didn't really look like they had the strength to do anything anyway, but it was a very well-timed threat, the double doors loudly slamming shut just as Earthsong finished talking. Sighing, the elderly shamare massaged her temples as the chieftains glanced at each other.

"Though my role here is done, I do believe Jagged Ice has more thoughts to share with us," Swift Dash said.

"Hmm, yes. Though this conflict has been solved, I want to make sure that a similar situation does not arise in the future again," The northerner agreed.

"And your suggestion is curbing the power of shamares, yes?" Firm Root inquired.

"Among other things, yes."

"Chieftains, while I fully understand your reasoning, I hope your reforms don't go too far," Earthsong ventured, her expression somewhat concerned.

"I don't think a shamare having to present actual arguments instead of screaming "I am a shamare, I take orders from no one, now do as I say" is going too far, elder," Jagged Ice sighed.

"I don't... I suppose I have no answer to that. Those arrogant fools really did make a mess of things. To try and boss around a separate tribe, expecting no repercussions..."

"You did something similar yourself, Earthsong. Remember when you asked me to use my influence and order Thundersnow what to do?" Agate pointed out.

The elder's eyes went wider before she flinched. "I... See that I am not innocent in this matter either, then. I suppose I should be quiet."

"Again, not what I am suggesting," Jagged Ice huffed with a roll of his eyes. "Do expect full scrutiny of what you say, though. In the past, I would have simply taken your argument at face value without much thought. These days... You'll just have to accept that ponies might view shamares with a degree of suspicion for a few years."

"We're quite used to that already," Earthsong replied drily.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't try so hard to appear so mystical and incomprehensible."

"You think we do that on purpose?"

"Well, recent events certainly showed that shamares are just like any other pony, with their own failings, foibles, flaws, and the capacity to be entirely, completely wrong about something. Pardon me if it was different in the south, but my entire life, shamares presented themselves as some kind of higher creatures, utterly disciplined and above the petty squabbles of the average pony, only caring about their esoteric duties and the overall survival of ponykind."

"Some shamares do... Go overboard a little, I suppose. Being mystifying and strange is all they have, so I guess some of them just give up trying to appear normal and fully lean into it."

"In that case, you'll probably have to implement some kind of changes in the training of young shamares, elder. I know it is customary for young shamares to travel across the lands of the three tribes and learn from each other, but despite travelling far more than the average pony, at the same time, they act like they are a separate tribe altogether. A fourth tribe, almost," He posited, to which Agate felt herself shaking her head.

"That's not entirely the case, chieftain. Remember, Oak Bark was a big part of the problem as well. And, though the root cause was arrogance and foolishness, it was true that you were not aware of the significance of the westerner's traditions. As I traveled between the tribes and learned of their ways, I noticed it happening more and more. Though you all sprang from one tribe, the northern and the southern tribes are radically different, and the differences just keep getting bigger and bigger every year. As you adapt to your unique lands and find better and better ways to thrive in your environments, you drift apart in your traditions.

The yearly meetings in Snowpitt are a great way to keep contact, but at the same time, you hardly talk about each other during that time. The goal of these meetings is sharing survival tips, and the topics are always related to new lands or dangerous beasts, or wondrous new herbs that someone discovered somewhere distant, and so on. You never just talk about... Life. As such, the average pony in the southern tribe is hardly aware of what an average pony in the northern tribe is like. I can only assume that this applies to the western tribe, too. All they hear are the wild stories your warriors and explorers tell, about bizarre beasts and strange locations, and the picture of your tribe that they paint in their heads is sorely lacking in detail."

Everyone went quiet for a few minutes as they digested what Agate told them. The three chieftains then turned to look at each other, as if seeing the others for the first time. They studied the different charms and trinkets they wore, attempting to ascertain their meanings, and, by the looks of it, largely failing.

"As always, you are wise beyond your years, Agate," Swift Dash eventually spoke.

"As always, I am not. I am just good at listening and watching. I had some idle thoughts of my own, but this actually came from something my... Adoptive mother told me a little while ago. She was explaining the differences in the western and northern tribes to her daughters. She said that while the northerners made friends with the seals, the western fisherponies that go out to sea see them as competition and pests, and don't much care for the seal pods living on their shores. I just... Applied the same principle to other things I was seeing, and the pieces fell into place."

"Mm, well. I suppose we'll have more things to talk about next winter. For now, though, I believe there are more concrete actions we can take than getting to know each other's tribes and traditions better..."

Later on, the meeting became known as "The longest night". While the long night ended over a month ago, the chieftains kept talking all through the night and into the next day, wanting to make sure that the peace they agreed on would be a lasting one. Pledges were made, territory boundaries reaffirmed, new laws discussed, and so on.

The chieftains all agreed that any ponies going off on their own to seek revenge against a different tribe for some perceived slight should be harshly punished, creating new laws which stated that an aggrieved pony should go to their chieftain, who then would negotiate with the other tribe's chieftain or an applicable respected elder, given the large distances. The need for reliable messengers was also discussed, several young ponies from Spear Whittle's group looking interested as the concept was tossed about.

And lastly, several proclamations were made about cutting down on the power the shamares had. It was quite a nebulous concept to try and regulate, to say the least. The shamares that were present didn't object, though. Wind Whisper and Tinder didn't say a single word throughout the entire meeting, though the two northern shamares were listening to everything that was said, likely to relay it to others later on.

Attempting to inform everyone of the changes was an utterly impossible task, given the scattered nature of the tribe's populations. They all agreed to do a big announcement explaining everything during the next Gathering, and to spread the news about the most important parts by word of mouth until winter came.

Peace had returned to the north.

❅ ❆ ❅

"What now?" Polaris asked.

"Now, we go our separate ways and hope nothing else crops up. Also, there's still the matter of Thundersnow," Agate said, rubbing her chin.

"Are you going to do something about her? I'd assume that she wouldn't reveal the secret. For all her pride, I don't think she would want to drag her tribe into a war. I dearly hope that no one else finds out. We are so close to leaving this behind us."

"I don't even know where she is. First and foremost, I'm going to try and find her. How would anyone else find out what really happened, though?"

"There are... Various ways. Shamares have their methods to uncover hidden secrets."

"Oh... Right," Agate slowly nodded, remembering all the ways she tried to discover what happened to the Empire, including trying to look through time via dream magic.

"I think the best thing to do in this situation is to continue acting normally, and don't let anyone know that we're hiding something. If no one knows that there is a secret, they won't go looking for it."

"Makes sense. I still need to find Thundersnow, though. I don't think anyone will find anything suspicious in that. Some ponies are already curious as to just where she could be."

"Very well. I am not sure if I'll still be in Snowpitt when you return. My chieftain is eager to return to the tribe, so our stay here will be brief. Fair winds, traveler, and good luck."

"You too, Polaris. Get home safely. I hope you can restore your homeland."

"The forests will regrow, in time. Not in my lifetime, perhaps, but it will happen."

With a nod, the conspirators parted ways once more, Polaris quietly sneaking away from Agate's clearing where they held their secret meeting, while the spirit took wing, flapping her way back towards where the Battle Glacier still floated in the sea. Back west.

Wrapping Up

It took Agate a full day of non-stop flying to return to the westerner's territories. Finding the Battle Glacier wasn't too hard, though the thing did drift some distance from where it was. Giving up on trying to find the spot that it was in previously for the day, she went to sleep in a quiet nook further up the shore.

As she took wing on the next morning, she noticed that the ice floe wasn't moving any more. It appeared to have beached, stuck on the bottom as the waves pushed it closer to shore. Agate idly wondered whether the cold-sustaining enchantments would last through the summer, before shaking her head and refocusing on her mission.

Rediscovering the spot where Thundersnow perished was a much harder task, since Agate didn't really have any landmarks or details to go off of. Digging through her memory, she eventually got the idea to retrace the path she took when Polaris summoned her, flying along the shoreline and looking for familiar features. Once she saw a distinct rock formation, she turned around at an angle, circling the waves.

While finding the exact spot was impossible, Agate hoped that she wouldn't need that. She was quite capable with her spirit sight, and she assumed that the glow of a pony's spirit should be fairly easy to notice in the darkness of the depths. Either that, or she'd find the crystal sphere that Thundersnow used. It was only water, and since Agate could see crystals through rock, it should have been possible - or so she hoped.

Circling a patch of water, Agate hesitated. Back in the past, she thought about galloping across the bottom of the seabed to get to places without needing ponies to carry her, but those thoughts never really went anywhere. The northerners were more than happy to ferry her everywhere, and eventually, she figured out how to fly. The few times she did go deeper into the water, the alien environment made her oddly nervous.

"Well... What's the worst that could happen to me, anyway? I'd die?" She repeated the familiar mantra in her head, steeling herself and plunging into the waves.

❅ ❆ ❅

Water was weird.

Agate didn't float, even though she was weightless. She didn't have any trouble keeping her eyes open, but seeing anything was quite an issue. The darkness on the bottom of the sea was deeper than what she saw when she walked through solid rock, and at the same time, not. She could swear she saw things in the dark, undulating and flowing, but no matter how hard she focused, everything remained black and indistinct.

It was quite obvious that the depths of the sea wasn't a proper environment for a pony, spirit or not. It was disorienting, stifling, creepy, and somehow managed to cause a faint undercurrent of dread even in a pony that's been dead for decades. Centering herself, Agate tapped her hoof on the silt.

"There's no way to trot on hoof and know which spots I already explored... Let's try this, then."

Shapeshifting was something Agate got quite good at, but she only had a singular form in her repertoire. Something other than a bird was clearly needed, but it wasn't as simple as just choosing a different shape. She studied multiple birds until she made her choice, and although she saw all kinds of fish in the nets of snowponies, she didn't really get to see how they actually swam when they were in the water, not to mention that flippers were far harder to change into and imagine using than wings. Ones, you just flapped like your forelegs, except you had feathers. Others... Agate had no idea.

She saw plenty of seals, though.

"Right then, big and jiggly. Or... Good enough to swim, anyway."

Changing her tail and hindlegs into a singular form more suited for the water, she looked down at her flippers and much smoother body. After a few moments of examination, seal-Agate shrugged, giving her tail a few flaps and propelling herself through the water.

It was still weird, but it did work. Agate still didn't get how and why things worked for spirits in such strange ways, such as being able to trot on any kind of surface without issues, but also being able to pass through solid objects. Still, she did learn how those rules worked, at least. A spirit could fly, if they had wings. And a spirit could swim, if they had flippers and a fish tail. Or a seal tail.

SHARP, MASSIVE TEETH

"Whoa!"

It seemed that Agate's seal form had attracted some predators. She blinked the afterimages of entire rows of massive fangs flashing right in her face, shaking her head. She felt something pass through her, though it didn't really hurt. Whatever it was, the predator wasn't very magical.

"Too late for that. You'll just have to find something else or go hungry."

She kept swimming, slowly improving her abilities. It felt a bit like flying, and yet, completely different at the same time. For one, it was way, way harder to tell up from down in the murk of the seawater, and Agate smacked herself once she saw she was actually swimming sideways, when she thought she was facing the bottom.

Grumbling quietly, she dove back to the bottom, righting herself and feeling something try to take a bite out of her tail. Rolling her eyes, she decided to just ignore it and focus on her mission. Taking off again, she began to swim in a slowly expanding circle, occasionally feeling something try and chew on her, the strange forms of the predators disappearing before she could get a good look at them.

She could see faint glows around her, though none of the bizarre shapes looked anything like a pony, not to mention that they were all moving through the water, rather than sitting on the bottom. Undaunted, she continued on, circling and circling. She didn't know how long she went at it, but it must have been a fair amount of time, as she felt her strength slowly ebb away.

"Come on..."

The strange environment was taking its toll, but Agate continued on. Doggedly flapping her tail, she kept going, not wanting to give up and have to start all over. It wasn't like she could mark a spot or memorize a landmark of where she stopped last. Fortunately, when she was seriously debating whether to give up or actually try to sleep underwater, she saw a flash of purple in her vision.

"Is that...?"

She felt vindicated when she reached her target and saw that it was, in fact, the third amethyst sphere that she had made with Thundersnow. It lay partially buried in the silt, though of the shamare herself, there was no sign, nor of her creation. Focusing harder, Agate scanned the ground, finding a few loose scraps of hide and bone fragments that could have been the undead shark's just as easily as Thundersnow's. Agate was hardly an expert in bones, after all.

Losing her focus and turning back into a pony, Agate slowly trotted in place, turning in a full circle as she scanned her surroundings. She put all of her remaining magic into it, her gaze piercing through the depths and showing her a myriad of tiny little fish and other creatures. Not a single pony-shaped spirit, though.

With a sigh, Agate turned around and trotted towards the shore, using the distant pull of her totem as a guide.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I never really understood you fully, you know. We... Were not friends. We were partners, working together. You said you respected me. I respected you. You were clearly very clever, skilled, and powerful. Still, anyone could see that. The deeper stuff... What you did still confuses me, though I'm not really angry at you for it. At the very least... Know that you won, in a way. The shamares that attacked you got punished pretty severely, though I wonder how you would react if you learned that every single other shamare got demoted as well. Again, I didn't get to know you all that well."

Agate was back on the seabed. After reaching the shore, she found a place to sleep, taking a while to rest and fully regain her strength. She didn't turn back to Snowpitt, though. Instead, she went back to the sea, to find the crystal again and make sure that Thundersnow wasn't anywhere around. Despite another day spent circling the waters, she couldn't find a trace of the shamare. She was gone.

Returning to the amethyst, she held a farewell ceremony of sorts as she sat on the sandy bottom. Being underwater was still strange. She didn't know if she was even making sound or talking entirely in her head, but she did it anyway. Touching the amethyst, she felt the final faint wisps of the remaining magic. Focusing on her own reserves, she began channeling.

Slowly, the sphere began cracking, Agate deliberately altering the crystal's structure. Bit by bit, new growths slowly emerged, changing the smooth, round object into a spiky, jagged snowflake, one that was like Thundersnow's cutiemark. The purple of the crystal's glow illuminated a small area, a tiny candle in an ocean of darkness.

"I know there's still a chance we might meet, but I have this feeling that you're gone for good. Goodbye, Thundersnow."

Without looking back, Agate began trotting, then galloping, and, once she got out of the water, flying. Without even looking for landmarks, she used the totem's pull to guide her back to Snowpitt, straight as an arrow.

❅ ❆ ❅

"So, no sign of her anywhere?"

"No, Earthsong. Not a peep. No news from the west, either? She's not haunting the western shamares?"

"Firm Root would have definitely said something if she was. It's only been a few days since he left, but I don't think that Thundersnow is anywhere in the western territory, unless she's hiding. But sneaking around wasn't her style, from what I heard about her."

"No, it really wasn't," Agate agreed with a nod.

"Well, that... Still leaves the Calling, I suppose. If she's really lost somewhere..." Earthsong trailed off, sounding unconvinced by her own theories.

"I'm not sure we'll see her again."

"That may well be. I suppose I shouldn't concern myself with this either way. It's certainly completely out of my hooves. All in all, it sounds like this conflict is largely over and done with."

"Oh, it's definitely over. Even if something else happens, I'm fairly certain the chieftains are going to shut it down very quickly," Agate stated with conviction.

"Hmm, quite true. Even if the western shamares or other ponies start acting out again, the chieftains will be obliged to make an example out of them, to prove that their ideas about curbing the power of shamares weren't just empty talk. And, from what I saw, the current crop of chieftains certainly don't lack the backbone to back up their words with actions."

"So, are you happy now?"

"Hm? About what, Agate?"

"Well, remember how you told me about your worries back in the day? That hard times will come, as they always inevitably do, and you won't be prepared enough to stop them? Looks like this crisis passed just fine, and with almost no casualties, especially compared to those old stories of lean years and ponies starving."

"...Hrm. Well. I suppose the hard times did pass. And I didn't even have much, if anything at all, to do with that. Funny thought. We here in the south looked at the feuding western and northern tribes like squabbling children, so much that we haven't even considered that we were acting like overbearing parents. I am happy that it ended without escalating into something really bad first, yes. And... I suppose I can relax now. Whatever crisis comes next, it won't be up to me to deal with it."

Agate nodded, the hidden subtext not going unnoticed. Earthsong's colors all but faded over the years, the formerly earthy shamare looking more like a snowy northerner these days. She was over a century old, which was considered quite impressive. Even the most impressive ponies had their limits, though.

Unprompted, Agate got up, trotting over and giving Earthsong a hug. The mare blinked in confusion, chuckling after a moment. "I'm not dead yet, you know."

"I know."

"And what about you? What are you going to do next?"

This time, it was Agate's turn to freeze as she pondered the situation. A large portion of her life was spent surveying the northerner's islands, which she then traded for working with Thundersnow. Now, she had nothing lined up, nor did she spend any time thinking about what to do after the conflict was over.

"Huh. Good question," She mused, sitting down again. "I have no idea. I have various skills that I could apply, I'm sure. I make a pretty good scout. Or messenger. I'm definitely good at that one."

"No ideas of your own?"

"No, not really. It's not like spirits can engage in personal projects. They just hang around to help other ponies, while I'm around because I'm waiting. I'll probably just laze around for a little while, and see what comes up. Something always seems to come up eventually."

"That it does, that it does indeed. Have you thought about hibernating?"

"Yes, and it sounds like a bad idea. If I went into a sleep so deep it'd be enough to sleep the centuries away, there's no telling if I would even notice when the Empire came back. I could miss my parents completely, and then all the effort would be wasted. I'd much rather stay awake, even if there's little to do. Hm... I should go to my family in the north, now that I think about it. The time went by so fast... Hard to believe I spent almost a year on that ice floe. The foals will have grown a lot by now, I bet."

"Ah, that sounds lovely. And I'm sure the northerners won't take long to rope you in to some new shenanigans," Earthsong chuckled.

"Most likely, yeah."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent a few weeks in Snowpitt, relaxing and meditating, occasionally going for a gallop through the tundra. Everything remained quiet. No messengers arrived with news about Thundersnow reappearing in the west, no travelers told rumors about a shamare's spirit haunting the region. Nothing.

Eventually, she felt recharged and sufficiently stable to travel again. She hadn't even noticed at first, but the time spent on the Battle Glacier made her tense and jumpy. Much like it happened to the warriors that accompanied Thundersnow, her reflexes sharpened significantly, but it did not come without a cost.

The routines and habits that she kept repeating weren't that easy to stop, even if they were of no use any more. She found herself suspiciously eyeing the various birds flying overhead, reflexively preparing to jump toward where the wards were set up, only to remind herself that none of that existed around her. She might have left the battle, but it was taking some extra time for the battle to leave her.

Once she felt ready, Agate said her goodbyes to Earthsong, and took wing towards the north. Though she had calmed herself, her thoughts shifted to the others. Spirits were less affected by emotions than living ponies, and the others spent the time in even greater tension than Agate, given that they could be hurt quite badly if they ever let their guard down.

Seeing as she probably needed to have a talk with them anyway, she reminded herself to find Spear Whittle and the rest of the group. Though they did chat a bit as they traveled, and their mission was formally over, it still felt wrong to end their adventure without a proper conclusion, and Agate didn't consider it to be over until they tied up all the loose ends - including the ones she kept secret.

As such, they talked a while in Snowpitt, but the northerners left while Agate was searching for Thundersnow. Given the time it took to reach Green Land, Agate figured that there was a good chance she might arrive soon after, or maybe even before Jagged Ice and the rest made it back to the island, depending on how fast they travelled.

She glanced at the islands as she passed them by, remembering her previous adventures across the northern expanse. After the mess in the west, it was a bit jarring to see just how normal everything was everywhere else. While fierce, the conflict was confined to a relatively small area, and the consequences didn't spill out far. Island by island, she kept going, eventually reaching Green Land.

Given the distance, the settlement of Smoky Bay was likewise completely unaffected by the conflict, at least in the material sense. The local's passions had clearly been roused, though, given that many of the support crew were from the village, or nearby islands. There was an air of celebration in the village, and Agate's landing was met with cheers and congratulations by the onlookers.

Agate could only assume that Jagged Ice already returned with the news of their victory, if it could be called such. Thinking about it more, she decided that it probably could. Their goal was to stop the westerner's attacks, and it was fulfilled, even if it didn't go quite the way ponies imagined it would. And all it cost was one life.

Still, the northerners, and snowponies in general, were far more in touch with the circle of life and death than any other tribe that she was aware of, and Thundersnow's death didn't seem to have affected them all that much. Several ponies approached Agate to ask about the shamare as she was trotting to the chieftain's house, but once Agate told them that Thundersnow disappeared without a trace and couldn't be found even on the seabed, they accepted the answer without question.

Trotting towards his home, Agate saw Jagged Ice outside, shuffling some rocks around as he examined them one by one. She guessed he was doing maintenance or improvement works on his abode. Silently entering his field of view, she nodded to the stallion, getting a respectful nod back.

"Agate. Always an honor. How did your search go? It has been quite a while."

"No news, I'm afraid. It didn't take all that long to find the... Remains. I was back within a week, I think. She's gone, spirit and all. I spent the time afterwards meditating and resting back in Snowpitt, and I didn't hear any news about her either. She could be hiding somewhere, but, as an old friend said, that isn't really her style."

"She must have moved on, then. Unless her..." He stopped himself from saying more, glancing around. It wasn't hard to guess why.

"Mm... Those were the remains that I found, at least a part I definitely recognized, so I don't think she's trapped on the bottom of the sea. She probably moved on, like you said," Agate said quietly.

"Well, shame that it had to end this way, but I did all I could to prevent things from playing out the way they did. I would have used more forceful means if I had my revelation earlier, but that's hindsight for you. Thank you for everything you did for us, Agate. You truly are a boon for my tribe. If there's anything you ever need..."

"Oh, I don't need much, just a warm bed and a- Oh, wait, I don't even need those," Agate snorted with a grin.

"Yes, selfless spirit, and all. I heard that about you before. Still, if anything ever comes up, for you or anyone else - don't hesitate to ask."

"Well, I might need help to take down Sombra if he returns to the Empire again, some, oh... Bit less than a thousand years from now."

Jagged Ice stopped to stare at her for a long time, still holding a small boulder in his hooves. Slowly, his face morphed into a grin, before he slowly began laughing, dropping the rock and holding on to his belly as the mirth shook his body.

"Well, I can't say that I'm going to be around myself, but I swear by my ancestors, Agate, the spears of the northern tribe are yours to call on, and if my distant descendants refuse you, I'll come back from the beyond to shame them myself!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Agate nodded with a smile. "Speaking of spears, are Spear Whittle and the others still around, or did they all disperse by now?"

"A good part of those ponies live here on Green Land, so they're definitely somewhere around here, and I don't think the others have left yet. A great many ponies wanted to know what happened, so they've been enjoying the hospitality and free food in exchange for telling their tales, though I have a suspicion some of them have been embellishing things."

"Ooh. I should go and put a stop to that, their reactions should be fun. Later, chieftain," Agate grinned wickedly, nodding to the stallion as she trotted off.

"Goodbye, Agate."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So there I was, barely deflecting the blows from the floewolf, when-"

"Deflecting? I don't remember that. Everyone was dodging and running off, since its swipes were quite deadly, far as I recall," Agate suddenly supplied, sticking her head through a low rock wall into a gathering of ponies.

Suddenly put out, the stallion went silent, looking at the impishly grinning spirit. Slowly, his brows furrowed as the listeners sniggered quietly at his expression or gave him flat looks. Glancing around, he took a gulp from a mug, recomposing himself.

"Now why would you go and do that, wind rider?" He grumped, using the less common title for Agate. "You were there with us! You should have my back!"

"I don't see the need to embellish anything when the real story is plenty interesting by itself," Agate shrugged, taking a seat in the small clearing.

"Yes, but it doesn't make me look as good," He said with a cocky grin while flexing a foreleg, which earned him a swat to the back of his head from a mare sitting next to him.

"I'd prefer an honest stallion that does less but does it for real, rather than an empty braggart that would bring home imaginary fish," She huffed as the crowd laughed.

"Hey, the floewolf was totally real! I even got one of its teeth! It's certainly not imaginary!"

Agate chuckled along with the crowd. Though the couple looked like they were squabbling, it was pretty clear that they were just teasing each other. The mare's tail was heavily intertwined with the stallion's, and she wasn't moving anywhere from his side, despite her behavior.

Glancing around, Agate saw Spear Whittle, who was getting up from her seat. Tossing Agate a salute, she reared up and hopped off, with a quick "I'll gather the others!"

"Hmm, well. If this is going to turn into a storytelling party, then maybe I should go get my family, too..."

With a little effort, she spun around, turning into a bird in front of the fascinated onlookers. Flapping away, she went to Glacier Glider's place, the family greeting her excitedly. Once they learned that there was going to be a big gathering of all those that participated in the expedition, they quickly began grabbing the important essentials, such as dried fish, berries, and a few pots and herbs for brewing tea.

While the number one priority in any settlement were the homes, ponies needed other things to live comfortably as well. The clearing was one of those places, a patch of forest deliberately left empty for ponies to have a place to gather outside. It was built up a little, with a nice stone firepit, seats made from roughly hewn logs, and even a half-finished little shed for dry kindling that someone stacked together from the rocks that were lying around. The arrivals also decorated it with various glowing crystals, the expeditioners eager to show off what Agate taught them.

Not every single pony that went west was present, but the crowd was still pretty huge. Parents, grandparents, siblings, knowledge-hungry singers and lorekeepers, and the occasional random passerby that happened to overhear them talking all joined in, many of them bringing food and drink, while others went deeper into the forest to look for firewood. Before long, it turned into a proper party.

There were songs and dancing, though the main interest was the stories. One by one, ponies recounted the entire time they spent in the west, the storytellers switching out every once in a while to wet their throats, and to let others have their moment of fame. When they spoke about big events, such as battling the floewolf or particularly fierce battles against the flocks of bird spirits, multiple ponies all told the versions from their points of view.

As always, Agate was one of the ponies the others were most interested to hear from. For once, though, she didn't feel like the attention was undeserved. She did end up being a rather important player in the conflict, directly working with both Thundersnow and her followers, doing everything she could to find a solution behind the scenes.

She ended up getting asked to help tell the story for an entirely different reason, too - they wanted her to be a visual aid. Her companions good-naturedly poked and prodded her until she agreed to shapeshift into various birds, mimicking and acting out the various battles they had with the spirits while Agate flapped about. They even got her to try and pretend to be a floewolf, though that kind of flopped. Agate managed to make a passable shape for a few moments, but she couldn't growl to save her life. Moments later, she collapsed back into a pony with a roll of her eyes as everyone laughed their flanks off at the "floewolf puppy".

Things quieted down a little when they spoke about fighting windigoes, the vile spirits always bringing the mood down whether they were present or not. Everyone was curious about the mysterious shamare that drove them away with the power of the aurora, but Agate knew she couldn't tell anyone about Polaris, even if she kept the other details secret. The risk was just too great.

There was a moment of silence for Thundersnow, as well as a number of silently muttered curses directed towards the "shark" that killed her. Though no one from her family was present, she was still well respected in the tribe. While dying due to carelessness caused by excessive pride usually meant that your name would be made into a cautionary tale, Thundersnow's undeniable skill and accomplishments turned her into a tragic hero, instead.

Once that part of the story was concluded, it didn't take long to wrap it all up and reach recent events. Agate narrated her part of fruitlessly looking for Thundersnow on the bottom of the sea, while several others recounted their parting with the westerners in Snowpitt.

"...And they tried talking trash about Thundersnow as were were all standing outside Snowpitt's borders. They didn't have the guts to say anything to anyone else, but I guess they wanted to get a last jab in, and weren't expecting any pushback, since, you know, Thundersnow wasn't exactly there. Wind Whisper put them in their place, though," Spear Whittle said, gesturing at the sheepish shamare.

"What did you do, Wind?" Agate inquired curiously as the other's attention turned towards the young mare as well.

"Oh, well, I learned a thing or two from Thundersnow... I usually try to remain quiet when the elders speak since I'm still so young, but they kept saying those insults, and I just..." She trailed off, too embarrassed about losing her composure to actually describe what she did.

"She made a loud BOOM! She kind of yelled it out, but it sounded just like thunder, and boy, those westerners got scared! Most just screamed, but the bandaged ones dove to the ground, trying to take cover! It was hilarious! They tried to play tough, but it was pretty obvious that Thundersnow put the fear of the northern storms into them!"

The retelling was met with universal laughter, multiple ponies cheering on Wind Whisper. With the story finished, the party turned to the usual merrymaking activities, with laughing, dancing, singing, and so on. Agate saw some familiar and unfamiliar faces, ponies that she met over the years. Eventually, though, the hour grew late, and with some final farewells, the adventurers parted ways once more.

❅ ❆ ❅

"There was once a hero of indomitable spirit, a truly stunning mare
For her kin she toiled night and day, about her tribe she did care
But one day, her care lead to her making a mistake
She caught a great shoal of salmon, causing the westerners a real bellyache

The western elders their fury upon the northern tribe did vent
The chieftain offered apologies, but they were not content
Turning up their snouts, they went off and cooked up a nasty plan
And one day, a great horde of spirits darkened the skies with their wingspan

From the skies they fell upon her in a great, screaming flock
Caught wholly unprepared, she was in for quite a shock
The winds rose, and at her behest they did blow
She wasn't going to take it lying down, for her name was Thundersnow!

Oh, Thundersnow! A shamare most wild!
Loved by her kin, and the westerner's most reviled!
They thought their ambush would leave her in a bind!
But the depths of their mistakes they would soon find!

She summoned her friends, thunder and snow
And her attackers soon fell, blow by blow!
The conniving westerners really underestimated her, my friend
All by herself, the entire flock fleeing in terror she did send!

Next time they met, the cowards attempted to lie
"You angered the spirits," They said, their faces sly
But ponies, of one thing have no doubt:
No matter the lie, the truth always comes out.

In this case, the time until it did wasn't even that long
At the same meeting, they learned the treachery of Oak Bark and Birdsong
At their attack, Thundersnow laughed until she fell down
Needless to say, the westerners left with quite a frown

Oh, Thundersnow! A shamare most proud!
The westerners hated her, cursing her name aloud!
With great fury in their hearts did they leave
Their chieftain deposed, the shamares wouldn't give her a reprieve!

More attacks came, the travelers beset by a storm
Great winds blew, and huge waves did form
They rushed towards an island, a safe port
The westerners tried, but their attempts kept falling short

Now Thundersnow, she had quite enough
The attacks were pitiful, and the northern tribe is tough
Still, it was an insult by that wretched, lying lot
And so, the rightful punishment she began to plot

She put out a call for warriors most skilled
And when they came in droves, she was quite thrilled
Veterans and youths, young and old
Regardless of age, they were brave and bold

Oh, Thundersnow! A shamare you did not want as a foe!
Blessed by the north, she travelled west riding a great ice floe!
Steering the currents with her might, the shores were soon in sight!
And the westerners were terrified, she gave them a real fright!

Soon, the terrible battles between the shamares truly began
Storms and spirits, all kinds of attacks they did plan
Lightning and thunder, wind to knock you flat
Spirits with claws that tried to snag you like a rat

Through the seasons they did battle, neither side giving way
Though outnumbered, Thundersnow persevered, day by day
Her companions aided her, they refused to run
The warriors and spirits, they wouldn't leave 'til they were done

When the windigoes came, they brought their terrible cold
But even against such odds, their wills did hold
They fought floewolves and spirits, their courage would not break
No matter what came at them, in the face of a foe they would not quake

Oh, Thundersnow! A shamare of incredible will!
She wrestled a floewolf into submission, an amazing show of skill!
Even the windigoes that dared to challenge her had no chance!
They were driven away, across the great expanse!

When the seasons changed and the Sun came back, it gave the ponies no joy
For the westerners resumed their attacks, sending beasts in their employ
The warriors swiftly defeated them, it didn't even take long
But despite all their successes, something soon went wrong

One spring morning, Thundersnow was snagged by a terrible beast
It dragged her into the depths, where the foul creature certainly had a feast
Now, the thing's description gave everyone there quite a pause
It was a shark with a bird's claws, scores of teeth lining its jaws

A wily conniving shapeshifter, rightfully viewed with disgust
It cut Thundersnow's life and battle short, a fate quite unjust
Without her power, the others were forced to retreat
They were skilled, but by themselves, their fate was quite concrete

Oh, Thundersnow! A mare with too much pride!
Her overconfidence made her slip up, and so she died!
Friends! No matter your power or skill, remember the very first northern rule:
Never, ever get complacent, or you will end up dead, a fate unpleasant and cruel."

❅ ❆ ❅

Bird's Eye View

Agate flew westwards, looking for the tell-tale glow of a pony's spirit all the while. Searching for a potentially injured pony in an area you weren't actually familiar with wasn't ideal, but life rarely was. She did have the advantage of being able to take in huge swaths of land from high up, without having to criss-cross them on hoof, though it didn't really get her any results.

She did find the occasional pony in the distance, but when she moved closer to get a better look, it was pretty clear that none of them were who she was looking for. One was a caravan of several stallions, sleeping soundly in an old campsite fortified with sharp sticks and stones. Another was a young mare, though from her bags stuffed with plants, it was clear that she was a travelling herbalist and not a messenger. Taking off again, Agate continued on, towards River Rock.

The landscape below slowly changed as she kept going, with no signs of her target. The tundra plains gave way to sparse vegetation, which then slowly became denser and denser, with trees beginning to appear here and there, eventually turning into a forest. While the distance was a multi-day journey for a pony on hoof, flight really sped things up. As dawn broke, Agate was circling the woodland settlement, debating what to do next.

The few ponies that were already out and about looked calm, doing the tasks they set out for their days. Nothing seemed out of place, so Light Step's disappearance probably wasn't caused by something happening to the village. Figuring that the first thing she should do was to ask around whether the mare made it to the settlement at all, Agate circled lower, looking for a place to land.

There weren't any big open spaces, but Agate was fairly maneuverable. Darting between the trees, she picked a small clearing between several houses, landing silently and shifting back to a pony. Her somewhat stealthy arrival didn't go unnoticed, though, as a curious stallion approached her, looking Agate up and down.

"Well now, you're an unfamiliar face, relatively speaking. I heard the stories, of course. What brings you to our village, traveler? Are you carrying a message for someone?"

"Not really, no, though I am actually looking for a lost messenger," Agate shook her head. "According to her mother, she was very reliable, and was supposed to have come here six days ago. Does the name Light Step sound familiar?"

"Hmm, can't say that it does. I never really used any messenger's services, though, so I wouldn't really know."

"Any suggestions to whom or where I should go if I wanted to ask about her?"

"Ah, I can only direct you to the village elder, I'm afraid. No clue where else to send you," He shrugged helplessly.

"That should do just fine. Which way?"

After getting the directions, Agate trotted off, giving polite nods to the occasional curious passerby. After a whole bunch of zig-zagging through the uneven roads, she found the place the stallion told her about. There were multiple buildings, and quite large ones, at that. It was pretty clear that the family was both old and successful, as their homes were mostly made of sturdy stone, rather than lumber.

Pondering whether to go through a door or start yelling "knock knock", she heard some sounds from somewhere behind a house. Trotting around, she saw a low wooden workshop, with a mare working on tanning an impressively large piece of leather. In a stroke of luck, she seemed to match the description of the elder that the stallion gave her, and Agate trotted over to say hello.

"Greetings, elder."

"Well now, you're an unfamiliar voice," The mare calmly remarked, not raising her eyes from her work. "Let me guess, you heard about what happened and wanted to buy this bastard's hide? It's not nearly finished yet, but since you did come early, I could agree to a deal - if you give me a fair price."

"Ah, no, I actually have no idea what you're talking about, elder. I came here looking for a lost pony," Agate explained, which made the mare look up.

She was a curious sight. Her face was wrinkled and her coat was gray and patchy, but it was pretty clear that she was a fierce hunter of some kind in her youth. There were several scars across her face and muzzle that could only have come from a beast's claws, and she showed no revulsion whatsoever in handling the leather. It was usually a role of a stallion, but given her appearance and age, she was clearly quite capable at it.

"Huh. Aren't you an interesting sight? If you are who I think you are, then calling me "elder" isn't quite right. You're older than my grandmother, and she's long gone," She remarked, going back to working on the leather. "Quite an unusual issue you have there. If someone from the village disappeared, I'm sure the locals would have told me. You, on the other hoof, haven't been around here before, to the best of my knowledge. So which pony could you be looking for?"

"Well, you might not be my elder, but you're still the village elder. And the reason I'm here is a messenger from Snowpitt. She was supposed to come here, and return to Snowpitt a couple days ago. Her mother asked me to find her. Her name is Light Step."

"Ahhh, so it is related to this thing after all," She huffed, giving the leather a firm smack. "The name doesn't mean much to me, but some ponies did come to me six days ago, telling me about a southerner courier getting attacked by a bear. Don't know if it's the same pony, but it's a bit too much of a coincidence for it to not be her."

"Did she make it out alive?"

"She did, far as they told me. It nicked her leg pretty badly, but the herbalists should have been able to patch her up. I don't know myself, I was busy with the hunt. Any bear that gets ideas about eating ponies gets put down immediately, I make sure of that personally. And don't give me that look. I might be old, but I can still track the arrogant bastards in the middle of a storm," The elder said, almost growling while talking about the bear.

"I wasn't giving you any looks," Agate rebutted with some amusement, given that the mare didn't even look up from her work while she talked. "You seem rather angry about the bear, though. Are they a big problem around here? Back in Snowpitt, the hunters have cleared out the yetis and other dangers for leagues."

"Huh? 'Course not! River Rock is old, almost as old as Snowpitt, as the stories say. It's the second settlement to ever be built by our ancestors, and we certainly had enough time to kill everything in sight a hundred times over, if we wanted to. We didn't want to, though. Bears and yetis are quite different, and there's dozens of them living in the woods."

"Really? Isn't that dangerous? You called them arrogant bastards just now," Agate asked, confused.

"Aye, but I called those that hunt ponies arrogant bastards. The difference between bears and other predators is that bears are smart. Smart enough to know better. Smart enough to leave us alone. So smart, in fact, that there are well-known bear dens around here that have been inhabited by different bears for centuries, and we never had a single problem with them. Some are smart enough to be arrogant, though, and think they can make a meal out of us. We make sure to teach those ones just how wrong they are.

See, back in the day, when the first settlers came here, lured in by the massive resources of the forest and the river nearby, there were clashes. Fights, attacks, retaliations, hunts, ponies getting dragged off, all of that stuff. And I don't blame either side. My ancestors were just trying to survive, while the bear's territory was getting invaded by a great herd of prey. At least, I assume that's how they saw it.

Needless to say, my ancestors won, though when the dust settled, ponies noticed that there were plenty of bears still around in the woods. They weren't trying to hunt us, though, content enough to feed on the salmon from the river and the other prey and berries in the forest. Times were hard enough without picking needless fights, and the ponies let the bears be. It was an uneasy truce at first, but over the years, we more or less quietly agreed to stay out of each other's territories. These days, if a pony and a bear pass each other in a forest, they'll just politely nod at each other, and go their own ways."

"Except the arrogant ones?"

"Yes, either some arrival from deeper into the wilderness that got kicked out of its den, or a youth that didn't learn the lessons by watching its parents as a cub. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, we make sure to deal with it swiftly."

"And all the others really just leave you all alone? No one's worried about them at all?"

"Sure. I told you, they're not like yetis. They only stalk and kill, and I think they might hunt ponies so often because we look a bit like mountain goats, which are their main prey. The settlements closer to the mountains do the same thing the southern tribe does, which is hunt them down before they hunt you down. The forest animals are different, though, and we try to maintain a balance with nature here in the west.

Heck, there's even been a case where a pony took in and raised a lost bear cub. He pretty much acted like a pony in just about every way possible. He'd cuddle with his family, liked getting back scratches, knew how to open doors and jars, and would sit at the table when they ate. He lived so long even his coat turned white, and when he finally passed, they held a full ceremony, treating him like one of their own. That family decorates their home with carvings of bears and wear charms with bear heads to this day, believing that the bear's spirit still protects them."

"Wow. Okay. Is it like that everywhere in the west? You made friends with all the beasts instead of fighting them?"

"Well, we didn't exactly make friends with them without fighting them first. Nature still has its rules about who gets to settle down and claim territory for themselves, and it's not those that can't back their claims up with strength," The elder laughed. "But, largely, yes. Different villages tend to have different animal patrons, though. We don't play around with wolves, for example. They are also very smart, in a very dangerous way - they know how to work together, much like we do. They can separate ponies, herd them where they want them to go, and then rip them to shreds in moments.

However, I heard a village up north tamed a pack of wolves and even use them to help hunt down yetis, which sounds... Interesting, to say the least, but you wouldn't catch me letting a wolf come anywhere near me. Others make friends with other animals, like squirrels and birds and suchlike."

"Birds... I'm more familiar with those than I would like..." Agate muttered, remembering the sensation of claws tearing through her.

"Hm? Why? Is it because you're a bird yourself? I thought that was something you came up with. Is it actually some kind of curse?"

"I'm not a bird," Agate snorted. "I'm just good at pretending to be one. And, no, it's... Old history by now, from back in the day. Back when the spirit war of woods and ice happened."

"Aah, I heard about that little spat. Didn't amount to much, but the shamares got put in their place pretty hard, didn't they?"

"Well, the forests near the coastline got destroyed, but I guess that didn't really affect the settlements that were far away. And yes, it changed the attitudes towards shamares quite a lot... And I'd be happy to tell you more, but we went on quite a tangent already. Could you tell me where the herbalist lives, please?"

"Sure, it's not too far. Just go up that hill, turn right at the broken pine tree, and look for the house with drying racks next to it."

"Thank you, elder."

"Don't mention it. I'd tell you not to rush since the herbalist probably told the mare to get more sleep, but if she's anything like me when I was younger, by this point, she's probably thinking about chewing her own leg off just to get out of there," The old mare laughed.

❅ ❆ ❅

Finding the herbalist's house wasn't hard. Although River Rock was old, it wasn't very large. Agate guessed that the local geography was to blame, as the terrain was extremely uneven and hard to expand on. The houses were stuffed into whatever flat places the ponies could find, instead of making mostly neat rows, like most other settlements did.

The house was a fairly large affair, as the herbalists that knew how to treat wounds also often had infirmaries built into or next to their homes. Figuring that it'd be rude to just walk through a wall and go straight to the infirmary to look through the patients without asking permission, Agate stuck her head through the door, looking for whoever was in charge. The room was empty, but she did hear quiet snippets of conversation and the sounds of eating from behind another door nearby. Trotting over, she stopped before the door, cursing her immaterial nature. Through the years, not being able to knock remained the biggest bane of her existence.

"Knock knock," She spoke calmly, trying not to startle whoever was behind the door.

"What in the world?"

"Am I hearing things?"

"No, mommy, someone's behind the door."

A bit of shuffling later, a confused mare opened the door, becoming even more befuddled when she saw Agate. As she silently stared at the spirit, the other ponies in the room became curious, trotting over as well. A stallion peeked over the mare, while a pair of curious foals looked at Agate as they hid between the mare's legs. Agate took the chance to examine the mare as well, noting the many green splotches on her coat, no doubt from mixing herbal mixtures of all kinds.

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for me to help you, spirit," The mare finally spoke, making Agate chuckle.

"I'm not looking for healing, no. I was actually looking for someone that I heard was in your care. A southerner messenger from Snowpitt, Light Step - is she here?"

"Oh. Ooooh. Of course, silly me," The mare shook her head with a grin. "Yes, she's been a real pain, and not the kind that I'm equipped to deal with. I had to threaten her by saying that I'm going to tie her down to the bed if she kept trying to move. Much as she's keen to gallop again, if she tried that with her injury, the only solution would be amputation. That particular threat seemed to make her calm down, at least."

"May I see her?"

"Certainly, ah..."

"Agate."

"Oh, of course! Now it makes sense. I was wondering about your odd appearance. Don't see many ponies with missing coats, and even then, it's usually patches, not the whole thing. I'm Bitter Leaf, by the way. Follow me," She nodded to Agate, while gently pushing her excited foals back into the room.

"You don't have to interrupt your breakfast for me."

"Oh, it will take but a moment, and I'll leave you two to discuss your dealings afterwards. Right here," She cantered away, as her husband managed to wrangle the grumbling foals back into their seats.

She led Agate through a hallway and through another door, entering a large common room with multiple beds set up. Only two were occupied, one with a snoozing stallion that had a binding on his foreleg, and one with a bored-looking mare with a bandage on her right hindleg that didn't even bother to look at them when they entered.

"Well, Light Step, it seems that the patron spirit of travelers and messengers herself has heard of your plight," Bitter Leaf said quietly, her voice slightly mocking of her impatient patient.

"The... What now?" Light Step asked, completely confused.

As she finally raised her eyes, Agate took the moment to examine her. She was a lot like her mother, only with a much lighter coat, an eggshell color of sorts. She wasn't overly muscular, but her lithe legs were clearly built for speed. It took her a bit, but she did recognize Agate, gasping excitedly and taking in a sudden breath. Bitter Leaf immediately put an end to it, though, silencing her with a hoof.

"No excited yelling. You'll take the others," She shushed.

"Yeah yeah," Light step whispered, deflated.

"Alright then, I'll leave you two to talk. I'll be back later with breakfast. Behave, youngling," Bitter Leaf nodded, giving Light Step one final warning glare before leaving the room.

There was a moment of silence as neither one of them knew whether to start talking first. Figuring that since she was the arrival and she probably needed to tell Light Step the reason, Agate spoke up.

"Your mother asked me to find you."

"Oh, that makes sense. With what the herbalist said, I was wondering if it actually had something to do with me getting injured. I didn't think you had that kind of knowledge."

"And I don't," Agate confirmed with a roll of her eyes. "I don't have any kind of magical sense of what happens to messengers that are out in the world. Your mother was just very worried about you, and asked me to investigate when you didn't show up on time."

"Hey, that was only... A day or two ago, right? How long did it take you to get here?"

"Well, I flew through the night, so about half a day or so."

"Wow... So fast... Aren't you tired after that, though? Do you need to lie down?"

"Not really, not yet, anyway. Sleep is a bit different for spirits. You don't get tired, you get stupid, and you can go a little longer without sleep."

"...Stupid?"

"Yeah. Your mind gets foggy and clouded, but without feeling physically tired. It's a bit hard to describe."

"Oh. So, um, if you're able to, could you, well..."

"Tell your mother you're okay? Of course."

"No! I mean, yes, but also, could you please tell the merchant who's message I was carrying that I got here in time? We agreed that I only needed to deliver it to River Rock one way, and I didn't actually have to make it back in five days. I can still keep my unblemished reputation that way!" Light Step excitedly whisper-shouted.

"Heh. Sure, I can do that. You should probably be more concerned about almost getting eaten than your perfect record, though."

"Hey, reputation is a hard thing to build, and an easy one to lose. I'm still young, and these things matter. If I don't get more work, I don't get to eat. And then, I'd have to... Forage, or something. Ech. Not my style."

"Alright, alright. Do you know how long you're going to be here?"

"Ugh... At least another week, and even then, I'd only be able to carefully hobble around on three legs for a while. I'll either have to stay here for a while, or sloooowly make my way back to Snowpitt, once my leg is at least somewhat better," Light Step grimaced, sticking out her tongue in disgust at such a long period of forced inactivity.

"I guess you have no choice but to take a lesson in the virtues of patience."

"What about the virtue of speed and being on time? I'm a mare of action," The young runner huffed, crossing her forelegs.

"You'll be back to galloping across the tundra soon, I'm sure," Agate shook her head, smiling at the mare's energy. "Anyway, if it's that important to you, I should probably get going. Tell me where to find that merchant of yours, and I'll be on my way."

"Right, his name is Strongback. His house is east from the ceremonial grounds, near those other merchants-"

"I don't really know anything about the merchants. I never bought anything around here, ever."

"Oh. Huh. Well, you turn left from..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Once Agate got her directions, she went to say a quick goodbye to Bitter Leaf before leaving. Stopping outside for a moment, she went through her mental checklist to see whether there was anything else that she needed to do. Her main mission was complete, and she needed to return to Snowpitt to pass on Light Step's message.

Glancing around the village, Agate shrugged before taking off. Her first real peaceful visit to the western tribe's territory was interesting, but she had nothing to do there. Either way, she figured that she was probably going to see lots more of the westerner's lands anyway, if she did end up accompanying Dream Step on her shamaric learning journey.

She didn't bother looking down as she flew east, only using her totem's pull as a guide. As she was getting lower, she almost smacked into her totem, ungracefully flopping face-first into the ground. Shaking off her feathers, she proceeded to shake her head, looking around.

"Need some sleep..."

It was past midnight, and probably too late to go bother the merchant stallion. Wildflower would have probably welcomed hearing the news about her daughter even if Agate came to her right then and there, but the spirit realized that she didn't actually know where the mare lived. After a minute of scratching her head, Agate shrugged, and went to sleep.

Once she was well-rested and fully functional again, she went to find the merchant first. It wasn't too hard, as Agate did see the merchants hawking their wares plenty of times over the many years she spent in Snowpitt, but she never really gave them anything but a cursory glance.

The front of the house Light Step had given her directions to was silent, but she heard some shuffling sounds from a heavily reinforced door further in the back. Sticking her head through the door, she saw that it was a storage room, stuffed with shelves, boxes, jars, and so on. Strongback, or so she assumed, was counting a bunch of western-made metal spearheads that were neatly stacked in a chest in a corner. Pulling her head back out, Agate cleared her throat before speaking up.

"Knock knock."

"What's this now? Bit rude to enter my home without actually knocking, you know. Did you really want to buy something so badly that you forgot how to be polite?" The stallion grumbled, a few metal dings sounding out as he put the spearheads back into the chest.

"I'm afraid I can't knock, and the only other option is to start yelling really loudly, while hoping that it will get your attention, and not the attention of everyone else around me but you," Agate explained to the offended merchant as he opened the door and saw his visitor for the first time.

"What in the ancient- Oh. Traveler spirit. Well, my apologies, then, but this isn't exactly something I was expecting."

"I fully understand, and you don't need to apologize. I haven't exactly been a frequent visitor to the local merchants, heh."

"What brings you here, then? Looking for something for one of your quests? I'm sure we could work out some kind of deal," The stallion grinned.

"No, I am on one of my quests, actually. A mare named Light Step sent me to you."

"Oh, excellent! I was getting a bit worried about her. It's really not like her to be late. The filly really puts that youthful energy to good use, and- Hm. She's actually alive, yes? She didn't send you as a messenger from the spirit world, or something like that?"

"No, nothing like that. A bear nicked her leg, and she needs to stay put for a little while. She asked me to tell you that she made it on time to River Rock, though."

"Ha! Always diligent, that one. Well, she'll receive her payment as soon as she comes back."

"Her mother was actually the one that sent me to find her, but in the rush, I didn't even ask where her house was. I don't suppose you know where she lives?"

"Ah, I'm afraid not. My relationship with Light Steps is purely business. When she'd take her payment, though, I think she would go towards the northern part of the village," The stallion shrugged.

"That's better than nothing. Thank you."

"You're plenty welcome. And if you ever feel the need, don't be afraid to visit."

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever need to decorate my totem," Agate laughed, Strongback chuckling along.

❅ ❆ ❅

Finding a pony in a large settlement wasn't a complicated matter. All you had to do was approach every single pony that you saw, and ask them whether they knew the pony in question. It was a time-consuming matter, though. Wildflower and Light Step weren't exactly well known, even if the young messenger was respected in certain circles.

As such, it did take Agate a couple hours to track the mare down. Once she delivered the good news, Wildflower didn't say much, or, at least, anything coherent. She babbled and wept, trying to hug Agate a little too hard, making her hooves pass through the ethereal spirit.

Reforming her body, Agate shook herself from the weird feeling as Wildflower stood off to the side, ears folded in embarrassment. Brushing a hoof through her mane, Agate nodded to the mare.

"Anyway, she should return soon... Ish. Depends on whether she decides to stay in River Rock until she's healed. I think I've done all I can here."

"You did, you did more than enough! Oh, thank you so much, kind spirit!"

"Well now, there's no need to be overly dramatic. It's not like I rescued your daughter. She was well enough by herself. Anyway, I should probably go and find my student. Be well, Wildflower."

"You too, traveler spirit!"

Nodding, Agate went her way, her mission complete. It wasn't remotely the first time she was asked to help with something by a stranger, but finding a lost pony was a new one. That usually involved other ponies and either shamares or search groups, as well as much smaller distances. Despite the safety of the area around Snowpitt, these things still happened from time to time.

Finding Dream Step was much easier. Even when she was out and about, there weren't all that many places the mare went to, and Agate eventually found her conversing outside with one of the elder shamares. Standing some distance away, she waited while the two finished their conversation.

"...And the weather up north can turn nasty in an instant. If you go there during the colder months, bring some clothes. Most importantly - do not, under any circumstances, attempt to travel across the sea by yourself, even if you get a chance to somehow acquire a kayak. Without training, you won't just get lost, you'll flip over and drown faster than you can blink. The northerners make it look easy, but sea travel is incredibly treacherous. Find a space for yourself on board a merchant vessel, or something of the sort."

"Thank you, elder. I'll be careful," Dream Step nodded.

Agate observed her student as she got up and left, trotting after her. Dream Step had acquired a durable set of saddlebags, or perhaps simply retrieved the ones she came to Snowpitt with. By the looks of it, she was fully committed to leaving on her journey.

"All ready to go, then, student?" Agate asked, approaching the mare from the side.

"Gah! Don't sneak up on ponies like that!"

"You snowponies snuck up on me dozens of times," Agate grinned. "Just returning the favor."

"Right, of course, even though I never did anything like that. Hmf..."

"I'm sure you'll live through this terrible incident. And if you can't, well, you won't do well on your journey."

"Yeah, yeah, you smartflank spirit, I'm preparing, see? I've been talking to other shamares about what it's like, and gathering things, too. I'd say I'm almost ready to go, really. Maybe even ready, but... Maybe I need a couple things more, and a bit of dry food, just in case. It might be spring, but you never know."

"Hey, if I'm such a pain in the flank, I can stay here..." Agate suggested with a grin, making Dream Step whip her head towards her.

"Don't even think about it. I'll become the strongest shamare to ever live just to smack you. There's still a lot you have to teach me."

"You're just making it sound like I should leave and motivate you."

"Ugh. Why are you being such a smartflank? Did your mission go poorly, or something?"

"No, I found Light Step. She was injured, but fine. She's recovering at River Rock right now. I didn't even have to do anything much. And I guess all those stories I told you about the past made me remember some old friends."

"Were all your friends massive smartflanks?"

"No, but one of them was the biggest smartflank I ever met. Anyway, if you're ready to go, then I'll go with you. I won't exactly be able to act as a guide, though, at least for the western tribe. This will be completely new for me as well."

"I'm sure you'll live," Dream Step quipped sarcastically. "Anyway, I'm not worried about going west. We'll be moving on land, like normal ponies, instead of getting into a construction of wood and hide and slap the water with long sticks until we finally reach land again, hoping something doesn't come out of the depths and eat us all the while."

"You make the northern tribe sound stranger than they really are. The other tribes have boats too, and they fish plenty in the many lakes and rivers."

"I know, but it's not the sea. The descriptions others tell me... Are the waves really taller than a pony?"

"...Sometimes, if the winds are strong. You'll see."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate didn't exactly have anything to pack, so her preparations only involved telling various ponies that she was leaving on one of her long adventures, and having one last look around her crystal collection. Absent-mindedly poking at the crystals, she waited for Dream Step to show up.

"I'm here," The mare exclaimed, excitedly trotting into the clearing.

"Well, I packed everything I need. Let's go," Agate nodded.

"But you're... Ha. Funny," Dream Step rolled her eyes as Agate grinned.

"No clothes?" Agate inquired, looking her student up and down. She brought a good amount of gear with her, even acquiring a spear, though she didn't bring anything to cover herself up with.

"No, it's spring, so I don't think I'm going to get cold any time soon, and it's probably better for me to buy something from the westerners when the time comes. I'll need something when I go to the northern tribe for sure."

"It might get cold if we go higher up in the mountains... And what do you have for trade?"

"Well, I do know how to make spell charms, and I'm hoping I'll learn how to make dreamcatchers soon..."

"Best not to hinge your survival on hopes. Here," Agate motioned to her, trotting over to a spiky crystal formation. "Grab on to these and pull."

"I don't think I'm strong enough- Whoa!"

As Dream Step was saying that, Agate stuck her hoof into the crystal, sending a few precise magical pulses that made the crystal rods cleanly snap off the base. Harvesting a half-dozen of them, the mare carefully stacked them in her saddlebags, shifting to adjust to the weight.

"I know that carrying a bunch of rocks can be tiring, but they're worth a lot. Ponies really like crystals that were made by me," Agate shrugged.

"Well, they are quite beautiful. They're not the kinds that anyone finds, after all," Dream Step nodded, admiring the final piece before stuffing it into her bags as well.

With that, they were off. The pair made their way past the homes and the ponies, exiting the village boundaries soon after. It was only after they were trotting for a while that Agate thought to ask a rather important question.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"Of course. Same place you went to. The shamares told me that River Rock is the closest westerner settlement. The terrain's rough by the end, but it should be a safe trip. What happened to that mare you went to look for, by the way?"

"Got attacked by a bear. Fortunately, she was too fast for it."

"...Oh. Um."

"Don't worry, they hunted it down," Agate reassured the suddenly nervous and not very athletic mare.

"Does that happen often, though?"

"From what they told me, no, not at all. And you have me. If something goes for you, run away while I jump in its face and distract it."

"If you say so..."

They continued on in silence for a while, Dream Step glancing around her with a mix of curiosity, fear, and excitement at setting out into the world on her first journey as an adult. The monotony of the tundra wore those emotions down into boredom after a few hours, though, and they went back to talking to pass the time.

"How long has it been now? You haven't been my student for a year yet, I think," Agate mused.

"No, my parents brought me to Snowpitt somewhere around the middle of summer last year, and you only found out about me late autumn. So, half a year at most."

"Most shamares begin manifesting their skills in their childhood, though. Any reason they only brought you there when you were already an adult?"

"Well, it's not exactly easy to know which dreams are nonsense and which are visions, and I didn't really see or hear the spirits better than others, so it took me, and everyone else a while to figure it out," Dream Step sighed, with a touch of bitterness.

"Oh? Are you disappointed that you didn't get to start training earlier?"

"Not really... I'd have had to leave my family even earlier..." She said, despondently this time.

Agate hummed, thinking it over. While they engaged in the occasional bout of banter, Dream Step was still her student, and Agate didn't really know much about the mare's past, and none of it came from the mare herself. The few times Agate tried to ask her about it, Dream Step shut her down. She was clearly unhappy about something, something that happened back in her home village. She was also determined not to talk about it, but Agate was an old hoof at dealing with ponies by then, and quite patient, to boot. Bit by bit, she circled the issue, gently prodding her student in an attempt to get her to share.

"You say it as if you can never return to your family again. Surely they didn't banish you? And when you finish your journeys and sharpen your skills, you could become the village shamare. Yours didn't have any, right? Probably part of the reason no one noticed."

"I- I can come back to my family any time I want, no matter what some morons say. Become a helper in that village, though? No thanks," Dream Step scoffed, angrily pinning her ears back.

"Well now. That sounds like some deeply held anger," Agate noted, giving her student a sideways look.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," She shook her head.

"Yes it is. Deeply held and repressed emotions can affect your magic, a lot."

"I don't want to talk about it. It's really irrelevant."

"Sometimes, you need to do things you don't want to do. You'll find that it's a large part of an adult's life, unfortunately. And I have a feeling it's not as unimportant as you're making it out to be."

"..."

Dream Step just pursed her lips, saying nothing. The journey to River Rock took a while, though. Even an experienced courier like Light Step took five days, which meant that Agate had plenty of time to slowly and patiently keep poking and prodding, until Dream Step finally snapped.

"Argh! Fine! I'll tell you, you nosy spirit!"

"Were you nosy when you asked me to tell you about my life and adventures?"

"...No, I wasn't. You were free to tell me no. Doesn't matter, anyway."

"For something that is so unimportant, you're certainly spending a lot of effort trying not to divulge even the tiniest details."

"Stop with the "wise old spirit" shtick already," Dream Step groaned.

"But I am a wise old-"

"Shush!" She shouted.

"Start talking, then! I'm getting bored out of my wise old mind here!" Agate yelled back with a grin.

"Fine," Dream Step huffed, though Agate could see that she was trying to hold back a grin. "It all began in Foamy Rapids, one of the eastern riverside settlements. My family were one of the first settlers. My grandparents, to be precise, so it was fairly well set up by the time I was born, though with plenty of room to improve and expand. There was the tundra to the north, a sparse forest and the mountains to the south, and a rushing river dividing it all. One of my first memories is a celebration when they finished building a bridge over the river, since there were no places to ford anywhere within half a day's travel.

Anyway, I had dreams of all kinds since I was a foal... A lot of bad ones too, as I'm sure you already heard, so the village kind of knew that about me already. So when I started dreaming about things happening to other ponies, they didn't really take me seriously. I wasn't even trying to tell them that I saw the future. I just... The first one I fully remember was when I dreamt about one of the hunters that was making sure the forest was safe getting jumped and eaten by a yeti."

"I think you mentioned that one in Snowpitt before I left."

"Yeah, I did. I dreamt about it, and I just saw the stallion trotting about the next day, and I told him about it. It rattled him a bit, and he let it slip that he was planning on going to the forest in a couple days, but he still went anyway."

"Oh. Did... Did he die?"

"No, but he did bring extra backup with him, and they successfully took down not one, but two yetis in one trip, so he didn't make much of my dream, and I more or less forgot about it a few weeks later."

"You probably saved his life, though. The very point of the visions you see is that they are not set in stone, and you can warn ponies about it," Agate shook her head.

"Well, I know that now, but I didn't know anything about it back then," Dream Step sighed.

"So is that why you feel resentful towards your former village? They thought you were a fraud?"

"No- well, yes- kind of? That wasn't the only instance. I dreamt a similar thing about another stallion, one named Sure Strike. It was a vile nightmare about getting chased down and ripped to shreds by something terrible, and his family crying over his remains afterwards. It was incredibly vivid, and made me wake up screaming in the night, something which hadn't happened for years."

"And he was the one that didn't take you seriously?"

"Oh, he said that he didn't, but he did much worse," Dream Step huffed angrily. "I went to find him in the morning, meekly approaching him with a story of what I saw in my dream. Thing is, he is one of the most well known hunters in the village with the most kills, and he's always insufferable about it. He'd brag all day and night, wearing a ridiculous necklace made of so many yeti's fangs, it almost reached the ground. And he took my attempt to warn him as some kind of insult to his skill and pride, loudly proclaiming that there was no way he could ever be bested by some beast.

Thing is, we were in public, and he didn't stop there. He berated and belittled me in front of the entire village, stating to anyone and everyone that I was a daft fool and a honorless churl that was jealous of his accomplishments and was trying to shake his confidence. Me! A foal! Well, I wasn't a foal, but I wasn't an adult back then yet, either. I was only trying to help! Like I cared about his title of the best hunter or whatever! I just trotted off with tears in my eyes, doing my best not to start bawling and galloping away."

"How old were you when that happened?" Agate asked with a frown.

"Fifteen."

"To challenge a teenager in that manner... If you were an adult hunter yourself, well, those would be fighting words. Surely the other villagers didn't approve of his disgraceful behavior?"

"Well, they didn't approve, but he was fairly well respected for his skills, if not his attitude, so all that happened was that I got some looks, but no one shunned me afterwards or anything like that. My father was furious after he heard what happened, though. My mother had to hold him back from challenging the fool saying that if my vision was true, he'd end up dead anyway."

"And... Did he die?"

"No," Dream Step shook her head, her tone sour. "But not because he went on his hunt, oh no! See, he did go on a hunt, and then, once again, loudly proclaimed to everyone that I was a fraud and a liar when he returned unscathed. After that, my reputation did dip for a while, at least in regards to my dreams being true. But then, a few weeks later, while on one of his many bragging sprees, the ever-capable and skilled Sure Strike let it slip that when he went on his hunt, he didn't go the same route that he had planned before! In fact, he went in the completely opposite direction, and stuck to a region the other hunters already knew to be largely safe!"

"And the truth comes out," Agate snorted in amusement.

"Yeah. A number of ponies heard it, and rumors began to spread. It actually took a couple weeks for me to hear about it myself. Of course, Sure Strike immediately began changing his story, calling the ponies that overheard him liars and slanderers as well."

"Ah. I see now. And it turned into a never-ending circle of "he said, she said", with neither side having definitive proof. I've seen similar situations over the years," Agate nodded.

"Right. My youth and lack of standing actually worked in my favor. Whether my dreams were true or not, the others could at least see that I was just a bumbling teenager that didn't know what she was doing, and didn't mean any actual harm, so Sure Strike's freakouts only implicated him more. Still, that wasn't enough to get him to stop, despite several village elders telling him off for harassing me. He'd quiet down for a few weeks, and then go on a rant about me again soon after."

"You really, really hurt his pride, huh?"

"I did. I still don't know why."

"Some ponies are distrustful of visions like that because they're like that first stallion - they think it's fated to happen, and that means that their skills and their own capabilities are meaningless, which is completely untrue. His reaction was still completely inappropriate, though. How did it all end, then?"

"It didn't. I had a few more dreams, and showed an aptitude for magic in general, though that could have simply come from me spending more time alone in contemplation, focusing on things and working. Then again, I mostly contemplated about kicking Sure Strike somewhere it would hurt a lot, so who knows, heh. Eventually, my parents decided that the best course of action was to bring me to Snowpitt, and ask the shamares to figure out whether I am one or not. And you know the rest."

"So the issue was never resolved?"

"No, and enough ponies took Sure Strike's side to make my life annoying. I wasn't cast out or anything, but getting dirty looks from half of the ponies you live with in the same village got old pretty damn fast. My parents were not happy, and even considered taking the entire family somewhere else, but decided not to let themselves be bullied out of the life they toiled for and built by an overblown fool."

"Do you regret having to leave?"

"Heck no," Dream Step emphasized the statement with a fierce shake of her head. "Snowpitt was very interesting, and the thought of travelling to other tribes always fascinated me. And I didn't have to leave, exactly. I was more or less an adult by the time they sat me down to have the talk, and my parents left the choice entirely up to me. So I left by my own volition, but I wasn't entirely happy about it. Even though I knew it wasn't, it still felt a bit like I was running away from Sure Strike."

"I see."

"Happy now?" She inquired, giving Agate a flat look.

"Yes. Aren't you?"

"Why would I be happy?"

"You don't feel even a tiny bit better after getting it off your chest?"

"...No." She said, purposefully looking away.

"Really," Agate grinned.

"Yup."

"Not even the slightest bit lighter?"

"Noooo."

"You know what, Dream Step?"

"What?"

"I don't believe you."

"Oh, stuff a... Hm," Turning back towards Agate, Dream Step began, only to falter.

"Yes, my student?"

"Bah. There has to be some way to insult a spirit," She huffed, though Agate could see that she was smiling again.

"Perhaps you'll think something up... Once you're as old and wise as me."

"Oh, be quiet already."

"If you wish. I'm sure you'll start talking again soon. At this pace, I'd say there's still a good two days until we reach River Rock."

"Great..."

Woods and Mountains

While more vegetation was appearing in their way, there were well-trod paths through the brush and forest that the locals stomped through for centuries, additionally marked with wooden weathered signposts for when it snowed. Dream Step was delighted in the increase in greenery, happily munching on the richer grasses and leaves, though she smartly avoided any plants she wasn't certain about.

Their journey was free from bears, as well as other predators, and the lack of stress and having to worry about getting attacked meant that they had more time to talk. They discussed Dream Step's past for a while, but as they approached River Rock, the topics shifted to the current situation and recent events.

"It's not that I don't care about learning more about the dream realm and figuring out how to control the whole thing better, it's just that... The whole thing doesn't seem terribly useful. It's not like there are life and death situations that I could intervene in happening every day. There was a gap of two years between the dreams about the first and second hunter. What am I supposed to do in the meantime, sleep my life away? I'd much rather find something more practical to do," Dream Step shrugged.

"That makes sense, and I fully agree with you. I just don't want you to completely push it aside. You have a talent, and there might come a day when you will need it very badly, and won't know how to use it properly. It might even be a life and death situation, and if it's death... I saw ponies get utterly destroyed by self-loathing and despair after they blamed themselves for something they thought they could have done differently," Agate explained.

"Right... I still need to build up a stable life of some kind, first. You said yourself not to base my survival on hopes."

"Of course. Dreamcatcher herself used to make dreamcatchers and other things, though she was also supported by her family. Just don't keep putting it off forever."

"I won't, certainly not with you around to remind me."

"Good, that's what teachers are for. Anyway, have you figured anything out about that dream you had in Snowpitt?"

"The one about a great thunderbird flying west and me following it?"

"Yes."

"I don't think there's much to figure out. I needed to go west, and here I am."

"What about the thunderbird?"

"Like you said, it was probably a metaphor, or maybe simply a sign, telling me that I need to move. I still don't know what one actually looks like."

"And Snowpitt getting swept away?"

"Thinking back, I don't think it was Snowpitt, rather, it was the dream itself. It was like a painting made of fog, just... Insubstantial, and the bird's passage dispersed it. The bird was the only real, solid thing there, so I followed it. And then, I found out that you were going west, and, well... It only made sense."

"Wait... So in that dream, I was the thunderbird?"

"...I guess so? Why, what's the matter? You sound almost... Unhappy about it."

"It's nothing. So-"

"Oh no you don't, you wise old pain in the flank!" Dream Step exclaimed gleefully. "You don't get to tell me it's nothing after pestering me for days about my past!"

"You know, a stricter teacher would just say "yes I can, I'm your elder", and some might give you a smack upside the head for your attitude, too," Agate pointed out.

"Yeah? Well, you're not smacking anything any time soon, so spill," Dream Step grinned smugly.

"I'm not a thunderbird, Dream Step."

"...What in the world kind of complaint is that?! Obviously you're not! I never said you were, either! It was just the usual dream metaphor nonsense," The flabbergasted mare balked.

"Yes, well, I'm not a thunderbird metaphorically, either," Agate said, to which Dream Step replied with a flat look.

"Alright, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not a mountain-sized giant that sweeps entire villages away with a flap of its wings. Ponies keep making me out to be bigger and more important than I really am."

"Complain to whoever shows those dreams to me, then. And, big or not, you can't seriously claim that you haven't heavily influenced events throughout your time spent with the tribes. And I don't even mean dramatic things like arbitrating conflicts or participating in battles. All those seemingly unimportant things you told me about - discovering loads of crystal deposits, teaching ponies about crystal magic - can't you see just how much you changed the way ponies live? If they were as scarce as you said they were in the past, I wouldn't even know what a crystal was."

"...I suppose I did. Those small changes are carried over from pony to pony as my knowledge trickles down through the population, though. I don't make grand changes with a single wave."

"You don't have to. A tiny pebble can cause ripples all across a pond, as the elder shamares told me. Heh. The old coots were fun for a while, but I'm glad to be out and about."

"You really didn't like it much in Snowpitt, did you?"

"What? No, no! It was great! So many ponies, and no one gave me any weird looks just because some idiot badmouthed me. It was great."

"Then why was it so ephemeral in your dream, then? Why was I the only real thing there, according to your interpretation?"

"I just... I wasn't learning anything. Achieving anything. I don't want to be a freeloader. And you were the only one that was teaching me anything besides the basics. I didn't feel like I was actually connected to the place, I guess."

"I see."

"And you're big and important to me," Dream Step finished quietly.

❅ ❆ ❅

Both of the travelers were surprised when they actually reached River Rock. Unlike travelling in the wide-open tundra plains or the seas, their line of sight was severely limited by the forest. Arrival was not trotting towards a slowly growing target that you could see in the distance, but immediately coming face to face with it after making a turn near a large boulder.

"Huh," Was all Dream Step could say.

"I can see now how a bear could actually sneak up on someone," Agate mused.

"Don't talk about getting snuck up on by bears, please."

"What? We already arrived. I'm pretty sure we're safe."

"But we'll have to leave some time."

"And we definitely won't get snuck up on by bears when we do."

"*Sigh*"

"Anyway, I actually have no idea what's supposed to happen next, so I hope the shamares in Snowpitt told you what to do."

"Of course. It's customary for the local shamares or village elders to take in young shamares that are on their learning journeys. I just need to ask around and find out where the elder lives."

"I already know that, actually. I met her the last time I was here. Come on, it's... Hm. Okay, the village is a bit twisty, but I think I can find the place..."

It took them both a little bit of wandering, something which amused Dream Step. She didn't complain, though, taking her surroundings in with great curiosity. Once they found the elder's family complex, Agate let Dream Step take point. This time, they had to ask some of her family members for directions, eventually finding the old mare inside, relaxing after a meal.

"Well now, you're back," The sharp-eyed elder addressed Agate, before Dream Step could even open her mouth. "And you brought a friend this time. Is this that messenger from the south? Doesn't look the type..."

"No, elder," Dream Step shook her head. "I am actually a trainee shamare, here on my learning journey."

"Hm, I see. And you have the traveler spirit accompanying you? Hope this doesn't spell trouble for my village. Excitement seems to follow in her wake."

"No it doesn't," Agate protested. "I had hundreds, if not thousands of completely calm and peaceful journeys over the years. The lorekeepers and singers only want to know about the exciting ones, though."

"Ha! Isn't that the truth. Alright then, you two. I imagine you'll want to talk to Healing Salve - that's our eldest shamare. I doubt she has space for you to stay, though, and since one of the youngest of my daughter's brood recently got wedded to a cute mare in another village, I have a spare room in one of the houses. Don't make a mess, and don't eat all the food in my pantry."

"Of- of course not! I thought I'd go forage, or-"

"None of that, now. If you stay with me, you'll be treated like a proper guest. You're not the first shamare to pass through, you know. And hey, if you feel like sharing any magical trinkets with the younglings, feel free. Some of them come in useful during hunts. Anyway, my name is Keen Tracker. I think I know the traveler spirit's name - Agate, was it? And what's yours, youngling?"

"Dream Step, elder."

"Hm... Dreams, eh? Odd kind of magic. The stories about dreamwalkers sometimes sound like they came from a fever dream themselves," Keen Tracker mused.

"You don't know the half of it," Dream Step agreed with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, don't let me keep you. OI! Whichever youngling is the closest, get your rear in here! We have guests to show around!"

❅ ❆ ❅

Keen Tracker's extended family was large, and couldn't even fit into the same room to eat, so Dream Step got invited to eat with different branches of the family on different days. Agate was always a welcome addition to those gatherings. Everyone was keen to hear the various stories from the past, amusingly comparing the discrepancies to the modern retellings, some ponies vowing to correct the storytellers the next time they wandered into the village.

The elder got to hear Agate tell the story about the spirit war, something which garnered interest from most of the village. She did go to meet Healing Salve, but there was little for her to learn from the potion-inclined mystic. So, while Dream Step was talking to the shamares, Agate ended up being a storyteller for half the settlement.

Agate also briefly met with Light Step, the annoyed messenger still grumbling about being confined. The news that Agate did deliver the message made her relax a little, though she said that she'd rather move out and recover in Snowpitt, even if the best speed she could manage without hurting herself was a canter. Wishing her luck, Agate parted ways again.

"How are your studies going?" Agate asked Dream Step one evening.

"Not bad, but nothing... How do I put this... Nothing major? Nothing related to my main talent? I'm still learning general, surface-level knowledge, the same as I was in Snowpitt. Learning how to heal and treat wounds is important, though, so I'll do my best to master what I can," Dream Step replied, carefully weaving strands of her coat into thin strings.

"And how are your attempts to make a dreamcatcher coming along?"

"Nothing yet. It's a very weird thing. There are runes, enchantments and the like, with specific effects, and you need to carve those runes correctly. Dreamcatchers, though... As you told me yourself, there's a general theme and design to them, but each and every one was unique, wasn't it?"

"They were, yes," Agate nodded.

"Right, and that part just doesn't make sense. It's like making a charm. Mess something up, and they'll just fizzle. I highly doubt Dreamcatcher made fakes, though. I could feel that there were ancient, faded bits of magic in those frames you found for me, but too little to make sense of. There's some kind of catch to it, and I'm just not seeing it yet. More dream magic nonsense, I suppose."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Question is, when?"

"Only time will tell."

"Well then, could you go and ask time how long this is going to take?"

"I wish I could. I have some time-related questions myself," Agate chuckled.

"...Oh. Right."

Along with their studies of magic, shamares were expected to learn about the customs and culture of the other tribes, to prevent conflicts and misunderstandings, like the one that lead to the spirit war back in the day. Every few days, Agate and Dream Step would spend time with the other locals, listening to their own stories and traditions.

"And this is called a squirrel," A teenaged mare said, proudly holding a chunky little animal with a fluffy tail in her hoof.

"Oh, that's cute. We don't have them in the plains, though I think I might have seen a few in the woods," Dream Step remarked, ever so gently stroking the fuzzy creature.

"Well, our forests are full of 'em. They eat nuts and berries and fruits and the like, and pretty much everything that's fast enough eats them. Hawks, owls, foxes... They also like to make nests to hide in, so we sometimes find them making holes in our roofs so they can make hidey-holes in our attics. Naughty beasts," She snorted at the squirrel, which seemed to shrug after a moment of thinking.

"So they're pests, like rats?"

"Not quite. They don't try to get into our food stores, fortunately. Would be quite an issue if they did. With their little claws, they can climb on trees, walls, and even ceilings as fast as we can gallop on the ground," She explained, demonstrating her point by bringing her hoof next to the wall of her house.

The squirrel took the hint, zooming up the wall and hanging upside down for a moment before jumping to a nearby tree and swiftly clambering upwards. Before long, it disappeared in the branches, off to hunt for whatever sustenance it could find.

"So you tamed them so that they'd stop chewing holes in your walls?"

"And pay me rent, yes."

"...Rent? Really?"

"Yup. Like bears, squirrels do their best to get fat for the winter, but I guess they can't get too fat, or they wouldn't be as fast any more, so they make hidden caches that they stuff with nuts and berries. And let me tell you, they can get huge. Now and then, a forager finds a hollow tree stuffed to the brim with nuts. Buckets and buckets full. So, I made a deal with a few squirrel families," She smiled proudly.

"You provide protection and a safe place to live in exchange for a share of the nuts, I'm assuming?"

"Protection and warmth, yes, along with a safe storage that other squirrels won't get into. They don't really care who's cache they're eating from, and they spend a lot of time making sure other squirrels can't find their loot. Too much, sometimes, as they often forget where their own caches are. They're clever, but they're still just small animals."

"And what if they get eaten when they're out foraging?"

"Circle of life," The mare shrugged. "They breed fast, and there's no shortage of squirrels to replace them. I can't exactly go after them and hop through the trees to defend them all the time, after all."

"Huh. Okay."

"I can't really live off of what they bring me, but an extra hoofful of nuts every once in a while is nice."

"It does sound pretty nice."

❅ ❆ ❅

They spent a month in River Rock before moving on. Unfortunately for Dream Step, Healing Salve told her that she wasn't aware of any dreamwalkers in the western tribe, either. Regardless, there were other things to learn, and the pair continued their journey.

Dream Step gave one of Agate's crystals and some spell charms she made to Keen Tracker's family members as parting gifts. As they were getting ready to move out, one of the younger stallions explained to the pair how travel in the forest worked.

"On one hoof, you can camp anywhere - technically. If you start a fire, just about every animal will avoid it. On the other hoof, there are marks and signs all over the forests, some made by the animals, and some made by our people. They denote the various dens and lairs of the animals we maintain a peaceful coexistence with. It'd be for the best if you didn't enter their territories without reason - more than likely, they will see it as a challenge. An experienced traveler could make it fine through just about anywhere, but a visitor like you, well..."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice. I'm pretty damn sure I'd get lost if I strayed from the path as much as two steps. I can't even see the stars through the foliage, it's quite mad. I'm sticking to the paths like pine sap," Dream Step nodded.

"That's the right thing to do. The paths are ancient and well-trod by now, and just about every animal that's smart enough knows that they're neutral territory. Even if you see bears or anything like that, don't be afraid. They shouldn't try to hurt you. And if you do get run off the path, try to find the nearest river, and follow it upstream. Our ancestors built the majority of settlements here in the west next or close to rivers, to have places to fish. Although... Your spirit companion shouldn't have any trouble finding you the best path through the woods."

"I can rise above the treetops and look around quite easily, yes," Agate confirmed.

"In that case, I don't think there's anything else I can tell you... Oh, there's one last thing. Since everyone travels the same roads instead of going wherever like you do in the plains, there are many campsites that have been in use for centuries as well. Most even have small cabins or other shelter to take refuge in, in case there's a storm or an unexpected predator. If you use any of the firewood, kindly take a bit of time to refill the pile before you leave."

"Will do. Thank you for everything. Take care," Dream Step nodded, hefting her bags and trotting off.

"You too. Forest spirits watch over you," The stallion nodded, a few curious foals that came to watch their visitor leave waving goodbye as well.

The next village on their list was called Misty Creek, apparently known for an unusually often occurring and thick fog that blanketed the area. Dream Step was a little nervous about travelling to such a place, but since it was impossible to veer off the path unless you did it on purpose, no one was really known to get lost on the way there. As the stallion promised, the paths were quite safe, and they didn't encounter anything larger than a fox.

"This is kind of creepy," Dream Step remarked, the foreign atmosphere still making the mare jumpy.

"It's just your imagination conjuring things in the fog. There's no one around."

"Yeah? How do you know? Ancient wisdom again?"

"Nope. I just use my spirit sight. I do see some faint forms in the trees, but they're way too small to be a threat. Probably birds or squirrels."

"Oh. Right. Spirit sight. Silly me," Dream Step smacked herself on the forehead before focusing.

"It's a basic skill, but it has many uses," Agate nodded.

"Yeah... I really should have remembered that one."

Given their enhanced vision, they did see the village's inhabitants before they arrived, though the mists were slowly dissipating anyway. The midday Sun finally managed to bring enough warmth under the forest's canopy, revealing the settlement. Curiously, the locals seemed to have grown a defensive wall of sorts from thorny bushes and trees, two towering pines with a rope bridge hanging in between them marking out a gate.

"Huh. Thorn bushes as a defense? That's pretty clever," Dream Step mused as they trotted closer.

"I think they're berry bushes, too. The entire thing doubles up as a food source," Agate added.

"Oh, that's doubly clever. We should do something similar back home... Though things don't grow that well in the tundra... Hm."

Their ponderings were interrupted as an armed stallion trotted into view, eyeing them with some surprise and confusion. Demonstratively stopping in their path in a wide stance, he addressed the travelers while looking them up and down.

"Greetings, foreigners. I do not recognize you, and this... Guardian spirit, I presume, is not from our village. What would have caused one to travel so far from their totem?"

"Travelling is kind of what I do. They don't call me "traveler spirit" for nothing," Agate shrugged.

"I... See..." The stallion said, though his tone of voice was quite doubtful.

"Come now, surely you've heard of Agate, even if you never saw her yourself?" Dream Step asked, her voice similarly tinged with disbelief.

"Well, hearing is one thing... Never mind. And who are you, traveler?"

"I am Dream Step, a shamare on her knowledge journey."

"I see. I suppose you'll want to see the elder, then. Follow me."

Agate and Dream Step shared a glance, shrugging at each other. Trotting after the stallion, they soon learned that the encounter set the tone for the rest of their interactions with the village. Where Keen Tracker was quite relaxed, the residents of Misty Creek were more formal, following the traditional greetings and rituals to the letter.

"What brings you to our village, youngling?" The old stallion asked, addressing Dream Step while covertly glancing at Agate.

"Knowledge and wisdom of the western tribe's shamares, elder."

"In that case, you will need a roof over your head while you commune with our shamares. We open our doors and tend our hearth for you, guest of far away. Will you partake in our warmth?"

"I will, elder. May the spirits bless your home and kin for your hospitality."

In the end, it turned out there wasn't all that much to learn in the foggy settlement. The locals weren't very well travelled, and the mist meant that they were a little more jumpy and paranoid about something sneaking into their village, hence the extra security. The shamare living there did know how to make a special spell charm that temporarily granted powerful spirit sight even to a completely untrained pony, something which was quite useful when your line of sight was obscured by mist.

Learning how to make that one thing didn't take a lot of time, and less than a week later, the pair were already discussing where to go next. They had a lot of choices - there were settlements in just about every direction. River Rock was a sort of entry point to the western tribe's lands, and Misty Creek was a little deeper in, from where they could go south or southwest to the settlements closer to the mountains, deeper west into the forest and eventually reach Highglade, which was the westerner's capital, or turn north, and move towards the sea shore.

Visiting every single village certainly wasn't a requirement, and Dream Step didn't feel like wasting time going to small settlements where there wouldn't be anything new for her to learn. They expected Highglade to be like Snowpitt, with the largest population and the biggest concentration of elders and wise ponies, so they decided to keep on pushing westwards.

The next settlement was called Clearwater, named so after a small lake with beautiful, crystal-clear water that the village was built close to. Agate was fascinated by it - although she spent no small amount of time around water, the sea's constantly churning waves made it quite murky and opaque, completely different from the magnificent mountain lake.

"Surely you've seen lakes in your travels before?" Dream Step asked the contemplative spirit.

"Sure. But not like this. Even the ones with the clearest waters still were at least somewhat muddy. This is just... Perfect. Almost like glass, or a perfect quartz," Agate nodded, slowly swirling her hoof in the eerily still water.

"Well, it is some very pretty water, I won't argue with that. Makes me want to take a drink, but then I remember just how cold the mountain water is, heh. You admire the lake, then. I need to get going, or I'll be late for my lesson."

"You do that. This would be a good place to calm down and meditate, you know. Very peaceful."

"We'll see. Depends if I'm going to be up for it after my lesson. Later."

Agate nodded, continuing her motions. After a while, she slowly got up, and, step by step, cantered into the lake. It was almost impossible to tell that something was different, save for the fact that she wasn't able to hear the birdsong and the other forest sounds any more.

The lake wasn't very deep, and Agate had no trouble seeing even at the very bottom, curiously examining the seaweed. Or was it lakeweed? From that perspective, the few fish that were darting around almost looked like some kind of strange birds that were swimming through the air.

Seeing a boulder that was sticking out from the bottom of the lake a little bit, Agate had a funny idea. Laying down on it, she went back to her contemplations, only with a slight change of scenery. It was somehow both deeply engaging and calming at the same time, and Dream Step had to toss a bunch of pebbles in the water to get her attention.

"You really like going to the weirdest places you can think of, don't you?" The young shamare mused as Agate got out of the water.

"You should try it. It's beautiful down there."

"I... Think I'll pass, thanks."

"So, how did it go?"

"Similar stuff. No one knows about dreamwalking, or dreamcatchers. Few bits of advice here and there about runes and charms, but nothing major. I don't think we're going to stay here more than a week or two, either."

"Alright. We'll move out whenever you're done. In the meantime, you should keep up with your dreamwalking training and meditation as well."

"Yes, teacher."

❅ ❆ ❅

They passed through two more villages before reaching Highglade. It was an interesting journey, both for the old spirit and the young shamare. The vast forests were quite an unfamiliar environment even for the well-traveled spirit, let alone Dream Step.

They learned about the many curious forest animals and plants, how to navigate the wooded paths, and the many interesting customs and traditions of the westerners. Along with runes and wards, their homes were often decorated with the depictions of various animals. Unlike the other tribes, they built totem-like wooden carvings of the local fauna in and around their villages in hopes to either appease their spirits or earn their favor.

Many westerners also had animal companions, taming the animals that were capable of coexisting with ponies. As Keen Tracker said, though, different villages had different ideas on which animals fit the criteria. The village after Clearwater had a shamare that liked to roam the woods and collect herbs with a pack of wolf spirits at her side, while in the next one, the locals took a liking to eagles, purposefully building multiple nesting sites around their settlement for the majestic birds.

The terrain slowly became rockier and colder as they went on. Highglade was the end of the route - the westerner's slow expansion deeper into the forests stopped when they reached the western mountain range. The explorers liked the place they found, though, deciding to settle down there.

"Mountains. This part is more familiar to me, though these particular mountains are not, of course," Agate remarked as they moved closer to Highglade.

"Your people all live completely surrounded by mountains, right?"

"In Dream Valley, yes. When I saw the tundra for the first time, it actually scared me a little. The horizon going on forever - it was just... Disorienting."

"You certainly overcame that fear, though, given the kind of stuff you get up to. I imagine the sight from up top when you're flying must be a step above that."

"Yes, though I do need to remember not to fly too high. Can't let the Moon see me."

"What?"

"Not important. Look, I think I can see the first buildings already."

"Why would you be worried about the Moon seeing- Never mind. I'm looking forward to resting my legs, we've been climbing at an incline for hours, and - wow."

The sight that opened up before them was quite interesting. Highglade was built on the foot of a mountain, on a peculiarly flat stretch of rock. It wasn't all natural, as they could see that parts of it were cut down artificially, with a number of ponies working in several spots even then. Bits that were sticking out were chiseled away, while holes were filled in with gravel.

"It's a very good defensive position, but this seems a bit poor for getting food," Dream Step mused.

"I think the main goal was to acquire different resources. Namely, metal," Agate explained, already having noticed a number of artificial holes in the distance that could only be mine entrances.

"Oh, I see... And we did pass some homesteads here and there along the way. So the ponies below supply them with food, while they trade for it with their metal crafts."

"They probably supply many villages. Anyway, this place is big... And I'm assuming this isn't going to be the usual "go and greet the elder" thing. Most likely, we'll get directed to the chieftain himself."

"Oh, right... The main settlement, and all that. Do you know him? Anything I should know?"

"Well... Mostly, I know of him. His name is Ironmane. I don't have much experience with him, but he seems like a reasonable and rational stallion. I only had brief conversations with him during the Gatherings, but from what I have heard from others, he's a big metalworking enthusiast, and mostly likes spending time in his forge, letting things run by themselves. Supposedly, he gets quite angry if ponies try to steal each other's claims or have fights over the best mining spots, but that shouldn't be relevant to us."

"Alright then."

Asking for directions, they went to the chieftain's home, clopping noisily across the stone streets. Though the forest was still easily visible, the ambiance of the upper part of the settlement was quite different, sounds of hammers on metal and pickaxes on rock replacing the chirp of woodland birds and the creaks of trees.

They caught the stallion as he was returning from his forge, his still faintly smoking coat and singed hairs easily giving away what he was doing just then. He was clearly tired, but highly satisfied with the day's work, a proud grin adorning his face. With him distracted, they trotted right up, having to catch his attention.

"Pardon me, chieftain," Dream Step began, making him turn away from the door he was just about to open.

"Hm? What is it - shamare? You're not one of ours, though, and guardian spirit - no, wait. Agate?" He squinted, rubbing his eyes with a fetlock.

"It's me, chieftain, yes," Agate nodded. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, of course! Your eyes just dry out a bit when you're working on the forge. I'll be fine in a moment. Now then! What an occasion! What an occasion! The legendary traveler spirit finally graced us poor westerners with her presence, heh heh!"

Agate pursed her lips as Dream Step quietly sniggered. Though she was famous across all three tribes, Agate at least wasn't so well known in the west that ponies immediately recognized her on sight. It didn't mean much, of course, given that she had to introduce herself anyway. Still, it seemed that her brief stint as an only slightly famous spirit was over. Parsing Ironmane's statement, she gave him a somewhat wry grin.

"Really, chieftain, I wouldn't call your tribe poor. You seem to be doing quite well."

"Oh, in wealth, I suppose. But for ages now, we didn't have what the other tribes did! The most esteemed spirit of a grand and lost people, guiding the other tribes with her foreign wisdom! And what did we have to guide us? Rocks and trees!"

"Again, if all your wisdom came from rock and trees, you seem to be doing plenty fine," Agate rebutted with a roll of her eyes.

"Those must be quite wise rocks and trees," Dream Step remarked, slightly confused about the chieftain's behavior.

"Hardly a comparison to the traveler spirit!"

"Oh, cut it out already, chieftain. I'm not an esteemed spirit, I'm a lost foal, and I was ten years old when I arrived. All of my "wisdom" is learned and derived from what snowponies taught me, and I never did any "guiding". I only nudged some ponies in the right direction now and then," Agate sighed.

"What is even... Going on here? Are you... Angry, or jealous that Agate never visited your tribe before?" Dream Step carefully addressed Ironmane, only for Agate to answer.

"It's been a thing with the western chieftains for... A few decades now, I think? It's a big joke that they kept going for years, basically. During one of the Gatherings, a previous chieftain joked that he felt sad and alone, what with me "showering the northern and southern tribes with wisdom and wealth". As always, I pointed out that the other tribes asked for my help every time, and that I would be plenty happy to help them with whatever they needed. He couldn't actually think up anything for me to do, so he pretended to be hurt by my words. He was a joker through and through, though he somehow managed to balance it with being a chieftain."

"Ah, yes, good old Wise Crack," Ironmane smiled. "He was an odd one, but he knew when to be serious, which was enough. And, you have to admit, it was a pretty good joke, if it kept going for decades."

"Well, now that I'm here, I'm afraid the joke is finished," Agate smiled smugly at the chieftain.

"Hm, so it is... Darn. You should know that you don't need a reason to visit us, though."

"I know, chieftain, and others have said it in the past, but what would be the point? What would I do, just sit there and awkwardly stare at ponies? I have no connections here, and there's little a spirit can actually do but watch and talk."

"Ah, fair enough. But something did finally bring you here, didn't it? What kind of quest are you on, then? Something grandiose and world-changing?"

"Nothing like that, I haven't been involved in world-changing events for over a hundred years. I'm just accompanying my student here on her learning journey," She indicated Dream Step.

"Student? Curious. Are you gifted in the traveler spirit's foreign magics?" He asked Dream Step.

"Like what, crystals? Not really. I'm a dreamwalker, and Agate was taught the basics by a shamare a long time ago," Dream Step shook her head.

"Ah, yes... A rare talent, I believe? Well then, you shall be a guest in my home, and by extension, Agate will as well! And she will regale us with stories of her adventures!"

"Right, of course," Agate chuckled. "Several ponies here in the west got nervous that I was going to bring something upon their villages, yet they're all too happy to listen to the retellings of my journeys. You'd think they would be more interested in participating in an adventure themselves, if they're so enthusiastic about hearing them..."

"Yes, well, I can swing a hammer, but I'm not so sure about a spear," Ironmane grinned. "Best if we keep it safe and calm, yes? Come on in, then, dinner should be ready, and I'm sure we'll manage something even with extra guests to feed."

❅ ❆ ❅

Dream Step was treated as an honored guest by Ironmane, getting a grand room and having every need seen to by his family. She was a little awkward about it, and Agate made sure to play up how rare and unusual a dreamwalker was, amplifying the curiosity and fascination they had with the young shamare.

"Why do you keep doing that?" She grumbled lightly as they trotted outside.

"Now you know what it's like to be famous," Agate giggled.

"...Hm. Huh," She grunted, not sure what to say.

"Anyway... This should be interesting," Agate remarked.

"Why? Is there something special about meeting the western shamares?"

"Not particularly, no. Just... The last time I saw all the western shamares gathered in one place, it was the end of the spirit war, and they did not like me. Many generations passed since then, but that's still the last image I have of them."

"Really? And you haven't talked to any western shamares since?"

"Not really. After that whole debacle, the western chieftains would only be accompanied by one or two shamares, if at all. There was one, but..."

"Yeah?"

"Polaris. He was a voice of reason during that mess, and became their leader soon after," Agate said, taking care not to spill any secrets. Even though more than a century had passed, she took her promises seriously.

"Wait, he?"

"Yup."

"Now that's something interesting..."

Agate told Dream Step a little bit about Polaris as they approached the home that Ironmane had directed them to. Agate could see the faint glows of various enchantments through the walls, and the runes lining the windows and doors, making it pretty clear that this was a mystically inclined pony's abode. Once Dream Step knocked, a voice sounded out from behind the house.

"Over here, I'm out back."

The pair cantered over, finding an elderly shamare in an open-air workshop, bent over the shaft of a long spear that was resting on her crafting table. She was carefully applying paint into the delicately carved lines in the wood, concentrating and blowing on it every once in a while. They waited patiently until she was done, giving her project one final look before nodding and resting it against a nearby shelf and turning towards them.

"Hm, and the traveler spirit too... Curious sight. Now then... My name is Mystic Weave, youngling. The chieftain told me about you. I'm afraid there are no other dreamwalkers in my tribe at the moment, but we will still teach you what we can, though you'll probably have to spend some time with me alone, at first. There's not that many shamares here right now, and it might take some time for the others to return. With the advent of summer, many useful and important herbs begin to bloom, and both many of the elders and their students are now out and about," The elder explained, brushing her graying mane out of her eyes.

"Well, I already learned a bunch about herbs from many of the others, and I'm not really all that good at the big enchantments," Dream Step sighed. "But sure, I'll try to learn what I can."

"Hmm... And is that all? The chieftain also told me you were trying to recreate something."

"Yes, actually, though all I have is decayed almost beyond recognition," She explained, taking off her saddlebags and carefully retrieving a tightly wrapped package.

"Decayed or not, these old eyes have seen many things over the years... Let's see what you have there. Can you tell me more about whatever it is supposed to be?"

"Well, it was called a dreamcatcher," Dream Step explained, unwrapping the remains of the item in question and putting it on the table.

"Ahhhh, that tickles something in the back of my head. A curious implement," Mystic Weave exclaimed with enthusiasm, looking at the frame and sniffing it before carefully feeling it with her hoof.

"You heard of them?"

"Certainly. The old shamare that made them might have been a southerner, but they were light and easy to carry, so why wouldn't merchants and travelers be interested in a rare, lightweight trading good? Some made their way to the other tribes, but much like this one, time did its part to wear them down," She nodded, continuing her delicate examination.

"Well, I've been trying to recreate them, and I've been having trouble. If they were simple to make, I'm sure the other shamares would have learned how, but there seems to be a trick to them that I can't quite figure out."

"Oh, indeed. Enchantments and magic are rarely forgotten, we shamares travel through the lands of all three tribes to make sure of that, after all. Just like you're doing right now. Still, what shamare can resist a good riddle and a mystery? This ought to be interesting, at least," Mystic Weave smiled.

"Alright, well... What do you need to know?"

"Start with the materials, and we'll go from there. I can see that there's a lot of missing parts."

"Alright, though I think Agate here will be a bigger help than me in that regard. She saw dozens of them back in the day."

"Let's hear it, then."

Nodding, Agate began describing all of the different dreamcatcher designs that she saw back in the day, doing her best to recall something that she saw over a century ago. It really wasn't easy, but she did her best, and as she talked, both of the shamares actually began to build the things that she was describing. Having a visual aid in front of her helped immensely, and she was able to recall more minute details and add them in as they worked.

The dreamcatcher prototypes that they made didn't have any magic, but it was good practice. Dream Step spent a good half a day with the elder, learning all kinds of crafting tips. There was a staggering array of tools, from small chisels to tiny, mouth-held crochet hooks that the shamare used to weave tufts of her own coat into and around the things she made, and no shortage of other things to learn.

❅ ❆ ❅

Mystic Weave ended up being the main shamare that they talked to. Dream Step politely listened to the other elders, but once she saw that there was little to learn from them, she returned to Mystic. Much like everywhere else, there were no dreamwalkers to guide Dream Step, and the enchanter at least had interesting things to suggest and talk about in regards to the young shamare's side project.

Agate got roped into those discussions fairly often as well, given her relation to crystals and just how many uses they had in magic, which meant that she didn't really get to go out and explore Highglade all that much. She didn't mind, though, since the talks were very interesting.

"So, what would you say the best material for enchanting is?" Agate asked.

"Well now, that is a very interesting question," Mystic Weave replied. "My reply would be another question, namely, "For what purpose?" Just like there is a difference between a spear and a knife, well... Different tools for different purposes, and all that. What brought it on?" Mystic Weave asked, carefully carving a small chunk of wood.

"Well, I was curious about the differences in the ways our people do magic. We use crystals almost exclusively, but you use a lot of wood in your crafts. And the runes and wards you make in them hold up just fine, both in strength and durability. At first, I thought it's simply the materials that we had available, but I'm not so sure any more. My people did have forests around us, but we barely used wood for anything," Agate explained.

"Ah, well, part of it is quite true. Crystals were quite scarce until you started uncovering all those deposits, yes? Hmm... Though, there are differences in the materials, from my own experience."

"Go on."

"Well, wood is excellent for channeling magic. Trees have their own spirits, after all, and they gently drink the magic from the earth as much as they drink water. The same can be said for many materials taken from creatures that used to be alive... Including bones."

"Right... Ponies don't use those very much, though, except for fang-tipped spears and javelins, I think," Agate slowly said, keeping quiet about a certain undead shark created in the past.

"Shamares also use them for casting fortunes. Anyway, thing is, wood is easy to use. It is no harder than breathing. The enchantments and the magic flow easily, and... They flow out just as easily as well. That is the caveat, I think. Besides that, most kinds of lumber rot quite easily as well, and you need to take measures to preserve it if you want the enchantments to last for a long time."

"So the difference between wood and crystals would be...?"

"Well, if I had to use another metaphor, if wood is breathing, then crystals would be... Hm... They'd be like a stomach, I suppose. Unlike your lungs, it takes a lot more effort to stuff it full, though it also lasts far longer before you need to eat again. You need to eat the right things, though, so... An apt comparison, I suppose, given that you need to figure out the specific frequencies for each kind of crystal. It's really quite different from wood. With wood, you just weave whatever enchantments you feel like, and hope they last. Needless to say, crystals are also far more durable and long-lasting by themselves, without any enchantments involved."

"Hmm... I see..." Agate mused on what Mystic Weave was saying, while Dream Step spat out a small carving knife that she was using to carve a thin branch.

"Did you ever enchant anything made from wood, Agate?"

"No, though I powered some wards that were carved into wood back in the day... Though shamares these days often embed crystals into those as well."

"Yes, we use crystals a lot more now. Even in my youth, they weren't used as extensively yet. While they did become more abundant, it took us time to figure out how to apply them best," Mystic Weave added. "Does it make you feel like your home? With more crystals everywhere?"

"Haha! Not really, I'm afraid. You're going to need to use lots and lots more crystals for me to feel like I'm back in the Empire," Agate laughed, thinking of the Spire, the crystal-paved streets, the crystal homes, the crystal ponies, and the crystal everything else.

Polar Legacy

Interesting as it was, the topics they could discuss with Mystic Weave eventually ran out, and the travelers made plans to move out once more. After a month of learning everything they could from the shamare, Dream Step and Agate sat in Ironmane's home, hunched over some maps.

"So, now we have a choice between south and north. I don't think it's worth going south, especially now that we'll have to travel in a big circle all the way back here when we're done, and then all the way north," Dream Step reasoned.

"Fair enough. It's going to be interesting to see the western shores again."

"More violent memories of the past?"

"Yes, the only time I went there was when I accompanied Thundersnow on her expedition."

"I don't think anyone's going to remember that. None of the shamares here held any ill will towards you, did they?"

"No, but you need to remember that the ponies that live on the shore are direct descendants of the ponies that suffered in the war. More than likely, it's going to be quite different for them, even if a long time has passed."

"I'm sure you're going to be fine."

"Probably. When do you want to go?"

"Let's have one lazy day before we move out. Those zig-zagging, up-and-down mountain trails are murder on my legs."

❅ ❆ ❅

Though they haven't managed to make a working dreamcatcher, Dream Step was still thankful to Mystic Weave. She gave her two of Agate's crystals before leaving, promising to send her a finished dreamcatcher if she managed to make it work properly. The elder shamare was dismissive of that attitude, though.

"If? No ifs, young mare. When you make one, send it to me."

"Right, of course."

They set off in the morning, Dream Step carefully navigating the steep mountain trail while Agate hopped from ledge to ledge, the danger of falling down not really a concern for her. The path wasn't particularly narrow or dangerous, but the young southerner was used to living in the plains, where things were, putting it mildly, quite flat. Once they reached more even ground, she shook herself, taking in a deep breath.

"It's fine when you're climbing up, but when you look back and see how high up you actually are... Yeesh," Dream Step muttered, her legs tense.

"The view is pretty great, though."

"It is, if you're standing away from the ledge. Far away. Let's keep going, I'd prefer to reach that foothills settlement rather than camp on rocks."

"Right behind you."

As they learned from the local maps, a number of small little forest settlements encircled the mountainous capital of the westerners, providing food for the craftsponies and miners. The inhabitants didn't really consider themselves separate, though, everyone in the area simply saying that they lived in Highglade, even if their home was half a day's travel away from everyone else.

Such an arrangement meant that all the local shamares lived in the central part of the city that was on the mountainside, from where it was easiest to reach any other part of the scattered homesteads, should a need arise. With no shamares to talk to or anything to learn, the pair of travelers only stopped to spend the night, before moving further north.

They haven't met any shamares with knowledge that they haven't learned yet along the way, and, a bunch of villages and several weeks of travel later, they reached the northern edge of the western tribe's territory - a seaside settlement called Sandy Shell. Agate watched Dream Step as the mare kept slowly turning her ears every which way, trying to figure out the source of the strange sounds as they approached the shore.

"What is that noise? It's kind of like a strong wind, but... I can barely feel the wind right now..."

"That, my student, is the sea."

"Really? It's that loud?"

"Indeed, especially on windier days. You'll see for yourself soon. The village is that way, though... We could go to the shore first, if you like," Agate pointed out a fork in the path, with one leading off to the left, and the second one continuing straight on.

"Let's... Let's go see the sea," Dream Step nodded after a moment of consideration.

The ground beneath them slowly changed from the dark, loamy dirt of the forest into sandier and sandier soil as they approached the beach. The gloomy ambiance of the forest likewise retreated as they approached the opening in the tree line, clear blue sky and sunlight bathing the sandy dunes.

"Whoa..."

Agate didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt the young mare's experience of witnessing the sea for the first time. Dream Step's gait slowed down to a canter, the mare moving in slow motion, as if she was in a dream or a trance. Her mouth moved a little, but Agate couldn't hear anything. Step by step, she slowly approached the waves, not taking her eyes off the massive body of water.

As far as reactions went, it wasn't anything too unusual. Agate had seen ponies that were used to the calm local lakes get outright scared of the seemingly aggressively churning waves. It did start getting weird when Dream Step reached the edge of the wet part of the sand where the waves crashed, and kept going. Blinking in confusion, Agate quickly galloped over, looking at her student. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she was in a dream.

"...Dream Step?" Agate tried to get the mare's attention as her fetlocks were soaked by a wave.

It didn't do anything, though. The mare slowly kept moving, almost reaching the very edge of the water, the waves going past her knees. Jumping on her back, Agate poked her in the side as she yelled right in the mare's ear, loud as she could.

"DREAM STEP!!!"

"Whoa! What! Bleh!" Getting out of her trance, Dream Step started backpedaling, spitting out some salty spray that got into her mouth. The wet sand made it awkward, and she stumbled several times before reaching the shore.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Agate asked, scanning the mare with her spirit sight.

"Nothing. I just... I felt like... I felt like there was some kind of... Grand revelation being shown to me, and yet, I... I'm not able to articulate it in any way," She tried to explain with a frown.

"Is it something to do with your dreamwalking abilities?"

"I... I think so..."

"Well... Sorry for interrupting your mystical experience, but I'm fairly certain you don't know how to swim, and swimming in the sea can be hard with those waves, too," Agate shrugged.

"Is it dangerous? If I get into the water?" Dream Step asked, suddenly turning towards Agate with an unusually intense look.

"Uh... There's sharks and all kinds of predators, but I'm pretty sure they all live some distance away from the shore, and the sea water is actually easier to float in, for some reason, so... It's not dangerous if you don't actually go deep enough for you to go underwater, I think? The water's fairly cold, though. Well, ponies say it is. I never experienced how cold it is myself."

"Good. I... I think I need to understand this," Dream Step nodded, taking off all of her equipment and putting it on the sand.

Agate expected her to slowly approach the sea again. Instead, the young shamare closed her eyes for several minutes, meditating briefly before she charged headlong into the water. Cantering closer to the water, Agate watched as Dream Step appeared to wrestle with the waves, slamming chest-first into them. Her expression was extremely intense, as if she was trying to force some kind of secret knowledge from the sea.

Pursing her lips, Agate kept watching as her student slowly kept pushing forward. It really wasn't dangerous to splash around, but she wasn't sure she would even be able to do anything if something actually happened to Dream Step. She wasn't even sure what the actual level of danger was, given that snowponies didn't really do what Dream Step was doing.

"Dream Step!"

Her fears were realized when a particularly large wave knocked Dream Step over, the mare going underwater without a sound. Fortunately, she was in quite shallow water, and the force actually pushed her closer to the shore. Kicking off the bottom, she easily surfaced, spitting and brushing her mane out of her eyes.

"Did you learn... What you were looking to learn?" Agate asked tentatively, the waves passing through her with no effect.

"I... Maybe. I need to think this through," Dream Step muttered, picking out a strand of seaweed out of her coat.

"Alright, well... We should probably go to the settlement now. You should dry yourself out."

"Eh, it's still summer. I'll be fine," Dream Step shrugged, wading out to shore.

"Suit yourself. Enjoy the salt crystals in your coat."

"What do you mean?" The wet mare asked, looking at her dripping fluff.

"The salt from the water gets stuck in your coat. The wayfaring northerners that spend a lot of time paddling get so much salt stuck to their fetlocks, they turn white. They wear it as a badge of pride."

"Sounds like a weird, but useful way to carry salt, if you need to flavor something real quick," Dream Step chuckled. "Alright, let's find someplace to crash for the night."

Picking up her saddlebags and other things, Dream Step carefully put them on, slicking her mane back and sniffing the air. She stood there for a while like that, prompting Agate to raise her eyebrows.

"More mystical nudges to do something?"

"No. The sea is not only loud and salty, but it also smells weird," Dream Step shook her head, turning towards the village.

"Some ponies like it, or so they say. I never got to smell the sea while I was still alive," Agate shrugged.

They made their way through the sandy beach, finding a number of hoofprints along the way. Some distance away, they could see a dock, explaining the activity. Sandy Shell was both a fishing village and a trade port, which meant that a lot of waterborne ponies passed through. Since the Sun was beginning to set, only a few ponies were still around, dragging their boats to the storage sheds.

Dream Step examined the place for a few minutes before turning left, towards a path leading upwards. They made it into the village proper, looking around. Life in Sandy Shell was buzzing, the fisherponies gutting and cleaning their hauls while the occasional hungry pony was haggling for a fresh fish. Dream Step likewise stayed there for a few minutes, curious about the unfamiliar fish from the sea, before moving on again.

"This place is actually pretty big," She commented, looking around. "I think this entire street is just where the fisherponies hawk their merchandise."

"I think it actually grew a fair amount since I saw it last," Agate mused, trying to match the memories of damaged and abandoned buildings with the sight in front of her.

"Right then. Let's ask someone where we can find the elders, I don't feel like wandering about right now."

Getting directions wasn't hard, and they were soon trotting towards a different segment of the settlement. Whether by design or by chance, Sandy Shell was quite orderly, with the market, storage buildings, different merchants and craftsponie's establishments set out neatly in their own little areas, while the houses were some distance away from the constant noise that such areas tended to generate.

As they often did, the pair got quite a lot of looks. A shamare wasn't anything unusual, but the spirit of a pony accompanying one was. The village's elder, an old merchant by the looks of it, was likewise surprised when they asked to talk to him.

"What's this now, did you fish out some unfortunate soul from the sea? Wait, I don't think you're one of ours... Gale didn't mention anything about new students..." He spoke, squinting at Dream Step.

"No, elder, I am from the southern tribe. I am a shamare on my knowledge journey," Dream Step shook her head.

"Oh, well then, forgive an old stallion. My sight's not quite the same it used to be. Who's this, then? Did you come from the northern tribe? Found some drowned pony along the way?" He kept asking, now squinting at Agate.

"No, elder, I came from the west. This is Agate, the traveler spirit. I assume you heard of her," Dream Step explained.

"Heard of her?! Sure as thunder I did! Few travelers haven't at least heard of her, even if they never saw her themselves. She's quite famous in our circles, though everyone mostly talks about how jealous they are that they can't just sprout a pair of wings and take off like she can, heh heh." He chuckled. "My pleasure to meet you at last, traveler spirit!"

"The pleasure is mine, elder. You should know, though, that having wings came at a price. I can't exactly carry anything any more," Agate pointed out.

"Aye, everything has a price, doesn't it? I'm familiar with the fact, yes. Anyway, I'm afraid there's no way I can let you stay here. Not due to lack of space, but old Gale would have my head if I did. See, she's not like shamares usually are," The elder explained with a grin. "They usually live by themselves, right? To do their shamaric business in peace and not get their meditations disrupted, and all that. Sea Gale, though? She's part of a big family. Her brood is a whole clan, really, and they stick together, shamares or not."

"So from what you're saying, she's... Aggressively hospitable?" Agate asked with raised eyebrows.

"Aye, you'll be going to her to talk about magic anyway, and she'd talk my ear off if I kept one of "her guests" in my home. Her family's a bit kooky, but they're good folks," The stallion laughed, shaking his head.

"Alright, well... Where do we find her?" Dream Step inquired.

"Oh, not too far, right over that way, then turn left, then go straight until you pass the house that's leaning to the side a bit, and go right, towards the residence of the crazy shamare. You'll see it."

"Right... Okay. Thank you, elder."

They said their goodbyes, sharing a look once they were outside. Seeing Dream Step's confused expression, Agate shrugged, having met a great multitude of all kinds of eccentric ponies. Waving in the direction the stallion told them to go, she lead her student towards their goal.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Huh. Crazy shamare's residence," Dream Step mused, standing in front of a large house.

"There's nothing crazy about it, but you can see that a number of shamares lived here over the years, yes," Agate nodded, examining the building with great interest.

The house was relatively old, but very sturdy, built mostly from stone rather than wood. At a closer look, it had multiple expansions that had been added over the years, the freshest one looking no more than a few years old. The walls had multiple sigils and murals painted on them, while the wooden parts were decorated with all sorts of carvings. Animals, ponies, spirits, and so on.

Agate briefly scanned the walls, noticing that the murals were from different eras as well, though the old ones had been maintained and touched up. They seemed to depict either important local events or the family's history, including the spirit war, the picture of destroyed forests and raging birds and windigoes flying overhead bringing back old memories. Many families kept historical records through trinkets and art, but few had the space and the means for something like this.

The artistry itself didn't necessarily mean that shamares lived there, but the runes and mystical trinkets did. Every window and door had a circle of protective runes carved and painted around them, and the surroundings were likewise enhanced. There were little statuettes stacked on boulders that were meant to ward off creatures of ill intent, windchimes hung from the branches of nearby trees, and long, rune-filled warding poles were stuck in random places into the earth.

"For someone that's supposedly friendly, they sure have a lot of defensive measures," Dream Step pointed out.

"And if you look closer, half of them don't do anything. The power's gone, the wood's decayed, or they were shoddily made in the first place. I think... Hmmm..." Agate trailed off, trotting closer to a warding pole. "I think some of these are practice pieces. See this work? Either this was made for a pony that was completely inexperienced, or someone that had no idea what they were doing at all."

"So, what, some trainee shamare kept her old stuff to see how much she improved over the years? Now that you mention it, I see it now. This one's- oops," Dream Step grimaced as she poked one pole, the old rotten thing collapsing with a loud whump.

That brought a reaction from the inside of the house. Dream Step nervously glanced around as a hubbub ensued, the muffled noises sounding a bit like a whole herd of ponies racing to get to the front door. Moments later, a dark, storm cloud gray mare slammed the door open, looking around with an imperious expression. At least half a dozen ponies of all ages poked their heads out from the gaps behind her, studying the pair of travelers. It didn't take long for the mare to assess the situation and turn towards Dream Step.

"Well, I'd ask which one of you did it, but since she's a spirit, I'm assuming you're the one that knocked over my grandfather's old project," She stated with slightly narrowed eyes and a tight tone of voice.

"It-it fell over by itself! I barely even poked it!" Dream Step stammered, nervously taking a step back and looking for the best avenue of escape.

"Well of course it did, it's been there forever," The mare answered with a roll of her eyes. "Where do you think you're going, though? Do you think you can just leave? Kids, get her!" She shouted, stepping aside, letting all the ponies behind her to pour out from the doorway.

"Aaaaah!" Dream Step screamed, rearing up in fright and attempting to gallop off as a whole herd of ponies began dogpiling on her.

"Um..." Agate scratched her head, not too sure what to do in this situation. Meanwhile, the ponies were dragging Dream Step inside, peppering her with questions.

"So what's your name?"

"Do you like seaweed? We were just making some seaweed stew for dinner!"

"No, I bet you like fish and a pine nut dessert, don't you?"

"Help me," Dream Step mouthed at Agate before getting dragged inside.

"And... You are..." The mare, which Agate assumed was Sea Gale, muttered quietly as she scanned the spirit with her spirit sight.

"Agate."

"Agate...? Well. That is a very interesting name. A name that's entangled with my family's history, from what I know. Come inside, then. I'm sure we'll have lots of things to talk about," The mare said slowly, nodding towards the door.

"I don't think I'm familiar with your family, stranger," Agate said, trotting inside.

"Sea Gale. And... Well. It is a long story, and an old one. Perhaps you will know more about it than I do. Come, let us go to your friend. She seemed nervous, for some reason."

"Probably because you sicced your family on her and dragged her inside by force," Agate suggested.

"Nonsense. I recognize a southerner when I see one, and I'm quite certain they know how to show proper hospitality in the south."

Agate didn't bother pointing out that usually ponies invited others in rather than drag them inside. Cantering through the house, they reached a large kitchen/eating room. A slightly panicked Dream Step was sitting at the side of a large table in the honorable guest's position, various ponies shoving all kinds of bits of western cooking in her face.

"Try the mushrooms, I know you don't get many of those in the south."

"No, no, this is a fishing village, she probably had plenty of mushrooms in all the forest villages along the way. Try the salmon!"

"No, try the seaweed stew! Grandma said I made it really well this time!"

"Let her breathe, younglings, she won't be able to eat anything or enjoy our hospitality if she chokes on something," Sea Gale admonished the youths with a smile.

"Hospitality?" Dream Step asked sourly, glancing around.

"Why, of course. Is something wrong?"

"Are you nuts?! You sent a dozen ponies to pile on me and drag me inside! I thought you were going to beat me up, or something!"

"Now why in the world would I do that?" Sea Gale asked with a frown as the others giggled.

"Why wouldn't you? You were griping about that old warding pole your grandfather made! Your expression was furious!"

"Griping? Furious? Young mare, I already told you that it's been there forever. It was bound to fall down by itself eventually. And if I looked displeased about something, it was the terrible circumstances you clearly found yourself in. A lone mare poking around a family's home, late at evening? You clearly didn't have anywhere to stay, and didn't have the courage to knock on my door and ask for help. I'm not going to abide something like that," Sea Gale explained, her voice stern.

"You- you're addled," Dream Step huffed as Agate did her best not to burst out laughing at her fuming student. "I wasn't poking around - well, I poked the - never mind! I was only curious, and I was going to knock on your door right after!"

"Well then, if you were going to end up here anyway, then there is no harm done, is there?"

"I- You- ugh," Dream Step gave up, completely speechless.

"Well then, if you're done complaining, eat up. The food's going to get cold."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Knowledge journey, eh? Now it makes sense. Didn't look like you were a shamare," Sea Gale nodded, spearing a roasted mushroom and popping it in her mouth.

Since Agate didn't eat, she gave the family a quick run-down of why they were there while they ate. Dream Step's angry expression slowly faded away as she tried dish after dish, the ponies eagerly feeding her everything she showed any interest in. Agate could only assume that the food was quite good. Eventually, her student shook her head and pushed her plate away.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but if I eat any more, I'll puke."

"Well, while you could use more weight to prepare for winter, wasting food is quite a crime," Sea Gale nodded, licking her lips clean.

"What did you mean when you said that I didn't look like a shamare?"

"Well, you're dressed quite... Plainly, if that's the right description," Sea Gale shrugged.

"What, not like your, uh... Feathered headdresses and stuff? We don't dress like that in the south."

"Yes, but southern shamares adorn themselves in various ways too. Amulets, bangles, charms woven into their manes... Young ones have far fewer than the elder shamares, of course, but they usually have something, either a gift from their teachers, or something they made themselves."

"Well, my teacher is a spirit, and she can't make things. Except for crystals, and she did give me a bunch of those," Dream Step motioned towards Agate.

"Really? Unusual... Did no shamare take you in?"

"No. My talent is too rare, apparently. I'm a dreamwalker. No one still alive with that talent to teach me," She explained, the listener's eyes going wide with curiosity.

"Hmmm... Well, you're getting some instruction, at least."

"Sure. Agate is great, even if she annoys me with her "wisdom" sometimes."

"That means she's an excellent teacher, then. The best teachers are the ones that push you to be better."

"Right. Luckily for me, she can't do too much pushing," Dream Step grinned as she poked Agate in the side.

"Careful, student. I have my ways, and you don't exactly know how to get rid of spirits," Agate snorted.

"Yes, teacher," The young mare rolled her eyes.

"So tell me, Dream Step, what are your abilities like?" Sea Gale asked, looking intently at the young shamare.

"Well..."

Dream Step ended up recounting the stories of the prophetic dreams that she had, both the very first ones and the one that led her to going west. Though Sea Gale was quite interested, like every other shamare, she wasn't really able to give Dream Step any practical advice besides the generic ways to focus and meditate, something which she already learned long ago.

After they discussed their respective talents a bit more, both shamares came to the conclusion that there wasn't much for Dream Step to learn there, either. The young mare didn't care all that much, though, waving it off and saying that she still had plenty to learn from Agate. After that, the conversation topic turned towards Sea Gale, her eccentric behavior and large family, though the mare staunchly refused to acknowledge anything about her actions as being unusual in some way.

"Cut it out with that nonsense, youngling! There is nothing weird about being welcoming to strangers!

"There is everything weird about dragging ponies into your home!" Dream Step shouted, throwing her forelegs in the air in exasperation.

"No, there isn't! If a pony is in trouble, you jump in and drag them to safety!"

"I wasn't exactly drowning or freezing to death! I was standing outside, in pleasant summer evening weather!"

"And yet, you needed a place to sleep, since you are far away from home."

"You didn't know that, you... Gaaaahhh..." The young mare gave up, massaging her temples with a groan.

"So, Sea Gale," Agate intervened. "What was that about my name being known to your family?"

"Ah... Yes. You were involved in the whole kerfuffle that made this settlement into a ghost town and the surrounding areas into a near-dead wasteland, weren't you?"

"The spirit war? Yes, I was," Agate slowly nodded, trying to gauge the family's reaction. Fortunately, none of them looked hostile, and Sea Gale's expression remained neutral.

"And do you remember the name Polaris, by any chance?"

"Polaris? Of course I do. He was... Pretty influential back in the day," Agate nodded, biting back the fact that they knew each other far better than they let ponies know.

"And quite powerful, though also reserved and disciplined with this abilities, unlike the other shamares back in the day, yes?"

"That describes him quite well. He was also quite a recluse for a part of his life, but the events back then forced him into abandoning that lifestyle."

"Indeed. He started quite the family line, as you can see for yourself. Quite a lot of shamares in our bloodline, too, though it's hard to say whether we inherited some of the strength of his spirit, or it's just because our family is so large. That's why we have so many shamaric trinkets outside. My kin do go on their journeys, but with at least a couple shamares being present here all the time, we always have a lot of materials, place to work, and experienced mystics, which ends up with a lot of trainee shamares spending time here, both family and not. Dream Step might be the first one we can't really offer much," Sea Gale nodded, taking a cup of tea one of the younger ponies offered her.

"Wait... This entire family is from his line? I knew he settled down, but we didn't talk much in his later years..." Agate boggled, looking around with wide eyes.

"Oh, you think that's everyone? Oh, Agate, it's not just this house. At least a good fifth of the village is in some way related to us."

"What?!"

"As I said, Polaris began quite a family line," Sea Gale chuckled.

"Huh..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Though there wasn't anything for Dream Step to learn from Sea Gale, it seemed that there was some kind of hidden wisdom for her to glean from the land itself. After having a good night's sleep, she went out to explore, trotting around both the village and the surrounding forest.

As Sea Gale noticed during their meeting, the young mare didn't look much like a shamare, nor did she act much like it, from Agate's experience. Whatever mystical atmosphere surrounded Sandy Shell turned that upside down, though. Dream Step trotted around as if half asleep, and she almost completely stopped talking, communicating only in short sentences when the family got together to eat.

Agate accompanied her, though she didn't intervene, letting things play out and only watching to make sure her student wouldn't sleepwalk off a cliff. A mystical journey of self discovery was quite a common thing for shamares, even if they usually happened when they were much younger, and something about seeing the sea and splashing in the waves that day seemed to have triggered it.

The sea also took up a lot of Dream Step's attention, though she didn't try fighting the waves any more. She spent a lot of time on the beach, though, focusing on the water with frightening intensity she never showed before. Bit by bit, some kind of knowledge was crystallizing in her mind, and Agate was certain it wouldn't take more than a week or two for her to reach some kind of revelation.

Meanwhile, the locals once again became highly curious once they found out that Agate was visiting their village, perhaps even more so than usual, given her involvement in the spirit war. They asked her to tell her side of the story dozens of times, comparing it to the versions passed down by their elders. Given that it was an important part of local history, they were far more solemn when discussing it, rather than the excited curiosity others displayed while talking about the adventure and conflict that happened both long ago and far away from them.

"Aye, I remember my own grandfather telling me about it," An elderly stallion nodded, stroking his snow-white beard. "Thrashed this place up real good, they did. Half the building's foundations were either washed out or so crooked, the homes had to be ripped up and rebuilt from the ground. Lots of work, though they had plenty of help. The rest of the tribe really rallied to it, or so gramps told me."

"I wonder if that's why Sea Gale's home is so heavily reinforced. It must have been built back in the day, not long after the conflict ended," Agate mused.

"Oh, it must've been, though some ponies say that they did it just so none of their guests could leave too early," The elder laughed, the entire crowd joining in.

"I'm glad to see this place recovered so well. It really was quite a mess."

"Maybe you shouldn't have helped destroy it, then," A snide teenaged colt scoffed, immediately getting dozens of dirty looks and a few angry outcries from the onlookers as Agate frowned at him.

"You're lucky she's a spirit, colt. Any mare would have the right to twist your ear off after a remark like that," The elder said, giving the youth a flat look.

"Yeah? For what, saying the truth that they brought it on themselves? Good riddance, that crazy northerner got what she de- Oof!" He got cut off as another stallion smacked him upside the head, making the colt fall over, face-first.

"Even the stories our own lore keepers tell us say that our shamares were the ones that attacked the northerners first. Whether Thundersnow was crazy or not, it would be mad not to expect retaliation after a blatant provocation, something you don't seem to have learned, colt," The gruff stallion rumbled.

"Am I opening some old wounds?" Agate asked.

"Nothing of the sort. The ponies with the actual wounds are long, long dead," The elder rolled his eyes. "Some youths just get a little overconfident when they think that they're adults and that they're allowed everything, yet due to their youth, they haven't yet experienced any true consequences of their actions. A few demonstrations like the one here are usually all it takes. I'm sure you've seen overconfident youths during your long years, yes?"

"I have, yes," Agate nodded.

"That was one demonstration. Do you need more?" The stallion asked, loudly hitting his hooves together as the colt got up.

"N-no! I'm sorry, I'll- I'll be going now!" The colt squeaked, galloping away, several ponies in the crowd snorting and rolling their eyes at the complete turnaround in attitude.

"Ah yes, discipline and reigning in your pride," The elder chuckled. "Something the shamares of the time had to learn as well, from what I remember."

"They did, and Polaris was the one who led the efforts in the western tribe. He left quite a mark on this place."

"Odd to think about something like that, really. If the shamares were never taught that they could be wrong, like that colt... I can't imagine what kind of ponies they would grow up to be. Well, I can, actually, and it's not pretty," The old stallion mused.

"They really weren't. A shamare was always right, more or less. Granted, the other shamares did teach them about magic and wisdom, and they applied their magics to help their kin with great effect, but they were rarely beholden to anyone but themselves," Agate confirmed.

"A good lesson as any to end this story on, I suppose. Good day to you, traveler spirit," The elder nodded, the crowd saying their thanks and farewells as well, dispersing one by one.

Plenty of similar storytelling sessions happened over the days they spent in Sandy Shell, minus the heckling. Later in the evening, Agate met up with Dream Step, the pair lying down beneath a huge fir. Agate had tried to locate the one that she first talked to Polaris under, but either things changed so much that she wasn't able to recognize it, or the already old tree simply succumbed to the passage of time over the century she hadn't been there. Fortunately, lots of new trees grew in its place.

"And that's how my day went," Agate summarized. "How's your journey going?"

"Well enough... I think? It's weird. It comes and goes, like... Like waves in the sea... When I sit down somewhere after trotting around all day in a daze, it looks like the time spent went by in a blink of an eye, but at the same time, I feel like I'm learning something big. Still no idea what, though. Stupid mystical inspirations..."

"I'm sure they're not stupid, if you're learning something big," Agate smiled.

"Greetings, traveler spirit. May I talk to you?" An unfamiliar male voice said.

"Hm?"

A colt approached the fir, stopping near the edge of the branches, as if stepping under would constitute an invasion of their home. Looking him up and down, Agate didn't recognize him. He was around Dream Step's age - a young adult, grown out of being a teenager a few years ago, with simple, forest-brown colors for his mane and tail, with lighter fetlocks.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I heard that you were telling stories about the times of the spirit war, and I wanted to ask you something. You were there yourself, yes? Met the ponies of the time? Including the mad shamares that fought each other?"

"I have, though certainly not all of them, especially the westerners," Agate nodded, wondering whether he came to her to have a go at her or Thundersnow, like the younger colt did previously.

"Did you know Polaris? Personally?"

"I... Kind of. We considered each other friends, but we did not meet all that often, or all that many times. Come, sit with us," She invited, relieved that he wasn't there looking for trouble.

"Thank you. My name is Spear Throw. It's an honor, uh..." He trailed off, awkwardly trying to be polite to Dream Step, who sunk halfway into a trance already.

"That's Dream Step. Don't mind her, she's busy with shamare stuff," Agate said slowly, slightly thrown off by the stallion's name.

"Is... Everything alright, traveler spirit? If my presence here is bothersome for your student, I will gladly leave."

"No, it's fine. Your name just... I knew someone with that name in the southern tribe, long ago. Just a coincidence, I'm sure," She explained, making his eyes go wider.

"May I know what the bearer of the name was like?" He enquired enthusiastically, making Agate smile nostalgically as she recalled one of her first teachers. Many ponies held the belief that names held power, and a pony carrying a name of an inspirational ancestor held a part of their strength, as long as they honorably upheld their legacy.

"He was already a guardian spirit when I met him, but I do know some things about his life. He was a courageous hunter, a proud and fierce protector of his kin and tribe. When a yeti attacked a troop of younglings he was leading and teaching, he jumped at it and sacrificed himself to save them without a moment's hesitation. He was incredibly stoic, having mastered himself and his emotions, and held a deep love for his wife, such that he refused to leave her even in death."

"A great and honorable stallion, it sounds like," Spear Throw breathed. "I hope I will live up to the name. Ah... Speaking of ancestors and distant kin, I wanted to ask about Polaris and his descendants, actually. I myself am from one of the branches of the family tree that he planted, one of many that call him ancestor. Perhaps too many, in fact," He said, his expression turning sour.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Agate asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, a great many ponies here in Sandy Shell are descendants of his, and some ponies have moved away to other settlements and villages, but there's also some ponies in the southern and northern tribes that claim to be from his bloodline as well, which is quite vexing. During the occasional gathering or family reunion, or even just a traveler passing by, they call themselves family, even if they live on the remotest northern islands or the southern villages, where Polaris could never have been to! And when they recite the names of their ancestors, there's not a single one we share, save for Polaris himself!"

"Ah. So you think that some ponies are... Pretending to be your family? Lying to exploit your family's hospitality, or for a claim to fame? And you wanted to know whether I knew who his direct descendants actually were?"

"Yes! Polaris was a great stallion, and his name is well respected in the rest of the tribe, not just Sandy Shell! Those pretenders should perform great deeds of their own, not cling to his name like ticks!" The young stallion fumed.

"Well... In that case, I might have to disappoint you, Spear Throw," Agate smiled gently.

"Huh? Why? Oh, you didn't really know him all that well, then? Oh, well, I-"

"No, actually. I was quite surprised to see just how much his family grew over here, but I did know of his descendants back in the day. And, thing is... How do I put this best... Hmmm..." Agate trailed off, while Spear Throw looked on in suspense.

"Yes? What is it?"

"He was an unusual pony, Spear Throw. A stallion shamare, and very powerful, too. And, uh... I don't know how much you know about shamares, but most of them don't end up in relationships all that often. And just about all of them are mares. So when a stallion showed up, one that wasn't nervous around the female shamares, well, they... Put it simply, Spear Throw, I'm fairly certain that he sired foals with more than one mare," Agate explained, making Dream Step flick her ears and giggle as she came back to the real world again.

"So his ancestor was a prettycolt tail-chaser that made all the shamares of the time swoon, leaving some unattended eggs in their nests?" She grinned at Spear Throw, making him fold his ears in embarrassment.

"No, no," Agate shook her head, though she couldn't help but smile as well. "No, he was nothing like that. He was deeply caring and honorable, and he would never have done that to a mare and ran away. He certainly wasn't ugly, but he wasn't a stunningly pretty stallion... I think. Thing is, the mares found him attractive regardless, and, well... They were the ones pursuing him. Aggressively. And frequently. With great determination."

"Oh. Uh... Wow," Spear Throw scratched his head as Dream Step had a giggle fit at the picture Agate was describing.

"Yup. While shamares rarely have foals, they do have families that help them. I'm sure those shamares and their families took good care of their foals back in the day, but as they grew up, they must have wanted to find out who their mysterious father was. I'm assuming that's how the tradition of travelling to reconnect with your family here started."

Agate waited patiently as the stallion collected his thoughts. She had seen similar things over the years - a pony had an entire narrative built up in their heads about some event in the past, and then they'd come to Agate to ask her about it. And then, it would turn out that things didn't happen quite the way they were told by others they did, making their worldview crash. She assumed that Spear Throw held some anger at those distant relatives of his, and perhaps even said some unsavory things to them at some point, and was now regretting it all.

"I... Probably have some apologies to make..." He said slowly, confirming Agate's suspicions.

"So, did Polaris really get mobbed by frisky shamares everywhere he went?" Dream Step asked, still laughing at the whole situation.

"Not mobbed, no," Agate rolled her eyes with a grin. "But I have seen him getting dragged off by a shamare somewhere secluded now and then during the Gatherings. At first, I assumed that they were harassing him due to his support in curbing the shamare's overall influence. I followed him once, intending to give the offending mare a piece of my mind, but... That was not what was happening. At all."

"Oh, that poor, poor stallion! So terribly harassed by those evil shamares!" Dream Step exploded in guffaws again, while Spear Throw coughed in embarrassment.

"Well, uh... I'll just... I suppose I'll be going now. Thank you for your time, traveler spirit," Spear Throw mumbled awkwardly, standing up.

"Any time," Agate nodded with a smile.

As he trotted off, though, Dream Step became thoughtful. "What was that you said about shamares not getting into relationships?"

"You don't know?" Agate asked, surprised.

"Hey, I was the first shamare to be born in my village, remember? I don't know a lot of this stuff yet, and that's not exactly something the other shamares told me. What's that about?"

"Well... A lot of shamares spend many years getting control over their abilities. You're not the only one wrestling with your powers, you know. Dreamcatcher herself took many years to master them, and by the time she did, it was almost too late to go looking for companionship."

"Almost?"

"Unfortunately, being the spooky prophet of doom apparently put stallions off. She was incredibly powerful in the dream realm, so much so that many ponies found themselves unnerved by her," Agate shrugged helplessly.

"Damn it. I love my family. I want foals of my own, someday. I don't want to spend my life wandering alone," Dream Step cursed.

"I'm sorry, Dream Step. I don't know how to help you there."

"Don't you? I think you already did," The young mare nodded slowly, a smile slowly growing on her face.

"What? How?"

"Your little story about Polaris. If stallions won't court shamares, then... I'll just have to go out and snag a stallion myself. Hmmm..." She trailed off, idly looking in the direction Spear Throw left.

Winter Relationships

Dream Step's meditations and inspiration finally culminated into a revelation a couple weeks later. Agate was with her, and they were visiting the sea shore once more. The young shamare took to standing in the waves again, feeling the water splashing against her and trying to push her over as she held firmly in the shallows.

It began slowly. A large wave smashed against her chest, making her stumble and fall. Going down, she quickly surfaced, spitting and shaking the water out of her eyes. Moving back to shore, she began smiling, which turned into chuckling, and then - into laugher, getting progressively louder and unhinged.

"AHAHAHAAAHAHHAHAH! I GET IT NOW! I UNDERSTAND! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAH!"

"You get... What now?" Agate inquired, mildly concerned for her student.

"MAGIC! DREAMS! WAVES! THE FLOWS AND EBBS, THE CURRENTS AND THE WAVES!!! AHAHAH!" Dream Step yelled, rolling in the sand.

"You sound like you went insane."

"I think I did! Haha!" She laughed, though a little quieter.

"You don't sound all that unhappy about it though. I remember you being concerned when I told you how Dreamcatcher used to be."

"Well, you didn't tell me just how fun being crazy is!"

"Alright, Dream Step, gather yourself. Yes, some mystic revelations can make shamares a little unhinged, but that depends entirely upon you. Control yourself," She said firmly, tapping Dream Step on the forehead.

"Nope!" She yelled, surging to her hooves and trotting around the beach while gesticulating manically. "You don't get it! That's why it never worked! It's not about control! Dreams are madness! Dreams are chaos! Dreams are the sea! The magic sea, splashing onto the shores of our skulls as we sleep, carrying off our spirits into places unknown! The great Breath, the sea of magic, whatever you call it! You can't put it into orderly runes and enchantments! You can't contain it! That kills the entire magic! You need to let it go, make it flow!"

"So... Does that mean you understand how to make dreamcatchers work now?" Agate asked, gently nudging her student back to some form of rationality.

"I..." Dream Step's eyes went wide, as if experiencing the entire revelation a second time. "Yes! YES! The currents, they sometimes carry something foul, something a foal shouldn't have to ever see! Like befouled water in a stagnant puddle! But the weave catches it, and then the Sun purges it with glorious fire, and then - fun! Oh yes!"

"Wait, what was that about purging with fire - and she's gone," Agate chuckled as she began to gallop after Dream Step.

The madly grinning mare stopped shouting, though her expression was still something that could cause concern in the average pony, especially if they knew that she was a shamare. Which they did, politely getting out of her way as they heard her coming, not wanting to get tangled up in whatever shamaric business she was engaged in.

Agate followed her to Sea Gale's house, where Dream Step barged into her corner of the workshop, panting from exhaustion and still damp and sandy from her dip in the sea. Disregarding everything, she immediately began working on an incomplete dreamcatcher that she had left there some time before, her manic glee turning into absolute focus as she wove the threads together, muttering something all the while.

Agate observed her for a few minutes before shrugging and cantering off. She could see and feel that Dream Step was performing magic of some kind and channeling it into the dreamcatcher, but she couldn't quite figure it out. She accepted a long time ago that her dream magic was always going to be relatively rudimentary compared to someone with innate talent, and she left her student to do her thing.

"Had some kind of flash of inspiration, did she?" A teenaged mare asked casually, passing by into a different room.

"She did, yes. You don't seem surprised in the slightest," Agate confirmed.

"Pfft. Nah, we're used to this kind of stuff here," The mare laughed. "You should see what it's like when the family's all here and the house is full of shamares. Or when we have more than one journeying shamare. Getting woken up by some crazy howling spirit a neophyte shamare called on by accident loses the shock value after the first few times. Or screams from the shamares. Or mad laughter."

"Wow, uh... That doesn't sound like most shamares I know," Agate said, rubbing her chin.

"How many students did you have so far?"

"None. Dream Step's the first."

"There you go, then. If you've been hanging only around elders, then yes, they're fully in control. Just like all other ponies, like a young craftspony making a spear for the first time and finding that it's crooked or something similar, young shamares also have some oopsies now and then. Except theirs are a bit more... Wild, would be the word, I think. Grandma Gale knows how to deal with them, though. Taught us some stuff, too."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Whack the shamare on the head with a big spoon. Brings them back from whatever vision they're lost in and really makes them focus on the here and now," The mare proudly explained with a grin.

"I'll... Keep that in mind, though I won't be able to use that myself," Agate said with a smile. "What about the mad laughter and the, hm..."

"Unhinged attitude? That goes away, I think. Grandma described it like staring at the most maddening, convoluted and unsolvable puzzle for a decade, until finally, the whole thing suddenly just makes sense. I'm not a shamare myself, but I imagine I'd laugh from relief or joy too, if that was the case."

"I see. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome. Talk to grandma if there's any weird problems with Dream Step, she should be able to straighten her out."

"Will do."

❅ ❆ ❅

Eventually, Dream Step's supernatural elation ran out, and the salty, sandy, tired mare slowly and grumpily cantered from the workshop to the kitchen. It was a little while after dinner, so the room was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers and Sea Gale, who was waiting for the traveler shamare with Agate. Raising her head from the cup of tea she was nursing, the elder sniffed the air.

"You smell like the sea. And sweat. I'm assuming you didn't wash all that often while following your visions. You'll probably need a dip in the river."

"A big one, yes," Dream Step nodded. "At least I won't need to do that again."

"Oh? Finished with your revelations from the sea? A bit unusual, that, by the way. I don't recall shamares other than the watersingers to gain insight from the waves. Did you make any friends in the water?"

"Nope. Not what I was looking for," Dream Step shook her head, looking through the pantry and the remaining pots for leftovers.

"And what is it that you were looking for, if you can put it in words?"

"Understanding. Of magic, dreams and their structure. I understand now, though. There is no structure. Like the sea. Dreams are huge, like the sea. But also, the sea is both bigger than mountains and unmoving, and yet, it is most definitely not structured. It stays in one place, yet it's also... Undulating, shifting, moving all the time. I was afraid, you know. For a long time," She sighed, retrieving a bowl and ladling some mushroom stew for herself.

"Of what, youngling? Of a dark future you might see in your visions?" Sea Gale asked, her voice quiet.

"Not what I could see, but what seeing would make me become. Agate... Told me about the last dreamwalker that she knew. As I understood it, Dreamcatcher was... Not in full control of her powers, even after many years. I thought I could be different. Force order into it. But... That is clearly not possible. If I want to make use of my skills, I guess I'll just have to... Learn to swim in the currents of the dream world. Metaphorically," Dream Step shrugged, sitting down and eating.

"Many have sought to master their surroundings, young traveler, with disastrous consequences. Time and time again, ponies have learned that the only thing you can truly master is yourself. True mastery comes from within. Grow strong and stand firm, and no currents, dream or otherwise, will be able to drag you to where you do not wish to go," The elder spoke firmly, with the experience of decades adding weight to her words.

That made Dream Step put her spoon down for a moment, raising her eyes to look in Sea Gale's. After a long minute, she slowly nodded, getting a small smile and a nod back from the elder. Going back to her plate, she resumed eating, silence falling across the room.

The heavy parts of the conversation seemed to be over and done with. While Agate had questions, she waited until her student was done eating. As she reclined and rubbed her belly in contentment, Agate went ahead with a less dramatic, but still important inquiry.

"So, does this mean that you finally managed to create a working dreamcatcher?"

"I... Think so," Dream Step replied uncertainly, wrinkling her muzzle in thought. "I touched it, felt it, tasted it. With dream magic, intent and function matters far more than form. I think it works. It feels like it works. But... This is a bit harder to test than a spell charm. I actually need to find a pony that's having nightmares, hang it up in their room, and then hope that it's actually the dreamcatcher that's doing it and not the nightmares just going away. Hrm..."

"I'm sure you can think of a way to know for certain."

"Probably," Dream Step shrugged, to which Sea Gale raised an eyebrow.

"I'm certain you'll find no shortage of willing volunteers. It's not like there's a chance of it malfunctioning and giving a pony nightmares or anything of the sort, is there?"

"Absolutely not," Dream Step scoffed. "The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work."

"Sounds like you need to talk to some ponies, then. Spread the word."

"Tomorrow," Dream Step groaned. "After a good sleep. And a dip in the river."

"Good, the smell might put ponies off. Then again, they might be more lenient on a shamare. We're known to be odd," Sea Gale nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, the student and teacher decided to split up. While Dream Step went to sort out her hygiene problems, Agate trotted around the village, talking to ponies. When darkness began to blanket the village and the tasks of the day were done, she sat down for another storytelling session with the locals, though this time, she added something new.

"Now, I'm going to tell you about a pony you probably haven't heard about. Her name was Dreamcatcher, and she was a southerner shamare of some renown..."

When she was finished, Agate had a fairly sizeable group interested in acquiring a dreamcatcher or two for their foals. The particulars of Dream Step's presence and talent already made their rounds through their village, and it didn't take long for the listeners to add two and two together. At first, they assumed that the young shamare would need some kind of help in her quest, but were happy to know that she actually already cracked the mystery of their manufacture.

Dream Step herself, meanwhile, sequestered herself in the workshop, doing her best to make as many dreamcatchers as fast as possible, though without sacrificing anything in quality. Sea Gale and a few of her mystically or artistically inclined siblings helped, making the frames and basic parts according to Dream Step's instructions as she worked on the finishing touches and enchantments.

It wasn't easy, of course, given that she only really acquired her understanding the day before, and she was working with ponies that were completely unfamiliar with what she was trying to teach them. There were mishaps and failures, and at the end of the day, they only had half a dozen dreamcatchers that Dream Step judged to be adequate.

"Don't judge yourself so harshly, youngling," Sea Gale rolled her eyes at Dream Step's sour expression. "This is a massive achievement already, and six items in a day is quite the feat. Enchanting is not like boiling a pot of soup, you can't just toss a bunch of stuff in, pour some heat into it, and dish out plate after plate. Each and every thing needs to be made individually, with meticulous care."

"Right, right. Us younglings need to learn patience."

"Precisely."

"Ugh. I'd rather learn how to be faster."

"I'm sure you will, in time. Until then... Patience."

"Bleh. Let's just see how many ponies Agate brought in. Hope they won't be too disappointed."

"Oh, I'll set them straight if they dare to heckle you," Sea Gale chuckled, but Dream Step could hear the steel behind that threat.

Getting up and dusting themselves off, they made their way out of the workshop and towards the front entrance. Fortunately for them, the crowd was actually quite small. Agate figured that Dream Step couldn't have made all that many dreamcatchers, and acted accordingly, whittling down the interested ponies to the ones with claims of the worst night terrors afflicting their foals.

"Hey, Dream Step. Got your ponies," Agate nodded towards her student.

"Good. Greetings, everyone. As you already heard, my name is Dream Step. I am a... Journeying dreamwalker of no renown, though if this works, that might change soon. Come inside, and if you don't mind, tell me a little about why you came here tonight."

Naturally, guests in Sea Gale's home couldn't just turn up for business and leave just like that, oh no. The hospitable shamare would not have it. Accepting their fates with wry grins and barely noticeable rolls of their eyes, the dozen-odd ponies shuffled into the dining room, sitting down for a sizeable dinner. In between bites, a few of them shared little bits of what was happening in their homes.

"...And he can't remember anything afterwards. Anything at all. He doesn't even scream in fear. He just wakes up, without so much as a sound, and sits there, utterly gripped by a sense of profound terror, and he can't explain even the tiniest bit of what stalks his dreams. He's perfectly fine during the day, but every few nights, it happens again," A grizzled hunter explained, his frustrated expression clearly conveying how much he'd like to find and put down whatever the dream stalker was.

"She wakes up crying, with tales about getting dragged off. There's no monsters or beasts, just some kind of invisible force dragging her around as she helplessly scrabbles, finding no purchase with her hooves. Sometimes it's the forest, sometimes - the depths of the sea. She's not afraid to go out either, but it's almost like there's something that's trying to make her afraid," A tired mare with baggy eyes sighed.

"My son says he keeps having recurring dreams about wandering through some kind of nightmarish version of Sandy Shell. There's not a single pony around, and everything is twisted, broken, or destroyed in some way, and he has to avoid shadowy of monsters as he tries to make it home, only to find it likewise ruined. Given the sheer impossibility of the things he describes, we're quite certain that they're not prophetic visions. Just nightmares that need getting rid of," A young stallion shrugged.

Dream Step heard them all out, nodding occasionally, but not saying much. She was deep in thought, paying especially close attention to the stories like the young stallion's, ones that might have indicated a deeper, mystical connection to the dream realm, like hers. Agate knew that she would have liked to find more dreamwalkers, but the chances were slim, and it didn't sound like any of the foals had the gift.

"Alright, well... If you're expecting me to offer some kind of insight or meaning, then I'm afraid I have none," She finally spoke. "Dreams are hard to understand even for the ponies that dreamt them, let alone others. And remember, I'm both still new at this, and knowledge in this field is quite hard to come by."

"Regardless whether you understand or not, you claim you can do something about it, yes?" The hunter asked.

"I believe so, yes," Dream Step nodded.

"Then that's more than enough for me," He shrugged.

"Right. Mind you, I think they will work. I make no promises. I think I understand the principles behind them, and I think I managed to recreate them correctly, but that's all there is so far. Thinking. I need solid proof."

"Yes yes, the traveler spirit already filled us in, and you said you are new to this yourself. Nothing to do now but try."

"Right, sorry, I'm a little nervous. I'll just... Be right back," Dream Step nodded, getting up and trotting off to the workshop.

The ponies cleaned up the table and set the plates aside, waiting for Dream Step to come back. A few minutes later, she returned with a makeshift tray on her back. Taking the piece of wood, she set it down on the table, the visitors curiously leaning in as she gently picked up one of the dreamcatchers.

"There it is. Hang them up over the beds of your children."

"Hmm... Like a spiderweb," A mare muttered, picking one up herself.

"Yes, exactly. To catch all the nasty stuff that's bothering your foals."

"And will these really catch whatever spirits are bothering our foals?"

"Uh... Well..." Dream Step hummed, tapping her chin. "I'm not entirely sure it's the fault of spirits."

"That's not what my elders told me," A stallion spoke up, the other ponies murmuring in agreement.

"Elders can be wrong," Dream Step shrugged. "I saw the magic, the swirling mess that is the dream world. I'm not saying that spirits can't be the cause of dreams. But... It's not just all spirits. It is like the sea, with swirling currents, swells and eddies. And sometimes, a chunk of something foul and rotten gets picked up by the current, getting dragged into the greater mass. Even as foals, ponies are strong and alert when we're awake, their spirits focused and active. But when we sleep, there's next to nothing tying us down any more. We become little more than branches, floating in the sea of dreams, getting swept away by the currents to spirits know where. And if the current carries something nasty..."

"It is more like a poison than an attack, then?" The hunter asked.

"Something like it. Again, not in every case. I talked to a great many shamares already, and though they knew little of dream magic, I learned plenty about other things, such as spirits. You know that just about everything has a spirit, from the wind to the stones, faint as some are. Some are both ancient and very powerful, though that does not mean that they are smart. A spirit can be as old as the world, and be as dumb as a rock - literally."

"How is this related to nightmares, though?"

"Well, as I've been told, some shamares think that talking to spirits can make them smarter. Introduce them to thoughts and ideas they never considered, same as you do with foals. For example, there's a consensus amongst shamares that there were no trickster spirits in the north until ponies arrived, and taught some spirits about the concepts of humor and fun, especially pranks or jokes."

"Yes, and though the first shamares that taught the spirits that are long gone, their legacy remains," Sea Gale scoffed. "Once in my youth, as I was trotting around in silence and honing my spiritual senses, I heard mysterious whispers beckoning me forward. I was excited to receive my first piece of spirit wisdom, until they told me that they were guiding me towards the horrific remains of some poor soul. That put me off, but I gathered my courage, and pressed on. And I did find exactly that, just... Not in the way I was expecting."

"So, uh... What..." Dream Step blinked, not sure where that bit of conversation was going.

"I found a spot where someone or some animal had used to relieve themselves," The shamare rolled her eyes. "Actually, no, it would be more accurate to say that the spot was where they suffered a grisly fate indeed. There were... Leavings... Everywhere. The ground. The trees. The branches that were higher up than my head was. Horrific remains, indeed. I never heard a spirit laugh before, but every susurration of the leaves for the next few days sounded like faint giggles carried by the wind," She grumbled, many of the ponies present coughing or forcing their mouths to remain closed to hold in their laughter.

"Wow, what a crappy prank," Agate snorted, which broke the dam, every pony present bursting out in laughter as the shamare narrowed her eyes at the spirit.

The visitors mostly stopped trying to restrain themselves, holding on to their bellies as they enjoyed their mirth. The exception was Dream Step, who probably didn't want to insult her host, doing her best to contain herself, breathing deeply and wheezing, mostly managing not to laugh. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she wiped her eyes and cleared her throat, doing her best to appear businesslike again.

"Anyway, that, ah... Unpleasant tangent aside, spirits can learn, and spirits are essentially made of magic. And when ponies are afraid, they start seeing things that they are taught to be afraid of everywhere, giving their fears various forms. Claws, eyes, fangs... Every tiny sound and every flicker of a shadow appears like the shape of a predator, poised and ready to strike at you. It all just keeps feeding into itself, making the whole thing worse and worse, until you manage to get to safety. "

"Our fears give our foes strength, in more ways than one. We hunters are well acquainted with this truth," The hunter nodded.

"Yes, though in this case, I'm afraid the foal's fears might unwittingly give the magic dregs form, and perhaps even some limited capacity for thought. What might simply be a particularly turbulent current of magic could make your foals scared as they sleep, which in turn might form a malevolent spirit over time as their fears give it shape. One that could learn to actively hunt and stalk through pony's dreams," Dream Step sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"That's..." The stallion grimaced, his legs tensing.

"Again, just guessing. I'm still a novice, but when I was young, it did sometimes feel like there were dark things following me in my dreams, just out of sight... And I had no shortage of nightmares. It could be nothing but foalish fears, ones that fade away as you grow up. Or, it could be something worse. Either way, I will not stand for it. No foal should suffer untold horrors for no reason. Take a dreamcatcher. Hang it up over your foal's bed. When morning comes, let in the sunlight, or carry it outside, even if it's the long night. It should purge whatever foulness got caught in the net either way," Dream Step quietly explained, gazing off into the distance as she briefly became lost in the memories of the past.

"Anything else we need to know? Any rituals or special steps to perform?" A mare inquired, holding a dreamcatcher with extreme care, as if it could burst into flames if handled improperly.

"No... No," Dream Step shook her head, coming back to the present. "They're perfectly fine as they are, and they should work without issues as long as the net and frame aren't damaged."

"Very well then. I shall take this home immediately," The hunter nodded, carefully taking one in his teeth, the other ponies following his lead.

"Come find me a few days later. Tell me if there's any change in your foal's dreams," Dream Step nodded tiredly, a yawn suddenly overtaking her.

"Well, looks like she had a long day. Best you get going now," Sea Gale nodded, surprising everyone with just how easily she let her guests go.

❅ ❆ ❅

At Agate's advice, Dream Step took a day off afterwards. Though the young mare was eager to get back to work, Agate urged her to clear her head a bit first and re-center herself. They talked about small things and explored the surrounding areas, enjoying the foreign landscape for its own sake, without any mystical inspirations and urges guiding them.

"How long do you think it will take for those ponies to come back with news?" Dream Step mused, sitting under a large pine and admiring the sunset over the sea.

"No talking about work today, remember?" Agate smiled.

"The day is almost over," Dream Step huffed.

"Yes, almost. But it's not over. And the answer is, as long as it takes. If I had to guess, though, they might take as long as a week, to make sure that the nightmares have truly stopped."

"A week... Well, at least that's plenty of time to make more-"

"No talking about work!"

"Argh!"

Fortunately for Dream Step, Agate didn't say anything the next day, and she was able to return to her tinkering. The inspired mare worked hard, though she did remember to take breaks and not to overdo it, now that her mystical fervor was gone.

The ponies that took the first dreamcatchers were a varied bunch. Some dropped by daily to report in, while others did take a full week to come by again. Each and every one of them said the same thing, though - their foal's dreams were serene and undisturbed by any night terrors. Needless to say, Dream Step was elated by the news.

By the end of the week, her situation changed quite drastically. Until then, she was just another young mystic looking for her place in the world, one that had issues both improving and applying her talents. At most, ponies knew her as Agate's student, paying little attention to the mare herself.

After her debut, word quickly began to spread about the mysterious young southerner shamare with exotic, forgotten talents. Protecting foals was always a noble and highly respected endeavor, and being able to get rid of nightmares, something the parents usually had little to no ways of combating, was a very enticing offer. It wasn't quite an overnight event, but Dream Step suddenly became a very popular pony.

She had to spend the first couple weeks answering the same questions over and over as dozens of interested ponies kept asking her for details about how the dreamcatchers worked, how to use them, how fragile they were, and so on. Dream Step bore it all with a smile, though after a while, it became a bit of a grimace.

"Yes, they are all different. No, that doesn't mean that some of them work better than others. They don't work like runes, dream magic isn't rigid like that. There's many ways you can weave and enchant it. Yes, they all work exactly the same," She said through gritted teeth, trying to get a mare that spent half an hour comparing two nearly identical dreamcatchers to finally make up her mind.

"So, how does it feel to have found your purpose and achieved something?" Agate asked once the mare finally left, still glancing at her dreamcatcher and looking like she wanted to spend three more hours picking it up and down over and over again and comparing it to the others.

"Arrrrrrrrgh!"

"Yup, that sounds about right. Welcome to my world, though I suppose I never really sold stuff," Agate nodded sagely.

"Wait... What do you mean?" Dream Step tilted her head, blinking owlishly.

"Now you know how feeling famous feels like for real. And it has only just begun for you," Agate grinned at her student.

"Wait, it's like this all the time for you?"

"Differently, but yes. I mean, surely you noticed that it takes no time for crowds to form around me and start asking things wherever I go, even if I have never been anywhere near the western tribe's lands before, right? Again, different in some ways, since I'm known to be a storyteller, but similar in others."

"But I barely did anything yet!" Dream Step protested, throwing her hooves up.

"Oh? So have I."

"Pfffff- What?!" The young mare sputtered as Agate kept smiling. "You did... So many things! I could spend hours just listing them all!"

"I suppose. I am old, though. You are young, and you're uncovering lost ancient knowledge and creating defenses against terrible creatures of darkness," Agate nodded smugly.

"That- that's completely overblowing it!"

"That's how ponies are talking, and will be talking about you already. Believe me, I know. I have lots of experience in that regard. You wouldn't believe just how much a rumor can get twisted and turned around just a few villages away from where something happened, let alone in the same one."

Agate waited patiently as her student grumbled and grimaced, working over the things she just learned in her head. Agate didn't know whether she was simply complaining about how ponies behaved in regards to news and rumors, or was trying to come up with some kind of solution. Either way, the old spirit knew quite well that there was none, something Dream Step seemed to pick up on.

"There's nothing I can say or do to get ponies to just tell things how they are without embellishing them, is there?"

"Nope. Believe me, many ponies besides me have wondered just how and why news seem to get blown out of proportion and outright turned inside out sometimes as they travel. So, yes. Have fun," Agate chuckled.

"Ugh..."

"Indeed. Welcome to the famous ponies club."

"I'm not famous yet! It's barely one village!"

"True. Give it a few months, and ponies will be all over you for real. Ah, reminds me of the old days... Everyone went nuts over the few tricks I could barely do with crystals, even though it seemed like absolutely nothing to me. Having some kind of new or forgotten knowledge about magic makes ponies curious," Agate nodded, smiling wistfully.

"Great... I never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to do good things and find my place in life," Dream Step sighed.

"Doing good things has a tendency to make you famous, even if those things don't seem particularly noteworthy to you. You'll see."

"Wait... You did something similar back in Highglade. You kept hamming up how rare dreamwalkers were to Ironmane and his family, so they'd treat me as something special. Is this another joke?" Dream Step grumped, squinting at Agate.

"No, I'm completely serious, I promise. Well. Mostly serious."

"*Sigh...*"

"Fun, isn't it? When your story becomes bigger than yourself?"

"Are you... Trying to teach me something?" The student rubbed her chin, her frustrated tone of voice changing to an analytical one.

"Maybe. Do you want me to tell you?"

"You know what? No. I'll crack your little riddle myself, thanks."

"Very well. I'm listening," Agate nodded with a smile.

"We... Had similar conversations before..."

"Go on."

"Though now that I think about it, they were... Opposite. Or, rather, we were in opposite places. I'd say something about some impressive feat or other that you did, and you would play it off as "nothing big". Even though there's literally ballads and fables sung around campfires about your exploits."

"And..?"

"And I... never believed you. I brushed it off every time," Dream Step grimaced, hear ears folding in shame.

"Indeed, though you shouldn't feel bad about it. I'm quite used to it, to say the least. Anyway, this conversation is not a lesson about what you said in the past. Famous or not, you really are becoming your own mare. Honing your talents, sharpening your skills. At this rate, you won't need me as a teacher any more quite soon," Agate explained, which made Dream Step's eyes go wider.

"W-wait, you're leaving? But, but the rest of my journey... You have so much experience in travelling the northnerner's lands, and you did so many things there, and-"

"And I'm going to be with you every step of the journey. Of course I'm not going to leave you out of the blue like that. But, that time really is coming. If I'd have to guess, there's no more than a few months to go until there's nothing more for me to teach you. And then... There's a couple ways things can turn out."

"And they are?" Dream Step asked with trepidation.

"The first one is rather obvious. I teach you everything I can, and we go our own ways."

"I don't... And the other one?"

"Well, if we're not going to be student and teacher any more, we'll need to be something else. Something more, perhaps."

"You know what? I changed my mind. Stop speaking in riddles, and spell it out," The frustrated mare sighed.

"I've been around for a long time now, as I'm sure you're aware. And I'll be around for even longer. And, I usually find things to do. But, if all I had were cordial, professional relationships, my long wait would be quite maddening. I need some fun, too. Ponies to talk with about silly things, to confide in, to visit when I'm not busy. I need friends. And in my situation, it can be quite hard to make them. Guardian spirits stick around because they have ties they are not willing to break yet - they never go out and forge new ones. I'm an oddball that way. So... Friends?" Agate asked, sticking out a foreleg.

"I... I think I'd like that," Dream Step smiled uncertainly, carefully bumping Agate's ethereal hoof with her own.

"Good. I'm sure it's going to be a little weird and awkward for a while. The habits from the whole student/teacher thing will take a little time to fade. But I'm quite certain we'll make for good friends," Agate nodded.

"I'm sure I'll manage to talk to you like an equal."

"Oh, you mean like when you kept talking back to me when I offered you advice or asked about your past? That was cute, yes," Agate nodded.

"...What? Cute?"

"Oh, you know. Like when just set out towards River Rock, and you tried to give me grief after asking about your first prophetic dreams and the story with Sure Strike. Or all those other times you acted tough and talked back to me," Agate grinned wryly.

"I- I wasn't acting tough! I was- I was-"

"Demonstrating that you're an independent adult that doesn't need guidance from an old spirit like me, even though you were still listening to everything I say?"

"Yes! I mean- What?!"

"Hahaha! Sorry, Dream Step, it's just... I both saw and participated in this song and dance before, more than once," Agate laughed. "You younglings, ah... It's really adorable how you try to assert yourself by talking back and acting out, even though you look at me with wide-eyed wonder moments later, when I tell you a story of some adventure or other."

"I- You - you cheater," Dream Step grumbled. "It's really not fair when you're an ancient know-it-all spirit. And I'm not acting out! I am an adult! And I'm- I'm sounding just like you're expecting me to again, aren't I?" She sighed, making Agate laugh again.

"You don't need to be ancient, Dream Step. Most older ponies could tell you the same exact thing," Agate said, still grinning.

"Well, our friendship's off to a great start."

"Sorry, my young student, but if we're really going to be friends, I think it's best if we're fully honest with each other. I am an old spirit, and I do have a lot of experience that you don't. None of it prevents us from being friends, though."

"You also act like a foal yourself, sometimes." Dream Step snorted.

"When you get old enough, you realize that acting dead serious all the time is overrated," Agate nodded. "Anyway, speaking of big, adult decisions, there's one more thing that we need to talk about. A rather important one."

"Yeah? And that is?"

"Time. Time keeps marching on. We left Snowpitt in late spring, and we spent quite a while travelling through the westerner's forests. Since you were occupied with your mystical journey, you might not have noticed, but winter is almost upon us. You need to make a choice: leave now, or stay to winter here, in Sandy Shell. Travelling in winter through the northerner's lands is possible, but..."

"It's not recommended for inexperienced travelers," Dream Step nodded with a small frown.

"Putting it mildly, yes. Many of the smaller islands clear out completely, and the vast majority of the tribe gather in the larger, warmer islands, especially in Green Land, which is the farthest point from here. Rougher weather, colder winds, empty islands with no warmth... And with no experience in paddling a kayak, going there in winter is a very, very real risk of death," Agate summarized.

"I... I barely just begun making dreamcatchers. There's a lot of ponies here that want one. And I promised to send one to Mystic Weave back in Highglade, but I haven't done that yet, and... There's a whole bunch of things I wanted to do, not to mention that I should probably try to paddle around in a kayak before actually trying to cross the sea in one," Dream Step groaned, rubbing her temples.

"Or, you could go as a passenger on a larger merchant ship, but those also stop their activities during the winter. We stay, then," Agate nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

Dream Step's foray into independence and adulthood brought all kinds of new knowledge and experiences for her. A better grasp on her magic was one, as well as lots of knowledge from the collected shamares that she learned from. One experience she clearly wasn't expecting was suddenly becoming relatively rich, as well as having to deal with the consequences.

Shamares on their knowledge journeys were more or less given everything within reason for free, with the expectation that they'll do the same thing when they were old and a bright-eyed youngling showed up on their doorstep. It was a circle of debt going back to the very first shamares. When they fully came into their abilities, though, they were expected to put all of that knowledge to good use, for the benefit of their tribe and the world.

That was when the free ride ended, which went both ways. A shamare's work was not free, though, depending on their fields, plenty of ponies came to them with nothing but pledges to repay them in the future, since many turned to the mystics out of illness or desperation. Still, there was no shortage of easily barterable goods that shamares made as well, helping them accrue reserves to trade for magical herbs and materials or whatever else they needed.

Dreamcatchers were one such good, and since Dream Step was the sole provider, she had full control over the prices. She felt a little guilty charging ponies at first, but she got over it fairly quickly, especially seeing as she was using materials gathered up by Sea Gale's family. While she technically still was a journeymare, expecting her host to provide enough materials to outfit the entire village with dreamcatchers for free went far beyond the allowance a student usually received.

"So, how's it going?" Agate asked one evening, watching the snowflakes slowly drift downwards outside.

"I'm still new to trading and stuff, but I think I could buy my own kayak. Two, even," Dream Step mused, counting the various valuables that ponies traded for the dreamcatchers.

"Still feeling a little guilty?"

"Not... Anymore, I think. Well, maybe a little. But I'd feel far guiltier if I just commandeered everything from Sea Gale. Hospitable as she is, I don't think she'd stand for that."

"True. Need to leave something for other journeying shamares, too."

"Exactly. It'd be unfair, since I can certainly stand on my own four hooves now."

"How's the demand, then? Slowing down a little?"

"I think so, but also, no," Dream Step scrunched her muzzle. "Regular ponies mostly got what they wanted, I think, but there's a few merchants that are offering to buy hundreds of them, no matter how many I make."

"Well, you could probably settle down right here in Sandy Shell and become a wealthy and successful shamare, but I get the feeling that you don't want that."

"You're right in that regard. I'm sure I can sell them to merchants anywhere, in any tribe's territory, and they'll find their way across the three tribe's lands just as easily. Once spring comes, I'll be moving on with my journey," She nodded confidently.

"Everything more or less wrapped up around here, then?"

"Not entirely. I sent several dreamcatchers to Mystic Weave, and she sent a messenger back, saying that while she was fascinated and that it was fairly impressive magic, she just couldn't replicate them, no matter how hard she tried."

"I'm not sure how to help you there. Some ponies just don't have the knack for certain branches of magic, myself included. My foray into dream magic only lead me in a circle, teaching me how to improve my shapeshifting while fully awake," Agate shrugged.

"Well... Remember how you taught me about dreamwalking? About visiting other ponies in their dreams?"

"Yes? I never got all that good at that, too. Once I learned to fly... It's still not as fast as instantly crossing worlds in a dream, but it's still pretty dang fast."

"Yes, but if I visit Mystic Weave in her dreams... Maybe I can show her how dream magic works. Help her understand," Dream Step explained, her voice slightly apprehensive.

"Finally ready to take the dive into the dream realm?"

"Yes. I don't want my knowledge to die with me, only for the next dreamwalker to have to piece things together a hundred years later again. If it's possible at all, I want to teach other shamares the basics, at least. You learned how, after all," Dream Step laid out her position, her voice becoming firmer and more self-assured as she spoke.

"You're a good mare, Dream Step," Agate spoke after a pause, making the mare's ears fold.

"What? What does that have anything to do with anything?

"Nothing. But it's good that you're facing your fears. The importance of courage is something Spear Throw - the old one - explained to me a long time ago. Let's practice. Maybe we can even dreamwalk together."

"Oh, Spear Throw?"

"Yes? What about him?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe I'll visit him too. Just as a practice run. Let's go," Dream Step nodded.

Shipping North

Dreamwalking was strange, but unlike other kinds of magic, it certainly had one thing going for it: it was never dull. Whether fun, scary, or just plain bizarre, dream magic always left you wide-eyed with wonder. Granted, one did need to calm down and fall asleep first, but after that, the fun could begin.

"Wakey wakey, Dream Step."

"Mmmh... Don't want to..."

"We have dreamwalking practice today."

"Five more... Hours..."

"Come on, you're already asleep in the waking world. There's really no need to sleep in a dream," Agate rolled her eyes as she poked the sleepy shamare in the side.

"Wait, what do you mean... Uh..."

"Becoming a little more lucid? Don't get scared, now, or you'll wake up for real," Agate cautioned her.

"Oh... Huh. No, I can... I can hold it. I won't wake up. It's becoming easier," Dream Step noted, standing up and looking around.

Their surroundings weren't very well defined. It looked a bit like a simple room in a wooden house, though everything was too blurry to make out any details. As Dream Step focused, everything morphed, changing into the room in Sea Gale's house that she was actually sleeping in.

"Alright... Where to now?"

"Let's do something simple tonight. Just a trot around the village. You do need actual, normal rest, and if you expend a lot of magic while asleep, you'll wake up feeling drained," Agate explained.

"Yes, and if I do it too much, I won't be able to tell whether I'm asleep or awake any more. I remember. Let's find the- actually, wait. I can walk through walls like you can, right?"

"Of course," Agate chuckled. "Really, it's the least you can do while dreaming. But like I said, let's save the harder stuff for next time."

"Well, I certainly didn't want to die, but some of the things you can do did make me a bit jealous now and then," Dream Step grinned, walking straight into a wall and bouncing off. "Hey! What gives?"

"You need to actually believe you can do it," Agate chuckled. "Or stop disbelieving. Just... Relax your mind. Just a little. It's a delicate dance."

"Right... Let's try this again."

The two bodiless spirits eventually managed to shove themselves through the wall, though it took an unusual amount of effort. Putting it down to all the wards the house was protected with, the pair trotted away, looking around. Looking at the real world while asleep was a bit like using spirit sight, though not entirely. Inanimate things turned gray and blurred together, while beings with spirits glowed bright, providing little islands of light in a dark sea.

They could still see the world as it was around them, while looking into the distance made things turn strange. Faint and barely perceptible ribbons of magic slowly undulated in the air, almost like the aurora itself, while shadowy shapes flitted about in the darker corners. Getting closer made them fade away, though, like an illusion in the endless tundra.

"Are those just figments of our own sleeping minds, or are there actually things that we can't see even with our spirit sight, lurking just behind reality?" Dream Step asked, glancing at the weirdness further out.

"Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Back in the day, Dreamcatcher told me that the dream world and the waking world are not all that separate. They're either intermixed, echoes of each other, or some other poetic analogy. It's how you are able to see in dreams what might happen in the real world. You said yourself that you can't define it too rigidly," Agate shrugged.

"I know, but the itch is still there. I just need to learn to balance it with letting loose, I suppose," Dream Step nodded.

They kept moving through the sleeping village, Dream Step stopping occasionally near some of the houses. It didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason, until Agate saw the glowing outline of a dreamcatcher in one of them. The dream representation of it seemed almost liquid, flowing back and forth with the magic currents, the strands of the web looking like they were reaching out to grab something nearby.

"Huh. Weird," Agate muttered.

"Yup, dream magic is still crazy," Dream Step chuckled. "But they really work, something I'm quite proud of."

"Why check on them, then?"

"Better safe than sorry. I'm still new to making these, after all."

They moved on from the house, their attention getting diverted by a flash of color here and there. The dreams of ponies manifested as bright beacons in the otherwise drab plane of existence, though they were not the only ones present. Some of the older trees were visible as well, towering over the landscape in even larger shapes than they were in the waking world.

"Is this what trees dream about? Just getting even bigger?" Dream Step chuckled.

"I'm surprised trees dream at all, but what do I know. They have their spirits, as does the land, water, and even air," Agate shrugged.

"And there's purely dream spirits, aren't there?"

"So I heard. I'm not a shamare, so I never met one. Then again, they're supposedly hard to find even for dreamwalkers. As I'm sure other teachers already told you, spirits tend to be attracted to shamares already. You see them, and they see you. Not every kind of shamare gets her tuurngait, though."

"Well, it would have been nice to have some help from the get-go, even if some of the spirits allegedly whisper nonsense to you."

"As Dreamcatcher told me, it's not impossible, but dream guides are complete opposites of the wispy and small spirits shamares usually bond with in the beginning. She called them "The Ancients" - huge, imposing beings that she likened to the constellation titans themselves, speaking in forgotten or incomprehensible tongues."

"You... Never mentioned beings like that before," Dream Step blinked, turning to look at Agate as they kept trotting slowly through the dream village.

"Because Dreamcatcher herself only mentioned them in passing. According to her, she discovered them by accident, when she was experimenting with just how far she could go in the dream world. It was an unexpected find, to say the least. Usually, if you want to get anywhere in dreams, you need an anchor or destination point of some kind, so accidentally bumping into someone or something is quite unlikely."

"So what happened with the dream spirits that she met?"

"She lost them. She didn't know their names, and their appearances were "beyond description with words", as she put it, so she wasn't able to find them again, though she didn't look all that hard, either. We're only seeing all these sleeping ponies right now because we're focusing on the village. If we weren't maintaining the dream's structure, we could travel an endless plain for a year, and never meet a living soul. Focus on a place or a pony, though, and you can be there instantly. So many limits and rules the world and our minds put on us don't apply here."

"Rules like... Not suddenly turning into a bird?"

"Heh. Yes," Agate grinned, immediately turning into one. Hopping on Dream Step's back, she continued speaking, despite having a beak. "You can goof around, if you want. Fly, stand on water, breathe underwater, start a fire with a thought. None of it will carry over into the waking world, though."

"But your shapeshifting did," Dream Step pointed out.

"Kind of, but it's a special case in this instance, and I did need to practice and learn a bunch for it to actually work when I was awake. I'm fairly certain that if dreamwalkers were able to somehow make changes to the waking world as if it was a dream, they would have discovered it by now. And turned the whole world upside down, probably," Agate shook her head.

"Fair enough... I still want to learn how to shapeshift, though. Teach me?"

"Sure. It's the easiest thing in the world. Want to be a bird?"

"Yes?"

"Then be one."

"You... Just tell me how," Dream Step scrunched her muzzle at Agate.

"I am telling you. Just be one. It's literally that simple," The spirit shrugged with her wings, immediately poofing back into a pony, and then turning into a bird again, faster than Dream Step could blink.

"You had practice-"

"Again, in the waking world. None of that matters here. You should be better at this than me, even. This is your domain, dreamwalker. Your birthright. Want to be a bird? Be. One," Agate instructed, lifting off and flying in circles around Dream Step's head.

"Right. Okay. Be one," She muttered, spreading her forelegs and lidding her eyes. After a few moments of nothing happening, she glared at Agate.

"Did you just think the words "be a bird", or did you visualize the bird you wanted to become?"

"N- Ugh. Let's see..."

Dream Step focused again, furrowing her brow before forcefully relaxing again, letting out a long exhale as her form blurred. Moments later, she collapsed into a fluffy looking duck, wobbling for a moment before stopping. She blinked confusedly for a few moments, pulling her wings in front of her bill to get a better look.

"A duck, huh?" Agate asked, flitting down to the ground.

"I like ducks," Dream Step shrugged with her wings.

"Next step, then. Can you fly?"

"Well, according to you, there's very little I can't do, is there?"

"Now you're getting it."

It took her a couple tries, but before long, Dream Step was zooming about, flapping her wings in ways that probably wouldn't have worked in the real world. As Agate said, though, none of it mattered in there. The pair of them giggled as they dodged and wove around each other, racing between various obstacles.

It was hard to tell time even when one was lucid in a dream, but their fun didn't last all that long. With a surprised "Huh?", Dream Step suddenly turned back into a pony, faceplanting into the ground from a fairly large height. Landing next to her, Agate turned back as well, raising an eyebrow.

"Thought about being a pony for a moment, did you?"

"Yes," The flattened mare sighed. "I see what you meant now. It's almost too easy. Think of something idly, without thinking about the implications, and it just... Happens."

"Precisely. Anyway, like I said, you shouldn't do too much just yet. Let's trot around a bit more and go back to actual sleep," Agate suggested.

"Alright."

"So, why did you want to learn how to do that, anyway? There's little use for it. You can just... Will yourself to be somewhere, and you will."

"Practice is practice, and flying is just fun," Dream Step shrugged. "And you never know what's going to be useful one day."

"Thinking of travelling the dream realm? Finding ancient spirits and asking for their wisdom?"

"...Oh HAY no," The young mare resolutely declared. "If even Dreamcatcher didn't bother too hard to find them, I definitely won't. I really have no desire to be a pioneer, Agate. I'll just stick to the safe edges of unexplored territories, thank you very much. I certainly don't want to end up as a cautionary tale."

"And I'm not pushing you to be one. I was just curious. I don't think I'd be interested in meeting such a being myself. I flew a bit too high once already."

"What do you mean?"

"...If you ever fly, whether in the dream realm or in the waking world, don't fly towards the Moon. I got a bit too close once, and I swear the Moon turned to look at me. It was... Unspeakable. Massive. Monumental. If I wasn't dead already, I think I might have died of fright then and there," Agate recalled.

"Huh. Noted."

❅ ❆ ❅

When she was awake, Dream Step still worked on making more dreamcatchers, though she decreased the time she spent on that. At first, she was buoyed by enthusiasm and inspiration, which were further enhanced by the large demand. Working day in and day out on the same thing for months wore her down, though, and she started taking more breaks.

There wasn't all that much to do in winter, but the young mare still managed to find various ways to relax. A lot of them involved talking to the numerous Sea Gale's family members about their own lives and the knowledge journeys of those who were shamares as well. Those were small distractions, though. Besides her training, chatting, and enchanting, the thing that occupied the most of her time became her interest in Spear Throw.

The young stallion dropped by soon after winter began, and Dream Step looked unusually happy to see him, her tail twitching in excitement as she grinned widely. They were in the workshop, Agate lazing about on a high shelf while Dream Step tinkered with a dreamcatcher. Tossing her mane back, she waved to him as he blinked in surprise.

"Well hey there, Spear Throw! What brings you by?"

"Oh. You, uh... Remember me? D, ah... Dream Step?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, you looked like you were quite deep in a shamaric trance of some kind back when I first saw you," He shrugged.

"Oh, it wasn't that deep. And I wouldn't forget you, don't worry. You're quite the memorable stallion," She smiled with a wink.

"Oh, uh, thank you?" He smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"So, any reason you sought me out? Or were you just looking for Agate again?"

"No, I don't think there's anything else I need to know from the traveler spirit. I did want to see you, actually. Word of your craft has spread far and wide."

"Hm. You're not having nightmares, are you?"

"Oh no, nothing of the sort," He shook his head. "But I was planning on travelling north, or perhaps east, and I felt that I should take some gifts with me for some distant relatives. And... Well, I was never all that creative with gifts, but I felt that something as unique as a dreamcatcher should be well received."

"Really. Why such different directions, though? Couldn't decide?"

"There's little difference, I think. I'd have to make a wide circle either way, since I have relatives both in the southern and northern tribes," He shrugged.

"May I... Make a suggestion?" Dream Step ventured carefully, licking her lips as her voice shook just a tiny bit.

"Yes?"

"Come with us. We're planning to resume my journey once spring comes. We'll definitely be going north, though."

"Oh," He pursed his lips as he considered the sudden offer. "Is this some kind of... Mystical advice? A shamaric vision? Prophetic dream?"

"No, no, nothing of the sort," Dream Step waved it off. "Just a friendly suggestion. I can make a few dreamcatchers for you, no problem. But it's a long journey, you know. It took me quite a while just to get here from the southern lands. Have you travelled before? What if some of them get damaged while you're travelling? It'd be better to have me on hoof and make some on the way."

"That sounds... Very generous of you. I did go to the great Gathering the year before with some of my kin, yes, and while the journey wasn't particularly arduous, I wasn't carrying any potentially fragile cargo, either. Really, though, you would do all that, just for me?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm a young, inexperienced shamare. You're a hunter, yes? And since you live on the shore, you must know at least something about sea travel, right?"

"Well, I did go on a number of fishing trips, and though I am more useful with a spear than a harpoon or a net, I am certainly not hopeless in the water..."

"Great! I could really use a companion, you know! Agate helps a lot, but while she makes an amazing scout, she can't exactly pull me out of any sticky situations. We could travel together, help each other out, complement each other's skills, you know?" Dream Step explained, her smile back in full force.

"I... Well, traversing the plains is easy, but the northerners do always say that it's best not to travel through their territories alone..." Spear Throw mumbled as he debated her offer.

"No rush. Think it through," Dream Step nodded, backing off a little. "And don't worry, I'll have your dreamcatchers for you either way. You're not leaving until spring comes either, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"Great!" She clopped her hooves excitedly. "We should meet up later and talk more. Discuss some details, and all that. Are you free tomorrow? Or later?"

"Well, I was planning on doing some maintenance on my equipment tomorrow, but we could meet... In the evening? Working by candlelight is no good when doing delicate work," He nodded slowly.

"Excellent. It's a date!"

"A wha-"

"See you later, bye now!"

As the flummoxed stallion slowly turned around and left, Dream Step giggled, rubbing her hooves together. A few moments later, she flinched, raising her eyes up. Agate was still there, lying weightlessly on the top of a shelf. Raising her eyebrows just a hair, she looked at her student.

"Shush."

"I didn't say anything."

"Your silence says a thousand words."

"No it doesn't."

"You have that look on your face."

"What look? The completely neutral one that doesn't say anything at all?"

"Hmm, maybe. Or maybe it's a subtly smug look."

"Why are you so sure I'm trying to say something?" Agate rolled her eyes.

"Well, I was expecting you to pull your "I'm an ancient spirit and I saw this all play out before and it's cute" shtick again."

"Oh. Well, in that case, you're going to be disappointed. I saw romance play out now and then, yes, but only from a distance. A great, great distance. I'm not going to offer you any advice or comments on this, since my own experience is essentially zero. For better or for worse, you're entirely on your own in this," Agate shrugged.

"Oh. Hm," Dream Step rubbed her chin.

"Yup. Good luck," Agate nodded.

"And who says it's romance? We do need a travelling companion, after all."

"Okay, now you're just being silly on purpose. I'm dead, Dream Step, not blind."

❅ ❆ ❅

Harsh as the polar winters were, the ponies were quite used to them. The previously bustling seaside village hunkered down, shuttering every window and plugging every hole the cold could get in through. Many of the merchants and other travelling ponies moved further inland, or to other wintering spots. The fierce winds blowing in from the sea were probably not to their liking.

The locals spent a lot of time snoozing and conserving energy, though there were still opportunities to keep busy and fill their pockets. Summer or winter, the sea still kept spitting out seashells and seaweed, and fisherponies still kept going on their trips, though they did pay extra attention to the weather, and never ventured far from shore.

Many ponies took up making new equipment, repairing and replacing what they lost during the year with the materials they gathered during the warmer months. Shamares likewise meditated and worked on enchanted trinkets and charms, stocking up for the usual rush of excited fortune seekers that came with every spring.

One young shamare kept herself busy in a slightly different manner, however. Grinning, Dream Step hopped through the snow, tossing up flurries of powdery snow with her passage. Talking was also a traditional pastime during winter, great amounts of knowledge and history getting passed down from the older generations to the younger. Her talks had more to do with making new history rather than passing down old knowledge, though.

Taking off her winter coat, she shook out the snow before trotting inside. Taking in the various scents of a lived-in home, she stashed her coat in her room before going to one of the fireplaces the big house had. Sea Gale was there, lazily sipping on a cup of tea as a few of her descendants laid about, tinkering with various knick-knacks.

"How was your outing, youngling?" The elder shamare asked, tossing a log into the fire.

"Productive, but cold. Normally, I'd say that I'm used to the wind. It gets quite strong over the tundra plains as well, but something about the sea winds just cuts you to the very bone," Dream Step sighed, stretching herself out in front of the fire.

"They carry the full cold of the north," Sea Gale nodded. "Your preparations are going well, then?"

"Yes. I learned how to paddle a kayak, keep myself stable, all of that stuff. I'm a novice, obviously, but I know the basics, at least. Still not entirely sure just how useful that is going to be, but if it comes to it, I should be able to cross the waters on my own power."

"That's nice, dear. Now, tell me how your other project is going."

"What project? I'm not doing anything else right now, save for making the occasional dreamcatcher," Dream Step frowned.

"Come now, child, don't play coy," The elder grinned.

"I... Have no idea what you're talking about," Dream Step gulped, suddenly feeling a faint sense of dread settle into her stomach.

"I'm talking about you trying to net Spear Throw, of course. He's not one of mine, but he's still family. Good choice, by the way. The colt is honest and has a good backbone, but I could tell that he doesn't have much to apply himself in around here. Sandy Shell is fairly safe, and beasts are a very rare danger. Going with you should show him that there's more to the world than this one settlement. Don't drag him away too far, though, alright? I'm sure he'll still want to visit now and then," Sea Gale nodded sagely, the younger ponies sniggering at Dream Step's expression.

The entire gamut of emotions ran through Dream Step's expression as she seemed to have trouble deciding how to react. Taking a deep, deep breath, she eventually settled on exasperated frustration, groaning as she glared at Sea Gale.

"I was so happy that Agate wasn't going to do her "wise elder" thing with this one. Clearly, I celebrated too early! Can't you old smartflanks let us young ponies do anything without sticking your muzzle into it and commenting on it?"

"Nope," Sea Gale chuckled. "Now spill. How's it going? Went for a roll in the snow yet?"

"WHAT! No! And I wouldn't tell you anyway!"

"You just did. Anyway, taking it slow and gentle? That's probably for the best. Even the ponies from our own family line still aren't entirely at ease with getting together with shamares," The elder sighed as Dream Step groaned and dragged her hooves across her face.

"You're talking as if it's a done deal already," She muttered.

"It's not?"

"Of course not!"

"Hmm... No, I think it is," Sea Gale nodded confidently.

"Oh, come off it. We spend most of the time talking about survival and travel in the north. He barely even knows I'm interested in him," Dream Step scoffed.

"You seem quite determined, though."

"Yes, determined to find a stallion. I'm not going to just grab the first one I see, though. That's why I want to travel with him first. To see if it'd work out or not."

"Hmm... A logical, cool, thought-out adult approach... Both ponies are fairly disciplined and mature... Yup. It's a done deal," Sea Gale nodded again as Dream Step groaned.

❅ ❆ ❅

While Dream Step was tempted to return to Highglade in person, she eventually concluded that physical distance would make little difference in explaining the dream world to Mystic Weave. After a few more sessions practicing dreamwalking with Agate (and a few she did alone, though she didn't tell Agate the details, only that "she managed to visit who she intended to"), they were ready to make the journey.

"Alright, so... What now?" Dream Step asked, as the pair stood in a blurry, dark void.

"Now, we have several options. Honestly, the options are nearly limitless. Your imagination is the only thing that could hold you back. When I used to fly, I was coasting somewhere between the waking and the dream worlds, and it was quite fast. My goals were physical locations, however. Our target is Mystic Weave's spirit, which is currently asleep and resting in the dream world. As such, we can reach her while travelling entirely through the dream world, and that is incredibly fast," Agate explained.

"What do we actually do, though?"

"We travel, in literally any way possible - flight, galloping, picturing yourself swimming through a swift dream river that carries you to your destination, anything. You need to put your mind into a frame of moving somewhere, and have a clear destination in mind. Having a target is far more important than the actual method of getting there, by the way. We're not acquainted with Mystic Weave all that well, so I want you to keep her in the forefront of your mind the entire time. This is extremely important," Agate cautioned, conjuring an image of the enchanter in front of them.

"Right... Focus on our destination. Got it," Dream Step muttered, taking in the illusion.

"Now, you need to pick a method of travel that would consume the least of your attention. Use the rest to focus on Mystic Weave."

"Flight," The young mare said immediately.

"Flight it is," Agate nodded, turning into a bird immediately after. "Ready? Let's not lose sight of each other. I still haven't tried travelling to another's dream with someone else."

"I'm ready, and I don't think you need to worry. You were right, this is my birthright. I think I'm getting the hang of this. Let's go," Dream Step nodded back, now in her duck form.

"Good. Let us away, then. In fact, why don't you take the lead?"

"Gladly."

Taking off, Agate flapped after Dream Step, keeping her in her sight while trying to maintain the image of Mystic Weave herself. Though her flight was a bit clumsy, Dream Step was sure of her destination, plowing dead ahead without a waver. Which was good, given that the world around them didn't remain blank as they moved.

Various images, both faint and sharp, danced in the corners of their eyes. Animals, ponies, places, both impossible and real, and things beyond description tugged at their curiosity, tempting them to veer from their goal and explore the little spheres of light floating in the endless sea of the dream world.

Agate knew that approaching those lights could lead to anything from encountering a pony's dream, to a vision of the future, or an echo of the past. She also knew that she could spend a decade in the dream world and not learn a single thing, wasting her time sifting through ephemeral nonsense while trying to find a nugget of truth or wisdom in it all.

That was the fate Dream Step wanted to avoid, focusing on more concrete and earthly matters, flying straight as an arrow. As always, it was impossible to tell just how much time passed while they slept. Even if they spent hours flying, the time spent always seemed like it passed in a moment, and before long, they approached a colorful collection of lights, honing in on a particular one.

"Highglade. It has to be," Dream Step breathed.

"Indeed. Now, all we have to do is find Mystic Weave," Agate agreed.

"I think I have her scent," Dream Step said, making Agate give her a puzzled look.

"I don't think ducks track by scent."

"Details. Let's land. Here."

They found Mystic Weave, though she didn't seem to be dreaming. The mare's blurry form was curled up, faint images of what must have been her bedroom surrounding them. Glancing at each other, the pair of dreamwalkers nodded, approaching the elder and turning back into pony forms. After another glance, Agate beckoned to Dream Step to take the lead.

"Elder... Wake up, please... I need to talk to you..." Dream Step whispered gently, her hoof hovering over the shamare's form.

"Errgh... Go away, foal... Don't you know it's rude to wake an elder..." The mare muttered, sleepily smacking the hoof away.

"You can keep sleeping, you know. Just pretend to wake up so I can show you some dream magic," Dream Step snorted.

"Well, now you're just babbling nonsense," The elder shamare scoffed, her form becoming more solid as her eyes fluttered open.

"No nonsense. Magic!" Dream Step cried, making Mystic Weave scowl angrily.

"Now listen here, you. Yelling like that in the middle of the- You. Dream Step? And... Agate," She faltered, looking around.

"Hello, elder. Welcome to the dream world!"

"Oh... Huh. Okay," The shamare regained her focus immediately, looking around with rapt curiosity. "Bit drab. My dreams are usually more colorful, though I never felt so much... In control."

"That's exactly the reason, elder. Your resting mind isn't making a jumbled recollection from your memories for you. If you want to change something, you need to do it yourself," Dream Step lectured.

"Change something, to... Anything I want, if the stories are correct," The elder mused for a moment, before conjuring a bowl of sweet berries in her hoof and munching down.

"Really, elder?" Dream Step snorted with amusement.

"What? It's winter. I missed those, though I can't seem to feel flavor all that well in dreams," The mare sighed.

"Fortunately, there's no such thing as pain, either, so there are some advantages. Anyway... It took me a while to understand how to make dreamcatchers myself, so... Well, I don't know how well I'll be able to explain it, but..." Dream Step said with some awkwardness, reminding Agate of herself, back in the day.

"Just try, Dream Step. This reminds me of the time shamares asked me to try and teach crystal magic to them. I was terribly nervous because I pretty much didn't know anything, but didn't want to disappoint them. It doesn't matter if you fail. Just do your best," She encouraged her student.

"The old spirit is right, youngling. If I fail to learn, well, maybe it's because it's not possible to teach an old pony new tricks," Mystic Weave nodded.

"Alright, but... Problem is, I can't talk about it. The understanding... It's not possible to put it into words. The best I can use are crude analogies, and... Just sit down and watch. I'll try to show you," Dream Step sighed, taking in a deep breath and focusing.

Agate nodded and sat down. Mystic Weave stared at her for a long moment as she didn't seem to be sitting on an actual surface of any kind, before shrugging and sitting down next to her, blinking in surprise when it actually worked. Shooting a glance below her, she forcefully wrenched her eyes back towards Dream Step.

The young dreamwalker, meanwhile, began her lesson. Opening her eyes, she spread her forelegs wide, letting out a breath and floating upwards into the air and letting out a breath, shaping the world around her. She started small, by conjuring a faint wind that carried small sparkles through the blank dream void. Those sparkles then began to change into streaks of colors, painting a familiar landscape.

The sandy beach looked similar to the one near Sandy Shell, which wasn't surprising, given that it was the only one that Dream Step saw. At the same time, though, it somehow appeared grander through the distorted dream perspective, the simple dunes looking almost as large as mountains, while the pines towered higher than the eye could see.

The sea was the main attraction, however. Great, massive waves roared as they splashed across the sand, the water barely stopping short of the watching pair. With a gesture from Dream Step, another wave arose, this one swallowing the entire horizon as it roared at them. Mystic Weave's eyes went wide at this, and the old mare flinched and tried to jump away, only to be stopped by Agate.

"No fear," She whispered as she held the elder in place with a foreleg. "This is a dream. Nothing can hurt you. Watch. Try to understand what she's showing us."

The water crashed over them a moment later, washing the landscape away. Their surroundings turned dark again, though there was something faintly glowing surrounding them, a bit like fog or mist. It reminded Agate of the world's magical field one could feel when in deep meditation. If it was supposed to be a representation of being underwater, it wasn't entirely accurate, but she wasn't going to start interrupting for such trivial things.

Dream Step began chanting, a wordless song that rose and fell like the swell of the sea. Waving her forelegs again, she made their surroundings thicken, her motions causing waves in the dream-water. Agate could actually feel it flowing through her, threatening to drag her off. Mystic Weave clearly felt it too, the elder getting a firmer grip on the sandy bottom.

Next, the dreamer carved out a rune in the air with a hoof. Agate recognized it as part of a protective ward, one that was fairly common. The water crashed against it, but it didn't stop the back-and-forth motion as it surged around the rune, eventually washing it away. Then, she began turning her right foreleg in a circle, strands of some kind of wispy material beginning to gather on the tip of her hoof.

As she continued, the strands slowly turned into thin ropes, from which she wove a web. From the corner of her eyes, Agate saw Mystic Weave lean in, intently studying the dream representation of the enchantment. It was quite obvious that it was supposed to be a dreamcatcher, but this wasn't the kind of enchanting that Agate was familiar with.

Slowly, colors began gathering around the construct as Dream Step continued weaving, adding to it bit by bit, strand by strand. It was like nothing Agate saw before. The best comparison she could come up with were the descriptions shamares told her of the visions magic mushrooms gave them: it was colorful and fascinating, but also completely bizarre and mind-boggling.

As Dream Step's chanting slowly died down, she held the finished product before them. As the young dreamwalker said, it was impossible to put into words. The best analogy Agate could come up with was metal and an actual spiderweb. The rigid, firm rune worked for some things, but not for the slippery dream stuff. The dreamcatcher, meanwhile, was flexible and durable at the same time. Certainly not as durable as the rune, but the stuff it was supposed to catch was very ephemeral, so it didn't need to be. It flowed and ebbed with the magic, like a spiderweb in the wind. And yet, it was entirely capable of catching what it was intended to catch.

Both for Agate, who was used to working with firm, solid crystals, and Mystic Weave, who worked with wood and metal, the idea of such an enchantment was very, very hard to grasp. It was like a small bubble of water inside a larger body of water, made from the same exact dream stuff their surroundings were. They both approached it, inspecting it from all sides, trying to see something familiar they could work with.

This was for the other shamare, though, so Agate didn't touch it. Mystic Weave carefully caressed the very edges of the colorful web, slack-jawed at the sight. Taking it in her hooves, she put her muzzle right to it, her mouth moving, but no sound coming out. After a few long minutes of this, Agate saw her eyes roll up into the back of her head as her form became blurry and vanished, taking the dream-dreamcatcher with her.

"What happened?!" Dream Step shouted, scared.

"I think she woke up," Agate said.

"Oh. Do you think I... Overdid it?"

"I have no idea. That made my eyes spin. I'm pretty sure that made my entire brain spin. Maybe it was a bit much for her, or maybe she was struck by inspiration. I don't think there's any way for us to tell, unfortunately. We'll just have to wait until she contacts us."

"Well... Alright then. I guess we're done here. How do we go back?"

"That's the easiest thing in the world. Just close your eyes, and feel where your body is. You can always do that almost instantly, no matter how far you went."

❅ ❆ ❅

Day by day and month by month, the winter went by. Dream Step learned all she could, both from Spear Throw and Agate. As she promised, the spirit kept her distance and let her student do her thing with Spear Throw. Given their official reason of preparing to travel together, their outings didn't catch all that much attention, though ponies couldn't exactly completely miss the implications of a single young mare spending a lot of time alone with an eligible stallion that was her age.

When spring was right around the corner and they were preparing to leave, Spear Throw's parents came to Sea Gale's house to talk to them, say their goodbyes, and find out if anything else was going on. Ironically enough, they seemed to be the most ignorant of what was happening between their son and Dream Step.

"So, is this... Some kind of shamaric quest? Is there going to be danger? You can see the future, can't you? Is my son in danger?" The mother asked, her eyes darting between Spear Throw and Dream Step.

"It is a shamaric quest in that it is my knowledge journey. Other than that, no," Dream Step rolled her eyes. "And no, I haven't dreamt anything about something bad happening to any one of us."

"The traveler spirit tends to get involved in all kinds of wild adventures, though..."

"Oh come on," Agate groaned. "Why do ponies around here treat me as some kind of walking portent of doom? Barely any of my adventures can be classified as "wild"!"

"I see. You've been quite... Attached to my son, though," The father rumbled, observing how Spear Throw was sitting in a slightly awkward fashion while Dream Step leaned against him.

"Oh, for the love of... It's because they like each other, you daft colt," Sea Gale sighed.

"Oh. Oooooh. Oh! Ooooooooooooh," The mother cooed, going through several layers of realization at once.

"...Ah," The father was more reserved, slowly looking Dream Step up and down with an evaluating look. The mare unconsciously straightened out her back as he did so. Fortunately for her, the stallion didn't seem to find much fault with her.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" The mother cried, clopping her hooves together. "So when will I be able to expect grandfoals? Your brother is a year older, but he has the worst luck with mares, I swear. Now, I know shamares are busy with their mystical business, but I'm sure you can squeeze in some time to-"

"Mother! We are not remotely close enough to talk about foals yet! And we will be travelling! For quite a long time, probably!" Spear Throw shouted as his father chuckled.

"Then travel faster! Time waits for no one!"

"Just yesterday you kept telling me how worried you are about me leaving," The young stallion replied through gritted teeth, one of his eyes twitching.

"And I still am! Dear, it's a mothers prerogative to be worried about her children. But, it's also my right to be excited about grandfoals! Now, all kinds of things can happen while you're travelling, and if a happy little accident appears while you're somewhere far, try to get somewhere safe for at least a few weeks, alright? I'm sure your shamare marefriend is strong and capable, but it's still best to-"

"Alright, I feel like leaving right now," Spear Throw sighed, slumping over.

"Weren't you going to leave tomorrow?" Sea Gale grinned.

"No, I agree with him," Dream Step nodded, her expression sour.

"On a more serious note, this calls for a meeting of our families. You don't strike me as an orphan," The father said, addressing Dream Step.

"Nothing is agreed upon yet, but if Spear Throw and I do find ourselves intertwined, then yes, we'll swing by my family in the south, don't worry about that," Dream Step sighed.

"Not agreed upon? Come now. Maybe I didn't see it before, but I have heard about you from ponies. It's practically a done deal," The father nodded.

"Argh!"

❅ ❆ ❅

Dream Step was a little worried when several weeks passed without hearing from Mystic Weave, but Agate assured her that there was no way their visit could have caused any harm to the shamare elder, save for perhaps a slightly disturbed night's rest and some weird dreams. Her confidence was vindicated when a messenger arrived from Highglade not too long before they were due to leave, bearing a message and a small bit of cargo.

"The elder wishes to thank you for the wisdom you shared, and to tell you that it was, and I quote, "The weirdest spirit-damned mystical journey that left me tripping over my own hooves for two days afterwards." She thinks she succeeded in recreating your magic, however, and asks that you examine these "dreamcatchers" and see if they meet your approval," A young stallion recited, hoofing Dream Step a carefully wrapped package.

"Oh, excellent! Give me a little while, this shouldn't take long," Dream Step squealed excitedly, unwrapping the package.

There were three dreamcatchers inside. The stallion took a moment to sit down and chew on some dried rations while Dream Step examined them from every possible angle. She touched them with the edge of her hoof, rubbed her muzzle against them, looked at them with her eyes both open and closed, and briefly licked one. Briefly going into a trance, she even seemed to fall asleep for a moment before jumping out while triumphantly holding one dreamcatcher.

"She did it! I think she really did it!"

"You're not the only one that can make these any more, then. Congratulations on successfully teaching an elder shamare new magic," Agate nodded.

"It's really great, isn't it? I need to teach more ponies! If I can get this knowledge into the heads of more shamares, then maybe what happened to me won't happen to other dreamwalkers in the future! Oh, I do hope they'll be able to pass it down to others themselves too, without my intervention... You're a great teacher and all, but I think it's for the best if there were more ponies with the knowledge of at least the basics," The young mare gushed excitedly.

"Well of course," Agate nodded. "I'm going to be around for a long time, but I'm not going to be around forever, and being the sole pony with the knowledge is hardly ideal."

"Alright, I should definitely- Oh! Right! My apologies, do I need to... Pay you anything to take these back to Mystic Weave?" She asked, suddenly remembering that the messenger was still there.

"No, the elder paid me to go both ways," He shook his head.

"Alright, in that case, let me just... Wrap these back up... And tell her that I'm sorry about the side effects of the dream and that she succeeded in making a working dreamcatcher. It's a little different from mine, but I'm sure that it should work just as well," Dream Step nodded, giving him the package back.

"Will do, shamare."

❅ ❆ ❅

The day had come. Chuckling, Agate watched as Spear Throw and Dream Step got into their two-person kayak, their mother still chattering non-stop about foals. A dozen other ponies were likewise preparing around them, forming a small fleet of differently-sized boats, ready to go north.

The young pair found a merchant that had a big order of kayaks placed in autumn, and needed ponies to help him actually get them to their destination. Dozens of the small, swift crafts were tied in rows of twos and threes, only the leading one having ponies to paddle them. They agreed to take one for a small fee, with the agreement that they'd be able to buy a kayak themselves, should they be unable to find other merchants to travel with going further north.

"And now, we push off... And this is it," Spear Throw explained to Dream Step as he slowly pushed the kayak away from the dock. "There's no coming back after a quick splash now. We're not stopping until we reach the island we're going to, and we're going to be surrounded by nothing but water for a while. Ready?"

"Yup. This is new, but nothing too crazy, especially compared to the stuff I get up to in the dream world. I'm worried about my endurance more than anything else, but I think I should be able to manage," Dream Step nodded confidently.

"You did well during the practice runs. You'll be fine," The stallion nodded.

"Make sure to stop and rest if you feel overstretched!" Spear Throw's mother shouted. "Maybe find a nice, safe island, where you can lay down together and-"

"Ok love you mother bye!" Spear Throw shouted, rocketing forward with long, powerful strokes as Dream Step joined in.

Laughing, Agate jumped, shapeshifting her forelegs into wings for a brief moment to catch up to the kayak, landing weightlessly on its back. Beside and behind them, the other ponies were moving as well, the merchant's ship taking point. Turning her head around, Agate watched as the shore steadily disappeared from sight.

"So, how was your experience in the west? A few times, you seemed worried that they wouldn't like you here," Dream Step asked.

"Well, that didn't turn out to be true, fortunately. Not entirely, at least," Agate mused.

"What do you mean, traveler spirit? Did someone disrespect you while you were here?" Spear Throw inquired.

"A few hecklers during my stories, but nothing out of the ordinary. They do seem to hold different views about me in the western tribe, though. I am famous and respected, but ponies seem to think that I'm some sort of trouble magnet, and that travelling with me is dangerous," She chuckled. "But that's not what they think about me in the north at all, despite the fact that the vast majority of my adventures happened in the northerner's lands. I learned that the merchant is of northern descent, for example, and he thinks that my presence is a blessing."

"They really like you here in the north, don't they? You did a lot of things for them, and you still have family here," Dream Step asked.

"Kind of, but I think merchants especially like me. For quite a few generations, they, and their ancestors have been trading the crystals from the deposits that I found for the tribe all those years ago. I indirectly brought them a lot of wealth. But yes, I am fairly well liked here."

"Well... Even if there's most likely nothing else for me to learn, this should be an interesting journey regardless. Will I get to meet your family?"

"Of course. They'll probably insist that you stay with them. Lots of islands to go until we reach Green Land, though," Agate nodded.

"Onwards to Green Land, then!"

Old Haunts

While Spear Throw joined them on their journey, they joined him on his, as well. The stallion still wanted to meet his distant relatives and make amends. Fortunately, they were concentrated around Green Land, so they didn't have to make large detours.

Talking while paddling was a skill that took a little practice to master, and few ponies did it anyway, since every bit of energy was precious while on a long journey. Perhaps they could have afforded to take their time if they were alone, but since they were travelling with other ponies, the young pair did their best to focus and not end up lagging behind others. Once they reached their first island, though, they could talk to their heart's content.

"Ow. Owowowow. My legs. No, my forelegs," Dream Step hissed, her front half collapsing into the sand.

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard. I told you not to," Spear Throw sighed.

"I'm not going to be a burden! You're dragging two extra kayaks and- owwww..." She whined.

"Dear, not only you're more... Delicately built, I'm Spear Throw. My special talent is throwing things, and I trained and honed my forelegs extensively. I could keep paddling for hours more, with twice the strain," The stallion explained, patting Dream Step on the withers.

"Ha, delicately built. Nice way to say that I'm a frail little shamare, since meditating doesn't exactly build muscl- wait. Did you call me dear?" She grinned with her head still on the sand, straining to turn her eyes towards his face.

"Uhhhh, I..." He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"You two are cute together. Sea Gale was right, it is a done deal," Agate smirked as Dream Step snorted and rolled her eyes. "But really, you should get to shelter, lie down, and have something to eat. Plenty of time to talk later."

"Rrrrrrgh- right," Dream Step grunted, forcefully pulling herself off the sand with shaky forelegs.

"I'll stow the kayaks, you go," Spear Throw nodded, moving to secure their transport and cargo.

Dream Step didn't try to argue about him doing more of the physical work, just nodding silently and slowly cantering away from the shore. Following a path, she went to a set of houses where the other ponies in the group were staying, a small fire already crackling as they warmed up some food.

"Alright, well... My first northern island. The first real step into northern territory, I guess. I wonder if Spear Throw ever travelled north before," Dream Step mused as she stretched herself out on the sand.

"Not far," The stallion answered, having caught up to them. "I only visited a few of the closest islands. Technically, all of the islands are northern tribe's territory, but some of them were settled by us, way back when the northern tribe didn't exist yet. They changed hooves once they organized themselves into a separate tribe, but our fisherponies still use several barren islands as resting spots on longer fishing trips, so it didn't really feel like I was stepping into the northerner's domain."

"You're the only one here that travelled across all three tribe's territories, Agate. Could you tell us how their territories differ from the other tribe's?" Dream Step asked, digging in her saddlebags for food.

"Well, for one, there's water everywhere," Agate nodded sagely as Spear Throw snorted.

"Har har," Dream Step gave her a flat look as she chewed on a dried fish.

"What? It's a rather important feature. And it makes the northern territory quite different in one aspect. Every single place in the Thousand Isles is its own, well... Place. The sea is large and empty, but so are the southern plains, for example. And the vast majority of the plains are unnamed. You could wander there for a week, find a foraging spot, and that's all it'd be - a nameless clearing in the tundra. Here, though, every single island has a name and its own history, though those are usually only known by the locals. This one is called Curved Shore, for example, and it's the largest island around," Agate elaborated.

"Huh. Okay. I guess every patch of dry land is valuable here," Dream Step mused.

"To an extent. Some islands are so barren and inhospitable that no one's interested in claiming them."

"And the stories say that you visited all of them?" Spear Throw asked with slight disbelief.

"Oh, I highly doubt that, though I did spend several decades scouting the islands for crystal deposits. I'm certain I missed some of them, but I did visit quite a few," Agate nodded.

"Ancestors. Decades..."

"Yup. It's not called "Thousand Islands" for no reason."

"I bet you still know some history of each island," Dream Step smiled.

"Only short snippets. I visited this island during the spirit war, for example. We stopped here to trade when the westerners tried to blow the Battle Glacier away," Agate nodded.

Predictably, Agate talking about old events caught the interest of the others, and she was soon telling stories about the various islands that she visited. Fortunately for her, the northerners joined in, adding in and expanding on the ones that they knew as well. It didn't last long, though, as the ponies wanted to be well-rested for the next day. There was still a lot of paddling ahead of them.

❅ ❆ ❅

It didn't take all that long for the merchant to sell off the kayaks and other cargo, which made their journey that much easier. In the end, Dream Step and Spear Throw decided to buy the double-seater kayak after all, figuring that it was better to have something of their own rather than having to hope another merchant was going to travel in the direction that they wanted to.

Although Dream Step became relatively wealthy, wealth was often heavy and bulky, which meant that taking it on a craft as light as a kayak was impossible. She exchanged the various metals and crystals that ponies traded her for the dreamcatchers for golden nuggets and jewelry, which was far easier to transport. While gold was heavy as well, snowponies only found a few tiny bits of it in rivers and streams now and then, which meant that it had far more value to them than it did in the Empire. A tiny nugget was enough to fully pay for the kayak, the merchant entirely satisfied with the deal.

"I think we're on our own now," Spear Throw mused, turning in circles and looking in every direction.

"Do you think you're good enough at navigating to get use where we need to go? I still have to focus fully just to keep paddling," Dream Step sighed.

"Well, we do have Agate to guide us," The stallion pointed out.

"Easy there. I fly to most places, remember? And when I travelled with ponies back then, they mostly already knew where to go, so I'm not as good at navigating at sea as you might think," Agate shot him down, shaking her head.

"But if you can fly ahead and just guide us straight to another island, then it should be fine, right?" He pressed on.

"Not entirely. Have you noticed that our route wasn't entirely straight? We wove from side to side a bit?" Agate pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes...? I assumed that it was because the merchant wanted to visit some profitable trading spots," He shrugged.

"Yes, but the reason those spots were there is safety. As you know, there's all kinds of dangers in the water, from small eels to the leviathans of the deep. And over the years, the shamares with connections to the water noticed that there are regions the leviathans never appear in, probably because it's too shallow for them. Those routes were mapped out, and merchants use them to this day," She explained.

"So if we go into deeper waters...?" Dream Step trailed off ominously.

"Most likely, nothing would happen," Agate chuckled. "Those attacks are extremely rare, and compared to the slower merchant ships, kayaks are quite fast, too fast for most things to catch, if you're paddling at full speed. Still, the risk is small, but it's not zero."

Glancing at each other, Dream Step and Spear Throw shrugged, the stallion scratching his head. "Well, I'm not up for taking needless risks, even if they're small... Let's ask the locals about the safe routes to the nearest islands."

Until then, they went through over a dozen islands, but to reach their destination, they needed to pass dozens more. Fortunately, the locals were more than happy to share plenty of tips and tricks, suggesting multiple routes that they could take, depending on how much they were willing to paddle in a day.

In the end, their combined experience and the constant advice by the northerners ensured a safe and successful journey. If they had to navigate the entire distance by themselves, it would have been quite a challenge, but seeing as the whole trip was divided into little bits of hopping from island to island, it turned out to be less daunting than they expected at first. Over the course of several weeks, the pair slowly but surely got closer Green Land.

Whenever they visited the larger islands along the way, Dream Step still sought out the local shamares for her knowledge journey, with mixed results. Though she still learned the occasional minor shamaric trick here and there, most of her time was actually spent trying to teach them dream magic. Not every one of them was interested, and of those that were, not everyone had the knack, either for dreamwalking, or for enchanting. Still, she did her best, thanking those that agreed to try and learn.

The young mare knew that the main concentration of shamares was on Green Land, though before they could get there, they needed to make a few short detours. Spear Throw paddled them towards an island where some of his distant relatives lived, his ears pinned back and lips pursed in determination.

"Nervous?" Dream Step asked as they approached the shore, idly scanning the water.

"A little," The stallion admitted.

"I'm sure they're going to be reasonab- what in the world is that?!" She shouted suddenly, her muzzle curling in surprise and disgust.

Following her gaze, Agate chuckled. "That, Dream Step, is a jellyfish."

"What in the world?" She kept staring, Spear Throw furrowing his eyebrows at the sea creature.

"Heh. I remember the first time I saw a jellyfish. Odd creatures, aren't they?"

"Odd doesn't do them justice," Dream Step muttered, poking it with her paddle. "Is it supposed to be so limp? I think it's dead."

"I think it is. The waves often push dead things out onto the shore. Speaking of, we're almost here. Shall we disembark?"

"Sure, let's go," Dream Step nodded, still looking at the tentacled mass bobbing in the water.

Spear Throw brought them onto the sand, the pair jumping out and dragging the kayak away from the water. Getting their things and securing the boat, they looked around, looking for signs of civilization. The island was average-sized, which meant that there was actually some space to go around.

"So, what did you say this one is - hnnnng - called?" Dream Step asked, stretching her hindlegs.

"The Final Edge, or maybe just the Edge, if I'm remembering correctly," Spear Throw replied.

"Bit of an unusual name..." Dream Step muttered, picking a direction and cantering away.

"They thought this was the end of the world, more or less," Agate explained. "Nothing but an endless ocean to the east, and nothing but cold and death to the north. That was before the discovery of Green Land, but the name stuck."

A bigger island meant a bigger population, too, which meant that when they found the settlement, they had to ask around a bit to find their target. Getting their directions, they made their way to a sturdy-looking stone house, the dwelling partially dug into the earth, as the northerners liked to do.

A young stallion, roughly Spear Throw's age, was repairing a net while humming under his breath. He flicked his ears at their approach but kept working, expecting them to pass by. When they didn't, he raised his eyes with mild curiosity, giving them a once-over.

"Hello, strangers. What brings you to my- Hold on a moment. Spear Throw?" He asked, squinting at the other stallion.

"Hello, Fishscale," Spear Throw nodded, his expression neutral.

"And... That's the traveler spirit, right? Huh. Didn't expect you to become an adventurer or explorer," Fishscale said with some surprise.

"I'm not exactly one. I am on a journey, but I'm not planning to do that as a living," The other stallion shook his head.

"What's the journey, then?"

While the two were talking, two more ponies came out from the house, attracted by the conversation. Judging by their age, they were probably Fishscale's parents. They scanned their visitors, getting progressively more surprised with each one. Weighing the hierarchy of importance between a distant relative, a young shamare and the legendary traveler spirit, they eventually settled on Agate, approaching her with respectful nods.

"Greetings, wind rider. What brings you to our home?" The stallion inquired.

"Spear Throw did, actually. I'm not in charge of this group. Just a companion and teacher for Dream Step here," She explained.

"Oh? What could he want with us?"

"Well, he asked me about some old history and the family lines of Polaris. Spear Throw thought you were falsely claiming to be descended from his line," Agate quietly explained the situation as Spear Throw did the same to Fishscale.

"Really? Well, it's quite a journey to make just to make an apology, but I can respect the resolve. Few would take on such a task to redeem their honor," The father said, the mare nodding in agreement.

While they were talking, the two young stallions slowly began raising their voices, Spear Throw cutting through their conversation with an angry "What?!"

"You heard me," Fishscale shrugged. "I always thought your cold attitude was because you couldn't measure up to me. We northerners are just tougher than the other tribes, you know?"

"Fishscale... I could tie you in a knot if I wanted to," Spear Throw stated flatly, subtly puffing out his chest.

"Oh ho ho! Big words from a soft westerner!" Fishscale cackled, slamming his hooves together. "You best not think you can take this further than words, though, because the wake-up might be too harsh for your pride!"

"Keep dreaming, colt. I'll easily take this further than you can hope to match," Spear Throw snorted, the two stallions beginning to circle each other as the mother facehooved.

"Stallions," She groaned as the father grinned widely.

"Now now, dear, the colt has been getting a bit too big for his boots lately. This should be an excellent opportunity for him to either get some sense knocked into him, or show if he's actually worth his salt," The older stallion chuckled.

Dream Step looked at Agate in confusion at the sudden turn of events. Agate gave her a small shrug and a shake of her head, indicating that they shouldn't intervene. It was just a challenge for some hoof-to-hoof sparring, and it was quite obvious that the two young stallions weren't going to take it too far, at least not with the parents watching.

"Come on, then!"

"Yarrgh!"

The two collided with a thump, their eyes narrowed and teeth grit. Wrestling was a bit of an awkward affair for ponies, but the two certainly didn't lack enthusiasm. Breathing heavily and their muscles straining, both stallions attempted to wrestle each other to the ground.

Spear Throw seemed to have the upper hoof in that regard. Agate had seen a fair amount of such matches over the years, and she could immediately see that her companion was indeed stronger than his opponent. Fishscale turned out to be much slipperier, though, quickly getting back on his hooves after getting slammed into the ground, deftly dodging Spear Throw's attempt to put him in a headlock.

While he had speed on his side, wrestling was a game of endurance and strength. If this was a real fight with weapons, Fishscale might have won by injuring Spear Throw with swift attacks and quickly retreating, but since it was a hoof-to-hoof match, he wasn't able to do much.

The stallions kept grappling, tufts of their shedding winter coats flying in every direction as their grips kept slipping. Every time they made contact, it became more and more obvious just who the winner was going to be. Seeing this, Fishscale attempted a wild charge, which ended up with him getting picked up by the waist and getting slammed into the ground.

"Raaaagh!" Spear Throw roared, jumping on his badly winded opponent to finish him off.

"Oh my..." Dream Step breathed, biting her lip.

Agate kept one eye on the young mare as the stallions fought, observing her reactions. Even though Spear Throw was winning, she seemed to be rather worked up about the whole thing. Her entire posture was tense, she kept biting her lip and she began constantly flicking her tail, as well as breathing more heavily. Her shamaric training did impart a fair measure of discipline, so it was quite odd to see her react so strongly. Agate could only assume that she cared for Spear Throw more than she wanted to admit.

Fishscale's mother seemed to notice the same thing, giving the young shamare a long look before grinning knowingly. Noticing Agate observing as well, she waggled her eyebrows at her, glancing at Dream Step and gesturing towards Spear Throw with her eyes, to which Agate gave a tiny smile and a barely perceptible nod.

Her husband was fully focused on the fight, so he didn't see any of that. A few moments later, Fishscale finally gave up, gasping helplessly as he tapped on Spear Throw's forelegs in surrender. The victorious stallion snorted, letting him go and demonstratively dusting himself off as his opponent tried to catch his breath. Cantering over, the older stallion clapped Spear Throw on the back, grinning at him.

"Well now, that was quite an unusual greeting for a distant kin. Usually, we in the north do well enough with a simple "hello", not wrestle our hosts to the ground," He chuckled.

"Ah, apologies, elder," Spear Throw said, clearly uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to, really. And I came all the way out here to-"

"No need, the traveler spirit already filled us in. And as for Fishscale here, well, if the colt's going to throw out challenges like a stallion, he'd better be ready to throw down like one," He laughed, nodding to his son.

"I- I am a stallion! He and I are almost the same age!" Fishscale protested, getting to his hooves.

"Age does not a stallion make, son," The father laughed again as Fishscale folded his ears in embarrassment.

"Well, now that that's dealt with, how about we come inside and show our kin some proper hospitality?" The mother offered with a roll of her eyes.

"Indeed! You came here all this way for something as simple as an apology, so the least we can do is offer you shelter for the night. Really, though, this story sounds far too simple. And you have the traveler spirit with you as well! Is there anything you're not telling us?" The husband asked, gesturing them inside.

"Not as such. Dream Step here is on her knowledge journey, and she offered me to travel with them..."

"Well of course, you couldn't just let your mare go alone, could you? It's best for inexperienced travelers not to travel by themselves, especially if there's going to be new spirits brought into the world along the way," The mother chuckled as Spear Throw tried not to groan.

❅ ❆ ❅

Families tended to intermix and become large over time, same as it happened with a good fifth of the population in Sandy Shell tracing their ancestry to Polaris. Some also forgot their more distant ancestors, though, which is partially what happened with Polaris's northern descendants. It was a small boon for Spear Throw, since it meant that he didn't need to visit hundreds of families to conclude his quest.

They visited three more families on two separate islands before turning towards Green Land. Some were amused by him going all that way while others were impressed by his integrity, though it was all overshadowed by congratulations to Dream Step and him getting together, something both of them grumbled about, though not without frequently glancing at each other and immediately looking away with awkward blushes.

Finally reaching Green Land was a jaw-dropping experience for both younglings. After so many small and simple islands, the sight was stunning. It wasn't just the size, but the nature of it, too. The volcanic island appeared intimidating and alien, smoke and steam rising from the spots where lava was lurking just beneath the surface.

"Well... This certainly embodies the northern tribe in a way I can't quite put into words," Spear Throw muttered.

"It's... Rough? Rugged?" Dream Step tried, though from her tone of voice, it was quite obvious she wasn't too sure what to say herself.

"You haven't even seen the thunderbirds yet," Agate grinned. "Come on, the harbor is this way."

The harbor was impressive as well, the size and importance of the island necessitating the construction of a number of docks and piers, bigger and sturdier than what fishing villages like Sandy Shell had. All kinds of ponies were coming and going, the travelers having to navigate between the waterborne traffic.

"Where do we put the kayak? This area seems a bit too busy to just leave it on shore," Spear Throw asked with a frown.

"My family's shed. The locals have a whole bunch of them up above," Agate nodded towards the shore.

"Alright," Spear Throw nodded with some surprise.

A few more strokes with their paddles later, and the pair were disembarking and dragging the kayak onshore. As Agate expected, many of the passers-by gave her respectful nods and greetings, the spirit waving back politely while her companions were dealing with their cargo. Once they were done getting their saddlebags and other things, she led them upwards.

"This, right here," Agate pointed towards a very basic storage shed with some familiar runes carved on it.

"They won't mind?"

"No, but they will mind quite a lot if they find out you left your kayak somewhere unsafe when you could have stored it here," Agate sniggered.

"Right then," Spear Throw nodded, hefting the kayak inside with Dream Step's help.

"So I'm assuming..." Dream Step trailed off, giving Agate a significant look.

"Yup. You're staying with my family while we're here," The spirit nodded. "They'd be quite disappointed if you went somewhere else. Not like you have all that many options, anyway."

"Well, I'm sure the shamares would take me in as usual, but that wouldn't be the case for Spear Throw," Dream Step shrugged.

"I do have more family here, but inviting myself for... Probably months might be a bit much. How long are you actually planning to stay here, Dream?" The stallion asked.

"I... Hm. I didn't think about a fixed amount of time, really. However long it took to learn whatever I might learn from the northern shamares and try to teach them some dream magic. It could take months, though. It probably will, actually. Is that... Bad for you?"

"Not at all. But I do need to know these things to plan ahead. I'll need to find something to keep me busy while you do your thing with the shamares," He shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll find something," Agate reassured him. "There's no dangerous beasts on the island for you to hunt, but there's no shortage of work for a willing stallion. Now come on. Let's go meet my family."

The pair nodded, trotting behind the eager spirit. It had been a couple years since Agate dropped by, given the time she spent as Dream Step's teacher, so she was excited to meet up with them again. Amongst all the ponies she made friends with and later drifted apart over the years, this one family remained a steady rock that always stood by her, and she didn't want to lose that connection by disappearing for too long. Foals liked playing with her, adults liked listening to her stories of their ancestors and their adventures, and the elders enjoyed reminiscing of the time they were young themselves.

"Much like the other families, they grew and spread out and have kin all over the place, of course, but they still own the same house they built when they first moved into Smoky Bay, and I kept up with that branch of the family throughout the years," Agate explained as they moved through the northerner's capital. "It's been repaired, renovated and rebuilt a bunch of times, of course, but it's still there.

They call me "aunt Agate", though the foals sometimes have fun adding as many "great" as they can before getting bored to my name, even though I'm not that old. The current elders of the house are Strongback, a retired builder, and his wife Wood Chisel, a woodworker of everything, from timber for houses to kayaks. The others... Well, there's a whole bunch of them, I'm sure they'll be eager to introduce themselves anyway. Hm... I wonder how much the foals have grown... Probably a lot. Look away for a moment, and they're twice the size."

"You seem a lot... Livelier than usual," Dream Step noted.

"Well of course. I haven't seen them in a long time," Agate replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I just... Didn't expect you to be so close to them, I guess?"

"Honestly? Me neither, back in the day. When Glacier Glider adopted me, it was pretty much entirely symbolic. We didn't even live in the same place. My totem lies in Snowpitt, after all. But... Over time, it grew into something real," Agate breathed.

"That sounds wonderful."

"It is. Anyway, we're close. That's the place," Agate pointed towards the distance.

As it tended to be with old northerner family homes, the house was thick, sturdy, and reinforced to the nines. Even though Green Land's weather was much milder than elsewhere in the tribe's territory, having a secure, warm house was both an ingrained need and a status symbol for the northerners.

"KNOCK KNOCK!" Agate yelled out her customary greeting in front of the door with a grin.

Almost immediately, muffled cries of "Agate!" rang out from the inside, a stampede of little hooves approaching the door. That was followed by a series of thumps against the door and a bunch of complaining, which probably meant an entirely predictable pile-up of overenthusiastic foals by the entrance.

"Well, what did you think was going to happen?" A mare's voice rang out, the door swinging open and making the foal pile partially collapse and fall out.

"Oof!"

"Blarg."

"Stop stepping on my tail!"

"That's not even my leg, now quit kicking my side!"

"Hello, Agate," The mare sighed with a tired smile and a roll of her eyes at the foals. "Please tell me you came to take these little terrors away on an adventure, or something."

"They're still a bit too young for that, Hoarfrost," Agate chuckled.

"A mare can dream. One of these years, the dream will become reality," The mare nodded to herself. "Anyway, judging by your companions, I'm guessing the reason you didn't visit in a while is because you got dragged into yet another adventure?"

"Of a sort. This is Dream Step, my... Former student, and her stallion, Spear Throw," Agate introduced the pair.

"Student? Now that's new, far as I remember... Well, come in, then, I'm sure the others will be eager to hear what kind of shenanigans you got into this time. Get back in, you lot," She nodded to Agate, herding the foals inside.

The guests went inside, making their way to a large kitchen. Exactly a dozen ponies were having dinner - five foals, two couples, the grandparents, and an extra stallion. The foals kept chattering under their breaths despite being told to eat, while the adults just rolled their eyes at their antics. The elders smiled widely, nodding to Agate.

"Well then, our guardian spirit finally comes back! And with guests in tow, too! Won't you introduce us, Agate?" Strongback asked.

"This is Dream Step, a shamare on her journey, and her companion, Spear Throw," Agate repeated the introduction to everyone. "Sorry for disappearing for so long, but I was the only candidate to be Dream Step's teacher. And teaching takes time."

"Oh, it's perfectly fine, dear," Wood Chisel smiled. "They don't call you "traveler sprit" for nothing, after all. We know you're still going to find your way back here in the end."

"Indeed. Anyway, Spear, Dream - you met Hoarfrost, that's her husband-"

"Sharp Nose," The stallion interrupted. "Don't just stand there, grab some plates while we're talking, 'cause the introductions are going to take a while. I imagine you're hungry."

"Well, it did take quite some time to get to Green Land..." Dream Step nodded, her stomach gurgling.

"It's quite a bit out of the way from the other islands, yes," Sharp Nose agreed as the newcomers took their seats.

As usual, Agate ended up talking while the others ate, though she did take some time to poke the giggling foals in the sides. The energetic bunch squirmed and whined at her phantom pokes, but Agate didn't relent.

"I swear, I leave for a few moments, and you lot are too big to fit into your seats any more," The spirit snorted.

"You left - hehe, quit it - for two, wait, was it three years?!" A filly fidgeted, attempting to swat Agate's hoof away.

"Yeah, exactly what I said. A few moments," Agate nodded while the foals stuck their tongues out at her.

"So, Agate, got into any trouble?" One of the stallions inquired.

"No, Hook. Being a teacher was an adventure, but not the "trek through the wilds and fight monsters" kind of adventure. Still, Dream Step's pretty special. She can talk to ponies that are far away through dreams, and she sometimes sees the future," Agate explained, making many of the adults raise their eyebrows in curiosity and surprise.

"Ooooooh," The foals chorused as Dream Step folded her ears from the attention.

"You know what happens now, Agate," Strongback chuckled.

"Yeah yeah, story time. So, it all started for me when a shamare in Snowpitt told me that they had an unusual student they were struggling with..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Once Agate was done recounting the events that lead up to that point, the family were quick to reassure the travelers that they had enough room to take in both Spear Throw and Dream Step for however long they needed to stay. Both of them were happy, but absolutely refused to be treated as guests for such a long time, insisting that they were plenty capable of being lodgers and paying for the privilege. There were some symbolic protests, but the family could see and respect that the pair wanted to be treated as capable, self-sufficient adults.

It was quite late when they wrapped up, and everyone retired for the night. There was plenty more talking to be done the next day, though this time, the conversation was less one-sided, the young couple trying to learn more about Agate's family and the island.

"So, what are the ways for me to earn my keep on Green Land? Agate said that there's no dangerous animals around here at all," Spear Throw inquired.

"Mm, yes, not much use for your special talent, I'm afraid," Sharp Nose nodded. "But there's always work for a strong stallion. Logging, quarrying, mining... Plenty of ponies are building stuff on the island. Lately, some farmers have been paying well for ponies willing to bring hauls to them from the Crap Coasts."

"Crap... Coasts?" Spear Throw wrinkled his brow as the other stallion laughed.

"The name means exactly what you think it means," Sharp Nose managed to say between his laughter.

"I'm not sure what I think it means. Is it metaphorical? Are the coasts... Very poor in resources, or somesuch?" Spear Throw mused.

"Oh no no," The other stallion chuckled. "It's a literal name. Very, very, very literal. Massive, huge, wide swaths of land. Utterly covered in crap."

"...How? By who?"

"So, have you seen a thunderbird pass by in the sky yet?"

"...Oh. No, no I haven't."

"I heard they were as big as mountains? I can't imagine how much a bird that size would... Produce," Dream Step asked.

"Not nearly, no, but they still are quite large, to say the least. They hunt whales and other big stuff from the sea, so that should give you some idea about their size. For the longest time, ponies avoided them like a plague, since everyone was worried about provoking them and getting the settlement destroyed. So, our ancestors ended up sitting quietly and hiding for quite some time, the scouts not ranging out too far from Smoky Bay. When they did venture out, they still avoided getting close to the birds, but found plenty of territory away from the fire mountains they make their nests on. This island really is massive," Sharp Nose nodded.

"And the... Crap Coasts?"

"Ah, that was an exciting discovery, as the story goes. Once scouts began ranging out further into the island, they found several strange streaks of incredibly lush and fertile land. They were quite suspicious at first, since the regions looked very odd - rocky soil and sparse vegetation on one side, and then, a massive forest on the other, easily several times bigger and more impressive than the thickest western forest."

"Really now?" Spear Throw raised an eyebrow with some skepticism.

"Heh. Disbelieve all you want, I'm sure you'll get to see them yourself soon. Now, like I said, the ponies were suspicious at first, thinking it was some kind of illusion or trick. Didn't take long to disprove that, of course, but everyone still tread very carefully, fearing that they were trespassing in some kind of powerful forest spirit's abode. Shamares were brought in, but, save for the impressive health of the plants, they couldn't find any kind of powerful spirits or any other unusual things anywhere in or around the forest.

The scouts got really fired up after that, the quest to find the source of the unusual fertility becoming a challenge of sorts. With their newfound bravery, they began venturing further away from the coast, up into the mountains. Eventually, they noticed that the ground beneath their hooves was becoming oddly mucky the further up they got, which was strange, to say the least. Rain and wind tend to leave the mountainsides quite barren, after all."

"I am familiar with mountains, yes," Spear Throw nodded. "And I'm guessing the "muck" under their hooves wasn't exactly soil."

"Heh heh, it really wasn't," Sharp Nose snorted. "I am glad I wasn't the one discovering it, I imagine the smell must have been... Ripe. Anyway, they managed to map out the strange forests, and noticed that they were defined by ridges and several valleys that descended from the mountains. Between that and the discovery of the stuff that was slowly rolling down the mountain and seeping into the soil, it wasn't hard to put it all together.

The birds caught things from the sea, and brought them back here to eat. Their leavings piled up in the valleys and lower parts of the mountains, until the sheer weight of it and the occasional rains slowly washed it downwards. And the plants thrived. Fisherponies said that even seaweed and fish are extremely abundant around those coasts."

"The cycle of life, death, and nature," Dream Step nodded.

"So your tribe discovered patches of incredibly fertile farmland? That's quite lucky. We had some similar cases back home, but not nearly at the scale you're describing. Ponies found that swamp soil was amazingly fertile, for example, but the swamps themselves were too wet, so they had to drag cartloads of soil to their farms," Spear Throw mused.

"Yes, we do the same here. Farmers pay for it, like I said," Sharp Nose nodded.

"But why? If it's a forest, it should be plenty suitable to start a farm in, after some logging."

"Because no one wants to live there. For one, there are creeks running from the same mountain valleys, and the water is... Very cloudy. The soil is great and it feeds the plants, but ponies don't exactly trust the water in those territories."

"Oh," Dream Step wrinkled her nose.

"Exactly. Secondly, it's not just a gradual, even process. During winter, things tend to freeze, during spring, things thaw... Some scouts have reported observing avalanches happening occasionally during the warmer months. And the avalanches were not made of snow."

Oh. Oh. Oh, ancestors," Spear Throw grimaced as Sharp Nose tried not to laugh. "I thought regular avalanches were bad enough already..."

"Yup. There's lots of space between the mountains and the sea, but the water is still an issue, even if you're safe from getting buried in "fertilizer". So, since no one wants to risk an avalanche or get sick from drinking fouled water, ponies have been foraging for useful plants and bringing the soil back, instead. It takes some effort, but what doesn't? By the way, if you do end up going there, take a jug of water. You will get thirsty, and you will seriously regret forgetting one," Sharp Nose nodded.

"How far is the closest crap coast, then?"

"A three whole day's worth of travel. This island is quite large, as I said, which is why there's both fair pay and sizeable demand for the work."

"Hmm. I'd like to see such a lush place myself, if only for the novelty," Dream Step mused. "It's quite ironic, really. My tribe were the only ones that had any clue about farming, despite the rather poor land in the tundra. It soon caught on in the west, given the richer forest soil, and now, you northerners look like you're going to become even better at it than them."

"Hard to believe the first farmers only arrived here barely a hundred years ago or so, aye," Sharp Nose nodded. "They're becoming quite prominent, though. Their families are growing almost as fast as their plants."

"Well, I still need to meet some ponies here before getting into anything else. I have distant kin I need to talk to," Spear Throw said.

"And I should talk to the shamares before going on a trip for fun," Dream Step nodded.

"We'll go together, then, once we're both done with our initial tasks."

"Great. A fun journey to a place called "Crap Coast". Sounds... Romantic."

❅ ❆ ❅

While the lovebirds were busy with their individual undertakings, Agate spent her time catching up with her family. She didn't even accompany Dream Step to meet the shamares any more, fully confident in her former student's abilities. Given all the progress she made and the lack of knowledge in her field, it was more than likely that the young dreamwalker was going to be the one teaching the elders, and not the other way around.

Hoarfrost was all too happy to entrust the gaggle of foals to Agate's care, the youths doing their usual thing and zooming around wildly, eager to stretch their legs after winter. The spring air energized them, the foals stopping only to scratch at itchy spots as the last of their winter coats were falling out.

It was an odd relationship that Agate hard with her adoptive family. Sometimes, she sat with Strongback and Wood Chisel like a bunch of old ponies (which they were), smiling the content smiles of the retired and accomplished, watching the new generation fool around and slowly discover the world around them. They didn't talk much, and they didn't need to. Each other's presence was enough, as they had spent no short amount of time together since they were foals themselves - save for Agate, who was an old spirit at the time already. They'd share short anecdotes from years or decades past now and then, chuckling briefly and going back to watching their grandchildren.

Other times, Agate played with the foals herself, and it made her feel young again. So much so, that she sometimes didn't even notice as her form shrank and faded, only catching herself when she glanced at some adult and noticed that she was half their size all of a sudden. An unconscious transformation was a bit jarring to her, though other ponies didn't even seem all that surprised. Agate could only surmise that they got used to her shape being quite malleable, given all the shapeshifting she did, both for travel and to amuse others, or tell a story.

As such, while the family was a constant rock she could lean on, she likewise became a spirit companion to them that stayed throughout their entire lives, adapting and acting as needed according to their ages. When they were foals, they played, with Agate gently nudging them out of danger and recklessness if they got too unruly. When they were teenagers, Agate taught them discipline, both warning and amusing them with stories of their ancestors and what happened if they got overconfident. When they were older, she accompanied them on their missions, if they turned out to be the adventurous kind.

Over the years, she participated in over a dozen floewolf hunts and a few expeditions to Ice Land, though those never really got very far, the icy edge of the world repelling even the toughest explorers. Still, plenty of adventures were had, and she returned home with new stories and songs, the wanderlust eventually fading as the years caught up with the ponies. The adventurers would pass their spears on to their descendants or other kin, and settle down to watch their foals and grandfoals run around like their tails were on fire, Agate sitting by their side. And the circle spun anew.

Fertile Soil

As it tended to happen sooner or later when representatives of the three snowpony tribes gathered in one place, they started talking about the differences between their respective peoples. Dream Step and Spear Throw were only one each from the southern and western tribes, but that was enough to spark a discussion.

"So these thunderbirds..." Spear Throw began, though he seemed uncertain how he should continue.

"Yes?" Strongback chuckled.

"I..."

"Yes, they do tend to leave ponies speechless, haha!" The old stallion laughed, the other northerners joining in.

"How do you live with such creatures nearby? Aren't they dangerous?"

"Now that's an extremely strange question, coming from a westerner. Didn't your people make friends with half the animals in their forests, including the predators?" Sharp Nose snorted.

"Yes, but you haven't made friends with them! And we made friends with them with the implicit understanding that we can and will fight them and hunt them down if they try to hunt us. They respect strength, that is nature's way. Meanwhile, this entire settlement is warded and hidden in a forest, in case they decide to come down from their mountains for a snack!" Spear Throw protested.

"Did that ever happen, by the way?" Dream Step asked.

Sharp Nose shook his head. "Not exactly. The adults uproot trees from the forests for their nests, but they don't really hunt while they do that. Their chicks did come down several times, though, which caused a bit of a panic each time, given that even their chicks are... Sizable, to put it mildly. Still, ponies found places to hide, and no one got eaten."

"Living with such creatures as neighbors seems excessively risky," Spear Throw shook his head, to which the northerners laughed.

"Oh? As opposed to... What? The danger of floewolf attacks on the other islands? Beasts from the deep snatching you out of the water? Windigoes? Colt, life just about everywhere in our tribe's lands is risky."

"Hrm..."

There wasn't all that much Spear Throw could say, given that, despite all the dangers, the northerners were certainly doing quite well for themselves. Certainly, there were more lives lost prematurely than in other tribes, but their population was growing, not shrinking, and even their seemingly inhospitable and barren lands had valuable resources that they could use both for themselves, and for trade.

"Now, perhaps you can answer something I've been wondering about for a while," Strongback grinned.

"I can try," Spear Throw shrugged.

"So, your tribe made friends with all kinds of creatures, yes? Birds, bears, and so on?"

"Well... Not everyone, but yes, more or less."

"Then what in the world do you crazy ponies have against seals?!"

"...What?"

Agate sniggered with the rest of the northerners as Spear Throw furrowed his brows. That wasn't an entirely new question, and it was posited to the westerners by the northerners from time to time. And the answers were almost always amusing, at least to the northerners.

"We don't really have anything... Against them," Spear Throw said slowly.

"Yeah, right," Sharp Nose chuckled.

"Yes, you make friends with all sorts of creatures that can eat you, but don't even become polite neighbors with the ones that are calm and don't care about taking a bite out of you?" Strongback added.

"Hey, they bite ponies from time to time. And their bites are no joke," Spear Throw protested.

"Only way that happens is if you get in their face and annoy them," Sharp Nose shook his head.

"And how are we supposed to know what annoys them? They're not like bears, or wolves, or birds, or even yetis. Bunch of weirdo animals. They don't talk the same, they don't sound out warnings if they feel threatened the same, they don't act in a way we can understand... Big bouncy blobs of flippered, slappy weirdness."

"Ha! That's some way to describe our best allies in the north," Strongback shook his head with a grin.

"Well, you can have them," Spear Throw huffed. "They're clearly much more in tune with you northerners. Strange creatures that can't seem to decide whether they're beings of land or water."

"Pfff hahhahah! Seems like you western beastmasters simply can't quite find an agreeable way to work with them, and are sore about it," Sharp Nose laughed.

"Eh. Like I said, you can have them."

"And we will! Our lovely, squishy seal friends!"

"Hm. So many creatures..." Dream Step muttered.

"Hm, yes, the southern plains are a bit plain, aye?" Strongback smiled, Dream Step groaning at the joke.

"Yes, there's fewer animals than what the westerners have. We do have forests on the southern edge of our territory as well, but even there, they're not as common."

"Well, you do only have the one true river in the south," Spear Throw nodded. "You have many lakes and some creeks, but the rivers bring sustenance to a great amount of creatures."

"True river?" Sharp Nose asked in confusion.

"One wide and deep enough for the salmon to use as a breeding ground," Spear Throw nodded.

"Ahhh, salmon. Our tribes had a spat over that back in the day. Agate here was involved herself," Strongback snorted.

"I was. Though many would say that the salmon was just an excuse, and overblown pride was the real reason," Agate nodded.

"The salmon was not just an excuse. The great bounty the rivers provide is sacred," Spear Throw sighed. "You have no idea of the sheer amount of huge, fat, amazing fish a single salmon run can get you."

"Yeah, right. Tag along on a fishing expedition to the sea sometime," Sharp Nose grinned. "And fish is fish. Not to start up the spirit war again, let's ask a neutral arbiter from the south. Dream Step, you stayed in the west through the winter, right? Did you get to partake in their salmon?"

"I... Did, yes. I was busy working and enchanting, so I didn't go anywhere near the rivers and didn't see what it was like, but the fish was... Pretty good."

"Pretty good, eh? Doesn't sound all that special. Wait until you get to taste some of our northern crabs," Strongback chuckled.

Spear Throw rolled his eyes at the jabs, though he was fully aware that the northerners did not do it with truly ill intent. Ever since the spirit war, the disparate tribes tried to understand each other better. Needless to say, explaining the differences in their traditions and lifestyles often lead to one or the other concluding that theirs were better, leading to good-natured bragging contests like that one.

❅ ❆ ❅

It didn't take long for the young couple to deal with their tasks and settle in, and before long, they were setting off northwest, towards one of the so-called crap coasts. Dream Step was going there out of simple curiosity, while Spear Throw's goal was also partially business-oriented, the stallion going with an empty cart that he was going to load with soil.

Agate accompanied them as well, acting as a guide through the unfamiliar terrain. While some parts of the route were easy to follow due to the many hoofprints and ruts left by the ponies that came before them, several stretches had nothing but rocks and tall boulders, which were easy to get lost and turned around in.

"This island... While I'm still wary of the thunderbirds, I think I can understand why the northerners are so eager to live here. Not only is it massive, but it is unbelievably warm, too," Spear Throw mused.

"I still can't believe I wasn't dreaming. That creek that we passed a while ago was steaming. Steaming!" Dream Step shook her head.

"Heh, yeah. Green Land is really something, alright," Agate agreed with a chuckle. "There are spots where the ground is so hot, it'd scorch your hooves."

"Are there spots like that on this route?" Spear Throw asked with some trepidation.

"No, the earth is quite calm and safe on this shore. Really, the island is not as dangerous as you think. The northerners just so happened to set up their first settlement on a shoreline that's relatively close to the fire mountains. Afterwards, the scouts found quite a lot of land that didn't have any fire mountains near it, including several large peninsulas."

"Why didn't they set up in there, then?"

"They did. There's already a good dozen settlements on the island, growing steadily. At first, though, they wanted terrain they could hide in from the thunderbirds."

"Can't fault them for that, I suppose..."

While Green Land was getting settled, the route towards the coast itself was not well suited for building villages in. Bit by bit, the day ran its course, and the travelers had to stop and rest. Agate led them to a small, shallow cave that was artificially extended by other ponies that plied the same route.

Agate made sure to point out the runes and waypoints carved into the boulders they were passing so that Spear Throw would be able to find his way there in the future, or if he went on any trips through other regions of the island. The entrance of the cave had one final set of instructions that left the young couple a little confused.

"Break... A boulder, pay your debt to the travelers?" Dream Step squinted, trying to understand the message in the evening's gloom.

"It means that you should extend the cave if you sleep in here, to pay back for the ones that did the same before you. Not by much, just a rock will do," Agate explained, pointing to a large pile of small rock chippings piled up in front of the entrance.

"I'll deal with that," Spear Throw nodded, picking up a small boulder with a pointed end. "Dream, could you start a fire?"

"Sure."

After a loud smash and another bunch of rocks tossed outside, the travelers sat down to eat. The fuel was scarce, but enough to heat up a bit of water to make some tea, and warm the ground a little bit. Unrolling the bedrolls, the tired couple soon went to sleep, snuggling up together without even thinking about it. Agate watched the whole thing with a faint, knowing smile.

Their journey went similarly for the next two days as well, the only difference being that they met other ponies engaged in the same activity. Some hauled soil, while others had herbs or lumber in their carts. It was quite clear that the crap coasts were really rich in resources, despite the somewhat unsavory name. It also explained the request to dig out a bit of rock every time you went, since the makeshift shelters became quite cramped with more ponies.

Once they finally reached the forest, Spear Throw stood in front of it for a long time with an evaluating look. It seemed to amuse Dream Step greatly, the mare bumping into his side with a grin.

"So then, how is it? Were the northerners correct? Is it more lush than your forests?"

"It is... Lush, though, the trees are not nearly as large. There are parts of the woods with some truly impressive ancient trees back home," The stallion eventually shrugged.

"I think it's because the thunderbirds come here to uproot the trees for their nests," Agate shrugged. "They grow fast here, but the big ones get picked out."

"Right, those things. Let's not dally out in the open too long," Spear Throw huffed, dragging the cart under the tree line.

Both the mare and the stallion kept glancing around nervously, getting spooked by the smallest noises. Despite the northerners confirming that the forests did not have any unusual spirits and the island lacking large predators, both of them were not used to forests that were safe. Especially forests this lush and rich, which would usually mean some kind of animal claiming it for themselves.

After trotting uphill for a while, Spear Throw found a number of holes in the ground, where the soil was deemed to be the richest by the farmers. He got to work digging, while Dream Step and Agate went for a trot through the woods, looking for rare herbs and mushrooms.

Seeing Dream Step's ears twitching, Agate shook her head with a smile. "Come on, Dream Step. While you're not my student any more, that's not an excuse to forget what I taught you."

"Yeah? Like what?" The mare huffed.

"If you're not sure if something is hiding around you, use your spirit sight. Remember the mist in the western woods?"

"...Right. I knew that."

"Yes, you did. When I reminded you."

"Shush."

"No."

"...Smartflank."

"Yes."

❅ ❆ ❅

Before long, they loaded up on what they came there for, securing their haul in the cart. Drinking the last bits of the water they brought in a few clay pots, Dream Step looked at a nearby creek with a mix of longing and disgust. As Agate's family told her, the water was indeed most definitely not the kind anyone would have drank willingly.

"More water next time," Spear Throw muttered under his breath.

"No, not if I don't come. This was interesting, but I'm no herbalist. I have shamare stuff to do. Are you going to be alright doing this work? You'll be gone for almost a week at a time," Dream Step asked.

"Well, the northerners did say there are no predators save the thunderbirds, so I think I should be fine. I've no problem with sleeping a little rough for a while," He shrugged.

"You two are sweet. You already have trouble separating for a longer time," Agate noted with a smile.

The couple shared a look, looking away with their ears folded. Glancing at Agate, Dream Step cleared her throat.

"Shush, spirit."

"Nope."

With some chuckles, the trio left the fertile, but occasionally badly-smelling forest behind. Fortunately for them, there were clean water sources along the route, so they didn't have to suffer from thirst through the entire journey back. Spear Throw delivered the cart of soil, while Dream Step sold off the herbs to the herbalists, spending the profits and some of her wealth on acquiring materials to make dreamcatchers with.

That slowly became their new routine. The southern mare and the western stallion found their places on the island of the northerners, finding ways to occupy themselves and earn a living. Spear Throw performed various physical tasks that he was both suited for and enjoyed, while Dream Step got to making dreamcatchers again, the exotic good once more swiftly catching on among the population.

As before, Agate largely left them and their relationship to develop by itself. For their part, they seemed to be growing closer by the day, no longer protesting when Agate or the others pointed out the obvious any more. Eventually, the thoughts of staying together inevitably turned their thoughts towards one simple concept: family.

Not just the family they were going to become, though, but also the families that they already had. While Spear Throw only left his a few months ago, Dream Step's knowledge journey had stretched out to well over a year. Capable as she was, she still wanted to catch up with them, and Agate began finding her meditating and practicing her dreamwalking again.

"As you said, the distance doesn't really matter, right?" She asked Agate one evening, refreshing her memory of dream magic.

"It does matter a little bit, but it's really insignificant, so yes. It only really matters if you think it matters, so don't think it matters, and you'll make it there in a blink of an eye," Agate nodded.

"Right, of course," Dream Step chuckled at the perverse logic of the dream realm. "Anything else to know?"

"Well, they might think they just dreamt a dream about you when they wake up. That it wasn't actually you that visited them."

"Huh. How do I convince them?"

"Remind them that you're a dreamwalker and that you have the power to do what you're doing, I guess? They're your family. You should know something that'll catch their attention," Agate shrugged.

"Alright. I can do that, I think."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So, how'd it go?" Spear Throw asked, the couple sitting outside, enjoying the morning.

"I think it went well? Relatively speaking. I visited my mother, talked to her for a while... And then I thought about going back, which was a mistake. I was back in my body before I could realize what was happening, which was not what I originally planned. I wanted to talk to my father as well, but I was too tired to actually try that then," Dream Step explained.

"That's... Still a success... I think?" Spear Throw praised her uncertainly, though it was pretty clear that the stallion didn't really have much grasp on shamaric powers at all.

Dream Step didn't seem to mind, though, snorting in amusement and nuzzling his cheek. "It was. Do you want me to carry a message to your family, too?"

"Eh... I think I could just pay a merchant to carry something for me, if I wanted to. No, they'll be fine for a while."

"If you say so. Guess I'll just focus on my family for a while. It has been a while since I saw them last... Though it shouldn't be too long until I see them in the flesh again."

While Spear Throw was simply accumulating resources and keeping busy until they moved on again, Dream Step's goals included trying to teach the northern shamares dream magic. It was an undertaking that took a while - besides spending a fair amount of time making dreamcatchers, there were a lot of interested candidates.

Part of it was simply the allure of learning a mostly forgotten and lost art, while another was the knowledge that Dream Step was Agate's student. The spirit's reputation tended to rub off at least a little on those who associated with her, and, as word spread, shamares kept arriving from distant islands to try their hoof at dreamwalking.

As such, spring passed them by, then summer, and autumn was well underway when Dream Step finally concluded that she probably taught the northerners all that she could teach them. The three travelers gathered near a fireplace one evening, sitting down to discuss their future plans.

"Winter is almost upon us once more," Agate said. "Time to make a choice."

"Are you going to winter with Agate's family, like you did with mine in the west? I wouldn't mind staying here," Spear Throw asked.

Dream Step hummed, looking a bit distracted. "I noticed I've been putting on weight for winter, even though it's not that cold on Green Land."

"Cold or not, your body knows the seasons are changing. My coat's thickening already," Spear Throw nodded.

"...Or that's what I thought at first," The mare breathed, smiling nervously.

Spear Throw furrowed his brows, tilting his head slightly at the seeming non-sequitur. "What?"

"Well... You know how I've been dreamwalking to my family? Telling them about me, about Agate, about... you?"

"Yes? Do they... Not approve of me?"

"No, no, they are happy for me and are eager to meet you. No, I... I spent a lot of time doing magic, teaching ponies. I would get very hungry afterwards."

"I don't see how these things are related. What are you trying to tell me, Dream? Please, I'm not good with all this shamaric mystique and riddle stuff, you know that," Spear Throw sighed.

Taking a deep breath, Dream Step looked him in the eyes. "When I was dreamwalking, I noticed something strange about me. I was preparing to go meet my family, stabilizing my form and checking myself over before moving out. And there was this... Glow. A being. A different spirit. Small, fragile. Around me. Near me. ...Inside me."

Spear Throw's eyes went wide, the stallion swallowing nervously. "What are you trying to say, Dream Step?"

Clutching one of his forelegs, she brought it over to her slightly distended belly. "You're going to be a father, Spear Throw."

"W-what?! But... You said..." He sputtered, making Agate raise her eyebrows.

"What's wrong? If you took your relationship to the point of, ah... Plowing your fields, then you should have expected some seeds to sprout, yes?"

"Well, kind of," Dream Step grinned, the smile a bit crooked. "From what older mares told me, the magic mostly happens in spring. So, while we were tempted, we... Held off for a while. "Maybe next year," we agreed. We still had a lot of work and travelling to do. But then, we ended up sneaking to one of the obsidian caves in late summer, and, well... I guess my soil turned out to be more fertile than I expected."

"Ah. That does happen," Agate nodded. "I even heard of foals conceived in the depths of winter, though that is a very rare occurrence. What happens now, then?"

"Well... I think we need to get a move on. Travelling with foal while it's still this small isn't too much of a strain. Travelling with a foal would be much harder, and dangerous. I don't feel like spending... I don't even know, two, three years more in Green Land until it's born and grows strong enough to travel safely. I'd... I'd like to bring it into this world with my family," Dream Step explained, chewing on her lip.

"...Then we need to gather our things and move swiftly. We don't have much time to spare," Spear Throw stated firmly, having recovered from the surprise, or perhaps simply choosing to focus on something else.

"Soon. I have just one last thing to do. One week. We shall travel in one week. Is that an acceptable amount of time?" Dream Step asked, addressing both Agate and Spear Throw.

Agate was the one to answer, having more experience with northern winters. "Yes, this is fine. In fact, it is around this time that groups of young travelers are going to start forming and getting ready to travel south. While the Gathering is not our goal, we can join them anyway, and then either go to Snowpitt and continue our journey from there, or go straight towards your village once we reach Nilas."

"Oh, good, I was a bit worried we put it off for too long," Dream Step nodded. "Let's do it, then."

❅ ❆ ❅

Spear Throw immediately busied himself with organizing the logistics, purchasing some winter clothes, new saddlebags, dried fish and other supplies for a long trip, as well as trying to find some ponies to travel with. While it was no longer the all-encompassing yearly reunification of the tribes, the Gathering was still an event that every snowpony was expected to attend at least once in their lives.

As such, there were still plenty of ponies preparing to attend. And given that the travelers were mostly on the younger side, they could be relied on to travel swiftly and carry their weight, something Spear Throw liked. While he was from a seaside village, he was still wary of the deep waters of the northern seas and their denizens, especially now that he had a pregnant mare travelling with him.

For her part, Dream Step kept the task that she wanted to accomplish secret, even from Agate. It wasn't hard to guess that shamares were involved somehow, though beyond that, it was impossible to say. She kept her lips tight as she trotted back and forth, carrying crystals, gold nuggets, and other things to shamares and merchants, coming back with her bags empty.

At first glance, it looked like she was trading in her accumulated wealth for something that was easier to transport, like she did when she moved out of Sandy Shell. On closer inspection, though, that wasn't the case. Again and again, her saddlebags were completely empty each time she came back, with no indication of just where it all went.

Given the deadline of one week, though, the mystery couldn't really remain one all that long. The day before they were due to move out, Dream Step called Spear Throw outside, gesturing to Agate after a moment as well. Curious, the pair followed her, where she led them to a small boulder stuck in the earth. There was some kind of a long, thin object on it, covered by Dream Step's cloak. It hid the physical sight of it, but Agate could see the magic even through the cover.

Of course, she didn't spoil the surprise for Spear Throw, electing to remain quiet. Meanwhile, Dream Step seemed to be unsure on what to say, fidgeting in place with furrowed brows. After a short while, Agate couldn't help but snigger, making the young mare give her a flat look.

"Shush."

"I didn't say anything. But neither did you. Are you going to stand there and fidget until night falls?"

"And why not? Aren't you old spirits supposed to be patient, or something?"

"I don't know. It's strange. On one hoof, I am patient. On the other hoof, when I see ponies acting silly for no reason, the same way I saw them acting hundreds of times before, I tend to poke them a little bit," Agate shrugged.

"...Right. Well, anyway. Since I can't really find any fancy words in my head right now, I'll just speak plainly. I learned some things about the northerners during my time here. Not much I could use myself, but they have some very interesting and unique skills. Such as the ability to make... These," She said, dramatically pulling the cloak off.

Spear Throw's eyes went wide at the sight, while Agate just gave a small nod. The object that Dream Step concealed was a glimmering spear made of ice, a specialty of the northern shamares. They usually cost a fair amount, which cleared up the mystery of where Dream Step's accumulated wealth was going.

"This is... These are usually given to accomplished heroes, are they not?" The stallion breathed, not daring to touch the weapon.

"Not quite," Agate shook her head. "Given, yes, when shamares decide to reward a particularly brave explorer or selfless warrior. However, that does not even remotely mean that ponies don't simply buy them. Of course, that doesn't mean that they're cheap or easy to come by, either."

"Mmm-hmm," Dream Step confirmed. "It took me most of what I earned making dreamcatchers to get this made, but I'd say it was worth it, if your expression is anything to go, by, heh."

"It... It's beautiful. What am I even supposed to do with such a grand gift?"

"Use it, of course," Dream Step chuckled, approaching him and nuzzling his neck. "Protect me. Protect your foal."

"I... I will. I will protect you. To the last of my days and beyond," The stallion swore, suddenly trotting forward and taking the spear, giving it a few experimental swings and testing its weight.

"Is it good? You might not know about shamaric stuff, but I hardly know what makes a good spear."

"It is... Unusual, but... I like it. I can feel its power. The point and the edges are keen. It will serve me for many years, if not decades, I can feel it," Spear Throw nodded, hefting the weapon and examining it with a keen eye.

"Good to hear. I am certainly looking forward to those decades with you by my side. There are things to be done, though. Let's pack up the last of our things. Did you find any ponies to travel with?"

"Yes, I have. Since we're not going to need it any more, instead of using the kayak, I thought it'd be better if we just sold it and joined a merchant going south..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Well then... Guess you're leaving again," Hoarfrost sighed, looking at the waves in the harbor.

"So I am. Traveler spirit, as you ponies keep calling me," Agate shrugged with a faint smile.

"Going to disappear for a long while once more?" Strongback chuckled.

"Hey, I wasn't gone all that long," The spirit protested.

"True enough, though it doesn't take long for the little fry to get bigger. They'll be halfway to their teenage years when you come back next," Sharp Nose chuckled, indicating the gaggle of foals that were busy giving Agate the seal-pup eyes.

"We want to go too, auntie Agate!"

"Yeah, we want to go on adventures!"

"Snowpitt and the Calling! I heard it's really loud!"

"I'll get my own kayak and come along, you'll see!"

Agate chuckled at the last one, shaking her head. "No you won't, unless you're hiding a pile of valuables somewhere, Mossy Tail. And I don't think you could even wield a paddle right."

"Yeah, well! Um...!"

"Nope. You'll just have to wait until you're older."

"Awww..."

"Enjoy your youth while you can, you goofballs. You'll be missing it all too soon," The old spirit sighed with a wistful smile.

"Heh. I remember when she told me that one," Strongback nodded.

"This is it, then. You two be careful, alright? She's not too far along, but she shouldn't push herself too hard anyway. I don't even know about all the shamaric stuff you do, but perhaps cut back on anything strenuous in that regard as well," Hoarfrost cautioned the young couple.

"We'll manage, I'm sure. We have good and experienced travelling companions," Spear Throw nodded.

The ponies that were travelling south were quite a varied group. A bunch of youths eager to see the legendary first settlement of the snowponies, a few seasoned guides, several merchants making the last run of the season, and even a few young shamares going south on their knowledge journeys. In such a medley, Spear Throw and Dream Step hardly stood out, though Agate was a bit of an attention magnet, as always.

Spear Throw found them positions as paddlers on a merchant ship, joining half a dozen of other ponies in the effort of pushing the larger vessel across the waves. A few more similar vessels accompanied them, with a flurry of swift kayaks in between them.

They were getting ready to move out, similar scenes of families wishing well to their offspring playing out all around the harbor. One by one, they all got into their vessels, signals being given by the older ponies via sharp whistles to push off and start paddling.

"Alright, young pups, show me you have the strength of the north in your veins!" An older stallion that took point roared in a challenge, various hoots and jests getting shouted right back at him as they pushed out of the harbor, and into the open waters.

❅ ❆ ❅

The journey south was simultaneously intense and monotonous. The safest route towards the southern shore had been mapped out and followed for many centuries, dozens of generations of their ancestors having travelled that path already. That didn't mean that the ponies were relaxed, though. All of them paddled almost until they dropped, wanting to get the most draining part of the trip over with as fast as possible.

More ponies joined them along the way, from lone travelers to groups of dozens that hailed from larger islands. On one hoof, it was a draining journey, a pilgrimage and a test of endurance rolled into one, as they raced to outpace the coming winter. On the other hoof, it was an amazing, magical time.

The sheer amount of kayaks absolutely covered the shores of the islands that the ever growing fleet stopped to rest in, some ponies even having trouble finding their own vessel in the confusion, sometimes taking a similar-looking one by accident. The travelers were tired, their legs were sore and their muscles were burning after paddling for a whole day while trying to reach the next island. And they couldn't be happier.

The youths shared stories and kindled friendships, laughing and cheering before sleeping like rocks. The usual challenges and contests that tended to spring up when a bunch of unproven youths congregated in one place were completely forgone, everyone both too tired and feeling respect for each other for pushing on that hard.

When they finally reached Nilas, a great cheer rose among them, dozens of ponies jumping out on the sand and wobbling before falling over with a laugh, their balance getting disrupted by their exhaustion and the after-effects of being on solid ground after many days spent in kayaks.

"Oh, ancestors," Dream Step groaned, stretching her legs before also collapsing helplessly.

"Well, that was a unique experience," Spear Throw smiled wistfully.

"Don't tell me you enjoyed that," Dream Step grumbled into the sand.

"What if I did?"

"Enjoy it in your memories, then, because we are not doing that again."

"Well, there's still the trip across the tundra plains, but I suppose we'll be able to go at our own pace," He nodded.

"Ugh... Yeah..."

"If you want to sleep, there's better places than the beach," Agate shook her head.

"Fine, fine. Let's get up," Dream Step nodded, pulling her legs under herself and slowly standing up with a growl.

Still wobbling a little and tripping occasionally, the travelers made their way up the cliffside settlement. Nilas hadn't changed all that much over the years, though the locals were ever so slowly carving new terraces and homes into the cliffs. While it wasn't the capital of the northern tribe any more, it became an important port for traders and travelers, which meant that it remained densely populated for a relatively small settlement.

The locals were quite used to the flood of travelers every year, and were all too happy to open their doors to them for the night. Though it was done for free, it was still considered a stain on your honor to take the hospitality without leaving a small gift in return, unless you were completely destitute.

They found a place to crash for the night, and, without much talking, did exactly that. Though they were still sore and a little tired the next morning, the travelers knew that they had to move on. Thanking their hosts and leaving a small crystal as thanks, the trio slowly climbed the pathways on the cliffs, discussing their next moves.

"So, you still want to go straight to your village instead of going to Snowpitt first?" Spear Throw asked, carefully looking where he was putting his hooves.

"Yeah. Foamy Rapids isn't hard to find. You just follow the river east. If we go to Snowpitt, we'd be extending our journey by... I don't even know. Weeks, maybe."

"We need to cross a lot of tundra to get to the river, though. I heard the southern plains can be very... Uh... Wow," Spear Throw breathed out, having reached the top of the cliffs.

The first winter blizzards already passed by, and the land was covered in a light - for now - layer of snow. As always, it made the already monotonous tundra look even more indistinguishable, the shiny snow forcing them to squint against the glare. Shaking his head, the stallion gave Dream Step a flat look.

"I can't tell one bit from another. There's no trees here, no mountains. How in the world do you navigate in this place?"

"Well, uh... Okay, so I lived by the river and southern mountains myself, so..." Dream Step grinned nervously, taking in the snowy, monotonous expanse. "But it's fine! We have Agate with us, after all. She can take to the sky and tell us if we're going in the right direction!"

"There are guide-stones, too," Agate nodded. "I'm sure we can find our way, if that's what you set your mind on. We need to go... Just about straight southeast, don't we?"

"I think so, yes," Dream Step nodded. "Foamy Rapids is currently the final village before the sea. As long as we find the river, we shouldn't need more than a day or two to reach it, whether we go downriver or upriver."

"Supplies refilled?" Agate inquired.

"Yes, I restocked," Spear Throw nodded.

"And we'll be able to dig out some grass along the way. The tundra is not as barren as you think," Dream Step grinned.

"Let's go, then."

❅ ❆ ❅

The journey over land was mostly monotonous. They had no extra company this time, and the landscape was supremely dull. Even when something new happened, such as a strong blizzard blowing in from the northeast, it wasn't all that much of a big deal. With a few tips from Agate, they were able to build a tiny igloo to shelter in, cuddling up together and waiting it out.

It took a couple weeks for the young couple to finally reach Dream Step's home village. Both of them smiled, eager to sleep under a roof again. While there was a number of villages in the south, none of them lay in the route that they took, and they had to rough it in snow. While their thick coats made it manageable, that did not mean that it was enjoyable. Any pony, no matter how hardy, still preferred to curl up in front of a fireplace instead of sleeping in snow.

"And here we are," Dream Step smiled. "Foamy Rapids."

"I can see what you meant when you said that the settlement is still young," Spear Throw nodded.

"Well, it's not just that. It's not a trading port that has ponies moving through it like Sandy Shell or Nilas do. It's just a place ponies found to settle down and grow food and families in," Dream Step shrugged. "A quiet little settlement."

"Sounds like a fine enough place to raise foals, then."

"Foals, huh? As in, multiple foals?" Dream Step grinned, curling her tail around Spear Throw's.

"W-well, I mean..." The stallion stammered awkwardly.

"Heh. We'll see. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There will be plenty time for more once we know we can take care of this one," She sighed, rubbing her belly.

"Of course, dear."

It was a crisp winter morning, the Sun barely a sliver on the horizon. The long night was almost upon them, and they made a large part of their journey in darkness. It was a mercy, really, the terrible glare from the shiny snow becoming much more bearable in the Moon's soft light.

Though activity generally declined during the winter months, some ponies were still out and about, eyeing the traveler trio curiously. Agate was a bit hard to notice in the dark, but Spear Throw's ice spear stood out even in the winter gloom, glimmering with magic.

Dream Step led them towards her home, past the houses, across a stone bridge that spanned the river, and through a small marketplace near the village's main square. Stopping briefly, she examined one trader's abode before entering, waving to the other two.

"I'll be right out. The stallion here used to sell the most amazing dried berries, and I've been craving them the entire time I was gone. I hope he still sells them."

Agate and Spear Throw nodded, waiting patiently. Soon enough, Dream Step stepped out, carrying a small sack in her mouth with a blissful expression. Tossing more of the contents in her mouth, she chewed happily while stowing the rest in her saddlebags. The distraction made her almost bump into a passing stallion, the mare only stopping herself at the last moment.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't- Oh. It's you," Dream Step said flatly, her blissful expression turning sour.

The stallion huffed in disdain, looking down at her with an expression of disgust. Agate pressed her lips together as Spear Throw furrowed his brows, tensing up. Though he didn't know what was happening, Agate recognized a rather distinct accessory Dream Step had mentioned in the past. The stallion was wearing a large necklace made of dozens of yeti fangs, the article almost reaching the ground.

"Dream Step. I thought you left this village, you pestilent fraud," The stallion snorted hotly.

"I did, and I came back, you lying blowhard," Dream Step snorted right back.

"What did you call me?! What makes you think you can come back and challenge me again when I ran you out once?!"

"Ran me out?! You delusional foal! I left on my own volition, to follow my shamaric training! You have no right to tell me where I can and cannot go, overblown little mouse."

"WHAT?!" He yelled, looming over Dream Step and baring his teeth.

Spear Throw had enough at that point, trotting forward with an angry scowl and ramming into the stallion with his chest, pushing him away from his mare. As the stallion scrambled to his hooves with a surprised shout, Spear Throw gently pushed Dream Step behind, widening his stance and glaring at him.

"I don't know who do you think you are, but if you keep threatening my mare, you'll find out who I am. Painfully."

"Name's Sure Strike, pup, and I suggest you apologize immediately, lest you learn why I bear that name," The stallion growled, puffing up his chest and showing off his necklace.

"And mine is Spear Throw, and I suggest you stop threatening my mare, lest you find out why I bear that name," He said coldly, retrieving his ice spear from his back and holding it in a ready position, making Sure Strike's eyes go wide.

"Northerner's weapon..."

"Indeed. Though I used plenty of spears, this one hasn't tasted blood yet. Don't make the first taste be yours."

While the traffic was sparse, the shouts and threats inevitably attracted ponies, some of which galloped off to tell others, which brought even more witnesses to the whole thing. Agate raked her memories about the conversation she had with Dream Step as she glanced around. Sure Strike used to be greatly respected, but lost a good chunk of that respect when he blew up at the young dreamwalker. Not all of it, though.

A stranger showing up in their village and challenging one of their own was usually a good way to make someone unwelcome in that settlement, though in this case, Sure Strike was wholly the one who started the confrontation. As the stallions sized each other up, Agate weighed her options on what to do before gritting her teeth and huffing angrily, focusing on her magic.

"Don't think you can scare me with that. A weapon is nothing without a proper warrior to wield it," Sure Strike scoffed, though he looked a lot more tense and wary than before.

"And you would know what makes a proper warrior, then? Threatening pregnant young mares, is that what's considered a brave act in this village?" Spear Throw snorted, gripping his spear tightly.

The news that Dream Step was pregnant set off a wave of whispers among the observers, multiple ponies glancing at the mare's distended belly in the gloom. No matter the situation, attacking a pregnant mare was a most horrible crime. Sure Strike didn't seem to care much about it, though it did make him pause briefly while he was thinking up how to retort to that. Agate didn't give him that chance, however.

*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!*

A floewolf suddenly stood among them, its furious glare fixed squarely on Sure Strike. A bunch of ponies in the crowd shrieked, scattering immediately and running into the nearby homes. Sure Strike followed their example and galloped away with a panicked yelp, while Spear Throw stood his ground, shielding Dream Step with his body.

"What in the world?!"

Turning back into herself, Agate huffed and tossed her mane. "What a prat."

Peeking from behind Spear Throw, Dream Step gaped at her. "What the thunderbird crap was that, Agate?!"

"What? I learned a few tricks over the years, even if they're not all that good. A northerner would have more than likely known that it was a fake. A real floewolf's roar is as cold as the dead of winter," The spirit shrugged with a nonchalant, though slightly smug smile.

"I never saw or heard you doing anything remotely similar!"

"Yes, well, while I am known as a silent watcher that offers advice and teaching from the sidelines, you need to remember that I did participate in my fair number of adventures. And sometimes, you can't afford to just sit and watch. Sometimes, you need to act," Agate nodded decisively.

"That was quite an act," Spear Throw nodded, slowly putting his spear on his back again.

"Sorry if I stole your thunder, Spear Throw, but he was really ticking me off."

"I don't care about that. As long as Dream Step's safe," The stallion nodded, turning around and aggressively nuzzling the mare.

"Hey, cut- mmmph - cut it- mphhh, stop that!" Dream Step complained, though she didn't really resist much.

"Come on. Let's go to your family before any more fools show up."

"Right. This way."

Life's Challenges

Though the other ponies ran away, Agate could see that they didn't run all that far. Spooked, but curious eyes glimmered through the gaps in shuttered windows and from behind corners of the nearby buildings. Agate waved to them with a smile before trotting after the couple, the ponies shrinking back before cautiously returning, the owners of the eyes clearly confused at just what had transpired there.

"Who is he?" Spear Throw asked Dream Step.

"Ugh. Someone I genuinely forgot about for a while. I wish he'd have stayed that way," The mare huffed, recounting the story of her first encounters with the stallion and the subsequent conflict as they approached her family's house.

"Hrm."

Spear Throw didn't have much to say, though his disdain for Sure Strike and his behavior was clearly written on his face. He reined his expression in when they approached the house, doing his best to appear calm and collected. Dream Step knocked on the door, waiting for an answer with a giddy smile. The door opened a few moments later, a spear-wielding stallion greeting them.

"I heard the massive beast's roar. Is something attacking the- Wait. Is that..."

"Come on, father, don't you recognize your own daughter?" Dream Step huffed, slightly offended.

"...You changed. You're no longer the youthful, foalish filly we left in Snowpitt," The stallion smiled, resting the spear against the doorframe and reaching out to hug his daughter.

"What?! Come on! I was already an adult by the time you left me!"

"There's more to being an adult than age," He laughed. "It's the way you carry yourself. With strength. Purpose. Certainty. And... Hm. I assume you must be Spear Throw," He nodded to the other stallion, his expression turning neutral as he looked him up and down.

"I am, elder," Spear Throw said simply, the two stallions locking eyes for a long minute and taking measure of each other.

The older stallion seemed to approve of what he saw, smiling slowly, before his expression turned neutral again. "You seem like a capable stallion, but I can't help but wonder what that roar was. Did you bring some terrible beast into our village?"

"Nope, that was me," Agate waved with a grin as she stepped out from behind Spear Throw.

"A guardian spirit? You're not one of ours. Wait... I think I know who you are."

"My name is Agate. You might have heard a thing or two about me."

"Yes, the traveler spirit... Dream Step did mention that you were teaching her. Well, my name is Split Log. What did you mean by-" He was about to ask, before getting interrupted by an excited shout from inside.

"Oh my ancestors, is that who I think it is?" A mare giggled excitedly, bumping into Split Log and cramming past the stallion, who only rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Hi, mom," Dream Step smiled as the mare hugged her fiercely.

"Just look at you! So serious and tough-looking! All grown up! So, so..."

"I was already- Oh, forget it," The younger mare sighed.

"DREAM!" She shrieked suddenly, her eyes wide, making Dream Step flinch back with a grimace. "LOG!" She continued, turning to her husband.

"What in the world is wrong, Raspberry?" Split Log groaned. "Aren't you happy that our daughter came back?"

"It wasn't just her that came back!" Raspberry grinned, making Dream Step's ears fold once she figured it out.

"Well yes, she brought her stallion-"

"Not him!"

"...The traveler spirit?"

"No, you dense lump of lumber! You're going to be a grandfather!"

"I..." It took a few long moments for the stallion to figure things out until he got the idea to take a closer look at Dream Step's belly. "That's not just winter fat, is it?"

"Not unless her stallion's been feeding her very, very, very well. Which he should have been doing anyway. Foals need good food," Raspberry smiled.

"...Enough standing in the doorway already, we're letting all the warmth out. Get inside, you lot," He finally nodded to the group.

They shuffled inside, slowly taking off their travelling accoutrements. Raspberry looked at Dream Step's belly with an analytical gaze when the mare took off her cloak, while Split Log gave a respectful look to the ice spear when Spear Throw unequipped it and rested it by the door.

"So what was that roar? Was that really you, traveler spirit?" Split Log asked with a confused frown.

"Yup," Agate nodded simply.

"Why?"

"Dream Step ran into Sure Strike," She explained just as Dream Step opened her mouth.

"Oh. Him," The stallion grunted, his confusion turning into anger, Raspberry scoffing as well.

"Is he still bothering my little filly? Really?"

"He tried. Spear Throw and Agate put him in his place, though. He actually had delusions that I left the village because of him," Dream Step shrugged.

"That stallion, I swear..." Cloudberry sighed.

Just then, two more ponies popped their heads in from another room, looking at the visitors with curiosity. "Sis? Is that you?"

"You didn't tell me you had siblings, Dream," Agate smiled, catching the pair's attention.

"The topic never really came up, I guess. That is Bramble, my younger sister, and my brother Flint, the youngest of the family. Flint, Bramble, these are Spear Throw, my stallion, and Agate, the traveler spirit and my former teacher," Dream Step explained.

"Wow," Bramble gasped. "You're a real shamare now. Travelling with the legendary Agate herself, and a mighty northern warrior..."

"He's actually a westerner," Dream Step chuckled. "But he accompanied me to the north on my journey."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, making Split Log raise his eyebrows. "What now? We're certainly not expecting anyone else."

Opening the door, he saw several stallions standing outside. Three of them were armed, led by an elder with a faded coat. "Split Log. It seems that your visitors have caused a bit of a commotion. May we come in and talk?"

Narrowing his eyes, the stallion stepped aside, though not without a warning. "Leave those spears by the door, or you can stay outside."

"But of course," The elder nodded, gesturing to the trio.

Every single one of the new ponies eyed Spear Throw and his icy weapon as they disarmed themselves, the stallion standing proudly under their scrutiny. With a wave, Split Log beckoned them deeper in, everyone moving into a large room with a fireplace. Once everyone found a place to sit, Split Log rolled his eyes while Raspberry went to start a pot of tea.

"I warned you about Sure Strike, elder."

"So you did, Split Log, many times. But, how much does it even have to do with him this time?" The old stallion nodded, pointedly looking at Spear Throw.

"Everything," Spear Throw replied with disdain. "He met Dream Step outside, and seeing her was all it took for him to start laying into her."

"Ah yes, that old dispute. I'm afraid to say that there's no way to know for certain who's right in that regard. Really, though his behavior was not appropriate, are we supposed to take the side of a young mare's ephemeral dreams? It's not something that can be solved so easily and decisively."

"I think you're completely wrong, elder," Agate said calmly, looking the old stallion in the eyes.

"...Traveler spirit. I recall seeing you several times on my journeys, and the stories of you acting as an arbiter are many. Educate this old stallion, then," He said, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.

"The conflict between Sure Strike and Dream Step stems from his claim that she is a fraud that tried to attack his reputation and not actually a dreamwalker, does it not?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Well, she isn't a fraud. There we go. Conflict solved," Agate nodded with a faint grin.

"That's... A bit sparse of an argument..." The elder trailed off awkwardly as his companions shared confused looks.

"Is it? Dream Step is a shamare, elder. You're more than welcome to go to Snowpitt and ask the shamares there if you don't believe me. Her gift is real. Her magic is real. I would say that that is a plenty decisive fact in that dispute."

"Well. I have never heard of you being a liar before. And, I suppose we'd see her power sooner or later, if she decides to stay around..."

"I'm staying," Dream Step nodded. "This is my home, and will be the home of my foals. Sure Strike can fantasize about being an infallible hunter that never slips up all he wants. I don't care. But if he decides to annoy me because I don't share in his fantasies, well..."

"...I will defend my mare from that deranged fool," Spear Throw finished for her.

"Hrm. I suppose there's not much more for me to do here, then," The elder shrugged helplessly. "Do remember, though: if this ends in true violence, murder will not be taken lightly. Only the most dire of circumstances will spare you from getting banished."

"Fine by me. I'm still not letting him anywhere near my mare, though," Spear Throw scoffed.

"As much as I can ask for, I suppose. Come on, then, colts. Let's go," The elder got up with a groan, the other stallions leaving without having said a word the entire time.

"Maybe now we can finally catch up," Raspberry sighed in relief, pouring cups of tea for everyone, only catching herself at the last moment before pouring one for Agate. "Tell us more about your stallion, Dream. You told us about how you were in the north in your dreams, but I don't think you mentioned how you met."

"Well, I saw him for the first time when he sought out Agate with questions about his family line..."

❅ ❆ ❅

The family spent the entire day catching up, each pony telling various bits of stories from their perspectives. Dream Step's family were captivated by every little detail, from the list of all the magical stuff she learned, to the descriptions of all the strange and faraway places she visited.

Split Log was still evaluating Spear Throw to a degree as he listened, but it was fairly clear that the old stallion deemed him as an acceptable stallion for his daughter. Not that there was much he could do, seeing as she was already pregnant and determined to settle down with him, but it was still better for the cohesion of the family.

That wasn't nearly the end of the talking, of course. Once they were done catching up with the past, their discussions turned towards the future. Spear Throw had a family of his own, one that needed to be invited to the upcoming wedding. While his family were richer and larger, he decided that he was going to remain in Foamy Rapids per Dream Step's wishes, which meant that the westerners were going to need to come there, and not the other way around.

It took them all a few days to finally agree and settle down on a date for the wedding, which was to be in early spring. Agate, who was busy telling stories and going on the occasional exploration trip, was roped in to be the messenger, not that they even needed to ask her. Flapping on ethereal wings, she took off westwards, to the very opposite edge of the snowpony lands.

While she was fast, the distances were quite vast, to say the least. The journey still took three full days, with a long rest back in her totem in Snowpitt. Landing in Sandy Shell in front of Sea Gale's home, she looked around for signs of life. The winter turned everyone sleepy, but it was easy to see that the house's occupants didn't go anywhere, smoke visibly rising from the chimney.

"Knock knock!" Agate yelled, listening for a reaction.

It took a little while until someone responded. A young mare Agate remembered from her stay there opened the door, with Sea Gale not far behind. Seeing that it was a spirit, the mare cantered away, letting the shamare deal with it. The elder squinted at the visitor for a moment before recognizing her.

"Oh, traveler spirit. What brings you to me? Shamaric business? Did something happen to Dream Step?"

"No, family business. Something did happen, yes. Dream Step is pregnant with Spear Throw's foal," Agate explained.

"HA! I knew it. Don't need any mystical sight to see that those two were going to work out," The elder crooned.

"Right. And now, they're planning a wedding. After all their travels, they decided to settle down in Dream Step's home village, which means that Spear Throw's kin are going to need to cover quite a distance to make it there. It's all the way on the eastern fringes of the southerner's territory."

"Hm. I'm assuming they're not going to hold it in the depths of winter?"

"No, during spring, so there's plenty of time to plan it. I don't know where Spear Throw's parents live, though. They came here to say their farewells last time I saw them."

"Oh, right. Tell you what, I'll show you. Might as well stretch these creaky legs a little..."

Agate spent a few more days with various members of Spear Throw's extended family, retelling the events of Dream Step's knowledge journey and the way their relationship developed, as well as describing Foamy Rapids and the way to get there. A few ponies grumbled that "The stallion should have brought his mare to live here," though they were a minority, and no one wanted to object too hard, given that Dream Step had become a relatively famous shamare already.

Once that was all done, Agate returned east, and stopped to rest in Snowpitt for a few days again. She sought out the shamares that asked her to teach Dream Step, reporting her success and the results of her knowledge journey, which greatly pleased the elders. They asked Agate to relay their interest in learning more about dream magic to Dream Step, which Agate agreed to do, with the warning that Dream Step might soon be too busy tending to her foal to do that.

All together, even for the speedy spirit, the whole roundtrip took a bit over two weeks. Once she made her way back to Foamy Rapids, she entered the family's home, seeking out the inhabitants. Finding no one but Bramble, she approached the young mare, who was busy making a porridge of some kind.

"Hello, Bramble. I'm back from my trip. Where's everyone else?"

"Oh! Traveler spirit! Split Log and Spear Throw went to get some exercise, while Raspberry went with Flint and Dream Step to forage in the tundra for a bit, to take their minds off things."

"Take their minds off what?"

"Oh, right, you don't know. Sorry. Sure Strike didn't feel like letting his humiliation at your and Spear Throw's hooves go, unfortunately," Bramble grimaced.

"I am disappointed, but not surprised," Agate sighed. "What'd he do?"

❅ ❆ ❅

In its most basic form, issuing a challenge to another pony meant simple, brutish, hoof-to-hoof combat. However, it was most certainly not limited to that single aspect, not in the slightest. A challenge could mean absolutely anything. A herbalist challenging another to find a rare plant first, a challenge to a contest of riddles, rhyming and wit, a challenge to a test of strength or endurance, and so on.

While Agate was gone, Sure Strike had challenged Spear Throw. According to Bramble, the stallions kept "accidentally" bumping into each other when out and about, and Sure Strike kept managing to find some fault with Spear Throw each and every time, harassing and provoking the stallion.

"So, did he give in and sock Sure Strike in the face, or something?" Agate asked.

"No, though it was obvious it was taking him all his willpower not to jump him, he managed to restrain himself. He's a pretty disciplined stallion. Dream Step found herself a good one," Bramble nodded, with just a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"What did he do next, then?"

"More or less the same thing he did to Dream Step, really. Gossiped about him to the others. Said he attacked him first when they met. Called him a fraud and said he doesn't deserve that northerner's ice spear he is carrying," Bramble shrugged. "Spear Throw just laughed in his face, saying that he never claimed to be anything but himself, so he can't be a fraud. Sure Strike didn't take it well, and since multiple ponies actually witnessed your first meeting and recounted it to others, fewer and fewer ponies believe his words every day."

"So he's trying some kind of final gamble."

"Yes. He eventually gave up on lying and challenged Spear Throw to a skill contest, and a fight."

"When?"

"Two days ago, three days to prepare. So, tomorrow."

"Well. I'm glad I made it in time to see this. Spear Throw didn't have to accept his challenge, though."

"He said he didn't want himself, nor Dream Step, to have to live with Sure Strike breathing down their necks," Bramble shrugged. "That it was better to just get it over with, one way or another. It's not like he'll have to leave even if he loses. Sure Strike doesn't have nearly that much sway over the village."

"I see. Was there some kind of wager, then, or was it purely for the pride of the victory?"

"Sure Strike said he wanted Spear Throw to give his ice spear to him if he loses. Spear Throw agreed, with the condition that whether he wins or loses, Sure Strike will leave Dream Step alone forever."

"That spear is... Almost a wedding gift of sorts to him from Dream Step," Agate frowned.

"Which is why Spear Throw said he'll fight tooth and hoof for it," Bramble nodded. "But if it gets Sure Strike to shut up, it'd be a loss he's willing to take."

"Wish I could just tell everyone involved to knock it off, but that's not the way the world works, unfortunately," Agate sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Spear Throw is an unknown and unproven outsider from another tribe, and he needs to do this himself. Even if ponies are losing respect for Sure Strike, he still needs to prove his mettle. Anything else might well give him a reputation of a weakling or a coward."

"That'd be a shame, since he seems pretty set on settling down in Foamy Rapids," Bramble nodded.

"Nothing to do but watch, then. And hope he succeeds."

Split Log came back with Spear Throw later in the day, with the rest of the family following soon after. They were very happy to see Agate, though the family were nervous when they heard just how many ponies from Spear Throw's extended family were planning to come to the wedding.

"Relax," Agate chuckled. "I warned them that your home is not nearly as big as Sea Gale's. They'll think of something."

The challenge was a topic they weren't all that keen to talk about, given that that was all they did for the past few days. Instead, they spent the evening discussing Spear Throw's family line and other things, going to sleep early to be well rested for tomorrow.

❅ ❆ ❅

Tomorrow came, as tomorrow always does. Agate went out to the field that was chosen for the challenge, scores of ponies lining the fringes. With so few things happening in winter, the sudden hubbub of a local that turned out to be a shamare after all, an outsider, and the traveler spirit herself showing up and causing a scene brought pretty much every single pony in the entire village out to witness the spectacle. Agate even saw several translucent forms of the local guardian spirits, sharing silent nods with them.

The first half of the challenge - the skill contest - was spear throwing, which obviously sounded like something Spear Throw would excel at. Catch was, spear throwing was the standard method for hunting yetis, since getting into reach of their long limbs was extremely dangerous. As such, Sure Strike was more than likely quite capable at it himself.

A dozen targets were set up across the field, at differing distances. They had varying difficulties, too - pairs of logs were jammed into the frozen ground, with bundles of hay tied to them that slowly decreased in size, until the last ones were nothing but a thin, bare log. The village elder provided the participants with two simple spears each, to make sure that they didn't have any unfair advantages or disadvantages from potentially bewitched weapons.

Both Sure Strike and Spear Throw inspected all four of the spears, nodding in agreement that they were suitable and all equal in quality. As they took their weapons and went towards the positions, Spear Throw glanced at the ice spear. As an agreed-upon prize of the challenge, it was standing on the edge of the field, the blunt end of it jammed into the snow.

"You might as well forfeit, pup. Spare yourself the embarrassment," Sure Strike grinned cockily.

"First you think threatening mares makes you brave, then you say that giving up without a fight is more embarrassing than doing your best and losing honorably? Dream Step is right, you truly are nothing but a blowhard," Spear Throw scoffed.

"Watch your tone with me, colt," The older stallion growled.

"Or what? You'll challenge me? Oh, wait, we're already doing that. If you're so good, then stop blabbering and get throwing."

Agate could see how hard Sure Strike was gritting his teeth, but Spear Throw was right. There was nothing for the arrogant stallion to do but participate in the challenge, or risk dishonoring himself in front of the entire village should he lose his composure and attack his opponent.

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

Both stallions struck true with their first spears without much preparation or aiming, as was expected for the first targets. Raising the second ones, they repeated the results once more, the spears joining the others in the hay. Trotting over, they retrieved their weapons, moving on to the smaller targets that were further away. Neither one of them said anything else any more, Spear Throw's expression one of grim determination, while Sure Strike's one was of anger and injured pride.

*THUMP*

*THUMP*

The rest of the challenge passed by in an almost complete silence, save for the final targets. The crowd didn't cheer or jeer either stallion, given that both of them demonstrated that the lower difficulty targets required almost no effort for them to hit. Once the stakes rose higher, though, murmurs began passing through the crowd. At the eleventh target, both stallions hit the targets once more, but Spear Throw didn't quite manage to hit it dead-on with his second spear. The weapon did stick in the hay, but it ended up barely hanging on at an awkward angle. Naturally, Sure Strike couldn't contain himself.

"Glancing blow, colt. Could mean your death out there."

"Mine, or the yeti's. The first spear struck true," Spear Throw shrugged indifferently.

Sure Strike huffed again, making Agate absently nod in approval. The older stallion was doing his best to rattle Spear Throw, but he either didn't let himself be affected by it, or at least didn't let it show. Verbally crushing your opponent's spirits before or during a challenge to throw them off certainly wasn't something unknown to the snowponies, but simply demonstrating to your challenger that their words meant absolutely nothing to you often had an equally powerful effect.

Catch was, Agate wasn't sure if Spear Throw was even doing it on purpose. As she considered the stallion, her thoughts went back to the first Spear Throw that she knew. He wasn't quite as stoic and disciplined as the old Spear Throw was, but he wasn't the type to allow his emotions to get the better of him, either.

Taking their positions, the stallions hefted their spears, aiming for the final target. Judging the distance for a few moments, they let loose almost simultaneously. This time, though, things didn't go as well for Spear Throw as they did before.

*THUMP*

*THWACK-FLOP*

While Sure Strike's spear struck true yet again, this time, Spear Throw's went too high, briefly stabbing into the very top of the bare log before its momentum dragged the shaft forward, yanking the tip out and depositing the weapon on the snow. Sure Strike smiled victoriously while Spear Throw pressed his lips together.

"Looks like I win, then."

"Hardly. We still have a throw each," Spear Throw corrected him, hefting his spear thoughtfully.

"And? Do you really think I'll miss?" Sure Strike scoffed.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I will not take such an easy shot, though," Spear Throw shrugged, turning around and trotting further away from the target.

"Easy- What are you doing, you buffoon?! If you wish to forfeit, then say so!" Sure Strike yelled as the crowd broke out in confused mutters.

"I underestimated my strength, so the throw went high," Spear Throw shrugged again, trotting out so far that he left the field completely. "This should make it better."

"That's too far for anyone to even reach the target! Are you completely out of- Then again, who am I to tell you not to make a fool of yourself? Go ahead," Sure Strike laughed, throwing his spear and hitting the target dead-on once again.

*THUMP*

Sure Strike watched with utter disbelief as the spear that sailed out from behind him arced perfectly, landing square in the middle of the log, the strength of the throw almost dislodging the target from the ground, the heavy log keeling over at a sharp angle. Spear Throw had just made a throw that he himself said was impossible, and that was not missed by the crowd of onlookers, a number of impressed ponies breaking out into cheers and stomps of approval.

"That- That does not matter! He still missed a throw! I won!" He sputtered.

"I am tempted to call this a draw," The elder mused, thoughtfully stroking his beard.

"That's not how this works! The best aim-"

"Did you not himself say that the throw he made was impossible, Sure Strike? He struck with strength and precision," The elder shrugged, thoughtfully analyzing Spear Throw as the younger stallion made his way to retrieve his spears.

"Fine. Fine. Not like this matters in the slightest," Sure Strike grumbled, though his tone betrayed his supposed indifference. "This was just a warm-up anyway. A way to let the colt know who he's dealing with, and let him trot away before it's too late. The fight will not be a game, though. I will not hold back. Hear that, pup? Leave now, and spare yourself the injuries."

"More coward talk?" Spear Throw replied simply, staring Sure Strike down.

"Oh, that is it. I'll enjoy beating some respect into you," Sure Strike spat, angrily stomping towards the middle of the field.

Once again, they were given weapons, though they were not immediately lethal ones this time. Instead of spears, they were staffs, with the same weight and length as spears, just without the actual spearheads. Testing their strength, the stallions both nodded before stepping into a large circle roughly marked out in the snow.

"Last chance," Sure Strike hissed.

"Surrender, then, if you're so afraid of me," Spear Throw growled.

"Raaaagh!"

With that, the fight was on. Sure Strike wasted no time in charging at Spear Throw, easily balancing his staff on his back and neck before rearing up and jabbing it at Spear Throw with his forelegs. The stallion dodged the first attack, but Sure Strike didn't give him a chance to counterattack, jabbing at him again and again.

Thus began the impressive dance of violence between two skilled opponents, the crowd holding their collective breaths as the stallions parried and lunged. It wasn't immediately obvious which one of them was going to win, which was exactly what created tension and excitement.

On one hoof, in such a match-up, just about everyone, including Agate herself, would have bet on Sure Strike. While he was older - somewhere in his late thirties or early forties, if Agate had to guess - that was not considered to be a detriment. In fact, such an age was considered to be the peak fighting years for warriors. Youthful vigor and strength were good, but any pony with at least a tiny bit of experience knew that older stallions just had this layer of grit and steely nerves built up around them, where an overconfident youth might freeze or panic at their first serious injury.

On the other hoof, Spear Throw had one distinct advantage, one that he demonstrated in the first challenge. Simply put, the stallion was stacked. He spent the entire season paddling, pulling heavy wagons filled with soil, and generally engaging in hard, physical labor practically non-stop. While that meant that his reflexes and aim weren't quite as honed as Sure Strike's were, he had brute force in spades. Only time would tell if that was enough to overcome his opponent, though.

"Gragh!"

It didn't look like it was going too well for the younger stallion. He kept dodging and blocking, but his own jabs kept missing, while Sure Strike kept managing to find holes in his defense, hitting him with the blunt tip of the staff again and again, finally striking a blow on a vital area. Spear Throw coughed and hacked as Sure Strike jabbed him right in the throat, taking in big breaths as he stumbled back. Sure Strike immediately took advantage of his weakness, slamming the staff on Spear Throw's head.

It was a good blow, splitting Spear Throw's eyebrow and making a small trickle of blood flow down his face, the stallion hissing and dropping his weapon in shock. And in other circumstances, this well might have been the blow that ended the fight. Sure Strike clearly thought so, jumping forward with a victorious neigh, expecting to be able to once again pummel his opponent without giving him a chance to counterattack.

It was not to be, however. With a neigh of his own, Spear Throw jumped forward at his charging opponent as well, using his left foreleg to slam one end of Sure Strike's staff into the ground, grabbing the other end with his right foreleg. As the stallions collided, he forcefully brought his forelegs together, bending the staff towards Sure Strike. As it bent and split in two, the splintered ends happened to point at Sure Strike's chest, Spear Throw immediately stabbing the other stallion.

"Argh!"

It was a superficial wound, to say the least, but it did distract the older stallion, both of them jumping backwards to reassess the situation. Sure Strike yanked out a long shard of wood out of his chest with a grimace, while Spear Throw coughed and caught his breath. His staff was lying a small distance away, but it was just a touch further than Sure Strike was, so retrieving it without getting hit from behind was out of the question.

Losing one's weapon did not mean that the fight was over, though. While her memories were fuzzy, Agate could still recall the incredibly formal jousting tournaments back in the Empire. A single pass, assess your weapon and see if it's broken, forfeit if you performed poorly, and so on. Meanwhile, that was not how snowponies did it at all. Ponies started the fight with whatever weapons they chose, but losing one and ending up unarmed was entirely their own problem. The fight would only end when one of them ended it.

With fierce snorts, the stallions charged again, puffs of steam briefly obscuring their faces as they kicked at each other. Spear Throw was more badly injured than Sure Strike, but it was clear that the pain only made him all that more determined and angry, rather than afraid. And this time, he was the one with an advantage.

For all his precision and speed, Sure Strike couldn't overcome Spear Throw's strength and endurance. Spear Throw batted his hooves aside, punching the other stallion in the face again and again, disorienting him and making him stumble back. Taking a step back himself, he charged at his challenger, slamming into him and wrenching him off his hooves completely.

With the older stallion on the ground, it was all but over, and unlike Spear Throw, Sure Strike did not manage to recover and fight back. Spear Throw mercilessly pummeled him, Sure Strike screaming out in rage and fear, his uncoordinated retaliatory blows becoming weaker and weaker. Eventually, Spear Throw grabbed him by his mane, and began forcefully smashing his face into the frozen ground. After a good half a dozen thumps, Spear Throw lifted Sure Strike's head up, glaring at the stallion, who was now bleeding from his nose.

"You.... *cough* Are... Beaten..." Spear Throw croaked, his voice pained.

"N-never! I Will not- Whagh!"

Sure Strike tried to grab Spear Throw by the neck, but he didn't let him. Slamming his face into the ice once more, the younger stallion huffed angrily.

"Then I'll - *cough* keep beating you- *cough, hack*," Spear Throw wheezed furiously, still pounding Sure Strike's head.

"Enough! Enough, I say!" The elder shouted, hobbling towards the two fighters. "I'd say that it is plenty clear who won this challenge. There is no need for maiming or murder to prove your point."

"Tell him... To... Yield," Spear Throw breathed angrily, grabbing the still-struggling Sure Strike and choking him.

"You heard him, Sure Strike. You are at his mercy. Cease this pointless struggle. You're only embarrassing yourself. The young colt won," The elder frowned.

Sure Strike struggled for a few more moments before finally going limp. Spear Throw unceremoniously dropped him, the older stallion taking in big gulps of air. Standing up, Spear Throw swayed for a moment before shaking his head and carefully brushing the blood from his eye. Without so much as a word to his opponent or a glance backwards, he trotted towards the edge of the field. Retrieving his ice spear, he hefted it in his hoof before rearing up and raising it upwards with a victorious whinny.

The crowd exploded in cheers and stomps, shouting and whistling in approval. Though their local champion had been defeated, it was done in an honorable challenge that he himself issued, and Spear Throw had acquitted himself well. Dream Step galloped over, jumping into a fierce hug before fussing over her stallion's injuries.

"You're bleeding. That bastard made you bleed..."

"Relax. They're just scratches. We can clean them up when we get home," Spear Throw reassured her.

"Scratches can still get inflamed and foul. We will clean and dress them, no matter how small, got it?"

"Of course, dear."

"Outstanding fight, son," Split Log patted him on the back, his eyes faintly moist with pride. "It looks like my daughter really knows how to choose a stallion."

"I just hope that this is finally going to be the end of this stupid feud," Raspberry sighed.

"It will," Agate reassured the mare. "Unless your village lives by completely opposite laws and traditions than the ones by which the rest of the tribes do, which I doubt."

Just then, Sure Strike angrily stomped over to them, the elder following behind him. His nose was still bleeding, and he had a wild look in his eyes. He breathed angrily, though he didn't seem sure of what to even say. Losing clearly rattled him, and it was quite clear that he didn't even consider such an eventuality. The elder nodded towards Dream Step, giving her a questioning look.

"So then. I would say that, one way or another, this strange disagreement between the two of you is quite soundly concluded, is it not?"

"I would say so," Dream Step scoffed. "The "disagreement" was only ever one sided, you know. But I'll be happy to never have to listen to this fool again."

"You-!" Sure Strike began angrily, only to get a hoof shoved in his muzzle by Spear Throw.

"Did you forget our agreement? Win or lose, you never talk to Dream Step again. So shut your mouth or I will shut it for you," He said coldly.

"I WOULD NOT HAVE DIED!!!" Sure Strike howled suddenly, flecks of spit and blood flying in every direction. "I am Sure Strike! The greatest hunter of the land! I never miss! I would not have died because some... Some delusional filly had a bad dream!"

"...I barely even know what you're talking about," Spear Throw replied dispassionately. "And honestly, I don't even care in the slightest. I only care about you bothering my pregnant mare. One hunter to another, though? We all die eventually, and never missing won't save you if you're not aware enough of your surroundings, or for dozens of other reasons. Either way, we are done here. You will stop bothering Dream Step, or I will drag you out of the village and throw you in the forest to be with the yetis you know so well."

"You don't get to tell me what to do in my own village, colt! You-"

I beat you in a challenge that you issued, so yes, that's exactly what I get to do," Spear Throw hissed angrily, his hackles rising.

"He's right, Sure Strike," The elder shrugged. "You staked your honor on this. If you break the agreement and harass Dream Step again, then Spear Throw will have every right to put you in your place."

"Put me- Elder! I hunted dozens of yetis! Protected Foamy Rapids for decades! Mares, foals, and stallions could sleep soundly because of my skill! And now you're taking the side of an outsider that breezed in here barely a few weeks ago?!" Sure Strike protested, his voice full of outrage.

"Yes, you did do all those things," The elder replied, furrowing his brows. "But what good is a stallion that protects our mares from yetis, and then attacks those pregnant mares himself? Spear Throw speaks the truth. You issued the challenge. You agreed to the terms. And if you break them, then you will be an honorless coward. Dream Step is a local herself, and she has every right to be here, especially now. Especially now that we know she is, in fact, a shamare."

"I... I..." Sure Strike tried to think of something, but it was clearly in vain.

"Let it go, colt," The elder sighed. "You're only making more of a fool of yourself with every word you say."

Sure Strike opened and closed his mouth a few more times, but no words came out. Without another sound, he turned around and immediately trotted away, the crowd talking about the whole thing with low voices and giving Dream Step and Spear Throw curious, calculating looks.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Dream Step declared. "We're going home, and getting you patched up. Let's go."

❅ ❆ ❅

The next few days had both more and less excitement than the previous one. While no one else challenged Spear Throw to any more fights, Split Log and Raspberry couldn't really hold themselves back from having a little celebration, inviting a bunch of friends and distant relatives from the village to meet their future son in law.

Lots of ponies came, both invited and uninvited, for all sorts of reasons. Some wanted to talk to and congratulate Spear Throw on his impressive combat prowess, discussing the fight in excited voices. Others came to apologize to Dream Step, the ponies having supported Sure Strike in the past. Some were curious about her shamaric magic, inquiring about what sorts of things she could do and what services she was willing to provide. Some came to congratulate her on the pregnancy, bringing her small gifts and bits of advice. Some were curious about Agate's involvement, asking the spirit whether this was some kind of small part of a much bigger adventure.

It took a few weeks for the hubbub to completely die down. Once it did, they finally heard something about Sure Strike. The stallion didn't cloud any of the gatherings with his presence, and they soon found out why.

"Left, huh," Dream Step mused.

"Yes. Sold off everything he couldn't carry and moved away. In the dead of winter, no less," Split Log shook his head.

"I just don't understand why he had so much support among the locals, enough to turn a number of them against Dream Step. He was nothing but an obnoxious loudmouth," Spear Throw asked no one in particular.

"Because that's all you knew of him," Agate explained. "Remember his little speech to the elder. He was - still is - a capable hunter, and he did protect the village and clear out the forests from dangerous predators. And while he did that, I'm assuming that no one minded his excessive bragging too much. It's his right if he's that good, yes? That's the thing with bad ponies - they're never really... No, they're almost never simply outright completely evil, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. No, he was a faithful protector, even if he did it to stroke his own pride rather than out of a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the village. That doesn't give him any right to act like a foal in other situations, though. If he reined his arrogance in just a touch, none of this would have happened."

"Hrm. True. He was quite good with a spear. I wouldn't have minded learning a thing or two from him. Oh well. What's done is done," Spear Throw shrugged.

"Yes. That is all in your past now. Focus on your future. You have a completely new territory to adapt to and a new village to find your place in, and a foal coming in the near future," Agate nodded.

And that was that. No one talked about Sure Strike any more, the stallion barely getting mentioned in the next few days before getting deliberately forgotten about. No gossip or musings about where he went were shared around by anyone. It was an unusual, but vital adaptation in an environment where windigoes could theoretically show up at any moment.

While they always worked to solve interpersonal issues first and foremost, sometimes, ponies just ended up at odds for seemingly no apparent reason. If something like the challenge between Spear Throw and Sure Strike happened, where a bystander couldn't easily tell who was the instigator, things like this tended to happen.

Instead of taking sides and letting the hatred fester and build up, one of the ponies would often leave silently, sometimes with, and sometimes without a challenge preceding their exit. The villagers that they left would do their best to remove the pony from their thoughts, even if said pony did something bad, lest those thoughts manifest into something worse. And the pony that left was expected to do the same, letting go of any grudges towards those that they left behind. And if they did not, nature would more than likely take its course soon enough.

Skipping Stones

For the next year, Agate spent a lot of time with Dream Step and her family, though she did move around more now that they weren't travelling together. As always, being able to fly was immensely useful, and she was able to divide her time between visiting her family in Green Land, the occasional magic or history lesson in Snowpitt to curious shamares or aspiring lorekeepers, and spending time in Foamy Rapids.

For her part, the young dreamwalker herself decided to hang up her travelling cloak. While she did enjoy her knowledge journey, Dream Step chose to remain in her birthplace for the indefinite future, save for the occasional trip to Snowpitt for mystical wisdom and trade.

She still balanced her time between carefully exploring her abilities and the more mundane applications of her skills, such as making charms and dreamcatchers. Being the only shamare in Foamy Rapids meant that she had the run of the place in regards to mystical trinkets, but at the same time, it was a relatively small settlement. She didn't mind the smaller demand, however, spending her spare time talking to various mares about raising foals and generally participating in the community.

Meanwhile, Spear Throw was swiftly accepted by the locals. He already cemented his reputation as an honorable and proper stallion by defending Dream Step and taking on Sure Strike's challenge with the full knowledge that he could lose, and he further improved it when spring arrived.

After spending the winter talking to the other hunters and going on a number of short trips to get the lay of the land, he joined the locals on their yearly expeditions to clear out any ambitious newcomers from known yeti dens around the village. He performed well and earned the other's respect, finding that the forests of the southern tribe were not all that different from his native forests of the west. He bloodied the ice spear with the blood of numerous beasts, proudly bringing their pelts back to the village.

The stallion was happy and fulfilled, something which did not escape his family's notice when they arrived for the wedding. Sandy Shell was certainly not a bad place to live in, and there was no shortage of things he could find to do there, but most of them had little to do with his natural talents. They grumbled and complained about him becoming a southerner, but everyone could easily tell that it was all done in jest.

The wedding itself ended up being the biggest influx of ponies to the small village of Foamy Rapids to date. Besides Spear Throw's family, a number of ponies from Agate's northern family showed up as well, the guests from so far away surprising the locals. Many ponies opened their doors to the travelers, the frontier settlement becoming a gathering of ponies from all three tribes for several days.

Needless to say, that many ponies enlivened the mood at the small settlement quite a lot just by their presence, and that was before any festivities even began. Though the distance was quite large, the travelers managed to bring some preserved exotic foods from their lands anyway. The northerners giggled at the confused expressions when the locals tried their dried seaweed, while the westerners busied themselves with making stews with lots of dried mushrooms.

Various gifts were given and exchanged, both to Dream Step's family and to the locals, in gratitude for their hospitality. Much singing and dancing was had, as well as a number of contests between the various ponies, though they were far more good-natured than the last one to happen in the village.

"Oh spirits of the slumbering earth, arise, arise!
Oh restless spirits of the wind, clear the skies!
Oh spirits of life, it is time to greet the sunrise!
The spirits of winter are gone, awaken and open your eyes!

Green shoots of grass, shoots of life!
Life begins anew, it's over for the winter's strife!
We greet new life, the new tomorrow!
We had enough of the winter's sorrows!

Oh ponies, just look how the birds weave and dance
And many of the youths are sharing a glance
The coming of spring always starts a certain fire
That odd warmth, the unusual desire

Many a pony will find themselves oddly intertwined
Entangled in every way - heart, body, and mind
Oh, there's passion and love in the air, can't you see?
You can't escape spring's vines, even if you try to flee!

Some may come together and then go their way
Some might swear to stay forever, come what may
No matter what, none can escape spring's wiles completely
Just stop and listen, and you'll hear how the lovebirds sing so sweetly!

Couples gallop to-and-fro, stuck in a daydream
While the elders watch them with a knowing gleam
And even when spring's warmth dies...
Some months later, one might find themselves a surprise!"

Ponies sniggered and giggled as Dream Step rolled her eyes with her ears folded in embarrassment as the bard concluded her seasonal, thematically appropriate song about what tended to happen in spring. It was quite obvious to pretty much everyone that what was coming was not going to be a surprise to anyone involved. Though there were a good four months or so to go, it was impossible to mistake Dream Step's pregnancy with her just putting on some extra layers of fat for winter.

Unlike the dramatic exchange of wedding bangles or amulets like back in the Empire, the snowponies didn't really seem to have a singular, pivotal moment when they were considered to be wed. It was more like a celebration of the fact that they were already wed, the guests just arriving to congratulate them and offer their blessings and well-wishes rather than witness the event.

Once the more energetic parts of the festivities were concluded, the ponies sat down for some quieter conversations. The disparate families talked about their family trees, naming their ancestors and sharing various bits about their lives that they deemed noteworthy, tracing their lines back through the ages.

Fun as they were, though, celebrations had to end eventually. There were things to do and preparations for the new season to engage in, and by the third day, the guests collectively all left. The young couple were left tired but happy, and also somewhat richer from all the gifts.

After that, life mostly returned to the relatively quiet state the small village had previously, save for slightly more frequent visits from wandering traders, now that Foamy Rapids had a shamare with the ability to produce (mostly) exclusive goods. While Dream Step did her best to spread the knowledge of how to make dreamcatchers to other shamares, far from everyone was able to replicate the odd magic, and she was still the one with the greatest skill.

Days passed, then weeks, then months. The couple adapted well to their new positions in life, though it obviously didn't take all that many months until they had to adapt once more. In the second half of summer, Dream Step had her foal. Agate was there to witness it, choosing to remain with her former student for the final weeks of her pregnancy.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I'm guessing you haven't decided on a name yet?" Agate asked, watching Dream Step gently nuzzling her babbling colt.

"No. We'll see which ancestors of ours he takes after first," Dream Step nodded.

They were resting in their home, the house seeing some renovations and expansions, courtesy of Split Log and Spear Throw acquiring lumber in the winter, with some help from other families. It was still a little cramped, though, and the couple were making plans to acquire a house of their own, especially seeing as Dream Step's younger siblings were also at the age where they were starting to get notions of romance and foals pop up in their heads, potentially enlarging the family even more quite soon.

Spear Throw was nervously tapping in place, kneading the floor with his hooves. He was clearly nervous about something, though it wasn't due to issues with real estate and expansion. Dream Step was clearly quite aware of the exact reason, smirking at the uncharacteristically perturbed stallion.

"Whatever is the matter, dear? Why do you stand there, all the way across the room, as if there's a yeti standing in this corner? Then again, no, not even a yeti would make you even remotely as nervous as you are now... Either way, why don't you come greet your son?"

Spear Throw licked his lips. "But... He's..."

"What's wrong? He does not appear weak, or sickly. His spirit is strong. Do you dislike his colors? He does have your eyes, you know. Now come on, come hold him so I can get a drink," Dream Step kept smirking.

"But he looks so.. So..."

"Yeeeees?"

"Small. And fragile."

Both Dream Step and Agate laughed, shaking their heads. Grinning, Dream Step got her laughter under control, rolling her eyes. "The great hunter is terrified of a foal. Amazing."

"I'm not afraid of him! I..."

"Oh, come off it, Spear Throw. I saw you work on replacing spearheads and other delicate tasks plenty of times. I'm sure you can manage to hold your son without breaking him in half by accident," She snorted dismissively.

The heavy-set stallion nodded slowly, tentatively putting a leg forward. He didn't lose any of his muscles during the winter or the time after that, something which made plenty of mares give him appreciative looks when he was out and about. Which, in turn, made Dream Step give said mares warning glares whenever she caught them doing that.

Slowly plodding forward, he finally stopped before his wife, who was barely containing her laughter. Wordlessly and carefully picking up the bundled-up foal, he stared with wonder at the strange, tiny, and amazing being that he helped bring forth into this world. Finally getting her giggles under control, Dream Step smiled at him.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"He is," Spear Throw nodded, staring silently. After a minute or two, he furrowed his brows. "Didn't you say you wanted me to hold him so you could get a drink?"

"Oh, did I? I don't think I'm feeling thirsty right now after all. My forelegs are tired, though. You'll just have to hold him for a while longer."

"Clever mare," He snorted with a small smile.

"Darn right I am."

❅ ❆ ❅

A few months later, Agate accompanied Dream Step and her colt to a small lake nearby. It was in the tundra, so the visibility around it was good, and there was practically no danger. It wasn't a particularly useful body of water for food, as the fish there were few and small. Still, with it being so close and safe, it was a good place for foals to practice fishing for the first time, or just to come out and explore a little bit.

They were there for the latter, Dream Step's colt carefully putting one leg in front of the other as he hid beneath his mother's undercarriage. Leading him to the shore, the mother slowly laid down, forcing the youth out from the safe shelter, the foal nickering fearfully.

"It's okay, sweetie," Dream Step nuzzled him with a smile. "It is safe out here. Time for you to start learning how to take your first steps without hiding in my shadow the entire time."

The foal clearly didn't like the idea, babbling and nickering with disapproval as he stuck to Dream Step's side. Still, the completely unfamiliar location did fire up his foalish curiosity, his ears twitching and flicking in every direction at the faint splashes from the small waves in the lake, and his nostrils flaring at the unfamiliar smells. Slowly, he started extending a foreleg outwards and pawing at the air, but he kept putting it down before daring to take a step.

"Heh. You won't be able to resist forever," Dream Step chuckled, idly gazing across the lake. "No pony does. The call of the plains comes for us all. Unless... Agate?"

"Yeah?" The spirit asked, lying down a small distance away from Dream Step.

"What was it like for you? Do you even remember?"

"What, the first time I saw the open tundra plains?"

"Yes. Did you feel the fire, the... Urge? To start galloping, and never stop?"

"Mm, not really. My first experience was... Dizzying, if I recall correctly. The tundra just going on forever... For a pony that grew up surrounded by mountains, it was an alien sight. I did experience something like it later on, though. It was strange. With no landmarks, it was like you were running forever, without actually moving," Agate explained, thoughtfully tapping her chin.

"Heh. Sounds similar enough. Guess even ponies that grow up in cramped mountain valleys have the same fire in their blood."

"Hey, Dream Valley isn't cramped. It's really quite large, in fact," Agate snorted.

"Really? Must be quite an interesting valley, then. It's been quite a while since you came here, though. How well do you even remember it all? Your lands, your... People?"

"Eh. Remembering the valley isn't anything too hard. I've been there to visit a couple times, too. Just a quick flyover to see if anything's changed, before coming back. It's all the same, though. And for the rest... Some details dull over time, though I don't think I'll ever forget the luster of the Empire's streets and buildings. They're far too shiny and impressive for that," Agate chuckled.

"And your..." Dream Step trailed off.

"I'm guessing you're dancing around the word "family", hm?" Agate asked with a smile, glancing at the colt, who was poking a small rock. "I still remember. I remind myself, almost every day."

"Really? Sounds... Interesting. How do you do that? And do you remember what to remind yourself of?" Dream Step asked, slowly getting up and scanning the shore for rocks, picking through them as the colt followed beside her.

"My name is Agate. Pony of the Crystal Empire. Daughter of Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace. Granddaughter of Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook," Agate recited some of her evening reminders to Dream Step. "And it's hard to forget, when you do it almost every evening. That's the whole point."

"And you still remember it all?" The mare asked, picking out the flattest rocks she could find and putting them in a small pile, her colt sniffing and poking them with his muzzle in confusion.

"...Almost. After a time, I noticed that... I wasn't entirely sure what color my mother's mane was any more. I can still remember her garnet-red coat, her face, just... Her mane slipped away. Weird, but it's not the most important of details. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, you never saw ponies skip stones before?" Dream Step asked, picking out a stone and aiming towards the water.

"First time I hear of it. What is it?"

"Well, it's a bit of a game, which, as usual, can turn into a contest when more ponies get involved," Dream Step grinned. "It's been a while since I played it. Since I've been a foal myself, actually. You need to make the stone bounce across the water as many times as you can."

"Bounce..?" Agate asked, tilting her head slightly. She was fairly certain she knew what rocks did when thrown in water, and bouncing was not one of them, unless the water was frozen solid.

"Heh. Watch. Here's to hoping my skills aren't too rusty..." She said, raising her foreleg and throwing.

Splish-splish-splish-sploosh.

"Well. Three's not bad, though I remember getting five or six in the past. Though the stone's not the best. We'd even fish out smooth rocks from the river and carry them all the way here, when we decided to have a contest," She nodded, while Agate furrowed her brows in confusion.

"That was weird. How did you do that?"

"By throwing the right stone in just the right way," Dream Step explained with a giggle, picking up another one and throwing again, the colt watching it, his ears twitching with each bounce.

"Huh."

They remained silent for a while, Dream Step tossing the occasional stone, before she spoke up again. "You know, you remind me of a stone like this."

"That's a new one," Agate smiled. "Ponies compare me to lots of things, though they're usually more mobile than rocks. Wind, birds... How, exactly, am I like a stone?"

"Well, not a usual one. A skipping stone. You bounce across the river of time, landing now and again and making a name for yourself in another tale or legend. And then, you bounce away again. And someday..."

"Someday, my road will end. Every pony's does," Agate nodded.

"You have a long way to go, though. Will you make it?"

"I will. Ponies like you help. Friends. You're not the first one to ask me that, you know. You don't have to worry about that, though. I had a few rough spots, but I made it this far. And if I made it this far, I can make it however long it takes," Agate smiled reassuringly.

"Well hey, being concerned for you is what friends are for. Does it really help, though? After a while, your head might be so full of memories of other ponies, your own family will be just a tiny speck in there."

"But they'll still be there," Agate shook her head. "And the other alternatives are far worse. Trying to go to sleep for a thousand years? Just wander aimlessly? I heard that ponies tend to forget things they haven't done in a long time. If I spent that long of a time without talking or thinking, I might just forget how to do both of those things. And then, I'd forget my family for certain. No, that's not happening. Besides... Making new friends doesn't replace the old ones. It just adds to the tapestry."

"Well... Good to hear. What is it going to be like in a hundred years? Are you going to become a guardian spirit for my family as well, like you did for Glacier Glider's line back in the day?"

"Only if they'll want me around. And don't start acting silly," Agate rolled her eyes.

"Tell them I'll come back from the spirit world to spank them if they do."

"Heh. I can do that. Some ponies took to playing pranks on others from beyond, once they saw how good my memory is. Others might think you're going to forget it when they tell you "ask me in twenty years", but I don't. Their expressions are priceless every time," Agate laughed.

"Oooh. That gives me an idea..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"And if you don't spin in a circle ten times very fast, and then immediately point northwards - correctly, mind you - a terrible curse will fall on you," Agate intoned in a deadly serious voice.

The filly gasped in horror, jumping in place before starting to circle. The other foals watched her with wide eyes, swallowing nervously. They were too scared to speak, save for one, who barely managed to force his voice out.

"W-w-w-what's t-this ab-about, Ag-Agate?"

"Like I said, it is a curse that befell on your great-grandmother Dream Step, exactly a hundred years back, right here on the shore of this lake. You must dispel it, or it will fall upon you, too," Agate nodded, trying to keep her expression straight.

Meanwhile, the filly stumbled, whimpering in fear as she jabbed her hoof towards what she thought was north. The others grimaced, though, the colt that spoke before sucking in a breath through his teeth.

"I think that was east, Wildflower..."

"Oh nooo! I don't want to be cursed with... Uh... What did you say the curse does?" She asked, turning towards Agate with wide eyes.

"Well... It'll start with your legs getting longer, though it won't stop there. Your whole body will fill out, and, before you can even realize it, you'll be twice as big!"

"Nooooooo! No, wait. Uh..." The filly scratched her head in confusion. "Doesn't that happen anyway when you grow up?"

"Yup," Agate nodded with a grin.

"Then what... Am I going to grow up twice?" She asked, the others looking confused as well.

"Nope. Your great-grandmother just told me to play a prank on her descendants a century later," Agate grinned.

"Wha- that cheeky smartflank!" The filly puffed up her cheeks with an indignant expression, her ears pinned back as the other foals collapsed into laughter. "When I find her- Ugh, I'm not going to the spirit realm any time soon! But she better not think I'll forget about this!"

"Is this what you do over the years, auntie Agate? Prank ponies on behalf of the ponies in the past?" A chuckling foal asked.

"I do all sorts of things, but yes, occasionally, I carry a message through time," Agate nodded with a grin.

"What sorts of other things do you do?"

"Well..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Sometimes, Agate fought. As much as an ethereal spirit could fight, anyway.

"So, you really pranked my great-grandmother on her great-grandmother's orders?" A stallion laughed.

"I did, yes," Agate nodded with a smile. "Dream Step wasn't all that much of a prankster, but she could appreciate a good joke."

"Heh. Maybe I should do something similar. Need to think something up, though," He grinned.

"Take your time. You're not going anywhere any time soon yet," Agate nodded.

"Spirits willing, yes," He nodded back, stretching and yawning, his companions starting to yawn as well.

"Come on, let's finish up setting up the camp and go to sleep. There's still at least half a day's travel left to Nilas. We can rest up a bit and talk more there," A mare groaned.

"True."

The group of travelers Agate was accompanying circled their sleighs, setting up their sleeping spots and some basic defensive measures. While the southern plains were rather safe, one knew to never completely let their guard down outside a settlement. Agate kept watch while they slept, and, for the first time in many years, it was not a calm and quiet night.

Noticing some kind of movement in the blackness of the polar night, she pursed her lips and focused on her spirit sight. Once the huge, predatory form became visible, her eyes went wide. Gasping in fright - not for herself, but for her charges - she immediately began shouting, weightlessly bouncing up and down on the sleeping forms of her companions.

"GET UP GET UP GET UP!!! GET YOUR SPEARS!"

"Gah! Agate, what is it?!" The stallion shouted, blindly grasping for his weapon.

"Akhlut!"

That word alone could make a pony's heart immediately start beating like it was trying to run away, especially if it was yelled out loudly while out in the wilderness. The six ponies swiftly armed themselves, standing in a semi-circle with their breaths shallow and panicked.

"Where is it?!"

"I can't see it!"

"It's right there," Agate pointed.

The creature's black and white coloration worked as an excellent camouflage in the black and white colors of the snow and the polar night. Fortunately, there was still some distance between them and it when Agate saw it, but it was all but gone now. Now, the large predator was sizing them up, deciding whether it was worth its time to bother with them, or if it was better to go look for easier prey. Unfortunately, Agate knew that they were extremely cunning, and even six armed ponies were not much of a deterrent to an akhlut.

"Damnation..."

"Begone, beast!"

"Run, or the only thing you'll taste tonight will be my spear!"

"Ancestors protect me..."

Letting out a puff of steam, the predator stalked forwards, clearly unperturbed by the angry threats. With a panicked shout, one of the mares threw her spear at it, the weapon sailing across the air in an arc, before stabbing into the beast's side. It yowled, jumping back, the weapon slipping out of the wound.

It was a glancing blow, and even then, the akhlut's skin was as thick as it was in its orca form. In other words, it was barely a scratch, and now, they were down a spear. Each pony had at least two, but with such minuscule amounts of damage, that number didn't mean much.

"Don't panic! Focus! If you miss your throws and end up empty-hoofed, you're as good as dead!" Agate shouted in warning.

It wasn't the most motivational thing to hear for the ponies, but it did work to at least make them fully realize just how dangerous the situation was. Swallowing nervously, they gripped their spears tighter as the akhlut growled at them, walking back and forth in front of the group, looking for an opening.

"I'll try to distract it. Don't take any shots that you don't feel certain about, though," Agate nodded to them, trotting over towards the beast with her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, traveler spirit," One of the stallions muttered in acknowledgment, the others nodding.

"Hey! You! Get lost, or you'll regret it! Even if you drag a pony away, the northern tribe will hear of this! And every time they do, guess what happens? They call for an akhlut hunt! Do you think you found yourself untapped feeding grounds? No! The only thing you'll find here will be your death!" Agate shouted at it, fully knowing that the alpha predator was more than likely going to ignore her threats.

As she expected, the beast eyed her, but concluded that she wasn't worth its attention almost immediately. Refocusing on the group, it suddenly bounded forward, getting a spear into its forehead as a reward for it. Growling again, it shook its head, dislodging the weapon and starting to circle the ponies again.

Once more, the wound was superficial, even if the spear hit it head on. And the beast was truly clever, probing how close it could get before the ponies managed to react. And Agate knew that, if nothing changed soon, it would find a gap in their defences. A few more slow passes and feints, and then, everything would be concluded very quickly - in a flurry of fangs, claws, and blood.

Getting an idea, she bit her lip before nodding to herself. "Featherhoof! Throw your amulet at me!"

"Wha- why-!"

"Do you want to ask questions and die, or do what I tell you and live?!" She yelled angrily.

"Right! I'd like to live, thanks!" He yelled back, taking off the amulet and tossing it towards Agate.

The akhlut was clever. Too clever for its own good, fortunately. While it mostly dismissed Agate, it still knew that completely taking your eyes off someone during a confrontation was a bad idea. The same went doubly so for its prey, which it watched closely as one of the stallions threw a glimmering crystal amulet at the spirit. The beast tensed and got ready to jump, but the projectile fell short of it. It still focused on the accessory for a brief moment as she touched it, which was all what Agate needed.

"Close your eyes!" She shouted, focusing her magic and pouring it into the crystal as hard as she could.

The tundra was suddenly lit up by a massive orange flash, the crystal detonating with a bang and blinding the akhlut. The beast yelped and yowled, jumping back and shaking its head in a blind panic. The others immediately took advantage of the opportunity, opening their eyes and throwing their spears at the beast.

Three spears embedded themselves deeply into its side, two more causing more shallow wounds. With an enraged and pained cry, the akhlut turned tail and ran, deciding it was not worth the effort after all. The ponies all breathed deeply, standing there before someone finally spoke.

"Is it gone?"

"It is," Agate confirmed, looking into the distance.

"We should do the same thing and be gone ourselves, then. I don't think I'll be able to get any more sleep tonight," A mare said, stuffing her things into her sleigh.

"No objections here," Others muttered, doing the same.

"Sorry about your amulet, Featherhoof," Agate apologized to the stallion.

"Hey, my life is worth more than the amulet, even if it was a wedding gift," He chuckled. "I'm sure my wife's family would be happy to hear it came in so much use, even."

"Probably. Anyway, you six get going. I'll take to the air and keep an eye out for any more surprises."

"Understood. Come on, ponies, let's go!"

❅ ❆ ❅

Sometimes, Agate taught.

It took many forms, from the occasional bit of advice to an aspiring dreamwalker, to telling various inspirational or educational stories from the past. Her students were all kinds of ponies as well, from young would-be adventurers, to spirits.

"Hello there, youngling," Agate spoke to a despondent-looking spirit of a teenaged mare that was sitting by her totem.

"Ancestors!" She yelled, jumping up and gasping in fright. "Don't do that! You scared me half to death!"

"Half to death, you say? So you were alive just a moment ago?" Agate asked with a faint grin, watching as the spirit's muzzle wrinkled with confusion.

"...Right. Already dead. Ha ha," The mare snorted.

"Right. I'm-"

"The traveler spirit, I know."

"That's my title, yes. Do you even know my name?" Agate raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, um... It was something, uh... I think I heard it, wait.. A... Aaaaa...."

"Agate," Agate chuckled.

"Right, sorry," The teenager hung her head.

"No need for that. What's your name?"

"...Kindle Fire. Why... Why do you want to know who I am?" She asked with confusion, raising her eyes to look at Agate.

"Well, it is only polite to introduce yourself to your neighbors," Agate shrugged. "And ponies in similar fields. We're both guardian spirits of Snowpitt, which is usually quite a small group."

"But you're... Not really here a lot of the time. Hence your title," Kindle pointed out.

"True. And yet, this is where my totem stands, where I make my home, and where I return to from my travels. I did spend no small amount of time in Snowpitt, especially at first," Agate recounted.

"Really? The stories say that you were even younger than I am back then, but I'm guessing that that part is made up."

"Why would you think that? I was barely a filly back then. I was... Ten, I think," Agate nodded.

"Really?! Wow! And you... But then..."

"I grew up, yes. Spiritually," Agate smiled. "I barely knew what I was doing back then. I had some good teachers, though. They taught me well, just as I am going to teach you."

"You're going to... Teach me? What? How? Why?" Kindle asked, blinking in confusion.

"Things. History and the like. By telling you. Because you looked a little lost, and could probably use some explanations, like I did back in the day," Agate answered her questions in order.

"Well, I mean. Okay. I guess I'm a little confused. But I'm also getting the feeling that there's going to be a lot more teaching than I'm expecting."

"Oh, you have no idea," Agate grinned. "I am going to fill your head with so many ancient stories."

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Oh, let's see... four hundred and fifty years as a spirit... Four-sixty, then."

"Wow. And you've been doing this for all the guardian spirits through all those years?"

"More or less, yes. You see, being a guardian spirit is... More than you'd think. There are stories, knowledge and things passed on from one to another, ones that living ponies either completely forgot about, or never knew in the first place. Unfortunately, with there being gaps in Snowpitt having guardian spirits, those stories could end up being forgotten completely. I try to make sure that they don't," Agate explained.

"Alright. Honestly, I could probably use some instructions," Kindle sighed.

"Yeah, I could tell as much. Can I ask what happened? Both to make you end up like this, and make you stay? You wanted to watch over someone?"

"Yes," The young mare sighed again. "My family has been... Well, the shamares say that there's no magical curse or anything of the sort, so I guess I'll just say "plagued by bad luck", instead. My father has an old hunting injury that makes him slow. My mother died while giving birth to my sister. And I... Caught some kind of wasting disease that even the shamares weren't able to fix. They tried all sorts of things, but it just made the thing drag on for months before it finally did me in anyway."

"Ah... I'm sorry. There's really not much to say to something like that," Agate breathed quietly.

"Yeah, well, I'm saying it!" Kindle suddenly growled angrily. "To the cold depths with whatever spirit has been stalking my family line! I don't care if others tell me to let it go and move on. I'm staying on, and I'm watching over my sister, and I'm making damned sure my family does not end with her! I'll watch her every step, until she's old and gray! Even if it takes a hundred years!"

"Ahh, determination. Good stuff. Ponies told me I couldn't do it, too," Agate nodded with approval. "Now, I'm sure you noticed that you can't actually do all that much as a spirit. Want me to tell you what you can do?"

"Yes! Please," Kindle nodded vigorously.

"Well, it all starts with..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Sometimes, Agate came across bits of her past.

Trotting around Snowpitt, she noticed the glint of a crystal. It wasn't anything too unusual, save for the kind of crystal. It was an amethyst, which meant that it was one of the crystals that she made herself, as citrine and pure quartz still were the only kinds of crystals the tribes managed to find in their lands. The crystal in question was made into an amulet, worn around a mare's neck.

"Oh." Agate stopped, idly analyzing the amulet.

Her attention didn't go unnoticed, the mare turning towards her with some trepidation. "Ancient one? Is everything alright? Am I... Wearing the crystal improperly?"

Snorting and rolling her eyes at the latest title the snowponies had saddled her with, Agate shook her head. "No, you're not. How would you even wear a crystal improperly?"

"Well, um... I don't know, that's why I asked... You seemed to be studying it with great intent..." She trailed off, her posture awkward.

"I was studying because I'm fairly certain that I made it," Agate waved her off.

"Really?" The mare perked up, her face marred with confusion. "But it's been in my family for generations... And I don't recall any stories of you bestowing it to my ancestors..."

"I'm guessing they forgot a couple dozen generations back. I made it, oh... Some five hundred... Fifty years ago? No, a few years after that... Five hundred forty-eight, maybe... Hmmm..." Agate trailed off, while the mare's eyes went wide.

"A couple d-dozen?! Ancestors... I don't think many families keep track of their lines for that long of a time..."

"Yeah, and I stopped associating with them quite a while ago, so there you go," Agate shrugged.

"You did make it, though?"

"Oh, yes," Agate nodded, trotting closer and peering into the crystal. Sticking her hoof into it, she examined its structure. "Might well be one of the very first amethysts that I made. Can't quite tell if this was the one I gave to Autumn Ash, or Cindertail... They were really similar, and it has been centuries..."

"What could possibly make them forget about someone as important as you? Were they ungrateful for your gift? Did they displease you somehow, to make you spurn them?" The mare asked, slightly concerned.

"Well, yes, in a way. Autumn Ash and Cindertail were great, actually. Their families, though... Weren't. I was good friends with the ashen siblings. But their descendants didn't treat me as a friend, so I didn't stick around," Agate shrugged, pulling her hoof out of the crystal.

"I... I am sorry for my ancestor's dishonorable behavior..." The mare muttered, folding her ears in shame.

"Ha! Please," Agate laughed. "It's been centuries now, and it'd be pretty dang hard to untangle which ancestors are even yours. And I don't believe in blaming the descendants for what their predecessors did, anyway."

The mare licked her lips nervously, before carefully venturing forth. "Would you... Be willing to tell my family and I about those ancient ancestors of ours that were once your friends?"

"Oh, sure, I can do that. I'm not busy right now," Agate nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

The years kept coming and going, and Agate kept doing her thing. Years, decades, centuries... Bit by bit, leap by leap, Agate kept coming closer to the supposed return date of the Empire. And while things changed, at the same time, the old wisdom remained true - the more things change, the more they stay the same. And again and again, Agate found herself in similar situations over the years, similar ponies having similar conversations with her.

"So, is this how you do that "stone skipping" you told me about?" A young stallion asked, gazing across the lake with a small, flat stone in his hoof.

"I think so. Do remember, I never threw a rock like that myself. The most important things are the angle and that you give it a spin, I think," Agate nodded.

Splish-splish-sploosh.

"Huh. Okay. Interesting," The stallion nodded with an intrigued smile.

Years passed.

"Bet I can get it to bounce twice as many times as you," A different young stallion grinned cockily.

"Twice? Please, cousin. You might be better with your throws, but you're hardly twice as good," A mare scoffed, throwing a rock.

Splish-splish-splish-sploosh.

"Three. Getting six isn't easy, but it's possible," Agate smiled at the cocky youth.

"Oh, I'll get it, you'll see!"

Years passed. Decades. Centuries.

Splish-splish-splish-splish-sploosh.

"Nice throw, Arctic," Agate nodded with a smile.

"Wow! This seemed silly at first, but this is actually really fun!" A light gray filly with smudged pigtails grinned widely. "How long ago did you say you learned about this game?"

"Oh, a good eight hundred and fifty years ago now," The spirit chuckled.

"Oh, wow. Was it soon after you came here?"

"Oh no, not at all. It's been a thousand years, in fact."

"Wait, wait, wait, back up," The filly suddenly perked up, wide-eyed. "Weren't your people supposed to return after a thousand years?!"

"Well, yes. But, as that pony told me a long, long time ago..."Centuries or even millennia". Meaning, it could take multiple thousands of years," Agate sighed, her voice only slightly bitter. "In fact, it's been a thousand and one now, I think? Or, wait, was it two? Or one after all? After nothing happened after a thousand, I kind of stopped counting."

"Oh, wow. Does that make you... Did that make you feel like giving up?" The filly asked tentatively, her eyes still wide.

"Hay no," Agate shook her head. "I stuck it out this long, I'll stick it out another thousand years, if that's what it takes. I just stopped counting so hard, though I suppose I should, just for my memory's sake alone. I think... Right, it took exactly a thousand years for that narwhal or whatever to vanish from the Moon... So... A thousand one and some months, I think."

"You know for certain that they didn't return, though, right?" The inquisitive filly inquired.

"Yes. I visited the valley a number of times over the year. Sat there for multiple days, even. I wasn't able to see any changes, though," Agate shrugged. "So I guess that the curse is going to take a bit longer to finally rot away."

"Oh, okay. Well, I hope that-"

"Excuse me," A quiet voice interrupted them. "May I talk to you, ancient one?"

"Of all the titles, that one's still the most annoying," Agate rolled her eyes, turning towards the speaker. "What do you need?"

It was a curious sight. The pony itself wasn't anything all that out of the ordinary. An unfamiliar mare with a gray coat and a two-toned mane stood before her, her eyes an incredibly clear sky-blue. What she was holding in her hoof was quite a sight, though. It was a crystal, in the shape of a pinecone. Even without touching it, Agate could faintly feel the magic inside it.

"Could you... Help me with this, um... How should I address you, then?"

"Just Agate is fine. And... What is that thing? Did you make that?" Agate breathed, her eyes wide with admiration. It was quite a beautiful piece of art.

"Oh no no, I only brought it. Well, it was quite a journey to acquire it. All the way to the depths of Ice Land and back, but... That's not important right now. Thing is, I need to get it open, somehow. However, while I know my pinecones, I hardly know anything about crystals. And my knowledge is not enough to open it, so perhaps your skill set would be of more use here?" She explained, slowly turning the glimmering pinecone in her hoof.

"Wait, so... It's an actual pinecone? From a tree?"

"Yes. I thought you knew about the crystal forest? It sounds like something that'd be of interest to you," The mare nodded.

"Hmm. Well, I heard about the place. That it's the furthest anyone got into Ice Land, and that most of them die before even reaching it. None of the ponies that I adventured with tried reaching it, and I never really felt like going there by myself," Agate shrugged. "Maybe someday, now that I saw this. It's... Quite a sight."

"The forest itself is quite a sight as well, though it's just as deadly as it is beautiful, which is very," The mare shuddered slightly. "But I'm not here to talk about that. Can you help me? Please? It's really important. The forest, it is dying as we speak..."

"Did you really go to the crystal forest and return alive?!" The filly shrieked, finally losing her composure while listening to the adults talk.

"Heh. Sorry about that. That's Arctic Ink, an aspiring artist and lorekeeper," Agate chuckled as the filly smiled nervously. "Anyway, I'm going to need more context here. Which forest is dying? The crystal forest?"

"Yes, I did return, though I did not go alone. I had a very, very experienced guide with me," The mare explained to Arctic Ink, turning towards Agate. "And, no, I meant the forest around my village. The trees became sickly a few months ago, and it's getting worse and worse every day. This," She said, tapping the crystal pinecone, "Could be the key to saving it, I think."

"Well, I'll gladly help if I can, but if we need to travel to your village, then you're going to have plenty of time to tell me what happened. And I mean everything," Agate nodded. "Start with your name."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Pine Ponder. It all started a few months ago, like I said..."

Author's Note

Now who could this be?

Arboreal Distress

"Hmmm," Pine Ponder hummed quietly to herself.

As an experienced forager, the mare knew when to be quiet and alert, and when and where it was safe to hum or softly sing a song to yourself under your breath as you trotted through the woods. This, however, was not a musical hum. It was a thoughtful, concerned hum. One that didn't really fully convey just how serious the situation was.

"Spirits, what is happening to you all?"

The trees, of course, could not answer. Still, the signs of their poor health were quite obvious, at least to her. Pine Ponder wasn't a shamare, and she wasn't trained in the arts of seeing spirits and communing with them. Despite all of that, she could still feel the tree's spirits withering away. She spent a good part - perhaps even most - of her life in the woods, and she was quite attuned to the flows and ebbs of life in the forests around her home. And right now, something was very, very wrong.

She gently ran her foreleg across the branches and needles of a small pine sapling, several branches wilting and yellowing already. It didn't make sense - it was winter. The pests that fed on trees were all asleep, and even tree-borne plagues didn't tend to spread during winter. It was as if the land itself was soaked in death, draining the life from the trees. The healthy ones were getting weaker, and the weak ones were already dead, lifeless husks.

If it ended there, it wouldn't be the end of the world. One could always use more lumber and firewood, and the empty spaces would soon be replaced by new saplings. But at this scale, the entire forest would die. All of it. Old trees, young ones, grass, moss, berry bushes... Everything. The locals would have firewood galore, but everything else...

Letting out a shuddering breath, she let go of the pine, turning back towards her village. River's Mouth wasn't all that far, but she did scout a rather large area, and the Sun was already setting. Firmly setting the direction in her mind, she began trotting, moving more by feel and experience than sight.

It was quite dark when she finally returned, and the village was quiet. Trotting over to the village elder's house, she silently stuck an ear to his door, listening for any sounds. Hearing nothing, she sighed quietly, going home. Though her thoughts were not happy, her sleep was easy, her tired body immediately collapsing into the soft bed.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day, she immediately went to the elder's house, right after getting some food in her. Politely greeting his family, she was led to the old stallion, the ponies greeting each other with respectful nods. Old Grayhoof (though he kept insisting everyone just call him Grayhoof) was a bit slow in body, but still plenty sharp in mind, and this wasn't their first meeting in the past few weeks.

"Pine Ponder," He greeted her, gesturing for the mare to sit down. "You are a mare of few words, which is why I know what you're going to say next is going to be important. Is this to do with the forest again?"

"I am a mare of few words mostly because I spend most of my time in silence as I move through the woods, elder," Pine Ponder shrugged. "And yes, this is to do exactly with that. I went trotting yesterday, from before the dawn's light graced the sky, and came back well after dark. I reached the Fang hill from the east, and circled back to the village from the west."

"That is quite some distance to cover in a single day, especially in an uneven terrain, such as the forest," Grayhoof nodded with respect. "And is the forest still dying, same as before?"

"Yes, elder, it is everywhere. No matter where I looked, no matter where I went. It is not stopping, and I have no clue as to the cause, but I do know that it is happening," She sighed.

"You need not prove your honesty to me, youngling," Grayhoof sighed. "I believe you. I never once heard anything about you making things up to amuse your fancy, or anything of the sort. Besides, other ponies, even if they're less observant than you in regards to the woods, are able to see the same things."

"Others noticed it too, then?"

"Yes, especially when I sent them out with that goal in the first place," The elder nodded. "I took your first warning seriously, you know. Enough to try and investigate. Now, our ponies weren't able to tell me anything more than you did, but I did ask some ponies that were going in the direction of Foamy Rapids to talk to them as well, and see if their shamares have anything to say about it."

"And...? Did you find anything out?" Pine Ponder asked with faint excitement, though her voice was also tinged with trepidation.

"Yes, though it's not good news," He grimaced, rubbing the side of his head. "They noticed the same thing. It's affecting the entire region, it seems. The entirety of this stretch of the southern forest could die, if nothing changes."

"That's... That's massive," Pine Ponder breathed, her eyes wide.

"Indeed. I think we need to call in the big spears for this one, with no time to waste. We need to go to Snowpitt, and call on all the shamares there, and all the other villages that we can reach as well," The elder nodded decisively.

"Oh my. Well. I guess... I guess it's a good thing we're going to try and do something, at least. I was honestly at wit's end here, but I didn't think..." She trailed off, glancing to the side.

"That no one would take you seriously until it was too late?" Grayhoof chuckled. "You're a good mare, Pine, but you're still a youngling. Us old ponies have eyes too, you know, and we can see the things you can as well," He teased her, Pine Ponder feeling happy that her winter coat hid her embarrassed blush so well.

"I, uh... Thank you, elder. I guess I'll... Be going, then. Leave you to it," The mare nodded, standing up.

"Hmm? I assumed you would like to see this through yourself. You still were the first one to notice that something was wrong."

"What do you mean, elder?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

"I think you should be the one to go to Snowpitt as a representative of our village. Everyone in River's Mouth knows you're practically a forest spirit yourself. You could probably explain things better than anyone else could," The elder explained.

"Me? But I'm just a simple forager..." She said quietly, the elder chuckling and shaking his head.

"Oh please, youngling, there's no need for this false modesty. You're the most experienced woodsmare we had in the village for at least a century. You bring in baskets of pine nuts, herbs, berries, and everything else where others find nothing. You told our hunters of yeti tracks multiple times, yet you glide through the woods with nary a hair out of place. Clearly, you're far more than "just a forager", young mare."

"W-well, I mean..."

"Will you do it?"

She stopped to think, weighing her options. It wasn't like there was all that much to do in winter anyway, and if the forest died, she'd have nothing to do ever again. Sure, she could move somewhere where the forests were still alive, but the loss would still hurt. A lot. And it's not like moving large distances in a day bothered her. She nodded slowly to herself first, giving the elder another, firmer nod.

"I'll do it."

"Good. Now, I don't want you travelling alone, good at sneaking as you might be. I'll ask a hunter or two to accompany you. No one that would slow you down, don't worry. The messenger from Foamy Rapids said that the shamares were quite worried, so it shouldn't be hard to convince them to send someone as well. Try to grab as many ponies as you can from the villages along the way, alright? I don't want the ponies in Snowpitt to think that this isn't a serious or urgent matter."

"Of course, elder," Pine Ponder nodded, trying not to grimace. She didn't do all that well in big, loud groups, but at least this one should be focused on moving quickly instead of chattering.

❅ ❆ ❅

Foamy Rapids was their closest neighbor, the old settlement having many ties to River's Mouth. A great many families in the village had distant kin in the older settlement, the younger one being settled by many ambitious youths seeking their own fortunes in the new frontier.

There was a small, but long line of shamares that hailed from Foamy Rapids, the stories claiming that the traveler spirit herself watched over them. Pine Ponder never saw the ancient spirit herself, but it made sense that a boon from such a being would bring fortune to one's family.

"Either one of you know where to find the local shamares here?" Pine Ponder asked one of the two hunters that accompanied her.

One shook his head, while the other one nodded. "I've been here plenty of times to trade. Right this way."

He led them through the village, towards where the elders lived. Once Pine Ponder knocked and was let in, the pair of mystics that were talking in serious voices looked her up and down, turning their eyebrows in funny and curious ways.

"You move like a shamare, youngling. Are you here on your knowledge journey?" One of them asked.

"Oh? No, I'm not, elder. I am here on the behest of River's Mouth's village elder. I, ah... I was the first one to notice the forest dying, and he thought I'd make the best pony for this. He wants us to rush to Snowpitt, and ask their shamares to aid us, gathering more ponies from other villages along the way to help make our case," Pine Ponder explained.

"Hmm. Well, he's a sharp one, then," The first shamare nodded with satisfaction. "We were thinking the same thing. We were just talking about whether one of us should go, but our old bones would make whatever trip you take twice or thrice as long."

"Yes, it's best if we choose someone young and spry, like your elder did," The second shamare nodded. "Sit down, rest your legs a little. Daughter! Bring our guests some food. We'll be right back, you three. Just need to talk to our own elder and pick the right ponies. Won't take long. We went to the woods several times and saw just how dire the situation is, so I'm sure you're eager to get moving again. Just refresh yourselves a little while we get this sorted, and you can move out as soon as you want."

"Of course, elder," Pine Ponder and her companions nodded respectfully, while a younger mare brought them some dried fish to munch on while they waited.

The events played out similarly in the other villages along the way. The ponies in the closer ones also noticed something happening to the forest, while the further ones that managed to escape the radius of the mysterious arboreal death were convinced by the large number of village representatives that they managed to gather up to that point. When they finally marched to Snowpitt, the group was made of several dozen ponies, hailing from just about every village along the eastern half of the river.

When they arrived, their group didn't garner any attention at all. It was the first month of winter, and the Gathering was underway, ponies from all three tribes pouring into Snowpitt. Making their way through the crowds, they sought out the chieftain, asking the locals for directions. It took a bit of trotting, as the stallion was busy making sure that everything was going smoothly.

"You have rather grim expressions for what is supposed to be a mostly happy gathering," He noted immediately. "Did some of your kin die and get lost? You don't need to petition me to call them back, the Calling calls all the lost spirits, without exceptions."

"No, chieftain," One of the stallions in the group said. "We come from the eastern villages, and we need the aid of Snowpitt's wisdom and magic, lest something terrible happens to our lands."

"All of you? From different villages?" The chieftain frowned.

"Yes, elder. I am Wildmane, son of Long Trek, elder of Green Bough."

"Spearhead, son of Brine Hoof, messenger from the elder of Foamy Rapids, chieftain," Another stallion spoke.

They introduced themselves one by one, Pine Ponder going last. With each pony, the chieftain's frown grew deeper and deeper. Looking around thoughtfully, he eventually shrugged, nodding to himself after a few moments. Waving to the group, he led them away.

"Well, it's not like this hasn't been planned in advance, and happened every year for over a thousand years now. I'm sure ponies will manage just fine without me holding their hoof. Let's go find some shamares, and you can tell us all about what led you to come here."

There was no shortage of shamares in the ancient settlement. Not only did they have more simply due to the larger population, travelling shamares that got too old to move around tended to retire in Snowpitt, and the other tribes still sent a number of younger shamares each year to lend their power to the Calling.

The trick was to find the kind of shamare that you needed for the task. Earthsingers were the obvious choice here, though ones with gifts of foresight, telling fortunes and unravelling hidden mysteries would clearly come in useful as well. And even if their talents didn't lie in fields that were applicable to this issue, there was a chance they still knew some obscure bit of lore or someone that could be of use. As such, the chieftain pretty much swept up every shamare that he came across, leading the group towards the Hall.

"Alright, I think that's everyone we could realistically gather on such short notice," He nodded. "Get inside, everyone, and let's listen to what the messengers have to say. This sounds quite serious."

The mystics and the messengers all shuffled inside, taking their seats. There wasn't much of a hierarchy in the group, but they were still aware that Pine Ponder was the first one to notice that something bad was happening to the forests, so she was gently pushed onto the speaker's rug first.

"Hello, chieftain... Elders," Pine Ponder nodded respectfully to the crowd in front of her. "It all started over a month ago now. At the very start of winter, as I was gathering some firewood, I noticed that the trees seemed weak and sickly. And it was most definitely not just them preparing for winter's slumber. It was odd, and I kept coming back to check on them, and it wasn't stopping..."

She explained everything as best as she could, which wasn't much, of course, given that not a single pony from even one of the villages knew just what or why it was happening. None of the others in the group had anything to add, simply confirming her words and informing them whether the forests around their village were affected or not. Most of them were.

"This is serious," The chieftain rumbled. "The forest provides important materials and food. The villages have fish and farms, but who's to say even they won't die if this keeps going? Many of the tribe will face starvation. The other settlements will help, but with so many villages affected, we will have many lean years, if not decades, before the situation normalizes."

"It would also mean starved and manic yetis descending from the mountains in droves, once the prey animals die off as well," A hunter added.

"Quite," The chieftain nodded. "It is unfortunate, then, that we have so little to work with. Has anyone ever heard of anything similar happening in the past?" He asked, turning towards the gathered shamares.

"I... Do not think so, chieftain," The eldest southerner said slowly, scanning the western and northern shamares, who were shrugging helplessly. "But this sounds like the work of a truly powerful spirit, to affect an area that large."

"Can you defeat it? With your power combined?" He inquired.

"Hmm, hmmm," The mystic hummed, thinking deeply. "Well, wards and protective staves can be set up for just about any area, if you have enough shamares. One could ward the entire tundra plains, if they had a thousand thousand shamares under their beck and call. This... Could be possible. Or maybe some of the keen-eyed among us could find and track down the source of whatever foulness poisons the land and attack it directly. We know far too little to say whether we can do something or not, but there is little that cannot be overcome with enough will and magic. And I'm certain none of us here will refuse to go. True mysteries like this are only encountered every few centuries, and I don't intend to miss my chance to witness this myself, even if I'll have to be dragged around on a sleigh every step of the way."

The other shamares laughed and nodded, pledging their aid one by one. The chieftain decided to join the expedition as well, pondering which strong stallions to take along to protect the vulnerable elder shamares. As they got to throwing ideas and dates around, a snag presented itself.

"Well, we can't leave before the Calling, of course," The elder shamare shook her head. "It has happened for over a thousand years, and it will happen for a thousand years more! It will give us time to prepare, anyway."

"How long, elder?" Pine Ponder asked with some concern.

"Five days, youngling. And while I understand your plight, I'm afraid I will not budge on this. The lost ones must be called back," She said firmly, the others nodding with agreement.

"I'm afraid she is right in that we need to prepare, too," The chieftain nodded. "I will call a bigger meeting this evening, gather all the brave warriors and travelers from the other tribes. We'll put together a grand expedition, but it will take time to sort out the chain of command and prepare everything."

"Very well, chieftain."

❅ ❆ ❅

After that, the group broke to get some food and find suitable lodgings for their stay. As Pine Ponder ate, she felt despondent, knowing that every day spent waiting meant another day of the forests getting weaker. At the same time, though, she knew that suddenly moving hundreds of ponies across the tundra in the dead of winter was absolutely out of the question without the proper supplies and planning.

The second meeting was far more populous, ponies cramming into every story of the building, their voices melting into a low drone as they watched the group of messengers sitting down below. Travelers, explorers, hunters, adventurous young ponies here to witness the Gathering for the first time - everyone that might be interested in joining a grand outing to overcome a mysterious danger was there.

"Quiet down, quiet down," The chieftain called out as he stomped his hoof. "Seems like everyone's here, or we're full to near-bursting anyway, so let's get this underway. Pine Ponder?"

With a nod, she trotted over to the speaker's rug again, repeating her story to the much-larger audience, who were listening keenly. Once she was finished, the others added their parts, and after that, the chieftain stepped in, explaining what would be expected of those that volunteered to come.

"Shamares can deal with many threats that spears cannot, and at the same time, there's not much they could do against a charging yeti. This would be your job during this expedition. The shamares will doubtlessly need to be escorted all across the forest while they try and sniff out whoever's causing this, or to perform their own magic to counter whatever's happening. There could be danger. There could be unknown beasts and malicious spirits. We honestly don't know what we're going to be trotting into, here," He explained, the audience getting more and more excited with every word.

While his tone was one of caution, the words were pretty much honeyed bait to every brave pony that was seeking to prove themselves and have tales of gloriously defeating whatever evil was plaguing the southern forest, ones that they could tell to their children and whoever else was listening. Before long, just about every pony in the Hall was thumping their chest and exclaiming that they were volunteering for the campaign.

They all spent a few hours forming groups and sharing tasks, picking out swift ponies to be messengers, rugged hunters for the bodyguard roles, older and wiser ponies as leaders, and so on. The village representatives were roped in to guide them to their respective settlements, the chieftain and the others deciding that the best thing to do would be to divide everyone into a number of groups that they'd send into each village and operate from there, sending probing expeditions into the forest.

Once all of that took on at least a rough shape, the chieftain nodded, tapping his hoof. "Alright, we can finish figuring out the fine details over the next few days, now that we have a chain of command and everyone knows who to ask for guidance. Now, usually, I would tell you all to go and get some sleep, but before we do that, I have one final question. Does anyone here know anything that could help with the situation? An old story of something similar happening in your tribe? Some obscure bit of lore on how to restore life to forests? Knowledge about some kind of forest-devouring spirits that could be behind this?"

Some ponies began whispering, while most of the others sat silently and shook their heads. It seemed like no one was going to say anything, until a lone mare slowly made her way towards the speaker's side through the crowd. Pine Ponder looked her up and down curiously, as did everyone else. She was wearing a large cloak and boots, with a bag strapped to her side. Her expression was mostly unreadable, because her long bangs almost completely covered the entirety of her face.

"Speak, explorer. Who are you, and what do you have to say?" The chieftain asked.

"I am Ice Elation of the northern tribe, chieftain," She introduced herself, making a number of northerners mutter. "While I have been to many remote places and saw many strange creatures, I do not know what could be harming the forest. However, I have heard a story about a pony that supposedly managed to bring great life to a tree that was nearly, or perhaps even completely, dead."

"Oh? Well, one tree isn't much, but perhaps it could be applied to the whole forest via shamaric magic," He mused. "What did the pony use to achieve that?"

"A branch from one of the trees in the crystal forest, chieftain," She said, the Hall erupting into surprised shouts and exclamations.

"Silence, silence! The crystal forest, you say? From what I heard, it's in the depths of Ice Land, and few that venture there return," The stallion frowned. "Can you tell me the story, please?"

"Naturally, chieftain. Some cast doubt on whether it is even real, yet, of course, they refuse to go and see for themselves. However, the crystal forest is a very real place, I assure you. Though many ponies perished while trying to understand its secrets, some have managed to bring back trophies from there. One of those was a stallion by the name of Mighty Leap.

He was an adventurer trying to prove himself, and, as many of them do, he went to Ice Land, the most untamed, wildest place one could possibly think of, where floewolves roam the icy plains, and windigoes circle the skies. He gathered a group of like-minded ponies and, much like him, they were ambitious. Many ponies have performed valorous tasks like taking down floewolves and claiming their fangs over the years, and they considered such a quest insufficient to establish just how good they supposedly were. No, they set their sights on the crystal forest.

They... I suppose the details of their journey do not matter all that much. They did manage to reach the forest, without losing anyone along the way. When they entered the forest itself, however... Well, they decided that they needed to take a trophy, to prove that they indeed have been there. And what better trophy to take from a forest than a branch? So they went right up to a tree, and broke one off.

The forest took offence to that.

When they entered, there were seven of them. Only one managed to make it out alive. Mighty Leap later described getting slashed at by invisible and untouchable enemies, his comrades getting viciously cut down in front of his eyes. Even when their spirits were called back to the tribe afterwards, none of them could describe what actually killed them. They... Well, I suppose that doesn't matter, either.

Mighty Leap swore off adventuring after that. His comrades didn't blame him, but he felt guilty regardless, and even his impressive trophy didn't manage to soothe his regret. The crystal branch, the object that his team had died for, was glowing with power, attracting no small amount of curious shamares and other ponies, eager to see the incredible prize from the most remote and unreachable wilderness.

Where others would recall their adventure with a mix of hard-learned humility and pained pride - after all, the expedition was a success that achieved something no one else managed to do, even with the losses - with each retelling of the story, the words just grew more and more bitter in Mighty Leap's mouth. The magic was slowly fading from the branch as well, the crystal slowly growing duller, as if in response to Mighty Leap's darkening mood.

One day, Mighty Leap had enough. He grew sick of his precious prize, and went outside, stabbing the branch into a half-dead tree that stood near his home. Don't ask me why he did it precisely that way - I think it might have been symbolic, to warn others that seeking such treasures will only bring them death? He himself later said that he wasn't thinking much at all then, and just wanted the thing out of his house so ponies would stop coming over to gawk at it. So, he put it outside, even if it meant leaving it where someone might steal it.

Well, the act gave him one last boost of fame anyway. The sputtering and failing dregs of magic flowed from the crystal into the wood, revitalizing it and making new branches and needles sprout from the dead tree. The crystal branch gave out, never growing or changing again, but the tree was given a new lease of life, surviving long past Mighty Leap himself departed to the spirit realms.

And that is the story, chieftain. The remains of the tree still stand there to this day, the dead crystal branch still available for everyone to see. Most ponies don't know or forget about the part where the branch's magic restored the tree, since they focus on everything else that happened, or wonder if such magic could be used for other purposes," The mare concluded.

"That is... A fascinating and obscure bit of lore indeed," The chieftain mused. "I do wonder how much use it is, though. It does sound like the branch had great power, one that was almost drained when Mighty Leap performed that act... Yet, not only is the forest in the depths of Ice Land, which would be quite a roundtrip during winter, the danger... It sounds like whoever would volunteer for this would be going into near-certain death."

"Times have... Changed, chieftain. A little. It has been several centuries since Mighty Leap's expedition, and there had been others who tried to repeat his feat. Some successfully, others - not so much. Either way, with each attempt, the knowledge about that strange place increased. Now, I'm not saying that it's remotely safe. But... It's no longer a certain death sentence," Ice Elation explained evenly.

"Hmm... You sound like you have personal experience in that regard," The chieftain nodded with a small smile.

"I... Do, yes. I have been to the crystal forest and back."

"Well then-"

"Twice."

That made the crowd explode in mutters again, some northerners nodding while ponies from the other tribes looked at the mare a bit more skeptically. The chieftain rubbed his chin thoughtfully, before raising his head and addressing the crowd.

"This mare makes very impressive claims. Does she speak truth? Is her name known among the northern tribe?"

A number of answers in the affirmative rang out, though it wasn't unanimous. It seemed that Ice Elation was an adventurer of some renown, but not universally so. Thinking for a short while again, the chieftain nodded to her, picking his words carefully.

"Well, it seems that you did make a name for yourself, but I'm not that certain that all that many ponies will want to join you on an expedition to the north. I'm not going to stop any volunteers from coming, of course, but..."

"That is fine. In fact, I much prefer to travel alone," Ice Elation shrugged indifferently.

"...I see. You'd take on such a risk on yourself? For the southern tribe? We don't know for certain if it will even be necessary," He said, looking towards Pine Ponder and the other messengers.

"The forests do not have long left to live, chieftain. Perhaps a month, perhaps two. And perhaps even if they live, they'll get so sickly that disease and pests will kill them either way," She suddenly said, shrinking a little when all of the attention in the Hall turned towards her.

"Hrm. Well. I'm not one to turn down help from a brave pony in an hour of need, of course," The chieftain hummed. "And, of course, if something were to happen to you, the southern tribe would make sure that your family won't ever have need of anything ever again," He nodded to Ice Elation.

"My family can take care of themselves, but thank you, chieftain. Either way, this situation sounds very serious. Serious enough for some risk. I already went there for far more frivolous reasons," Ice Elation shrugged, digging around in her cloak and pulling out a shining shard of something.

"Is that...?"

She held up the shard, Pine Ponder and the others squinting to see just what it was. The chieftain trotted over to her, gingerly picking it up and rolling it over in his hoof.

"Needles... Odd, crystalline, but still needles from an evergreen... Fascinating," He spoke in a low voice, but still loud enough for the ponies to hear.

"Yes. I've done it before, like I said. And I can do it again. A branch would be harder, but... Perhaps a pinecone or something would work as well," Ice Elation nodded.

"Pinecone?" Pine Ponder immediately perked up.

"...Yes? I saw some on the trees when I was there last," Ice Elation nodded.

"That would be so much better than a branch! The sheer power a pinecone like that could contain..."

"How in the world would you know that?" From her tone of voice, it sounded like the explorer raised her eyebrows questioningly, though that was obviously impossible to see through her mane.

"Well, I might not be an explorer or even a northerner, but I know my trees. And I know pinecones," Pine Ponder nodded confidently. "There is power in them. Life. I collect pine nuts, and a single hoofful of nuts can keep you full for a couple hours. More than that, you said that the branch was slowly bleeding its power away. Which is exactly what happens with branches from regular trees, too. A pinecone, meanwhile, is made to store and protect the seeds, until the right time comes. And until it does, there is very little that can actually harm them. I am... Very certain that a pinecone would contain incredible magic, if those crystal trees are as magical as you say they are."

"They are," Ice Elation nodded slowly. "The Breath in the north is so thick, even a regular pony starts feeling like a shamare."

"Well, if you could somehow retrieve a pinecone... Are they hard to reach? I know pine trees aren't exactly easy to climb..."

"I... Am not the biggest expert on trees. They're not like pines, though. They're more like... Firs? Lower to the ground," Ice Elation shrugged, her quiet confidence dissipating slightly while speaking about a topic that was less familiar to her.

"Oh, that makes it easier. I hope there's no crystal squirrels or birds that ate all the seeds, though. Well, if the pinecone is still on the tree, it should be good, I think," Pine Ponder said, pondering pinecones.

"...Right," Ice Elation said slowly, while the chieftain grinned.

"Sounds like you should take her along. For her expertise in forests, if nothing else."

"Wait, what?" Pine Ponder suddenly sat up straighter.

"How good are you at being silent? Trotting or galloping non-stop for long distances? Snowwalking? And, most importantly, at being silent?" Ice Elation questioned her.

"I- I can sneak by a yeti, but- Why are you talking like I already agreed to go with you?!" Pine Ponder shouted, her eyes wide.

"This is your quest. You were the first one to call the alarm. You clearly care about this very strongly, probably stronger than any other pony here," Ice Elation listed the reasons with a slow shrug.

"Y-yes, but didn't you say that you prefer to travel alone?"

"...Yes, but I think in this case, making sure that the pinecone arrives safely is more important. And having a second pony... Would be a detriment on the way there due to your lack of experience, but, once we reach the forest, you would be a big help. It all hinges on whether you're able to keep up with me, though. Can you?"

"Some call her a forest spirit back home," One of the stallions that accompanied Pine Ponder to Snowpitt said. "She's silent as the grave, and can seemingly cover half the forest in a single journey."

"Hrm... Adequate," Ice Elation nodded. "Will you take up the mission, then?"

"I... I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to refuse," Pine Ponder muttered. "And I would do a lot of things to save the forest."

"In that case, we can't waste time. The Calling is in five days, and after that, the plains will be swarming with strange spirits and creatures. We need to be gone before that," Ice Elation proclaimed, nodding firmly.

"Isn't it usually a week's journey to reach Nilas?"

"It is. This will be an excellent test of what you're capable of."

"Great..."

"Then it is decided!" The chieftain roared suddenly. "These two brave ponies will go to the north, to hopefully bring extra power for the shamares to save the forest with. While our undertaking will be important, theirs will be even more so. As such, we must give them all the help we need!"

When Pine Ponder reflected on it in the future, she thought that what was happening was a lot like the adventure stories that she listened to on occasion. Not just the way it happened, but also the way she felt as it was happening. The suspense and the tense feeling in her gut were the same as when a skilled storyteller was recounting an immersive tale, except this time, it was for real. She was in the story.

The southern tribe outfitted her and Ice Elation with everything they could possibly need, from clothes to magic. It was mostly Pine Ponder that needed equipment, though the explorer got no small amount of things as well. Dozens of fire charms for getting warm or warding off predators, a good dozen magical potions to restore strength, an amulet of true sight that made Pine Ponder's vision swim with all the colors that were hidden from her before, and so on.

Ice Elation had an ice spear, something that didn't pass Pine Ponder's notice. Ponies that didn't know what they were doing rarely had weapons like that, so she had little reason to doubt her guide's competence, at least. To further enhance her authority, the northerner elders that were present gave her amulets and carved lengths of bone, signifying that she was on a very important mission and that she should be given any kind of aid that she required. The northerner's chieftain wasn't at the Gathering, but the blessings from the elders carried no small amount of importance, either.

The traveler spirit wasn't present, either. Someone in the audience asked whether they should ask her for her aid, pointing out that the ancient crystal spirit might be of use in the crystal forest as well. The chieftain shook his head, though.

"The ancient one is currently in Green Land with her family. We have no way to reach her easily, and Green Land is a couple weeks of travel away from Ice Land. It would be too much of a detour."

"I doubt a spirit would be all that much use either way," Ice Elation shrugged. "Our task is purely physical, and even spirits can't see the dangers of the forest."

And that was that. By the next morning, Pine Ponder and Ice Elation were standing on the edge of Snowpitt, a small crowd of shamares, elders, and young, adventurous youths wishing them well and giving their blessings, beseeching the spirits of their ancestors to watch over them on the dangerous path that they were setting on.

"Ready?" Ice Elation asked simply.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I think," Pine Ponder nodded.

"Good. Let's go, then."

Author's Note

New friend acquired! She looks friendly... Right?

Winter Sprint

Trotting for long periods of time wasn't something all that new for Pine Ponder, as others have already noted. While it was her chosen job, she did genuinely love going through the woods, and the equipment-laden packs weren't all that different from bags weighed down with foraged food. The only difference was the unfamiliar terrain, though she knew enough about navigating to tell that they were going due north, even if she didn't have her companion leading her.

For her part, Ice Elation was quiet. Given how much she stressed the importance of the ability to remain silent, Pine Ponder could only assume that she, much like her, didn't really get to talk much in her occupation. Which was fine, and they could have probably gone all the way to Ice Land without telling a word to each other, save for one issue: Pine Ponder was fairly certain that she needed to know more about where they were going and what kind of animals and other things they were going to have to deal with.

"Could you teach me some lore about the place we're travelling to?" Pine Ponder spoke quietly.

It took Ice Elation a long while to answer. Long enough that Pine Ponder began to think that she wouldn't answer at all. "It is hard to say what, exactly, will be useful. The path up to Ice Land is largely not relevant. The place itself... The crystal forest can wait until we get closer to it, as can the biggest dangers. I think we should focus purely on moving for now. We're going to be doing nothing but that for several weeks straight, every day, until we collapse from exhaustion."

"Very well."

And that was that. They kept moving, focusing on putting one hoof in front of the other, idly scanning for predators in their path all the while. Neither mare was used to working with a partner, and Pine Ponder couldn't help but shoot a curious glance towards Ice Elation now and then, sometimes catching the northerner (seemingly) doing the same thing through her long bangs. Both of them remained silent, though.

Time was a bit elusive in the dark of the long night, but one usually still could tell the passage of "days", monotonous as they were. And Ice Elation certainly kept her promise of testing Pine Ponder. They kept trotting all throughout the day, only stopping briefly to eat, or just moving along while taking bites of food. And then, they kept going through the night. Only when it was roughly getting close to morning did Ice Elation stop, sweeping her gaze across the spot she chose.

It was a small creek, now frozen over and dead. Tossing some snow here and there, she dug out one side of the snowed-in bank, making a rudimentary shelter from the wind and cold. Pulling out one of the many magical trinkets the shamares gave them, she briefly focused on her magic, the strange bundle of herbs and sticks tied together with strands of pony coats starting to smoke ever so slightly.

While she almost never used charms herself, Pine Ponder did hear about them through others. This one was supposed to act like a ward, masking their scent and making predator's gazes slide over them. Useful, but not entirely cheap since they lasted only one night, so most ponies still preferred to travel in groups and have sentries.

"How are your legs?" Ice Elation asked, putting the charm to the side and setting up her bedroll.

"Fine. A little sore. More than usual, but I'd go trotting for hours for fun, or just to see if I could find any interesting, hidden places. I don't know how much longer I can keep this pace up, though," Pine Ponder spoke slowly, stretching her own bedroll out.

"We'll see. You did well so far. I'm certain we'll manage to get to Nilas either way. The only question will be the shape we're going to be in when we get there. Now, let's sleep," Ice Elation reassured her quietly before unceremoniously falling asleep the moment she lay down.

"Good suggestion," Pine Ponder nodded, doing the same.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next several days went more or less the same. One hoof in front of the other, again and again and again and again. The pace was easy, but the sheer distance was punishing. Pine Ponder knew better than to complain, though, and she knew that it was too late to turn back either way. Even if she wanted to abandon the mission, she had to make it to Nilas before the Calling.

On the morning of the fifth day, though, Ice Elation broke the monotony by hoofing over one of the magical strength-restoring potions to Pine Ponder. She blinked at it in confusion, looking at the explorer, who yanked the cork out with her teeth from a flask herself, draining it. Licking her lips, Pine Ponder raised her eyebrows.

"Aren't these for... I don't know, life or death situations?"

"This might well turn into a life or death situation if you don't drink one," Ice Elation explained. "Besides, they gave us a whole dozen of them. That is more than enough to get to where we need in Ice Land twice over, if you feel like not sleeping for three days. Doing that would be a bad idea either way, though. You shouldn't abuse them too often. This is exactly the right time to use one. We'll have time to rest and recover as we go along."

"Alright then..."

Pine Ponder wasn't sure how they were going to rest as they kept moving, but she trusted her guide enough not to question her. With a shrug, she yanked the cork out and downed the potion, her face contorting in strange ways at the flavor. She definitely tasted mushrooms, which made sense since magic mushrooms were an ingredient, but overall, it was just bizarre.

"Eugh."

"You'll get used to it. Or not. It's not too bad either way, though. They don't really leave a lingering aftertaste, so just chug them quickly," Ice Elation explained with a tiny smile.

"I'll keep that in mind," Pine Ponder nodded, grabbing an ice shard and suckling on it to get some extra moisture.

She felt her stomach gurgle, and a strange tingling began spreading outwardly from her abdomen. The pain from her sore limbs began fading, her joints and muscles no longer aching so badly. The sensation of exhaustion did not disappear completely, but it was a pretty big change.

"It'll work for a while. Some ponies like to use them when they're about to fall unconscious, but I found that this way is better. If you're barely holding on already, you're still going to feel like you're half-dead, even with the potion. Now, I'm fairly certain we could trot for a whole day non-stop, if it comes to it. Which it probably will. This day is the last day before the Calling, and we need to get to Nilas. Come on. Get something to chew on and let's go," Ice Elation nodded, shoving a small dried fish into her mouth and crunching on it.

"Right behind you," Pine Ponder nodded.

As promised, the potion lasted quite a while. It wasn't entirely pleasant - while Pine Ponder did feel a wellspring of supernatural endurance, it wasn't entirely benign. She felt her guts clench and her coat stand on end multiple times as strange tingles and shivers ran through her body. Still, the side effects were fairly minor, so it was probably a price worth paying.

Step by step, league by league, they kept on moving through the tundra, until unfamiliar scents started invading Pine Ponder's nose. It still took a long time until she could finally see the source of those smells - the winds were strong, and blew the scent of the sea great distances away from shore. Still, see them she did, marveling at the settlement and the dark, foreboding body of water in front of her.

"Nilas," Ice Elation breathed. "Once the capital of the northern tribe, now - the very southern edge of our territory. And we still need to reach the other edge. Come. Let's get down."

❅ ❆ ❅

They had some time to rest their legs once they got to the city, though that wasn't really the case for the rest of their bodies. The sudden and entirely unexpected arrival of two interesting ponies caused a stir in Nilas, especially when Ice Elation proclaimed that they were on an important mission, given to them by the elders of both the southern and the northern tribes.

Between their equipment, demeanor, and the seals of authority given to them, it wasn't hard to convince the locals that they were telling the truth. They explained their situation and their needs, the inhabitants nodding along with curious expressions. Before long, there were volunteers offering to take them further north in their boats, giving the pair a chance to rest and recover while they paddled.

"I kind of wanted to see the sea for a while now, though I thought I'd just head east one day, instead of going all the way here," Pine Ponder mused, looking across the waves.

"That would have been a fine enough way to see it. Honestly, the sea itself is interesting for a few hours, but you quickly lose the sense of wonder after that. It's actually what's in the sea that is interesting. Unfortunately, lots of things in the sea will also eat you," Ice Elation nodded.

"Well, I never intended to get a look from the inside," Pine Ponder shrugged with a small smile.

"Wise choice. Either way, we're not here for sightseeing. I suggest you try to get some sleep, if you can. Some ponies find the rocking of the waves nauseating. Others find them soothing. I hope you're one of the latter ones."

"I hope so too."

"We're just about ready," One of the stallions that was preparing his boat called out. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, I'm sure we can acquire more provisions along the way," Ice Elation shook her head.

"Ready when you are, then," He nodded, gesturing towards the docks.

"Good. Let us away," Ice Elation nodded, cantering after the stallion.

Pine Ponder was a little nervous as she got into the swaying boat, though she did the best not to let it show. She wasn't completely unfamiliar with boat travel - ponies went up and down the river near her village in their kayaks all the time. Still, going down a narrow stretch of water with land being almost within reaching distance was quite different from going out into a body of water so large, you couldn't see the shore anywhere.

Taking Ice Elation's advice, she curled up on the bottom, doing her best to fall asleep. It wasn't entirely easy, what with the "ground" constantly swaying in random directions and the splashing sounds coming from the paddlers, but the past five days of forced marching were incredibly useful in helping her fall asleep immediately. If anything, she could have probably fallen asleep on a pile of pointy rocks just as easily.

This time, it was the stallions from Nilas that were pushing themselves. Pine Ponder spent the next several days in a haze of sorts, only eating slowly while swaying with the boat, or sleeping on the bottom, getting off to rest on actual ground on the occasional island. Thoughts of curiosity and looking out across the sea didn't even enter her head, her body's forcefully repressed need for rest catching up with a vengeance.

Eventually, they reached a bigger island, and Pine Ponder's head was rested and working well enough for her to actually take in some details this time. She curiously examined the landmass, only for her eyes to be drawn towards some kind of massive silhouette that was bobbing in the water. Squinting in the darkness, she tried to make out the shape.

"What in the world...?"

"It's still here. We caught them in time," One of the stallions proclaimed proudly.

"Caught what? Who?"

"One of the featherboats," Ice Elation supplied. "I guess you missed that bit of the conversation I had in Nilas. They told us of one of the boats that left three days ago, but since it was taking a more circuitous route, they were hoping they could catch up to it."

"Featherboat..." Pine Ponder scrunched her muzzle as they approached the shore, digging through her memories.

She had heard of the things, of course, but it was hard for a pony to imagine something so strange without seeing it. The ways the clever northerners adapted to living in their wild and strange lands were many and well-known, for their oddity if nothing else.

From what she could recall, they were apparently large boats, built in collaboration with the western tribe's experienced woodworkers. Born out of a mad idea (though the northerners would argue that it was a stroke of genius) by the locals of Green Land, they used the massive feathers of the thunderbirds that lived there as some kind of wind-catchers, making the wind drag them across the water, with no paddling involved at all.

She kind of expected for the feathers to be stuck on its sides like wings, but as she kept looking at the featherboat, she saw that they were standing upright, instead. Her staring was interrupted as their much smaller vessel reached the shore, the others getting off.

"Come on, let's go find their crew and see if we can talk our way into getting on that thing," Ice Elation nodded to Pine Ponder.

"Lead on. I barely even know what's going on here any more," She shook her head.

There weren't all that many of the large vessels in operation at the same time, given both the resource costs in lumber and the limited amount of usable feathers that the thunderbirds shed every year. As such, there was a bit of an air of prestige around them, and Ice Elation had to really put her somewhat limited skills in persuasion to talk the ponies into letting them board.

"I can understand your mission's importance," The stallion in charge spoke calmly. "But each featherboat is also responsible for the wellbeing of dozens of families. We carry great amounts of cargo in these, far more than any paddle boats possibly can. Ponies sell us their wares they accumulate over the season, and we pay them. We carry the things to the ponies that need them, whatever it may be. Quality tools, metals, stone glue, medicines... It's not just about profits. It's all a part of a very important cycle."

"And I'm not trying to commandeer your vessel for some grand journey," Ice Elation shook her head. "We just need to get to Ice Land as fast as possible. And our mission affects close to a dozen villages, which means hundreds and hundreds of families."

"Yes, well... We are still going to Green Land, I'm afraid, but I suppose we could make a small detour to Squid Shore island. I wasn't sure whether to go there this year or not since there wasn't much trade last year, but I'll make it for you. It's only a couple days of travel to Ice Land from there," The stallion shrugged, giving her a "take it or leave it" expression.

"That will do just fine," Ice Elation nodded.

After that was concluded, the travelers were given lodgings to rest in by the locals. Come morning, they were escorted towards the featherboat by the stallions from Nilas, the large vessel being too big to safely approach the shore without getting stuck on the bottom. Sharing respectful nods and goodbyes, Pine Ponder and Ice Elation waved goodbye to the stallions, clambering onto the deck of the boat.

This was nothing remotely like a kayak. It retained a similar shape, sure, but the featherboat was... Solid, for lack of a better word. It was large and looming, and Pine Ponder looked around the vessel with a slightly slack-jawed expression. It even had doors leading downward, which suggested that it was almost a floating house of sorts.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ice Elation asked, standing beside her.

"It's massive. How long does it take to build one of these things?" Pine Ponder boggled.

"I don't know, actually. Bit less than to build a house, I think, but it does take no small amount of ponies and time," Ice Elation shrugged. "Still, the results are something to behold."

"They are. They really are," Pine Ponder nodded.

Once they got moving, Pine Ponder was surprised to find out that the featherboat wasn't completely powered by wind. There were paddles in it, though the ponies still preferred to use the wind to move around, as moving such a heavy ship by hoof was an exhausting task.

"They're there in case we get stuck somewhere without wind, but that's a very unlikely occurrence," One stallion explained.

The boat getting moved by wind meant that there was more time to talk, now that the whole time wasn't consumed by either sleeping or paddling. And Pine Ponder made full use of that time, interrogating the northerners about their strange mode of transport. For their part, the ponies really didn't need a lot of encouragement to start bragging about their vessel.

"Oh please, you think this is mad? This is nothing. This is completely normal," A mare giggled, gesturing towards the feathers. "Do you even know what they tried to do first?"

"What?" Pine Ponder asked, anticipating more northern weirdness.

"Well, they wanted to fly, of course! Hahahah!"

"Wait, the ponies, or were they thinking of building a flying boat?" The confused southerner scrunched her muzzle.

"Both, of course! Ahahhahaah! Some tried making wings, to try and take off like the mythical flying ponies of the south. Some tried attaching those wings to the boats, hoping to sail across the sky among the birds! Even shamares joined in, messing with their magics and runes! Nothing really worked, tough," The mare kept giggling.

"Someone eventually came up with a usable solution, though?"

"Of course, of course. It took a while for it to happen - all those experiments kept damaging and destroying the feathers, and not all of them fall from the mountains in our direction after the thunderbirds shed them, so they're a bit rare. But eventually, someone did. There's some conflicting stories - some say that it was a stallion who tied himself to the end of a feather and tried to take off during a storm, only to get dragged across half the island by the wind. Others say that it was a mare that was hunting a feather that got blown out to sea in hopes of selling it to all those ponies trying to discover a use for them, only to discover one herself as she bit into the end of it, and got dragged towards another island altogether when the wind suddenly picked up."

"The second one sounds closer to what they're being used for now, I think," Pine Ponder mused.

"Yes, though neither one of those ponies were the ones that thought up this," The mare proudly tapped the wooden deck of the boat. "Of course, featherboats had dozens of design changes over the years as well. With the sheer size of the feathers, it was obvious that a bigger and stronger boat was needed to withstand the forces, and it took a good while for everyone to create one. And when problems arose, other ponies added their tweaks, and so on."

Pine Ponder nodded, looking upwards. The boat had several feathers attached to it, guided and directed by a clever system of ropes and pulleys, allowing the ponies crewing the ship to change direction and speed at will. Some bits were trimmed to allow ropes to be attached, or for easier manipulation. Each feather was as wide as two or three ponies were long, making the mare happy that the birds apparently considered ponies beneath their notice as prey.

"It's really amazing just how fast we're moving with just the wind, without a single pony so much as lifting a hoof," Pine Ponder remarked. "How long until we reach Squid Shore?"

"Well, I would say a couple more weeks, give or take a few days. The winter winds are biting, but strong. Barring any storms, of course, spirits willing. Or any windigoes freezing the sea too early, though we're kind of already pushing the limit here. If that happens, you're going to have to trot to Ice Land on hoof."

"I'm quite familiar with crossing large distances on hoof," Pine Ponder smiled wryly.

❅ ❆ ❅

Fortunately, the freezing sea did not outpace the featherboat. The stallion in charge nodded at Ice Elation's thanks as they disembarked, but his expression was distracted. He clearly wanted to be out of the freezing seas as soon as possible, giving the ice floes bobbing in the water the stink eye. Once they were done, he swiftly concluded his business with the locals, immediately turning towards Green Land and the warmer waters, where they were going to spend the winter.

"Right then. One more trip across the water before we travel on land," Ice Elation nodded. "Let's see if we can either borrow a kayak, or find some more ponies to take us across."

This far north and this far away from Green Land's volcanoes and unseasonal warmth, the islands mostly emptied for the winter. The weather was brutally cold, even the cold-adapted snowponies holding their travelling coats closer to their bodies as the sea gales blew about. The few locals that remained were exceptionally sturdy and stubborn, and, possibly, just a touch mad.

Almost all the other islands that ponies wintered in had some way to hide from the cold, either by having hot springs or some other unusual feature that kept the temperatures a bit more bearable, or by having a bunch of tunnels dug into them. Ones with tunnels were often called "crystal islands", since the reason for the existence of the tunnels was mining. It was an activity that kept you busy and warm, and could easily be done in the depths of winter, if one had enough food supplies stocked up.

Squid Shore was one of the crystal islands, and the ponies that remained weren't all that keen on traversing the sea. Despite being northerners, the miners didn't really go out to sea all that often, and especially not during winter. After hearing them out, the elder of the village made a sour expression, shrugging helplessly.

"Well, we'll help how we can, sure, but it's not much. Honestly, the two of you are probably far better equipped to go alone rather than with anyone from here. Two experienced explorers like yourself would be the ones helping whoever came with you get across to Ice Land, not the other way around," He explained.

"Would you have a kayak you could spare? Preferably one for two ponies," Ice Elation asked, not bothering to correct him by pointing out that just one of them was actually an experienced explorer.

"Well, most kayaks went with the ponies northeast towards Green Land, but yes, I'm pretty sure we have a few that we put into storage. Let's get a couple ponies and see what we can dig up for you," The elder nodded, slowly getting up.

Before long, they had a two-seater kayak, with paddles and everything else they needed. Ice Elation examined it for holes, running her hoof and muzzle across the seams before nodding in satisfaction. Giving the elder and the other locals a bow, she glanced towards the sea.

"Thank you, elder. This will be more than enough for us."

"Oh, don't mention it. That is quite the problem our southern cousins ran into. I do hope your mission is a success," The old stallion nodded, the others nodding along.

"We'll see. I've been there before, so I'm sure we'll manage. Spirits watch over you, elder," She nodded, gesturing for Pine Ponder to follow.

"You too, youngling. You need their aid more than I do, I think," He nodded, before hobbling back to the settlement.

"Now. Have you ever paddled? At all?" Ice Elation asked, hoofing Pine Ponder a paddle.

"A few times, as a teenager, in one of our lakes," She shrugged. "I wasn't bad at it, but it wasn't my talent, and I didn't really end up in a kayak later on."

"Well... Better than completely nothing, I suppose. The most important thing is that you don't panic and start flailing around wildly if something happens. If we fall into the water... Well, the sea is very, very cold right now," Ice Elation cautioned.

"I, uh... I remember my parents teaching me how to roll over if I end up upside down," Pine Ponder licked her lips, feeling a shiver run down her spine. "Could you remind me how?"

"Oh, you remember that much? That is good. Really, a kayak with two ponies is more stable anyway, but you can't be too careful. Here. If you capsize, then..."

Ice Elation spent a short while teaching Pine Ponder a few tips about kayaking before directing her to pick it up and carry it to the beach, near where a small, rudimentary pier was built. Without ceremony, they lowered it into the water and hopped in. Nodding at Pine Ponder, Ice Elation spoke her final bit of advice before starting to paddle.

"Just keep going and don't get distracted, and we'll be there before you know it. As long as we keep moving forward, we're going to be pretty stable just from the momentum."

"Understood."

And with that, they were off. It wasn't entirely unlike trotting on land, Pine Ponder noted, save for the fact that she was only using her forelegs. Letting Ice Elation do any steering and course corrections, she took the explorer's advice and focused purely on paddling. Left, right, left, right, left, right...

Reaching Ice Land wasn't a single day's journey, unfortunately. They had to stop and rest on another island, which turned out to be completely abandoned for the winter. It took them a little bit of effort to unseal and worm their way into someone's home, taking care not to disturb or damage anything. Closing it back up after getting some sleep, they took to the waves once more.

Once Ice Land was finally in sight, Pine Ponder wasn't sure what to feel. Trepidation? Excitement? There was some nervous tightness in her gut, but not all that much. Certainly not as much as she expected to feel when going into possibly near-certain doom. Ice Elation was confident, though, and she said that she went to the crystal forest twice, so how bad-

"Nope," Pine Ponder immediately interrupted her own flow of thoughts before she called a disaster of some kind upon them. Tempting fate like that was never a good idea.

"We're almost here. The final stretch... Of course, once we're done here, we're going to have to repeat this all on the way back south," Ice Elation chuckled wryly in a rare display of humor.

"Oh ancestors, have mercy on my legs," Pine Ponder sighed.

Ice Elation said nothing, though she did smile slightly. Once they reached the shore, they picked up the kayak and carried it off to a small shelter nearby. There were signs of activity there, partially snowed-over hoofprints dotting the ground, leading both to and from the sea.

"I half-expected this place to be abandoned as well. What kind of ponies stay in the most inhospitable place imaginable during winter?" Pine Ponder asked, tilting her head.

"The very toughest ones," Ice Elation nodded. "Ice Land is a proving ground of the highest order. We have various desolate islands ponies use for training their offspring, but this place... It's on another level entirely. And this is not just for bragging rights, or anything like that. There are monsters that come from here, out into the rest of our territories. Floewolves are a constant danger, and there's other, local beasts that are not waterborne, but still harass the locals from time to time.

There's strange animals, strange things, strange materials and even strange plants that grow in the icy expanse. Some ponies found magical crystals while exploring, while others have discovered unusual veins of metals in the rock under the ice. Unfortunately, the extreme conditions usually mean that those kinds of discoveries end up being one-offs, with little done to follow up and expand the knowledge on them.

Then, there are the shamares. They come here to meditate, to draw power from the Breath of north, and perform great feats of magic. Many shamares that make ice spears like mine do it right here, infusing them with the deepest, most bitter cold of the north you can imagine. Then, there are other, even more ambitious... Projects."

The northerner led Pine Ponder away from the shore as she explained, deeper into the mainland, on a path towards some buildings in the distance. Raising her eyebrows, Pine Ponder glanced at her guide, trying to discern her expression through those frustratingly long bangs of hers.

"What kind of even more ambitious projects? The ice spears are one of the ultimate status symbols a northerner can carry, from what I heard."

"Yes, they are. But this is not something ponies carry with themselves," Ice Elation nodded. "Have you ever heard of guardian statues? They've been around for a couple centuries now, though obviously they're still not very numerous."

Pine Ponder frowned, furrowing her brows. "Statues... I might have? I mean, lots of ponies make scary snow and ice statues around their villages to ward off dangers during winter, but you northerners have figured out how to infuse them with magic as well, right?"

"Not just infuse. A clever shamare figured out how to make a heart for one," Ice Elation explained, which only raised a whole lot more questions in Pine Ponder's mind.

"A... Heart? For an ice statue?"

"You'll see for yourself in a few moments," The explorer replied cryptically.

Pine Ponder just blinked, shrugging mentally and wrapping her coat around herself tighter. Ice Elation never tried to mess with her in any way or withheld information to appear smarter or anything of the sort, so she fully expected that the "few moments" really did mean a few-

"Whoa. What is that?" Pine Ponder asked, looking at a glowing statue of a pony that was a small distance away from them with wide eyes.

"Guardian," Ice Elation explained succinctly.

"So it's one of those...?"

"Yes. Let's go say hello," Ice Elation nodded calmly, turning towards the statue.

"Wait, say hello? Do they speak?!" Now properly flabbergasted, Pine Ponder trotted after her.

"No, they do not. But it is the polite thing to do."

"If you say so..."

"I do. Hello, Watchful. I hope your vigil goes well," The northerner nodded respectfully to the statue.

Examining it, Pine Ponder was immediately struck by the fact that its eyes seemed to be moving, tracking them both with a discerning look. And once Ice Elation spoke her greeting, the eyes were not the only thing that moved. With a small sound of groaning ice and a few snowflakes falling away from its body, it gave Ice Elation a nod, before returning to its sentry duty.

"What in the world..." Pine Ponder whispered under her breath.

"This is Watchful. One of the older guardians. A century and a half old, from what I remember. The younger ones take decades until they start responding to ponies," Ice Elation once again explained, creating dozens of new questions. "And that... Is its heart," She pointed to a dark mass in the statue's chest.

"I... Need a whole lot more details before I can even begin to understand what you're telling me," Pine Ponder shivered slightly.

"Of course. Let's get inside and warm up. There will be plenty of time to talk. We're not pushing ourselves until we drop this time. We'll get a long, proper rest, and then we'll have to push hard," Ice Elation nodded, trotting away and waving a goodbye towards Watchful. "Be well, guardian."

"Um... Be well," Pine Ponder nodded awkwardly towards the statue, before scampering after Ice Elation.

Trotting towards a large, heavily reinforced and extra thick longhouse, Ice Elation worked the hefty door for a while before managing to swing it open. Cantering inside, they were met with the curious stares of several dozen ponies, who were in various stages of eating and preparing food, or simply sitting and talking. It seemed to be a communal kitchen and gathering place of sorts, probably so that the heat from the cooking would benefit as many ponies as possible.

"Well floewolves blast me! Is that you, Ice Elation?!" A stallion roared once the mare took off her hood, every pony in the building perking up.

Where the rest of her tribe weren't very closely aware of the explorer's achievements, here, she was amongst her own. Adventurers, explorers, hunters of mythical beasts, and so on. Even if she preferred to work alone, it was quite clear that the others that frequented Ice Land held no small amount of respect for her.

"It is I, Shatterhoof," Ice Elation nodded, trotting towards where the seats were, a few ponies already bringing warm drinks for her and curiously eyeing Pine Ponder.

"Well, what in the world happened this time? Don't tell me you missed the Calling again! You left a month early to make sure you weren't late this year!" The stallion laughed.

"I... I was not late. I was in Snowpitt. And yes, I did miss it," Ice Elation said with a small, wry grin. "I had to gallop out of there like my tail was on fire." Turning towards Pine Ponder, who was looking at her with a questioning look, she explained. "I never saw the Calling before, so I decided to go to the Gathering last year. But, due to various circumstances like a sudden storm grounding me in an island for several days, my journey took longer than I thought, and I ended up in Nilas right as it happened. This year, I gave myself more time, but..."

"But something happened. Something to make you gallop all across the sea, here, like mad," Shaterhoof surmised with a crazed grin, pretty much everyone in the building gathering around them with similar smiles. "This smells like adventure. Now spill."

"Alright, alright, stop smiling like that or your face will split in two. It all started when I was in Snowpitt, and the southerner's chieftain put out a call for "all ponies fleet of hoof and capable with a spear" to a meeting..."

Ice Elation explained everything while Pine Ponder enjoyed several cups of hot tea, telling her part of the story and how it all began once the explorer was done. Some of the ponies gave her dubious looks when they heard that she was just a forager from the southern forests, though they became a bit more respectful when Ice Elation told them that she was entirely capable of keeping up with her during their journey.

"Well. This is quite the task. Serious, too," Shatterhoof nodded once they were done.

"Yes. But I think I can do it. We can do it, that is," Ice Elation corrected herself.

"Do you need any help?"

"I... Don't know. Numbers don't entirely help when dealing with the crystal forest. Two ponies are better than one, but... I don't know," Ice Elation shrugged. "You're quite different from me, Shatterhoof. You're a floewolf hunter. Me, I'm a sneaky pony. I could sneak to the crystal forest just fine by myself, but with you stomping besides me, I'm fairly certain we'll get into at least half a dozen fights before we get there."

"Hahaha! And I'm guessing Pine Ponder here is a sneaky pony, too?" The stallion chortled, the listeners sniggering under their breaths.

"She is. She's pretty good. No, downright impressive, actually. I often had to check that she was still with me during the trek through the southern plains. Her snowwalking is impeccable, and she moves almost without a sound. I don't feel comfortable working with most ponies. But I'm confident that I can trust her not to mess up," Ice Elation nodded, making Pine Ponder fold her ears in embarrassment at the unexpected praise.

"Well... If you don't come back soon, we'll come looking for you either way."

"I know, Shatterhoof. Thank you. But I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Alright then. Now, from our southern guest's expression, I'm assuming she has questions," The stallion grinned again.

"Um, yes. Before we get to all the dangers and the beasts, could you tell me more about those guardian statues outside?" Pine Ponder nodded, glancing towards the door.

"Oh, sure. That's an odd, but interesting tale. Then again, most of them tend to be like that where this place is concerned, heh. Anyway, they're a shamaric project, so don't expect me to tell you all that much. Now, depending on who you ask, it all started either around two hundred years ago, or possibly centuries before that.

See, there was a shamare that had an idea. Just hearing those words makes you tense up a little, doesn't it? Heh! Anyway, she was aptly named Spirit Weaver, and she studied spirits for many years, and it didn't really take her all that long to notice that where the body gains nourishment from matter that comes from the Earth, the spirit gains nourishment from the eternal Breath and the Sky. And the closer to the source of the Breath one gets, the stronger the spirits of the land are.

Floewolves, windigoes, crystal trees... There's a pattern there, you see? Creatures made more from magic than bodies of flesh and blood or plant matter, like everywhere else. So, she had an idea to try and create a spirit of her own. Not just a spirit, but give it a body, too, and nourish and grow it - somehow.

Sounds like she should have just settled down and had some foals, eh? Surely would have been way simpler! But no, she had big ambitions, and she wanted to create... Well, a pony-shaped floewolf of sorts is the best description I can think of, or that's what the result ended up being, anyway. No clue if that's what she intended, but that's what she made.

Basically, she wanted to create some kind of guardians that would be able to aid our tribe and fight all of the crazy beasts that live here in Ice Land. And with how powerful spirits here are due to the strength of the Breath, this was the place she chose to work in. She thought she'd shape a spirit of her own, if she could find a vessel powerful enough to contain it.

Well, she did find one. All I know is that it's called a "geode" - don't ask me what it means, but it's apparently some kind of ball of very tightly formed crystals, which can hold magic incredibly well, even better than individual crystals already can. Apparently, the traveler spirit was the one who named the things, so I guess it's another word from her foreign crystal tongue.

Anyway, Spirit Weaver acquired one of those geodes, and got to work. She very, very carefully inscribed the kinds of traits that she wanted the guardian to have on it. "Protector, defender, guardian, fearless, watchful, vigilant, courageous, kind, swift", and so on. I don't know how long she tinkered with it, but the stories say it was at least several years, if not over a decade. This was to be her life's big project, and she did not want to make a mistake. She also breathed life and magic into it, holding it against her chest and doing her best to impart her love of the northern tribe and the duty she felt to her people into it.

By the time she thought she was ready, the thing was so full of power, it was practically vibrating. Some ponies actually thought it was going to explode and level the entire settlement, and put some distance between themselves and Spirit Weaver once she came outside with it.

She wasn't going to let that affect her, though. She had a whole ritual prepared, and roped a bunch of other ponies into it. A whole group of drummers was there, along with singers and dancers. It was more like a celebration of welcoming a new foal into the tribe rather than a shamaric ritual, though that was probably exactly what Spirit Weaver was going for.

The drums beat to the heartbeats of the ponies, and the pony's hearts beat to the beats of the drums. An ice statue had been prepared, its chest hollowed out and empty. Giving it one last kiss, Spirit Weaver gently put the geode - now the guardian's heart - inside, pouring water on it. It froze immediately, magic coursing through the statue as the statue's heart began to beat as well.

Nothing happened at first, though Spirit Weaver instructed the musicians to keep playing. After a short while, the statue's eyes began glowing, roaming across the faces of the ponies surrounding it. By that point, even those that were afraid had returned, seeing that nothing exploded yet. Everyone held their breaths, expecting some grand to happen, but the statue just kept standing, glancing around. It was like a babe. A foal that had just been born, with no understanding of what to do. Spirit Weaver called out to it, giving it a name.

"Shield. Eternal Shield. Come to me," She beckoned.

It took some coaxing, but the statue moved. Now, needless to say, ice creatures moving around makes floewolf hunters very, very jumpy. Of course, having one that was on your side sounded pretty useful, but there was still a lot of caution in the watcher's optimism as they observed Spirit Weaver lead the statue around.

Being in the shape of a pony did not mean that it was a pony. That's an important lesson that gets hammered into your head pretty early on if you go exploring. That was exactly what Spirit Weaver intended, though - for the statue to see other ponies as its kin, and defend them as such. And... It actually worked.

It was still slow for many years. Slow to respond, slow to move. But over time, it grew. Smarter, faster. It seemed like Spirit Weaver really managed to give birth to a new spirit, in a very roundabout way. She built it a cairn, a small pile of stones and crystals carved with runes where it could rest and watch over the outpost here. When it got damaged, ponies would bring its heart and place it back on the cairn, and the spirit would slowly reform the body, the guardian dutifully carrying out its task.

And ancestors, did it carry it out with vigor. Many thought that it was just a curious novelty, a strange project that a kooky shamare spent years working on. But when a floewolf finally made it past all the traps and hunters and sentries, it did not hesitate for a second when it heard the screams and the roars. Jumping from its cairn, it charged without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Now, what happened next is... Unclear. Unfortunately, some ponies embellished the story quite a lot, some versions saying that it cracked the floewolf's head into dozens of pieces with a single punch, which is not quite realistic. I saw the guardians fight. They are not that strong, and one on one, a floewolf will definitely win. But, well... They don't bleed. They don't feel pain. Or fear. And before a floewolf manages to rip one apart, even a single guardian will definitely cause some injuries to the beast, cracking their legs and punching out their eyes. A bunch of them? Bad, bad time for the wolf.

Either way, everyone was extremely impressed with Spirit Weaver's creation, praising both her and it. They were even happier to learn that the statue's injuries were meaningless, and that it was as capable of restoring its body as a floewolf. Many came to it to say thanks themselves, and it seemed like the more ponies talked to it, the more... Alive it looked.

And that's it, more or less. Spirit Weaver never created any more of them, but other shamares were intrigued, to say the least. Creating a nearly immortal, possibly even eternal guardian for the tribe? That was something big. A challenge, a way to mark your name in history for centuries or millennia to come, a way to contribute to the tribe's safety long after you're gone... Whatever the motivation, many of them sought Spirit Weaver's advice, and she gladly taught them everything she could.

And now, we have nearly a dozen of them, just standing around, watching for danger. New ones don't get made all that often, but now and then, someone digs up a big fancy geode, and a shamare decides to see if she's up for replicating the greatest feat of shamaric magic created to date. The "young" ones always take a bit to "grow up", but we love them all the same."

"So... That is why you talk to them. It.. Grows their minds, just like talking to foals does," Pine Ponder surmised.

"As I understand it, that's more or less exactly it, yes."

"What did you mean in the very beginning? When you said that it potentially started centuries before Spirit Weaver did it?"

"Well... That part's more to do with rumors, and I'm not the kind of stallion to share that kind of stuff..." Shatterhoof grimaced awkwardly.

"Oh, come on. Please?"

"All right, all right. So, you know about wind rider, right? The traveler spirit?"

"Of course. Everyone's heard of her, at the very least, and I hear that more ponies come to see her huge crystal totem than for the Gathering these days," Pine Ponder snorted.

"Right, of course. So, as the stories say, once she found out about the statues, she was... I don't know. Upset? Agitated? Something about them riled her up, and she flew all the way here to find out more. She spent a LONG time looking at Eternal Shield. Of course, ponies eventually noticed her, and word spread through the outpost, eventually reaching Spirit Weaver, who wanted to know what was happening. And when the traveler spirit saw Spirit Weaver, she froze."

"Froze as in...?"

"Figuratively, of course," He chuckled. "Supposedly, she said that the mare reminded her of someone very familiar. That she looked a lot like someone else. From a long, long time ago."

"Oh. And what did she look like?"

"Dark gray coat and a shock of incredibly white hair. Nothing too unusual," Shatterhoof shrugged. "And, I'm afraid that I can't really tell you much else. The traveler spirit asked her if she was up to her old tricks again, which just confused Spirit Weaver. Supposedly, Spirit told her that she had no idea what she was talking about, and asked her if she knew her in a past life, and, after a pause, the traveler spirit said yes."

"Oh. So this past life..."

"Yeah. Supposedly, Spirit Weaver did something bad... I don't even know how many lifetimes back. Something to tick off the traveler spirit, which is not an easy thing to do, from what I know. But that's pure guesswork, since the wind rider herself didn't care to elaborate. After asking some questions about the statues, she smiled and said that it was nice to meet her again and took off, leaving a very confused Spirit Weaver behind."

"Huh."

Author's Note

Ice golems are cool.

In and Out

"Now tell her about floewolves," Ice Elation urged Shatterhoof, passing Pine Ponder a bowl of stew.

"Well, I don't know all that much about avoiding them, but there's one critical weakness that they have that every northerner is aware of: they can't actually smell you. They're made of ice, so they don't have lungs or noses. They can still see AND hear you just fine, though, and if they do see you, they'll circle the area for hours even if you manage to hide somewhere. So, I guess you'd best listen to what Ice Elation tells you, and do your best to sneak by," The stallion explained.

"That's precisely right. A normal animal would easily sniff you out if you buried yourself in the snow nearby, for example, but a floewolf cannot. As long as you break line of sight long enough, and your hiding spot is not overly obvious, you can get away just fine," Ice Elation nodded.

"Alright," Pine Ponder nodded back after swallowing her mouthful of stew. "I'm guessing most of the advice is going to be the "hide or run away" kind."

"Yes. We're not here to hunt anything, nor do we have the numbers. The goal is to come and go without any creature even being aware that we were there," Ice Elation confirmed. "There's other predators. Drift burrowers. Blizzard buzzards. Snowamanders. We can avoid all those with ease, though, so the most important thing for you to do is not know the lore about all the beasts in here, but do exactly what I tell you to do. If I say jump, you jump. If I say bury yourself in the snow, you immediately dig down and bury yourself in the snow. No questioning, no hesitation. Can you do that?"

"Of course."

"Good. If we get separated, don't try any heroics. Go right back here, and don't look back. Which really, really shouldn't happen, but just in case... Blizzard buzzards come out during blizzards to feast on whoever got caught out in the open, so seek shelter if that happens. Signs of drift burrowers are nearly impossible to spot, but you can see them in the snow with the amulet of true sight that the shamares gave you. Snowamanders are territorial, but they don't actively hunt ponies, so if you just avoid their nests..."

❅ ❆ ❅

After filling Pine Ponder in about the basics of travelling safely through Ice Land, the northerners shared a few more exciting stories of their adventures before saying their goodnights and dispersing. With how many ponies there were travelers and adventurers, most of the buildings were sort of communally owned, and Ice Elation led her to one where several other ponies were getting ready to go to bed.

Once they woke up, Ice Elation gave Pine Ponder a serious nod, the meaning of which did not escape the southerner. This was the big day. Once they ate, the two immediately got to checking and re-checking their saddlebags, the others helping them out with anything they might need.

Pine Ponder spent some time debating whether she should take a spear or not, but since she barely ever even held one, in the end, she decided that it would just be dead weight. Ice Elation did take a small throwing spear as well as her ice spear, though, shrugging at Pine Ponder's questioning expression.

"We're sneaking, yes, but throwing something can be an excellent distraction. Are you ready?"

"Yes. Food, supplies, clothes... That's everything."

"Let's go, then. Do what you did so far, and we're going to come out of this just fine."

"...What did I do so far?"

"Remained calm in the face of adversity. And didn't make unnecessary noises," Ice Elation explained.

"Alright. I can do that. Let's get this over with. I want to get back to my forest as soon as possible."

"Yes, let's."

The other adventurers saw them off, cheering and smacking them on the back. "Don't take all of the northern secrets for yourselves, leave some for us," Shatterhoof laughed, Ice Elation just rolling her eyes with a faint smile.

And with that, they moved out. Trotting past a few still forms of the guardian statues, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a harsh, completely untamed wilderness. There was nothing but rock, ice, and snow, the terrain very rough and uneven, larger mountains looming in the distance. It was pretty, in a way, but also extremely unwelcoming at the same time.

"Is there really life in such a desolate place?" Pine Ponder asked quietly, pulling her clothes closer to her.

"Yes, though that life took some strange and unusual forms, as you heard. For ponies with warm insides, this place is not pleasant, to put it mildly. There are some shores where it's warm enough in summer for some normal trees and such to grow. Some ponies go there to fish and gather materials and such. Nothing like that in this outpost, however. Here, all you will find are strange beasts and places... Though you can also catch snow crabs around here. Very tasty," Ice Elation breathed.

That was the extent of their conversation for the remainder of the day. Both mares weren't big talkers, and both of them knew the importance of remaining quiet and alert when out in dangerous territory. Step by step, Ice Elation led them further into the depths of Ice Land.

The name of the place was unfortunately accurate. Pine Ponder squinted and blinked as the moisture from her eyes started drying out, frost accumulating on her eyelashes and muzzle. At the same time, though, the rest of her body felt oddly... Protected. Not just by her travelling coat, but by her fur, as well. There was an unusual spring in her step, her muscles feeling coiled and ready to move even when her legs were completely relaxed.

It took her a few hours of pondering and self observation until she finally figured it out. It had to have been the magic, the Breath that flowed from the north. As the weather was getting colder the deeper in they went, so was the magic, which, in turn, made her stronger. It wasn't a perfect equilibrium, but she suspected that she wouldn't be able to withstand such temperatures for long otherwise, even with her long winter fur.

She was wearing the amulet of true sight, which did make their bleak surroundings look a bit more interesting. The rocks and even the snow glowed with hidden power, and there were ribbons of magic flowing through the sky, some of them seemingly even touching the ground somewhere far in the distance. No creatures made themselves present yet, however.

That day, Ice Elation pushed them to trot almost until they dropped again, apparently seeking out a spot to shelter in that was familiar to her. While the land was completely untouched by any settlement attempts anywhere deeper in, the adventurers did leave a few marks on the place. A guidestone was erected near a small mountain, pointing towards its snowed-over side. Ice Elation wordlessly led them there, scanning the snow critically before starting to dig through it. There was quite a lot, and Pine Ponder soon joined in, focusing her magic on plowing through the obstacle. Finally, they dug up a small crevice, Ice Elation crawling in.

"Takes so long to find it every time, but any kind of construction here is a very time-consuming and risky affair," The explorer grumbled mildly. "Come on, it opens up deeper in."

"Oh. It's a whole cave," Pine Ponder noted, once she wiggled in herself.

"Yes. Hard, cold, but, most importantly, safe. That is the most valuable trait a shelter can have around here. There's nothing to start a fire with, but there's explorer's tricks we can use. Come here," Ice Elation gestured towards a small plot full of loose rocks.

"Are loose rocks somehow more comfortable to sleep on than the bare stone floor?" Pine Ponder asked with some confusion.

"No, they're worse," Ice Elation smiled. "But they're better when they're warm. Help me dig them up."

Shrugging, Pine Ponder got to work, shifting the stones. Some had frozen together a bit, but there was almost no moisture on them otherwise. Once the pair reached the bottom of the small depression, Ice Elation nodded, gesturing for her to step back. Digging one of the firestarting charms out of her bags, she carefully set it on the very bottom, activating it with a jolt before quickly pushing the small pile of rocks back into the hole, right on top of the charm.

With a muted fwoosh, light and heat began forcing themselves through the gaps in the stones, some of them cracking apart into even smaller pieces from the sudden shift in temperatures. A short while later, the charm burned out, and they were left with a small bed of hot, faintly steaming stones.

"There we go. Set your bedroll up right on top of that, and it will help you keep warm through the night," Ice Elation nodded.

"Ohh. Clever. I'll have to remember that one... Even if I'm probably never going to use it," Pine Ponder smiled.

"We should probably cuddle up to save warmth, too. Use your coat as a blanket as well. Stack every bit of warmth protection that you can."

"Of course."

Moments later, they were wrapped around each other, laying down on their unexpectedly warm bedding. While the rocks underneath them were still pointy, they were too tired to care, and both of them were soon fast asleep.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning started with a dose of strength-restoring potion and a breakfast of dried fish and seaweed. Donning her clothes, bags and equipment, Pine Ponder waited for a minute while Ice Elation carefully stuck her muzzle outside, looking around. After a silent signal from the explorer, the pair were off once more.

This time, they weren't able to completely avoid the strange native creatures. Pine Ponder was slightly more on edge than usual due to all the magic and the cold air making her vision swim slightly, and she almost missed the hidden, coiled form of a drift burrower underneath the snow. Ice Elation did not, though, sticking a foreleg out and stopping her.

"Oh," Pine Ponder breathed quietly, noticing the creature.

She didn't really need for Ice Elation to explain the situation. They were in front of a small hill that was part of the foothills of a mountain to their right, and to the left of them, there was a big stretch of snowy plain, possibly even a frozen lake. Going out in the open was always a bad idea, but the drift burrower dug itself into the only snowdrift that they could use comfortably to climb up the hill.

"What do we do?" She asked quietly.

"Well, it won't leave. That's why I dislike ambush predators. Can't bait them out easily, besides the whole ambush thing," Ice Elation huffed. "One thing left to do."

Hefting her spears, she debated between her heavier ice spear and the smaller throwing one, before choosing the latter. Since there was no rush, she took her time aiming, finally tossing the weapon with all the strength she had. The spear sunk into the powdery snow, finding its target.

The creature didn't make any sounds, though it immediately started thrashing wildly. Taking her ice spear, Ice Elation waited tensely while it tried to find whoever bit into it in vain, eventually diving deeper into the snow and fleeing, taking the spear with it. Blinking, Pine Ponder tried to scan the nearby snowdrifts, but couldn't find anything unusual.

"Did you kill it?"

"Perhaps. I hope I did. Maybe it will bleed out from the injury. I really dislike ambush predators. Anyway, let's keep going."

"What do they even look like? I couldn't even make out its form."

"Very few ponies actually know. They tend to flee if injured, as you saw. Those that managed to finish them off say that they're a bit like a serpent of some kind, with vicious, hooked teeth that they either use to drag you under the snow and finish you off, or tear off chunks of your flesh with. Cowardly, but very deadly if they do manage to sink their teeth into you."

"Eugh."

"Yeah. Stay alert."

Pine Ponder did exactly that, and they managed to avoid their next encounter without much issue. Both of them noticed fresh floewolf tracks, though only Ice Elation actually knew what kind of tracks they actually were. They had to follow them to get where they wanted to go, and they did see the glowing form of the northern hunter spirit in the distance. Swiftly (and silently) galloping away and hiding between snowdrifts and other obstacles, they snuck by without getting noticed.

The rest of the day and the next one passed by in a similar manner. Though the creatures and the environment were very strange and unfamiliar to her, Pine Ponder was happy to find out that most of them could still be avoided using the good old "remain quiet and unseen" method. Finding more hidey holes to sleep in, they got closer and closer to their goal - until they reached it.

"There it is. You can see the glimmers, yes? That's not ice. Those are crystals," Ice Elation said quietly, pointing into the distance.

The mountainous terrain leveled out in the immediate area, making their line of sight a bit more open. And in the distance, Pine Ponder could indeed see a strange sparkling of some kind. She had been seeing similar things from the corners of her eyes for a while now, so she dismissed it as more magical mirages of some kind, but apparently that wasn't the case. They had almost reached their goal.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Now, the crystal forest operates by completely different rules than everything else," Ice Elation lectured her as they approached the trees. "Not a single pony got attacked by any of the previously encountered predators in here, ever. Everything and everyone avoids this place, even though there's seemingly no danger whatsoever... Until you touch the trees. Then, you can die faster than you can blink, if you don't gallop away faster than the wind."

"Can you tell me some more of those rules?"

"Well, the first one, I already told you. Trees are harmless in other places, and predators are dangerous. Not here. The trees are the most dangerous things in the world. The animals, meanwhile, are not dangerous at all."

"What kind of animals live in this forest?"

"Some ponies said they saw some curious-looking spiders in the branches now and then. I haven't seen one myself yet."

"Spiders, really?" Pine Ponder raised her eyebrows in disbelief, swishing her tail before quickly pressing it against her body again.

"Yes. Apparently, their legs look like icicles, and they like to hide on tree branches, camouflaging themselves that way. They're probably too small to hurt a pony, but I wouldn't go poking them if you see one. No idea what they eat. Ice flies? Not that I ever saw such a thing. We're not going to stay here long enough to find out. Let's get what we came here for and be gone," Ice Elation shrugged.

"Of course."

"And if you hear the singing, do not go towards it."

"Singing?! You never mentioned that before!" Pine Ponder hissed in a low voice.

"...It wasn't important. That's all you need to know about it. Don't go towards it."

"What happens if I do?"

"No one knows, since no one tried to go towards it. And everyone that did that survived, so no one else tried to, either."

"...Right, okay. We're not here to experiment with our lives. In and out."

"Exactly."

"Still, um... Can you tell me more about it? What kind of singing is it?"

"The eerie, wordless song kind of singing. Almost like a pony, but not quite. Always comes from the edge of the forest, and only when you're inside. No one ever reported hearing the song from the outside," She explained, crossing the barrier into the forest, the first crystal trees to the side of her.

"Uh..." Pine Ponder looked for something to say, stopping for a moment to appreciate the bizarre crystal tree in front of her before taking after her guide.

"If we hear it, we'll have to stay inside until it stops. No one tried leaving while the song was being sung, and I don't want to be the first one to find out that doing that will kill you. It's perfectly safe to come and go otherwise."

"Alright... Anything else?"

"Ponies still talk quietly while they're here. It's probably habitual more than anything else, but..."

"Alright. That won't be a problem for me," Pine Ponder nodded.

"Good. Now... Do your thing, I suppose. Look for pinecones. Just... Don't actually do anything without talking it over with me first, okay?"

"Of course. These really do look more like firs, though. I'm... Not seeing any around here..." Pine Ponder mumbled, examining the bare branches of the strange trees.

"I suppose we'll have to go deeper in. Come on."

Slowly and silently, they cantered through the magical forest, always choosing the widest possible paths and taking great care to avoid touching the trees. The crystalline firs were small at first, getting bigger and heftier deeper in. The deathly silent atmosphere was extremely oppressive, even though all the dangers were both immobile and very shiny, which made them very easy to see.

"I think I see one cone... But it's quite high up," Pine Ponder whispered, finally noticing a cone in a branch.

"Let's look for a better one," Ice Elation shook her head.

"Alright."

It took them a bit of wandering to finally see several potentially useful candidates. Looking at the shiny cone, Pine Ponder smiled with wonder, biting her lip when she tried to figure out how to actually reach it. Shaking her head, she turned to the expert.

"So, how are we supposed to get them if touching the trees kills you? You had some kind of plan, right?"

"Something like that, yes, though at first, I thought I would need to get a branch," Ice Elation nodded. "Mostly, I was thinking of ways to trick the forest."

"...Trick? What, were you thinking of smooth-talking the trees into giving up a branch?" Pine Ponder raised her eyebrows.

"You're thinking of a scam," Ice Elation huffed quietly. "No, there are ways to outsmart everyone, including strange crystal trees."

"Never needed to outsmart trees before, but I'm listening."

"Well, through painful - no, lethal - trial and error, ponies found out that hurting the trees makes them hurt you back. Some of them got away alive, though, and the main bit of advice was the same as you'd expect - gallop away very, very fast. And you only need to get out of the forest. Whatever invisible tree spirits attack ponies, they don't really chase them far. Still, even that is hardly the best method. I was thinking of grabbing them from a distance."

"How would you accomplish that?"

"My first idea was either rope, or a hefty enough rock. Tell me, of all the creatures that you know, how many of them use ranged attacks? Ponies are just about the only ones that figured out how to throw stuff."

"Oooh. So you'd throw a rope around a branch and yank it towards you, or..."

"Break one off and come back when the trees calmed down, yes. But I don't think it's going to work with a cone, at least the rope thing. It's too small of a target," Ice Elation pursed her lips in thought.

"Does everything make the tree spirits attack you?" Pine Ponder pondered.

"What do you mean?"

"What if it snows? They don't start attacking the snowflakes that land on them, do they? And those spiders? They crawl on the branches just fine, right?"

"I... I don't... It was snowing a bit the first time I was here, actually..." Ice Elation mumbled, deep in thought.

"I'm going to toss some snow. Get ready to run, I guess?" Pine Ponder asked, gently scooping up a hoofful of powdery flakes.

"...Alright," Ice Elation nodded, tensing her legs.

Taking in a deep breath, she blew them on the branch of the nearest tree. Nothing happened. Then, she dumped the rest of the snow on a branch. Nothing proceeded to happen. Biting her lip, she dug deeper, finding a small shard of ice and very, very carefully depositing it on one of the branches. Nothing.

"Interesting," Ice Elation muttered.

"Maybe they only attack when they experience an actual injury. Or maybe they can feel a pony's foreign spirit when it touches them," Pine Ponder nodded to herself. "Could you... Come here? I want to climb on your back for a moment."

"...Very well."

Carefully clambering on top of Ice Elation, Pine Ponder extended her foreleg towards a pinecone. She still couldn't reach it, but she could feel the immense magic of the tree without even touching it. Climbing down and shaking her head with a smile, she turned towards her guide.

"Well, if I had any doubts before... There's unbelievable amounts of power in these trees. As much as I don't want to harm this amazing place, a single pinecone to save the entire forest in the south is a fair trade, I think."

"So how do we get them? Throw snowballs at a cone to knock it down?"

"It's an option. Let's dig around and find something with a bit more heft, though. Cones can actually be annoyingly hard to knock down, and I'd imagine a crystal tree is much strong- oooooooh," Pine Ponder breathed, yanking out a cone from the frozen ground.

"...Is that it? Is it good? Can we go?" Ice Elation asked with surprise.

"No...No, it's empty. The seeds are gone. Sorry," Pine Ponder shook her head, closely examining the cone.

"Of course. It's never that easy," The northerner sighed.

"Give me a few moments... I... Oh, here's another one..." Pine Ponder muttered, smashing through the ice and finding more crystal cones.

"Careful so you don't hit the roots. I think the trees wouldn't take kindly to that, either," Ice Elation cautioned, making Pine Ponder freeze up for a moment.

"Right, sorry. I'll go out more into the open."

After digging around some more, Pine Ponder had four crystal cones in total, all of them dead and inert. Hefting one in a hoof, she lifted it up and down a few times, pursing her lips and tossing it towards Ice Elation. The mare caught it, throwing it back in a neat arc.

"Alright, final plan. Do we try to knock down a few cones, run away, and return later?" Pine Ponder asked, once she was confident with her throwing skills.

"I..." Ice Elation trailed off, licking her lips. "That sort of sounds like the safest option, but no one's actually tried that one yet. You're safe if you get away, but no one tried coming back right after, and no one knows how long the tree spirits remain riled up."

"And you didn't want to experiment."

"Yes."

"Then... I have another idea for you to try. Take your ice spear, and... Touch the tree with it," Pine Ponder suggested.

"Really?" Ice Elation asked skeptically.

"...Leave it upright in the snow, so it would very slowly lean towards the tree while you get away."

"Hm. Now that sounds interesting. Alright," She nodded, doing exactly what Pine Ponder suggested, before gaining some distance.

Holding their breaths, the two mares watched as the spear slowly lost its balance and fell towards the trunk of a tree, resting against it with a thunk. Something did happen, though neither one was quite sure what. Something... Shifted in their vision, both mares blinking. The spear, meanwhile, rolled to the side, almost as if someone nudged it away.

"Did you see that?" Pine Ponder asked, her muzzle scrunched.

"It was like... The tree... Glimmered? Changed? I can't quite describe it," Ice Elation murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"Shouldn't the true sight amulets show us exactly what is happening? Including those invisible tree spirits?"

"I told you, this place works by different rules. Nothing is quite what you expect. Even shamares can't make heads or tails of it."

"Alright, so... Whatever they are, they didn't attack your spear. So if you very gently hook the end of the spearhead around a cone... And then yank it towards me, and then we run very very fast..."

"A good plan. I thought we'd need to climb on each other to grab a cone and then run, or something similar. This is better," Ice Elation nodded.

"Let's do it, before we plan ourselves to death. I can feel my teeth beginning to chatter. We need to start moving again, or it won't end well for us without even any tree spirits killing us," Pine Ponder muttered.

"Right. Strength potions, then. We drink, grab a cone, and we gallop like mad," Ice Elation nodded, hoofing said potion to Pine Ponder, drinking one herself.

Doing precisely that, the mares took a minute to gather their courage and let the potions take effect. Nodding to each other, they took up their positions. Pine Ponder stood a small distance away with an open saddlebag, ready to catch the crystal cone. Ice Elation stood next to the tree, raising her ice spear and carefully working it towards her goal.

Once she actually touched it, there was another shift around them. It was as if the already deathly quiet forest held its breath, becoming even more quiet somehow. Both of the mare's eyes went wide, darting around. Gritting her teeth, Ice Elation huffed.

"Too late to back out now. Do or die," She spoke in a low voice, fiercely yanking her spear back towards herself, a crack sounding out in the silence as the crystal cone broke off and flew towards Pine Ponder.

Then, several things happened at once. The first one was a strange sound, something between a wail, a chime, and a high-pitched keening. The second one was Ice Elation immediately jumping forward the moment the cone broke free, losing the grip on her spear and catching its shaft in her mouth, galloping forward as hard as she could. And the last one was Pine Ponder catching the cone in her bag, suddenly tossing the empty clay potion flask at the tree before turning tail as well.

The snow behind and around Ice Elation exploded, the mare zig-zagging and weaving in an attempt to evade the invisible foes as their slashes churned up the snowflakes. Once the clay flask shattered against the tree, there was another angry wail, and the attacks intensified even more, though they became less focused.

"Go go go! No stopping until we're out!" Ice Elation yelled.

"Uh huh!" Pine Ponder gasped, weaving and dodging between the trees.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the rest of the forest wasn't happy with the theft of the cone, either. One by one, the other trees began sparkling and shifting their colors as well, the song resonating among them faster and faster, slowly overtaking the galloping ponies. Pine Ponder shrieked as she suddenly felt her tail become much lighter, galloping with everything she had.

Meanwhile, Ice Elation was gritting her teeth furiously, keeping her body low to the ground and kicking off the snow with all her strength. Once she saw what was happening, she made a split-second decision, spitting her spear out and grabbing it in her forelegs.

The maneuver slowed her down a bit, but she used the weapon to pole-vault upwards, the invisible slashes whistling through the air as they missed. Doing an impressive mid-air twist, she threw the spear towards the nearest tree with all her strength, the magical weapon actually embedding itself into the crystalline material.

If the forest was angry then, now it was furious. The wail that rose up hurt their ears, but the distraction did work. Every attack became focused on the spear, forcefully yanking it out of the tree and smashing it into tiny, tiny shards of ice, the shamaric magic unable to withstand the frenzied assault of the spirits of the crystal forest.

The goal was accomplished, however. The two mares got away. Panting, they looked back towards the shimmering trees some distance away. Glancing towards her tail, Pine Ponder saw that it was bleeding slightly, the very tip of her tail shorn off along with the tail-hairs. Looking herself over more closely, she wasn't able to find any more injuries.

"Well... It could have been way worse, I suppose. Still, I thought getting away even a small distance was enough?"

"No one really... Tried to take anything from the forest... So deep in. It was always from the edge. They'd make it past the border quickly," Ice Elation gasped out. "Ponies would try to take branches. We're the first ones with a cone."

"Well, at least we got away without much- you're bleeding!" Pine Ponder shouted suddenly, noticing blood dripping through Ice Elation's coat.

"It's a shallow wound. I don't feel it inside me," Ice Elation reassured her after taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment. "Two wounds, actually."

"We need to take care of them right away regardless!"

"Of course, of course. Fortunately, the shamares gave us some wound binding stuff, too," She waved it off with an uncharacteristically huge grin, carefully slipping out of her clothes and saddlebags. "Here, they're in this bag,"

Pine Ponder pondered the sudden peppiness of her precious guide as she poured the medicine on her wounds. She appeared oddly perky, despite the perilous situation of her being injured in a predator-infested place. The always-serious Ice Elation was quite elated, really, eagerly looking east, like she was going to just trot away with ease.

She'd have expected such behavior from Shatterhoof, but not Ice Elation. In fact, the stallion acted a lot more like Pine Ponder imagined adventurers would act. Loud, brash, fearless, and so on. Ice Elation was quiet and thoughtful, but this experience clearly showed that she still had the same fire and love for risk, glory and danger inside her, just... Much more tightly controlled.

Carefully parting Ice Elation's fur, Pine Ponder made sure to work the goop into every bit of her wounds. The cuts were strange - they were singular, more akin to that of a blade, rather than a set of animal's claws. Fortunately, they seemed incredibly clean and even, with no jagged holes and rips.

The thing she was using was called "blood sap" by shamares - a special mixture that would dry quickly when exposed to air, becoming a bit like tree sap and sealing the wound shut without a need for bandages or stitches, something which was incredibly useful at the moment. Covering the second slash, Pine Ponder nodded after a brief inspection.

"I think that's the best I can do."

"Alright. Let me get your tail and we'll be off."

"Oh, it's just a scratch. I completely forgot about that," She shook her head.

"Shush. Do what I tell you, remember? Tail. Now."

"Yes, mother."

Ice Elation snorted, grabbing the clay pot and applying the same stuff to the tip of Pine Ponder's tail. Stowing it away, she put her clothes and bags back on, shifting slightly and testing if they chafed against her wounds. Finding everything satisfactory, she nodded to her companion, trotting away.

"Are you going to be alright?" Pine Ponder asked, glancing at her.

"I'll be fine. Taking some time to recover would be good, sure, but we can't afford that. We'll freeze and starve to death. We only have food for a few more days, remember? We need to make it back to the outpost. The wounds are not nearly bad enough to kill me until we get there," Ice Elation reassured her.

And that was that. The trek back was a bit more nerve-wracking, but Ice Elation turned out to be correct. She didn't get feverish or delirious, her senses and mind remaining sharp and guiding them past all the dangers with little trouble. They used up all of their fire charms and food to keep themselves warm, and had only a few of the strength-replenishing potions left when they reached the outpost. All of the magic items that the southerners gave them paid off, though. Between their determination and all the supplies they were given, they made it back in one piece, with a crystal cone, to boot.

❅ ❆ ❅

Naturally, the other adventurers gave them a hero's welcome. Everyone marveled at the crystal cone, touching it with reverent mutters as Pine Ponder held it in her hoof. Every pony was able to feel the power locked up inside it, whether they were a shamare or not.

It did attract actual shamares as well, a young one named Freezing Point coming out of her solitary meditations to marvel at their prize. "Such incredible power in such a... Well, I suppose it's not really innocuous. It's definitely quite the eye-catcher even by itself," She mused.

"It is nice, but the power is for saving my forest," Pine Ponder nodded, holding the cone close to herself.

"Oh, of course, of course. I wouldn't dream to try and take this from you. This is your prize, and you paid for it in blood. I'd bring terrible shame to myself and my tribe," She waved their concerns off. "Still, such an incredible item..."

"Would... You like to hold it?" Pine Ponder asked slowly.

"You'd trust me? I'd love to!" The shamare shouted eagerly, her eyes sparkling.

"...For a price," Pine Ponder elaborated with a small smile.

"Tease," Freezing Point huffed, crossing her forelegs. "Bit much to ask for something for just holding it, isn't it?"

"Not just holding it. I also have these," Pine Ponder said, pulling out the empty crystal cones from her bags and setting them on the table one by one, making the shamare's eyes grow wider and wider with each one.

"Wait, you kept them?" Ice Elation asked with some confusion.

"Well, of course. Like she said, they're very pretty even if they're not magical, right? And they're still from the depths of the crystal forest. They're pretty valuable, I'd assume," Pine Ponder nodded.

"Well... I... Huh. I should have tried to find some myself," Ice Elation muttered.

"You were focused entirely on the mission. Much more than me, even, despite it being my mission," Pine Ponder shrugged. "And now, I'm going to pay you back for your selflessness. Freezing Point? I heard others saying that you make the ice weapons for the adventurers here. Well, Ice Elation here lost hers during our adventure. For all four of these, and examining the full one, would you make her a new spear?"

Licking her lips, the shamare picked up one of the inert cones. "Well, these are very interesting, but... Then again, I think I know some ponies I could sell a couple to for a good price... Hmmm..."

"I don't need-" Ice Elation began, before Pine Ponder cut her off.

"Just take your just rewards, you goof. You earned it, ten times over. I'm not even giving you anything extra, just replacing what you lost."

"It was a tool. It served its purpose," Ice Elation shrugged.

"And you'll have a new one, uh... However fast shamares make them. If Freezing Point agrees to the deal."

"I'll buy one of those cones," One of the adventurers offered.

"Yeah, me too. I have a few gold nuggets I'd be willing to part with for it," Another said.

That started a flurry of bids, making Freezing Point scrunch her muzzle. "Cut it out, you buzzards, I haven't refused her initial offer yet!"

"Better think fast, then, oh wise mystic!" Shatterhoof laughed.

"Ugh! Fine. I'm sure It won't be a loss, but... I still want to see... Ah, I know!" She exclaimed dramatically, pointing towards Pine Ponder. "I will come with you!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me. What I am interested in most is seeing how you're going to use that thing. And if you're taking it south, then I'm coming with you. That's my price," Freezing Point nodded. "And those other crystal cones, of course."

"Oh! Well, sure. I mean, it's not like it costs me anything if you come along. A shamare might even be a big help during the journey," Pine Ponder shrugged.

"I will, if we can even make it back this season. The sea is freezing already. Instead of kayaking, we might have to trot all the way to Nilas. Or hop and skip across the ice floes."

"No... We need to get back as soon as possible. The forests will die..." Pine Ponder hung her head.

"It's not impossible, but there's a reason why we gather in the warmer islands and almost never travel in winter," Ice Elation said. "Even if we no longer gather to winter in Snowpitt like our kin of old used to do, it doesn't mean that the winters became any less harsh than they used to be."

"So..."

"We'll go," Ice Elation reassured her. "But it won't be pleasant."

"This wasn't exactly a fun trot in the forest so far. I'm sure I can deal with some more unpleasantness."

❅ ❆ ❅

As much as Pine Ponder didn't want to wait, Ice Elation needed to spend at least a couple days resting to allow her wounds to scab over properly, and Freezing Point warned them that she felt the weather starting to act up, anyway. Blizzards weren't anything remotely new to anyone in the three tribes, though the northerners did have the fiercest ones. The next day, she got to see what they referred to as a "whiteout", watching it slack-jawed for a few moments before closing the door with a firm "nope".

The forced inaction gave them plenty of time to talk and plan, though, many of the other adventurers eagerly joining them in their mission and pledging their aid to safely getting Pine Ponder and her precious cargo to the south. They wanted to know what was happening as well, tossing out various theories about dark spirits and strange beasts that could be devouring the southern forest.

In the end, their party grew to eleven ponies, all of them experienced travelers and adventurers, including Freezing Point. The usual stereotype of shamares being strong in spirit but frail in body did not apply to her, the mare clearly enjoying getting some first-hoof experience in adventuring, instead of having other ponies bring bits of magical creatures and plants for her to work with.

Once the winter spirits were done with their furious dance, the now enlarged party set out to the shore. Pine Ponder blinked in surprise at the sight of the once furious sea standing still under a cover of ice as far as the eye could see, while the northerners merely nodded, having expected that. While they did have to dodge a lot of ice floes to get there, now the separate chunks combined into a single, solid sheet.

"Is it... Safe to trot on?" Pine Ponder asked with some trepidation.

"It is. If only you could see how thick some of the chunks are when spring comes and they start breaking up. Either way, I'll be feeling out the ice as we go, so don't worry about that," Freezing Point reassured her.

"Alright. Lead on, I suppose," Pine Ponder nodded, gently tugging at the ropes of a makeshift sleigh.

They didn't really know if they'd have to paddle eventually or not, so they took a number of kayaks with them, as well. Not wanting to waste valuable wood, Freezing Point magicked up a few smooth slabs of ice, freezing several ropes into them and creating a simple way to transport their vessels that she could easily recreate, should they encounter a warm current with clear waters, and then have to travel over ice again.

Doing her best not to think about the fact that she was not even remotely on solid ground, but rather on a comparatively thin and barely noticeable shell over an endless, dark abyss with unknowable, hungry creatures, Pine Ponder followed along her new travelling companions.

Fortunately for them, having a shamare and a bunch of very, very experienced northerners made the journey only brutal, monotonous and punishing, but not actually dangerous. They made their way across the ice, stopping to rest on the various islands along the way, both abandoned and inhabited. Freezing Point was able to warn them in advance when it was time to hunker down and wait, even when there were no signs of a blizzard yet.

Some stretches, they went on hoof, others - in their kayaks, paddling quickly in small channels between massive ice floes, hurrying along before they shifted and slammed against each other. For a couple days, they even rode an ice floe, Freezing Point remarking that it was apparently something the northern shamares liked to do on occasion, though she couldn't really remember who started the tradition.

The inhabitants of the islands greeted them with great respect, feeding and sheltering them at no cost. Most of them remembered Pine Ponder's and Ice Elation's mission when they were going north, and they were very happy to hear that it was a success, marveling at the beauty and the hidden power of the crystal fir cone.

Finally, they made their way to Nilas, Pine Ponder leaning down to hug the solid land while the northerners chuckled. Once they found a place to store their kayaks for a while, they had a brief discussion on what to do next. Some suggested going to Pine Ponder's village right away, while others wanted to go to Snowpitt, since the locals would likely have the most up to date information on how the mission to save the forest progressed. It had been close to two months since they left, after all, and things might have changed.

The thing that decided which way to go was an issue that Pine Ponder had encountered along the way. At first, she was quite careful with the crystal fir cone, but it didn't take her long to notice just how sturdy it was. Incredibly sturdy. She had small metal picks that she could pry open pinecones with that she used to harvest pine nuts and the like, but she was sure she'd break her tools to pieces if she tried. She also knew that pinecones opened by themselves when it was dry, but this one clearly didn't work by the same principles.

"How in the world do I get this to open?" Pine Ponder mused, tapping the cone.

"Smash it with something solid? Like a big boulder?" Shatterhoof suggested.

"I suppose it might be the only way. Shame. I kind of wanted to keep it."

"Perhaps now would be the time to enlist the aid of the traveler spirit. She knows crystals, yes? Perhaps she could open it for you. Less risk of damaging the seeds and letting the magic go to waste," Ice Elation suggested.

"Well, I was only going to open it during the ritual, but that's a great suggestion! I suppose we're going to Snowpitt, then?"

"Snowpitt it is. Let's hope she's there this time," Ice Elation nodded.

"Ooh, I'm sure I can summon her if she's not," Freezing Point suggested. "I had this idea about calling spirits back using their totems, but never really got to use it, since guardian spirits don't usually travel anyway."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get moving," Shatterhoof nodded.

Author's Note

Crack

"And when we got to Snowpitt, the locals told me that you did return, but you hurried off to the lake for some reason," Pine Ponder finished.

They were not at the same place, nor even with the same people. Pine Ponder's story took a while to tell, and she got other ponies to help as well. Arctic Ink hung around as long as she could, though she still had to go home eventually, to the filly's great disappointment. She still made Agate promise to tell her the rest of the story once they met next, though.

"Yeah. Some ponies went to a lake to fish, and busted open a large hole in the ice. I just so happened to be telling Arctic Ink about skipping stones, and she really wanted to try it, so we went together before it froze over again. Anyway, this whole situation sounds more serious than I thought. I noticed that it was a bit quieter than usual when I returned, and I heard about the expedition south, but trees aren't really my thing, so I didn't bother going to see what was happening for myself. But if it's been going on for months now..." Agate pursed her lips thoughtfully as she gazed eastward.

"It has. You don't have to do anything you're not familiar with, though. Helping me open the fir cone will be enough," Pine Ponder reassured her.

"Well, I'm good at being a messenger too, you know. Quite good, and since all those ponies dispersed across a wide area, I'm sure they could use another capable runner," Agate shrugged. "For now, let me see that cone."

"Alright. Just... Don't open it yet. Just... See if you can?"

"Sure, I know how to be gentle," Agate chuckled, reaching for the crystal cone. "Let's see here..."

Pine Ponder held her breath, the other adventurers observing with curiosity as well. While Pine Ponder was busy searching for Agate, they questioned the locals about the status of the mission to save the forest, and they all met up near Agate's totem, filling each other in.

From what they managed to find out, the woods were still dying, but the shamares carved a great amount of protective runes on the dead trees around the periphery of the entire forest while Pine Ponder was gone, preparing for a massive ritual of some kind to finally stop the whole thing for good. The adventurers were gearing up to go out again, hoping to arrive with reinforcements before the ritual could commence.

They didn't have to do much, and the only loose end to cover before they could go was Agate, who was making all sorts of confused and fascinated facial expressions as she poked and prodded the fir cone. Sticking her muzzle next to it, she scrunched before moving closer, sharply drawing back immediately after.

"What in the world?" The spirit muttered.

"What is it, anc- Agate?" Pine Ponder asked. "Does it... Bite? Is there some kind of protective magic on it?"

"I... Don't think so? It made the inside of my mouth feel funny. Almost... Cold?" Agate mused, sticking her tongue out sideways.

"Uh... Are you tasting the crystal cone?"

"Tasting? I haven't tasted anything for a thousand years. I forgot what taste feels like. Huh," Agate said, sticking her ethereal tongue out again and licking the cone. "Whoa. Weird."

"Um..." Pine Ponder trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Right, right, sorry. The entire eastern forest is in danger and all that. I can lick the cone later," Agate apologized, feeling the thing out with her hooves, instead.

It was a curious little thing. On one hoof, it appeared to be incredibly complex. The structure was crystalline, and yet, arranged in such a strange and unusual way, she'd never even have thought that it was possible. Like comparing a rock to a living thing. At the same time, though, she saw cones from all kinds of trees. Pines, spruces, firs... And they weren't all that complicated. Cleverly built, sure, but their function was not complicated. Protect seeds, close and open depending on moisture - that was all they did. And Pine Ponder said the crystal firs grew in a very magical location, so... Magic?

Carefully drawing on her reserves, she surrounded the cone in magic, slowly feeding it more and more. There was no adverse reaction, and so she continued. It did take a while of slowly increasing the flow, but before long, there was a simultaneous set of dozens crackling pops coming from it, the cone ever so slowly opening. Immediately slowing and cutting the power off, Agate watched it slow down before stopping, the arms of the cone slowly closing and enveloping the glowing seeds back in their embrace once more.

"You did it!" Pine Ponder shouted excitedly.

"That I did," She confirmed. "Time for another adventure, then."

❅ ❆ ❅

While the adventurers moved out on hoof, Agate decided to take wing and fly ahead. Her goal was to find the southern tribe's chieftain and get the latest situation update from him, as well as inform him about the incoming extra help. The first village that she stopped in did have a detachment of ponies, but no chieftain. They told her that he took a post in Green Bough, which was roughly in the middle of all the villages that were affected.

She didn't even have to land to guess where the chieftain's residence was. While the locals were ambling about in an unhurried fashion, armed and well equipped ponies were coming to and from one house, more than likely carrying reports to the chieftain from the other groups. Dropping down and shifting back into a pony, she gave a polite smile to the suddenly wide-eyed messengers as she entered the house.

"Greetings, chieftain. May I talk to you?"

"Who- Oh. Ancient one," The stallion gave her a short bow.

"Bleh," Agate eloquently expressed her dislike for the title.

"If you're going to demand for me to drop the title and call you by name, you will have to do the same," The stallion chuckled.

"I am fine with that, Inner Fire," Agate nodded at the auburn stallion.

"Very well, Agate. What brings you here? Heard of what happened when you came back from the north? Any helpful ancient knowledge that you can provide us with?" He inquired.

"If only. This is completely new to me as well," She shook her head.

"I had a feeling. Someone would have known something if it happened before. Very well. Just general assistance, then? We're actually close to wrapping this whole thing up, according to what the shamares tell me."

"Messenger services from me, though there is more help coming. A mare named Pine Ponder came to me and told me about her mission to the north."

"Oh! I must admit, she slipped my mind at times, though I did whisper to the spirits from time to time to keep her safe. I wasn't sure if she would come back in time, if she was even successful. The northerner explorer assured me that it wasn't as dangerous as ponies thought it was, but the northern tribe are known to be a bit too loose with their definitions of danger..."

"No, she came back mostly in one piece, from what I could tell, though it did look like she traded a bit of her tail for the crystal cone. She's fine otherwise, and she has it with her," Agate reassured him.

"Wonderful! And is it, ah... How to say this? Powerful? Useful for our goal?"

"It is indeed. I could feel it, Fire. That little crystal cone has incredible magic locked up inside," Agate nodded.

"The shamares will be ecstatic to hear that, I'm guessing. I will have to inform them immediately," He rubbed his chin, bending over a map.

Trotting closer, Agate examined it as well. It was a map of the entire lower eastern region of the southern tribe's territory, a bunch of markings of all kinds crisscrossing all across the forest. Taking a few minutes to decipher it, she eventually turned back to the stallion.

"Can you tell me what actually happened? Do you even know?"

"We know some things, but only vaguely," He grunted, gesturing to the map. "The first thing all the hunters and shamares did was try to track down the source of whatever was happening, combing the woods up and down. It worked, but only partially - it wasn't anything in or near the forest. According to the shamares, whatever is draining the region is hiding in the Gnashing Glacier."

"I heard about that place only from others, many years ago now. Not many ponies cared to try and go there, since it was just a bunch of ice surrounded by desolate mountains, but they said that there's some kind of evil spirits in there. And no one really felt like going to poke the evil spirits since then, obviously," Agate recalled.

"More or less what I knew myself. Recent events seem to have confirmed that. There was some debate about whether to try and go confront those evil spirits directly, or shield the region and hope that they will starve. The more defense-inclined shamares prevailed, though they still agreed that more drastic measures might have to be taken if the spirits persist," Inner Fire explained.

"So that's what's happening. Something is eating the forest's life force."

"Indeed. Some thought it was a poison or pestilence at first, but nothing turned up when they tried to look for those things. Just good old fashioned eating, but on a much bigger scale than what we ever encountered. Well, the shamares know how to protect from parasitic spirits, so they've been preparing a massive protective stave across the entire forest. It won't last forever, but it should work for at least a full season. It will give us time to come up with a new plan, if nothing else," He nodded confidently.

"Sounds like you have everything well in hoof, then. And if Pine Ponder adds her special crystal cone to the ritual, it should heal the surviving trees, as well. Guess the only thing left now is organization. Are these markings where the shamares are stationed?"

"Yes. They tell me that most of them are just about ready. A few more days or so, and they will commence the ritual."

"And this big mark here is the center of the ritual?"

"Correct."

"Then I can get to the furthest ones quickly and inform them of the changes, while you send messengers to the closest ones. Just a quick nip back to Pine Ponder's group to tell them where to go, and we'll get this underway."

"Outstanding. Thank you for your aid, Agate."

"Any time, Inner Fire."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate took a short while to meditate, confirming the shamare's findings. The Breath, which always slowly and steadily flowed southwards from the north was getting dragged southeast, as if a whirlpool opened up somewhere in the southern mountains. It didn't even seem to be targeting the forest on purpose, just soaking up all the available magic nearby. Pursing her lips, she shapeshifted and took off.

There was tension in the air, as well as excitement. After she returned to Pine Ponder's adventuring group and informed them of where they needed to go, she sought out the groups of hunters and shamares dotted around the foothills at the southern rim of the forest. The mystics all set up little magical circles for themselves while the other ponies stood guard, many of them bearing new trophies from various beasts that tried to make a meal out of them.

Doing this in winter was clearly hard on the ponies, but they bore their burden with grim determination and pride, smiling in anticipation of the oncoming ritual. They knew that it would at the very least give them a reprieve, and perhaps even deal a permanent blow to whatever spirit thought it could make a meal out of the entire forest.

Agate's presence was taken as an excellent omen, many ponies acting like the fight was already won when they saw her arrive. She calmed them down, though when she told them of the special ingredient Pine Ponder was going to bring to the ritual, they got excited all over again.

Finally landing near the main ritual circle, she was flagged down by the elder shamare. "Traveler spirit. Agate. What brings you here? Did you come to lend your power to us? We will take all the help we can get."

"I did, Clay Charm. In a way. I will lend what power I can, though my contribution will be small compared to what a brave mare from one of the local villages is bringing. She managed to acquire an amazing crystal cone from the forest of the crystal firs deep in Ice Land, and... Well, you will see. It's quite amazing," Agate explained, a number of other shamares listening in with perked ears.

"Oh, that sounds excellent! When will she be here?"

"Three or four days, roughly."

"Plenty of time to finish all of our preparations. I will eagerly await her arrival," The elder nodded while more shamares and hunters approached, quietly asking Agate what other news she could share with them.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate spent the next few days mostly with the main group in the forest, watching the shamares put the finishing touches on their ritual circle and sharing stories with the ponies. Occasionally, she'd fly out with some message or other to the chieftain, returning with status updates from all the scattered groups. One by one, they were all reporting that they were ready to begin.

The days went by quickly, and soon enough, the group of the northern adventurers that were accompanying Pine Ponder were entering the clearing. All of them looked like very capable ponies, armed with their customary ice spears and winter clothes. The local group and the newcomers took a few moments to size each other up, sharing respectful nods soon after. Both sides could see that all of the ponies there put in no small amount of gruelling, painful effort into this cause.

"I am Clay Charm, the elder of Snowpitt's shamares," The mystic introduced herself. "May I know the names of these brave heroes that came to aid us?"

"I am Pine Ponder of River's Mouth, elder, and I am no hero. I am just a mare that wanted to protect her home," She introduced herself with a shake of her head. "These brave northerners are the ones who lead me through the dangers of their land in the dead of winter. They are heroes, not me."

"I remember you from the meeting, young mare, and you do yourself a disservice," The elder chuckled. "It takes a serious amount of backbone to go that far and that fast as you did. Though, of course, I will hear the names of your companions as well. I do remember this youngling - Ice Elation, was it? You were in Snowpitt as well, yes. Now, the rest of you are new. And a shamare, if I am not mistaken?"

"I am, elder. I am Freezing Point of the northern tribe," She confirmed with a short bow.

While the others were introducing themselves, Pine Ponder stretched her legs one by one. Approaching her, Agate nodded to the mare. "Well, looks like your quest is almost complete. How do you feel?"

"Tired, legs are burning, but giddy," She summarized after a few moments of contemplation.

"All good things. Hopefully, this will be the end of the issue, but if it is not, you will have my aid until it's fully resolved," Agate reassured her.

"Thank you, an- Agate. I appreciate it," Pine Ponder nodded.

Tapping a staff on the frozen ground, Clay Charm cleared her throat. "Well, all the preparations are finished, but it is quite late already. I say we get some sleep, and get this thing going first thing in the morning. It's going to take all day anyway, that's for sure."

"Very well, elder," The others agreed, slowly dispersing into their igloos, tents, and whatever other types of shelters they set up. The newcomers were invited in as well, and soon enough, everyone was sleeping the somewhat fitful sleep of a pony expecting a battle tomorrow.

❅ ❆ ❅

The chieftain and a bunch of the ponies that carried messages for him arrived the next morning as well, all eager to see the ritual for themselves. With a nod to Inner Fire and Clay Charm, Agate took to the skies, flapping her ethereal wings as hard as she could. Reaching the other groups one by one, she didn't even waste time changing back, only yelling out the message and taking off again.

"Get up, warriors! Get up, shamares! It is time! The time for the ritual is today! It is time to end this!"

"Yes, ancient one! You heard the spirit! Let's get to work!"

For all her speed, it still took her several hours to circle and contact every single group. Once she was done, she made her way back to the main circle, glancing around. All of the shamares were in deep trances, while the warriors were quietly standing or sitting on the outskirts, looking out for any dangers.

The ritual circle itself was set up in a large clearing, with a huge, wide stump as the focal point. It looked freshly cut down, and yet, the wood was clearly dead - likely an old and already weak tree that became a victim of the magic drain. There were runes painted and carved all over it, as well as the ground, and the surrounding trees. Lots of glowing crystals dotted the area as well, both stabbed halfway into the earth, as well as hung from tree branches.

Pine Ponder was sitting in front of the stump, looking nervous, but determined. The crystal cone was set on the stump, glimmering in the light of all the other crystals in the area. Approaching her, Agate gave her a reassuring look, to which the mare replied with a faint smile.

"They wanted me to participate, even though I'm not a shamare. They said that my connection to the forest is very strong," She whispered.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, Pine Ponder. Now, let's see about opening this up," Agate nodded, sitting down on the opposite side and reaching for the crystal cone once more.

This time, there was no holding back. Pumping the magic into the cone, she felt it flex, slowly opening up. The shamare's eyelids began to flutter once they felt the fluctuations in the magic, the mystics slowly coming out of their trances. Taking in deeper breaths, they began channeling their power into the circle, while a couple stood up and approached the stump as well.

Reaching for the now fully open fir cone, Pine Ponder slowly, reverently turned it over, rolling and tapping it until all the seeds fell out on the stump. The tiny, little nuggets glowed with amazing power, the shamares looking at them with wide eyes. Agate licked her lips, feeling a faint evergreen taste in her mouth for some reason.

"Seeds of new, roots of old. Lend us your strength, so this forest's story may yet be told," Clay Charm intoned, putting her hooves on the stump.

"Spirits of life, winds of death. Ward this place from the hunger's devastation, protect the land from a deathly ruination," The second shamare chanted, resting her hooves on the stump as well.

"Trees of the north, cousins from far away. May your seeds protect this place from death and decay," Pine Ponder added.

Agate was already sitting, so she figured she might as well join in. She knew that the words didn't matter as much as actual intent did, but they still mattered at least a little. "Tiny seeds, with amazing crystal power. May your strength restore this forest, so it may live and flower."

The rest was actual channeling. The three ponies and one spirit held their hooves on the rune-covered stump, forcing the magic from the seeds and themselves to flow through its roots into the land, spreading the evergreen-flavored magic outwards in every direction. The other shamares began chanting as well, some of them performing slow, swaying dances, while others remained still, only taking in deep breaths and sending waves of magic into the earth as well.

And all over the forest, other shamares were doing the same thing, empowering the protective wards they put on the outskirts of the woods and making sure that the magic from the main circle wasn't going to leak out, making a protective bubble around the entire area.

It was not a fast thing, and time tended to get away when one was entangled in such rituals. Agate closed her eyes, losing herself entirely in the process, feeling the flow of power through the land. As she said to Pine Ponder, she wasn't all that good with trees, but she could still feel them eagerly drinking in the crystal magic and regaining their strength. The wards seemed to be holding too, the Breath almost stopping its slow flow southeast and slowly soaking into the earth.

One by one, the glows from the crystal seeds winked out, the little nuggets slowly losing their color and crumbling to dust. They did their duty, though, the forest now suffused with their magic, the nearby trees practically glowing with life. Agate smiled, about to open her eyes and declare a job well done, when something far away cracked.

Flinching, she blinked blearily, looking around. Pine Ponder didn't seem to have noticed it, while Clay Charm did. Sharing a look, both the spirit and the old pony frowned, looking southeast. Their expressions didn't go unnoticed, Pine Ponder looking worried.

"Is everything alright? I did everything I could..."

"The forest is safe, child," Clay Charm spoke slowly, her mind still a bit muddled. "But I felt something in the distance... Break?" She asked uncertainly, looking at Agate.

"Yes. I felt the same thing," She confirmed.

"What could it be?" Pine Ponder asked.

"That... Is where the Gnashing Glacier is, isn't it?" Agate asked, her lips pursed.

Their conversation and stirring didn't go unnoticed by the others, and a few moments later, Inner Fire and a bunch of other ponies were all sat around the stump, listening to what happened.

"The forest is safe and healed, we are fully certain of that, chieftain," Clay Charm reported.

"But something happened in the place which you said was the source of this malady," He nodded.

"So it seems."

"Hrm... If something broke... Did the ritual break their power? Or did something break out? Should we prepare for an attack of those spirits?" He frowned.

"I think you should take your ponies and retreat back to the villages, Inner Fire. I'll go take a look at the glacier," Agate suggested.

"Do be careful, Agate. You don't know what's in there. Even spirits can be harmed," He cautioned.

"I know. I'm not exactly a newbie at this, you know," She grinned. Much as she disliked the titles denoting her old age, they did come in useful sometimes. "I'll make a quick sweep around the forest and recall the other groups, and then I'll go take a closer look at that glacier. We'll meet back in Green Bough. Sound good?"

"Very well. You heard her, ponies! We are done here. Let's break camp and move out. No panicking. Just get your things, and we'll be on our way in a calm, orderly fashion," He shouted, everyone around him nodding and scattering.

With a final nod to Pine Ponder and the others, Agate shapeshifted once more, taking to the sky. She noticed a faint glow all about the forest, no doubt the result of the ritual. Finding the nearest group of shamares and warriors, she repeated the same thing she did earlier in the day, only with a different message.

"Greetings, brave ponies! The ritual was a success, as I'm sure you felt yourselves. The forest is safe. Now, the chieftain wants you to return as soon as possible. The gathering spot is Green Bough."

"Understood, wind rider! Come on, you heard her! We did it! Let's get out of here and have a victory feast!"

Between her first round of flying, the ritual itself, and the second flight, Agate was quite tired, and the day was ending, too. Debating on what to do, she decided to return all the way to Snowpitt and have a full night's rest in her totem. If she was going to meet some kind of dark, hungry spirits, she wanted to be at full strength, and she knew that it was going to take at least several days for everyone to gather in Green Bough anyway. Letting the light of her totem guide her, she landed inside, drifting off to sleep almost immediately.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, Agate steeled herself, took a deep metaphorical breath, and took off. The distance was not small, and even with flying as fast as she could - which would put just about every bird that she knew of to shame - she still took a little over half the day to actually cross the tundra, the forest, and reach the patch of the southern mountains with the mass of ice known as the Gnashing Glacier.

Some called it the Groaning or Growling Glacier, but they were all similar enough names anyway. Dropping her speed, she began circling it, slowly descending lower and lower. It didn't take all that much time to notice something off about it - there was a massive crack running through the middle of it, its edges jagged and sharp. It was very clearly fresh.

Focusing on her spirit sight, Agate tried to see whether there were any kind of spirits or magic in or around the glacier. She could see some kind of faint, barely noticeable ribbons that looked like the shredded remnants of a badly decayed enchantment. She'd seen similar things in old, worn down and broken magic items, but this was on an entirely different scale, far beyond anything she had seen before.

"No, not true," She corrected herself. She had just participated in a ritual of possibly even bigger scale than whatever this was just the day before.

She continued circling lower, watching for ambushes of any kind. Nothing jumped out at her, and the glacier remained quiet and dead. No gnashing, groaning or growling could be heard from the ice. Eventually, she landed on the lip of the crack, peering around and inside.

The strings of the broken enchantment were already fading to almost complete nonexistence. There were multiple colors among them, with a deep blue and gold being the most prominent ones, suggesting that this was indeed the result of multiple ponies combining their magic.

There was also something strange, like a lingering bad smell. Smelling something was another thing Agate hadn't experienced in a thousand years, but she was fairly certain that the unpleasant sensation in her nose was what a stink felt like. A nasty, vile stink.

"Now what happened here?" She asked out loud. No answers came.

After standing around for a short while longer, she dove inside the glacier, turning back into a pony and looking around. The stink was worse here, though it too was fading away. She couldn't quite remember encountering anything similar in the past, so she wasn't sure what to think about it all. Something niggled at the back of her mind, but no coherent memories showed up, so with a click of her tongue, she turned back into a bird and flew out.

"Whatever was here, it's gone. Hopefully not to attack the southern tribe, like Inner Fire said..."

Circling around the large crack one last time, she turned north, looking for signs of... Anything. She didn't know if spirits left tracks, but that one did seem to leave a stench behind itself. Nothing like that appeared anywhere she looked, though. Slowly getting closer and closer to the forest, she eventually saw the abandoned ritual sites of the shamare groups.

Following the tracks, she eventually saw the ponies themselves, making their way through the forest. A half-dozen ponies were trotting at a steady pace, dragging an elderly shamare in a sleigh. They seemed hale and hearty, with no signs of ailments, be they spiritual or physical.

Landing on a tree branch nearby, Agate called out to them. "Hail, warriors. How goes your journey?"

"Oh! Traveler spirit. We are well, and in a good mood," The leading stallion chuckled. "Anything new you have for us?"

"Nothing much. I'm just checking the situation. The ritual seemed to be a complete success, and I decided to go and see the source of this whole thing. Have you seen or heard anything unusual from the mountains? You were the group that was closest to the Gnashing Glacier."

"Not as such, no," He shrugged.

"I felt something shift or break in the world when the ritual concluded, spirit," The shamare spoke up.

"So did I, as did some other shamares. We're working on it," Agate confirmed. "I went to the glacier already, and it's... Empty, with a big crack in the middle. Whatever was in there either died or left, and I couldn't find any trace of where it, or they, went. So... Keep your eyes and ears open, but... If you haven't seen anything, then you're probably safe."

"Will do, traveler spirit," The stallion confirmed, his and his companion's expressions turning a bit more serious.

"Be safe. Just get to Green Bough," Agate nodded, taking off again.

Visiting several other groups yielded the same results. No one saw any kind of hungry, magic-eating spirits. It made sense, really - they would probably be repelled by the wards if they tried to enter the forest anyway, which meant that they would have to go... Where? There was pretty much nothing on the southern side of the mountains. Snow, stone, a desolate plain, and...

"Dream Valley," Agate muttered to herself.

Well, that was dead as well. It wasn't like the Crystal Empire had returned. This random glacier was way east of it, and clearly had nothing to do with the Empire. Shrugging to herself, Agate winged her way to the village. It was evening by the time she arrived, and the ponies were already waiting for her.

"You took longer than I expected. We were getting worried," Inner Fire said.

"Hey, while I am much faster than a regular pony, getting around still takes time for me," Agate protested.

"True, I suppose. What did you see?"

"Nothing much, though something clearly had been there in the past..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate's findings mystified all the ponies that listened to her report, just adding even more confusion to the already strange saga. Once more, no one really knew who the enchantments on the glacier could have been made by, or for what purpose. Neither anyone from the three tribes, nor Agate's people, had any kind of stories about something happening in that place.

"I suppose we should just focus on what we do know for certain. If the spirits are gone, and the forest is saved, then our mission was a complete success," Inner Fire mused. "And if this crops up again, we'll deal with it as it comes."

"Sounds reasonable as anything, chieftain," Clay Charm shrugged.

And with the mission declared a success, the next thing on the to-do list was quite obvious: a celebration. Green Bough was a relatively small village, though, and the entire contingent of the ponies that came out would have heavily strained it, so it was decided to postpone it until they all returned to Snowpitt. Eagerly waiting for the outlying teams to return from the forest, runners were sent to the other villages as well, informing them of their success and inviting them to the upcoming festivities.

Since Agate joined in on this adventure a bit late, she didn't end up as the center of attention, which was just the way she liked it. She sat on the sidelines, listening to Pine Ponder shyly recount her adventures with Ice Elation to the fascinated locals.

"You have good instincts and some real talent, you know," Ice Elation told to Pine Ponder. "You could make a great adventurer, if you put your mind to it."

"That's just it, I'm not putting my mind to it," Pine Ponder snorted. "I remember your expression when we made it out of the crystal forest. All smiley, giddy, and ecstatic. Meanwhile, I was just happy to be alive. No thanks, adventuring is not for me. I'd much rather return to my forest, and stay there."

"Ah, you remind me of my sister a little. She too has some skill, but she's... Not quite as tough as me, though she tries to be. She just doesn't have that feeling of certainty that you need for the adventuring life," Ice Elation nodded.

"Who's your sister?"

"A bit of a grump named Cold Shoulder..."

Agate listened to them talk with one ear while sticking her tongue inside the crystal cone. Pine Ponder felt like giving her the cone for helping them, but Agate adamantly refused, given how small her contribution to the whole thing was, not to mention how easy it was to see that the mare herself liked the cone quite a lot.

Still, Pine Ponder insisted that Agate could play with the cone while they waited and traveled to Snowpitt. She happily did, spending an inordinate amount of time sticking her tongue inside it and tasting the strange, evergreen-flavored crystal. Crystals having flavors wasn't something she ever experienced before, and she was fascinated by it to no end, to the confusion and amusement of the onlookers that observed her trying to "eat" the crystal cone.

Before long, the other ponies returned, and the entire expedition set out towards Snowpitt, the fighters singing victory songs and comparing trophies and scars, while the shamares whispered about the various magics that they employed and the things that they saw during the time in the forest. Many wanted to talk to Pine Ponder and see the crystal cone, the usually quiet mare clearly getting a bit worn down from all the talking and constant praise.

"As nice as this is, I can't wait until I can go back to River's Mouth and return to my quiet life," Pine Ponder sighed.

"Oh, I'm not sure your life is going to be all that quiet after your little stunt. Sure, it's going to be mostly the same, but you can bet there's going to be songs and stories composed about you," Agate chuckled.

"I... Can live with that, I guess, if those storytellers don't follow me around singing their songs while I'm in the forest. That'd really ruin any chance of sneaking around anywhere," The mare replied with some sarcasm.

"Haha! I'm sure they won't go that far, though they'll probably visit you in your village for a while to ask for some details and clarifications. And, your village might get some visits from adventurers, too. Even if the glacier is abandoned, I bet some ponies will want to see it anyway."

"I wonder what that was all about, but it's way beyond my ken. If even you didn't know..."

"Yeah, I really have no clue. But if this happened a few months earlier, I might have ran off for days or even longer, heh," Agate chuckled, shaking her head.

"Wait, so do you know?" Pine Ponder asked with some confusion, turning towards her.

"No, but for a while, I expected the Crystal Empire to return at any moment, and when just about anything happened, I always thought that it was a sign that the Empire came back. And I'd rush off towards Dream Valley, only to find it empty. A strange dream I had in the night? The Empire must have returned! A brief, strange shift in the Breath? The Empire must have returned! A bird passing by? The Empire must have returned! Okay, that last one was a joke. After a few more events like that, I meditated for a while, reminding myself to be patient. After all, if the Empire really returned, then I'd more than likely be able to see it," Agate smiled.

"Isn't it past the mountains? Or does it actually stand above them?" Pine Ponder wondered, her voice tinged with slight disbelief.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just have this talent, you see. I can see crystals very, very well - even through snow and rock. It takes some effort to see, but the Empire is certainly bigger and brighter than a single crystal, so I'm certain I wouldn't have any trouble in seeing it even through the mountains," Agate explained. "All I'd have to do is look in its direction, which is roughly over there..."

"Hm? What's the matter?" Pine Ponder asked once she saw Agate stop trotting and freeze, pointing towards the south with an extended foreleg.

"The Crystal Empire has returned..." Agate whispered hoarsely.

"Yes, you said that that was what you thought every time something happened. Or... Do you mean...?" Pine Ponder trailed off, watching the wide-eyed, frozen spirit with furrowed brows, the ponies that were trotting close by stopping and staring as well.

"The empire! It has returned!" Agate shouted, staring with disbelief at the distant, glowing, glimmering jewel that she could see through the very mountains.

Author's Note

Nightmare Valley

Agate had seen and experienced all kinds of things over the centuries. Life, deaths, joy and sorrow, anger and apathy, and many more besides. All that experience more or less inured her to shock, but seeing the Empire return at last really floored her. It took her a minute to find her voice again, while the ponies around her muttered in surprise.

"Your people are finally back?!" Pine Ponder asked with shock.

"They... They are. They have to be," Agate nodded slowly. "I... Have to go..."

"Wait, please!" A pony from the crowd shouted, grabbing at her. The shout set off a whole wave of similar exclamations, the hubbub spreading through the entire mass of ponies.

Getting yanked back by her tail, Agate gave the offending pony a flat look. She recognized the mare as one of the adventurers from Pine Ponder's group, who at least had the grace to look sheepish for marehandling the spirit in such a way.

"Freezing Point. What are you doing?" Agate asked with a huff.

"Well, um... Please don't just run off by yourself? Could you introduce us to your people before you say goodbye to your family and leave for the spirit realms? Please?" The mare asked with an awkward smile.

"Oh. Right. Uh..." Agate rubbed the side of her head thoughtfully.

"You don't owe us anything, Agate," Inner Fire exclaimed, forcing his way through the gathering crowd. "If anything, we owe you a lot for everything you did for us over the centuries. If you want to go, then go."

Biting her lip, Agate considered what to say, before slowly nodding to herself. Trotting over to Inner Fire, she casually began climbing the chieftain without saying a word, to everyone's confusion. The sight of her on the large stallion's back was odd, and it made everyone go quiet, which was exactly her goal. Clearing her throat, she addressed the crowd.

"What you heard me shout just now was correct. It appears that the time has finally come. The Crystal Empire, the formerly cursed homeland of my people, has finally returned. I am going to go home now. BUT!" She yelled out the moment the mutterings began, heading things off before they turned into shouts. "Over the years, I made many promises to now-departed ponies that I will introduce their children to my people, if the chance ever came. And, as you probably already know, I'm not one to break promises. I promised myself that I will wait until the Empire came back, and here I am, over a thousand years later.

However, my patience is not limitless, either. I have waited for this for over a thousand years. As such, I will offer you a compromise. I will take a small group of ponies with me. Only the swiftest and the most durable ponies will be accepted! You all get until we reach Snowpitt, and then I'll allow one day of resting and celebrating your recent victory in protecting the forest. I know the celebrations will last longer than that, but that is my condition. If you want to come, you will have to cut your rest short, and take to the road once more. All others can make their way to the Empire on their own time, or wait for visitors to come here. I'm sure my people will be eager to meet you as well."

Her proclamation done, she jumped off her impromptu platform, not saying anything else. The chieftain nodded thoughtfully before shouting at the muttering crowd. "Well, what are you standing around for? No one's forced to go, and if you want to rest, then let's get going already. We can sort things out when we're back in Snowpitt!"

They all went back to trotting forward, though the conversations were a lot more excited now, many ponies glancing at Agate. Looking at the spirit curiously, Pine Ponder trotted in silence for a while, until her curiosity finally overpowered her shyness.

"Um, Agate?" She asked the thoughtful spirit.

"Yes? What is it, Pine Ponder?"

"Why don't you just... Fly ahead, like you did when we were travelling to the ritual circle from Snowpitt? You don't have to wait with us until we reach the settlement," She suggested.

"I... Thought about doing that, but then I realized that it could be a mistake," Agate said slowly.

"Why? Didn't you wait a thousand years to see your family? I'd probably be rushing there without even thinking of other ponies..."

"Exactly. I waited a thousand years for it. I meditated, repeated things to myself, all just to keep the image of how my family looked clear and fresh in my mind. And now, I realized... That image is all I have. I still remember what they look like. But I can't remember a single thing I said to them. I don't remember what we talked about last. When I imagined talking to them, I couldn't actually think of anything to say. If I just showed up at their door and proclaimed myself to be their daughter, they'd think that I'm some kind of fraud, especially when I couldn't back it up with anything. I need to spend a few days digging through some really, really old recesses of my memory," Agate explained.

"Oooh. Alright. I'll... Give you your privacy, then," Pine Ponder nodded.

"Thank you."

For the others, the journey was spent with lots of excited chatter. For Agate, it was spent in deep thought. Once they reached Snowpitt, she went straight for her totem, the others respectfully stepping aside. Stopping in front of the huge crystal, she kept sifting through her memories. The totem was a good reference point, in a way, given how slowly it changed over the centuries.

By this point, the actual pole was completely dwarfed by the massive crystal spire that the crystal shell grew into over the years, standing three times as tall as the length of lumber did. Meanwhile, over time, her crystal "garden" actually became overgrown. The clearing was more or less covered in crystals, and she occasionally enlisted ponies to take a few pickaxes and give it a good weeding, before it turned into a completely impassable, spiky mess and blocked all visitors from entering.

Her bust that was carved into the wood got covered over the years as well, despite her efforts to keep it from getting completely subsumed into the mass. Her old golden necklace that she kept the entire time now hung on one of the smaller spikes that protruded from the main crystal. She made a mental note to remember to take it with her, as it was an invaluable bit of proof that she actually was who she claimed to be, something she wouldn't be able to do if she didn't take living ponies with her.

Finally, she got too tired of raking through her memories of sneaking away from Sombra's mind-controlled minions through the city, and went into her totem to get some sleep. Tomorrow was another day.

❅ ❆ ❅

While the others celebrated, Agate spent her time in quiet contemplation. A few lorekeepers and the like tried to approach her, but she politely sent them away. Once evening came, ponies began gathering near her totem, Agate standing up and looking them up and down. The volunteers had arrived, some of them more suitable than others.

"No, Arctic Ink," Agate shook her head at the filly with a smile.

"Aw, poop. No fair. You were about my age when you came here across the mountains!" She protested.

"Yes, and I was also dead," Agate pointed out.

"She's right, youngling," Inner Fire grinned. "If you try to keep up with a spirit in an endurance match, you'll end up as one yourself."

"You're coming, chieftain?" Agate asked as Arctic Ink slunk away, her parents chuckling and smiling at her from a distance.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. My bones are getting a bit creaky these days. This mission was manageable, but a trek through the mountains is something else. Would you mind if I took some ponies and followed along at a slower pace? You could have a few days to talk to your family before having to deal with introducing us," He suggested.

"That is perfectly fine, yes," Agate nodded.

"In that case, there's probably not all that many ponies who'd be interested in a dead sprint across the mountains, especially after what they all recently went through," He chuckled, nodding and turning around. "I'll let you sort them out."

"Alright," Agate nodded, looking around. "Huh. Pine Ponder?"

"Oh no, I'm not going. I just wanted to thank you and wish you well," The mare shook her head.

"I, however, am interested," Ice Elation stepped forward.

"So am I!" Freezing Point grinned.

"I will accompany you, if you'll allow me," Shatterhoof nodded.

"Northern adventurers. Always a very durable bunch," Agate nodded. "Anyone else?"

"Mountains don't scare me," A tall westerner stallion proclaimed. "Goat Hop of the western mountains at your service, traveler spirit."

"And I'm coming with him," A mare added. "Spring Hoof, ancient one."

"Suppose I should come just so there's at least a single southerner here, huh?" A reddish-brown stallion asked with a chuckle.

"Ah. You are the chieftain's son, aren't you? I don't think we talked much in the past. You're..." Agate trailed off.

"Trailblazer, traveler spirit. And yes, I haven't done much to earn a name for myself yet. There's no way I'm missing this, though," He nodded.

"Alright then. You six will accompany me to the Empire. Some of you, I've only known for the past couple weeks. Others, I just met for the first time. You all seem like serious ponies, though, so I will take your word that you're not going to be slow about it. From what I recall, the journey through the mountains takes approximately two weeks. Get whatever supplies you need, and meet me right here, first thing in the morning tomorrow. If you're not here, I'm leaving without you," Agate explained.

"Understood!" They all nodded, dispersing one by one.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, the adventurers all arrived bright and early, as Agate requested. Looking them up and down, she nodded approvingly, noticing something new on Ice Elation's back. "You were unarmed before. Got an ice spear made for the occasion?"

"No, one of the others that decided not to go lent me theirs. This one owes me a new spear," Ice Elation explained, poking Freezing Point in the side.

"And you'll have it! When I have time! It takes time to prepare for making one, you know! Gathering strength, preparing the right water..." The shamare squirmed.

"Which you can't do while we're on an adventure, of course," Ice Elation noted in a deadpan voice.

"I'm afraid so. Come on, Ice, quit being so grumpy. You're acting like your sister. Aren't you excited?"

"...I am. I am also excited to have a new spear," She deadpanned again, making Freezing Point pout.

"You shouldn't need it during this journey. The southern mountains are quite barren, and my people certainly won't attack you with no reason," Agate reassured them. "Everyone else ready? Shatterhoof, Goat Hop, Spring Hoof, Trailblazer?"

The three stallions and the mare all nodded. Giving them one last long look, Agate nodded as well, leading Ice Elation towards her totem. The adventurer turned towards Agate questioningly.

"Is there some ritual of your people that we must perform before moving out?"

"No. Just carry this for me," Agate pointed towards the necklace.

"Oh. That looks beautiful. And expensive," Ice Elation noted, carefully removing the necklace from the crystal. "Is it magical? Some kind of enchantment to grant us passage to your lands?"

"Nothing so fancy, no," Agate smiled. "It's my necklace. One that my father gave to me before we ran, in case we needed to pay for something along the way. Should be proof enough that I am who I am claiming to be. I hope."

"I see. I will take great care of it, then," The mare nodded, carefully slipping it into her saddlebags.

"That is all, then. Let us go."

And that was that. Without another word, Agate turned around, and led them out of her clearing. A few ponies were there to see them off, Inner Fire nodding to his son and Pine Ponder waving to Agate and Ice Elation. Most of the others were still asleep, though, enjoying their rest after the mission and the celebration.

Agate didn't talk much at first, but the questions inevitably started rolling in, and before long, she was talking non-stop, randomly dropping all sorts of details that came up from her memories of the Empire.

"The entire city is shaped like a snowflake, or perhaps more like a ritual circle. Everyone in the Empire can channel magic into the crystal streets, empowering and strengthening it. The central artifact, the Crystal Heart, is the focal point of the whole place...

We have crystal berries there. I don't remember what they taste like, just that they taste very good. Ponies make amazing jam from them, as well as other things...

Yes, the buildings are made from crystal. It's really quite a sight. They might look a bit crude and misshapen to outsiders, since their outsides tend to be somewhat jagged and uneven, but the insides are very nice and cozy...

I wonder what you would think about the crystal faire. It's not entirely unlike snowpony celebrations, but it's also subtly different..."

The first day went by with no issues. They crossed the plains, the river, the forest, and reached the foothills of the southern mountains. Agate would have been fine with stopping there to rest in the past, but now, things were different. Giving her companions a significant look, she began climbing the mountain, the others following with no complaints.

"This is your obstacle," Agate proclaimed once they crossed the mountain pass. "Beyond these mountains lies the Empire."

"This looks entirely manageable," Goat Hop smiled confidently.

"Indeed. No worse than what I dealt with many times in the past already," Ice Elation nodded.

"Good. Then let's get down and set up camp- hmmm," Agate stopped, looking at the glimmering light of the Empire in the distance.

"Something wrong, traveler spirit?" Freezing Point inquired, looking in the same direction with her spirit sight. "Oh my, I think I can see some kind of faint impression myself... The magic must be amazing..."

"Nothing much. Thought I saw a shadow of some kind. Probably just my imagination," Agate shook her head. "Let's get down."

❅ ❆ ❅

The next day began with the usual swiftness that adventurers had. Once you rolled out of whatever shelter you managed to find or build, you needed to eat fast and get moving to stay warm, unless the weather was nice. Which it wasn't. Not that there was a blizzard or anything, but it was still winter. Even if spring was approaching already, they were in the mountains now, which weren't very hospitable.

There wasn't all that much conversation this time around. Agate mostly ran out of things to tell them about the Empire, and the others saved their breaths for moving through the cold terrain. It gave her more time to think and look at the Empire in the distance, which made an unpleasant feeling settle in her gut as she kept seeing some kind of dark blob blotting out the light now and again.

"Your expression looks rather perturbed," Freezing Point eventually pointed out.

"I can't help but feel that something is wrong," Agate said quietly.

"What could be wrong?"

"I'm not sure. The curse has ran out of power, that much is certain. You said yourself that you can see the Empire," Agate shrugged.

"Well, what about that vile spirit that cast the curse in the first place?" The shamare mused.

"He wasn't a spirit... I think. But the Equestrians told me back then that their princesses got rid of him. Crushed his power and... Banished him?"

"Banished? Oh. Oh, ancestors. If he had the power to curse the entirety of your people even as he was losing, do you think...?"

"They might not have had enough power to make sure he never comes back from his banishment? Doubly so when the Empire comes back and is extra vulnerable as the ponies try to understand what happened? Maybe," Agate grit her teeth.

The six adventurers frowned, shooting glances at each other. Eventually, they all quietly nodded, turning to Agate, Ice Elation speaking up. "Go ahead, Agate. We're not going to get lost here just because you're not here to guide us. I'm sure we can make our way south just fine."

"Yes, navigating these mountains really isn't that hard," Goat Hop added.

"Your people might need you. Just go there and take a look at what's happening," Trailblazer urged.

"Right. Okay. Here goes," Agate nodded, feeling uncharacteristically heavy as she sprouted feathers and flapped her wings.

To say that Agate was nervous would have been a massive understatement. There were all sorts of fears crowding her mind, from finding out that those soldiers had actually killed her parents back then and she waited all this time for nothing, to reaching Dream Valley and finding that it was all a mirage, and the Empire still wasn't there.

"Bravery is not the lack of fear," She muttered to herself as she flew.

One mountain. Two mountains. The third, biggest and most massive mountain, one that she needed to circle around. One by one, she flew past the obstacles in her way, Dream Valley opening up before her in all its splendor. Although it was snowing, the blizzard didn't manage to impede her spirit sight. And in the middle...

"The Spire! The streets! The buildings, oh, spirits, it's all there! It's really there! Mother! Father!" Agate cried, almost falling out of the sky.

Examining the Empire more closely as she approached, Agate tilted her head a little. The shield looked a little bit different than she remembered, but... It was probably just her imagination, tainted by the thousand years of not seeing it. Flapping her wings, she got closer and closer, before seeing something else that almost made her fall yet again.

A dark mass was stalking the blizzard, occasionally bumping against the shield before recoiling and returning to circling the city, like a scavenger around a dying animal that couldn't wait until it could start tearing into it. Theoretically, it could have been anything. Realistically, there was only one possible candidate.

"Sombra," Agate hissed furiously.

She glanced at the buildings below her again. None of them were corrupted by his dark magic, and the Spire was back to its pristine condition. Sombra was outside of the Empire and his influence had been removed, so the situation didn't look that bad... But it still meant that the city was under siege, which was hardly ideal. As far as Agate was concerned, things would only be ideal once Sombra was dead.

Analyzing the situation, she kept circling high above the city, Sombra doing the same thing below. For all her age and wisdom, Agate was still a spirit, and the amount of things she could actually do was severely limited. She didn't want to play her hoof too early, or without being sure that it was actually going to achieve something.

It went on for several hours without any visible progress being made by Sombra, which made Agate happy. Eventually, though, she saw something odd. A single pony had exited the city, moving southwest for some reason. Following the direction with her eyes, she blinked rapidly, trying to understand what she was seeing. It looked like a whole bunch of ponies were approaching the pony's position from the south, but they were moving very fast.

What could those possibly be? Some kind of reinforcements from Equestria? But then, how were they moving so fast? Were they pegasi in flight? Burning with curiosity, Agate dove forward, swiftly losing altitude and gaining speed, eager to see what was happening down there.

The ponies slowed down and eventually stopped completely some distance from the lone city pony's position, shifting around slightly. Finally getting close enough to see the material world and not just their spirits, Agate boggled at the sight for a few moments before starting to circle the area again, trying to understand what she was seeing.

There was a wooden platform and a small building of some kind, which were easy enough to comprehend. But there was also some kind of massive, elongated, brightly painted, metal contraption with a steaming chimney resting between the platform and the building, and there was a strange path made of wood and continuous metal beams leading up to it.

The sheer amount of metal alone would be worth a fortune in snowpony lands, and that was without even knowing what the thing actually did. It had windows and doors and a chimney, like a house, but also small wheels, like a carriage. A group of seven ponies was exiting from one of the doors, giving more credence to the carriage theory given how fast they were moving just then, though it did nothing to explain how a carriage made of metal, of all things, could possibly move that fast.

While Agate was trying to understand their unusual mode of transport, the pony from the city reached the ponies on the platform. "Twilight!" He called out, getting the attention of both them and Agate. Looking at him, Agate saw that he was a unicorn stallion, one completely unfamiliar to her. One of the ponies from the group, a purple unicorn, galloped up to him to share a hug. They started talking, but Agate couldn't hear them over the blizzard.

Moments later, they moved out, Agate following along. With curiosity, she noticed that the group of arrivals was not made of seven ponies after all, but six ponies and some kind of reptile with a fiery spirit. They all went back towards the Empire, talking the entire time. A few stray words reached Agate's ears, but she couldn't really make out what they were saying. Either way, if they were some kind of military reinforcements, they certainly did not look the part.

Unfortunately, while she was focusing so much on the strange ponies, she completely forgot to keep an eye on Sombra. A strange, trumpeting howl suddenly echoed from somewhere nearby, immediately making Agate jump up and gain more altitude. Her reflexes were rewarded when a dark pillar of smoky magic rose up from the ground, growling like a completely feral beast. Almost immediately, it formed menacing green eyes, chasing after the ponies.

For their part, they increased their pace rapidly, the reptile losing its cargo when the stallion grabbed it with his magic and galloped away. Agate could tell that this chase was not going to last long. The Empire was close, and both the ponies and Sombra were quite fast.

Suddenly turning around, the unicorn stallion calmly trotted towards Sombra, his expression reminding Agate of the many brave hunters and fighters that she knew over the years. Staring down nigh impossible odds and advancing anyway, the stallion knew exactly what would happen to him, and he also knew exactly what would happen to the others that Sombra was chasing if he did not do what he was about to do.

"No," Agate whispered, drawing on all the magic that she could.

The stallion was brave, but not terribly good. He only got one shot off before Sombra jumped him, and it didn't look like he managed to do even the slightest bit of harm to him anyway. Watching with her spirit sight, she saw Sombra beginning to overpower him, dark tendrils digging into the stallion's spirit. Gritting her beak tighter, she focused all of her magic into a single point, diving down straight towards Sombra's face and slicing through him while he was distracted.

"Graaah!"

The scream didn't even remotely sound like that of a pony's. It was bestial, twisted beyond recognition. Agate remembered her worries of forgetting how to talk or think if she spent too long of a time sleeping. It seemed that Sombra actually had that problem, all of the noises he made sounding more like a crazed, rabid animal rather than a thinking creature. And yet, despite all that, he still single-mindedly sought only the enslavement of her people. He truly was evil to the core.

The stallion immediately rolled away, jumping towards the shield. Agate was happy to see that his survival instincts still worked, though she hoped that she didn't just make things worse. She was able to see some kind of dark material around his horn, and she didn't forget Sombra's ability to enslave ponies. Then again, maybe he was now too insane to actually remember how to do that?

"Insolent... Bird....?"

Or perhaps he wasn't completely insane. Flapping and gaining altitude again, Agate circled around, and looked at Sombra. For his part, the shadow demon only seemed confused. It was quite clear that her attack was little more than a surprise sting to him, though he still tried to find his assailant. Amusingly, he seemed to have dismissed Agate as the potential source of the attack, turning his gaze away from her and looking around.

That worked just fine for Agate. Gaining more altitude, she kept watching Sombra, until he finally gave up and resumed bashing his head against the shield. She was really, really tempted to fly down and give a kick to his incorporeal butt, but that attack used up just about all of her magic reserves. Weighing her options, she decided to take one last look at the Empire, before returning to her companions.

Phasing through the shield, Agate smiled inside at the sight of the untainted and Sombra-free city. The group that she saw before were entering the Spire, so perhaps they were some kind of important ponies (and reptile) after all. Circling around the Spire one more time, she flew north once more.

It wasn't hard to find the ponies in the expanse of the snowy mountains. Landing in front of them, Agate flickered as she turned back into a pony, having trouble even maintaining her form. Freezing Point immediately reached towards her with her hooves, Agate waving her off.

"Don't bother. Save your strength. I'll be going back to my totem," Agate whispered.

"What happened?!" Shatterhoof shouted angrily.

"Freezing Point's hunch was right. Sombra, the demon, is back, and he's laying siege to the Empire. They're holding out for now, but I don't know if they can win or not," Agate explained quietly, their eyes going wide in alarm. "And don't bother galloping. You're still week's of travel away from the Empire."

"We will still go there as fast as we can. We will reinforce your people, Agate, or help them break free once more should we arrive too late," Trailblazer pledged.

"You have my spear," Ice Elation nodded.

"And my magic," Freezing point added.

"And my hooves!" Shatterhoof stomped.

"Thank you. Right now, though, I must return to my totem and replenish my strength. Keep moving towards the Empire. I might not come back for several days, or perhaps even longer. Spirits watch over you all," Agate nodded, collapsing into the form of a small bird and speeding away.

As always, going towards her totem was easier than travelling outwards. Using the pull, she yanked herself inside the totem almost instantly, her mind getting scrambled a bit from the sudden shift. Recollecting herself, she immediately got to work. Usually, she would have taken the time to just sleep and recover, but not this time. No, she needed power, and she was not in a waiting mood.

Humming to herself, Agate began a reaction in her totem. As she had taught hundreds of snowponies, the thing with crystals was, they were amazing stores of magic. However, by themselves, they couldn't do specific things - if you charged one up, it would just glow until the magic ran out, which was what they were used for back in the day. If you managed to figure out how to use the stored up magic in a ritual, or to power a ward or some such, you could get quite an extra kick out of your magic.

For Agate, the situation with her totem was even better. The magics inside it bound her very spirit to it, completely and irrevocably, until it was destroyed. On the surface, it seemed like some kind of terrible binding, but in reality, it was more like a length of rope thrown to a pony that was getting swept away by a river. She didn't want to get swept away yet, and she appreciated the rope very much. It restored her sight, gave her strength, and a place to rest.

And when the craftponies accidentally planted the seeds of what would become the crystalline totem that it eventually turned into, they had no idea what was going to happen. The sheer size of the crystal meant that it could hold tremendous amounts of power - the only downside being that it was all but useless if Agate moved sufficiently far away from it. But if she were to draw it into herself first...

It started slowly, Agate's gentle humming sending faint, completely unnoticeable vibrations through the crystal. As she kept it up, though, it began to resonate, the other crystals in the clearing vibrating as well. Bit by bit, it grew louder, and louder, and louder. And louder. Before long, the whole place was shaking, the weaker crystals in the clearing cracking and breaking to pieces.

*HUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*

Stepping out of her totem, Agate bathed in the roiling energy. Disrupting the usually placid flow, she drank it all into herself, her form growing larger and brighter, while her totem dimmed, arcs of energy jumping between the points and into the spirit. Her eyes sparkling and her teeth turning sharper, the furious spirit's form became more indistinct, various features appearing and disappearing. Fangs and claws of a floewolf, proceeding to turn into the claws of a predatory avian, with teeth resembling that of a shark.

Noticing her lack of control, Agate clamped down on her anger, stabilizing herself once more into an equine form. She was still massive, though, which she only realized after what appeared to be some kind of small foal entered the clearing, only for her to recognize him as Inner Fire. The stallion gaped at her, and the devastation that she wrought to her clearing. The crystals were shattered, the totem was sparkling and crackling as it slowly cooled down, small cracks marring its surface. And Agate was standing in the middle of it all, looking mightily ticked off.

"Ancient one! What happened?!" He yelled up at her.

"Sombra," Agate growled. "The monster that enslaved my people is trying to do the same thing yet again. I am sorry, I have no time to talk. Be well, chieftain."

Without another word, Agate hugged herself, spreading her forelegs as wings a moment later. Giving a mighty flap, she blasted away from the clearing, with one, simple destination: south. Towards Dream Valley, the Empire, and the monster that was plaguing it.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate didn't bother stopping by the group of adventurers this time. No, her entire attention was focused on retaining as much magic as she could, so that she could unleash it all towards one, specific target. Flapping her wings and narrowing her eyes, she bore down on the Empire with a thousand years of pent up grudge against the tyrant.

Once she was in sight of the Empire, she quickly took stock of the situation, which did not look very good. The entire shield around the Empire was surrounded by dark clouds and was flickering furiously, on the verge of giving out completely. She was tempted to scream out a challenge or something of the sort, but she was disciplined enough not to waste her energy and give herself away like that.

Instead, she focused her magic on her claws and dove, the same way she saw hundreds of predatory birds dive towards their prey over the years. Tearing through Sombra's shadowy form once more, she immediately flew away, gaining altitude and aiming for another pass.

"GRAAAAAARH!"

Unfortunately, it seemed that the effort put into breaking the shield somehow didn't make Sombra tired at all. In fact, his roar of outrage sounded even more powerful this time. Reforming himself, the shadow tyrant looked around again, though he neglected to look upwards. Using the opportunity, Agate dove once more, slamming into him and flattening him into a smoky puddle. Even if she wasn't hurting him much, punching him in the face was immensely satisfying.

Taking a moment to look around before taking off again, Agate saw the likely source of extra power. While the shield was active, Sombra's dark crystals were already spreading inside of it, somehow. The normal crystals inside were slowly getting overtaken by his dark magic, the power in them doubtless answering to the evil unicorn. Assuming that he managed to somehow punch a hole in the shield, Agate flapped away, trying to think of a way to cause more damage.

Sombra tried to capture her this time, but it did not work for him. She was too fast and nimble, and her own power sliced through his. It did not come without a cost, though. With each pass, Agate's reserves diminished, while Sombra was, at best, remaining the same, at worst - growing stronger anyway, if a bit slower due to Agate's distractions.

Agate kept thinking about a better way to do this, but unfortunately, even her ancient wisdom did not present any solutions to this problem. As Sombra roared once more, she tried to focus her magic into as small of an area as possible, her overly large avian form shrinking down into something that more closely resembled her usual bird forms, though she glowed far brighter than normal.

"What... Creature..." Sombra hissed, the glow not going unnoticed.

"Die," Agate whispered quietly, diving at him again.

He growled as she hurt him again, but this was clearly a losing battle. She was trying to overpower him, and in the brute force department, he clearly had the upper hoof. And, as many various hunters told her over the years, trying to one-up a creature where they were the strongest was not how you fought foes if you wanted to win. You did not go to wrestle a bear. You did not dive into the water to fight an akhlut. You did not get into hoof-to-hoof combat range with a yeti. You did not go against a pack of wolves alone. You did not fight a floewolf in an open plain, with no obstacles to dive behind.

Briefly disengaging, Agate dove through the shield to see what was happening inside. Looking around, she saw a large number of ponies gathering around the base of the Spire. Winging her way over and landing on a nearby roof, she saw a couple of the foreign ponies talking to the gathered crowd.

One of them was doing some kind of performance, though it didn't seem to be going all that well for her. Losing her balance, the flugelhorns she was juggling fell on her head, while the ball she was standing on bounced off a cloth covering that was draped over...

"That's not the Crystal Heart," A confused stallion said, when some kind of cheap knockoff fell from under the cover.

"But then... What's casting the shield?" Agate thought in confusion.

"Well, of course it's not. The real one is... On its way!" The two foreigners spoke over each other, looking rather unconvinced of their own words.

Agate was old, and she could see when a foal was lying. Adults were harder, but over the years, she got pretty good at reading them, too. And those two? Probably couldn't lie to a foal. They clearly didn't have the Heart, but they were still stalling for time, for... Some reason. Were they trying to find it? If Sombra stole it the last time and they banished him, but haven't managed to find it themselves yet...

Furtively glancing around, Agate sighed. Obviously, no Heart appeared anywhere in her vision, and she didn't have even the faintest idea of where to look. All she could hope for was that the ponies that were looking for it would actually come through. It looked like there really was only one thing she could do. Flapping her wings, she took off, aiming for Sombra again.

"Brute force and stalling for time it is, then," She thought, diving at the shadowy form.

They danced that dance for some time. Agate would dive at him, and Sombra would get furious at the sudden pain, gnashing and wailing at the insolent spirit while she sped away. He tried to swat her and chase her down again, but once he saw that she was too fast, he gave up and went back to destroying the shield. Afterwards, no matter what she tried, he would not wander far from the shield's edge, always returning to working his dark magic on it with a growl. Eventually, her power was all but gone, and she could do nothing but circle in the air and watch.

"Come on... Someone has to do something..." Agate whispered once the shield broke down completely, Sombra surging forward with a victorious growl.

"My crystal slavessss..." He hissed, making Agate cry out in anger.

She dived at him one last time, though it was all in vain. Her ethereal form simply bounced off of him, Sombra not even noticing her attack this time. Her vision swimming, Agate fell into a house nearby, her thoughts muddled. Shaking her head, she reformed her blurry form, noticing that everything grew much larger for some reason.

Looking at her reflection on a crystal wall, she saw that she was back in the same body she was in a thousand years ago - one of a lost and scared filly, helpless against the shadow monster that stole her home from her. Sighing, Agate hung her head, despondently looking through the window as the Empire was once more covered by Sombra's dark crystals from top to bottom.

"Ag... ate?" Someone softly called from behind her, making the spirit whirl around in surprise.

"Who..? You look familiar..." Agate trailed off, looking at a filly that was hiding under her bed.

"You... You don't remember me? It's me, Agate. Sugarberry. Your... Friend?" The filly spoke slowly, her eyes wide. "Why are you transparent? Are you some dark magic illusion here to scare me?"

"Sugar... Sugarberry..." Agate spoke just as slowly, as the familiar name bounced around in her head. "No, Sugary, I'm not an illusion. I'm a ghost," She smiled wanly, using an old nickname for her friend.

"G-g-g-ghost?!" The filly squeaked, shrinking down even further.

"Sorry, Sugary," The spirit shrugged. "I am. I'm not a mean ghost, though, I promise. But I can see that you're very scared right now. I'll leave. I suppose I need to leave the Empire anyway. Think about what to tell the tribes in regards to bringing their warriors and shamares here."

Before the confused filly could say anything, Agate casually jumped out of the second-story window, landing in the street. She shot one last angry look towards Sombra, who was standing on a large spike of dark crystal and growling at a curious pink pega- no, flying uni- no, alicorn, who was carrying a glowing piece of crystal in her magical grip.

"Is that the Crystal Heart?!"

Agate got her answer when the dull crystal road under her hooves began to shine, power coursing through the Empire's veins once more. It pulsed and rushed towards the middle, the Crystal Hear beginning to glow with the combined magic of the Empire's citizens. Then, it rushed outwards once again, in a wave of magic that made Agate grin so wide, her face almost split in half.

"NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sombra roared, but it was too late. The Heart's power flowed into him, but it did not empower him. Cracks began to appear on his body, and moments later, he was blown to smithereens.

There was a lot of noise. Yells, the hum of magic, angry roars, the sound of a monster exploding, and so on. While the place Agate landed in was mostly abandoned, the hubbub probably still was the only reason no one heard Agate's shouts as she screamed her joy out into the heavens.

"BURN, ABOMINATION! BURNNN!!! AHAHAHAHAHAH!"

When all the noise abated a few moments later, a little crystal filly carefully poked her muzzle outside from the second story window to look around, but the street was deserted. There were no ponies, living or dead, anywhere in sight.

Family Reunion

Quickly scampering away, Agate found an empty alleyway where she shapeshifted, flying away unnoticed. As far as she knew, no one had seen her at all besides Sugarberry, and she was entirely happy to keep it that way. She still remembered just how skeptical ponies - including herself - were about ghosts in the Empire.

The way she saw it, it could go two ways. One, she would face a bunch of demands from ponies to "prove that she was real", and if she did, they would all lose their heads and swarm her, poking and prodding at her. The second one was everyone losing their heads with fear, and they'd try to banish her somehow, which she highly doubted they would succeed in, given that they didn't exactly have any experience with shamaric magic. Either option would be a waste of time, and a big interruption in her attempts to talk to her family. So, she fled.

Circling above the Empire, she giggled, flying in loops around the ribbons of magic emanating from the Heart. Night had fallen by the time they finally defeated Sombra, and the sky was illuminated by the aurora coming from the Spire. It wasn't remotely comparable to the grandeur of the wild aurora of the north, but it was a much more heartwarming sight.

Agate felt tired, but she really, really did not want to leave the Empire. She knew that it was there and that Sombra was gone, but at the same time, she still felt afraid that it would vanish yet again if she just closed her eyes and let it out of her sight. Still, she had to land and rest somewhere eventually.

From what she saw, the only fliers in the Empire were the foreign pegasus with a rainbow mane and the pink alicorn, and they both retired for the night. Slowly circling downwards, Agate landed on the very top of the Spire, feeling like she was a filly that was being naughty and was about to get told off for climbing the royal castle. No one came for her, though, and with no other pegasi around, there was next to no chance of getting noticed. Feeling the faint hum of the Heart down below her, Agate closed her eyes, drifting off with a smile.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, Agate woke with a start, the memories of the previous day coming back in a rush. Tapping the crystal below her to make sure that it really was the Spire and not her totem, she smiled, hugging the Spire's roof. Once she was done hugging the building - which took quite a lot of time, actually - she wondered what to do next.

She didn't want to go to her family without the snowponies backing her up, and it would still take over a week for them to actually get to the Empire. With a sigh, she lay down, resting her head on her forelegs and watching the ponies below go about their days. At some point, the pink alicorn went out to the balcony to give a speech to the people, Agate observing curiously from above, frowning when some of the words the alicorn said were almost incomprehensible.

"...And while I have been raised in Equestria, I promise that I will rule the Empire fairly and will never put your needs below those of Equestria..."

"Hm," Agate thought. So she was an Equestrian. Made sense. The Empire never had alicorns of their own.

"...The world changed quite a lot. I know it must be very strange to hear that a thousand years had passed in the blink of an eye, but we will do our best to help the Empire catch up to..."

Thinking about the number, Agate considered just how much things changed in the north in a thousand years. When she arrived, the snowponies were a tough, resilient alliance of three small tribes. Quite well suited to the harsh life in the north, but still small, only recently having truly adapted to their new lives as snowponies rather than earth pony refugees. "Recently" being in historical terms, of course - they had been living in the north for centuries already, if not millennia.

Through the time that she spent with them, they became less nomadic, built dozens - no, hundreds - of settlements across the plains, forests and islands of their territories, figured out all sorts of ways to employ magic and the local resources to make their lives easier, and spread far and wide compared to their original territories, regardless of the harsh conditions of the north. How much bigger and stronger did Equestria become during that time? Strong enough to build some kind of incredibly fast metal carriages, apparently.

"...But all of that is a worry for tomorrow. You all just woke up from a thousand-year nightmare. Please, celebrate and be merry, for we all just overcame a terrible evil. Yes, every single one of us. The power of the Heart comes from you all, and I am still shocked by the incredible strength each and every crystal pony carries in their heart. Love truly conquers all," The alicorn finished.

That was the end of the speech, though it actually took Agate a good hour or so of sorting through it to fully understand it, and with the time, she naturally lost some bits, such as what the alicorn's name actually was. Trying to figure out what the problem was, she smacked herself in the head when she called a unicorn a "narwhal-horn" in her mind. She spent such a long time speaking snowponish, she almost forgot how to talk in modern ponish!

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard to fix," She muttered, changing into a bird and stealthily gliding down onto the roof of a smaller building to listen in on some conversations, and hopefully remember which words meant what.

Agate spent a large amount of time lying down on top of the Spire, and the rest of the day was spent listening to various ponies talk about things. She didn't particularly care what they talked about, only listening to the words and seeing if she understood them, so she didn't really get much information out of her eavesdropping. The general feeling seemed to be more or less one of joy of defeating Sombra, tinged with some concern for the future due to the whole "frozen for a thousand years" thing. Beyond that, she didn't really know.

When darkness fell again, Agate's sense of duty overcame her homesickness. Taking off northwards, she flew through the mountains, scanning the snowy mountainsides with her spirit sight. As always, it wasn't hard to notice the only living beings around, and she soon landed in their camp. There were no sentries, and they were all fast asleep already, so Agate did the same, curling up on the snow nearby.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Traveler spirit!"

Agate was woken up by an excited shout, rolling over on the snow and collecting her sleepy thoughts. Stretching out her limbs, she stood up, opening her eyes and looking around. Freezing Point was smiling widely at her, while the others were looking in her direction with cautiously optimistic expressions.

"Good morning, Freezing Point," Agate greeted the excitable shamare.

"You won, didn't you?!" She immediately shouted without preamble.

"Well, I mean..." Agate trailed off for a moment. "Kind of? It was a victory, though my contribution to it is questionable. Why are you so sure, though?"

"The strange aurora from the south, of course! That was a sign of good triumphing over evil if I ever saw one," She nodded confidently.

"Well, you're not wrong in that regard," Agate confirmed with a smile. "It looks like you all won't get to fight ancient unspeakable evils after all."

"Darn," Shatterhoof chuckled.

"I'm... Okay with that," Goat Hop said, Spring Hoof nodding along.

"Well, I can't say how much I could have done against a creature like that "Sombra" with my spear, so I suppose it's for the best," Trailblazer shrugged. "I would have given it my all, but there is a difference between being brave and blindly walking into a beast's jaws. The important thing is not how much personal glory we might have got, but that Agate's people are free now."

"They are free, right?" Ice Elation asked. "Are any more of Sombra's minions or traces of his magic still lingering in your home?"

"No, they're all gone. The Empire is free. And Trailblazer is right. I went all out and wanted to beat Sombra myself, but the most important thing is the still living ponies of the Empire, not my thirst for revenge," Agate nodded. "Either way, it is done. We can now go to the Empire without worrying about what we find there. In fact, I should probably go back there and listen more. We have different languages, and I almost forgot my mother tongue by now."

"Wait, don't go! You have to tell us about the battle! Even if you didn't do much, it must have been a fight for the ages!" Freezing Point protested.

"You have a bad habit of stopping me from going to the Empire, youngling," Agate huffed, doing her "old wise spirit" impression to the sheepish shamare. "Fine, I'll tell you. I suppose there's still a lot of time until you reach the valley anyway."

Agate got to retelling what happened to the eagerly listening adventurers. They were as fascinated as her with the strange metal carriage that Agate saw, though she wasn't able to offer any insights on it. It was as unfamiliar to her as it was to them. When she got to the part where she drew power from her totem, Agate slowed down, thinking about what happened.

"Maybe I should go south and reassure them that everything's alright. They're probably worried," She mused.

"I'm sure they're fine, there's no way they missed the aurora," Freezing Point insisted.

"I'm not so certain, they weren't aware of the Empire back when I arrived, even though-"

"Oh, come on, you stopped at the best part! What happened next?"

"Fine," Agate rolled her eyes. "I took off, burning with power and a singular purpose: smash Sombra in the face, no matter how little that might accomplish. I didn't lose control, but still, I was quite angry..."

Agate spent the day with the adventurers, taking off for the Empire again in the morning. It was strange to start thinking in two languages again, but the alternating talks and eavesdropping helped to reestablish the differences of most words in her mind. On the third day, she did go south again, landing in her thrashed clearing.

"Oof. I made a mess," She grimaced.

Crystal shards were everywhere, and it looked like no one came by to clean up. It wasn't unusual - crystals were still valuable, and whenever Agate asked someone to come dig some up, it meant she was pretty much offering almost free money to ponies, and no one dared to come and steal from the ancient spirit. The shattered mess littering the clearing was probably best swept away and buried somewhere, though.

"Let's see, then..."

There was nothing she could do about the broken shards, but her totem could have used a little patching up. The damage was superficial, but there were a bunch of surface cracks from which magic was slowly leaking out, diminishing the strength of the enchantments laid upon the wooden core.

Agate hummed a much gentler song this time, slowly sinking her hooves inside and slowly mending the cracks. After fixing a few spots near the bottom, she craned her head upwards, thinking for a moment before shrugging and fully sinking inside the totem. From there, she began fixing everything at once, feeling out the disturbances in the flow of magic. The process took much longer, but worked across the entire body of the crystal spire, the totem completely repairing itself.

Once she was done, she stepped out to take a look at her work, noticing a few muttering ponies standing at the edge of her clearing. They saw her as well, pointing with their forelegs and raising their voices. Trotting over, Agate nodded to them.

"Greetings, neighbors. How are things?"

"We are well, traveler spirit," A mare nodded. "But I think it's far more important to ask how you are doing. Your home looks a bit..."

"Wrecked," A stallion said, the mare glaring at him. He shrugged. "What? It's true. Besides, it's just a place. I'd be asking how she is doing, since, you know, she apparently went to fight that big evil... Whatever it was that was attacking her people."

"What's the worst he could do? Kill me?" Agate smiled.

"I am glad you are in such..." The mare trailed off.

"High spirits?" The spirit suggested, making the stallion snort in amusement.

"Looks like she's fine."

"That I am. Now tell me, is Inner Fire around?" Agate inquired.

"No, the chieftain left southwards with a large contingent of ponies two days ago," The stallion shook his head.

"Oh. Alright then. Guess he's on his way anyway, like he said," Agate shrugged. "Suppose I should just... Focus on finally meeting my family again. Good day to you all. Oh, and if you could, kindly spread the word - if anyone wants any of these crystal shards, for anything whatsoever, they are free to take them, as many as they want."

"Very well, traveler spirit. We can do that."

"Thank you."

Nodding gratefully to the locals, Agate turned back to her totem once more, though it wasn't to work this time. She spent the entire day repairing it, and she just wanted to get some sleep. The next morning, she woke up to a manically grinning Arctic Ink sitting by the totem, having swept away a bunch of shards and making herself a little path to her.

"You're a persistent little bloodsucker, aren't you?" Agate chuckled.

"The best lorekeepers are!" The filly nodded energetically.

"Alright, fine..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Once Agate came back to the group of travelers, Freezing Point suddenly asked her to teach her some words in modern ponish, having realized that she wouldn't actually be able to talk to anyone in the Empire. With Agate busy flying back and forth and re-learning her own language and teaching some of it to the adventurers, the days went by quickly. Before she knew it, they were standing on the final crest of the foothills, the slope only going downwards from that point on. Down into Dream Valley.

"Ancestors. That is massive. It must have required great strength to build," Shatterhoof marveled at the Spire.

"That shield looks amazing. I never saw anything like it," Freezing Point breathed.

"Such a huge and open valley. All of ours in the west are narrow and tight," Goat Hop and Spring Hoof mused.

Ice Elation and Trailblazer didn't say anything, simply observing the alien (to them) sight before them with fascinated expressions. Smiling gently, Agate let them drink it in for a short while longer before trotting ahead and calling out to them.

"Come on, you haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until you see everything up close. And as Goat Hop said, the valley is huge. I don't think we're even going to cross it until tomorrow."

"Where will we go first, Agate? Will they bring us to your chieftain?" Trailblazer finally spoke.

"I... Am not sure, actually, but I would like it if you tried to avoid that at first. I'm sure I'm going to get involved in the politics sooner or later, but first, I have a goal that's more important to me than any king or chieftain. My family," Agate nodded firmly.

❅ ❆ ❅

Obsidian Spear felt like sighing. Instead of giving in to the temptation, he took in a slow, long breath, letting it out just as slowly. There had been enough sighing for quite some time, he thought. Then again, he was fully aware that there was going to be no small amount of sighing in the future. It was only to be expected, given what happened.

He slowly swept his gaze across the sitting room, taking in the states of his family. His brother was sitting in a large armchair with a mug of cider. His wife was on the sofa, with a mostly empty glass of wine. His parents were on the sofa as well, his father tapping idly on a throw pillow while his mother was idly crocheting something small. Too small for anyone in their family that was still alive to use. Shaking his head, he got up from his armchair, going to refill his own mug of cider.

"You know, for a "late celebration of Sombra's destruction", the mood here seems rather... Dour," He said, deciding that enough was enough. If no one was going to address the elephant in the room, he was going to wrestle said pachyderm into the very middle of the damn room and have a headbutting match with it, if that's what it took for the rest of them to finally confront it.

Everyone in the room grimaced in one way or another. They knew. They all knew. And he knew that they knew. And they knew that he knew that they knew. Yet, they still held on to... Not hope. It was definitely not hope by this point, the rotten, disgusting thing that it was. Desperation. Denial. Futile anger.

"Well, you know, Obsidian... We had enough vigorous celebrating in the Faire. Nothing wrong with a calm, quiet remembrance," Radiant Cut said, still attempting to cover up the real reason for the gathering.

"Remembrance of who?" Obsidian said quietly, cutting through the lies that had built up over the days with a single stroke.

"W-what do you mean, who? It's for what, Sombra's destruction, not who," Garnet Necklace tried.

She was pained, he knew. Any mother that lost her daughter would be. But he didn't show any more mercy to her than he did to his own brother. "Agate," He said simply. "For Agate. This is not a party. This is not a celebration. This is a remembrance, as Radiant let it slip. This is Agate's wake," He finished firmly, looking them all in the eye and making them flinch.

"They haven't exactly found her body," His mother muttered, immediately grimacing at her own ridiculous statement.

"Yes, because a thousand years of time wouldn't have been kind to it. Just like it hasn't been kind to all the others that were trapped outside the Empire when it vanished. Not even dust remains of them now," Obsidian Spear pointed out anyway.

"Oh, Coal..." His mother sniffled, putting down her crocheting and hugging her husband.

"I know, Hook, I know," He sighed, patting her on the back. "The Empire is saved, but not without cost. The monster still managed to sink his fangs into the people and bleed us before he was destroyed."

"At- at least the others lived!" Garnet Necklace sobbed, furiously lobbing the now empty glass of wine against a wall, where it shattered into hundreds of pieces. "They reached Equestria! They might have died of old age, but they lived out their lives! Celestia herself preserved their letters to their kin! And Agate is just... Just..."

"Gone," Radiant Cut finished for her with a trembling voice, sighing and trotting to the kitchen to get a dustpan and broom.

"And their other halves wish they were dead," Obsidian added. "Some stallions sacrificed themselves, you know. They threw themselves at Sombra's puppets so that their wives and foals could escape. And escape they did - forever. Now, they are left bereft, knowing that it was actually their own actions that are the cause of their grief. That if they hadn't acted, they would have all been captured, but they would also be alive, right here, right now. They caught one of them, you know."

"What do you mean, caught?" Radiant Cut frowned in confusion as he swept up the glass.

"He went into the castle, with the supposed reason of gaining an audience with the new Empress. Instead, he tried to jump from the balcony into the plaza below," Obsidian Spear narrated dispassionately as their eyes went wide. "They stopped him just in time. Some say that he actually jumped, but the Empress dove after him and saved him with her magic. The Emperor posted extra guards at every window and balcony since then."

"That- that doesn't make it better!" Garnet Necklace protested. "I know that other ponies have been hurt too, but that doesn't make our pain smaller!"

"No, it does not. But it does put it in perspective. The Empress apparently pledged that she would do all she could to help heal the stallion's broken heart. He himself later said that he regretted it, and that he would be too ashamed to even follow the Pale Mare into the summer fields to face his wife, knowing how disappointed she would be in him, when she herself decided to live her life fully when she found out the Empire was gone. What are you going to do, Garnet? Will they have to drag you away from the balcony as well?"

"What- NO! I would never!"

"Do you want Sombra's poison to tear our family to pieces? Give in to despair, like he wanted us all to do? Do you want to disappoint Agate?" He pressed on.

"No! That monster will not dictate my life! I WILL NOT BE A SLAVE AGAIN!" She shrieked, getting up from the couch and getting in his face.

"Then I suggest you stop lying to yourself," He said calmly.

"But Sweet Vine... She said that her daughter told her that she saw Agate..." She muttered hoarsely, slowly walking backwards towards the couch.

"Yeah. Saw Agate's ghost, during Sombra's rampage, with dark fear magic flying everywhere. Even if that was real - tell me, Garnet, how do ponies become ghosts?"

"She... She's really gone, isn't she."

"She is. And we will never, ever forget her. But sitting here for the rest of your life and expecting Agate, or her ghost, to suddenly trot through the door isn't going to help you, either. That's just not going to happen," He finally gave in, sighing himself.

"So what do we do, oh stoic warrior brother of mine?" Radiant Cut asked with a wry, pained grin.

"You already said it. What we were already doing. We hold a wake for Agate. We remember the best things about her. And we... Put her to rest, if even symbolically. Perhaps we-" He was saying, when a sudden knock on the door interrupted them. "I'll get it. Did you invite anyone else?"

"Not really, not unless Garnet's parents showed up," Radiant Cut shrugged.

"I highly doubt it. They're busy jockeying for positions in the new government given how everything got flipped upside down," Garnet Necklace snorted in disgust.

"Feh. Damned nobles. Can't let a good tragedy go to waste," Coal Hoof rolled his eyes, his wife smiling faintly.

Trotting to the door, Obsidian Spear opened it, blinking at the strange sight in front of him. A fluffy mare with impressively thick winter clothing and some oddly long bangs was standing in front of the door, a group of five ponies behind her. His experienced Guard eyes were immediately drawn to the strange weapon that she carried.

Though the spear looked like it was made of ice, he could see by her posture that she was not someone he should underestimate. She similarly sized him up, the two martially-inclined ponies tensing up for a moment before she faintly inclined her head, taking a tiny step back and showing him that she was not a threat. He acknowledged it with a small nod, the entire interaction taking no more than a few moments. For a bystander with no experience, it might have gone completely unnoticed, the mare's shift in posture looking like she was just being shy.

"Hey, uncle Obsidian! Don't worry about Ice Elation, she's a friend. Are mother and father home?" Agate's ghost asked, suddenly appearing from beside the mare.

"What?! I... What trickery is this? I haven't seen Equestrians this fluffy before, but I know you're not from here anyway. Where are you hiding your horns, though?" Obsidian Spear growled at the ponies, the visitors only looking confused.

"We... No Ekestria," A different mare said slowly in a strange accent, her ponish quite lacking. "Me snowmare of north tribe."

"Uncle, cut it out. I'm not an illusion," Agate spoke firmly, booping him on the muzzle. He flinched back, her ethereal touch sending shivers across his entire body.

"But you died. No one even found your body," He said helplessly, looking at her translucent form.

"Yup. I did. But I didn't go to wherever ponies go when they die. And then, I met some friends. And they took me in. Helped preserve my spirit. Preserve me. And I... Waited," She explained with an awkward smile.

"Who's at the door, Obsidian? You've been there for a while," Radiant Cut called out, Agate's ears perking up and her eyes sparkling at the voice, her gaze becoming unfocused.

"Father..." The spirit whispered with incredible emotion, making Obsidian Spear question a lot of things that he thought he knew about the world.

"I... I am not fully sure yet, but I think I might be eating some of the words that I said recently," He managed to say.

"What in the world are you talking about, colt? How can you be not sure who's at the door?" Coal Hoof's exasperated voice rang out.

"Uh, well-"

"Are they guests or not?"

"I'd think they are, dad. They say that... They're friends of Agate's," He said, omitting the part where Agate herself called them her friends.

"Well then you better damned well invite them in, why would you even think of barring the door to- Oh. Huh," The old stallion stopped berating his son when he saw the ponies that cantered into the sitting room after Obsidian Spear waved them in, squinting at them. "They don't look like the little fillies that Agate was friends with."

"Because I'm not a little filly anymore, grandpa Coal," Agate said with a smile, coming in from behind the fluffy ponies.

"WHAT THE SOMBRA-CURSED DEVILRY!" Coal Hoof swore, everyone's eyes wide.

"SHUSH!" Agate yelled, impressively loud. "Before anything else happens - Ice Elation! My healsbeagm please!"

"Was that old ponish?" Obsidian Spear blinked while the mare nodded, retrieving a necklace from her saddlebags and gently holding it out in front of the stunned family.

It didn't mean anything to Obsidian Spear or his parents, but Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace stared at it in confused recognition, glancing at each other. Slowly, they stood up and stalked towards it, as if they were approaching a dangerous animal that could lash out at them at any moment. The mare made no threatening motions, though, and once they were in range, she gently hoofed the necklace to Radiant Cut, who took it in his own foreleg, Garnet Necklace bending down to examine it closer.

"I recognize the chain. This is your work, dear," Radiant Cut said quietly.

"And the gemstone is one of yours. I remember working the gold around it. It looks a bit weathered, but still easily recognizable. This... This is..." Garnet Necklace couldn't quite complete the sentence.

"This is the necklace we gave to Agate before we left. But... How..." He trailed off, looking at the sadly smiling form of his daughter.

"There's no easy way to say this, dad," Agate began. "So I'll have to be blunt. I died. I ran off into the snow, and I lost my way. I managed to escape the guards and tried to make it to Equestria, but went in the wrong direction. When I tried coming back to the city, Sombra's fear magic blocked my way. And... With nowhere left to go, stuck in the freezing mountains... Nature took its course."

Silence overtook the house after that statement. One that lasted a long, long time. Being a disciplined bunch, the visitors remained quiet, allowing Agate to talk to her kin. And the family didn't quite know what to say. The information that was suddenly dropped on their heads contradicted a lot of what they thought they knew about the world. They wanted to deny it, but it was pretty hard to argue against the evidence that was standing in their room and telling them what happened. Their eyes kept darting between Agate and the necklace, as if one impossibility could cancel out the other.

"You... Look different. Older. Grown up," Radiant Cut finally managed to force out.

"Yeah. I didn't disappear with the Empire. So I waited," Agate nodded.

"For a thousand years?!" Garnet Necklace shouted with horror.

"Yes. It's been fun, though. I had plenty of friends," Agate smiled, gesturing towards the strange ponies.

"Did the Equestrians...?" Crochet Hook asked, squinting at them. "Did they grow fluffier over a thousand years?"

"The Equestrians said they didn't know about Agate, though," Coal Hoof pointed out.

"And they didn't," Agate confirmed. "These are not Equestrians. These are snowponies."

"What in the world are snowponies?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Now that," Agate chuckled, "Is a long story. Over a thousand years long, you could say. Well, A little shorter, I suppose. They're much like Equestrians - descendants of ponies that fled from Dream Valley back in the day. Only, they fled in a different direction."

"You said they "preserved your spirit?" Obsidian Spear inquired again.

"They're necromancers?" Garnet Necklace flinched back.

"No? Though they do have to deal with a lot of spirits up north. The whole place is chock full of them," Agate shrugged.

"Are you really real? This is truly not some trick?" Radiant Cut huffed, squinting at Agate while glancing at the snowponies.

"I can tell you about the last days before we parted ways," Agate shrugged. "Only we were there, so no one else would know about it, right? I mean, if the necklace still isn't enough proof..."

"Tell me. Please," The stallion nodded, finally turning around and going back to his armchair, putting the necklace on the nearby coffee table. After a few moments, Garnet Necklace went back to the couch as well, looking sadly at Agate.

"Alright. So the day we got separated, we took shelter in your jewelry shop. While dad was digging around in the storage, I was eating something while hiding under a display case..."

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate's recollection wasn't exactly perfect. Which was entirely understandable, given that to her, it happened a thousand years ago - if she could be believed. The more she talked, though, the more the family believed her. Once she recounted the day, she just kept going, telling them how she escaped the mind-controlled soldiers and made it out of the valley. How she climbed the mountains, and how she realized that she went the completely wrong way. How she tried to come back, only for Sombra's magic to bar her way.

"I still wonder what the purpose of that fear magic was. That must have taken a lot of energy. Why bother scaring... Well, no one, really. I'm pretty sure I was the only pony around for leagues," Agate mused.

"Equestrians," Obsidian Spear supplied. "Some ponies overheard him talking to himself and bragging about how he was going to win against Equestria. Like many tyrants, the idiot couldn't get enough of the sound of his own voice."

"So what was his plan? Equestria's far away, from what little I know."

"Well, he - correctly - surmised that since we were allies, Equestria would come to our aid. However, he expected them to mobilize their army, and slowly march on the Empire. With the fear magic, once they finally reached the Empire's gates, their will would have been broken so badly and thoroughly that he would be able to either easily defeat them even with a small detachment, or just enslave them as well. What he did not expect was the princesses foregoing any guards, and just showing up in person to blast him mere days later. Entirely expectedly, a vile coward did not consider the possibility of his foes being brave and arriving without ballista fodder to shield behind."

"Ha. Serves the scumbag right. Guess they did do something good after all," Agate smiled.

"Hm? You don't like the Equestrian princesses?" He asked with a small, intrigued smile.

"Eh. I hardly know anything about them. I didn't exactly learn anything new about Equestria while I was in the north. But I was expecting them to banish Sombra a little harder, I guess. Him coming back at the same time as the Empire was an unpleasant surprise," Agate shrugged.

"For us all, yes," Coal Hoof grumbled.

"And they really could have shoved him somewhere further away. Maybe he'd have gotten lost," Agate added with a huff.

"What do you mean?" Radiant Cut tilted his head.

"Oh, I found the place where he was imprisoned. At least, I'm almost completely sure that that was the place. It wasn't even far. Just a mass of ice in the mountains to the east of here," Agate explained.

"You... It's so hard to reconcile the grown-up, confident, experienced mare that's standing in front of me with the little filly in my head," Garnet Necklace shook her head.

"Your little filly grew up... Spiritually," Agate smiled wanly. "A thousand years will do that to you. I'm now... Way older than you, mom. Than all of you put together," She chuckled, her mirth more genuine this time.

"Wow, way to make me feel young, filly," Coal Hoof snorted with a grin.

"Any time, grandpa. Now, I'm sure you're going to want to know about how I became a ghost and found the snowponies, but before we get into me telling you a thousand years of history, I insist that you find my friends a place to sit," She gestured towards the still-standing snowponies.

"Heavens, where are my manners?" Garnet Necklace sighed. "Let's get some more chairs from the kitchen. And take off your coats, dears, you must be burning in those. Cold cider?"

"Cealdnes?" A mare asked curiously.

"That is old ponish. Kind of," Obsidian Spear noted.

"Oh, right. Yeah, they don't talk modern ponish. I had to spend a week reminding myself how to talk," Agate noted. "Guess I'll translate."

"How did they even get into the city? How did you even get into the city? Were the northern gates abandoned, or did you scare off the guards with your ghost powers, or something?" He asked with a small grin.

"Heh! Not quite..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"And here we are," Agate said, pointing to the shimmering edge of the Empire's shield some dozen paces ahead of them.

"We'll be able to go through, right?" Shatterhoof asked with some concern.

"As long as you hold no ill will towards my people, then yes," Agate confirmed. "Of course, there might still be guards. There was almost nothing in the northern part of the valley, but I'm fairly certain they still used to post guards there. They could have left it unguarded after the whole thing with Sombra. Or maybe they doubled the guards. We'll just have to see."

"Such magic..." Freezing Point smiled, trotting closer and swirling her hoof in the shield.

"Come on, you can play with magical stuff later," Agate chuckled, urging the shamare on.

"Fiiiine..." She whined, following the others.

Once they were all through the shield, the still-living ponies all froze in shock at the sudden temperature change. It was like it was summer under the bubble - which it was. Giving them a few minutes to acclimatize, Agate nodded, scanning the gates in the distance.

"Yup, that's how we dealt with the cold while not having coats as fluffy as yours. Anyway, it looks like there are guards... And I'm the only one that can actually talk with them... And I didn't want to attract attention yet. Darn."

"Can we somehow harmlessly trick them?" Freezing Point asked.

"I don't want you befuddling them with magic even if it's harmless, Freezing Point. After Sombra, I imagine that any kind of magic like that would make them very jumpy. I... Alright, I think I have an idea. Ice Elation, you're usually quiet. Can I pretend to be your voice?"

"If... That helps us get past, sure," The mare shrugged.

"Good. You just stay quiet, while I do this," Agate nodded with a grin, changing into a small bird and hiding inside Ice Elation's hood. "Put your hood down and wrap your scarf around your mouth so they don't see that you're not actually talking, please."

Ice Elation wordlessly complied, nodding when she was done. The others chuckled at the clever trickery, trotting ahead and turning their expressions neutral as they approached the guards. For their part, the two guards seemed to have been taken completely by surprise by their arrival, one of them staring at them slack-jawed in a completely undisciplined manner.

"State- state your business?" The slack-jawed one finally said while demonstratively extending his spear sideways, though his tone wasn't very commanding.

"Greetings, sir. We are travelers from the far north, here to see the Empire," Agate spoke from inside Ice Elation's hood, the mare turning to the guard and pretending to talk.

"But... The far north is utterly desolate..." The guard trailed off.

"It's been a thousand years, colt," His partner, an older stallion reminded him. "We don't know how much the world has changed. Maybe some ponies settled even the northern reaches."

"By the Heart, that thousand years business is still so damned hard to wrap my head around," The first guard groaned, facehoofing.

"Discipline."

"Sorry, sir!" He immediately snapped back into shape.

"Now, uh... I'm not sure what to say myself," The older stallion mused. "If you have territory somewhere north of us, and our borders touch... Well, territorial disputes are well above my paygrade. I'm just here to... Keep order, though this spot doesn't exactly get much traffic. Are you a diplomatic party of some kind? Should we escort you to the Spire?"

"...Not in an official manner," Agate said after a moment's consideration. "This stallion here is the son of the current, ah... Lord of his people, but we're all here just to see the Empire. Its return took us by surprise, honestly, and we just wanted to see that we weren't dreaming."

"As did we all," The second guard smiled. "Your lord's son is a bit quiet, though. As are the rest of your friends. Any reason for that?"

"Ah, they don't actually speak ponish, sir. Here," Agate told him, switching to snowponish. "Everyone, introduce yourselves, except for Ice Elation. Yes, in your tongue."

"Shatterhoof, slayer of floewolves of the deepest north!" The proud stallion thumped his chest with a grin.

"Freezing Point, shamare of the northern tribe," The mare said plainly.

"Goat Hop and Spring Hoof of the western mountains," The couple said, standing closer to each other.

"Trailblazer, son of Inner Fire, the chieftain of the southern tribe," The southerner went last, standing up straighter.

"...Well, this is way above my paygrade. Was that old ponish? No, never mind. Well, you're armed, but... That's not against the law. And since you entered through the shield just fine, I'm guessing you have no intent to use those weapons while inside, yes?"

"Of course, sir. There's dangerous beasts in the wilderness, as I'm sure you know. Yetis and the like. The weapons are only for them," Agate confirmed.

"Very well, then. Welcome to the Crystal Empire," He nodded, ceremonially stepping aside, his partner doing the same.

"Thank you, sir!" Agate said with a smile, almost saying "It's good to be back", restraining herself at the last moment.

Fluffiest Smugglers

Shining Armor sighed, looking over the few reports on his desk. Totally unsurprisingly, the Imperial Guard was in complete shambles after the upheaval. More than a third of them seemed to have vanished altogether, even though there was absolutely no way that they died or left the city.

From what he was able to find out through several days of poking, prodding, and questioning all sorts of ponies, it was a matter of fealty. An archaic term in Equestria, but a very real one in the Empire. Here, ponies did not sign service contracts - they swore sacred oaths to their sovereign. And when that sovereign died, that oath was dissolved immediately. The guards did not go AWOL or were shirking their jobs - according to their customs, they failed in their duty and were no longer employed by the Guard, in every legal way that mattered.

Sure, the Royal Guard still had oaths of their own, but these days, they were ceremonial, rather than the entire basis of their service. And, of course, the locals still held loyalty for their nation and people as well, which was why not everyone in the Guard disappeared. And if there was a beloved heir to the previous sovereign, they would, naturally, rally around them without fail, to the last one. But with a foreign, unfamiliar pony on the throne...

Even while the majority of them stayed, he couldn't help but notice that only some of them swore their oaths to Cadance, while the rest proceeded to work in silence. Which probably meant that if they tripped up somehow, there was a real chance the rest of the guards might walk away as well, with no punishment that he could threaten them with. Despite it amounting to desertion by his standards, the Empire did not work by his standards.

"Ughhh."

"It's not looking good, is it?" Cadance asked, entering the room.

"It could be much worse," He shrugged. "I mean, most of the heavy lifting is done by the Heart, anyway, and it's not like we're facing an imminent invasion. There should be plenty of time to reorganize the Guard. It's really not that bad."

"Still, it's not all that great, is it?" She smiled wanly.

"The Empire is hurt, yes. It's not just the culture shock from having been frozen for a thousand years," He nodded. "How are things on your end?"

"...Painful. Many broken hearts. Fewer than there could have been, but still. It hurts," Cadance whispered.

"We'll get through this. We'll help them get through this," He reassured his wife, nuzzling her.

"We will, yes. But the next couple of years are probably going to be quite tense. I hope there's no fights on your end, at least? How are the Royals and the Imperials getting along?" She asked, nuzzling him back and giving him a kiss.

"Well, the first thing I did was reassure them that the Royal Guard detachment is here only as reinforcements, and not as an occupying force or their replacements," Shining Armor shrugged. "There's only a couple dozen pegasi, so they seem to have believed me. Mixed reactions from the locals. Some ponies were intrigued about having pegasus air support, while others leaned into their pride and said that they didn't need them. Pretty mild overall, though. Just some scoffs and eye rolls. Both sides seem to be trying to out-discipline each other rather than get into fights, which is just fine by me."

"So they're trying to see who can do an impression of a statue better?" Cadance giggled.

"Something like that, though they're mostly just being extra formal," He said with a smile. "It's not like there's been any trouble yet, so they're all just doing regular patrols and getting used to seeing each other out and about. Once we actually lift the restrictions on-"

*Knock knock* "Permission to enter, sir?" A familiar voice outside the room said.

"Come in, Thunder Strike," Shining Armor nodded.

"Sir!" The pegasus immediately saluted.

"At ease, lieutenant. My wife and I were just talking about how great the Royal and Imperial guards are getting along. Don't tell me we jinxed it, and you're here to report trouble," He grinned.

"Not as such, sir, though it might be trouble either way. A very confusing report worked its way up the command chain to me just now, and I thought you might want to hear it," The stallion explained.

"Well, I'm technically no longer a captain any more, but I don't think I'll be able to stop sticking my nose into Guard matters any time soon. Spill," Shining Armor nodded.

"Yes, sir. A pair of guards posted to the northern gate reported that they had a group of six visitors enter the Empire. They claimed to be some kind of travelers "from the far north", here to see the Empire," The pegasus summarized.

"What... In the world?" Completely flabbergasted, Shining Armor turned to Cadance, who only shrugged helplessly. "We are in the far north, Thunder Strike. There's not a single living thing further on. This was a dead, icy waste before the Empire returned."

"Exactly why I thought you might want to hear about this, sir. Usually, no one would have even heard about this, but since they were one of the first civilian visitors to the Empire, the guards were talking about them, as well as the supposed fact of them being from some kind of people to the north. The guard that reported the encounter wanted to know whether we have any policies about northern visitors, and whether there's a border dispute with them now that the Empire is back."

"There's no one there," Shining Armor threw his hooves up in exasperation. "Mount Everhoof is in the north! And past it is probably an endless glacier. We can't have a border dispute with imaginary glacier ponies. This sounds like some kind of strange prank by someone from Equestria. Did a bunch of pegasi flew in to see the Empire?"

"Which tribe were they?" Cadance asked.

"Stocky earth ponies with the fluffiest coats I ever did see" was what the guards described them as, ma'am."

"Earth ponies could have trekked here by now, yes? It has been... Over a week since we defeated Sombra, right?" Cadance asked her husband.

"Well, I mean, yes, but why? It's not exactly a pleasant weekend trip. Maybe they stowed away on the train? Where's the schedule? The time didn't get away from us, right? There's still, what, ten days until we start allowing regular ponies to come?" He mused, digging through his papers and pulling out a list.

"Something like that, I think," Cadance confirmed.

"Well, let's see. Twilight and her friends were the first ones after us, then the Royal Guard reinforcements, emergency medical supplies, doctors, a group of scholars, Celestia's stash of mail to the relatives of the ponies that escaped the Empire..."

Shining Armor went through the items on the cargo schedule one by one, double-checking the dates. While everyone in Equestria saw the Crystal Empire's magic spread across the sky, they couldn't just immediately open the floodgates of ravenous tourists on the emotionally damaged and still-recovering city. As such, the train was locked down, reserved solely for royal use for several weeks until things settled down a little, and so they'd be able to bring in some emergency supplies and temporary staff.

The doctors came and went, Sombra's attack fortunately passing by without many serious injuries, whether magical or physical. The scholars were quietly reading through the Empire's impressive library and talking to the ponies, cataloguing stuff for the future history books. The guards were right there, doing their guard stuff. The letters Celestia preserved were both a source of immense pain and relief to the locals, a bunch of ponies quietly working their way through the Empire to track down the recipients before just as quietly gathering on the train platform to leave.

The thousand years thing still rattled the citizens, and, quiet and respectful as they tried to be, the mission of the messengers still became everything that the crystal ponies talked about for several days. And, sadly, not every pony that was expecting mail received it.

The painful scene where Shining Armor had to tell the guards to clear the way for the messengers to leave was still raw in his mind, given that it happened just yesterday. Whether they tried to flee and died in the wilderness or simply got lost in the Equestrian population and didn't hear about Celestia's offer to keep their letters until the Empire returned, a number of ponies did not leave anything for their relatives, and those relatives were not happy about it, trying to bar the messenger's way while demanding answers.

It wasn't much. Some of the lost ponies were recluses anyway, just "a loner prospector stallion that I used to share a drink with" type of thing. Some were family ponies, though. One, apparently, was a filly, her parents crying their eyes out when the messengers shook their heads after checking the list of names that they had with them. The filly's name was not on it, apparently, and no one else knew what happened to her, or to any of the other ponies.

"Right, so, Celestia's messenger team left just yesterday, and the train's not coming back until tomorrow," Shining Armor finally concluded, putting the list down again.

"Right, and we're not getting regular ponies for a while yet. But they entered the city today," Cadance noted.

"So, what, they somehow stowed away on the train - I'll have to bust some flanks if the guards didn't check it thoroughly enough - and then camped in the snow for a day, and circled the city to enter from the north? Or did they trek all the way here on hoof after all?" Shining Armor pondered.

"But why, though? You're still a guard in everything but name, dear. What's the motive here?" Cadance asked.

"Motive, motive," He chuckled. "Alright, well, being a guard and a detective are different things, but let's spitball some ideas here. Thunder Strike, why do ponies usually sneak into locked-down cities or countries? Smuggling?"

"That'd probably be the most likely answer, sir, if not for the fact there's literally no way for them to have any contacts here or know what illegal stuff the crystal ponies would be interested in buying, unless they have some thousand year old information, somehow. Perhaps they're thieves or con artists hoping to score some kind of ancient artifact or piece of art and sell it off for collectors in Equestria for a massive price before the Empire opens up?" The pegasus speculated.

"Yeah, though they might be carrying something illicit anyway. Trying to open up a new market," Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Honestly, if they were pegasi, my answer would immediately be "paparazzi". Just ponies eager to be the first to get photos of the Empire. I'm sure the newspapers would pay them well, too. Them being earth ponies is what confuses me. They're just not... The best tribe for getting away fast or doing sneaky magical shenanigans."

"Smugglers or con artists, huh. Are you going to put out an arrest order, then?" Cadance inquired.

"I mean... We can't just go around busting ponies on pure speculation of them doing something, and there isn't an actual decree saying that you can't enter the Empire. We just temporarily locked the only reasonable route of getting here. They didn't do anything criminal - that we know of. What's your political take on this?" Shining Armor asked her.

"Well... If the Empire's first experience of modern Equestrians is some kind of crime, the crystal ponies will be very disappointed. It'd be a stain of Equestria's reputation as a den of thieves of some kind for years to come, probably," Cadance mused.

"Right. Guess it's better to be a hardflank in this case, huh? How about we just... Make use of our new royal status and invite them to an audience? Talk to them, see if we can't just scare them into giving up their shenanigans, let them off with a stern warning and send them out on the train back to Equestria if it's nothing too bad," He suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, dear," Cadance nodded with a smile.

"Alright then. So, Thunder Strike. Tell the guards to keep an eye out for these "fluffiest earth ponies you ever did see". Tell them that they are invited to the royal castle for an audience."

"And if they refuse, sir?"

"Be insistent about it, and send a guard for me. If they don't come to us, we'll just come to them. I mean, we're still not fully sure what the threshold for the Crystal Heart to repel a pony is, but if they managed to pass through the shield, then they can't be anything worse than petty criminals, right? We'll be able to deal with them just fine. Both Cadance and I already dealt with much worse in the past," He nodded towards his wife.

"Understood, sir."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So you became one of those "guardian spirits"? What did you guard?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Usually, it's less of a what and more of a who. Ponies stay behind to watch over their families. I was a bit of a special case, of course. A completely foreign pony from lands unknown," Agate explained.

"That sounds sweet, but also spooky," Garnet Necklace said. "So no one in the north actually stays dead? It's just ghosts everywhere?"

"Oh no, not at all. Spirits move on, some sooner, some later. And everyone's still very much dead. Being a spirit does not mean I am still alive. And, before you get any ideas, it does not mean I can be brought back to life, either. Don't even think about it, or my shamare friend will have to smack you upside the head and explain the unbreakable circle of life and death, and the madness and failure waiting for those trying to go in the opposite direction. The snowpony mystics are powerful, but there are things which are simply not possible, and it's not because no one ever tried," Agate cautioned them with a stern voice, her parents shrinking back a little.

"So much for that, I suppose," Garnet Necklace muttered sadly.

"You're more of an undead, really," Obsidian Spear pointed out. "And how does messing around with the spirits of the dead possibly fit into their view of the natural order of life and death?"

"Well, spirits are natural. Like I said, the north is full of them, both pony and all kinds of others," Agate shrugged.

"Huh. The place sounds like a mix of a whole lot of strange fairytales. Magical creatures, ghost stories..." He mused.

"So why did you stay for a thousand years? What purpose did you find? Did you do it just to spite Sombra? How did you even know how long it was going to take? Or did you just decide to stay as long as it takes?" Coal Hoof asked, studying his now-ancient granddaughter with a discerning look.

Agate gave him a long look with a neutral expression before smiling faintly, her eyes sparkling. The two ponies looked at each other like they were both in on some kind of joke, and were the only ones in the room with the punchline. The rest of the family, save for Crochet Hook, were once again reminded that Agate was no longer the small, young filly that they lost just a week ago. She was old, old enough to communicate with her grandparents on some primal level simply through their shared experiences, in ways even her parents could not.

"Well, that's a lot of questions, grandpa. Let's see... I did find a purpose, yes. Many little purposes, really. I helped ponies in all kinds of ways, though the main purpose was to wait until the Empire returned. Spiting Sombra was... Not a small part of it, though not the entire thing. As for the Empire coming back - way back when I was still young, I went to take a look at Dream Valley with another spirit. An elder mystic of the snowponies who was uniquely good at unraveling illusions. We tried to figure out what happened, but in the end, we found out by discovering a small outpost of Equestrians at the edge of the valley, who told us what happened. As for the purpose... Well, the same purpose most spirits in the north come back to their tribes and kin, instead of moving on immediately. To say goodbye," She explained.

As expected from their silent exchange, Coal Hoof was not surprised by her answer, just nodding slowly with a small, bittersweet smile. Crochet Hook sighed, but she didn't seem all that surprised, either. However, the rest of the family were not so accepting of the answer. The mood in the room dipped considerably, even Obsidian Spear casting his eyes downwards with a frown.

"Agate, my sweet silly filly, you... You didn't have to do that for me. For us," Radiant Cut shook his head, wiping moisture from his eyes. "You could have moved on. A thousand years just to... For a single word? Goodbye?"

"Yes," Agate nodded without hesitation. "Tell me, dad, what exactly were you doing before I arrived?"

Seeing that Radiant Cut wasn't going to answer and Garnet Necklace was too pained to speak, Obsidian Spear did his thing again, his voice tinged with faint amusement at the irony of what happened. "Moping around in absolute denial that you were gone and delusions that you were just going to trot through the door."

"Well. They weren't entirely deluded," Agate smirked.

"Right, though according to pretty much everything that we knew about how the world works just this morning, they were," He shrugged.

"Right. There you go, then. I knew that... Meeting again would be painful. For all of us. But it's still less painful than not getting to say goodbye. I, uh... I said goodbye to my mother once already, and I can't imagine how painful it would have been if I didn't get to do that. It was... Nice," She trailed off, her voice losing confidence for the first time since she entered the room.

"...What?" Garnet Necklace succinctly summed up what the rest of the family were feeling.

"I... Was adopted. By a very nice mare. She..."

"They adopt dead ponies over there? You folks have some curious customs," Crochet Hook noted, glancing at the snowponies.

For their part, the adventurers were aggressively relaxing. After the furious, almost non-stop march from the north, they were entirely content to sit down and nibble on some exotic snacks without being part of the conversation, and those that still had the energy for curiosity had plenty of ways to indulge it without talking. Examining the interior of the crystal home alone was something that occupied no small amount of time for them, and that was before they even started looking out the windows.

"Haha! Well, they usually don't, but I was something of a special case," Agate chuckled. "Anyway, maybe it's time to wrap this up for today. I can see that you're all getting tired, and this bunch is practically asleep already," She nodded at the adventurers.

And she was right. Though Agate arrived early in the afternoon, she didn't really get to tell her story fully in order. Agate's family obviously wanted to be polite and know who her companions were, which set off a bunch of long introductions, translations, charades as the snowponies spoke in a strange mix of old and new ponish, the adventurers telling them a bit about themselves (which sounded unbelievable, though Agate firmly insisted that it was all true), their journey there, and so on. When all of that was done, there wasn't all that much time for Agate to keep telling her tale before darkness fell.

"Well, I suppose..." Radiant Cut sighed. "But, hm... We don't have enough space for six ponies..."

"We'll take some of them with us," Coal Hoof raised his hoof, Crochet Hook nodding.

"And I don't need a bed. Someone can take my room," Agate shrugged.

"Do you even sleep any more?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Yeah. I don't have a sense of touch any more, though. I can literally sleep inside a fireplace. With a fire. I did that a few times."

"Weird," He shook his head at hearing yet another strange spirit fact, not for the first, and definitely not for the last time.

Agate chuckled, turning around and gently poking a couple snowponies that were snoozing already. As she talked to them, they nodded, glancing at the others. With a bit of back and forth, the adventurers were divided between the various members of Agate's family.

Goat Hop, Spring Hoof and Freezing Point decided to go with Agate's grandparents. As they went by a window, Freezing Point's eyes went wide, the mystic pointing at a swift form passing by above the street outside. "Oooh, bird pony!"

"Pe-ga-sus," Agate slowly enunciated with a smile.

"Yeah, the Equestrians brought some with them," Obsidian Spear nodded. "Anyway, let's go, big guy."

The stallion Agate introduced as Shatterhoof nodded, entirely happy with Obsidian's description of his spare bed as "hard enough to straighten your back out in a single night, and sufficiently flat enough to sleep on without sliding off." He certainly didn't look like a soft pony, and Obsidian Spear could respect that, not that the rest of the group looked remotely weak. Lastly, the mare he met first, Ice Elation, and the stallion named Trailblazer decided to stay with Agate's parents.

"Meet up here as soon as we're all awake? I'm sure we're all eager to hear more of Agate's story," Radiant Cut asked.

"Of course. You couldn't keep me from something like this even if Agate wasn't family," Obsidian Spear nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

Understandings

The next morning, Agate's parents were a bit more subdued than the day before. Not that they were particularly happy already, of course, but now, they weren't even in a talking mood. They didn't pepper her with questions, give her disbelieving looks when she told them about spirit stuff or snowpony magic, or anything else. Instead, they just quietly made pancakes for breakfast, Ice Elation and Trailblazer curiously trying the unfamiliar food.

Agate heard them talking quietly in their room about something before falling asleep, so she suspected that the conversation was the cause. On one hoof, she could have let things lie and simply wait until the reason inevitably came out by itself. Or, she could simply toss the usual song and dance, and confront them about it directly.

Being really old gave her patience in some areas, while decreasing it in others. Ponies acting silly or foalish for fear of embarrassment or other social reasons was one of the things Agate had less patience for. She also noticed that reminding her parents that she was the wisest and oldest adult in the room now tickled her in a way she never experienced before, something which was a rare thing for the millennia-old spirit. So, she chose the direct option.

"So, what are you two younglings moping about?" She asked her parents with a smartflank grin, lazily lounging in a chair with her hooves behind her head.

The couple froze, smoke almost pouring out of their ears as they processed the question, once again confronted by the differences of Agate's current age, and the one they remembered. They shared a look, starting to chew their food again and thinking about how to reply best.

"You changed, Agate. What happened to my quiet, shy little filly that used to sit in a corner and watch ponies?" Garnet Necklace asked, deflecting the question.

"She got older. And didn't you tell me that I should be less shy and more outgoing back then? I didn't change as much as you think, though. Just... Got more confident, I suppose. Centuries of experience will do that for you. Now quit dodging," Agate shrugged.

"You really sound like my mother sometimes," The mare rolled her eyes with a faint smile.

"We... Thought about what you said yesterday," Radian Cut said slowly.

"Go oooooon," Agate nodded.

"About you... Coming back to say goodbye. We, uh... What... When are you...?" He fumbled, not sure how to say it.

"Ah. I see. You're thinking I'm going to fly off in a day or two? Nah, I have other promises to keep. I agreed to help the snowponies with their first contact with the Empire," Agate shrugged.

"Fly off?" Garnet Necklace blinked.

"Oh yeah, I can totally fly. It's not actually a spirit thing, though, just something I came up with myself over the years. We just haven't got to that part in the story yet," She said calmly, briefly shaping her foreleg into a wing as her parent's eyes went wider.

"...As much as you make your... un-life sound amazing, it doesn't mean that I'm not still sad and angry at what Sombra did," Radiant Cut shook his head.

"Oh yes, absolutely," Agate nodded in agreement. "Like I said, just because I'm around, it doesn't mean I'm not dead. I can't touch, taste, smell, or do a whole lot of other things living ponies can. I guess it helped that I was - what did you used to call me? - "a quiet and observant filly". There's not much else you can do. Famous ponies that live life to the absolute fullest and do great things almost never stay on for precisely that reason. A guardian spirit's time is dedicated to watching over others and passing on their knowledge, not affecting the world themselves and leaving their mark on it. I kind of did that last part anyway, but that was just because I stuck around for so long. Still, I got to punch Sombra in the face, at least."

"You punched Sombra in the face?!" He shouted, making the snowponies look at him curiously.

"Didn't get to that part in the story, either," She chuckled. "Anyway, to go back to the first question - a spirit can't leave until its totem's enchantments are broken either way, so I'm not going to just suddenly evaporate. I'm going to stay as long as it takes for you to accept that yes, ghosts are real, and then to deal with what happened. Which you will. I had to say goodbye to a lot of family members as well. It is hard. But it's not something you can't move past, and actually getting to talk and say your farewells makes it much, much easier. Doesn't it?"

"It... Well, it is... Better than sitting there and wondering what happened to you," Radiant Cut said haltingly, Garnet Necklace nodding slowly after a minute.

"See? You're going to be fine."

"You'll need to tell us more about this adoptive family of yours," Garnet Necklace said.

"Of course. I imagine you'll want to meet them, too. There's still a lot I'll have to tell you," Agate smiled.

With that topic covered, there was a lull in the conversation. The snowponies, who didn't want to interrupt the respected spirit's talk with her family, felt it was safe to speak up now.

"Our gratitude to your parents for the amazing meal, traveler spirit. They don't have to feed us all of their sweets in one sitting, though," Ice Elation said, eyeing the jar of jam Agate's parents were helping themselves from.

"Oh, that's nothing. We have some very sweet berries that we grow in the Empire. Try not to overeat, I guess? I think our foods are quite a bit different... I barely remember anything about food, honestly, but I do remember my people don't eat fish, for example. So, just... Try not to eat something that's too strange for you. You probably don't want to get sick and have to stay in bed," Agate nodded, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"We'll keep that in mind, traveler spirit," Trailblazer nodded.

"Oh, just call me Agate already. It feels weird to talk normally with my family and then get called titles the next moment."

"Very well... Agate," He nodded.

"Most of their words are completely foreign to me, but they seem to have no trouble with your name," Radiant Cut noted.

"I think my name has become a part of their language by this point. Anyway, they thank you for the food," Agate nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

It didn't take long for Agate's grandparents and Obsidian Spear to return with their respective guests, Agate picking up where she left off the day before. The snowponies were a little less lethargic this time around, listening to Agate talk and occasionally asking which word meant what, as well as acting out a thing or two when Agate asked them to demonstrate something from snowpony culture and history, proudly showing off their exotic weapons and equipment to the fascinated crystal ponies.

"This is a... Serious weapon. Truly serious," Obsidian Spear noted, respectfully holding one of the ice spears the northerners gave him to examine. "It's unfamiliar, but I can feel the magic coursing through it."

"Yeah. They really don't shatter like ice does. It's almost like steel," Agate nodded.

The adventurers were adventurous, though, and not all of them were the kind that enjoyed learning by talking and not moving, at least not for the entire day. After a few hours of talking and then having lunch, several of them asked whether they could go out and trot around the city by themselves, to which Agate shrugged.

"Of course. There shouldn't be any strange rules that could get you in trouble. Don't steal, don't attack ponies, don't enter homes uninvited, same as back in the north. Right, mom, dad?" She translated their request.

"Pretty much, though I don't think they'll be able to buy anything. I doubt they have coins on them," Garnet Necklace nodded.

"They'll be fine," Agate nodded after giving them the warning. "As long as they remember the way back, but that shouldn't be a problem. They're experts in navigating the wilderness, a city shouldn't be an issue."

Shatterhoof, Goat Hop, Ice Elation and Spring Hoof all nodded, bowing respectfully to Agate's family before saying their goodbyes in their tongue. They left their gear and packs, the temperature inside the Empire making it just a touch too warm for them even when they weren't wearing anything, let alone with their travelling coats and extra weight.

Meanwhile, Freezing Point and Trailblazer were much more interested in learning the language, one due to a thirst for mystical knowledge and seeking to understand more about the fascinating place she found herself in, the other - because he expected to become chieftain after his father, which would more than likely mean having to deal with the crystal ponies fairly often.

They continued talking for a short while, before there was a knock on the door. Flicking an ear, Agate looked in the direction of the sound. "That was a bit fast."

"Maybe they forgot something? They don't really need to knock, though. I'll let them in," Obsidian Spear shrugged, trotting towards the door. When he opened it, though, the ponies on the other side were not who he expected.

"...Sir. I do not believe you are the one we are looking for. Is this the residence of one Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace?" A vaguely familiar stallion asked, two more stallions standing beside him.

"It is... Runner? No, you're someone else... I seem to have seen you somewhere around the barracks, though," He nodded. "Obsidian Spear. I'm Radiant Cut's brother."

"Oh, I see! Yes, we were both in the Guard. I think I remember you, you were a ranger that was about to get transferred to the castle? Steel Charge, former corporal," The stallion introduced himself, the others standing up straighter when Obsidian's gaze fell upon them.

"Kite Shield, sir."

"Keen Eye, sir."

"Well, no need for sirs anymore, as it looks everyone here is no longer a guard, at least for now," Obsidian Spear shrugged. "Anyway, what brings you to my brother's home?"

"It is a... Sensitive matter," Steel Charge said slowly.

"I'm going to hear it anyway, you know. It's not like I'll leave the place when you enter," He pointed out.

Taking a deep breath, the other stallion hung his head slightly. "We have heard about the loss of their daughter. And we... Were the ones who chased her out into the snow that day. Not just us, but... The other three from my squad did not feel like coming."

"That... Was not your fault," Obsidian Spear said slowly, but firmly. "You were not in control of what you were doing. Sombra was. And absolutely no one managed to break free from it, either, so don't blame a lack of will on your part."

"The shame and dishonor of an innocent foal's death still grips our hearts and burns in our guts regardless."

"Very well then. It's not my place to bar your way, I suppose. I wonder what Agate herself will say. I don't think she'll be all that angry with you," He mused with a tiny smile, waving them in.

Furrowing his brows, Steel Charge followed behind him, the other two stallions sharing a confused look and coming along. "What do you mean? That is their daughter's name, isn't it? Do you mean to say that she... Lived?"

"Not quite. But she's not as dead as one might expect," He said as they entered the sitting room, nodding towards Agate.

"Oh. Who are these ponies, uncle?" She asked curiously, the three stallions freezing up, wide-eyed.

"Glrk," Steel Charge choked, clearly recognizing the spirit.

❅ ❆ ❅

Shining Armor multi-tasked, reading up on the Empire's customs and history while eating. He was fully aware that books rarely held accurate descriptions of the current cultural norms, but talking to ponies wasn't really a viable option with your mouth full. Cadance sat beside him, enjoying her food as well.

A servant approached them, bowing to the couple. "My lieges, the guards report that they brought in a pair of ponies that you tasked them to find."

"Oh, huh. I almost forgot about them," Shining Armor nodded after swallowing his food.

"Weren't there six of them?" Cadance asked him.

"There were. I guess they split up. I'm sure we'll be able to get them to tell us where their buddies are, though. Did you see the ponies? Did they look like they gave the guards any trouble?" He asked the servant.

"No, sire, they were not bound or looked like they tried to fight the guards, though the guards seemed... Confused?"

"Huh. Well, those ponies confused us as well. Tell the guards to wait a few minutes and bring them to the throne room, we'll be there as soon as we finish eating."

"At once, sire."

Finishing their plates and complimenting the chefs, the couple quickly hoofed it to the audience hall. Cadence took the throne, while he stood beside her. A minute later, the doors opened, the guards leading a couple of slightly confused, but also quite impressed ponies across the rug towards the throne, the outsiders looking around with curiosity before seeing Cadance and him, whispering in surprised voices.

"Well... They're definitely not crystal ponies," Shining Armor noted, examining the tall stallion and his mare, the two quite clearly acting as a couple.

"No kidding. And the guards weren't lying about their fluffiness. My word, just look at them!" Cadance nodded with a smile.

"Well... You're the one on the throne, dear. Time to put your princess training to use," He said quietly with a small grin as the guards approached the base of the throne, bowing to them while the couple kept staring and whispering.

"Right, right. *Ahem*. Greetings, travelers! May I ask you what brought you to the Empire through the cold of winter? While we'd be happy to welcome you otherwise, we're not quite ready to receive visitors, I'm afraid," Cadance proclaimed in an official tone.

"Hælettung!" The stallion exclaimed, raising a foreleg. While Cadance and Shining Armor blinked in confusion, the stallion continued, a few of his words sounding familiar, though a good chunk of them were completely incomprehensible, his mare saying several sentences as well.

"I understood... Maybe five words. Crystal Empire, far, north, and... Agate?" Shining Armor said quietly.

"Some of that sounded like old ponish. I understood a bit more, but still not nearly enough," Cadance smiled nervously, her tone now a tiny bit nervous. "What do I do in this case?"

"Um... Guards, were you able to communicate with these ponies at all?" Shining Armor asked.

"Not in words, sire. The best we could do was explain our intent by pointing to the castle and miming. The ponies did not offer any resistance, though they seemingly tried to explain something to us. Alas, none of us are familiar with their tongue. They mentioned "Agate" a lot to us, though we are unaware of who that is," The lead guard said.

"That name sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't put my hoof on it right now," Shining Armor mused.

"Um... Visitors, are you able to understand me at all?" Cadance tried one more time, the couple just sharing a few words between each other and shrugging.

"Okay, is this serious, or are they just playing with us?"

"I wonder what they're saying."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Spirits and ancestors, she is pink," Goat Hop said.

"I've never seen anything so pink! Not even the pink flowers or berries!" Spring Hoof agreed vigorously.

"She'd be practically glowing on a mountainside. Even in a forest, I think I'd be able to spot her easily. Even during summer!"

"These crystal ponies are colorful and shiny, and yet, her pinkness is somehow brighter than even them!"

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hopefully not laughing at us," Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "So how much can you understand? Can you talk to them?"

"Well, hælettung is a greeting, I think," She said, the couple's ears perking up. "I'll try some old ponish and see what happens."

"You do that," Shining Armor nodded.

Cadance spent some time going back and forth, while he watched the couple for signs that this was all just a play. Before he was able to come up with a conclusion, another small group of guards trotted in through the large double doors. While the first couple was brought by the crystal guards, they were from the pegasi that he brought from Equestria.

"Sir, are these the ponies that you told us to look out for?" One of them asked.

"Well, they're literally the only non-crystal ponies in the entirety of the Empire besides us and a few scholars, far as we know, so I'd say yes," Shining Armor nodded. "Tell me - do they speak Equestrian?"

"No, sir. In fact, they act like they never saw a pegasus before," The guard shook his head, his gaze firmly fixed on the mare, who was slowly reaching for his wings. The impressively large stallion was looking at him as well, though he was a bit more restrained.

"But they gave you no trouble?"

"The stallion was a bit aggressive at first, but he eventually went without resisting, though he still stayed in the snow for a while, sir."

"...What? Where and how did you pick them up?"

Meanwhile, the other two ponies nodded to the newcomers, the strange ponies grouping up and starting to gesticulate and chatter in their tongue, Cadance listening intently with her ears perked.

"We saw them heading for the city borders while out on patrol, sir. We noticed that they lacked the reflective shine of the crystal ponies, and decided to go and see if they were the ponies that you were looking for. When we found them, they seemed to be... Cooling off. They were diving in the snowdrifts and generally acting like a badly overheated pony, sir," The guard reported.

"It's... I know they're fluffy, but it's still the dead of winter out there," Shining Armor massaged his forehead.

"They seemed to be having the time of their lives, sir."

"Right... Wait, something doesn't add up," He perked up as a lightbulb went off in his head. "The guards that encountered them the first time apparently managed to talk to them somehow. Find Thunder Strike. Call him here."

"Sir, yes sir!"

❅ ❆ ❅

"Ghost," Steel Charge said, not for the first time.

"I prefer spirit, but pretty much, yes," Agate nodded with a smile.

The family and the snowponies were watching, with varying levels of amusement. While it interrupted Agate's storytelling, the crystal ponies were happy to see someone else boggling at the impossibility of Agate being there, as well as confirming that others could see her, and that she really wasn't some kind of shared hallucination. Not that they really believed that, but the confirmation was still nice.

Meanwhile, Freezing Point and Trailblazer were far angrier than even Agate's family when they found out that Steel Charge and his squad mates were the ones at least partially responsible for Agate's death. The shamare hissed at them angrily, while the stallion gave a serious look towards the corner where he and the others put their weapons. It took Agate yelling at them to stand down and apologize for them to stop, the spirit explaining to them that the stallions weren't at fault, while said stallions were staring at the whole scene with wide eyes.

"You're really not mad at me? At us?" Steel Charge asked.

"No. You hardly did anything to me. I mean, you scared the living daylights out of me, but I still survived for... Four or five days after I got away, I think. The only reason I wasn't able to get back to the city was Sombra's magic, not you," She shrugged.

"Thank the Heart," Keen Eye muttered.

"Hm? Were you scared that I was going to be a terrible and vengeful spirit?" Agate chuckled.

"That- that's literally how ghost stories go! Ponies don't stay around if they're happy and fine with dying! Only the vengeful, spited ones with unfinished business remain! And I, I have foals of my own, and I don't want my soul to get devoured by-" The stallion babbled.

"Yeesh, calm down," Agate rolled her eyes, booping him on the muzzle, the stallion freezing up in fright at her ethereal touch. "I don't eat souls. And... Well, you're not entirely wrong, but ponies stay behind for good reasons, too. Watching over your family. Passing down important knowledge, and so on."

"That... Sounds more like your friends. Spirits of ponies don't remain after death in the Empire," Steel Charge glanced at the snowponies.

"Right, right. Anyway, you can stop beating yourself up now. You wanted to apologize to my parents, now you got to apologize to me, who you considered the victim. I know it's hard, but don't worry about me, alright? It wasn't your fault, and things... Turned out as well as they could, I suppose," Agate shrugged.

"You still..."

"Yes yes, I died. But I'm not mad at you. It was unfair and terrible, yes. But that is life. These things just happen sometimes, with nothing you could have done otherwise," She waved him off.

"You truly are a thousand years old, aren't you? No filly would say such things. Hay, most adults wouldn't even say such things. They'd still be angry at the unfairness of it all," Kite Shield noted.

"Yup. And time heals all wounds. Not that I was mad at you to begin with, like I said. All my dying curses were directed towards Sombra," She chuckled.

"Well, uh... I am glad... We were able to sort this out so well?" Steel Charge said uncertainly.

"Of course. Go forth with your conscience free and unburdened. You sought out my parents even if you were not at fault. There is no stain upon your honor, and if there was, you more than redeemed yourself by showing true contrition," Agate waved grandly, her voice turning deadly serious and showing her age.

"...Thank you," Steel Charge bowed formally, the other two following his lead.

"You know, I was a bit worried about the somewhat necromantic-sounding stuff those snowpony friends of yours do, Agate, but I can't deny how amazingly cathartic and useful these conversations with the spirits of the departed are," Obsidian Spear noted.

"It's really something," Kite Shield nodded. "Though if I ever try to tell anyone about this over a mug of cider, they'll think I'm too deep in my cups already."

"I think I could use a few cups to steady my nerves," Keen Eye muttered.

"Would.... Would you like to join us? For a drink to the departed, on us?" Steel Charge asked everyone there, awkwardly glancing at Agate, who wasn't quite departed yet.

"Well... It is getting close to dinner time... We could go out," Garnet Necklace suggested.

"I'm fine with it," Radiant Cut shrugged, his parents nodding.

"Do your friends drink, Agate? What do they think of alcohol?" Coal Hoof asked, getting up.

"What's alcohol?"

"Oh. Hm..." The elder trailed off, a bit concerned.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Hey, I was a filly. I never learned," Agate shrugged, casually cantering down the street.

"I'm guessing the snowponies don't use fermentation much, if it's so cold up there. How do they preserve food? Salting?" Radiant Cut asked.

"Yeah. Also drying, smoking, or freezing. Freezing is... Easy, as is drying," Agate nodded.

"How do you preserve food by smoking? Sounds like it'd just cover it in soot," Coal Hoof mused.

"I don't really know, but they somehow figured out how to do it with fish."

"Wait, they eat fish? I think I heard about pegasi doing that, but not... Well, you say they're not earth ponies, but still..."

"Yeah. They don't get a lot of time in a year where plants can actually grow. So their ancestors thought up a way to enrich their diets, I guess."

"Fish good. Have fish in bag," Freezing Point smiled.

Agate's family, Steel Charge's group, and the two remaining snowponies chatted as they made their way towards an inn. Agate decided to forgo secrecy, simply going out into the open like it was the most normal thing in the world. The other ponies on the street were more confused than scared, though, some of them missing Agate completely and focusing on Freezing Point or Trailblazer. Others that saw her rubbed their eyes, pointing towards her to their friends, who only shrugged helplessly.

"Ponies seem really unconcerned with an undead cantering down the street," Steel Charge said.

"Refuge in audacity. What kind of ghost canters down a busy street that's full of ponies at a leisurely pace?" Obsidian Spear asked. "I guess they think that a more likely answer is that one of our fluffy friends is a unicorn that's hiding their horn in their long mane. I mean, it actually is the more likely answer."

"Narwhal-horn?" Trailblazer asked.

"Their horns are not as big," Agate chuckled. "But they do look similar. You'll see a unicorn sooner or later, I'm sure."

"So you're really not concerned with ponies... I don't even know what anyone could do to you, honestly. I don't know of any ways to banish spirits," Steel Charge asked.

"Not much they can do, no. And this is going to happen sooner or later, I think. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that whenever ponies find out about me, they'll want to know everything they possibly can, which will mean repeating everything that happened to me from the beginning yet again, which is roughly a thousand years of history," She huffed. "I wanted to get to talk to my family for a while before any of that, but I already did it, so I might as well get a head start on that."

"Fair enough."

Entering the inn, they found it nearly empty. Picking the largest empty table they could find, they were soon approached by a young mare, who eyed them curiously, her gaze lingering on Agate. "Good evening, fair guests. I'm afraid we do not have a soup or other dishes going, so whatever you order will take a little bit to arrive."

"Why is this place so quiet? I used to come here after some shifts, and it was way livelier," Keen Eye asked, looking around.

"Well, as I heard it, all of the mines and quarries outside the city completely collapsed throughout the thousand years we've been frozen, so a lot of the workers that would come to warm up after a hard day's work outside the shield are now saving their coin until they're sure they'll be able to work again. It's been... A slow couple weeks. My father even went to the Spire to request an audience and ask if the crown would grant us relief from taxes for a short while. They reassured him that we're going to have more ponies than we know what to do with due to something called "tourism" soon, so there's that. Now, what can I get you all?"

As they scanned the list of foods and ordered what they liked, the waitress kept glancing at Agate, who helped translate for the snowponies. "And for your translucent friend?"

"Oh no, I'm good. I'm a spirit, I don't eat," Agate smiled, making the mare giggle.

"Hehe! That is a very impressive illusion. So you're travelling showponies? Were you hoping to put on a performance of some kind in here? There's no audience right now, I'm afraid, but I'm sure my father would agree to let you host something later for a small cut," She explained with a smile.

"We'll see," Agate shook her head with a grin, the others shooting the waitress amused looks.

❅ ❆ ❅

"So, how do you feel?" Agate asked Freezing Point.

"I feel giggly!" The shamare giggled, swaying a little.

"Hm. My balance is impaired slightly, but it's nothing too bad," Trailblazer said, examining his extended foreleg as he stood on the crystal street.

Once they got the food, Agate helped the others explain the concept of alcohol to the snowponies. The locals were quite concerned about unwittingly poisoning their visitors or turning them into drunkards, and wanted to make sure that they understood that it was a drink to be drunk in moderation, explaining the effects of feeling more relaxed, but also mentally impaired the more you drank, with things like vomiting and headaches afterwards if you overdid it.

For their part, the snowponies nodded along, not showing much surprise. Freezing Point noted that the effects sounded extremely similar to some mushrooms and herbs that their people used for exactly such purposes already, and reassured the locals that they understood the importance of moderation in consuming such things. After getting a promise from the crystal ponies that it had no long-term effects unless you overdosed, Garnet Necklace suggested a glass of red wine to Freezing Point, while Trailblazer had a few mugs of hard cider. Once they were finished with the food and drinks, they went out into the street, breathing in the cooler evening air.

"That "wine" went quite well with the greasy food. I think it'd taste good with fish," Freezing Point nodded. "This potion the crystal ponies thought up doesn't seem that bad, but we'll probably have to warn others back home to be careful when offered unusual drinks by crystal ponies. The locals seem to have a much larger resistance to it, and drink it almost like water."

"Mm, yes. That "cider" thing was interesting, probably something I'd like to share after a successful hunt or a long trek, but not every evening, like some of those ponies said they do," Trailblazer nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you two are okay. I don't actually know the first thing about that stuff," Agate said. "Now, we should go back home, I think. The others probably already returned-"

"Excuse me, citizens," A pegasus guard said, suddenly landing in front of the group, his partner right beside him. "I believe you are currently accompanying ponies that we were instructed to deliver an invitation to to the palace to."

"We are?" Radiant Cut blinked.

"Here we go," Agate smirked, both pegasi looking at her with confusion for a moment.

"Bird pony! No, wait... Pega... Sus," Freezing Point nodded to herself with a smile, getting their attention on herself.

"Yes sir," The first pegasus nodded to Radiant Cut after a moment, once he got his mind back on track. "These two do not look like citizens of the Empire," He said, pointing to the snowponies.

"Neither are you. They've broken no laws that I'm aware of, so why are you rounding them up?" Obsidian Spear asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can assure you, sir, we're not "rounding them up". Crown prince Shining Armor specifically said that they are only to be given an invitation to, and he would even arrive in person with princess Cadance should they refuse. They were curious about the arrival of these ponies when the only route into the Empire is locked down," The pegasus explained.

"Don't you mean their Imperial Majesties?" He asked, making the pegasus grimace.

"Sir, I am not well versed in the titles of nobles, but from what I know, they just kind of stack them all together, don't they? I'm fairly certain you can be a prince of one place and a duke of another, and so on."

"Hm. True. Suppose they're still used to their Equestrian titles. We'll see if they'll grow into their Imperial ones," He shrugged. "Anyway, what do the rest of you say? Shall we go?"

Before the rest of the ponies could open their mouths, the guard interrupted them with his brows furrowed. "Pardon me, sir, but the invitation extends only to those two, and the rest of their friends from outside the Empire."

"Well, you're going to need me to translate. Their modern ponish is still very poor," Agate spoke up with a grin.

"...Kindly refrain from attempting to fool us with strange pranks, impressive as this illusion is. And who's casting this?" The pegasus asked, him and his partner looking around for hidden unicorns.

"I'm a spirit," Agate stated plainly.

"She is," Obsidian Spear confirmed, everyone else agreeing with him.

Taking in a deep breath through his nose, the guard slowly let it out through his mouth. "Ghosts aren't real. Now-"

"Boop," Agate said, performing said action.

"Gah!" The guard shivered.

"Sir?" His partner asked, tensing his wings.

"...I'm fine," He replied, rubbing his nose. "I don't think illusions are supposed to feel cold."

"I'm a spirit," Agate repeated with a smile.

"Riiiiiight... You know what? I don't care. I have my orders. You two. Will you come to the castle?" The first pegasus asked the pair, Agate translating for them as the pegasi kept glancing at her in confusion.

"They agree," Agate smiled at them.

The relatively large gathering in the middle of the street attracted the attention of a pair of patrolling crystal guards as well, the two stallions stopping a short distance away and listening in with both curious and confused expressions, seeing if the pegasi needed any help. Noticing the snowponies, one of them pointed them out to the other one, the stallion nodding.

"Well, this is where we part ways, then. Thank you for... Thank you, Agate," Steel Charge said to the spirit, the three stallions bowing respectfully to her again before trotting off.

"Don't mention it. Sleep easy and don't worry about me," She nodded to the trio.

"And I've no interest in rubbing fetlocks with the nobles. I'll be going home," Coal Hoof said, his wife nodding.

"And while we're not invited, we have the right to request an audience from their Imperial Majesties," Obsidian Spear shrugged.

"We're going with our daughter," Radiant Cut said, Garnet Necklace nodding.

"Daughter, sir?" The pegasus asked in confusion.

"Yes, her. She's a spirit."

Silence fell upon the gathering, Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook sniggering under their breaths as they slowly cantered away, the pegasus taking a deep breath again. Seeing this, the crystal guards approached, appraising the situation.

"Do you require assistance?"

"I think we're going to be fine, but I'd appreciate your company anyway. These would be the ponies your coworkers encountered, yes? "Earth ponies with the fluffiest coats you ever did see"?"

"They certainly fit the part," The crystal guards nodded.

"Well then, the rest of these ponies seem to have some kind of connection to them and they insist on coming along, so let's escort them to the castle, yes?"

"Certainly. Right this way, please," They nodded again, taking point while the pegasi took the rear.

Obsidian Spear chuckled, while Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace couldn't help but grin as well at the absurdity of the situation. While they tried to remain professional, the guards kept shooting looks at Agate and the others, trying to find whoever was "casting" the "illusion", becoming more and more confused with each look.

"I hope the others are okay," Agate mused.

"Oh, right. I didn't think about them. Should I gallop back to your place and get them?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"If you're talking about the other earth pony visitors, I heard some rumors from the others that some of them were already brought in when I went to eat during my break, sir," One of the crystal pony guards said.

"Oh, right. If they went to trot around the city... I hope it didn't end in a fight," He nodded.

"Not as far as I'm aware of, sir."

"Could one of you go ahead and check if they're all there, please? There's six of them in total, so four should be in the Spire," Agate asked.

The guards remained silent for a while, not sure how to respond. Eventually, one of the pegasi spoke. "Whoever's doing that, you could just say it yourself instead of throwing your voice and doing that illusion-"

"Spirit," Agate snorted with amusement.

"You know what? I'll go. Happily. To make sure this goes smoothly and we can be excused from this absurdity as quickly as possible," The pegasus said, taking off towards the Spire.

"You're going to have an uphill battle getting ponies to take you seriously, I think," Obsidian Spear mused.

"Yes, we were easier to convince since we know you personally," Radiant Cut nodded. "Strangers will be harder."

"I'm sure the snowponies will be a big source of proof already. Though... Maybe it'd be better if they could bring their equipment with them so they can show off a little," Agate nodded, noticing the returning form of the pegasus.

"The other guards said that they did indeed escort all four of the earth ponies to the castle," He confirmed, taking up his position again.

"Should I go and get a couple of their spears?" Obsidian Spear asked, making the guard's ears perk up.

"Eh... We're almost at the Spire. Let's see how this goes, first," Agate shrugged.

As they got closer, Agate smiled at the sight of the Heart, Freezing Point stopping to marvel at it for a short while, the spirit talking to Trailblazer about its function and defensive capabilities. The entire time, the guards kept looking at them in confusion as the ponies kept talking to the supposed illusion. As they kept watching and noticing discrepancies between how illusions were supposed to work and how Agate behaved, their skeptical or bemused expressions slowly began morphing into ones of suppressed dread.

Northern Delights

Agate chuckled as the two slightly nervous royals and their retinue of scholars were led inside, all the guards marching behind them in a neat line. Looking around, she saw her family, looking out of place as a whole bunch of snowponies stared and whispered about them. Rolling her eyes, she imperiously trotted over (which was quite hard, when her hoofsteps didn't make any sound), shooing them away.

"Come on, let's get inside, you can warm up a bit," Agate nodded to her family, leading them into the longhouse as well. Once they were inside, Cadance quickly waved Agate over with an urgent expression, her family following along.

"Agate, I think I need some urgent advice about the local protocol," She said quietly with a small, nervous smile.

"Are you afraid of eating fish so much? You could politely refuse, not everything in the Empire agreed with the snowpony stomachs either," Agate chuckled.

"No, no," She shook her head. "It's, how do I put this politely..."

"The pair of crystal guards that we brought from the Empire are being dense," Shining Armor said bluntly, tossing politeness to the wayside. "The entire chariot contingent was pulled by pegasi guards, but the captain insisted that I bring at least some crystal ponies with me as well. I mean, I understand it, but I'm afraid that they're being a touch uptight."

"What are they- oh. They're guarding the door?" Agate asked after looking around, noticing the pair of guards standing stiffly by the entrance, a few confused locals trying to talk to them while they stoically remained silent.

"Judging by their reactions, this is not considered normal around here," Shining Armor nodded to the snowponies.

"What are they even trying to do? Why are they acting like someone might jump you? The settlement is safe," Agate asked, getting a bunch of surprised looks from everyone, including Obsidian Spear. "What? Is this some guard thing from the Empire? I might be old, but you're forgetting that I spent ten years in the Empire, and a thousand years over here. I don't know the first thing about any of this stuff."

"I'm guessing the chieftains here don't have guards standing around, or guarding their bedrooms while they sleep, or anything like that," Shining Armor said.

"Guarding their bed- no? You have sentries when you're out and about in the wilderness, not inside a settlement where it's safe," Agate shook her head.

"Right. Completely different culture," Obsidian Spear shook his head. "Back home, even though we were allies, whenever the Equestrians showed up, they'd still bring a bunch of guards with them, and have them stand guard in whatever wing of the Spire they'd sleep in. And the Empress would do the same when she went to Equestria. Not that anyone truly thought anyone would try to assasinate them - it's all just a way to show off and compete for the ruling class."

"How do you show off by having a bunch of ponies stand around?" Agate snorted incredulously.

"By demonstrating that you can afford to have a bunch of ponies stand around and do nothing at your command," He grinned.

"That sounds silly. I mean, sure, the chieftains do show off, including when they visit other tribes. Fancy necklaces with fangs of terrible beasts, golden jewelry, stuff like that. But I don't think I ever heard of showing off by wasting other pony's time yet. And if you do have a bunch of guards follow you around acting like you're about to be attacked all the time... I'm pretty dang sure Inner Fire and the others would take it as a massive insult. This is his tribe's capital, and it's his job to keep his guests safe."

"Sacred hospitality... And a high-trust society forged out of the hard conditions around them," Cadance nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Mistrust in your neighbors grows into worse things, which end up attracting windigoes," Agate nodded.

"Let's nip this in the bud before we make complete fools of ourselves, then. Lieutenant?" Shining Armor addressed one of the pegasi nearby, who were surreptitiously listening in while pretending not to. "Tell those two to get over here immediately. Direct orders."

"Yes, sir."

The pegasus went over to the crystal guards, who glanced at Shining Armor before nodding, trotting over and saluting. "Sire?"

"I need you two to drop the protocol, relax, and act in a more civilian fashion," Shining Armor stated directly.

"...Pardon me for speaking out of turn, sire, but this is highly irregular. I know that we had a friendly visit by these ponies, but we're still in completely unfamiliar territory, with no true reason for such a trusting gest-" One of the guards spoke, before Cadance interrupted him.

"I'm afraid you're wrong in that regard. These ponies trust us quite highly, and acting like we don't trust them would be very damaging to our relations. We might have met them barely a week ago, but Agate here had spent a thousand years with them, helping them in all kinds of ways and earning a lot of goodwill towards ponies of the Empire. To us, it seems sudden, but for them, they've probably been eager to meet us for generations. Let's not squander that goodwill now that the time actually came, yes?"

"Of course, my liege, I see the wisdom of your words now. I should have known not to question the orders of those above my station. A thousand apologies, Your Imperial Majesty," The guard bowed, his partner following suit, despite not saying a word.

"You are forgiven, on the condition that you cut the theatrics," Cadance sighed. "Stow away your weapons and your suspicions. I know that it's very sudden - trust me, they took me completely by surprise as well, just showing up out of the snow one day - but look around you. There's not a single bad bone in these pony's bodies. Despite being much more foreign to us and not even speaking the same language, we had less trouble when they visited us than when the tourists from Equestria came."

"Ha. Funny. I didn't even think of that, but it's true," Shining Armor snorted. "This goes for the rest of you, too. At ease, no need for escorts and guards. Feel free to try and get to know the locals. If something really happens... We'll send up flares to call for help," He ordered the pegasi.

"Understood, sir."

"They're not likely to get into trouble if they trot around the city, are they, Agate?" Cadance asked.

"Not unless they do something obviously stupid like steal something. Though there is a good chance some locals could challenge them to a friendly sparring match. I noticed more than one warrior giving them curious and evaluating looks," Agate mused.

"...Could be interesting," Shining Armor said, intrigued.

"Why so long talk? Something bad happen?" Inner Fire asked, trotting closer to the group.

"No, no, just- explaining things to our... Ponies," Cadance shook her head, switching to snowponish.

"Oh, you'll have plenty of time to explain after you eat! Come, sit already!"

Giving a meaningful glance to the guards, Cadance and Shining Armor went to take their seats at a large table with the chieftain and several elders. A few guards and scholars sat next to them, the other guards and Agate's family sitting down at the other tables, the guards taking off their helmets and relaxing a little.

"You're not going to sit with the big ponies, Agate?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Eh, they can do fine without me. Fluent Tongue is plenty good by himself, and I didn't come to the Empire for them. I came for you all," She shrugged.

"Would your friends like some tea, ancient one?" A snowpony mare asked, another mare holding a large clay teapot by the handle in her mouth.

"I'm sure they would, yes," Agate nodded.

"And fish?" Another mare asked, setting the food on the table without waiting for an answer.

"We'll see," Agate grinned. Turning towards the guards, she raised her eyebrows. "So, do you guys eat fish?"

"I actually did, plenty of times, yes. Harder to get in Canterlot, but totally worth it," One of the pegasi, who Agate remembered as the leader - Lieutenant Thunder Strike, that was his name - replied, reaching for the plate and taking a deep whiff of the fish with a thoughtful expression. "Still fish, but definitely different. Going to be interesting."

"Is that something ponies in Equestria do? I never heard of ponies eating fish back in the Empire," Agate asked while glancing at her family, who were giving the dishes slightly doubtful looks as their snowpony hosts brought more and more food to the table.

"It's more of a pegasus thing, especially those who live in coastal cities. The chieftain was right, fish are great for building up muscle and fat, and they're good for your coat and feathers. You can't really build muscles well with hay and bread alone, and the pegasi that live deeper inland have to supplement their diets with lots of eggs and cheese and other things like that if they want to join the Guard or do strenuous weather work and high-altitude flights," He explained, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully for a minute before smiling widely and diving in again. "Ooooh. This is good."

"Well, I'm from an inland city. Nothing wrong with eggs, though I guess it's best not to be rude," Another pegasus muttered, taking a bite. "Hm. Not something I ever tasted before, but... Not bad."

"And what of the earth ponies and unicorns? Does it make them sick?" Garnet Necklace asked nervously.

"Not that I know of? Unicorns are largely ambivalent while there's a small section of earth ponies that insist ponies should eat only plants, though they seem to count bird eggs as plants as well," Thunder Strike snorted. "Anyway, these snowponies are descended from earth ponies, are they not? It should be fine. Probably."

"They are," Agate confirmed.

"See? Even... Agate agrees."

"Having a bunch of big, tough pegasi be so nervous around me is still funny," Agate giggled.

"...Can't help it. You're a ghost. Ghosts are spooky," The stallion said with deadly seriousness, making Agate laugh.

"*Snrrrrk*-hahah, oh, that never gets old. Boo!"

"..." Thunder Strike kept chewing, blinking in confusion.

"You don't seem all that spooked," Agate pointed out.

"I guess... You're not that spooky," He said, the other pegasi looking at Agate with thoughtful expressions.

"Is your family well, traveler spirit?" A snowpony asked, looking at the crystal ponies. "They only drank some tea so far. Did they fall ill during the journey?"

"I'm pretty sure they're fine," Agate reassured the pony, turning towards her family with a grin. "You best make up your minds on whether to try it or ask for something else, you're confusing your hosts. Though there might not be all that much choice - the various vegetables and greens usually don't last until spring."

"Oh, buck it. It literally can't be worse than field rations," Obsidian Spear snorted, biting into the fish.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Mmm," Cadance hummed.

"And there's your pegasus side," Shining Armor chuckled as his wife scarfed down the fish.

"Well - it's - I never tasted anything quite like it before! I think I had some fancy shrimp hors d'oeuvres at some party or other, but nothing quite like this! Now I wish Canterlot was a coastal city so I could have discovered this sooner..." Cadance lamented. "Wait, the Empire is landlocked as well. Darn!"

"Guess you'll have to visit the snowponies to get your fish fix, then," Shining Armor suggested.

"Well, these are honestly very good," Fluent Tongue nodded. "I'd never have thought earth- that is, snowponies might know how to prepare fish so well. But, I'm guessing that it's a large part of their diet over here. Excuse me, chieftain, what do your people eat besides fish?"

"Hmm? Well, many things. Grasses and flowers, of course, though also berries, mushrooms, nuts, and all the vegetables that the farmers grow," Inner Fire listed off.

"Most of the food on offer is fish, though. Is it considered a better food- wait, you grow vegetables?"

"Not me, but there are ponies that do, of course. Why the surprise? Did you think that the land is covered in snow and ice forever, and we only fish?" He laughed at Fluent Tongue's expression. "What an odd assumption! Living under your strange magic shield with eternal summer inside must have skewed your knowledge of the world. Summers are short, yes, but intense. It's almost scary how fast some plants grow when things warm up."

"Well, I'm actually from Equestria, so we do have different seasons there. A lot of ponies do think that nothing could survive this far north, though," He shrugged.

"I suppose us snowponies are just made of tougher stuff than they'd expect," Inner Fire thumped his chest with pride. "Harsh as the environment is, our ancestors learned to survive, and their descendants learned to thrive- Oh, there they are."

"Hm? What's happening?" Shining Armor asked, noticing another dozen ponies enter the longhouse.

"The other chieftains wanted to meet you, of course," Inner Fire said, making Cadance raise her eyebrows as she turned to Fluent Tongue.

"Did I understand that word right? I thought each tribe only had one chieftain?"

"They do, and he did not use the word for "elder", either," The pegasus nodded. "Pardon me, chieftain, but are these the chieftains of the other tribes? From what I remember, they live quite far away from here, yes? How could they have heard of our arrival so quickly?"

"Ah, yes. Originally, they did not come for you," He chuckled, nodding towards the ponies, who were now talking to Agate and looking at the pegasi with fascination. "They heard of Agate's departure, and they knew that the world was about to change, and they wanted to know how it was going to change when it happened, so they rushed over here. No one really knew exactly how things were going to go down, but it was all but a guarantee that it would change somehow. She wasn't really secretive about her lost people, their disappearance, and their supposed return."

"Oh. Well, this is... Fortuitous for us either way," Cadance nodded.

"I wonder if she even knows the political power she wields," Shining Armor mused under his breath as Agate casually chatted to the two stallions, who clearly felt very respectful towards her. "Hope she puts in a good word for us."

"I'm quite certain she does, Shiny, and she clearly doesn't care for power in the slightest. And that is precisely why she wields it. Everyone can see that she's a pure soul. Remember, she's not a lost filly, she's a thousand years old, Sometimes, it felt like I was talking with a cheekier, more relaxed version of Celestia," Cadance shook her head, whispering back. "And I think she made it clear that her main goal is spending time with her family, and she does the rest out of her own kindness, to make sure the first meeting between the people she was born amongst and the people that adopted her goes smoothly. Let's respect her wishes and not try to push that kindness."

❅ ❆ ❅

"There's no need for battle, then?" The northerner's chieftain asked.

"Indeed not, Icebreaker, all the battles are over, at least for now," Agate nodded. "Looks like the ancient oaths of the northern tribe will not need to be called on after all."

"What oaths are those?" The western tribe's chieftain asked curiously.

"Just something a chieftain named Jagged Ice swore to me a long, long time ago after I helped him out, Fern. He swore that the spears of the northern tribe were at my beck and call, on pain of him returning and shaming the northern tribe should they refuse to honor them. Never happened before, and it's been some eight centuries, but the chieftains kept passing on the story of the oath to their successors regardless. It's honestly impressive. There's things from eight centuries ago that I know I forgot," Agate shook her head with a smile.

"Such debts need to be paid," Icebreaker nodded solemnly. "There's a heavy price for false promises that will catch up to you sooner or later."

"In that case, what happens now?" Fern asked, glancing towards Cadance and Shining Armor.

"Nothing bad for the tribes, probably. You have new neighbors now - well, I suppose the southern tribe does, to be more specific, even if those neighbors are behind a mountain range. New and different neighbors, most importantly, so trade for exotic goods might be something both sides would be interested in," Agate shrugged. "I know that the ponies that came to the Crystal Empire were given lots of small gifts by the crystal ponies. Maybe there was something in there they'd like more of? Go join them, talk to Inner Fire, talk to the ones that visited the Empire. Perhaps something will interest you."

"No world-shattering calamities and a chance of more allies and wealth for my people? I'll take it," Icebreaker shrugged, Fern nodding in agreement. Giving Agate a bow, the two chieftains and their entourages went to join the other table.

They continued eating, Agate translating the occasional question by the snowpony parts of the table to the pegasi or her parents. For their part, the guests were still trying the new foods carefully, but not fearfully any more, chewing on the exotic dishes with thoughtful expressions. Even Agate's family seemed to like the fish, though they appeared to be somewhat conflicted about the fact they liked it.

Eventually, the food was finished, and the usual rounds of silly questions began. Agate was reminded of her own first meeting with the snowponies as she chuckled and translated questions like "Do you eat crystals? So which bird did you steal your wings from? When crystal ponies make foals, do they just mine them out of the mountains?", and so on.

When things were getting late and the participants were getting sleepy, there was yet another set of unexpected arrivals. Agate blinked in surprise as a familiar voice sounded out behind her, a hoof ruffling her ethereal mane. "So many new friends, auntie. Did you forget about us, then?"

"...Floe Rider? What in the depths are you doing here? When did you get here?" Agate stared at the mare. "And Glacier Breaker? Did you bring the younglings, too?"

"Hey, auntie Agate!" A trio of young-ish voices chorused out from behind their parents, the eldest of the three already tall enough to peek over his parent's bodies.

"We got here the same time the chieftain did, of course. We had an inkling what the return of your people meant, after all," The mare smiled sadly, glancing at Agate's family.

"Who are these ponies, Agate?" Radiant Cut asked.

"Mom, dad, this is Glacier Breaker and Floe Rider with her brood. They're my family," Agate explained with a smile. "And these are Radiant Cut, my father, Garnet Necklace, my mother, and my uncle Obsidian Spear," She explained to the snowponies.

The two very, very different families took a few long minutes to examine each other, the other ponies respectfully staying out of their conversation once they heard what was happening. Neither side really knew what to say to each other, only sharing awkward smiles.

"So, ah, Glacier Breaker?" Garnet Necklace finally spoke up. "That sounds a bit like..."

"Glacier Glider? That was a thousand years ago, mom, and he's a stallion, as I'm sure you noticed. I'm sure you'd have liked to talk to her, but she's long gone," Agate shook her head with a smile. "You know what, though? It's probably too late to get into long family trees. You had a long journey, arrived when it was already dark, and I can see you're dead on your hooves. Let's postpone this until tomorrow," Agate said, translating for her snowpony family as well.

"That is probably for the best. Are you staying with your chieftain? Which one of them is it?" Glacier Breaker asked.

"That mare has to be an incredibly powerful shamare with having those colors and not getting eaten by something, I bet I could see her on another island across the sea," Floe Rider mused, her children going oooh when they caught a glimpse of Cadance.

"She's the chieftain, actually, though her husband also is," Agate chuckled. "It works a little differently back in the Empire. We don't have to stay with them, though. Is the place you're staying in big enough for more ponies?"

"It is, yes. Now that spring is here, we found a nice house with the youths already cleared out for their nomadic journey," Glacier Breaker nodded.

"Well, let's go tell them, then, though they'll probably still want to talk to me tomorrow. I did agree to be their guide," Agate nodded, getting out of her chair and trotting towards the royal couple, who were showing gold coins and explaining the basis of their trade to the intrigued chieftains. "Hey, Cadance. My family's really tired, and I think we're done for the day. We'll meet up tomorrow after we all get some sleep, alright?"

"Oh, of course. Perhaps we should turn in soon as well... "

"Let's find some places for you and all your bird ponies," Inner Fire nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate accompanied her two families to the place they were staying in, but did not stay there to sleep herself, which, of course, aroused the curiosity of the crystal ponies. When she arrived the next morning, the first thing that they asked to do after breakfast was to see her totem. When they swung by the chieftain's home along the way, the royal couple eagerly insisted to come along and see it as well, the scholars and a number of guards coming along.

"Whoa," Cadance summed up their reactions quite well.

"Didn't you say that totem poles are made of wood?" Obsidian Spear asked after a minute of staring at the crystal pillar.

"They are. You can still see it inside, under the crystal," Agate pointed with a hoof.

"And you sleep... Inside it? There's no door," Garnet Necklace frowned with confusion.

"Don't need one," Agate demonstrated, easily walking inside the crystal and back out again.

"So this is the thing that... Binds you to this world?" Shining Armor asked.

"Kind of. I arrived here by myself, if you remember. It just helps me remain tethered and lucid," Agate nodded.

"May we... Study it?" Cadance asked tentatively.

"Sure," Agate shrugged.

"Really? You don't mind?"

"Why would I? Even if I wasn't going to leave soon, it's not some kind of secret. You're free to ask the shamares to try and explain it to you too, though I'm not sure how well magic terms will translate even if you know the words. Also, they'll almost definitely ask for you to demonstrate some of your magic in return. They're a terribly curious bunch," Agate mused thoughtfully.

"We can do that," Shining Armor nodded.

"Anything else you need from me? I'd like to talk to my families for a while."

"No, I think this will keep us quite busy for some time," Cadance nodded, looking Agate's totem up and down.

Agate nodded, realizing too late that her clearing was exactly the kind of place that was good to sit down and talk. Thinking about it, she decided to give her crystal family a tour of Snowpitt instead, waving them over and leading them away from the clearing, feeling faint tingles through her connection to her totem as Cadance and a few others started casting scanning spells on it.

"I imagine the ways Agate is family to us and to you are quite different," Garnet Necklace said, Agate translating for her.

"Of course. She's like a second mother, grandmonther, sister, and all kinds of things to me," Glacier Breaker chuckled. "She's been with me since I was born... And I expected her to be there on my dying day, as she has been for countless generations of my family."

"That is so weird..."

"She's a good pony. You raised your daughter well," Floe Rider said.

"Sounds like your ancient ancestors had more of a hoof in that than we did," Radiant Cut pointed out.

"I was raised by many ponies," Agate shook her head. "Lots of old, wise shamares and the like. I didn't spend... All that much time with Glacier Glider back then. I only called her "mother" after she died."

"But then, she never got to hear- Oh, right. Spirits," Obsidian Spear caught himself, Agate and the northerners chuckling.

❅ ❆ ❅

When the day was ending and the Sun was setting, Cadance and Shining Armor sat down for a meal with their entourage of scholars, courtesy of the locals. Though they brought supplies of their own, their hosts wouldn't hear of it, though they were curious enough to accept some preserves from the Empire to try for themselves.

"So. Necromancy?" Cadance inquired.

"Hay if I know," Shining Armor asked. "Sunburst?"

"How are you supposed to know if something is necromancy if you never saw any necromantic magic before? It's not like I have anything to compare it to. This is completely new to me. Doesn't resemble anything I ever learned about in the past," The spectacled unicorn asked helplessly.

"Yeah... It's pretty clear we're all quite out of our depth here," Cadance sighed.

"You said you never saw anything like the Crystal Empire's magic either, though?" Shining Armor asked.

"Well, yes, but it was still easy to understand, since it was analogous to many branches of magic in Equestria. The Heart is a magical storage/spell casting focus artifact that acts as the focal point of the Imperial City, which essentially functions as one massive spell circle that's constantly fueled by the local population, with the Spire acting as a cooling rod and a pressure release valve, bleeding off the excess magic via those magical ribbons that ponies like to watch. See? I can... Categorize it. We know what magical shields are, we know what weather control is, even if no one in Equestria ever used them as a single spell to keep an area warm like they do in the Empire, or made a permanent, city-wide spell circle out of crystals. The effects are novel and there's a few things I'm not sure about yet, but it's largely still a combination of magics we're at least passingly familiar with in Equestria."

"But not this," Shining Armor nodded, leaning back and looking around the table.

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't know the first thing about this stuff, I'm not even a unicorn," Fluent Tongue said, the other scholars and scribes shrugging as well.

"Not this," Sunburst confirmed. "And, given that these ponies are descendants of earth ponies, being a pegasus might not preclude you from learning their magic. Or maybe it might. I don't know. But, like I said, this is unfamiliar to me. The magic deals with concepts we'd think of as complete charlatanism - spirits, really? Binding one? Granting them sight? In that case, is the default state of a spirit being sightless? It's just... I'd swear it was all superstition and make-believe mysticism if we didn't have Agate trotting about like it's no big deal," He finished, helplessly throwing his hooves up in the air.

"Agate and other spirits. She said that villages tend to have at least a couple guardian spirits, especially the newer ones in dangerous regions that haven't been tamed yet. I asked, and there's a few other guardian spirits in Snowpitt as well," Cadance added.

"Suppose we might examine their totems to get a more "baseline" idea of what one looks like? Agate's changed quite a lot over the years, as she said," Sunburst mused.

"Suppose so, but it still wouldn't tell us a thing if we're completely clueless as to what we're looking at."

"We probably need to enlist the help of their wizards. Those "shamares" of theirs," Sunburst suggested. "Maybe they can even... Summon some spirits? Didn't Agate say that there's spirits for pretty much everything here, from rocks to wind?"

"She also warned that it's not like casting a spell. The spirits are their own entities, and might act out in some way," Shining Armor reminded them.

"Well, in the middle of the capital city with lots of experts in the field around, it should be a completely safe experiment, surely? These ponies have been doing this for millennia, really, so what's the wors- mmmph!"

"Shush!" Cadance shushed him, pressing his muzzle together with magic.

"I see someone learned not to ask dangerous questions," Shining Armor grinned, sipping on some tea. "Hmmm, I wonder what plant this is. This is some truly great tea."

"Princess, come on! Surely you don't believe in such silly superstitions!" Sunburst humphed, crossing his forelegs indignantly.

"Of course not, Sunburst. I don't believe in silly ghost stories, either," Cadance smiled widely at him.

"...Uh." He raised a hoof as if to argue, slowly setting it down.

"Speaking of ghost stories, it's scary how accurate to the snowpony lore about spirits they are. Pony spirits, to be precise," Shining Armor mused.

"How? I can't say I'm all that well-read in regards to ghost stories," Sunburst asked.

"Strong-willed spirits are the ones that hang around, their cause most often being unfinished business, even if all it is is seeing their family one last time to say goodbye. Even those that remain tend to be a bit muddled, their minds not quite all there, so they wander around, moaning, groaning, blindly calling out to their family, and otherwise being spooky as all heck without meaning to," Shining Armor listed off the common tropes.

"Back in Equestria, it's usually rattling chains or other stuff like that. Some stories have them move physical objects around," Cadance added.

"Right. Poltergeists. I know the term, at least," Sunburst shrugged.

"Yes, and according to snowponies, that is how most pony spirits act, unless they were a strong-willed pony in life, or they're given a totem to reside in, which lifts the mental fog and gives them clarity of thought and sight. So yes, it does seem that the default state of a spirit is one of near blindness," Cadance concluded.

"So does this mean that this is necromancy? ...Am I going to get in trouble for studying this?" Sunburst suddenly frowned. "I don't want to get banished for learning dark magic!"

"I'm sure auntie Celestia would grant you mercy. Or perhaps you can seek refuge in the Empire," Cadance chuckled.

"...That's not the worst idea. I could imagine myself staying there. There's lots of things to study, to be sure," Sunburst mused.

"I don't think anyone's getting banished, and I doubt that it's dark magic, either. Agate certainly doesn't seem like either a dark magic minion, or a caster of it herself," Shining Armor waved it off. "Still, I'd like to talk to those "shamares" and ask them a few questions anyway. I really hope we don't find out that these guys can, or do, reanimate corpses or anything like that..."

❅ ❆ ❅

After they were done with their dinner, they met up with the chieftains again, discussing their respective peoples and territories, talking about potential commerce and the like for a few hours. After that, they went to sleep, asking Inner Fire to direct them to some shamares the next morning. He gladly obliged, sending them to Clay Charm, the current elder of the southern shamares. The proceeding conversation certainly proved to be enlightening.

"Madness! You ask for foolishness! Do not even entertain such thoughts!" Clay Charm shouted angrily, unceremoniously bonking Shining Armor on the head with a staff as Fluent Tongue translated her words.

"Ow! I'm not entertaining anything! I was just asking!" He huffed, pushing the staff away.

"Questions lead to precisely such thoughts," She rolled her eyes, brandishing her staff at him. "Magic is powerful, yes. It can do many, many great and terrible things. Do. UNdoing something is not possible. No more than you can trot against a river! You can call a storm to destroy something, you cannot un-destroy it afterwards. You think that no one tried? Shamares lost their loved ones too, you know. Family, friends. Breathing life into a corpse is not possible, however. They found that out the hard way. There are rules to this world! You can discover magic that works like the river's flow, like putting a kayak on top and riding it quickly to your destination. Going against the rules, though? Like trying to piss against a hurricane. Pfeh. Things only go forwards, not backwards! You will either waste time and achieve nothing, or nature will take its course for you trying to break its rules," She finished ominously.

"Well, that was informative," Cadance said, Sunburst nodding along.

"Look, we're just trying to understand. We don't have spirits like you do over here, but we do have stories, though no one really believes them. Most of them are made up, told just for fun as tall tales," Shining Armor tried to explain.

"What a strange thought. A spiritless land..." Clay Charm mused.

"Right. That's why we're asking things that might seem obvious to you. Some of the stories we have talk about some pretty wild things," He continued.

"Ah. Well, if they're, as you say, tall tales, then it would make sense they'd cover things that are not possible," The elder nodded.

"Some of them also concern bad things," He ventured forth carefully.

"Hmm? Evil spirits of some kind, I'm guessing?"

"More often, evil ponies harnessing spirits for evil things. Spirits of the dead, or even... Bodies."

"Hm, hm, hm," The shamare thought, rubbing her chin and glancing around, as if those very spirits might jump out at her from the shadows. "There are some dark things hiding in the corners of the world, yes. There are whispers of... Dark things between shamares from time to time, but, as expected of such things, it is often hard to say what is true and what is just rumor. Most of them are in regards to spirits, though, not bodies. Why are you so fixed on them, anyway? Hm, there is one story the northerners speak of..."

"Yes?" Shining Armor leaned forward slightly.

"Supposedly, a renowned adventurer with might and strength of will met an unpleasant end in the depths of Ice Land, as it happens in that place. He got grievously injured and fled back to the shore, and even made it back - collapsing dead in the middle of the outpost. But when ponies talked to his spirit about what ended him and collected his remains to dispose of them, they noticed that they were cold as death and frozen solid already, with wounds that would kill a pony in moments, not hours or even days it took him to reach the outpost, since he claimed that he was quite far out when he met his end, and made it back in one trip," Clay Charm recounted in a low voice.

"So he covered that distance while being dead? Animating his body through sheer will and magic?" Sunburst asked, disbelievingly.

"So the story goes, yes. And yet, as you can see, it did not save his life regardless," The elder nodded.

"Saving is not the issue here," Shining Armor grimaced. "I'll be blunt with you, elder: there are stories about evil dark magicians - we call them necromancers - using the bodies of the dead to create armies of soulless monsters, by animating them with magic. Some of them talk about enslaving the spirits of the dead for evil as well."

"Vile," The elder spat in disgust. "Vile! Dead or alive, that is a crime most vile! If someone is so bad, better kill a pony than imprison them!"

"Whoa. That's a bit... Hardcore," Cadance whispered.

"And enslaving spirits! Pfeh! Do not tell me things end well for such ponies in your stories, for the foulness of such an act will have you dragged screaming to the spirit world by the very spirits you tried to exploit!" The elder continued angrily.

"...They don't really end well for those ponies, no," Shining Armor nodded.

"Good. That means that the rules of the world apply in other places as well," Clay Charm nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, we're happy to hear your people don't do anything like that. What with the harsh environment, some ponies can turn to some pretty dark things to survive," Cadance said. "Some ponies will have a hard time accepting even binding spirits, I'm afraid..."

"Huh? Why? Ancestor spirits are generous and kind, delaying their journey to their rest to watch over and protect their kin. We only help them to help us, no one is forced to stay. It'd be a great dishonor to even try otherwise," Clay Charm furrowed her brows.

"Yeah, uh... With no spirits back where we're from..." Cadance trailed off, shrugging helplessly and looking at the others for help.

"It's a bit hard for us to understand, is all. Just like it's hard for you to understand our land not having spirits," Shining Armor waved it off.

"Hm. Makes sense, in that it doesn't make sense. Where do the spirits of your kin go? Do they all just move on immediately, with no one having unfinished business?" Clay Charm inquired.

"That's a question ponies have been trying to answer for centuries, if not millennia," Cadance shook her head with a smile.

"If you find the answer, tell me if I'm not dead by then. I'm quite curious," The elder nodded. "Any more questions?"

"I... Don't think so. Just happy to hear you're not making any magical monsters to fight for you," Shining Armor shrugged.

"Eh. Northerners do make their ice statue guardians, but they're hardly monsters. Fine enough... Ponies, almost," Clay Charm nodded.

"Ice statue... Guardians?"

❅ ❆ ❅

"Golems," Shining Armor shook his head as they trotted away, their meeting concluded. "Ice golems with crystal hearts."

"Sure sounds like it," Cadance nodded.

"That is fascinating! Golems are thought to only be made by highly industrialized and magically advanced societies! Oh, if only we could see them! But she said that's weeks, if not over a month of travel away," Sunburst gushed.

"I dare say that their society is quite magically advanced Sunburst, even if their industry is a bit... Lacking," Cadance pointed out.

"I was a bit disappointed at the lack of plumbing, until I remembered that all their pipes would probably freeze solid," Shining Armor nodded. "And it doesn't look like they have the resources for something like that anyway. But their magic..."

"Ah, yes," Sunburst nodded. "Those rather impressive ice spears, all the little runes and wards all over the settlement - almost like the Crystal Empire, really, just more individual instead of one big spell circle - totems, all the other little things like those one-use magical charms they make..."

"You can feel it, can't you?" Cadance asked suddenly, her voice sharp.

"Feel... What, honey?" Blinking in surprise, Shining Armor turned towards her.

"The magic. As the snowponies call it, the Breath. It's... Stronger here. I can feel it. Makes me jittery."

"...Here I thought it was just nerves. I got pretty good at clamping down on those in guard training, though. Still... Hmm..." Shining Armor trailed off thoughtfully, looking at his horn and making a few sparks fly from it.

"It almost makes me feel like a real mage. And according to the locals, it gets stronger the further north you travel..." Sunburst sighed, his voice full of longing.

"What do you mean, Sunburst? You are a real mage! You were sent here with the other scholars due to your credentials from Celestia's School!" Cadance asked, surprised.

"Ha! No, Your Highness, I am not. I am a scholar. There is a difference between a wizard and a... Sage, I guess. I know a lot about magic. Doesn't mean I can actually do it, though this power boost is tempting me to try some harder spells," He grinned ruefully.

"Well, as long as you don't get any necromantic ideas, go wild," Shining Armor chuckled.

Diplomatic Dancing

"So what do you think causes it?" Shining Armor asked Sunburst after they returned to their lodgings and had some food.

"A... Leyline that runs through here, perhaps?" He guessed after a minute of thinking.

"Those are supposed to be actual lines, though, right? The snowponies say that it's the same everywhere, all across their territories," Cadance pointed out.

"So there's some kind of... Unimaginably powerful fount of magic in the far north, which slowly flows southwards across all their territories?" Sunburst theorized.

"...Wow. That sounds like something we probably shouldn't talk about too loudly. Sounds like some grade-A supervillain bait," Shining Armor mused, rubbing his forehead.

"The snowponies say that it gets too cold and dangerous even for them, but... Yeah. Maybe it'd be best not to spread that information too wide," Cadance agreed.

"I suppose. It's only a theory, anyway," Sunburst agreed. "What's next on the list of things to do?"

"We'll probably talk trade and stuff with the chieftains a bit more, so you can go explore for a while, if you want. But we'll still meet tomorrow with Clay Charm to talk magic again, so please be there," Cadance dismissed him.

"Thank you, Princess. I'll go write all this stuff down... And maybe try a spell or two," Sunburst nodded gratefully.

❅ ❆ ❅

Fortunately for Cadance and Shining Armor, Agate kept telling them useful tips about snowpony traditions, including things about payment and gifts. While almost every pony would flat out refuse payment for providing shelter for travelers as it'd be a stain on their honor, they'd be entirely happy to take "completely unrelated" gifts from the visitors, especially if they'd be wrapped up in well-wishes and a touch of misdirection, such as gifting something to a young foal to wish them a wealthy life. It wasn't required, of course, as some travelers were poor, but those that could afford it often did it.

Cadance and Shining Armor found it a bit silly, but fun, and, lacking anything fancy, started gifting the gold coins they brought with them to show to the snowponies, the locals quite enthused by the highly intricate and unusual gold nuggets. Passing the information (and some coins) to the guards that were staying with different ponies, they had a meeting the next day to find out whether any issues cropped up.

"So. None of the chieftains said anything to me, nor did we have any snowponies coming to complain, so I'm assuming that everything is going well?" Shining Armor asked the collected guards and scholars.

"Yes, sir," The guards confirmed one by one, the scholars nodding along.

"All right, good. Now, a different question - did anything interesting happen?"

One of the pegasi slowly raised a foreleg. "I... Had a sparring match with one of the snowponies?"

"Did you win?" Shining Armor grinned.

"I gave him as good as I got, but I'm afraid he took me down. Still, that was because it was a pure wrestling match, and I wasn't allowed to use my wings. These folks have some mass to them," The pegasus chuckled.

"Yeah, they're bulky alright. They probably need it for the cold. Are you aiming for a rematch?"

"Well, he did challenge me to a fight with training spears after that, and I did beat him, sir," The pegasus puffed up proudly.

"I hope there haven't been any sore losers or miscommunications on either side?"

"Oh no, sir. It's really not hard to understand a challenge - when a stallion approaches you and starts flexing and thumping his chest and pointing towards himself and you and an open field, there's really not much ways to misinterpret that - but I wanted to be absolutely sure of the rules, so I tracked down the, ah, spirit to translate for me before I agreed to anything," The stallion shook his head.

"Very good. Better safe than sorry," Shining Armor nodded. "Now, if I know ponies, that sparring match had spectators, and those spectators talked about it, and other ponies got ideas. If someone else challenges one of you - continue acting with dignity and respect befitting of the Guard, but do not feel obliged to agree. You're not here for their entertainment, so don't do anything you're not comfortable with. Other than that - continue as you were. We're not sure when we're going to return to the Empire yet, but right now, the estimate is two or three days. Any questions?"

"No, sir/No, sire!" The crystal and pegasus guards chorused.

"Alright, good. Now, we're going to speak with the snowpony mystics again, and they asked to see some magic from every tribe, so I'd like for you two and a couple pegasi to tag along," Shining Armor explained, nodding to the crystal guards.

More than a couple pegasi volunteered, a flock of over a dozen coming along, as well as the scholars, all gathering in the ritual grounds in the middle of the village, where any magic demonstrations should be safe to perform. Clay Charm wasn't alone this time either, calling up on more or less every mystic present in Snowpitt. Shining Armor recognized Freezing Point as well, the northerner apparently still hanging around for now, instead of returning north. Clearing her throat, the elder looked the group up and down with a stern gaze.

"Now, narwhal-horn, you had concerns about our magic. I'd say it's only fair to see the kind of magics that your people have. After all, we never, ever heard of anything like that "dark magic" that Sombra beast was capable of, and he was a, how do you call it... A unicorn like you, was he not?"

"Oh, uh..." Shining Armor grimaced, suddenly put on the spot.

"Hmph. So much concern for us being these "necromancers", when you have nothing to say when your own kind chains the minds of an entire tribe with magics even fouler?" She scoffed at his reaction.

"That's... I honestly don't know much about him. He was some kind of ancient villain from a thousand years before my time," He shrugged awkwardly.

"And his magic?"

"Dark magic is... A bit of a mystery for us," Cadance answered. "But that's mostly because whoever ends up using it gets into trouble very swiftly. It's definitely not something regular ponies know or learn how to do."

"Swiftly? And yet he's from a thousand years ago?" Clay Charm pointed out.

"He was banished at the same time the Empire disappeared."

"Well, they clearly didn't banish him hard enough if he came back. Should have stabbed him when they had the chance," A younger shamare rolled her eyes, the others nodding in agreement.

"Stabbed... That's a bit brutish, isn't it?" Cadance asked, her ears folding a little.

"What? Didn't he get exploded or burnt to ash anyway?" Clay Charm asked with confusion.

"Well, yes, but..."

"But what? Sounds like it would have saved a lot of trouble down the road," The elder shrugged. "What was the point of his banishment? In fact, he wasn't even banished at all, was he?"

"What do you mean?"

"We had some trouble right around the time the Crystal Empire returned. Our southeastern forests were dying, due to something devouring all life and magic from the area. Something that was apparently trapped in a glacier in the mountains, from what Agate told me. And I had a quick talk with her recently, though it was short not to interrupt her time with her family. And from what the ancient one told me, it's not that hard to guess that it must have been Sombra's cage. She all but confirmed it when she said that Sombra's magic had the same stink as the one in the glacier. So, he was not banished. He was caged, locked up for a thousand years," The elder surmised, the other shamares grimacing in disgust.

"I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble understanding your position here," Cadance shook her head. "You're disgusted by what Sombra did, but him getting punished by getting locked up is also bad? And just straight-up killing him is the morally better choice?"

"Well of course it is!" Clay Charm threw her hooves up in exasperation. "He ended up dead anyway! What was the point of his "banishment"? To laugh at him while he's in his cage? To revel in his suffering? How is delaying the inevitable and torturing him for fun not the more evil choice rather than sending him to be judged by his ancestors, as well as saving the crystal tribe from his attacks a second time?"

"Uh, well... Ponies can be reformed sometimes, you know. I'm sure Celestia would have been very sad if she had killed her sister, and now they're back together..." Cadance said slowly, biting her lip.

"Who, what?" Clay Charm blinked in confusion.

"Oh, right, you don't know anything about that," Cadance laughed weakly. "Um, it's a bit of a long story, but..."

Clay Charm and the other shamares sat and listened, wide-eyed, as Cadance and Shining Armor gave them a brief (relatively, of course, given her age) history of princesses Celestia and Luna. They were clearly skeptical about such impossible-sounding ponies, though they didn't voice it, and Cadance assured them that they would almost definitely get to see them with their own eyes soon enough.

Given how public the knowledge was, they didn't try to lie or embellish anything, and they told them of the other recent events as well, such as Discord's return and subsequent re-imprisonment in stone. The shamares didn't terribly approve of that either, though they remained quiet, listening and scanning their faces for any signs that they were being lied to.

"Your tribe sounds very strange. Crystal ponies were curious, but you Equestrians... Chaos spirits? Truly a strange land you must live in," Clay Charm eventually said, the royal couple trying not to snigger at the snowponies calling them strange.

"Yes, well, the strangeness has only been happening for the past few years. It's been largely peaceful for centuries before that," Shining Armor shrugged.

"Your chieftainness - Celestia, yes? - has been imprisoning beings for those centuries, though," Another shamare said.

"But it works! Luna has been redeemed-" Cadance began to say.

"Was it planned?" Clay Charm interrupted.

"Huh?"

"From what you said, she escaped, and she immediately returned to her evil plotting, just like Sombra did. The banishment did not remotely make her change her mind, did it?"

"Well, um... No... Twilight and her friends had to break her out of it using the Elements..."

"Nor did it work for that... "Discord" being. He's stone now - and he'll probably break free yet again in the future, and cause chaos once more?"

"I... Don't really know, it's possible...?"

"Stab him," Freezing Point shook her head.

"Why are you ponies so stabby all of a sudden?!" Cadance asked loudly, her eye twitching as she lost her patience. "You've been so nice and lovely so far!"

"And we can afford to only because we know that the evildoers are to be removed and given for the windigoes to deal with, before they bring a freezing death to us all," Clay Charm nodded sagely, making Cadance quiet down with a shocked expression.

"Are the windigoes really that... Common? They're barely a scary tale by now in Equestria," Shining Armor asked.

"Go to the northerner's deepest territories, and you'll see herds of them," Clay Charm nodded casually.

"I'll... Take your word for it."

"This still feels wrong," Cadance shook her head.

"What, not caging beings? Not giving them mercy and just sending them off to the spirit world? That sounds wrong to us as well. From what I understood from your story, it's not like Sombra, or Luna, or Discord were ever planned to be released, were they? No, they broke out with their own power. How is that not the ultimate evil? Instead of striking down your foe, you keep them alive and torture them with imprisonment literally for all eternity? Turning ponies away from their dark paths is a noble and just goal, yes, and we do try to teach everyone we can the errors of their ways before we resort to extreme measures. But some ponies cannot be redeemed, just like some beasts and spirits cannot be scared off or reasoned with. And when such a situation arises, you should not toy with them. Just be honorable and grant them the peace of death," Clay Charm shook her head.

While Cadance was struggling to say something, Shining Armor shook his head. "I can see your logic, but even if Celestia could bring herself to kill her own sister, Nightmare Moon and Discord could only be defeated with the Elements of Harmony, and I'm not sure if they even can kill people. Those artifacts kind of... Almost have a mind of their own. Twilight tells me that they just... Use them, and things happen without their input."

"I see. That is understandable. Beings or spirits that powerful can hardly be controlled, only entreated," The shamares all nodded. "But that was not the case with Sombra, was it? They defeated him with their own magic?"

"...Yes."

"Should have stabbed him."

"ARGH!" Cadance shouted.

❅ ❆ ❅

After that long and hard conversation, both groups took a break to eat some food, though it was also a badly needed time for them to cool down after the charged arguments. The guards and the scholars ended up just sitting quietly and listening through the whole thing, Fluent Tongue giving it his all to translate everything correctly. Dispersing temporarily, they agreed to meet up after an hour for the actual magic demonstrations.

"Ugh," Cadance grunted, angrily biting into her fish.

"Are you disappointed that our hosts turned out not to be as pure-hearted and innocent as they appeared to be?" Shining Armor asked, munching on his food as well.

"No, I hate that her logic makes sense. I didn't get schooled like that since... Actual school. And at the same time, it's just so... Brutish," She shuddered.

"Well... You're right, in that she's not wrong. Sombra did get blown up, after we returned the Heart to its rightful place. We participated in the celebration which was about him getting blown up. The entire Empire celebrated," Shining Armor said slowly.

"I thought we were celebrating their freedom," Cadance sighed.

"Which was achieved by blowing Sombra up, yes," Shining Armor nodded.

"You're really taking her side in this, huh," Cadance looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I'm not, but... I'm aware that my military mindset can lead to some entrenched thinking. And since I'm conscious of it, I'm trying to be more flexible, especially recently. Surely you noticed - the pegasi were mostly on our side during the discussion, but the crystal guards were actually quite approving of stabbing Sombra?"

"Well, they did get hurt by him personally," Cadance shrugged. "It's not the best reaction, but it's understandable."

"I don't think it's just that. I think ponies in the Empire in general lean more towards the snowpony point of view. They too had to live with limited resources under their shield, and I doubt that they had much patience for ponies that actively brought harm to their society, especially given that criminals didn't exactly have many places to hide around there. And... As rulers, what exactly are we supposed to do? Stomp down any dissent and pave everything over with our Equestrian ideals - like some crystal ponies are afraid we're going to? Or adapt to the culture of the place we swore to take care of?" Shining Armor asked, his voice deadly serious.

"Ughhhhh... I dearly hope no more villains come around so I don't have to choose," Cadance groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"No one's talking about executing criminals in the street, dear. But... These are their own peoples with their own history, who lived, survived and came up with their behavioral doctrines by adapting to the unique circumstances they found themselves in. I think we might need to open our minds up a little, and I'm saying this as a rigid, rules-based soldier," Shining Armor sighed.

"...We haven't really been treating them as equals, have we? Just thought of them as poor, adorably fluffy earth ponies that were stuck in the freezing wasteland. Questioning their culture and interrogating them about necromancy and all that, and then we got shocked when they turned around and demanded the same of us. And we didn't even do all that well in their eyes," Cadance mused.

"Well, they're certainly not freezing, they showed us that much the very first time we met them," Shining Armor snorted. "But yes, the snowponies are most certainly not simply Equestrians under a different name, and, just like the crystal ponies, they very much are their own, independent people. Their philosophies are radically different. Do any of your princess lessons cover how to deal with that? Diplomacy?"

"Hm... Yes... Dictating to sovereign nations on how to live their lives is kind of a big mistake in diplomacy, yes," Cadance nodded slowly. "They may still live in tribes, but from what we saw while looking at their maps... Each tribe is a small nation unto itself."

"Yup. While "tribes" might evoke thoughts of primitive governance, they're clearly quite well organized, and constantly keep in contact with each other, despite the great distances. And each tribe is individually more numerous than the Empire several times over, at least," Shining Armor confirmed.

"Should we... Apologize, or something?"

"I don't think so? We haven't said anything to them they haven't said to us... It was a vigorous discussion, not an insult match, I'd say," Shining Armor slowly shrugged.

"We'll see how they act first, then. Let's get the others and talk to them again," Cadance nodded.

❅ ❆ ❅

For their part, while their opinion of Equestria might have gone down, the shamares were just as mature and wise enough not to try and force their ways of living on different tribes that live in different places. They greeted the returning group with neutral and curious expressions, examining their horns and wings with great intensity.

"We'd ask you to do something, but we don't know what you're even capable of. Perhaps you could demonstrate yourselves?" Clay Charm began.

"Well, my talent lies in shields. Observe," Shining Armor nodded, charging up his horn and surrounding himself in a bubble.

"Oooooooooooooh," The shamares chorused, leaning closer.

"Is this something all narwh- unicorns can do?" The elder asked, studying the shield with faintly glowing eyes.

"Oh, no. The only thing that I'd say literally every unicorn can do is telekinesis," Cadance explained, levitating a small rock in her aura. "Other spells need to be taught, and most of them only bother learning a few."

"And some learn a lot, but don't actually have the strength to cast them," Sunburst shrugged, making a few fireflies dance in the air.

"Oooh," The shamares oooh'ed again.

"You can lift things without even stretching out a foreleg? Ancestors, that'd be so useful when I'm feeling lazy," One shamare remarked.

"Stereotypically, unicorns are weaker physically than the other tribes. Whether it's due to the ease that magic grants them or other reasons is a matter of debate," Cadance chuckled.

"And what can the winged ones do? And the crystal ponies?"

One by one, the guards showed off their various skills, the pegasi teaming up to show some weather magic to the shamares, while one of the crystal guards turned out to be a hobbyist crystal craftspony. After asking for some crystals, he demonstrated the way the crystal ponies made buildings and streets from the stuff, channeling magic through his hooves and kneading it like clay, fusing multiple crystal shards into the shape of a pony.

"It's very crude, of course. Some ponies can make incredibly delicate looking items, like folding a flower out of a chunk of crystal, with petals almost as thin as the real things," He explained, holding up the small figurine. "This is just something I picked up to pass the time while in the barracks. I don't do this for a living."

"Oh no, it's very pretty," A shamare protested, taking the figurine and appreciating it for a minute before passing it on to the others to look at.

"The clouds here are very... Ornery," Thunder Strike huffed, the lieutenant and a bunch of others wrestling a cloud down to the ground level.

"Ooooh, you actually stole a cloud from the air spirits?" Several shamares giggled.

"...That an actual thing around here? Are they going to be mad? Ah, to Tartarus with it. Pegasi are not afraid of the skies or the winds," Thunder Strike replied, his crew puffing up in pride, making the shamares giggle again at the bird-like behavior.

"I always wanted to touch- awwww," A shamare drooped and folded her ears in dissappointment as her hoof passed through the cloud.

"Sorry, pegasi only. Then again, I saw you folks trot on snow like we do on clouds. I half-expected you to be able to stand on clouds too," Thunder Strike mused.

"There's a... Spell for cloudwalking..." Cadance suggested uncertainly.

"What?" The shamares perked up.

"Unicorns can... Cast spells on others. With all kinds of effects. Not just dark magic, you know. Would you like to... Touch a cloud?"

That set off a wave of whispers, the shamares huddling together, the one that wanted to touch a cloud stepping forward a few moments later. "Will it hurt? What is the price of such magic?"

"No price and no pain. Just some effort on my part," Cadance shook her head. "I'll be honest, though, I haven't really practiced that spell since I learned it, so it might not work, but that's the worst that could happen. No other effects."

"I remember it quite well. I can probably write out the spellform if you fumble it so you can refresh your memory, Your Highness," Sunburst offered.

"Very well. Do it," The shamare nodded eagerly.

One spell later, she was nervously standing on a cloud, gently kneading it with her forelegs while the pegasi kept it stable and low to the ground. The other shamares, meanwhile, stared at her hooves with their spirit sight, nodding and muttering amongst themselves.

"Interesting weave. Wrapped so tightly around her hooves... I wonder if I could do magic like that," One of them mused.

"We might, but how would we get up to the clouds without help?" Another pointed out.

"That is a good question. But they told us that they don't even have spirits in their lands. What is even the purpose of this magic, if not to get up higher and talk to the air spirits better?" Clay Charm inquired.

"Mostly, it's to allow ponies to visit pegasus cloud cities," Cadance shrugged.

"Cloud cities?"

"...Yeah, they actually build cities in the clouds. Pretty good defensive position, to say the least," Cadance nodded. "Lieutenant, could you and your stallions shape this cloud into something?"

"Well, we're not exactly builders or architects, but we are good at beating things into shape," The stallion nodded, the others beginning to pound on the cloud as the shamare jumped off.

The most they managed to do was beat it into a rough-looking square box with no lid, though that was plenty enough to impress the shamares and a few passers-by that were attracted by the strange sight. They continued the magic demonstrations for a few more hours, with Cadance and Shining Armor getting the most attention, given that they were the biggest magical powerhouses in the group, though it also could have been because shield spells were very much something the snowponies would have liked to be able to do themselves.

"Hmmmm," One mare hummed, thoughtfully licking Shining Armor's shield as the stallion looked slightly uncomfortable. "Foreign magic. Very strange. But very intriguing. Not quite like a ward. Opposite, in some ways."

"Opposite? How do your wards work, then?" Shining Armor asked, curious to see what kind of defensive magic they used.

"Befuddlement. Stealth. By making a beast's or spirit's gaze just slide right past a warded place," Clay Charm explained, etching some magical symbols into the ground, Sunburst eagerly writing them down. "Yours is flashy. Would attract lots of attention, especially in the dark of the long night. But when you're cornered, a show of strength is exactly what you need. Dulling their fangs against such a shield would make many creatures reconsider."

"I wonder if we could make a charm for it," Freezing Point mused.

"I'm not sure if experimenting with another tribe's magic like that is a good... No, you know what? You clearly know a lot about magic. Go for it. Perhaps team up with some crystal ponies," Cadance suggested.

"Ooh, we could make it like their Crystal Heart!" Freezing Point clopped her front hooves together in excitement. "Except much, much smaller, of course. And no need to create warmth, either, so should be even simpler. Hmm..."

"You actually saw it when you went up there with the traveler spirit, didn't you? Their tribe's greatest artifact?" Clay Charm asked.

"I did, yes, and it was indescribably powerful, but at the same time, so very, very strange and foreign. The crystal chieftain is right, we'd need help..." She trailed off thoughtfully.

"Hey, don't look at us," The crystal guards raised their hooves defensively once her gaze fell on them. "We're no mystics or scholars."

"It's quite a trip from my usual haunts, but I might have to visit the Empire again. Multiple times," Freezing Point frowned, longingly looking north. "Suppose it'd be a different kind of adventure."

"You're welcome to come back at any time. I'm certain our citizens would be all too happy to work on inventing interesting and new products that would benefit everyone," Cadance nodded with a smile.

The magic demonstrations more or less ended after that, the talks slowly turning more theoretical as the different tribes tried to describe the ways they enchanted items and channeled their magics, affecting the world through their various limbs, from unicorn horns to snowpony hooves.

They parted ways soon after as it was getting late, with one final demonstration - this time, from the shamares. The mystics called on their spirits to return the "stolen" cloud to the sky, the foreigners watching with wide eyes as a wind suddenly rose up, seemingly from nothing more than some brief chanting and whistling by a single shamare, whisking the box-shaped cloud away.

❅ ❆ ❅

"That magic was most definitely real, but did either one of you actually see any spirits?" Cadance asked, drawing her coat closer as the colder evening wind blew about.

"Not me, though I think I felt something in my horn as the gust of wind blew past us. It's hard to say with everything being so charged with magic here, but that's probably the point. The magic-rich environment must be what gives rise to these spirits. After all, from what we learned so far, they seem to be entirely magical," Sunburst theorized.

"Magic given thought. It makes sense, given that many researchers think magic is a crucial component, or maybe even the cause of sapience. So if you just pour lots of magic into one place..." Shining Armor mused.

"But the body is what drives everything," Sunburst protested. "Feeding, drinking, er... Breeding, and so on. If you pour all the magic in the world into a rock, it'd still be a rock. It wouldn't gain sapience, because it doesn't need to. There's no use or advantage, unlike in flesh and blood creatures which are competing against others, and sapience gives us a massive advantage over nature."

"Maybe it'd be a rock... Until someone talked to it, and gave it something to think about. Like a shamare," Cadance noted, turning the stallion's expressions thoughtful.

"That well might be the way it works. I don't think we're going to truly understand it any time soon, though. Something tells me that this is going to be a topic for research and discussion for centuries to come in Equestria, especially in regards to pony spirits, " Sunburst shrugged.

"If the researchers will be determined enough to brave the cold," Shining Armor nodded. "Well, they might be fine if they buy some clothes from the locals. You seem to like your snowpony coat a lot, dear."

"Honey, you have no idea how warm this thing is. I'm pretty sure it's even a little magical," Cadance smiled, becoming thoughtful after a moment. "But I wonder where do they get their wool from? No one mentioned sheep so far, and I haven't seen any..."

"Maybe one of the other tribes grows them?" Sunburst guessed.

"That's not exactly hard to find out. Let's ask someone when we get back to our lodgings," Shining Armor said.

The chieftain's family were entirely happy to help them out with the question, his wife nodding with a smile. "Oh, the fur cloaks? Yes, pony fur is quite warm, isn't it? You said you got it from a northerner? Makes sense, they do have the thickest and hardiest coats."

As the mare trotted away, Cadance ever-so-slowly turned towards their interpreter. "Fluent Tongue... Did you translate that correctly?"

"I... I am quite certain that I did, yes. The words are not exactly... The most complex or ones that have double meanings," The stallion nodded.

"So... I'm wearing a winter cloak made out of a pony's fur," Cadance said, scrunching up her muzzle. "I mean, it makes perfect sense now that I think about it - they have so much fur, and wasting resources must be mad, and if they don't have sheep - but still. I don't know how to feel right now."

"Disgusted?" Shining Armor suggested.

"More like "the most comfortable I ever felt"," Cadance scoffed. "It is so. Soft. And warm."

"Well... Good for you. Enjoy your fashion statement. I think I'll stick with normal clothes," Shining Armor nodded.

"Don't knock it 'til you tried it."

"I'll pass."

"...Put this on! It feels amazing!" Cadance shouted with a smile, taking the cloak off and levitating it towards her husband as Sunburst frowned, pulling his own robes closer to himself before quietly leaving the room, Fluent Tongue glancing at him thoughtfully before following him.

"No way, that's weird! It's almost like hugging an unfamiliar pony!" He protested, backing off.

"That... Sounds very sweet, actually. Try it! I'm not letting you say how weird it is unless you actually put it on!" Cadance advanced with a grin.

"Back off, you crazy mare!"

The Vigil's End

❅ ❆ ❅

While Cadance and Shining Armor were busy diplomancing and learning, Agate spent most of her time talking to her families, though there were other ponies that joined her on occasion. Arctic Ink kept stalking her, though Agate kept tempting her with bits of knowledge about the royal couple, making the filly whine and groan in frustration as she was forced to choose between listening to Agate or the foreign delegation.

"Gah! Fine, I'll go listen in on the pink chieftain," She harrumphed, trotting off as both of the families giggled.

"Cute filly. Bit forceful, though," Obsidian Spear chuckled.

"Yeah, her parents were very apologetic about her. Said that she needs to drink knowledge like a pony needs water, or she'll get sick. I usually don't mind, but she needs to learn to slow down a bit. If a pony drank as much water as she does knowledge, they'd probably drown," Agate smiled, reclining on a pointy base of a broken crystal pillar.

Now that Cadance wasn't examining her totem any more, they spent most of their time talking in Agate's clearing, the crystal ponies glancing at the huge pillar every so often. There was more space now that the broken crystals were cleared out, though the devastation didn't go unnoticed by the visitors.

"This place looks quite trashed. That's unusual for you, Agate. You never were a messy filly," Garnet Necklace mused.

"Well, I kind of wrecked the place when I was drawing magic from my totem to go and fight Sombra with," Agate shrugged, lazily tracking Floe Rider's foals as they played a small distance away.

"You didn't damage your totem, though?" Glacier Breaker asked.

"I did, actually, though I fixed it up afterwards."

"You didn't bother fixing up your clearing?" Radiant Cut asked.

Giving her father a flat look, Agate demonstratively extended a foreleg towards a nearby crystal, waving the appendage through the jagged spike several times. "Can't touch things, remember? When this place needs cleaning up, I need to ask other ponies to come in with hammers and picks."

"Ooooh... Right," He grimaced.

"So this is what you've been doing for a hobby? Growing crystals? Felt homesick?" Garnet Necklace asked.

"I didn't even do it on purpose at first. Ponies kept leaving crystals as gifts for me, and the magic from the totem kept feeding into itself and grew the crystals around it. I did start to "garden" some time later, though," She shrugged.

"And what is going to happen to your totem when you're... No longer using it?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"That's a good question, actually. Normally, totems are uprooted and burned, their ashes scattered to the winds. This... Taking this down would be quite the task alone, and I don't think the locals will even want to do it. It's been a... Famous landmark of sorts for quite a while now. It's not like they could even burn the crystal anyway, so they'd have to drag it off or smash it to bits and bury them somewhere, which I doubt they'll bother with, even if it's the opposite of what they do with totems," Agate pondered.

"It is quite unusual, but destroying it would be a crime now. It has become part of the landscape," Floe Rider nodded. "I am certain ponies are going to be visiting it for years to come."

"It sounds like they don't really build monuments for the departed?" Radiant Cut asked.

"Not really. The dead live on in the memories of their kin and others they made an impact on. When those memories are gone, what is the point of a rock proclaiming the greatness of some pony no one remembers any more?" Glacier Breaker said.

"I can see your point, but our people like to have places we can visit on occasion," Obsidian Spear shrugged. "I'm certain Agate's parents would appreciate it if this monumental chunk of crystal was left alone, even if it'd be hard to get to for them."

"We... Really would, yes," Garnet Necklace said quietly with a nod, looking away.

"Really, mom? Is that all you're going to do when I'm gone? You're going to go back to feeling sad for the rest of your life?" Agate scoffed.

"Well what in the world am I supposed to do, young filly?! I lost my only child!" The mare snapped.

"Make more," Agate nodded sagely with a grin.

"W-what?" Garnet Necklace sputtered at the sudden turn of the conversation as Radiant Cut and Obsidian Spear blinked.

"What? See Floe Rider over here?" Agate pointed to the snowmare, the mother raising her eyebrows.

"...Yes? What about her?"

"How many foals does she have, mom?"

"...Three? Agate, are you seriously telling your own mother to-"

"Get busy making more foals, yes," Agate nodded again, the massive grin still on her face.

"Agate!" Garnet Necklace shrieked as she lit up bright red, the snowponies going oooh at the sudden lightshow, the crystal pony nature of the mare and her garnet-red coat making the blush literally light up the clearing. "You can't just- just-"

"Can't I? Your parents can ask for grandfoals, can't they? What makes me so different? Is it the age? I am most definitely old enough," Agate pointed out.

"Um... Agate, you shouldn't... Uh..." Radiant Cut trailed off, now blushing as well, looking around for help.

"Oh, no. You're on your own in this conversation, brother," Obsidian Spear laughed, unperturbed by his sibling's plight.

"She's right, you know," Floe Rider nodded with a smile, once Agate translated for her. "Ponies die, and, tragically, that does include foals. But that does not mean your life must come to an end, or that of your family line. Spring is here now, which is the best time-"

"Stop it, all of you!" Garnet Necklace shouted again, hiding her face in her hooves.

"Nope," Agate cackled. "Take a lesson from the snowponies: they lose foals as well. Glacier Glider lost a filly too. That did not mean that she gave up on life, though. She mourned, but she moved on. And, don't think that you're getting off the hook once I'm gone."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Radiant Cut asked as his wife peeked at Agate through her hooves.

"Oh, I had a little talk with grandpa and grandma before I left... They'll be sure to remind you when you return to the Empire," Agate explained with an evil grin.

"Agaaateeee," Garnet Necklace whined. "You're still my daughter! Cut this out!"

"Make me," The bodiless spirit shrugged carelessly, the others laughing at the blushing couple's plight.

❅ ❆ ❅

Although most of the snowponies in Snowpitt were busy examining the exotic visitors and talking about the foreign delegation and all the potential consequences that might come from their arrival, the deeper implications of Agate's family being among them didn't escape them.

Agate wasn't really close with all that many ponies at any given time, but she did almost always had at least working relationships with whoever the current chieftains were, and had a number of friends, or at least amicable acquaintances amongst shamares. And when all those elders pointed out that all this meant that the ancient spirit's time on this Earth was up, ponies listened.

While they occasionally saw her trotting about or went to see her totem at some point in time, the vast majority of ponies only knew of Agate through stories. Stories about righting wrongs and helping ponies in need meant a lot, though, especially ones so numerous and so old, that some of them dated over a thousand years back.

So, when Cadance and Shining Armor announced that they were planning to leave the next day, it could mean only one thing. Whispering ponies stood around Agate's clearing, small crowds forming and following the spirit from a respectful distance as she led her family to her clearing with a small, melancholy smile.

The three chieftains were there as well, bowing respectfully to Agate without a word as she passed them by, her crystal family sharing nervous looks at the ominous behavior, while the northern one shared similar, pained smiles. The unusual movement of ponies was reported to the royal couple by their guards, Cadance and Shining armor standing back and observing with their entourage, not wanting to cause a diplomatic incident by interrupting what was obviously a historically significant event.

"Feels like the time we got marched by Sombra's soldiers," Garnet Necklace muttered quietly, though Agate still managed to hear it, her ears twitching.

"Really, mom? You're comparing me to Sombra?" She asked with a frown.

"I- I didn't- mean- I'm sorry, that was wrong," The distraught mare sighed.

"Yes, it was. We talked about this, for weeks now. You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. You yourselves said that I shouldn't have bothered waiting, and just went to my final rest the first time we saw each other again. Well, it's time," Agate said resolutely once they reached the clearing, facing her totem as her family stood behind her.

"Agate... No," Garnet Necklace whispered, reaching for her daughter.

"Mom... Please. Don't make me repeat myself. We talked about this. A lot," Agate sighed, turning around.

"For weeks, yes. What are weeks to the time we lose with you? Won't you stay? What of the life you lost?" Garnet Necklace pleaded.

"Mom. You still don't get it," Agate shook her head with a smile. "I have been around for a thousand years. I have been everything. I have done everything. I have seen everything. Traveler, scout, scholar, storyteller, teacher... Daughter, sibling, guide... Sure, there's a lot of things I haven't done. I haven't tasted all the foods, or smelt the sea, or been a mother myself. But those are things I can never do any more, and I already did all the other things, many times over. No. I am tired. I did my part, and there is nothing more for me in this world. You cannot go back. You can delay, perhaps, stand in place for a thousand years. But that's it. You can only go forward. It is the way of the world. And it's time for me to go, and for you to move forward as well."

Nodding decisively, Agate turned back towards her totem, extending a foreleg towards it as her mother sobbed, leaning against her husband as he hugged her tightly with a pained expression. Obsidian Spear, meanwhile, chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before striking a parade pose and saluting Agate with a fiercely proud expression, his eyes moist.

Unbeknownst to him, the pair of crystal guards some distance away saluted her as well, showing respect to the valiant spirit of the Empire that resisted the call of death itself for a thousand years, just to defy Sombra. One by one, the pegasi all saluted as well, Shining Armor joining in after a few moments, Cadance standing awkwardly before bowing towards Agate's totem. The snowponies whispered well-wishes to the ancient spirit, beseeching their ancestors to show the foreign traveler the way to her final rest.

Agate's totem, meanwhile, was vibrating, faster and harder. Unlike the drawing of power she performed before, where the damage was a side effect, Agate was preparing to wreck it on purpose, severing the enchantments permanently. Her family grimaced, feeling the dissonant frequencies in their bones, their expressions turning ill.

"Agate, please!" Garnet Necklace begged one last time. "Think of your family!"

"It's exactly what I'm thinking of right now, mom!" Agate shouted back, a resounding crack echoing across the entire settlement as the totem started to break, even the snowponies in the distance grimacing in pain.

An uprooting of a totem usually was a bittersweet occasion, ponies giving thanks to the departing spirit for their long service with grateful smiles, leading them to their well-deserved rest. As always, though, Agate was an outsider, and her path ended up being different once again, the locals sniffling sadly at the legendary traveler spirit's imminent departure to her final journey.

"Think... Think of your siblings, then!" Garnet Necklace shouted again, struggling against Radiant Cut, who kept hugging her.

"W... What?" Agate asked, truly confused for the first time in a long, long time.

"You... You said that guardian spirits watch over families! Protect them! Especially their younger kin!"

"Um... Yeah, but... The Empire is safe now, and..."

"What if we, ugh, can't believe I'm about to say this, do make a foal, then? Will you not stay? Will you not watch over them, as a guardian spirit does? No one expected Sombra to happen, and yet he did! You never know what could happen next! Have you heard about all the monstrosities that attacked Equestria recently?! Do you think none of them might look towards a smaller target like the Empire, should they try again? I don't want any more of my children sharing the same fate you did!"

"...Oh. Huh," Agate mused, the vibrations dying down as she lost focus of her magic.

Everyone collectively held their breath, staring at the ancient spirit weighing her options. A deathly silence fell upon Snowpitt, no one moving or talking. After a while, though, they were forced to start breathing again, as Agate took her time thinking.

"Huh," She eventually repeated.

"Please, Agate?" Her mother pleaded, her father remaining silent, though his eyes were full of pain and longing as well.

"...I have conditions," The spirit nodded slowly.

"Bargaining?! What... What could you possibly even want?" Garnet Necklace asked, completely flabbergasted.

"No excuses. No delays. Spring is here. Get busy," Agate said, her empty expression morphing into a cheeky grin as she slowly focused her magic again and began to mend the crack on her totem.

"AGATE!!!" Her mother shrieked, mortified, as her daughter embarrassed her in front of the entire population of Snowpitt, as well as the royal delegation. The snowponies didn't really know what was happening, but looked with fascination at the burning blush of the crystal pony nonetheless.

Epilogue: Celestial Visit

"Princess," Shining Armor bowed briefly before catching himself, receiving Celestia in his study.

"Emperor," Celestia bowed with a small, knowing smile.

"...I've been a captain under your command far longer than I held this title. Old habits die hard, especially ones beaten into you by a drill sergeant," He shrugged.

"Still, it's probably a good thing there weren't servants around to see that," Celestia nodded.

"Probably, yes."

"Will Cadance be joining us?"

"In a moment, yes. Will Luna be joining us as well?"

"Perhaps, but I don't make any promises. On one hoof, she was very excited, on the other, she's probably still asleep."

"Would you like some exotic tea while we wait?" He gestured towards a table with a tea set and snacks.

"Ooh. Exotic as in from the deep north, yes?" Celestia asked, cantering closer and inhaling the scents.

"Yes. Fresh from the... Somethings of Snowpitt. I'm not actually sure what kind of terrain they harvest it from," He shrugged, taking a seat as Celestia did the same.

"You would make a poor salespony, Shinining Armor," Celestia chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not the one who's marketing the tea, that's the snowpony's job," He smiled, pouring three cups.

"Ah yes, snowponies. Such a charming and innocent name for a people living in some of the harshest conditions imaginable," She nodded, taking a sip of the tea and savoring it for a good while.

"As far as everyone was able to translate, that is, in fact, the name they use to refer to themselves," He shrugged.

As they slowly sipped their tea, Cadance trotted in, her face lighting up when she saw Celestia. "Auntie!"

"Greetings, Empress," Celestia bowed.

"Oh, cut it out, you goof," Cadance puffed up her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, my niece. Hug?" Celestia asked, extending a wing.

"Better," Cadance nodded, hugging her back.

"So, how are things in the Empire?"

"Hectic. Tense. But also... Fun. And exciting," Cadance summarized.

"A bit more hectic than I expected, I'd imagine, given how unexpectedly neighbor-rich you found yourselves, despite the supposedly desolate region."

"Quite, though there hasn't been a single snowpony sighting in the Empire in the eight months since we returned, until the previous week. They don't feel like crossing the mountains unless there's snow," Cadance shrugged. "And how are things in Equestria?"

"Peculiar. Especially concerning the snowponies. Here. You might want to see these," Celestia nodded, levitating a small diplomatic satchel that she brought with her. Opening it, she retrieved several newspapers with her magic, setting them down on the table, Shining Armor and Cadance picking them up to read, almost immediately frowning at the headlines.

FLESH-EATING PONIES OF THE NORTH? A BRIEF SUMMARY

Knowledge is a funny thing. As the author of this article did his research on the subject, he found out that a large part of the population in Equestria are actually not aware that pegasi have a taste for fish. It certainly was not kept a secret, and pegasi restaurants openly advertised it - but with those so often being in the clouds, it seems that a large number of unicorns and earth ponies remained unaware.

The explanation for their unusual appetites is relatively simple, offered by the pegasi themselves - ponies need protein and fat to remain healthy, especially the warrior-like pegasus tribe. While the earth ponies tamed chickens for eggs and the unicorns negotiated alliances with cows for cheese, pegasi often set up their cloud forts over or near bodies of water, which were brimming with fish. Why not take advantage of the free food?

Well, as I'm sure most of the readers are aware by now, there was not one, but two tribes recently discovered in the deep north - the returning Crystal Empire, as well as an unexpected bonus - the so-called "snowponies". The first one is at least historically familiar to us, while the second one was quite a shock, especially once we found out their methods of survival in such harsh conditions.

Where pegasi only supplement their diets with the occasional fish, the snowponies appear to be dedicated, predatory meat-eaters! Not only fish, but other animals as well! They have hunters - yes, ponies who's sole job is tracking down and killing prey - which they then consume with gusto. While there have been historical cases of cannibalism in extreme circumstances amongst shipwrecked and lost ponies in harsh environments, we were not able to confirm or deny whether the snowponies also consume the bodies of their deceased...

"Ugh," Cadance frowned in disgust, putting the paper down, refusing to read further. "Utter sensationalism. A sprinkle of truth in the beginning, with a slathering of completely unfounded speculation dumped on top, masquerading as truth."

"Yes, with so little available, and that little being quite unusual, I'm afraid sensationalism is what most papers went with. It gets worse," Celestia nodded.

"Let's see, then," Shining Armor said, picking up another newspaper.

NECROMANTIC NATION OF THE NORTH: RESTLESS SPIRITS

"Well, this one was kind of expected, at least," He said, nodding towards the picture that went with the article. It was a photo of Agate looking curiously at the camera, her family in the background.

The recent discovery of yet another tribe of ponies from the times of the Sundering, also known as the Windigo Winter, set Equestrian scholars abuzz. The excitement was not entirely positive, however, as one of the very first glimpses of their culture seemed to involve severely necromantic elements, such as binding the spirits of the dead to the service of the living.

The author of this article is well aware that the last part of the previous sentence sounds like something taken straight out of a fiction novel, but, rest assured, it is entirely accurate. Yes, not only are wandering undead spirits a reality, apparently, making many ponies question the veracity of the many ghost stories that were previously considered fictional, so are necromancers.

From what this newspaper's investigation uncovered, the spirit in the photo is one of a crystal pony mare named "Agate", who's existence has been confirmed by multiple crystal ponies, as well as Their Highnesses Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor.

Supposedly, she struck a deal with the snowpony necromancers - the so-called "shamares" - after she died outside the Empire's shield during Sombra's coup a thousand years ago. In exchange for her knowledge, she was allowed to remain with them for the entirety of the thousand years that the Empire was gone, with the goal of seeing her family one last time.

At this time, we are unaware whether they have more necromantic magic in their list of abilities, but, given that this was the very first thing ponies learned about them, odds are that they do. Many ponies are shocked that a tribe with seemingly just minor deviations from their supposed earth pony ancestors is capable of such magics at all, making them question whether there is something else happening here that we're not aware of yet...

"Okay, that one's not outright full of lies and not-so-subtle suggestions that the snowponies are bloodthirsty, raving cannibals, but it's still inaccurate. Shamares aren't necromancers, and they don't go around "binding spirits in service to the living", nor did they ask anything from Agate for allowing her to stay," Cadance scoffed.

"If binding spirits to their, what was it - totem poles? - is only part of their repertoire, are they not necromancers still? If a pony is a wizard part-time, they're still a wizard, aren't they?" Celestia asked.

"It's not necromancy. It's... Spiritualism? Pony spirits are just part of the whole," Shining Armor shrugged.

"You seem quite convinced," Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"And you're not? How many pony ghosts have you talked to in your lifetime?" Shining Armor asked.

"...None," She admitted after a pause.

"Agate is a fine, upstanding, sweet mare. She's not some shambling undead horror to be let loose upon the world by some villain, and snowponies don't make those kinds of things," Cadance insisted.

"So I have heard. She's still around, then? I had the impression that she was going to leave for her... Eternal rest," Celestia asked.

"She is, but we don't bother her. Her family convinced her to stay for a while longer. She flies in from the north now and again to spend time with them," Cadance nodded.

"Hm. Understandable. Having to wait for a millennium to see my family again is something I can relate to," Celestia nodded.

"Her family didn't exactly try to get rid of her like yours did, but yes," Shining Armor nodded.

"Should we even continue reading these?" Cadance held up the newspapers with disgust.

"Might as well finish them," Shining Armor shrugged. "Let's see..."

BRUTAL COLD: BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL IN THE FAR NORTH

Equestria has experienced all sorts of upheavals and calamities in recent years, from the return and subsequent redemption of the mythological Nightmare Moon, to the sudden changeling invasion. With such events happening with alarming frequency, it is doubly reassuring when they leave behind pleasant things, such as new and curious allies like the crystal ponies, rather than nightmares and fears of shapeshifters in every shadow.

On the matter of the snowponies living even further north than the Empire, though, opinions are divided. On one hoof, they seem mostly harmless, practicing their strange, occult magics for millennia without notice from Equestria. On the other hoof, their incredibly harsh and nigh-unlivable environment seems to have driven them mad, making them resort to some truly unsavory practices that would be quite frowned upon in a civilized society.

Necromancy, eating meat, spirits wandering around like it's nothing, and who knows what else. Even the Crystal Empire has to bring warmth to their region artificially, and the snowponies live even further north. With conditions as horrifyingly cold as those, it is no wonder that their survival techniques ended up being just as extreme.

Some say that they should be left alone and forgotten, forsaken in the freezing wastelands where they supposedly belong. Still, the more compassionate ponies think that we should not leave them to languish in the cold, and that we should show them the light of Harmony, barbaric and savage as they may be.

There have been suggestions about sending teachers there to try and enlighten the brutish tribe, with adequate guards in case they didn't like hearing the truth, of course. Some have also suggested finding empty stretches of land in warmer areas to resettle them, in hopes that an environment that's more conducive to natural and civilized pony behavior will aid in the re-education efforts...

"Alright, that one's just disgusting," Cadance curled her lip, Shining Armor nodding along.

"You don't think we should help them?" Celestia asked.

"They don't need help," Cadance shook her head with a small smile. "A freezing gale that would kill us in hours or less is a mild, pleasant breeze for them. For us, their territories appear to be freezing wastes. For them, they're home. Wonderful, rich, resource-plenty home. They're not suffering, they're thriving. The very first earth ponies that settled there would have preferred if it was warmer, I'm sure. Now, though? They're perfectly adapted to their conditions."

"And I'm quite certain they wouldn't be all that interested in any offers of resettlement, especially with things such as "re-education" attached to it," Shining Armor added.

"Mm. I see. Unfortunately, that idea seems to have caught on in Equestria," Celestia said, taking a sip of her tea.

"And how do those wise and kind ponies think to overcome their love for their home? Even the author of that article, daft as he was, said-" Cadance began.

"By force, if necessary," Celestia stated calmly.

"You're kidding," Shining Armor scoffed.

"I'm not, I'm afraid. I had a petitioner some time ago. One Draft Purse, Baron of Silverdale, entreated me most passionately to mobilize the Guard and volunteers to mount a campaign to, and I quote, "Rescue those poor, savage, tribal ponies from wallowing in their delusional and evil traditions. They are still of Equestrian descent, and their pitiful existence reflects poorly on Equestria's glory, and our generosity and kindness. It would be a massive undertaking, but, as noble-hearted ponies, we must not shy away from hard choices." end quote," Celestia recounted.

"And how much of his own efforts did he pledge to the "massive undertaking"?" Shining Armor asked.

"He most humbly offered his leadership for the most momentous and historical campaign," Celestia said with an almost invisible smile.

"Right. He wants for everyone else to do the heavy lifting while he sits back and gets to be credited in the history books as the one who masterminded it all. And they're not even "of Equestrian descent"! The tribes split apart and went their ways at the same time!" Cadance rolled her eyes.

"Princess... They would not even remotely agree to something like that. This would become a campaign in the very literal sense. The military sense," Shining Armor warned.

"Oh? Surely you're not saying that Equestria should be afraid of some scattered, tribal ponies that have trouble even procuring enough metal for weapons?" Celestia asked, her face and voice entirely neutral.

"...You'd get your butts kicked," Shining Armor said after a moment, staring Celestia down as Cadance frowned in confusion at the strange turn of conversation.

"That's quite a decisive statement, captain," She said, looking at the stallion as he reflexively sat up straighter at hearing the title.

"Yup, since, for one, the Empire will most certainly not aid you in this fool's endeavor," He nodded, keeping his gaze and voice firm.

"Oh? But you're allies-"

"For defense. Not for starting fruitless invasions," He shook his head.

"Auntie, what has gotten into you?!" Finding her voice, Cadance asked angrily. "How can you sit there and plan for war against people that have done you no wrong?!"

"If you want peace, you must prepare for war, niece," Celestia spoke calmly, turning back to Shining Armor as the other alicorn sat there, slack-jawed at her answer. "Fruitless, you say? What makes you so certain?"

"The first time they arrived, they came during a blizzard. After entering the shield, some of them returned back to the blizzard to cool down. For us, the conditions would be absolutely brutal. For them, they would be ideal," Shining Armor began to list things off.

"Surely we could do it during summer?"

"Summers are depressingly short there, and holding territory on the other side of the mountain range during winter would be a logistics nightmare even without the potential counter-attacks, let alone the sheer amount of territory. Their lands are huge, with plains that seemingly stretch on forever, and that's before we even get to the waterborne northern tribe. Taking their villages would mean little, as they are well-adapted to be nomadic, and can retreat to the other tribe's territories and continue their fight from there."

"Surely modern warfare tactics would overcome whatever resistance they could put up?"

"I doubt it. You'd score some victories at first, maybe. But their mystics and elders told me that one of their mottoes is "adapt and overcome". They did not survive in those conditions by being stupid, oh no. One of their well-established ways of learning new things is by heavily studying the northern creatures in every way possible, to learn all their tricks and even magics. With learning from their adversaries being one of their core strategies, I don't think you'd have an advantage all that long."

"They are but one tribe, however, while there are three in Equestria, including the airborne pegasi. Surely the combined different skills of-"

"Nope," He interrupted, not even waiting for her to finish. "They'd pull a blizzard out of their rears and all the pegasi would freeze their wings off. Those shamares of theirs told me some stories of their powers, including some kind of ancient conflict between tribes they called the "spirit war of woods and ice". And, as fantastical as some of their stories sound, I have seen no evidence showing that they were making things up, and I did see some proof that they weren't."

"My my. It seems that it would be, at best, a pyrrhic victory even if we won such a campaign," Celestia summarized.

"Indeed. And you know what? None of those things I listed off even matter. Well, maybe by one percent," He smiled faintly.

"Oh? And what are the other ninety-nine percent of considerations made of?" She asked, perfectly raising a single eyebrow.

"Windigoes," He stated simply, crossing his forelegs and confidently leaning back.

The other eyebrow went to join its sibling. "Really now."

"Yes. They're pretty bad news, from what I can recall. Three of them almost ended the entirety of ponykind back in the day. Imagine what dozens, or hundreds could do. You ever see a windigo, Princess?"

"No, I have not. I may be old, but I am not that old, Shining Armor. I come from the time of Discord's reign. The Sundering, Equestria's founding, the subsequent Dark Age under Grogar's rule and the re-establishment of the nation are as mythological for me as they are to you," She lightly shook her head.

"Well, if you ever want to see one, go to the northern tribe's lands. They assured me that I'd see plenty," He nodded.

"...Good," She eventually said, leaning back and taking another sip of the tea. "It'd be a damned shame to lose the importers of such fine tea, anyway."

"Auntie, pardon my Prench, but de quoi parlait cette conversation au Tartare?!" Cadance asked, using actual Prench.

"Oh? Why, just a friendly discussion between rulers of nations, dear," Celestia smiled at her, dropping her emotionless mask.

"Why?"

"Because if something is a monumentally bad idea, it's not a bad thing to have an actual list of reasons as to why it's a bad idea, instead of just shooting it down without actually dismantling it and exposing it for the stupidity that it is. Doing the former mostly makes such ideas die, while the latter tends to make them fester and grow, as ponies are rarely capable of accepting that they were wrong without some serious arguments," The elder alicorn explained.

"Hearing you casually talk about invasions and war like that put a foul taste in my mouth," Cadance grumbled, aggressively biting into a teacake.

"As it should, but only by considering each and every option truly and honestly can you find the one that's actually the best in any situation. Either way, now I'm going to have something to say if any other windbags come to me with "clever" suggestions in regards to snowponies," Celestia nodded, taking a cake as well.

Shining Armor tapped his chin, nodding as he swallowed some tea. "The more I think about it, the longer that list even gets. When we were talking with their chieftains, they told us that they came to the southern tribe's capital because they heard of the Empire's return. But later, I found out that it takes weeks, if not an entire month to get there from the northern tribe's capital, and it had only been somewhere around a month since the Empire's return, which meant that their chieftain had to hear the news almost instantly."

"And how did he achieve that?" Celestia asked.

"Apparently, one of the northern shamares that was visiting Snowpitt for the winter informed him via dreams," He shrugged.

"Oh my! They have dreamwalkers, too? Luna will be fascinated by that. In fact, she actually said that she was going to try and see if she could at least reach their dreams while she slept in the Empire. I wonder if-"

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of said alicorn, slowly cantering into the room with a yawn. "Even- Whatever time of the day it is."

"Late afternoon... Evening, really," Cadance shrugged.

"How was your sleep, Luna? Did you know that the snowponies actually have dreamwalkers of their own?" Celestia asked cheerfully.

"I have... Found that out, yes," She nodded slowly, reaching into her mane with a foreleg and yanking out some kind of small, decorated net out of it with a slightly pained grimace. "And they know how to make dream-booby traps, too."

"Dream booby traps?" Celestia blinked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Luna huffed.

❅ ❆ ❅

"So how do we actually talk with them, if we happen to meet any?" Celestia asked some time later, after Luna had some breakfast and they met up in a different room.

"Fluent Tongue made a makeshift dictionary. According to him, their language is one part modern words, two parts old ponish, and three parts what he dubbed "snowponish". So if you know old ponish, you'll be able to understand about half of what they're saying. Which is not too bad, and it does make learning the rest easier," Cadance explained.

"He'd never say it to Agate's face, but boy, was he mad about that one-part of modern words," Shining Armor recalled. "They can pronounce "crystal" perfectly, for example, and words like "agate" as well, for obvious reasons. Apparently, Agate taught them some words, which they adopted into their language and replaced some of the old words with over the centuries, which "tainted" the "pure development from old ponish", as Fluent Tongue described it."

"Well, practicality tends to win out against historical preservation," Celestia giggled.

"And are there any snowponies currently in the Empire? I am not sure if we have the time for a jaunt past the mountain range," Luna inquired.

"There is but one. An enterprising mare that brought the load of tea to sell. And I'm not sure if going there right now is the best idea," Cadance confirmed.

"An intrepid merchant? Well, she probably shouldn't be too intimidated by us if we tried talking to her," Luna mused.

"I've no idea how they might react to you when you actually visit their territories. They have their own mythos about the Sun and the Moon, and... Yeah. Seeing you and the things you do might turn their mythology upside down," Cadance shrugged.

"Ah... That is a problem that I have encountered now and then when meeting new peoples, yes," Celestia nodded. "It might seem silly, but it is a thornier issue than you'd expect. Even if they don't give it much thought, a creature's mythos is still a deep part of their culture."

"Why do they travel during winter if it's such a bad idea, though?" Luna asked.

"Different advantages. They have that crazy "snowwalking" skill, and sleighs make transportation of goods over snow very easy, which is important, since you can't exactly bring a cart through the mountains. And they can somehow build warm shelters out of snow and ice," Shining Armor explained. "Meanwhile, we get cold and freeze during winter, and the blizzards make flight hard for pegasi, but dropping by during summer shouldn't be too big of an issue even for a group without pegasus chariots making it easier. Cargo would still be an issue for merchants on our side, though."

"And did you visit them during summer?" Celestia asked.

"Um..." Cadance trailed off, looking away.

"Cadance here really took a liking to the snowpony delicacies," Shining Armor grinned.

"Really, such a journey just for culinary experiences? You remind me of my sister," Luna rolled her eyes.

"But it's so good," Cadance whispered.

"And what of this... Spirit? Agate? Meeting an undead we could actually converse with would be quite the experience," Luna asked.

"She prefers to be left alone... But if you're polite and don't try to be overly insistent, she'd probably be up for a conversation. I don't know if she's in the Empire right now, though," Cadance replied thoughtfully.

"You said that she visits every few days, yes? I'm sure we can catch her," Celestia nodded.

"Probably," Shining Armor agreed.

"Well. The last few years have certainly been full of excitement. No matter what happens next, it should be interesting. Let's see if we can track down that merchant mare, or see if Agate is home tomorrow," Celestia nodded, fluffing out her wings.

Author's Note

Brave snowmare merchant bringing in goods from the north during winter as a local pony observes (historical recreation).

Fight or Flight

All was not well in the Crystal Empire.

The Empire, the "shining beacon of the North", as the locals called it, was quickly being taken over. House by house, street by street, helmeted enforcers of the self-proclaimed "King" Sombra were blocking roads, breaking down doors to pony's homes and chasing them down one by one.

Those that tried to run got herded into corners and chained up, the fastest ones getting a kick in the side for the trouble. More minions would show up, dragging them off to heavens knew where.

No one wanted to know where.

Those that tried to fight back, whether they had any degree of success or not, would get a different treatment. After they got dogpiled and mercilessly beaten, more of those enchanted helmets would be brought in. Mere moments after having one forced on their heads, any pony that previously tried to fight the mind-controlled soldiers would join their ranks with immediate effect.

There was not a shred of hesitation in their movements. They'd start hunting down any pony that was not wearing either a helmet or chains with the same unflinching focus. No one wanted that fate for themselves any more than they wanted to get dragged away, either.

With either fight or flight being futile, the few remaining crystal ponies that still had the will to keep their freedom did the only thing they could think of: try to hide, and bide their time for any opportunity of escape.

While the puppet soldiers were single-minded in pursuing their orders, they showed no initiative whatsoever. They methodically broke into every residential house in any given street, but as long as they didn't see anyone, places of business, back alleys and other potential hiding places were completely ignored.

In one such place, a small family of three were planning their next steps...

❅ ❆ ❅

For the moment, the street was quiet. A mare quickly peeked from a jewelry shop window, her lime-green eyes furtively scanning the street before ducking out of sight again.

"I think they're gone," she called softly to her husband.

The stallion in question was busy rooting around the back of the shop, trying to gather up anything useful for their immediate survival. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Jewelry stores weren't exactly known for stocking such supplies, after all.

"For now," he agreed. "But I'm sure they'll be back sooner or later. Especially if they capture and put those thrice-cursed helmets on enough ponies to start regular patrols instead of random sweeps... We have to get moving soon."

The mare swallowed nervously, looking through the window at the unusually dark and dreary sky. A cold wind was blowing, the Empire no longer shielded by the Crystal Heart. "Are you sure about this, Radiant? Should we really just... Run out into the wilderness?"

He sighed and stepped out of the back room. "Garnet. Garnet Necklace, love, look at me." She complied, though she could barely see him in the shadowed side of the shop. His sapphire coat and aquamarine mane blended in with the building's blue crystal almost perfectly, only his amethyst eyes shining in the dark. "We're not blindly running out into the unknown. The pillars marking the road to Equestria are easily visible even in the winter snow. I'm not saying it's going to be pretty, easy, or even remotely pleasant. But consider the alternatives, yes?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Garnet frowned, though she couldn't really argue with him. There really were no good options here. Lie down and surrender? Absolutely not. Go down swinging, and get taken anyway? Same results with more pain. Not her style.

Her husband kept talking while looking through the meager pile of supplies. "We could try hiding in the city somewhere. Stealing food, running from building to building. Maybe even sabotage something, if the opportunity presents itself. How long until we're in chains, do you think? A day, a week?" He pointedly asked his wife. "We're both jewelers, dear. Garnet Necklace and Radiant Cut aren't exactly the kind of names to show up in an epic about mighty heroes defeating an evil tyrant. Besides... think about the third member of our merry band of rogues."

"I know, I know," she sadly sighed while getting up from the window and walking to some of the display stands on the other side of the store. "Speaking of our brave little trooper, how's my filly doing? Could you come out, Agate?"

A little pony with a deep purple coat and dark blue mane crawled out from under one of the display cases. Agate's colors really were a perfect mix of Radiant Cut's deep sapphire and her mother's rich red, though Garnet couldn't help but notice that her coat was losing its crystalline shine. All of their coats were.

"I'm fine, Mom," she said while finishing off a dry piece of toast. "I did my best to rest up, like you said. Is it time to go yet?"

Garnet nodded. "Soon, dear. Put on your clothes while your father and I take stock of what we have, alright?"

"Mhm," Agate replied while retrieving her saddlebags from under the display case. She opened them up, pulling out a scarf and looping it around her neck. When she saw an Equestrian trader selling it and asked her parents to buy it, they just giggled at her, like she was doing something silly foals did. What use was a scarf, really? The Empire didn't get cold. She really liked how it looked and felt, though, and insisted that she wanted one. Since it got cold everywhere, who was laughing now?

"No one," she thought while she watched her parents stuff a first aid kit they took from their workshop and a few pieces of fabric into their saddlebags. "I guess that no one's laughing right now. But someone will come around soon to fix things. They have to." The scarf was followed by a hat and boots, these ones being gifts from her classmates after they noticed her penchant for winter clothing.

Agate really hoped Tourmaline and Sugarberry were okay. They lived closer to the Royal Spire, and those city blocks got hit by Sombra and his minions first.

"All ready, dear?" Her mother asked. Agate nodded silently in reply, using her mouth to tighten her saddlebag's straps so they wouldn't bounce around while walking.

"Very well then," Radiant Cut said, coming closer and sitting down in front of the filly. "Now, do you remember what we talked about when we came here? Repeat what I told you, just so I can be sure."

Agate scoffed. "Dad, I'm not a filly anymore." Radiant raised an eyebrow at that. "Fine, maybe I'm a filly, but I'm not a baby anymore. I'm ten years old, I'm not dumb. Don't make noise, don't get seen, don't go through open areas. Follow you and mom as quietly as I can. Keep close to building walls in the side streets and alleys, or the bad ponies will get us."

Garnet grimaced. "They're not really bad ponies, Agate. There's just one very, very bad pony here, and that's that usurper Sombra," she spat his name with venom. "All the others are just... being controlled by him, like puppets on strings. I guess, well, I guess it doesn't matter in the end. They'll still try to get us if they see us."

"Yes, and if we don't want to become like them, then we need to make our escape now," Radiant spoke up. "It's a sure bet that the southern gates are going to be guarded. We'll try to sneak out the western side and cut through the plains. North gate's the least likely to have guards, but..." He shook his head.

They lived in the southwest quadrant of the city. And when they fled their house, the family caught a glimpse of the Spire while running to their shop. Much like everything else, the royal palace had been twisted.

Ugly, jagged spikes of black crystals adorned the once pristine walls of the palace, giving the place a nightmarish look. There was also some kind of purplish-black miasma pouring out the top, no doubt more of Sombra's dark magic. The heart of the Empire, once the focal point of their safety, was now the most dangerous place to be.

"That would take us through the whole city, and far too close to the Spire," he finished. "Now, here. I found some extra covers from the display cases while digging around," he said as he presented a few squares of fabric to his wife. "Wrap them around your hooves. That should help deaden the sound. You don't notice how loud a pony's hoofsteps echo until you're the only one on the street. Agate has her shoes, they should work the same."

Once that was done, Radiant slipped on his saddlebags, took a deep breath and had a good look at his wife and daughter. Garnet had a grim, determined look on her tired face. She was wearing her soft saddlebags she'd usually go shopping with. Not the best choice for a long journey, but they had to rush while leaving their house.

Agate was stoic, only her darting green eyes betraying her slight nervousness. Her ears were up and alert though, sticking out from the blue winter hat. His daughter had always been the quiet, sharply observant type. She quickly grasped the situation once her parents explained to her that they were going to have to run, and didn't complain once.

She would be okay. They would be okay.

As an afterthought, he took three of the more expensive golden necklaces from one of the display cases, putting one each on himself, Garnet and Agate. To his wife's questioning look, he answered: "In case we have to buy passage or lodgings somewhere along the road. Unlike a bag of bits, they won't weigh us down. Now, come on. Let's not tarry any longer. Remember, nothing above a whisper from now on."

With one last forlorn look towards his shop, Radiant carefully opened the back door and slipped through. The other two quickly followed, trying to make as little noise as possible.

The back street was empty. There were no ponies with chains waiting to jump them. Radiant Cut took a few tentative steps forward, his ears cocked for any sounds. The hoof wraps seemed to be deadening his own hoofsteps well enough.

He waved Garnet and Agate over, the three of them quietly making their way through the wide open space, past the service entrances of various shops. A few abandoned carts stood here and there, but it was easy to navigate around them. Compared to other cities, The Crystal Empire was remarkably orderly in that way.

There were no tight spaces to squeeze through, run-down lawless sections of the city, shady alleys or dilapidated buildings that housed ponies of questionable morals. Even the side streets meant for utilities were well designed, allowing plenty of access for fully loaded carts to pass by and make their deliveries, or to collect refuse from the shops and restaurants. While crime did exist, the wide, snowflake-like design of the streets made sure that there were no dark corners that the Guard couldn't see on their patrols. Every citizen could feel safe.

The guards weren't here now, though. They were the first to fall, and the city's new enforcers did the complete opposite of making the populace feel safe.

As the family crept forward, the three kept glancing at the doors of the other shops on the street as they passed by. All of the service doors were closed, and there were no sounds or light coming from any of them. They knew that Sombra's soldiers didn't bother with ambushes (so far, at least), but it was hard to ignore their instincts.

"This is wrong," Garnet thought. "Every single street in the Empire used to be as safe as any other. Now my heart feels like it's trying to beat its way out of my chest." She kept moving, always keeping one eye on Agate. The filly was calmly walking alongside her, her ears cocked for any sounds. "Keep it together, Garnet. Your daughter is showing more spine than you are."

Radiant kept trotting, trying not to trip up. The intersection connecting to one of the central streets was just ahead. There was a restaurant on their left side, and a crystal wall to their right. He nodded to Garnet and Agate, and gestured to their right. They all hugged the wall, trying to remain out of sight of the main boulevard as long as possible.

As they got closer, the street remained empty, much to their relief. They knew better than to try and make a run through there, however. The city's wide-open design now worked against them, and they'd get spotted in a heartbeat.

Fortunately, both Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace knew this area quite well. Garnet would often go and grab a bite in the restaurant, and she would sometimes hear the sounds of foals playing on the other side of the wall. Which meant that on the other side of the barrier, there was someone's backyard.

If they'd climb over the wall, they wouldn't need to go through any streets at all to reach the edge of the city, moving parallel to the main street. As long as they didn't mind jumping over a hundred or so fences while stomping through pony's backyards, of course. The owners probably wouldn't care, even if there was anyone left in the homes. Everyone had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

Radiant nodded to Garnet. She nodded to Agate, who nodded back. Then they all looked at the wall, trying to figure out how to actually get over the thing. The wall was barely taller than the two adults, but ponies weren't exactly built for climbing. After a few moments of fruitless staring, Radiant frowned, sat down and waved Agate over.

After some gesticulating, she nodded and climbed on his back, holding on to his neck with her forelegs. Radiant reared up, putting his forehooves on top of the wall. He looked back at Agate and pointed at the wall with his muzzle. She slowly clambered on top, carefully stepping on her father's head. Looking down, she gulped quietly and went over the side, landing with a dull thump.

Radiant looked at Garnet next. She raised an eyebrow. He looked at her, the fence, then himself. She blinked. Could she actually get over the thing herself? In all honesty, probably not. She shrugged, and started climbing her husband. After getting over, she grabbed his forehooves and started pulling.

The mare had to bite back a curse as she tried and failed to pull her husband over. The hoof wraps made the already finely polished crystal extra slippery, and they were having trouble. After a few tries, Radiant managed to jump high enough with his hindlegs, after which Garnet pulled him down, both of them collapsing on top of each other.

Meanwhile, Agate was busy studying the area. The yard was quite simple, just a well maintained lawn with a few balls and other toys set by the door to the house. Fortunately, it appeared that the fences dividing the properties from each other were much smaller than the wall blocking off the street. Not short enough for her to climb them alone, but still much more easily manageable.

After her parents picked themselves up, Agate trotted over to the fence, sizing it up. Could she actually get over it without help? Might as well try...

❅ ❆ ❅

*Thump*

Garnet Necklace hissed quietly as she landed on her rump. They climbed over a couple dozen or so fences of various shapes and sizes so far, and she was getting quite sick of it. This particular one was quite tall, and had dull, triangle-shaped spikes on it. What was even the purpose? They hardly stopped her from getting over, though they were certainly successful in annoying her.

"You alright?" Radiant Cut asked her quietly.

"I'm fine," she whispered. "Help Agate," she pointed to the filly.

Agate was currently stuck, her saddlebag's strap caught on one of the spikes. She took her father's hoof and managed to slip out. After getting down, they all looked across the yard at the next fence. At least this one wasn't very tall.

Garnet Necklace snorted, moving forward. "If only mother could see me now. Reduced to jumping over fences like some brigand on the run," She shook her head and started awkwardly climbing the slippery crystal barrier.

Radiant Cut smiled wanly while he boosted Agate up. "At least all you'd get is a stern scolding. My brother would arrest me on the spot and clap me in irons," he remarked quietly.

Now on the other side of the fence, Garnet pursed her lips. "Do you think he's alright? I know how close you two are. Maybe we could-"

"Hush. We talked about this already," Radiant Cut quietly, but firmly told her as he climbed over. "You know as well as I do that trying to look for anyone is madness. And you also know that Obsidian's a Guard through and through. If he went down fighting Sombra or his minions, he went happily. If he was chained, no doubt he's already making plans for a resistance movement. He takes his Oath to the Empire seriously." He shook his head. "I'm not happy about leaving any pony, family, friends or even neighbors behind, but there's nothing we can do but save ourselves at this point."

Garnet nodded sadly, throwing a forlorn look in the Royal Spire's direction. The enchanted tower was still casting a dark pallor over every corner of the city. She felt a stab of fear in her gut, and forced herself to look away. Was that her fear, or was the dark magic actually affecting her from that far?

No matter. Radiant was right. Her family, her friends... If she got caught, she would rather prefer that they got to safety instead of mounting some suicidal rescue mission to try and free her. They needed to get out of here, as soon as possible.

❅ ❆ ❅

The inn was empty. Or it appeared to be. The trio of fugitives were trying to determine whether it was the former or the latter.

After a few more fences, Agate pointed out a small ladder leaning against a toolshed. With it, they managed to speed up their journey significantly, making their way to the very edge of the city unmolested.

The final building in the row was not a house, but an inn, built there to tempt anyone that stepped into the city with a warm meal and soft beds the moment they stepped through the gate. The Diamond Pickaxe was a decently-sized establishment, rising to a respectable three stories' height. As the name implied, it was mostly used by miners, masons and other ponies working in the mines and quarries west of the city.

And from their vantage point behind the building, its impressive size completely blocked their view of the gate.

"So," Garnet ruminated. "Do we go inside and through? Or just run around and make a run for it?"

Radiant Cut was nervously biting the inside of his cheek, considering the situation. "It would be very useful if we could climb to the top floor and take a look through the windows. We could see if there's anyone stationed near the gates. Of course, given the useful vantage point, the inn itself could be an observation post. But if that's the case, then they'll start chasing us the moment we walk past the front windows. Agate..." He trailed off softly.

"Yes, dad?" Agate tilted her head questioningly.

"If we get spotted... If we need to run, get on my back if you can. I'll carry you. And, if we do run, don't try to outrun them. Try to break their line of sight, and hide somewhere. Look for an open window, an upturned barrel, anything. Now then," He nodded towards the inn's backdoor. "Let's hope that's unlocked. Let's sneak in and split up. I'll go to the upper floor, see what's what. You two check the kitchen, pick up some extra food if you can. Be as quiet as you can. Listen for the tiniest sounds, even breathing. If any one of us hears anything... hm."

Radiant Cut looked at Garnet and Agate, then considered himself. Even if all three of them dogpiled a single pony all at once, he didn't think they'd manage to take them down with anything even remotely resembling stealth. And Sombra was smart enough not to send out his soldiers alone.

"Just walk back to the door, quietly. We could, maybe... run out quickly and jam the front door," He nodded to himself. "That might slow them just enough to get away. Let's do this."

They all started moving again. The door, luckily, turned out to be unlocked. It led to a small hallway with two doors immediately to their left and right, helpfully labelled "Pantry" and "Kitchen". The kitchen door was ajar, the scents of cooking and spices heavy in the air. Though it was silent and cold, the smell had seeped into the very crystal of the building over the years.

Garnet Necklace glanced at the door, then turned to glare at her husband. Watch yourself, she mouthed, then turned and walked through the door, Agate quietly shuffling behind her. Radiant just nodded, folding his ears and walking further down the hallway towards the main lobby.

Agate watched her dad slink away. Did he do something wrong? She followed her mom into the kitchen, looking around and listening intently. After they scanned the place from the door for a few minutes, making sure the coast was clear, they went further in.

It certainly didn't look like their kitchen at home. So many stoves, some of them still with a few pots left unattended. And some of those pots were so huge, she could probably fit inside! The ponies that come to inns must eat a lot, she decided.

Her mom was checking out one of the pots, carefully sniffing the contents. "Mmmm... carrot soup, I think. Cold, but still good. Come here, dear. I'm a bit hungry after all that climbing. Let's find ourselves a couple bowls and eat up a bit," she whispered. "Try not to bang any plates."

"Ok, mom," she whispered back, looking through the cabinets on the bottom while mom looked through the top ones. Garnet found the bowls, but Agate found a ladle for the soup. Even the ladles here were big.

"Good filly," her mom praised her with a small smile when she came back with the huge ladle in her mouth.

After doling out their portions, they sat down right there on the floor and slurped down. The soup was cold, but filling and hearty. Bit heavy on the salt, Agate thought, but still pretty good. After a minute of eating silently, she decided to ask about something that was nagging her.

"Mom? Did dad do something bad? I saw you looking at him angrily before we split up."

Garnet cringed a bit. Her little filly really was very observant, sometimes at the worst times. "Oh, you caught that? Don't worry about it, dear. It's just... adult stuff."

Agate frowned. Then scrunched her muzzle. "Come on, mom. I told dad before, don't give me the baby talk."

"Alright, alright," Garnet relented. "You saw how he went to examine the upstairs rooms all by himself, despite the fact that there's a good chance Sombra's soldiers could be there. While there's pretty much no chance they'd be standing guard in the kitchen, where he told us to go. You know how stallions are."

Agate tilted her head at that. "Um... no, I don't think I do?" She asked tentatively.

Garnet's eyes sparkled with mischief and a hint of smugness. "Oh? You don't? Well, I guess you'll learn when you're older, young filly."

Agate opened and closed her mouth a few times, huffed, and went back to eating her soup. Seriously, adults were the biggest smartflanks. And she got told off for "trying to get smart with him" by a cranky old teacher once! Well, when she got older, she'd be the smartest of smartflanks. That'd show them.

"Aww, I'm sorry, my little jewel," Garnet cooed softly, nuzzling her daughter. "I'm just a little stressed, and I'm making poor jokes. Here, finish your soup. I'll go root around in the pantry for a moment." She carefully set her empty bowl down and went through the door, stopping to listen before heading out.

Agate kept eating, eyeing one of the cupboards nearby. If anything happened, she could probably hide inside... That proved unnecessary as her mom walked back just when she finished her soup. Garnet had a couple loaves of bread on her back, and held a small jar in her mouth.

"Here," she said as she held out the jar in her hoof. "Crystalberry jam. Something to make life a little sweeter. See if you can fit it in your bags."

Agate nodded eagerly, opening the flaps of her saddlebags. They managed to fit the jar and one of the loaves of bread into her now-full saddlebags. Garnet took the other loaf of bread. Then they sat down to wait for Radiant Cut to return.

"At least things are quiet," muttered Garnet. "If something bad had happened, I'm sure we'd have heard it. He'll be back soon."

They didn't have to wait long. Radiant soon peeked into the kitchen, motioning them to come along. "It's all empty. I snuck all the way to the top floors, and the place is ransacked. Looks like Sombra's goons were here, and they took every pony with them," He explained as they entered the main lobby.

"The view from the top floors is really great, I could see everything around. Good news is, the gate really is unguarded. I didn't see anyone in that direction at all. Bad news, I saw a small roadblock in the street further back in the city. They're all looking in the direction of the Spire, though, so just walk as quiet as you can, and we'll make it out," he hurriedly explained.

The lobby was in some disarray. There were several splintered chairs and a coat rack by the front entrance, likely from a hasty attempt to build a barricade. The door itself was broken, hanging on only by the top hinges. The floor was littered with crystal shards here and there, likely from broken mugs and plates thrown at the ponies that were trying to break in. It looked like the guests and workers of the Diamond Pickaxe didn't go without a fight.

Garnet and Agate followed Radiant Cut to the entrance, carefully stepping around the broken shards. "Now, I promise this is the last time I'm going to repeat myself," he whispered while trying to move the broken door without making noise. "Don't make a sound when we get outside."

The door was slowly brought to rest against the wall, a chill wind immediately blowing in from outside. They all shivered, Agate tightening her scarf around her neck. The cold just made stepping outside all the more intimidating. Garnet fixed her saddlebags, while Radiant made sure his hoof wraps were secure.

Their final preparations made, the family shared a long look. Radiant opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it, then silently pressed himself against Garnet, rubbing their necks together. He then bent down and gave Agate a hug. Taking a breath, he turned away and slowly stepped outside.

After sitting in a dark kitchen for a while, both Garnet and Agate were momentarily blinded by the light when they stepped out. Agate squinted against the glare, while her mother tried to spot the roadblock Radiant mentioned earlier.

After a few moments, the details resolved themselves. Back down the street leading deeper into the city , there were a few overturned carts with a group of helmeted ponies sitting on them, though they looked more like statues. They weren't moving at all, only gazing forward with a mechanical focus.

Turning away from the disconcerting sight, she hurried to catch up with her family. For the first time since this mess started, she really hoped that whatever foul magic controlled their minds didn't fail at just the right moment. As long as they kept watching their side of the street, nothing would happen.

The walk was tense, either Garnet or Radiant glancing backwards now and then. Agate kept her gaze firmly forward, however, studying the terrain ahead. They were approaching two large red crystal spires, the final border marking the city limits. The West Gate didn't have an actual gate, as such; the city's barrier took care of that.

The terrain sloped downwards gently, and by the time they reached the gates, the family were out of sight of the ponies on the barricade. The wind was blowing flurries of powdery snow here and there, a number of pony-high snowdrifts dotting the frozen landscape beyond. They made it out.

Radiant sighed with relief, all three of them perking up and picking up the speed. He waved the others behind a tall snowdrift, the snow hiding them from view completely.

"Alright," he began with a wide smile, the first real one in days. "The road's still in sight of some taller buildings in the city, including the Spire. But the odds of us being seen are slim, and we're going through the plains anyway. We'll go straight south, then turn southeast to reach the road to Equestria." As he talked himself up, his coat actually regained some of the shine crystal ponies usually had.

"Equestria..." Garnet muttered disbelievingly, absently rubbing the golden necklace they took from their shop. "We only have our bags and these necklaces, like some vagabonds... But they'd take us in, right? No, no, they have to. They signed the treaty, they're obligated to, as allies," she concluded, her voice growing more confident with every word, her coat regaining some luster as well.

Agate didn't really know much about Equestria, just that it was far away, and different ponies that brought exotic items and foods lived there. "They'll help us, right?" She asked quietly. "I mean, not just us, but they'll help get rid of Sombra, right?"

"They will," Radiant Cut replied firmly. "As your mother said, they're obliged to, as allies. Let's not put the cart before the pony, though. We've still a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark if we want to make it out safely. Let's go."

It was not meant to be, however.

Sombra, the dark King, knew how hope worked. He fed on fear and despair, after all. And he knew that nothing would crush a pony's hopes more completely and thoroughly than having an escape out of a seemingly hopeless situation dangled in front of them, and then taken away at the last moment. The despair they'd feel as their last hopes crumbled around them would be magnified tenfold.

Barely a few minutes after the trio set off on the snowy plains, they fell into an ambush. A squad of six soldiers burst out from behind a huge snowdrift, attempting to surround the family. And these were proper soldiers, too. They wore the armor of the Guard, the only difference being the dark helmets Sombra designed.

Radiant grit his teeth, cursing inwardly.

Garnet faltered, almost tripping up.

Agate gasped in fear, looking for an escape route.

"In the name of King Sombra, you are under arrest! Resist and you'll pay with blood!" The lead pony shouted.

"To Tartarus with your false king!!!" Radiant Cut screamed in absolute rage, ramming into the first pony that got close. "Garnet, Agate, run! Get- gah!" Whatever else he was about to say was cut off as two more soldiers tackled him, mercilessly pummeling the downed stallion.

Garnet was already running, Agate close behind her. Unfortunately for the mare, in the excitement to get away from the city, she forgot to remove the pieces of cloth wrapped around her hooves. The same thing that helped them sneak out of the city unnoticed now proved to be her undoing.

The soft fabric that muffled her hoofsteps so well on crystal roads turned out to have terrible traction on the icy ground. With a slip and a tumble, Garnet fell hard on her side, various foodstuffs spilling out of her saddlebags. Before she could even try to get up, one of the soldiers quickly jumped on her back, putting her in a chokehold.

Agate kept running, stealing a glance behind her. Three of the six were still dealing with an enraged Radiant, the stallion refusing to give up when freedom was so close. One was holding down Garnet, the mare desperately gasping for air, fruitlessly extending a hoof in Agate's direction with tears in her eyes. The remaining two were hot on her tail.

"I can't outrun them," she thought. "Think, Agate, what did Dad say..? Break line of sight, hide somewhere..." There were no buildings, overturned carts, or anything of the sort around. All she saw was-

*SMASH*

One of the soldier's steel-shod hooves narrowly missed her head. He lost his balance and crashed into the frozen ground so hard, it sent shards of ice spraying everywhere. "Stand still!" He bellowed angrily, getting up.

Agate shrieked in terror, diving between the legs of the second pony that was trying to flank her, forcing him to turn around and lose momentum . "Are they trying to k-kill me?! " She started looking for any hiding spots again, but all she saw was snow.

Snow!

Without a second thought, she dove into the nearest snowdrift. The snow was powdery and almost weightless, allowing her to plow through and come out on the other side moments later. She immediately ran for the other closest pile of snow that she could see, repeating the process several times.

"Hiding won't save you!" Yelled one of the soldiers from behind, smashing the first snowdrift apart. The second soldier joined him a moment later, both of them wasting crucial seconds looking for her in the snow, believing that she was attempting to hide rather than run. They soon started digging through other snowdrifts nearby, but it was too late. Their aggressive search methods destroyed any tracks they could have possibly used to find her, and by the time they got the idea to look for any, Agate was long gone.

For better or for worse, she had escaped the Crystal Empire.

Author's Note

This is not really a Crystal Empire story. It will take a while to come back to it, at least.

The Ponies of Snow

As True Sight ambled forward, her mind was methodically digging up and analyzing all of her many, many past memories. Earthsong was correct, nothing precisely like this happened before. But there were reports of strange spirits and unusual happenings from various ponies now and then. She tried to compare them to this situation.

Nothing stood out, however. The catch with lone events that never repeated themselves was that most of the time, they didn't actually happen. Ponies made up tall tales sometimes, or were just looking for something to blame. Not every slip and fall on the ice meant that the glacier spirits were toying with you, not every bad fishing trip meant that the river spirits were mad at you, and not every missing bundle of moss meant that there were wicked shadow beasts trying to starve you. Often, you just slipped, or had poor aim that day, or a cheeky foal swiped some of the best moss to chew on.

"Mmm... Moss Hoof used to find the best patches. They never did figure out it was me."

Coming out from her reminiscing, she stopped and focused on her breathing for a moment. The spirit sight came almost effortlessly, her long years of experience making it second nature. The mare's old, but still sharp eyes turned piercing, gaining a glow that was visible in the darkness of the Long Night. The world lit up with the soft lights of various spirits, pony and otherwise. The spectacle took barely a moment, but it was enough to catch the attention of a passing northern tribesmare.

Putting down the bucket of snow she was carrying in her mouth, the mare asked curiously, "Is everything alright, elder? Do you need some help, or should I make myself scarce?" Her posture was easy, clearly trusting the shamare to have things well in hoof.

True Sight examined the northerner closely. Her first thought was to tell her that everything was fine, but this one looked familiar. Strong spirit glow, light gray coat, straw colored mane, golden eyes... Didn't she lose a filly to a drift burrower a winter ago? Perhaps...

"Hmmm... pardon my old mind if I don't get this right, but you're Glacier Glider, yes? I seem to recall you from last winter's spirit Calling." Turning her gaze from the pony, she tried to locate the wayward being that Earthsong had found. "There is a curious situation I've been informed about regarding a spirit that you might be able to help me with."

The mare gave a pensive smile while gazing into the sky, one of her ears folding down. "Yes, elder. You helped with the song that time, as you did many winters now. Thank you for showing my daughter the path out of the darkness." Looking back down again, she continued with some confusion. "But, how could I help? I'm not trained in the ways of the shamares. I could fight some beast perhaps, but dealing with ornery windigoes and suchlike is beyond my ken."

True Sight nodded, giving her a smile. "Yes, but the spirit is supposedly a pony one. A filly, one that not only wasn't known to any of the three tribes, but also arrived now, of all times." Cackling at the mare's raised eyebrows, she added. "Yes, I did say supposedly. Many things about her are strange, and I'm going to find out what's what. In case it does turn out to be a pony, could you help comfort her? I've never been too good with distraught foals."

Glacier Glider glanced at the bucket at her hooves before moving closer to the shamare. "Tea can wait, I suppose. Let's find out who or what this supposed filly is."

The two mares made their way to the boundary of the village, True Sight in the lead. The elder took a look at Spear Throw's totem as she passed by. It was still standing tall and proud, same as the day she helped to carve out the bindings and wards before it was placed here. The stallion hadn't failed them yet, dead or alive. If he saw no danger from the mysterious spirit, she was inclined to believe him. No direct danger, at least. Tricks, well, that was a different issue.

Nothing came from the slumbering guardian. No ice pony spirit presented itself either, though. Looking around, the elder bent down to the ground like a wolf sniffing out it's prey. Most ponies thought that spirits didn't leave any tracks that could be followed, but that wasn't entirely true. You just had to be really, really good at using your spirit sight to see them. True Sight was good enough at it to see some faint hoofprints coming, trotting around, and then leading back out of the village. Hm. An honest retreat, or an attempt to lure them out?

Raising her head, she followed the tracks leading out with her gaze. Something was out there, by the spirit stones marking the path to Snowpitt. She nodded to Glacier Glider, who had been watching her with curiosity. "There's our mysterious guest. Can you see it?" After some squinting and scrunching, the mare nodded. "Good. Now, let's approach it slowly. If it's a pony, we'll try talking. If it runs away, it's just trying to lure us away from the village. We will turn around and leave it disappointed. Let's go."

True Sight took point again, with Glacier Glider following close behind. Her companion looked a tad more alert now that they were leaving the village, her ears turning in all directions. No true harm could befall them before help arrived, but everyone knew to never let their guard down whenever they entered the wilderness. No matter how close safety was, disrespecting the dangers of the land brought all kinds of risk.

Approaching the spirit, the duo stared at it intently. True Sight did so with a deep, intense scrutiny, trying to ascertain whether there were any guiles or charms attempting to befuddle her sight and mask the spirit's true form. Glacier Glider looked on with a slight wariness, then curiosity, then, as more details became apparent, sadness. It - she - really did look like a filly, and not a very happy one, if her expression was anything to go by. "Not surprising, I suppose, seeing as she met her end well before her time," she thought, remembering her bittersweet reunion with her own daughter the prior winter.

The filly was laying down on her belly, idly poking at a spirit stone that lay nearby. Every touch made the rock chime faintly and light up slightly brighter. When she saw them approaching, the ghost scrambled to her hooves, her ears folding back in fright. As she faced the two ponies, her strange qualities were made immediately apparent. The filly's irises were almost... angular, and her coat glimmered similarly in the spirit stone's light, breaking apart the rays like clear ice in sunlight. If she even had a coat, that is. Glacier Glider felt her muscles tense, doing her best to resist her mothering instincts screaming at the mare to jump the poor, sickly foal and envelop it in her fluff as much as possible.

True Sight, meanwhile, kept her glowing eyes trained on the filly. There were no lies or deceptions that she could detect. This was no trickster spirit or shapeshifting monster, hiding behind the shape of a lost pony. The fear in her eyes was genuine, too. Slowly sitting down, the elder gave the filly a serene smile. "Relax, youngling. We're not here to hurt you. Though, judging from your lost look, you don't know that. You don't know anything about us at all, I'm guessing. I certainly don't know anything about you. If Earthsong was right and you truly don't speak our tongue... Honestly, I'm not sure you're even a snowpony. Is there some faraway tribe of iceponies that we never heard about?"

The filly's ears slowly rose as the shamare talked, though no understanding came to her confused expression. At least her fear seemed to go away from the elder's calming tone of voice. When Glacier Glider heard that she likely didn't speak their tongue, she frowned and sat down on the snow as well. Taking a deep breath, she began to hum, and then chant, her throat singing making the air around her vibrate. There were no words, though the emotions in the song were clear. She sang of great sorrow, deep pain and crushing loss. Of losing your way, separated from your tribe and family by an endless abyss.

Slowly, her song morphed into one of hope, of finding your way home after being lost in the darkness. She sang of reunions, of your fellow ponies coming to find you and bring the light of the stars back to your eyes, no matter how far you wandered and how badly you lost yourself. Holding her forelegs wide open, she invited the filly for a hug.

The spirit tilted her head in confusion, looking at the mare with some skepticism. Glacier Glider kept sitting with her forelegs open, however, still humming her song. After nervously trotting in place a bit, the filly took a hesitant step forward.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate was confused.

After the unknown pony left, she sat down for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the way she came. After some pondering, the filly decided that there was nothing for her here. Whoever these strange ponies were, she couldn't even talk to them. And even if she could, what could they do?

But then, what was there to do now? She came all this way because of the odd enchanted crystals that were visible from who knows how far, through mountains and snow and trees. They were the only thing that truly lit up the dark world she now found herself in. What did that mean?

Making her way back to the path, she laid down on her belly. With no other leads, she just stared at a crystal while letting her thoughts wander. Idly, she poked at it with a ghostly hoof. She didn't expect anything to happen. Every crystal pony knew how to channel their magic through crystals, with varying levels of skill. Most only knew how to empower the Crystal Heart, and light up crystals in their homes when it got dark. The artisans and builders had more aptitude, molding and shaping the hard material like clay, creating both buildings and lovely works of art. The greatest ones were said to be able to create crystals with amazingly powerful enchantments, though such ponies were exceedingly rare.

Her parents never got around to teaching her. Unless a foal showed an obvious gift, it was usually done when the pony reached their teenage years. Agate could light up a tiny patch of crystal road beneath her hooves, but couldn't maintain it for more than a few seconds. So, it came as a surprise when the citrine chunk let out a tiny chime and started glowing brighter. The difference was barely noticeable, but it was there.

That brought part of her attention back, though she was still distracted enough not to hear two ponies approach her. Or perhaps it was because, strangely, they didn't seem to make any noise at all while moving through the snow. When she saw motion in the corner of her eyes, she jumped up in fright.

Neither of them looked like the pony that she saw previously. The first one was obviously old, her back hunched and her face wrinkled. Yet somehow, the weathered grandmare managed to appear terrifying. Her emerald eyes were glowing, scrutinizing the filly with an intensity she never felt before. A bunch of beads and pieces of bleached wood were woven into her white mane, and she wore a few bracelets around her forelegs. It gave her a strange, witch-like appearance.

Was she mad at the filly for messing with their crystals? Agate was too nervous to even try apologizing. After a minute of mutely staring at each other, the old mare sat down, changing her severe expression to something more calm.

As she began to talk, Agate's suspicions were confirmed. These ponies really didn't speak the same language that was spoken in both the Empire and Equestria. The words were almost understandable, but not quite. It sounded a little bit like the poem in Old Ponish one of the literature teachers read to her class once. No one talked that way any more, though. At least, that's what the teacher said.

After the old mare stopped talking, the other one also sat down, and began to sing instead. Now that Agate wasn't so focused on the elder, she took a better look at the second mare. She didn't look nearly as exotic or threatening. Curiously gradient coat colors of gray, golden eyes and a pale yellow mane. No accessories, either. She could have passed as an Equestrian traveler.

Her song was unlike anything Agate heard before, though. It had all sorts of weird and amazing whistling, chanting and almost growling sounds. Agate just sat there, drinking it all in. It made her feel strange, a strange tightening in her chest and throat, almost like she was about to cry. Like she was alive again.

After a while, the mare quieted down, only humming the melody. Then, she spread her forelegs, as if she was inviting the filly to get a hug.

"What? But... I can't touch stuff any more." Haltingly, the filly took a step forward. Then another one, slowly. The mare just kept sitting there, an expression of serene patience on her face. "What does she think is going to happen?"

But as she got closer, the mare did something impossible. She reached out and grabbed the filly, wrapping her in a firm hug. Somehow. Unexpected sensations flooded Agate, things she never thought she'd feel again. The pressure of a hug, warmth, the feeling of a pony's coat against her face. She just sat there, slack-jawed, until she managed to collect her thoughts a bit.

"Her coat..."

Now that she was reminded of physical sensations, she remembered something else, too. It was cold. She didn't feel it any more, but the cold was definitely still there. Everything was covered in snow and ice, though the two grownups didn't seem to care in the slightest.

The explanation for that mystery was now being rubbed in her face. Literally. These ponies were... She didn't see it in the dark before, but to call them "fluffy" would be like saying that the heart of a forge is toasty. Their barrels were fluffy. Their legs were fluffy. Their fetlocks were fluffy and wild, and unlike some Equestrians that she saw with thin, wiry coats, they were fluffy. Their manes were voluptuous and long, and their likewise impressive tails looked like they could be used as blankets. They weren't even wearing anything, besides the accessories on the older mare. The cold clearly didn't bother them.

Still gawking a bit, Agate gently ran her ethereal hoof through the mare's coat. There was some feeling there too, somehow. Could she only touch living ponies?

"Ugh. Doesn't matter." She tossed those thoughts away, focusing on the moment. The hug was nice, and she didn't want to ruin it by being weird.

❅ ❆ ❅

True Sight observed the pair silently, considering the situation. The mare was lost in her world, gently nuzzling the spirit's mane. "It seems that inviting Glacier Glider to come along was the right choice. But what do we do now?" The circumstances were still peculiar, though a few things were obvious. The little one was a visitor from an unknown tribe. Whether she was dead or alive was irrelevant. The rules of hospitality applied regardless.

As for the mystery of the filly's tribe and how she got here, well... that's why she told Earthsong to summon the other shamares. Perhaps they'd be able to figure out what this all meant if they all put their heads together.

Getting up from her sitting position, the shamare cleared her throat. "Well, Glacier, it looks like we thoroughly determined that our guest means us no harm. Do you think you can lead her back to Snowpitt?"
'
Glacier Glider turned her head, snapping out of her trance. "I think so, but elder, what is she? She's truly not a snowpony, is she? Such a short coat and strange appearance... Do you think she's just a sickly foal that never got her coat?"

Smiling, True Sight replied. "I can't answer that, unfortunately. My eyes can pierce through lies and tricks, but they don't exactly tell me things. I can tell that she's not pretending to be anything she's not." After a glance at the filly, she continued. "Of course, that doesn't mean that I have the faintest clue as to what she actually is. Judging by her fascination with your own coat, though, I'd have to guess that her appearance is normal for her tribe."

At those words, Glacier Glider tightened her hug, her eyes going wide. "A whole tribe of bare-coated ponies? But... the cold, the wind, the, the... How do they live?!" Some noises came from the filly, though Glacier didn't seem to hear them. If she wasn't dead already, she would have likely suffocated from the mare's instinctive attempts to warm her up.

❅ ❆ ❅

Darkness. All-enveloping, all consuming darkness.

Strange shapes, brushing past her, surrounding her, enveloping her.

Muffled sounds, dancing on the very edge of her perception.

Agate's entire world was fluff.

❅ ❆ ❅

True Sight raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking at the filly. Glacier Glider looked down, then sheepishly pulled the spirit's face out of her chest fluff, her ears folded in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, little one. Couldn't help it, you know? Most snowponies would probably do the same thing, if they saw you. Or drag you away to warm up in their home, most likely. If you were still alive, of course. Poor thing. Speaking of home, we open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guest of far away. Will you partake in our warmth?" She gesticulated towards Snowpitt, gently taking the spirit by the hoof and pulling her in the village's direction.

The traditional invitation didn't mean anything for the filly, of course. She sat there, blinking slowly, before saying something in her language. It was the first time she actually spoke, and both mares listened with rapt attention. It sounded almost familiar, yet still incomprehensible. There were some differences in accents between the three tribes, but never to the point that the ponies couldn't understand each other any more.

Shaking her head, Glacier kept gently tugging the filly's hoof. "I'm sorry, little one, I don't understand you. Perhaps we can teach you our words, and then you can tell us where you came from. But to do that, we should go somewhere more comfortable, yes?" She nodded towards the village again.

After some hesitation, the spirit got up and nodded, trotting alongside the two mares. Glacier Glider lead the way this time, True Sight following along. They soon passed the sparse trees surrounding the southern side, moving past the houses and totems of various ponies. The filly kept turning her head in all directions, looking at everything with wonder. She stopped briefly to examine a windchime before catching up with them.

"Curious little youngling, isn't she?" Remarked True Sight. "Really makes you wonder what her tribe must be like. It's like she never saw a house before."

"Maybe she hasn't," supplied Glacier Glider. "Not a log one, at least. Perhaps her people build theirs from ice, like we do. Either way, I'm sure she'll tell us as soon as she is actually able to. Too bad I won't be able to hear her story until next year. The long night is almost over, and it will probably take her some time to learn our language." Making a small detour, she went to pick up the bucket of fresh snow she left on the ground.

They soon made their way to the ceremonial grounds, where the shamares of the three tribes were all waiting by the huge firepit. A number of regular ponies surrounded them too, having heard about the mysterious spirit that came to them at such a strange time. Some of the elders were sipping from cups of tea, others quietly chatted between themselves. Everything went silent as the collected ponies noticed the two mares and spirit filly approaching them.

Slowly, everyone started whispering among themselves, taking in the spirit's unusual appearance. A few foals peeled away from the crowd and tried talking to the filly, though she shied away, muttering something incomprehensible. The shamare's ears turned at that, attempting to glean some meaning from the foreign sounds.

Earthsong stood besides the others, taking in True Sight's calm gait and relaxed expression. "I take it the spirit is not a danger, then. Seems like I was mistaken in my assumptions." She cast her gaze downward, slumping her shoulders.

"Oh, don't be so harsh on yourself, you fretful foal," True Sight casually dismissed her pupil's self-deprecation. "You're a fine shamare in your own right, and you need to stop worrying about making mistakes so much. No one is perfect, we've been over this a dozen times already. Anyone else here would have assumed trickery of some kind if they heard what you said."

"We did, in fact," one of the other shamares spoke up. "But it seems like you dismissed that possibility. So, would you fill us in on what you managed to find out?"

While True Sight was explaining the few things they managed to ascertain about the filly, Glacier Glider led her closer to the congregation of shamares. She still seemed a little nervous, but the fact that the group was made up mostly of kindly-looking grandmares that were giving her reassuring smiles seemed to calm her down. The two sat down on the snow again, a number of other ponies approaching the pair with curiosity.

The group, meanwhile, was digesting the news. The eldest shamare of the northern tribe, with a coat so white she was almost invisible in the snow, spoke up. "So. A young filly, that came to us from a tribe that none of us ever even heard of. And they never heard of us, I assume. What does this mean, exactly? What happened that drove her all the way here, instead of the resting grounds of her own tribe? Is this an omen of danger for the three tribes?"

"What could the danger even be, Blizzard Heart?" True Sight asked her. "If this tribe is so far detached from our own people, then what could possibly threaten us from so far away? We know of a great many different beasts and suchlike that live in our respective tribe's lands, yet they never roam far from their territories."

Earthsong stepped in, providing a middle ground for both of their arguments. "While True Sight's general assertion is true, there is the fact of various animals slowly migrating closer to Snowpitt every few decades, before our hunters chase them away. However, no ordinary bear or wolf would be able to chase a spirit so far from... wherever she came from. Perhaps she was actually traveling here with someone else, and got lost somehow."

The shamares quieted down, mulling on the information. Eventually, Blizzard Heart spoke up again. "So, what kind of event was this? Was she the unfortunate foal of some brave explorers, travelling far away to settle new lands because their tribe had grown too large? Or was it the opposite, and something so bad befell their tribe that they scattered to the winds, and their shamares weren't even able to guide the lost spirits home?"

A mare decked in an elaborate feather headdress and a fur coat shook her head, sighing. "All this guesswork is pointless. We know too little about what actually happened to even make an educated guess. We might as well sit here all season, making predictions and wild assumptions. Yet even if we somehow guess correctly, we won't know it. Let's not spend our time doddering like a bunch of old mares, yes? The spirit is right there. We can ask her as soon as she learns how to speak."

The congregation of shamares, which was made up almost exclusively of old mares (including the mare with the headdress) made various noises of amusement. One of the northerners, a young mare barely into her adult years, raised an objection. "Elder, I understand that this filly may be harmless by herself, but Blizzard Heart still has a point. As you know yourself, a tern's return from their wintering lands does not bring the summer, but signals it. We do not know what the arrival of this foreign pony means to the three tribes. We should still try to glean some knowledge from the spirits about her appearance here, in case something terrible does follow her."

Blizzard Heart pursed her lips, making a sour expression. "While I thank you for your support, Current Weave, unfortunately, Sky Breath is probably correct," she nodded towards the shamare with the feather headdress. "You are an utterly outstanding guide of the waters, so much so that you almost never deal with other issues. Yes, we could certainly commune with the world's spirits, though I fear that it would not be of much use here. They rarely, if ever, are able to give any useful, or even meaningful, insight into pony matters. I doubt we will learn anything until our guest can speak our tongue."

Current Weave sat there, complete and utter confusion written on her face. "But elder, I... I don't understand. I guide the kayaks through the waters, and I direct the fish into our nets. I tell ponies which currents to avoid and which ones are calm and bountiful on a given day. How is that not useful for pony matters? Ones such as procuring food, or staying safe?"

Several of the elders smiled at the young mare's inexperience. Blizzard Heart clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "That is well and good, but what do the spirits actually tell you, hmm? You are able to feel whether a fishing ground is getting depleted, or if the water is twisted up and roiling angrily under the surface. However, you are the one that interprets the meanings and potential consequences of those things. The currents might tell you "we are fierce and fast today", but you're the one telling your tribe to avoid that patch of water, not the spirits."

Clearing her throat, she borrowed a cup of tea from a nearby shamare before continuing. "So, if we were to ask, say, the northern winds whether something dangerous and capable of great destruction is following that filly, what would they tell us? Does the wind even know what danger or destruction is? What would cause danger to the wind? Could the wind be destroyed? The very notion is ridiculous beyond words." The confusion in Current Weave's expression was slowly replaced by comprehension as the old shamare finished her lecture.

"So, when the spirits of our brethren come to us from the wilds, we can ask what fate befell them and what dangers lurk out there. But when we talk to the spirits of the world, we can but listen and interpret what they're saying and how it affects our tribe the best we can. Directly asking about things completely beyond their care is almost always pointless."

The conversation died down for a brief moment again. Current Weave bowed her head in gratitude for the shared wisdom, while Blizzard Heart finished off her tea. However, Sky Breath seemed to have changed her mind regarding the plan of action. Pulling off a painted avian mask from her back, she affixed it to her face, giving her headdress a shake. Answering the other's curious looks, she simply shrugged.

"We might as well try. The worst thing that could happen is we'll find out nothing worthwhile. But I would hate myself terribly if it later turned out that my advice was the cause of some tragedy happening to Snowpitt while we were away. There are only three days left until we go our separate ways, so let's do what we're able to while we're still here."

After a minute of weighing her words, the other shamares slowly nodded one by one. A large amount of shuffling ensued, various trinkets, amulets, staves, bones, and other ritualistic trappings getting retrieved from their safekeeping.

The group split up, going in various directions. Earthsong moved closer to the fire pit. Digging through the thin snow surrounding it, she made a bare patch of dirt. After rhythmically stomping the ground several times, she slowly sat down, then laid down completely. Pressing her ear to the earth, she covered the other ear with a hoof. Thumping the ground with a foreleg, she began to hum deeply, sending vibrations through the earth. Several others took up similar positions, some moving closer to the trees.

Blizzard Heart stayed where she was, breathing deeply. Her face held an expression of deep calm, posture straight, ears alert. Slowly, her breaths became more powerful, the wind actually stirring around her with each inhalation and exhalation. A few shamares from various tribes joined her, and the small group soon became enveloped in a small bubble of blizzard, the winds swirling flurries of snow around them. Some began to whistle, imitating the fierce sounds of the northern gales, while others raised their forelegs, swaying back and forth like trees.

A dozen or so retrieved small pouches, finding clear patches of ground, or laying down mats with runic symbols woven into them. Some of them grouped together, some went alone. Quietly paying their respects and asking the spirits for guidance, they shook the pouches, tossing out collections of bones, carved shells and bits of other things. True Sight joined one group, observing the resulting shapes and quietly discussing their possible meanings in relation to their current predicament.

Sky Breath, meanwhile, was moving around in jerky, bird-like motions, letting out some birdcalls now and then. The wind stirred up around her as well, though it didn't have the freezing bite of the north. Soon, ethereal shapes of various avians were flitting past her, some slowing down briefly to circle around her before flying off. She'd invite some to land on her foreleg, nuzzling them with the wooden beak of her mask before letting them loose again.

Around half of the shamares cleared the area, joining the ponies sitting on the sidelines. They, like Current Weave, had skills in different areas that they could not apply in this situation. They quietly slowed their breaths, so as not to distract the spirits with their presence.

The crowd was watching the spectacle with mild curiosity, though most of them were more interested in their ghostly visitor. She was still in Glacier Glider's grasp, leaning back against her with the mare's forelegs wrapped around the filly's barrel. Clearly, while the display of shamaric magic was nothing new to the inhabitants of the village, it was something completely alien to the filly. She sat, slack-jawed, rapidly turning her head back and forth between the various shamares performing all kinds of feats.

Glacier Glider was watching Earthsong with some curiosity, peeking at the filly in her forelegs from the corners of her eyes now and then. Different tribes often had ponies gifted in different fields. Her tribe didn't have any shamares that could talk to the earth, seeing as the ground was covered by leagues of ice almost all the time. Therefore, this was an unusual sight for the northern tribesmare. Shamares sometimes required privacy to perform their rituals, but the vast majority of the things they did were either part of public ceremonies, or free for any curious pony to watch and possibly learn from.

She was a bit worried that the filly would get scared and try to run away, but it seemed that she was too fascinated by the whole display to be afraid. Gently running her hoof through the filly's mane, she waited for the rituals to reach their conclusions. Bit by bit, things quieted down. The winds slowed, then ceased, the whistling and howling fading into the distance. The earth shamares stopped their singing and thumping, the ground no longer shaking from their efforts. The bones and trinkets were carefully gathered up in their respective pouches, quiet murmurs of thanks being said to the spirits for their wisdom.

For a good while everything was quiet, as the shamares came out of their trances and mulled on what they managed to find out. Some ponies peeled off from the crowd, going to the cooking hall to retrieve some refreshments and snacks for the elders. A few foals approached the filly again, attempting to communicate with the stunned spirit. They didn't have much success, as none of them could understand each other, but that didn't seem to bother the foals very much. They ran their hooves through the spirit's remarkably short coat, offering their condolences for getting separated from her parents and wondering what the rest of her tribe looked like.

True Sight was the first to speak up, after swiping a hoofful of pine nuts from a pony passing out snacks to the elders. "Well, it was nothing we didn't figure out already. An unexpected surprise, which our guest certainly was. A long journey, which I assume she had to undertake to get here. A lot of confusion, as the bones landed in odd ways. Certainly something the spirit also caused aplenty. No warnings of danger, though. Anything else from the rest of you?" She asked, addressing the rest of the mares that cast the fortunes from the bones. Most shook their heads, with one adding: "Some of the bones landed sharply, pointing to danger and a journey. But I assume that the dangerous journey was what got her here, not something in the filly's future." The rest nodded in agreement.

Earthsong came next, shaking off the few pieces of dirt clinging to her coat. "It is still winter, and the earth sleeps. Still, I did my best to find out where our visitor came from. The hooffalls of a spirit are hard to hear, but I am fairly confident that I felt echoes of her passage coming from the south. At least, with everyone here in Snowpitt, I don't think it could have been any other spirit or pony." The other shamares that listened to the earth stood quietly, not having anything else to add.

That made some ponies perk up in curiosity. The south was barren, or so it was thought. As far as anyone knew, the forest at the foothills of the mountains was the last barrier of life before a lifeless wasteland began. Yet somewhere out there lived a tribe of strange ponies.

Blizzard Heart still sat in her original spot, surrounded by the other wind speakers. The cold wind covered them all in snow and hoarfrost, making them look like statues. Unlike the rest of the group, they didn't get up or reach out to the ponies bearing food and tea. A few of them were brushing snow out of their coats, looking perplexed. Blizzard Heart wiped her muzzle, revealing a similarly confused expression on her face. Everyone looked at the elder, patiently waiting for her to collect her thoughts. Rushing the answers was pointless.

Eventually, the elder spoke. "This is truly a strange time. The spirit of the north wind is... I can't quite say specifically. It is... joyous? Victorious? Proud, smug, satisfied... either a combination or not quite exactly one of those things. It is nothing I've ever heard before. " The others around her nodded, one of them muttering, "Never have I felt the northern winds be anything but indifferent." Blizzard Heart closed her eyes again, trying to put into pony words what she felt from the wind.

"And the reason for its feelings is... freedom. A lack of an obstacle. A new plain for it to roam and blow through, something that has been denied to it for the longest of time." Slowly rubbing her chin, she eventually nodded, satisfied with her interpretation.

The other gathered shamares glanced between themselves, not sure what to say. "What could possibly deny the wind itself access to a plain?" Asked True Sight. "It would have to be the size of a mountain. A massive mountain! And then, what could remove that mountain? Nothing could wreak destruction that terrible, not even the constellation titans themselves!" Her exclamation was followed by slow nods from the collected ponies. "And if it is truly some calamity that terrible, well. I doubt it would be in our collective power to stop it, if it came for us. At the same time, no creature that eats mountains would concern itself with something as small as us. A bear does not bother hunting mice."

"And whatever happened, I can say that it is, indeed, most likely not coming for us," interjected Sky Breath. Taking off her mask, she continued. "The spirits of birds told me of something frightening happening in the south. Something so terrifying, that many of them flew blindly from their nests, some of them picked off by predatory birds or eventually dropping dead from exhaustion. But whatever it was, it is over now. They flew around the area they left, and there is nothing frightening any more."

True Sight shook her head. "Well. That was certainly far more than any one of us expected to find out, I think. Even if much of it is still uncertain." Furrowing her brows, she bit her lip. "However, none of it sounds good for our guest's tribe. Usually, I would say that we are honor-bound to send out search parties and find her parents. But, seeing as she was the only one that came here, and we do not know the lands to the south, it would be rather pointless, if not dangerous. We can only hope that her scattered tribe manages to pull themselves together again from whatever fate befell them." The gathered ponies looked at the ghostly filly with sympathy. It was a painful thing, to learn news of an amazing new tribe somewhere far away, only to then find out about their potential demise.

But the elder wasn't finished. "Now then," she spoke sharply. Snapping out of their gloom, everyone turned her way. "You know the rules. We open our doors and light our hearths to any traveler. She is a slightly unusual guest, but a guest nonetheless. We might not need to feed and warm her, but we are still obliged by the rules of hospitality." Now that a clear course of action was being presented, many ponies perked up, listening attentively. "And it doesn't look like she feels drawn to our tribe's resting grounds at all." Glancing at the filly, she saw the spirit nervously taking a few steps away from Glacier Glider, following a few foals that were trying to involve her in some game. She didn't even look at the firepit ringed with spirit stones. While no fires were lit at the moment, it was still a beacon for any of their lost tribespeople.

"So, here is what we are going to do. We will build her a totem, and give her a place to stay in Snowpitt. Yes, this is usually only done for guardian spirits. But these are not usual circumstances. We do not know when, if ever, her tribe's shamares will manage to call her back home. She might someday decide to make the journey herself, even. Until that happens, she will be free to stay as long as she wants to." Various ponies nodded at her, muttering between themselves. Plans were already being made. A tree would have to be selected from the southern forest, proper apologies performed to calm it's spirit, then cut down for the totem pole. Dyes would be retrieved, sacred carving tools would need sharpening, and proper blessings would need to be laid down by the shamares.

All of the plotting was interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn from True Sight. "Tomorrow, that is. We can start tomorrow. For now, it's late, and I need my beauty sleep." The ponies chuckled, helping the tired elders up and leading them back to the warmth of their lodges. As she was passing Glacier Glider, True Sight nodded to the mare. She would doubtlessly take the filly in for the night. Heck, she'd probably fight anyone trying to take that honor away from her. Matters settled, the elderly mare went off to get some well-deserved shuteye.

❅ ❆ ❅

These ponies were strange.

That wasn't just her opinion, Agate decided. These ponies were well and truly strange. She scratched her head, still wondering just what in the world was that display of magic about. There was nothing else it could have been, even if it was quite unlike anything she ever saw, or heard about. Unicorn and pegasi performers from Equestria came to the Empire to show off all kinds of flashy magic and fancy tricks, though nothing like that. There was an occasional earth pony too, usually performing their admittedly impressive feats of strength. But they couldn't summon a blizzard with a song - not even the pegasi were remotely capable of doing something like that - or do any of the other things the group of old mares did. Even if she didn't understand most of the things they did, she was sure it was just as impressive to the ponies that actually understood what was happening.

Her wonderings were interrupted by the trio of foals that had been pestering her for some time. The adults were mostly giving her space and looking on in curiosity or sympathy, but it looked like the three decided to get her to interact with them, one way or another. They were two colts around her age and a younger filly, all sharing their tribe's ridiculously fluffy coats and cavorting around in the snow without a care. She was mildly jealous of that.

The younger of the two mares that brought her to the village was still holding on to her. One of the colts, a gray-coated, black-maned ball of fluff waved her over, trying to get her to leave the mare's hug. The mare smiled, nuzzling her mane and nodding towards the foals. Uncertainly, she went over to the trio. They smiled widely, obviously considering this a huge victory already. The colt started babbling something, though he was talking so fast that she couldn't even tell apart the separate words.

"You remember that I can't understand you, right? You already tried talking to me the first time you approached me."

Again, they didn't seem to care. Getting her to talk seemed to be a success in their eyes as well. They kept talking at her, while the other colt started miming things and hopping around, wagging his brown tail excitedly. It might have actually worked to explain whatever rules of the game they were trying to impart to her, if they all didn't keep getting distracted by each other's differences. The young filly, who was the quietest of the three, kept looking at her sides, examining her short coat with great fascination, comparing it to her own eggshell-brown one. While Agate herself couldn't help but stare at the colts that were displaying their uncanny ability to somehow not only walk, but outright jump on the snow without sinking through at all.

The gray-coated colt noticed her staring at his forelegs. Raising one foreleg to his muzzle, he examined it with some confusion. Not finding anything out of place, he asked the brown colt something. He shrugged, pondered a moment, and uncertainly answered, pointing to the snow. The gray one's eyes lit up, and he excitedly pointed to the side. Looking in that direction, Agate saw a log house with a pine tree growing next to it. The trio made their way close to the tree, waving her over.

Following them, she saw the gray colt puff out his chest in pride. He pointed to her muzzle, then his hooves. It seemed like he was saying, "Watch me." Coming close to the tree, he gave it a firm buck. He was still a foal, though, so it barely did anything, but some snow did fall from its branches. Moving next to the powdery, fresh pile of snow, he pointed to his hooves again, and then stepped right on the snowdrift. All without even crushing it. When he stepped off, there was barely a hoof mark on it. He puffed his chest again, a self satisfied smile on his face.

Agate was suitably impressed. This kind of ability would have certainly come in useful during her journey. The brown colt went next, performing only slightly worse. He left visible hoofprints in the snow, but it was still amazing how he managed to just ignore gravity.

The young filly stood next to Agate, her ears folded. As the brown colt stepped off the snowdrift, he started to say something obviously encouraging to the filly, the gray one soon joining in. Slowly, she started walking forward, though it was obviously taking her more effort than the two older foals. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she carefully climbed on top of the drift, methodically putting one hoof in front of the other. Her skill was clearly not as developed, because as soon as she stopped, the filly started sinking through.

Jumping off, she sent a flurry of snow cascading behind her as the colts laughed. As she shook her fetlocks clean of snowflakes, the gray colt was gesticulating something to her again, pointing at his hooves and the snow. Probably explaining this snowwalking skill of theirs.

"Still can't understand you," Agate said with a smile. "But thank you for showing this to me. That was very interesting. You ponies clearly know how to survive in the cold."

Further conversation was interrupted as the mare that almost hugged her to death came back. Saying something to the foals, she turned to Agate, pointing at her, then herself, then some houses in the distance. Probably inviting Agate to go with her again. The foals seemed disappointed, but they didn't argue. The two colts waved goodbye, while the shy filly gave her a quick hug before galloping off.

The mare smiled, waving her over. Agate followed, examining her surroundings. The village seemed to be quite uniform, all log buildings with some having stone foundations. A few trees grew here and there, though not many. And of course, everything was covered in varying levels of snow and ice.

Soon, they made their way to one of the buildings, a log house that was far longer than it was wide. A longhouse. She giggled internally at her joke. Making their way inside, they were greeted by the sight of a number of ponies relaxing in various positions. Some were lying in beds, others were boiling something in clay pots hung over the several firepits inside. Further to her right, a family seemed to be teaching their foals something, holding out a rope demonstratively and tying it in various knots.

The mare went to the left side of the building, Agate following along. They came to a segment of the building that was most likely owned by the mare. The filly curiously looked around at the things stacked on shelves and hung from the ceiling. There were nets, ropes, and several long spears, with spearheads made from some unknown white material. Was she a member of the Guard that these ponies had?

A stallion greeted the mare, the two rubbing their noses affectionately. He was huge, almost half again her size. His pale gray coat was similar to the mare's, though his mane was black, and his fetlocks were curiously white as snow. She was so busy staring at the giant that the two fillies that snuck up on her went completely unnoticed until one of them poked her in the back.

"Eek!"

The two adults - probably the filly's parents - turned around, the stallion letting out a rumbling chuckle while the mare rolled her eyes, gently admonishing the foals. The duo gave guilty smiles, obviously not having any true remorse for startling Agate.

The mare spoke to them, gesturing at Agate while the rest of the family looked on curiously. The stallion nodded then and again, while the fillies were openly staring at her in naked fascination. The explanation didn't take very long, and soon the family went back to their business after nodding at her and making a wide gesture around the longhouse. Probably inviting Agate to make herself at home. The mare retrieved a clay pot and a pouch of herbs. Opening the pot, she suddenly stopped, smacking herself in the head.

Running back outside, she soon came back with the bucket of snow she was carrying previously. Pouring it out into the pot, she carried it over to one of the firepits. Agate watched her with one eye, while she kept examining the family's belongings. It really looked like they were warriors of some kind, or perhaps craftsponies that made weapons and other things, like grandpa Coal. There were some clay pots, likely containing food, and a large bed covered in soft-looking moss that was large enough to hold the entire family.

Soon, the mare came back, adding the herbs from the pouch to the pot. The stallion was busy carving out a new spearhead from the white material, meticulously grinding down the blunt edges into sharper ones with a piece of rock. What was it made of? Some kind of exotic northern mineral? She certainly didn't see anything like it before.

Unlike the other foals, the two fillies didn't seem interested in playing, electing to lay down on the bed and mutter sleepily among themselves. It was probably late at this point, though Agate still had trouble telling time. Soon, the mare poured out the tea into clay cups for herself and the rest of her family, softly calling out to the two fillies.

Things quieted down as the family partook in the drink. Looking around, she noticed that the rest of the inhabitants were looking tired as well, retreating into their sleeping corners. The four soon finished their tea, stowing the cups away on a shelf and making their way to the bed as well. To Agate's surprise, the mare waved her over. What now? She hadn't slept ever since she died. Could she sleep if she tried, though?

While the filly was still a bit skeptical, these ponies clearly knew a lot more about her current state of being than any pony in the Empire. Following the mare on the bed, she laid down among the other fillies, in between the parents. The mare gave her a knowing smile, reaching out with a foreleg and gently closing Agate's eyes, cooing soft reassurances. A brief stab of panic ran through the filly, reminding her of being lost in absolute silence and darkness right after she died.

However, she could still feel the coats of the fillies lying next to her, and hear the gentle breathing of the other ponies around her. Opening her eyes for a moment just to reassure herself that she could still see, Agate closed her eyes again, trying to capture the feeling of drifting off to slumber.

It didn't quite work. After laying there for a while, she didn't feel herself getting even a bit sleepy or tired, though when she opened her eyes again, the fires in the pits had burned down to glowing coals, indicating that a lot more time than she expected had passed. Closing her eyes, she tried clearing her mind of thoughts. It took some effort, but eventually she managed to enter a kind of half-sleep state, feeling like she was floating on nothing. No nightmares chased her this time.

The Call

Other ponies noticed the distant lights as well, ending their quiet conversations. As the torchbearers approached, everyone in the gathered crowd got into sitting positions, huddled close together in small groups. As Agate idly watched the steam rise and instantly dissipate from their breaths, she wondered just how cold it was right then.

Scanning the crowd, she tried to see if any of the ponies were showing any signs of being cold. However, despite the fact that the Sun didn't show up at all that day, which surely had to mean that it was beyond freezing, no one seemed to be bothered much. Shaking her head, she turned back to the center of the ceremonial grounds.

The torchbearers were quite close now, making their way through a small gap the ponies left for them. As expected, they were shamares, a good dozen of them carrying torches in their mouths. There didn't seem to be any particular hierarchy to it this time, as Agate could see both elders and some of the younger ones carrying the flames. Filtering into the clearing, the line split in two, encircling the crystal-ringed firepit. After a moment of silence, the ones with the torches shared a glance, nodding to each other. Twisting their necks, they loosed the flaming branches towards the stacked lumber in the center of the firepit one by one.

Almost immediately, the kindling began to crackle and pop loudly, the flames quickly consuming the thin sticks and bundles of dried pine needles. As the fire spread, the shamares sat down around the edges of the firepit, though their seating arrangements were a little more methodical than the rest of the crowd. As she observed them lining up, Agate was reminded of the ritual they performed while planting her totem. One circle was formed on the edge of the firepit, glowing crystals lying in the gaps between the mares. A second circle was right behind them, the shamares sitting where the gaps in the first circle were.

Both the observers and the shamares remained silent, watching the bonfire. Though it was burning well, the flames jumping upwards from the kindling and licking bigger and bigger branches merrily, it was clearly going to take more time for the biggest logs to catch fire. Agate kept watching as well, idly admiring the way the flames lit up the darkness of the northern winter day.

As the flames kept creeping upwards, though, something strange happened. Agate blinked as the fire steadily got brighter and brighter, making her squint. Putting it mildly, that was highly unusual. Normally, spirits had to struggle to see anything at all, but now, the fire was leaving dancing spots in her vision - and it wasn't even fully lit up yet.

Biting her lip, she focused inwards and tried to sharpen her spirit sight, but it only made things worse. Slack-jawed, she watched the fiery tendrils dance in the air, leaving disorienting trails and after-images in the air, making it appear as if there were two or even three bonfires in the same place, glowing with strange colors. Gradually, the flames gained a blue tint on the edges, which slowly started turning green afterwards. The smoke curling into the sky was glowing orange, as if it was still carrying the bonfire's heat, while the center of the bonfire was a deep purple instead of the bright red one would expect from glowing coals.

Shaking her head and firmly screwing her eyes shut, Agate tried to clear her vision from the dancing spots the bonfire was causing. Opening her eyes again, she found the world tilted sideways in a strange manner. It took her a minute to realize that she fell over on her side, without even realizing it. Squinting, she pulled her legs under herself, attempting to regain her balance. After another minute of trying to focus, she slowly sat up again, with the help of Glacier Glider.

"Are you... All right, Agate?" The mare asked quietly, with no small amount of confusion. "I never saw a spirit just... Fall over before."

"It's the bonfire. It's... I can't really describe it. I guess the shamares did something to it. The dancing colors and the brightness are making me dizzy."

"Colors?"

Glacier Glider turned back towards the bonfire, tilting her head a little and studying the flames. They had spread almost all the way to the top now, the heaviest logs beginning to burn properly, lighting up the ceremonial grounds and melting all the snow in a large radius. Judging from where she looked, though, Agate could only guess that the mare couldn't see the odd ethereal tongues of flame leaping from the lumber, or the strange colors of the fire.

"It's probably a spirit thing," Agate concluded.

"Most likely. I can sort of see some colors from the corners of my eyes, but if I look directly at them, they disappear. I suppose it's not too surprising. This magic is not meant for me, but to guide our lost kin to us."

"It's quite a beacon, alright. I can barely look at it."

"Mm. And it'll only get brighter, I imagine. We haven't even begun the Song yet. Speaking of..."

Glacier Glider trailed off, turning towards the double ring of shamares. All of them were motionless, save for breathing in a rhythmic pattern, which Agate recognized as one of the focusing exercises they did before performing their rituals. Once the bonfire was finally burning at a level that they deemed sufficient, glances were exchanged, followed by several silent nods. All at once, they started slowly raising their forelegs, taking in a deep breath in unison. Once they could hold no more, they pointed their forelegs towards the bonfire, letting out all the air they were holding in one big exhale.

Although the shamares were sitting a fair distance from the bonfire itself - it was quite hot, after all - the flames jumped up, as if they were blowing right into the heart of the fire. The effect on the ethereal part of the blaze was even greater, however. A great pillar of light erupted from the heart of the firepit, the aura spilling over the ceremonial grounds and rising high into the sky. While the regular bonfire continued burning normally, the green-hued tendrils of the spirit fire appeared more like a strange underwater plant or tentacled creature, lazily waving in the air far slower than it's mundane counterpart.

Meanwhile, the ritual continued on. Agate's attention was pulled away from the strangeness of the shamaric spirit fire back to the shamares as they took in another deep breath, letting it out in a long growl/rumble/chant that shook the air, emanating deep from their throats and chests. Agate asked Earthsong to explain it once, and she called it "throat singing". It was some kind of special way of singing the snowponies came up with, apparently, because the filly never heard anything like it before. It was very strange and exotic, but also really mesmerizing to listen to.

The synchronization fell apart after the first chant, each individual shamare continuing the song at her own pace, seemingly putting in more effort into making sure that there was always at least one pony singing instead of making one big, concerted effort, like they did in the beginning. A few pulled out small instruments as well - drums, whistles, and other things Agate couldn't quite recognize. One by one, the ponies that were closest to the shamare-ringed firepit began to sing as well, adding their voices to the growing choir. The wave of singing ponies slowly spread further out, approaching Agate and Glacier's family.

The filly glanced around nervously, trying to see whether every single pony was singing. She didn't want to be rude by staying silent if it was customary for everyone to sing, but she didn't want to ruin it even worse with her lackluster skill. To her relief, she saw that a number of them remained quiet, swaying to the rhythm with lidded eyes or tapping on the ground rhythmically. Relaxing a bit, Agate did what she always did in such situations - be as unobtrusive as possible, and observe as much as she could.

Even though Agate heard stories about the Calling already, they were mostly about the history and context of the event, but only a few general details about the actual execution, which was what she was doing her best to learn about now. From what she saw, there were no obvious signals save for the arrival of the shamares and the start of their song, which would begin a cascade of singing, gradually increasing the sound and the ritual's power. The already massive spirit fire kept getting stronger with each pony that joined in, the ethereal tendrils reminding Agate a little bit of the aurora the Crystal Heart would cast into the sky when it was overcharged.

Glacier Glider and her husband began singing as well, their voices harmoniously melding together with the rest of the singers. Moments later, more voices joined in behind them, which were soon followed by ponies sitting further back. It took a little while for the singing to cover the entirety of the ceremonial grounds, but when it happened, the effect was noticeable almost immediately.

Overall, it was only a slight rise in pitch and volume, but with so many participants, it still affected the ritual greatly. The spirit fire overlaid over the regular bonfire kept rising, the pillar reaching so high into the sky that Agate couldn't even see the top from the spot she was sitting in. Between the size and the fierce glow, she could certainly understand how it could be used to guide lost spirits, even from very far away. If she could see one of the crystal paths across the mountains, then the pillar of magical spirit flame must have been visible from... She didn't even know how far. Farther than she ever travelled, certainly.

Meanwhile, the song continued, neither rising nor falling as the singers reached an equilibrium, small groups of ponies taking short breaks while others kept it going. As was typical for such ritualistic songs, although there were few or no words in it, it was heavily laden with emotions. There was obvious grief, pain, and other sorrowful feelings one would be expected to have when trying to summon your fallen kin. But there was also a sense of fierce resolve, the certainty that the brave ponies that fell in the wilderness will not be left to wander the dark, lost and alone.

Slowly glancing around, Agate assumed that this was the extent of the ritual. The snowponies would keep the signal fire burning, likely through the night or even longer, and the spirits of the northerner explorers would come to Snowpitt, guided by the light. However, her assumptions were proven incorrect when the shamares quieted down momentarily, taking in deep breaths before upping the ante, their voices taking on an otherworldly quality.

"To the unseeing and the blind -
Follow the light, and a warm embrace you will find.

To the lost and confused, the cold and alone.
We light you a fire, and we beseech you - come home.

So far in the wilds, far away from your tribe and kin.
Think of your family, feel the pull within.

Your journeys are over, no longer will you roam.
And so we say, and we sing, and we call - come home.

It is time for your final song, your final test.
Come to us and share your farewells, and you can finally rest.

Come home.
Come home.
COME HOME."

The words were sung with intent, with willpower and magic, echoing across the entire village. The crowd picked the chant up immediately after, their combined cries almost deafening.

"COME HOME."

The fierce outpouring of emotion caused the spirit fire to flare up to blinding levels again, forcing Agate to close her eyes and cover her face with her hooves, attempting to block it out. It was only partially successful, the glow of the bewitched beacon forcing itself into Agate's very being.

"COME HOME."

She felt something shake, wondering if it was herself or the world. Turning away from the bonfire, she managed to make out a few vaguely pony-shaped figures slowly raising their hooves, bringing them down on the ground in fierce, rhythmic stomps.

"COME HOME."

She heard, no, felt the sound reverberate through her very core. It was like standing next to a large drum during a festival, feeling the drumbeats resonate in your chest, only amplified tenfold. Echoes bounced around all around her, likely coming from as far as the mountains themselves, with how powerful the song was.

Even though that seemed to be the last time they were going to repeat their chant, the effects of getting hit with a village-sized spirit summoning spell/ritual point blank left Agate rattled. Dazed and stunned (both literally and figuratively), Agate stuck her head into the snow (or possibly even the ground, she still couldn't see much), trying to recover her senses. She didn't know how much time she spent like that, but by the time she was confident enough to rejoin the world of the living (figuratively speaking, of course), things seemed to have calmed down a little.

"Oooooof...."

The bonfire was still burning merrily, the magical flames swaying in an unseen wind. The singers didn't stop, but they did return to their previous volume, keeping the song going instead of seemingly trying to shake the very foundations of the earth with their voices. Sighing, Agate shook her head, taking up her sitting position again. Feeling the faint touch of a hoof on her back, she turned to Glacier Glider. The mare wasn't singing at the moment, looking at her with faint concern and curiosity.

"Is everything alright, Agate? For a while there, you looked almost... Sick," She asked, keeping her voice down

"I'm fine. It was just a bit too much for me. If I was a spirit - uh, I mean, if I was a spirit lost far away from here, I would have definitely heard and seen that. Yeesh. My eyes. And my ears," Agate explained, sticking her hooves into her ears and digging around. Not that it really achieved anything, besides making Glacier Glider chuckle.

"Well, since the Song is meant to reach across great distances, I can only assume that it must be overwhelming when you're sitting in the middle of it. Perhaps you should stay away until it's finished next time."

"Probably. Hearing about "raising our voices to reach across the entirety of the North" and actually experiencing it is something else. What's next? Is anything else going to happen?"

"Not as such, no. We shall continue singing through the night, until the fire burns out and only embers remain. Most are going to leave then, though a few will stay on regardless, gazing into the smoke and whispering stories about the ancient spirits of our kin to each other, until they fall asleep right there in the snow. This night tends to put a great many ponies into a contemplative and melancholy mood."

"But then... When do the spirits show up? The lost ones?"

"Oh? Oh, I see. With the song's power, you probably expected them to come right away, right? The north is vast, Agate, and though I'm sure that they saw the bonfire and heard the Song, it will still take them at least several days to make their way to us, if not over a week. It is one of the reasons ponies put down the spirit stone paths for them, in case they lose their direction after the calling. The distances between our tribes have grown far too large for this to be a single-day affair any more."

Agate nodded, turning back to the bonfire as Glacier Glider began to sing again. She had more questions, such as the "any more" part of Glacier's statement, but this wasn't the time nor the place for more snowpony history lessons. Pressing herself firmly against the ground, she lidded her eyes and let the song carry her away, drinking everything in without focusing on any particular details.

With the Sun gone and darkness being permanent for the coming months, the bonfire was the only indicator of the passage of time. The flames crackled away, slowly consuming the thick logs stacked up in the firepit. Whether by coincidence or intentionally, as the fire slowly died down, the song followed suit. With every new round of singing, fewer and fewer ponies joined in, and those that did couldn't quite summon their full strength any more. Thousands of voices slowly turned into hundreds, then dozens, until the song that previously shook the very mountains with its strength ended in barely audible sighs and whispers, carried away on the wind.

Everything went still. While the crowd wasn't moving much before, now they were quiet as well, not even making a sound. For a long, seemingly endless moment, the ponies looked more like statues, or even a bunch of lost spirits themselves, staring into the fading fire with emotionless expressions.

Still, they were alive, and eventually, the silent vigil was broken. A stallion got up and stretched, his joints cracking from sitting still too long. Multiple other ponies got up too, walking off in every direction. At first, Agate thought that they were leaving, but they soon came back, laden with various items. One group was carrying more firewood on their backs, making their way towards the firepit. Others were equipped with a number of large, oblong clay flasks hanging from their sides on lengths of rope, steam coming out of the open tops. The flask-carriers went around the entire clearing, sharing warm tea with the tired singers.

Glacier Glider nodded gratefully at the stallion once one reached their group, lifting the last flask that still had some tea left in it. Taking a few deep gulps, she shared the rest with her husband and foals. Returning the empty flask to the stallion, she sighed in pleasure, rubbing her neck.

"I needed that," She muttered, her voice noticeably hoarse.

The amount of light in the clearing rose again as more fuel was added to the bonfire. Although the fire was quite low by that point, the large amount of red-hot coals was evidently giving off immense amounts of heat, as the ponies carefully tossed the thick chunks of wood into the firepit from a safe distance. A few shamares whispered quietly and gestured towards the flames, but that was the extent of their contribution. No new rituals or songs began, and soon, the firewood carriers dispersed again, going back to their families.

The formal part of the ritual seemed to be well and truly over by then. The shamares broke up their tidy formations, clumping together in small groups to chat or slowly ambling away, clearly tired. A small number of whispered conversations started up between the gathered ponies, the low volume likely a byproduct of their tired vocal chords rather than a need to remain quiet. Some went away again to acquire more tea for their sore throats, or to bring food to their families.

Agate remained where she was, contemplating the bonfire. The spirit fire was still present, not quite as powerful as when the ponies were singing, but nevertheless quite impressive. The crystals ringing the firepit were glowing brightly, clearly overcharged from all the magic in the air. By the looks of it, the glowing after-images of the flames would remain for quite a while, even if the actual fire burned out completely.

❅ ❆ ❅

Many hours passed, most of them in silence. Glacier Glider and her husband would whisper a few sentences about their ancestors to their foals now and then, but they were clearly not up for a real conversation. Agate listened in with one ear turned in their direction, idly scanning the grounds now and then. Some ponies eventually got up and left, mostly the really old and the ones with younger foals. As Glacier Glider predicted, the rest remained, quiet and contemplative, gazing into the firepit with their minds clearly somewhere far, far away. Some moved closer to the fire to get warm, but most of them didn't seem to care about the cold at all, frost slowly forming on their thick, fluffy coats.

Eventually, though, the silence was broken by a slowly rising murmur that swept through the clearing. Agate assumed that it was simply a large number of ponies having more conversations now that their vocal chords had rested, but the noise kept growing louder, followed by loud gasps and exclamations. Looking around in confusion, she tried to find what the source of the excitement was, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary amongst all the ponies. Feeling a tap on her back, she turned towards Glacier Glider with a questioning expression.

"Up there, Agate. Look towards the north," The mare explained with a large smile, pointing with a hoof.

Raising her eyes upwards, Agate blinked, trying to understand just what she was seeing. It looked like some sort of strange glowing ribbon, moving through the sky. Its appearance reminded her of the rays of the Sun shining through a thin gap in the clouds during a dark, rainy day, only the color was green. And, of course, the Sun's rays didn't follow such weirdly defined lines, or undulate across the sky like a snake.

Just like with the spirit fire, the first comparison that she could think of was the Crystal Heart's aurora. The glowing "sky ribbons", as the Equestrians called them, was what lured them to the Empire back in the day. But while they looked remarkably similar in shape and behavior, the color was completely different. The aurora cast by the Heart was colored yellow, pink and blue, not green. It was also somehow... Smaller, weaker than this one. Squinting at the sky, Agate tried to understand why she felt that way.

It took her a few minutes to figure it out, but she cracked the feeling eventually. The Heart's aurora was cast from the top of the Spire, which, while a truly tall building, wasn't all that high up, compared to clouds or mountains. If you were right under it, the ribbons looked huge and majestic, but if you looked off into the distance, you could see that they quickly lost their majesty, becoming no more than thin lines.

This aurora, however, hung high, high up in the sky, far above any clouds, mountains, or anything else nature had to offer. It wasn't just the different color - the scale of it was totally different, covering the entire edge of the northern sky, completely dwarfing anything the Heart ever put out, even during the most joyous celebrations. It was incomparable, really.

As Agate watched, the wiggling ribbons kept speeding up, twisting and undulating faster and faster, while getting brighter all the while. Moments later, the entire sky was awash with green flames, the ribbons exploding into a massive wave of green light, rushing across the heavens and racing southwards, towards Snowpitt. It was so bright that it almost looked like midday for a short moment, everything getting lit up by the celestial phenomenon. A few blinks later, the green mist started reforming into ribbons, still doing their wild dance across the skies.

Slack-jawed, Agate watched, wondering what could possibly cause such a phenomenon. This wasn't the side effect of overcharging a love-powered magical artefact. There was no way this could be pony-made. It was massive. Awe-inspiring. Wild.

Primal.

Meanwhile, the gathered snowponies cheered and whooped loudly, elated at the wild aurora's appearance. Everyone in the ceremonial grounds had wide smiles on their faces, admiring the green hue bathing the village and babbling happily. Sticking her ears up and turning them in various directions, Agate tried to figure out what the significance of this event was, but couldn't pick out any details in the excited crowd. Glancing towards Glacier Glider, she gently brushed a hoof against the skyward-looking mare's side.

"Hmm? What is it, Agate? Oh, I see," Glacier Glider understood the situation immediately, noticing the confused look on Agate's face. "It is a rare occurrence to see the great Sky's fire burn so brightly this far south. Since you used to live even further south, I'm guessing that you haven't seen it before?"

"Not... Not really. Not quite like it. What is it?"

The mare rubbed her chin, considering her answer. "Many things, I suppose. A guiding light in the Long Dark, especially useful for us in the far north. A bridge for the spirits of the fallen, to ease their passage and carry them on their way to their final rest. Overall, though, the great Sky's presence is always seen as a good omen."

It wasn't quite the question that Agate was asking, but she nodded anyway. She supposed that no one would really have an answer as to just what the primal aurora was, seeing as it was almost definitely a wild phenomenon of great magic, not explainable any more than what the Sun or the stars or the sky were. It just was.

Relaxing once more, she tried to go back to pony-watching, though she couldn't last more than a minute before her eyes were drawn towards the sky again. The dance of the aurora was hypnotic, and she couldn't tear her gaze away from it. Giving in, the filly laid down on her back, observing the mesmerizing spins and turns of the green-hued tendrils. The aurora took over the sky, effortlessly outshining the stars with its glow. Even the sliver of the moon that was visible looked pale and barely noticeable in comparison.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate twitched, blinking in surprise.

"What just happened?"

Blinking a few more times, she scanned her surroundings. Somehow, in the minuscule amount of time that it took her to blink, everything around her changed. The fire was low again, a few tiny tongues of flame dancing across the large pile of glowing coals. Most of the ponies were gone, with only a few sleepers remaining. Their bodies were covered in a light dusting of snow and frost, but they were clearly sleeping peacefully. Glacier Glider's family was gone as well, but the mare herself was still there, curled up right next to Agate, the steam from her slow, steady breaths dissipating in the gloom.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Agate did recall a few times when something like this happened. Usually, she'd slowly fall asleep and remember it the next morning, stretching and slowly waking up. But a few times, she could have sworn that she just closed her eyes for a second and opened them again, not slept the night away. And yet, the Sun would be up, and the night clearly over. It weirded her out every time.

Reflexively looking towards the sky, she tried to determine the time of day (night?), but it was for naught. While much fainter, the aurora was still up there, blotting out most of the stars. Shrugging, she went back to observing the heavens. Seeing as she didn't really have any urgent obligations at the moment, she wasn't too concerned whether it was midday or midnight, and she didn't want to leave Glacier Glider when the mare (seemingly) stayed behind in the ceremonial grounds just to keep Agate company.

Time passed by, punctuated by the occasional pony stirring in their sleep, twitching and mumbling from some dream or other. After a few more hours, even the most persistent ponies started waking up, yawning and stretching, their expressions bleary and tired. Shaking off most of the accumulated snow and frost, they finally started to leave the ceremonial grounds, though not without approaching the remains of the bonfire one last time. They seemed to be whispering something, and a few threw some small objects into the embers. It seemed highly personal, so Agate didn't try to listen in. Shooting a few last looks towards the firepit, they went on their way.

Moments later, Agate heard a long yawn right next to her. Glacier Glider woke up as well, standing up and shaking fiercely, sending snowflakes flying in every direction. Wiping some frost from her face, she smacked her lips, swallowing a few snowflakes. Her belly rumbled loudly, making her smile faintly. Looking around, she found Agate, silently looking at the filly with the same faint, slightly sad smile. Agate kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Eventually, Glacier Glider chuckled, reaching out and mussing up Agate's mane.

"Did you sleep well, Agate?"

"I think so? I didn't even notice falling asleep. Did you stay with me just to keep me company? You didn't have to. Even with your coat, I can't imagine the snow being very pleasant to sleep in."

That got a full laugh from the mare. "Oh, you poor thing. Save for a full-on blizzard or the cold of the deep winter, sleeping in the snow is perfectly fine, especially next to a bonfire this large. Granted, it's not comfortable nor very pleasant, but it's not as terrible as you're making it out to be," She explained, brushing more snow from her thick coat and making Agate feel jealous. After a stretch, she continued. "Besides, I didn't stay entirely for you. My daughter..."

Agate nodded, recognizing the wistful expression on the mare's face. She often wore the same look when thinking about her own family. "You still miss her."

"I do," Glacier Glider confirmed, looking skywards. "We said our goodbyes, and life continued on, but the sudden hole in your life doesn't disappear that fast. Time heals all wounds, though. This night brought back some memories, but they didn't hurt nearly as much. Now, I just feel... Hope. Hope that she's doing well, wherever she went."

Agate nodded, electing to remain silent. Glacier Glider kept gazing at the sky for a minute, but was soon interrupted by another rumble from her stomach. Chuckling, she shook her head, turning her gaze back towards the earth. "Well, it seems that the needs of the living are calling me away, Agate. It's been a delight to meet you again. Feel free to drop by any time. You're part of the family now as well, after all. I'm staying in the same longhouse I was in last year."

"You too. You know where my totem is, I think."

The two said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. While Glacier Glider clearly needed a hefty breakfast after sleeping in the snow, Agate didn't really have any particular goals. After weighing her options for a minute, she eventually decided to find Gnarled Root and Spear Throw. While they still talked from time to time, between Agate's various expeditions and the fact that they mostly depleted their repertoires of stories and teachings, their meetings were far less frequent.

It wasn't hard to find the two guardians. Given that it was winter and no one was going outside, they spent a lot of time sleeping in their totems, occasionally giving some lessons to the younger generations. After getting the ghostly group together, they decided to go on a trot around the village, having a casual chat about this and that. As Agate entirely expected, Gnarled Root was particularly amused by the filly's experience in the Calling. Even Spear Throw seemed like he was holding back a smile.

"Hahahaha! Hit you in the face like a river, didn't it? Or perhaps a mountainside. Between the shamares and the three tribes pooling their strength together, it's quite the sensation, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Agate confirmed, not sure what to say. "It was something, alright."

Still chuckling, the mare shook her head. "While attending the Calling is fine, the Song Of Snowpitt itself is a bit much for a spirit. We tend to spend the night in our totems. They block out the worst of it. Still, fully sitting through one is a sort of rite of passage for guardian spirits. Welcome to the club, Agate," She laughed, smacking Agate on her back.

The filly snorted, figuring out why they never gave her any kind of warning to keep her distance from the overly loud ritual. Rolling her eyes at their antics, she continued trotting. As they kept discussing the Calling and it's intricacies and effects on spirits, Agate remembered Glacier Glider's words.

"So that northerner mare that I told you about, Glacier Glider, told me that the Calling used to be a single-day affair some time before. Is there a story behind that?"

"Certainly," Gnarled Root replied easily. "Nothing too special, though. Just the passage of time, and the changes that come with it. It is said that before we spread out so much, a few hundred years ago... Actually, instead of going backwards in time bit by bit, I think I should start from the very beginning. Let's see... The story of the Calling actually starts with the story of the first shamare.

In the earliest days of our history, there were no shamares. When our ancestors were wandering these lands like clueless yearlings, with their eyes wide with wonder and fear, they did not know how to do a great many things, including how to deal with spirits. It is said that they simply buried their fallen, digging holes in the ground and stacking cairns of stones on top of the graves. They paid respect to the bodies, completely heedless of the lost spirits of their kin wandering the tundra.

Now, there are some conflicting stories about when it happened, but it took a while for the first shamare to be born and start figuring out just what to do with all the lost spirits. A few generations of snowponies had passed already, and although most of the spirits would eventually move on without the aid of the shamare, a part of them remained, scattered all around. There were spirits haunting the woods and the plains, often in the places where they fell, unable to find solace and peace. The old graveyard was particularly bad, the wind full of the painful wails and moans of the lost spirits, crying and calling out to their families while they blindly wandered between the cairns.

That caused the ponies of the time no small amount of trouble, as they were too terrified to go out and forage in many places. While the spirits meant them no harm, they had no idea about that fact. A regular pony can have trouble even seeing a spirit on occasion, let alone understanding or helping one. On the other hoof, the shamare, barely a filly at the time, began hearing and seeing things at an early age, which let the parents to believe that she was not well in the head. They kept dismissing her and telling her to ignore her "fancies and imaginings", which she did her best to do. The voices would not go away, though.

She didn't hear just spirits of the fallen, but the spirits of the world, as well. The Sky whispered, the Earth rumbled ever so slowly, and a myriad other spirits moved through the world, going about their way, invisible and silent to all but the filly. Eventually, she had enough of her parent's attitude, and for the first time, tried talking to the spirits instead of just listening. Most of them ignored her completely, but a small few actually conversed with her, giving her aid and advice. She called them the tuurngait, the helping spirits.

While she was ecstatic about her discovery and her new friends, she knew that her parents wouldn't approve, so she kept her budding abilities hidden the best she could. However, one winter's day, she had to make a hard choice. A teenaged colt disappeared when out foraging with a group in the woods, and the adults didn't know what to do. Apparently, the colt's friends got scared by a lost spirit, and scattered. It was getting dark already, and it was nearly impossible to find any kind of tracks in the shadowy forest at night. And the thought of searching blindly in the dark did not enthuse them, either. While the haunting scared off most of the predators as well, the ones that remained were the most dangerous.

She had never done anything like it before, but the filly knew she had to act. Calling out to the tuurngait, she slipped away from the frantic adults, listening with all her being to the faintest whispers of the wind and the lightest tugs on her mane. Following their guidance, she galloped through the woods without so much as a glance sideways, putting her trust in the helper spirits. The spirits rewarded her trust by leading her straight to the colt, avoiding anything and everything that might have caused her danger. The colt was stunned that a young filly was the one that came to the rescue, but didn't question the spiritual providence. Galloping back the way the filly came from, they made their way back to Snowpitt, safe and sound.

Meanwhile, the rest of the village was still arguing. Some were equipped with torches, ready to go into the forest regardless of the perils, while others were trying to talk them into at least waiting for morning, so that they wouldn't get lost and end up needing to get rescued themselves. Needless to say, the adults were stunned when the colt sheepishly trotted into the village. There was much relief, though that didn't stop the irate adults from admonishing the teen for running off and causing so much trouble.

While they were busy with that, the filly tried to slip away. Unfortunately for her, there were far too many ponies out and about. Almost the entire village had been roused, and several ponies saw her coming out of the forest with the colt. Naturally, questions were asked, along with more admonishments and threats of keeping her locked up at home if she was too daft not to go wandering into the woods blindly at night.

The young shamare had had enough, though. Furious at their ignorance, she shouted angrily at the villagers, calling them blind and deaf fools, telling them that if they were too self-absorbed with their stupidity to hear the spirits, it didn't mean that something was wrong with her. The colt backed her up, telling everyone that the filly came right to him and led him straight out of the forest, without stopping for even a moment to check her way, as if she was following a guide that he couldn't see.

Still, the adults weren't overly impressed by the two younglings acting out, assuming that they were just trying to save face. One stallion even started openly insulting the filly and her parents, saying that they should just tie her down like a wild animal, if they were too air-headed to keep an eye on their delusional foal. Needless to say, that was a step too far. It did not go over well with the filly's parents, nor many of the other adults.

An angry silence descended upon the crowd, but before anyone could make a move, the filly trotted right up to the arrogant stallion, and spat right at his hooves. When he started screaming at her, she quickly turned around and galloped away, going right for the stallion's house. He gave chase, threatening to beat her, which made her parents and the other ponies chase after him. They barely managed to catch them both right next to the entrance, asking the filly just what the hay she was doing, to which she simply replied: "I'm going to retrieve this fool's favorite chisel."

You see, the mean stallion was a craftspony, and a really good one, at that. However, that made him very conceited, and he looked down on the other villagers, always treating them very snidely. Recently, he had lost his favorite chisel, and he had been accusing everyone and anyone that even came near his house of stealing it. All of Snowpitt must have heard about his chisel by that point. So when the stallion heard her claim that the chisel was in his house all along, he flew into a rage, accusing her of lying and slandering his "good" name.

While very confused, the crowd was curious now, and let the filly enter the stallion's house, a number of them following her inside to see what she would do. After forcing the stallion to promise not to touch the filly, they let him enter as well. They watched the youngling go into the workshop, her eyes lidded, her ears turning left and right, as if she was listening to some faraway conversation. While the stallion was grumbling angrily, she calmly trotted around, tapping the floorboards. Stopping at one, she jammed her hoof into a gap, trying to lift it. Ignoring the stallion's protests, a couple other ponies helped her out, revealing what was lying underneath - the stallion's chisel. It must have fallen off a table and rolled in through the gap.

This time, everyone was stunned. The filly had never been inside the stallion's home or workshop before. While he started babbling and weakly trying to accuse her of sneaking in and hiding the chisel, no one was taking him seriously. When her parents asked her how she knew where the chisel was, she replied bitterly.

"The tuurngait told me, just like they told me where to find the lost colt. Not that you care."

No one knew just what to make of that. The filly clearly had some kind of strange abilities - it wasn't just her foalish imagination acting out. Not a single pony understood what she was even trying to say, though. They started pelting her with questions and requests to find other things, but she just frowned and turned away, saying that she was tired from that gallop through the woods and wanted to go home.

The parents obliged, pushing through the confused crowd. The filly didn't say a word as they were going home, going to bed without so much as a "goodnight". Feeling ashamed for unknowingly mistreating their daughter for the longest time, they vowed to do better. The next morning, they made the filly a hearty breakfast, gently pleading with her to explain to them just what was it that she was able to do, promising to believe her this time. Reluctantly, she agreed, doing her best to put the things she felt into words.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity, with questions, inquiries, prodding, interrogations, queries, examinations, investigations, probes, research, and other kinds of studying of her abilities by the rest of the village. Even though she was just a filly, once they saw that her skills were very much real, a portion of the population became fearful of her. Despite her attempt to explain that she wasn't actually doing much and simply had "friends on the other side" guiding her, it didn't seem to assuage the pony's fears at all, even making them worse for some reason.

Though she tried to fit in at first, the young shamare gave up soon after, choosing to focus on more important matters, such as exploring her abilities and figuring out what to do with all the lost pony spirits. Once she managed to talk to the first pony spirit, she started venturing out of the village, bringing the spirits with her to help them deal with whatever was keeping them weighed down to the Earth.

Day by day, she kept going out, helping the spirits find peace. Some only wanted to know that their families were alive, while others wanted to say goodbye in person. Some didn't even know that they were dead, thinking that they were stuck in some kind of nightmarish fever dream, lost and confused. Others didn't know themselves, and it often took some time for them to figure it out, following after the shamare obediently and talking to her about their experiences. And even though casually trotting around surrounded by a cadre of their ghostly, long-dead kin made some ponies even more scared of the shamare, the families that got to say their goodbyes to ponies that they thought were lost forever were immensely grateful.

However, the more time she spent on her trips, the more spirits she found, in all kinds of inhospitable and hard to reach locations. And no matter how many spirits she brought back, there were always more. Eventually, she thought... If she couldn't go to the spirits, then why not make the spirits come to her?

She was no longer a filly at that point, but a young mare. It was hard, growing up while trying to figure out her abilities without a master to teach her, but she did have help. The spirits, both pony and otherwise, told her all kinds of things, and though their words weren't always easy to understand, she did her best to figure things out.

One day, she heard a mare sing to her sick foal, the mother's voice heavy with worry and pain, but also with love and caring. Without even realizing it, the shamare began to cry, the mother's song touching something deep in her very soul. As she watched her sparkling tears fall into the snow, she understood the awesome power of a song truly sung from the heart, clear and pure. She now knew what to do, or at least had a solid idea of where to begin.

As is usual for these stories, we don't really know much of her failures, only her successes, though they do say that it still took her some time to develop the ritual that would become the Calling. Once she was ready, she lit a great fire to keep her warm and to light up the night. The rest of the village showed up too, some in fear that she would call something terrible upon them, others in curiosity to see what other strange things she would do next, or a sincere wish to help both her and their lost kin.

Taking a deep breath and steeling her will, the mare began to sing. She sang of the things the spirits told her, to show that she understood. The grief, the confusion, the loneliness and the dark. Then, she sang of warmth, of light, of kinship, calling out to the lost spirits with the things that they craved most. But one voice, even that of a shamare, was not enough to reach across the land. She rose it higher and higher, hoping that the spirits would hear her pleas and come to her.

It was not meant to be, however. Even though it was a far smaller task than the Calling we have nowadays, no single pony is that capable. But, just when her voice was about to fail, another joined in. And another. A family. A group. A village. One by one, the ponies that the shamare helped joined in, her song having reminded them of the lost kin that she brought to them, allowing them to properly say goodbye. Even those that were scared of the shamare were shamed into helping, joining their voices with the rest when they felt the pain and hurt in the mare's voice.

And it worked. As they kept singing, one by one, befuddled spirits began pouring into the village, spooking many ponies and causing a large hubbub. There were many tearful reunions and confused questions, though when asked, the living ponies just shrugged helplessly and pointed towards the hoarse shamare. Wide-eyed and jittery with excitement at the ritual's success, the shamare giddily started explaining things to the spirits. It took the whole night, especially since more spirits kept arriving from distant locations, but eventually, the exhausted mare managed to deal with most of them.

The majority said their goodbyes and went on their way to the great Sky, to the cold and quiet of the resting grounds beyond the Moon. Some elected to stay on for a while longer, however, becoming the first guardian spirits. It was a confusing time for everyone, full of great changes, as times tend to be when new things get discovered. Still, things settled down eventually, and life went on. The ponies continued on with their lives, and the shamare was already thinking up various ways to improve the ritual mere days after.

The first and most important change was the fact that everyone had to participate in the Calling, of course. A small minority were still reticent, but no one dared to openly deny the shamare's request, in fear of rightfully shaming themselves by refusing to aid their lost kin. Many discussions were had, and they eventually decided to make it a yearly ritual. The beginning of the Long Night was chosen as the most convenient time, since all ponies would flock back to Snowpitt to spend the winter there.

And those, Agate, were the times when the Calling was a simpler, one-day affair: Back when we were still young and our tribe small. Over time, changes were made, bit by bit. As our tribe grew, so did the strength of the Song. At some point, some shamare figured out how to whisper to the flames and add magic herbs and other ingredients to the bonfire, bringing light as well as the sound of the Song to the spirits. It was a much-needed addition, since the western tribe had recently split off and made their home in the forests. With the added distance, it was harder to call the lost spirits to us, and many praised the shamare for her cleverness. I believe that was the time when the spirits started taking more than a day to show up after the Calling.

And then came the northerners, travelling even further away from Snowpitt. Seeing as there were three whole tribe's worth of ponies to participate in the Calling, they were still able to muster enough strength to reach the lost spirits, but those that would return sometimes took weeks. They'd tell the shamares about hearing the Song and seeing the magnificent bonfire from immense distances, but after the fire burned out and the singing stopped, they'd lose their way, only galloping in the general direction of Snowpitt, sometimes getting turned around in the vast expanse of the tundra.

Ponies built more guiding stones out in the plains in hopes that it would help the spirits, but the solution to that problem only truly came about with the discovery of the spirit stones, which, to a spirit, shone brighter than any beacon. Once the three tribes started laying out the glowing trails, the spirits always managed to find their way back to Snowpitt, no matter the distance, even if it did take them a whole week or longer."

Agate nodded, taking a few minutes to fully appreciate the story and quickly run through it in her head, doing her best to memorize it. She was always interested in learning more about how the whole "being a spirit" thing worked, and the story about the first shamare and her discoveries and experiences with the spirit world was very interesting.

"So, you called her a shamare when she was still a filly. Can a filly be a shamare? Do you need to be an adult?"

Gnarled Root chuckled, shaking her head. "No, actually. In fact, you don't even need to be a mare! Though they are rather rare, there have been stallion shamares popping up in our history here and there. I don't actually know how the word came to be, but it doesn't strictly mean "adult mare". As you pointed out, the very first one already showed the signs when she was quite young. Heck, there have been some very young foals that were extremely sensitive to the spirits that surround us, perhaps even too much so. Still, most of the time, it's more of a question of wisdom rather than power or skill. No matter how capable, foals aren't usually qualified to give out advice to the tribe, especially on serious matters that shamares often have to deal with."

"Right, that makes sense."

"It works the same in a lot of things, really," Spear Throw added. "A young hunter or a warrior, no matter how capable, does not necessarily make a good leader. Doesn't mean that they'd definitely be bad, but it often takes time to gain wisdom."

The conversation slowly turned towards other things, the three spirits casually discussing the small details of their un-lives. Gnarled Root talked about a few promising herbalists that she was tutoring, giggling about a few close calls where some of the less attentive students almost ate some plants that would make everything taste bitter for days. Spear Throw proudly shared a story about one of his sons chasing away a pack of wolves with his band of hunters, galloping after them for a whole day and stabbing at their heels with their spears to really teach them that coming anywhere near Snowpitt was a monumentally bad idea.

They spent quite some time just trotting around and chatting, passing by the ceremonial grounds where the fire was still tended to by some ponies. Spear Throw explained that even though they couldn't keep singing throughout the entire time, it was tradition to at least keep the flames going until the last spirit showed up. Even if they didn't bother keeping up the whole bonfire, at least a small pile of glowing coals would be kept, to be reignited when it was time to finish the ritual.

Eventually, their wanderings brought them to the northern village outskirts. A number of ponies stood by the ice wall, looking out towards the tundra from short platforms made of packed snow. Agate noticed that they were well equipped, dressed in thick coats and each one sporting at least two spears on their backs, with more spears resting against the wall. Though they didn't look remotely worried or scared, their gazes were still sharp and alert. While they looked quite different from the guards in the Empire, the filly could easily see the resemblance in their behavior. Spear Throw exchanged silent nods with a couple of stallions as the group passed them by. Idly looking around, Agate saw a few familiar figures further on. Approaching them, the filly nodded to them in greeting.

"Hello, Earthsong. Hello, True Sight."

"Greetings, young Agate," Earthsong nodded back, while True Sight nodded silently, keeping her gaze fixed on something in the tundra. "And hello to you too, Gnarled Root, Spear Throw. What brings all three of our guardian spirits here?"

"Conversation and wandering. No particular goal," Gnarled Root shrugged, to which Spear Throw nodded. "Just passing the time with Agate, sharing stories, the usual. She had some questions about the Calling, after experiencing it herself."

"Ah yes... I have heard that it gets a bit loud for the spirits that are actually already here. Must be unusual."

"Gets loud for everyone," True Sight grunted, finally joining the conversation, but still looking outwards. "Loud enough to bring both wanted and unwanted guests."

Earthsong turned back towards the tundra, scanning the horizon. "Do you see something out there, elder?"

"Something, yes. Too far to make it out, but something big. Nothing that big lives in the plains."

Her curiosity aroused, Agate climbed the icy wall, looking towards the same direction True Sight was. Unfortunately, her sight was not nearly as sharp as the supernatural gaze of the elderly shamare, and she wasn't able to see anything but vague shadows. Scanning a wider area, her eye idly caught a single cloud somewhere in the sky, moving westwards, something like a pair of forelegs sticking out the front of it.

Doing a double-take, she quickly refocused on the cloud, squinting at it. It did look like the cloud had forelegs, and looking closer, she could swear that she saw a head, too. It didn't move like any normal cloud did, either, going at a rather low altitude, even moving against the wind, from what she was able to tell. Could it be...?

"Is... Is that...?"

Earthsong raised an eyebrow at the filly's apprehensive tone. "What is it, Agate?"

Wordlessly, Agate pointed towards the cloud, the entire group turning their eyes toward it. True Sight was the first one to see it, cackling after examining it for barely a second. "Well now, I actually expected them to show up earlier. With how they're able to fly, at least one of them usually shows up after just one day, not two."

"What do you mean? Is that a...?" Agate still couldn't finish the question, disbelief clear in her voice.

"Aye, youngling. That is a wendigo, one of the great spirits of winter and hatred that so terrified our ancestors."

As if hearing its name being mentioned, the creature let out an unearthly neigh, its call echoing all across the plains, making everyone that heard it feel chilly for a brief moment. Flurries of glittering snowflakes fell from the windigo's form, trailing behind it like the tail of a comet. It kept moving west, though, ignoring the village.

"Where's it going?"

True Sight scratched her chin, tracking its trajectory. "Hmm. Likely after something in the plains, maybe even whatever it was that I saw earlier."

"Why? Do they... Hunt animals? Eat them?"

"Hunt, yes. Eat, not really. As you know, they are attracted to hate like flies to a dungheap. And, well, this is only a guess, but I think that some of the creatures that are prowling the tundra right now are mighty angry. The Call must have woken them up from their winter slumber, or they took it as some kind of challenge, like a roar from a mighty opponent mocking them or somesuch, and they're mighty ticked off because of it. It's the only reason I can think of that the Wendigos would go after them, anyway. Wendigos really don't just attack indiscriminately, and as long as you keep love and warmth in your heart, they will leave you well enough alone. They do circle the village sometimes, but always at a great distance, and they're quick to leave."

"And the... Animals? The angry monsters?"

"We have wards and sentries for a reason, Agate, we told you about this already. While the sounds and sights coming from the tundra can be scary, none of the monsters even got close to Snowpitt in centuries. Everyone's perfectly safe, as long as they stay inside the walls."

Agate nodded, still tracking the windigo. The call was made, and the guests began arriving. She could only wonder what other kinds of creatures she'd see before it was all over.

New Journey

❅ ❆ ❅

As she trotted off, Agate thought about her goodbye to Earthsong. Unlike what ponies would usually assume, dropping by in a dream was not a euphemism or poetic expression, but a very real option for her, if a bit hard to pull off. Her many, many lessons with Dreamcatcher over the years paid off, to an extent. She still wasn't remotely a master dreamwalker like her old teacher, but she did manage to learn a few tricks here and there.

Visiting other ponies in their dreams was one such trick, though there were some caveats to it. The main catch was, it worked best while she was resting in her totem, which made going to ponies in the southern tribe while she was out travelling in the north a bit hard. Overall, nearly every ability that she learned had some drawback or other due to her being a spirit, though she eventually learned how to turn some of them into advantages.

One such case was travelling in a dream. Agate still remembered the first time it happened, when she went through the mountain and emerged in Dream Valley when she woke up. Normally, a pony's essence would immediately return to their body, but for a spirit, the border between dream and reality was a bit more blurry. While she did have a substitute body - her totem pole was exactly that, in a way - it was still a substitute, and she was still a spirit. When she slept in her totem and dreamt about going somewhere, she would return to it upon waking, but if she slept outside, things got a lot more interesting.

For a living pony, their dream journeys being reality was probably not a pleasant prospect at all, given how many of them veered off into either completely ridiculous or lethally dangerous territory. Such risks weren't a concern for Agate, though there was the simple issue of getting completely turned around and ending up somewhere strange and unfamiliar. Despite learning how to be mostly lucid during her dreams, the dream-haze fogging her mind while she slept never fully went away, which made her miss the occasional critical detail.

Still, since her totem pole doubled up as a beacon, she was usually able to find her way back from wherever she ended up. Usually - unless she happened to "sleepwalk" a bit too far from where she fell asleep. There was one time she dreamt about going to Nilas and galloping through the tundra when she was in some northern island, only to wake up and find herself in a nondescript patch of the southern plains, with no real idea how she got there.

Needless to say, that made her panicked. Not because she was in danger or anything of the sort, but because she vanished without any explanation to her travelling companions, who must have been very confused, and she was almost a week's worth of travel away from the island she was in. Doing her best to get a grip on herself, she immediately began meditating, falling into a trance and returning to a dreamlike state. Though she didn't like it, there was only one real option for her to get back to where she vanished from - flight.

That was another trick she managed to learn. It was a known fact that, despite being weightless, spirits couldn't fly - though that didn't mean they couldn't cheat. A great many limitations on both living ponies and spirits didn't apply when one was asleep, and, over time, some clever shamares learned to make full use of it. Dreamwalkers were able to shift into myriads of forms, from birds in the highest skies, to fish in the bottom of the sea. They used that ability to travel swiftly across the world and commune with various nature spirits, but, unlike them, Agate didn't have to return to her body when she woke up. Shapeshifting was truly a fascinating ability, though it didn't come entirely without risks.

She'd sometimes notice faint outlines of feathers stuck to her forelegs when she woke up, but that was a minor inconvenience at most, one that would solve itself once her sleepy mind realigned and she remembered that she was, in fact, a pony, and not some exotic northern avian. No, the bigger risk was that her sleepy mind would carry her off somewhere she really, really didn't want to go yet.

After the first time she managed to fly in a dream, she was absolutely thrilled by the experience, and immediately wanted to do it again. It was wild, exhilarating, stunning - simply magical, in more ways than one. It took her a few nights of meditation to pull it off again, but fly she did. Though it started simply, just gliding above the roofs of Snowpitt, she soon rose above the treetops, flapping her ethereal wings faster and harder, barely able to stop herself from shrieking with joy at the sensation of unparalleled freedom.

Rising higher and higher, she looked downwards at the fascinating bird's-eye view of Snowpitt and its surroundings, hardly being able to believe just how far she was able to see. The forest, the tundra - she could see everything, save for maybe the tops of the southern mountains. That wasn't exactly a big issue, though, as with a chuckle, she just continued rising, heedless of how far from the ground she was getting. Only when the lights of Snowpitt looked like barely visible fireflies and even the mountaintops appeared no bigger than a pointy rock did she look upward. She was far above the clouds, and the sky looked much closer here - including the Moon. Gazing curiously at the silvery orb, she examined the darkened splotch of the space narwhal for a moment before the Moon turned to look at her, too, its eye seeming to squint at her.

To this day, Agate didn't know whether it was a conjuration of her mind or if she actually caught the attention of some kind of Moon spirit, and she didn't want to find out. She barely even remembered the moment, only recalling the sudden sensation of sheer terror gripping her entire being as something far, far vaster than her considered her being. Faster than she could blink, she bolted downward, waking up splayed out on the ground face-down next to her totem, with the sensation of having fallen out of bed lingering in her mind.

While she wasn't certain whether the Moon spirit was hostile or even real, she knew one thing - galloping high, high into the sky was how snowpony spirits went to their eternal resting grounds, and the stories concerning that did mention going past the Moon. She certainly didn't want to end up there, whether by accident or if her dreaming mind forgot that she still had things to do back on the ground and went there anyway. As such, she became a lot more apprehensive about flying around, which also served to make actually performing the fickle dream magic that much harder.

Still, she didn't forget Spear Throw's lessons about being brave and overcoming your fears. Not to mention, save for that one mishap, flying really was fun, not to mention expedient. Sure, she already could gallop non-stop without getting tired, but even that was slow compared to the speed of flight that was unbound from most laws of reality. And it allowed her to cross the sea without needing someone to carry her, as well!

Given all that happened, she decided to do something special and fly out ahead of the migrating mass of ponies, going all the way to the very end of the route. She did visit Green Land before, so she was quite certain that she'd be able to retrace the path by air, even in her sleep (literally). And if she got lost or ended up on some random island, she'd just pick it up next day - Agate certainly felt confident enough in her knowledge of the Thousand Islands by now.

Trotting outside the village boundaries, she considered her options for a brief moment before turning southwest, towards a wooded area. It didn't particularly matter where she went for this, as long as it was a sufficient distance from the totem's draw, but she liked the ambiance of a tiny grove that she found, the faintly glowing spirits of the old trees and the susurrations of the wind moving through the branches giving the place a feeling of mystique and timelessness.

As usual, the grove was empty, save for a few faint forms of northern birds that she could see in the trees. Besides the odd attraction that Agate felt, it was a really unremarkable place, especially considering some of the more interesting islands that she saw in her travels, but something still drew the spirit there. Glancing around for the dozenth time to try and notice whatever it was that made it stand out, she shrugged, moving to the bare patch in the middle and lying down. Though it was still "day", the sky was dark again - it was just the beginning of spring, which meant that the Sun only showed up for a brief moment. Gazing at the patch of starry sky, she began her meditation.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate dreamt of Dreamcatcher.

Or, more accurately, she thought of Dreamcatcher as she slowly slipped into a dream, carefully treading that fine line between being awake and lucid dreaming. She needed just enough dreaminess to make her forget some of the rules that bound her, without descending into the total, uncontrollable chaos that regular dreams were.

She wondered whether the shamare would show up or not. Thinking about her sometimes summoned the mare, though it was quite a small chance. Most ponies would be confused that there even was a chance at all, seeing as they were well aware that Dreamcatcher had been dead for almost a decade. While that really wasn't an impediment for snowponies, much like with everything else in her life, Dreamcatcher hardly behaved like an ordinary pony, or even shamare, for that matter.

Even her death was unusual, leaving all the elders and wise ponies scratching their heads. It was generally accepted that the shamare was near-permanently sleepy, her bouts in the dream realm often leaving her more tired when she woke up than when she went to bed, even if she "slept" for a whole day or longer. Despite that, and the added relative physical frailty due to the sedate lifestyle, her spiritual strength was both well known and highly regarded by her peers. Which made it all the stranger when, one day, she just didn't wake up.

While her family were used to Dreamcatcher's long dream journeys, they became concerned when she slept for three days straight, without showing any reaction to attempts at waking her up. As other shamares confirmed, though, she was definitely still alive, just... Very, very, very sleepy, apparently. The few that had some talent in dreamwalking tried contacting her, to no avail. The herbalists likewise tried some tinctures that would rouse a pony from even the deepest slumber, with no results. Uncertain what else to do, they were forced to just let things run their course.

Dreamcatcher kept sleeping, with a periodic visit from a shamare to check whether her spirit was still in her body. There were some stories about dreamwalkers appearing dead to other shamares if their spirit was off travelling some far-off dream realm, but that wasn't the case with Dreamcatcher, either. If the mare was dreaming, then she was clearly sleeping in her dream, as well.

As the days turned into weeks, something which would have certainly killed a lesser pony, some began joking that the elder was going to catch up on the entire life of missed sleep before going on her final journey. She was getting on in her years, and with her talent, ponies were expecting that when she went, it would happen in her sleep - but they certainly didn't expect it to go quite like that.

By the end of the third week of Dreamcatcher's extra-deep slumber, Agate was thinking about the mare as she went to sleep in her totem. They never stopped their lessons, and while it took a great many years, Agate did slowly improve her dreamwalking skills, though still not nearly to the level of her teacher. Whether it was the fact she was thinking about the shamare, her somewhat meditative state of mind as she thought about her past lessons, or Dreamcatcher finally having had enough sleep, they met in a dream.

"Ah. My young apprentice," Dreamcatcher spoke, startling Agate so badly she almost woke up.

"Waugh! Dreamcatcher?! Where, what? Wait, I'm asleep... And so are you!"

"Why yes, that is a prerequisite for ponies to talk in their dreams," The shamare pointed out with a snort.

"No, I mean... You're really asleep. You've been sleeping for a long time."

"Hmm? How long, exactly?"

"It's been... Around three weeks now, I think," Agate replied, tapping her hoof as she counted.

Stretching out her legs one by one, Dreamcatcher hummed quietly, looking entirely unbothered. "Huh. Bit longer than normal, but I needed to get some real shut-eye forever now."

"So you were catching up on sleep? Ponies are saying that... You probably won't be waking up," The spirit ventured carefully.

"Eh, what is waking up? Are you sure life isn't a dream, with the dreamworld being the true dominion of reality?"

"Uh, well..." Agate trailed off, scratching her head.

"Heh! Don't think too hard on it, Agate, I'm just messing with you. Maybe. Or perhaps I'm entirely correct. Much like other dream-related stuff, it's often hard to pinpoint where, exactly, the truth lies with these things. Either way, yes, I was aware that my time was coming. It was getting harder and harder to roll out of bed every morning. Even more so than usual, that is. I don't feel very dead, though. Wonder what's that going to be like."

Agate slowly shrugged. "It doesn't feel much like anything. You lose most of your senses. Smell, touch... Though you can still touch some things. There's not much to say about it, honestly. There's some magic you can do as a spirit... But you know much more about that than I do."

"I suppose. Anyway, I don't really feel like going to my final rest just yet, but the waking world doesn't interest me much, either. There were times when I thought I might not find my way back as I wandered the dream realms, seeing things and places beyond description. I think I shall go explore them, now that the risk of me not waking has already come and gone."

"I see. Is this goodbye, then?" Agate asked, not without sadness. While her relationship with the dreamwalker was always somewhat formal, given their teacher-apprentice status, she did like the mare.

"Quite possibly, though I might drop in now and again. Honestly, there's really no telling what it's going to be like for me when I'll become truly untethered. It was hard for me to tell the passage of time already, and now that I won't be waking up any more... I honestly have no idea," She replied thoughtfully.

"Well... In that case, thank you for everything, Dreamcatcher. You kept teaching me even when it was no longer needed and we already figured out what happened to the Empire. I never did learn how to summon the echoes of the past like you did that time..."

"Mm, yes, I could see that your true talent does not lie with dream magic. Yet, you persevered, and you did learn and develop a few tricks of your own, haven't you?"

"I suppose I did," Agate smiled faintly, thinking back to her first flight.

"Then the time was most certainly not wasted. There are too few of those who know how to truly wield the power of dreams anyway, and having more ponies with at least some skill is good. Who knows, with you planning to stay around for so long, you might end up teaching some young dreamwalkers yourself. If not the advanced stuff, then the basics, at least. If you hear of any young shamares like that, and there aren't any older masters around to teach them - help them out, will you?"

"Of course, Dreamcatcher. I promise," Agate nodded solemnly.

"Very well. I suppose this is goodbye, then. I should try to wake up one last time and say goodbye to my family, I think... If I can even manage that. Or, I'll just pop over to their dreams as well," Dreamcatcher mused, weighing her options.

Nodding, Agate didn't say anything more, blinking and appearing next to her teacher, choosing to skip the walking bit. Rearing up, she hugged the older mare, Dreamcatcher reciprocating and laying her neck on Agate's. After a few moments, she stepped back and nodded to Agate as well, the two dreaming spirits coming to a consensus. Both of their forms became blurrier, as one went back to slumber while the other one tried to wake up.

As it turned out, it wasn't the final goodbye, as they still managed to meet every few years, spending their time catching up on Dreamcatcher's travels through the dreamworld and Agate's adventures in the waking one. Agate never knew whether it would be their last meeting, but even as the years without seeing the shamare dragged on, she still heard the occasional story about some ponies that would come bearing gifts for Dreamcatcher's family, claiming that the deceased dreamwalker's spirit saved their foals from night terrors or gave them useful foresight. Which meant that Dreamcatcher was still out there, somewhere.

Thinking about her seemed to increase the chances of getting her attention, but it was far from a sure shot. After reaching the right frame of mind and waiting a little bit, Agate shrugged, and got to envisioning herself as a bird. It was time to fly.

❅ ❆ ❅

Flapping her ethereal wings, Agate soared across the skies. She never really knew whether she looked like a specific bird, or if she just managed to get the general shape of one. She did see a whole bunch of northern birds, but she didn't concentrate too hard on a specific one while shapeshifting. In fact, she couldn't even be too sure that she looked entirely like a bird - while she could see her wings and part of her body, she couldn't exactly look at her own face, so maybe she looked like a strange bird-chimaera with a pony's head attached.

A fleeting thought about asking someone what she looked like came and went through her dreamy consciousness, Agate's entire diminished attention being consumed by what lay below. Even swifter than the tireless spirit could gallop on hoof, she crossed the tundra plains, the monotonous landscape being somewhat easier to navigate from the air due to the increased viewing distance.

She saw the indistinct forms of the northerner's caravans, one of the few things blocking out the reflection of moonlight on the snow. Thinking about the Moon made her glance upwards, which resulted in a sudden shudder as she instinctively dived lower, the sudden jab of fear almost making her wake up and lose her avian form. Trying to shake the feeling of someone staring at the back of her head, she flapped harder, gaining more speed.

Flap by flap, the landscape passed by, the details barely registering in Agate's mind. Soon enough, she reached Nilas, circling it once before aiming north once more, crossing the barrier between land and water. She could almost feel the winds change as the sea below her churned, but the fierce seaborne gales mattered little to the immaterial spirit. Flying effortlessly against the wind, she continued on.

One by one, the shapes of familiar islands began appearing beneath her. She circled and almost landed at some of them, only remembering at the last moment that they weren't her destination this time. Lifting up again and continuing onwards, she did her best to hold the image of Green Land in her mind. She was mostly successful in that endeavor, save for a few minor sidetracks.

Eventually, the massive island appeared in the distance. A mere blink later, she was already approaching its shores. Though Agate could remember many moments like this during her dream journeys, she wasn't able to tell whether she crossed the distance in an instant due to her magic-enhanced way of travelling, or if she simply forgot that stretch of the journey. Much like during an extremely long and monotonous trip, the dreamlike state of her mind didn't particularly care to register or remember some bits of it, only focusing on moving forward.

Finding the settlement wasn't too hard, the many protective wards and enchantments glimmering faintly in her vision and guiding the spirit to her destination. Weaving between the trees, she circled the village, trying to remember the specific place she wanted to get to. It was not meant to be, though, as her approach triggered some of the very defenses that guided her there.

A shamare down on the ground suddenly raised her head as an ever-silent crystal windchime suddenly rang out. It was enchanted to only make sound from the ripples of magic made by the passage of spirits instead of the wind, and they were considered to be quite reliable. Squinting her eyes suspiciously at an odd bird, she snorted, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"No mere spirit of a bird would have the strength to produce even the tiniest sound from the chimes. Come here, you, let's see what we have here," She muttered, gathering her strength.

Meanwhile, Agate suddenly felt something yank her sideways, the spirit squawking in surprise and trying to right her flight. Flapping erratically, she went down, feeling oddly compelled to go towards a mare that was staring at her with glowing eyes. Landing on the shamare's outstretched foreleg, she blinked in confusion, shaking her head as her captor examined her.

"You're no bird that I ever saw, that's for sure, and I highly doubt you're just an unfamiliar kind," The shamare exclaimed confidently a mere few moments later, dropping Agate to the ground. While the mare-turned-bird was trying to right itself, the mare reached for something on her back. "Let's see who you really are, you sneak! No errant spirits will bother the ponies in this village on my watch!"

Shamares were quite often bedecked in dozens of trinkets and charms of all kinds, from bones of exotic animals to bits of metal. This one was no different, though she had something extra with her. She was wielding something that wasn't quite a stick, yet was far too short to be called a staff - a baton, perhaps? Either way, she swung the rune-covered implement towards Agate, unceremoniously bonking her on the head.

"Reveal your true form!"

With a soft fwoomph, ethereal feathers exploded everywhere, fading from sight before they could hit the ground. Where the bird once was, Agate stood, rubbing her head and swaying slightly as her eyes spun in her sockets. Trying to get her bearings, she blinked rapidly in an attempt to shake off the dizziness, with limited success. Meanwhile, the shamare was staring at her, confusion and disbelief written on her face. She glanced at the baton contemplatively, pulling it back as if to strike the spirit again.

"The heck just happened?" Agate managed to ask.

"You... Hrm," The shamare spoke, before stopping herself and examining Agate again. "This isn't some kind of layered trick? You're the traveler spirit?"

"Yeah?" Agate confirmed it, examining the shamare as her vision slowly returned to normal.

"How'd you do that?" The mystic asked, slinging the baton back on her back, her suspicious tone replaced with curiosity.

"Do what? And what did you do?" Agate shot right back, feeling like someone kicked her out of bed.

"Whacked you with my spirit-whacker," The mare replied succinctly, a wry grin on her face. "Thought you were something other than what you were pretending to be, which I turned out to be right about. I don't think I heard about pony spirits being able to shapeshift like that before."

"I wasn't really... Pretending. It's just a way to travel faster. And some spirits can shapeshift. My dreamwalking teacher taught me how," Agate replied, huffing grumpily.

"You weren't asleep, though."

"Actually, I was."

That left the shamare nonplussed. "Sleepwalking? No, sleepflying? Sleep... Shapeshifting? What?"

This time, Agate had a wry grin as she explained. "Lots of rules that bind us in life - and even in death - don't really apply in dreams. Even if you're not a dreamwalker, I'm certain you experienced it yourself, elder. And I'm sure you heard that dreamwalkers can travel both the spirit planes and the waking world, watching ponies, observing omens, and all that stuff. Well, I figured out something interesting - a dreamwalker has to go back to their body when they wake up, obviously. I, however, do not. Bodiless spirit, and all that."

"Huh. That is... Hm. That is a very neat trick," The shamare concluded after some thinking. "Sounds like only spirits can really take advantage of it, though."

"Can't help it. Just something that I discovered by accident," Agate shrugged.

After another short pause, the shamare snorted and shook her head, turning to walk away. "You younglings and your crazy foreign magics. Watch it, young spirit - if you act suspicious, you'll attract attention."

"Yeah? And then what? You'll bonk me on the head again?"

"You better believe I will! Don't think your fame allows you to engage in weird shenanigans!" The shamare confirmed resolutely, reaching for the baton and brandishing it in Agate's direction.

With a roll of her eyes and a small smile, Agate pulled on her several decade's worth of experience of hanging around shamares to come up with the best, most appropriate reply she could think of. Squaring her shoulders, she stood up as straight as possible, and, while looking her adversary right in the eyes, took a breath, blowing a massive raspberry at the baton-wielding mare.

"Why you cheeky-"

Laughing, Agate galloped off, weaving between the trees and homes. She knew that the mare wasn't really mad, but it was still fun to mess with her a bit and have the final word. Glancing around as she moved, she tried to discern which part of the village she ended up in. Given that it was still being built and many things kept changing, it wasn't an easy task, and it took her a little while of wandering through the wooded settlement to find her target. Eventually, though, she was certain she found the right place.

"Knock knock!" She yelled, actual knocking still not being something that she could do.

It took a minute for the door to open, a surprised-looking Glacier Glider stepping out. "Well now, there's only one pony that shouts instead of knocking, yet I know it can't be my wandering daughter. It is far too early. Not a single boat from the south has reached our shores yet."

"It's me, Glacier. I... Took a shortcut," Agate said with a smile.

Though she never referred to the mare as "mother", something Glacier Glider fully understood, given that Agate's real parents were still alive, the mare still called the spirit her daughter, which Agate didn't mind at all. It was a little strange, but it did make her feel a tiny bit warm inside.

"Well well well. Learning new tricks, eh? You'll have to tell me about that. And what made you rush over here so fast. We're not in some kind of danger, are we? Don't tell me we need to evacuate."

"Nothing like that, no," Agate reassured her with a shake of her head. "Didn't really have to rush here either, but I did want to practice that magic a bit. And there were some things that happened in the Gathering that I wanted to talk about. I'm... A bit at a loss at what to do."

"Sounds like you have a story to tell, then. Let me gather the girls and we can all talk."

❅ ❆ ❅

The air was filled with the shrieks of snowpony foals, the rambunctious youths engaging in the usual childhood pastimes of roughhousing and playing games with very ill-defined rules. While the stallions were busy with other things, the mothers were taking the chance to "chill" while watching their young ones play, a snowpony term for relaxing outside that Agate found amusing. Outside usually meant cold, but with the unseasonal warmth the island had, it was pleasantly cool at worst, at least for the snowponies that still had their thick winter coats.

Agate was sitting with Glacier Glider and her daughters, the twins keeping an eye on their own foals. Glacier's family chose to move to Green Land when the opportunity arose, eager to have more space for themselves. The Flurry twins both found husbands and had three foals each, which usually meant splitting up and the younger generation moving away to a less densely colonized island. Instead, they traded their house on the Fanged Shore away, working together to build a much larger family home in the new frontier.

"So you really can grow feathers and fly?" Flurry Spinner asked, lazily stretching out on a flat, mossy rock.

"Kind of, yeah. I change my whole shape, though, not just sprout wings," Agate explained, holding up a foreleg and thinking about her journey to the island.

"You can only do it while sleeping, though? That sounds strange. I thought magic requires you to be as awake and focused as possible," Spinning Flurry mused, brushing her coat with a comb made of bone.

"Heh. Yes, dream magic is strange like that. If you focus and strain too hard, you just wake up. You need to achieve just the right amount of balance between waking and sleeping. The sleeping bit lets you forget that what you're doing is supposed to be impossible, while the waking part allows you to put the ability to do crazy stuff to practical use, instead of just having weird dreams."

"Sounds fun, though I'm not sure just how much practical use I'd get out of such an ability," Glacier Glider mused, watching her grandfoals goofing off with a small smile.

"Yeah, it's not really something useful for a regular snowpony, I think. It's all shamaric magic, and it took me decades to master just that much," Agate agreed with a shrug, squinting and picturing feathers over her forelegs. She blinked in surprise when she was actually able to see faint outlines for a brief moment, right before they vanished.

Flurry Spinner caught that, though. "Whoa. So maybe you don't have to be asleep?"

"...Maybe. Huh. I really don't know. I'm still learning what I can and can't do. Given my situation, what works for shamares doesn't always work for me, and vice versa. Some of the stuff I tried just blows up in my face - most of it metaphorically, at least."

"Heh. Any funny magical mishaps?"

Agate pursed her lips, her ears folding a little as she recalled one of her earliest forays into dreamwalking. "Well, there was this one time I tried to talk to a pony in their dreams. At first, I trotted around Snowpitt for a while, though to this day I don't know if I was sleepwalking through it in real life, or if it was just a dream version of it. I barely had any control over the dream, and it took me a while to even find a dreaming pony. I approached the dream like Dreamcatcher taught me - or, at least, I tried. It didn't exactly work.

It was a foal I was unfamiliar with, so I tried to say hello. I couldn't quite make the connection, though, so it sounded like we were in two different rooms, with both of us only getting strange, distorted glimpses of each other. My attempts to get closer failed, and eventually, I just gave up and went to sleep for real. What happened the next day was the best part, though.

I wanted to find out if the foal I tried talking to was even real, or whether I just dreamt it all up. I did manage to find the house, and when I got closer, I overheard the foal telling his mother about the dream, where some strange-looking, not-quite-pony spirit tried telling him to "come closer". He mentioned that it looked a bit like me, but was way off the mark. The mother praised him for his cleverness and being able to recognize an obvious trickster spirit, and that there was no chance whatsoever that it was actually me that visited his dream. I was so embarrassed that I didn't ever tell them that it actually was me. I just turned around and trotted off, glad that spirits don't make sound when they move."

Her story was met with hearty guffaws, the audience clearly amused by her misadventure. They chatted about casual things for a while - how the settlement's construction was progressing, the catch around the island, the ways the locals managed to harness the unusual warmth of the locale, and so on. Eventually, they came to the reason that drove Agate to fly out ahead of the migrating northerners.

The group listened to her recounting of the meetings, largely managing to keep their expressions calm and remain neutral, though there were a few moments when they pursed their lips and pinned their ears back, clearly unhappy about what Agate was telling them. When she was done, they remained quiet for some time, digesting the news while watching their foals.

"Sounds like a mess," Flurry Spinner finally spoke, shrugging. Her sister snorted, rolling her eyes.

Glacier Glider leaned back on the log she was sitting on, taking a few more minutes to think before speaking up. "I can see their point, but I do think they overreacted. On the one hoof, the waters are our territory, there's no question about that. While one should welcome any and all ponies into their abode during hard times, it is still important to know which foraging grounds belong to whom, precisely so that they don't get depleted due to too many ponies using them. On the other hoof, the salmon is unique in the way that they migrate to the western tribe's rivers to spawn, even if they live in our seas. That was a mistake on Thundersnow's part, I think. There are other fish in the waters."

"Yeah, the general feeling was similar in Snowpitt," Agate sighed. "The whole thing is bad, but not as terrible as the western tribe is making it out to be, and the northerners did apologize. I think the westerners are just mad because they view the salmon migration as a sacred event or something like that, from what I heard."

"Fish is fish," Spinning Flurry snorted derisively. "It's tasty and filling, simple as that. No need to add any needless drama to it."

"Heh. I wonder what would you say about them claiming that seals are pests that eat up all the fish along their shores," Glacier Glider grinned, shaking her head.

"WHAT?! How dare they call our seal friends "pests"?!"

"Different values, youngling," The matron laughed, deliberately using the term, despite the mare being a full adult with foals of her own.

"That's dumb. There's loads of fish in the waters, even if there's seal colonies around. They're just terrible at fishing, and they blame the seals for it, like a bunch of foals," The mare grumbled angrily while her mother slowly shook her head with a small smile.

The conversation died briefly while Agate considered what she just heard, her thoughts running in circles without coming up with anything useful. The mares kept watching their foals in silence before Glacier Glider shook her head, turning towards Agate with a furrowed brow.

"What in the world does all that have to do with you, anyway? Why are the southerners bugging you to fix this? You're as uninvolved in this whole thing as it gets."

"It's one of the reasons, I think. Neutral observer, and all that," Agate replied with a shrug.

The mare didn't look particularly impressed with that argument. "And you said it was a southerner shamare that asked you, yes? That sounds a tad patronizing, honestly. We are the fiercest and bravest tribe, not a bunch of foals. I don't see how their shamare's word overrides ours."

Groaning, the spirit rubbed her head. She didn't really get headaches any more, but the reflex remained. "If there was a clear authority on this, I'm fairly certain it would be resolved already, one way or another. But like I already said, the southerners largely feel the same. They're not really supporting either side in this."

"What are you going to do, then?"

"Same thing I always do, I suppose... Watch quietly from a corner somewhere and try to learn as much as I can. I already told Earthsong that I can't make any promises. I'll try to help, but... Only if I'm completely certain of what I'm doing. I hate to see you guys infighting, I truly do, but being some kind of... Peacemaker isn't something I have the faintest clue about. I'm not sure I have nearly the amount of influence Earthsong seems to think I do, either."

"Not just going to follow orders from her to tell Thundersnow to cut it out, then?" Glacier Glider asked with a small grin, her daughters watching the exchange curiously.

"No. It doesn't feel like the right thing to do."

"Good. You're really becoming your own mare, Agate. You've spent so many years galloping around at other's requests already, it's nice to see you trot your own path," The mare stated with a satisfied smile.

Agate digested what she just heard for a moment before snorting and shaking her head. "It's not like I had anything else to do while I wait for the Empire to come back. Also, you seem to forget that the vast majority of that time was spent helping the northern tribe find more crystal deposits. I suppose I should just go my way and never help you guys again, huh?"

"Hey now, let's not get too crazy..."

The Flurry twins laughed as Agate stuck her tongue out at their mother, the mare rolling her eyes with a small smile.

❅ ❆ ❅

Agate didn't really keep her speedy arrival or her presence on the island secret, which, naturally, aroused the curiosity of more than just Glacier Glider's family. She had to repeat her story a few times to fascinated listeners, the locals simply laughing and shaking their heads, already used to the spirit dabbling in unusual - for them, at least - magics.

The ranks of interested ponies included some shamares stationed in the village, a few of the old mystics asking Agate to demonstrate her abilities. It was a little hard to fall asleep with several ponies intently staring at you, but she eventually managed, flapping away while the curious elders watched. Flying around the strange volcanic island was interesting, especially with the massive forms of the thunderbirds looming in the distance, snoozing away in their mountain nests.

She was tempted to fly in closer, but no matter how much she rationalized that the humongous avians probably wouldn't even see her, there was an undercurrent of fear that kept her away. There was almost an aura of sorts, a presence that they projected, one that even spirits were wary of. The locals held similar views, preferring to stay far away from the birds, even if they never made any display of even noticing that the island had more inhabitants than it did before.

She passed the time talking to various ponies, thinking about the world at large, and wandering about, not really engaging in anything important. A few weeks later, the migrating northerners returned to the settlement, greeted by cheers and jubilation from those that stayed to winter on the island. Much like the locals, they were also surprised to see that Agate had beaten them there, and by several whole weeks, too.

Predictably, they wanted to hear how she pulled it off as well, laughing and grinning with approval at Agate's methods of conquering the vast distances between the islands, more than one pony jokingly remarking that they also would have liked to be able to travel while sleeping. And one of the curious listeners was Thundersnow herself.

The shamare was likewise impressed with Agate's new skills, listening with a both thouhtful and intrigued expression, working something out in her head. Once Agate was finished with her retelling and the crowd dispersed, Thundersnow remained, clearly intent on speaking with the spirit.

Agate didn't know whether Thundersnow approached her because she gleaned what Earthsong told Agate with her mystical skills, simply guessed it, had her suspicions, or just plain wanted to have a conversation. Either way, she was happy that she wouldn't have to think up a reason to approach the shamare herself.

"Greetings, traveler spirit!" Thundersnow exclaimed loudly, her voice full of strength and vigor.

"Hello, Thundersnow," Agate replied in a simpler fashion, with a nod and a smile.

"That was quite the feat you pulled off. Very creative, I have to say. Very impressive. If a living pony could do that... The possibilities would be amazing. Now, while I would love to chat with you, I'm afraid I am also very eager to see what the ponies that stayed here during the winter managed to achieve. Mind if we trot while we talk?"

"Not at all. Lead the way," Agate nodded.

"Excellent," Thundersnow smiled, turning towards the newer parts of the settlement.

❅ ❆ ❅

Engaging in building projects during winter was usually a bad idea, though there were a number of things ponies could do even while snowed in. Not that there was much snow on the warm island, which made things much easier. Having built the essential parts during the summer, the settlers mostly turned to improving the interior parts of their homes, while the shamares worked to weave their magics into protective wards and runes that they carved into various strategically placed boulders and walls of certain buildings.

Thundersnow was examining said wards with a critical eye, quietly humming in approval. At first, she kept quiet, likely gathering her thoughts. Eventually, she glanced at Agate, a faint smile on her lips.

"I could guess the reasons why you came here in such a rush," She carefully ventured forth.

"Go on," Agate replied neutrally, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Ha! Well, let's see. Perhaps this is merely a coincidence, and you simply wanted to exercise your magic a little. However, since you said that you learned to fly some time ago already, I think that that's not the likeliest option. No, the more likely reason is the whole commotion back in the Gathering, though that doesn't tell me anything about the why. Did you decide to come here by yourself, to confer with your kin here? Did the leaders of the southern tribe put you up to it, to move out weeks in advance of my arrival and sow discontent at my actions by accusing me of causing strife between the tribes, in some effort to shame me? Still, while I can't speak for the southerners, I know you, of all ponies, certainly wouldn't engage in something dirty like that."

"Those are... Pretty good guesses," Agate confirmed with a hum. "You seem rather certain of what I would and wouldn't do, though, despite us not really knowing each other all that well. I think we only talked briefly, and no more than a few times."

"Oh? You do yourself a disservice, traveler. Your reputation precedes you."

"Ponies keep telling me that," Agate replied, furrowing her brows thoughtfully. "But how much of that is true, really? I'm not the only guardian spirit around. I don't spend all my time watching over other ponies like they do. Sure, I help out where I can, but is that the only reason? Because I travel to more places instead of just protecting one village, more ponies know of me?"

"Hmm... Ah. I see. Yes, the things you did do give you a certain level of respect. You have helped our tribe a lot and treated us like kin, despite being from far away. And yes, I am aware of what your answer is most likely going to be - you don't exactly have anything else to do while you wait for your people to return. However, that is no less of a cause for respect than choosing to spend the time helping instead of sleeping the centuries away. This quest, this burden you chose to take on - that is actually what ponies most often talk and whisper about whenever the topic comes up, not your travels and your deeds that you have accomplished. In other words, your personal actions speak of the integrity of your character and strength of will no less than what you do for other ponies."

"I just want to see my family again... I don't want them to wonder what happened to me until they die," The spirit breathed out wistfully.

"And you decided to wait a thousand years or more to accomplish that. Surely, even with your humble nature, you can see the enormity of the task ahead of you," Thundersnow pointed out, giving her a look.

"I suppose. I'm not letting Sombra get away with tearing my family apart," Agate confirmed with a shrug.

"Ahhhhh. So it is also righteous anger that fuels your determination," The shamare chuckled. "Would that I be able to help, but alas, for all my power, I don't think I can affect that... "Frozen time" curse your people were afflicted by. Whatever that Sombra creature was, he certainly had skill in the most unusual magics."

"It's okay. No one could, not even the Equestrians. I made my peace with waiting it out," Agate shrugged again.

"Eque- Ah yes, those other tribes far, far to the south. I wondered about them sometimes, you know. Entertained idle thoughts of maybe travelling to meet them someday. "Perhaps my shamaric skills would help me cross the frozen mountains and the cursed valley without starving", and so on. Still, I don't think it'll ever go past being idle thoughts. Too many things to do over here. The duties just keep piling up. Get one thing done, two more spring up in its place."

"Like corralling a bunch of fish into your fisherpony's nets?"

"Precisely," Thundersnow grinned. "Ponies need food, and construction is hard work, which means that they need even more food. And when it gets cold, they need even more food. This island may be a warm paradise, but the rest of them are still as cold as ever."

Agate didn't say anything as they trotted on, Thundersnow still glancing at the various protective enchantments. Runes to make the gaze of malevolent spirits pass by, enchantments to befuddle the sight of any would-be predators, and so on. While the thunderbirds were the only potential danger on the island, the northerners were taking no chances, fortifying their new capital with the best and strongest bewitchments they knew of. The glimmers of magic reminded Agate of the Crystal Empire a little bit, the northerners beginning to incorporate crystals into the enchantments they built into their houses and walls more often.

Soon, they were done, Thundersnow nodding in satisfaction. "Well, it looks like the others did good work in my absence. And, much as I enjoyed the reduced workload while I was away, I suppose it's back to the grindstone for me. Thank you for your company, Agate. Don't let what others told you to do bother you too much. We are our own tribe, and we're plenty capable of solving our problems, including any slip-ups with other tribes."

Agate thoughtfully rubbed a hoof against her chin. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"Help? Why, I have dozens of spirits I can call on, but... Goodness, what an interesting proposition. You're quite capable yourself, aren't you? Not a master, perhaps, but your skills lie in areas of foreign magic that most shamares are not very good at, yes? Crystals, and... Those interesting new dream-travel skills you're experimenting with," Thundersnow wondered, wide-eyed and shocked, clearly taken by surprise by Agate's proposition.

"More or less, yeah. Progress has been slow, but I am improving... Slowly. But steadily."

"And... You have no other obligations at the moment? No scheduled scouting trips for more crystal deposits?" Though she recomposed herself, it was obvious that the shamare was highly intrigued by the prospect of having Agate as an assistant.

"No. I've been doing those for decades, anyway. I might not have visited every single island out there, but I'm fairly certain that I'm done scouting."

"Outstanding! I'll admit, the stories about you always made me curious, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to learn more about the strange kinds of magics you might know. Even if you only have second-hoof knowledge and not how to actually perform them, well, it still tickles the mind and might inspire new creations of our own," She talked excitedly, turning to trot towards the central part of the settlement.

"Well, I'm glad I won't be a bother if I stick around."

"Hah! The legendary traveler spirit, a bother? Please," Thundersnow snorted, shaking her head.

"That title always sounded odd to me," Agate mused. "I never travelled before. I'm not sure I can call my trip outside the Empire travel, either. I... Fled. Yes, that would be the word. I was fleeing, not travelling. But I think some ponies were calling me that even while I was still staying in Snowpitt all the time. And then, I just... Got into travelling, somehow. Not too sure how that even happened. It all started with Blizzard Heart finding out about my ability to see crystals through solid stuff, and things just took off from there."

The shamare nodded sagely, a wistful look on her face. "I know what that's like. The expectations and perceptions of others can steer your life in the strangest ways, even if you yourself don't see the things others supposedly see. The shamares told me that the circumstances surrounding my coming into this world were highly unusual, which signified something of importance about me. I never thought much of myself, really, but my mother always told me that I was destined for great things since my birth. I don't know what those things are, but I decided that if I'm really blessed with this strength of spirit, then I'll do everything and anything in my power to make sure my tribe thrives. Is it fate? My own choice? Who knows."

"Anything, huh?"

"Anything."

"I see..."

Final Farewells, New Greetings

Time marched on.

Slowly, the region that the shamares battled in was restored, to an extent. The raging spirits were calmed, the random storms and rogue avians no longer plaguing the travelers and peaceful inhabitants. The northerners returned to their islands, while the westerners returned to their shores, both tribes slightly wary of each other. The cautiousness didn't last long, though, as the ire for the whole thing was wholly directed towards the shamares that caused it.

The forests would take many generations to regrow to their former splendor, though it wasn't a complete loss for the western tribe. A great many ponies descended on the ravaged shoreline during the summer, salvaging useful lumber for rebuilding and reinforcing the local's homes and other projects, while the less useful parts provided a great bounty of firewood, both for themselves and for trading. Given that most trees were uprooted, they didn't even have to bother digging out the stumps, which made scattering seeds and planting new saplings that much easier.

Though some expected the western shamares to try something again, no news of anything fishy came from the west. Even if they did do something, Firm Root clearly dealt with it too swiftly for anyone to even catch wind of it. Either way, his entourage during the Gatherings had changed. Instead of the old cabal, the chieftain was accompanied by several younger shamares and an older stallion, something which made a lot of shamares curious.

Polaris wasn't entirely happy with his calm life getting uprooted, but there weren't many older shamares that weren't somehow involved with Birdsong, and the new generation needed a reliable mentor. The stallion was very powerful, and though he sometimes had his problems with talking and passing his knowledge on to others, his students were always very attentive. Realizing that he had a duty, he reluctantly accepted his position, quickly becoming the leader of the western shamares.

A stallion shamare was always an interesting sight, and with how they were eyeing him, Agate was a little concerned that the other shamares were going to harass him. She once saw him getting dragged into a southern shamare's home during one Gathering, which made her quite angry. Knowing that he didn't have much experience in social situations, she stuck her head through the shamare's wall, ready to give her a piece of her mind. Once Agate saw just what kind of harassment was going on, though, she immediately ducked out, deciding that the stallion could hold his own just fine, from what she was able to see.

❅ ❆ ❅

Unfortunately, the march of time also meant saying goodbye to more ponies. Earthsong was the next to go, the elderly shamare breathing her last a couple years after the spirit war concluded. Much like True Sight, she died close to winter, deciding to remain until the Gathering, and move on during the ceremony.

She wasn't a famous hero or anything of the sort, but she was still highly respected, both in her tribe and in others. Earthsong was the kind of pony that was always there, rather than showing up for world-changing events and disappearing on the next adventure. As such, no small amount of ponies showed up to pay their respects.

Agate was present, of course, having returned to Snowpitt from her travels. Once the ritual was over and the bonfire was burning brightly, the two spirits stood before each other, neither one of them breaking the silence. Agate was tracing the lines of Earthsong's form, counting the years that she knew the shamare and charting a path through her memory of the changes she slowly went through. Earthsong, meanwhile, had a small, sad smile on her face, looking at Agate with compassion. Eventually, Agate turned to look her in the eyes.

"You're the first snowpony that I met, you know."

"I know. I remember. It was quite the embarrassment for me."

"Do you think you'll meet True Sight?"

"If I do, I'll make sure to rub in the fact that I lived a whole decade longer than her."

The two mares laughed, their mirth slowly running out. Once it was finished, they gave each other another long look. Without words, they moved to an embrace, holding each other tightly for quite some time. Eventually, though, even that had to end. Still holding their hooves, they looked into each other's eyes.

It wasn't the first time either one of them had to say goodbye, and neither one felt like speaking. The words felt trite and worn out, and both knew their positions quite well by that point. Earthsong had enough worrying and fretting about what calamity might come next, and wanted to go to her rest. Agate's long vigil, meanwhile, was far from over.

They held their gazes for a little while longer, the two spirits barely visible against the backdrop of the enchanted bonfire's glow. Eventually, though, they let go, going their separate ways. One spirit ascended the path towards the resting grounds of her people, while the other one sat down, remaining bound to the Earth.

❅ ❆ ❅

The next one was just as inevitable, though no less painful. Agate knew it was coming, of course. The mare had been moving less and less as time went on, while her grandchildren were turning lanky and restless, their teenage energy making them restless and headstrong. The signs were all there, the generational wheel about to turn as the elders were replaced by the youth. Still, foreknowledge could only dull the feeling, not remove it completely.

Landing in Smoky Bay, Agate trotted over to Glacier Glider's house. She found Flurry Spinner outside, lazily fiddling with a harpoon. A couple of her foals were fiercely wrestling on a mostly dry patch of higher ground nearby, the melting snow turning everything else into a muddy mess.

"Hey, Flurry," Agate greeted the mare.

"Oh... Agate," She breathed after a long moment, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"You're distracted. Tired from wrangling the teenagers?" The spirit asked, watching as great clumps of hair flew everywhere from the vigorous battle, the youths losing their winter coats in an accelerated manner.

"Well... Partially, I suppose. Fortunately, they are now at the age where they mostly tire themselves out, if you give them the right task or challenge. They're eager to prove themselves, and I'm happy to provide some good tests. I think they'll do well when they strike out on their own," She nodded, examining the harpoon's shaft.

"Partially. And the other parts?" Agate asked, feeling that there was something important that Flurry wasn't telling her.

"The other part is the circle of life, Agate," She said with a small, sad smile, putting the harpoon down and looking the spirit in the eyes. "The circle of life - and death."

"...Ah. Glacier Glider?" Agate asked softly.

"Mhm."

"When?"

"About a month ago. We knew you'd want to know, but we also didn't really have a way to contact you. It'd take somewhere around a month just to get from here to Snowpitt, so we figured that sending a message would have been pointless. Spring was coming, and you usually arrive around that time, so we decided we'll wait for you. Well, Glacier Glider did. The others are done."

"What do you mean, done?"

"Sorry, I'm not making sense, am I? What I meant to say is that the funeral is done. We had the procession, the farewells, all of that stuff. Most of our family lives around here, so it only took a week or so to gather up the closest ones. We all said our goodbyes... Except for you. She wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye to her daughter, after all."

"Where?"

"The ritual grounds. Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, I've been there a few times. Thanks, Flurry. Do you want to come?"

"Not... Really. I kind of do, but... I said my goodbyes as well. Made my peace with it. It'd just be... Weird to do it again. You go. I'll watch the foals."

"Alright. I'll just, I'll... I'll see you later, then."

"Take your time. No need to rush."

"Right. Later, Flurry," Agate nodded, trotting off.

Smoky Bay's ritual grounds weren't hard to find, though they did take a little while to get to. Unlike the ones in Snowpitt, which were in the very middle of the village, the shamares picked a place well outside the settlement's bounds. The main reason was a simple lack of space, as Smoky Bay was built into a forest, though the shamares also quite liked that the place was a little more private.

It was a large, barren hillside, the rain having washed away the sparse soil from the volcanic rock, only the hardiest grasses and mosses managing to cling on. The ambiance and the available space meant that it could be used for a great many purposes, not just the seasonal rituals and other gatherings.

Various explorers, including Agate, found that the volcanic island contained a fairly large amount of stunning and fascinating caves, their walls made of solid obsidian. Some also had incredibly clear pools of water, or other beautiful features. The shamares made great use of the caves, turning the locality into a place for meditation, as well as training. Both the locals and even travelling shamares from other tribes liked it very much - caves were always an excellent place for a quiet retreat, but in other places, they would always be inhabited by yetis, bears, or a host of other predators.

As such, the entire area became dotted with all sorts of mystical symbols, practice runes that trainees attempted to carve and enchant, remains of ritual circles, bits of herbs and scorch marks from candles and fires, glowing crystals, warding poles, and so on. Some shamares even started constructing homes in the smaller caves.

Agate trotted towards the areas that were set aside for the public ceremonies and rituals, keeping her eyes peeled. Though she had been there before, the residue from the constant magics performed by the shamares left the place looking like a kaleidoscope to her spirit sight, and she had to double-check she was going towards where the funerals were held, so as not to end up in the wedding ring, instead.

It took a bit of poking around to find Glacier Glider. Though there was no vegetation, the occasional boulder or rocky ridge still blocked Agate's line of sight, and the mare wandered away from the cremation pit. Agate found her higher up on a hillside, perched on a rather pointy rock that would probably be quite uncomfortable for a pony that was still alive.

As ever, Agate's immaterial hooves made no noise, and she was able to approach her quarry without getting noticed. The mare's eyes were closed, though she was not asleep. She was humming a simple melody, slowly swaying with the rhythm, lost in her own world. Agate sat down next to her, choosing to remain silent.

They stayed like that for some time. Agate silently watched as the remained of the day went by, the Sun slowly dipping towards the horizon. Once twilight colored the skies, she finally spoke up, turning towards her adoptive mother.

"Hey, Glacier."

It took a few minutes for the spirit's mind to come back from wherever it wandered off to. Blinking a few times, she turned towards Agate, looking her up and down like a stranger. Recognition shone in her eyes immediately after, though, and a wide smile split her muzzle. Rising up from her rock, she moved to hug Agate.

"Hello, daughter. You finally came. I've been waiting for... I honestly don't know. I lost track of time, really."

"They said it's been a month since you died. I would have come earlier if I had known."

"Of course you would have, silly. Don't blame yourself," She waved it off, breaking the hug and sitting back down.

"So... This is it, then."

"I'm afraid so. My family is strong and prosperous. I don't need to stay behind and look over them. Moss told me not to wait for him, either. Said he'll be around shortly, most likely. And, quite honestly, being a spirit is strange. I can't feel a thing, and my sight is weird. I can't see some things without focusing, but at the same time, I keep seeing strange stuff from the corners of my eyes when I'm unfocused."

"It takes some getting used to, yes," Agate nodded, remembering her own troubles with her sight and the lack of sensations.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not interested in getting used to it. I don't have hidden wisdom to pass on, nor a grand goal like you do, Agate. I'll be going to my ancestors."

"I'm not asking you to stay. It's just... Earthsong, now you. And the others will follow suit eventually."

"You'll have to deal with it somehow, Agate. Either you accept that your quest means you will see dozens and dozens of generations pass by, or you close your heart to it all and become distant and cold. And that's probably a bad road to go down to."

"I accepted it, or at least I told myself that I did. That's not the only problem, though. I... Do you remember Warm Spring and her foals? Autumn Ash and Cindertail?"

"Of course. I visited them when I was still able to travel, though my daughters were too busy with their own broods for a while. I imagine they'll be able to rekindle the friendship between our families a few years later. Their children will certainly want to see the Gathering, they have that traveler's itch that I had in my youth. What's the matter with them?"

"Well, I still visit them both regularly, but their families... They're not like ours. Their children and their kin don't see me the same way yours do. They're all very... Respectful. No, actually, worse," Agate sighed with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh dear, that sounds horrifying," Glacier Glider chuckled. "What could be worse than being respectful to a famous spirit?"

"They're formal."

"Ooooh. Oh my. I see. They don't see you as family or a friend, do they?"

"No, not really. It's not that they don't like me, but I'm more of a mystical boon for them brought on by the ashen siblings, or something of the sort. Both Autumn Ash and Cindertail told me that their families think they're hiding some kind of secret adventurous past from them, too, what with how often I go to them to tell stories of my own adventures. They laugh about it, but it's pretty clear that the idea of me being a friend is a bit too strange for their families."

"I see. You're afraid of losing your connections one by one, then?"

"Yeah. I had other friends or acquaintances, but I barely even know any of the current southern shamares, for example. After Earthsong left, the elder shamare became, ah... Her name is Cloudberry, I think. Not someone I'm familiar with."

"Well, you'll just have to figure out how to make new friends, won't you? Didn't you get a whole bunch of ponies in that expedition with Thundersnow?"

"Kind of, yes, though they were there for the adventure with me, not... For me. You're right, though, I'll just have to think something up."

"And how are things in general? Not getting bored or hopeless?"

"No. No grand adventures for a while, but there's always small things to do for a spirit, like accompany a yeti hunting party to the southern foothills, or go look for rare herbs in the bogs. I'm not going to die of boredom any time soon," Agate reassured her.

"You won't... Ha. Very funny," Glacier Glider snorted as Agate giggled.

"Right. I have things to do. And... So do you. I won't hold you any longer."

"Very well then. Let's go," She nodded, trotting downhill.

There was a relatively flat spot on the hillside, one that was deliberately smoothed down even more by enterprising ponies. A circle of rocks and boulders surrounded the place, the stones covered with various runes and scribbles. In the middle, there was a pile of ash and a few barely glowing coals, faint trails of smoke rising upwards. Agate assumed that someone else quite recently held another funeral there.

It was a bit unusual, as the northern tribe still preferred burial at sea, but with more access to firewood, cremation became a viable option as well. Agate guessed that it was more convenient for a family to gather together on land, rather than in a bunch of boats or have to wait on the shore.

"This is it, then. Goodbye, Agate. I hope you manage to return to your people someday."

"I will. It's not a question of if, but when. The curse will decay and fall apart, some day. And I'm going to be there. Goodbye... Mom," Agate said, making Glacier Glider whip her head back, looking at Agate with wide eyes.

"You... Never called me mother before."

"Yeah. You called me daughter plenty of times, though."

"Yes, but... Your birth mother..."

"I'll come back to her, one day. But... She's not here. She didn't get to watch me... Grow up, even though I didn't... Really grow up, but... You know what I mean. You weren't like a real mother to me, no. I didn't exactly need a warm place to sleep and life lessons any more, and I'm pretty sure I spent far, far more time away on my adventures than with you. I learned a great many things from all kinds of ponies. Still, it was... Nice to have a place to come back to. I have my totem, of course, but, well. It's not exactly a warm hug from a loving parent."

"Sounds like I have been a mother to you, then. You had to grow up fast, your childhood ripped away from you far too early. But, when your children venture out into the world on their adventures and build their own lives, a warm hug is exactly what you can offer them, should they ever return. That's not a lesson you'll ever get to apply yourself, unfortunately, but... Never mind, forget that last part," Glacier Glider shook her head.

"Right. I guess you have been," Agate breathed quietly.

The two mares looked at each other for a few moments before hugging again, holding it for quite a while. When they finally let go, darkness had fully taken over the land, the Sun having disappeared already. Giving Glacier Glider a nuzzle, Agate led her to the firepit, glancing around.

She could see the way the runes interwove and infused the place with magic, made stronger by a set of crystals that someone hid under the boulders. Tapping on the ground, she channeled her magic, awakening the enchantments as Glacier Glider curiously observed her. Moments later, the lukewarm ashes flared up, a small, magical fire springing up from the last few unburnt bits of charcoal.

"Oooh. Fancy magics, daughter. I can almost feel it... The path so many of my kin and ancestors went..." Glacier Glider whispered, playing with the curls of smoke with her hoof.

"Go, then, Glacier. Go, and don't look back. Maybe we'll see each other again someday."

"Maybe. Don't forget the family that's still here, though. Keep an eye on them. After a while, you'll be able to tell them about your adventures with their great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Glacier Glider," She chuckled, nodding to Agate and galloping off, into the heavens.

"I will, Glacier. I will."

❅ ❆ ❅

The years went by. Young ponies grew up, while adults grew old. Eventually, Agate had to say goodbye even to the very youngest ponies that she met back in the day. Autumn Ash was the first to go, while her brother lasted an entire decade longer. Regardless, his time came, as did everyone else's.

Despite the Flurry twin's efforts at keeping in touch, the families of the southern farmers and the northern fisherponies did drift apart, and Agate stopped visiting them. Of the twins themselves, they remained in their family home in Green Land, refusing to separate from each other. It was a bit unusual to have two families living in the same house, but their husbands didn't mind, working hard to enlarge the place, enough for all of their children.

Agate had a number of adventures with them, acting as a scout and sentry as the younglings zoomed across the waves. Once they were firmly established in Green Land, the northern tribe began scouting outwards again, though with a little less enthusiasm than in the past. There was enough space on the warm island for dozens more settlements, and with the thunderbirds continuing not to cause any trouble for them, they were fairly confident that it was safe to expand.

Still, some ponies wanted adventure, while others sought glory and immortality in the songs and stories of the lorekeepers. Before long, they re-discovered and mapped the southern shores of a massive island, or perhaps even a whole continent. They couldn't be too sure, since it was the border of what the snowponies dubbed "the cold north", something which greatly amused Agate.

While others considered the Crystal Empire to be the far north, the crystal ponies likewise thought of whatever lay beyond the northern mountain range as an inhospitable, frozen-over wasteland, and it looked like the snowponies had finally discovered a region that even they found too cold and icy for their liking. It was quite easy to see why the old explorers that found the place in the past abandoned any efforts to claim it for themselves.

They named it "Ice Land", in stark opposition to Green Land. Not only was it an incredibly cold and iced-over place, it was also incredibly magical. The shamares of the three tribes already noticed long ago that the further north you went, the stronger the wind of life became, replenishing your spiritual strength and filling you up with magical energy. However, that meant that they also found the landmass from which the floewolves came, not to mention other spirits.

Ponies that went deeper into the interior claimed that they saw herds of dozens, if not hundreds of windigoes fly across the sky, heard strange whispers and echoes, saw multiple floewolves prowl about, and witnessed strange glows and lights in the distance, as if the aurora itself sprang from the ground. None of them had the guts to try and push on, abandoning their expeditions in a day or two.

Brave as they were, the northerners were not suicidal, and there was little they could do to make the place more hospitable or even habitable. Sure, there were shoals of fish along the shores they could feed on, but with how dangerous, magical and cold the place was, the choice between the warm and completely safe Green Land and the incredibly inhospitable Ice Land was obvious. No one gave any effort to any real settlement attempts, and Ice Land was left alone, save for some exceptionally confident, or simply outright mad hermits and other loners.

Turning inwards, the northern tribe began trying to build up and improve the territories they already held. It took a bit more effort than just claiming a new place, but they persevered. Several curious families of farmers were invited to Green Land, the northerners laughing at their seasick expressions as they ferried them across the waves. Fortunately for everyone involved, they found the local soil quite agreeable, and the northern tribe soon had farmers of their own for the first time.

And the years kept going by.

❅ ❆ ❅

"...And that's the story of my life up until now," Agate summarized.

"Woooow. That's amazing. How long... How old are you now?" A young mare asked, looking at Agate with sparkles in her eyes.

"A hundred and fifty next year."

"So you're almost as old as that spirit you told me about when she left - Gnarled Root, was it?"

"Yes, though it's funny to think that fifty years is "almost". For some ponies, that's half a lifetime or more. It's a little strange to be that old, but... The strangeness comes more from myself rather than the age itself, I think. I expected something to happen, but decade by decade, I just kept going, and before I knew it, I was a century old. And I just kept going."

"And you'll need to keep going for over eight hundred years, right?"

"Yes, Dream Step. I visited the site of the Empire a couple times over the years, but nothing's changed, at least nothing that I could see. It looks like they were right when they said that the curse could last a thousand years."

"Do you think you'll-"

"Hold up there, my student. We agreed that you will exercise and meditate after I tell you my story. I allowed a few questions, but don't think that I forgot. Now then, if you please?"

Agate smiled as the grumbling mare got into a position better suited for meditation and focusing. Agate never forgot the promise she made to Dreamcatcher, namely, to teach any young dreamwalkers that she came across, if there were no other shamares with that skillset around. That was the case this time, as Dream Step was the only known living dreamwalker.

As it tended to be for those with a natural affinity towards something, the young mare already had skills beyond what Agate could accomplish. Despite her advanced age, the spirit never really improved in dream magic all that much past what she could already do. Dream Step, meanwhile, already had occasional prophetic dreams, potentially having saved a few pony's lives already.

It apparently caused a bit of a ruckus of some kind back in her village. The mare was from one of the outlying frontier settlements of the southern tribe, which was quite small. As such, they didn't have many shamares passing by, and among their own population, Dream Step was the first one to show a capacity for the mystic arts. Seeing as she was already of an adult age, her parents brought her to Snowpitt, where the local shamares promised to take her in. Agate was the one that ended up being her teacher, though.

Of course, natural affinity didn't provide discipline and self-control, something which was notoriously hard to achieve for dreamwalkers already, and Agate did her best to pass on the techniques that Dreamcatcher taught her. She also tried to describe the dreamcatcher designs to the mare, as she had been plagued by night terrors when she was younger herself, and wanted to protect others from the same unpleasant experiences now that she became stronger and learned to fight them off.

Agate did what she could to try and track down some ponies that still had a dreamcatcher made by Dreamcatcher, but it wasn't an easy task. No one else took up the craft after the shamare left, and over a hundred years of time weren't exactly kind to the relatively delicate implements. The best she could find were a few (mostly) undamaged frames, kept as mementoes of their ancestors by the families.

Dream Step was still eager to see them, studying the construction with a frightening intensity she didn't show in other tasks. She wasn't lazy, but she was leery of delving too deeply into the dream realm, especially when Agate told her about all the weird side effects that had on Dreamcatcher, such as having trouble being able to tell whether she was awake or asleep. As such, she preferred to try and work on something concrete and physical, first.

Still, that didn't mean that her abilities left her alone. She still had dreams of all kinds, from scary to confusing, and Agate used various arguments to gently nudge her into trying to get a better grasp on the whole thing. Progress was slow, but it was happening, at least.

As Dream Step sunk deeper into her meditation, Agate slowly stood up, beginning to circle her student. She brought her muzzle right next to the mare's face, studying her closed eyes. After a few moments, Agate nuzzled her, to no reaction. Continuing her circling, she would occasionally nip at Dream Step's ears, poke her in the side, or otherwise try to mess up her concentration.

To Agate's approval, none of it worked. The mare's breathing remained steady and even, and her eyes stayed closed. After a little bit, Agate stopped, laying down in front of her and waiting patiently. After a couple hours, her eyes fluttered open, Dream Step stretching her legs one by one before standing up.

"How does that help me with my dreams, anyway?"

"It exercises your magic, your spiritual senses, and overall self-control. It's not direct dream manipulation, but it will still help you."

"I don't get to use any magic in dreams, though. It's all like a memory. I'm just getting strung along for the ride, without any choice in the matter."

"And it was the same for me, until Dreamcatcher taught me how to lucid dream. You'll get it in time, don't worry. It took me many years, but with your talent, you should get there much faster."

"Can't get there fast enough," Dream Step muttered quietly.

"Grumbling isn't going to make it happen faster."

"I know, but it makes me feel better about it."

Agate chuckled with a shake of her head, while Dream Step grinned in the way cocky youths that hadn't experienced true adversity often did. Agate knew that her student had a good head on her shoulders, though. Patting her on the back, she shooed her away.

"Alright, you spent far too long sitting around. Go eat something, and go for a trot before it gets dark. Stretch those legs, or you'll become an old and hobbling shamare a bit too early."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Agate smiled as she stood up as well, trotting around her garden and inspecting her crops. It wasn't a real garden and she didn't have any crops, but that's how she referred to it in her head. In reality, it was just a bunch of crystals scattered across her clearing, some of them much bigger than others.

After all of her exploits and adventures, ponies slowly began bringing Agate tributes and gifts. And, since she couldn't really use anything practical, or even need anything, the only item the gift-givers apparently could think of were crystals. She wasn't sure herself, since she never actually caught any of them in the act, and didn't know who they were. She could only guess that they thought being surrounded by crystals would remind her of home, or something to that effect.

It was a bit silly, like scattering a bunch of bricks for someone who used to live in a brick house. She'd have told them to knock it off if she ever caught them, but she was quite certain that they were fully aware of that fact, and were avoiding her on purpose. She even suspected that leaving the gifts unnoticed was a bit like a game or a challenge between multiple ponies, as some of the crystals appeared during the night, right in the field of view that she'd see the moment she opened her eyes.

Either way, the crystals remained, as no pony would dare to touch another's gift to a "powerful, wise and ancient" spirit like Agate. She ignored them at first, though when she had periods of free time, she did play with them, changing them a little, charging ones while leaving the others dark, growing some of them larger, and so on. After several decades of that, her formerly empty clearing was dotted with glimmering crystal spires of varying color and size, attracting curious visitors to come and see the fascinatingly exotic display.

The biggest spire of all, though, was her totem. Over the years, it had crystallized completely, becoming more like a solid chunk of crystal, rather than a tree. While there were branches of sorts, sticking out from the sides where the original crystals had been embedded, they were far too even and symmetrical to look like an actual tree. Given the crystal's transparency and how charged with magic it was, the pictures and the runes that were carved into the wood were still visible, glowing faintly from within. Sometimes, Agate mused if she could somehow prune it or make it grow differently to make it look more natural, though she never really tried anything. Those were purely cosmetic changes, and she cared about function more than form.

And the totem's function had only been improved by the extra material. It worked not only as a beacon and a resting place for Agate, but also, as a reservoir of magic. With the crystal coating, Agate's magic reserves increased quite dramatically, though the effect greatly decreased with distance. Still, it did mean that she could mess around with the crystals that ponies kept leaving a lot more, and she had fun growing some into the size of a pony, or transmuting them into different forms that she hadn't tried to make in the past.

Tapping a few crystals to cause them to glow, she chuckled. It wasn't the Crystal Empire, the crystals weren't even the types that were used in the Empire, but she had to admit that it was kind of nice, in its own way. Giving one final long look to her crystal totem, she shrugged before stepping inside. It was quite late, and she did need to sleep as well.

❅ ❆ ❅

*knock knock*

"Hunnh.."

"-aveler spirit?"

Agate shifted in her sleep as she felt someone knock on her totem and call for her. Blinking in surprise, she hopped out. It was still dark - in fact, it didn't look like she slept for more than a few hours. Getting visits in the middle of the night wasn't something that happened often. In fact, she couldn't even remember if it happened before. Looking around, she found the culprit.

It was a completely unremarkable, aggressively average middle-aged mare. Agate combed through her memory, but nothing about her stood out. Chestnut coat, black mane, brown eyes... Fairly common colors for a snowpony. Agate wasn't even sure if she ever saw the mare in the past. While she was doing her examination, the mare performed a short bow.

"Traveler spirit, I am sorry for interrupting your rest, but I must beg for your aid."

"There's really no need to beg, especially before I even know what is it that you need. What happened, and how could I possibly be of help?"

"It- it's my daughter, Light Step. She's young, and filled with that youthful energy. She's a clever filly, and she decided to become a messenger and put that energy to good use, making herself some profit in the process. She'd make rounds between all of the southern and western villages, galloping across the tundra like the wind itself was carrying her. But..."

"Go on?"

"Well, she never overran or missed a day. And I do mean never. She'd promise to get from one village to another in, say, three days, and she would, no matter the weather or terrain. She's only been at it for a couple years, but she already built up a reputation and earned respect from many ponies. And she left home eleven days ago for another run, to a settlement in the west. She said she'd take five days to get there, and five to return. She always joked that she'd never be late unless something ate her, and even then, she would complete her task as a spirit. And, and she hasn't been back, and I'm so worried..."

"Well, uh... I suppose I could go look for her, but I can't exactly do much even if I find her. Despite my age and experience, I'm still just a spirit. I can't interact with the material world, save for crystals and some minor stuff."

"I know, but I'm at a loss at what to do! You can fly and find her, maybe call for help from whichever settlement is the closest! My husband is out on a fishing trip for several more days to one of the lakes, and I'm not the best runner, and even if he was here, it'd still take days for us to scour the route on hoof, and-" The mare kept babbling, her worrying having brought her to the edge of hysteria.

"Alright, alright. Um... I never looked for ponies before. Some shamares can track them down with magic, but I don't have those kinds of skills. I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything. I spent no small amount working as a scout, but I'm not familiar with that area. I never really travelled to the westerner's lands," Agate said, thinking back to the brief foray to the western shores, all those years ago.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" The mare shouted, hugging Agate and clearly not having heard much besides "alright".

"Right, well. I need someone to tell Dream Step where I've gone. I can't just disappear without a word..." Agate said, extricating herself from the hug. Just as she did, someone began to mutter behind her.

"The great thunderbird flies west, and the winds follow at its behest..."

"...Dream Step?" Agate asked, recognizing her student in the moonlight.

She looked like she was sleepwalking, her eyes unfocused and bleary. As Agate and the mare watched her, she slowly looked around, seemingly coming to. Letting out a huge yawn, she stretched her legs, smacking herself on the side of her face several times to finish waking up.

"Dream Step? Did you have a vision of some kind? A prophetic dream?" Agate inquired, the unnamed mare suddenly looking concerned.

"Something like that? Maybe. Bleh. Woke me up in the middle of the night, and I felt that it concerned us in some way. Feels like I somehow actually fell asleep while I was trotting here," She grumbled.

"Can you describe it?"

"Not much to describe, and it was nonsensical. I remember being in Snowpitt, just... Being there. Talking with someone, maybe? But I don't remember those parts, so I guess they're not important. Suddenly, a great wind rose up, tearing the entire village to bits. I looked for the source, and saw a great bird of some kind in the sky, flying west. As it flew, it was like it dragged a great wall of wind behind it, and carried all the debris in its wake. As everything fell apart like dust and got dragged away, even including the ponies that stood around me, I started galloping after the bird. It felt like days, as the light changed from day to night and day again, and... Then, I woke up."

"You... Did not dream about my daughter, shamare?" The mare asked.

"Uh... I'm sorry, who are you? And when did you even get here?" Dream Step asked, blinking sleepily at the third member of their meeting.

"My name is Wildflower, and I was asking the traveler spirit for help. My daughter is missing, and I was hoping..."

"Missing where? In the west?"

"Yes."

"Huh..."

"Do you know what the dream meant, Dream Step? Is it somehow related to Wildflower's daughter?" Agate inquired.

"Ha. I have no idea, obviously. Who could make sense of that kind of nonsense? I highly doubt that it was a premonition about a thunderbird attacking Snowpitt. I don't even know what they look like, I only heard stories!" She scoffed.

"Maybe it was some kind of metaphor," Agate suggested.

"Ughhhh, those kinds of prophetic dreams are the worst! Why can't all dreams be normal and straightforward, like the one where I dreamt a stallion got caught by a yeti when he was out in the woods and I warned him when I woke up! Now I gotta sit here and waste time figuring this nonsense out!"

"Well, I've been told that the spirits only communicate in ways that they understand, and that a lot of them don't really understand the way ponies talk. So, I guess some helpful spirit wanted to tell you something, but didn't think you didn't talk its language," Agate supplied, trying not to laugh at Dream Step's plight.

"Great. Just great. Thanks a lot, spirits."

"Well, while you ponder the meaning of that dream, I should probably get going. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it shouldn't take more than a few days, I think. Take care, Dream," Agate nodded, stepping away and preparing to shapeshift.

"Wait! I'm going with you!" Dream Step shouted suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"There's nothing really for me to do here in Snowpitt, and I'm at the age where shamares usually start their journeys, and you're the only one that I ever learn anything from around here. The other shamares are nice, but they can't teach me anything. If you're going west, I'm going with you."

"Hold up there, youngling," Agate held up a hoof. "You're half-asleep and completely unprepared, not to mention that you wouldn't exactly be able to keep up with me. I'll be going by wing, after all. You also need to gather some supplies and travelling equipment first. So, go finish your sleep, and then gather supplies and prepare. Hay, this isn't even me going west, this is a search and rescue operation. But, if you do want to travel west... I'll gladly accompany you - if you show me that you're serious about it."

"Okay. Yeah, you're right, I wasn't thinking straight. Uh... Good luck on your search, and good luck with your daughter, ah... Wildflower. I'm going back to bed."

"Thank you," Wildflower replied in a small voice.

"Right. I guess I'll just... Get going, then. Which settlement was your daughter travelling to, Wildflower?"

"River Rock."

"Alright, well, at least I know the route... Theoretically. From other ponies. Here goes nothing," She sighed, nodding to Wildflower before changing her shape and flapping away into the night.

Daughter of The Empire

"I really thought we'd be done with those ponies much faster. How long have we been at this now?" Shining Armor sighed, glancing out a window.

"Long enough to get hungry, so I'd say three or four hours?" Cadance guessed, eating her meal and glancing at the strange ponies.

The fluffy earth ponies were acting like the food they were offered was the most exotic thing they have ever seen, which was impossible. While the Crystal Empire apparently had some unique plants as well as some slightly different breeds of vegetables that they developed during the centuries that they didn't have contact with Equestria, the produce was still largely the same. Both Equestrian and the local flora were cultured from the same plants that the ancient earth pony clans had, while the ponies acted like they haven't even seen bread before. Bread!

"They're really committed to the bit, I'll give them that," He groused.

"Come on, dear, do you really still think they're some kind of criminals? Even Fluent Tongue said that the language they were speaking in is real," She nodded towards a middle-aged pegasus stallion.

After their largely unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the ponies, Cadance had the idea of calling up on the scholars that came from Equestria. Before they left for the north, Celestia reassured them that the language of the Empire wasn't all that different from modern Equestrian, and that they shouldn't have any issues understanding each other, which turned out to be true. Still, a thousand years caused some changes in speech regardless, and one of the scholars sent there after they got rid of Sombra was a linguist, extremely eager to hear the local dialect before it was tainted by contact with modern Equestria.

"Oh yes, your Highness, they're most definitely not just saying gibberish," The stallion nodded eagerly. "I would have noticed if they were, believe me. Have you heard of this phenomenon - an average pony knows approximately forty or fifty thousand words, yet if you asked them to list them all in a row, they'd probably run out after saying a few hundred? If they were just saying "blah blah blah" in an attempt to sound like a foreign language, it'd be easy to notice them repeating the same thing very soon. But no, the inflections, the words... A good part are unfamiliar, but a lot have similar sounding roots to old ponish, with a few modern words thrown in, like "crystal", or "agate". They really seem to have no trouble pronouncing those, for some reason, almost like they had practice."

"Or they know how to speak Equestrian anyway," Shining Armor sighed.

"Well, I'm not able to read their minds and tell whether they're pretending, but the language is real, for what it's worth," Fluent Tongue shrugged and went back to eating, his ears pointed towards the foreign ponies.

The guests, meanwhile, were acting more or less like model tourists. They stared at almost everything with great fascination while discussing it in their tongue, but they didn't resist when gently ushered to go somewhere. Shining Armor was still suspicious of them, though, given what happened with the guards.

Thunder Strike arrived soon after the pegasus sent to find him left, and then proceeded to track down and retrieve the two crystal guards that encountered the ponies the first time. The stallions confirmed that they indeed were the same ponies, pointing to one of them when asked which one of them actually talked for the group during the encounter.

They said that the mare they pointed to was dressed in quite concealing winter clothes at the time, but they easily recognized her unusually long bangs. For her part, the mare seemed sheepish, explaining something in her tongue while her companions chuckled or grinned. As before, they weren't able to understand much, save for the mare insisting that it was "agate talk", and not the mare herself.

When Fluent Tongue tried, the best he was able to figure out was that the mare was claiming that a different pony threw their voice somehow, pretending to speak for the mare for some reason. Such spells really weren't hard for a unicorn to produce, but none in the group were unicorns, and it didn't make any sense for a unicorn that actually knew the language and already was in the group to pretend to be a different pony, which potentially meant that one somehow hid nearby, and helped them get past the guards.

"Too much about them still doesn't add up," Shining Armor complained, going back to eating as well.

"Maybe things will be clearer when the rest of them are found. It shouldn't take long, right? These four were found almost at the same time," Cadance suggested.

"Unless their friends saw them getting escorted by the guards and went to ground," He pointed out.

"They're the only non-crystal ponies left in the city that are not in this castle or working in the library, and they're easy to spot. I'm sure they won't be able to hide for long."

Shining Armor shrugged noncommittally, chewing on his dinner. Cadance's conviction was proven correct before long, though. Once they were done eating and were debating whether to house the ponies in the castle for the night or let them go home and have a pegasus tail them, a servant arrived with another report from the guards.

"I still don't think we should force them to stay. Guest room or dungeon, it'd still be jailing them," Cadance argued.

"Suppose it'd be best to try and find out where they're staying anyway," Shining Armor agreed. "So-"

"Report from the guards, sire. They brought the rest of the foreign ponies that you were looking for, as well as three citizens that are requesting an audience." A servant interrupted.

"Ah, well. That's something. It is a bit late, but maybe we can get this wrapped up today?" Shining Armor nodded, turning towards Cadance with a questioning look.

"Oh, I'm burning with curiosity. Call them in," Cadance nodded, glancing towards Fluent Tongue.

"I'd be more than happy to assist, princess," The stallion nodded happily. "This is far bigger than looking for the minuscule differences in dialects. Amazing as that opportunity is, these ponies are ten times more interesting. It's like they're from another historical epoch entirely."

"As for the citizens, they'd probably have to wait a bit too long while we deal with this. Make an appointment for them first thing in the morning, alright?" Shining Armor asked the servant.

"Of course, sire. Right away," He nodded, trotting off.

"Well then, let's wrangle these four towards the throne room again," He waved to their guests, the ponies getting up while glancing at the two royals, still talking between themselves.

"Hm. They keep glancing at me a lot. They act like they never saw a pegasus before, so they probably haven't seen an alicorn, either."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So what were you doing when their warriors showed up?" Goat Hop asked.

"We went out of the city to cool down in the snow a bit," Shatterhoof said. "The bird ponies must have seen us."

"Oh. I wish I had thought of that," Spring Hoof frowned.

"It didn't last long. I'm warm again," Shatterhoof sighed.

"We'd probably be fine if we didn't have our winter fur," Ice Elation shrugged. "Anyway, it's not too bad. And it's not like it's not interesting. We got to see both narwhal ponies and bird ponies!"

"And the strange narwhal-bird-pony," Spring Hoof nodded towards the large mare. "I still can't figure out if she's the chieftain, or the elder shamare."

"Right, she has both wings and a horn. But I'm just distracted by how she's so pink," Ice Elation said.

"I know, right? The stallion could blend in the snow even with his blue mane, probably. But she's just the pinkest... Anything I ever saw."

❅ ❆ ❅

"What's going to happen now, Agate?" Freezing Point asked.

"They'll bring us to our new chieftain, I think," The spirit replied.

While they waited, Agate glanced around, almost as curious as the snowponies. She hadn't actually been inside the castle herself, and it was interesting for her to see the Spire. The guards, meanwhile, seemed to be subtly, ever-so-slowly inching away from her the longer they looked at her.

"Will be interesting to see them up close," Obsidian Spear remarked, giving a sidelong look to the pegasi.

"Say, uncle, do you dislike the pegasi? I noticed you giving them looks ever since they first landed," Agate asked him quietly.

Thinking heavily for a minute, the stallion eventually shrugged, replying in a volume loud enough for everyone around them to hear, looking the pegasi dead in the eye. "I can't say that I dislike them personally, and it's nothing to do with their tribe. Rather, I, and many of the other former guards dislike what they represent. Equestrian dominance over the Empire."

Frowning, the pegasi shared a look, before the senior one spoke up. "I am just following orders and helping out, sir. Two weeks ago, I did not even know this place existed."

"Exactly why I said that I don't dislike you personally. From what I saw, you're plenty fine examples of soldiers, and, from what some of my friends that renewed their oaths told me, you didn't start acting like you own the place, which is a good sign. But it's only been a couple weeks so far, like you said. And the ones sitting on Equestria's throne are the same exact ponies that were sitting there a thousand years ago. They're patient, I'm certain. What's a hundred or a thousand years for them to clinch a prize?" He shrugged.

Frowning harder, the pegasus pursed his lips. "A thousand? Are you implying that princess Celestia had something to do with your Empire's disappearance?"

"Ha! Well, she obviously did have something, since she participated in the battle that caused it," He laughed. "Who knows, with beings like them? Who even was Sombra? He wasn't a unicorn from the Empire. Was he an Equestrian? And now, another unicorn from Equestria sits on the throne, with an alicorn who was raised from foalhood by Celestia, from what I heard. No matter how you cut it, this whole debacle worked out in Equestria's favor."

His little speech caused all kinds of reactions among the guards that were standing around, the Equestrians seemingly restraining themselves from saying something provocative, while the crystal guard's expressions ranged from thoughtful to disapproving. One of them spoke up, his voice neutral.

"I am not certain that you're right in that regard, sir. You must have seen that "train" thing the Equestrians brought their reinforcements with, yes?"

"Sure I have. Asked a few innocuous questions about it and Equestria in general, too, such as "what's the biggest city in Equestria?". According to the current standards, the Empire is somewhat larger than a village. They have industry, population, magic, and science far above ours now, with the means of simply rolling over us any moment that they wished. That's where you were going with that question, right?" Obsidian Spear rolled his eyes.

"In that case, isn't it a bit too much effort to go through all that just to add a village into their territory?" The crystal guard asked.

"And why not roll over you, if we're so evil?" A pegasus grumbled.

"I never called you evil. But nobles are nobles. It's like jockeying for power is everything they ever do. They care for the status of owning something more than for what any practical use it might provide them," He shrugged, the guards not really having any arguments against that point. "And the Empire's power doesn't exactly work if the population is not happy."

"Our nations were - and still are, I don't think the treaty was ever annulled - allies. The princesses came to your aid, both then and recently," Another pegasus spoke.

"That they did, and I'm certainly happy to no longer be a slave. Doesn't mean I'm happy with the situation otherwise. I already heard of the Emperor talking about "reorganizing the Guard from the top down"," Obsidian Spear sighed. "What's to become of the Empire?"

"The Empress claimed that she will work for the interests of the Empire, sir, and she risked herself in the fight against Sombra," Another crystal guard said.

"She did say that, yes. Words are cheap, though. I think I will wait to see some more actions until I make up my mind on whether to swear my oath to her."

"She also bears the Crystal Heart on her mark. Some say that she is Amore reborn."

"...An argument worth thinking about. Cutie marks and fate are a bit beyond my ken," Obsidian Spear conceded.

"While I understand your anger - heaven knows I would be angry if something like this happened to my home - I still must express my disapproval of you lashing out against the ponies who came to save you," A pegasus said.

"I am hardly "lashing out". I dare say I stated my thoughts quite calmly," Obsidian Spear glared at the offending guard.

"You also fled from your duty. A proper member of the Guard does not flee because his commanding officer fell," The pegasus continued regardless.

"A proper... My sovereign is dead, colt. I failed in my oath, and there isn't exactly anyone to fight right now, is there? If there was, though, you'd better believe I would have a spear in my hooves faster than you could blink," Obsidian Spear said, his normally disciplined voice tinged with audible anger.

"You said yourself that we are plenty fine examples of soldiers. Perhaps you should actually find out what cap- what prince Shining Armor's plans for reorganizing the Imperial Guard include, instead of dismissing them outright as an attempt to sabotage your people. Since Equestria is such a large and prosperous nation, maybe there is a thing or two you could learn from us, if you fear getting left behind," The pegasus argued.

"...Perhaps. Is he a warrior himself?"

"He was my commanding officer, sir. I do not know about the supposed machinations of the alicorns, but he is a good stallion."

"Hm. Well. Something to talk to him about, if he'll be willing to explore that topic," Much calmer, Obsidian Spear nodded.

"I'm certain he will. I know that your people went through a terrible tragedy, but from what I learned, the actual casualties are low. You should focus on rebuilding and perhaps modernizing your domain a little. Once train travel opens up, you'll be able to travel to Equestria just as easily as they will be able to come here. Perhaps you should go. See if you can pick up some ideas," The pegasus suggested.

"Yeah, the casualties were quite low, I suppose, though there were some," Agate spoke with a crooked grin, suddenly reminding everyone in the hallway about her presence, the guards taking another tiny step back.

"Is she... Is she really-" One of the pegasi finally got the courage to ask, only to get interrupted.

"Bring these ponies to their Imperial Majesties," A servant trotted in, commanding the guards and pointing towards the snowponies before turning towards the remaining members of Agate's family. "Unfortunately, your request for an audience has been denied, on account of their Imperial Majesties being busy. However, they graciously offered an audience for you first thing in the morning."

"Busy with them? We're kind of involved in this whole thing as well," Radiant Cut nodded towards the snowponies, who were looking around with mild concern as the guards divided the little group into two parts.

"Oh? Well, perhaps there was a misunderstanding, but I'm afraid my orders are clear. Yesterday evening, orders were sent out to the guards specifically to find those ponies over there, with no mention of their associates, and they said that they will not have time for an audience tonight. If you have something you wish to petition their Imperial Majesties in regards to those ponies, then you can do it tomorrow," The servant said in a completely even voice, his mind clearly made up on following his orders to the letter.

"Don't worry, dad, I'll take care of this," Agate waved him off as she trotted after the slowly retreating snowponies, making the servant's perfectly neutral expression shift slightly into confusion.

"Well, to be fair, it's not like we know anything much about Agate's friends. This is a conversation for her to have," Garnet Necklace shrugged.

"True, though I kind of wanted to see their faces when they saw her," Radiant Cut smiled. "But I suppose it's better not to bother the new rulers for my own amusement. Let's get home, then."

"Fair enough. Good luck, Agate!" Obsidian Spear nodded, turning around.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Excuse me, what is the meaning of.... This?" The servant asked, curling his lip at Agate as he caught up with the guards.

"I'm a spirit," She smiled as the guards nervously pinned their ears back.

"Very funny. Now dispel this at once. This is the Spire, not a street show. You are being disrespectful to their Imperial Majesties," The stallion spoke to the snowponies, his voice full of disdain.

"You can't "dispel" me. I'm not an illusion," Agate said, trying not to laugh.

"Suit yourself. I was polite and gave you a chance to be civil. Guards, cease moving. Deal with this immediately," He ordered.

"Um, majordomo... I'm not sure we can," One of the crystal guards said.

"Not sure... Do your job or I will make sure you are kicked out of this castle and patrol the wilds for yetis," The stallion hissed.

"Majordomo, none of these ponies are unicorns. We, ah... We can't ascertain the source of this... Illusion," Another guard said nervously.

"Is everything alright, Agate? That stallion seems to be causing a scene of some kind," Trailblazer asked.

"It's fine. They just haven't ever seen a spirit before. There might be some shouting soon. Don't worry about it," Agate reassured him.

"What is he saying to them?" Freezing Point asked as the stallion gestured angrily at the snowponies.

"Oh, he thinks I'm an illusion one of you is creating. Just don't panic."

"Alright," The shamare nodded, her expression bemused at the hubbub that simply seeing a spirit caused.

"Search them for artifacts, then!" The majordomo shouted angrily.

"I... Yes, sir," The guards nodded, Agate sniggering as she translated.

The two snowponies were amused at the faces the guards made when they awkwardly searched through their thick fur with apologetic expressions and, predictably, found absolutely nothing. Freezing Point was wearing some baubles and bangles, but none of them were determined to be the source of the "Illusion".

"This is ridiculous. Dispel it directly, then," The majordomo huffed, his foreleg glowing faintly as he swatted at Agate himself, losing his patience.

"Eek!" Agate shouted in surprise when he shoved his hoof inside her, her form blurring faintly for a moment before she reformed herself. "Rude."

"Gah! Cold! What in the world... Get to it, you fools!" He shouted, stepping back and looking at his foreleg with confusion.

The guards grimaced, their expressions apologetic as they tried to make Agate disappear, focusing on their magic as they rather unenthusiastically struck at her. The snowponies tilted their heads at the strange display, not sure whether to be concerned for Agate or laugh at the guards.

Getting attacked wasn't exactly a new experience for Agate, though it wasn't a common one, either. Unlike the highly magically adapted creatures of the north, some of which could really hurt her, though, the crystal guard's attempts weren't really doing much. Some snowponies that didn't know much about spirits thought that nothing physical could harm a spirit, which was technically true, for the most part - but ponies weren't just physical. A living pony could, in fact, strike at a spirit - after all, they very much had spirits of their own inside their physical bodies. And if she hadn't been so old and experienced, the guards might have forced her away with their attacks. But since she was quite old and experienced...

Shaking her head, Agate stood there, their limbs passing through her form. "Sorry, guys, but I'm not going anywhere. You could probably easily get rid of me if you had the right skills, but you're not shamares. On one hoof, you're striking me with magic, which is the right thing to do, but on the other hoof, it's so unfocused towards my essence that it's barely doing anything more than a tickle. I could stand here for an hour before I'd have to return to my totem to rest."

"That's an unacceptably long delay," The majordomo huffed, gathering power and slamming both forelegs on the floor, sending out a wave of magic across the crystal in every direction. "Begone!"

"...Oooh," Agate smiled, her form suddenly glowing brighter as she absorbed some of the magic. "Two hours, now. If I was an illusion, congratulations - I'm sure the raw, unfocused magic would have absolutely shredded me. But since I'm a spirit..."

"Gaaaah!"

Gritting his teeth, the stallion snorted angrily at Agate. The majordomo clearly didn't want to give up, but he wasn't given a chance. Two more guards trotted up to them, the senior one clearing his throat as he looked at the scene with a bemused expression.

"His Imperial Majesty sent us to see what the delay and ruckus is about, with orders to bring the ponies to him immediately and render aid if they are trying to resist."

"They are resisting! Subdue them!" The majordomo shouted, pointing towards the completely placid-looking snowponies, who were standing calmly and doing absolutely nothing else.

"I... I'll just bring them to their Imperial Majesties, then," The guard nodded to the other guards, clearly deciding that whatever was happening there, he didn't want any part of it.

"No! You can't-"

"We have direct orders, majordomo," The guard called out, not slowing down in the slightest, the other guards following him with relieved expressions while Agate sniggered quietly to herself.

❅ ❆ ❅

"I wonder what that shout was about," Cadance mused.

"We'll find out in a moment. It'll be disappointing if their friends started a fight. At least these guys weren't violent so far," Shining Armor said.

A few moments later, a group of six guards, four crystal ponies in front and two pegasi in the back, escorted the final pair of the fluffy earth ponies into the audience hall. As they approached, both Cadance and Shining Armor blinked at the strange, partially translucent form of what looked like a crystal pony following along with a smile. As he glanced at Cadance, she only shrugged.

"Sir, there was a... Small disturbance of some kind, but it was not related to our visitors," The senior guard from the pair that Shining Armor sent out reported.

"Ah, good. All of you, go back to your posts. We'll take it from here," He nodded, four of the guards leaving, while the two took up spots by the door.

"And what... Or who is that?" Cadance asked with a bemused smile, looking at the illusory form.

As the two newcomers went to talk to the other four of their kind, Fluent Tongue listened intently beside them, saying a few short phrases now and then as they replied in their language. The illusion, meanwhile, trotted up to steps leading to the throne, giving them both a short bow.

"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesties. It is a pleasure to see you again, though I doubt you saw me before. I am Agate of the Crystal Empire, daughter of Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace, granddaughter of Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook," She introduced herself.

"That's what that name was. That's the name of the filly who's parents were in the crowd that stopped the messengers... But wait... Then..." Shining Armor blinked, looking at Cadance.

"Um, you appear to be..." Cadance trailed off helplessly.

"Dead? Yes. I'm a ghost. Though I prefer spirit," Agate nodded with a serene smile.

"....Riiiiiiight," Shining Armor rolled his eyes after a few moments. "Good one, you really, honestly had me going for a moment there."

"Oh, come off it. Everyone's calling me an illusion, but I haven't seen even a single unicorn that could do one like me," Agate argued. "Unless they got much better in the thousand years I've been in the north."

"Um... Illusions are a very artistic rather than power-based magic, so how good they are depends entirely on the pony. There's no way to make a spell to make them easier to perform," Cadance said slowly, examining Agate's form with an uncertain expression.

"Well, someone's good. Congratulations. I told you that someone in that group knew how to talk Equestrian," Shining Armor gestured towards the group of ponies to Cadance. They were watching their exchange, Fluent Tongue looking on in confusion.

"None of them are unicorns," Agate stated plainly.

"...Well, maybe-"

"None of them are wearing any magic artifacts."

"Uh..." Shining Armor scratched his head.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you..." Cadance began uncertainly.

"Die? I was chased out into the snow by some mind-controlled guards and tried to go to Equestria. I got lost, though, and I couldn't get back to the city due to Sombra's fear magic, so I froze to death," Agate explained calmly.

"Dear, don't entertain them. They're very good, clearly, but let's try to figure out what they are even trying to achieve with this charade," Shining Armor sighed.

"Dear, I'm not sure-"

"Cadance, ghosts aren't real."

"Spirit."

"Uh huh. Sure. Spirits aren't real either," He rolled his eyes.

"...Windigoes sure are real, as well as a whole bunch of others," Agate countered.

Pursing his lips together, Shining Armor considered his next steps before putting on a smile and slowly cantering down from beside the throne, going towards the ponies. "Alright, folks, you put on an amazing show. Good job, really. Tell you what - we'll even let you stay and perform and get your dose of fame, if that's all you came here to do. Just admit what you were doing, tell us if you stowed away on the train or not, and we'll let you off with a warning."

"I no talk good. Talk Agate," A mare pointed towards the illusion.

"You really want to be difficult? Fine. Let's just get rid of this," He said, flicking a tiny bit of magic towards the illusion, dispelling it to nothingness and continuing his speech. Except, the illusion apparently didn't feel like getting dispelled.

"Nope. Not going to work. Your majordomo already tried to sic the guards on me, with the same exact attitude. Didn't work for him, either," Agate grinned.

"Whuh- what?" Losing his momentum, Shining Armor frowned.

Following him down, Cadance looked at him with concern. "Dear, stop. Something very strange is happening here. I think-"

"Just give me a second, dear," Shining Armor interrupted, his Sparkle family nerd genes activating as he was presented with a magical conundrum. Next, he charged up his horn with more power, and surrounded Agate in a magical bubble. "The shield blocks all magic, so it should stop the flow of power from whoever and whatever might be casting it and make it dissipate immediately- How are you still there?!"

"Spirit," Agate sniggered from inside the shield.

"What are they trying to do, Agate?" Freezing Point asked, barely restraining herself from jumping forward to touch the magical bubble.

"They're still thinking that I'm a trick of the eyes of some kind and are trying to unravel the "magic" that's causing it. I think they're running out of ideas, though," Agate smiled as the two royals argued.

"But Cadance, ghosts aren't real!"

"But spirits are! And whatever she is, she is real! I can feel emotions from her, Shining! Love! For her family, for the Empire, faint love for these ponies..."

"But that's just- not- how-"

"I think we should hear them out, dear."

"One last test. Let me just amp up the power," He frowned, charging his horn up again and sending a stream of magic towards the bubble.

"Whoa! Hey! I'm losing my connection to my totem! I... Never felt that before..." Agate said, her form becoming a bit more translucent.

"Ha! I knew it!" Shining Armor crowed.

"Stop it!" Agate shouted, blindly reaching for the now almost indiscernible connection to her totem.

"No, I think I had just about enough of this absurdity," Shining Armor said calmly, still pouring magic into the shield as the watching earth ponies started making concerned noises at the sight.

"I - said - STOP!!!" Agate screamed, her voice getting distorted as she felt a sudden surge of power, taking on a wolf-like form and tearing through the shield.

"What in the world?! Illusions can't-"

"SPIRIT!!!" Agate roared at him, baring her fangs.

"Dear, I think she might be a spirit," Cadance said calmly, though her wide-eyed expression was anything but calm.

The noise didn't go unnoticed, of course, and the guests didn't take the situation all that calmly, either. The guards by the door sprang into action, two more bursting in from the other side of the door, followed almost immediately after by another pair of pegasi flying in. Meanwhile, Fluent Tongue dove to the side as the foreigners exchanged a few quick phrases and took up combat positions, eyeing the guards, some of who were now pointing their spears at them.

"Sire! What do we do with the apparition?" A crystal guard shouted, his spear passing harmlessly through Agate, who was just standing there, calmly examining her limbs.

"Everyone stand back! Don't engage!" He shouted, charging up his horn again, though things were happening a bit too fast for his orders to be all that useful.

Two of the fluffy ponies deftly dove around a guard, feinting an attack before grabbing his spear and ripping it from his grip and jumping back into their circle, the mare with the long bangs now armed. The huge stallion that helped her grinned and stomped his hooves, the incredible strength of the stomp making the guards jump back in fright. Shining Armor was quite certain the only reason he didn't shatter the floor was because it landed on the carpet.

A pegasus was making a pass above them, getting ready to dive-bomb the ponies when he heard the order not to engage, flapping his wings to change course. The sound didn't go unnoticed, though, and a long-legged stallion from the group barked out a quick word as he jumped on a mare's back, kicked off her into a nearby pillar, and then easily kicked off the pillar almost straight up, going directly for the wide-eyed pegasus with an impressive kick, the guard readying his spear.

"Enough."

Cadance didn't shout, but the word was said with power. Before the two stallions could collide mid-air, a teal aura grabbed them both, separating the combatants and returning them to their respective groups. Next, she grabbed the stolen spear, the ponies babbling wide-eyed at the glowing weapon that wrenched itself from the mare's hooves, floating back towards the guard it was taken from.

Trotting in between the group of visitors and the guards, who had retreated a small distance, Cadance imperiously spread her wings, tapping the crystal floor with her golden hoofshoes. "Peace. Peace. Freod," She spoke, turning to look at the guards first, and then at the earth ponies. "I thank you for your swift reaction, but your assistance is not necessary. This was a misunderstanding. Go back to your posts."

"Are- Are you cer-"

"Yes."

"As you say, my liege," The guards bowed, trotting outside and closing the door, the pair stationed inside glancing tensely at Agate and the foreign ponies.

Shining Armor kept his horn charged up the entire time, ready to unleash his full power and put everyone into bubbles, if that was what it took. Blinking slowly, he observed the... Spirit as she unceremoniously turned back into a pony. "That was... Quite the... I don't know what to call it. I expected you to jump and rip into me."

"I'm not that kind of pony," Agate shook her head. "I'm usually pretty calm, too. Fear is quite foreign to spirits. But you disrupted the link to my totem for the first time in... Probably forever. It made me freak out a little. I also got surprised by the sudden rush of power."

"I... Have no idea what that is. Some kind of artifact that grants you power to shapeshift like that?"

"No, that's my own magic. It just... Keeps me tethered, and helps me recharge. Feeds me magic. I didn't think I could draw power from it from such a distance, though. The rush... Was that the Heart itself? The brief touch... It was beautiful..." The spirit muttered, her mind clearly still far away.

"Why would the Heart help you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Heh. Dead or not, I suppose I'm still a daughter of the Empire, foreigner," Agate chuckled, returning her full attention to the present situation. "Crystal ponies get attuned to the Heart with their first Crystalling. A thousand years outside didn't change that, apparently. I'm honestly as surprised about that as you."

"I... Don't actually know what the Crystalling is," He coughed awkwardly.

"You have a lot to learn, then," Agate nodded at him.

"We all do," Cadance proclaimed, trotting up to Agate and bowing to her. "I would like to apologize for this misunderstanding, and for whatever... Injuries we have caused you."

"Heh. You really can't hurt me much. I'm dead," Agate chuckled. "Apology accepted, I suppose."

"Your friends still seem a little, uh... Could you tell them to calm down? Please?" Cadance asked, looking towards the group.

For their part, the fluffy ponies actually seemed rather placid, the bow to Agate having calmed them down. One of them, though, was in some kind of trance, her eyes half-lidded as she muttered and twitched, a strange, localized blizzard seemingly forming around her.

"What in the- How is she doing that?" Shining Armor asked. "I've never heard of an earth pony with weather control powers."

"She's not an earth pony. Freezing Point, as are they all, is a snowpony," Agate explained, trotting up to the mare and rubbing her cheeks with her ethereal hooves, whispering something into her ear.

"Snowpony," Shining Armor stated, not quite asking.

"Yup," Agate nodded as the mare came out of her trance, blinking slowly as her breath came out in visible puffs, the temperature in the throne room having dropped by at least several degrees.

"When we say snowpony, that's not quite what we mean," Cadance supplied. "Are you saying that they are another tribe of ponies?"

"Yes. Just like crystal ponies are not just shiny earth ponies, snowponies are not just fluffy earth ponies. They have their own magics and abilities. Manipulating snow and ice, calling on spirits..." Agate trailed off, sharing a few sentences with the snowponies.

"Wh- Oh, right. Fluent Tongue? Are you alright?" Cadance called out, noticing the spooked, but curious form of the pegasus stallion trying to listen in on the conversation from behind a pillar.

"I am fine, princess," He nodded, slowly cantering closer.

"Well. We have experienced many.... World-changing revelations in the past couple weeks. Though perhaps still not nearly world-changing as what we learned just now," Cadance said slowly, examining Agate's ghostly visage. "Normally, I'd invite you all to sit with me and talk - I'm assuming that since they came here so quickly, they must be some kind of diplomatic delegation and their people live relatively close by, yes? - But, ah... It is quite late, so perhaps we should all calm down and pick this up after a good night's sleep?"

"They're actually a band of adventurers," Agate smiled, making Shining Armor think of his O&O games. The group certainly fit the theme of an adventuring party, reacting to danger swiftly and efficiently. "Though one of them is the son of the southern tribe's chieftain."

"Southern? And they live north of there... So is there a northern tribe, then?" Shining Armor boggled, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Oh, yes," The spirit chuckled, making Shining Armor's head spin.

"As fascinating as that sounds, ah... May I call you Agate, or do you have an ambassadorial title of some kind? I see you're the only interpreter in the group," Cadance noted.

"Bleh. Plenty of titles," Agate stuck her tongue out. "Never liked them much. Traveler spirit is fine, I suppose. Though I'd prefer just Agate."

"Very well then, Agate. Do you acc- do you and your friends accept my offer?"

Turning towards the group, Agate talked to them for a moment before turning back and nodding. "Yes, they agree to come back tomorrow."

"Very well. We'll prepare some rooms-"

"No need. They're staying with my parents," Agate shook her head. Then she became thoughtful, seemingly reconsidering her words. "Then again... They don't all fit in there, and my grandparents went home already... Guess they might as well stay here. Though I'm coming back here tomorrow with my family. They'll bring some things for a... Demonstration."

"Very well. Do, ah... Do you need a room?"

"Heh. No," Agate shook her head with a smile. "I'll go back to my parents anyway, like I said. One moment."

Turning towards the group of snowponies, Agate began to explain things as they nodded along. While she was doing that, Cadance quietly approached Shining Armor, giving him a questioning look. Naturally, the stallion could only shrug helplessly at the whole thing. This was well beyond anything he ever experienced in his life, and that included fighting Sombra.

"They agree to stay here," Agate confirmed.

"May I ask why did they react so aggressively if you're, as you said yourself, already dead and can't really get hurt?" Shining Armor inquired, inspecting the once again calm snowponies.

"I'm kind of a... Highly respected figure among them," Agate shrugged.

"A thousand years, you said... You waited for the Empire to return among their people... For a thousand years?"

"Pretty much. Staying around that long leaves a mark, I guess. I'm a living legend, more or less. Well, not really living. You know what I mean. Some call me mad. Some call me eternal. Some call me the most patient pony in the world," She nodded. "I'm sure you're going to want to hear about it."

"We will, but tomorrow. I don't think we have time left in the day for a thousand years of history," Cadance confirmed.

"It'll take more than a day, believe me. Better get someone to write things down, because I don't feel like spending weeks telling you stuff only for you to turn around and go "Whoops, we'd like to get it in writing, can you repeat all that?" "

"Oh, you better believe we'll be writing down every word," Shining Armor agreed.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't worry about me, I'll find my way out," Agate grinned, turning into a bird in front of their eyes and casually flying through a wall, leaving the guards and the royal couple blinking in disbelief and confusion.

"That all really just happened, right?" Shining Armor asked no one in particular.

"I saw the ghost - spirit? And I certainly heard her talk, your Highness. And the, ah, snowponies certainly talked back to her as well," Fluent Tongue confirmed.

"I can see now why "may you live in interesting times" is considered a curse," Shining Armor said, rubbing his forehead.

❅ ❆ ❅

Once they called up some servants to show the guests to their rooms (and warned the servants that the visitors couldn't actually understand them), the royal couple retreated to their chambers. Getting some sleep and an early start the next day was the obvious choice, though, naturally, the couple were a bit too overwhelmed to go to bed right away.

"Damnations," Cadance muttered under her breath, crumpling a parchment as she fussed over a writing desk, a flurry of objects hastily set out on it.

Trotting over, Shining Armor noticed the specially enchanted candle that they were given by Celestia. It was supposed to work much like Spike's dragon flame, though with much more limited uses, which meant that it was for emergency use only. Considering what to say for a moment, he turned towards Cadance, who was glaring angrily at her parchment.

"What are you thinking, dear?"

"Nothing! I can't get more than a single sentence out of my head! What am I even supposed to say here?!" She asked with a slightly panicked voice, shoving the parchment towards him with her magic. The only words on it were "Dear auntie Celestia, are ghosts real?", with several crossed-out scribbles. Shining Armor could still see "Because I think we just met a ghost." under the ink.

"This... Yeah. I got nothing," Shining Armor shook his head.

"What do I tell her, then?"

"...Nothing, maybe?" He ventured after another minute of thinking.

"What? But this changes everything we know about the world. Everyone knows ghost stories aren't real just as they know that things will fall down if you let go of them," Cadance frowned.

"Yes, but... Is it an emergency? Are we and the Empire in mortal peril?" He asked.

"Well, I mean... I guess not..."

"So we'll send her a regular missive via train," He nodded. "Other than that... This is diplomacy, which is entirely for us to deal with. Those snowponies don't share a border with Equestria, so... This is entirely Crystal Empire business. Which is our job, now."

"Right, of course. International diplomacy. My first foray into being a ruler for real," She chuckled weakly.

"Just yours?" He grinned.

"Sorry, dear. Ours, of course," She hugged him with a wing.

"Right. The train left today, so we have a few days to write something that's coherent and wouldn't sound like we went insane. And add a few pictures, too. If we start going on about how a bunch of "snowponies" and a ghost visited us, Celestia will probably think that we broke under the pressure in less than a month, or something."

"Spirit."

"Shush."

Royal Audience

"Should we actually be going with you? We don't really have anything to talk about with them," Radiant Cut asked as they left their home the next morning.

"Well, I'm going either way. I hope I'll be able to have at least a short conversation with the Emperor," Obsidian Spear shrugged, a couple ice spears and a set of snowpony saddlebags on his back.

"It's really up to you, I suppose. I don't know if they're going to want to talk about snowponies or me, but if they do talk about me, you'll probably want to hear it. There's still a lot I haven't told you," Agate shrugged.

"I suppose we'll simply excuse ourselves if it's going to be just diplomatic talks," Garnet Necklace nodded.

As they trotted down the street, scenes similar to the ones the day before played out as the passers-by stopped to stare at Agate in confusion. No one tried to stop them, though, and they approached the Spire with no issues. The guards that were by the outer doors just so happened to be the same ones that saw Agate the day before, their eyes going wide and their postures tensing once they saw the spirit once more.

"State your business," One of them said, his voice not quite one of a confident guard.

"We have an audience with their Imperial Majesties," Radiant Cut said.

"Very well, sir. Follow me. Your companion will be required to surrender his armaments, though," He said, nodding towards Obsidian Spear as the other guards opened the doors.

"My niece insisted that they were necessary for her," Obsidian Spear nodded towards Agate, the guard pinning his ears back slightly as his attention was brought towards the spirit.

"I'm sure the Imperial Majesties won't mind. Could you send someone ahead and ask for permission?" Agate politely asked the guard.

"...Very well, ma'am. Please wait here."

They waited in the lobby for a while, the guards trying (and largely failing) not to stare at Agate too hard. Eventually, the guard came back with a servant, Agate recognizing the stallion that tried to get rid of her the day before and trying not to smirk. For his part, the majordomo gave her a glare, but otherwise refused to acknowledge her, turning towards Radiant Cut.

"The Imperial Majesties are ready for your audience. You have been given permission to bring your weapons with you. I suggest you do not do anything foolish with them. Follow me, please."

They were led towards the large double doors that were the entrance to the throne room, the snowponies already waiting there. Agate greeted them, directing Shatterhoof, Freezing Point and Ice Elation towards Obsidian Spear, the northerners retrieving their weapons and bags from the stallion.

"Are you all... Presentable now?" The majordomo asked.

"We are, yes," Agate nodded.

"...Open the doors," He directed the guards.

The moment they stepped inside, the group immediately saw the difference from the day before. There were a lot more ponies this time, lined up all along the wall of the throne room. A couple trumpeters even announced their presence, a crier shouting out their names the moment the instruments stopped.

"Announcing citizens Radiant Cut, Garnet Necklace and Obsidian Spear of the Empire, Traveler Spirit Agate of the Empire and the far north, and snowpony visitors from beyond the mountains!"

"I bid you well, guests. Come forward," Cadance called out from the throne, a scribe at the base of the steps writing everything down as the other ponies whispered quietly at Agate's title and her looks.

"Well, this is terribly official. We should bow when we reach the base of the steps," Agate muttered to the snowponies.

"I'm guessing they're trying to make up for the whole debacle yesterday," Trailblazer muttered back with a faint smile.

They did as Agate said, Cadance nodding immediately. "You may rise. Now, Agate, as I understand it, you are the only one who can fully communicate with your friends there. If you would be so kind, could you translate for us? Word for word, preferably. First meetings between different peoples don't happen every day, and we would like for this moment to be recorded as accurately as possible."

"Certainly, Your Imperial Majesty," Agate nodded.

"Please, call me Cadance. And my husband Shining Armor. There is no need for titles between friends. And you do come to us as friends, yes?"

"Of course, though I was simply coming home," The spirit nodded again.

"Some ponies will be very curious about that part. Could you tell us more about it, please?"

Agate gave her the abbreviated version of her escape from the Empire with her parents, the chase, the flight, and her eventual death. Then, she got to the snowponies, similarly cutting out all the unnecessary bits and focusing on just the most important parts.

"They visited Dream Valley back in the day?" Cadance raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Since they thought that everything south of them was dead, my arrival really shook their society up. No matter what they did, though, they couldn't manage to break the curse on the Empire, unfortunately. Some adventurers visited it now and then, but most were too afraid of the cursed place."

"Hm. We had an observation post there for... I don't know how long. It's odd that no one from Equestria ever saw them," Shining Armor mused.

"Is it the place in the southern pass? Or did you build a new one? That one would be over a thousand years old by now... Anyway, with such a long stretch of dead land - both the mountain range and the valley - none of them really tried going south. They'd usually approach the northern lip of the valley, trot around a bit, and go back. With Dream Valley being so big, I guess none of your ponies ever saw them. And they were quite rare to begin with," Agate shrugged.

"And none were adventurous enough to try and find Equestria? Did they even know about its existence?"

"No, and yes. They knew, but all they knew was what I knew, which was barely anything, except that it was somewhere to the south. And, again, hostile, unfamiliar terrain and massive distances. The north is a hostile place, yes, and the snowponies go into all sorts of crazy and dangerous places, but they like to do it step by step, with having safe locations to retreat to nearby. That was just a touch too big of an undertaking for them."

"But not anymore," Cadance nodded. "We are here now. And ponies in Equestria will certainly be amazed to hear that there's yet another group of ponies that survived the Windigo Winter."

"I'm sure they will, Cadance. That's for you and them to deal with, though. Like I said, I only came back for my family."

"I understand. I can't imagine being separated from my family for... A thousand years," She trailed off briefly, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Could you introduce your friends to us, please? Can you translate their names?"

"I think I can. That huge stallion is Shatterhoof, an adventurer of the northern tribe and a hunter of floewolves, a kind of terrible ice monster. The one next to him is Goat Hop, an adventurer from the western tribe, and his mare is Spring Hoof, a westerner as well. The mare with the long bangs is Ice Elation, a famed adventurer and explorer. The final stallion is Trailblazer, son of the southern tribe's chieftain, and finally, Freezing Point is a shamare, a... Magician of the northern tribe."

The introductions took a while, Agate translating as the snowponies exchanged their traditional greetings with the royal couple. The adventurers added a few more things about themselves, which needed to be translated and clarified, and so on. Eventually, though, Cadance clopped her hooves with a smile.

"Well, while that is very fascinating, I'm sure we would all prefer to retire somewhere more comfortable, since this will clearly take quite some time. Let us go to one of the sitting rooms, yes?"

A lot of the ponies in the throne room left, though a good half a dozen followed along. Agate recognized the pegasus that Cadance named as Fluent Tongue the day before, as well as the scribe and a bunch of other scholarly-looking ponies, many of which were giving her skeptical looks.

Giving them a smile, she chuckled, turning towards the snowponies, who were trotting on her right side. "So, how did you all end up here anyway? They didn't beat you up and drag you here, did they?"

"No, they saw us and brought us here while we were admiring the city," Goat Hop shrugged.

"They did almost have to drag us out of the snow," Shatterhoof huffed, Ice Elation nodding.

"You might want to consider shearing your coats a little. Spring is around the corner anyway," Agate chuckled.

They were led to an opulent sitting room, with many couches, chairs, huge pillows and other comfortable sitting surfaces. There were multiple pitchers of drinks of all kinds, as well as servants waiting for anything else the guests might request. One by one, the ponies found their favored sitting spots, the scholars making a small island of their own as they stared at Agate and the snowponies, while they made a rough semi-circle around Cadance. Agate's family, meanwhile, ended up closer to Shining Armor, Obsidian Spear talking to the stallion in a low voice as her parents added a few things here and there.

Lots of talking ensued, as expected. Questions about Agate and her existence, questions about the snowponies and their territories, requests to take a look at the Empire's maps and roughly point out where their people are and whether they had any territorial disputes now that the Empire returned, and so on. A few demonstrations happened as well, Shining Armor and Cadance examining the northerner's weapons with wonder.

"At first glance, they look purely like an art project. Just a piece for an ice sculpture. But when I scan them with magic..." Shining Armor wondered, waving the spear around, Cadance nodding along as she carefully ran her hoof along the length of an ice spear herself.

They were also curious about Freezing Point and her description as a "magician", trying not to look too skeptical when she described all sorts of spirits and magical creatures of the deep north. She even demonstrated a fire charm at their request, tossing it into a bubble that Shining Armor conjured, the stallion nodding respectfully at the strength of the flames that erupted from it.

Hours passed, food was brought in, eaten, and the conversations continued. Unfortunately, the first meeting was not going to go entirely smoothly. A pegasus guard suddenly burst into the room, his voice alarmed.

"Your Highnesses! I am sorry to interrupt, but I have urgent news! An army of-"

"What is the meaning of this, colt?! I'll have you cleaning latrines for this!" An older voice sounded out from behind him, a crystal pony guard trotting in.

Sighing quietly, Shining Armor grimaced. The crystal pony was the current captain of the palace guards, and it wasn't hard to guess what happened. The pegasus, who used to be a soldier under his own command, went straight to him instead of following the local command structure, and the local guard was not happy.

"Sir, this is extremely urgent! The-"

"Silence yourself right this moment, or I'll kick you outside the shield for this breach in discipline myself!" The captain shouted angrily.

"Stand down, both of you," Shining Armor ordered firmly, getting up and getting closer as two more crystal guards entered the room. "Report."

Glaring at the pegasus, who was opening his mouth but stopped at the last moment, the captain nodded. "Sire. We have a report of an... "Army" approaching the Empire."

"What? Where from? When? Full report, now."

"Yes, sire. The previous evening, some of the pegasi guards noticed strange glimmers and faint lights in the northern mountains as they were flying. They inquired about the nature of those, but no one knew what they could be. Several pegasi volunteered to fly over and examine them, but I denied their offer. I did not know what manner of creatures could have taken up residence in the mountains over the millennia we were gone, and ordered them to do it the next day instead, when we had daylight.

A blizzard started outside the shield overnight, and it continued throughout the day. Once it calmed a little, the pegasi assured us that they would have no trouble in it, so I gave two of them permission to go. Once they returned, though, they kept babbling something about an army and rushed off instead of reporting properly, in a completely undisciplined manner."

"We can talk discipline later, captain. This army takes precedence."

"Of course, sire. I will not forget this, though," The captain glared at the pegasus again.

"Right. Now, private. Report. Can you describe the army?" Shining Armor turned towards the pegasus.

"Yes, sir. They were ponies with heavy winter gear, armed with spears. From what I was able to see, they were earth ponies, sir. I was not able to tell their number, but my partner and I estimated that it could be anywhere between one and three hundred of them."

"Earth ponies from the north..." Shining Armor muttered, turning towards the rest of the ponies in the room, all of whom were listening with wide eyes. "Agate?"

"Oooooh. Darn. I completely forgot about Inner Fire," The spirit nodded calmly.

"And who is Inner Fire? No, wait... That's Trailblazer's father, isn't it? I think he mentioned the name," Cadance asked.

"And why is he here?" Shining Armor inquired.

"He is, yes, and he wanted to make contact with the Empire. The six adventurers were simply the toughest bunch that agreed to come along as fast as they could, since I wasn't in much of a waiting mood," Agate nodded.

"But then... Private, was this "army" actually aggressive in any way?" He asked the pegasus.

"Yes, sir! One of them even threw a spear at my partner!" He confirmed, making Shining Armor frown. "And they were shouting something I couldn't quite understand, but it sounded like some kind of war chants, sir. "Cwalu", and I believe I heard them shouting "Sombra" as well, sir."

"Cwalu is old ponish for "violent death", "killing", or "slaughter"," Fluent Tongue supplied.

"Death... To Sombra? Or for Sombra?" Shining Armor mused.

"Oh, spirits," Agate groaned. "Freezing Point!"

"Huh? What did I do?" The shamare shrunk under Agate's glare.

"Remember when I returned after Sombra's defeat to your group when you were still in the mountains?"

"Yes?"

"And remember when I wanted to go to Snowpitt to tell Inner Fire not to worry, but you vehemently insisted that I stay and tell you what happened?"

"Yes..?"

"Well, he left before I returned, and it looks like he brought the entire army of the ponies that participated in saving the forest, and they don't know that Sombra has been defeated, and they're marching on the Empire, and they're out for blood," Agate concluded.

"...Oh. Ooops?"

"I swear, if I still had my body, you'd get such a spanking, youngling."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So they're not here to fight us?" Shining Armor asked as they trotted down the street towards the northern part of the city.

"For the dozenth time, no," Agate shook her head. "I rushed back to my totem to recover my magic and told the chieftain what was happening, like I said. They're not bad ponies. This is the proof. They rushed across the mountains to liberate this place from a monster they barely know anything about, for a people they never even met."

"Their valor is commendable, but they're not the kind that will be disappointed that there isn't going to be a battle after all, are they?" Cadance asked.

"Oh no, I'm sure they'll be fine. Snowponies are quite a peaceful bunch, save for rare occasions," Agate waved her off.

"And on those occasions?" Shining Armor asked.

"Then you don't want to get in their way," Agate grinned.

A platoon of guards was trotting behind them, with even more guards already positioned at the edge of the shield. While they mostly trusted Agate's word, they really weren't going to take any chances. They met the spirit and the snowponies just the day before, after all, and it was a bit too short of a time to build up real trust.

"Alright! Formations! Stand at the ready, and show no fear!" The captain shouted, giving orders to his troops as the royal couple slowly approached the edge of the shield, the others following along.

"I think I can hear them," Cadance nodded, the faint chants of "cwalu Sombra" sounding out from the blizzard, though they were mixed with "freodom for Agate ceasterleod" as well. "Freedom for Agate?"

"Freedom for Agate's people. They're almost here," Agate confirmed, looking at the shapes of the ponies with her spirit sight.

It didn't take long for the snowponies to show up, the warriors of the three tribes stopping right at the edge of the shield, their forms looking otherworldly in the falling snow. The crystal guards tensed up, gripping their spears tighter as the arrivals examined them intently through the shield, many of their eyes glowing as they employed their spirit sight to try and discern whether the ponies before them were evil spirits of Sombra or not.

For Agate, it was a heartwarming sight. For the locals, it was terrifying. Shamares were chanting, strange forms of their tuurngait dancing in the snow, making the crystal guards shiver in fright. Several large wolves prowled the edges, some of the westerners having brought their beasts with them. The northerners brandished their ice weapons, looking like incarnates of the fierce polar cold and ice. Some ponies carried charged quartz crystals for light, but their shine only added to the spooky effect.

"Traveler spirit?" Someone noticed her.

"Yes, it's me," She confirmed. Turning towards Cadance, she nodded. "Give me a few minutes."

"Here's to hoping this isn't where she reveals her evil plot," Agate heard Shining Armor say before she stepped out into the blizzard.

"OI! Anyone know where Inner Fire is?! Or whoever's leading this expedition?!" Agate yelled into the mass of ponies.

"This way, traveler spirit!" A bunch of ponies shouted back, waving her over and clearing a path for her.

"Ancient one!" He yelled happily once he saw her.

"Chieftain. Inner Fire. I'm sorry," She shook her head.

"About what?"

"Sombra is dead. He was defeated. But I didn't get to you before you left Snowpitt, and I didn't think to chase you down while you were going through the mountains. You're all burning for a battle, but I'm afraid there will be none. My people are safe," She explained, everyone around her listening intently.

"Oh. Well. This is anticlimactic," The stallion nodded after a minute, stroking his short beard.

"The monster is truly dead, then?" Another stallion asked.

"Yes. I saw him get utterly destroyed myself," Agate nodded.

"Sombra is dead! Agate's people are free!" He shouted, the shouts spreading across the entire mass of ponies, the snowponies considering what it meant before shrugging and cheering.

"I'll be right back, chieftain," Agate chuckled, turning around and trotting towards the shield.

Once she entered, she noticed that the guards, who were previously standing at battle ready positions, were now a lot more relaxed, standing in a parade line. A large number of civilians had gathered behind them as well, listening and watching the strange ponies behind the shield with small, uncertain smiles on their faces. Though the language changed, evidently someone still managed to translate "Sombra is dead", and the crystal ponies clearly decided that whoever the foreign ponies were, cheering so hard for Sombra's death meant that they couldn't be all that bad.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Agate asked the royal couple.

"...I'll take it," Shining Armor shrugged.

"Well, they might be taking just a bit too much joy from Sombra's death, but I guess I can't blame them too much. I'm assuming you told them stories of him, Agate?" Cadance asked.

"Yes, and part of their reaction comes from their philosophy. They consider enslavement a fate worse than death, and whoever does it is considered the worst monster of all," Agate explained.

"I see. Well, this is a bit sudden, but... I suppose we're going to have more guests, aren't we? That's quite a number," She mused.

"I'm sure they brought supplies, and they can just as easily set up outside. They don't fear the cold," Agate assured her.

"Set up in the snow?! No, no, no. I'm sure the crystal ponies will take them in, or we can let them set up camp in one of the farming fields, at the very least," She protested.

"If you insist. Anyway, may I bring the leader of the expedition through the shield?"

"Go ahead, Agate."

The spirit nodded, going back out. After she quickly explained the situation to Inner Fire, the stallion nodded, putting his weapon on his back and putting on his "serious chieftain" expression. Following Agate through the shield, the stallion and the royal couple spent a long moment analyzing each other, Inner Fire giving them a bow.

"Welcome to the Crystal Empire," Cadance proclaimed, making a wide gesture with her hoof.

"I'm assuming that that was a greeting, yes, Agate? Is she the chieftain of your people?" Inner Fire asked.

"She is, yes, as well as her husband. Our chieftains work a little bit differently," She nodded.

"Oh, she even has wings, too. I didn't even notice at first, with just how incredibly pink she is."

❅ ❆ ❅

It didn't take long, and with Agate translating, the rest of the snowponies were soon invited to step through the shield. The fact that they were even able to do that removed even more apprehension from the crystal ponies, and there were several long minutes when a whole bunch of crystal ponies stared curiously at the several hundred snow ponies and vice versa, both sides examining the radically different, and yet similar, equine forms.

"Well, this is awkward. Let's get them somewhere warmer and comfier, yes?" Cadance asked eventually, breaking the silence.

"If you get them any warmer, they'll overheat," Agate chuckled, pointing to the snowponies, some of whom were already stepping back into the blizzard to cool down.

"What the hay?"

After that, they had a continuation of the conversation they were having before, only this time, with Inner Fire and other ponies involved as well. The royals elected to remain outside, allowing everyone who wanted to listen in to reassure the public that it was nothing dangerous, given just how dramatic the snowponie's entrance was. Word spread like wildfire across the Empire, and the crystal ponies were soon coming and going in droves to see the mysterious snowponies from the north, a number of them already saying that they needed to throw a celebration for the brave warriors that galloped across the nigh-impassable northern mountains just to battle Sombra and free them.

Before long, the day was over, and everyone went to their respective resting spots. Some ponies were taken in by the crystal ponies, some set up tents inside the shield, while a few northerners still went outside to make igloos anyway, making the crystal ponies stare at them with utter disbelief.

The next morning, Cadance made a proclamation to the people from the balcony, explaining the situation and the source of their unexpected visitors. Just like the royals, the citizenry were also completely stunned when they learned that ponies could not only survive, but also thrive past the northern mountains, but they couldn't exactly deny the fluffy, cold-resistant proof in front of them, as the snowponies happily showed off their snowwalking, ice sculpting, and other cold-related skills outside the shield for anyone interested.

A friendly celebration and a feast were had, pretty much becoming another crystal faire as the visitors were delighted by the warm welcome and the exotic foods. Some overate, though, fortunately, it didn't end in anything worse than some pained stomachs and having to lie down, or rush to relieve themselves.

The next few days went by in a similar manner. Agate was happy to see that many snowponies were learning some basic words, while Fluent Tongue, who stalked Agate and the royal couple while scribbling down words the entire time, was rapidly becoming, well, fluent in their tongue. One by one, groups of ponies that were able to communicate began to form, ones that didn't need Agate to translate every word for them.

That gave Agate some more free time to keep telling her story to her parents, though Cadance still insisted that a scribe follow her around and write down pretty much everything. Her parents were amused, while she just shrugged, already used to being a source of interesting stories for the snowponies for many centuries.

Some of her free time also included learning about new things, such as the "train" that now connected the Crystal Empire and Equestria, which was apparently what the metal carriage was called. She watched as it began moving, slowly at first, but by the point it was disappearing into the distance, the contraption had really picked up the pace.

While the snowponies were happy to finally meet the legendary crystal ponies at last, they did have obligations back home, and with winter ending and their spears not needed, they started making plans to leave. Once they rested up and restocked their food supplies with generous donations from the crystal ponies, the vast majority of the ponies that arrived with Inner Fire declared that they were leaving, confusing the locals when they said that they did want for the mountains to have snow instead of waiting just a bit longer for spring, as snow apparently made travel easier for them, not harder.

A week later, most of the ponies from the expedition left for home once more. Hundreds of crystal ponies gathered to see them off, waving and cheering for the selfless warriors that came to their aid. The snowponies hugged them and waved as well, inviting the locals to see their lands as well some day, though not without warning the poor coatless ponies to acquire some serious clothing if they did, lest they suffer the same fate that Agate did.

Meanwhile, the citizenry of the Empire weren't quite sure what to think of Agate. Even though Cadance and Shining Armor themselves proclaimed that she was a spirit in their speech, just about every single crystal pony that she met still began with a "So are you really a spirit, or is this some kind of clever trick?"

Either way, the first meeting between the snowponies and the crystal ponies went by flawlessly, the locals impressed by the bravery and selfless nature of the northern ponies, while the travelers were happy to see that the crystal ponies also shared their traditions of hospitality, leaving with their bags stuffed with various crystals and trinkets that they were gifted, or traded off for bits of stuff from their own supplies.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Don't be afraid," Agate reassured the filly.

"But ghosts are spooky," Sugarberry protested.

"Nuh uh," Agate argued, employing the wisdom of the ages.

"Yuh huh!" Sugarberry countered.

"Oh. I guess I'll leave, then," Agate smiled.

"Wait, no! Don't go!"

"But I thought I was spooky?"

"Yeah, but... I'm a brave filly! I'm not afraid!" Sugarberry screwed up her lip, trying to look tough.

"Oh, alright then. I guess I- Boo!"

"Eek!"

"Haha! Not so brave, are you?"

"Agate, you butt!"

Agate sniggered as the filly glared at her, their mothers giggling some distance away. Meeting her old friends, much like meeting her parents, was weird when she was much older. Still, it was a pleasant experience, and she at least got to say her goodbyes, bittersweet as they were.

"So when are you going to leave?"

"Not just yet, but... There's not much holding me here any more," Agate mused, tapping her chin. "The snowponies mostly only know the basics, but Fluent Tongue is already good enough to talk normally and learn the rest on his own, and teach others, too. Inner Fire and Cadance already signed an agreement that says that the northern mountains are no-pony's land and that neither one of our people have any kind of territorial disputes, and that crystal and snow ponies are free to come and go to each other's lands barring special circumstances, like natural disasters or someone being a villain of some kind."

"Oh..." The filly slumped, her ears folding.

"Sorry, Sugary," Agate patted the filly on the back, Sugarberry not even flinching from her touch.

"So... You're going to go back across the mountains?"

"That's what I need to do, yes. I'll need to disable my totem... My parents want to come with me, though I really don't think they're up for the journey on hoof."

"What are you going to do, then? Dig through the mountains?" The filly asked, raising her eyes up.

"Heh! A bit too much effort. No, Shining Armor told me that he sent some pegasi to scout out the mountains, and according to them, the weather there isn't too bad for flying something he called a "pegasus chariot". Apparently, the Equestrians thought them up for military use some time ago, though they became popular among the civilians almost immediately. He said that we should be able to make the journey in a chariot in a matter of days, and that he'd provide one to my family, on the condition that they come with me, and I come along as a guide," Agate explained.

"Coooool... You're so big and important now... Hanging around with the Empress and Emperor..."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Agate chuckled, shaking her head. "Lots of pompous declarations and talking about silly stuff, though Cadance and Shining Armor aren't too bad in that regard."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Well... Here it is," Cadance held up a sizeable scroll with the celestial seal.

"Sure is," Shining Armor agreed.

"I guess... We should open it," Cadance sighed after a minute.

"You're really worried that Celestia will think that we both went nuts?"

"Yes. Aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Here goes, then," She nodded, breaking the seal with her hoofshoe and unrolling the letter. "Ahem..."

"My dear niece and Shining Armor,

I must admit, your latest missive caught me quite flat-hoofed. Both Luna and I pored over it for hours and hours, scrutinizing each word and photo with utter fascination. Such amazing ponies! So fluffy and hardy! And to think, they have been living in the north for millennia, all without our knowledge - much like the Crystal Empire did, I suppose. And the two peoples were not aware of each other either, despite being neighbors. It was truly an incredible chain of events that brought you together.

It is a crying shame that the spark to that chain was the death of an innocent filly. All for Sombra's hunger of power, may he rot forever. Though, I will admit, hearing what became of the filly gave me pause. Although the vast majority of ghost stories - just about all of them that are known in the modern day, really - are completely made up, there is no smoke without a fire. Think: just how many ghost stories are out there? Why are they so pervasive? Why are ponies so certain that there is something after they die? I will tell you this: ghost stories may be fake, but... Necromancy is not."

Cadance stopped reading there, sharing a long look with Shining Armor. "Well, that sent shivers down my spine."

"Agate is not some kind of brain-munching zombie, though," Shining Armor shrugged. "From what we saw, and from what both she and the snowponies said, she can barely even do anything."

"Right. Still, though. It's not like we didn't have similar concerns, when they explained to us what "totems" and guardian spirits are."

"I know, and that's why we're going north to take a closer look at how those ponies live ourselves. Keep reading, please."

"Now, I did read the part where the ponies described their own lives and the lands that they live in, and, I'll admit, it sounds like a fairytale. If you're expecting some kind of wisdom or simply an all-knowing nod - don't be silly. I'm as flabbergasted as you are about all this. I am old - but I have spent my entire life in Equestria.

I have never been that far north, and I have no idea how any of what they're describing is possible. A land so magical that spirits roam free everywhere, and even the spirits of the dead wander the lands, with no necromantic intervention whatsoever? Entire herds of windigoes fly through the skies, and stranger creatures besides? I have never, ever heard of anything like that. And here we thought the crystal ponies were exotic! These "snowponies" clearly live in a land that's quite alien compared to ours, to say the least.

I am very happy to hear that they're so friendly, though. Congratulations, by the way! Your first successful meeting with a foreign people - not that I honestly expected for that to ever happen. Or, at least, not with actual neighbors - I'm sure you're going to have plenty of official meetings with delegates from far away, ceremonial as they might be. Best of luck in all your future dealings - as curious as I am to see these "snowponies" myself, given how averse to warm weather you said they are, I have a feeling that most of them won't be all that interested in visiting Equestria during spring and summer.

And yes, I'm not coming to the Empire just yet. It sounds like you have everything well in hoof, so why would I? My visit would just put lots of completely unnecessary strain on you and the Empire, especially now that the train line is about to open, and the tourists are about to flood in. I am old - and I am patient, as is Luna. We will wait until things settle down a little more - though it might take a bit longer now, given the revelation of the existence of the snowponies - and let you work out all the kinks. It's not like we're remotely needed there, anyway - as you said yourself, the snowponies are next to your border, not Equestria's. We have nothing to do with this situation, and it'd be rude to butt in just to stare at another exotic offshoot of the earth pony tribe.

Twilight will most certainly lose her head once she hears about this, though I'm not sure if it's going to be in a good or a bad way. She might spend hours talking magic with those snowpony "shamares" of theirs, or she might spend hours talking to spirits, trying to prove to them with logic that they're not scientifically possible and that they don't exist. You're free to call on her if you wish, but it doesn't sound like this is something that needs the attention of her and her friends - unless the snowponies turn out to have some kind of less than savory practices in regards to the dead, in which case, please write to me immediately.

Other than that, I have nothing else but praise and the best of wishes to send your way. You're both doing wonderfully, and I'm very proud of you, Cadance. You're going to be a fine ruler.

With love,

Celestia."

"Well, she doesn't think that we went insane," Cadance smiled.

"Yeah. I wish she'd have warned us about the whole political tension thing, though," Shining Armor rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the "My visit would just put lots of completely unnecessary strain on you and the Empire" part. You know that she's not talking about housing her, catering, royal procedures, or anything else of the sort. You noticed it yourself - it's not just the guards. There's a small, low-level, but pervasive distrust of Equestria and princesses Celestia and Luna over here," Shining Armor explained, tapping the letter.

"Right. Alicorn installed by Celestia taking the throne. They're either afraid they might have exchanged one tyrant for another, or that we're going to sell them out in favor of Equestria's interests. And Celestia arriving personally would be taken as her coming in to claim her trophy," Cadance nodded.

"Especially if she gives us any orders or even advice. It will instantly make it look like we're just her subordinates. It's doubly important that we do this ourselves for a while, with no interference from Equestria," He sighed.

"Come on. We managed just fine so far, even with the arrival of the snowponies."

"I know, I know. And we're going to keep doing just fine. I just wish we didn't have to deal with this silliness in the first place."

"Well, from their point of view, their concerns are not baseless. We are a pair of foreign rulers that came from Equestria," Cadance shrugged. "We'll just have to prove to them that we're not lying."

"True."

"Let's talk about something else. How are the chariots? Did they arrive in one piece? And do you think we should invite Twilight on this trip?"

"Well, no, they were disassembled for the transportation," Shining Armor chuckled. "But the guys put them together, and they're saying that they should do just fine. As for Twilight... Honestly, I'm not sure," He pursed his lips.

"This needs a bit of a delicate touch, yes?" Cadance grinned knowingly.

"Twilight means well, but you know how... Intense she can be once she focuses on a subject. As friendly as the snowponies have been so far, I'd rather not violate some kind of strange local custom and get us all in trouble," He shook his head.

"Fair enough. She'd need to learn the language first for any kind of meaningful deep insights anyway. How are the preparations coming along?"

"The scouts are combing the mountains, and they already found a number of places where they said they could land and set up a temporary camp, rough as it would be."

"Well, the snowponies do with the cold just fine. I'm sure we'll manage, with some proper modern winter clothing. I mean, spring is already starting, how cold could it really be up there?"

"Cadance... Did you really just ask...?" Shining Armor facehoofed.

"What?! I didn't say "what's the worst that could happen"! I just asked how cold it could be!"

"We'll find out soon enough, with our own hides," He rolled his eyes.

Snow Pit

During one of their conversations, the topic of the pegasus chariots came up again, and the royals invited Agate and her family to take a look at the things themselves. They were set up outside, since the crystal guards didn't have anything like that, and didn't really have a place to store them.

"Okay, these are interesting," Agate nodded, examining the chariots.

"And you're certain that they're safe?" Radiant Cut asked Shining Armor.

"Positive. These are the same things we use in the military," He nodded, tapping the side of a chariot.

"Well... Whatever works, I suppose," Garnet Necklace shrugged, though her voice did have a tinge of uncertainty.

"Relax, mom. Flying's fun. Although, I'm not sure what it's going to be like when you can actually feel the cold and the wind," Agate pondered.

"We're not going to freeze, don't worry about that. The pegasi were just fine, we're going to be fine as well, and we'll have clothes," Cadance reassured them.

"Three days, then?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Yes. A day for the train travel to open and two days to see if everything runs smoothly without us having to intervene," Cadance confirmed. "After that, we'll have a small trip northwards."

❅ ❆ ❅

The train was a source of curiosity for the crystal ponies, especially since they were told that they would be able to use it just as freely as anyone else, as long as they had the bits for a ticket. Before embarking on any journeys, though, they still wanted to see that the thing actually worked, and wouldn't crash or blow up or anything like that as it brought in the Equestrians.

Cadance and Shining Armor did their best to explain the concept of "tourism" to the native population, pointing out how train travel made brutal, exhausting journeys on hoof through hostile terrain that could take weeks into swift, easy journeys that could take less than a day, inside a comfortable carriage in which you could even sleep, and arrive refreshed.

And the ease that trains provided meant that strange, far away exotic places suddenly lost the "far away" part, but not the exotic appeal, and instead of listening to the odd traveler telling tall tales or reading books about somewhere, just about any pony, not just the rich nobles, could go and see those places themselves.

The fact that such travelers also always brought at least some coin with them was the most important part of the explanation, of course, the damaged economy of the Empire badly needing a boost to recover properly. The knowledge that hordes of Equestrians wanted to come and see the beauty of the Empire also stroked the local's pride as well, relieving some of the concerns that it was going to become some kind of forgotten, run-down backwater province in the new age that they found themselves in.

The train came and went, releasing the first batch of Equestrians into the cold air of the north. Some of them complained that they actually had to trot a fair distance through the snow towards the shield, huffing and conveniently forgetting that all of them had been warned about the fact both by the newspaper articles about the Empire, and the train conductor beforehoof.

"So, anything to report?" Shining Armor asked his guard officers, having gathered them by the end of the day.

"The sudden influx of so many ponies is jarring, but the guards are saying that they're dealing with it fine so far, sire. As I understand it, though, even more ponies are going to arrive soon?" The captain asked.

"Yes, ponies tend to stay on vacation for more than a day. Usually, it's a week or two," Shining Armor confirmed.

"I see now why you insisted that we reorganize the Guard as swiftly as possible, sire. We will need them all to keep order," The captain nodded.

"Precisely. Any issues?"

"Minor infractions. Lieutenant?" The captain turned to a crystal guard next to him.

"My guards reported that they fined several ponies that were obstructing traffic and illegally setting up stalls in the street. Some overly large gatherings had to be broken up by the guards, when too many of those "tourists" swarmed some object of interest all at once and blocked traffic completely," The lieutenant reported.

"Setting up stalls? I guess the locals saw the potential to make some money. Perhaps we should overlook those for now?" Shining Armor mused.

"They were Equestrians, sire," The lieutenant corrected him.

"What? What were they trying to sell?" He asked, confused.

"From what we saw, they weren't merchants, sire. It looked like some kind of gambling game that involved cups," He explained, making Shining Armor groan in frustration.

"I swear, those ponies... Opportunistic as all Tartarus, I'll give them that. Must have thought they could make it big from some unsuspecting crystal ponies."

"Sire?"

"To put it simply, lieutenant, the cup game is a scam. A con. A trick, to fleece ponies out of their gold. A pony offers you to guess which cup a ball or some other trinket is under for a coin or two, with a chance to win much more if you guess correctly. But the pony that's offering it simply hides the ball with some sleight of hoof tricks, so what appears to be a one-third chance to win is actually zero, unless the scammer allows the pony to win, to lure in more ponies," Shining Armor explained.

"...I see. Should we arrest those ponies?" The lieutenant asked with a frown.

"Tempting, but probably not outright. Gambling is a risk, and there's no law preventing ponies from making risky bets. Do keep shutting them down and fining them when they set up their stalls, though, and if you catch a pony multiple times - then do arrest them, and confiscate their gear. Best to nip this in the bud."

"Understood, sire."

❅ ❆ ❅

"Mommy, look! A ghost pony!" An equestrian filly pointed towards Agate.

"Huh? Oh! I didn't know crystal ponies could do illusions," The mare smiled.

"They can't. I'm a spirit," Agate grinned.

"What?"

Still grinning, Agate kept trotting, her family chuckling. While news travelled fast, the equestrians still only knew about the Empire, and not the encounter with the snowponies that the crystal ponies had, which also meant that they were not aware of Agate. Still, the locals happily shared the news of their new northern neighbors, though most equestrians seemed to think that the locals were simply telling tall tales to make their country look more interesting than it already was.

Reaching the Spire, Agate nodded to the guards, who were already familiar with the spirit, now nodding back respectfully instead of fearfully. Agate's story was slowly filtering through the population, and the guards especially came to respect her when they heard of her indomitable will and the fact that she defied death and time itself just to meet her family again and even battle Sombra, when the time came.

"Lady Agate," A guard nodded to her, Agate having acquired yet another title somehow. "Here for your snowpony history lessons, yes?"

"I am, yes."

"Very good. I believe their Imperial Majesties are already waiting in the usual sitting room."

"Thank you. I'll find my own way," Agate nodded.

She and her family were welcome guests in the Spire now, the guards no longer escorting them everywhere. After the rush with the snowponies was over, the royal couple eagerly insisted that they'd be allowed to listen in on Agate again, having their sessions in the palace. Agate's family didn't protest, feeling that what Agate did was most certainly worthy of the royal attention, and being written into the history books.

"And there she is. Punctual as always," Cadance nodded to Agate as they entered the room.

"The traffic was a bit heavy, but we made it here in time," She nodded, her family going to take their seats, the scribe preparing his quill.

"How bad is it? I imagine the Empire never had such a sudden influx of foreign ponies before," Shining Armor asked.

"I barely remember. Ask my family," Agate shrugged.

"It's certainly new, yes, unless something happened before my time," Radiant Cut confirmed, looking towards his father.

"Not that I can recall. But it's good to see the streets bustling with life again. Better than when everyone was sitting at home and thinking "well what the hay do I do now?" Some ponies are still a bit lost at what to do next, but at least the inns and shops aren't going out of business any more," Coal Hoof nodded.

"And no one's bothered by your... Spirit-ness?" Cadance asked Agate with a smile.

"Heh. Most of them are just confused. Some of them have heard about me from the crystal ponies, though. There was this one crazy pegasus that must have flashed his, what's it called... "Camera" thing at me at least a hundred times, while babbling questions faster than I could answer them," Agate recalled.

"Ah. A paparazzi," Shining Armor rolled his eyes.

"A what now?" Garnet Necklace asked.

"Remember when we explained newspapers, and how fast news spread now? Well, it highly depends on who gets the news first. And in the rush to be the first one, some ponies completely throw out basic decency and work ethic out the window. And pegasi tend to be the worst ones, given that they can fly and get around quickly. What did you tell him?"

"A few things about who and what I am, though a couple of patrolling guards saw that he was bothering me and chased him away after he blinded my mom after flashing the camera right in her eyes."

"Yup. No standards," Shining Armor sighed.

"He was pretty rude," Garnet Necklace agreed with a frown.

"There are upsides and downsides to all the modern inventions, yes," Cadance shrugged. "Though it's mostly how ponies use them, really. And how are your adventurer friends doing, Agate? I half-expected them to leave with the other snowponies."

"They thought about it, but there was no way they could skip experiencing flight. It's something they'll be bragging about to other adventurers for years to come, probably," Agate laughed. "For now, they're still exploring the city or going outside to play in the snow. Without their equipment, they're not all that different-looking from equestrians, and they told me that no one's been bothering them."

"One more day?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"Yes. We'll see if the guards are managing well enough, and we'll go. Feels a bit irresponsible to leave at such a time, but..." Shining Armor shrugged.

"I'm certain the citizens understand. This is a massive event, and an important diplomatic opportunity."

"So it is," Cadance nodded.

"Right then. Story time," Agate spoke up after she saw that no one else was going to say anything. "So, I left off when they all went to sleep and I remained awake to act as a sentry. That was the first time I saw an akhlut..."

❅ ❆ ❅

"So, uncle, did you and Shining Armor talk about the whole Guard thing yet?" Agate asked as they were trotting home after finishing the storytelling for the day.

"A few times, yes," The stallion nodded. "It's been... Interesting. At first glance, their doctrine seems shallow and mercenary, focused more on bits than fealty. But when I really started digging into it, I couldn't actually find much fault with it."

"Could you try and summarize it for us?" Radiant Cut asked.

"Well... To begin with, Equestria is... Massive. There are ponies that never saw Canterlot in their entire lives, and possibly never even saw princesses Celestia or Luna, either. There's no Spire looking over the entire population. Same thing with the guards. As such, they're much more focused on operating independently, given how orders from the top might take days or weeks to arrive. As he explained to me, the Royal Guard oath is one that swears to protect Equestria and her people first, rather than the crown. A different philosophy, as he said."

"That sounds well and good, but what's a nation without a competent ruler, though?" Coal Hoof asked.

"Have you heard about the Celestial Schism yet? About how princess Luna apparently only returned around a year before the Empire from her banishment in the Moon?"

"That one's still confusing, but yes."

"Well, apparently, after that debacle, Celestia realized that alicorns were not infallible, nor undefeatable. Since then, she tried to organize Equestria in such a way that it would not collapse should she be removed from power in some way, changing the Guard doctrine to be able to operate as much as possible without her direct input in case of a crisis, creating a more independent command structure, as well as a much more standardized and rigid service contract. It's still odd to me that a piece of paper holds more power than an honorable oath of fealty in Equestria, but the arguments are sound," Obsidian Spear shrugged. "As Shining Armor said, with so many ponies, someone down the line inevitably makes some mistake or other. A veteran gets incorrectly denied their pension, some papers get lost, and so on. "And while everyone hates bureaucracy, they're all too happy when it's on their side", as he told me."

"So you'll go back to being a guard?" Agate asked.

"I think I will, yes. Once we return from this trip," He confirmed.

❅ ❆ ❅

"Excited?" Agate asked the adventurers the next day.

"Yes. A little fearful, but even if we die, ponies will talk about us for centuries to come," Shatterhoof chuckled.

"I'm sure our chieftains wouldn't travel in this way if there was such a high chance of death," Agate rolled her eyes with a small smile.

"Yes, but I'm much bigger than the local ponies. I hope they'll be able to carry my weight," The large stallion grinned, flexing his muscular foreleg.

"I'm sure they'll manage, even with your massive winter bulk," Freezing Point chuckled.

"Hey, it's all muscle!"

"Then how did you not freeze to death?"

"...Alright, some of it is fat, obviously."

"Just remember to get all your things and souvenirs," Agate reminded them while shaking her head at their antics. "We leave first thing in the morning tomorrow."

❅ ❆ ❅

The next morning, Agate, her family, and the adventurers made their way towards where the chariots were parked. There were eleven of them in total, which was actually too many for the twenty pegasi that were dispatched to the Empire. As such, Shining Armor pulled in another squad of pegasi from Equestria to help out, the stallions hitching themselves up and preparing to take off.

"Alright, everyone, listen up. It's two ponies per chariot, so pick your pairs. Those three chariots are for the six adventurers, one for Cadance and I, one for Radiant Cut and Garnet Necklace, one for Fluent Tongue and Obsidian Spear, two for the scholars and their supplies, and one more for a pair of guards. The remaining three are for supplies," Shining Armor explained, gesturing towards the empty chariots.

"You're not going to fly?" Obsidian Spear asked Fluent Tongue.

"Well, while my love for languages came from me flying around a lot and hearing different dialects, it was through mild Equestrian weather, not brutal mountain cold," The stallion grinned and shrugged. "I'll probably fly alongside for a short while to relieve the weight a bit and stretch my wings, but I am a scholar. My physical endurance is... Not the best, especially compared to a guard."

"You're sure you don't want to come?" Radiant Cut turned to his parents.

"I'm a bit too old for crazy, breakneck adventures in the mountains, colt," The old stallion laughed.

"And it's a tad late for last-minute changes, dear," Crochet Hook pointed out.

"I guess this is goodbye, then," Agate nodded at them, her expression serious.

"It is, little filly. It is," Coal Hoof nodded.

"By the Heart, I do wish I could hug you," Crochet Hook sniffed despondently.

"You sort of can, grandma, if you hug me very gently. Or, I can simply hug you," Agate smiled wanly.

"P-please do."

Agate did just that, her expression solemn. Crochet Hook carefully ran her hoof through her mane, marveling at the wispy, almost nonexistent, yet still somehow there presence that Agate had. Once they disengaged, Agate hugged Coal Hoof next, the two old ponies sharing a silent, knowing nod.

"I thought I saw some snowponies interact with you by touch before," Obsidian Spear noted.

"It's a snowpony thing. They're much more attuned to spirits and stuff, and some of them are experts at it," Agate explained.

"Well, if everyone's ready, shall we go?" Cadance asked.

One by one, everyone got into their chariots, the snowponies looking the most apprehensive, but also the most excited. The crystal ponies looked a bit doubtful that the chariots were even going to take off at all, while the royal couple took their seats with the practiced ease of someone who did this many times before.

The public knew about their journey, of course, and a number of curious crystal ponies had gathered to see them off, or just to see the pegasi in action. A smaller number of Equestrians were there too, simply interested in what the hubbub was about, with a few that actually heard about the snowponies and the diplomatic mission to the far north from the crystal ponies, pointing at the group of adventurers and taking photos.

"You'll notice bundles of clothing on your seats. I suggest putting them on now. Agate's adventurer group are the only ones with cold weather gear of their own," Shining Armor called out. "Alright, colts. Ready to go?"

"Route is memorized and the weather is clear, sir," The lead pegasus confirmed.

"Go, then."

With a hup, the stallions began galloping forward, down a stretch of street cleared out from traffic by the crystal guards. Gaining momentum, they spread their wings in a synchronized fashion, adding wing flaps to their leg movements. The takeoff was gradual, and the passengers weren't even able to tell that the wheels were no longer touching the ground, until they started gaining more altitude.

Agate, meanwhile, flew above them, her family and the crystal ponies staring at her with wonder. She watched with fascination as the long line of chariots formed up into a bird-like "V" formation once they had the space, one chariot taking point while the others trailed behind in, five on each side. They crossed the shield without hesitation, the pegasi faltering for only a moment as the warmth in their lungs was suddenly replaced by the colder air from the outside.

The pegasi guards seemed to be holding up just fine, though the same couldn't be said about the crystal ponies. Once the cold hit, they immediately began pulling their winter cloaks closer to themselves, trying to close every possible gap through which the wind and cold could reach them.

The snowponies, meanwhile, had varying reactions. Freezing Point was having the time of her life, cheering and whooping as her mane was flying in the wind. For all his talents in jumping, Goat Hop seemed the most uncomfortable about not having solid land under his hooves, while Spring Hoof sniggered quietly to herself. The others were calm, observing the landscape passing by with wonder and appreciation for the new and unusual perspective.

The wind stole their breaths and any words that they tried to say, so there wasn't much talking done during the trip. They stopped briefly once they cleared the valley's edge and the first levels of the foothills, everyone eating some rations and relieving themselves behind a few boulders nearby. After that, they took off again, going towards a flat spot deeper in the mountains that the pegasi scouts deemed safe to land on and make camp.

There was some light left in the day when they reached the location, but the next spot deemed to be suitable was some distance away, and no one felt like taking needless risks. The charioteers circled the area, landing one by one on the narrow strip of (mostly) flat rock, immediately moving out of the way for the next chariot in line. Once they were all down, the ponies immediately jumped out, hopping in place and rubbing their numb legs as Agate landed and looked around.

"By the Heart, this is cold," Garnet Necklace hissed.

"Mountains usually are, dear," Radiant Cut grimaced, trotting in place and trying to warm up.

"I-it's colder than I expected," Cadance breathed.

"Don't you have some pegasus in you?" Shining Armor asked with some mild amusement, the bulky stallion looking fairly comfortable in his winter gear.

"Says the mountain goat," Cadance rolled her eyes with a pained smile as the snowponies clicked their tongues in disapproval, studying the alicorn's lithe frame.

"She's really far too thin. Equestria must be incredibly hot for her not to get cold like that," Freezing Point surmised.

"Even so, she clearly needs at least some kind of a layer of fat if she ever wants to travel through the mountains," Goat Hop nodded.

"We'll have to feed her some good, oily fish when we reach Snowpitt," Trailblazer agreed.

Cadance had learned enough of their tongue that she was able to understand most of it, though that didn't mean that she really knew what to say. Scrunching her muzzle, she pulled her cloak off, turning towards Shining Armor.

"I'm going for a short flight, to get the blood flowing to my limbs."

"I suggest you lose the royal accoutrements for the rest of this journey, dear," He nodded. "And don't go far, the crosswinds in the mountains can be very powerful."

"Hey, I know how to fly, thank you very much," She grinned at him, taking off all the metal accessories and stowing them in her chariot.

"Says the cold pegasus," He chuckled.

"Shush, mountain goat!" She shouted, taking off.

"Pegasus not get cold?" Ice Elation asked, examining the pegasi and glancing at Cadance as she flapped about.

"They are quite resistant to cold, yes. The higher you go, the colder it gets, and pegasi can get pretty dang high," Shining Armor explained, nodding towards the snowy mountain peaks. "I do wonder who has a higher cold resistance, pegasi or snowponies."

"We find out. They can visit northern tribe, see what white blizzard is like," The northerner nodded.

"I'm sure some adventurous ponies will, sooner or later. But we're only going to this... "Snowpitt" for our first visit."

While they were talking, the guards were setting up camp. Trotting over to help, Shining Armor joined in with his magic, making the process easier. Regardless, the bare mountainside really wasn't the most hospitable place, and after a few minutes of thinking, he conjured a shield over the place, the wind dying down immediately.

"This is the best available spot to camp on our way north, huh?" He asked no one in particular, several of the pegasi choosing to answer.

"I'm afraid that is correct, sir. Perhaps the winds would be calmer somewhere lower, but there's really no place to land safely. It looks like contact with the snowpony tribes will be severely limited due to the terrain, unless something changes. I highly doubt many civilians would find this kind of journey palatable, unless it was done in summer. Even then, it's not exactly a pleasant, scenic trip."

"Or unless they come to us, sir," Another pegasus added. "I saw that "snowwalking" skill of theirs, it's really something. They're amazingly hardy folks, though that apparently still puts a limit of when they can visit, which would be the opposite of us - since they use sleighs for transport, they need the snow to cover up all the jagged bits of rock to be able to take supplies and cargo with them."

"Resting spots can be built, though at what cost?" Shining Armor mused. "Transporting materials to build cabins? Digging or blasting through the mountainside to excavate a cave?"

"What's this about blasting the mountainside?" Cadance asked, returning from her flight.

"Just musing about how to make contact with our new neighbors easier," He shrugged. "It seems that it's going to be severely limited in scope for a while. Which is not entirely a bad thing - the culture shock would be huge, I imagine - but we might want to do something about it in the future. Might as well toss out some ideas," He shrugged.

"Well, they seem to have no trouble at all visiting us. Hundreds of them crossed the mountains like nobody's business," She chuckled.

"Hmm. Yeah. Maybe it's for the best. I'm sure some enterprising ponies will think something up, if there will be a demand for it. Maybe we'll find out they have some amazing trade goods, or something to that effect. Perhaps some kind of specialist airship for crossing the mountains? We'll see, I suppose."

"Indeed, those are future concerns. For now, slow and steady wins the race. And this racer is hungry. Set up a camp stove and let's heat something up."

❅ ❆ ❅

The next few days went by in a similar fashion, the chariots landing on inhospitable mountainsides and taking off the next morning. All together, they had to stop three times, with the fourth day being the one where they crossed the mountains, though it was also the day the (relatively) calm mountain weather turned unpleasant.

"Sir, there's snowfall and wind," A pegasus reported to Shining Armor the moment he got out of his tent.

"Great. A blizzard?" He asked, squinting through the partially opaque shield.

"Depends on your definition. This is barely mild snow, but I'm used to northern weather," Agate supplied.

"I say we get the hay out of here anyway. I don't feel like hunkering down when we're on the very final stretch of the journey anyway. Aren't we, Agate?"

"Oh yeah. At the pace we've been going, we should cross the mountains... Before it even gets dark, I'd say, though there's still some ways to go until we reach Snowpitt," She confirmed.

"Well, even if the pegasi end up pushing themselves too hard, I'd rather rest on the foothills or plains rather than here."

"We can deal with some wild weather, sir," The pegasus assured him. "As the... Spirit said, this isn't too bad - yet. We should be able to punch through."

"Don't give me that look," Cadance told Shining Armor as she left the tent as well, pulling her cloak around her.

"I wasn't giving you any looks," Shining Armor said innocently.

"This is completely wild weather. This could have happened at any point."

"Of course."

"What happen? Snow?" Ice Elation asked, trotting towards the edge of the shield and sticking her head through it for a moment. "Not bad. Fine trotting weather. Clouds thin, can still see Sun and navigate. Can pegasus fly?"

"They should. In fact, we could probably just get above the snow clouds, even if it would be a touch colder at that altitude," Shining Armor nodded.

"Colder. Great," Cadance sighed.

"Here. Thin pony need better clothes. Take mine," Ice Elation nodded to Cadance, taking off her winter gear. "Trade. Give me," She gestured towards Cadance's garb.

"I can't do that, you'll get cold yourself! And if mine's not as warm..."

"Is good. Winter is over. Spring now. Don't need winter coat any more. Warm outside. Yours thin, but strong. Look good for travel. Mine old now, will get new next winter. Can throw away after this journey," Ice Elation argued, tugging at Cadance's cloak.

"Warm outside..." Cadance muttered with a sour expression as she slipped on the adventurer's clothes. "They rather build houses out of ice and snow outside the shield than stay inside, they call this weather warm... Are these ponies even warm-blooded?"

"They are," Agate chuckled. "Though their cold resistance is something to behold."

"Alright, enough chatter. Let's eat and take off," Shining Armor ordered, helping the others break down their tents.

The snowfall created a wall of snow around their campsite, seeing as it was blown against the side of the barrier. Making a triangular shield and shoving it forward, Shining Armor cleared a path for takeoff, the snowponies observing the foreign magic with fascination. With a nod to the pegasi, they all began hitching up, the others shoving the last bits of food in their mouths and getting into their chariots.

"Sir, this was actually the last spot the scouts reached before turning back. We don't know where we're going from this point on," A pegasus warned.

"Agate says that this is the final mountain, so just go due north. The moment we clear the last ridge, we'll be good," Shining Armor nodded, the pegasus saluting and starting to move.

Once they were in the air, Agate and the snowponies got to see something that was quite unfamiliar to them all: pegasus magic. They didn't simply force themselves through the snow as they climbed at a steep angle, aiming straight for the clouds the snowflakes were falling from. Instead, they projected an aura of force in front of themselves, cleaving the air in half and pushing everything away before anything could even touch them, the entire formation ramming right through the snow clouds.

Seeing Freezing Point leaning out of her chariot, Agate landed on the edge in her bird form. "Everything alright here?"

"Oh, yes. Some of the more air-inclined shamares would give up a leg to get up this high and experience this," She laughed, sticking a foreleg towards the clouds. "I only learned to listen to the air spirits a tiny bit to hear the coming blizzards, but this is still amazing. Though the bird- the pegasi seem to be pushing the spirits away from their path. Very interesting magic."

"Well, don't fall out while you're listening to the spirits, I'm not sure they'll be able to catch you when they're hitched to their chariots like that," Agate warned her, taking off again.

As Shining Armor suggested, they rose above the clouds and skipped on top of them, the whole scene looking almost like the chariots were rolling on a solid surface rather than flying at the level of some smaller mountain peaks. The crystal pony passengers were clearly cold, huddling up together, but Agate was sure that they'd manage for a short while longer, given that she could already see the tundra stretching off into the distance.

The clouds stopped at the edge of the mountains, the pegasi immediately angling their flight path downwards and picking up speed. The angle allowed the others to see what Agate saw, the foreigners looking with curiosity and fascination at the endless plain that opened up before them, while the snowponies and Agate smiled at the familiar sight.

"Right, my turn to lead! Follow me! Onwards to Snowpitt!" Agate shouted to the pegasi, once she saw that they weren't going in the entirely right direction.

Unlike the crystal guards, the pegasi were still wary of her, especially the ones that came from Equestria recently. Still, they were disciplined enough not to get spooked when she darted in front of them, keeping the formation and following behind her.

While getting out of the mountains only took a few hours, the foothills stretched on for a while, slowly turning into forest, and finally, the plains. The days weren't all that long yet, and, despite their speed and the fact the pegasi were descending instead of putting effort into climbing, the Sun was already setting by the time they finally reached Snowpitt.

Landing on Shining Armor's and Cadance's chariot, Agate glanced downwards. "I don't actually know where you should go. The snowponies obviously don't have anything like these chariots, so dropping down in the middle of the settlement is probably a bad idea. The plain is mostly flat, but I don't know how flat you need it to be."

"I'm sure we'll manage. You heard her, lieutenant! Slow down and circle around, and we'll provide some light," Shining Armor shouted to the pegasi as he and Cadance lit up their horns.

"Yes, sir!"

They would have more than likely gotten spotted anyway, given that snowponies were quite used to noticing movement in the darkness given the long winter nights, but the light show pretty much announced them to everyone in Snowpitt. The royal couple sent a couple wide cones of light aimed ahead of them, lighting up the ground for the pegasi. For their part, the guards landed with barely a bump, the passengers taking a few moments to realize that they actually stopped moving.

"Excellent job, boys," Shining Armor nodded to the pegasi as he got out.

"Happy to finally put all that rough terrain deployment training to use, sir. Didn't think that it'd happen in my lifetime," The lead pegasus grinned.

"Pegasus strong," Shatterhoof nodded with respect as he got out of his chariot. "Journey south take twelve days for us, and we go hard and fast!"

"Flight very fast. Like traveler spirit," Ice Elation agreed.

"It certainly helps when you can just cut corners and ignore going up and down the mountain slopes," Shining Armor agreed. "Agate? What happens now?"

"Well, with that show, ponies most certainly saw us approach. I imagine Inner Fire will show up to greet us in a moment."

"Is there anything special we need to do? Traditional greetings? Offerings?" Cadance asked, pulling down the fluffy hood of her new snowpony coat and levitating her crown on her head, forgoing the other accoutrements.

"Well, it is traditional for unknown travelers to ask for permission to enter. You don't need to offer anything, though. A snowpony would only deny you entry into their home in the most extreme circumstances. I haven't seen it happen even once yet," Agate explained.

"They'd be fine even with strange ponies from unknown tribes?"

"I believe the linguistic term for this tradition is called "sacred hospitality", Your Highness," Fluent Tongue supplied. "A concept that's become obsolete in modern day as the wilderness between cities in Equestria became tame and almost completely harmless, but in places where being left outside means almost certain death, denying someone shelter is considered more or less killing them for no reason."

"Southern tribe land is oldest and safest, but no one dare deny warmth," Trailblazer nodded. "Great shame. Great dishonor. All ancestor spirits turn away, and kin shun such pony."

"Well, I'm just about ready to get inside somewhere warm," Garnet Necklace huffed. "I can barely feel my legs."

"Travelers!" A voice boomed from the direction of the village, Inner Fire and a number of other ponies trotting closer, staring at the arrivals with fascination. "You come, borne by wind and wing, like traveler spirit herself! Very, what word... Big? Impressive!"

"Well, we weren't trying to show off," Cadance smiled. "We just had to pick the fastest way to cross the mountains. We don't do with the cold as well as you do, so going on hoof was not an option."

"Good, good! Each pony stick to strength. Warrior strong, shamare clever, and bird pony fly fast!" The stallion chuckled, more ponies gathering behind them, those that visited the Empire explaining and pointing to various things to the ones that didn't.

"Well, the bird ponies are tired, and our passengers are a little bit cold," Cadance cleared her throat, standing up straighter and speaking formally. "May we enter your village?"

"Of course. We open our doors and tend our hearths for you, guest of far away. Come inside," He spoke in snowponish, Agate translating for him.

❅ ❆ ❅

After a quick exchange, the pegasi remained hitched to their chariots and formed a line, following behind the others. Seeing as their journey was over and they were back in their lands, the adventurers all lined up, bowing respectfully to Agate.

"Thank you for the amazing adventure, traveler spirit. Quite different and lacking danger compared to my usual jaunts, but an amazing adventure nonetheless," Ice Elation said.

"It has been an honor," Shaterhoof added.

"Being the first pony from my tribe to see the Empire has been amazing. And thank you for all the language lessons," Trailblazer nodded.

"Not to mention being the first ponies to experience flight," Freezing Point grinned.

"Spring Hoof and I fancied ourselves travelers as well, but you've shown us what real travel means," Goat Hop chuckled, Spring Hoof nodding. "Yes, here we thought this was going to be a mild challenge across some unconquered mountains, and then we'd just go back a few days later. We got a lot more than we bargained for."

"Eh, don't mention it. You could have easily made the journey yourselves. Plenty of others visited Dream Valley over the years, though, of course, the Empire wasn't there yet. Best of luck in all your future journeys. I'd say we might meet in the future, but the odds of that are quite low," She smiled wryly, the adventurers nodding solemnly at her words, knowing exactly what she meant. As they turned around and joined the crowd, Agate could see Ice Elation jab Freezing Point in the ribs.

"You still owe me a new ice spear."

"I know! Calm down already, I didn't forget!"

While they were talking, the others formed up around the royals, the two crystal guards flanking them while Fluent Tongue and the other scholars and scribes trailed behind them, followed by Agate and her family, and then, the charioteers. Inner Fire led the procession deeper into the village, eventually reaching a large longhouse with an empty plot nearby. Agate recognized the place as one of the locations the northerners liked to set up their igloos in during the Gathering, sleeping in their shelters and gathering in the longhouse to talk and eat.

"Here, big space. Enough for... Hmm..." Inner Fire trailed off.

"Chariots," Shining Armor supplied. "Alright, everyone, lose the weight. Line up and get yourselves unhitched."

"Yes, sir."

There was a brief period of organized chaos as the guests squared their things away and pulled out some tarps to cover the chariots with, which allowed the locals to keep studying them with curious gazes. Someone in the crowd apparently pointed out who Agate's parents were, which brought a lot of attention to the family that the legendary ancient spirit waited a thousand years to see once more.

"Really drives it home, doesn't it," Radiant Cut muttered quietly, glancing at all the gawking snowponies.

"Drives what home?" Obsidian Spear asked.

"That our little filly is not our little filly any more. Seeing and hearing her talk like she did was one thing already, but this... She's a... Folk hero? Legend? And probably lots more to these ponies. It sounded like a fairytale when we were just listening, but no, here they are, all the ponies who have been listening to the same stories about Agate for a thousand years, some of whom were active participants," Garnet Necklace explained.

"...You can be proud of her, at the very least. She's an amazing filly," Obsidian Spear supplied, though he knew how hollow his words rang.

"Of course we're proud. And a bit jealous, to say the least. All these ponies got to experience lifetimes with Agate. And all we got was a goodbye. A long and impressive goodbye, but still," Radiant Cut frowned.

"Make the most of the time you have left, then," Obsidian Spear nodded towards Agate, who was chatting with the chieftain.

"I suppose it's all we can do," Garnet Necklace sighed.

"Guests ready? Good! Come eat! Trailblazer say Cadance need some meat on bones! Come, come! We prepare good food!" Inner Fire announced once he saw that the chariots were secured. "Had big feast in Crystal Empire, now we make good food for crystal pony! And bird pony too, of course!"

"And what kind of food would put meat on my bones?" Cadance asked with a wry smile.

"Fish! Fish great, give thicker hide and make coat shiny! Very good, my son speak true, crystal chieftain really thin! Need eat many fish!"

"Oh. Oh my..."