The Outcast

*Two month's later, atop a snow covered mountain southeast of the Ruins of Saddlelantis*

I finally reach the top of a mountain peak, my mane and tail whipping in the wind as snow flies into our faces as Light Bright lays upon my back, doing her best to keep us warm with her powers, and say, "Hey, now you can tell others that you have climbed a mountain."

The filly smiles saying, "Y-yeah, it would be a nice view if that wind wasn't blowing your transparent mane into my face, but it is shielding me from most of the wind and snow though. Where are we even going, do you have any knowledge of these lands?"

I smile and look at the distant glints ahead of us near the base of a mountain saying, "I have no knowledge at all of these lands, which is one of the reasons I am wandering these lands. Our destination lies ahead of us and below, lying beside a large mountain that pierces the sky. Okay, we're going down now, I hope that the dragging of my wings won't cause any issues as we go down."

Light Bright shivers and nods her head, holding onto his body tightly and says, "Okay, I need to rest my power for a bit, I'm tired from trying to keep us both warm in this cold."

As I start to make my way down the peak, I feel my wings start to slide forward and say, "Curses, it seems my wings intend to make this harder. Hang on tight Light, I'm going to attempt to run down the mountain."

She tightens her grip on his body as she gets nervous and says, "O-Okay, I-I'm ready."

I then let gravity guide me as I speed up my gait, quickly getting into a gallop and see a rock up ahead saying, "I'm going to jump it, be ready!"

Light adjusts her body's position and feels him leave the ground, watching in slow motion as his mane stops blowing in her face. Allowing her an unspoiled view of the glints in the distance thinking, 'Wow, what a beautiful land.' She looks back down as he soars over the rock and begins to return to the snowy surface.

Gravity takes me back to the ground as my front hooves punch through the top layers of the snow and strike a hard layer, causing it to crack and emit the sound of cracking ice and pull myself ahead and return to my gallop saying, "Holy crap, hang on!"

She feels his back hooves land as a deep cracking sound fills the air, causing her to look around to see the snowy layer break apart and asks, "Why is it breaking, what is happening to the snow?!"

I see a much larger rock rushing towards us and use my front hooves to steer around it and say, "Because that is what happens when snow piles up on other snow. Each time the snow falls after a storm, the sun comes out and causes some of it to melt,and turn into a liquid state. In the freezing temperatures on this mountain peak, the snow turns into a hard solid state called ice. In its liquid state, snow is called water. If snow builds up too much and there is ice below, the weight may be too much and cause it to give way and break away creating what is called an avalanche. Avalanches are extremely dangerous, my hooves broke through a layer of ice so this will be a big avalanche. Which is why I am trying to guide us onto a safer area, the only option available for us right now is to get off of the sliding snow before it turns itself into powder. My hooves will sink through the powder and slow us down, increasing our chances of being caught up in it. Nopony can outrun an avalanche, it travels at about 200 miles per hour and an average pony can gallop around 30 miles per hour." I look ahead of me for any safe place to stand out of the path of the avalanche, seeing a suitable rocky outcropping and make my way to it and say, "When we get to that outcropping ahead, do you have enough strength to fold my wings up and hold them against my body? I can't do it myself because my wings are broken at the base, I do wish I could fly like others do. I remember the feeling when I soared through the sky before they were broken by my brother...at my father's command as punishment for doing something very wrong..."

Light Bright frowns at how his own family treated him and nods her head saying, "I believe I can handle that, it was very mean of them to do that to you."

I gallop harder to maintain my position to reach the outcropping, almost slipping too far as I somehow manage to jump up onto the outcropping and breathe a sigh in relief and nod my head saying, "It was mean of them but they had to protect the delicate balance that I upset with my actions. Go ahead and try to fold them up now please little one."

She channels her power into her horn and takes hold of his left wing first and carefully folds it up towards his body, trying to find the natural way they are supposed to fold up. She holds it up against the side of his body and then looks at the right wing on his body, seeing that the feathers are damaged on it as well as having no feathers in some places and holds it against his body and says, "You really should try to find a way to keep your wings from dragging, there are bare spots on your left and right wings. Your right wing has a bare spot that is scratched up so bad that it bled."

I turn around, then walk to the edge of the outcropping to see how big the avalanche is, and am shocked to see a vast wall of snow cascading down the mountain saying, "I know I need to, but I can't find anypony that can think of a way to do that. I didn't know that my right wing was that bad, I know I lost feathers but I honestly couldn't tell because the bases of my wings are in constant pain that I have gotten used to dealing with. Perhaps I may find somepony that has the creativity to make something that will work among the next herd of ponies we come across, "Those umbrums we met in the caves under the mountain were sure strange weren't they?" I watch as the snow triggers avalanches on other mountain peaks, creating a massive cloud of fine, white particles that billows up into the sky. The cloud grows so large that it obscures my view of the glints of light in the distance, making me wait for several moments for the rumbling to stop and the snow to completely settle back down. When the snow finally settles, I make my way off the outcropping.

Light smiles and holds his wings up saying, "They were odd, but they were nice at least...and told good stories too!"

I gingerly step down onto the uncovered layer of snow, praying that it won't give way and cause another avalanche. Letting out a sigh of relief as my hoof sinks down a little ways, supporting my weight while I continue stepping off. As my last rear hoof lands on the ground, I begin to make my way more carefully down the mountain.

An hour passes by as the snow continues to blow in my face while I carefully choose my footing, catching a glimpse of an uprooted tree just to my left and say, "Look to the left and see proof of an avalanche's strength, there lays a tree uprooted by the force of it. They are one of many natural hazards that all beings should be wary of if they desire to stay alive."

She looks to see the tree and says, "Wow, it is such a large tree too, nature sure can be harsh can't it?"

I chuckle and continue down the mountain and say, "Here's a fun fact for you, I don't know why but the beings where I came from believed that nature was like a mother. Which is why they always called her Mother Nature."

Light cocks her head curiously and says with mild surprise in her voice, "Really, that is interesting because I have always thought that too!"

Another half-hour passes as I finally reach the bottom of the mountain and sigh saying, "Well little one, we are down the mountain. Now we can hurry along to our destination to find what awaits us just ahead." I then ease into a swift walk, finding it much easier without the weight of my wings dragging behind me.

*Unknown Location at the base of the tall mountain*

A young unicorn filly makes her way through the blizzard, feeling concerned about how the others are getting through the long winter storm blowing through. She carefully knocks on one of the doors and waits for a pony to answer the door, when it opens up just a crack as the wind threatens to blow it shut again and says, "I thought that it would be wise to check on everypony to see if they require any food and water during this blizzard. Do you find yourselves in need of any food or water as this storm continues?"

The stallion smiles and shakes his head saying, "Thank you for checking on us Magis, we can always count on you during tough times. We have plenty of food and water to last us a week, I wish you a safe journey to wherever you go today." He then closes the door gently and returns to playing with his family.

Magis turns around with a smile on her face and leans into the howling wind, making her way to her next house when she senses that somepony needs aid. Focusing on her magic, she casts a detection spell to locate anypony in trouble. Her spell signals her of where they are located then turns into the wind, and turns her body around to go with the wind then begins to trot towards the location.

*Somewhere in the blizzard, with Galadriel and Light Bright*

I feel the shivering form of Light Bright still atop my back, her power didn't last long due to the worsening storm. Continuing to trot along as my wings drag behind me, ice starts to form on them and causes me to put more strength into pushing myself forward. That extra effort causes me to sweat more, which then soaks my coat and cools down, creating ice. The ice, blizzard, cold wind, and temperature steals my body heat from me, causing my body to shiver as well. I don't dare to open my mouth or the moisture inside will become ice within minutes. Thinking I see a faint glow in the distance I call out as Light's shivering gets even worse, "HELLO, IS ANYPONY OUT THERE? I CAN SEE A FAINT GLOW, BUT THAT IS ALL!"

Magis hears the shout and continues trotting forward until she sees a pair of very faintly glowing brilliant amber eyes at her eye level, causing her to squeak out saying 'eep' and jump to the side slightly, saying, "My humble apologies, I sensed somepony needed help with my magic, and so I came to offer it. How can I aid you?"

I then stop and say to her, "Please take the filly from my back, and get her to a warm place quickly! She is shivering violently and I cannot run due to the added weight of the ice and snow on my body and wings. Leave me behind and get her taken care of first, she is more important. Come back for me after you get her to a warm place, I can handle this cold a little better than she can."

She nods her head quickly and says, "Very well, I shall bring her to my family's home. Keep moving in your current direction to keep moving and produce warmth, I will find you when I get the filly taken care of." She then illuminates her horn to see better in the complete whiteout blizzard, seeing a light pink unicorn filly with a frozen blue stiff mane and tail with snow stuck to her coat and either a pony below her with a white coat or completely snow plastered body. Approaching the filly quickly, she extinguishes her horn and picks her up with her magic and turns to run back towards her home in town saying, "I will come back to find you, keep moving!" before hurrying off towards her house to get the filly warm.

I watch the glow quickly fade away as I smile and continue to push on through the storm, losing track of how long I have been walking as the spot where Light used to be is now covered in ice and snow. My body begins to lose its strength and causes me to breathe harder as my pulse begins to slow down thinking, 'So...this is to be my fate, freezing to death in an unknown land where I have been exiled to...'

Magis leaves her home and senses the other pony needing help and hurries off to find them. She then casts an illumination spell with her horn and goes to the area where her spell indicated he was, being somewhere in the center of the town. She trots along, keeping her eyes looking around for any sign of the pony. With the storm being so bad, she doesn't notice the object lying on the ground in front of her and runs right into it. She looks at the pile of snow before her and brushes her hoof against it, revealing an ice-covered black wing. She gasps with worry as she notices that the pony is much bigger than her and has either laid down or collapsed, making her hurry around to find the pony's head. Finding it quickly, she lifts it out of the snow with her magic and attempts to smack their jaw with her left hoof to wake them up and open their eyes screaming, "GET UP, IT'S DANGEROUS TO FALL ASLEEP NOW OUT HERE IN THIS WEATHER! GET UP OR YOU WILL BUCKING DIE!!" She then begins smacking them harder as their eyes slowly flicker open.

My eyes slowly flutter open when I feel somepony tapping my face, causing me to wake up a bit more and try to see who it is. I finally see that it is the pony with the glowing horn I saw before and manage to say, "What is going on? I'm so sleepy."

She shakes her head and shouts, "There is a bad snowstorm going on now, and you are outside covered in ice and snow! You need to get up now and follow me to my home!"

I move my front hooves in front of me and very shakily try to push my upper body off the ground, taking a few seconds until finally succeeding and then drag my back hooves under me. Using what strength I can muster, it takes me even longer to get the rest of my body off the ground and say, "Where am I going? I can't see anything in this snow except for your horn's glow."

Magis then says, "Okay then, I am going to make my horn brighter so you can see it better. I shall guide you to my home, please follow my glowing horn so I can try to warm you up. Whatever you do, do not stop following my shining horn or fall back asleep!" She then turns around and makes her horn as bright as she can and angles her head back so that they can see it.

I spot the bright blue light amidst the blinding snow and push myself forward, feeling a burning pain in my lower legs and ignore it. I trip a couple of times and search for the glow again after I recover, then try to force myself to move faster as my wings act like dead weight and slow my progress.

She opens her door wide, holding it open with her rump as the wind tries to blow it shut and shouts, "You are almost to my home, keep on going! I am standing right in front of my open door, so head to the spot just next to me to my right! Watch your step when you are getting closer to the door, there are two steps up to the main floor!"

I make my way to where she told me to head as I get closer to her home, then begin to search for the steps she warned me about. My front hooves find them as they strike the side of the bottom one, I see a light coming from inside and try to go up the steps faster. Before I get to the door, I force myself to shake my body to remove some of the snow that is on it. Not sure how effective it was, I do it once more and then head on inside and try to find a place big enough with my wings extended behind me and mostly covered by ice.

Magis watches as the really tall, adult pony walks past her and into her home. Seeing that they also have a horn like her, she wonders what they are due to them also having appendages like her mother did. She watches as their wings strike the edges of the door frame, causing a yelp of pain to come from the pony. She hears the ice scrape against the edge of the crystal frame and cracking ice comes from inside, making her wince as they finally pass the door frame and enter her home. She extinguishes her horn and quickly heads inside after them, recognizing the pony as a stallion instantly. She closes the door behind her using her magic and makes her way around him to shift some of her furniture around, ensuring that there will be enough room for him to lay in front of the fireplace saying, "Just give me a moment to move some of my furniture around, I did not realize how large you are."

I stand in the room, letting my eyes drift closed for a few moments until I feel a tapping on my right shoulder, reopening my eyes and smile saying, "Sorry for closing my eyes for a few seconds, I am really tired from having to escape that avalanche I accidentally caused while galloping down the side of the mountain."

She smiles warmly back and looks up at him saying, "Don't apologize for something you can't help, now please come around here and lay on the blankets near the fire with your right side facing the fireplace. Do you mind if I lift your frozen wings up so they don't catch the edge of the blankets and pull them along the floor?"

I chuckle and say, "Sure, go right ahead little one, they don't work anyway because they are broken."

Magis fights the urge to run out right now to go fetch the doctor, and forces herself to help get this stallion's body temperature up asking, "Would you be okay with me sharing my body heat with you?" and lifts both of his wings up before they reach the edge of the blankets she set down just after moving her furniture, carefully setting them back down on the floor.

I then lay down on my stomach, feeling the warm heat from the fire washing over my body and say, "Not at all little one, go right ahead." I then begin to rest my eyes as I feel my body temperature slowly begin to recover and start to drift off.

She sees his head lays down and shouts, "Don't fall asleep yet! You need to drink some warm water while I cover you with whatever cloth I can find." She then hurries over to where her water barrel is and gets a large crystal bowl from her counter, then dips it in and fills it up before making her way over to the stallion.

I lift my head as I hear hoofsteps come towards me and say, "Thank you, I am quite thirsty. Can you tell me where Light is?"

Magis sets the bowl in front of his head and says, "Don't thank me yet, you are not out of danger. She is on the couch to your left, her shivering has almost stopped. She is going to be okay, it is you I am most worried about now because of how bad your condition is. Now drink that all while I go find whatever I can to help warm and dry you up as that ice melts on your wings."

*Several hours later, the next morning*

I open my eyes to a really warm feeling, though I can feel something soft lightly pressing up against my barrel. I am about to lift my head up to look at it when I notice that my neck and lower jaw are warm as well, and lying on something soft. Lifting my head from whatever it was laying on, I tilt my nose down and gaze upon a pony having a very pale vermilion coat with a horn, and a brilliant raspberry mane and tail that gradually change to a cobalt blue at the end. As I gaze upon their form, a gentle smile makes its way onto my face. I then turn my head to see what is pressing up against my side, only to see a familiar light pink filly with a horn, blue mane tucked under my right folded wing with her head bent around and tucked underneath it. Glad to see she is okay, I nuzzle against the left side of her neck and lightly chuckle at the cute sight before my eyes and huff into her exposed ear occasionally, causing it to flick in annoyance.

Light huffs in annoyance as something lightly blows into her ear saying, "Stahp it, I'm comfy..."

I smile and quietly say to her ear, "I'm glad you are okay little one. I am doing much better myself, now return to your slumber." I then show her a little affection by using my lips to play with her ear a little before giving it a light lick.

She giggles and pulls her ear under his wing saying, "Quit it, that tickles! I'm happy you made it through Galadriel, I don't know what I would do if you didn't make it."

I then turn my head to see the face of the little filly my head and neck were resting on, seeing a pair of brilliant amber eyes matching my own eyes and softly say, "You're awake, I thank you for helping us both survive through the night. We both owe you our lives, I shall pay you back for your kind and caring actions. Who are you little one, and where are your parents?"

Magis smiles and blushes slightly and says, "Y-you don't have to do that, I'm just happy that you made it through the night." When she thinks about her parents, she turns away and looks down at the floor saying, "They... they went out to find food and wood for our fire three winters ago, they never made it back so I assumed they lost their way home and perished. I went out to look for them when the snow melted, and found them huddled under a tree. I then did what I could to bring them home so they can be buried, I have been on my own ever since." She turns her head towards him and introduces herself saying, "My name is Magis Amore, and I am a unicorn. May I ask who and what you are? Would you like me to go get a doctor to take a look at your wings to see if he can do anything for them?"

I let out a sad sigh and say, "I'm sorry to hear about your parents, little one. My name is Galadriel, and I am an alicorn. You can if you want to, but I don't think there is anything he can do for them."

She then remembers what she heard shouted through the skies, causing her eyes to widen with the realization and tries to confirm it by asking, "I heard a voice booming through the skies, shaking my entire body. Are you THAT Galadriel?!"

I watch with mild amusement at her astonishment and nod my head saying, "I am indeed the Galadriel that made that speech, do you fear me, child?"

Magis shakes her head no and says, "Uh-uh, I heard a few stories from my parents when they went there from time to time on business." She quiets down and fidgets nervously with her hooves for a few moments, trying to figure out if she really wants to know more and quietly asks, "Umm...what became of Saddlelantis?"

I sigh and look away regretfully and answer, "The city was wrecked and returned to the bottom of the sea as punishment for its citizen's vile actions who did not wish to change their ways... I really wish I did not need to punish them so harshly."

She looks away for a moment, then turns back to him and says, "Sometimes one needs to be punished for their actions, or else they will not learn from their mistakes. I once took something from a merchant in town because it was pretty, I was punished harshly for it. My right hoof was tied up under my body with a rope that went over my back and tied around my other hoof, then a ring was placed around my horn to block my magic and finally, I was spanked and told never to do it again. I learned from it and gave the item back, then apologized for it and offered to help them around the shop." She looks up into his amber eyes and notices that his mane and tail flow in a gentle, nonexistent breeze then asks, "Why do your mane and tail blow in a breeze that doesn't exist, we are indoors?"

I turn my head and try to get a look at my mane and tail saying, "I never realized that they became this way, I have no clue. Perhaps you should go get the doctor to take a look at them to see if anything is wrong, this is highly unusual because normally they are just like regular strands of hair." I then look down at my hooves and sigh with relief saying, "At least my hoof feathering doesn't do that?"

Magis cocks her head and looks at his hooves, then back up at him and says, "Umm...your hooves don't have feathers."

I chuckle with amusement and shake my head saying, "They don't, and shouldn't. That is just what the hair is called that grows over a pony's hooves such as mine."

She giggles and then smiles saying, "Okay, I will go get the doctor now and come right back, see you when I return." then exits her home and trots towards the doctor's house, sighing happily at seeing that the blizzard is over but the sky is still cloudy.