The Descent

Ametrine looked out the window of her stone room. It was a dark afternoon. As usual, it was snowing outside and the sky was dark grey and cloudy. The warmth of the nearby fireplace radiated onto her, and she sighed before standing up from her chair and walking over to the door. She hesitated to open it, out of pure anxiety. She knew what was happening today. All she needed to do was raise her hoof and pull down on the handle, but it felt like her legs were made of lead. With a sigh, she turned around and sat down at her desk.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard a knock on her door. She hurried over and opened it. Outside was Burning Bridges, an old friend of hers. She could feel the warmth of his blazing mane even from a meter away.

"It's time." he said, in a monotone voice.

Ametrine simply nodded in response, and the pyromancer turned around and started walking down the stone corridor. The mare grabbed her jacket and followed suit, nervously and cautiously. As they walked, she took the opportunity to look around the halls one last time before she set off. Old paintings, trophies and medals were hung on the walls. She recognized the ponies on a few of the portraits, but she didn't have the time to remember their names. Not now.

After about fifteen minutes of walking through the seemingly endless corridors of the school, they had reached the grand gates leading to the frozen outside. She took a quick glance at her friend, who looked near completely emotionless. Not uncommon, when it comes to Burning Bridges. He shoved open the door, and immediately the two felt the fury of the unforgiving winds outside. Though, they did not fear; they had walked here countless times before. They knew they'd be safe. They were headed westward, towards the train station. From there, they were going to a small town named Farport - It was the only place this far north that was warm enough for the layer of ice atop the sea to thaw, making it the only nearby port.

The walk to the station was uneventful. Nothing in sight as far as the eye could see, which actually wasn't that far due to all the mist. No trees, or even any hills. Such are these frozen plains.

The trainride was just as mundane. Either everything was this boring, or the anxiety of her oncoming trip made everything pale in comparison. Her friend watched absentmindedly out the window while trying to arrange a deck of cards by colour without looking. She nervously tapped her hoof on the ground, thinking about something to talk about - But alas, nothing came to mind. She stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride.

After what felt like hours, the train finally came to a stop. Ametrine peered out the window, and spotted a sign that in bold letters said 'Farport' - This was the place. She stood up, her legs feeling weak from sitting still for hours. The pyromancer opposite of her had already started walking towards the door when she arose. She followed, trotting as to keep up with his pace.

Farport wasn't much different from the rest of the snowfields; The only difference being the houses sprinkled around the area. She squinted, looking for some kind of sign or anything to show them where they were supposed to go, when she saw someone waving to her from afar. It was Pumpkin Spice, one of the teachers at Frostvale. She beckoned the two closer, and started walking towards what Ametrine presumed were the docks.

As they walked, Pumpkin Spice was talking about the history of the town. Ametrine didn't pay much attention to it, but it was better than hearing only the winds whistling wails. She was mostly thinking about her family right now. What would they think of her if she returned? And what if she didn't? Would they miss her? They barely ever meet her anymore, anyways. She shook the thought just as they arrived at the dock, consisting of long bridges were ships were stood. Most of the boats were small fisher boats - aside from a large steam-powered Galleon of polished wood. It proudly cast it's shadow over the three ponies standing at the pier.

"...And that's the ship you two will be going on. I won't be able to go with you." said Pumpkin Spice, as she started to slowly walk back towards the train station. "Get yourselves accustomed with the crew. You're gonna be stuck with each other for a while."

Ametrine looked around at her friend, who for the first time looked a tad bit worried. As soon as he noticed that Ametrine had taken note of his anxiety, he regained his emotionless facade and started walking up the ramp to the ship.