Author's Note

The cover is only temporairy, until I draw myself a proper one.
I encourage you to tell me what you think in the comments so I can get better! Thanks!

Are we going to have a Winterhorn here?!

A dozen years ago the world was supposedly different, so say all the elders. Apparently it was so warm that you didn't need any clothes, you could walk around naked, and you could eat grass that grew everywhere, not just in greenhouses.

Then one day, without knowing how or why, the Wendigos returned, and they brought terrine cold with them.

The whole of Equestria rushed to combat the coming cold with technology and magic. Giant steel vehicles called "Carriages" were built and transported us north, Somewhere where the world was already adapted to the cold, to the Crystal empire.

There they built The Generators which under the watchful eyes of Engineers provided heat for the cities that sprang up around them, leaving the world outside frozen and abandoned, only populated by wild beasts and evil spirits that only Scouts, the bravest and strongest of us, dared to face.

And so Ponykind adapted to the conditions in its own way.

I don’t know, maybe it was like that, I don't remember, I was young when all that happened.

Of course it's interesting, but I don't have a head for history, I'm… too stupid. If I was smart like my sister is…

It’s so bucking unfair. She’s good at everything, She’s an engineer and a scout!

How come she got brains like this, and I couldn’t even get through the first year of–

It’s not fair! – I thought as I took an angry swing and hit the coal deposit with all my might

No matter what I tried I never could match her! Where’s the justice in that! I thought that–

Suddenly, an almost deafening whistle rang throu the dark corridors of the coal mine. I put the pickaxe I held in my muzzle into a pocket on my side, and with a wobbly step, began walking towards the exit along the planks laid on the floor of the thin dark tunnel lit from time to time by bare light bulbs hanging on the wall.

I was tired, very tired. My neck ached from swinging the pickaxe, my legs ached from pulling the coal carts to the lift, and I felt a stinging dryness in my throat from all the sweating. But now, it was time for the part I had been waiting for all shift

Walking down the mineshaft, other miners exited side tunnels, joining the mass of leaving workers like streams flowing into a river. After a while I stood among dozens of ponies lined up in front of the lift shaft. A crowd of tired ponies after a long day in a cramped space smelled absolutely awful, but I didn’t care! I had a smile on my lips, and patiently waited for my turn to go up.

Eventually I stepped onto the crude steel lift that had just moments ago been used to haul coal up the mine, and with a screech of gears, and hissing of the steam engine at the top ot the shaft that pulled us upwards, we moved to the mine’s ground floor hall with all those who had just finished a shift, waiting for a briefing and a few goodbye words from the foremare.

“Good job lads! Another hard day of work behind us!”--

Blah blah blah, Get to the point! Nobody cares about these motivational speeches!

“Now time to honour the hardest-working among us! The first place, Rocky Chase! Two hundred and sixty-two percent of the norm, Applause please!”

Hearing my name, I smiled broadly, and gloated at the sound of dozens or hundreds of hooves hitting the ground for me. It felt like a massage for my mind, like a giant pressure was taken off my head and I could just… Loosen up.

This moment makes a whole day's hard work worth it

And suddenly, like a quick hug from your loved one, the applause was over, and my moment was gone leaving an empty spot in my heart that craved for more.

"Second place, Smoulder Shoulders!--"

Tomorrow.

I walked home through the city’s narrow alleys. They almost always looked improvised, as if they were quickly squeezed between the talll steel framed and wooden buildings that stand here right now in a rush, and then nopony bothered to make them into proper streets. All of them looked more or less the same; On the sides, planks that you could walk on, and in the middle lay large, almost half my size, steel pipes that hissed and hummed transporting steam and water between the city and the generator that lay in the dead centre of it. No matter the time of day, The Generator was always clearly visible. It was the tallest structure in the whole city, during the day it loomed with its dark silhouette over the roofs of houses, and during the night it glowed with a warm orange light from its tip, and spat gigantic amounts of smoke into the air. You couldn’t miss it.

Right now, the generator spat less smoke than usual, and instead of white as always, it was grey.

I mean we’re just two days after a storm. Big piles of snow still lay against walls of houses I passed, and It's still warm, only -20 Celcius. Maybe that’s how it works when they use very little percent of its power? Or they are just cleaning it perhaps.

As I walked, thinking about how I will throw all these thick and restrictive winter clothes off me and sit by a fire or a radiator at my apartment, I noticed posters on the pipes. Lots of them. All of them depict one thing, my ‘incredible’ sister:

Be the City’s Hero!

Join the Scouts! And serve the city!

With an image of my sister between the two lines of text, her head turned, looking to the side, but while glancing at the viewer.

A fucking daily reminder that no matter what I do, I always be… just worse.

As I felt anger and frustration boil inside me, I ripped that poster off the pipes with a furious sweep. That one, and every other I saw on my way home. I’ll happily use them to start a fire when I get home.

And then, I felt the ground vibrate, and metallic creeks sounded from the direction of the generator. I turned in that direction but it was just covered by the hospital building, I didn't know what was happening, and in a slight panic, feeling the adrenaline rush, I started galloping.

What the fuck is going on!?

I have to run home, I'll be safe there!

I galloped through the narrow streets past the pipes, which, as I ran, began to leak, and high-pressure steam poured out of the cracks with a loud screetch, sending me and the ponies around me into a complete panic. Panting, feeling hot and completely sweated under the clothes, I rushed into my family house, climbed the common staircase, jumped into my flat and ran to the window from which I could see the very tip of the generator protruding from above the house opposite the street.

Against the dark blue background of the sky I could see the black tower of the generator, spitting out red fumes from the tip, which turned into black smoke as it rose above the city.

I was overwhelmed with horror. I couldn't take my eyes off the terrifying sight, so I just stood in front of the window, feeling my heart pounding and the darkest scenarios running through my head; Is it going to explode? Are we going to have a Winterhorn here!?

"Rock! Is that you?" I heard my mother's voice and the sound of hooves going up the stairs.

"Yes!" I shouted, "what's going on?" I asked as she entered the flat and stood at the window next to me.

"Oh my..." she whispered with horror on her face.

"Well, what do we do!?" I looked at mom staring at the window with her eyes wide open.

"You?" she took her eyes off the glass for a moment and looked at me, "you can't do anything. Stay here and don't bother, I'll get your sister and we'll go to the Captain's," she said in a rush while quickly turning around and walking towards the exit.

"I can help you somehow maybe?!"

"What can you possibly help us with?" she said walking towards the exit. "It’s politics, not swinging a pickaxe. Stay here and wait until we get back!"

I was completely flabbergasted, as I stood there I hung my sight and didn't say a word. I should have gotten used to that by now, but for some reason, everytime I am reminded that in her eyes I am a nobody…

And the worst part is that she’s right.

I sat in my room for I’d guess half an hour by now. Looking through my window, The dark silhouette of the generator was completely lost in the dark sky

They switched it off.

I walked over to the radiator and brought my nose close to it.

Barely warm

Well, without the generator I'd be surprised if it was any different. Looks like I'm sleeping in my clothes tonight.

I'd like to know what's going on, but mother's right, an ordinary coal miner -- the worst and least demanding job in the whole city. What would I even be doing there? Stand there and pretend I know what they're talking about? I probably wouldn't even understand anything.

All I know how to do is swing a pickaxe.

I'm fucking useless.

"Do you really think so?" I heard a weird nasal, almost annoying voice.

"Who said that!" I backed into the centre of the room and started looking around in a panic.

"Over here" a voice came from the wall. With a little trepidation I approached the wall cautiously, looking for the pony that for some reason was in my house!

And did he hear my thoughts!?

"Would someone useless have done this?" I heard the voice again, and looked up at the wall where I thought it came from.

It was a painting! It was hanging on a wooden wall and it was talking to me! Was I out of my mind with stress or what?

The framed engraving of me was moving! And it was pointing to the caption at the bottom "Rocky Chase, Best employee of Mine 24 East".

"Well?" the drawing of me asked me with raised eyebrows.

“What the fuck?!" I gasped, my heart began beating fast, and all my muscles stiffened “Who the buck are you?!”
"Later” he said after glancing at me for a second. “You're good at this, but you’re wasting your potential there."

it was nice to hear that, if only from my own hallucination... I smiled slightly

Wait, why the buck am I talking to my hallucination?! I jumped at the framed drawing, took it off the wall, at lightning speed, placed face down on the floorboards, and then moved away quickly, afraid of what’s gonna happen next.

"Hey! Listen to me!” I heard the thing’s voice from a different part of the room, “ I know you're just afraid to try! And I’m here to help! I’m here by the way!" My copy, now painted in a different style, talked from a painting of a grassy field from the opposite side of the room.

Now that’s too much for me! Fuck this! – I though, and ran out of my apartment onto the staircase

“Listen to me you idiot!” Now the painting that hung on the staircase in front of the entrance to my room started talking! Great! I started running down the stairs, almost slipping on them, while trying to ignore the shouts from all the paintings and pictures that I passed. In rush, I passed the middle – my sister’s floor, and kept running all the way down. I banged into the house entrance on the left of the narrow staircase and tried pushing the handle down. It didn't budge! I looked around, ran up to the lowest floor entrance – My mother’s apartment, and stopped.

I didn't want to go in there.

“Hey!” A black and white picture hanging to the right of the door screamed.

Fuck! I hung my gaze down, jumped into my mother's room, and shut the doors behind me!

Maybe it can’t go through shut doors? I thought leaning on the door with my back and feeling my heard pound like a jackhammer

I don’t fucking know. I need peace for a moment! First the generator and now this!

I took a breath, and opened my eyes. Mom’s room was truly beautifully arranged, fitting to her job in the city – a member of the Capitan’s council. Richly decorated, with handmade furniture and walls upholstered with nicer wood. It was also full of pictures and paintings of my sister in various situations.

Talking about a favourite child....

The largest painting, in the middle of the largest wall, opposite of my mother’s big and pretty walnut wood desk immortalised my sister standing with her back to me, and looking out somewhere into the Frostland, where the white snow and blue sky merged into a perfectly straight horizon line. You could see tiny black silhouettes of ponies in the distance. The whole painting came with a caption: "For not giving up on us, and believing. -- the survivors of Winterhorn''

But it wasn't my sister who stood there, instead of a beautiful, strongly built snow-white unicorn mare with luxuriant bright green and blue mane, there stood me! A grey earth pony, with a slightly weaker stature, and a dark blue sort of faded mane. It turned to me with a smile of satisfaction on its face.

"Nice isn't it?"

"You’re some kind of ghost?! What the buck do you want from me?!” I shouted while rearing on two hooves and holding my back against the door.

"Well stop running! Stop running and listen to me for a moment!” the painting shouted and sighed. “ I am a spirit, yes! and the reason for me being here is that I saw your misery, and I want to help you. Simple.”

“A-- A spirit?” I grunted and found my voice back.

“Well what did you think? That Discord was the only one?”

“You’re like Discord?!” I opened my eyes wide.

“No I am not ”, the spirit replied irritably, “Discord was a God, a– a spirit, but with his own body, and unlimited power." My copy said with a hint of jealousy, "I am just a spirit, I don't have either.”

“So, you’re like a– a good spirit that likes to help ponies?” I asked cautiously with a raised eyebrow.

“You know what? Maybe! Just stop asking stupid questions! Stop and tell me why you have so little faith in yourself? Or you know, “the spirit said while looking around my mother’s room and frowned, “don’t answer, I think I already know that,”, and I thought I saw a note of anger in that frown? “But it’s weird that you just accepted that you’re the worse child… If I were you, I’d try proving to your mom that she’s wrong instead of… Giving up like that.”

" I tried!" I Shouted, suddenly angered by the assumption that I just gave up, and that nasal irritating voice. “And I couldn’t even pass a first year of engineer apprenticeship while she had not only done that, but completed her scout training at the same time! You know how hard that is?! It’s Impossible! Nopony had ever done it before! She’s a genius that maybe only Twilight Sparkle could match!”

“So you’re satisfied where you are now, then?” It asked raised eyebrows and a smug smile.

“No! Of course not!”

“Then give it a try again. Give it a try and you’ll see. What do you have to lose? Your mother thinks you’re a failure anyway.”

“I'll be the laughing stock again! They will compare me to her again!”

“You’d rather stay like this for the rest of your life then? In a mine?”

Go kiss a Wendigo! You know nothing! You think you know me?! You think you know how my life is gonna go?

“Suit yourself,” the spirit shrugged, “ I hope the fake applause you get in mine, from the ponies that don’t care about you in the slightest, satisfies you.”The painting turned away from me to look at the small silhouettes at the horizon again, and when I blinked, It became my sister again.

Fake… applause?

“What’s fake about it? Hey! Come back! What’s fake about it?!” I shouted at the painting, but the spirit seemed to leave me alone with my thoughts.

Fucking smartass, he knows that i’ll be thinking about it now!

I was awakened by the muffeled shouting of a foal selling newspapers on the street.

Oh that was one crazy dream.

"The latest issue of New Mareland Daily! What's going on with the generator! Will you have to evacuate? And a schedule of generator shutdowns for the next few days! Find out in today's issue!"

The foal mentioning the Generator hit me like a bucket of ice cold water, I threw off my thick duvet, jumped off my bed onto all fours and ran to the window. the piece of the Generator that protruded from above the house across the street continued to be cold and dark, encased in some kind of steel makeshift scaffolding.

They'll have to turn it on eventually because if it gets colder again in a few days the ponies will freeze.

I ran downstairs. Mum and Diamond hadn't come back in the night, so maybe at least the paper would know what was going on. When I got outside I felt there wasn't much difference between the inside of the house and the temperature outside, I walked across the creaking snow and shouted to the foal to come up. I gave him two Bits and, taking the newspaper from him, sat down on the muddy planks of the street, and, opening it with my front hooves, immediately began to read it. With a giant font at the first page was written

[New Mareland Daily]

The Generator is BROKEN!

After the whole night of consultations among the Captain's council, Our newspaper was informed that the rumours were indeed were true, and the New Maryland’s Generator, also known as Generator No. 243 has been damaged during the last storm a few days ago, and with the current state of the city’s resources, we are not able to fix it.

Then there was a part about how the generator will be shut down during the day, and fired up on low power during the night, a very loose schedule of maintenance stops, and about Captain's Lemon Breeze refusal to make any promises, which supposedly raised discontent among ponies who were there.

The captain however claims that there IS a way to fix the generator, which will involve scavenging needed parts from the wreck of the recently discovered Carriage which was exposed from under a layer of snow by the strong winds of the last storm. The Capitan Lemon Breeze announces that Volunteer Expedicion Corps under the watcheye of the Scouts will be formed to assist the scouts in these efforts, and encourages all those, willing to help the city to sign up in the Cookhouse, or Guard Stations, and become the city’s hero!

A wave of panic went through me. It’s BROKEN?! It wasn’t supposed to break! Ever! It was supposed to be the finest of equestria’s engineering! Concept of The Twilight Sparkle herself!

I threw the paper on the ground, and began walking in circles and hyperventilating.

Oh shit, Oh fuck, Oh shit–

I felt my legs turn into jelly and my stomach start dancing around. I wanted nothing more than to throw up right now!

We’re gonna have another Winterhorn here! We’re all gonna die–

No, calm down! Calm down! Uff. Big breaths, big breaths, in, and out.

“Hey, Hey! Don’t you see it? It’s your chance!” Heard a nasal voice again and looked at the source. The spirit was talking to me as a passer-by pony from the photo of the generator in the corner of the newspaper.

“What!? Chance at what? At freezing to death?”

“Chance at– Look!” he pointed at the paragraph talking about signing up for the Expedicion Corps, “That’s your chance!”

“What? What are you talking about! I wouldn’t– I couldn’t!”

“Give me one valid reason!” The spirit replied irritated, “You complain all the time– Yes I watched you for some time– you complain how, ‘oh i’m worse, ooh my mommy hates me i’m so sad’ but have you tried to do anything? You gave up! And I feel the jealousy of your sister oozing from you! Well there’s your chase to do something about it! Stop acting like a filly and get moving!” He finished shouting and crossed his forelegs.

I felt a lot of conflicting emotions. Happines that there is somepony that believes in me, annoyance at him claimin I gave up, and fear. I thought about reasons I wouldn’t be able to, I wanted to wipe that smug smile that made its way onto his face more for every second longer I stood silent. But I couldn’t.

I would make a fool of myself – Well just like everypony new there

I don’t know anything about Frostland – but just like everypony

I’m too weak…? –

“I’m stupid! I’m only good for coal mining!” I spat with satisfaction at the spirit.

“...Wow, did that feel good to say? Saying you’re stupid about yourself? Another excuse to not have to try anything?”

“But, She will be there. Everypony will compare me to her, I’ll be the worse one again. I’ll be ‘The dumber one, the coal miner one’”

“But won’t it be better than ‘The one that didn’t do anything when the city needed him to’?”

Maybe, maybe he was right? Admitting it didn’t make the fear of doing that any easier, but.

“Okay, yes, you fucking win, I’m a lazy idiot.”

“No! You are not! That’s the point!”

“Okay! I’m not!” but somehow admitting that made me feel even dumber. “So, what should I do then?”

The spirit just pointed at the paragraph again with his hoof. “Go, and show them. I know you can do it.”

I smiled lightly, but sincerely. I don’t remember when was the last time I heard that.

Was I… O Celestia was I feeling my eyes well up? Damn it!

“You just need a little incentive, but I believe in you, now go!”

I will! I’ll go there, sign up, and show to mom, to Diamond, to everypony, that I CAN.

I took a deep breath, grabbed the newspaper in my mouth, and put it into a pocket on my chest, and turned left, making my way to the cookhouse.

It will be stressful, and scary, but I’ll show them all! I’ll show them!

I’ll go out into the frostland, and maybe, I won’t be able to actually do it, but at least, I’ll show them that I didn’t give up!

Discontent increases
Hope falls slightly