Frozen Through the Ages

The dark bled into the void. The chill touched but never consumed anything in its path. It was both stifling and inspiring. I found myself speechless. I had no idea for how long I'd simply sat there staring up at nothing. A hollowed-out path through chiseled ice stretched out before me.

Behind the glistening walls, the dark awaited, ebbing and setting like the tide. A force that could only be stalled never stopped. Even so, I felt no desire to leave, run, or hide. It was beguiling. I almost wanted to laugh. Nothing escaped my mouth, though I had at some point started walking. Deeper into the cold, I delved, frost nipping at my ears. At some point, my legs had been entirely consumed in a matching armor of ice. They were nearly indecipherable from the floor they pranced across.

I was grossly aware this was a dream. My mind made no ploy to mask that fact. I was walking down an endless ice cavern in the dark. It, in some ways, was more pleasant, knowing it was all in my mind in some ways, that made it all the worse. I hadn't felt truly alone since before my cutie mark. I'd had, in some way, Hal with me, always in my head. There was also Freya, there to snark and quip, and on some occasions, consul, here in the dark and ice. There was only me. There was only Glacial Zero.

A whistle picked up from behind me. A sudden, heart-pumping fear squirmed into my head, and a thunderous rush of blood filled my ears. The whistle grew louder. I was sprinting now, deeper and deeper into the path.

"What?" It was the first word I'd managed to speak since becoming lucid.

The sound of something heavy and the shrill crack of giving ice sent a second wave of fear and haste. It was coming. It was closer.

"What is it?" I said between panicked whines and gasps of air. I tried to open my wings, but they remained glued to my sides.

"Glaaaaacie!~" The whistle called. It was closer.

I managed to look over my shoulder, but there was nothing. The crashing was closer but hidden in the dark. The faster I ran, the closer it seemed to be. I was lucid and yet still wholly helpless, a hostage to the whims of my mind. I was so very alone.

"Glaaaacie!~ Where. Are. You?" the whistle whispered in my ear. I found it harder and harder to run. My legs weighed down hard, my back felt leaden, and even my wings sagged against gravity. I could feel it creeping, the ice from my legs and wings, the tears frozen to my cheeks.

"Frozen?" I asked nobody. I was, in fact, very much frozen to the spot. A statue glistening in the refracted non-light of the ice cavern.

"There you are!~"

Freya, no, a poorly matched and melting fake. A copy of a copy of a knockoff of a lie. The squelching mess of blackened, frostbitten limbs glided along the floor in an untraceable pattern. The face dipped on one side, the smile stretching from ear to ear, of sharpened teeth. The eyes, just like the last nightmare, the eyes piercing, screaming, fueled by rage and loathing. But, behind those, there was a second pair of eyes that begged, wrapped in grief and misery. I felt sick. I struggled pointlessly in my icy prison.

"Waaaaited!` Sooooo!~ Looooong!~" The 'Not' Freya sang. "Juuust!~ Foooor!~ Yooooou!~ Glaaaaacie!~”

The creature stepped forward, eyes level with my own. Its tongue lulled out as it eyed me greedily. One of its limbs traced a line down my face. I screamed as hard as I could, but it only echoed in my head, where no one could hear it. Lost in the inception of my fears.

“Pleeeease!~ Heeeelp!~”

Then I felt my face meet wood. I was awake, face down on the floor, swaddled in my blankets. My throat was sore, my eyes stung, and frozen tears clung like pen strokes down my cheeks and chin. But I was awake.

When I managed to pull myself free of my covers, I found the sun shining high and bright from my single window. The rays washed me in their dazzling warmth, but it was only ever coat deep. My head throbbed, and the 'Not' Freya's whispers played like a record in my head, in tune with my headache.

It was early for my new schedule, but sleep would not find me even if I wanted to return to bed. No, instead, blankets unraveled, and my head shook off the fog that consumed it. It was time to greet the day. The last few days have been a blur, and the niggling in the back of my head, continued untapered by anything and everything I tried to distract it with.

I had no plans for the day; I'd reached my quota for the week at the Night House. Not that I'd have minded going in. The looks I'd gotten last night made it clear that I wasn't doing a very good job pretending everything was fine.

Foresight had taken more than a few chances to eye me up and hum ominously. He was plotting something, even if my mood wasn't a factor. Dossy and Levvy had not been as subtle. The two herded me around like a lost sheep. The worry and pity in their demeanor only irritate me further.

Now, I was home, alone, and I hated it. The frost trail I left in my wake added a particular blithe commentary to my thoughts. The quiet was the worst part. Even the woods and river outside were eerily still.

"Does everything have to be so bucking complicated!" I yelled. I took the silence as a yes. It certainly wasn't a no.

With nothing better to do, I gathered the bathing supplies in the kitchen, headed out to greet the day, and let the river, hopefully, soothe the ironic fire in my chest.

The calm waters did help a bit. The river was clear as glass, slowly sloshed over rocks, and peaked against my body. My ablutions were as slow and methodical as I could manage: hoof to hoof, neck, withers, and so on. With each area soaked, scrubbed, and soaked again, I almost missed the thin layer of ice topping the water around me. I pretended it was the coming winter, the tropical storm, or happenstance.

I'd grown used to the ice on my forehooves and even my back hooves. It'd become second nature. Today, though, added a new twist to my 'winter' coat. The tips of my wings had frozen stiff, primary and secondary remiges. The feathers darkened to a hue more befitting for frostbite than functional limbs. I let them be, afraid they might shatter or break if preened.

"If Tally says anything, I might strangle her," I said. I sighed and laughed humorlessly. Who was I kidding? Even Azure would notice at this point. I let my wings go limp, treading water as I moved to my flanks.

"One step forward, three steps back, huh, brain?" No answer. I'd have been frightened if there was one. Moreso, if it was helpful. The rest of my bath was left to silence. I returned the soap and scrubbing brush inside, and with no reason to be home, I locked up and slowly flew down the path barely above a glide. The frosted feathers seemed to have little to no effect on my actual ability to fly. Which was a positive at the very least.

Bogwood was a reassuring level of ordinary. The afternoon sun sailed above as the ponies went about their lives. I'd only just sat down on my bench, one that might have a groove in it from my constant use. If it did, I'd never admit to it when a familiar cheery filly came bounding up.

Three days, and Azure had yet to give any quarter. You tell that filly one secret or several, all bundled up as one, and she was in completely. Trying to match her overabundant secrecy and blunt dispersal of that same information in public was exhausting.

"Afternoon, Glace, Hal, both. How are you today?" Azure asked with a wildly exaggerated wink. I planted a hoof so hard into my nuzzle I most assuredly would be bleeding. If my blood didn't freeze in my veins every time Azure brought up Hal. That might be a little too literal. Azure's poorly disguised hinting was becoming far too frequent, considering it'd been three days.

"Afternoon, Azure. Also, please quit announcing Hal as if he's the new word of the day. The point of me telling you girls was for less stress, not more." I grumbled incoherently as Azure all but dismissed my worries with a blink and a smile.

Three days since my reveal and three days since Freya had vanished. It felt too scripted like something would give at the drop of a hat. My patience was threadbare, something even Azure could not miss.

Before anything could boil over, another familiar face joined Azure and my conversation. Wayward had, at some point, noticed us. She had also apparently overheard Azure and me because no sooner had she fluttered over than her weaponized pout was ready and raring to go. Faust, have mercy on us all.

"You don't need to bite her head off, Glacial," Wayward said, wrapping me in a hug. If, by some eldritch provocation, Azure had missed the red flags, Wayward had not. I returned Wayward's hug. She was my rock.

"Yeah, I mean, sorry, I'm just a bit on edge."

"Still scared you're gonna get locked up? Or that the princess will rain down fire?" Azure asked. Both were things worth concern.

"Yes and yes, but also no. A few bad dreams. It's nothing, really."

"Now, Glacial, lying is no way to behave around friends," Wayward said. She offered bop to my muzzle, which I repaid with a huff.

"Not lying, just tired and jumpy."

"I'll say," Azure agreed.

Sergeant Foresight had said as much last night as well.

"Have you told your sire?" Wayward asked.

I'd considered it more than once. "No."

"Well, you should. You trust him, right?" Azure said, flicking a hoof over the other in dismissal of anything I could follow up with.

They were, of course, right, and before she vanished, Freya had been encouraging me to do the same. But if he rejected me, if he decided I'd lost my mind… My friends dismissing or betraying me would hurt. If my own sire did it, it'd destroy me. My body wracked itself in a violent shudder. It was enough to make one sick. The bile in the back of my throat dared me to delve deeper into the pit.

"He deserves to know. But, if he—"

Thwack! I recoiled, hoof waving in pain as I leered at Azure, who'd delivered a hard knock into the carpus of my nearest hoof. She glared back harder.

"No, none of that. If you can trust me, you can trust your dad. He's one of the most reliable ponies in Bogwood. So tell him, or I'll smack you again harder."

As far as Azure was concerned, that was that. I was not sure I agreed, nor did I approve of being smacked at all. But any further discussion would only end up with me getting hit again. Wayward had decided to simply watch. I had a feeling she sided with Azure on this one if the fact that she was stifling a giggle was any measure of her thoughts.

"You two are the worst," I said as I rubbed my new bruise.

"We are not, but those clouds are."

Azure pointed past Wayward and me to the north side of town. Even knowing it was coming did not prepare one for the horizon of thick black clouds. Even miles out, one could hear the rumble and see the flashing of discharged storm clouds. It had run its course through Baltimare and needed to burn off more cloud matter and disperse the leftover water. The wall slowly but surely grew closer. It was enough to send sparks up any pegasi's wings.

"Firstly, you're deflecting, and second, yes, yes it is."

When it hit, it was going to shake the town from plot to acre and back. If we got lucky, it might send the closer pods of border toads, hydras, muck rats, and mudbrewers scrambling for cover for a few weeks.

"I still think you should tell the princess," Azure said, barely above a whisper. It was more for her than directed at me. Even so, it still left a sour taste in my mouth.

I let it be; there is no point in starting fights, and it isn't her choice to make, to begin with. The princess was a gamble, one that Hal and I fully agreed on. That and if Celestia did believe me and take Hal's word as fact, it'd mean unwanted attention when word got out. Though if that were a good or bad thing, it would be better left to more imaginative ponies than I am.

"So, what are your plans for the rest of your day off, Glace?" Wayward asked.

I shrugged. "None, honestly. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I hate admitting it, but I wish Tally was here. I'm sure she'd have some ideas."

"Besides talking to your sire, you mean?" Azure asked. I wished I had a wall to bash my head into. My head was rumbling almost as hard as the horizon's storm. No, on that thought, Azure's head is way harder and thicker than any storm, tropical or not.

"Azure, that's enough. You've made your point," Wayward said.

Azure waved Wayward's words away. "Fine, fine, I just think he should have told his sire first. I promise to stop bringing it up, okay?"

Wayward nodded, turning to me. I nodded along. Azure had a point, so I'd let the subject drop. Though a nice sturdy wall would help.

"What about you two?"

Wayward looked up at the sky and hummed. "I have some errands Dam wanted me to do for her. So, I should probably go soon." Wayward gave me another hug. One Azure joined merrily. One I returned even if Azure didn't deserve it.

"No, that's fine. Maybe I'll head over to the park, maybe practice freezing things. Maybe I'll learn something if I freeze enough trees."

"Or get arrested for tree abuse," Azure said with a giggle.

I nodded. "Or that."

I'd need to find another space for my practice sometime soon. I wasn't sure what would happen if I was approached while freezing trees in the park, but I'm sure they'd find something to stick me with. If I had to guess, some kind of fine. Home was a no-go, and I wouldn't make a mess of the Night House on my off days. The marsh was generally unsafe, and I'd get more than an earful if something happened and Sire found out.

It was times like these where the fact Hal's memories retained the use and conveniences of plumbing and easily accessible sewer systems, which was a bittersweet pill to swallow. I doubt anypony would care if I was freezing waste. Or, I'd end up with another fine, maybe even worse, if I stalled the sewage system.

"What else do you think you'll even learn? I mean, freezing things isn't that complicated, is it?" Azure asked.

"If it is anything like weather control, it's probably harder than it looks," Wayward countered, once again looking at the encroaching wall of clouds.

"I'm sure you've noticed, but I often freeze over. I was hoping I could get that under control. I've just been waiting for someone to chew me out for it. You know?"

Azure snorted, and Wayward coughed. I smiled, and the dam broke. The three of us laughed. The very idea that somepony might throw up a hoof and yell about foals these days was an interesting sight to behold, or at least pretend to behold.

"Mrs. Whimsey might. She's the type of nag to whine about frosty benches or icy hoof trails," Wayward said once we'd settled back down.

"True," both Azure and I said.

"Does it hurt, or can you even get frostbite?" Azure asked.

I tapped a hoof idly on my chin. "No, not really. Honestly, I barely notice it. As for frostbite, Faust knows. If I could, I'd think I'd have already gotten it. That or hypothermia. Both, if the world made any sense."

"That's not fair. Weatherponies would be so jealous if they knew you could be immune to the cold. You stinky cheater." Wayward said. She huffed and turned her nose up in faux disgust, her smile never waning.

"Fair enough. Also, to answer Azure's question. I want to find where the line is on my magic. You know, what can I do before I end up freezing myself or something? I've noticed when I get mad, I freeze more than just my forehooves."

"Huh, now that you mention it," Azure said, waving in absent acknowledgment.

"Well, I'll see you girls later. You know, unless I end up a pony iceberg."

I waved as I trotted off. The girls offered their own goodbyes. I was left alone with my thoughts as I followed the familiar path to the little patch of untamed bog we called our park. I could imagine how hard the local earth ponies and gardener types had to work just to keep it all in check. Marshlands were not to be taken lightly lest ye be consumed by toads.

I'd barely finished my thought before I noticed I'd autonomously found my way back to my little playground of trees and ice. The trees had since I'd last been here, thawed…mostly. They looked a little weathered but still standing. If one didn't know what I'd done, and it wasn't the early onsets of winter, they might notice the little patches of still frost-laden bark near the base of the trees and mud.

The question was where to begin. What was I really doing? Why did I come here at all? I felt ill, and bile bubbled up in the back of my throat, leaving behind an acidic sludge. It was enough to make a colt gag. I told the others I wanted to test my limits to see what I could do if I let it all go. I'd said that, but I wasn't terribly sure I'd meant it.

I'd gotten upset, riled up, and petrified with anger or fear every time. I'd been consumed by the same power I claimed was mine. I'd ended up nearly frozen to the gills the other day. Thoughts of beings like Sombra and Grogar played across my mind. Creatures with insane power that let themselves be consumed by it. Then, the very real image of a wrathful sun goddess sent a shiver down my spine and back.

Was it so surprising that the cryomancer was scared of the very pinnacle of fire and light? Celestia's domain stood in direct contrast to my own. It had taken hours for Azure to thaw my hooves that day in my yard. I couldn't imagine how quickly Celestia could likely melt that same ice.

I tapped a hoof against the closest tree. The bark was cool, but otherwise, it was as nondescript and barky as any other tree I could no doubt find throughout the marshes and local farms. I closed my eyes and hummed in rhythm with my heartbeat. Slowly, I let go of the dam that held back whatever motes and the force that kept magic from doing whatever it wanted. It was amusing on some level. For all that ponies knew of magic. The primordial force that grafted it into reality was a total unknown.

My head rocked back and forth as my humming grew louder. I could feel the bark grow colder, and the wood's texture altered around my hoof and out further. It was slow, controlled, planned, and deliberate, like that of my namesake in the northern seas. Then my humming stopped.

I focused on the niggling thoughts in the back of my head. Freya, Night Glider's dismissive tone as she described old thestral stereotypes. They were folktales and legends told around campfires about the ponies that go bump in the night. That was what Night Glider would have one believe. I was not so sure.

My heart rate picked up. I could feel the tingle on my coat as the ice came to claim my flesh. It was, in no small way, a bit terrifying—the idea that I was slowly encasing myself in a tomb of my own making. It was also enticing to a nearly disturbed level, a clear and natural preclusion to my abilities. I could taste the condensation in the air as the very breaths on my muzzle cloaked the tree before me in a shallow mist.

Then, the ice spiked at a raw escalation following my own wandering thoughts. Freya clawed at my mind's eye, my tulpa, or was she? When had she appeared? What was the first time we'd spoken that she idly floated about giving commentary on every benign thing? I couldn't remember. It felt like always. It couldn't be, though; there had to be a line somewhere, a beginning to it all. My heart was pounding loud enough that it drowned out all other sounds. The ice had hastened, and my hoof glued tight to the tree. I could remove it, stop the ice, stop my thoughts. I could, but I didn't.

My idle worry, idle concern, changed. Fiery hot, all an all-consuming anger. Confusion, the righteous fury of the betrayed. Freya was a liar, or was she? She vanished the minute she'd been found out, or did she? She was never my friend.

The fire died. That wasn't true; my thoughts had turned to poison in my tongue. Freya wasn't my friend? No, I didn't believe that. What was anger fell through to self-loathing. Freya was my friend, but was she even real? Was she the creation and manifestation of a colt who didn't know any better? A colt who was now cursing her name, like any of that same colt's problems were her fault.

"I miss you," I said. I was numb. My hoof fell from the tree. The ice stopped dead. I opened my eyes. I swallowed hard. My eyes traced up from the tree where my little tantrum had gone a bit far.

The ice stretched high, further than the treetops. It clawed at the heavens and petaled out at the end. It was a lot. The tree made up only the very base. The ice itself stood nearly three times that of the tree. It was unmissable. To not see this from town would be nigh impossible. Any pony out and about would notice, given that of an idle eye scanning nowhere in particular.

"I'm so bucked," I hissed through clenched teeth. What was more, what doubled the guilt was I hadn't finished; I'd stopped. More, I had more ice. I hadn't frozen over completely.

That was when I thought to look myself over. As I'd already known, I surpassed the normal frozen hooves. The ice had wrapped itself up my back and past my wings. Wings that had themselves been untouched. It gripped my withers and ran up the back of my neck. Yet, even still, I was not stuck in place. My hooves responded when I slowly backed up, eyes still glued to the tree. I barely felt the weight of what was surely half my weight again in ice.

"What the Faust am I?"

"An excellent question."

I turned slowly. The voice was familiar, one that I was not very fond of. One that seemed all too pleased. Private Dirk, if I recall correctly. The same Day Guard mare from the thief incident. She stood, ember eyes trained on me as I slowly turned to greet her. She looked sick, like she'd had a nasty case of the feather flu. If she had caused lemons to pucker before, now they were imploding into singularities. It was almost chilling how sour one mare’s frown could be. Her tumultuous attitude was only matched by her namesake pointed squarely at my heart.

"Private Dirk."

"Keep silent. You're in a lot of trouble, little colt."

On some level, I was unsurprised by both the ice and the private. I was due a bit of trouble. Since Freezy Breeze, things have returned to an almost dull normality. It was only natural that something would go wrong. Murphy would be proud.

"I'm sorry," I said with a terse chuckle. Dirk was not amused.

"Can I plead the fifth?" I asked.

Dirk's gray brow scrunched so hard I feared she'd end up with premature wrinkles. That would be a shame, honestly.

"Fifth, what, you cheeky cur?"

I fell onto my haunches in my delirium. It'd only hit me just how much ice I'd conjured and how much magic a massive tree spire took. My hooves ached, even under their sheath of ice. Dirk eyed my frozen hooves with a twitchy caution I found almost comical. Oh, behold the evil cryomancer and all his eight-year-old glory. May he freeze your very soul!

"I believe you owe me an explanation for what you've just done," Dirk said slowly, emphasizing each syllable with discordant glee. A deep, unrefined loathing. One need not see her face or hear her words, for her mere presence spoke volumes.

"I froze a tree," I said. I looked over my shoulder at the, yep, still frozen tree. "Would you like me to unfreeze it?" I looked back to Dirk, who seemed in contemptuous recourse on rather brain me or punch the closest nonfrozen tree with all her might. Her left forehoof was shaking so hard it looked as if Dirk might collapse or break into dance. If Hal’s memory served, it could be either. Which, as a trained guard and earth pony, would be rather hard if I wagered.

Dirk took a very long, pained breath. "Yes, Colt, unfreeze the tree."

I offered a curt salute, turned on end, and tapped a hoof to the frost flora. It was like the fluttering of a tundra breeze. The ice gave way to slush and snow-dappled flakes that rode the nearest breeze. It was beautiful in a demure way. It was quick but not instantaneous. It stayed long enough for one who knew it was coming to appreciate the subdued snowfall. I found myself smiling, if only for that moment. I chose not to look back to Private Dirk. I don't think she was smiling, which was all the shame.

"That better, ma'am?" I asked.

"No, Colt, the fact you thought you could vandalize town property, regardless of the cleanup ease, is not okay. Seems Sergeant Foresight has been shirking your supposed training, little Night Guard."

It was in moments like these that Hal's existence was a lifesaver. Should I have been as young in mind as I was in body? As any aghast colt would, I might have dropped a block of ice on Dirk's big, stupid stone gray head. However, in hindsight, she might not have even noticed with how dense she was. I had to resist a smirk even as Dirk paced back and forth.

"Well, that's a shame. I thought I did a pretty good job," I mused aloud. That earned a sharp growl from the mare, turned boar bared down upon me.

"Aye, and did you do well involving yourself in an armed chase? A chase that could have gotten you or the fillies with you killed? You couldn't just make yourself scarce. Right?" Dork was a breath's width from muzzle to muzzle with me. It took a lot not to shuffle backward, flank to the tree. The vinegar Private Dirk spat was enough to perturb any pony. It was also enough to ponder just how well she was in general.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" I asked.

Dirk stopped her snarling and pulled back as if struck. "Excuse me?"

My head tilted, one ear flopping loosely. "Are you okay, Private Dirk, ma'am?"

"Glace."

And so my savior had arrived. Azure Brew came barrelling past Dirk without a second thought. She placed herself between Dirk and me, though I don't think Azure so much as registered anything other than that mischievous gleam in her eye and the target of said glean. That, of course, being me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"That was amazing. It just shot out of the park like a geyser but frozen. What happened?" Azure's hoof grabbed my shoulders and shook me with vigor. Even Private Dirk, in all her untoward humor, looked down at me with a mix of confusion and pity.

"I froze a tree." I swatted Azure's hooves away. "Just zoned out a bit."

"Seriously, but it was, the pony, ugh, colts," Azure sputtered, hooves flying high. I offered a cocked brow but received only more indignation in return.

The shock had seemed to run its course. "Excuse me, miss," Dirk said. Now, Dirk was back to being annoyed. I peered over Azure's shoulder and shrugged to Dirk in return.

Azure had noticed and turned to give Dirk a once over. "Hey, you're the guard from the other day. The really grumpy one."

"Now listen up, filly. All I've been trying to do, what I did back when you got involved with that petty thief, is keep the peace. You and your little coltfriend have made repeated nuisances of yourself. You should be grateful the Day guard is here to keep this marsh clot safe from the endless creatures that call it home, creatures that would devour you whole."

I leaned over, and I hid my muzzle behind a hoof. "I think you made her mad."

Dirk pointed a hoof at me, the simmering pot of her patience now a full boil. I had, in my reckless abandon, gone a tad far. I stepped past Azure, giving Dirk full access to the target of her frustrations. Azure had nothing to do with any of this, and I had no desire to get her in any trouble for nothing at all.

"We're done here. You, little colt, will be coming with me. We'll need to have a nice long chat with your Sergeant. Conduct like this is beyond unacceptable."

There it was. All this from an idle mind and some harmless ice. I rubbed my eyes with my hooves. My head was pounding. The world swayed with dots dancing in my vision. There was something very wrong with all of this, every last bit. Something was missing, like a picture trimmed and cut around a no longer welcomed guest in those memories.

"For once, we agree."

Dirk spun around so fast that the disturbance might register on the tornado scale. I peered past her and Azure from behind me. The newest member of the Find Glacial Zero, while he practices a completely harmless magic club, seemed almost as perturbed as Dirk had been upon finding me.

Corporal Night Glider had arrived. Dirk stared her namesake at my C.O., who returned it with gusto. I had, by this point, fallen into tired apathy. Night Glider took a single step forward. Private Dirk retreated in equal measure.

"That's one of the Night Guards, right?" Azure whispered from behind me.

"Yep, my corporal. Didn't I didn't expect her to be about, but Faust works in mysterious ways. Or, she really hates Dirky, there."

"Cadet Glacial Zero," Glider snapped. I pulled into full attention faster than I had a chance to realize I'd done it.

"Ma'am."

"What is happening here?"

Before I could answer, Private Dirk, with what little authority she could muster, stomped a hoof so hard the ground beneath cracked and cratered. "Your cadet has made a public nuisance is what happened, Corporal."

Night Glider chewed on Dirk's unrequested answer and looked slowly between me and her, then back to me. "Is that true, cadet?"

Dirk balked. Night Glider's lackadaisical query had once again left the adversarial mare on the back hoof. I'd have laughed if I wasn't sure somepony would slap me.

"I did, in fact, make a mess." I pointed to the tree behind me. "And cleaned it up."

"Did you see what your cadet managed in his negligence?" Dirk asked.

Night Glider nodded slowly. "I'm pretty sure most of the town did, Private Dirk Toss. It was incredibly unsubtle."

"And?" Dirk Toss asked. The private had begun grinding her teeth. A fitting name, I'd say if you replaced her name's d with a hard J.

"It was mighty impressive. Not sure why Glacial was sculpting something like that in the middle of the park, but it was impressive, I suppose." Night Glider hummed, tapping a hoof on her chin. She tilted her head back and forth. "Though I'm no artist."

Sculpting a massive wall of ice was hardly sculpting, was it? I looked back over my shoulder to the freshly thawed tree. If there was any sculpture, it was gone now. It reminded me of the ice fort from last week. I let everything get under my skin, and I made a mess. Now, that one instance becomes a pattern.

"You do realize your little troop is going to be charged for this incident, right?" To my surprise, the warning was more conscientious than angry. The grinding had stopped. The shouting had passed. Now, Dirk Toss stood a tired mare, just doing her job. The look Glider offered spoke volumes to her own understanding. Day Guard or Night Guard, when it came to being a sponge for scrutiny and judgment, that was one thing that everypony in the E.U.G. could relate to. Heck, I was a cadet, and I could get it to some degree.

"Sure, if you can find something to stick to whatever icy incident happened. The cadet may or may not have made a scene of some sort. If the Night House has to pay for said scene, then so be it."

"Corporal!" I said, only for Night Glider to raise a hoof for silence. I complied. My vision continued to swim. Dots materialized and dissipated in the corners of my eye.

"Glace, you alright?" Azure asked. She planted herself beside me, allowing me to lean on her, if only a bit. I wasn't sure I could manage it longer without her.

"Not really."

"Must you Night Guard always make everything harder than it needs to be?" Dirk asked.

"No, but it isn't always about being easy."

Night Glider and Dirk Toss shared one more look. Then, as silent as the grave, Dirk started off, passing the corporal and back onto the park's main path.

"Well, that could have gone worse. Right, Colt?" Glider asked.

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know, ma'am. Dirk certainly didn't seem to think so."

"She's just jealous," Azure said, adding a loud harumph. However, her look contrasted poorly with her claims. The filly seemed lost in her thoughts, a war between inspiration and desperation warring across her face.

"She'll no doubt file a report, either way. More importantly, why in the name of Tartarus would you go and make a spectacle of yourself like that?" Glider asked.

"Honestly, ma'am?"

Glider rolled her eyes. "Yes, cadet, honestly."

"I'm just a bit stressed, is all. I let my mind wander off, and my magic followed close behind. I didn't mean to make a scene, I promise."

"A little more than stressed. If I had a guess." Night Glider looked back at the tree and the slush melting away at its roots. "We really need to get that magic of yours under control soon. The Night House can't afford to pay a fine every time you lose focus."

"Of course not. I wouldn't let you even if you could." I said, standing as straight as my swaying frame could manage.

That earned a bark of laughter from the corporal. She waved my bravado away. "Of course, you'd say that. You're your dam's foal to the last. But like I said the other day. We Night Guard stick together."

"Even when a colt makes a scene," Azure added with a grin.

Night Glider nodded. "Even then, young filly."

"Oh geez, I appreciate the vote of confidence, ladies."

I needed a nap.