Frozen Through the Ages

The first thing I noticed was the stifling heat. The air thickened into a sauna-like haze, though the room itself was without a single wisp. My entire body slowed as I stared at my speaker. Princess Celestia, the alicorn, the bringer of day, my judge, my jury, and executioner, in a manner of speaking. I could barely choke back a dry breath. Something felt wrong, not physically, for the most part. I still felt like I'd spent yesterday wrestling an ursa, but this was different. In a bad way, a buzzing all around, sweat peeling down the back of my neck.

The Princess wasn't alone, of course. Beside her and almost hidden in her shadow was a unicorn mare with a stack of papers two hooves tall and more ink and quills than I cared to count. Celestia's aide or squire, but I'm not sure which is either or the difference between. Then there was my father, who looked a hair's breadth from breaking the table he sat beside in half. The second he'd seen me that I'd seen him, something in his eyes hardened. Then he blinked, and it was all just gone.

Finally, we came to the two sergeants, Day and Night Guards. Foresight risked a chaste wink but otherwise stood at attention to my father's right. To Father's left was the lead for the Day Guard. I'd only ever seen her once, long before joining the Night Guard. I couldn't recall her name, but the emblem on her peytral was unmistakable, as it was the same pin as Foresight's own. She was a unicorn, as few of those as Bogwood had, a gentle beige coat meshed well with her neatly combed, wavy blonde mane. She'd have been pretty without her stern, undaunted stance, crystal blue eyes forward, not a crease on her brow. It was just the five of us, six if you counted Freya, who floated beside Father and waved at Celestia.

"Glacial." I snapped out of my thoughts. Father waved me over to a spot directly beside himself. Nerves still abuzz, I readily trotted over and planted myself beside my sire. I did everything I could not to look at Celestia, not meet her gaze, and be cast in the shadow of the largest mare in the land. Though it wasn't her size that cast such a shadow, it was her aura. Her presence itself sent clawing daggers down my back.

"We're glad to see you're well enough to join us," Celestia said. She offered a smile. No, that wasn't true. She offered what she thought was a smile, what she thought was gentle, calming, benign. Every cell in my body screamed to run, turn tail, find a hole, and hide as if my life depended on it. It might have.

"It would have been rude to ignore you since you came to Bogwood because of me." I could barely manage an audible croak. My throat was bone dry. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from panting.

Celestia made no move; she sat unreadable. The longer she said nothing, the heavier her aura grew. I was crushed under the weight, the sheer totality of her power. Then, a wing draped across my back, pulling me lazily to the side.

"Apologies, Your Highness. It seems my son is a bit nervous," Father said. He bowed his head, eyes a light in a defiance I'd never seen before. It was chilling, even in the sweltering heat of the annex building.

"Of course, Weathered Horizon, young Glacial Zero had a very interesting day yesterday. We're sure our presence has offered any number of questions. We assure all present that Glacial Zero is not here to be judged. However, to expect we could ignore such a feat, even in a hamlet such as this, would have been folly."

"She's totally judging, by the way," Freya said. She stuck her tongue out in the direction of the Solar Princess. "Be careful, Glacie. This one knows how to string along her machinations."

Freya didn't need to warn me. Hal's memories painted quite the image. An image of a benevolent, caring, matronly ruler. An image that was shattered the moment I'd laid eyes on her, on the real Celestia, the alicorn, the incandescent force of nature. Even out in the hills and marshes, everypony knew Celestia was not to be trifled with. Nightmare Moon's banishment had changed many things. Celestia was chief among them. Her eyes were another thing that stood deeply aghast to the images Hal conjured. What bore into my soul this day were two scorching fires, a blaze that consumed the Princess of Equestria from within. Yet, the outside world moved on, cold to the anger that dwelled in the ancient alicorn.

"What would you ask of me, Your Highness?" My sweat had stopped only because of the sudden wave of cold that rose from my hooves. As if through some unknown instinct, without my knowledge or request, through no magic trigger, my body slowly began wrapping itself in a deathly chill. "I only wanted to protect my home."

With the slightest head tilt and the sudden quickening of the royal aide's quill, Celestia hummed. "Of that, there is little doubt. With power of such caliber, not acting is a crime most foul. Is it not the place of those in power to protect those of lesser means?"

She wasn't asking.

"She isn't asking," Freya said.

"Though for a mere foal to possess such a will, to see such a natural wave of death and not flee, nor fold to the inevitable fate of all mortals, is peculiar. We would ask what brought such power to bear and to what ends you tapped into nature and its fury?"

It was not a request.

"That wasn't a request," Freya whispered. She drew closer, nearly hiding behind me. Her muzzle was a hair's breadth from my ear. The chill had reached my chest and was still rising.

"I don't understand." I did, at least to some degree. It would be the epitome of foolishness to let power like mine walk free and blind. Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, and Sombra were only allotted their reign by chance and ignorance.

Celestia leaned over the table, her eyes rippled like embers in the wind. "We wish to know, young colt, what drives you? For hope and martyrdom are not sustainable means."

"Your Highness, perhaps these talks are beyond Cadet Zero," Foresight said. He'd stepped up beside my father. The two had their sights locked on Celestia with a disciplined displeasure that only ponies who toiled for a living could. The likes of both Foresight and Father saw a mare of means leering down a colt, and their very instincts sought satisfaction. It amazed me that both could silently challenge the Princess without a doubt. Father's legs had tensed so hard he'd shattered the wooden boards beneath him.

Celestia offered my Sergeant a cursory glance, breaking sight with me and returning a breath I'd not noticed she'd stolen. "Perhaps, perhaps not, but the question needs to be asked. We can only guess what such power cost, the young Glacial Zero. For the power of such scale is not without recourse. If not properly tamed, such power could be the end of your young cadet, or of others, the common pony, you and your unit, his father." Celestia turned to Sire; the force behind her gaze had calmed, but her aura had yet to ebb.

"My son has done nothing but hide in fear that such may occur. You ask what it cost, what my son paid?" Father asked. He had Celestia's attention. If that were good or bad at this point, I doubt any present could say. "He lay on death's door after saving this hamlet. He lay barely breathing, frozen, lips blacked, flecked with his own blood. He was prepared to pay with his very life if he must. Those there, those who saw, claimed as much, one after the other. You know this, Your Highness. You asked many of them yourself."

The scratching of a quill ceased; even the chill I'd wrapped myself in was scorched away. Both Sergeants were sweating, though I doubted it was the heat. Celestia leaned back. She fell flawlessly into her prior seat. Once again, it was unreadable, unfathomable, terrifying.

"Yes, that was the recount of the local observer. A cost few so willingly agree to. On that, we are agreed. It is due to that very knowledge and the clear truth that, with time, this power will surely grow. Who may guess as to what young Glacial Zero could do in a year, or five, or ten? As this is the case, and as his magic is of such a rare breed. He must be taught to control it before his magic controls him."

I had barely heard the end of Celestia's speech. No sooner had she said 'rare' than I was left with an itch to scratch. "Rare magic?" I asked. All eyes were on me once more, a feeling I despised with the intensity of Celestia's domain. "How rare?"

"A subsect of a subsect of the Cryomancy school of magic. A refined form of magic that both sharpens and restricts the magical versatility of said mancy. At the cost of said restrictions, the power and growth of such magic are heightened to an almost unnatural level. If desired, one could count the totality of such users across all fiefdoms of magic in the dozens at most. That is in recorded history, at least. Who would know how rare such powers were long before we took the throne, even before the pony tribes left their lost kingdoms."

Freya shifted behind me, whining miserably. Celestia's answer drew forth a well of fear I'd not known I still possessed. The further she spoke, the less safe I felt. I was frozen in place and not due to any cryomancy. If she spoke the truth, I had little doubt she didn't. Then I was being set a course by Faust, or the damnable tree sitting smugly in the Everfree, or what would be the Everfree? The Everfree's timeline was vague at best. A path I had no interest in, no desire to wander forth on an adventure or to play hero. I'd have given a grave laugh if my company were less severe. Two weeks all it took was two weeks to bring me here. A Sun Goddess' judgment, the fate of the Wendigo, a town that would have drowned in mud. All just dominos falling in reversed succession.

"Your Highness, if I may, What sect would the colt be? At least in recent history, I've never heard of a subsect's subsect?" The Day Guard Sergeant asked.

"Truth in those words, Sergeant Haste. As we've said, it is a rarity upon rarity. To answer your question and for Glacial Zero's benefit. We will explain the magical caste system. As it goes, there are the Arcane magics, such as that they are conceptual and not natural forces at work. This would account for magicks like thaumaturgy, scrying, and illusionary spellcraft. Then there are the Mancies, which are the manipulation of already existing forces, such as fire and water. These are the two largest castes. More than 90 percent of magic users fall within these fields. There are, though, two other castes. Black Magic hosts corrupting magics and a path that any sane pony would do best to not tread. The final is Domain magic, which is wholly unique to entities beyond the scope of normal mortals. Such as Alicorns, amongst others."

Most of what Celestia said was in the books I'd read, regardless of detail. Both the books and Celestia, it seems, wanted to keep the exact craft of Black and Domain magic locked up tight. We can't have the peasants knowing too much, can we?

"From those four, we then delve into the schools and classes of magic. At this time, most of those and what they control are irrelevant. So, we will move to Glacial Zero's school, Cryomancy. From the school, we separate and idealize the techniques and versatility a user may possess. In this case, Glacial Zero possesses a total mastery of the conjuration and manipulation of ice and its various assets. That being the ability to create and release said magic and its form." Celestia looked at me. Her eye traveled down to my forelegs, which were, as usual, frozen solid. "As we can see now."

"That would normally indicate a single subsect, Your Majesty. What would make it any more specialized than a unicorn with a similar skill set and school?" Sergeant Haste looked almost enthralled by the conversation. For a mare who rarely released her death grip on resting hag face, it was almost cute how invested she'd become. The glimmer in her eye, the utter stalwart attention to Celestia's every word.

"The difference, Sergeant, is in how the magic is manipulated, not just in power or reach but the very source of the magic itself. If it was not so, then a pegasus would not possess the means to command it at all."

This was it. This was the question that none of the books I'd had the chance to read discussed: the separation of tribe, what defined the line, and just what I was and how I worked. My thoughts strayed to the tale of druids. If they were real, Celestia might be the only pony alive who could confirm it. Following Sergeant Haste's lead, my tail switched idly as I willed Celestia to get to the point.

"Regarding Glacial Zero's exact circumstances, as unorthodox as they were, and as clearly…" Celestia offered a scrupulous bit of side-eye, her eyes blossoming with a knowing, wary spark. "... Volatile, as the magic would seem. His magic, as we would direct, is tactile in nature and closer to that of earth ponies than unicorns. Correct?" Celestia and Haste both turned to me. So far, Celestia has only restated what I'd long since noted, which was less than enticing.

"Through my hooves, mostly, yes, Princess."

"As we expected. Couple that with the finite control of the very airborne and ground-found moisture to create greater quantities of water and ice than would be possible with your natural reserves of mana, and you host a very unique quotation over cryomancy," Celestia said with all the casual dismissal, of someone claiming the sun is bright.

I was lost. In a single sentence, Celestia had broken down what I'd been unable to even parse in my reading. She'd said I had finite control of moisture. That I'd followed, at least in terms of what words were said in what order, everything that followed was complete gibberish. It sounded like I was somehow cheating, if I was at all honest. Moisture control lessened the mana used. How does that work, and why?

"Princess, I hate to be a bother, but I did not follow that last part. I'm using moisture in the air and not mana?" The simmering heat flared for the briefest of moments. Celestia's gaze left a quiver in my spine as I held up a hoof in question.

"We did not expect a foal to understand the deeper ramifications of such a feat. It would, as is clear it did, come naturally, a simple facet to your talent as natural as one breathes. However, to ensure no such risk, as the one you managed yesterday was taken without due care, We shall explain. In short, young Glacial Zero, your magic is taking advantage of your body's natural abilities. In a way, you are merging the pegasi's natural weather magics with cryomancy, which is closer to that of a unicorn. The merging of these abilities allows you to directly alter the state of moisture and create ice from the traces of water in the air and beneath your hooves. By not needing to alter mana directly into a mancies state, you greatly reduce what mana is needed to create your ice. If you were to wield mana alone, you would have died attempting your bout with nature."

"Oh."

That was that I escaped death through blind luck and youthful stupidity. It made sense, though; My ice never felt like it took much to conjure or shape. I simply decided what I wanted, and the ice did the rest. However, my location might have been doing even more work than any magic I possessed. After all, Bogwood was a sodden mudhole. That meant there was more than enough water to go around. That thought was enough to leave my mouth bone dry, as ironic as that was. Though, as far as I could tell, Celestia had not noticed or chosen not to speak on the whole Wendigo magic thing. If she could read such things at all.

"It seems our young cadet was fortunate," Foresight said. His voice was even, but the look on his face shared a level of hindsight and regret that did not suit him at all. "Thank you for your insight, Your Highness."

"Verily, now, let's move on to the main topics of this meeting. Firstly, we would like a first-hoof account of your encounter with the mudslide and your experience stopping it."

The term 'would like' was ironic, as it would have been more apt to say I would be giving her what Celestia wanted regardless of my desires. It would have seemed charitable if I were the stupid foal I should be at this age. If I were bordering on braindead, I might have believed she meant it. Father had seemed to note her 'request' as well. I feared if it were any other pony in the whole sum of Equestria, they'd be leaving Bogwood in a box.

"Where would you like me to start?" I asked. The longer I sat in the annex building under the overwhelming heat and scalding stare of the thousand-year-old demi-god. I found my will to entrust her with any of my secrets at all dwindled. I wanted to simply say nothing, to omit the truth. Father would more than likely attest to any imagined scenario I came up with. I wanted to say nothing, but I couldn't. If nothing else, Azure had been right. To keep everything from Celestia was a dangerous ploy that could do far more harm than good.

I'd start with the most palatable. If Celestia thought she'd got what she was after, if it fed back into what she wanted to hear, it might be enough for the rest to go unmissed. That thought stapled itself to the back of my mind as I offered a dubious smile at Celestia, one she returned with an unnerving smile of her own. One that looked like what an alien might emulate, or perhaps a homunculus or robot. It had all the correct parts but none of the intent behind them. It was like she'd forgotten how. A thought that left a sour taste in the back of my throat. Like she hadn't smiled for real in eight long, lonely, regretful years.

"As the testimonies gathered prior to this meeting show, you engaged the wave from the highlands alone and against the wishes of your senior officer. That is correct, yes?" I nodded. "Then, once close enough, you created a wall of ice, partially domed and curved, that some of the mudslide's refuse would pour to the slides, slowing the force of the streams and guiding them off to the sides and away from the main roads. Correct?" Another nod. "Then we will begin at what happened once the wall began to break down."

"Panic and doubt, those were first. I didn't think I'd actually stop the mud. That was more than any single pony could do. I wasn't thinking; it just seemed right; it was the right thing to do, so I did it. I didn't want to die, but I wanted everypony in the town to die less. So, I poured everything I could into the wall. It hurt. Most of my body was frozen over. I could barely move, was almost completely blind, and I couldn't, wouldn't stop. That was what I felt, what I did when my wall started to fall apart, Your Highness."

Not a single lie told, not a single wayward thought. Celestia listened intently, the room deathly quiet when I finished. "We see," Celestia finally said. She waved an idle hoof. "What changed?" she asked.

I shook my head. A Wendigo saved the day. If I had heard me say that aloud, I'd have locked myself in a cell. This was the hard part: selling the half-truth. Freya had wrapped herself around me and was pouting. She seemed more crushed by Celestia than I was. I could not speak to the anatomy of a spirit or say what could and could not harm them. I did not need to know as such at this moment. Freya seemed ready to cry. That was enough.

"A spark," I said.

"A spark?" Celestia repeated.

I nodded. "A light that slipped through the seams, a spark in the dark. It was so bright that it could not be ignored. I don't know if it was a second wind or a dying gasp, but the spark lit my path, and suddenly, I wasn't afraid."

Freya had perked up. She was smiling. I'd missed that smile. She'd been frowning far too often today for my liking. Foresight had cracked the barest traces of a smile as well. That was some level of reassuring. The fact Celestia hadn't dismissed me was even better.

"An interesting adage, if nothing else. A concept we'd have thought beyond a foal. You are quite the interesting colt. I take it the spark was enough to push you enough to shatter the presumed barrier you'd thought was your limits?" Celestia was smiling; it was subdued and honest, nothing like the mask she'd been using. It was also old, exhausted, and scared.

Both Hal and I agreed that if anything was seen today, it was the truth. This was Celestia, beyond the flesh, the power, and her crown; this was Celestia at the deepest core she claimed was her very existence. The rest of those present did not miss it. The uncertain and incomprehensible looks on every other pony's face were surreal.

"I believe so, Princess."

Celestia's look shifted just a bit. No longer locked to me, neither was it looking to Father or the sergeants. No, it rested just over my shoulder. It struck with the force of a cannon. My head turned just so. To the spot, Celestia stared at. I gulped. Then Celestia sighed and looked back at me. My heart hammered, and the barest feeling of a cool breeze wrapped around my neck.

"Glacie," Freya whispered.

"Then we will move to the next topic at hoof." The mask was back, and the Princess had turned to Father. "Regardless of the how or why of it all. No foal should have been capable of stopping the mudslide now frozen over your town. Your son has done something impossible. Which can mean only one of few conclusions."

"And that means?" Father asked. Had he just? I wasn't the only one asking. Even if not a word was spoken, if not a sound was made, the question hung above us all.

Celestia ignored said universal query. A feat only one as old as she could. "For instance, Young Glacial had assistance in some measure. If we account for the witnesses, this would seem nearly impossible. That is to say, in terms of conventional aid. There are, of course, ways of contributing without needing to be present or seen."

Freya's hold tightened. If she were corporeal, I'd be choking. I was choking, regardless. Yet, Celestia did not stray from Father, who did not flinch, even as the Princess's implications grew. The prior quandary of Father's own defiance was forgotten.

"Princess?" I asked. I managed what scraps of youthful ignorance I could.

"An investigation for another time. One that may yet be insightful into many possibilities. For now, I merely present theories and nothing more. Other avenues of power exist, and it would be foalish to ignore those on a whim."

"Such as Your Highness?" Sergeant Haste asked.

"Ascension is one such alternative. Though, as it stands, Glacial Zero has not managed such a feat. Even if it would have trivialized this investigation completely."

I had to act to end this train of thought before it came too close to the truth. I knew for certain that Freya was off the table. Celestia was already too heated. If she thought the Wendigo of all things were involved, I doubt I'd live long enough to worry about what might follow.

"Princess, if you could. I'd like to speak to you alone," I said. It all fell back to giving the mare what she wanted, to play a game; she had centuries, if not more, of time to master. I couldn't win, but I could change the prize.

Celestia's brow rose. The arid pressure of her aura squeezed down just a little more complicated. "Oh, and for what reason would we acquiesce such a request?"

"I might know what you're talking about. What might have helped? But, I don't think you'd like others knowing." I scanned the room. Nopony looked interested in being dismissed. Father had reduced the wood beneath him to splinters. Foresight, though unflinching in his guard decorum, shook ever so slightly.

"Glacie, are you sure?" Freya whispered beside me. My ear flickered, but I otherwise made to sign I'd heard her. My eyes were glued to Celestia and hers to mine. The truth was, no, no, not at all. She didn't need to know that, and neither did Celestia.

"So, you wish to speak to us alone? We will admit, you have our interest, but for a foal to be so bold is concerning," Celestia said. I shrugged. She wasn't wrong.

"I can tell everypony if you want. I just feel like it would be a little more concerning for even more ponies to know."

A moment of silence, the hidden machinations of an alicorn's mind, a father who looked ready to punch a hole through the table where he sat, and several trained guards on edge. All wrapped up by a foal who knew far too much and a wendigo on the verge of a panic attack. The scene was beyond surreal. The heat had dipped, though still far beyond what Bogwood would consider normal on the cusp of winter. I felt the niggling itch of Hal's memories playing in the back of my mind. I'd run out of fear, left with only the anxiety of a foal being punished by a less-than-pleased parent if the parent was a walking, talking force of nature.

"Very well."

I blinked, nearly toppling forward in my seat. "Really?"

"Princess, are you sure?" Haste asked.

"Glacial," Father whispered, eyes trained on every single movement, every pony, every breath—the mark of a pony who was used to watching everypony all at once. On the dock, if you weren't watching everything, you were getting robbed by anyone.

"I am. Now, please. Leave the room and take Weathered Horizon with you. You will be informed as soon as we are done," Celestia waved a hoof, and it was so. Slowly, Sergeant Haste and Foresight made to leave. Neither looked happy. Foresight had bitten his lip so hard it had begun to bleed, and Haste gave me a look I couldn't quite parse. Then Celestia's squire stood, tidied up her writing station, and strode without a single hair out of place to the door.

Father looked less inclined to depart. Celestia paid him little mind. He stood but did not move; Father had, in this single meeting, shown a level of worry I'd not seen in a long time. It sat poorly in my stomach. Freya looked no better. She'd watched as I had, as Haste and Foresight ushered Father out. He did not resist, though his eyes seemed to glow in time with my own. A reflection of a reflection. As soon as the door had shut. The silence was more crushing than the heat had been.

"Now, what have you to tell us, young Glacial Zero?" Celestia eyed the door briefly before turning her mask to me. I restrained a hardy cough and smiled.

"Princess, how often do you meet someone who can see the future?" I asked.

"You speak of seers and oracles. I have met many in my time, only a few of which were what they claimed to be." Celestia scoweled at me. The meaning of which was not lost on me. I may as well add telepath to the top of my list of supposed skills. Celestia's patience was thin, and her disbelief in my supposed admission was broadcast for all to see, hear, and feel.

"I am. Though not myself, at least, not my visions. I've seen them and heard them, but they are not my future or my stories told. I have had dreams, ones shared."

The look on Celestia's face recoiled as if slapped. The heat returned to a fever pitch. Even my frozen hooves were sweating. I had begun to regret my decision to tell Celestia anything, even if the future results of silence might have been far worse.

"Visions through your dreams. The dreams of a half-thestral, born the year of Nightmare Moon's defeat. What you share is dangerous, especially for yourself. You do know this, correct?"

"I know how it looks. I do, but these are not visions from your sister. If they were, they'd be working against her, not for her. Which, seeing as her position, would make no sense."

"Glacie, you may want to start sharing the details before the Princess decides to boil you alive with nothing but her simmering disdain," Freya said. She was gasping, her ethereal form blinking in and out of existence. Neither one of us would last much longer.

"Then tell us, what visions have you had, and if not Nightmare Moon, who has shared these prophecies?" One last chance. That was all Celestia had the restraint for.

"Well, the name of the one sharing is Hal, and to be honest, what is shared feels more like memories than dreams or suggestions. They play out as if seen through my own eyes. He knows a lot of things, a lot of things I shouldn't know. But that isn't really important. The first vision is what matters: a prophecy about your sister and her return.

I let my admission hang in the air. It was like I'd told Azure last week. Telling Celestia about her sister was a gamble that could end very poorly and quickly. I knew for sure the prophecy ended up in the main timeline, in a book, so somepony had to come up with it. It'd be kinda twisted to be part of a cycle where I present the prophecy that later Hal would hear, and then I'd learn from him. That is if you ignore the multiverse theory. A concept Hal found confusing, which meant poor little Glacial Zero's tiny foal mind wasn't going to be any help in explaining that if I needed to. I prayed I wouldn't need to.

"You tread brittle ground," Celestia said. The irritation had vanished from her face, her eyes downcast, ears twitching as she seemed to weigh my words. Her own lost an afterthought. Her threat was hollow, as was the pout she'd taken. I would have breathed a sigh of relief if I weren't sure that'd do more harm than good. Celestia tapped a hoof on the table. "What does your prophet say? What does it tell of my sister?" the faintest ember of hope warred against her own better judgment. Eight years alone was a long time to tell yourself how you deserved to lose the one you were supposed to care for most. A sense of nostalgia danced in the back of my head—the thoughts of Hal's nightmares in the city with the dogs and hunter.

"I know, Princess, I know it can't be easy, not knowing when, if ever, you'll see them again. It wasn't just your sister who has left Equestria a little lonelier." The memory of Dam before she'd left. The way she tried to hide her worry. The smiles, laughs, the times she'd tell me it'd be okay. All lies, all so fake, even to me back then. I took one hard breath and let it release from between my teeth. 'on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!' That's how it goes."

The ember sputtered, barely a flicker of light in a storm of grief. That was how the story, the prophecy, and how it was all meant to be. I wanted to leave it there. I felt my hooves dig into the wood beneath me. My teeth ground so hard I could hear it over my heartbeat. That was all how Hal had seen it play out. I disagreed.

"There's more."

I'd spoken before my brain could even comprehend my mouth moving. The ember shone on, if only barely. Celestia looked at me, her tired, listless gaze starkly contrasting to the mare I'd been speaking with moments before as if my words had simply erased her anger, discontent, the cold, calculating facade of the Princes of the Sun. All that was left was a sad, tired mare, older than anything I'd ever seen and twice as unwavering. A mare who had truly seen and done it all. At least all that could be done as of now. The heat remained, a sweat-inducing frothing, arid wave exuded from Celestia's existence.

"More?" Celestia asked.

Thus, the timeline shifted ever so slightly with the next words to leave my mouth. Though, was my being here proof it had already changed? Would everything or anything Hal had predicted happen at all? I was becoming too used to wondering such things, too familiar with not knowing how every butterfly wingbeat could change the world.

"Unless the light of six elements together free her from the nightmare she'd trapped herself in all those years ago." I was no poet, but I couldn't let Celestia believe it was all over, all for naught. The ache in my heart beat in rhythm with her own."

The ember remained. No, it had grown, if only a little. The storm around it raged, but the spark of hope was fermented, made real, made true. So, there, Celestia and I sat in awkward silence. Neither could meet the other's eye, so I took to looking at everything, anything else. When the silence broke, Celestia offered a gentle cough and sat back to her imposing fullest. She looked down at me, the tired, wary fear hidden once more.

"You believe this prophecy? You would stake your claim on such a far-reaching tale? You believe my sister will return, that she can be saved?"

I nodded once. A single moment of unwavering commitment. "I do."

"What of this, Hal, a second-hoof prophecy from one you've never met. Who are they to know such things, to have the gumption to claim such fraught truths? A millennium is a long time, colt, one that will have let all who've heard your words be left in the dust. All, but we, the ones who will reap the woe of false words once the thousandth year has come."

So it came to pass, the exact thing both Freya and I had feared. The risk of sharing such facts with the only pony who will live to regret them if I was wrong. It was a sickening, gut-wrenching disgust that settled in my stomach. I wouldn't be there to see the look on Celestia's face when she held her sister for the first time in a thousand years. I will not be there to see Luna acclimate to a new and confusing world. All I could do was trust Hal and trust myself.

"I trust Hal; he's taught me a lot; he's my friend, part of me, so if you can, please trust him too. We all want Luna back. Dam told me stories of her, you know, the stories of the stalwart warden of the night who protected everypony from monsters and brigands alike. I'd like to meet her too, to say thank you for all she's done."

I barely noticed the tears, the hitch in my voice, and my body shaking. Wendigo, prophecies, princesses, all of it. I wiped a hoof across my eyes. If Bogwood weren't already a sodden mess, and my hoof wasn't frozen, I'd have only achieved making my hoof damp. The tears didn't slow. I sat and cried. I hadn't heard her move or seen the Sun Goddess rise and walk around the table. I nearly jumped out of my seat when a large white, feathery, warm, soft wing wrapped me gently in an embrace.

"That is enough, young Glacial. You've said enough. I believe you, I believe you believe in this Hal, and for now, that will have to be enough." Celestia bent down face beside my own. "And thank you to you and your mother for recounting my sister with such kindness. I'd have liked you to have met her as well. I promise the stories do her little justice."

I planted my face into Clestia's side and cried to my fullest. Celestia made no move to retreat or end my weeping. She stood proud, shushing me as she gently held me in her wing. I could feel something else—a ghostly hoof holding me tight from the side opposite the Princess.

"It's okay, let it all out, you silly little colt," Freya whispered.

Sometime later, the door to the annex building. Before it had even opened wholly to the day, both Sire and Foresight were inside. Both nearly ran face-first into a waiting Sun princess. Both skittering to a stop just in time. She offered both a curious look and tilted ear and nothing more. I sat beside the Princess, smiling as the two grown stallions looked about the room like they'd expected a murder scene—a fair, if not dramatic, expectation. If Celestia had decided to end me, I doubt there would be enough of me left to fill in a thimble.

"Princess, is everything okay?" Foresight offered lamely.

"Should it not be, Sergeant Foresight?" Celestia asked.

"I would hope not, Your Highness," I said. The second Celestia's eyes left Foresight, I could see him wilt. "Our discussion went better than I'd hoped, if I'm honest."

Celestia nodded. "Agreed, now, we cannot tarry any further. Equestria does not halt for the sake of a single town, no matter how odd its happenings."

"No wiser words, Your Majesty," Celestia's secretary said. She'd managed to sneak past all of us in the commotion and took her place beside her Princess with practiced ease. "The carriage is waiting at your leisure."

"Very well, come along. We have places to be."

Celestia made for the door. A waiting Sergeant Haste, at attention, held the door open in her magical grip. The Princess offered her a nod and stepped out into the day, only to come to a complete stop. She turned, looking back at the rest of us. Aside from her secretary, who matched Celestia's pace, not a soul had moved.

"Glacial Zero."

An ear flipped to the side, head tilted just so. I offered a wry smile. "Yes, Princess?"

"Do you not hear us? We are going."

I looked between the stallions beside me, both wearing faces matching my own. Then it hit me: "Wait, you said 'we'? I thought you meant the royal 'we,' or did you?"

Celestia looked about and pressed a hoof to her chest. "Can we not use both?" Celestia asked traces of a smirk on her lips. The recollection of a mischievous princess and her warped sense of humor flashed in my head. It seems the more things might change, the more some stay the same. Somewhere, deep down, the Princess Hal remembered was still there, hiding right behind the surface.

"That's not fair," I said with a huff.

"Is it ever?" Freya asked.

"Princess, what do you mean my son is coming with you?" Father asked.

Celestia looked at my father and then back over her shoulder. "Was it not conveyed that a foal with such power is dangerous, one who would need guidance?"

"You did, Highness," Father answered.

"Thus, he shall receive such guidance. Guidance that cannot be given here. We shall be taking young Glacial Zero to Canterlot so that we might temper his magic before he does something he regrets. As well as finish talks about other topics left unfinished."

Dang it. It seemed my gambit only sort of worked. I wasn't dead, so that was a plus. However, I was being dragged away from home, which was less than a plus. My ears had splayed. Yet, none challenged the Princess. As much as Father might want to, Celestia had a very real and very valid concern. Whenever I attempted to practice around Bogwood, it yielded less than resounding results.

"Princess."

Celestia silently approved my attention.

"How long will I be gone?" I asked.

"We cannot say that teaching is not a concise process. You will be gone for some time. Though when you are learned, you may return with my blessing."

Well, that was that. I was not happy. I scuffed the dirt and tried not to scowl. I only semi-succeeded in my endeavor. Celestia chose to ignore it. A fola will be a foal. I'm sure she'd agree. Yet, the result would not change.

"Don't forget the others," Freya whispered. "Azure might kill you if you don't tell her you are leaving. Tender might even help."

"Princess."

Celestia waited.

"Can I at least say goodbye? My friends deserve that much."

For a moment, I thought she might deny my request. I held my breath and prepared every rebuttal and argument I could think up then as if a breeze gave way to a sudden gale. The look in Celestia's eye shifted. She nodded. "Very well. We shall allot you the chance to say fare well to you hold dear. You will have until the first of the hour to find and inform your friends what is happening. Then we must be off."

"Thank you, Your Highness," I said with a bow.

"Sergeant Foresight," Celestia said, turning to the waiting thestral.

"Your Highness?"

"Please ensure Glacial Zero finds our carriage on time."

Foresight licked his lips and nodded. "Of course."

"Very well, we will be waiting, Glacial Zero." With that, Celestia was off, Aide right behind her. The rest of us have mostly forgotten.

The second she was out of sight, Father embraced me so tightly that I feared he might shatter my spine. "What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I wasn't," I said with a gasp.

"Just like your dam," Father scoffed. "Always the hero, anything to protect others. A virtue and a curse all at once." Then Father released me and sat me back on the ground. "Yet you leave even her greatest efforts floored in mere weeks. She'd be proud."

"Aye," Foresight agreed. "Though, and I hate to part such a heartwarming sight, we will need to get moving if we're going to find all those filly friends of yours."

"They're not my fillyfriends," I said, pointing decisively at Foresight. He smiled and winked. "They're not." He smiled wider.

"Ha, he's got you all figured out, Glacie," Freya said with a giggle. I hated them both.

"Come on, places to be," Foresight waved a wing in no particular direction. "And Weathered. I'm sorry you have been saddled with all of this. I should have done more."

Father didn't respond, so with one more hug, Foresight and I wandered back into Bogwood. This was not going to be fun.

"So where to first, cadet?"

I tapped a hoof to my chin. "We'd better do Tender first. The farm is the furthest out. If we save that till last, there is no way we'd make it back in time."

Foresight hummed. "That makes sense. But, um, Glacial?"

My brow rose. Foresight's typically casual manner had darkened into a caution that seemed opposed to everything I'd ever seen of the Sergeant. It ran a shiver down my spine. For the first time since meeting Sergeant Foresight, I felt afraid.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you can fly? You've been struggling to walk. You might have gotten out of bed to see the Princess, but that does not mean you are well."

A thought I'd mused up more than once. Just being near Celestia had robbed me of any energy I'd had. It'd have been more accurate to say I'd been limping since the door of the annex building had opened. Everything hurt; even blinking and breathing were a chore.

"I have to. They deserve that, don't you think? The Night House deserves a goodbye, too," I said. I flexed my wings, sending a wave of pain from wingtip to my frogs. "Right?"

Foresight surrendered. "Fine, but when you collapse. You'll be riding on my back for the rest of our little tour around town. You got that?"

I smiled. "Aye, aye, sir." I saluted and took to the air. The only thing I could think up as I let the wind trace down my wings was a solid, concise 'Ow.'