Frozen Through the Ages

A sudden sharp knock, and I found myself bolting from the...the shadow? No, that wasn't right; instead of a city or flying blind, I found myself face-first on the ground, wrapped in blankets so soft and warm as a summer breeze. I struggled in my knotted prison, eyes glued to the floor. My nightmare, if you can at this point, call whatever goes on in my head at night, such, left me shivering. Considering my given state and the fact I spend most days covered in a layer of ice, it was an impressive feat. A second sharp knock spurred me to redouble my struggles.

A mare's voice left me groucing as I toiled. "Sir, this is your wake-up call. You are wanted in the dining hall."

"Yes, yes, I'm trying." Stupid blankets, stupid dreams, stupid waking up at— My thoughts die in my mouth as I noticed that although I was awake and was being called for breakfast, there was a surprisingly low level of light to go around. So little, in fact, that if I didn't inherit my Dam's sight, I'd be lost in the dark.

"It's dark?"

"Well, not completely. The sun's coming. Give it a few minutes, I can almost see it poking over the horizon."

"Freya?"

Freya hummed from wherever she was floating about. "Yes, Glacie?"

I waved a hoof wildly. "Could you help me please?"

"If I must."

A shadow passed over me, and something pulled one side of the blanket taut. I pushed myself against the opposing side, and with a bit of elbow grease, Freya and I managed to unravel the cursed garment enough for me to crawl free.

"Sir." Another knock, this one harder.

It seemed my grace period was up. Plodding over to the door, I pulled the door open and gave the waiting guard my best 'Die in a hole' face I could. The guard said nothing, an expression like solid granite. To that front, the guard in question was a rather forgettable staple white, with a short cropped blonde mane and tail. One of Hal's stray thoughts of identical guards in the castle, indistinguishable from one another, led me to leer at the guard all the harder.

"Apologies," I said. The guard nodded, turned about, and was off with me doing my best to keep stride with the much larger mare. I gave my wings an experimental flat, only to wince. It seemed Foresight might have been right. Flying on already exhausted wings around town did little to help my battered state. "Hooves it is then."

"Poor Glacie, don't go collapsing on me. Weathered might level half the city, or what little there is of half the city if he hears you wound up at a healer on day one."

She wasn't wrong. I could almost see it if I closed my eyes. "I'm fine."

The walk to the dining hall was deadly quiet. As I followed my guide, I started noticing slight deviations in the halls. Yesterday, they'd blurred together, pristine white hall after pristine white hall. It had been unnerving. But, mind a bit less cluttered, this fine still barely brighter than a lone candle in the wind morning. A few things became clear.

"The halls," I said, raising my voice to earn a twitch of the guard mare's ear.

"Sir?"

"They're not really all the same, are they. They're just different enough." A second twitch of the ear. The mare looked back at me for just the briefest second. I smirked.

"And how is that, sir." The challenge cast, I quickened my pace a bit, closing the gap between us as best I could while not cantering after the mare.

I pointed to the wall molding. A seemingly random string of symbols, ending in variations of the sun and moon, was etched across its surface in delicate gold trim. As I walked along with my guard, I noticed a single standout instance of the etchings altering to a near formulaic pattern. "The molding. It is some sort of coding, isn't it?"

The guard's ear twitched again. "It helps, yes." The guard's lip twitched up ever so slightly. "Mighty keen, aren't you, sir?"

I nodded, wings fluffing up as I trotted alongside the mare. "I try, Miss?"

"Private Rally, sir."

"Nice to meet you, Private."

Rally nodded. "Pleasure to meet you too, sir."

If I hadn't spent a week at the Night House, I might have been inclined to tell Private Rally that my name was, in fact, not, nor had it ever been, Sir. As it stands, it would be like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

The rest of the walk was quick, and not noting the molding, I memorized what I could in hopes of at least finding my way back to my room in the future. However, if I were going to be here for months on end, the habit would solve that issue one way or another.

"The Dining Hall, sir." Rally stepped to the side, standing parallel to the guard, who was at full attention outside the door to said Hall.

The doors were massive, stretching floor to ceiling, embroidered in arcane runes and solar iconography that I'm sure had some importance. I wouldn't doubt that most doors had wards and protections of the magical persuasion. You can't have a massive city capital and not have absurd levels of security. It would be unbelievable if nearly any and every major Equestrian foe and enemy could just stroll through the front door. Hal's foresight was doing my frazzled mind very little in the way of comfort.

"Thank you, Private Rally," I said. I turned to the guards on each side of the hall door. "Ladies." The guard in front of the doors horn lit, and the door slowly swung inward.

"Her Majesty awaits you, sir," the unicorn guard said.

I saluted and marched into the sweltering inferno, the blazing, all-consuming weight of the sun bearing down upon me. I could feel the sweat building, the tension so thick I could suffocate. I would never be ready, but I waited for the aura to crush me nonetheless.

I waited.

I waited more.

I took a second step into the room, then a third.

I waited, but nothing: no heat, no pressure, no aura. I peered down at the long room, with its long dining table and its many posh chairs. The chandeliers hung proudly above. The fine linen adorning the long table. All the way to the head of said table, in an ornate chair far and away taller than the rest. A chair where Princess Celestia sat.

The rest of the room was empty. There were no servants, servers, or guards. There was only Celestia, who had yet to notice my arrival. For her part, Celestia, in all her glory, looked exactly as one imagined—the same pristine white fur, groomed to perfection, the familiar regalia polished to a sheen. The same line of drool in the corner of her mouth as her eyes flickered open was the only sign she was conscious at all. Wait, what?

"Oh my, who knew the Princess of the Sun isn't a morning pony. The poor thing," Freya said.

The wendigo glided through, not around or above, but through the dining table, frogs tapping together as she cooed at the unaware Princess.

"Huh." It was all I could manage as I slowly crept closer, trying as best I could not to interrupt Celestia's power nap. For as long as the dining table was, it only had a few prepared chairs and utensils. Even among those, only one had a chair with enough height that a foal might reach a plate of any kind. A place right next to Her Majesty. "Of course."

Without a word, I trudged ever so slowly toward my dining accommodations. An echo rang in the otherwise silent room with each of my hoof falls. Princess Celestia sat eyeing a stack of papers that sat to one side of her. The other side is bereft with a literal pitcher of jet-black liquid. Steam rose into the morning as Celestia worked. If she noticed I had joined her, I could not tell. Not so much as a single-ear flick. On a positive note, the room wasn't a heat stroke in the making. In fact, it was chilly, which was almost as concerning. I hadn't felt such a creeping cold since before I'd discovered my talent, and even less so after whatever it was Freya did to me the other day.

I stopped just shy of my seat, my brow furrowed as the thought struck me dumb. Should Wendigo magic feel like pony magic? Should I feel it at all? I know I felt something as soon as Freya had unleashed it, but since then,... not a thing, just a seemingly endless bout of nothing.

"You alright, Glacial?" Freya asked.

I smacked my lips and shook the feeling. Not the place or time to lose my mind. I looked over to Celestia. She was still engrossed in her reading. Without a word, I climbed into my own seat and jostled about until satisfied with the placement of the chair's enhanced height—too many pillows and insufficient pragmatism. The whole stupid pile leaning this way and that with every shift of my weight.

"Good morning, Your Highness. I'm sorry if I was a bit tardy," I said, turning to the Princess, who still hadn't looked up from her papers. The papers she hadn't touched since I'd entered. I peered forward, skimming the paper in question. The contents were a jumble of legalese and explanations so dry I felt my lips chapping in response. That said, it wasn't that dense or wracked with double talk. In fact, it didn't even take up the whole page on which it was inked. "Princess?"

My eyes narrowed, teeth clenching as I leaned even further into my stack of pillows. My ear flicked, wings twitching as I stared harder at the solar matriarch, harder, a tail twitch, harder, a wing shook, harder, my eyes burned as I squinted so hard I could barely see anything at all.

"Uh, Glacie?"

"Yes?"

"Celestia is asleep."

I shot back, nearly toppling my unsteady seat as I did so. My eyes shot between Freya, who was idly waving a hoof across Celestia's face, and the Princess in question, who had remained entirely unaware of my observations.

"But her eyes?" I said.

"She's out cold, Glacie, not a thought in that big alicorn head of hers."

I wrapped a hoof around the table, my bottom lip caught in my teeth as I looked around the Dining Hall. It was just Celestia and me. I took a deep breath and felt the ice crawl over my legs. I had to blink away my surprise. I'd thawed in my sleep?

"Faust, forgive me," I muttered, and I raised a hoof high without giving myself a chance to think about it. With every ounce of strength I had, I brought my hoof down on the table.

The sudden force and crack of hoof met finely crafted wood echoed through the room. This was followed by a surprised yelp and the sudden scent of smoke.

Princess Celestia shot up in her seat, the back of her head slamming into her seat's headrest. Wings flew up in random directions. Her horn glowed as the stack of papers she'd been staring at was now consumed in a gentle flame.

If Her Highness noticed, she made exactly zero attempts to correct it. Instead, her eyes shifted with the experience of a foal being caught disobeying their dam. It took only a second for her eyes to spot me, and my shocked face hoof still firmly in place on where it had landed.

"Glacial Zero?" the Princess asked. She shifted in place, pulling her wings back to her sides. Her voice was hoarse, eyes drearily staring at my hoof.

"Yes, Princess?" I asked.

"That noise was of your doing, correct?" The Princess's eyes trailed up my leg and to my own gaze. I made a very active effort to not shrink into my seat and vanish from reality.

"Yes."

The Princess rubbed the sleep from her face. Her ethereal mane barely held in its invisible wind. The aurora seemed pale, in contrast to her norm. Then, magenta eyes never leaving my own, her horn flared to life, and the smell of smoke and gentle sizzle of her flaming stack of work disappeared. I considered checking on her necessary paperwork but decided I liked not being on fire more than I cared if Celestia's morning work was still smoldering.

"Has anypony else been in the room since your arrival?" Celestia rolled her shoulders and took up the regal posture one might expect from our nigh immortal ruler.

I shook my head. "Not since I arrived, no."

Celestia huffed in relief, slumping ever so slightly in her spot. "I see."

"Princess, are you okay?" Even now, the room remained unnervingly cool. There was no trace of yesterday's overwhelming heat; even Celestia woke surprised and confused. I was unsure if I should be relieved or very, very worried, so I defaulted to anxiety. A friend so dear, they get to live in my head right next to Hal.

Princess Celestia's brief relief faded as she sat back to her full height. She paid me little mind. Instead, her horn ignited, and a bell that I had not noticed rose in a yellow aura and shook gently. The quiet tinkle, though barely audible mere hooves away from where I sat beside Her Highness, signaled the arrival of our due morning meal.

No sooner had Celestia returned the bell to wherever she'd retrieved it than the servant doors opened. Several of what I had to assume were the kitchen staff adorned in matching black and white uniforms bustled in, with an utter buffet of plates, cups, pots, pans, and every other sort of meal utensil were quickly hoisted in several flavors of magical aura and arranged in front of us waiting for diners. The smells mixed in waves of delicacies. Freshly baked bread oozing with oils and butter, assorted fruits in a rainbow of seasons and colors. Pots of oat and barley meals still steaming. Light fruit salads and eggs piled high. It was enough to leave the stomach begging and the mouth utterly dripping with drool and desire. Those were only the first course, as baked tarts, pies, and cakes were layered high enough that I completely lost sight of the wait staff.

"Well, one can't say the Princess doesn't know how to feed her guests," Freya whispered in my ear. "I'm almost jealous."

Celestia mustered a frail smile as I all but fell over myself in my hunger. "I apologize, young Glacial. I did not have the opportunity to ask if there was a meal you'd have preferred. As you could tell upon your arrival, I was very much consumed by my work. As you'd agree, yes?"

That was not a question.

"Lest you starve," Freya said. She giggled and twirled between Celestia and me. Her ethereal white body almost blended into Celestia's own white coat.

"Of course, Princess, very important work, I'm sure." I nodded, eyes still enraptured at the feast for both my eyes and, hopefully, my stomach.

"Yes, important," Celestia's mane wavered once more, barely staying afloat as she gazed at nothing in particular. I wasn't sure what I found worse: the oppressive ruler of the day or the forlorn, barely there ruler. Either way, Hal's Celestia left both options less than desirable. However, Hal's Celestia wasn't here. Instead, I should look for Glacial Zero's not angry or depressed Celestia. In the meantime, I was left falling back in my seat silently.

Several minutes passed before Celestia managed to return to the world of the living. "Oh," she whispered, having noted me silently waiting for her. "I'm sorry, young Glacial. Please eat. You had no need to wait for my blessing."

I nodded but chose to remain silent. As I gathered my own breakfast, I noted that in kind, Celestia had yet to so much as touch any of the offerings. The longer I watched her, the more my own hunger waned.

"You really should eat, Glacie. You have your first lesson with Mr. Strange in a bit."

I blinked before Freya's name-calling registered. It wasn't only Celestia that was out of sorts now. Polaris would be waiting after this. While I did want and need lessons in magic. There was something about that very pretty stallion that just felt off.

"Crap," I muttered under my breath, without any more delay. I began my breakfast. To which, I had to admit, the royal kitchen knew how to make a meal. Something one should expect, but when you come from humble beginnings, the quality becomes all the more evident. Even as I ate, I found myself giving Celestia glances every other bite.

She'd seemed to fade back in on herself. Wrapt in whatever important business she'd been engrossed in. I scoffed. Important business be damned. The mask had slipped, and that made one thing crystal clear.

"I don't believe her," I whispered to Freya. "You noticed, too, right?"

Freya nodded. "She's a mess and a half. I can taste her stress from here. It's not half bad. Though I could do with the self-loathing. Way too fatty for my palate."

I let out a wheeze as the oatmeal I'd been chewing found its way into my lungs.

The rudeness of my choking fit drew Celestia back to reality. Where ever, so slowly, she blinked in my direction. "Glacial, is something wrong?" Even her concern was marred by a slow absence that left her gaze empty and distant.

"Sorry, Princess, too much in one bite," I assured her. With a noncommittal hmm, she returned to her nearly untouched food.

"Careful, Glacie, we can't have you dying on us."

I glared at the smiling, all too chipper, lackadaisical, moronic Wendigo beside me. "It's your fault, you demon," I hissed.

Freya's ears splayed as she pouted at me. "You're the one who took too big a bite."

I planted a hoof into my face, hard enough to bruise my cheek. The pain barely registered. "I was choking because you claimed Loathing contains fat. How does that even work?"

Freya's head tilted so hard that if she were anyone else, I'd have thought she'd been hanging on a gallow. "That's how foods work, Glacie. Some are fatty, savory, or high in vitamins. That's just how food works."

A second facehoof. This one was harder, the pain barely a gnat buzzing in the back of my mind. "Freya, your biology is a blight against creation. Stop ruining my meal by having me question the nutrition of emotivores."

"Glacial, did you say something?" A shiver ran down my back as I slowly turned to find Celestia giving me an odd look.

"Should I have?" I asked. I offered the biggest smile I could, eyes glowing in the early morning light. I once again praised my naturally damp coat and mane. It was so very useful in hiding one's nervous sweats. It is all the more valuable when sharing a meal with a goddess in all but title and name. At least one, she chose herself. I'd bet a kidney half of Equestria would call her one if prompted to do so. I certainly would.

Celestia's look narrowed slightly as she stared me down. "Did you?"

"A little." I shrunk ever so slightly in my seat. Even now, not an ember, a single solitary wave of heat. It made her suspicion all the worse for some reason. Like I'd been caught sneaking dessert. Like my dam had caught me red-hoofed.

"Distracted or not, one should not assume we are not listening," Celestia said. She emphasized said declaration with a mouthful of tart, or that is to say, as much as a whole tart could be considered a single mouthful.

"It was nothing, really. I was just thinking out loud. I find it helps make things make sense. Even if the only one normally listening is me." In the back of my mind. I pondered just how far into the hole I would be when, not if, Freya and the rest came to light. As she was now, Celestia did not take me for the type to like being lied to, lies by omission or not. The fact that yesterday's heatwave hadn't struck did, in no way, lessen the presence of Her Royal Incandescence.

"And what pray tell, are your thoughts consumed by this morning? Surely, there are a few problems that are out of our reach. Why not confide in your host?"

That is an excellent question. That is a good point. A corner most comfortable I'd nestled myself into. I had to force myself not to look to Freya. My headache was back in full force. Hal's memories and referencial rememberings ran at fast forward in my mind.

"You didn't sleep well, did you?" I asked. I could not for the life of me, parse where said question came from. I had certainly not commanded such efforts from my wild, liable tongue.

Celestia's raised brow attested to a surprise rivaling my own. A silence stretched between us as Her Highness considered my question. The scent of smoke, like burning pinewood, mixed with the already numerous culinary smells of what dwindling breakfast there was. It was an almost relaxing scent, one that whispered of mountain woods and bonfires—a wholly separate feeling from yesterday's scorching tantrum.

After what felt like hours, Celestia gave a body-shaking sigh, her eyes barely squinting at the table in front of her. She slumped forward, and her regal aura faltered. All I could manage was a blink and a half. A sudden guilt, like one seeing something they shouldn't, left my gut twisted.

"Princess, I'm sor—" Celestia raised a limp leg. The room fell silent once more.

"There are few who would be so bold and fewer who'd admit what we would not. You are not wrong, young Glacial; we, in fact, did not sleep well. We rarely, if ever."

"Sleep well?" I asked.

"Sleep."

"Oh."

"That would explain a lot," Freya whispered.

"It is not as if you are the first to notice, but too few confront us for what they see."

"Defeat so complete is a rare thing. To know you'll live centuries with such defeat must be soul-shattering." Freya placed a hoof on my shoulder. I could feel her frown, even without turning to look. It mirrored my own.

"I don't know what to say." I pushed my plate away. Breakfast was over.

"Then say nothing at all," Celestia stood from her seat. "I do believe your lessons will begin soon. Your escort will be waiting for you." Then she was off, gone in a flash, and I was left with nothing but my thoughts.

"Do you think Hal's prophecy made it better or worse?" I asked.

"I don't know, I don't think she knows either." Freya pulled me into a hug, and I made no attempt to resist. What a way to start the day.

The walk to Polaris' study was a silent, meandering trudge. If Private Rally had any thoughts on the quiet, she did not voice them. Which, considering her job, made sense. Even if it hadn't been her job to keep her lip sealed, I still wouldn't have blamed her. My legs had frozen over to the joint and the subtle crunch of ice was just loud enough that it buzzed in my ears. Freya hovered over me like an umbrella. One day in Canterlot, and I'd already upset Celestia, brought here by her or not, I wasn't doing anypony any favors.

"We're here, sir." I startled myself back to reality. I blearily blinked at the door Rally had stopped beside. I'd need to memorize the path at some point, but that wasn't today. I just hoped Polaris' lessons weren't too bad. My head felt stuffed; it was all the worse that I was becoming used to it. It couldn't be healthy, crushing a foal's body under all this stress. Even if I had more than one mind to take the load.

"Will you need anything else, sir?" Rally asked.

I offered a single sordid look before shaking my head. "No, thank you."

With that, Rally pushed the door in. Nothing else for it, I stepped into the study and steeled myself the best I could. I did not have the luxury of letting breakfast bog me down ad infinitum. The door closed behind me just as quickly as I'd cleared the doorway.

"Ah, there you are."

The study was like most rooms in the castle: large, finely adorned, and oddly cool. The walls were lined with bookcases, filled with what must be hundreds of tomes of every size and sort. My eyes scanned a single row of the closest case beside me. Alchemy, herbalism, thaumaturgy, scrying, and so on. It was a room fraught with magic, magic, and more magic. I'd wanted lessons. Well, if there were any place for such, it was here.

"Come, join me."

Polaris sat directly across from the door's threshold at a finely crafted desk. A desk that was stacked with more scrolls, tomes, and books than any single bookshelf could have held. Even with their sole purpose to do exactly that. So high were the books stacked that if Polaris had not spoken up, I might not have noticed him at all.

"Yes, sir," I said. I plodded myself across the room to the single waiting chair on my side of the desk. Polaris had a somewhat classy set of spectacles on as he slowly scanned whatever tome had his attention.

"So, Glacial, are you prepared for a deep dive into magic in all its beautiful forms? By which, I mean beyond just your cryomancy. After all, the more complete your understanding is, the more versatile both magic and your mind become. If that makes sense," Polaris said. He offered a chaste smile, setting his spectacles on the open book before him.

I tapped a hoof on the desk. "I suppose so, sir." As like yesterday, Polaris was polite, if just slightly nervous. Yesterday, Celestia was present, which made some level of sense. Yet, here and now, that same strange look crept into his eyes. The same uneasy static clung to the air.

"Good, good. Before we begin, though, I hate to waste time. I really do. I wanted to reintroduce myself. If we're to be seeing each other every day in the near future, it is best we understand one another. Yes?"

I nodded. "That seems fair."

Polaris clapped his hooves together. His smile crept just a bit too far up his jaw as he gazed down at me. "Good. So, as you are aware, my name is Polaris Glimmer. I've been asked by Her Royal Highness to help temper the iron of your potential to a fine point. I'm not particularly gifted in any single field of magic, but I am more adept at magic at a fundamental level. One of the few stallions allotted with any level of magical authority in all of Canterlot. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope that by the end of this assignment, we've both had a chance to learn something worth learning."

Polaris leaned forward, eyes fixed, dilated, searching. His smile edged just a bit larger. His hooves pressed so hard into the wood that I worried he might damage it. I found myself leaning back, my breath catching in the air as my veins froze in motion, hooves shaking even as they were encased in that same ice. Freya floated beside me, mouth pulled in a tight sneer.

Then, as suddenly as he'd leaned forward, Polaris fell back into his seat. "Neither of us wants this to be a waste. That would be disappointing."

"This one is starting to make me angry. He tastes like copper; it's not very pleasant," Freya said. She pressed her ethereal form to my side, shaking her entire incorporeal body.

"Now, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself. I, of course, know who you are and what magic you possess. But the specifics were not provided in Her Highness' letter."

A second greeting, a chance to move things in my favor. The longer I spoke with Polaris, the more something wriggled in the back of my mind. I couldn't place it; I just knew I was missing something, which made my headache all the worse.

"My name is Glacial Zero. I'm a colt from Bogwood, in the fiefdom of Baltimare. I only discovered my talent for cryomancy a few weeks ago. I've been told it is strange but not unheard of for magic like mine to exist. Magic is used by non-unicorns, I mean. You've probably noticed." I gestured at my ever more commonly frozen hooves. It was funny. I was starting to forget they'd even do so. It was nearly autonomous. It simply happened like breathing. A trait and habit I'd had even before Freya boosted my power with her own brand of Wendigo magic.

I could feel it deep down. A second fount of mana. It felt nothing like my normal power. It stirred like an angry storm, reaching out, desperate to be used, to be free. I wondered if others could tell if they could taste the encroaching storm, too. I couldn't place the why or how. I couldn't even tell why Polaris felt so off. That thought wriggled in my head once more, just a bit harder.

"You are quite the case study. Princess Celestia certainly thinks your means are of note. I tend to agree. If the incident the other day was half as impressive as Her Highness suggested. Then I can't wait to see it for myself." Polaris danced about in his seat with a child-like glee. The smile from a moment ago crept back across his muzzle.

"So, Mr. Polaris, where shall we start?" I asked.

"Nowhere good," Freya said, flicking a dismissive hoof at Polaris.

"From the beginning, of course. No, actually, that's not right. Not the beginning. We'll start from your beginning. To understand and evolve, you must know yourself completely. So, we'll be doing a bit of an exercise. Where you show me just what makes you, you."

Polaris rose from his seat. A sparkle in his eyes as he looked over his shoulder to the solely uncurtained window in the room. The sun shone bright, not a cloud in the sky. I suppress a tentative grunt. There was something not right about days like this. Bogwood rarely had cloudless days; gray was the name of the game, and this was not it.

"Come along. I can't wait to see what you are made of, Glacial. Us colts have to try all the harder. Right? Push all the farther. Actions, we need actions." In a wink of his horn, Polaris lifted and deposited saddle bags across his back. He then sashayed across the room, his pretty pink mane flowing this way and that with every step, all in rhythm with his dancing tail.

"Glacie, this stallion is so very confusing. So much dark, so much joy. I can't make heads or tails of it at all." Freya shook her head, flitting about me eagerly. "And he still tastes gross."

I took my time following Polaris, who had already thrown the study door wide and was gone in a blink. I took my time walking into the hall. I noted Private Rally's waiting eyes drifting in the direction of Polaris, who was already nearing the end of the hall.

"Sir?" Private Rally asked.

"I don't think he even noticed," I confirmed. We both stood and waited. I took to counting the seconds. Thirty-four. It took Polaris thirty-four seconds after he rounded the bend to come dashing back eyes in a frantic search for his lost charge.

The second Polaris saw me, he relaxed ever so slightly. "Glacial Zero, if you please."

Polaris waved from across the hall at me. His voice carried surprisingly well with how little he'd raised it. I waved back. I gave Private Rally a hapless shrug, and she returned one.

As I walked, I noted Rally falling behind me. There was a certain comfort to having her at my back, one that even endured: the impassioned eagerness in Polaris' trotting in place. I had to remind myself which of us was the child and the other the educated scholar.

"This way, we'll make our way to the south courtyard. It has plenty of space and won't be very busy quite yet. The gardeners are still in the north at the moment, and the guards only take up around half the available space. Which leaves plenty of room for the two of us. That is, I hope, at least. The fact is, I really don't care for the Royal Guard's Captain. She is always far too loud."

Polaris went on and on, picking apart everything he could about how and why the Royal Guard was constantly hassling him. It would have been interesting if he wasn't speaking so quickly that I only heard every other sentence. I gave Private Rally a quizzical look. She seemed just as lost as I was. Which was relieving. I worried everypony in Canterlot might be crazy.

By the time we reached the south courtyard, Polaris had ranted himself out and seemed to have lost himself in whatever else crossed his mind.

"Well, if nothing else. Your lessons won't be boring," Freya said, offering a conciliatory pat on my back. One that passed right through and out my belly.

"Gee, thanks."

Polaris' attention snapped back to reality. His eyes looked wildly. A rabbit who caught sight of a prowling wolf. I could have sworn I heard him whisper some sort of prayer. I raised a hoof toward my tutor only to pull back at the last second. For the first time since meeting him, I didn't feel on edge. No, to the contrary. I felt kind of sad. Which made even less sense than yesterday's spontaneous bout of terror.