Beneath the Northern Skies

Chapters

Stranded
Snowfall
Secrets Shared
Sovereign
Sublime
Sunrise

Stranded

A biting northern wind howled through the station, forcing the three ponies to huddle behind its walls for shelter. Rarity huffed as her luggage fell into the cold snow. “Twilight, could you please ask Cadance to do something about the station once we get back to Ponyville? No wonder fashion ponies don’t visit the Crystal Empire more often if that’s what they have to expect! If I—”

She was interrupted by a soft snowball striking her side. “It’s just a bit of snow,” said Rainbow Dash, holding back a snort at the sight of mild indignation on Rarity’s face. “Relax, Rarity. The train should be here soon.”

“The northern weather is always the worst around this time of the year. Nopony really knows why it does… well, that—“ She gestured at the piles of snow growing slowly around them “—but, according to the latest research, there might be a magical component to these snowstorms that makes them so persistent and difficult to predict.”

“Magical snowstorms?” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes a little wider. She shook her head. “That is totally not cool.”

“Possibly magical snowstorms,” corrected her Twilight.

Having finished shaking off the snow from her newest winter jacket, Rarity stepped forward. “Regardless of what it is, I just wish it waited until we were gone. I promised Sweetie Belle I’d be back as soon as I can, and now our train is delayed!”

“Rainbow Dash was right. I’m sure it’ll be here any moment now.” Twilight looked around, but nopony else seemed to await the train with them. “How did your weekend go, girls?”

“It was awesome! To be precise, I was awesome!” Rainbow grinned, showing off a golden medal attached to her saddlebags. “I won the jousting tournament again! Some of those crystal ponies were pretty good, just not nearly as good as me.”

Rarity smiled and rolled her eyes in mock frustration. “And not half as modest as you, either? I wish I could say I had as much success as you did, but apparently it is not yet the time for the crystal ponies to embrace fashion. I was sure my Hearth’s Warming collection would be what makes them change their minds!”

“You’ll get them next time, Rarity. I don’t know much about fashion, but if there’s anypony who can do it, it’s you. How about you, Twilight? Did you have fun with Cadance and your brother?”

“Absolutely!” Twilight sat down on the snow and excitedly clapped her front hooves. “We had a lot of catching up to do, but we found the time to celebrate Hearth’s Warming, too!”

Rarity’s eyebrows rose in confusion. “Excuse me, dear, but isn’t that tomorrow?”

“My parents and Spike are staying for a week longer, but we’ve agreed to celebrate ahead of time. I wish I didn’t have to go back so soon; it’s just that Princess Luna asked me to assist her with some time-sensitive dream magic that’s really important to her. It’s the first time she’s relying on somepony other than Princess Celestia.”

Rainbow Dash blinked a couple of times. “Luna asked you personally? That’s amazing!”

“She is, isn’t she?! I—I mean, yes, yes it is.” Twilight looked away, blushing profusely. “We’ve kept in touch since Nightmare Night, and it just sort of came up in our letters.” She pawed at the ground.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged a meaningful look.

They were interrupted by the sound of the stationmaster’s whistle. The stallion who emerged from the station was a young crystal pony with a teal coat and bags under his eyes. “Attention all passengers! Due to the exceptionally poor weather conditions, the Canterlot train cannot safely reach the Crystal Empire station at this time. It will wait for the snowstorm to subside for up to one day, after which it must turn back to Equestria to resupply. If it comes to that, a replacement train will be dispatched as soon as possible. On behalf of the Equestrian Railways, I apologize for the delay.”

“You can’t be serious!” cried Rainbow Dash. “That train looks like a tank!”

“It was built to withstand the cold and wind, but the snowstorm blocked off the tracks,” he explained in a dejected tone. “We can’t do anything about that. I’m sorry, miss.”

“Twilight, do you think we can stay at— Rarity, what the hay are you doing?”

Rarity set her luggage aside after taking out several articles of winter clothing. “What does it look like, darling? I’m preparing,” she said, putting enough emphasis on the last word to let it cut through solid ice. After closing the last suitcase, she moved the substantial pile of packaged outfits next to Twilight. “Could you take care of my winter collection for me, Twilight?”

“Do you plan to brave a snowstorm that’s too strong for a magical crystal train?” Twilight shook her head and stood up to look Rarity in the eyes. “Rarity, I know that you hate regular cold! And what if you get lost?”

Rainbow Dash crossed Rarity’s path. “Yeah, snowstorms are no joke! They’re really dangerous.”

Under the questioning gaze of her friends, Rainbow forced a small chuckle and added, “No big deal for me, obviously, but I’d be worried about any unicorn trying to make her way through one.”

Rarity shook her head slowly. “Thank you for your concern, girls. I appreciate it. But I cannot wait, either; I promised Sweetie Belle I’d be home for the holiday.” Her expression was firm, and her gaze was focused on the horizon. “The train can’t be too far off. I only need to find it.”

“Find it in the middle of a blizzard? You can’t go!”

“It will be impossible to miss it if I just follow the tracks.” Rarity furrowed her brows. “And I’ll have you know that we have braved a worse storm in the past. I’ll be fine.”

“But you could still—”

“Nah, she’s right.” Rainbow Dash stepped to the side with well-feigned nonchalance, masking the small stutter in her words with a flip of her mane. “I’ll… I’ll go with her, Twilight.”

Rarity practically jumped up in surprise, “You will?”

“Well, duh.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and struck a pose. “It seems important to you, and with me around, there’s no way we’ll fail.”

Twilight retreated a few steps before looking into the snowstorm raging not far from them. Her voice was weaker than before, and she half-whispered, “I could join you, although…”

“I won’t ask you if you don’t want to go, darling,” said Rarity, stepping closer and putting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine. We will only need to go in a straight line. And besides—” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper “—I’d be thankful to have somepony I can trust making sure that all my dresses arrive home safely.”

Twilight raised her head and smiled. “Just promise me you’ll also stay safe, you two.”

“We will, Twilight. See you back in Ponyville!” answered Rainbow Dash. Turning to Rarity, she said, “Lead the way, Rarity. It was your idea in the first place.”

“We’ll be leaving shortly, Rainbow, but we should buy some food first, just in case it takes us a few hours. Walking on an empty stomach would be most unpleasant.”

Snowfall

A sudden gust of wind picked up a cloud of fresh snow from the ground and cast it at the two mares trotting alongside the railway tracks. Rainbow Dash spat it out and groaned, “We should’ve left an hour ago. But at least we won’t be hungry, right, Rarity?”

Rarity glanced at her soaked mane peeking out from beneath her many layers of clothing. She let out a defeated sigh before steeling herself and trotting onward. “The weather is even worse than I expected. Nevertheless! I am not turning back, especially if it’s that bad.”

Rainbow caught up to her. “What do you mean?”

“Since it’s not getting any better, the train will definitely be forced to go back. So catch it I must, even if I do not like this at all.” Rarity raised her head with determination, and even the wind billowing her mane in her eyes couldn’t detract from how she looked in the moment.

Seemingly remembering that she’s not alone, Rarity smiled apologetically. “Oh, but if you want to go back, please don’t take it as me pressu—”

“Like hay I would go back!” Rainbow cut her off. She looked into Rarity’s eyes and said, “I don’t quite understand it, but I think you’re pretty great for doing this for your sister. I am not leaving you here alone, okay? Don’t bring it up again.”

Rarity found herself blushing despite the cold. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…” She shook her head. “Thank you, Rainbow.”

“Don’t mention it! Doing dumb things together just because somepony needs to is what friends are for, right?” Rainbow grinned. “Besides, as neat as the Empire is, I’d much rather be home, too.”

They continued in companionable silence for some time, and even the cold of the harsh weather did not seem to bite them as sharply. But their high spirits could only help them so much, and they were forced to take a break hours before the sun had set.

Rainbow snorted. “I wish you could see yourself right now, Rarity! You look absolutely ridiculous beneath all those layers!”

“Not all of us were born resistant to the cold. And I’ll have you know that I’m wearing the most fashionable clothes of the season, even if the season doesn’t know it yet.” Rarity said, wrapping herself in yet another scarf. “Although I’ll admit that wearing four sets at once might not reach wider approval of the critics.”

When the wind attacked them again, Rarity was prepared for it, creating a weak and shimmering magical barrier that stopped the worst of the impact. “Twilight was right—it is useful!” Rarity narrowed her eyes. “But is it just me, or does the cold somehow keep getting worse?”

“Not just you; I can feel it too.” Rainbow extended her right wing. She immediately winced and pulled it back. “That train better be close.”

“It can’t be far. Maybe we’ll see it from this hill.” Rarity approached it with the silent hope that their trip was about to conclude. When she finally climbed over the top of the hill, her expression fell. “I… I think we might have a slight problem.”

Rainbow was by her side in seconds. “It can’t be that bad, right? Oh.”

“Oh indeed, Rainbow Dash.”

The small valley ahead of them contained a mountain’s worth of fresh snow, filling it to the brim and covering any traces of the tracks. Rainbow took a careful step forward only to end neck-deep in freshly compressed, wet snow. After extricating herself from the white mass with Rarity’s help, she said, “So that’s what stopped the train. We can’t cross it, either.”

“Then we’ll just have to walk around it.” Rarity’s voice was distant, but the spark of determination burning in it couldn’t be extinguished by a little bit of snow. “Rainbow, could you fly up and see if you can spot the train from here?”

Rainbow’s wings instinctively clamped to her sides in an instant. Her eyes shrunk into pinpoints, and she took a hasty step back, almost falling into the snow again were it not for Rarity grabbing her hoof. “Oh no, no no no. The co—cold wind and the frost are too strong! I can’t do that!”

“What’s happening, dear?” Rarity asked in a concerned voice. “Talk to me, Rainbow Dash. What’s wrong?”

Rainbow’s eyes locked on her friend and she forced herself to take several deep breaths. “It’s the snowstorm,” she admitted. Her ears fell flat against her head. “I can’t—“ She stopped herself. “I’ll tell you, but promise me that you won’t tell anypony else. Pinkie promise.”

“I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly.” Rarity repeated the elaborate sequence of gestures.

“You see, Rarity, I’m kind of afraid of snowstorms,” Rainbow said slowly. “I have been since my fillyhood. I sorta… lose control as soon as I think of one freezing me mid-fight.”

Rarity gasped. “That’s terrible! I’d never have suggested it if I had known. You flew through one when we first got to the Empire.”

“Apparently you don’t really have the time to think about your phobias while fleeing from a mad unicorn king.” Rainbow tried to smile, but found that her teeth were chattering. “It’s fine. The cold might finally be getting to me, too.”

“We passed a small cave a few minutes ago; it was not far from the tracks, either. Perhaps we could wait out the worst of the storm in there?” suggested Rarity.

“You know what, Rares? That’s a great idea.”

Secrets Shared

The sound of splintering wood echoed through the cave. Rarity levitated the pieces of the old wooden wheel into small fire in the center of the cave. The brittle shards cracked with apprehension before giving in and catching on fire. Rarity, having found a blanket in her saddlebags, made a part of the stone floor much more comfortable for the two mares. “There. Much better.”

Rainbow hesitated for a second before lying down and warming her hooves near the fire. “I hope its last owners made it out in one piece. It’s strange that they hid a perfectly good wagon here and never came back for it.”

“They could’ve been in a rush. Or maybe they were trying to escape Sombra and forgot.” She shrugged as she sat down on the blanket. “In any case, we were lucky to find it. Braving that awful blizzard right now would be unbearable for just about anypony—we’re not going out until the wind goes down to a more manageable level.”

Rainbow blushed and fought the urge to protest. Instead she met Rarity’s gaze with a weak smile. “I see what you’re doing, Rarity. Thanks. I was supposed to be the one helping you out, and now we’re stuck in a cave all because of my dumb fear.”

“Don’t say that, Rainbow.” Rarity scooched closer to the pegasus and bumped her on the nose. “I’d be terrified to go through that blizzard alone. You’re helping me more than you realize.”

“About that blizzard…” Rainbow awkwardly shuffled her hooves.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Rainbow swallowed and exhaled slowly. “I do want to.” Her voice came out clear and full of purpose. “It happened when I was still just a filly with no cutie mark…”

***

Rainbow Dash closed the door behind herself as quietly as she could. Her mom was out with the rest of the pegasi below, and her dad had just fallen asleep to the sound of the wind blowing outside—that left her with at least half an hour to prove that she’s ready for flight school.

The clouds on the lawn appeared to regard her with accusatory tilts and swirls. “Oh, be quiet!” she confidently whispered. “I’ll be back before they see that I went out.”

Rainbow made her way to the edge of the street. Close to her house, a tumultuous snow cloud was raging in the sky, threatening to approach Cloudsdale as soon as the ever-capricious wind would push it towards them. Normally, a weather team would’ve long since dealt with it, but on that day almost everypony was busy with the tornado duty, and so the small cloud was declared a low-priority issue, and its removal got rescheduled for the next day.

The tiny wings on Rainbow’s back buzzed with excitement. She was a far better flyer than other foals her age, and she had seen enough weatherponies at work to know how to disperse an unwieldy cloud. She jumped off and dove into the blizzard.

Freezing wind hit her from every direction at once. Rainbow spun around, frantically trying to preserve a semblance of balance. To her growing terror, the wind kept turning her around, making it impossible for her to reorient herself properly no matter the technique she tried. She flapped her tiny wings even harder, fighting for control with all her strength. Rainbow could feel the sweat on her coat freezing into small lumps of ice, further disrupting her flight.

Her wings grew heavy, unable to fight the wind’s relentless pull. Rainbow Dash screamed. Another cold gust hit her from behind, throwing her out of the cloud. Rainbow’s wings were unresponsive, coated in a thin layer of ice. The ground started to approach her at an alarming speed. Rainbow twisted her entire body to divert her path towards a tiny, low-flying cloud nearby.

She hit its surface like a filly-sized bullet, but the cloud held firm. Rainbow looked around in shock, still hyperventilating from the fall. She could not believe her luck—Cloudsdale was visible from her spot in the skies! Eager to return home, the filly tried to flap her wings. But the wings refused to carry her upward. Frostbitten and exhausted, she could fly no better than a flowerpot that slid off from the windowsill.

Rainbow looked around again. There was nothing in sight for several miles. She curled up into a ball, shivering.

***

“From what I was told later, my parents found me in less than thirty minutes. But time flows differently when you’re stuck all alone and so far from home.” Rainbow Dash failed to keep her voice level. “So yeah, that’s why I always have to get somepony else to do my snowstorm cloud assignments in winter.” She closed her eyes and slammed her hoof against the ground, next to the stain left on the blanket by her tears. “It’s so dumb, I know! I’m more than capable of handling some lousy cold clouds! But I just can’t! Do! It!”

Rarity wrapped her forehooves around Rainbow’s withers. “Sweet Celestia, that’s horrible! I can’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been for you to keep it a secret.”

“It—It was pretty bad, I won’t lie.” Rainbow returned the brief hug. “But it doesn’t ma—“

“It absolutely does matter,” insisted Rarity. She moved away to look into Rainbow’s eyes. “It shows how brave you are!”

“What?!” Rainbow did a double take. “You might be confused, Rarity. I just admitted that I’m too afraid to fly into a fast snow cloud!”

“Yet you still decided to help me, even though you knew we’d have to go through a blizzard. How many other ponies would be brave enough to do that?”

Rainbow blinked twice. “I… I guess you’re right. I did do that.”

“Do you know why I’m so adamant about reaching Ponyville? It was four years ago, when Sweetie Belle was even more of a little filly than she is now. I promised her that I’d spend Hearth’s Warming with her, but I got a little carried away with some dresses…”

“You were working on Hearth’s Warming?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know your job was that demanding.”

Rarity winced in shame. “It’s not that. I just… The inspiration for my holiday gifts didn’t strike me until the very last moment, and I found myself stuck with a list of names and no presents for them. Fortunately, I work well under stress. I came back home a few hours later than I had hoped—that was before I moved into the Carousel Boutique—carrying a very cute little winter hat for Sweetie Belle. But as soon as I saw her, I realized I made a terrible mistake. The hurt I saw in her eyes was soul-crushing! ‘You lied!’ she cried in that awful, quiet tone on the verge of tears. ‘You lied, and Hearth’s Warming is almost over, and you weren’t here with me!’”

“And you know what was the worst?” asked Rarity. “That she was right! So right then I made a solemn promise to never miss an hour of our Hearth’s Warming ever again, no matter what. That’s why I cannot allow it to happen now!”

“Oh wow, Rares, that was… intense. I guess it also explains why your whole family was in Canterlot when we performed in the play.” Rainbow fell silent for a few seconds. She visibly struggled to speak what she wanted, scrunching her nose in frustration. “They—your family—they must really care about the holidays.”

Rarity turned her head slightly and opened her eyes wider. “What do you mean, Rainbow? Everypony celebrates Hearth’s Warming. Your family does as well, don’t they?”

“Well yeah, kinda.” Rainbow shook her head. “I mean, it’s really just not a big deal for my folks. To be honest, I don’t remember the last time we spent it together.”

“So you were going to be alone on Hearth’s Warming? I cannot allow that to happen!” Rarity sat up straighter. “Listen, Rainbow Dash. We will make it back to Ponyville on time, somehow, and once we do, it’ll be my pleasure to have you at my Heart’s Warming.”

“Thanks, Rarity. We can talk about that if the snowstorm gets better before it’s too late.” Rainbow tried looking away, but Rarity pulled her back.

“I am not taking no for an answer, darling.”

“Alright,” conceded Rainbow Dash. A warm smile appeared on her face. “Thank you; it means a lot,” she said, wrapping a wing around Rarity. “It really does.”

The fire crackled as the sun set over the Crystal Empire, the cold winds raging over the desolate icy wasteland. But in that one small cave in the middle of nowhere, two mares slept peacefully through the night in their shelter, unbothered by the surrounding world.

And from that cold outside, a pair of piercing blue eyes observed them closely.

Sovereign

“Hey, Rarity, wake up already!” Rainbow Dash shook her friend more forcefully. While she was glad that waking up first let her extricate herself from the position in which she found herself sleeping, waking up Rarity proved to be a more difficult endeavor than she imagined.

“Hmmm?” Rarity shifted on the blanket for the third time this morning. “It’s too early, Opal. Please, I’ll feed you in a bit,” she absentmindedly said, shooing the nuisance bugging her away.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Rainbow grabbed the edge of the blanket with her teeth and pulled it out from under the unicorn.

The stone floor woke her up immediately, and Rarity stood up with a frown. “What was that—” She stopped as the events of the previous day slowly came back to her “—Oh. I suppose we should get moving soon. There’s no way to tell how late it is.” She yawned.

“About seven twenty.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, inspecting the remains of their campfire. “And how do you know that, dear? Pegasus intuition?”

“You could say that,” Rainbow answered with a smug smirk. “I can tell from the position of the Sun. It’s different up here in the North, but I bet I’m less than ten minutes off.”

“I didn’t know you could do that.” She yawned one more time and looked back with longing at the crumpled blanket. “It’s good to start early, although I must say I slept wonderfully despite these… less-than-stellar conditions. A little exercise does wonders for one’s sleep.”

Being wrapped in a pegasus’s wing could’ve helped, too, thought Rainbow Dash, a hint of a blush showing on her face. Out loud, she said only, “Um, hello? Telling time with the Sun?”

Rarity gasped. She rushed to the cave’s entrance, blinked the sleep away from her eyes, and looked to the skies. “It’s not much, but the weather did get better!” Her expression fell when she saw massive piles of snow outside the cave. “Although making it back to the train will be rather difficult.”

“There’s something else, Rarity. Look here.”

Rarity’s eyes followed Rainbow’s hoof. What she at first mistook for a shaded part was a route leading between the snowdrifts. She trotted closer, wincing from the cold when her hooves touched the snow. But it was not the cold that made her jump back in shock. “Are those tracks? They lead right to the cave!”

“Whatever it was, it’s gone now.” Rainbow put on her saddlebags and tightened the straps. She smiled, beaming with confidence. “We should pay it a visit.”

“Excuse me, what?!” cried Rarity. “Don’t you see how big those tracks are? If it left us alone, I don’t think looking for it would be wise. It could be a monster!”

“Then it would’ve attacked us at night.” Rainbow huffed. “Besides, I don’t see any other options. Do you want to sit here until the snowstorm ends?”

“Well, no, but I…” Rarity bit her lip and took a deep breath. “You are right, of course. We cannot afford to waste any time at all.” She packed the blanket and quickly slipped into her layered winter clothes. “But it was your idea, so you should lead the way today.”

Rainbow grinned. “I wouldn’t let you go first anyway. Walking head-first into danger has always been my kind of plan.”

Rarity rolled her eyes ostentatiously.

***

The Sun reached solar noon before the two mares decided to take a brief break. Rainbow Dash groaned and covered her eyes with a forehoof. “I like Celestia’s Sun as much as everypony, but I had hoped the North wouldn’t be so bright. It’s snowing right now, for pony’s sake!”

“It’s precisely because of the snow reflecting the sunbeams.” Rarity, who had been panting heavily and insisting she was fine for over an hour, came to a stop next to her. “I imagine we have to be close.”

“You said that three hours ago!”

“I was guessing,” Rarity admitted with a guilty expression. She quickly regained her confidence and added, “This time, however, I know for sure. Look at the tracks.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Um, hello, that’s what I’ve been doing since we set out. They’re exactly the same.”

Rarity nodded quickly. “Precisely. Isn’t that strange?”

“Why would they be? There are no animals here to walk over them.” A gust of wind threw another wave of soft snow at her, and the imaginary light bulb above her head lit up. Her eyes snapped to the clouds. “The snow!”

“Exactly.” Rarity nodded. “I’ve been looking at the path ahead, and barring the odd wind, not a single snowflake fell on it since we started. It wants us to find whatever is here.”

“But if it didn’t want to meet us or ambush us, why is it leading us deeper into the snow?” asked Rainbow.

“I don’t know,” admitted Rarity. “I hope we’ll find the answer to that question on the other side of this hill. I can sense some faint magic calling to me even from here.”

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, suddenly getting her second wind. “You should’ve started with that! We’re so close; let’s go!”

The strange tracks ended at the crest of the hill, disappearing mid-step, but if either of the mares ever considered turning back, what they saw ahead banished such thoughts immediately. Free-standing mountains dotted the landscape sporadically, their peaks and slopes covered by a coat of pure white, and between them lay a great expanse of perfectly even land that shone in the sunlight despite the snowstorm raging above it.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash descended the hill quickly, wordlessly agreeing to examine a group of a few dozen light blue points located on the edge of the snowfield. Rainbow was the first to identify it as a village, the blue spots all resolving into houses as they got close. Every building in the village was perfectly chiseled from ice with no visible flaws or blemishes, each surface measured and replicated with greater precision than anything either of them had ever seen. The architectural style was distinctly foreign to them, bearing some similarities to ancient pegasi cloud-cities at the height of their power, but lighter and more refined—lacking the practical considerations that the pegasi tribe adopted over the course of centuries. Where Pegasopolis was a kingdom of brave warriors, the village radiated grace in a way that would put even the finest ancient unicornian art to shame.

It was also empty. The icy doors to the cottages were purely ornamental, fused into the doorframes for eternity, and even the snowstorm seemed to avoid it, ending unnaturally just a stone’s throw away from the first house.

Rarity didn’t hesitate to light up her horn and let the blue glow dance on the semi-translucent structures, endlessly reflected and refracted. For a moment, the small town appeared almost alive.

“It’s beautiful,” said Rarity, the admiration in her voice carrying over the snowstorm. “Have you ever seen anything like it, Rainbow Dash?”

“Can’t say I have. It looks like something from a Daring Do adventure—” Rainbow touched an intricate pattern carved into the wall of a house “—But even Daring Do never went this far into the North.”

“First the Crystal Empire and now this. Maybe the North wasn’t as empty as we all thought and—” Her hornlight died instantly, and she stood frozen in place for a fraction of a second until Rainbow Dash pulled her into a nearby alley. The see-through nature of the buildings made it far from the perfect cover, but it was better than nothing.

“Did you feel that?!” Rarity whispered to Rainbow, trying to keep her panicked voice quiet.

Rainbow’s pupils narrowed. “Yeah. We were being watched. I’d bet all my bits it’s the creature that left those tracks.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Rarity. “Shouldn’t we try to reason with it? If it guards this village, it must at least be capable of reason.”

Rainbow’s frown deepened. “And what if it doesn’t listen to us?”

“If it turns out to be a brute who rejects our diplomatic solution, we do the same as if it couldn’t talk.” Rarity looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the alternative she was about to suggest.

“Do we make it listen?” Rainbow spread her wings, ready to dash at any moment.

Rarity almost choked on her tongue. “What? Heavens, no! We run.”

“Fine,” grumbled Rainbow. She did not fully fold her wings, just in case. “Best you do the talking, though.”

“Here goes nothing.” Rarity stepped out of their hiding spot, with Rainbow Dash following right behind.

The street was empty again. There was no trace of any creature, real or imagined, and all of the houses looked exactly the same as fifteen minutes earlier. The only sound the duo could hear was the snowstorm surrounding the village, reminding them how far from home they had come.

“I think it’s still watching us, Rarity,” whispered Rainbow. She fluffed up her coat to look more confident in the face of the cold and distant gaze of some unidentified creature.

“In that case…” Rarity trotted to the middle of the street and raised her voice. “Excuse me! Did you create all of this? It’s simply stunning! We are honored to see it, we really are, but could you please help us find our way back to the train line?”

Suddenly, the sky roiled, and a blue vortex appeared right above them. At its front, a spectral deer wearing a long cloak rode an invisible tailwind, his great wings casting a shadow as wide as any of the houses. He was easily thrice their size, with sprawling antlers that branched an innumerable number of times around his head and formed a jagged, rime-covered crown, its color matching the conch shell necklace that he wore around his neck. His antlers shined for a second before he reached the ground, dispelling the magical wind.

“A windigo!” Rarity cried with a mix of fear and awe. She tried to retreat back into the alley but bumped into Rainbow Dash, who was standing still with wide eyes and an open mouth, pale and frozen in shock.

The ghostly caribou leveled his piercing blue gaze at the two ponies. “Oh, how low have I fallen, to be compared to my serfs!” He stomped, causing the ground to shake. “You are trespassing on the land that belonged to me since before your kind learned how to speak, ponies.”

“Oh, I’m—we are very sorry for that.” Rarity tried to show the creature her best apologetic smile. “We saw the path leading here and we thought…”

“You took your curiosity as a sign of my permission where one was never given to you.”

“Well, about that…” Rarity glanced back to find her friend still staring blankly at the caribou. “I’m Rarity, and this is my friend Rainbow Dash. We—“

The impatient voice of the ancient deer crackled through the air like a thunderbolt. “I have heard your story when you disturbed my peace last night. I care not for your names, and I will not give you mine. Knowing it was the privilege of the heroic denizens of this kingdom, who once called my home their home and me their guardian.”

A gasp escaped Rarity before she could stop herself. “You ruled over windigos?”

“Have the ponies’ brains atrophied so much that they cannot understand what is said to them?” The caribou’s horns shimmered again, the spell turning the buildings invisible. “The windigos were my hounds, beasts whom I turned loose after there was no more work left for them here. No, my subjects were elegant souls who appreciated all of the nature’s harmony without trying to control it like your pegasi do.” A frown marred his ancient image as he glared at Rainbow Dash, air temperature dropping several degrees.

Rarity cleared her throat, hoping to diffuse the tense atmosphere. “So the faint magic I felt when we approached the city was—“

“A remnant of a civilization that left it millennia ago,” finished the spirit. “The land from here to the horizon is still soaked in their magic. I have lent my assistance to mortals only once since then, and they lost the token of my protection to the first monster that came for it, proving that they weren’t worthy.” He narrowed his eyes into a glare. “That is not important now. Why did you come to my home, and did so with a pegasus?”

“She is not a mere pegasus!” Rarity protested in a much stronger tone of voice than before. She moved between the giant caribou and Rainbow Dash, holding the creature’s gaze for three seconds in which not even her heart dared to beat. “I understand that you have some grievances with their work, but Rainbow Dash helped countless ponies and saved the world a dozen times!”

“So you say, unicorn.” His expression lost some of its harshness, and he let out a breath that turned into a freezing gale. Wherever it touched the ice buildings, they reappeared with a cerulean glow. “But the world is much greater than you ponies can understand, and it will outlast you all. All acts of heroism will be forgotten in time, until not even the wind carries their echoes.”

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. She shivered under the spirit’s attention, but she didn’t retreat. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight for what we care about. Look, I get that you don’t like pegasi. To be honest, I don’t love it here, either.” As she spoke, her confidence began to return, and she grinned, wrapping a hoof around Rarity’s neck. “But if Rarity wants to brave this weather just to keep her old Hearth’s Warming promise and I can help her, then I’d rather be here than anywhere else!”

The caribou’s eyes sparked with anger, and freezing winds barged into the town, surrounding the ponies in a cage of sweeping frost. “You are afraid of everything that I stand for, pegasus, and yet you speak to me so brazenly about a holiday celebrating my servants’ humiliation.”

“Both of you demonstrated courage,” he stated flatly as the indignation in his voice made room for recognition, and the winds calmed down again. “You remind me of myself when I was still walking the earth among my subjects. Indeed, I have not been surprised in ages by such feeble creatures.”

“So you will let us go?” Rainbow asked.

“That was something I already decided on yesterday. All I require from you is to keep this meeting to yourself. The favor you’ve earned today has earned you a different privilege.” The caribou raised the conch from his neck and blew into the shell. The wind embraced him closely and carried the mournful tune far into the horizon. “Your pony train shall not find any storm in its path today. Now go, ponies, and do not disrupt my watch ever again.” His cloak billowed out and obscured his face.

Rainbow turned to leave at once. Rarity, however, couldn’t look away, muzzle twisted in a conflicted expression. She mouthed a silent question, “Why?”, but the spirit heard her anyway and startled backwards. “Did I not tell you already?! Don’t test my patience, or I’ll send a ruthless storm after you!”

“You let us go so easily,” Rarity looked up at his face. “And you said that this used to be a kingdom. As beautiful as the place we’re in is, everypony can tell that it is no more than a village that you’ve built.”

“This is where I met the first of their kind, where I met her first. You reminded me of her.” The caribou’s whispered words echoed between the buildings, their sound like a low growl of a thunderstorm. “She was brave, beautiful, and kind—she didn’t run away. I felt alive for the first time in my long existence. I promised her that she won’t ever be forgotten. Thrice-damned fool I was. Our children ruled the kingdom to its very end, and I have maintained this village ever since, defending it from the radiating warmth of your ‘Hearth’s Warming’ every year.”

“So it’s not about ruining the holidays!” Rarity raised a hoof to her mouth. “I… thank you. I know it doesn’t mean much to somepo—someone like you, but we are both truly grateful, and I promise you I won’t forget what you shared with us today.”

“You still need to find the train in time. I hope you do.” The caribou blew the conch again, disappearing in an instant. “Good luck,” the wind echoed.

Rarity trotted after Rainbow Dash. She looked back only once, after they made it to the top of the hill that marked the perimeter of the ancient kingdom. She smiled at the timeless perfection encased in ice. “I’d never have taken him for a romantic type.”

Sublime

“Rarity, wait!” Rainbow Dash came to a sudden halt. “I’m pretty sure I recognize this rock.”

She was shouting over the wheezing of wind, hoping that Rarity could hear her. Even though they were no more than ten paces apart, she could barely see the unicorn’s silhouette through the blizzard. Still, the presence of her friend was the only thing keeping her frayed nerves intact.

Rarity turned around and trotted closer. “You remember it from yesterday?”

“No, from an hour ago.” Rainbow kicked the offending stone aside. “I can’t believe we’re lost! After everything we’ve done, we’re still stopped by the dumb weather getting even worse. Wasn’t that deer-spirit-thing supposed to help us?!”

“He’s protecting his village.” Rarity sighed. “He only promised that the train will be able to pass through the snowstorm unimpeded; we’re left to find the way back by ourselves.”

Rainbow stomped, pushing the snow in every direction. “That’s so stupid! Why would we care about the train if we—you, specifically—can’t board it?!”

“I think he believed we’d be able to make it back on time,” Rarity said after a moment.

“Yeah?” Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes. “Maybe if I could keep us on the right path; pegasi are pretty good at finding the way out in the open. Well, guess what? I can’t do that!” Her voice wavered on the edge of tears. “I’m useless in this storm!”

“You’re anything but useless, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity smiled and nudged Rainbow’s side with her forehoof. “We convinced that creature together; your bravery really impressed him. I will admit that I am afraid of this blizzard, too; I can’t imagine how much it must’ve taken for you to keep your cool despite… Well, this.” She gestured at the snowstorm raging around them and shivered.

Rainbow took a deep breath. She returned Rarity’s smile, even if hers was a weak and frail thing, like a candle flickering in the wind. “What’s the worst about this is that we can’t be far, Rares. I know I couldn’t have been that wrong. But in this weather we could pass a hoof’s reach from the tracks and not notice!”

“Not the tracks—we would tell from the storm disappearing—but you do raise a good point.” Rarity cast a simple light spell, illuminating the surrounding snowfield. “I can’t keep it up forever, but it improves our odds.”

“Rarity, that’s genius!” Rainbow cried triumphantly. “We just need to find the place where the storm gets weaker! I’ll just…” She trailed off when the implications of her plan finally hit her.

“If you’re thinking that they could find us this way, I’m afraid to say that there’s a good chance nopony would notice. Even if they did, who knows if they’d stop to investigate a strange light in the middle of a frozen wasteland? We can’t count on that.”

“No, that’s not what I was thinking. Magic or not, those clouds are very low.” Rainbow looked into the swirling masses of air coursing above them. They were mesmerizing and deadly, a rare display of natural forces that ponykind hasn’t tamed yet.

“I suppose they could be,” Rarity nodded.

“And as you said, the tracks should have clear skies above.”

“Well, yes. What of it?” Before Rainbow could respond, the terrible recognition dawned on Rarity.“You can’t possibly be thinking of doing that!”

“It’s the only chance we have to find the train.” Rainbow Dash spread her wings.

“But what you told me about yourself and the snowstorms—”

“It’s all true,” Rainbow interrupted her. The cocky smile on her face looked almost authentic. “But I won’t let some snow win against the Rainbow Dash. And, Rares, you know that—” She blushed, feeling vulnerable “—After what we’ve been through, I… It’s much easier with you around.”

“Rainbow Dash, I…” Rarity found herself unable to respond. She didn’t need to. The duo stood in silent understanding, and of the two, Rarity didn’t try to pretend that she wasn’t getting misty-eyed.

The cold brought them back to reality far too soon. Rarity quickly dried her eyes and said, “I… I can’t let you risk your safety over my promise.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not a scared little filly anymore.” Rainbow batted her wings. “It’s like you said—we’ve dealt with far worse in the past. Oh, and I’ll need your help, too.”

There was not a trace of hesitation in her voice. “Anything, darling.”

“Keep that light as bright as you can. Going up won’t be a problem, but I must know where to land.”

“I can do that,” Rarity agreed. “Let me ask you one more time, Rainbow: Are you sure about this?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Honestly? No. This is the dumbest thing I’ve done in… a month, at least.” She struck a pose. “But that has never stopped me.”

“Then go.” Rarity pulled her in for a quick hug. “And thank you for doing this for me. I’ll never forget about it, Rainbow.”

“I’m doing it for us, Rarity.”

Rainbow steeled herself for the final time and shot upwards.

***

At first, she was piercing the heavens like a bullet. Winds parted before her, stricken by the speed of her wings and the conviction of her heart. Fifty, hundred, five hundred heights passed in a technicolor blur; Rainbow felt unbeatable. Looking at the gale surging after her, she wondered how she could’ve ever been afraid of it in the first place.

Then Rainbow Dash hit the snowstorm clouds.

Pegasi are taught to never fly directly into storm clouds, and snowstorms are even more dangerous. If the wind below could be called ruthless, the wind in the cloud was cruel and ravenous. It stopped her as surely as a brick wall, and she had to fight it for every flap of her wings, every inch of progress.

Yet progress she did make, and before long she was at the very heart of the cloud—that was when the other winds made themselves known. She dodged as much as she could afford, but a sudden gust scored an unlucky hit on her right wing, throwing her into an uncontrolled corkscrew spiral. Though she stabilized her trajectory at once, the second was all it took for her fears to resurface.

Rainbow found herself at the storm’s mercy. In her mind, every bump or strike was akin to running face-first into an anvil, and every gale brought detailed memories of falling.

So Rainbow did the only thing she could think of, and fell.

Guess I wasn’t good enough after all, she thought.

Rainbow Dash saw a gleaming blue light in the middle of the white plains below. It seemed to flicker in and out, fighting and struggling to remain visible through the curtain of snow, but it never went out.

“Rarity…”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed with single-minded focus. She closed her wings and turned the fall into a dive, accelerating rapidly. She pulled up sharply at the last moment, launching herself even faster with perfect flying technique. The clouds that stopped her previously couldn’t touch her now, and Rainbow dashed past them, scattering them.

The first thing she noticed was how bright the sky was. Shifting to a slow upside-down glide, Rainbow spent the next several seconds soaking in the sunlight. The air was still very cold, however, and she had no time left to waste. “I’ll be back soon, I promise!” she said to the heavens, turning towards the ground. The spirit kept his word—the tracks were easily recognizable as a line of clear skies that stretched from one horizon to another.

Having memorized their location, Rainbow Dash dived again. The descent proved to be even easier, and due to her previous flight dispersing some of the clouds, Rarity’s beacon of light was noticeable from a good distance. Rainbow smiled.

She spread her wings to lose some of her speed, but the maneuver was far less effective than she’d hoped. She quickly found that trying to pull up was completely futile as well. Rainbow glanced over her shoulder and blanched. She did not panic over seeing the shining layer of ice that coated her wings; she just spread her limbs as flat as she could to increase air friction and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.

The impact never came.

“You can open your eyes, darling.” Rarity levitated the pegasus to the ground and immediately jumped in with a hug.

Rainbow wheezed as air left her lungs from the strength of the embrace. “Rarity! A little… space!”

“Oh, right. I’m terribly sorry!” Rarity blushed and let go of Rainbow. She immediately took off two of her winter jackets and levitated them over. “Take these.”

“Won’t you be co—” Seeing the determination in Rarity’s eyes, Rainbow decided to drop the topic. Besides, even though she hated to admit it, she really needed something to warm her up, so she quickly slipped into the outfit. Not even a pegasus coat can protect a pony from getting caught in the middle of a snow cloud, and the clothes were very warm on top of being fancy-looking. She pointed to the west. “Rarity, I saw the tracks! They’re at most half an hour away from us.”

“They are?” Rarity’s ears perked up, and she pranced in one spot like a filly. “So we will make it in time! Thank you, Rainbow Dash; this is the best Hearth’s Warming gift I’ve received in years!”

“Aw, shucks, Rares. I just did what I had to. And please save your thanks until we’re somewhere warmer.”

Realizing how she reacted, Rarity stopped and cleared her throat politely. “Ahem. Yes, well. You’re right, of course.” Her eyes drifted to meet Rainbow’s. “But I must say that when I saw you facing your fears for me, valiantly charging into the heart of the very thing you never wanted to look at, I immediately realized that you’re the most incredible mare I’ve ever known.” Even as she felt herself blushing, Rarity didn’t look away. “Although I might have known that for a while already.”

“I… What does that mean, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked in an uncharacteristically meek whisper.

“I am not quite sure yet,” she admitted. Just then, a gust of the cold wind ruined the mood and made her shiver. “Let’s finish this conversation over a cup of hot cocoa in Ponyville.” Her voice quivered with uncertainty. “Only if you want to, naturally.”

Rainbow smiled and nodded in agreement. “You’ve got it, Rarity.”

Sunrise

“Rarity, look, the weather clears up here!” Rainbow Dash pulled the other mare with her. “We found it!”

Rarity smiled, barely stopping herself from collapsing in the patch of sunlight. With the last of her strength, she trotted in front of Rainbow and put an ear to the tracks. “And just in time. The train is coming!”

“You can tell that from listening to the tracks?” Rainbow flew closer and attempted to do the same. Surprise crossed her expression as soon as the rhythmic clatter of wheels reached her. “Whoa, cool! Where did you learn that?”

“Mystery novels, dear. And to think some ponies consider them useless!” She winked.

“But is it approaching us?”

Rarity nodded firmly. “Absolutely. The sound was growing louder by the second; it will be here in a few minutes.”

“I’ll make sure the driver notices us after the train gets close.” Rainbow let out a theatrical sigh that fooled nopony. “Guess we’ll have to wait for it in the Sun, then.”

“How terrible,” said Rarity, snuggling closer to her. They were both cold and exhausted, and somehow neither of them minded it under the gentle sunlight.

***

The doors to the compartment glowed pink before they opened, letting in a single mare with a relieved expression. Her mane was an unkempt mess of indigo hair, and she carried half a dozen thick tomes in her saddlebags.

“Rainbow Dash, Rarity, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Twilight rushed towards the two mares. “When the train left without you, I got worried about your safety! So I went and—“

Rarity tapped Twilight’s nose to interrupt her stream of words. “Slow down, dear; you’re doing it again.”

“Of course!” Twilight blushed and took three long breaths to calm down. “I was organizing a search party. The special train will depart for the Empire as soon as the weather gets better.”

Rarity and Rainbow exchanged a confused look. Rarity furrowed her brow and asked, “Shouldn’t you cancel that now, then?”

“The schedule, of course! I’ll be back soon!” Twilight turned around to run away, but Rainbow Dash stopped her.

“Hey, Twilight, before you go, can I borrow that middle book in your left saddlebag?

“You mean ‘The Forgotten Myths and Legends of the North’?” asked Twilight, doing a double take as she read the title aloud. “Sure. Is there any reason why you picked this one? I have other, more credible books with me.“

Rainbow avoided Twilight’s gaze, affecting a careless tone. “I was just curious.” She secretly nudged Rarity with a wing. “It’s not every day that a snowstorm does… this.”

“Oh, that’s the reason why I got it for myself!” Twilight levitated the book over to the table but shook her head before letting go of it. “I haven’t seen any remotely plausible explanations in it. It’s just a bunch of pseudo-historical conjectures!”

“If Rainbow is interested in a book that’s not an adventure story, I think I’d like to see it, too,” said Rarity.

“Well, suit yourselves.” Twilight set the book down. “But don’t blame me for wasting your time on a bunch of pointless, unfounded—”

Rarity cleared her throat and smiled. “Twilight, the search party.”

“Of course! I’ll be back in a moment!” Twilight galloped outside, leaving the duo alone.

Rainbow Dash waited until the doors closed behind Twilight. “It’s him, isn’t it?” She tapped the large, vaguely deer-shaped, winged creature on the cover. It was standing next to several other figures from stories attributed to most of the known cultures.

“I don’t believe the similarities could be a coincidence. He had the same conch on his neck when we met him.”

Rarity opened the book with her magic and quickly scanned its contents. The page devoted to the spirit had a much less flattering picture, as if whoever drew it only heard secondhand accounts and decided to interpret them as menacingly as possible.

“The tempestuous Griffonian deity of northern winds and winter is something of an exception,” she began reading the short excerpt next to the picture. “Portrayed as a deer, it is not known why he’s the sole member of the pantheon not represented by a griffon. Since the stories of his arrival date back to the time of conflict between the pegasi and griffons, the most common theory states that he comes from an older pegasi legend that is now lost to time. This theory is further supported by his name—Boreas does not share the etymological root with his griffon peers.” Rarity closed the book.

“Ha, I knew he looked familiar!”

“I suppose that does explain certain things,” Rarity agreed uncertainly. She pushed the book aside. “Should we… do something about this?”

Rainbow shook her head decisively. “We already promised him to keep quiet, Rares.”

“We did, didn’t we?” she asked with a sigh. “He didn’t seem too bad in his old age.”

Rainbow jumped onto the table and saluted the northern wastelands with a wing. “And with that, we’re done! Team R&R one, god of snow zero. Next stop: Ponyville!”

Rarity smiled at Rainbow’s antics. “We’re almost done.” She got off her seat and levitated one of the suitcases that she had entrusted to Twilight earlier. “Close your eyes, Rainbow.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow but complied with the request. “I hope it’s not something stupid,” she grumbled half-heartedly.

“I’ll let you be the judge. I was saving it for later, but I changed my mind.” Rarity took a red scarf from the suitcase and wrapped it around the pegasus’s neck. “Once again, for going through all of that with me, and for being the bravest and most loyal mare I know, thank you, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow startled back, blushing. “Oh jeez, you really didn’t have to.”

“I hope you still remember what I said yesterday. I’m not letting you go to your empty house on Hearth’s Warming of all days. You’re coming with me.”

“How could I forget? You’re more persistent than a snowstorm!” The two mares shared a laugh. Eventually, Rainbow Dash leaned closer and whispered, “That scarf, does it have any magical powers?”

“What?” Rarity blinked in confusion. “Well, no, but I made it from a material that remains warm even in the cold, and it should go well with your coat color since—”

“Rarity, I’m just pulling your leg,” she said. “Thanks, I love it.”

Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes. “Never change, Rainbow. Happy Hearth’s Warming.”

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Rares.”