4. Northern Travels

The group of eight ponies had only been on the ascent for an hour, and already the view was breathtaking. Vanhoover stood proudly on the right, the rest of Equestria laid out in front of them until it faded into the haze. Acres of green fields and lush forests beyond the river. On their side, pine trees and blue-green grass lined the landscape. And above, the snow-capped peaks of the Frozen North's border awaited.

This was a moment Trixie had been looking forward to for a while now. A chance to get to know other residents of Vanhoover, and see the full scope of her new home from the mountainside. Wind up there was stronger, fresher from the cold lands further on. It bore an icy chill of refreshment that left her both shivering and deeply inhaling. Northern air felt nice, not quite the same as the calmer, warm air of down south.

Fleethoof was leading this hike. His storm blue-grey coat stood out proudly against the rich blue sky. For an earth pony, he really made quite the heroic figure. And a very humble one at that. One could only admire how a heritage of proud pegasi and northern ponies cumulated into the figure before Trixie. But the admiration didn't go on much further for her. There was a certain level she didn't feel comfortable going beyond, not yet at least.

"There's a good spot to stop about ten minutes further on. The cave looks has views just like this, and it's sheltered from the wind." Everypony in the group perked up at the prospect of a break. Everypony had a saddlebag of food, except for Art Easel. Both saddlebags were crammed with art supplies and brushes. Nopony could blame her for wanting to capture the amazing views on canvas.

The ground beneath Trixie's hooves had been worn down into a reasonable track by the many hikers in Vanhoover's history. Early ponies of the town had used the crystal chunks found throughout the northern mountain range for tools. Now, what remained served as collectibles for foals who went on the larger hikes. This was a smaller occasion.

Snowflakes began to enter the wind blowing at them when they reached the inlet Fleethoof had mentioned. For the most part, they only caused a brief stinging sensation on exposed skin. The warm weather had deterred winter clothing initially. "Alright, let's set up camp. We'll be up at the peak just after noon at this pace." The sky's colour had barely any traces of red left from the sunrise at that point.

Trixie pulled together some pine branches and needles for a fire. Lighting it without magic would be near impossible, even in their shelter from the wind. An odd vacuum formed right beneath the overhang, which sucked any life out of her kindling. "I don't suppose any of you know a 'clear weather' spell?" Launching magic fireworks at the pile seemed rather drastic under any circumstance.

The wind did settle down for a bit at that moment. Enough at least for her to get the fire going before it picked up again. Soon the group had a nice blaze to warm up beside. Trixie moved to a spot above the alcove to sit by herself. There was still a level of awkwardness between her and the other ponies. Twilight's visit had her unsettled, despite how hard she tried to conceal it.

"You look preoccupied Trixie. Not unlike the first night, only ice falls instead of water." Fleethoof maintained a respectful expression as he stood between her and the oncoming wind. Such a humble, yet mystical pony. Coloured like a pegasus, enchanting like a unicorn, strong like an earth pony. An embodiment of such admirable traits. More importantly, he was always concerned for her well-being.

Trixie was lost in her admiration for some time before she realized a statement had been made, one that implied an answer. "I'm uh, thinking. Being up here, it makes me want to consider what I am doing in life." Family was one of many things she had come to consider. Twilight had brought up the issue, after years of leaving it buried to fade away altogether. Her entire life had been spent serving her own interests; family meant nothing for all that time.

"Twilight has done many things to serve Equestria. But she lacks something that you have. The determination to change, to become something better than what she was. You need not compare yourself to her." Trixie hadn't expected advice like that at all. Not that many in Vanhoover recognized Twilight Sparkle at a glance, yet Fleethoof seemed to know a lot about her.

The wind picked up again, enough to push Fleethoof off balance. His stumble brought him rather close to Trixie. She instinctively lifted a hoof up to keep him steady. For a moment, the contact brought warmth to both. "Uh, perhaps we should move back into shelter for now. But thank you for your kind words. I feel a bit better already." She withdrew her hoof to stand up. Nopony had noticed their brief moment of contact, much to her relief.

Green Tail made his way up from the group towards them. "Art, Stone, and Swift want to stay down here for the painting. The rest are ready to continue on." Fleethoof nodded on his way back down to retrieve his bags. Trixie took another glance up the mountain. Ice capped the peak in a sharp point, carved by the biting winds and stinging snow. They wouldn't be going for that height; a tiny plateau below the top was their target.

"Alright. Let's continue on then." Trixie retrieved her bags and joined the four other ponies when they continued up the mountain trail. The snow whipping in her face turned to harder ice. A simple melting spell kept her eyes safe from harm; the rest couldn't be said for her right side. Her ears started to sting from the painful whistle around her horn. Fleethoof and the others were unfazed.

A loud crack from below echoed through the mountains. Trixie immediately looked out over the side without thinking. Part of the face below them had begun to fall away in large chunks. "Fleethoof! It's falling apart!" The path between her and the other ponies crumbled into a hail of rocks, forming a chasm that continued to expand at an alarming rate.

They wouldn't make it to safety before the decay carried them down the mountain. Neither would she, but for once she couldn't care less about her own well-being. "I hope this works." She concentrated her magic onto the path Fleethoof was escaping on. The spell wouldn't hold it together for long, but they only needed a few more seconds advantage to stay ahead of the crumbling mountain.

A rush of tails was the last she saw of them before she found herself tumbling down the dark blue rock face. Stinging ice on the wind felt like nothing compared to the scratches and cuts brought on by sharp bits of flint and rock. Something hard smacked her horn during the descent. Her saddlebags caught on an outcropping of rock, adding food and the rest of her supplies to the tumble.

Water broke her fall. Ice cold water, freshly melted from the mountains she had fallen from. Trixie pulled herself free from the chilling river onto cold, blue green grass. Rocks continued to rain down on the opposite side of the slushy water. Echoes of her name ran through the freezing valley, Fleethoof had made it to safety. That was more important than anything else. Now, she merely needed to keep warm until the winds died down so the pegasi could come get her...