Chapter 10

The pony and I still haven’t been able to keep our eyes closed for even a minute. Not even the darkness of outside or the calming sounds of the wind can ease our minds. We’ve become so restless to the point to where we had both given up on sleeping, and instead we sit against the rigid tunnel walls just waiting for something to break the silence. Occasionally the pony will glance up at me from staring down at the icy ground, and once I look up at her she immediately directs her attention back down to the ground. I feel there’s something she wants to say to me but just doesn’t know how to put it into words. Perhaps now, since she doesn’t seem so aggressive against me, I can apologize for what I had done to her. After a few seconds to build up some courage to talk words finally leave my lips.

“I-I’m . . . I’m sorry about what I did.”

“Don’t apologize okay? Just-Just don’t. I need to think right now. I just need to think.”

She presses her hooves against her forehead to maybe push some thought into her mind followed by a heavy sigh. Feeling the need to give her some space I rest my voice and stare out of the tunnel. The snow continues to fall collecting to the ground, and the sky is nothing but a black blanket doused with milky clouds. It’s been snowing so much for so long that the tracks we left outside before we came in here have been filled in with snow. It doesn’t look like the tracks even existed. Staring out into the dark past the thin leafless trees I feel that a pair of white eyes will shine through to fill me with fear. If they were to find us here, what would we do? We have nowhere to run, nowhere else to hide, if they found us we would surely be done for. All these thoughts in my head make me feel like this tunnel isn’t really that much of a safe haven as I once saw it. Now it feels more like a trap. I think that we should leave and find a new spot to hide since my comfort here has gone away.

“Wait. . .” She mutters. “Th-There was only four of them.”

Startled I turn back towards the pony as her eyes are wide with surprise. She lifts her head up and stares straight at me while I awkwardly stare back.

“W-What?” I ask.

“My friends, there were only four of them at Sugarcube Corner. So that means  . . . she still might be out there!”

“Who? Who’s out there?” I ask anxiously and almost frightened.

“Fluttershy! One of my dearest friends! She has to be out there she just has to!”

The pony dashes for the exit of the tunnel, but then stops before me and looks me dead in the eyes as I lean flat against the tunnel wall alarmed.

“M-Maybe you’ve seen her?! You’ve been wandering about outside for quite some time haven’t you?!”

“Y-Yes.”

“Well then tell me did you see anypony?!”

“Uh-Uh. . .”

“She’s got a long pink mane, teal blue eyes and a yellow coat. She’s a Pegasus uhh . . . does that sound familiar at all to you?!”

With a moment to think back I can’t quite remember a pony of that description, until it finally hits me. I think I know exactly who she’s talking about. That mare that was frozen in ice along with all the forest wildlife she must’ve been the one! Her eyes were blue, and her coat was yellow. Her mane was long and pink, and I hadn’t really noticed it, but looking back I do believe I saw closed wings on her back. She must’ve been Fluttershy. If the pony were to find out about this I don’t even want to imagine the depression she would be set in. To know that her only other friend has been frozen in ice just like the rest would just destroy her heart. In her face I can see this sparkling hope about her that maybe one of her friends might still be alive, but the dreadful truth lies with me and with me it will stay. I cannot tell her, if I do then what hope does she have left? The only thing that’s keeping ‘me’ going is the belief that my friends might still be alive out there, and if I knew that they were frozen over in ice I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. ‘Besides, even if you were to free them they most certainly wouldn’t be alive. Just leave them; it’s too late for anything to be done at this point in time.’ That’s what Valiari had told me, and to know that if my friends were frozen in ice and no longer alive then what else do I have left? If this pony found out that her friend is frozen in ice I’m sure she would ask herself the same question diminishing all the hope that I see in her now.

“N-No, no I haven’t seen anyone like that. I’m sorry.” I stutter.

The pony draws back and nestles herself back in the dark against the tunnel wall with her head staring down. All her energy has disappeared, and now she is back to what she was before.

“But that doesn’t mean that she’s still not out there somewhere!” I suggest. “Maybe she’s still out there.”

“. . . I hope so. Fluttershy, I hope you’re okay.” She mutters. “You know she . . . really is somepony special. But she was always just so shy. She’s always so quiet and to herself most of the time, but when she’s around us we see a different side of her. A side that I hope I can see again. She would always care for the little critters of the forest. Well, both big and small actually. She would always be there for them to house them and nurture them, and they all loved her. She was a friend to all animals. She has a really kind heart, but it’s always so easily broken. Whenever she was upset she would hide in her home and just cry and cry. We hated when she was upset, so we would always be with her to calm her down. Tell her that no matter what we were always there. Then that side of her would soon come back. The side that we all wanted to see. When the tears would stop and a smile would show. . . I miss her so much. I miss them all.”

Speechless I begin to think back to when I saw the pony. She was with all those woodland animals. Perhaps she was trying to save them, lead them somewhere safe. The poor mare, and those poor animals, they never stood a chance. I almost feel jealous of the purple pony. To hear her recite all those memories of her friend it makes me feel ashamed of myself for not remembering much about my own friends despite the strong connection I feel for them. I almost don’t feel like a real friend to them. I want to remember, I want to relive those moments. To see if there was any moments just like she and her friends shared. I haven’t thought about it before, but it just popped into my mind. I am not like the others. Everyone seems to be completely different from me. I have hands, they have hooves. I walk on two legs, they have four. Everything about us is different. So then, what exactly am I? I lift my hands up and inspect them closely just to see them. Are these even my hands? Are these my clothes? Is this my life? So many questions repeat over and over in my mind and not a single one of them answered. My head is starting to ache, and out of sudden frustration I hide my hands away from my eyes and lay my head back against the wall. I turn to the pony who is still just sitting staring down at the ground. I can tell that she is in deep thought about something. Probably thinking about her friends.

“Hey.” I whisper to her.

“What is it?” She asks.

“I know that you probably still don’t believe me, but I just . . . wanted to know if. . .”

“. . . If what?” She asks almost impatiently.

“Can we . . . start over?” I ask.

“. . . Sure.”

“My name is Aireal . . . and you are?”

“Twilight, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight? W-What is that?”

“It’s the time after sunset or before dawn.”

“I’ve never seen that before. It must be a beautiful time of day.”

“It is, the gold and violet sky. Watching the stars start to peak through and the orange gathered around the sun. It really is something amazing.”

As she describes this ‘twilight’ I can see it almost perfectly in my head. The violet and orange mixing together as the sun sinks below the horizon. I have never seen the sun before, but I can see it all so clearly.

“I wonder if I’ll ever see it one day.”

“. . . You will. I’m sure you will.”

Twilight continues her routine of giving me an occasional suspicious glance. What could she be thinking about that involves me?

“So, if it’s true that you do not remember anything about who you are, where you are or anything you’ve been through; then why are you here?” She finally asks.

“I . . . I was just looking for my friends.”

“Yes I know, but where were you even planning on looking? Were you just aimlessly wandering around the snow in the freezing cold by yourself?”

I want to say that I don’t really feel like I’m by myself. I want to tell her about the voices I hear in my head, but I know she would never believe me. She would probably just consider me completely insane let alone a nuisance. It’s probably best that I keep the voices a secret for now, maybe if she starts to trust me more then I can tell her. Thinking about the voices puts me in a long pause as Twilight still waits for an answer.

“Hello? So are you just by yourself?” She asks impatiently.

“Huh? Oh-uh-I was headed to the . . . umm.”

“Where? Where were you going?”

“Th-The castle atop the mountain. I don’t really have any other options so I decided I’d go up there and see if I could find help. I thought that maybe my friends could be up there, maybe even the Princesses like he said.”

“Who?”

“My friend, Valiari. He said that he was planning on going up there himself, he thought that maybe the Princesses are still there.”

“Canterlot . . . hmm, if there really is any place to go it most certainly would be there. For all we know the Princesses could have survived. It just might be the only option. If not then I’m sure I could find ‘something’ helpful up there. Maybe a way to restore my magic. . .” She whispers to herself. “Okay listen, this just might be our only chance. We’re going to have to make the trip up to Canterlot. But it’s all the way atop the mountain; you must be insane to think that you were actually going to climb up there. The temperature would be so cold you would freeze to death in an instant. Not only that but the mountain is miles away from here. The only way we could make it is if we took the train, but I doubt with all the snow it will be able to move. Also I’m sure that all the gears and mechanisms are frozen and unable to move. There has to be another way, there just has to be. . .”

Twilight’s voice rides off to a whisper until stopping. Her face appears as though something has suddenly alarmed her as her eyes carefully scan the tunnel. She jolts and pulls my bag from around her back to the front of her. Opening the bag she lets out a gasp as a ray of green light shines into her eyes and against her cheeks. I watch in amazement as she lifts from the bag with her hoof the small green stone shinning anew just as it had before. Immediately I can feel it’s warmth as she and I stare hypnotized as that strange feeling overcomes us.

“Th-This. . . Where did you get this? This is a shard of the glowing mineral that had formed from that cavern. It truly is something spectacular. Never had I ever seen or even read about such a stone. . . Wait, if you have this then there certainly must be more back down below!”

“W-What do you mean? Do you know what it is?”

“Not entirely. I tried to study them when I first found them, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what they were. But this just might be the key to what we need. Quick get yourself ready, we’re going on a trip.”

“. . . Where?”

“To the caverns deep in the forest. This stone produces enough natural energy to sustain a constant state of warmth, so it should keep us temperate through the cold until we find them. I just need to remember where exactly they were. Was it . . . no, no, no it must’ve been. . . I remember this I know I do. Let’s just go and I’m sure I’ll find my way. When we get there I wonder if we’ll meet that mare again.”

“Mare? What mare?”

“You’ll see when we get there. If you’re telling the truth about not having any memory of anything, then I’m sure she would be the one to rejuvenate those memories. She might even know a way to stop all of this, or she might know who or what is responsible. I just hope it’s not too late.”

“Oohh Valiari?” A voice sings.

Valiari wakes from his weariness but has been trying to avoid sleeping afraid to close his eyes for too long.

“Huh? What? What is it now? Hm?” He asks irritably.

“It has just occurred to me that you are . . . thinking very heavily about something.”

“Well when you’re trapped behind bars with a complete lunatic you might know why.”

“ Ha! I had almost forgotten how funny you are Mister Valiari. But honestly now what is on your mind? Is it about your little pet? Upset that he might have frozen to death by now?”

Valiari sighs out of anger and decides to not say another word.

“. . . Or is it about something else. A certain . . . special somepony perhaps?”

Valiari’s heart jumps and his anger is replaced by nervousness.

“Yes, I thought so. ‘Tis a shame, it must feel awful to be separated from her for so long. I’m willing to bet that it’s killing you inside just to think of her. The bond you two must’ve shared all to be lost in such little time.”

“What would ‘you’ know about it? I have reason to believe that you haven’t shared such a bond with somepony. Even if you did I’m sure the stallion would have to be both insane and deaf to fall for you and your repulsive personality.”

“Hey!” The mare’s voice yells and echoes throughout the dark room shaking the very floor and walls. “You know nothing of me, and you never will. I do know what it feels like to be in love. I thought that it was the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced. Until it was snatched away from me! It’s because of love that I’ve become what I am! You don’t know what I had suffered and I will not sit here and waste my breath to explain it to you! As far as I’m concerned love is a foolish emotion. Equestria would be a much better place if it had just been lost for good.”

“How can you say that? Love is what holds Equestria together.”

“Pathetic. You ponies and your feeble emotions. Well Valiari, since you seem to have your mind set firm that ‘love is the greatest thing in the world’ then why don’t you tell me how you feel right now? Do you still love her?”

“Of course I do what kind of a ridiculous question is that?!”

“I see, do you remember . . . the first time you two met?”

“What?” He asks confusedly.

“Remember? You were on your way to your cottage until you were stopped by a quite striking mare. She wanted to know if you were going to the annual Sweetheart’s Day dance, and you persisted on not going. She asked you again and again begging you to come, and you didn’t understand why. Perhaps it was because everypony in town was there and she didn’t want you to be left alone, or maybe it was something different. You found something . . . special in her eyes. So you went, and once she found you the two of you spent the rest of the night together. What was her name again? It was . . .”

Valiari cannot believe his ears. Just how could she know about how they had first met? He never even spoke a word about his love yet she knows exactly how that day played out.

“Ah! Of course! How could I forget? Aria was her name, correct? Your dearest Aria.”

At the mention of her name his heart nearly skips a beat. Fear overtakes him as his curiosity rises wondering how she could possibly know her name.

“Just how do you know that? Who are you?!” Valiari asks.

“Valiari, the longer you’re here the more I find out about you! I can see everything that goes on in that little head of yours. Everything you think, and everything you imagine.”

Valiari keeps himself quiet and is in complete disbelief of what she says. There’s no way she could know everything he’s thinking. It’s just impossible.

“Like right now, you’re thinking: it’s just impossible. Well, I want you to know that it is very possible. Your memories and thoughts no longer belong to you. Now, they belong to me. . . It also seems that we have a couple of eavesdroppers listening to our conversation.”

“N-No! We weren’t listening I swear!” Candle Light’s Mother pleas.

“No I think you were listening in on our private little conversation, and I don’t appreciate that.”

“You leave them alone!” Valiari shouts.

“Well, since you’ve been listening, why don’t I share a little something else with you? You seem to also be a victim of this disgusting emotion called ‘love’. Yes, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Your beloved husband, and your daughter’s loving father.” Valiari can hear Candle Light’s Mother beginning to whimper with fear. “Can you imagine what he must be going through? The misery that’s overtaking him?”

Valiari wants to raise his voice and demand that the voice of the mare stop. He doesn’t want to just sit back and listen as she reduces their hearts down to puddles, but the longer he keeps quiet the more his hatred for the voice grows.

“But, you two need not worry about that right now. He hasn’t fallen prey to the cold just yet. And you Valiari, your little friend has been coming across a very strange stream of luck lately. I just might have to fix that.”

“There’s nothing that you can do that can stop him. He will find you, and he will put a stop to you.”

“Really now? Well then why don’t I put him to the test? Let’s see if I should really be afraid. Remember, anything that happens to him will be because of you. I will be back, until then I want you three to remain quiet. Oh, silly me of course you won’t. So I’ll just have my dear friend see to it that you three don’t conspire anything. Goodbye for now.”

Through the Moonlight shining through the only window in the room a thick chalky cloud of fog fazes through the glass as if it were never there. Valiari can hear hoofsteps coming closer and stopping in the center of the room. It may be too dark to see, but he already knows who is behind the shadows staring straight at him. He can’t help but regret ever saying anything. He doesn’t realize the trouble he’s gotten Aireal into, and regrets ever saying a word.

It feels like Twilight and I have been walking for hours. We’ve gone so far but everything still looks the same. She’s been leading the way and I’ve just been following behind as close as possible to keep warm with the stone in the bag. I feel like asking if I can at least have my bag back. I’d feel more comfortable if I had it with me, but I’d really rather not ask. I feel too fearful to. Before the storm seemed to have quieted down, but now it all suddenly picked back up. The wind is blowing in front of us slowing us down. Twilight tries to hide her face from the wind as her mane blows crazily in the air. I try to pull my collar over my cheeks to block out at least some of the wind. With all the holes and cuts in my clothes the air and snow just chills my body. The wind then starts to bring big bursts of strength stopping us in our tracks. It becomes so much harder to move even a few steps. My legs are freezing as I’m sure that Twilight’s are as well. Before we were running through the snow with such speed and now we’ve been reduced to a couple steps every few minutes. The wind has gotten so strong and loud it’s hard to hear anything as it fills my ears.

“It doesn’t look like this storm is going to let up anytime soon! We might have to spend the rest of the night in shelter! . . . Hey! What’s that over there?!” Twilight shouts.

Out in the distance using my hand to block some of the snow a small glimmering light appears beyond the snow.

“Is that . . . is that a campfire?!” She asks. “Come on!”

We push through the winds to find that there actually is a campfire built inside a little metal bowl that stands on three legs that are submerged in snow. Twilight inspects it confusedly examining the rusty bowl and the area around it.

“That’s strange . . . this snow it’s not as packed together as the rest of the vicinity. There’s tracks left behind. Somepony was here recently, but where could they have gone? I just don’t– . . . What’s that behind you?” She asks as she points her hoof out.

Turning around I see another small light out in the distance moving about in the air quite strangely. While staring at it another light appears next to it, and then another. Before I know it more lights appear all around us. Twilight and I glance at every light trying to figure out what they might be. The lights draw closer forming a complete circle around us. I can feel myself starting to panic, but Twilight looks on with suspicion and curiosity.

“Now!” A voice shouts from out in the distance.

At the order of the voice I hear something snap and the ground beneath me starts to lift up. Something underneath the snow hoists my body up into the air wrapping me in some kind of net. It all happens so fast I have no time to react or even to blink. Ropes extending from the net hang from a high tree keeping me trapped inside and up off the ground. I struggle and squirm but there is barely any room for me to move. Through the holes of the net I find that Twilight is safe and staring up at me with fright.

“We got it! We got it!” A voice shouts.

“Miss get away from it!” Shouts another.

The lights come even closer and are revealed to actually have been small oil lanterns being held by several dark figures. They all come to the campfire and as the shadows leave I see that they are just other ponies dressed in thick winter clothing such as coats with furry hoods and plaid scarves. One of them grabs Twilight by one of her front legs and pulls her away from me.

“Don’t worry Miss you’re safe now!” He says.

The other ponies all cautiously step closer towards me. They all stare at me with interest, but most of them have dark goggles that cover their eyes. They all set down their lanterns and begin asking each other questions.

“What is this thing?”

“I don’t know but I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It doesn’t seem to be violent unlike the other creatures we’ve seen.”

“Who cares? It’s a monster! I say we dump it off somewhere where it can’t escape!”

“Yeah! Let’s get rid of it!”

Suddenly I feel something hit me in the back. A sharp pain shoots through me as I try to see what I had been hit with. A pony with a long wooden stick continues to whack me with it as well as a few other ponies that join in. I start to shout in pain, but they continue regardless.

“What are you doing?!” Twilight shouts.

“Don’t worry we have it under control.” He assures her.

“No! You don’t understand he—”

“Hey wait! Stop stop!” A voice calls.

At the sound of the voice they all refrain from attacking me and focus their attention to the figure walking towards us. Through the darkness another pony dressed in a coat, scarf and goggles hurries over with his hooves outstretched for them to stop. The ponies all step away from me slowly as the other steps closer. I feel the fear building up inside me as everything has turned quiet and he stops near my face. He pulls down his scarf to reveal his vanilla white mouth and snout, and he pulls down his hood to reveal his messy orange mane. He lifts his goggles up to his forehead and stares at me in disbelief with his big brown eyes. Suddenly it becomes clear to me who he is. From the color of his mane to the color of his coat it is exactly as Candle Light’s Mother described, and is exactly as I saw it.

“It’s you . . . Cut it down.” He says.

“What? Are you nuts?”

“Just do it! I don’t think it’s here to cause harm. If anything, it might be able to help.”

“How do you know this thing isn’t dangerous?” One pony questions angrily.

“Because it helped me once! It helped my daughter through a very tough time, and it felt incredible to see her smile again. So would you please, cut it down?”

“And possibly endanger everypony here? No way.”

“Since when did you start calling the shots anyway? Last I checked you’re not the one in charge here.” Another pony questions.

“That’s right.” Says a deep stallion’s voice.

From the dark another pony emerges, and the first thing I notice is his tough and rugged posture. His coat is a navy blue, and his eyes are shielded by intimidating sun glasses. His chin bears a black goatee and his mane is short. It feels like there’s this aura about him that gives off the vibes of leadership.

“But, we should still listen to him.” He continues. “He says that this creature helped him before, and it looks to me that it’s not here to cause trouble unlike the other creatures we’ve encountered.”

“But sir we don’t—”

“Trust me, I believe him. Now go on and cut the rope.”

Reluctantly, the pony that had been arguing with him walks over to the thick tree and gnaws at the rope with his teeth. The rope snaps and I fall down into the snow still covered by the net. I scramble around to get the net completely off of me and try to stand, but my body feels bruised from all the bashing of the sticks. All the ponies that were gathered around me have backed away as I climb to my feet. The stallion with the glasses looks out in the distance and checks around the skies.

“This storm is going to be going on for quite some time. We should all get to our tents and we’ll be ready to move in the morning.” He announces.

“Um excuse me. I-I was just wondering who you all are exactly. Especially you . . . sir.” Twilight asks.

“My name is Adarrell, and all of us are survivors of this blasted winter. We’ve been going around seeing if we can find any others. And who might you be Miss?”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, from Ponyville.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Miss Sparkle. Uh . . . what exactly is ‘that’?” He asks.

“Don’t worry he’s . . .” Twilight pauses and stares at me as she is trying to decide upon an answer. “. . . He’s friendly.”

At Twilight’s answer I can feel my heart light up. I think I’ve finally proven to her that I can be trusted, but I feel she is still leery about me. Still, I’m thankful to hear those words.

“Well, I sure hope so. Why don’t you follow us, we’ll take you and your . . . ‘friend’ to a tent. We’ll get better acquainted along the way. ”