Chapter 11

Adarrell guides Twilight, the stallion with the orange mane and I through the storm. He takes us through a series of tents being held down by metal pegs that penetrate through the snow to reach the soil. The tents’ fabric waves and sways in the wind as a few of the ponies from the group unzip the entrances and hurry inside. Their lanterns light up the beige fabric from within as their shadows move about in the tent. I can hear ponies coughing heavily within the tents. At one tent I see that a pony has a little fire and an old pot being held above it as steam grows from the top. The pony pours some liquid into a cup and brings it inside. Turning back I see that some of the other ponies are busy setting back up the net trap. They stop for a second to stare at me, and their expressions are those of suspicion. The one pony that argued with these two stallions stares at me with not just suspicion, but also anger. Out of fear I whip my attention back in front of me only to catch the stares of other passing ponies. I notice that the stallion with the orange mane is staring back at me, and as soon as we meet eye to eye he turns his attention away.

“So Mister Adarrell, sir, just who are all these ponies?” Twilight asks.

“Ponies from nearly everywhere. We’ve made several consecutive stops at different towns and cities to see if we can find anypony lucky enough to survive. So far, these are all that remain. There uhh . . . used to be a few others. But we . . . we lost them.”

“Goodness I-I’m sorry. How did you lose them-if you don’t mind me asking?”

“One got lost in a heavy storm. We kept calling her name and searching, but we never found her. The others they . . . they were taken.”

“By what?”

“That’s the same question I keep asking myself. I don’t know what they were. It was so snowy I could barely see anything. But I know there was more than one, much more. They kept making these strange sounds that made my ears ache. If only I could find ‘em and just . . . !” Adarrell stops and stomps the ground out of anger before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. “Well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“What’s the matter with everypony? All I hear is coughing from almost every tent.”

“Many of them are sick.”

“A cold?”

“I don’t think so. Every day they get worse. Their temperature goes up, coughing doesn’t stop and they’re all too weak to even walk. We’ve tried everything we can, but no matter what we do it doesn’t seem to help. We don’t have any medicine. Out of every town we’ve been to their hospitals were either destroyed or buried in snow and ice. If we can’t find medicine for them soon, I don’t think they can handle this for much longer. Not only that, but we’re running low on food rations. We would’ve been goners a while ago if wasn’t for Wick Flame over here. He—”

“Sir, please.” The stallion with the orange mane interrupts.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry I uh wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Twilight whispers to Adarrell.

“He doesn’t like to talk about what happened.”

“What happened?”

“It’s about his family, look I’m sorry but I don’t think I should be talking about it behind his back.”

“No it’s okay, I understand.”

“. . . Well, here we are. Let’s all get inside; the cold is just getting worse.”

Twilight enters the tent first, then Wick Flame and Adarrell. Before I can enter Adarrell stops me near the entrance holding his hoof out to me.

“Now hold on there Two-Legs, Miss Sparkle should we keep this thing on a leash or something? I don’t know what it is and I don’t want it going off somewhere.” Asks Adarrell.

“Uh . . . well, I mean . . . I don’t think—”

“I’ll just keep it on a leash anyway, just in case.”

“But sir I assure you it won’t do anything! I need to talk to it to see if . . .” Wick Flame says as his voice drags off into silence.

“Flame, look. Don’t get me wrong, I trust you. But I have no idea what this thing is! I’m going purely off your word here, but I need you to respect my decisions. We’ll tie it up just to be safe, then I’ll let you have your time with it okay? I understand you miss your family, but as much as I hate to admit it that pony is right. We can’t just possibly endanger all of us by bringing in this thing without knowing what it is.”

“But we shouldn’t just leave it out in the cold!”

“It’ll be fine. It’s an animal right? So it should be able to stand out in the cold for a little while. Look let’s just see what exactly Miss Sparkle’s story is and then you can see if you can get anything out of this thing.”

“. . . Yes sir.”

“Alright then, now just get in the tent for a few minutes while I tie up this thing.”

Wick Flame gives me a short stare before leaving and pushing past the tent’s door flaps. Adarrell reaches in the tent and retrieves a rope. He walks me over to nearby tree and ties it around my wrists and then to the trunk of the tree.

“I don’t know what you are, but I hope I’m doing the right thing trusting him.” He says as he ties the knots in the rope. “You know sometimes I think he’s just losing it. To know that your family is somewhere out there in the cold possibly dead or dying, it must be horrible. It must be driving him mad, poor guy. At least he’s found some hope, and ‘I’ hope that you, whatever you are, can help him. . . All right, that should do it. Now don’t you go anywhere, un-der-stand?”

Because of how he delivers the word ‘understand’ he must believe that I’m not intelligent enough to understand him, so I keep quiet just to spite him. He waits for an answer but eventually gives up with a sigh and enters the tent with Twilight and Wick Flame. Now I stand in the cold air as the snow trickles down behind my collar and chills my neck. Without my hands in my pockets they start suffering from the cold as they are turning pink and numb. I can hear them talking to each other in the tent, so I move as close as I can to hear clearly what it is they are saying. The light from one of their lanterns creates their silhouettes against the tent walls.

“So, Miss Sparkle, before we get into anything regarding our situation could you maybe shed some light as to what that thing is outside?” Asks Adarrell.

“Well, he’s—”

“It’s a he? Really?”

“Yes I am positive, and he’s not necessarily . . . i-it’s hard to explain.”

“Should we be worried about it? Should we be . . . I don’t know, careful?”

“Well, I mean . . .” Twilight’s voice then converts to an inaudible whisper, I can barely make out a single word she’s saying.

“Okay, well we’ll—”

“Shh! He might hear you!” Twilight tries to urgently whisper.

They continue whispering for a while until I give up on trying to find the words they’re saying. I just can’t help but think about what they might be talking about. Do they not trust me? Are they preparing something for me? Is Twilight telling them something I should know? I almost feel frustrated by the fact that she still won’t trust me.

“Now, Miss Sparkle just who are you exactly?” Adarrell asks.

“Well like I said I live in Ponyville, and I am a student of Princess Celestia.”

“The Princess eh? Well, that must be something.”

“And what about you sir? Who are you?”

“Me? Well I’m from Baltimare, and I was a boat captain.”

“Really?”

“That’s right; I remember I was sailing over the calm waters enjoying the cool fall breeze. I wanted to enjoy the water before winter came, but as I was sailing I saw something peculiar ahead. A thick cloud of white, and the longer I looked the bigger it grew and the closer it came. It consumed everything around it with a loud rumbling sound. I’d never been so scared in my life, so I trotted down into the hull and hid. My boat was rocking violently back and forth, and I could hear these strong winds just pushing against the walls. Then all of a sudden the boat stopped, everything got calm. I was too afraid to go up and see the outside so I gave it a while to be sure that it was definitely safe. I waited and waited; soon I finally forced myself out from the corner and went to check the bow. But the door was stuck, and after I kicked it open a gust of cold air hit me. When I walked up the steps and saw the outside I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was snowing, and everything around me including the trees and my boat were covered in the stuff. I tried to get my boat moving, but I soon realized that the water had frozen over and my boat was stuck in it. Not only that, but somehow the ice covered the whole boat! The only option I had was to leave the boat and look for help. From there I traveled town to town and soon I found some survivors. Along the way we collected any supplies we could find and anypony else that might be in trouble. Just what exactly is up with this cold anyway? It just came out of nowhere!”

“Seems like you don’t know much more about this than I do.”

“On the contrary, we actually did find something out.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. It’s something I’ve noticed. That whenever we came into contact with these strange creatures, whenever the cold threatened us to the point of freezing to death.”

I hear something metal clank inside the tent.

“This here is what you need.” He says.

“A lantern?”

“Yes, but not only because you can see through the dark. These are what have been keeping us alive.”

“. . . I’m still not understanding.”

“Remember when I told you that we’ve lost a few of our group members?”

“Yes, a-and I’m very sorry.”

“But I realized, the ones that mysteriously disappeared, their lanterns ran out of oil just before they did.”

“What?”

“Not only that, but when we heard these strange sounds out in the woods and a few sets of white eyes would be poking through the dark, we all turned on our lanterns and suddenly they were gone! I think that light-warmth! Warmth is what’s keeping them away.”

“Warmth . . . yeah, that makes sense. So as long as we have a source of heat then we should be safe.”

“Precisely, so here, I want you to take this.”

I hear Adarrell hand over the metal object to Twilight as it continues to clank around.

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing. So, you’re a unicorn huh? And for being a student of the Princess you must know some spells or something right?”

“Yes, I do know quite a few high level spells.”

“But if you’re just like the other unicorns we have here your magic mustn’t be working.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Great.”

“. . . Well, did you or anypony have some kind of plan? Anything?”

“Well we did have one plan, but we found that it’s not really going to work.”

I hear the sound of a large piece of paper crumpling and unfolding.

“We came from Baltimare passed Phillydelphia all the way down here . . . our idea was to head for the train station and see if we can get the train moving to maybe travel quicker and easier.” He says.

“And what happened?”

“Well we thought our pal Nuts-n-Bolts could maybe fix it up and get it running, but everything was just rusted and frozen to the point to where the metal was just so brittle that he couldn’t get it fixed. We had a back-up plan but I doubt it’ll be any help.”

As I’m listening I hear something moving about in the snow nearby. I turn my head and see that a mare is standing in the snow staring at me. The hood of her coat is pulled over her head as she tries to hide her snout from the cold air. From what I can tell her coat is a dark teal, and her mane is black. She continues walking passed me giving me an occasional glance. She enters the tent where Adarrell, Twilight, and Wick Flame are interrupting Adarrell’s conversation.

“Um . . . Sorry to interrupt you but . . .”

“Oh don’t worry about it you’re not interrupting anything. What? What is it? Is something wrong?” He asks anxiously.

“It’s my sister; she’s not doing so well.”

“What’s she feeling now?”

“Her fever’s getting worse and-and so is her coughing. She can’t get to sleep and she can barely even move a hoof.”

“Okay, just calm down. Let’s go check up on her and see what we can do.” Says Adarrell. “Flame you stay here with Miss Sparkle while we’re gone, and please don’t mess around with that thing outside until I get back alright?”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright, come on let’s see your sister.”

Adarrell and the mare leave the tent and walk by me. The both of them give me a quick look as they pass by. They walk all the way to another tent a bit of a long distance away. The cold is becoming unbearable. I can barely feel my hands or my feet. With the holes in my pants the air is flowing right through them freezing my knees. So much snow has gathered at the top of my head that even turning my head shakes some of the icy flakes off. Ready to go ahead and listen for anything that Wick Flame might say the tent sounds suspiciously quiet. Then Wick Flame pokes his head out from the door flaps of the tent checking left and right. He hurries out of the tent and towards me. Frantically he starts to unravel the knots in the rope around my wrists.

“I need your help. You’re probably the only one that can. Come inside the tent with me, you must be freezing out here. Forgive Adarrell it’s just . . . after losing a few of our group members he’s been . . . well, upset. And I don’t blame him. After what’s happened he’s not going to trust a creature from the woods easily. Come on, let’s hurry before he gets back.” Wick Flame urges.

I follow him inside the tent feeling the immediate relief of warmth. Lying across the floor of the tent is a map with X’s drawn on certain locations in red marker. Twilight sees me come in as a shocked expression comes upon her face.

“What are you doing?! Adarrell said to leave him out there!” Twilight says.

“Don’t worry okay? I just want to talk to him for a little.”

“You might want to hurry! He’ll be back at any moment! I’ll keep watch to see if he’s coming.” Says Twilight making her way to the door flaps.

“Thank you. . . Now, I have so many things to ask you. M-My daughter, do you remember her?”

“Yes, I-I do.”

“And you know who I am right?”

“Yes you’re-you’re her Father.”

“Okay, now tell me. Have you seen her at all?”

“Y-Yes I have.”

“You have?! Oh thank goodness, where? Where was she? Was she with her Mother?”

“Yes she was . . . but.”

“But? But what? What?” He asks anxiously.

“Th-They were home but then . . . they disappeared.”

“No. . . No, no, no, no! This can’t be happening it just can’t be!” Wick Flame says angrily as he sits himself down in the corner of the tent. “. . . Who knows what’s happened to them now?” He says.

Wick Flame pauses, and then speaks again.

“You know, I can’t stop thinking about the day you and that magician came to town. I remember the whole night. ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’, indeed she was. Her tricks were spectacular, and she made my daughter laugh and smile in a way that I haven’t seen in months. Then she brought you onto the stage. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you, but when Trixie called on my daughter as a volunteer I began to feel afraid. I didn’t want her to go, but that look on her face, I wanted it to stay. So I let her go, but I kept a careful eye on the two of you. You two talked, and when she came back she was even happier than before. I wanted to thank her for the amazing show, but everypony else was crowding her, so I couldn’t. It truly was the best day we’ve had in a long time, and she just couldn’t stop talking about it. It felt amazing to see my daughter so happy. She told me she even had dreams of that night. There was one in particular that stuck in my head the most. She said she saw her and I in the crowd watching Trixie. She said she casted a spell that made everything shiny. Our shacks were transformed into actual houses clean and without rust, and all of us in the crowd wore classy clothing instead of torn rags. She brought you onto the stage, and then she called her up. You and Trixie smiled and said to her: ‘We have something special just for you, a gift you’ve wanted for so long.’ The curtains behind you two parted, and her mother stepped towards her. She said she looked so happy and healthy, and then the two of them hugged. She said the both of them were crying, and just listening to her dream made me start to cry too. You and Trixie made her so happy; the both of you restored her faith in things. You gave her that strange glowing rock, she was so ecstatic when she held it in her hoof. When we got home she didn’t keep the rock for herself you know, she gave it to her mother hoping that she would get better soon from her illness. She didn’t know the truth, but I did. There was no way she would live much longer. She told you on the stage that I always cried, and I did. Every time I saw my wife I just couldn’t hold it back. It seemed like the end was drawing near . . . but then a miracle happened. Her coughing started to stop, and her voice sounded strong again. Soon she was up out of that bed and trotting around with Candle Light outside. I couldn’t believe it. Her dream, and mine, came true; she got her Mother back. She always . . . wished you two would come back, and so did I. Just so I could thank the both of you for all that you’ve done. Now that you’re here I can finally say: thank you, thank you so much.”

“Y-You’re welcome.” I say trying to keep the tears away.

“And where is Trixie? Is she with you?”

“N-No, no she’s not.” I say saddened. “I’ve been trying to find her, but I haven’t yet.”

“You’ve lost her? Oh I’m . . . I’m sorry to hear that. I hope she’s okay. I mean she’s ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ right? I’m sure she’s fine, you’ll find her eventually. I wish I could say the same for my family, but I . . . I don’t think I’ll ever get to see them again.” He says.

“B-But I’ll find them! I’ve been looking!” I object.

“. . . What is your name again?”

“Aireal.”

“Well, Aireal, it’s kind of you to say that you’ve been looking, but I don’t think we’re ever going to find them. I knew it; I knew I shouldn’t have left them alone, but we needed food so what other choice did I have?”

“. . . It’s not your fault.” Says Twilight jumping into the conversation.

“How? Can you imagine what my family must be going through? For all I know they’re probably . . . !”

“But at the same time they’re probably not! It took me a while to understand this, but you just might be the only hope they have left. If you were their then you would have suffered the same fate as them, but because you’re here you are the only one that can save them. Trust me, I know what you’re going through.”

“How do you know what it’s like?”

“Because I’ve lost four close friends of mine, we were so close you might as well call us family. Now they’re just statues of ice, but I still feel they can be saved. Not only that, but I still have two more friends out there that need me.”

“Really? Who are they?”

“My friends Fluttershy and Spike. I haven’t found either of them yet, so I’m hoping they’re still out there somewhere.”

“But what is keeping you going? How come you haven’t given up?”

“. . . I almost did, if it wasn’t for a certain someone.” Twilight then looks at me with a smile, then back at Wick Flame. “It’s a . . . a feeling that you know you can do something. It doesn’t matter if you’re not strong enough, you just have to remind yourself that it’s not too late and with that you have the strength to keep going.”

Wick Flame lowers his head pondering about Twilight’s words.

“All of us are looking for the same thing, the ones that we hold dear to us. And if we work together we just might find them! So, who’s going to give up? I know I’m not.”

“I’m not going to give up-never!” I say.

“Flame?”

“. . . You’re right, I can’t just give up. They are my world and I’m not just going to let them go. So no, I won’t give up, I can’t.”

“Then let’s find them, all of them. I have a plan, but it’s risky.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes.” Says Wick Flame.

“Okay, well here it is—”

“Wait! Adarrell! Is he on his way back yet?”

Twilight hurries back over to the door flaps and glances left and right.

“No I don’t see him.”

“He should be back soon. Aireal quick back outside!” Wick Flame urges.

Both Twilight and Wick Flame hurry me outside back into the cold and frantically start retying the rope around my wrists. Once the knots are tied Wick Flame hurries back into the tent. Twilight stays and looks at me.

“I hope the knots aren’t too tight. I’m sorry about leaving you out here but we should just do as Adarrell says so that he can trust us.”

Just as she turns to leave she whips back around.

“Oh! One more thing. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For restoring my faith in things.”

With my heart feeling alighted I nod to her. Twilight then hurries into the tent as I look around the group of tents for Adarrell. I don’t see him yet, but out in the distance I see him emerge from the tent he entered. He walks towards me with a worried expression on his face.

“Well, you’re still here huh? That’s a surprise. Just wait there a little bit longer alright Two-Legs?”

On that note he enters the tent with Twilight and Wick Flame.

“Adarrell! How’s her sister?” Wick Flame asks.

“She’s even worse. She’s burning up pretty bad, and I don’t feel safe with her sister being around her so much. She just might catch what she’s got herself.”

“Will she be okay?” Twilight asks.

“It’s . . . hard to tell. . . Miss Sparkle are you alright?”

“Huh? What?”

“It seemed like you were dozing off there. Are you tired?”

“Oh, no I was just thinking.”

“I see, so back to what we were discussing. Oh right, so I had a back-up plan but I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. What about you and that thing outside? Where exactly were you two going?”

“Well we were eventually going to head up to Canterlot.”

“All the way up there?! But why?”

“There’s a chance that the Princesses might still be up there, or maybe something else that can help us.”

“Canterlot eh? Sounds like a good idea actually, I can’t think of any better place to go. Alright, let’s go for it. However, it’s a long way up there. I don’t think we’ll be able to make it there on hoof, but . . . I think our back-up plan is the only way to ensure our safety.”

“Well, what’s the back-up plan?”

“Seeing as how if we were to walk there we would most definitely run out of supplies and most likely freeze to death our back-up plan, since the train near Ponyville isn’t working, then maybe the other train could work.”

“Other train?” Asks Twilight.

“That’s right. There’s another one right here.”

I then hear Adarrell mark something on the map.

“There will be a train station called Blue Line Train Station. There should be a train there, and the best part is that the station is an enclosed building unlike the one here near Ponyville. So that means that—”

“The chances of it being functional are much higher!” Twilight blurts excitedly.

“Exactly. It’s a bit far away, but I think we can make it. What do you two think? Sound like a plan?”

“I think it’s our best bet. If we find it and it works we can travel to Canterlot safely.” Says Twilight.

“Yeah, I’m in.” Says Wick Flame.

“Alright! Then let’s go for it. We just have to cut through Everfree forest and passed the big gorge.”

I hear Adarrell make several marks on the map.

“This is our route, it’s the shortest way there, but the danger is much higher. I’m going to go let everypony in on the plan, remember: keep your lanterns with you at all times.”

“Yes sir.” Says Wick Flame.

“When do you think is a good time to head out?”

“How about tomorrow morning? I think everypony is going to need the rest.” Says Twilight.

“Right, I’ll have some ponies take shifts for the night to be on the lookout for any danger. Umm Miss Sparkle? What do we do about that thing? Should we tie it up somewhere or what?”

“No I . . . I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Well, I don’t see it as any threat, so that’s fine. But if you don’t mind I’d like to have whichever pony in charge of the night shift keep a close eye on your tent just to be safe. We don’t have that many extra tents, so you’ll have to share with it.”

“That’s fine, and no I don’t mind.”

“Alright, then let’s go and get some rest. Flame, you can go ahead and have your time with it if you want.”

“Thank you sir.” Says Wick Flame.

“Well, goodnight you two. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Adarrell leaves the tent and walks over to me. He then starts to untie the rope giving me a solemn stare.

“I hope you don’t make me regret this. I’m still going to keep an eye on you. But seeing as how you’ve just been patiently sitting out here I think I can trust you.”

“. . . Thank you.” I say.

“Ah! So you really can talk! Well umm . . . you’re welcome. I’m sorry for tying you up out here, and I hope you can understand. I just care for the safety of the group, but I swear if something happens to anypony over the course of tonight I know exactly who to blame. Do we understand each other?” He asks as I nod my head. “Good.”

Twilight and Wick Flame emerge from the tent just as Adarrell finishes untying the knots.

“Ah, Flame, could you go ahead and set up a tent for these two?”

“Sure.”

As Wick Flame re-enters the tent Adarrell leaves and enters a different tent amongst the group.

“Aireal.” Says Twilight. “I was thinking about the story Wick Flame told us, about his wife miraculously gaining back her health, I have a feeling that this stone had something to do with it. So what I’m going to do is test it, I’m going to go in the tent with the ill sister and hide the stone somewhere. By morning we’ll see if she is feeling any better. If so then we could use this stone to heal everypony else in the group.”

Wick Flame exits the tent with a beige bag around his waist.

“Alright, let’s go find a spot to set this up.” He says.

Wick Flame leads the way down passed other tents as we follow closely behind. We find a nice wide open space big enough for the tent.

“This’ll do.” Says Wick Flame.

He takes off the bag and lays it down in the snow. Unzipping it he pulls out the walls that make up the tent, and in a matter of time all of us help out in setting up the tent. We lay it out across the snow and stick the metal pegs through the holes in the corners and into the ground. We use these thin long flexible sticks and slide them into little sockets in the tent. We prop up the walls and then our tent is completed.

“Thanks for the help.” Says Wick Flame.

“It’s no trouble.” Says Twilight.

“Well, goodnight to the both of you.”

“You too.”

Wick Flame then leaves on his way to his own tent. Twilight and I unzip the door of the tent and crawl inside. It’s definitely big enough for the both of us, and it feels relaxing to finally be out of the constant icy wind.

“Okay, you stay here. I’m going to go hide the stone in that mare’s tent. I’ll be back in a moment. Here, you probably want your bag back.” Says Twilight.

She takes off the bag and pulls out the glowing stone. Grabbing the bag that was used to carry the tent she drops it inside and leaves the tent. I reach out, grab my bag and sit with it in my lap. I undue the rope and peer inside. Everything is still there: Trixie’s hat, the note, the flower, the box of matches and the book. I remember where I left off in the book, I wonder what happens next. Eager to read I pull out the book and find the page that I left off at. Here we are “Chapter Two: A Wish Come True?”

After that rainy night in the café it seemed that Dawston and Meriva had connected instantly. For the rest of the night they sat at that table talking and learning about each other. Their conversations flowed like a sparkling stream without an end. Alas the need for sleep had taken over Meriva, but she tried her hardest to stay awake and talk to him. Dawston noticed this and offered to walk her home which she happily accepted. Before they left the café Giano watched them leave with a proud smile across his face. Her wish was finally answered; he knew it was young love, he’s seen it all the time in his years in the café. This time he was happy to have been a part of bringing two hearts together. But, he couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow someway it would end unexpectedly like other relationships he’s seen. He didn’t want these thoughts to spoil the moment, so he ignored them and continued his duty of keeping the counter clean and waiting for any customers that might enter his café.

Dawston and Meriva galloped to her home as he threw his jacket over her to keep her dry from the rain. For them it was fun as they laughed the entire way. Once they reached Meriva’s front porch their excitement calmed as they knew it was time to part for the time being. Dawston said his goodbye, but Meriva caught him asking him when they could meet up again. Dawston happily replied.

“How about tomorrow? Maybe a walk in that park I’ve seen . . . Bloom Park I think the name of it is?”

“Yeah! I-I go there all the time.”

“Alright so I guess I’ll stop by at . . . noon?”

“Sounds great! I’ll see you then!”

“Great! Well, I should get going now before I’m completely soaked. Bye Meriva.”

“Yeah, bye.”

Meriva watches him disappear in the dark and the falling rain as she then starts to think to herself about how incredible this night was. It started out so gloomy, and now it’s turned into a splendor of feeling in rain. She hurried to bed ready to drift off to her dream world, but her tiredness had mysteriously disappeared. She restlessly tossed and turned thinking about tomorrow. Eventually she had finally drifted off into a deep sleep. The next morning they were together for the entire afternoon at Bloom Park. They watched the lake shimmer and the trees wave. The longer they were together the closer they became. Days and days passed, and during that time Meriva rarely saw Giano back at the café. Dawston had been taking her to other restaurants for dinner or lunch. They went to one particular restaurant that was supposed to be a pretty classy place, so Dawston felt it would be the perfect place. They sat down at a round table sheeted in a big white tablecloth with a candle in the center. A waiter came by to take their order and drop off their drinks. Dawston dressed in his only black suit and tie, as Meriva dressed in a lovely white dress decorated with doily lining at the end of her skirt. It was there that in the middle of a conversation they suddenly stopped and stared at each other. Their hearts were filling to the brim with nervousness, and their stomachs with butterflies. Dawston leaned forward, and so did Meriva. It was then that they shared their first kiss. It was a feeling that Meriva will never forget, it was at that moment she knew for sure that he was the one; the one that she had been looking for all this time.

Giano knew that she would be spending a lot of her time with him, but at the same time he did want to see his friend again at least once in a while. After everything they’ve been through he thought that at least she would stop by once or twice during the week. During all this time he began to delve deeper into his thoughts about Dawston. He had only met him once, but to him something didn’t feel right. The more he thought about it the more odd it seemed. He knows absolutely nothing about Dawston except for the fact that he is new to the town. He seemed to come out of nowhere. So why did he come here? What was wrong with his old town? How could the two of them just connect so quickly and easily? It was perfect, or was it a little too perfect? Questions flooded Giano’s mind, but then he came to the realization that maybe he was just jealous. Jealous that Dawston had been taking all of Meriva’s attention. He felt wrong, he should be happy for his friend, but he just couldn’t shake the weariness. He stayed up late one night in his café wiping an already shining countertop. He never acted the same around his customers. He tried to be his cheerful jovial self, but with the feeling that a wall had been built between him and Meriva turned him gloomy. Then finally one night Meriva stepped into his café, and he was immediately shot with enthusiasm.

“Meriva! I haven’t seen you in such a long time!” He exclaims.

“Hi Giano! How’ve you been?”

“Oh well, you know. Same old same old I suppose.”

“Oh Giano I’m sorry I haven’t been around, but it’s just Dawston and I have really bonded and I just want to spend any time I can with him.”

“I understand Meriva, you don’t need to explain yourself.”

“So, you’re not upset?”

“Of course not. Why would I be?”

Giano knew he was lying. He wanted to say that she could at least stop by a little more often, but he didn’t want to start any kind of argument.

“Well guess what?” Meriva asks smiling.

“What?”

“Dawston invited me to go on a little trip with him.”

“Oh really? Where?”

“Up to the Snowy Mountains!”

“The Snowy Mountains?”

“That’s right! We’re going to make a little hike up there. He said that when you get high enough and look out to the horizon it’s a view unlike any other! Oh I’m so excited.”

“But, that sounds pretty dangerous you know. I mean it’s always a blizzard up there, something could happen.”

“Oh I’m not worried; Dawston said it’s perfectly safe. He said he’s made trips there before.”

“Well, that sounds wonderful. It seems you two have really gotten close.”

“Oh come on don’t sound like that.”

“Like what?”

“You know exactly what. Giano you and I are and always will be friends no matter what, okay?”

“I know . . . but. . .”

“But what?”

“It’s just . . . I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”

“Giano I already told you there is nothing to worry about! I’ll be just fine.”

“It’s not just that, it’s about Dawston.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Now don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t . . . I don’t have a good feeling about him.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Meriva, I just don’t think he’s right for you.”

“Not right? In case you forgot ‘you’ were the one that suggested we get together in the first place!” She says with her tone now getting defensive.

“I know, but now it’s just—”

“Also! I happen to really like Dawston. I think I might even love him! For once in my life something finally goes right and you’re saying I should just give it up?!”

“Meriva I don’t want to argue, okay? I just think—”

“You want to know what I think? I think you’re just jealous.”

Giano was afraid that she would go there.

“That’s not what it is Meriva!”

“No I think that’s exactly what it is. You’re jealous that I’ve been spending all my time with Dawston; why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“Meriva that’s not true-of course I’m happy for you! But—”

“But what?! I should just leave Dawston because you have a ‘feeling’ that there’s something wrong with him? You just think you’re always right! Well you know what Giano, this time you’re wrong, and I’m not going to let you split him and I apart.” She says promptly as she turns and heads for the front door of the café.

“Meriva! Just wait a second!” Giano desperately calls.

“Goodbye Giano, you were a good friend.”

“Meriva!”

Meriva ignores Giano’s call of her name and trots out of the café into the night. Running out of breath she stops and turns her head back to the café. She can feel a tear drip down her cheek, but she wipes it away and faces forward. She tries to keep herself angry, but the sadness still hides behind her eyes. No matter how much she doesn’t want to she forces herself to walk as far as she can from the café. Giano feels he’s made a huge mistake. The last thing he wanted was to break up their friendship. Perhaps he really is wrong, maybe Dawston isn’t who he thought he was. Giano knows it’s too late for an apology, it wouldn’t solve anything. Especially after the things he’s said, she will never forgive him. Giano laid his head down beneath his hooves against the countertop. Thankfully nopony else came into the café, or else they would have heard him crying.

The chapter ends there, and now I feel captivated and must read the next chapter. Suddenly a shadow starts to emerge through the split between the door flaps of the tent. I peek through the slit and see that Twilight is on her way back. I have no time to read the next chapter, so I stuff the book back into my bag and move away from it. I lay down against the smooth and crinkly floor as the chill from the snow underneath cools my cheek. Twilight pushes open the flaps and crawls inside.

“Are you asleep?” She whispers, and I shake my head. “Okay, well I hid the stone in that mare’s tent. Hopefully they don’t find it. I sure hope it does something. . . Anyway, I suppose we’d better get some sleep. Also, about the plan, he said that we would have to go passed a gorge. When he marked it on the map it looked like the same gorge where the cavern resides. When we get there, maybe we can see if we can find a way into the cavern.”

Twilight lays down and turns her back to me. Unlike my previous attempt to try and put myself to sleep my body actually does feel worn out. My eyes close without me having to force them to shut, and my body scrunches up to get warmer and more comfortable.

“. . . Goodnight.” I mutter.

“What? What did you say?”

“Goodnight, I hope . . . I hope you sleep well.” I awkwardly add.

“Oh, well . . . you too.”

On that last note I can feel myself finally starting to drift away to a well needed rest. I just hope that I don’t find myself lost in a nightmare like the other night, as if the real world isn’t already a nightmare on its own. The world turns black and all sounds silence for what seems like just a moment. Until my eyes tiredly open up at the sound of voices outside the tent. My arms and legs want to stay in the comfortable place they are, but with all the commotion outside I force myself to prop myself up while rubbing my eyes. A pony bursts through the flaps of the tent and glances all around the inside.

“Aireal! Where is Miss Sparkle?!” Wick Flame asks loudly.

Confused by his sudden intrusion and question I turn around and am shocked to find that Twilight is no longer in the tent. I whip back to Wick Flame without an answer as my voice is too stunned to speak.

“Come on we have to find her!” He urges as he leaves the tent.

I shake myself awake and start to crawl out of the tent, but I halt remembering my bag. I quickly stick my head back inside the tent to check for it, and it seems she left it behind. I grab it by the rope and toss it over my shoulder. Leaving the tent into the sudden chill of the wind I follow Wick Flame to a huddled group of ponies. Outside is still pitch dark and not a hint of light except for the lanterns the ponies carry by their mouths.

“Attention everypony!” Adarrell shouts. “The pony in charge of the night shift says that he saw Miss Sparkle leave the tent and out into the woods. I have gathered you all together so that we may start a search party.”

Joining the group they all turn their attention to me with suspicious looks. I feel my heart skip a beat once their eyes shoot towards me.

“Ah, there you two are.” Says Adarrell. “You, you were the only one with her in the tent. Do you know where Miss Sparkle could have gone? Did she say anything about going off to the woods?”

“N-No.” I say nervously.

“Well, then we can’t afford to waste any more time. It’s dangerous out there, and we can’t just let her go out there alone. I’m not going to lose another pony to this blizzard. Come on! Let’s follow her tracks! Remember to keep your lantern on at all times!” Adarrell shouts. “Alright, let’s go!”

All of the ponies then charge into the woods following the tracks in the snow that Twilight had left behind from the tent and onward.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Says Wick Flame while beckoning me to follow.

Within moments I am next to Wick Flame sprinting into the woods darting through the layers of snow that reach up to my knees with the other ponies like a pack of wolves. Some of the snow sneaks through the holes in my pants chilling my legs, but I ignore it all and focus my energy on keeping a constant speed to keep up with the group.

“Aireal, stay near me, and don’t stray too far from the light!” Wick Flame advises.

“Now everypony! I was told that Miss Sparkle had her lantern, so keep an eye out for any sort of glow in the distance!” Adarrell shouts to the group.

All of us are dodging past trees and hopping over bushes. Of course I almost trip over myself and end up dragging behind, but I shake it off and just keep running. The wind is blowing against us as gusts of air carry snowflakes up from the ground and up to our faces. After running and running we end up coming back to the town of Ponyville.

“Gosh, this place suffered just like the rest.” Says a pony in the group.

“Looks like this place got the blunt of the storm.” Says another.

“Stay focused, keep an eye out for a light.” Says Adarrell.

“I think I saw something!” Wick Flame shouts.

“What? Where?!” Adarrell asks anxiously.

“There! Beyond the trees!”

“Lead the way-we’ll follow you!”

In a burst Wick Flame takes off as all of us follow behind. He leads us into another stretch of woods that seem to go on forever. The further we go the more it feels like this forest is familiar to me.

“Tracks, I’ve found tracks!” Wick Flame exclaims.

“Let’s follow ‘em.” Says Adarrell.

We follow the straight line of tracks through sets of tall thick pine trees. Still this place feels familiar, until it finally hits me: this is the place I came from before I came to Ponyville. Why would Twilight be walking through here?

“There’s the light!” Wick Flame shouts. “Twilight? Miss Sparkle!” He calls.

The light grows the closer we get, and my heart begins to settle. Until one of the ponies trips and falls. All of us stop and turn back as another group mate helps the pony stand back up.

“What was that?” The pony that fell asks.

“Probably just a rock or something, come on we have to move.”

“Wait. . .”

The pony reaches down into the snow and lifts up a lump of oddly shaped ice. The pony that helped her up uses his lantern to illuminate the object as she holds it in her hoof. The light reveals that it’s a crow frozen in ice. The pony screams and drops it into the snow.

“What the . . . ? They’re everywhere!”

“Stay calm, just ignore them and—”

Adarrell tries to get the group moving again until he is stopped by a frozen deer in his way. He jolts and steps back staring into the deer’s eyes with fright. Terrified he maneuvers around the statue and beckons us to follow. We continue down the path between the trees toward the light, and sitting down in the snow facing away from us is Twilight. All of us hurry to her side, and I realize that she is crying.

“Miss Sparkle there you are!” Wick Flame says happily.

“What are you doing out here? I told you it’s dangerous to be out here alone. What’s the matter?” Asks Adarrell.

“I . . . I found her.” Twilight whispers.

“Found who?” Wick Flame asks.

Twilight doesn’t answer, and all of us look up and see something before her. A statue of a pony, the same pony I came across before. The pony with the yellow coat and pink mane, Fluttershy I think she said her name was. I hoped she wouldn’t have had to see this, but how could she have known? I never told her about the pony, what could have made her want to venture out here alone? Something doesn’t feel right, but now I wonder what she could be feeling right now. Now there is no-more secret to keep about it; she knows now that one of her last two friends have fallen victim to the cold. I lay my hand on Twilight’s shoulder, and Wick Flame does the same. He must already know who she is, and by the look of it it seems that everyone else knows as well.

“I’m . . . I’m sorry Miss Sparkle.” Says Wick Flame.

Twilight stands up and walks away from us. She stands before Adarrell with tears frozen onto her cheeks and an angry expression on her face. All of us watch her, waiting for what she might say. She looks up at him as Adarrell looks a bit intimidated by hers stance, in fact, all of us are intimidated by her.

“Sir.” She says.

“Yes, Miss Sparkle?”

“When do we leave for Canterlot?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“Then let's go, now.”