Hours of walking. That's what I've been up to, just walking and walking. The new way we were taking was winding, that giant had decided to hang out around one of the choke points on the way to the empire. Our trip is now almost two times the travel time, this storm didn't help either.

Don't get me wrong, the cold damp feeling all over my shell is lovely, but it nearly blinds you and because of it I'd stumbled more than once. Oh, my shell! Yeah! It had grown in nice, looking at it now it is smooth and hard. When I had first noticed it had begun to harden I requested all the information we had on it. It covers nearly all of my body besides some key points when it begins to blend with thick hide-like skin. It really was much more safe then anything ponies had. One of my sisters had been showing me disguise magic and managed a complete spell of a pony. They had fur, fur and soft skin. I couldn't imagine it, you could get hurt by falling on the wrong patch of ice!

"Hey Light Step, heads up, we're getting close." He is right, I can see the trees clearing up around me, becoming less and less common. I sigh, they really only add to the blinding effect you get in this storm. Querying over the link to one of the collectors stationed in the city Fury makes sure no patrols had been sent to the area we were going to be stopping at. Good thing we were close since my legs felt like they might turn to jelly at any moment. I can see the place coming into my vision as we get closer. It looks like a small snowy ridge with nothing very special about it. As I come closer I can see the signs that there is more to it though. For one a small den-like hole in the side of it is easy to see as I step closer. "We're staying in a dugout until the storm clears?" I ask aloud. "That's right, it's pretty roomy inside for the three of us though." I step up to the opening and stick my head in. He is right I guess, it looks like just a circle surrounding a pillar of ice in the middle of the relatively small shelter. "Wait, you said three?" I bring my head back out, looking over my right shoulder at Fury questioningly. "Yeah, me, you, and Flurry boy over here. Blur is sticking to recon duty to make sure nothing comes close." Oh, duh.. I guess I should expect Blur to stay doing what she is doing.

Taking a couple steps inside I can feel the slightly warmer air inside, so much for comfortable. "So the city is usually in view from just on top of this hill when it's sunny out right?" Risen answers almost automatically. "It is. Usually it is also visible at night because of the shield they have around it to keep out the cold but...Well Sombra kind of killed what was powering it." Ah. Well that's no fun. I set myself down on my side in an admittedly lazy pose, but give me a break. I've been marching through a thick forest during a storm. I'm a royal ling after all. I'm built for an entirely different purpose than travel. Examining my legs I don't see anything wrong with them, but I can feel them giving off complains non-stop. It takes me a moment to remember we have emotions to consume.

"Hand me something, I'm tired." Fury picks up on what I mean almost instantly, his hooves grabbing at the small sack on his back and pulling out some indistinct anger fused into small cubes of ice the perfect size. I pop one in my mouth instantly, the taste is much like the impression I got when I saw it. I can't name exactly what it is but I can feel just bad will. I mean it is anger but it's not only anger. I accidentally let my musing bleed over the link when I think on it. "More than one source. This came from the the vat of collected emotion. Not right from one pony." Right, so it was just cut up and mixed together from different sources. That's the first time I'd been fed that before. I look to Flurry who had explained it moments ago. He's laying in a similar manner to me, figures. He did say he doesn't go outside much.

Not really taking mind of anything further but my meal, I pop another cube in my mouth. This one mixed with more of a rage then just general anger. I look at the holes in my hooves, funny things they are, no one really explained why we had them. No one knew. It made it easy to tell who you were speaking with at a glance though since the patterns were so varied, not that the link already did that job fine. A self levitated cube in the mouth annnndd. Oh, this one is just disgust. Wonderful. It is my least favorite to taste in my professional royal opinion. But it is doing its job, I could feel my energy coming back to me and I can move myself into a less disheveled position. I can still hear the howling winds of the storm outside and some snowflakes are leaking in the entrance. This is going to be a long wait so I lay my head down.

Already I can feel the pull of sleep. A humming voice coming in through the link slyly. Mother. She has been known to broadcast a gentle hymn from the ancients. But the words are always blurred in the message, the old ways have always been partially hidden from us. Only the artifacts in the deepest parts of the hive holding any hint of what they did and were. I have been told that it was hidden and guarded on purpose. Mother says she will tell me what she knows when I have grown to a proper maturity. That aside the soft hummed tune takes my attention. Rest would be nice now..Y-yeah. I-..