If ever proof was needed that the cold season had begun in earnest for the Green Lands, today would surely be it. To be sure, the crisp and cool morning they had started off with was a fairly clear sign, but now, things were truly cold. Icy winds blew through the lands, and as they travelled, Twilight and her companions continued to shiver with every step. Even those completely covered up, like Fluttershy, felt the bitter chill as they journeyed onwards. The warmth of the sun had been hidden, overcast by heavy clouds above them, darkening the surrounding area. And all these things and more conspired together to make their trip today even more nerve-wracking than before. It was a sentiment shared by all, but only voiced by Rainbow.

"Ugh! This is only going to get worse, isn't it?"

Looking over her shoulder, Applejack gave a brief nod.

"Yep. Sure will. But, y'all better brace yerselves, coz now..."

Looking forward again, the farmer pointed straight ahead.

"...we gotta climb that."

All eyes looked to where she was pointing, and the moment they did, every single one of them knew what it was they were heading to. While the ground had been getting noticeably steeper as they'd travelled, they saw that, now, the land before them was truly mountainous. Ahead lay the Crescent Range, the great chain of mountains that divided the western half of the Green Lands from the east. And to their left, right at the end of it, was a mountain taller than any of them.

"The North Peak," Twilight mumbled.

That was their destination, and, if she squinted her eyes, she could see that, just as Applejack had promised, there did indeed appear to be some kind of structure, nestled amongst the jagged peaks at it's top. While all in their group grimaced at the thought of having to climb that thing, Twilight, for her part, seemed concerned with something else altogether. Looking to her right, her eyes trailed the Range for as far as she could see, for she knew, that somewhere along those high peaks, was Canterlot, far to the south of where they were. She sighed, longing for home, and as she felt a tap upon her shoulder, she looked to her friend, Spike. The look on his face made it clear that he was feeling the same as her, and together, they shared a friendly smile.

"Alright, y'all! Time ta get movin!"

Applejack's voice shook everybody out of their daze, and while still feeling the bitter edge of the cold day, they nevertheless gave a nod to their latest guide, starting to up their pace and head straight for their goal. Rainbow, as usual, grumbled on about it all, but still stayed quiet overall as they walked onwards. Their breath could be seen with every exhale, and all around them, trees gave way to open grassland, and then, finally, to bare and rocky grounds. There was no doubt now, they were getting closer, though, that knowledge did not exactly comfort them. Twilight, on her side of things, never let her eyes stray from that peak. She simply focused on it, walking onwards with purpose in her heart. In time, several hours in fact, they reached the base.

"Well...here we are," Applejack remarked.

And it was true enough. The steepness before them had truly reached noticeable changes at this point, and they all looked up, feeling utterly dwarfed by the mighty mountain before them. It was an imposing and terrifying sight, that much was certain, and the sounds of fast and cold winds above did not help their situation in the slightest. In this moment of silence, all in the group looked to one another, and even Applejack was seemingly struck with doubt over their presence here. Noting, this, Pinkie folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um...Applejack? You have been up here before...right?"

All eyes were on the farm girl now, which was not an experience she relished in the slightest. She looked to all of them, from Pinkie's curiosity, to Rainbow's scepticism, and finally, looking straight to Twilight. Here, she let out a sigh, placing her hands upon her hips before shaking her head.

"I've made it somewhat up there, but...never ta the top."

As one would expect, a statement like that gave no end of concern for the rest of the party, and whatever enthusiasm they might have had for it was well and truly gone by now. Even so, Twilight looked away from them all, heading over to the face of the mountain, before raising a single hand and placing it upon a nearby grey boulder, embedded in the ground before her. It was cold and hard, exactly like a mountain should be. And while she, like everybody else here, was concerned by the thought of actually having to go up that thing, one other thought, above all, made itself known in her mind; knowledge about her quest was up there, somewhere.

"We should get started."

The others looked to her, somewhat taken aback by the confident tone she spoke in. Spike especially seemed surprised by this, but, after a while, cracked a smile, nodding to her and agreeing to her sentiment. He was not the last, as one by one, however slowly, all in the group began to agree with her, as evidenced by the expressions they wore. However, while this was all well and good, there was still the matter of actually getting up the mountain. Applejack, at last, turned to the thing herself, pointing towards it while still bearing that somewhat concerned look of hers, before adding her voice to matters.

"Grab onto any outcropping or crack ya can find. Hold on tight. And don't look down..."

Looking to the rest of the group, the farm girl narrowed her eyes, her expression one of utter seriousness.

"...ever."

The emphasis on that final word was all the evidence they needed to take this matter more seriously than they had before, and they nodded in agreement. With that done, Applejack made sure that Bloomberg, her sword, was fastened on extra tightly onto her back, prompting Rainbow to do the same with her bow. One after the other, everybody made sure that anything they were carrying with them was secured safely, lest they drop it. When that was all said and done, Applejack took a deep breath, before taking a single stride forwards. For the time being, the mountain was still just at the right level of steepness where they could walk up it, albeit in very large steps. It was like a jagged staircase, with level after level looking treacherous and crumbling. A dangerous place, as one would expect.

And yet, even knowing this, they travelled onwards, with Fluttershy especially seeming terrified at the prospect of going up that thing. Twilight walked over to her as they made their way onwards, placing a hand upon her shoulder and giving a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Fluttershy. As long as we're careful...I'm sure everything will be fine."

To say that such words alleviated all of the healer's fear would have been a lie. And yet, for the moment, the smile she gave in return suggested that she was at least willing to accept that statement for the time being. So, they walked on, and with every passing minute, it became harder and harder to walk normally. Eventually, they had to get onto all fours, using their hands to help them move along the increasingly-steep mountainside. In the end, they finally reached the point were things were almost completely vertical, and here, Applejack firmly planted her fingers into a small crevice she found amidst the rock.

"Here's the start of it, everyone! Remember...don't look down!"

Nods of agreement followed, and everybody began to follow her example, finding whatever small space they could to latch onto, hoisting themselves up as bet they could. Naturally, less physical members, like Fluttershy, found the going tough, but, with the help of those like Rainbow, they managed to make a steady, if slow, ascent upwards. To say that things were difficult for them would have been a great understatement, as every step, every hold onto the cold rock was a challenge. Not only was the icy wind continuing to blow at them, as if trying to knock them off, but, the strain of trying to grab onto cliff-faces like this would have been difficult even for experienced climbers.

"Well...at least it's brisk," Spike commented.

Naturally, a remark like that earned him scornful looks from the women surrounding him, leading to him giving a somewhat embarrassed "I'll shut up now" look in response. But, they ignored his words, just in case they accidentally looked down as a result, and simply focused on trying to move as carefully as possible. Their journey was difficult, that much was certain, and yet, the knowledge that there might be something up here that could help in their quest was what kept them all going, even those like Fluttershy, who, naturally, was terrified at being here. And in the middle of it all, Twilight kept mumbling the same thing to herself, over and over again.

"Please...please let us find something."