Obsidian shivered slightly and pulled the thick face mask over his muzzle. Even with the highly insulative clothes they had been given, the wind cut sharply into any gaps between the garments. The map laid out on the snow in front of him showed a number of routes across the mountains, each with their own ominously vague warnings. He placed a hoof over a route that wound far away from the others and squinted at the small lettering next to it. "What about this one? It has the least supply caches, but it's the only one that doesn't say 'DANGER: Ghost Bears.'"

Sundance frowned slightly and glanced at the map. "What is that supposed to mean? Do they have soldiers hiding in the snow?"

"I doubt it. I think it's referring to the animal Clan Ghost Bear was named after. From what I've heard they're very fierce, not to mention the largest ones can stand over five meters tall. I highly doubt the two of us could take one on alone," Obsidian said with a grimace.

"Seriously? Yeah, let's take that route then."

Obsidian folded the map back up and slipped it into one of his packs. "Sounds good. Let's get moving."

The snow reached up almost to Obsidian's knees as he waded out into it. For now, at least, the thick suit covering his body kept his hooves dry and fairly warm considering the conditions, though he worried about how long that would last. With his eyes screwed tightly shut, he stared out at the immense white in front of them. "The first supply cache isn't too far from here. We might even be able to make it by nightfall if we're quick. The paths split after that, so we should probably find shelter when we're there."

Sundance nodded as he followed behind. "Sounds like a plan."

Obsidian sighed internally. Understandably, the young pony hadn't been the same since the death of his friends. While it wasn't quite the same as losing a lover, the older pony could still relate to the pain, as Slate's death had taken a heavy toll on his own mind. He had definitely noticed his usual lightheartedness was rarely present anymore. However, the main difference between the two ponies' situations was Obsidian had learned long ago how to keep himself mentally healthy, even through rough times like this. As far as he could tell, Sundance was clueless in that regard. They'd have plenty of time out here in the mountains together, so Obsidian made a mental note to talk to him about that soon.

The two ponies continued along the snowy ground. It was difficult to traverse the uneven terrain hidden beneath the soft layer, especially with their eyes shut against the light. While effective at first, the clothing they were given had begun to lose their effectiveness and Obsidian felt himself growing colder and colder as the day wore on. This wasn't helped by the bitter wind, which tore at his clothes and made the already frigid air even worse. As well as the temperature, a soreness had begun to develop in his eyes, and he worried about what would happen if he had to continue in such harsh conditions for long.

As he crested a small ridge, Obsidian shielded his eyes against the setting sun. They had been wandering the frozen wasteland for hours, and night seemed to be rapidly descending. At least the temperature had risen somewhat, as he no longer felt cold. He flicked the hood of his jacket down and loosened the neck slightly to allow airflow through.

Obsidian turned back to Sundance, who was trudging along a few meters behind him. The face mask scratched lightly against his muzzle as he removed it to call out to the younger pony. "We should stop and find shelter for the night. It's gonna start getting cold out here again pretty soon."

Sundance's brow furrowed. "But it's already freezing out here. What do you mean 'again?'"

"Cold? Are you sure? It's gotten a lot warmer over the past thirty minutes," Obsidian replied, confused.

Sundance stopped and stared at him. "You're not cold anymore? That's a problem. We need to get you warmed up," he said panickedly as he hurried forward.

"A problem? It's not a problem. I feel fine," Obsidian said in protest as Sundance pushed him forward and flipped the hood back over the senior pony's head. Obsidian dug his hooves into the ground and turned to face Sundance. "Why are you so worried all of the sudden?"

"Because of something I was taught a while ago. Tangelo..." Sundance sighed briefly and shook his head. "Tangelo told me a saying when we were searching for Chartreuse, who was lost in a blizzard. It goes something like this; 'First you're cold, then you're not. Then you're hot, then you're dead.' It's hypothermia. You feel fine, but you're dying."

Obsidian shivered, and not from the cold. "Shit. Tangelo was a medic, so she probably knew what she was talking about," he thought to himself. "I really would have died out here if not for that."

Obsidian nodded and retightened his jacket. "Let's get moving, then. I think I can see an outcropping, so let's camp there," he said. He set off through the snow again, his pace more urgent than before. The path to the overhang he saw was mostly flat, but he still needed to be careful. A wrong step could send him sliding down the slope, and if he wasn't able to right himself in time, he'd tumble hundreds of meters to his death. He wasn't exactly afraid of heights, but being in such a risky situation was humbling.

By the time they had reached the overhang, the sun was sinking below the mountains and Obsidian's skin had begun to tingle with heat. "Just in time," he thought weakly. His movements had become sluggish, and at one point he had nearly lost his balance while they passed over a precarious ledge. The only thing that kept him from plummeting to the cold ground below was Sundance, who had been ready for such a thing to happen. "It's a good thing Tangelo wasn't stingy with her knowledge, or he'd have never noticed anything was wrong."

"Finally here," Sundance said. Obsidian had noticed he had stopped shivering a while back, meaning he too had started to develop hypothermia. Sundance helped Obsidian carefully to the stone wall underneath the overhang and gently lowered him to the ground. "Wait here. I think I saw an opening to a cave we could use to hide from the wind."

Obsidian nodded, and Sundance disappeared through a slim crack in the wall. It was barely visible in the dim light, and he was impressed the pony had even noticed it. "He's really observant, even if he doesn't realize it. He'll make a great MechWarrior once this is all said and done," Obsidian thought. He rubbed his sore eyes, which had begun to ache quite painfully from the brightness. It might have just been the dying light, but he swore the colors of the world around him weren't nearly as vivid as earlier.

After a few moments, Sundance returned through the crevice and walked over to Obsidian. "I think it's safe. It opens up slightly, and there's enough room for us to sleep comfortably."

"Good. Let's get out of this wind," Obsidian said as he struggled to his hooves. Sundance helped him up and through the crack which, as he had said, opened up into a fairly large space big enough to squeeze in a fair number of ponies. It seemed like it continued further back, but the ceiling dropped sharply and it was impossible to tell the full size of the space in the dim light filtering in.

"Alright, now we need to get you warmed up," Sundance said as he removed his packs and placed them against the wall. He fumbled through them, searching for something to help heat up the freezing ponies. When he came to the med kit he opened it and glanced through the contents, but closed it with a hiss of annoyance after a moment. "Nothing. How are we supposed to get warm? We don't even have a fire starter."

Obsidian removed his own packs and slumped down against the wall. "Well, there is one way I can think of to get warm," he said mysteriously.

Sundance shot him a confused glance. "There is? What is it?"

"Oh, you know... it's not usually done in these conditions, but we could..." he said with a lascivious grin.

After a short moment of puzzlement, realization dawned on Sundance and his face went beet red. "That's your idea? What the hell?"

Obsidian laughed at his embarrassment and shook his head. "I'm only joking. I'm not into younger stallions, and I'd rather not be labeled a pedophile. Come to think if it, I'm not into stallions at all. I wasn't kidding about the body heat part, though. While yes, the movie scene I saw wasn't really family friendly, we're the only heat sources around. It might be awkward, but we probably won't survive if we don't share what little heat we have left."

"Fine. But we're not sleeping totally naked," Sundance said with his face still flushed slightly.

"You got it." Obsidian stripped down to his thin base layer of clothing and laid out the thick synthetic fur coat on the ground to insulate and keep them from sleeping on bare rock. He laid down on top of them and patted the small empty space next to him. "Come on, my body isn't gonna warm itself."

Sundance sighed and laid down next to Obsidian before pulling his own clothes over top of them as a makeshift blanket. Obsidian pulled the smaller pony tight against his stomach and chuckled. "I always had a feeling you'd be the little spoon."

"We're not cuddling. And if I feel something press up against my ass I'm leaving you to freeze to death," Sundance said.

Obsidian laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry. Like I said, I'm not gay. One 'experiment' with Hazelnut was all I needed to figure that out."

"I really didn't need to know that." Even though it was nearly pitch black in the little cave by this point, Obsidian was sure Sundance was blushing again.

"It's just a part of life. Don't be so closed about your private life, we're gonna be stuck together for the next six months. Come on, tell me about it," Obsidian said jokingly.

He felt the young pony squirm uncomfortably. "Well, I uh, haven't really..."

Obsidian raised an eyebrow. "You're a virgin?"

"Yeah."

"Can't say I expected that. How long did you and Tangelo date for?" Obsidian asked.

Sundance scratched the side of his neck. "Just a few months, but we've been close for a couple of years. I guess it's just not something we really considered with training going on."

"I guess that makes sense, but this is war we're talking about. You've gotta live a little with the risk of death constantly hanging over you. Don't tell me you never even kissed?"

Sundance shifted uncomfortably again. "No, we have. Hey, can we not talk about this right now? It's still a bit soon since... You know."

Obsidian nodded. "Of course. Sorry for bringing it up, I was just trying to make you feel better."

"It's no problem."

The two of them lied there in silence for a long while. Obsidian's limbs began to lose their numbness, and while the ache of regaining their feeling wasn't pleasant it at least told him he wasn't dying anymore, which was comforting. What wasn't comforting was the doubts that had begun to creep into his mind. They had only traveled for five or six hours that day, yet both of them had nearly died from hypothermia. If one full day would be impossible, how were they supposed to last the entire trial? He sighed to himself as he felt his mind drift into sleep. It would do him no good to worry about the future. They'd just have to figure something out in the morning.

Obsidian blinked his eyes open as a pony shook him awake. He noticed he was actually quite warm now, so their plan to conserve their heat seemed to be working. "What? Is something wrong?" he asked the dark space. It must have been late into the night, as there was no light coming in through the crack.

"There's something in this cave. Do you see the red light over there?" he heard Sundance ask.

Obsidian glanced around them, but was unable to locate what Sundance was talking about. All he could see around them was pitch black. "No, I can't see anything."

A hoof fumbled around for Obsidian's face and pushed his head until he was facing the back of the cave, or what he thought was the back. There wasn't anything visible at first, but when he looked harder, he realized Sundance was right. There was a small black dot in the distance, so dim that it was barely visible even in complete darkness. "There. See it now?"

Obsidian nodded and struggled to his hooves. "Yeah. Wait here, I'll go check it out." He felt the cold start to creep back into his body as he left the warmth of the improvised bedding, but curiosity drove him forward. The light slowly became larger as Obsidian drew closer, and when it suddenly disappeared he stopped just in time to avoid slamming his face into a rock outcropping. Tentatively, he reached one hoof out and felt along the wall. The gap through which Sundance had seen the light seemed to be just barely large enough for two ponies to squeeze through at a time, and he carefully made his way through it.

There was a light click as Obsidian felt his hoof depress some hidden switch, and he cursed at the blinding light that suddenly turned on. A scraping sound echoed through the cave, followed by a short series of beeps. He scrambled backwards and looked around wildly, expecting he had just triggered some deadly trap.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" Sundance called out.

Obsidian blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted painfully to the bright glow. Now that he could open them, he could take in his surroundings. Considering he was still alive, the trap must have either been faulty or nonexistent. The switch he had stepped on appeared to be a long strip of metal recessed into the floor that would have been impossible to detect in the darkness. A small bulb in the ceiling gave off a harsh white glow, and while it wasn't actually that bright, the snow blindness Obsidian had developed made his eyes sensitive to any light. In the back of the space there was a large orange box with the Ghost Bear symbol on one side about half the size of a transport vehicle, which also happened to be the source of the faint red light, which had now switched off. It was much too large to have fit through either of the gaps, so it must have been transported in pieces then assembled here. A large panel had slid up on the far side of it, so Obsidian couldn't see its contents.

"Yeah, I'm good. Come in here and take a look at this."

Sundance shielded his eyes as he stepped into the bright space and glanced at the large box. "Weird. What's in it?"

Obsidian shook his head. "No idea. Let's check." He led the way carefully towards the container. Nothing seemed to happen as they got close, so they continued around more confidently towards the opening. Upon glancing inside, Obsidian let out a surprised gasp at its contents.

Inside the box were two suits of light Battle Armor, Hvitur models if Obsidian remembered correctly. They were about half a meter taller than the two ponies, and while they weren't the most powerful models available to Clan Ghost Bear, they were still quite an impressive sight. He had never seen one up close, but their mobility and advanced life support systems made them quite popular in dangerous conditions. Why they were here, we was not sure.

"Could this be the supply cache?" Sundance wondered aloud.

Obsidian frowned. It definitely made sense, and he hadn't checked the map since they left the base. It was entirely possible that they had traveled farther than he had first thought. He stepped inside and walked up to one of the Hviturs, which stood as still as a statue. There was also a small table in the back of the container with a small note on it. Obsidian walked over to the table and read the paper aloud.

"'Here's a pair of Hviturs to aid you in your Trial. While designed to be used for long periods of time, their battery packs won't last more than a day at a time in these harsh conditions. There's a pair of replacement batteries in each supply cache on every route. Plan carefully, as it would be almost impossible to trek through these mountains with only the supplies initially given to you. Good luck. Enzo.'"

Obsidian placed the letter back on the table and turned to face Sundance. "I guess these are for us, then."

"We won't be able to take our planned route with these. The gaps between supply cashes are too long to cover in one day."

Obsidian sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Shit. You're right." He walked up to one of the Hviturs, which was ever so slightly larger than the other, probably to account for the difference in size of the two ponies. The life support systems would have no trouble keeping their body heat up, but that wasn't on his list of worries now. "I guess now we re-plan our route. I don't like this, but we might end up running into a ghost bear or two."

Even with the Battle Armor, they weren't much of a match for the massive creatures. Each of the Hviturs was only armed with a single micro pulse laser, which wouldn't be able to kill a ghost bear in one shot. If they were forced to fight one, they might not have enough power left in their batteries to make it to the next supply cache, assuming they survived. Obsidian frowned to himself. Things just got a lot more interesting.

---

"Careful, there's a crevasse up ahead," Obsidian said over the comms. The Hvitur had warned him of a steep change in elevation underneath the snow, and he made sure to steer very clear of it.

"Can you tell how far it goes? We're already behind as it is."

Obsidian halted about a dozen meters from the sharp drop and glanced at the terrain map on his HUD. It went as far north and south as the Hvitur's sensors could detect, so going around would be a long trek. And Sundance was right; with this setback, they might not be able to make it to the next supply cache before their Battle Armor ran out of charge. "As far as I can see. We should be able to jump over it if we're careful."

Sundance came to a stop beside the older pony and glanced into the distance. Obsidian was sure he was checking his own terrain map and weighing the risks. If there's one thing he had come to trust about the young stallion over the past month in the mountains, it was his ability to absorb all of the given information, even the seemingly unimportant things, and deduce the best possible course of action. He just needed to work on his in-the-moment decision making.

"I think we can try. You're still carrying the rope we got, right?" Sundance asked.

Obsidian nodded his head and slid the bag from his back. He fished a thin black rope from it and tossed it over to the young pony, who caught it and began unravelling the spool. "We should tie this around ourselves so if you can drag me back up if I fall, or vice versa."

"Can that really support the weight of a Hvitur? These things weigh a metric ton, you know," Obsidian said as he raised an eyebrow. The rope didn't look much thicker than a few centimeters in diameter. With that kind of strength, holding the weight of a pony would be a challenge.

Sundance nodded. "This rope is made of a special carbon fiber weave. It's used mostly for loading ammunition into 'Mechs, often multiple tons at a time."

Obsidian raised an eyebrow. "Really? We always just used steel cable back on the Constellation. Where'd you learn that?"

"Mist's knowledge about 'Mechs doesn't always end up being as useless as it seems at first," Sundance said with a slight smile. Either it was Obsidian's constant effort or the effect of time, but it was easy to tell that the young pony's mental state had improved significantly over their journey. A small smile here or a quiet laugh there was all the evidence needed so see that.

Obsidian nodded. He still hadn't gotten Sundance to open up more about Tangelo, but these little moments of happiness were enough for now. The pony was on the mend. "I guess not. Who'd have thought his senseless ramblings weren't as pointless as we'd thought."

There was a light whip in the air as Sundance tossed one end of the rope to Obsidian. He had already tied off the other end to his Hvitur, and even though it seemed light and fragile when Obsidian caught it, he trusted his comrades. Trust was an important thing in the Clans. Many trueborns even took the significance as far as to say if you can't trust your fellow Warriors as much as you trust yourself, you have no place on the battlefield.

The armor plating of Obsidian's Hvitur creaked slightly as the rope was cinched into place. He nodded and glanced over at Sundance, who was making sure his own knots were tight. "Ready?" he asked.

Sundance nodded nervously. "I guess so. Let's get this over with."

Obsidian glanced out in front of them and took a deep breath. It was impossible to see the crevasse through the snow, but he thought he would be able to make the jump just by using the terrain map. The suit was supposed to let out a warning when he got near a sudden drop-off, so that would make things slightly easier.

The ice shelf shook slightly as the heavy machine began to sprint forward. Obsidian watched the channel rapidly approach; ten meters, six meters, three meters, two. A red light shone from the top of the Hvitur's helmet as it came within one meter of the drop, and Obsidian leapt into the air.

Time seemed to slow as Obsidian flew above the crevasse. It was massive; nearly ten meters across, and the depth updated as the interference from the ice dropped away. He sucked in a breath as the map changed to reveal the chasm to be nearly a kilometer deep. "I sure as hell hope Sundance is right about this rope," he thought. Regardless of depth, he never would have attempted this jump without the Hvitur's aid. A five meter jump was considered long for most ponies, and were it not for the improved mobility from the complex suit's artificial muscles, a jump this long would have been suicide.

Even though he was only airborne for a couple of seconds, it felt like minutes to Obsidian before he finally felt solid ground underneath his hooves again. Shards of ice flew up as the Battle Armor landed on the other side, safe and sound.

Obsidian let out a shaky breath and turned back to Sundance. "Wasn't even worried. Your turn." He took a few steps back and dug his hooves into the ice, preparing for what would happen if the young pony didn't make the jump. "Well, maybe just a little worried," he thought with a grin.

Sundance took a few steps forward, beginning to break into a sprint, but a booming CRACK brought him skidding to a halt. The red light went off in Obsidian's helmet again, and he glanced at the terrain map to see that the ledge he was on was cracking and was about to give way. Something else Obsidian had seen as the Hvitur collected data was the other side of the crevasse, the side he was now on, was only a thin ledge that stuck out into the air. Cursing the slowness of his mind to process information, Obsidian scrambled backward in an attempt to get to safety before the entire ledge collapsed.

The sensation of the ground beneath Obsidian's hooves beginning to drop out was a terrifying one. He knew Sundance wasn't in a good position to catch his weight anymore, so if he fell, he'd probably end up dragging both of them to their doom. "Shit. I can't let that happen," Obsidian thought with a final burst of strength. He felt the Hvitur strain at the strenuous movement as he leapt again, trying to make it to solid ice. The metal hooves stretched out in front of him, reaching for the ledge as the ice fell away beneath him, but he knew he had jumped short long before he was met with darkness as he fell into the deep recess.

Obsidian slammed into the ice and scrambled for a hoofhold, but found nothing. The wall was slick and free of blemish. The rope around his center was pulled taught for a moment before becoming slack again, and he didn't need to look up to know that Sundance had been pulled into the crevasse along with him.

In an act of desperation, Obsidian pulled the spear from his back and slammed it deep into the ice wall. A crack immediately formed above and below it, but it brought his descent to a halt so abrupt he nearly let go of the metal shaft. Wind whipped past him as the younger pony flew downward, and a moment later the spear was yanked so hard it almost snapped as the added weight pulled it toward the dark chasm below. The handle was bent at a worrying angle, but somehow managed to hold the weight of the two ponies and their heavy Battle Armor. For the time being, at least.

Obsidian let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and glanced down at Sundance. "You alright?"

Sundance was swinging at the other end of the rope, disoriented, but alive. After taking a moment to calm himself, he looked up and nodded. "Yeah," he said shakily.

"Good." Obsidian looked at the cliff above. They had fallen about thirty meters before Obsidian had managed to bring them to a stop. "It's a good thing my reflexes are so fast, otherwise we probably would have died," he thought with a small note of pride. "We're gonna have to climb back up. Do you still have your spear?"

There was shuffling below him as Sundance awkwardly wrestled the metal weapon from its holder. "Yeah, it's here."

"Let's go, then. I don't know how much longer mine can hold this much weight," Obsidian said with a nervous glance at his spear. He swore he could hear creaking, which he didn't think was a good sign. It didn't last much longer, however, as Sundance jabbed his own spear into the ice and allowed the rope to hang loose between the two ponies.

Obsidian nodded to Sundance and began climbing upward. It was slow progress, having only one spear each to use for climbing, but the holes created by the sharp objects left thin grooves that were enough to use as hoofholds. More than once one of the ponies slipped down a meter or two, but the whole way up neither of them fell, and the rope remained slack.

"Finally," Obsidian said as he reached the top of the cliff face. He grabbed the edge of the ice and pulled himself up onto solid ground before letting out the apprehensive breath he had been holding. The sound of metal chipping against ice could still be heard as Sundance continued his climb, and Obsidian splayed his hooves out to be ready to catch the pony's weight. "Just a little further-" he began encouragingly before a warning light on his HUD popped up. A massive heat signature had appeared just a few meters behind him, and when he whirled around to face it, he was greeted by the largest creature he had ever seen.

The ghost bear stood nearly as tall as a Nova on its hind legs. True to its name, the bear had appeared from the snow seemingly out of nowhere. Its fur, nose, and eyes were all varying shades of white white, giving it a strangely sinister appearance.

"Dear Celestia..." Obsidian said as he stared up at the monster. He remembered now hearing about how ghost bears dug themselves into the snow and waited for days at a time in an attempt to ambush prey. It was terrifying, and despite being in a suit that weighed nearly as much as the bear did, he still felt hopelessly small and weak.

"What? What's wrong?" Sundance asked anxiously over the comms.

Obsidian hastily untied the rope from around his Hvitur and let it slip over the edge of the cliff. There was no point in endangering Sundance's life as well as his own. "Nothing. Just a bit of troublesome wildlife," he said just as the ghost bear let out a deafening roar that rattled Obsidian's bones, even through the Battle Armor. He glanced around himself, looking wildly for the spear he had carelessly tossed aside, and found it a good distance away. Much further than the animal would allow him to run.

"Fuck, this isn't good," Obsidian thought as he glanced back up at the creature, which had begun ambling smugly towards him, as if it knew he had nowhere to go. He glanced at the battery indicator, which showed he had just enough to make it to the supply cache as it was. If he fired the Hvitur's micro pulse laser more than a couple of times, he would have to abandon the machine if he wanted to complete the trial. He cursed his luck. "I guess this is it. This is the kind of test Cobalt was hoping for. This trial will turn me into a damn fine warrior... or a ghost bear's lunch."

Next Chapter: Chapter 3 Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 11 Minutes