“Right then, I think it’s for the best that we hone your warding abilities. Split up into teams of two and take turns blocking non-elemental projectiles. No potentially lethal spells! I cannot stress that enough.”

“Headmaster! You’re not going to believe this!”

“Shae! Hey, Shae! Wake up!”

It takes a moment for her senses to return after a long weekend’s rest. Shae Sparkle pulls the blankets over her head in an attempt to block out Sundance’s shrill voice.

Despite the warmth of her four poster bed, she shivers. No matter how tightly locked the windows are or how much the ponies of Wintercolt Academy bundle up, the frigid climate of Mount Everfree is merciless. She takes solace in the comfort of her dormitory, her eyes treated to purple and magenta tapestry coating the walls, many pillows laying about each corner. Another bed sits across from Shae's, covered in many stuffed animals..

Eventually, her struggle against Sundance and the cold proves meaningless, and Shae sits up. “Up and at ‘em!” shouts Sundance for the twenty-second time. Shae had counted.

“What brings you so... so much excitement?” she asks through a long yawn.

Sundance's wide eyes blink, her youthful face contorted in confusion. “The new term starts today, silly. Don’t you remember?”

“That’s right...” Shae groans and falls back onto her pillows. “No offense to the headmaster, but I think I’ll just play hooky on this one. The first day of class is merely review. It’s all far below my abilities.”

She feels Sundance slither onto the bed and shake her in protest. “Come ooooon. I don’t wanna go alone.”

Brushing Sundance’s green mane out of her face, Shae rolls over to the other side of the bed. “Bugger off.”

“Hmm..." Shae hears Sundance pace around her bed, humming to herself. After a few minutes of relatively quiet bliss pass, the upbeat unicorn returns. "Say, if you’re gonna just lie in bed all day, might I join you?”

Shae is about to answer with a firm negative, but she isn't able to open her mouth before Sundance slides beneath the covers, pressing into her back and she snuggling in close. “Mmm... Ooh, it’s much better like this... We should sleep together for warmth.” Shae, while definitely enjoying the heat generated by adding another body to the equation, cannot shake off the icicle of discomfort, her mind immediately jumping to a foul conclusion at the sound of that invitation.

She can’t take it. Her body is suddenly growing hot. Too hot. “Oookay, no thanks. I'm going to prepare for class now.” She levitates the covers off of her and Sundance. She grabs her spectacles from the nightstand as she gets out of bed, walking to her dresser and mirror.

“You’re no fun,” says Sundance. She looks disappointed, but she quickly comes back to abnormally upbeat smile.

“Your idea of fun and mine are worlds apart, dear,” Shae replies. She looks at her reflection in the tall mirror as she brushes and grooms her silken purple coat, which heavily contrasts with her mussed up black and white streaked mane. She fixes that immediately, and gets a good look at her mark. A collection of red stars, showing her aptitude for all things magical, particularly astronomy.

Another unicorn with a yellow coat and a mark of a smiling filly enters the mirror. “Here’s an idea! We can wear matching outfits.”

“Sundance...”

“Well, I'm finally taking your classes this term. It could be fun.”

Shae tunes her out again. She opens up her dresser and slips on her black underclothes, followed by her red overcoat. She pulls the hood over for extra warmth. She flourishes herself in the mirror, rather impressed with her own appearance, before a grumble passes through her stomach. “Ah. If I am attending today's lesson, then I must have ample sustenance.”

The marble halls of Wintercolt Academy give the place of learning a sense of stillness and stability. Despite every student being well aware of the conflict between the Empire and the Blackwing rebels, the Academy proves to be a safe haven for all of them. Pound after pound of snow builds on the fringes of the ornately decorated windows, as it has been for weeks. It’s impossible to see anything beyond the glass. Shae hardly has time to enjoy the view (Or lack thereof) as she makes a mad dash for the dining hall. Up the marble stairs, a long stretch down the hallway...

“Good morning, Shae.”

“Good morning.”

That brief conversation is repeated many times between Shae and her fellow students. Everypony who knows Shae also knows that she'd rather avoid pausing for anything other than the task at hoof, which, at this time, was breakfast.

Sundance, on the other hoof, is as willing as ever to stop and chat for at a moment's notice. “Heya, Eavesdrop! How’s that new all-chemo-whatsits coming along?”

“You mean my alchemical heat and restoration potion for curing hypothermia?” replies Eavesdrop. She's a quiet one, hiding her cleverness, as well as her face, beneath a large hood.

“Yeah, the timberwolf juice!” Sundance says with a little jump.

Eavesdrop sighs at such terminology. “It’s going pretty well actually, except I can’t seem to find a catalyst for it. Every time one of my test subjects ingested the salve, they turned orange. Mable over there has only just begun to recover,” he says, indicating the still very sickly and miscolored unicorn trotting along the halls. "Some extracurricular project, huh?"

“Oh, I was wondering why she wasn’t looking very pink this week! She’s been looking pretty blue, actually, which is funny seeing as how she was orange, and-" She spotted another friend of hers. "Hey! Hey, Moonwalker! Heeeyy!!! How’s the lute, you galoot?”

In the midst of all this meet and greet, Shae finds a way to lose Sundance by ducking around a corner and taking the downward stairs into the dining hall, where a few of the one hundred and sixteen students of the academy are enjoying warm food and beverages before a day chock full of magical education. Four long tables are lined up side by side with the kitchen in the back. A chandelier embellished with luminous gemstones hangs from the ceiling.

Shae sits down beside a blue colt, Lancer, who is nose deep in celery soup. “I thought I told you to eat slower,” she says. “We’re unicorns, the most eloquent and proper kind of pony, not bears. Set a better example.”

Lancer looks up, ignorant of the bits of celery on his cheeks. “It’s too good to waste. I don’t want it to get cold.”

Shae groans. “We’ve been over this. Eating too fast isn’t good for the digestive system-”

“-which can impede my magical abilities. I get it, Shae.” He levitates a spoon to his side. “And, um, thank you.”

Shae retrieves her book of advanced offensive magic from her pouch and turns to an indiscriminate page. Lancer, peeking over her shoulder, chuckles. “An overachiever as always, aren’t you? You know we haven’t covered any of that yet.”

“Yes, but I have. Quite a few times, in fact! Most of these spells are ones I’ve already learned, so this semester will be as droll as the last one.” Shae sighs. “I need to do something exciting, something new. There haven’t been any new or interesting spells created since Clover the Clever was the headmaster of this Academy.” She groans as she smacks her face into the table lightly. “I.” Thunk. “Am.” Thunk. “Bored!” With a final thunk, she sighs again, and levitates a plate of buttered biscuits her way. “Oh sweet treat of fluffy wheat, you are the only one who understands me, and now you must die.”

"You and your obsession with death..." As Shae chews through her breakfast, Lancer continues to scan through her spellbook. “You know,” he says, “if you’re really so bored, you could do something else. Apply to be a professor, perhaps?”

Shae swallows her bite. “I tried that already, weeks ago. And months before that. I still must wait a few years before I’m eligible.”

“I’m sure Headmaster Frosthelm would be willing to make an exception. Somepony of your talents would make an excellent teacher. I mean, I’d take lessons from you.”

“I really appreciate the thought, dear, but the headmaster isn't the kind to show favoritism. Not even towards me,” Shae says as she takes a bite of her second biscuit. “I mean, everypony knows I’m his star pupil, but to make an exception in age limitations may be a step too far. What if the other students get jealous? What if Clover the Clever doesn't approve? I mean, I don't count on the likelihood that she'll come back here anytime soon, but...”

Lancer closes the book and passes it back to Shae. “You know what you need if you’re so bored?”

She knows exactly what he is going to say when she sees the blush on his face, and she prevents him from saying any more words by levitating a fork in front of him. “Don’t even think about it. Perish the thought.”

“I just-”

“Lancer, you know I love you, but I am a top student with clean hooves and a clean mind, and I intend to keep it that way. The future of the Academy does not rest on me getting-”

“Attention, students...” interrupts the soft voice of Headmaster Frosthelm. His words are magically projected across every room in the Academy and its grounds, not that anypony is outside in the sadistically frigid snow. “Period one will begin in precisely five minutes and thirty seven seconds. Do make an effort to attend your class as punctually as equinely possible. Have a fantastic day.”

Several more books slam shut and the shuffling of hooves echoes from the halls. Shae sets the plate of biscuits aside and sets off on her way. “I’ll see you for lunch, Lancer.”

Headmaster Frosthelm holds his classes on the second floor of the central tower. It’s a circular room bordered with pillars. The center platform has engraved upon it the six pointed star that the Academy had adopted as its symbol. The resemblance to Shae's family crest is not lost on her.

On most days, the wall sized windows present a breathtaking view of Equestria’s open fields, but the snow doesn’t allow for that luxury on this day. As twelve unicorns gather around the center platform, Headmaster Frosthelm closes the curtains and hides the blizzard from sight. The headmaster wears a blue fur-lined cloak and a tiara upon his head (He claims it’s enchanted to drive away malevolent spirits). His coat is a glacial blue, his mane is white like snow, befitting his name, and he has the longest and sharpest horn of anypony in the Academy. “Good morning and welcome, children. Did you have pleasant dreams?” Nopony responds on account of it being an odd question or being too tired to speak at all.

Shae joins the group of twelve and squeezes in next to Eavesdrop. To her dismay, Sundance joins her as well. Her specialties are enhancement magic and making Shae vow to someday abolish randomized roommate selection in the school.

“Well,” continues the headmaster, “it is nice to know you are all so enthusiastic about the new term. To my returning students, do not worry yourselves if you haven’t been practicing over the winter holidays. We will spend the next few days reviewing basic spell practice for our rising stars.”

As I predicted, thinks Shae. She looks over to Sundance, who is wide eyed and curious about what wonders she will learn to perform. Basic offensive and defensive spells. She can handle those well enough.

The headmaster steps off of the center platform and quite literally glides past the students. “Right then, I think it’s for the best that we hone your warding abilities. Split up into teams of two and take turns blocking non-elemental projectiles.”

Shae is only able to manage a single step before Sundance has her by the foreleg. She drags her to the west side of the room, next to one of the pillars.

“No potentially lethal spells! I cannot stress that enough,” says the headmaster. “Now then, for those of you on the receiving end, I want you to imagine a shield of sorts, protecting you against anything mildly harmful. For your safety, do not try to conjure anything much larger than a dinner plate. I do not want any of my students fainting on their first day.”

“As if I have not perfected this already,” Shae mutters to herself. “Okay, Sundance. I want you to cast a tier three non-elemental projectile. That’s one of the more difficult attacks to shield against.”

Sundance beams, bouncing in place as she waits for the headmaster’s signal.

“... and absolutely no fire spells, especially after what happened when Fire Water was here; flooding the academy grounds will not be tolerated.” He speaks with a smile. His students know that while it is not a good idea to do something stupid, the worst you might get is a slap on the leg.

“Okay, magus and mages, prepare your spells...” When everypony’s horn is alit with pulsing magic, the Headmaster strikes a forehoof against the marble floor. “Begin.”

Shae’s shield comes up immediately, barely stopping Sundance’s attack. The shield winks out of existence before coming right back up in a blink of an eye at her flanks, blocking a stray lightning bolt.

"Sorry about that, Shae!" shouts a dark coated colt from across the room.

"No harm done, Atmos." Headmaster Frosthelm nods. “You have good form, Shae. That is a good lesson for you as a class to learn. You must always remember that mages and other unicorns can attack from any direction, and that's not including the dangers pegasi and the sneakier earthwalkers pose. Now, again, and this time-”

“Headmaster! You’re not going to believe this!”

Shae looks up. She recognizes the colt who barges in through the double doors, but can’t quite remember his name.

“Ah, and what will I not believe?” the Headmaster asks with a sense of amusement.

“An earthwalker is braving the mountain’s wrath, sir. My teacher told me to find you; she went with a few of the others to see if he needs help, or if he’s a rebel.”

“The Blackwings have no reason to come here,” says the Headmaster. “On the off chance that this visitor happens to be one, I can... politely ask him to leave.” He chuckles, albeit somewhat menacingly. He approaches the door. “Everypony is to continue practicing until I return, and do not try anything out of the ordinary. If you do, I shall know.”

Right away, most of the students just gather around in small groups and begin talking.

“Do you think it’s a rebel?”

“It’s probably a missionary of Dragos. They keep denying that worshipping her is forbidden.”

“Maybe it’s my mother with my birthday present!”

“Tiny, your mom’s a pegasus.”

“Oh yeah...”

Shae notices that Eavesdrop is the only one who doesn’t want to rely on rumors and speculation. She casts a cloaking spell and disappears from sight, causing Shae to smirk. Looks like our favorite sneak is out to collect more gossip. Casting her own cloaking spell, Shae takes off after Eavesdrop and the headmaster.

The entrance hall is filled with benches and cushions for visitors. Stairs on the northeastern and northwestern corners lead to the rest of school, and between them stands a statue of Fauste, the goddess of magic and alchemy.

Shae follows the sound of Eavesdrop’s hoofsteps down the northeastern flight of stairs, her own movement made silent thanks to her more advanced stealth spells.

The headmaster stands in the western part of the entrance hall, next to a burly black earthwalker in fur and steel armor. He’s in the middle of asking a question as Shae gets within earshot. “...all this way simply to deliver a message?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” says the earthwalker as he lies down on a red cushion. The floor is made wet by the melting snow upon his coat. “You may call me Wolf River. I am of the Carrier Clan.”

“I thought the Carriers to be merely a group of noble warriors, yet you come here in the service of Queen Platinum?”

“Yes, sir. She's temporarily hired the Carriers as messengers, as she'd rather not risk any interception on the part of the Blackwings."

“Ah, that is understandable."

The one “Such is the way of the twilight age. There is nopony you can wholly trust.”

“I assure you, I can be trusted,” says the headmaster. “So, about this message?”

“Actually, I was the one Carrier who offered to deliver the message here. The others were less than willing to traverse such harsh weather, and I thought it a good way to make up for... previous mistakes. Anyway, I must give it by voice, for letters can be stolen.”

“My ears are prepared. Say what you need to.”

Wolf River stands up, clears his throat and speaks. “The coastal town of Reinoc has been decimated by a lone earthwalker with no affiliation to any known clique or guild. He goes by the name of Caro. He is turquoise with with a long grey mane and he has no mark. His town of origin is unknown. All that is confirmed is that he carries a murder count in the upper forties.”

“Surely he has been brought to justice?” asks the Headmaster as his look of alarm grows stronger.

“He escaped Gallopagos Keep three days after his arrest, due to an ambush by the Blackwings. His current location is unknown and there are no leads as to where he’s going.”

“Why is this relevant to us?”

“He flattened a whole market street and inflicted incalculable damage unto many other buildings. It seems only right that the whole kingdom needs to know how dangerous Caro is. Hell, I'd wager even Shokenda Blackwing deserves to know, if only for the people of Fillydelphia.”

Headmaster Frosthelm strokes his beard, nodding slowly. “I see, I see... I assure you, if we learn anything of this Caro's whereabouts, we will inform the Queen immediately. Come along then, you have traveled far. You deserve a hot meal.”

Wolf River’s grim expression turns to relief. He eagerly follows the Headmaster. “My deepest thanks to you, good... Hey!”

He stumbles as if he's bumped into something. It only takes a second for the Headmaster to deduce what. “Eavesdrop, putting your abilities to practice is encouraged, but there is a time and a place for that. This is not either. Come out.”

Eavesdrop’s invisibility spell drops and she comes into view, still crouching. She wears a look of shame. “I will return to class, sir.” She bows and sadly shuffles up the northeastern stairs, deliberately avoiding Shae, who she winks to.

Shae finds her cunning amusing. Hm, she’s far better than she lets on.

Letting her cloaking and silencing spells dwindle as she gallops through the marble hallways, Shae begins to think about what she heard.

A lone earthwalker brings a whole town to rubble before he’s arrested? I fail to see the logic here! Even if a pony so strong existed, I doubt he would just lie down for a few town guards to put him in chains. There is something missing from all this. She thinks up many possible alternate explanations for all this hysteria as she makes for her dormitory but settles on none.

She closes the door and slides the deadbolt in place to ensure she won’t be interrupted. Her alchemy station lies on the desk nearest to her bed. While examining the bowl, grinders and mixers used to mix herbs and stray objects into useful and amusing potions, she gets an absolutely insane yet brilliant idea.

I wonder...

She lays down several ounces of blisterwort and wheat. She digs around in her alchemy set, looking for... “Aha!” Pulling out a small amount of crushed ruby, she stews it in with the other ingredients until the mix turns red and simmers. It’s enough healing potion for three flasks, which is all she has on hoof. She then packs every spell book she owns into her bag of holding, which has been enchanted to hold many more objects than it conventionally should; roughly three hundred pounds can fit in it before the spell wears off.

Perhaps it’s not a matter of whether or not this idea is crazy, but that the mystery surrounding this earthwalker named Caro fascinates Shae so much that she’s willing to pack the necessary supplies for a journey to Reinoc where she can look further into this. Perhaps there is nothing more to this story than the Carrier claims, but...

There’s a knock at the door. “Shae? Are you in there? The door’s not working!”

“Sorry about that, Sundance.” Shae undoes the deadbolt and lets the door slide open.

“You up and disappeeeeared,” Sundance whines, her lower lip trembling as she dances in place.

Shae continues packing anything she feels could be useful. Potion ingredients, pillows, soap... “I’m aware,” she says. “What are you doing out of class so early?”

“Headmaster Frosthelm waltzed in all grim and serious looking and said," Sundance puts on a faux old man's voice. "‘Class is dismissed for the morning, we will resume after the lunch break,’" She returns to her regular voice. "So I’m standing there wondering, what the hay could be so important that... “

Shae lets Sundance continue speaking, but pays no heed to her words. She is just being herself, once again.

“...and after all that, Eavesdrop and I were talking about that new book, Ultra Naturies! Or something, I don’t remember, I just wanted to know where you were, but she didn’t know-”

Shae places a hoof to Sundance’s muzzle, silencing her. “I’m sorry. I’d love to hear the rest, but I have to go, and no, before you ask, I can’t take you with me.” Shae levitates her saddlebags onto her back and then lifts up a smaller saddlebag; her school pouch. “I’ve finished all the written assignments for the next few months already. It was easy thanks to the break we had, so I’ll be turning these in to the Headmaster before heading out. I’m taking an... extracurricular activity.”

Sundance seems to lose the sparkle in her eye even as Shae pulls her hoof away. "When will you be back?"

Shae seeks for a definite answer, but without knowledge of how far away Reinoc even is, she's unable to give much beyond a shake of her head. "I don't know..." She looks back up at her dear friend. “Sundance...”

“Yes, Shae?”

“You’re my friend, right?”

Sundance rears up, eyes wide as if she’d been slapped. “Of course I’m your friend! I... I love you, you know? I love you like a sister.”

"And I'm happy for that." Shae smiles, nodding as she pulls her hood over her head. “Please, make sure all our other friends are happy as well. I’m leaving the protection of the academy’s happiness in your hooves, and there’s not a pony alive with hooves more capable than yours.”

Sundance puffs up her chest as she swells with pride. She loses her breath in a gasp as Shae’s lips press against her cheek.

“Good luck, Sunny.”

“Y-yeah,” Sundance says with a giggle. “You too.”

“You’re leaving, you say?”

Shae had intended to cross the grounds to the front building to speak to the Headmaster, but they crossed paths by the central fountain. Its normally everflowing sparkling water is frozen solid and coated in snow, along with everything else. The only relief is that the blizzard has ended and the skies above the towers of Wintercolt Academy have begun to clear.

“Yes, Headmaster Frosthelm,” says Shae. “I wish to depart on an extracurricular assignment. All students are supposed to finish one before their stay at school is finished, and I have not started mine yet.”

“I’m well aware,” The Headmaster grunts, nodding as he looks over another page from Shae’s homework. It is perfect, as per usual, and even has suggestions on how to lower the magical cost for the spells studied, and alternative ingredients for alchemical concoctions. “I find it curious that you chose today of all days to go.”

Shae opens her mouth but Frosthelm cuts her off.

“Not only is the pass going to be buried soon for another six months, but today was also the day we had a peculiar visitor... of course, you already know about that.”

Shae winces, expecting harsh words. “How did you know?”

The Headmaster laughs loudly. “My dear, why do you think Headmaster Clover gave me this position?”

“Beeeecause you were her confidant?”

“Yes, and not only that, but because I was one of the finest mages under Starswirl the Bearded's tutelage, second only to her. Why, ever since I took her place, I’ve become powerful enough to rival Starswirl.” Frosthelm’s eyes twinkle as he smiles thinly. “What makes you think I did not see you hiding upon that flight of stairs?”

Shae’s blood turns to ice water as she realizes that she’s been found out. “I... I’m sorry, I’ll report to the suspension hall immediately...”

“Now, now, I’ll have none of that, my dear.”

Instead of giving Shae relief, the statement deflates her even further. It takes her a moment to respond. “... Oh. I... I understand. Don’t worry; n-no need to fill out the paperwork, I’ll just... j-just resign, and-”

“Shae. Look at me.”

She looks up, her eyes wet with tears she is trying her hardest to hold back.

“Shae... I will not banish a student of mine for wanting to better understand something.” He chuckles, though it gives Shae no small measure of relief. “Curiosity is not a sin, after all, nor is it illegal. The only act you are guilty of is listening in on a message not meant for you, but I was planning on telling everypony soon, anyway. I wanted to send a small group, maybe only one or two, to go and investigate this atrocity. I guess I won’t have to now, though." He waves his hoof towards the bridge. "Start on your way then. You have my permission.”

Shae nods enthusiastically, but before she can take more than a few steps, Frosthelm calls for her again.

“Remember, Shae. You cannot prove somepony guilty, without first proving that they are not innocent. And do be careful! Should you encounter any undesirables, you come right back here!”

With those words in mind, a young and ambitious unicorn departs from the only home she has ever known and crosses the zig-zagging stone bridge into a violent and chaotic world. She only pauses to look beyond the bridge to the hillside, where a small graveyard can be seen. She peers at two adjacent gravestones, each adorned with her family crest, the six-pointed star.

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad." She swallows, turns away, and resumes trotting. "Time to go."