4405653
Here is Memories.

Chapter 3 of MLD Book 2
Gdoc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Mtbz54Q2UJSFVMRNMkrzFLi6WDMY2VL0HnwRRhj468/edit?usp=sharing

Shelter, as it turned out, wasn’t far.

Spike returned less than ten minutes after taking flight with news that he had spotted a dense copse of fir trees growing around a large stony outcropping. It took longer to reach it on hoof, but within an hour they were relocated, Twilight and Spike converting the spot into something resembling a safe place. Spike’s claws dug out the base of the outcropping, while Twilight’s force magic snapped logs and felled trees. Cadance helped where she could, stripping the smaller branches of their needles to insulate the impromtu cave against the rising wind and stinging cold while Zecora made a fire pit and did what she could to prep kindling.

They worked as the storm blotted out the little light the day still offered until they had something that could—generously—be called a campsite. The logs and larger branches were stacked in a rough hemisphere, the effort keeping them warm until fatigue and snow that was quickly becoming more than hoof deep sapped it away. Even with her advanced protections, Cadance couldn’t stop herself from shivering when Twilight hefted the last of the wood into place with her magic.

“There...now, fire.” Twilight’s teeth started to clatter and she charged her horn again, concentrating on the pile of sticks in the pit. A pale red-colored beam hit it a moment later, the wood popping and smoking, but it steadfastly refused to light. “Well...buck.”

“It’s too wet…” Cadance shifted awkwardly, her eyes on Twilight. It felt weird to hear her friend curse. Twilight, no matter how flustered was always polite and proper around her. “Greenwood won’t burn easily. But I know a spell that’ll dry it out pretty quickly.”

“Please.” Twilight gestured at the wood, her own tired eyes locked on the tiny curl of foul-smelling smoke rising from where she had turned up the heat. “I could really use some good news on the not-dying-of-exposure front.”

Cadance nodded, her horn flaring with arcane power, but she kept her eye on the despondent sounding Battlemage. No sooner than the light from her spell died, there was another blast from Twilight and their fire burst to life. She watched the smoke drift upward and out through the haphazard roof of downed conifers. I hope no one sees that and tracks us back here.

One by one, they huddled by the fire, the bit of snow that had gotten in as they completed the roof melting away to make the floor beneath the needles wet and soggy. Soon enough steam joined the smoke in the air and the enclosure slowly inched away from the dangerous levels of cold to something tolerable. Zecora was the first to succumb to sleep, her body leaning against Spike’s biped form. The dragon was not far behind.

Cadance fought the weariness, shaking her head to clear the fog that threatened to overcome her. Twilight sat beside her in silence, staring into the flames. Cadance watched the light dance in the reflection of Twily’s eyes, wrapping her wings tighter around herself. When she couldn’t stand it any more, she turned her whole body to face Twilight and whispered. “Are you mad at me?”

Twilight jolted as if slapped, looking at Cadance sharply. “W-what? Cadance...I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?”

“Sorry.” The alicorn sighed, hugging herself with her wings. “It’s just...well, you got distant and we were just holding each other not two hours ago.”

“Oh Cady…” Twilight sighed and ran a hoof through her disheveled mane. “It’s not you. I...I’m sorry. But...it’s been what, hardly a week since I got my first mission as your guardian and I’ve nearly died three? Four times now? Equestria isn’t even at war or anything and I’ve already seen enough action to get a whole host of medals from Princess Celestia.”

Twilight paused and swallowed rapidly. “Not that I regret taking the mission or anything! I’ve missed you so much, Cady and I would protect you, no matter what I faced.” The unicorn sighed, her voice growing soft. “But it’s still a lot to take in. So much at once to deal with. When I rescued Princess Celestia...I knew my life was in danger. But it didn’t matter. My Princess needed me. Now...you’re my Princess, and you need me to keep you safe, not space out when faced with my own fragile mortality.”

“Twily, you are the best guardian I could ask for.” Cadance smiled gently, edging closer to the Battlemage. “Trust that Aunt Celestia knew what she was doing when she assigned you to my detail. Learning to trust that she knows more than you do about most everything is a lesson I learned the hard way during my years abroad.”

“But Cady, this last time nearly got you and Spike AND Zecora killed!” Twilight frowned, shifting her weight where she sat. “I don’t think I could stand to lose you and them too.”

Cadance got a little closer to Twilight and reached out her hooves to hold Twily’s, gazing into her guardian’s eyes. “None of this is your fault, Twily. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for bringing you into something blind. I’ve had more than a few attempts on my life now, and if that changeling is to be believed, she’s mostly behind it. Which, now that I think about it, makes a certain amount of sense.”

“Tell me about it, Cady”

Cadance hung her head, resting her nose against Twilight’s shoulder. She took a slow breath, calming herself as she dug out the memories of the last five years. “These are still State Secrets, Twily, even if Aunt Tia told me I could tell you, we can’t just be blabbing about my mission.”

“I understand.” Twilight opened her cloak, her magic tugging it and her hood around them for shared warmth and privacy. She gently lifted Cadance’s chin her her hoof, smiling at her when they were face to face once more. “I don’t need every gory detail...yet. I just want to understand what life has been like for you all this time.”

Cadance nodded. “Well, my mission was basically one part legitimate diplomacy with allied and potential ally nations. But that was mostly a cover story for my real purpose of espionage.”

Twilight hissed through her teeth. “I was starting to expect that, actually. But why you? Why did Princess Celestia feel she needed to spy on our neighbors?”

“From what I was told, Aunt Tia came across some compelling information that lead her to believe that one or more of our allies were plotting against Equestria. Given my status as a newly risen Princess, and my talent for getting folks to work together, I was a natural pick. But she knew I was going to need more than a smile and a cutie mark enforced olive branch to find closely guarded secrets.” Cadance sighed, her muzzle bumping softly into Twilight’s. “The first year, she trained me in secret. She showed me how to read ponies and drakes and dog body language, how to wheel and deal in the courts and lounge rooms of power.”

“After that, I went to the Camule Republic and started my actual mission. Aunt Tia set me up with a local that would teach me how to pick locks and spot traps, how to move unseen and unheard.” She smirked at Twilight’s look of disbelief. “By day I wined and danced with the diplomats and rulers, by night I was raiding tombs.”

“When did you sleep?”

Cadance chuckled softly. “I honestly don’t remember. But other than those skills, I learned something about myself out there on the sand dunes.”

“Oh?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, slipping her hooves around Cadance’s barrel. “What’s that? A love for grit in your fetlocks?”

“No!” Cadance reached up and bopped Twily on the nose with her hoof. “I found a way to power through the grueling conditions and the training.” She leaned slightly to the side and looked back at the blue-colored heart and filigree that adorned her flank. “I found a new side to my ‘diplomagic,’ Twily. I missed you, terribly so and when I came to realize that the pain in my heart was from being without you...that I loved you, that’s when it kicked in. It gave me literal strength.”

She looked back at the purple unicorn, smiling. “You’ve been saving my life this whole time, Twily. My love for you kept me going to get back alive. And now...your love keeps me going to make sure we all get out of this alive.”

Twilight sighed and pulled Cadance closer until they were chest to chest, looking into her eyes. “When all this is settled...we’re going to have a long chat with Princess Celestia.”

“Must we?”

“But before that, you are going to give me the full details and I’m not letting you go for a full week.”

Cadance giggled. “Is that a prom—!”

She didn’t get another word out for a while. Her mouth was too busy.

Word Count: 1523
Next Prompt: Capitalize

4389466
Claiming Gems

4350624
Here is Gems

Chapter 4 in MLD: Book 2
Gdoc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18Bom3-f07YTIDC0ox8RiXIhT2y670cKGPMeR9Paogb4/edit?usp=sharing

It was dark and cold when Twilight woke up. Cadance was still a sleep in her hooves, the Princess’ legs and wings wrapped around Twilight’s middle. Vaguely, she remembered falling asleep as Zecora’s potions started to wearing off. But she wasn’t sure just how much time had passed, but the fire was out and she could feel the chill even though Cadance’s downy feathers.

Twilight slowly and regretfully extracted herself, stiffly rising to her hooves and stepping over to where they had stacked the extra kindling. Twilight rolled her shoulders, working a kink out before she grabbed a small stack of branches in her aura. Thankfully, before they had succumbed to the weariness in their bodies, Cadance had shown her how to cast the spell that dried the wood out.

She washed the magic over the wood and dropped it into the pit. She charged her horn, squinting in the wane light if her horn to aim her magic, when she heard a loud rustling and snapping noise from outside their small enclosure. She canceled the spell, her ears pricking up. Twilight tracked the sound, using just her ears and leaned to her right to tap on the end of Spike’s tail. The drake was curled into a ball around a small stack of half munched gemstones, breathing steadily, in pretty much the same spot he had been in before she’d passed out.

“Spike!” Twilight hissed, pressing into his scales with the edge of her hoof. “Spike, wake up!”

Spike groaned quietly, one eye cracking open and focusing on Twilight. “W-what is it?”

“Shhhh…” Twilight’s ears twitched, flicking and rotating as the crunching and rustling noises grew louder and multiple sources popped up around them. “I don’t know if it’s those crystal pony things we saw earlier or not, but something or somethings is out there just beyond the treeline.”

Spike picked himself up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Next to him, Zecora stirred and she lifted her head to listen to the growing noise. It even managed to wake Cadance a second later, her eyes snapping open.

“Twily.” Cadance rolled onto her stomach and grabbed Twilight’s staff from where it lay and tossed it to the Battlemage. “One of us needs to take a look out there. Whatever it is will find us soon enough.”

“Better to meet them than get overwhelmed right off the bat.” Twilight worked her jaw until it popped, her horn lighting up again as she moved some of the branches and needles that made their enclosure’s roof. Snow, several inches thick now, rained in through the small opening.

“Spike, give me a boost.” Twilight looked at Cadance and Zecora while Spike kneeled and held out his claws. “If I see something I don’t like, the first, and I mean very first thing you do is get out of this shelter. Use the pines and rocks for cover but don’t go far. We can’t protect you if you gallop wildly into the snow.”

Cadance nodded, straightening her peytral. She lit her horn, pointing it at each of them in quick succession. “There, that will handle the communication. Even if we do get separated, that spell will carry our voices to each other. So long as we don’t get more than a few hundred yards apart, that is.”

“Good call, Princess.” Spike grinned and gripped Twilight’s hoof. “Ready to do this?”

The Battlemage odded curtly, pushing off Spike’s shoulders with her forehooves when he lifted her to the low ceiling. Twilight craned her neck upward, sticking her head out into the open. The sky above her was still covered in heavy clouds, though the snow was no longer falling and the winds were still. What time is it? It feels like we’ve been here for hours but the sun is still up?

Twilight squinted at the sky for a second, then looked down, her ears moving around to zero in on the sounds. There were at least five distinct sources she could detect, all of them moving slowly through what seemed to be the outer edges of the copse of trees they were sheltered in. One in particular, the one to her left, seemed closest.

She grit her teeth, running the calculations in her head for destructive blast of fire magic. Remember your training, Twilight. Wait until you have a target...never attack blindly. She repeated the mantra over and over, neck muscles tensing. Whatever was moving through the trees was taking its time about it, moving slightly, then stopping for a moment.

What are they doing? Twilight forced her breathing to remain steady. It wouldn’t do to snap like a twig when the time came. She had to stay calm to react quickly and correctly. What if it’s not those crystal ponies? I don’t want to hurt anyone innocent.

Time seemed to stretch, the seconds ticking by at a snail’s pace.

Twilight’s ears were just starting to go numb in the cold when one of the nearer trees rustled, shaking some of the snow from it’s needles. She held her breath and a second later felted, broad antlers pushed the lower branches aside to reveal a very tall and wooly caribou, its mouth full of lichen. It froze when it noticed the hastily made shelter of felled fir trees and the unicorn head sticking out from the top of it.

“Twily!” Cadance’s whisper hissed in Twilight’s ear, thanks to the communication spell. “What’s going on? The noises outside stopped.”

“Uh...it’s a...caribou.” Twilight swallowed, her voice quiet as the caribou moved a bit closer, its eyes flicking back and forth from examining her to looking over the shelter. “I don’t know if it’s friendly.”

“Well, it’s probably not an enemy. If you see one, there must be dozens or more nearby, they move in migratory herds.” Came Cadance’s answer from below. “If there are caribou here, we are very far north! They almost never leave the tundra unless it’s for trading. What tribe does it belong to?”

“How am I supposed to tell that?” Twilight flattened her ears as the caribou got closer and came fully out of the trees. From her vantage point, it looked to stand taller than Spike, and though it was hard to tell with the shaggy coat, she assumed it was a male.

“Look on the antlers. They crave symbols there to denote their tribal allegiances.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, squinting in the poor lighting. Sure enough, when the caribou turned its head, there was a faint pattern traced into the broad side of its antler. “Um...it looks kind of like a tree...or a plant of some sort.”

Cadance was silent for a long second before saying anything else. “That’s the Borealis tribe...I think. But what are they doing here? They never came to the trade meetings. They stayed the farthest away from Equestria and didn’t leave their ancestral forests.”

“Could we hurry this up?” Spike groaned quietly. “This is murder on my back and shoulders!”

“Oh! Sorry, Spike!” Cadance tapped Twilight on the leg. “If they aren’t attacking us, they could help us get back home. Or at least not freeze to death.”

Twilight grunted lifted herself up a bit higher. The motion made the caribou freeze again, looking up at her. Twilight worked one hoof through the hole in the roof and waved cautiously. “Uh...do you speak Equuish?” The caribou blinked at her, raising an eyebrow. She tried again. “Er...sprechen Germane? Draconic?”

“Try this: ‘Halló, getur þú skilur mig?’” Cadance’s voice whispered in Twilight’s ear. Twilight opened her mouth and stuttered through the first few syllables until she gave up. “Sorry, but my mouth can’t do that. You’re gonna have to get out here, Cady.”

The caribou snickered and leaned against one of the standing trees while the pony in the pile of wood wiggled and wobbled about for a moment while louder and louder pained groaning came from inside. Eventually, snow and sticks fell from the top and the single pony head was joined by a second, significantly more pink colored pony head. This one smiled down at him and when it opened it’s mouth, words that he could actually understand spilled out.

<<Hello! I am Princess Cadance of Equestria, and I offer greeting to a member of the Borealis Tribe of the Wandering Nations!>>

The caribou snorted. <<And I’m the Spirit Elder for the whole Water Buffalo peoples.>>

<<Actually,>> Cadance grunted, struggling to work herself up higher and out of the hole. <<It’s the Bison that have Spirit Elders, but see?>> She heaved and pulled her torso loose of the hole, shoving Twilight to the side, the unicorn muttering complaints under her breath. <<I have wings and a horn! Real, legit Princess here.>>

<<Well...that is a horse of a different color.>> The caribou took a knee and bowed his head low. <<I am Forage Fortune. I am a gatherer for my people. It is an honor to meet a true Alicorn. What, if I may ask, are you doing out here, of all places?>>

<<It’s a long story.>> Cadance struggled to free herself completely and flared her wings for balance to descend to the ground next to Forage Fortune. <<Do you know where we are? I always thought your tribe stayed in the arctic forests?>>

<<That is how we do, yes. But the return of the Cursed Ones has forced us to join with our fellow tribes in migrating. Forgive me, but I would have assumed you knew that. We saw your airship sailing toward them just an hour ago.>>

Word Count: 1620 (A little longer than originally intended, but I needed to get to a good breakpoint)
Next Prompt: Space

4439980 I'm gonna go ahead and take space.

4449190 I'm actually gonna have to go ahead and open that one back up. Sorry 'bout that. Disregard my claim on space.

4389466
Claiming Life

(Fake) Fight.

If Twilight Sparkle knew anything with certainty, it was the fact that anything odd and defying explanation could be traced back to one of the princesses. It was inevitable - so long as the investigator in question was willing to put in time and effort to trace the chain of events far enough, it invariably began with something one princess or another have had said, done or ventured.

So, the only thing that really puzzled her was which of the three her current predicament would trace itself to. Her bits were on Luna. A mage with such an enviable grasp of offensive magic seemed like someone Luna would`ve likely known or even employed prior to her banishment. Inordinate prevalence of shadow use in magic also hinted at Luna. However, she noted with a measure of distaste, Luna was currently the least available of all the princesses - off on a diplomatic mission in Saddle Arabia. Privately, Twilight suspected that mission entailed nothing more then hobnobbing with sultan while pigging out on lukum and pahlava. Luna`s sweet tooth have had been well known around Equestria by now.

Celestia was a good fallback option, but unfortunately, she`s been busy with inauguration of a new airship. "Decadence" was slated to moor tomorrow at midday, which meant Twilight still had to wait at least a full day before she could pose any poignant questions to her mentor. Which left only Cadence for today. - the least likely option, but one Twilight felt the need to explore as well, simply to soothe her sense of completionism, if nothing else. Which, in turn, lead to a current situation - sitting across from Cadence and holding a cup of tea that Cadence dropped in shock.

"...Oh dear. Do you have any idea as to when it all began, Twilight?" - proffered pink princess cautiously, as she took her cup back and took a long sip from it. Twilight Sparkle rubbed the back of her head as she mulled over the situation. It wasn`t the easiest of questions. "Roughly about a week ago. At least, that`s for how long I`ve been consciously aware of it. I take it you know what this is?" - she inquired thoughtfully, gesturing at the crystal holding the magical construct. She`s been able to capture the core of it, but unfortunately it didn`t cut the link entirely - she could still feel the weight of foreign memories vying for her attention.

Cadence sighed. "I do." - she proffered with a measure of grim resolution coloring her voice - "What you see is the soul of Prismia. I didn`t expect her to manifest like this or so soon for that matter, but... clearly, she has other ideas about it." Twilight pursed her lips as she regarded the core with newfound distaste. "Prismia, huh? So she`s the reason why you ascended? Funny, I thought you`ve won that fight once and for all." - she mused, unaware that Cadence flinched and turned away at the word fight. The words, however, caught her attention well.

"I`m afraid it wasn`t much of a fight, Twilight." - Cadence offered pensively - "If anything, I was rather sympathetic to her. Unfortunately, there was simply no way to settle things fair and square back then." She leaned over and nudged the geode with wingtip. Sparkling ball wobbled and dimmed for a second, wisp of shadow swirling around the crystal haphazardly. "We can`t afford to let it degrade, Twilight." - she proffered seriously - "Let`s go see what we can find in the treasury. I think I saw some suitable diamonds there."

"Hm. Why? Cadence, this is rather cruel. I understand she`s an enemy of the state, but really... keeping her entrapped in a soulgem for ages? I think I can tolerate a few more days of haunting, if it helps her to pass on." - objected smaller alicorn, as she nudged the soulgem from her side - "The only reason why I bothered to trap her is to show you what exactly we`re dealing with."

Cadence heaved a sigh. "It`s... not that easy, Twilight. It never is." - she muttered - "I made a deal with her, you see. And to keep my part of the deal, it`s really important to keep her here, as it were." Lavender brow creased as Twilight mulled over the response. "...A deal. That... huh. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, are you telling me that you`ve agreed to reincarnate her?" - she proffered slowly, shaking her head - "That`s... rather bucking crazy, if you pardon my prench."

Cadence leaned back and sighed again. "I think it would be easier if I`ll tell you the story from the beginning." - she proffered, taking a long sip from her cup - "It would answer at least half of your questions in one go, at the very least." Taking the silence of other alicorn as a go-ahead sign, she continued - "To begin with, I`d like to note one important thing. Lady Prismia is responsible for a whole lot of things... but a vast majority of them are good."

"It`s not a common knowledge nowadays, but a hundred years ago, she was pretty much second most important pony in Equestria, right after Celestia. Exceptionally gifted general and battlemage, the existence of Equestrian Centennial Armistice is mostly there because all of our neighbors would rather agree to a century-long legally binging non-aggression pact rather then deal with her again." - proffered Cadence pensively - "Despite that, she`s largely unknown in the history books. I`m pretty sure you had an inkling about her involvement, but never had any idea just how much of an influence she really had."

"...Oh. Don`t tell me she tried for Equestrian throne after that." - quipped Twilight - "That must`ve been awkward." Pink alicorn chuckled - "It would be, if she did. The truth, however, is far stranger then that. Prismia, for all her merits, had one... rather peculiar... well, let`s say condition, because the only other word I can think of is curse, and I`m very much certain no one cursed her." Cadence paused for a moment, and shook her head - "And yes... try not to laugh. The problem was that it was all but impossible to actually reward Prismia somehow."

Twilight snorted - "She wanted immortality, didn`t she? Now it`s clearer, indeed." Cadence shook her head, however. "Not really. At least, she never asked Celestia for it, to the best of my knowledge." - she proffered - "In fact, she never asked for anything, period, because with her, well... condition? It was hazardous to."

That merited Twilight`s attention. "Cadence. Can you please just tell me what is it all about?" - she proffered - "You`re beating around the bush... And while normally, I`d like a challenge to figure it out myself, I can`t help but think there is some crucial detail you`re withholding from me."

"Not hiding anything, Twilight. Prismia had the most peculiar misfortune regarding rewards. Anytime anyone tried to reward her for anything, things happened. And by things I mean coincidences, mistakes and misfortunes of unprecedented magnitude and malice. According to what I knew at the time, not a single reward intended for her reached her hooves safely. Celestia awards her a medal? Jeweler accidentally added tin instead of silver into the alloy. Whole thing just broke off the ribbon when Celestia tried to award it, bounced off Prismia`s nose, rolled across the whole plaza and disappeared into a gutter. Awk-ward, to hear her tell it. Celestia tries to give her a landed title? Earthquake swallows the town, ponies flee from the county. You probably know this area as Crags County. Yeah, it`s part of Badlands, now. Used to be pretty profitable county. Grew best watermelons in Equestria, if I recall it right. As the dust settled down, Prismia found herself a countess of a province that had no subjects - neither current, nor willing to move in. Celestia attempts to at least throw her a parade after she brings home another win? Clerical error - public is told that parade is held in honor of Prism the Fourth. As he was among the other dozen ponies honored by the same parade and held the highest nobility title of them all, no one thought it strange. Prismia herself didn`t even get an invitation. And so on and so on and so on. You have to agree, Twilight - when it looks like fate itself is doing it`s best to snub you, going a little mad with anger and jealousy is, well... kind of likely."

"...Well. That explains things, yes. If that kind of condition was persistent, I guess I wouldn`t blame a pony for snapping eventually." - Twilight mused slowly - "So... she did, huh?" Cadence shrugged. "I`d like to think she didn`t. But she wasn`t exactly of sound mind when I finally met her, Twilight." - she responded - "You have to keep in mind - I was born when Prismia was already in her nineties. As far as I know, she resigned shortly after centennial armistice was ratified, retreated into her county, built herself a shack and started magical research into the source of her problem. If I`m reading between the lines right, nobles at the time figured out there was something wrong with her and were not merciful with their rumors in the slightest. So by the time I actually ventured there to deal with her, it`s been about fifty years of living on her lonesome trying to decypher something directly related to chaos magic. By that time, ponies have had managed to flat-out forget any good she`s done - she was simply "that wicked pony witch from gnarled forest" for pretty much everypony you`d ask."

"Let me guess. You went there, got the story from her, then did something... unexpected enough to actually ascend you to deal with her problem." - Twilight proffered slowly - "And now I`ve got stuck in your loose ends again, correct?" Pink princess shrugged - "Well, yes, pretty much. She wasn`t in any condition to fight, really. I know there`s a lot of talk about me "defeating" her, but the truth is? Anypony out there to actually defeat Prismia would only need one good kick to end her for good. What I really did? Well, nothing particularly important. I just hung around trying to make her last days as comfortable as I could. She never found out how to defeat her misfortune, after all. I thought the least I could do is to care for her for as long as she`d last. Turned out, it was merely seventeen days."

"Wait, so how did you ascend at all? I thought that you made her see all the... well, as the common story goes. Now you`re telling me that you never caused any epiphany in her at all?" - inquired Twilight incredulously. Cadence shuffled her hoof. "Well, uh... this is where things get dicey." - she proffered awkwardly - "Remember what happens when ponies die? The whole reincarnation until you`re content business? Turns out Prismia was so discontent with her life that she couldn`t reincarnate. As in... there literally wasn`t a thing simple enough to accommodate her."

"Wait, that`s not possible. If the cycle of reincarnation is so fluffed that... oh. OH. You mean she was literally going to worms?" - exclaimed Twilight as she finally figured out the problem - "And you... ascended by... intentionally soultrapping her? Hole in the sky above you, what were you thinking?"

"It`s not like I was aware of her plans at the time, Twilight." - responded Cadence wearily - "It was her last-ditch effort. Keep in mind, I was just a pegasus filly back then. I had no idea about the cycle of reincarnation other then it happened. I most certainly didn`t know there is such thing as soultrapping. All that I really did was promise her that I`ll do my best to carry out her "last experiment" if she happened to die. Well, she did. I still have no idea how I got the horn out of the deal, but... Celestia thinks it`s because Prismia was exceptionally powerful unicorn back in her day, and I ended up "borrowing" her ability when I went through with her plans."

Twilight snorted - 'Wonderful. So, what you`re telling me is that you`re liable to revert to pegasus as soon as you`re done with your long-standing obligation? And what does it mean for our little arrangement, hm?" Cadence sighed - "Actually, I planned to speak to you about it. Hence having the original soulgem delivered. Unfortunately, it seems that Prismia found you before I did. As to what it means for our arrangement? Well... The good news is, I`m not reverting back to mortal form. It`s just not an option right now. And by not an option, I mean it in a "it`s easier to end the world" sense, rather then "I don`t want to consider it" sense. The... neutral news is that I`d have to follow up on the promise sooner or later, and that means... options. Which I have to discuss with you."

"Alright. Correct me if I`m wrong, but the option we are looking at right now goes like this... We use the gem, you go pregnant, give birth to a foal with Prismia`s soul, and then we bring her up as our child." - Twilight proffered dryly. Cadence shrunk back on herself. "...Yes. Sort of. Except right now it`s more likely you`re the one who`d have to go pregnant. But other then that... would you really object?" - she mumbled.

"I guess I won`t... but I`m still mad at you, Cadence. You really could`ve told me earlier. What if I decided to disperse Prismia instead?" - she returned wryly - "I`m not sure just how much of conscience she has like this... but do try to reassure her if you can. I`m going to get some fresh air and think about it. And then we`re going to get some quills, some ink, some parchment, and draw up a checklist to check all the checklists for that. If I`m having a foal with you, it`s going to be a planned one."

Next Prompt: Saltshaker

Here is Life.

Chapter 5 in MLD Book 2. Here is the gdoc link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GJ8HO1_B18VVJ_RUfXeP370Q1aS68_wWVfsCHOlcnQs/edit?usp=sharing

It was warm and bright when she woke up. Jade and emerald colored eyes blinking numbly at the pink fur and fluff that surrounded her as she lay on her side in some large, plush bed. She remained still, letting her breathing continue in the steady rhythm from her sleep. The inner edges of the holes in her chitin, along her legs, were sore and felt raw and chaffed. Otherwise, Chrysalis felt surprisingly refreshed and rested in a way she hadn’t since the last time Monarca had slept over in her Princess’ bed.

Chrysalis could taste magic in the air. Everything was coated with the ethereal residue of it. Under the magic she could taste the emotions of those who cast it. Desperation. Anger. Fear. Pride. Loss. And something else that she couldn’t place. It had a hauntingly familiar quality to it, like something she hadn’t tasted in ages, but nothing more than the vague feeling sparked in her memory.

As she search her mind, other memories, just as ancient, but unbidden and ones she had thought long since lost, arose. Light filled hours spent in a room that was decorated in pink fluffy things. Years spent as a filly in a huge palace surrounded by snow where she would gaze at paintings of places that were located to the far south where everything was lush and green all year. Months spent in dim rooms, drilling spells in her head, into her horn until she could cast them without thinking about them. Days locked in the darkness whenever she failed one of her father’s tests.

“I know you are awake, my little Crystal. You can stop pretending.”

The voice was deep and thick, rumbling against her back like distant thunder. It was just as she remembered it: rich and warm with a caring tone that promised support and unconditional love. She’d learned the basics of deception from that voice. She learned how honey drew you in and concealed the iron underneath. Her father had always been a fine teacher.

Chrysalis curled her legs against herself, focusing on the sore feeling in the openings in her chitin. “I liked it better when you were just another one of the voices in my head.”

“I was never just a voice in your head. You know that, Crystal.”

“I prefer Chrysalis now.” She wound herself into a tighter fetal position, her throat plates constricting and her breath growing a little ragged. “I had things under control. I didn’t you to interfer.”

“I beg to differ, Crystal.” He chuckled, the tiny barbs in his tone slowly revealing themselves. “You were dillydallying. Playing overly long with those lesser ponies. I taught you better than to disobey me.”

Chrysalis shuddered, tensing when she felt someone draw the blanket covering her up higher onto her shoulder. She didn’t look up, but she could sense that no one was in the room except the two of them. “You taught me to take what I want from this world and buck the rest.” She swallowed with some difficulty and took a calming breath. “I-I don’t want you. I don’t want th-this. What I want, you can’t give me. So, I guess you can tell what category that puts you in.”

A broad, heavy hoof touched her shoulder. It smelled like smoke to her. “I think you may want to re-think that. I can give my little Crystal what she wants. Join with me, as is your duty and birthright. Let us be a family again, Crystal, and I will give you everything you have fought for for so long. I’ll even return to you all that which you’ve lost.”

As he spoke, the hoof drifted up her neck, brushing aside her web-like mane until he reached her ear. He rubbed her there, like he was soothing the bad dreams from a filly. “I can give you the world and your priestess. I can make you not just my own little Princess again, but I can make you Princess to the entire world, Crystal. Join me, do as I bid you to and it will all be yours.”

Despite herself, Chrysalis relaxed under the gentle massage and the waves of the deep voice as it washed over her. My father is dead. Killed by his greed and hubris when he challenged a goddess. I can remember feeling him become no more. I can remember it! She forced her body tighter into the safe coil of limbs and torso, all but her eyes and ears below the blanket that covered her.

Across from the bed, in the bright light that was streaming in from above, she could see a simple end table. It was made from the stained wood of sub-arctic pines—she was sure of it—and on top was a filly’s toy, a dolly with golden hair and a blue dress. I used to have one just like it. I called her… Chrysalis closed her eyes, fighting for the memory. It was so close, but it kept eluding her. Her eyes snapped back open and she looked around the room as best she could without moving her head for fear of seeing the pony that stood behind her.

Toys, keepsakes from her first dozen or so birthdays littered the dresser and the large vanity table. Jars that she knew held make up stood at attention like soldiers in front of the mirror there. Just like I left them…

Chrysalis shuddered again. It felt so much like home, so much like the place she had left and vowed out of her father’s hearing, that she would never return to. It’s all a lie...right? It can’t be him...it can’t be here! I-I...I checked. There was nothing left, not even a coin or a brick, just holes in the ground and fresh snow! The Empire is gone. Right?

“I know what you’re thinking, Crystal. You’re wondering if I’m telling the truth. You remember my training—and I will be the first to admit it was harsh and I was hard on you—and you are wondering if it will be like that again.” The voice got closer and the hoof at her ear dropped to her shoulder and tugged gently at her. “Well, I promise you, it won’t be. I want you at my side, Crystal. I want us to be a family again, just like old times. I know things...didn’t...go according to plan, but I know we can overcome it. This time...this time, my little sweetling, those abominations won’t stop us. They can try, but no matter what, I know that this time, we will prevail.”

It will be different...right? Chrysalis shook her head, biting her lip to hold back the whimpers that were trying to escape her. He...he isn’t just a dream. This isn’t just in my mind, right?

The hoof tugged at her incessantly, growing firmer with pull. “This time they won’t catch me by surprise. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ve become stronger while in my exile. Stronger than they can even fathom. No longer will you need to slink in the shadows to get close to the priestess. I will just give her to you on a silver platter.” The hoof grabbed her and yanked her around onto her back. Above her, her father, Sombra the Black smiled, his teeth gleaming white amid his inky coat. “I’ll even let her keep most of her limbs.”

Chrysalis pulled away, backing away as far as the pillow would allow her from the apparition. His eyes were the same carnelian she remembered, but now they were surrounded by a sickly green glow. His mane was wild as ever, but now it seemed to wave in a wind only it felt, the dark hair becoming like smoke as it flowed away from Sombra. He leaned closer and then paused, looking up as if he heard something.

“Oh good.” He looked back at her, his eyes gleaming. “Come my little Crystal, I want you to see this.”

“S-see what?”

“The fireworks are just about to start.”

---

Several hours previous:

“Helm, report.” Celestia blinked the residual magic of the Corona’s transport gate out of her eyes, turning to look out the portside windows at the grey and white mountain range outside. Tiny blots of bright color color peeked out from some of the distant ledges and crannies, Minotauran tribal kits flying in the air. “At least it looks like we are on course. What do you think, Luna?”

The night Princess took a deep breath and held it for a moment. “Yes...I can feel that we are much closer now.” Luna sighed, joining Celestia a moment later. “We are still a far ways off though, and in the middle of foreign airspace, I might add.”

“I had word sent to the Collective’s elder council before we left. It should reach them before news of our passing through does.”

“And what if we should run into the Collective’s airforce out here?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “I realize the need for haste, believe me, but we run the risk of an international incident, Tia. An experimental airship suddenly appearing where conventional wisdom says it cannot and it’s loaded with canons.”

“Unloaded canons.” Celestia shrugged, scanning the horizon for any signs of threat. “Not that they will care about that at the start. I’m hoping that the secret airbase that they are rumored to have out here is just a rumor.” She clicked her tongue and looked back over her shoulder. “Helm! Where’s my report?”

“Sorry ma’am!” The pegasus pony at the helm saluted smartly. “I just got word back from the engine room. There was a small fire, but it is now contained. The lead engineer isn’t sure when the gate generator will be useable again, as of yet.”

“What about the standard aether engine?” Celestia turned around fully, stepping over to the helm to glance over the multitude of gauges and dials that displayed the condition of the Corona’s systems.

“Operating within optimal conditions, ma’am.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded to herself. “Get Navigation to pinpoint our location, then I want this ship on a course my sister sets at full speed.” She tapped a hoof against one of the pressure gauges and watched the needle move slowly away from the red end. “How far do you think we have yet to go yet?”

“Leagues, easily.” Luna gestured with her horn. “That way...a day’s flight by our wings. A few few hours at worst with the Corona. I think.”

“She’s as fast an airship as any Equestria has ever produced, Luna. We’ll be there before this Sombra can muster forces enough to face us.”

“About that…” Luna frowned, looking back at her sister with a steady stare. “Might we speak in private? There are things we must discuss.”

The older Princess nodded and led the way to the captain's chamber. There was barely room for the two of them and the small bed and table inside. As soon as her wheeled harness crossed the threshold, she closed the door and her magic sealed them in a hemisphere of privacy.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Was the door not private enough?”

“Not if I want full disclosure from you.” Luna deadpanned and rustled her feathers, getting comfortable as the little space allowed. “I want to know why you were so gung ho to come after Sombra you would risk an international incident that could throw the country into a war with the Minotauran Collective.”

“If this Sombra is as bad as you recall, the war would come anyway if he were allowed to gain a hoofhold on the north. We’ve been allied with the Minotaurs for generations now, I’m sure things may get tense, but would be smoothed over.” Celestia took a seat on the floor, facing her sister. “I believe my actions thus far have been logical.”

“Oh drop the act, Tia, you are talking to me, not some noble or pack of reporters!” Luna rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I know Sombra is a threat like no other. Better than you do. We cannot under estimate him, sister. But I know you too. The Flaming Sword of Equestria does not go storming into battle half cocked. You plan, you prepare, you stack the deck. And yet, here we are about to charge into the dragon’s den without so much as checking the color of the scales on the ground!”

The younger Princess sneered. “Tell me what has you in a vise. I know you like your secrets, Tia, but I need to be in on them this time. Hesitation or mistrust might end us against this threat.”

Celestia scowled, her eyes on her hooves for a long moment. When she looked up, Luna could see a touch of fear in those lavender irises. “Lulu...I’m worried. Things are coming together in a way I wasn’t prepared for and I fear I may have been complacent in this situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...lots of things...disseperate things going back centuries are all coming together. Connections I only suspected are suddenly becoming clear, Lulu.” Celestia hung her head. “There are times...when Chrysalis is stable. She’s a wonderful mare when she is...but then there are other times and she goes to some place...else. I-I just wonder if in those times when she wasn’t stable, did she set these things up? Did she manipulate me, and if so, was it intentional? Or was it her madness? I sent Cadance out based on rumors I picked up from my informants...but was that all from her, Lulu?”

“Oh sweet Goddesses, Tia...are you serious? I knew you liked the bug, but this?” Luna slumped in her harness. “You think is some mistake of yours that needs to be corrected? Unless you taught her how to break the seal, then there is none of your fault for Sombra’s release here. Rest your soul on that, at least. But what does the changeling have to do with this anyway?”

“I’ve suspected, since you told me about Sombra that he might be her father.” Celestia was silent for a time. “I don’t claim to know any details...but I remember from before, in the Everfree when she was simply competing for your place, hearing her sometimes speak of her father in hushed tones. She was scared of him like nothing I’ve ever known, Luna.”

“And now he is back.”

“Yes.” Celestia wiped her eye with the edge of her hoof. “And I’ve lost contact with Chrysalis. She hasn’t been seen in any of her regular haunts. I was concerned she might go do something to Cadance..but now I’m terrified to think she released Sombra and he has her again.”

“So...we are rushing to war with a stallion that fought me in my full goddesshood to a standstill to rescue your...is marefriend even the right word? Is she a mare any longer?”

Celestia snorted, smirking up at Luna. “She’s not a pony, technically. But trust me, she’s all mare.”

Went entirely too long on this one. I'll try to trim it back again next chapter.
New Prompt: Just Listen

4389466
Claiming Breathing.

Claiming: Just Listen

Here is Breathing

Chapter 6 in MLD Book 2.
Here is the Gdoc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b4yEYdVjMwW71KPtktl73qvYMFXaKzIIXC_jTQz8KBI/edit?usp=sharing

The cold and the wind made it harder and harder to breathe. Even with the heavy cloaks and yakfur wraps that caribou had traded them for a hoof-ful of the young drake’s snack gems, it was difficult. The walk through the knee deep snow was bad enough, but now they were starting to climb low hills. Her legs ached and she was getting winded quicker. The group of them and their caribou guide had to keep stopping because of her and it was turning the already tough travel into something hellish.

“Want me to carry you?” Spike’s sudden question shocked her out of her thoughts, her legs coming to a stop in the snow.

“No. T‘ank you, Spike. I can keep up...for now.”

The dragon nodded, but he didn’t look convinced under the thick parka hood that protected him from the worst of the wind. She didn’t sound convincing to her own ears. If they did not stop for rest soon, the choice to keep walking was likely be out of her hooves. They both started moving again and she looked up to the two ponies and their guide, off a short way from them. The guide was saying something to the Princess again. The mare spoke back in the same language and then turned and translated for her guardian.

Zecora shook her head. The alicorn was an amazing creature. She spoke the caribou’s tongue as fluently as she spoke Equish and Swayhili. It would not surprise her to learn that the mare knew the languages of every ally that Equestria had. Princess Cadance not only knew how to communicate, but fight like a demon too, if the experience in the ancient Sun temple was any indication.

Cadance and the unicorn, Twilight, shared some words and the Princess laughed at whatever passed between them. The Princess leaned in and they smiled at each other, their horns touching gently. Even in this horrible cold and weather, that small show of affection warmed her old bones. Oh to be young, so talented and so very much in love. It was a shame that they were being forced into an uncertain future by the events around them.

“How much farther do you think it is, Zecora?”

She looked at Spike and shrugged, but his eyes were focused on the couple in front of them. “I canna tell t‘at, Spike. T‘e Nort’ is unfamiliar me. I’ve walked t‘e Everfree for a long time, studying all it teach me. T‘is place is alien to me.”

“I know. I’m just worried that the storm is making us walk in circles. I feel like we should have seen something by now.” Spike grunted and shrugged. “But all there is, is snow and ice and lichen and rocks. The caribou tribe said there was a forest and then we’d come to the place they say this storm is coming from.”

“‘T’ey also say t‘ere be ‘ills before t‘e forest and t‘ese already kill me knees.”

“The offer still stands to carry you.” Spike gave her a thumbs up. “I’m pretty strong.”

“I know. You ‘ave me t’anks, but I can go for a bit more. I t’ink.” She bit down a pained grunt, lifting her legs to dig her hooves out of the fresh snow. “W’at you t’ink ‘bout da legend t’e Princess translate for us from t’em? T’at t’ey slaves long ago until some goddess come an’ save t’em from a crystal devil?”

The dragon shrugged again, stomping his way through the drifts next to her. “I dunno. But I’ve seen and heard a lot of weirder things. We did see those ponies that looked like they were made from crystals dragging the changeling off. Why do you suppose that was anyway? We were all laying there around it, but they only bothered with her.”

Zecora shook her head. It puzzled her, but now that they knew about the caribou tribe’s origin legends, it did oddly mesh with the legends of the peoples of the Everfree. From what she understood, the changeling started out as a foreign-born pony, possibly named Crystal. And the Moon Priestess had gone to the far north when she stepped down from her position of rulership. Could she be the same ‘Goddess’ that freed the ancient caribou?

“I wonder t’at, same. Maybe t’ere is connections we don’t see. Makes me want to know more ‘bout t’is place though.” Zecora sighed, watching her breath mist for a moment before the wind ripped it away. Up ahead she could make out a dark line that separated the snow covered tundra from the snow-filled mass of clouds in the sky. “Wendigos take me...is t’at...the forest?”

Spike held up a claw to block the wan light and squinted. “I think so.”

“T’en I’ll take you up on t’at offer.”

---

Several hours previous

Luna shook her head, looking at her sister with tired eyes. “You can keep the details to yourself. But…I understand the feeling, Tia. You have my support in rescuing your bug, if she is even there. Sombra, however, comes first. He was a psychopath and he wielded power like I’ve never seen in a non-alicorn. He is dangerous, Tia. Strong, fast, and when he fought me, he wasted not a thought on sacrificing his people if it led to a benefit.”

She looked away for a moment, her eyes searching the room until they returned to Celestia. “He will make us kill to defend ourselves. Are you ready for that?”

Celestia nodded, her horn sparking and her eponymous warmug appearing beside her, steam wafting off the Foalgers blended coffee inside it. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had to do that, but I am ready. I will protect my peoples and my country with my life.” She smiled ruefully. “I am Equestria’s Sword.”

“And I, Her Shield.” Luna’s smile matched her sister’s and she held out her hoof. Celestia met her and they bumped their hooves together. “Together we will prevail. Stop the evil, save the kingdom.”

“Get the mare.” Celestia finished for her sister. “Just like old times, eh Lulu?”

“I suppose so. When was the last time we did this?”

“The War of Endless Plains, wasn’t it?” Celestia took a sip of her coffee, brows narrowed in thought.

“Was it? We put down the mustang barbarians over a century ago.” Luna frowned, tapping her hoof as she wracked her mind for any more recent conflict where either of them had taken the field. “Wow, has it really been that long? I hope you’ve been staying sharp.”

Now Celestia rolled her eyes. “Not as much as I would like, honestly. I haven’t sparred with a serious opponent since I sent Sunset out to deal with that issue down in Seavannah.”

“What about Twilight? She’s easily as skilled as Sunset.” Luna smirked. “I should know.”

“Exactly!” Celestia gestured at her sister’s wheeled harness. “I want a serious opponent, not someone that might have a powersurge and accidentally put my rear in a sling!”

The dark alicorn snorted, her face serious. “This was no accident, Celestia. Twilight broke me, in a single blast. That level of power is just as insane as what Sombra wielded. It is a shame she is not with us.”

“Personally, I’m glad she’s not.” Celestia took another slow sip from her warmug. “She’s protecting Cadance. This way, neither of them will see me like this. I’ve wanted to keep war as far from their lives as possible, Luna. Part of the reason I had Cadance spying on our allies was to prevent the kinds of conflicts that destabilize whole regions of the world. I want this world to be safe and beautiful for them and for all ponies.”

“So you want them to see your war face only in paintings then? Never the reality?” Luna shrugged. “A noble pursuit.”

“Ultimately, it’s why I fight. To make the world a better place.”

“Using force to create peace tastes bittersweet to me, Celestia. But I understand how you feel about it. I see it as penance for our great arrogance...but that’s me.” Luna shrugged again. She opened her mouth to say something more, when she paused and looked back at the door behind her. Luna canceled her silence spell and the tiny cabin was suddenly filled with loud banging.

Luna opened the door and both sisters regarded the pony that had interrupted them. The pegasus ensign wore a uniform that placed him with the helm command structure. “Yes?”

“Pardon me ma’am...ma’am’s...I was sent to inform you that Navigation has our current location.” The stallion swallowed nervously. “We’ve also sighted another airship. It’s too far to make clear identification, but it looks Minotuaran. It changed course to intercept us almost as soon as we spotted it.”

“Thank you.” Celestia sighed, climbing to her hooves. “Why is nothing ever easy, Luna?”

Word Count: 1496
New Prompt: Lapis

Is Longing already taken? I don't think so, SOO:

Twiligt sat on the edge of her bed, hooves fumbling as she remembered her spa day with Cadence. It had been so nice. But now it was over, and she couldn't help but long for more time with her crush. Her friends had tried to get her to go outside, do some things with them. but she refused them. the only pony she wanted was Cadence. Her one and only. If only she had more time.
Her friends weren't the only ones to try and get to her. Spike had, and the Cakes. Probably because Pinkie asked them for help. But, like with her friends, she refused. Spike had gone off to get ice cream, and she was alone. Alone and longing for more time with the only pony she had ever loved. She had no idea what she was going to do.
Twilight had considered sending Cadence a letter, but with Spike out, she had no way of sending it, and since he usually wrote everything, her quillmanship was mostly illegible.
"If only I had more time... Now I'm alone. I pushed everypony away. It's my fault I'm this way..."

Cadence sat in her own room, remembering her time with Twilight at the spa. If only she had more time.

Now, for the new prompt. hmm... How about Lollipop

Let`s keep the list current, shall we? I think Breathing got doublebooked as is. I`ve took the last list and replaced all the taken entries with respective suggestions.

Adorkable
Buffalo
Capitalize (Fuzzyfurvert)
Fighting (Fuzzyfurvert)
Just Listen (Bekdontraz)
Lapis
Lollipop
Newton
Pencil
Pregnancy
Radishes
Saltshaker
Space

P.S. Yep, ArguingPizza and FuzzyFurvert both got to Breathing. ^_^ And Longing wasn`t even on the list. Oh well.

4578194
Claiming Fighting.

Claiming Indulgent

Ugh. I wanted to do more with this, but I kept staring at the same fracking screen for a week.

Anyway, here's Indulgent, sequel to Beer and Trifecta

Twilight sat next to Cadance in a small booth tucked into a corner of the fine dining restaurant they finally agreed to after breakfast that morning. In contrast to the sharply dressed waiter standing on the other side of the table, Twilight and Cadance wore understated silver torcs bearing their Cutie Marks.

“Anything to drink to start your night, your Highnesses?” the waiter asked, a small pad levitated in front of his face.

“Just ‘ladies’, please,” Cadance replied. “We don’t need any special treatment.”

“As you wish.”

“I’m feeling a bit indulgent tonight,” Twilight interjected. “Perhaps a cocktail. Any ideas, Cadance?”

“Sex on the Beach?”

“Cadance!” Twilight hissed as her cheeks flushed a dark red.

Cadance giggled openly. “It’s a drink, love, and it’s good! We’ll take two.”

“O-oh. Yes, two of... those. Thank you.” Twilight covered her blushing face with her hooves. Once she heard the waiter trot away, she muttered, “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“What fun is it to indulge if I can’t tease you, too?” Cadance pulled Twilight to her and wrapped her foreleg around the younger alicorn’s withers. “Come on, we’re supposed to be having fun tonight. So let’s just let our hair down and have fun!”

Twilight nuzzled Cadance’s neck and pulled away. “Alright, we can have fun. But let’s keep the unsubtle sex jokes to a minimum, hmm?”

Cadance smiled and stole a quick kiss from Twilight’s cheek. “Deal.”

The waiter returned and set two tall, ice-filled glasses in front of both ponies. Twilight eyed the pink-orange drink with a raised eyebrow and took a tentative sip. “Mm. Sweet, kind of peachy, a little bite of alcohol... not bad. Cheers!” She tapped her glass to Cadance’s and both took long drags and set their glasses down on the table; Cadance’s was noticeably fuller.

Next prompt is Newton

4578194
Claiming Capitalize.

Finishing up Fighting today. It grew too big, so I'm splitting it over two prompts.

Here is Fighting!
Chapter 7 in MLD: Book 2
Gdoc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wloPmw_CGO0GAZCoyNbCShiS4gbyMg1jFxIunCt5Z60/edit?usp=sharing
Sorry this took so long. Between work and real life and other writing projects, this kept getting bumped to the back burner.

Twilight pulled back the heavy hood of her parka, craning her head back to look up at the huge wooden structure before her. Logs, each as thick as pony and twenty paces long if they were a yard, were set pointing toward the heavens, their branches long since carved away, but the rough texture of their bark still clinging in places. The logs formed a gigantic gate, bound with twisted vines that looked as thick as her leg. On each side, boulders that must have weighed hundreds of tons each, hung as counterweights to the massive doors.

She took a deep breath and coughed in the pine scented air. Under it there was a hint of mold and rot. The mud under her hooves was probably to blame for that. Here, near the huge wooden structure, the breeze wasn’t very strong, but the heat was making her start to sweat under her furs. Her saddle bags with her spell book and supplies and her battle staff’s holster felt like they were plastered to her already. The snow was gone at this point, deep in the foothills. The unnatural storm raging from over the mountains carried equally unnatural heat with it, and this close to the caribou’s forbidden lands, it felt almost like a early spring day rather than the deep of winter. The snow had turned to slush an hour’s walk ago, the permafrost losing the ‘perma’ part of its name shortly after.

The trek up the last set of hills was literally miles in muddy gunk, uphill the whole way. Their caribou guide turned back after the ground really started to get soft. The look of pure confusion and fear was clearer than any translation Cadance could provide of his parting comments. Thankfully, by the time he’d turned away, it was fairly obvious where they were headed.

She turned and looked over at the Princess, who was equally in stunned silence, staring up at the huge gate edifice. “So...what did you say the guide called this place?”

Cadance shook off her own hood, frowning in thought. “Roughly translated...’Vise Gate’. Looking up at the sheer cliffs on either side of this...gate...I’d say it fits. Beyond this lies the caribous’ forbidden lands. The place the caribou say the their crystal devil lives and where they said the Royal Sister’s airship was headed.”

“This has got to be the worst idea in the history of ideas.” Twilight chuckled morosely. “Walking into the unknown in the face of a massive magical weather phenomenon, all to chase the possibility of finding the Princesses on the other side. We don’t even know for certain what’s out there. All we have to go on is vague details.”

“And hope.” Cadance sighed softly, looking at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. “How else are we going to get back to Equestria? We’re more than two thousand miles from Canterlot.”

“I’m supposed to keep you safe.”

“Can you make food for us? Protect us from the weather?” Cadance’s ears flicked back, turning to focus on the second half of their group. Her voice grew quieter so it wouldn’t carry. “What about Spike and Zecora?”

“Spike’s a tank. And he can literally eat rocks.”

“But we can’t. Zecora isn’t going to make it through the pass without good rest.”

“I know.” Twilight sighed, glancing over her shoulder at their companions. Spike had switched to his quadruped form, carrying the elder zebra on his saddle since they had reached the edge of the arboreal forest. That was nearly seven hours ago as far as she could tell. Her internal clock was having a hissy fit with the sun appearing to not even move this far north.

Spike sat on a wooden platform that passed as a sort of porch or common area for one of the abandoned huts the Arboreal caribou tribe had left behind in their mass exodus. He was breathing slowly now, but the strain was showing even on his draconic face. Zecora looked hardly any better.

Twilight turned back to Cadance. “We’ll rest for the night...the day...I can’t tell anymore.” She sighed tiredly. “At least it’s warm and the caribou must have left some supplies behind. But tomorrow, we open the gate and tackle the pass.”

The Princess nodded slowly. “I’ll find us something to eat. Think you can fix up a place for us to rest?”

“Yeah.” Twilight put a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder. “Don’t go too far, ok?”

“I can take care of myself, at least for a little bit.” Cadance smiled, patting Twilight’s hoof with her wing. “Thank you for trusting me enough to let me.”

“I figure you deserve it at this point.” Twilight smirked and leaned in to Cadance, her voice growing quiet. “I mean it though about not going far. Best friend privilege allows me to slap you for being dumb, Princesshood or not.”

“I’ll be good, I promise!” The alicorn giggled, ducking in to kiss Twilight’s cheek. “Besides, you have a lot more than just ‘best friend privilege’ with me, my little dynamite. Under the right circumstances, I might even like a spanking from you.”

“Cady!” Twilight squeaked out her name, leaning away from Cadance. “Th-there is a time and p-place for that, and this is not—”

“Either one, I know.” Cadance’s smirk softened, her wing holding Twilight’s hoof in place against her side. “I’m still going to hold you to that promise about holding me for a week once all this is over. I really am.”

“I honestly wouldn’t expect otherwise.” Twilight huffed, shaking her frazzled mane back into some simbilance of order and slowly let go of her Princess. She reached up to her own chest and pulled the tie that kept her parka on. “After we get everything set up, I want to hear more about your time abroad, ok?”

The Princess nodded curtly and shot her guardian a wink before she trotted off to search the nearby abandoned caribou homes.

---

About an hour later…

Twilight sighed contently. She was comfortable for what seemed like the first time in ages, the parkas she and Cadance had worn earlier now acting as bundles of cushions on the hut floor. The temperature was still climbing, and it felt like a chilly Canterlot spring morning more than night in the arctic. Even so, it still seemed prudent to light a fire in the hut’s cooking pit, which Zecora was tending at the far end of the large single room caribou building.

After some rest, the older zebra had perked back up to her usual self, but she was being oddly quiet beyond the occasion murmur in her native tongue. Spike, on the other hoof, was already out. The cold and effort of aiding Zecora though the hills had taken a larger toll on him than they’d realized. He was still in his winged, quardepedial form, curled into a loose ball between them and the fire, breathing gently. His bellows-like breathing put Twilight more at ease. If fhe let her mind wander, it felt like they could almost be back home.

The cold meal of scavenged sweet grass, lichen and some sort of small nut they’d shared earlier sat heavily in her gut, but at least she was fed. That was nice. Nicer still was the warm weight of Cadance against her side. The Princess yawned again and Twilight flicked her tail to rest protectively over Cadance’s curly tri-colored tail. “No going to sleep yet. You promised to tell me more about these past five years.”

“I don’t remembering promising, perse…” Cadance chuckled softly, leaning harder against her guardian. “But I suppose I can keep going.” She bopped Twilight on the snout with her wing.

“I want to know more about where you learned to fight.” Twilight nodded at the golden vambraces. “Where did you learn how to use blades so fast like that? I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“Ppffft!” The alicorn waved dismissively. “It’s not that impressive. I basically failed at all the lessons I was given. I’ll need decades of practice if I want to truly master it...but to be honest, I don’t think I have it in me to be a warrior.”

“That’s my job, Cady. I’m your ‘Knight’ and you’re my Princess.”

“I always fancied myself more the Lady, really. The ‘Princess’ role in all those foals’ stories is the innocent damsel, while the Lady knows when to let loose and party.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “I always know you had a hint of the more rebellious ‘Commoner’ in you.”

“More than you know!” Cadance laughed. “But if you’re really interested in my technic, I’ll tell you. After the first year in Camule learning how to schmooze and raid tombs, I was moved to Mustangia.”

“Why?”

“There...was an attempt on my life. A bombing. Thankfully, no one was seriously harmed, but it scared me. Aunt Celestia had told me many times that it was a potentially dangerous mission...but it didn’t hit home until my room at the embassy went up in flames.” Cadance sighed, looking down at her hooves. “Later I was told that it was some radical that was responsible, and the Princess had me secreted away to the wilds of Mustangia. I know it’s technically a part of Equestria now, but you’d never know it by looking. The Mustangs run in massive herds across the Endless Plain, just as they have for thousands of years. It’s like stepping back in time, Twilight.”

The unicorn nodded. “Okay...I get that taking you there would be a great place to hide you, but wouldn’t that impede your spying mission?”

“That was put on hiatus while the Princess introduced me to some of the Mustangs’ grandmasters of Hoof Boxing. I spent the next three months getting a basic primer for the style, but let me tell you, I can’t hold a candle to those ponies. The sheer force they put into a strike is unbelieveable, Twily”

Twilight raised a suspicious eyebrow, leaning back and fixing Cadance with her gaze. “Do I need to be concerned about you being under the care of all these stallions?”

“Ew. Of course not. Could you see me really wanting to hang out with some hulking, shaggy coat guy? I firmly prefer the sleeker styling of mares, thank you very much!” Cadance giggled and then tapped her chin contemplatively. “Though, come to think of it, there were some cute fillies I sparred with while in Mustangia.”

“Cady!”

“Oh hush, you know that my heart only flies for you, Twily” Candace chuckled softly again, nuzzling Twilight’s neck. “You have nothing to fear in that respect. Besides, all the Mustang fillies made fun of me for being so bad at boxing. Until I finally managed a win in one sparring match by increasing my speed with my wings. After that, I started to incorporate it more into the style, which earned me some begrudging respect and few unkind nicknames.”

She held up one of her vambraces, turning it slowly so that the light caught on all the intricate filigree and tiny etched runes that hinted at its hidden inner workings. “One of the my instructors said it reminded him of the griffons’ martial art, Muay Caw. That was all it took for Aunt Celestia to uproot me again and drop me in Griffonstone. Three more months of training went by while these were commissioned from a Minotaur smith and then enchanted by a Diamond Dog mage that both owed Equestria a favor.”

“Wow…” Twilight squinted at Cadance’s weapons, leaning close.

“It’s not that impressive, really. I’m just trained enough to get out of a bad situation. I’m no fighter...diplomacy and stealth are far more my speed. Which I suppose is my pegasus heritage shining through.” Cadance snorted dismissively. “When we were ambushed back in the Everfree, I was getting owned, Twilight. If Chrysalis hadn’t been distracted with her banter, she could have snapped me like a twig! Any real warrior would. That’s why when I offically went back on mission, I had this commissioned for myself.”

Cadance patted her side where her under-the-wing holster kept her hull-breacher gun. “The Goddess created ponykind, but Sam the Colt made them equal.”

Word Count: 2074 (Slightly longer than I wanted, but not by too much)
New Prompt: Pickle

Poke....

Anybody here

"Pickle." I go to try and revive this thing and the last prompt is pickle.

No wonder this just died out...