The rickety carriage slid uneasily on the icy roads, my luggage bouncing in the seat next to me. I reached over a hoof to steady the suitcase, and the howling wind took the chance to exploit my change in focus, ripping the heavy wool cloak that surrounded me from my grasp. Frigid wind and snow rushed in to fill the space, and I shivered as it assaulted my body. I pushed the suitcase into a more secure position, before clasping my cloak back around my frozen body and slumping deeper into the seat.

“Bit too far from home, aren’t you, Inspector?” Came a voice from ahead of me.

I adjusted my view, peeking out of my hood at the seat across from me, at the brown earth pony that sat there. He was wearing some type of thick cloth, but had the hood down. His modestly long, greasy black hair tossed in the wind, blowing in every direction, yet he still looked at me with a smarmy smile on his face.

It was like he was enjoying the misery I was experiencing. I kept my thoughts to myself.

“How far are we from Glenhearth?” I responded, the wind taking most of my words with it.

I looked at the sky above. Endless torrents of dark snow poured out from the even darker clouds that swirled above. Monstrous forms of black that pooled and swept across the sky, dragging the ferocious wind with it.

And with every passing hour, it seemed to fall closer to the earth, bringer with it more wind and thicker snow.

This entire trip was a nightmare.

I turned back to the driver. Streethoof was the only carriage driver that had bothered to take me this far north, so I assumed watching my tone was essential, as playing polite was much easier than walking all the way back to Canterlot. He was staring at me, that expressionless sort-of-glare still on his face.

“Don’t get many unicorns up here this time of the year, that’s all, Inspector.” He said, meandering around my question like he hadn’t even heard it, pretending that I was some type of greenhorn that didn’t know his ass from his horn. I bit my tongue back.

“I’ve been all over the kingdom, Streethoof, don’t get that wrong.”

He laughed, “And yet you’re still shivering like a newborn. Bet you’d trade that,” he tapped the top of his head, “for some earth pony sturdiness right about now, huh?”

I shrugged, as much as I could with my cloak wrapped around me. “I’d take my magic over brute force, regardless. Some… cold isn’t going to be enough to persuade me any different.”

He chuckled and shook his head, leaning back on his seat, resting a hoof over the side of the carriage. “I’m just saying, Inspector, don’t mistake my personality for any slight against you.” He glanced up at the sky, watching the weather. “Besides, we should be reaching Glenhearth in a bit, providing the weather doesn’t get any worse, just sit back and try to relax for a bit.” He turned around and jumped down to the front seat on the carriage.

The cart we were on moved sluggishly along, the ponies at the front grunting and pushing through the snow with the best of their might. Streethoof sat above them, telling them where to turn in the storm.

I stayed seated up top, waiting for any sign of the village to appear. As much as I strained my eyes through the blizzard, I saw nothing but the complete whiteness of snow, and the frosty wind that assaulted my eyes forced me to keep my head lowered as we ventured on. I resigned myself to my thoughts to pass the time.

Like what in Tartarus’ name I was doing this far north.

Glenhearth wasn’t marked on any map, and the information available in the Canterlot Academy archives painted a very blurry picture of an earth pony town, with a few dozen houses and a strong farming community, like most of the communities around the area. An otherwise unimportant place that would likely be forgotten somewhere along the lines. And I wouldn’t have been here at all, had it not been to checkup on a fellow inspector.

Inspector Brightstar had left for Glenhearth a month and a half back, to deal with some agriculture issues that Magistrate Ironstone, the current authority in the town, had sent back to the academy a while ago.

However, he hadn’t returned, and now it was my duty to play babysitter and see if had fixed the initial issue.

“Inspector, come and look!” Called Streethoof from the front of the carriage.

I crawled along the top, shielding myself as best as I could from the snow, to where he was. And as I crested the top of the carriage, the mist cleared just enough for me to see the outlines of buildings in the distance. I looked down at Streethoof, and he smiled back at me.

“Welcome to Glenhearth, Inspector.”

---

The town was about as much as I expected. A few dozen or so modest, wooden two-story homes, coupled with some shops and markets to trade. The storm was less intense in town, and I saw crowds of earth ponies roaming around the buildings as they went about their daily business. Streethoof ordered the carriage into the town square before stopping.

In fact, all I saw were earth ponies. Not a single pegasus or unicorn entered my vision at all.

Streethoof laughed when I brought this up.

“Too cold for anyone else, really,” he said. “Pegasi can’t stay up here long because their wings would freeze, and most unicorns can’t stand the weather as well as earth ponies. Most of them just leave.” He shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “What about newborn ponies? They can’t really up and leave.”

“Inspector, this has been an earth pony farming community for generations, as far as I can tell, there hasn’t been a unicorn or pegasus foal born here in ages. Just pure earth ponies families as far as you can see.” He lowered his voice as he leaned in towards me. “In fact, I’d keep your magic to a minimum. It’s bad enough you’re an outsider, but some ponies here have probably never seen magic in their lives, so just be a bit careful with your horn.”

Oh great, this was going to be just perfect. A town full of racists that hated magic. I really couldn’t believe that nothing but earth ponies were born here, there had to be a rare case every now and again, but if the crowds of earth ponies around us said anything, it was that Streethoof was probably right.

He saw the expression on my face and chuckled. “It won’t be too bad, Inspector, just do what you need to do, and I’ll bring you back when you’re finished. I’m in town trading for a few days, so don’t worry about transport.”

“What could you possibly trade in this town?” I asked.

He waved a hoof at me dismissively. “This far up north with this weather and no magic? Come on, Inspector. Towns like this depend on shipments of kerosene and other fuel to keep the fires going at night. Otherwise, ponies might freeze. With the weather being how’s it been, Glenhearth’s been buying up more and more each time.” He frowned. “It’s getting hard to keep up with demand, and if this weather keeps up then things won’t be pretty.”

A cold breeze blew past the two of us, and I grabbed my cloak to keep it wrapped around my body. “The weather’s been getting colder all over the kingdom, Streethoof. If it keeps up they’ll have to move.”

Streethoof gave me an odd look, as if he considered my solution strange, but he just shook his head at me. He pointed a hoof at a big building across the town square, with large double doors and a pleasant brick base. “That’s the magistrate house. I’d check in if I were you.”

I nodded at him, and waved goodbye, before walking across the square.

Maybe the magistrate could explain where Brightstar was, and what the town was suffering from.

I only barely noticed the strange glares and whispers at me as I walked.

---

The Magistrate’s office was impressive. Fancy, golden crested armors and paintings lined the walls that were tasteful, yet modest. As my eyes drifted past the windows on the wall, I saw they were frosted on the outside heavily, a sign of the increasingly terrible bad weather.

“Inspector.”

I turned my eyes to the magistrate himself. Ironstone was an older, grey pony with stark white hair that was gelled back. He spoke slowly to me, a blank smile on his face. The two guards that flanked him looked less welcoming. They wore their glares freely, both staring uncomfortably at my horn.

“Have you come to check in on us?” He said.

I nodded at him. “I’ve come to check up on Inspector Brightstar, who was here a while back. He hasn’t sent anymore reports.”

Ironstone’s face contorted in confusion. “Brightstar? Why, he left a while back. He checked up on why our crops weren’t growing, planted some heat wards to thaw the soil, and then left after his wards failed to warm the earth. Did he not make it back to Canterlot? Maybe the weather or the road bandits got him”

From what I knew of Brightstar, he was a seasoned magician, and something as trivial as weather, regardless of how cold, shouldn’t be enough to do him in. Combine that with the fact Brightstar never sent a report stating his efforts and subsequent failure, and the magistrate’s response rubbed me the wrong way, but I put that aside for now.

“His heat wards didn’t work?” I asked, to get him to divulge more details.

The magistrate shook his head. “Nope, in fact they even made the soil colder, and the crops die faster. I’ve seen some awful unicorn magic, but the fact that someone from the ‘respected’ Academy would fail is a bit funny. No offense, of course.” He laughed.

I bit my lip. Yeah, no offense.

“I’m sure there’s another reason for that, Magistrate.”

He shrugged. “Either his wards were faulty, or he was actively trying to sabotage the soil. Stories around town put Brightstar at disagreements with many residents, and I know you Canterlot unicorns are trying your best to force your way into earth ponies societies to increase our dependency on your magic.” He shot me a dark glare. “It wouldn’t strike me as strange that he failed on purpose.”

I opened my mouth to speak but he continued.

“Now, we’re a fair earth pony town. We’re traditional, and we don’t appreciate outsiders coming in, disturbing our peace, and trying to pull the wool over our eyes, Inspector. So, if you don’t mind, we’ll handle any agriculture issues ourselves, and would really appreciate if you would leave.”

The silence cut through the air like a knife.

“Magistrate, I can assure you that we’re only here to help.”

He scoffed.

“Now, maybe Brightstar’s wards did fail, but there would be another reason for tha-“

“It was the witch! The witch and her-!” Shouted the guard to the right of the magistrate.

“Groundspear! ENOUGH!” The magistrate slammed his hoof on the desk, silencing the guard.

I looked at the guard and turned back to Ironstone. “Witch…?”

He sighed, and rubbed his head. “It’s… it’s a…. it’s…” He coughed before continuing. “There was a family of unicorns outside the village who put a curse down on the town. That was when the weather started going bad. We dealt with them, however, but… the curse still affects the village.” He laughed. “Its sounds foolish, right, but you didn’t see what these unicorns could do, Inspector.”

I blinked at him. “And you solved this problem how?”

He chuckled at me uneasily, “We ran them out of town, nothing too serious.” He refused to look me in the eyes as he spoke. “You can see why the villagers don’t like magic… or unicorns, so please Inspector, I’d advise you to make your trip as short as possible.

I cleared my throat, shuffling on my feet. “I’m going to check the wards that Brightstar placed, to see if they were faulty. After that, we’ll see.”

He nodded. “Very well, guards, show the Inspector out, please.”

I turned and glanced at the windows again, but the frost that had been outside now crept along the inside of the windowpane, threatening to spread onto the surrounding wooden walls.

As I stepped back out into the cold storm , ponies ran along me, gathering at one of the houses in the square. I heard worried yelling and harsh crying, and I forced my way through the crowd to see what had caused this uproar.

As I pushed through, I saw foals being brought out of a house, their bodies frigid and stone-like. The crowd around me were yelling, and I saw the mother and father being held back by the others. Everyone was talking at once, and I picked up bits and pieces of words.

“…Fire died late in the night in their room…”

“…It was so cold that they-…”

Someone in the crowd shoved past me, and turned on me violently.

“Watch where you’re-” His voiced died away as he looked at me, more specifically the horn jutting from my head.

“Unicorn! Unicorn!” He shouted, drawing the attention of others around us. “Your magic, it’s your fault they froze to death! You’re not supposed to be here!”

I heard more voices ring out around us, joining in and tossing threats around. I backed away from the pony shouting, and pulled my hood tighter, dipping through the crowd as I fled. The insults and yelling followed me for longer than I cared to admit as I ran into an alley for cover, and to catch my breath.

I’d check the field and leave, any more time here would be dangerous.

---

I stared at the sample in my hoof, not sure what was happening.

“Well,” said a voice behind me. “Do ya kno’ what’s wrong, Inspector? Can you leave, now?

I blinked, and looked around at the farm I was standing on. Every piece of soil was the same. I looked at the blue flecks of frost that covered the earth in my hoof.

Frozen solid.

It felt like a rock it my hooves, not something that any vegetable would grow in. The heat wards that Brightstar had set up had done nothing, maybe even made the case worse.

I understood why they might be suspicious of magic now. Brightstar had showed up, and his magic didn’t actually solve anything, and the worsening of the weather had only made the earth ponies think he was sabotaging the farms on purpose.

I dropped the sample back to the soil and turned to the farmer behind me.

“The soil’s too cold, sir. Nothing will grow.” I blew an annoyed breath. “I can replace the heat wards and make them hotter, to help warm the soil bu-“

“NO!” He yelled at me.

I backed a step away.

“I mean, no.” He lowered his voice and coughed. “No more magic, please, I’ll figure it out myself…. Thanks.” He turned and walked away.

I looked across the frozen field. Simple climate change wouldn’t cause this, especially not as fast. It had to be something else. A spell maybe.

As my eyes passed the tree line at the edge of the field, I spotted a hooded figure watching me from the distance. I kept my eyes lowered to the ground, careful not to give away that I had seen them, as I crept around the side of the farm.

Was this the witch that the magistrate had mentioned? Was she behind all the problems?

I snuck into trees from the opposite of where she had been standing. Sure enough, as I crept through the woods, I saw glimpses of her robe sway between the branches where I had spotted her earlier. I closed in on her, and clumsily stepped on a branch that I hadn’t noticed. She whirled around, saw me, and began to flee.

I chased after her, through the snowy woods. She may have known the path better, but I was faster, and soon enough her cloak was within reach. I heard her exaggerated breathing as I drew near.

Just a little closer.

I leapt at her, wrapping my hooves around her chest as I dragged her to the ground. We rolled in a snow for a second as she yelled. We came to a halt, and I positioned myself on top of her before she could escape. I saw her frantic green eyes dart around as she tried to shove me off her. Her pale white coat blended easily into the snow. I opened my mouth and was prepared to interrogate her, but found my eyes focused on the little insignia hanging from her neck.

The little circular emblem that was engraved with the Canterlot Academy symbol.

Starbright’s badge.

I grabbed her, and held the badge up to her face.

“Where did you get this?” I asked her as calmly as possible.

Her eyes were wild, but she focused on the badge eventually, before looking at me. “I can show you.”

---

She spoke not as word as he led me through the frozen forest. The high, snowy peaks of the trees stretched upwards to the sky and seemed to disappear among the clouds.

She told me her name was Glimmer after we had walked for a few minutes.

Glimmer danced around the trees, seemingly careful to not disturb them, and I followed after her, not sure what I was going to find here. Why did she have the Brightstar’s academy badge? Where did she get it? And most importantly, what had happened to Brightstar? According to her, he hadn’t left, and that wasn’t to say I had much reason to trust her, but after my experiences here so far, I had even less reason to trust Magistrate Ironstone and the villagers.

The storm above us was still raging, snow and ice swirling through the dark grey sky, melting and freezing against any unprotected skin. It wasn’t natural, it couldn’t have been. Temperatures and climate shifts like these would have taken decades to culminate, but this weather had come and ravaged the empire in months.

She told me about herself as we continued on. Her parents had lived in a house on the edge of the village for years. They frequently fought with the earth ponies about magic. That was when the bad weather had started, apparently. Around the same time that Brightstar had shown up.

Tensions only worsened, and one day she had come home to find her parents and home gone.

That was the word she used. ‘Gone’. I could only imagine what that meant. And judging by the magistrate’s words and the villager reactions to me, it hadn’t been a gentle ‘gone’ either.

“It’s the white wolves,” Glimmer said. “They come out and get the mean ponies, and the more mean you are, the worse the weather will get.”

I laughed at her. “Wolves don’t do that, Glimmer.” But she only frowned and shook her head.

I continued to follower Glimmer as she stepped into a clearing among the trees. She stopped and turned, waiting for me as I walked towards her.

“Where are we, Glimmer?” I asked.

She lowered her face to the ground, before pointing a hoof high to the sky. “This is where they put the magic users.”

I followed her hoof with my eyes, staring straight up among the towering trees. The thick snow and wailing wind made it hard to see exactly what she was pointing at, and the twisting ropes spinning back and forth on-

Ropes?

I traced my vision down the spiraling ropes, down the frozen nooses at the end of the ropes, and onto the frozen bodies that hung there, twirling in the wind. Their gaunt blue skin and ghastly hollow faces stared back at me with sunken eyes. The cold had preserved most of the bodies, preventing decay from distorting their features, and I saw, in horror, all the agonized expressions on their faces. I scanned through the bodies, my own vision spinning as I tasted vomit on the back of my tongue. The horns on their heads cracked and bloodied, as if smashed off. Finally, I came to a familiar sight. The black cloak that matched mine almost exactly.

Brightstar hung in the middle of the bodies, his black cloak frozen to his form. His face seemed fresher than the others, his bulging eyes still stuck out from their sockets.

“This is what they do to magic users.” Glimmered muttered as she kept her head down. “Mom and Dad are up there, too. They blamed them for the cold. I tried to tell them about the winter wolves but they didn’t listen.”

My mind raced to find a conclusion, my vision spinning along with the bodies among the branches.

And I screamed.

---

We snuck back to the inn under the cover of the storm. I held my cloak tight around my body, and Glimmer kept her hood up to cover her horn. The inn was near empty. The bartender was nowhere to be seen, and only Streethoof was sat at the counter. Glimmer slipped upstairs when no one was looking as I sat down next to Streethoof. He gave me a weird look as I leaned in to him.

“Inspector, is something wrong?” He asked as he nursed a mug of ale.

“We need to leave. Now.” I responded quietly.

“And why is that? Are you already finished with your business? I’ve still got a day or two of trading left you know.”

“I really can’t explain this to you now, Streethoof, but we have to leave.”

Outside voices were gathering, and the volume at which they were speaking grew. I turned, and could make out the glow of torches reflected in the glass of the windows.

“Spread out and find her, I saw him with her!” Shouted a voice over the lull of the others.

Streethoof looked at me and placed his mug on the counter, sighing. “Meet me out back in two minutes.”

I nodded at him, and slipped upstairs to my room.

Glimmer quietly shut the door behind me as I slammed my suitcase down on the bed, and pulled on my backpack. She retreated from the door, hiding herself in the closet at the opposite end of the room.

“I shouldn’t be here.” She whimpered softly, as her body shivered.

I slammed pieces of clothing, food, supplies and other essentials into the suitcase, leaving behind most of what I had brought. Sweat dripped down my forehead and into my eyes, and I frantically wiped my hoof across my face to clear my vision.

“We need some things, Glimmer, in case something happens. It’ll only take a few seconds, I promise.” I told her as I finished with the suitcase. I closed it, picked it up with my magic, and turned to her.

Her eyes were shooting all over the room, and her body trembled so intensely I was afraid she was going to faint.

“We have to go now, our ride’s waiting.”

She didn’t look at me.

“Glimmer!” I grabbed a hold of her hoof.

Her eyes focused on me and she nodded. I dragged her from the room and back down the stairs, before slipping out the back door of the inn. The wind and snow blasted us as soon as we were outside, but I could still make out the figure of Streethoof waving as us from across the street. The roar of the crowd was lost in the growing volume of the wind, so I hauled Glimmer across the street as fast as possible.

“Who’s this?” Streethoof asked as I pushed Glimmer onto the carriage and threw my suitcase up on top.

“Someone who really can’t afford to get caught right now, Streethoof.” I looked at him. “I don’t think it’d be wise for any of us to get caught at this point, actually.”

“Don’t be vague with me boy.” Streethoof spat. “Do you know how much this trip cost me? Leaving isn’t something I’ll do on your whim.”

“I found where they hanged the unicorns.” I said without even blinking at him.

“What do you mean, hanged?” He responded.

“I mean, hanged, Streethoof. That’s what they’re blaming the weather on.”

Streethoof looked like he was going to argue some more, but as he stared at my face, he shut his mouth, and turned to the two ponies that were hitching themselves to the front of the cart. “Get suited up, guys, we’re leaving.” He turned me as he jumped aboard the carriage. “You better hang on.”

As soon as the two pullers had hitched themselves to the car, Streethoof held the reigns and we pulled out onto one of the side roads. The wind blew all around us, and I hoped that it would cover our escape.

The flare of torches could be sighted through the foggy air, and as we turned onto the main road leading to the exit, voices rang out from around us.

“They’re heading for the exit. Don’t let them out.”

Black shapes roamed in the mist around us, as Streethoof slapped the reigns.

“Faster!” He shouted at the two ponies hauling the cart.

The entrance gate was slowly lowering as we turned the final corner to exit the town. I saw the heavy glint of steel racing down at us as we sped towards it.

“Come on!” I heard Streethoof slap the reigns again.

The torches were behind us now, dozens of them, and I saw faces illuminated by the light, all of them staring at Glimmer and the carriage. She was curled up into a ball, shivering and crying, mumbling something to herself that I couldn't hear.

I focused back on the falling gate, the heavy metal that would shatter the cart if it hit us. With every passing blink, it fell closer and closer to the ground. I held my breath as we got near. Ten meters. Five. One.

The pointed tips at the bottom brushed over the top of my head as I ducked, and I heard Streethoof cheer as we passed the falling metal hunk. I too, threw my hooves up in celebration as I turned, but my cheer died on my lips. The bottom of the gate caught the back end of the carriage, splintering through the wood easily and ripping off the back half of our vehicle. All the supplies scattered to the ground and were lost in the storm. The back wheels blew apart as they were crushed into the snow, and the car tipped upwards as the weight shifted.

Streethoof yelled something as we slipped off the road and tumbled off into the storm. I grabbed onto what remained of the railing, desperate to stay attached to our only hope in this blizzard. I saw Glimmer sliding across the floor, and used my other hoof to grab her jacket, to keep her from being lost in the storm.

Branches whipped past as the cart mashed through the snowy forest.

Slow down, slow down!” Streethoof bawled over and over again.

And suddenly the trees disappeared as did the ground beneath us. The rocky cliffs in front of us appeared out of the haze of the snow. The front of the cart went pitching over the ledge, the two ponies hitched in on the front screaming as they fell.

Streethoof managed to turn to me, and kicked me harshly in the stomach. The blow shattered my grip on the railing, and I went sailing over the edge of the wagon, dragging Glimmer by the hood with me.

As I fell, I watched the snowy silhouette of Streethoof and the carriage disappear over the edge of the cliff.

I smashed my head on the ground as I landed and the whiteness turned to blackness.

---

“Inspector, get up, please!” Glimmer’s voice stirred life back into me. I shook off the haze running through my head as I rose to my feet, the world still spinning. Glimmer was next to me, crying.

I ignored the pounding in my eyes as I turned to her.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She shook her head. “They…t-they went-t o-over the edge, Inspector! Over the edge!” She bawled.

I nodded at her, the motion almost caused me to vomit, as I took her hoof.

“We have to keep going. Please, Glimmer.”

I didn’t wait for her response. I simply started running.

The wraith of the blizzard swarmed around the two of us, as I dragged Glimmer through the snow. I couldn’t even see where I was going, the thick walls of white hung over the world in all directions. I just had to get the two of us away from the town, as far as possible.

“Where are we, Inspector?” Glimmer’s worried voice boomed in my ear. “I can’t see anything.”

I pulled her along fast, searching for any resemblance of a road in the void of snow. The chill battered against my fur and flesh, and I could feel the creeping sensation of numbness working its way through my legs. The wind tore around me like a razor, whipping me cloak in every direction, and more snow washed over me in its absence. The dark abyss of lightning and clouds above threatened to come toppling down at any moment, and judging by the frozen trees that sat dead all around us, being lost would soon be the least of our worries.

Glimmer’s voice barely sounded above the icy inferno, and barely above the banging of my heartbeat in my ears.

“I’m scared, please say something.”

I blinked, and slowed, only just realizing how this was making her feel. Being dragged by some stranger off into the wild while the village hunted her down.

I turned to her.

Tears streaked from her eyes, frozen on her pale fur and skin. She was shaking, the jacket she was wearing icy and soaked through with the snow. Scratches covered her exposed body, from where we had torn through the bushes, and I could see the faint stain of blood dripping down her from several areas.

I pulled her closer, trying to shield her from the weather. “We have to keep moving, Glimmer. We can’t let them find you. Please.”

She sniffed, wiping away her tears. “I don’t understand, Inspector, I didn’t do anything. Why are they chasing me?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Glimmer, don’t think you did. They just don’t understand any better. Please, we need to keep going.”

The howling around us peaked, galling in my ears like a growl animal. Glimmer gave a small nod, turning her head towards the ground. I grabbed her hoof again, and turned back to face the snow, as we began our trek again.

“I don’t think the winter wolves will let us leave, Inspector. It’s too late.”

I didn’t pay attention, instead focused on finding a way out of the blizzard.

Every step was met with the icy sensation of snow, my limbs sinking deeper and deeper as every minute passed. The numbness that had started in my legs now had spread to the core of my body, the cold leeching my movement and energy. The world seemed to blur around me, and I was barely able to open and close my frozen eyelids. I still felt the warmth of Glimmer’s hoof in my own, a symbol that showed she was still with me. I didn’t know how she was feeling, but it couldn’t have been anything enviable. She had stopped speaking a while back, no doubt fighting against the ice that plagued her own body.

I tried desperately to use my magic, willing a spark to life on the tip of my horn, just to get any sense of warmth around the two of us. The spell flickered and fizzed, dying as the wind ripped it from my focus. The howling banged on my eardrums, and boomed in my head. Light had been ripped from the sky, and crackles of thunder and lightning above were the only sources of illumination. I had no idea where we were, or where we were going. At this point, I was stumbling through the snow, trying to keep the icy grasp of hypothermia from overcoming my battered body. One more step… that’s all I thought, just one more step…

… And then I felt hardness against my hoof. I looked down, and found traces of gravel and stone beneath my feet among the tracks of snow. I blinked wearily down at my hooves, barely able to process the sensation.

“The road…?” I mumbled.

The thought hit me like a brick.

“The road!” I yelled.

I turned to Glimmer, bracing for the worst. Her face was frost burned, heavy red splotches showing through her pale fur. Her lips cracked beyond all redemption, and her eyes had this dull, unfocused look, as she stared straight past me at nothing. Her coat was soaked and lined with ice, her jacket white from the snow. Her legs trembled in the waist high snow, threatening to give out at any moment.

She needed a fire, something warm. And quick.

I grunted, pulling her onto the road with me, laying her down. Magic, I needed magic. There was no time to cut anything. But there was still one thing to burn.

I ripped off my backpack, throwing it onto the road as I scrapped away the snow with my hooves. I backed away, focusing what little energy I had left to my horn.

I just needed something to burn. Something to start the fire. I could get wood later on. I poured energy into my horn, a red glow emanating from above me and I grit my teeth and pushed more magic into the spell. The raging storm around me threatened to rip it away, the winds whipping around me like a tornado. I planted my feet and shut my eyes, titling my head towards the ground at my backpack.

“Just a spark, that’s all,” I pleaded.

I felt the mana twirl and build in my forehead, as I molded the spell together. My muscles strained, and the pounding in my head amplified with every ounce of force I applied. And then I felt it, the fiery sensation swarmed through my bones as I opened my eyes and fired the spell.

The backpack ignited instantly, heavy purple and blue flames engulfing the fabric and my belongings inside as the fire roared to life. I funneled more magic into the blaze, fanning the flames high and wide against the wraith of the storm. The warmth flooded through my numb body, a precious source of heat against the gnawing bite of hypothermia, and I saw the steam rise from my soaked clothing. I dragged Glimmer towards the heat of the fire, focused on drying her body and getting her out of the daze she was in.

I crouched over her, placing a hoof on her body. The icy sensation was there, but traces of warmth could be felt. The foggy glow still swirled in her eyes as she looked past me, but the rising and falling of her chest told me she was still breathing.

The storm around us calmed slightly, the wind receding and the snow lightening as the misty vapor clogging the air cleared.

“Hey, Glimmer,” I whispered to her. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve found the road. All we need to do is follow it South to the nearest trading post and hire a traveler to get back to Canterlot. Everything’s going to be fine, don’t worry. Just rest and get your energy back.”

I didn’t know how much time we had, the villagers could have still been following us, they no doubt knew the way better than us, but I hoped the ferocity of the cold had forced them to back off for the time being.

“It’s going to be okay,” I told her.

She shook her head slowly, blinking, as she continued to look past me. “We’re too late, Inspector.”

I turned, and finally saw what she had been staring at.

A monstrous wall of ice stood in front of me, shooting up deep into the sky so high it melded with the dark clouds. Horizontally, it stretched as far as I could see. It glistened as I looked at it, reflecting the miserable expression I had on my face. I felt myself rear up onto my hind legs, as I smashed my hooves into the impenetrable walls.

“NO! We we’re so close! Let us out, damn it!” I yelled as I pounded on the ice. It didn’t even budge or crack, instead sending all the force I exerted reverberating back into my hooves, knocking me away.

“I am not going to sit here and freeze!” I planted my feet and aimed my horn at the wall, focusing as much magic as I could into my horn. A dull heat boiled up in me, as I tossed spell after spell of fire at the wall. The purple flames bounced harmlessly off the wall, searing away into nothing as they were ripped away in the mild wind.

“It’s no use, Inspector,” Glimmer said, her voice low and quiet.

I flung myself at the wall again, pounding and flailing to no avail as it kept tossing me back. Eventually I stood, looking at what my rage had accomplished, and saw no more than a few centimeters of the barricade has been chipped away from my physical and magical barrage. I backed away, biting my lip and trying to keep the anger building deep in my stomach contained.

“Fine!” I spat on the ground and turned back to Glimmer. “We’ll climb the damn thing.”

Glimmer looked at me with a soft smile, and slowly shook her head. The purple light of the fire cast shadows over her face. “We both know that’s not possible, Inspector. We’r-“

“Out of time?” I cut her off. “We’ll make time, then. I’ll fig-“

“Watch out!”

I barely heard the sharp twang of a string ring out from the tree line behind us before hot pain erupted across my back left leg. I cried out, my body twisting harshly as I plummeted to the ground. And then I saw them emerge out of the mist.

Glimmer crawled away from the figures, dragging herself behind me as she cowered away, shivering and hugging her body.

Magistrate Ironstone stepped into the circle of illumination provided by the fire, his face cold and emotionless as he looked down at the two of us.

“Give us the girl, Inspector.” He said.

I funneled the pain and rage into my horn, throwing flames at the approaching villagers to fend them off.

“Let us go.” I spat at them.

The magistrate shook his head and held up a hoof. “Very well.”

Another thud struck me, and I looked down to see another arrow sticking out from me. I barely heard Glimmer as she shrieked. I glanced up in time to watch the magistrate bring down the heavy handle of an axe on my head. Stars exploded across my vision as I fell, my consciousness fading out.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw him raise the axe again, and swing it down at my head. That was a bone crunching snap that reverberated through my skull, and darkness rushed in.

---

The warm sensation of blood dripping down my face awakened me. A dull, resounded pain spiked sharply across my forehead, increasing in intensity as my consciousness slowly switched on. Blood pooled in one of my eyes, and I felt the icy wind abuse the arrow wounds across my left leg and side. I blinked the one eye that would open slowly, trying to force away my hazy surroundings, desperate to see where I was. The consistent sprinkle of ice on my face told me it was still snowing, as did the violent wail of the wind rushing past me.

A slowly growing voice rose above the cacophony of the weather, and I recognized it as Ironstone.

I tried to move, only to find my limbs restricted and tied down. Dark figures moved around me, and I spotted brown, splotchy buildings around me.

I was back in town.

I thrashed harder against whatever held me back, but it was to no avail. The bindings ground against my limbs, sharp sticks jabbed into my side, and I felt rope burn on my legs and body.

“Magistrate, he’s awake.”

My rapid blinking finally cleared away enough of the haze in my eyes, and I saw what was happening around me.

I was held up, tied to some type of post, my fore and back legs bound behind me to the post. The post was dug into a pile of branches and sticks, and the faint smell of kerosene wafted up from the wood. Before me, I spotted the villagers, most of them covered in thick clothing, but all with their dark eyes focused on me.

I felt someone else tied to the post, and twisted my neck far enough to see strands of Glimmer’s hair blowing in the wind. She was bound with me. The fact that she wasn’t thrashing meant she that she must have been unconscious.

“Inspector.”

I turned my head, and saw Ironstone step forth from the crowd, but what my eyes actually focused on was the torch he was holding. The purple flame that lapped at the wood, burning brightly against the chaos of the wind and snow.

My flame.

My mind pieced together the situation, and I felt the fear that crept up my stomach.

He was going to burn us.

“I’m sorry it had to be like this, but the Witch has clouded your mind, just as she did to Brightstar before you. I cannot let my village be tainted by her foul magic.” He looked at the torch. “What an evil thing, to burn against the wishes of mother nature.” He shook his head. “Please forgive me, Inspector.”

He tossed the torch, and I watched it arch through the air. My heart beat in my chest like a drum as it landed just on the edge of the pile of wood. The flame ate its way off the torch and onto the branches beneath the two of us, and I instantly felt the wave of heat against my lower body.

The crowd cheered at the fire, and I heard several voices shout out.

“Burn, witch, burn!”

“Die and take your tainted magic with you!”

“You’ve cursed our village long enough!”

I flailed against the ropes holding me, desperate to get out anyway possible, and when they didn’t budge, I turned to magic. Agony exploded in my forehead as I concentrated, so intense that tears formed in my eyes, and it destroyed any sense of concentration that I had. I remembered the dull thud of the axe on my head, and the snapping sensation that followed back in the woods. And when I looked up through the blood and tears and snow, I found an appalling sight.

My horn was cracked off at the base, sharp splinters of bone sticking out from my forehead where it had been broken off unevenly. I screamed, with all my rage and pain, ripping violently against my bindings to no avail.

The fire was growing, consuming the lowest level of branches entirely and quickly spreading upwards. The heat against my lower body was growing to an uncomfortable level, and the feeling of singed fur was spiking across the tops of my hooves.

I felt Glimmer shiver behind me as the fire worked its way up her side as well.

With no chance to break free with might or magic, I turned to the crowd gathered around us; the crowd that had gathered to watch us burn, and tried my one and only option.

Pleading.

“Magistrate, please, listen to me!” I yelled over the cracking of the fire. “It’s not magic! It never was magic. Your crops are dying for another reason! It’s not Glimmer’s fault, IT’S NOT HER FAULT.” I spat my words through cracked lips, trying to contain my fury.

The magistrate lowered his head, not daring to look at me. “I’m sorry, Inspector, but this is how it has to end. If I don’t get rid of the taint of magic, this entire village will freeze. Nature has to be appeased, I only wish it could be done less painfully.”

The magistrate backed into the crowd, disappearing among them and leaving the two of us to the flames. The crowd was cheering loudly now, and all attempts at talk faded into the roar of their voices. They were screaming at Glimmer and I, and some were throwing rocks.

I felt a bottle break across my stomach, the glass digging deep into the fur and flesh. I turned my head towards the sky, against the whipping wind and snow and prayed for anything and everything. The black abyss swirled and thundered, seemingly growing in intensity along with the crowd. The barrage of snow was leaving welts on me, and the wind threatened to rip limbs from my body. The crowd roared along with the storm, both mixing together into a chaotic climax of noise.

And then the sky dropped.

The blaze haze of clouds fell to earth and smashed into the village. The snow and wind peaked, ripping my breath away and searing my eyes. The villagers screamed and yelled as the fury raged around them. And from behind me, I heard Glimmer.

“The winter wolves are here.”

The wind and snow stopped, the clouds softened, and for an instant the sky was blue and clear, and above us rested the winter wolves.

They hovered in the air, long and equine in appearance, except slimmer and more transparent, their gray bodies barely distinguishable from the sky. The heat of the fire that lashed against my body disappeared even as the flames themselves soared around me, instead replaced by an intense chilling sensation that bored into my bones and froze my breaths. The crowd looked on in shock, some screamed and fled while others trembled silently in fear as they stood there.

Windigos.

And then the creatures spoke, but not with words.

Ice came from their mouths, so ferocious and cold that it froze the air around them. It met in the center of the village, swirling and coalescing into a violent swarming storm. It crawled up the houses and the ponies in the town and solidified, trapping them in icy prisons as they cried and begged. And as the fire lapped at my bones, I watched the frozen terror consume the villagers through my boiling corneas. The great swirl of frost crashed down, crystallizing skin and fur. Their screams froze in their lungs as their veins solidified and popped. I stopped struggling against the flames as the wraith of the Windigos washed over me, and the heat was no more.