The Pasts Frozen Heart

The mare seeing the smiling pony open the door and gave a slight shriek of surprise backpedaling somewhat, it was then that it could be seen what was so strange about this pony,everything about her that looked as if she was made of snow was because she WAS made of snow the only color on her was her eyes,a blackish grey almost coal colored.

"What a-are you doing here? You can't be here its impossible no pony could make its way here so how..." She was saying more to herself then to the ponies in front of her.

She suddenly looked up at Switchblade "How did you get here?" She asked once again stepping closer as if intrigued her head tilted slightly as she stared at him fear in her eyes but also a spark of...wonder?

Switchblade tilted his head as well, mirroring the look in the mare's eyes "Well, we were sheltering from a blizzard, then some kind of necros creature attacked us then was dispersed by a wave of light, then suddenly we are here, with no knowledge of where 'here' is. It's very interesting don't you think? I barely ever get a situation which I can't answer so ones like this excite me. My name's Switchblade, what's yours?" he said with his usual kind smile on his face.

Speaker did not get how Switchblade was being so friendly and seemingly trusting, for all he knew, this mare could kill them all, but then he looked at the situation, 4 ponies, all armed in some shape or form against one mare made of snow. Seeing this made Speaker lower his guard a bit, but not enough to take him off his hooves.

Leaf Gardens studied the mare's expression, not that she could see much of it. She was basically a talking snowpony, and that didn't give much room for such things. Leafy chose not to speak, for there was nothing for her to say, apart from questions she didn't need to know the answer to... as much as she wanted to. While not much of a scientific pony, nor magical, she was quite curious as to how that even worked.

The mare lisiened to the stallions tale frowning at the mention of a necros being noting that the king would wish to hear about this...She snapped out of her thoughts when the strange pony asked her name. "Oh...Um My names Frostfeather, I know not the nicest name ever.." She says a light blue tint to her cheeks it looked as if she was blushing.

The she clears her throat "I think it be best if you come with me,the wasteland isn't very safe you would be much safer if you were behind our city walls..'

Switchblade smiled at Frostfeather "Personally, I think Frostfeather sounds like a beautiful name." he said charmingly "Well, if you're offering us refuge, then I am not one to shy away from the offers of others when I am in their home myself; I'll tag along, even if none of my friends decide to." he swung his scimitar back into its sheath and smiled "Please, lead the way."

"I'll go, mainly because I don't want to take my chances out here, walls are always good when your in a strange land, even if they could be hostile." Speaker said bluntly, before turning to the others, seeing what they would say.

"That sounds like a good idea," Leafy said, choosing to pick up her knife in her mouth nevertheless. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but if she was leaving the tavern she wanted to be safe all the while. She came here hoping for relaxation, and she had hesitated to leave Ponyville at all, let alone enter a mysterious city. She had no desire to die. "Where are we anyway?"

Crystal Belle who had been rather quiet just simply nodded,she would go also if it meant safety and a rest from her injuries. Frost Feather smiles at the fact that they all would come with her "Great! Lets get moving then I wish to be back behind the city walls before dark" She says as she goes outside hooking herself back up to the cart and its cargo. While she does this she started to explain Leafy's question. "We are in what is called the Snowy Wasteland very near the Black Ice mountains and a ways walk from my home and the capital city of this land"Winter's Hearth"

Switchblade smiled and followed behind Frostfeather "So, Miss Frostfeather, what is inside those jars on your wagon?" he asked politely "It's just that they seem very beautiful, is it something to do with your vocation?"

"Wait, the Snowy Wasteland, Winter's Hearth? Those are all locations in a old mare's tale." Speaker said, confusion in his voice.

"I think what's more remarkable is that they acknowledge it as a wasteland yet still build a city anyway," Leafy muttered. She followed the mare, using a hoof to straighten her mane (blizzards tended to mess it up) as she did so. While she wasn't obsessed with beauty, she did have some standards.

Frost Feather goes to answer Switchblades question but Crystal bet her to it "They are Lantern Blossoms, they only grow in the coldest parts of the world and they change color with the stages of day." She then blushes at the smile the mare gave her, Lantern Blossoms were one of the few flowers she saw alive and thriving on her years of travel. "Yes but they arn't just any old Lantern Blossoms they contain something very precious to our king and my people."

Before her ears perked up at the others comments "I'm surprised you've heard of our history not many know of it since its often over shadowed by your history of the founding of Equestria.." She then turned to Leafy smirking "Yes well when Your made of Ice and Snow a wasteland also made of it isn't that bad.

Switchblade looked at Frost Feather with intrigue "A king you say? How interesting. Is he a just king to his followers?" he asked, taking his scimitar out of its scabbard and tipping some snow out of the scabbard itself before putting the sword back in "By the way, I'm still curious on who used light magic back in the tavern." he said to the group casually.

" You hear a lot when running a inn, but the stories about this place, they are mixed from good and bad, some say that they will lead you into their city to kill you, others say they will reward you with great wealth for making it here, makes you wonder which stories are true." Speaker said to no one in particular.

Leafy chose not to answer Switchblade - she did suspect it was not anypony in the tavern who did it, but either nature or the beast itself, though she didn't know much about magic - and looked at the flowers instead. "Lantern Blossoms?" she said happily, voice muffled by the knife in her mouth. "I've heard of them, but never got to see one. I guess that's because Ponyville isn't exactly cold." It being her talent, she was quite passionate about flowers.

"Not many know him the way we do but you ponies know him by a common name Jack Frost bringer of winter" She says smiling softly causing Crystal to stumble over her hooves in shock though most would think it as a injury related stumble.

But then Frost Feathers smile faded slightly at Speakers words "Kill? Oh my no We snow ponies are very peaceful the only time we fight is against Ice Dragons besides killing ponies would be against the treaty."

Switchblade smiled sarcastically "Ice dragons, brilliant, I absolutely love dragons. Will there be ice dragons?" he asked with the same blunt tone. "Why are there always dragons?" he muttered to himself. He then looked back at Frost Feather "Peace treaty? I'm not aware of that treaty."

Speaker walked along, still abit suspicious but less suspicious then he was back at the inn.

Silently, Leafy continued walking, looking around. She glanced at the Ice Blossoms, interested in them. How did they survive in such conditions? She guessed magic, but she seldom bothered with studies in this subject, preferring the actual thing.

Frostfeather nodded at the understanding of his confusion as she turned back to towards him.

"In exchange for helping bring the winter winds into your world our king told the rulers of the three tribes that in exchange he would need something. For you see our king was lonely he had no subjects no one to keep him company in this world."

"So in exchange for giving easier control of the winds he was allowed to take emotions in the form of leftover memory still clinging to related objects sadness, joy,anger and other emotions that ponies left behind in the winter month. Then with each one he made his first subject using the form of snow ponies  and with the bits and pieces of emotions he created his first subjects."

She finished her story as slowly a large mass started to appear from the endless white wasteland.

As they grew closer the mass became easier to see a large castle as blue as the sky stood towering into the sky that is surrounded by a giant wall made out of what looks like thick inky black mass that seems solid It was then that horns bellowed along the wall echo into the wasteland for miles "Looks like the sentries saw us."

As she says this it could be seen a group of guards appearing from the black wall but unlike Frost Feather who was made of snow  and the size of an average mare these guard were made of jagged ice and about the size of a large stallion, their manes and the back of the hooves blown back and frozen in place as if water was being blown off and frozen suddenly. Their wings and horns of the unicorns and Pegasi ended in a sharp tips. They looked at the approaching group eyes glowed white.

While it might be frightening to the others Frost Feather grinned widely waving a hoof at the large group.  "Good evening gentle colts!" She says talking a small distance from the ponies.A whisper like dried leaves rolling in the wind escapes their mouth but nothing audible could be heard. But she laughs as if had been told a joke.

"Very funny, no they are here by accident they need to talk to his majesty they mean no harm" At this the guards all snap their heads up all at once to stare at them eyes narrowed as the whispering grew loud seeming to echo through the air. "No no don't worry I take responsibility for all them!"  

At this they look back at the mare  they slowly nod before making a path for them. "They are allowing you into the city as long as you promise not to cause any trouble" She explains before pointing towards the black mass "Just walk through it as long as you hold no ill-will towards the city and its subjects it will not harm you" She says walking towards it.

(hope this longer post makes up for me being away for so long!)

Ice Guards:

(It's fine.)
Switchblade listened intently to the tale "Interesting, life in exchange for power. All deals work the same with politics." he said casually. As they arrived at the gates to the city, he shuddered "Not the friendliest looking gate I've ever seen." he said, before jumping slightly as Frostfeather shouted at the guards. "I can't understand them, is that your normal language? because if so, a large part of my charm and wit won't be understood here." he asked with his head tilted "And are all of your guards that bulky?" he then looked again at the entrance "No bad thoughts, huh?" he said to himself. "Okay then. Here we go, ALLONS-Y!" he yelled, jumping through the mist.

Leaf Gardens listened to the story, enthralled. She was quite a fan of stories - not myths, usually, but this wasn't a myth, now was it? When the story ended, she continued focusing on what was ahead of them. She became aware of what seemed to be a castle made of ice, and if her humour was so strange, she might have made a joke about the story of the Ice Queen.

Leafy stared at Switchblade, who jumped through the mist with a shout, before hesistantly walking in. She knew she should be trusting the mare by now, and that she still had a knife in her mouth that could slice through both ice and snow fairly easily, but her instincts still refused to trust.

Crystal Belle stepped though the blackness feeling it almost wrap around her like in a warm hug. As she stepped out on the other side . Amazed at what she saw snow and ice ponies wandered the streets some fillys and colts others older mares and stallions wandered the streets selling wares of every kind. Houses and shops very much like ones in ponyville stood here and there.

It was surprising  that unlike the other side of the blackness it was nice and warm flowers and grass everywhere. Frostfeather appears from the blackness and pushes her hanging mouth closed. "Come along now folks, food first then we will see if you can meet his majesty today."

Switchblade took in the sights, watching the ponies go about their lives, he then turned to Frostfeather and smiled "You just said the magic word, Ms Frostfeather, food." he said, smiling happily "I haven't eaten since breakfast."