Spindle: I had seen some rain in the night just before lying on Parcly’s bed. Windigos do not sleep in the usual sense, but only calm their endless thrashing, so I keep watch over Parcly when she’s bottled up and swirling. (She can release herself just fine, though her bottle remains responsive to rubbing.) There’s a small patch of ice in her heart left over from my attempted conversion of her that I can possess whenever I need to conceal myself.
 
The next time I looked out, however, snow was falling hard - harder than when we landed in Sapporo. Parcly seemed awestruck for a moment, then turned to me and inquired “How are we going to leave for Nagoya?”
 
Shining Armour: When she got word from Luna, Cadance entrusted me with sheltering the blue alicorn on her flight. Since I’m only a unicorn, Spindle carried me on her long and flowing back. This “saddle” was soft and silky to the touch, owing to the ethereal nature of windigos, but quite warm too… I did not get it at first.
 
Spindle: Silly you! Windigos are big creatures. If I stand with my legs straight and my tail extended, I am slightly taller than Parcly and as long as Celestia.
 
Shining: Either way, Parcly was in front of you flying her planned route, while I cast a large magic bubble surrounding all of us. When we got above the cloudtops, there was no snowstorm to protect against, but I kept the shield up so that I could modify it into a pressurised chamber - like other unicorns, I can’t really breathe in the stratosphere unaided.
 
Parcly Taxel: Japan in the winter gets warmer moving from north to south. In contrast to the blisteringly cold landscape of Hokkaido, where pegasi were putting antifreeze on their wings or just not flying at all, Nagoya was about the same temperature as the inside of the Crystal Palace. I probably haven’t mentioned this too, but the interior of Japan is more hilly than mountainous, with golf courses dotted among a patchwork of evergreens.
 
Upon reaching Nagoya, I bid Shining goodbye and he teleported away. The train ride to Takayama followed immediately, but to our surprise we were sent backwards for a while before reversing direction. It turned out that we had started on a branch, only switching to the main line at Gifu. Once again, the efficiency and reliability of the Japanese railway system was demonstrated, and I recalled that more passenger traffic goes through trains than through planes.
 
My master’s voice echoed in my mind as the train followed a wide river. “After spending so much energy flying across islands, I suggest you stir yourself down until you arrive.” I did as she said, though I poked my head out at times to see some scenery: dams, bridges, houses, etc.
 
Spindle: Takayama is a rustic town in the Japanese Alps with lots of food and lots of small shops. At night there’s hardly a distraction while walking, even on the main streets, since the local ponies do all their activities indoors; we ourselves got a traditional house to stay in complete with tatami mats and paper doors.
 
To relieve our tired spirits (but I am a spirit?) we made another trip to an onsen with outdoor facilities. The feeling is one of renewal when you bathe in the steaming waters under the moon, as exposed hot water evaporates quickly on your coat to yield a dramatic cooling effect.