Parcly Taxel: Most onsen in Japan have separate facilities for mares and stallions, but when I went up in the morning to bathe again I was pleasantly surprised, for the “male” and “female” facilities had been swapped. The room I hadn’t entered the day before was more like a spa back in Canterlot, with rectilinear pools and reclining spots facing Lake Toya.
 
Having learnt that the onsen’s effects were easily confused with my bottle’s, Spindle perched on my shoulder and tapped me if she sensed inattentiveness. My bottle wasn’t conjured this time and I walked out with four loose, comfortable legs. Sweet…
 
Spindle: Back in our room I asked Parcly whether anything remained to be done in the resort. While she thought, the ambient temperature fell slightly, implying that I was taking some nibbles on her boredom.
 
Finally she had an idea. “There are more onsen up the mountains surrounding Lake Toya which use volcanically heated groundwater without further processing. However, since we’re already rested we’ll go to the volcano itself, where the spring water acquires its various minerals. Sounds like a plan?”
 
“That’s Jigokudani (地獄谷, literally Hell’s Valley), which is only a caldera. It might be a bit hot for my frosty body, but it won’t be too hot, and it’s all because of you.”
 
Parcly: So we were off to Noboribetsu (登別), where the caldera is. This region has made a small mythology around the onsen, with statues of demons wielding spiked clubs dotted across the streets; the clubs come in nine colours to represent nine types of onsen.
 
It really looks like Tartarus at the summit, though the hues are somewhat lighter. There are a few smoky orange and grey mounds dominating the field of view, while spring water flows around their bases; patches of free yellow sulfur are also visible. A primeval forest stands on the surrounding slopes, barren as if the heat had burned all leaves away, and a small pool illustrates how much heat is conducted to the water.
 
Princess Ember: Volcanos are one of the few forces that can alter topography in an instant (in the geologic sense, over a few days), so dragons like me revere them as a symbol of strength. Japan has a preponderance of volcanos, making it one of our favourite holiday spots. Parcly on the other hand is a much cooler creature associated with ice, so it was an eye-opener for her to visit the caldera, as I confirmed shortly afterwards.
 
Parcly: Unfortunately, while dragons can live among the sulfurous fumes generated by magma chambers, most ponies… can’t. As we were making our way back to Sapporo, where I had found a house to stay in after the resort stint, I caught a cold and had to retreat into my bottle.
 
Spindle: To help Parcly grant her own wish of recovery, I gave her a cup of hot tea and some sushi, which she happily accepted. Then I laid her to rest beneath a thick blanket, warming it up from the love we have shared since Parcly’s unicorn days.