Cold comfort
"I-it's so cold here..."
Trotting her way through the Great Frozen Waste, Princess Mi Amore Di Cadenza lowered her head to keep the blowing and drifting snow out of her eyes. The cold ate at her delicate coat, and ice formed on her hoof at every step. Even wrapped in the woolen parka her Chancellor, Bright Bramely, had given her, the only warmth the alicorn felt was the steam rising from her chilly nostrils.
She absolutely hated coming here, of course. But it was only Cadence, an alicorn, who could withstand the extreme temperatures of the north. The good princess wasn't able to fly here, though- the bitter cold iced her wings over every time she took to the air. Cadence didn't even understand how the very ponies she had come to see, survived in this Celestia-forsaken icebox.
The Great Forzen Waste was the nethermost reaches of Ponyland- a place of howling winds and chilling death. Here, among the snow-covered peaks and rocky outcroppings, lived creatures like the pengrims- a warlike tribe of viscous penguins who could freeze victims solid with an icy stare. In the skies above dwelled the windigoes- those foul an ancient enemies of Ponykind who fed off equine hatred. But those that Cadence had come to see had adapted to both of these menaces, and was right at home in this hellish wasteland.
"I wish they could've chosen someplace warmer to live."
The alicorn grumbled, as she trotted up the side of a particularly large peak. This mighty mountain was Ironspire- the foreboding, five-hundred-foot stone needle that pointed towards the heavens, as if in angry defiance of the howling winds that whipped around it. As the princess started up the steep, slippery slope, three ponies suddenly popped up out of the snow in front of her, surprising the alicorn.
"Princess Cadence!" A pink earth pony hissed, emerging from the snow beneath her as if she were a part of it. "Welcome to the lands of the snow ponies!"
"Aieeee!" The princess whinnied, jumping back. "You startled me there!"
"My apologies, your highness!" The pink and white maned pony with the evergreen cutie mark bowed. "My name is Mittens, and I am a scout of my tribe."
"And I am Chilly Breezes." The other pony hissed, her white coat blending in with the snow. "We received word of your arrival, and were sent to personally escort you back to the village."
"Many thanks, my good ponies." The alicorn nodded. "I am honored you came out to greet me! Please, do lead on!"
The two earth ponies gestured, and began trotting back up the mountainside. Cadence slowly followed them, hindered by the freezing cold and blowing snow. It amazed the alicorn that the two mares could walk along the top of the snow without leaving a hoofprint, and could move so quickly that they left the princess in the dust. The only way Cadence could follow them, was by spotting the pink snow skis on Chilly Breeze's cutie mark.
As they clambered their way up the endless and winding path, Princess Cadence had to shield her eyes from the blinding snow. "How much farther?" She asked loudly, trying to be heard over the roaring winds.
"We are entering the village gates, my Princess." Chilly Breeze replied, gesturing up towards the wooden arch above them. It seemed at first there was nothing all around them, but a snowy blast of cold air whipped up around them... and suddenly there it was.
Candence would not believe her eyes, as she passed row after row of wooden dwellings, built low to the ground to avoid the force of the winds. The stallions and mares of the snow pony tribe cast nervous glances at the alicorn as she passed, staring in Silence at this unusual creature from thier long history.
"Excuse me, lady." A little filly with a red and orange mane asked, trotting up to her. "But are you the Crystal Princess?"
"I beg your paredon, little one." Cadence replied in confusion. "What exactly do you mean?"
"The crystal princess, with wings and a horn." The little filly with the jingle belle cutie mark and blue stocking cap asked again. "Grandma used to tell stories about how the Crystal Princess used to protect our herd, then she got scared and ran away."
The little filly's remarks were a hoof in the gut to the alicorn, who simply stood there, speechless. It was then a mare's voice called out to the little filly nervously.
"Jingle Jangle, suppertime! Let's leave the nice princess alone now!"
"Coming mommy!" The little filly replied. "See you later, princess!" She replied, quickly trotting back into the snows, and vanishing from Cadence's eyes. The alicorn did her best, to fight back the tears, and appear strong.
"Let's go, your highness." Chilly Breezes motioned towards the largest hut, one the size of a small building. "The Chief will see you now."
Inside the chief's hut, a warm fire was going, and several woolen furs kept out the cold. Three earth ponies were seated around a fire, all regarding the alicorn with a cool aloofness. On the right was a mare with a pink coat and mane, whom Cadence recognized as Sno-glow, the tribe's ambassador to the Ponyland kingdoms.
On the on the left, was another pink mare with a tinsel colored mane. This was Winter Wish, whom the alicorn knew by reputation only. The tribal shamaness, she wore a fur cap with a set of deer antlers on it. It was to her the chief turned for all of her spiritual advice, and from her Cadence earned the most contempt.
In the center sat a noble-looking purple mare, with a white and blue striped mane. The chief of the snow ponies, Toboggan carried herself with a sense of authority and regalness that equaled Cadence at her finest. She looked upon the alicorn with a stern gaze that indicated respect, but also authority.
"Princess Cadence of Misty Mountian." Toboggan whinnied politely, nodding towards the alicorn. "We welcome you to our village, and wish to know why you have requested to come before us."
"Honorable leaders of the Snow Pony community." Cadence began, looking around at the assembled community. "I have come before you this day, in order to invite you and your tribe home from your long and unhappy exile in these lands. I know how much you and your ancestors have suffered, my dear subjects. And I am here to tell you that your herd's suffering is finally at an end!"
The three earth mares murmured amongst themselves for several minutes, before looking back at the alicorn with grim faces.
"Good Princess Cadence." Toboggan replied. "While we appreciate your generous offer, we must correct the misguided notion that we are your subjects, and that you are our Princess."
"B-but your tribe is descended from my Crystal Ponies!" Cadence protested. "Your ancestors lived happily under my rule for centuries!"
"The ponies of the Crystal Kingdom are indeed our ancestors, but we are the Snow Ponies, not the Crystal Ponies." Sno-Glow continued. "And we show no loyalty to a princess who abandons her subjects!"
"But I never meant to-" Cadence began, but Winter Wish raised her hoof, cutting the alicorn off.
"Do you remember a day, Princess Cadence, over five hundred years ago?" The shamaness threw a strange potion onto the fire, turning it green, and creating moving images in the smoke. "Do you remember an attack on the Crystal Capital, during the Grogar wars?"
The image showed several lava demons, the terrible invaders into the Crystal Kingdom, terrorizing the crystal ponies. Cadence saw them surfing through the streets on waves of lava, destroying every home and building they came across, in a wave of smoke and fire. Several crystal ponies, screaming and crying out to Cadence with their last breaths, were swept up in the molten river, and melted away into the stream of liquid fire.
"Our ancestors had a civilization that was the envy of Equestria, and King Levan and his minions destroyed it all." Snow-glo continued, as the image shifted to that of the present day Crystal Sea. "Now, the Crystal empire is a wasteland, inhabited only by lava demons and ice ogres."
"And you, in your royal arrogance, did nothing to prevent our ancestor's fall!" Tobaggan snorted angrily. "Levan, the murderer of our foremothers and destroyer of our civilization, rules in our former lands unpunished. The lava king now craves the elements of Harmony so that he may become a crystal being himself... a mockery of the very ponies he murdered so long ago!"
"But that's not the whole story!" The alicorn pleaded, tears straming down her face. "Shining Armor and I lost all of our children in that terrible war! The two of us only withdrew, because he had been terribly wounded!"
"You cared more for the stallion from Canterlot, whose natural life you had extended beyond it's natural length, than the welfare of your own herd!" Winter Wishes snapped, as the image shifted again. "The few survivors were forced to flee to the north, into the ice and cold far beyond the lava demon's reach!"
The smoke showed a line of ponies trudging though the mountains, the old and sick being helped along by the others, and their tears freezing in their eyes as they trudged along. A little filly dropped her doll, as her mother pulled her along quickly, as the stuffed toy was slowly enveloped by the snow.
"These mountains hardened us, turning us as harsh and brittle as the bitter cold that surrounded us." Sno-glow whinnied angrily, snorting a cloud of icy cold from her nostrils. "The crystal shattered, replaced in our hearts by the indestructible power of ice!"
"We shall not be going anywhere with you, arch traitor!" Toboggan hissed. "Your magic may have sustained us long ago, but we now nourish ourselves on the power of this bitter cold!"
"You can't do this! You are my subjects!" Princess Cadence protested. "The crystal ponies practically worshiped me!"
"We no longer look to you for guidance, Mi Amore Di Cadenza!" Winter Wishes yelled, pointing with an ice sculpture of a Pegasus with a halo and angel wings behind her. "After we were forced to flee, The mare Snow'el guided our forebears to these cold peaks, and found us a new home here! It is to her we look for guidance!"
"While you never bothered to come looking for us... until now, five hundred years later!" Toboggan roared, stamping her hoof angrily. "You found a new herd of ponies to rule over! Even while the first few generations of Crystal ponies in these mountains, died in the cold and dark- still believing you would come to rescue them!"
"T-they still believed I would come for them?" Princess Cadence stumbled over her words, unable to form a coherent sentence. "I...I..."
"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, leave our icy dominions, as I grant you safe conduct away from the frozen wastes." Toboggan finished. "But I warn you, should you ever return... you will not find the warm embrace of loyal subjects, awaiting your return. Rather, you shall find the icy embrace of the grave... granted by cold-hearted ponies that even the Windioges fear! FAREWELL!"
A cold wind suddenly blew through the tent flap, and the blinding snow whipped into Cadence's eyes. As the wind died down again, the princess found the three ponies, the tent, and even the entire village were gone! The alicorn was standing alone in the falling snow.
It was at that moment, that Mi Amore Di Cadenze accepted that some failures, even for an immortal, cannot be undone. Turning her head sadly, Princess started her way back down the mountain.
"Farewell to you, Snow Ponies." The alicorn thought to herself sadly. "From here on out… your destiny is your own!"