//------------------------------// // Tracks in the Snow // Story: The Cold of Winter // by Fedora //------------------------------// A thin layer of snow coated the beaten trail through Whitetail Woods. A set of black, porous hooves tread a new path through this freshly-fallen snow. Following this set of hooves was another. Two tall, slender figures made their way through the frosted woods in silence. Sometimes, an animal would make a sound and the first figure would pause, looking over his shoulder to see if they were being trailed. The second figure would stop too, waiting for the signal to keep moving. The pair made their way deeper into the forest, coming to a thicket where the snow coverage was sparse and dried leaves from the fall still coated the ground. This they chose as the spot to rest, spreading tangled branches apart for a place to sit. The second figure was female, but wasn’t a typical looking pony mare. A crooked horn sat atop her skull, and her mane hung like a tattered membrane over the side of her face. Despite her monstrous appearance she had a sort of youthful quality that contrasted to her father’s world-weary furtiveness. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of nature. Animals scurried about, late in their preparations for the first snowfall and scrambling to finish stocking up on every last bit of food for the oncoming winter. “After four years, I’ve grown accustomed to how alive this part of the world is, even in the bleak season.” the male said to his daughter. “It’s alien to me.” she said. “I know I’ve often said I felt that those four years were wasted, that I didn’t get anything out of it…” he trailed. “The conquest was a failure,” the daughter continued, “but you think you got something useful out of it?” “Yes. I became one of them. A single day acting as the mayor was more insight into the mind of a pony than months of observation, or imitating a mere civilian.” “Because they went to you for guidance.” suggested the daughter, “Or because they came to you with problems.” “Both. I feel that I can now think as one of them. Take this season for instance. For the ponies, it represents a time of cheerfulness and celebration. It coincides with their holidays, where they pay tribute to values like love and friendship.” “...and kinship?” the daughter asked, “How do they value the blood-bond?” “Equal, but differently.” A faint wind started to blow, kicking up particles of snow and tossing them back into the sky to fall back to earth a second time. Both father and daughter were quietly contemplating what needed to come next, the topic heaviest on both minds. “What do you think of him?” asked the younger changeling. The father was quiet and unmoving save for his eyes, which swiveled around to all corners of his vision. He moved his head to each side and scanned the periphery for signs of movement. “I see why he calls himself the Wolf.” he said in a low voice, “There is a wolfish aspect about him, I can sense it. I see it in his eyes; the cold calculation of a predator. I know he doesn’t have our interest at heart, but…” “But?” He sighed. “I think we’d never have gotten this far this quickly without him. I can only hope that he keeps to his word once the invasion is complete.” The daughter shook her head. “I disagree.” she said, “If he is helping us because he wants a share of Celestia’s kingdom, as he says, then he will want it all for himself in time. We must display our readiness to strike back to deter him from doing so.” The older changeling smiled. “I see your reasoning, but it’s clear you haven’t the mind of a Queen yet.” “And why is that?” she protested, “What is the fault in preparedness?” “Nothing,” the King grumbled, “but if we were to display our distrust, even a little bit, then we can count on losing the Wolf’s support.” The wind picked up once more. Large gusts blew snow in a miniature blizzard, and a reverberating groan started to fill the air. Behind the two changelings, a large blue box began to fade into existence out of nothingness. “He arrives,” the daughter said, “What shall I say?” “Nothing. Keep it to yourself for now.” The box was now completely materialized. It looked a little beat-up. A layer of blue paint had been scraped off from the side, revealing the bottommost layer of blue and white graffiti from which the wolf got his name. He stepped out the front door. “King Metamorphosis, Princess Chrysalis.” he began, “I bring news from the ponies.” The Wolf resembled a gray earth pony, and wore a tattered overcoat. He paced in the knee-high snow and cut a path between the two royal changelings. “Their holiday, Hearth’s Warming, approaches.” he said, “over the next week families will be leaving the densely populated cities to visit relatives in the towns and villages.” “The ideal time to strike at the heart of their capitol, Canterlot.” murmured Chrysalis. The King seemed to agree, but the Wolf was quick to shut this idea down. “It would be unwise, tactically. In spite of what I said, Canterlot will become the hub of all the celebration, and every house will be well stocked with food and supplies for the holidays. It would be better to strike after the Holiday season ends, when the winter is at its coldest and supplies that could feed the resistance efforts are low.” The King nodded. “Additionally,” the Wolf continued, turning about and locking eyes with the changeling ruler, “I recommend attacking a small town first, on the north side of Canterlot mountain. Coltchester would make the perfect base from which to stage the main assault.” “I thought that we were to take out the capitol in one fell swoop,” the King said, “Why would we attack a village first, especially one so close to Canterlot? It would raise alarm and bring Celestia’s iron hoof down on top of us within the hour.” “Tactics, your highness. It would draw less attention if Coltchester falls quietly. Plus, if you gather your forces there then it’s only up the mountain to Canterlot, with less chance of being discovered if you moved your entire army over land.” Neither Metamorphosis nor Princess Chrysalis had anything to say on the matter. Though reluctant as always to change his plans, The King realized that what the Wolf said made sense. It was the Wolf that broke the following silence. “I have something to give you,” he said. Out from somewhere inside his overcoat he withdrew a clear orb, and held it out for the King to take. He examined its surface, and peered inside. Within the orb was an image of Celestia’s throneroom. “Use your magic, and you can hear anything that goes on in that room.” the Wolf said. He was already on his way out, backing into the blue box. “See you back at base camp.” **** A brightly-dressed stallion and a unicorn mare slid down a steep gravel hillside. The mare wobbled and struggled to avoid falling on her face, but the stallion moved his body like a surfer catching wave. Overhead flew two pegasi, swooping down to the bottom of the gravel mountain much faster than either of their non-winged allies. The Sixth Doctor reached the bottom and jumped down onto solid, compact dirt. Lyra tumbled down after him much less gracefully and barely avoided a crash with the colorful timelord. “Careful, careful!” the Doctor warned, backing up out of Lyra’s path. Medley and Derpy swung in for a landing, joining the Doctor and Lyra on the ground. Around the four time-travellers were many oversized gravel mounds like the one they just descended. The Doctor peered back up to the top of the nearest one, noticing how much the shape of the blue police box stood out. “I meant to land it in a side-street,” he admitted, “that’s the trouble with the TARDIS, she’s no good at precise landings.” “Nine does them all the time,” Derpy said, “But only on short hops.” “Well there you have it.” A loud noise came from somewhere to the southwest, and everypony flinched. The gravel mound shifted and the TARDIS came sliding down the side, hurtling toward the four gathered at the bottom. “Hit the deck!” Medley shouted, as everypony dove out of the way. Just before the TARDIS would have smashed into the ground it vanished, rematerializing about 100 yards to the west of where it had been before, but on flat soil. The Doctor stood up and looked over to where the ship had appeared, cocking his head. “That’s the first time that’s happened.” ***** The four made their way toward the source of the loud sound, climbing up onto a large plateau that seemed to stretch out for miles. Squarish metal boxes lined up in rows, each emitting a low-pitched hum. One of them on the far side was blackened and a column of smoke trailed into the orange sky. The Doctor led the way toward this broken box, and when the group got closer they noticed crackling entities swarming around it. The entities resembled jellyfish, but were made up of bright clouds of electric-looking bolts “Doctor, that’s… those are…” Derpy stammered, her mouth gaping open. “Synax repair drones repairing the life support units,” the Doctor announced, “I wonder…” He cupped his hooves, trying to call over to the Synax. Derpy grabbed at his hooves to pull them away. “No, they’re dangerous Doctor!” Derpy protested, “They tried taking over Equestria and forcing themselves to inhabit pony bodies.” “Rubbish,” the Doctor said, cupping his hooves once more. “Hello, Synax!” he called. The workers stopped their repairs at once, moving into a straight line floating a meter off the ground. “Oh great,” Medley muttered, “You’ve got them looking at us. Smooth move, Doc.” The group of Synax clustered and started moving away from the damaged box, toward the time travelers. “They’re… uh… they’re coming this way.” Lyra said. Derpy was the first to take flight, flying away from the approaching Synax. Medley followed her after a moment’s pause. Lyra held out, torn between how scared her friend was and the Doctor’s nonchalant attitude about the dangerous and deadly electric creatures. When they had gotten too close for comfort she too ran in the opposite direction, leaving only the Doctor to face the Synax group. The crackling jellyfish-like creatures stopped about a meter away from the Doctor, forming a semicircle around the height of his face. “Hello, I’m the Doctor.” he said with a grin, “I’d like to be taken to see the president, if possible. I have very urgent matters to discuss.” **** They were led through cramped, narrow corridors devoid of decoration. Derpy considered what she already knew of the Synax and decided it was fitting for one of them, but not for a pony like her. The Doctor being the tallest of the four had to keep his head ducked down to avoid hitting his head whenever they passed through a doorway or crossed a threshold of some sort. Two Synax creatures flanked the ponies on either side with one up front and a fourth bringing up the rear, boxing them into a two-by-two file. Lyra thought it suspiciously reminiscent of prisoners being escorted from a number of black and white films. She kept glancing up to the Doctor in front of her, hoping he’d glance back and try to communicate with her and Derpy. She wanted some sort of sign, a signal for what they should do. The group was marched sideways into a much wider corridor, lined with the first set of decorations they had seen. Old, sagging tapestries depicted something resembling an equine at the top, with a slightly different form below. Below that was another equine- or was it the same one- with a glowing mane. Two more equine forms were present below that one, depicted as more and more luminous and then showing the signs of the crackling energy that defined the Synax. At the very bottom of this tapestry was a Synax creature as the time travelers observed them now, with a more fluid energy-like form. Lyra took an interest to the tapestry at once, trying to interpret its meaning. The group moved along too quickly for her to get a good look at it, and she didn’t care to find out what would happen if she broke the formation. Their surroundings became increasingly grander the more they pursued this path, and the dimensions became more suitable for the comparatively tall ponies. The Doctor seemed to welcome the chance to stretch his neck, and held his head high. In the back, Derpy could no longer see over the Doctor’s blonde mop of a mane, and tried to hover in the air to see reflexively. She winced and landed on the ground forcefully, hoping that the Synax surrounding her didn’t interpret it as an escape attempt. They arrived at a complicated-looking control center with tubes running along the ground and up the walls. The place was a hive of activity and humming power, and had a very wide, open space not unlike the console room of the Doctor’s TARDIS Derpy was familiar with, but bright and very, very clean. Sleek translucent screens were arranged in semicircles, each accompanied by a Synax creature. In the very center of this area was shimmering power conduit running from the top of the ceiling to the floor. It resembled the one Derpy had encountered before, but on a gargantuan scale. “Where is the President?” the Doctor asked aloud, hoping for a response. A rather large version of a Synax creature approached the Time lord, but did not immediately communicate. It glowed with a violet hue compared to the blueish or white of most of the others. Lyra considered the possibility that it simply didn’t know how to communicate with any of them. After all… did they even have a mouth? Let alone the ability to speak the same language. A response did come from the violet-glowing being that she took to be the “President” in a dry, disembodied voice. “You haven’t aged a day since I saw you last, Doctor.” “And you as well,” the Doctor said, “Er… when did I last visit? My memory’s a bit foggy.” “Sixty-seven years ago,” said the Synax President, “You were with a pony named Periwinkle?” “Ah.” The violet Synax hovered around the height of the Doctor’s eyes, and slowly circled the entire group of ponies gathered. Medley looked a bit interested in the translucent monitors around the control center, and made a motion as if she was going to walk over to check it out, but stopped when the President circled back around in her direction. It regained its prior position, and continued talking. “What happened to Periwinkle,” it said, “and who are these three?” “Well, the bit about Periwinkle is sort of complicated.” answered the Doctor, forcing something that might pass as a smile on his face, “I won’t bore you with the details. These three are Me-” “I’m Medley,” she interrupted, “and this is Derpy Hooves and Lyra.” “Heartstrings,” injected Lyra, “Lyra Heartstrings.” “Right.” The Doctor shot a glare at his companion. “What I came here to ask you for was a favor,” the Doctor continued, “I know I’m usually not one for collecting old debts, but I have a need for some of your technological expertise and a few pieces of equipment. Is it possible for us to talk in private?” “Yes Doctor,” said the President, “I will leave your friends in the charge of one of my best Generals.” The Doctor leaned in to whisper in Medley’s ear. “Don’t cause any trouble, and whatever you do, don’t touch anything.” The General Synax that had been appointed by the President to watch Derpy, Medley and Lyra took them out of the control center and back into the monotonous corridors of the complex. Unlike the President, the disembodied voice of the General was clearly feminine, and had more of a youthful vigor. “This way will take us to a recreational facility,” she said, “It may not be well suited for equinoids, but you might find it at least intellectually stimulating.” Lyra wasn’t paying close attention to the Synax General’s words. She was simply following her friends and trying to interpret the few things that interrupted the monotony of the walls and ceiling. At one point, an opening appeared above their heads and appeared to stretch onwards like its own vertical passageway. According to the General, it was actually a passage that led deeper into the planet’s crust rather than away from it. That made each of the pony’s heads spin. At one point, Lyra spotted a grayish threshold with a grille for a door. It looked an awful lot like an elevator to her, and that got her thinking. Just how large was this complex? They arrived in the rec room only to notice that like much of the complex, it was very bare. Clusters of Synax beings occupied small transparent cubes or huddled around a short pipe in the center. The pipe spewed bright splashes of energy that was quickly sucked up and absorbed by the creatures nearby. Derpy and Lyra at least tried to look interested. Medley sought out the nearest wall and leaned sideways against it.