//------------------------------// // Moving Too Slow // Story: The Stormmaster // by BlndDog //------------------------------// For an entire month the Stormmaster dominated conversations in Cloudsdale. After “good morning,” and “good day to you,” and before “see you again,” there was “what happened to you?” and “Will that grow back?” In those days the cat o’ nine tails was first seen in Cloudsdale, fitted with a tassel of vapour to keep the knotted twine from falling through cloud floors. Under constant grudging maintenance the weather team’s warehouse was in better shape than ever, though its walls were as much made of tears as they were cloud. Complaints to Canterlot fell on deaf ears. Snowdrop and the weather team continued to take soldiers twenty at a time, and Alpine Breeze continued to send them. It was not all for nothing. By the end of the first month Cloudsdale had a basic walkway system where there was once empty air. The city was drifting once again, though at a fraction of its original speed. A long-overdue expansion to the school was underway, with a weekly rotation of ten soldiers on site. Finally a letter arrived from Canterlot, painstakingly stamped out in braille and sealed with Luna’s moon in blue wax. An invitation to tea with Princess Luna in Canterlot, for Snowdrop only; the type of invitation that could not be turned down. And she wanted to go despite the dread in her heart. Snowdrop had not slept soundly since adopting her new ways. The whip felt like an anvil around her neck, and hardly gave her peace. She arrived in Canterlot early in the morning. Cloudsdale had drifted far towards Filly Delphia, so that the weather team there had lots of help for the foreseeable future. The frigid coastal wind blew wet clouds inland, and even with a city full of pegasi it was a constant struggle to keep the storm at bay. As Snowdrop descended towards Canterlot’s central square it became obvious that the weather teams’ work was not in vain. The snowbanks that once covered first floor windows entirely were now only shoulder-high. There were fewer broken branches blocking the streets, and no sign of a caved-in roof anywhere. “Ma’am, could you spare a bit?” Snowdrop turned with a start. A filly sat atop a snow pile, her ragged cap encrusted with ice. Her small wings were frostbitten, judging by the way she rubbed them against her side. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday,” she sobbed. Running feet clattered into the square. The filly screamed as she was tackled against a wall by an armored unicorn four times her size. Snowdrop turned towards the palace. The filly screamed as the royal guard struck her again and again, until her breath was completely gone. Street children were not uncommon in those days, except in Cloudsdale where pegasi took care of their own. The orphanage in Canterlot could do some good, if it could be finished at all. Not my city, Snowdrop thought, though a part of her wished she had done something. They’ll take her to a jailhouse. It’s shelter at least. The guards at the palace gate recognized her, and even saluted as she entered the garden. She nearly made it into the main hall before somepony slapped her hard across the face. “Snowdrop!” Wing Collar said sternly, polishing his hoof with a handkerchief. “What did I tell you about coming here with that flea-infested dishrag?” “There are no fleas in Cloudsdale,” Snowdrop said, rolling her eyes. “I have an invitation from Princess Luna. Now please stand aside.” “Be that as it may, nopony comes into the castle wearing something that hideous!” Wing Collar turned up his nose and stood as tall as he could in the middle of the great doorway. The guards in the hall snickered, but he ignored them as he always did. “Do you want me to break you in half?” Snowdrop chuckled. “Let me in. You’re embarrassing yourself.” “Oh, not this time,” he said, his face burning like a lump of coal. “This castle has accommodated you peasants far too long! Why, yesterday I caught three of those filthy street kids in Princess Luna’s private dining room! Three of them!” Snowdrop smiled. Wing Collar had not noticed the sound of silver horseshoes, but the guards did. Now they stood straighter. Their halberds swished through the air, stopping precisely at the prescribed angle. “What seems to be the problem, Wing Collar?” The elderly butler yelped and closed his mouth. Snowdrop did her best not to smile. “You are here to welcome our guests,” Princess Luna continued. “Let me decide who those guests are.” “Yes Princess,” Wing collar said. Bowing deeply, he retreated into a side room. “Why is he still here?” Snowdrop wondered. “He amuses me,” Princess Luna said. “That, and my sister thinks there is use for him. Come with me, Snowdrop. Tell me, how was your flight?” # The fireplace was full of hot ember, with no new wood that might crackle and hiss. Even at the royal palace winter food consisted of pickled and dried vegetables and dry fodder. The cooks made scones and dense buns, which were best eaten slowly with plenty of jam and tea. “I cannot wait for spring,” Princess Luna said as she nibbled on a scone. “Though I must commend you on your work in Cloudsdale. This has been a most manageable winter here in Canterlot.” “I am glad that you think so,” Snowdrop said awkwardly. “Is something wrong?” Luna asked. “What troubles you, Snowdrop?” “You know what I have been doing in Cloudsdale, don’t you?” Princess Luna was silent for a moment. She lowered her teacup slowly. Then she laughed. “Of course I know, Snowdrop,” she said. “Do you think your messengers are so careless these days? “Do what you must, Snowdrop. Cloudsdale belongs to pegasi. But take care not to neglect your duties to Equestria. If you abandon this kingdom, my sister will take notice. But that is not why I have summoned you here today. Today, let us speak as friends. It has been an exhausting winter for both of us.” “And what bothers you, Luna?” Snowdrop said. “These street children, mostly,” she said with a heavy sigh. “A lot has improved since Discord’s defeat, yet there is still much to do. We have made progress, but I fear that we may lose something if we continue in the direction my sister has set out. “We are building great things here in Canterlot. My sister has raised up many leaders for Equestria, but what about the rest of the ponies? When the greatest have grown wealthy, what will happen to the rest of them?” “Luna, this is not like you,” Snowdrop said, reaching out for Luna’s hoof. “Just last year you told me how proud you were of your sister’s work. And it is great work that you are doing. Canterlot grows bigger every day, and the borders have been quiet all winter.” “What about these ponies without homes?” Luna continued. “Canterlot has mansions and storehouses, shops of all kinds, yet not enough homes for a few thousand vagrants.” “And that is why they are vagrants,” Snowdrop said. “Luna, is that all?” “The principle sickens me,” she said through her teeth. “There are ponies here wealthy enough to feed and house every orphan in Equestria. There are grain stores and cellars full of food, yet ponies are starving. They have bricks and workers to build a five-storey theatre, but not enough for a single orphanage before the winter. How can any sane pony justify all this?” “Whatever your sister is doing, most ponies believe that it works.” Snowdrop downed the last of her tea. “It’s visible progress. Well, generally visible. You know me.” She laughed. Normally Luna would join in. “Tell me, Snowdrop, has your mother reaped the rewards of this progress?” she asked instead. “Well, I hardly see how she can,” she replied. “She is a citizen of Cloudsdale, after all. We prosper when Equestria prospers, but we are apart from you.” “Is that what she taught you?” Luna laughed humorlessly. “Ah, Primrose. Such a good peasant. Snowdrop, how do you feel if I told you that Alpine Breeze owns land all over Equestria? That your mayor has been receiving obscene payments from Canterlot? That the least lieutenant of the Cloudsdale Reserve will be the founder of a family line far greater than yours? Does that sound fair? Does that not make your blood boil?” Snowdrop cowered as Princess Luna’s voice grew louder and louder. She seemed hideous and terrible, and not like herself at all. “I am sorry, Snowdrop,” Luna said, suddenly reverting to her old form. “Such things trouble my mind. That is all. Please forgive me.” “Even if what you say was true,” Snowdrop said. “It is not my place to question such things. I know my place, and I am content.” “And what of all those children out in the cold?” Luna asked. “Should they be content also?” “They are there for a reason,” she said. “I doubt an orphanage will change anything. In Cloudsdale we take care of our own. Until the ponies on the ground start following our example nothing will get better. Their bloodlines are hopelessly mixed, and that is the root of the issue.” Luna did not speak immediately. When she did, it was with a new kind of anger. Now Snowdrop was the sole target of the Princess’s wrath. “Is this the opinion in Cloudsdale? Is this what you have turned into, after all these years? Who taught you this? “A pony like yourself should have been abandoned as soon as you were born! If there is anypony who should be sympathetic, it is you! Don’t you forget that, Snowdrop!” Snowdrop turned away before the first tear left her eye. The guards did nothing to stop her as she fled down the hall. She heard Princess Luna running behind her, calling her name. She was flying before she cleared the threshold.