//------------------------------// // Parting with the White // Story: Winds of Wintercrest // by Lost_Marbles //------------------------------// The winds died, and the snow stopped. Up above, the swirling vortex dissipated, and the windigos churning the storm vanished above the grey sky. The mountain was as quiet as death. Rarity stared at the edge of the mountain before her. Two souls filled with hate and jealousy had torn at each other’s throats before her until the mountain ultimately consumed them. Their warped minds, corrupted by their mutual hatred and years of isolation, had driven them to clash with no regards for the consequences. Their bodies reflected themselves. Cold, manipulative, ferocious, animalistic. They cursed each other to wear their ugly natures on the outside. Try as she might, she couldn’t get through to them; her pleas weren’t enough to save them, and she herself felt it was her fault. If only she had tried harder, this lead weight she felt on her chest wouldn’t be there, and there might still have been a happy ending. As she cried and her tears fell to the snow at her hooves, she wondered how much of this could have been avoided. How much of the two tales was true? Was one of them in the right, or were they both delusional? Had it been just themselves that their actions ruined, perhaps it wouldn’t have been this heart wrenching, but there was another whose life was forever altered. Winter Lily. “Hey, Rarity. You okay? You’re not hurt, are ya?” Rarity shook away her thoughts and wiped away her tears. She sniffled. “I’m alright. It’s just…” She croaked with her tired throat and pointed at the cliff. Rainbow pulled her ears back. “Ooh. What a way to go.” The two sat together for a moment and stared at the grey horizon together. “How’s your wing?” Rainbow flapped her wing. “It’s alright.” She winced and licked a bloody cut. “I’ve had worse. It’ll get better in no time.” Neither of them spoke as they continued to look at the scene before them. Rainbow looked around while Rarity just stared off into space. “Hey, Rarity. The sky is clearing up.” Rarity snapped out of her trance and looked up. Indeed it was. Holes opened in the grey above them, revealing a beautiful blue sky. Sunlight leaked through the cracks and poured on the mountain. The rays grew larger as the clouds continued to dissipate. The sounds of dripping water built up until it sounded like rain. Behind her, Rarity saw that the snow collected on the branches was melting. Some scuffling beside her turned her attention back to Rainbow, who was removing her jacket. “It’s actually getting pretty warm, isn’t it?” She threw the jacket over her back and watched the snow melt. “Wow, everything is melting pretty quickly.” Rarity gasped. Winter Lily! The ice encasing Winter Lily glistened with water. Exposed to the sun through the large hole in the floor above, the snow and ice around her had already melted and soaked the frozen dirt floor, which turned to a filthy slush that was hard to stand in. Rarity slipped in the slush as she rushed over to Lily, but she took no notice of the mud on her as she struggled to her hooves and to Lily’s side. Indeed, the ice was melting, but very slowly. Thoughts raced through her mind about the tragedy she had just witnessed. Astral and Cure were gone, a lost cause from the very beginning; but could she save Lily? Lily could have been gone already. Never before had Rarity heard of a pony being frozen in ice and surviving, if frozen at all. She could have died from the cold, asphyxiation, or if for some magical reason she had survived, the melting ice could seep into her nose and drown her. Rarity felt her heart clench as the possibility of losing another pony hit her. She grabbed the pickaxe head from earlier and wailed on the ice. Chunks broke off and melted into the slush. Rainbow took her cue and kicked the ice with her rear hooves. When there wasn’t very much ice left, Rainbow backed up to the farthest wall, flew toward the base of the ice, and turned around at the last second to deliver a powerful kick. The ice shattered underneath Lily, and she with the remaining ice above her fell into a pile. Rarity and Rainbow frantically pulled all of the ice off of her. The mare was soaked to the bone. Her fur was wet, and her mane and tail lay flat in the sludge beneath her. She didn’t move. Rarity wouldn’t accept this. She held her breath and put her ear against the side of Lily’s barrel. She was ice cold. And she wasn’t breathing. Rarity pushed her head deeper into the wet fur and into Lily’s ribs. There had to be a heartbeat. She was freezing, but she could make it. It wasn’t too late! Rarity threw off her clothes and hugged the mare to her chest. She squeezed Lily again and again in hopes that she’d squeeze life back into her. Just then, Rainbow shoved her aside. “What are you doing!?” Rainbow put her ear down and listened. She flipped Lily over on her right side, put both front hooves on Lily’s ribs, and pushed. Harder and harder, the mare beneath her sank into the sludge. Rainbow lowered her head, put her mouth on Lily’s, and blew into her mouth before repeating the motions again. Rarity watched as Rainbow continued to perform on Lily. She wanted to go up, to hug Lily, to help in some way, but the way Rainbow focused on the mare in front of her, the way she wrinkled her nose in a determined scowl, the way she didn’t even stop to wipe the sweat from her brow, she must have been in a state of complete concentration. She didn’t want to get in the way; so she just watched and felt her chest tighten with each push against Lily’s. For what seemed to be hours, Rainbow continued to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. After several attempts, she’d stop and put an ear to the mare’s ribs, only to get back up and continue. It pained Rarity to watch, and after a while, she couldn’t even bear to look in their direction, she turned her head as Rainbow lowered her head for what was probably the tenth time. “Rarity, she’s alive!” Rarity snapped her head back at Rainbow and brought a hoof up to her mouth. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, you did it!” Rainbow went back to tending to the mare. “Hey, we’re not done yet. Get a fire started. She’s going to need it.” Lily was laid carefully on Rarity and Rainbow’s jackets in a makeshift bed. The fire a short distance away crackled and dried her fur. It took a while, but Rarity was able to find enough dry wood to start a fire, and with the new hole in the floor above them, there was plenty of circulation. After more resuscitation, Lily coughed, spat up some water and she breathed once again, though she was weak and only opened her eyes for a moment before falling asleep. She had beautiful emerald eyes that radiated against her dull blue-white fur and deep blue, curly mane. It was like a flower in a snow-covered field. A lily in winter. With all that had happened, Rarity didn’t want to stay away from her. She didn’t want Lily to slip away, the one good thing that had come out of this venture full of pain and misery. She kept close to her to keep an eye on her breathing and wiped her clean with her scarf while tending to the fire. Rainbow, no longer tending to Lily, turned her attentions to her wing. Much of the blood had clotted and stained her feathers and fur. Rarity stopped watching Lily and looked up at Rainbow. “Rainbow, I’m so amazed at what you did. I didn’t know you were so good with first aid.” Rainbow puffed out her chest. “Yeah, well, it’s all part of being a weather pony and a wonderbolt in training. You gotta know how to deal with weather emergencies and accidents. When you’re flying all over the place, it’s quite likely something will happen when you’re far from help.” Lily coughed a bit in her sleep, but otherwise remained silent. Rarity wiped the spit off Lily’s chin with her scarf. “The poor dear, she’s been through so much.” She looked back up at the blue sky above them. “I do believe I saw a cart by one of these houses. If it works, we can get Lily out of this hole and some professional help.” “Woah, woah, woah. We shouldn’t move her. She should remain as still as possible. One of us should go get help.” “One of us?” Rainbow nodded. “Yes. One of us gets help, and the other watches Lily.” “Are you sure that’s alright?” Rainbow shrugged. “Hey, the storm stopped, and most of the snow is gone. I can find my way down just fine.” “But your wing--” “It’s just a scratch! If I needed to, I could fly away. The worst that would happen is the wound would reopen.” Rarity sighed. “Alright. You go. I’ll stay here with Lily.” Rainbow nodded and turned to the stairs. “Take good care of her. I’ll be back in a flash.” She ran out of the cellar. When Rarity could no longer hear Rainbow’s muddy steps, she turned back to the mare sleeping soundly beside her. She took in a deep breath and softly ran a hoof across Lily’s cheek. “You’ll be alright, darling. I’m here for you.” The ground was slick and muddy, so Rarity set up a few planks of wood and laid flat on her stomach. She wasn’t going to roll around in the mud like a pig, and after all she’d been through, she considered it a luxury. With her body aligned just so she could keep her eyes on Lily, Rarity relaxed. However, she fought to keep herself from resting her eyes; as tempting as it was to doze off, she wanted to stay alert in case anything happened. The sunlight flooded the basement and soaked into Rarity’s fur, warming her body and putting her at ease. The pitter-patter of melting snow dripping from the trees droned on in her ears. Nature itself was easing Rarity, as if it was telling her that she deserved to rest. But Rarity politely declined. She kept looking about the room and inspecting every inch to keep her mind active, but there was only so much the barren dirt basement had to observe. She found a rusty bucket, so she took that and placed it under a tree to collect water. That was the only time she allowed Lily out of her sight. Other than the occasional look up for the blue sky to see if Rainbow returned, Rarity kept her eyes on Winter Lily. Then she heard a cough. Rarity jumped up on all four hooves at the noise. Lily coughed again and stirred on her makeshift bed. Each movement was accompanied by groans and grunts, either of pain or grogginess. Then she opened her eyes. Lily fluttered her eyes, blinking out the decades of ice-induced sleep. She lifted a hoof to wipe her face, but she cringed and let out a hiss of pain before letting it drop back down to her side. At the very tip of her wooden platform, Rarity reached over and caressed Lily, ever-so-gently cleaning her eyes of gunk. “It’s okay,” she cooed. “Everything’s okay.” “Who-what?” the mare croaked, her voice like sandpaper. “Where am I?” “You’re in Wintercrest, deary,” said Rarity softly. Lily half-opened her eyes once more and looked around as much as she could without moving her head. She tried once to lift her head, but she couldn’t get it off the ground. She strained and she struggled, but she could only wiggle slightly. Then she began to cry. Tears washed over Rarity’s stinging eyes, for she too was tortured watching Lily suffer. She ran her hoof over Lily’s cheek softly, as though she was made of fine china that would break under the slightest pressure. She repeated the same assurances over and over as she tried to calm her down. “I hurt,” she whimpered. “I hurt all over. I can’t move.” She opened her eyes wide, and her irritated eyes darted about. “Where’s my husband? Where is he? Where is everyone?” Rarity froze. She felt her insides clench and squirm about like a can of worms. All of her thoughts escaped her, leaving her mind empty and devoid of answers. Fear clogged her throat as she tried to say something. Anything. All she could do was make a guttural noise as Lily wept. Rarity felt her muscles twitch as she finally regained composure. She leaned down and put her cheek against Lily’s. “There, there. I’m here to help you,” Rarity said as planned out what she would say next as she waited for Lily’s crying to subside. Once Lily emptied her tears and opened up to Rarity, she put her plan into action. “Your husband isn’t with us at the moment. You must be thirsty; can I get you some water?” “Please,” she sniffed. “Okay, I’m going to get you some water. I’ll only be gone for a moment.” After slowly lifting herself back on her hooves, Rarity walked out and fetched the bucket. The branch above was almost devoid of snow, and the bucket was about half full. A few twigs had fallen in, so Rarity plucked them out with her magic, brought it back with her, and set it at beside her plank-bed. With her magic, Rarity took a small amount of water and held the floating, formless mass in front of Lily’s muzzle. She sipped the water until it was all gone. Rarity then took her dirty scarf and dried her face and wiped away any snot before giving Lily another drink. She repeated this process a few more times. “Feeling better?” “Yes. Thank you.” “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Lily mumbled her consent. “Could you please tell me your name? My name is Rarity.” Lily took a few deep breaths and looked up at Rarity. “Winter Lily. My name is Winter Lily.” Rarity smiled. Now it was time for her to learn the truth. “Winter Lily, could you please tell me the name of your husband?” After a few shaky breaths, Lily answered, “Terracotta.” Rarity felt her jaw slack. She tightened her jaw to hide the dumbfounded look she hoped Lily didn’t notice. “I’m sorry, did you say your husband’s name is Terracotta?” “Yes, he’s the town potter.” Lily turned her pleading eyes up to Rarity. “Is he here?” Rarity bit the inside of her lips. “I’m sorry dear, but he’s not here with us.” “Oh.” Lily seemed to deflate as though the last bit of hope she’d held onto had left her. Things were not going as Rarity expected. She needed to do something. “Lily, what is the last thing you remember?” As if her memories were written on her nose, Lily looked down her face as she searched her mind. “Well, I remember I was going to the chemist to pick up some medicine. It was shortly after he returned from his yearly trip to get supplies. I had been sick with a fever when he left. My husband took care of me and used up all the medicine he could find. “My husband was so distraught that after I recovered, he said, ‘When the chemist gets back, let’s stock up on medicine so we will be prepared should need ever arise again.’ “So after Miracle Cure, the chemist, returned, I went to his house. I heard a noise in the basement. There was yelling. I heard Cure’s voice. I opened the door to the basement and I saw him fighting with another pony. I rushed down and tried to stop them, but there was a white flash, and… and… I don’t know.” Lily’s voice was starting to get raspy during her explanation. Rarity gave another bubble of water to Lily and she sipped it. After she finished and Rarity wiped her chin, Rarity asked another question. “Do you know who he was fighting with?” “He was fighting Astral Body. He was a bit of a hermit. He helped around in the village from time to time, but mostly he stayed in his house and read books. He was a bit odd, but I considered him a friend.” “Odd? How so?” “Well, he got nervous whenever he was around me, and sometimes he left notes and letters that I sometimes responded to. But after I got married, he didn’t stop. Terracotta didn’t like that and told me not to respond to his letters anymore. So I did. He said I was ‘leading him on.’ “He wasn’t the only one who sent me letters. The stallions who could write wrote me love letters and poems, but after I got married to my husband, most of them stopped. There was Astral and one more secret admirer who didn’t stop. My husband got so upset, he tore them up and burned them.” The curse of beauty--Rarity knew it well. While beauty was something all mares wanted to have, having too much of it could bring more drama than a mare could put up with. Every stallion within a hundred miles would want to have you. Especially the ones who only measured the value of a mare by her looks. It wasn’t uncommon that a stallion would approach her and the first thing out of his mouth would have something to do with her “stunning beauty” or anything of the like. Things were beginning to make sense, but Rarity wanted to know more. “Did they ever propose to you?” “Oh yes, I’ve been proposed to many times, but I always said no. Many of them took it pretty hard. I always felt so bad for them afterward. Especially Astral. After I rejected him, he stayed in his house for days. This was right before he left for a bigger town to study more magic. I thought he had locked himself in his house for weeks before somepony told me he left.” Lily’s voice grew softer and weaker. She let her head tilt back down and rested the side of her face on her bed. “I’m sorry, but I’m so tired.” “Oh, please. Rest, darling. I’ll be here for you if you need anything.” Lily closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, breathing softly into the clothes she lay on. Just as she said, Rainbow was back with help in a short amount of time. The small town below had an emergency response crew ready because of the ever-raging storm that ravaged the mountain. Rarity had to resist the urge to keep Lily all to herself, but the paramedics knew better than her about what to do, and so she let them take her away on a pegasus lift. The non-pegasi crew walked Rarity and Rainbow back to the lodge near the train station. She was welcomed with great celebration, and among the ponies waiting for her were Sweetie Belle and her friends. Cheerilee and Applejack had found them shortly after they had split up, but by the time they could have a unicorn send up a flare, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were too far away to see it through the storm. She gave her sister a big hug and cried. Her sister was safe. She also heard that Lily would make a full recovery, but it would take time. With all the hugging and the happy reunions, Rarity almost missed the comment Applejack made about how awful she looked. Indeed, a quick glance in the mirror showed that she was a mess. Her makeup was smeared all over her face, she was missing her false eyelashes, dried mud was caked in her fur and on her hooves, and her mane was a disheveled mop. But she didn’t care. She was safe, and so were her friends and family. She’d have plenty of time to wash up later. On the train ride back home, Rarity stared out and watched as Mount Wintercrest slowly passed her window. On their way toward the mountain, it had been surrounded by a white fog so thick she couldn’t see the top half. On their departure, it was completely different. Snow still could be seen at the peak, but the menacing clouds were gone. No longer did the mountain seal itself away in a hate-fueled storm, but instead stood tall in the clear sky with a serene calmness. As she watched the mountain sink into the horizon, she finally cooled down enough to reflect on what had happened. If what Winter Lily had said was the truth, then it was possible that Astral Body and Miracle Cure, during their hundreds of moons in their frozen Tartarus on Equus, had fooled themselves by believing in a romanticized past. In their eternal solitude, they had let delusion rewrite their memories and drive themselves down a path of mutual destruction. They were beyond saving even before Rarity showed up. Through the window, she could barely make out the shapes of what remained of the town of Wintercrest near the peak. No longer buried under snow or bombarded with winds, it had been reintroduced to the outside world. Would ponies go back and rebuild it, or would it remain untouched as a relic of an age past? Sweetie Belle had asked about the events on the mountain, but Rarity could never tell her the truth. She herself didn’t want to believe what had happened. She told Sweetie that she and Rainbow had gotten lost while looking for them, and along the way come across another mare in trouble as well just before the storm ended. On the seat next to her was her romance book she had been reading before all this happened. She wanted to pick it up. Forget all that had happened and lose herself in a romanticized story with no grey, just good and bad, black and white. Instead, she watched the white-peaked mountain recede into the distance - sinking into the green meadows and giving way to blue skies. She sighed, closed her eyes, and welcomed her parting with the white.