Natural Order

by Lychee

Chapter 8

It had been a long time since Winter Chill had travelled to meet her sister. Flying over the frozen forests of Equiiria, she couldn’t help but wonder if Autumn Gale even cared. The night was still and silent, the only sound the wind rushing past her as she flew through the silver-lined clouds towards her sister’s home deep in the woods. Once upon a time, this forest had been a place of great beauty. Ponies from every corner of the land had flocked to walk beneath the mighty trees and meet with the benevolent Lady of autumn. They would marvel at the brilliant hues of red and yellow of the leaves in autumn. Sadly though, the forest, like everything else, had withered and died in the long cold.

There was a certain beauty to it still, Winter Chill observed. The trees glittered in the moonlight, the ice covering their branches gleaming a brilliant silver. But it was nothing compared to what it once was. Her sister had long been the steward of this place, but now her touch was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps that was for the best. Truth be told, the reason she had waited so long to visit Autumn Gale was that she was ashamed. Ashamed of what Autumn Gale had become, and of her part in bringing about that change.

In the distance, a massive tree loomed out of the darkness. It stood ten times as tall as any other tree in the forest, and it alone had managed to retain its foliage. Autumn Gale’s magic was still strong enough to do that, at least. But even her sister’s home had changed. Winter Chill wrinkled her nose as she drew closer. The stench of decay hung thick in the air. Even the icy wind couldn’t dislodge it. The leaves were pale and gray, and the whole tree looked like it was dying. It had been dying for almost one-thousand years.

Winter Chill touched down near the base of the tree, navigating the giant roots that twisted around it. When she approached the ornate gate that had been carved into its base, the earth pony guards hastily knelt before her.

“Lady Winter Chill!” the nearest guard stammered, his eyes glued to the ground, “We were not aware you would be visiting today! Lady Autumn Gale has been in meetings with her advisors since early this morning and has not left the upper halls. I will send a messenger to inform her of your arrival immediately.”

“That will not be necessary,” Winter chill said dismissively. “I’m sure she already knows I’m here. She always does. Rise, and let me pass.”

“Yes Milady, at once!” The guard pony gestured to his comrades and the group parted before Winter Chill, watching in awe as she passed. She paused, turning to regard the stallion that had addressed her. He wasn’t a young pony, but nor was he noticeably old. His armor was fashioned in the same manner as the armor her guards wore, but the emblem on the flank was that of her sister.

“What was your name, soldier?”

“S-Sturdy Oak, your majesty,” He replied. He was obviously nervous. His eyes kept shifting to the other guards and he seemed to want nothing more than to shrink into the ground.

“Sturdy Oak,” Winter Chill said slowly, as if testing the way the name felt as she spoke it, “Tell me, have we met before?”

“No your majesty, I don’t believe so,” Sturdy Oak said, a touch of confusion in his voice, “I did see you once before, on your last visit to the Great Tree, but I was just a colt then. My parents worked in the kitchens, and I snuck out of our room when I heard you had come to visit. I didn’t mean any harm by it, I was just so curious to see you. You were like a legend to all of us that grew up in the Tree.”

“Ah yes, yes of course.” Something clicked in Winter Chill’s memory, and she could clearly remember the small brown earth pony that had stumbled out of his hiding place to land sprawled on the floor before her. He had gasped and taken off running before she could say anything. “How long ago was that?”

Sturdy Oak’s brows furrowed in thought. “Well I was hardly more than a foal then. I didn’t even have my cutie mark yet. I’m not sure exactly, but I’d have to say around twenty-five years ago now Milady.”

Winter Chill was silent for a moment. She nodded slowly. “Thank you Sturdy Oak. It is good to see you have stayed loyal to us sisters for so long.”

“I live to serve you and your sister, Milady,” Sturdy Oak said with a bow.

Winter Chill was taken by a sudden impulse. She reached out to the kneeling guard with a wing and touched him gently, once on each shoulder. Without saying a word, she turned and disappeared into the darkness of the Tree, beginning the long ascent up the innumerable stairs that lined the interior. Sturdy Oak could only watch her retreating form in stunned silence, the lingering bite of her icy touch on his shoulders.

What had possessed her to do that? She couldn’t fathom why she would do that for a guard she had met only once, and briefly at that.

‘I must be getting sentimental in my old age,’ she thought with the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. The last pony she had done that for was Snow Drift, the day she had earned her cutie mark.

But could it really have been twenty-five years since the last time she had visited this place? It seemed impossible, but she could think of nothing to suggest that Sturdy Oak had been mistaken. Ponies scurried to get out of her way as she climbed the stairs, casting her curious and fearful glances. All of these ponies would have been foals, or not even born, the last time she had walked these passages. Only a few of the ponies she spotted could have been old enough to clearly remember her last visit.

The stairs seemed to stretch upward to infinity, but eventually Winter Chill reached the top. Whatever else might have changed, the Tree itself was the same as she remembered it. The interior had been carved out millennia ago when Autumn Gale had first arrived in the forest. The central stairway spiralled up to highest reaches of the tree, while living chambers, administrative rooms, and other facilities had been carved into the mighty boughs that stretched out over the much smaller trees below. Autumn Gale’s throne room was located in the uppermost reaches, high above the forest floor. Once, the tree had been a nexus of natural magic; the perfect place for the autumn spirit to call home. But now it was sick and stuck in the twilight before death. Just like Autumn Gale herself.

The chatter of strained and urgent voices drifted to her ears as she emerged from the stairway into the throne room. It was a vast circular chamber, with windows carved out of the walls and ceiling. The moonlight filtering in was tinted pale yellow and seemed to come from all directions, the shafts of light converging on the ornate throne in the center of the room. Unlike the throne in her castle, this one was more of a pedestal situated in the center of the room.

Sitting upon it, looking down with clear disinterest at the assembled ponies addressing her, was Autumn Gale. She looked up when Winter Chill approached, offering a ghost of a smile. The other ponies turned to see who had interrupted their audience. Several gasped, and a few had the good grace to bow as Winter Chill approached. She scowled at them. She had expended as much charity as she was prepared to already.

“It seems I have interrupted something,” Winter Chill noted with no hint of apology. “Perhaps you’ll indulge me and postpone this meeting so we can talk.”

“Yes. Yes I think that will do for today, my little ponies.” Autumn Gale’s voice whispered through the hall like a breath of wind, soft and airy, but everypony heard her clearly. “Winter’s Light has arrived, and I mustn’t keep her waiting.”

The ponies turned and bowed before Autumn Gale before scampering out of the room, a few casting fearful glances at Winter Chill. She ignored them.

“It has been centuries since anypony called me that, sister,” Winter Chill said once the other ponies had left the throne room, a faint smile on her face, “We abandoned those names when Celestia banished Luna, don’t you remember?”

“Of course, of course,” Autumn Gale said, stretching out on her pedestal. She was smaller than Winter Chill, though still larger than an average pony. Her horn looked like a twisted piece of wood, and her wings flowed from her back like a blanket of autumn leaves. “No need for Winter’s Light or Autumn’s Herald now. No more autumn to be greeted. No more spring rains or summer bounties. All that’s left in this land is winter’s chill.”

“Indeed,” Winter Chill said. It had been so long since she had seen Autumn Gale; she had almost forgotten how unsettling it could be to be in her presence. No wonder those ponies had been on edge. “How have you been, sister? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“I am well. The other ponies are well. The forest is dead,” Autumn Gale stated calmly. Her eyes were dull and her gaze distant. “Why have you come, sister? You do not like it here. You could have sent a message. You always send me messages.”

Winter Chill struggled to keep her composure. “I wanted to see you, face to face. And I needed to talk to you about your subordinate, Dead Leaves. He is becoming a problem, and I want you to deal with him appropriately.”

“Dead Leaves is no more than an idea. He is a concept given form by the crawling depths of my magic and mind,” Autumn Gale said without any change in intonation. “He will do what I have set for him to do. He will not be a problem.”

“So you say,” Winter Chill said, irritated, “But that ‘idea’ has harmed my student and jeopardized our plan. I know I don’t need to tell you how important this is, how long we’ve been working towards this. If everything falls apart now because you sent me an unreliable subject...”

Autumn Gale rolled onto her side, seeming to look at Winter Chill for the first time. “Hurt your student? You are worried about her? That is unlike you.”

Winter Chill broke her sister’s gaze, looking instead out of one of the windows. “She is... important to me. In many ways she reminds me of what I used to be. I have tried to shelter her from the harsh realities of the world we inherited from Celestia. I will not tolerate anypony bringing harm to her, and that includes your favored subject. I came here to tell you that if you do not deal with him, I will.”

“What you used to be.” Autumn Gale smiled at that. “I remember when you smiled. You don’t smile anymore.”

“I’ve had little reason to smile these last thousand years,” Winter Chill said with a sigh, “We’ve all had to change. But soon, everything will be set right, and we can finally be free of the nightmare Celestia foisted upon us.”

“Free. Yes. I would like that,” Autumn Gale said, rolling onto her back and gazing out the windows above her, “Celestia isn’t free. And neither is dearest Luna. They are haunted by ghosts. I made the ghosts to feed their shame. And their fears.”

“Good. Everything should fall into place shortly. My student and her company appear to be in position, despite the setback caused by Dead Leaves.”

“He must finish the task I assigned him. It is vital.”

Winter Chill growled. “Fine. If he is that important, then I will leave him be, for now. But he will be punished for what he did, and if I perceive him to be a threat to Snow Drift or the plan, I will not hesitate to make sure he is disposed of.”

Autumn Gale did not seem concerned by this. “He will complete the task I assigned him, and then he will return to me.” She fell silent and gazed at the moon shining down upon her. Winter Chill said nothing, simply watching her sister as she stared at the moon.

“The world is going to change.”

“Yes. Yes it is,” Winter Chill said, and smiled.

---

“So where are we going?”

“To meet one of my friends. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll love you. She loves everypony, especially when they’re new to Ponyville. She can be a little over-enthusiastic though.”

Snow Drift had woken that morning feeling far better than she had the previous day. She still had a lot of bruising visible under her white coat, and several of her more serious injuries were still sore, but overall her condition had improved drastically. The swelling around her ankle had, for the most part, disappeared, and she could open both her eyes now. A cursory inspection of her bandages revealed all of her cuts and gashes had closed and begun to scab over as well.

Twilight had been relieved to see her improvement, and had insisted they go to celebrate. Snow Drift hadn’t been able to think of any reason not to, and so had agreed, following Twilight out into the bright summer morning. It was refreshing to be able to walk on her own again, even if it was a little painful. She also found she was getting more accustomed to the heat, though it was still more uncomfortable than she would have liked.

“Over-enthusiastic?” Snow Drift asked. “What do you mean?”

“Hmm, well she’s not an easy pony to describe,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “She’s just hyper, and a lot of the things she does don’t make sense. I’ve given myself more than one headache trying to figure her out. Her special talent is throwing parties though, so try to imagine a pony like that.”

Snow Drift did, but gave up after a moment. “Nevermind. I guess I’ll just have to meet her and see for myself. She certainly sounds like an interesting pony though.”

“Oh she is,” Twilight said with a laugh, “Ah! We’re here! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner.”

Snow Drift marvelled at the building before her. It seemed to made almost entirely out of confections! She felt as though she could lean forward and take a bit out of it. She had never seen anything like it before. Ponyville seemed to be full of things she had never seen before.

“Snow Drift?” Twilight called as she held open the door, “Are you coming?”

“Oh! Yes!” Snow Drift scampered up the steps as quickly as she could and followed Twilight inside.

“Heya Twilight!” A high-pitched voice called out, “Wathcha doin’? Hey! Who’s the new pony?”

Snow Drift recoiled as a pink blur shot out from behind the counter, and a moment later she found herself staring into a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

“Hey! You must be new in Ponyville! My name’s Pinkie Pie, and I know you’re new, ‘cuz I don’t know you and if I don’t know you then you must have just gotten here because I know everypony in Ponyville and everypony knows me!”

The pink pony stopped to take a large breath, and Snow Drift took the opportunity to take a few steps back. She had never met a pony with so much energy before. It was a little unsettling. “Oh. I see. Um, my name is Snow Drift. I actually just arrived in Ponyville yesterday, with Twilight’s help.”

“That’s great!” Pinkie replied, bouncing in place, “Isn’t Twilight one of the bestest ponies ever? I was a little worried when I first saw you, since you looked like you were hurt, but when I noticed you were with Twilight I knew there was nothing to worry about! I knew that if you were with Twilight then she was taking good care of you and in that case there was no reason to worry about you and you must be doing okay!”

Twilight couldn’t help but blush at the praise. Pinkie Pie would never say something mean about anypony, but when she said something nice she always meant it. “Thanks Pinkie. I thought I’d show Snow Drift around Ponyville a little. She’s staying with me at the library until she gets better.”

“You have a lovely town,” Snow Drift said, growing accustomed to the hyperactivity that seemed to radiate from Pinkie Pie, “I wish I could have made it here unscathed, but I am glad I got meet Twilight, she’s been very kind.”

Twilight smiled and Pinkie let out a squeal of joy. “Hey! I just had an idea! If you’re hurt and walking around Ponyville is a pain, then I’ll just bring Ponyville to you!”

“How are you going to do that?” Snow Drift asked, perplexed.

Pinkie was practically vibrating with excitement as she took a deep breath.

“Oh here we go.” Twilight groaned.

“A PARTY!”

---

Snow Drift was astonished with the speed that Pinkie Pie had managed to assemble the party. The library was decorated with streamers, confetti, and balloons of all shapes and sizes. Tables had been set up with bowls of punch, candy, and enough baked goods to feed an army. Pinkie Pie was a blur as she dashed around the room, making sure everything was ready for the guests to arrive.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said, trotting up next to her as she watched Pinkie Pie wheel a small canon into the room, “Pinkie Pie loves throwing parties, and they’re always a lot of fun. It will be a good way for you to meet some more ponies too.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Snow Drift replied. “I’m just a little nervous. We don’t have that many parties where I come from, and I usually try to avoid big crowds. I’m not sure how sociable I’ll be in a room packed full of strangers.”

“Just be glad you know it’s coming,” Twilight said, smiling, “I remember when I first arrived in Ponyville Pinkie threw me a surprise party and invited everypony in Ponyville. I spent most of the party upstairs in my bedroom.”

The two of them shared a laugh. That was exactly how Snow Drift would have handled the situation.

“But I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Twilight said once she had stopped laughing. “I talked to Pinkie a bit before she started setting up, and I think I convinced her not to invite the whole town this time.”

“Thank you.” Snow Drift breathed a sigh of relief. “I didn’t want to appear ungrateful, but I really wasn’t looking forward to dealing with that many ponies.”

There was a knock at the door and Pinkie Pie sprang into action. “The guests are here!” She shouted, bouncing over and throwing open the door to reveal well over a dozen eager and smiling ponies. Snow Drift couldn’t help but smile at the effort the pink pony had gone through on her behalf.

Music started playing and the ponies eagerly began the party. Dancing, drinking punch, singing and laughing, eating sweets. Snow Drift couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. She hadn’t been to a party like this since she was a filly. Ponies living in the castle didn’t often celebrate, and when they did it was often a formal occasion. But everypony seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It didn’t take long however, for her to get used to the atmosphere and start enjoying herself. Twilight was having a good time, and Pinkie Pie’s gleeful energy was infectious. Before long, Snow Drift was smiling and laughing, helping herself to the buffet, courtesy of Sugarcube Corner. Several ponies came up and introduced themselves to her, all of whom were polite and seemed genuinely happy to meet her.

“Havin’ fun?”

Snow Drift turned to see the earth pony she had met the day before standing next to the punch bowl, a strange expression on her face. Applejack, if she remembered right.She tried to speak, but her words were muffled by the cupcake she had crammed into her mouth moments before. She nodded, chewing hastily and swallowing the tasty treat in one large gulp.

“Very much, thank you Applejack.” Snow Drift gave the earth pony a wide smile. Applejack returned the smile, though with much less enthusiasm.

“Well Ah’m glad to hear it. And it looks like you’re startin’ to feel a little better too.”

“Oh, yes,” Snow Drift said, nodding, “I’m feeling a lot better today, thanks to Twilight. She’s been very kind to me. I would have been in a lot worse shape if it wasn’t for her.”

Applejack didn’t say anything. She just kept looking at Snow Drift with that same curious expression.

Snow Drift’s smile faltered. “Um, is something wrong?”

Applejack sighed heavily. “Aw dangit. Ah didn’t wanna have this conversation here. Look, Ah know you ain’t really from Maresburg. You were lyin’ yesterday when Ah met ya.”

Snow Drift’s breath caught in her throat, and it took her a moment to find her voice. “W-what do you mean?”

“Ah have family in every corner of Equestria,” Applejack replied. “Hay, even out in the frontier towns. We Apples are a big family, and we’ve moved all over Equestria. And Ah happen to know there ain’t no town called Maresburg.”

“That’s...I-I mean,” Snow Drift stammered. How had she been found out so quickly? Everything had been going so well since she had gotten out of the Everfree Forest. She must have been careless. She knew something like this would happen. Lying had always gotten her into trouble, and now it looked like she was going to fail her teacher before she even got started.

“Don’t strain yourself girl,” Applejack said, holding up a hoof to silence her, “Listen, Ah don’t know why you lied, and there’s a good chance it ain’t any of my business. Ponies have a lot of reasons they might not wanna tell the truth about where they’re from, and from what Ah’ve seen you ain’t a bad pony. You seem to really be thankful to Twilight for everthin’ she’s done for you, and that means you’ve got a good heart. Ah just wanted you to know that as long as whatever it is you’re hidin’ ain’t gonna get nopony in trouble, then you’re free to keep whatever secrets you like. Just remember everythin’ that Twilight’s done for your sake if she gets dragged into whatever trouble you might have brought along with you.”

Snow Drift was left speechless as Applejack took her leave. She didn’t know what to make of the situation. Applejack at least, knew that she had lied. Did that mean that Twilight did too? Was she suspicious of her already? Snow Drift tried to recall anything that Twilight might have done to suggest that she knew she had been lying, but could think of nothing. Twilight had been cheerful and friendly all day. Maybe she didn’t know. But that thought didn’t really make her feel any better. As unfortunate as it was, Applejack was right. Snow Drift really did have no idea what kind of trouble she might end up bringing Twilight, or even all of Ponyville. The guilt she had been trying so hard to ignore began creeping back, making her feel sick to her stomach.

“Hey Snow Drift, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Snow Drift turned and almost recoiled when she found herself face to face with Twilight.

“No, nothing’s wrong!” She said. “I think I just ate too many cupcakes. I’m not used to eating so much sweet stuff.”

“Just be glad Pinkie Pie hasn’t spiked any of them with hot sauce,” Twilight said with a shudder, “I wanted to introduce you to some of my other friends, since you’ve already met Pinkie Pie and Applejack.”

A trio of mares trotted up beside Twilight. “I’d like to introduce you to—”

She was cut off by a gasp as the white unicorn next to her ran forward, grabbing Snow Drift’s mane in her hooves.

“Twilgiht! How could you let your guest attend her own welcoming party when her mane is in such a state!” Rarity said as she inspected Snow Drift’s mane, “Her mane is an absolute mess! And the split ends! You should have taken her to me first thing!”

“Rarity!” Twilight said with a flash of annoyance, “We haven’t had a lot of time for beauty work since she got here. We had to give her injuries priority and she’s been resting since then.”

Snow Drift couldn’t help but blush as the unicorn inspected her mane. She didn’t spend much time trying to work on her appearance, but it was true she hadn’t really given her mane much attention since she had gotten out of the forest.

“Well, maybe later we can take her to the spa,” a tiny voice said from behind Twilight. Snow Drift craned her neck to see a timid yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane giving her a gentle smile.

“Why that’s simply a lovely idea Fluttershy!” Rarity exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes, “Yes, as soon as you are feeling up to it, you should join Fluttershy and I for one of our weekly spa treatments! I assume you’ll be staying in Ponyville for awhile?”

“Well, um, I’m not really sure actually,” Snow Drift said. “I should be here for awhile, at least until I can travel again. Beyond that, I’m really not sure.”

“Oh I’m sure that will be perfect! It will be great fun getting to know you.”

“Yes, thank you Rarity,” Twilight said with a slight hint of exasperation, “Now, as I was saying, this is Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Girls, I’d like you to meet Snow Drift, my houseguest.”

“Wait a sec,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling herself away from the buffet for a moment, flying over and inspecting Snow Drift, “Your name’s Snow Drift?”

“Yes?” Snow Drift said.

“I knew I forgot something!” Rainbow Dash said, smacking her forehead, “I met a pegasus that was looking for you yesterday, said her name was Aurora. I told her I’d keep an eye out for you, but I forgot.”

“You met Aurora?” Snow Drift asked with barely contained excitement, “You mean Aurora’s here? In Ponyville?”

“Well not exactly. She said she and another one of your friends were going to be camping by the Everfree Forest. I think she said something about wanting to keep looking for you there in case you were still lost in the forest.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight scolded. “How could you forget something so important? Didn’t you realize who this party was for?”

“Hey, Pinkie says party and I party, no questions asked,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug, “I can go out and look for her if you want. I can tell her where you’re staying.”

“Thank you.” Snow Drift said, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Aurora was close by! Just knowing that was enough to ease her nerves somewhat. “But you don’t have to rush off right now. I wouldn’t ask you to leave a party as fun as this, and besides, Aurora is probably already asleep. If you can go check for me in the morning, I would really appreciate it.”

“Hey, no problem,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll go get her first thing in the morning.”

“Do try to wake up while it is still morning then Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “It wouldn’t do to sleep through a promise like that now would it?”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash said with and indignant huff, “I can get up early! I just choose not to!”

Snow Drift couldn’t help but laugh as the two friends bickered. It was the kind of friendship she had always longed for. She didn’t have many friends outside of Aurora. Most ponies her age didn’t live in the castle, and those that did were of much lower status than she was. For the most part, they ignored her.

But the atmosphere here in Ponyville was so different. Everything was warm, and not just in the literal sense. All these ponies seemed to get along so well, seemed to live such happy and carefree lives. She supposed it came with not having to constantly battle against the elements for survival. She loved her home, and loved the cold, but there was a part of her that seemed to ache for the kind of love and affection that seemed to flow out of Ponyville. It was a part of herself she hadn’t realized existed, and now that it had begun to emerge, she wasn’t sure what to do.

Comments

[Sanakan]

I hope you plan on continuing this story, it really is great. I can't quite understand why despite being on ED there's not a lot of support or feedback here for it. Cheers!