Chronicles Of Harmony - Winter

by Frostwyrm

Side Story - A Cold Heart(h)

-Winter-

-A Cold Heart(h)-

---

I should know, of all ponies what hatred and loneliness are; even more so than Luna. It fills my and drives me – keeping me focused on the task given to me. Cold is what I am. It is the very essence of me and yet I am the embodiment of it. As strange as it is, this accursed paradoxical relationship is the entirety of my existence.

---

When the seven of us created ponies, we meant for them to be together – yet the gifts we gave them tore them apart. The three tribes we created: unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies refused to place their difference aside and live in harmony.

The early years were everything we expected, the pegasi assisted us with the weather, the unicorns helped us with the sky and the earth ponies toiled beside us in the fields. Life was so simple then, we worked as a community – we grew the food with the earth ponies, which was nourished by the rains carried by the pegasi and grown during the day hours brought forth by the unicorns, during the night we rested and slept.

Eventually, there came a time where we handed the tribes the full responsibility of the tasks. We were simply too tired to maintain the effort we were exhorting in our efforts to support them all, it was just too much for our magic to sustain. There were no goodbyes; we just left.

---

The seven of us convened in our mountain palace, far away from the pony settlements we had nourished. We stood in silence around our stone table, thinking. It was Spring who broke the emptiness with her timid voice.

“…perhaps we have come to a time where they don’t need us. All the life we have created here is living under the care of our little ponies.”

“Yes, but there is something in their hearts that troubles me.”

The momentary silence that followed was one of shock and disbelief. Luna was not one who spoke often, though when she did it was almost always important and everypony listened.

“Speak then Luna, tell us what brings unease to your mind,” Celestia replied in a serious tone.

“When I see them, I can sense that there is chaos and hatred in their hearts and minds. Each tribe feels superior over the others. It is tearing them apart,” Luna answered.

This left me with concern, “Brother, you are the spirit of chaos, have you something to do with this?”

Floating lazily above me, Discord answered in his usual mocking tone, “Ah, the snow pony speaks to me!” his tone suddenly became more serious, “No, I have done nothing of the sort. This is a natural chaos formed from their hatred.”

“I am in accord with Luna, I too have noticed something stirring within them, but did not see it important at the time. Despite Discord denying any involvement, it is still a concern to us – as the creators of this world and its inhabitants, we may have to force the hoof of fate…”

I trailed off, leaving five alicorns and one upside-down draconequus with expressions of confusion and shock apparent on their faces. I had not chosen to say this without reason, and I could tell that they all knew it. Discord looked mildly bemused at the fact that it wasn’t him making a suggestion such as this.

“…I’m not sure that would be a safe idea, and what if the ponies don’t agree with it?” Spring asked quietly across the table.

Summer held her reserved expression, “I, for one, do not agree. Yes, they were intended for harmony with each other, but this is something you cannot force,” Celestia nodded in agreement, followed by Luna and Spring.

I glared coldly at Summer, who was always my conflicting opposite, and she smiled back subtly. A tapping across the table from Celestia brought our attention back.

“Perhaps we are acting too early in this situation, it might change our views if we were to leave this land for a few years, removing ourselves from any influence and re-convene over the same issue upon our return.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled around the table as she finished, I for one, did not agree – as evidenced by the expression I now held, making plain my displeasure. It did not go unnoticed by the others.

“Winter,” taunted Summer “have you something to say? Perhaps a better suggestion?”

“You’re so insightful sometimes…” I retorted coldly, leaving an alicorn on the other side of the table rather annoyed. “I suggest we take a pre-emptive approach to this and act before it spirals out of control.”

“I think we might be taking this too far, I said I could sense it – nothing more, and I could be wrong on this.” stated Luna, trying to break the building tension.

“Fine. We will wait.” I snapped back, “Sleep it is then.”

With that I closed my eyes and stretched out with my magic, slowly sealing the entrances with thick barriers of ice, inscribing them with runes to make them impenetrable from the outside. continuing the flow of magic, I dropped the temperature of the room to near freezing, allowing our bodies to enter a state of hibernation, before we cast a spell together to remove the ice and wake us from our suspended animation after ten years. All in place, the seven of us relinquished our consciousness into the black void of sleep.

---

Time passes slowly, especially when your mind is separate from your body – existing in a dreamscape that stretches on forever. With nothing to indicate the passing of time, it quickly becomes an irrelevant concept.

---

“…wake…”

A voice reached out through the void, so faint, as if far in the distance…

“…need you!”

The words being spoken became more coherent as I stopped to listen, wondering who could be speaking to me. It didn’t make sense – the seven of us were sealed inside our mountain, protected by walls of enchanted ice, it wasn’t possible for anypony to be speaking to us…

“Why won’t you wake?! We need you! Help us!”

Uniting my body with my consciousness in an instant, I snapped my eyes open, flared my wings and prepared a defensive spell – only to find five alicorns doing the same thing.

“Let’s not be so hostile towards our guest,” drawled a draconequus from the far side of the cavern, snapping his clawed hand – transforming my ice barriers into some sort of coloured snow, which he then scooped up in a cone and proceeded to eat. Beyond the snow-covered floor, at the entrance to the cave stood the familiar form of the unicorn we all knew as Starswirl, shivering under his blue hat and cape.

Luna let out a gasp of surprise at seeing the unicorn scholar somewhere other than the Library of the Night. There was a stunned silence before she asked him in a quiet voice,

“Before we address the issue that has brought you here, how long have we been gone?”

“Approximately seven years Princess,” he replied, as calmly as he could.

“How did you know where to find us though? We deliberately concealed ourselves using powerful enchantments,” asked Summer quizzically.

“Luna once gave me an amulet that would help me find her in a serious emergency; it would only work if the amulet’s spells agreed that intervention was required,” replied Starswirl.

“What could be so serious? I hope it isn’t too bad…” whispered a rather quiet Spring.

“Perhaps it would be better if you saw it for yourself,” he said with a grim tone.

---

From the cave entrance, high in the mountains, I could see the colours of fields, rivers and towns, stretching on to the ocean. Something didn’t look right about the usually picturesque scene; the colours seemed muted – as if blended through a dark haze.

Sharpening my senses, I took another look at the landscape before me. Dark tracts cut across the land like scars from a battle. I could see smoke rising from building as fields alike, flames still flickering among them. Turning my gaze to the sky I could see the remnants of Cloudsdale, broken and charred along the underside. Our land had been devastated.

There was a shocked silence as we stood in disbelief, unable to comprehend the destruction that had befallen the world we created. Even Discord stood solemnly, as if it were too much chaos – even for him. The impossibility our land had been laid waste to in only a few short years. What went wrong?

“…dragons…we should have watched the borders better.”

Starswirl shook his head sadly, then with a pained expression he told us.

“It wasn’t dragons. It was a year after we realised you had left us. There was a meeting between the tribes to discuss how we should govern ourselves in your absence. Needless to say it didn’t work – none of the leaders could decide on anything. We’ve been living in a stressed truce for some time, but it didn’t last more than 6 months.

“It finally came to a breaking point. The pegasi began to militarise themselves under their elected leader: Commander Hurricane. They constructed lightning forges and began raiding metals from the earth ponies to form weapons and armour. They knew what was coming.”

“What happened? The pegasi couldn’t have done all this, they wouldn’t have…” interrupted Summer.

“In a way you are right,” continued Starswirl. “It wasn’t just the pegasi – the unicorns launched a pre-emptive assault on Cloudsdale. It was declared war between pegasi and unicorns. A week later the pegasi retaliated by dragging massive superstorms across unicorn territory, destroying a large amount of earth pony crops along the way. Eventually it came to all-out war, that’s where we’ve been since.”

None of us had been expecting to hear anything like that. It was hard to understand how our world had come to this, but the evidence lay before us – crumbling and in ruin. Luna shook her head sadly and walked back inside, followed by all except Autumn.

“Winter, when you wanted to take pre-emptive action, what did you have in mind? Perhaps we should have heard you out on that idea, rather than dismissing it as we did. Would it be too late to try?”

“…I don’t know. Trying is all I can do.” I didn’t know what else to say. Although I was a goddess of the cold, I didn’t have all the answers. We are not all-powerful.

Nodding at my answer, she slowly walked back inside to where the others were waiting for us. A solution would present itself; it was just a question of when. So I stood outside, letting the wind flow through my mane, relaxing me while I thought.

---

Minutes turned into hours as I stood, unmoving, absorbed in my thoughts and surrounded by an icy wind. Noticing it had gotten significantly colder, I asked myself, “What is cold? Cold is many things, it can describe temperature or emotion. It is harsh, unrelenting, merciless and isolating – but I have seen the snow bring ponies of all kinds together…”

The solution seemed paradoxical – one of the most isolating things, cold, could work to bring ponies together; there were more pieces to the solution though. Cold could force them together, but they would have to put aside their differences for it to work. I would need chaos, to reveal their true nature, so they could find harmony. They would need warmth, to combat the cold and to keep them alive through the nights and days ahead. It wasn’t just physical warmth though - they would also need to find warmth in their hearts for each other.

Opening my wings and stretching my legs, I turned to see the others watching with an expression of curiosity on their faces. They were probably as interested as me, in whether either of us had a reasonable solution.

“What progress have you made in my absence?” I asked politely, not wanting to interrupt too much.

“Barely any, we have too many conflicting views to make any proper headway into a solution. It was only to be expected though – none of us want to cause any harm to our little ponies, especially Spring.” I’d been expecting a bit more, but Luna’s answer was discouraging.

“How was your nap?” chided Summer, deliberately trying to annoy me.

“More productive than yours,” I retorted. “Also, it was meditation – which happens to involve thinking.”

“Silence! Both of you should know better than that.” Celestia wasn’t happy; especially when she had to use her voice like that.

Placing a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder, Autumn then walked over to where I stood. Whispering, she asked me, “Please tell me you have an idea, otherwise we’ll be here for days…”

“Don’t worry,” I whispered back, “I think I’ve got it.”

Nodding in reply, she turned and walked back to where she had been standing previously. With all eyes focused on me, I cleared my throat and stated, “Yes. I have a plan. I can’t guarantee that you will agree with it or like it, but I think it will work…”

With that, I began to explain my plan.

---

Finally getting approval from Summer, we started making preparations for the task ahead. Saying a short farewell to Starswirl, we combined magic to teleported him back to the unicorn capital, where he could provide council there in the days ahead. Watching in silence as Celestia, Luna, Autumn and Spring flew over the mountain range, to wait for us on the other side after we had completed our task, we knew that the days ahead would be challenging for everypony of all races, even us.

From the cave entrance, I could see so much beauty. So much that I was about to lay waste to. That thought would stay with me for a long time. Pointing my horn skyward, I began to focus on the open sky, reaching into my cold and letting it flow through me, taking form as a ring of dark superstorms, filled with snow and ice. Opening my wings and taking to the air, I flew a long circuit around the clouds, pushing them closer and closer together over the land below me. All would know my fury.

Returning to the cave, I surveyed my work in all its destructive glory: a dark, endless cyclone of twisting cloud, blasting the ground beneath it with harsh winds and snow. Looking over at Discord, I could see the smile on his face as he watched the storm with a delicate interest.

“It’s not as much chaos as I would have liked, but with a few improvements here and there, you’d definitely have my approval!” His enthusiasm was more than admirable for this grim task.

“Don’t worry,” I replied coldly, “You’ll have more than ample opportunity for some chaos soon.”

---

For weeks we waited, watching as the blizzard consumed everything it touched. The ground now covered in snow to the height of a pony, was inhospitable to all life. Plants were no longer able to grow anywhere; we were destroying the food chain from the bottom up. We’d watched in silence as many creatures had fled over the mountains, attempting to escape the terrible storm. There was nothing we could do to help them.

Stored food had finally run out. The three tribes convened in our old castle to discuss the matter at hoof. We watched them squabble, each blaming another for the cataclysm that had befallen them. Unable to put aside their pride, they all just left. Under the command of their leaders, they returned to their homes full of resentment and spite. Filled with sadness, I watched, knowing that they had brought this upon themselves.

---

After watching the tribe leaders depart, we decided that it would be best if we separated to follow them and guide them, eventually towards each other. Together, Summer and I decided that Discord would follow the earth ponies - with a reasonable amount of freedom for chaos. Summer chose to guide the unicorns, while I would keep track of the pegasi.

Guiding them over the mountains, I cleared subtle tracks for them to follow and watched them fly the safe path through the storm. Observing them from a concealed position, I could see that the leader, Commander Hurricane, had a defiant and determined spirit – which although misguided at the moment, would be vital in the days ahead.

It was hours before they cleared the storm, into the open blue skies beyond the vast mountains that had once been the edge of exploration. Seeing Discord and Summer hovering nearby, I realised that by sheer coincidence, we had all guided the tribes to the same place. Withdrawing flags, they all claimed the land as their own, then with horrified expressions noticed the other leaders close by doing the same thing.

“Winter, you need to force them together – otherwise they’ll just go their own way and we’ll have the same problem here as well. I saw a small cave when I flew by earlier, that might be a good place to push them. I want this plan to work as much as you do.” Summer wasn’t really giving me much choice, but she was right – we had to restrict them from leaving anywhere.

Sighing, I reached out with my magic to the storm, pulling it towards us. The winds howled in response as the superstorm cover the sky. Keeping a small passage clear as snow began to fall, I watched as the ponies fled for the closest shelter: the cave. For once, Summer had actually helped me.

“This is our only chance to do this, we have to get inside that cave!” said Summer, dropping into a dive towards the entrance.

“WAIT!” I hissed, “What if we’re seen?”

“Leave that to me,” answered Discord, as he began weaving an illusion around each of us.

Looking over at Summer, then myself – I realised what we looked like: aggravated, ethereal seaponies, hovering in the sky. No, we didn’t look annoyed, we were annoyed. Summer and I shot Discord a look that could only mean: “We’re going to kill you after this.”

“They’re supposed to be ice spirits,” he mocked.

“You know what?” I snapped back, then decided against what I was about to say. “Nevermind.”
The storm was now directly over the cave, and the blizzard in full force around us. Ice was forming in patches on the ground and creeping up rocks, freezing them within a hard shell. From outside the cave I could hear voices bickering, reminding us of the task at hand.

“We should hurry, the sun is setting and it won’t be light inside that cave much longer,” said Summer.

Nodding in agreement, we flew through the entrance and up to the ceiling, circling around the ponies below. Bringing a small part of the storm inside to mask our presence, I let it drift to the roof, covering us. It would have worked, except that our constant circling created a small wind that pushed the clouds outwards.

Using my magic to speed the cold, ice began forming high on the wall, working its way down the cave and spreading across the floor. As it covered the cave, I sealed the entrance with a thick barrier of ice, hoping it would keep the effects of the storm at bay. It finally got to the point when I could no longer control my anger.

“I will show them how cold their hearts are!” I bellowed, eyes glowing blue. Power overflowing and emotions mixing with magic, I channelled the ice towards the three leaders, encasing them in blue crystalline rock. It was then that the remaining unicorn noticed us circling above. Ice still flowed unrestricted, creeping across the floor and began encasing the other three ponies still fighting the cold.

“…Summer,” I whispered in a strained voice, “Help…”

She smiled grimly, then nodded and immediately a slight warmth filled the cavern, slowing the icy advance on the three ponies. They were laughing about how bad their leaders were. How could they be so defiant, knowing that the ice would consume them? Unable to sustain the cold any longer, I collapsed from exhaustion – to be caught be Discord, who now had arms onto his illusory form. I shut my eyes, I was so tired, and lapsed into unconsciousness…

---

-Summer-

As soon as I saw Winter go limp, the ice began to slow. It was about to encase the unicorn’s horn when I instinctively fired a bolt of heat at her, absorbing into her horn and starting to glow from the overflow of sudden magic. Dispelling the illusion around me, I landed on the ground in front of her and lowered my head so our horns were touching, trying to remove any excess magic.

The moment I did so, I felt my magic surge from me, transferring into the unicorn. There was little I could do other than shape the effect it would have on her. Improvising based on the situation, I tried forming a fire spell fuelled to maintain their rapidly falling body temperature in the hope that it would keep them alive long enough for us to help.

A blazing magenta flame exploded into existence above the trio, the shockwave shattering their icy shells. The ice began receding, very rapidly. I could feel the magic emitted from the inferno had my magic in it, but there was something unfamiliar about it…

It was unlike anything I had ever seen, the spell within the blaze appeared to be self-sustaining, fuelled by positive energies from anything nearby. Opening my magical sight I could see fiery tendrils stretching between the recently un-frozen trio and the blazing inferno. A sudden surge from the three ponies blinded my sight, forcing me to look away and take to the air – joining Discord circling above them. With a snap of his claws, the illusion around me re-materialised, concealing my true form.

Suddenly, the flame surged upwards – straight towards us. It was time to leave.

---

-Winter-

Blackness…

Eyes barely able to open…

Blazing purple fire…

Somepony carrying me…

A flash. An explosion of light…

The feeling of a teleport…
Blackness.

---

Rising from the black void of unconsciousness, I opened my eyes – slowly. Everything around me was white. Had I gone blind? Opening them further, I could see my front legs covered in a cold, white powder. Ah, that would be snow.

“She’s awake,” uttered a familiar voice. “I hope she recovers soon…”

Knowing I was in safe hooves, I let myself back into a peaceful sleep.

---

It was some time before I awoke once more to find relaxing warmth enveloping my body. Standing slowly, I turned to see Summer, horn aglow, smiling gently at me. Composing my thoughts, I spoke with what strength I had.

“What happened? How long have I been out?”

“When you lost control inside the cave, you drained the last of your magic. It was too much for you to sustain all the spells you were powering. Since then, all the spells have been falling apart. Discord and I have been stuck here for the last two days – it’s far too risky to go outside while the storm is unstable and falling apart,” replied Autumn, a serious look on her face.

“I can fix this,” I whispered back weakly. “I can do it.”

“No,” Autumn whispered back, “You need to rest and not use any magic. Wait until the storm is over. All the magic you poured into it is flowing back to you.”

“Where is the storm? I can’t see it anywhere, just a thick layer of dark clouds…”

“Discord and I carried you up here, above the storm, after you collapsed inside the cave.” Autumn looked sad when she said it, as if something was too difficult to say.

“Summer?” I asked quietly.

“Mm?”

“…thank you. I’m glad you’re my sister…” I whispered, softly to her, resting my head on my legs.

Autumn smiled, knowing that although we were so different – we could both put that aside to help others and each other. Looking at my sleeping form, she leant down and whispered, “Friends?” I nodded, and drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.

---

Outside, the storm finally dissolved and the ice covering the cave entrance melted in the sunlight, allowing six ponies to walk out. Standing side by side, they were all smiling as they headed out into the dawn. They no longer stood as enemies, but as friends – friends who would found the great land of Equestria.

-The End-



Comments

[Frostwyrm]

I'm not dead! Chapter 2 is nearly complete, then I just have to run it by my editors before I post it here. I'm expecting to be able to post it within the week.

Some replies
36548
Yeah, the notion that it was 'just an old mare's tale' got me thinking - the same was said for Nightmare Moon, and that had a lot of story to it as well. So I figured, why not explore the story behind the 'old mare's tale' of the sonic rainboom while tying it into the Winter storyline.
36606
Epic might well describe the chapter plan for the Chronicle series, there's a lot I have planned. I honestly wish I could update more frequently, but sometimes other things get in the way - I am committed to finishing this though!
334349
You would not believe how hard it is to find words that rhyme with some of those without using the same word too many times...
(I found this especially while writing the prologue for Night)

I hope people are enjoying the story I have to tell. Sometimes I wish I could give you a glimpse of the massive spreadsheet that is the chapter plan for the Chronicle series, but that would spoil the fun of reading the chapters!
Frostwyrm

[Frostwyrm]

614768
Glad you're liking it so far, hopefully the Night arc I'm about to start will be just as good.
(And yes, all the arcs will heavily link into each other)

Frostwyrm

[GartexStorm]

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