“Who has the high score?”
“The balance is currently in favour of the Summer.”
“And what does it mean for us Outsiders? I mean, you say the Spring controls Equestria, but it’s not like anypony’s ever seen the king of the Spring popping in to tell Princess Celestia how the country should be run. Is it?”
“Queen of the Spring,” it corrected her, “and yes, you are correct that, from your perspective, what occurs between the Seasons is of small relevance to your lives. The relative power of the four Seasons waxes and wanes in accordance with the changes occurring beyond our walls, but to you mortals it would seem that the Seasons have no control over those changes. Over periods beyond the scale of your lifespan, however, their influence shapes nations and moves continents.”
“And you weren’t speaking metaphorically, I suppose. About moving continents and such.”
“No, we were not. Those who exist on time scales close to ours may be able to perceive a trace of what is done here.”
Hearthfire tried to decide how she felt about all this. On the one hoof, it was more than a little bit creepy. On the other, it really didn’t matter to ponies like her. Why should she care if there were mysterious ephemeral beings prodding and tweaking the world to suit their own purposes? For that matter, was it really so different from how Princess Celestia ruled? She, too, had little influence on the day to day lives of the ponyfolk, but you’d have to be a foal to think that she had no control. Beloved or not, maintaining your position as monarch of a country for thousands of years, through nopony-knows-how-many crisis and threats, had to take more than a bit of finesse.
“Have any other Outsiders seen this before? You mentioned that they’re not normally brought to the buffer.”
“There are some occasions which have necessitated it in the past, although they are extremely infrequent. Unless you are interested in seeing more of the records held here, we suggest that we return for now.”
They made it halfway back before they were found. The grey unicorn glanced up and halted mid-stride.
“We would prepare ourselves, if we were you. We believe that the Seasons have business with you.” Hearthfire squeezed her eyes shut, just to be safe, and then the trio of envoys arrived in a wash of clashing contradictory sensations. It was true that it was not so overpowering with her eyes closed, but it still made her head whirl once she dared to look.
The envoy of the Spring was a creature of blazing colour and fresh air, a meadow of new flowers after the barren colder months. The Summer’s representative was warm and dry, insects buzzing lazily in the scorching heat and the last of the Spring’s blossoms turning to cloyingly sweet mulch below its branches. The envoy of the Autumn brought with it the scents of damp and mist, a touch of the year’s first frost, and the muted colours of its Season.
They avoided making eye contact with each other as they appeared, and each launched into its own spiel as soon as they had her attention.
“The Summer greets you, and -”
“The lady of the Spring -”
“Your presence is desired by the Autumn -”
She tried to protest, but it made no difference. The three voices waltzed on, rendered unintelligible by each other; she opted to wait for them to finish and then sort out the mess.
“Now. Once more, but one at a time, please,” she said, glancing from one to the other in consternation. “Um. Envoy of the Spring, you first, if you will.”
After it had all been sorted out, and she had heard each message in turn, she had no more idea what she was going to do next than she had before. They all bore invitations to visit their respective Seasons, and they were all vehement that she accept their one over the others. In the end, she was forced to just pick one, and ask the others to find her once more once she returned. The other envoys were clearly not pleased, but they acquiesced to her decision to visit the Spring first.
* * *
The Spring, as it phased into being, was not at all what she had expected, judging by its envoy. It was a vast, bustling metropolis, soaring buildings formed from some rose-coloured sandstone, and the skyline was a tangle of timber scaffold and cunningly artificed lifting cranes that dragged block after block upwards, to feed the growth of ever more buildings. Every flat surface was given over to greenery; climbing vines wound up every wall from soil beds that lined each street, and fresh seasonal flowers bloomed in pots and hanging bowls and garden spaces. The denizens of the Spring were everywhere, moving purposefully through the streets or lounging amongst the gardens. The air seemed to invigorate her body with each breath, and she was filled with the urge to gambol and leap and turn giddy cartwheels.
The envoy lead her away from the streets, and through a gateless arch into an uncovered quadrangle, where a pale blue marquee swayed lightly in the breeze. Trestle tables were set out in its shadow and lined with plain wooden benches that appeared to extrude from the grass, their legs turning green as they reached the ground.
The Spring’s ruler was waiting, already cloaked in a guise of normalcy. Hearthfire could see down to its real form beneath, if she focused hard; it was formed from fractal, exponential growth, splitting and branching endlessly and pulsing with life, utterly hypnotic...
With an effort of will, Hearthfire managed to see the alicorn once more. Funny that they’ve both chosen to look like alicorns, she reflected. Did they just recognise a shape she would see as an authoritative figure from what they knew of the world? Or were they able to reach into her mind in some fashion? Either way, the ruler of the Spring appeared as a slim, tall alicorn mare with a clover-green coat and a pure white mane. Her eyes were a window into the bottomless depths of her being, and Hearthfire noted not to look too long.
“Welcome, Outsider. I knew that you would want to come here first, hmm?” The voice was lyrical, almost a song; it rose and fell and drifted carelessly from note to note.
“I’m glad I did. Your realm is certainly something to see. It is not what I was expecting, I’ll admit that. Uh, what should I call you?”
“I take the title of Ladyship, ordinarily, but we are practically old friends, you and I, and I think we can dispense with formality for now. You may call me... hmm... Dew. And what should I call you? I am sure you must find the way we refer to everyone from beyond our walls as Outsiders quite vulgar, mustn’t you?”
“I’m Hearthfire. And yes, it is a little... intimidating, thank you.”
“Hearthfire. Wonderful. I was told that you had another with you, an old friend?” Hearthfire hesitated, but honesty won out.
“My cat, Cas. I asked her to wait in the buffer until I come back. I didn’t know what to expect, after...”
“Oh my. So suspicious already, but I suppose I can’t blame you. After being welcomed to our city by a meeting with the Ice King himself. Trust me, not all the Seasons are ruled by greedy, grasping foals. Though I would love to hear what it was that he wanted with you. I assume it was he that orchestrated your passage past the wall...?”
“So he says. As for what he wanted, it was odd. Many years ago, when I was travelling in a far off land, I came across a... a piece of something. He says it belongs to him, and he wanted it back, and wanted to know how I got hold of it in the first place.”
“And you told him no, didn't you, Hearthfire? O-ho, you’ve got an attitude, haven’t you? I do not think that many of the Outsiders who have visited the City would dare turn down a direct request from the Ice King...”
“It means a lot to me, this particular item. I wouldn’t want to hand it over to anyone.”
“Mmm, lovely,” she laughed, “That must have made him furious.”
“He wasn’t happy, I can say that for certain.”
“You wouldn’t know the half of it. I’m sure that he was raging and breaking things the very minute you left his realm. Not that I am complaining, but whatever was it that possessed you to cross him?”
“As I said: it’s important to me. And I was sure that if he could force me to give it to him, he would have done so in an instant.”
“No doubt about it, indeed, and if you were one of his creatures, he could have taken it without a care in the world. But when one invites a stranger into one’s Season, there are so many implicit rules that one is bound by. All the same, I would be very careful in any future meetings with him; he is not one to forget a slight quickly.”
“Well, I have no intention of going near him again, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That is probably wise. But here we are, standing around talking about him and his wretched little Season as if it actually mattered, when we could be enjoying ourselves! Have a seat, Hearthfire, and we’ll see if we can’t find something wondrous to entertain you with; or perhaps you would like the grand tour? I would be delighted to escort you around some of the finer sights of my domain, hmm?”