Snowblind

by CrowMagnon

Home Again, Home Again

Snowblind
by crowmagnon

Chapter 2 - Home Again, Home Again

The day is beginning. However much I may hate the treacherous moon, I hate the sun all the more because it is a far greater threat to me. I dive beneath the protective blanket of clouds to hide myself completely from its burning gaze. I am still high enough above the town (and the pegasi unattentive enough as they follow the rest of their herd) that none see me. But I see them. My eyesight was always far greater than theirs, even without the ability to sense the heat emanating from their wretched little bodies.

Still, near-blind as they are, there remains the slight chance that they may see me before I wish them to. I scan my surroundings and find a mountain rising high over the town. Far enough to remove any chance whatsoever that they might discover my presence. Riding the frigid winds, I bank toward the mountain and find a ledge from which I can watch their congregation.

More importantly, this will give me the opportunity I need to study the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

It matters not why my senses led me to this town. Not to the ancient palace from which the Sun and Moon ruled, now rotted and overtaken by the corruption that has infected the surrounding forests. Nor to the mountainside city with its majestic towers and gaudy, false beauty where I can sense they now reside. No, the why of it matters not. All that matters is that six of their subjects are now the bearers.

Greedy, spiteful creatures that they are, the Sun and Moon would have entrusted the Elements only to their most formidable and faithful lapdogs. Otherwise, they would have razed the town and taken the Elements back. It is for this reason that I do not act immediately. I must take their measure.

I turn my focus on the locations from which I sense the power of the Elements. Not merely relying on my eyesight, keen as it is, I cast my senses out upon the Winter wind. This will allow me to hear anything that they might...

Are...

Are they... singing?

-----

The door to Rarity's farmhouse opened, and Sweetie Belle practically burst outside wearing boots and a scarf, as well as knit wool cap colored pink and purple to match her mane. Her big sister followed her out, Spike riding on her back as she used her magic to shut the door behind them. Rarity had a similar ensemble with the addition of a tan vest that was just short enough to keep her cutie mark visible. A geode adorned each flank, split open to reveal purple gem formations inside that were so vibrantly rendered that it would take close inspection to notice that they weren't actually glittering in the light.

Taking the lead down the path to Ponyville, Sweetie Belle didn't trot so much as bounce adorably in and out of the snow that lined either side of the road. As she hopped about, the little unicorn filly started to sing:

Rarity tilted her head back to look at the baby dragon who was holding onto her neck as she trotted along, following her sister's singing with her own.

The unicorn sisters smiled at each other as they both leaned in, joining their voices in song.

By this time, the trio had reached the edge of Ponyville proper. Many more ponies were milling about and gathering whatever tools they would need for their assigned tasks. The adults were all wearing color-coded vests like Rarity's, except for two farther down the street; Zecora and Rainbow Dash, the 'Witches of the Everfree'. Zecora, still wearing her travelling cloak, nevertheless had her hood down to lessen the intimidating effect her visage had just a few months ago.

Even if it wasn't, however, it would have been obvious which witch was which as Rainbow Dash had apparently left hers at home. Instead, the polychromatic pegasus wore the thick, downy coat that Rarity had given her as a Hearth's Warming Eve gift earlier that Winter. Though the back had flaps that could open for Dash to spread her wings if the need ever arose, for now she kept them tucked within the coat. Her cutie mark was in plain view, though; a cracked rainbow held together by bandages.

Before Zecora could go on, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Spike caught up to the two witches, drowning out her concerns with such enthusiasm that even the tired zebra found an extra bounce in her step.

A few streets away, Fluttershy opened the door to let Twilight and Iron Will out. The unicorn practically pranced out, invigorated after her talk with the pegasus. Once Will worked his way down the steps and onto the street, Fluttershy shut the door and then flitted over behind him.

She wrapped her forelegs over her husband's shoulders as if riding piggyback, though she kept her wings fluttering to keep from weighing him down. In fact, with him leaning on his crutch, it almost looked like Fluttershy was helping keep the burly minotaur upright, much as her cutie mark depicted a hand and hoof holding onto each other. At the angle her body was currently held at, this made it look like the hoof was pulling the hand up.

Just ahead of them, head held high with confidence, Twilight marched toward the center of town where everypony was gathering.

By this point, the song had seemed to spread throughout the town. As if by instinct, more and more of the ponies filling the streets were joining in on the chorus. Even on the other side of town, Applejack and the typically reserved Pinkamena found their hoofsteps moving in time to the music as they left the hotel where they had dropped off the businessmare's luggage. Before they could go far, however, Applejack caught sight of somepony that made her quickly duck behind the nearest mailbox.

When Pinkamena arched her eyebrow at her friend's sudden desire to hide, Applejack reached out and yanked her out of sight just as Big Macintosh came trotting down the street. Still wearing the Stetson that he had inherited from their father along with the running of Sweet Apple Acres, her big brother was also in a green vest and hitched to a wagon in which Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, and their dog Winona rode. Applejack felt a light shudder throughout her body and a lump in her throat that had nothing to do with the cold. Especially when she looked at the cute little filly with big wide eyes and a big bow in her mane. The little sister that she had only seen a scant few times since Apple Bloom was a baby, and after the Waking Night reunion...

Pinkamena got out from behind the mailbox and sighed. Reaching out to her friend, she pulled Applejack up and started dusting off some of the snow and dirt that had gotten onto her fancy coat. She then looked looked her straight in the eye, seeing that for all her wealth and class, Applejack's green eyes were watering up and threatening to overflow at the thought of confronting her family again.

Applejack bit her lower lip and looked down at the ground. But Pinkamena was right, of course. It was why she had come back to visit in the first place. And if she could face off against sleazy corporate raiders with expensive lawyers up the plot, she could face the ponies she cared about more than anything in the world... right? With a nod, she followed after her family and joined in on the chorus. Even the moody Pinkamena sang along with her.

Little did the ponies know that their voices carried on the wind, their song drifting up to the mountain perch from which their unseen watcher crouched and waited. A single talon, sharp enough to tap a hole into the stone on which it rested, did just that as the catchy tune found worked its way even into a mind filled with righteous anger at the sheer arrogance in their lyrics. Soon, another voice added its own to the song.

If any pony had been been there to hear it, they would have found their watcher's voice to be both hauntingly beautiful and subconsciously disturbing. Soft and feminine, with a tone like somepony making music with the rims of fine crystal glassware, but at the same time carrying an edge to it like a dagger made of ice. Sneering down at the inhabitants of Ponyville, the watcher sang.

The watcher's talons clenched down on the stone, causing it to crack, then shatter from the pressure. The Princesses would indeed suffer for their sins, but it occurred to the watcher that the village laid out before her was still perilously close to the shadow cast by the capitol. If the Sun and Moon cast their gaze upon what was going to happen in Ponyville before the Elements were secured, their power would once again prove too great to overcome alone. A diversion would need to be found.

As a cold wind whistled through the mountains, though, resounding in the watcher's ears like a mournful wail, the watcher's sneer slowly curved up into a cruel, knowing smirk.

This would not have to be done alone after all.

-----

Applejack and Pinkamena were among the last ponies to filter into the crowd surrounding Town Hall. The mayor was giving a speech, talking about making this year's Winter Wrap-Up the best ever or something along those lines. Applejack wasn't really paying attention, already dividing her attention between trying to spot her family again while conversing with Pinkamena.

"Plaoism, you say? I thought that your more recent works had a slightly more spiritual feel, but I never expected you to be a pony for philosophy."

Pinkamena shrugged a little. "Well, I started taking an interest in various philosophies after Waking Night. I always made a big deal about how my poems were about the world as it really is, but the whole ordeal with getting the Elements of Harmony made me think about things. I realized that I'd just been putting up walls to hide from the world, so if I really wanted to see beyond myself, I'd have to break those walls."

The businessmare looked over at her friend's somber expression and replied without a trace of irony, "Well, dear, I've never seen you look happier." She then tried looking around again, craning her neck up to scan the crowd. How in Equestria could Big Macintosh of all ponies vanish into a crowd? While pulling a wagon, no less?

Meanwhile, up on the podium, the mayor gestured for somepony to step forward. "--and to help make that boast a reality, I'll give the floor to our new Volunteer Coordinator, Lt. Twilight Sparkle of Princess Luna's Rangers!" Only half-hearing the familiar name, it nevertheless succeeded in drawing Applejack's attention from the crowd to the podium as everypony began stomping in applause.

Applejack stood up on her hind legs for just a moment in order to catch a glimpse past the crowd of stomping ponies. Purple coat, darker purple mane, and an eight-pointed compass rose surrounded by small stars for a cutie mark. It was Twilight, to be sure. Setting all four hooves back on the ground, she mused, "Well, how about that? That's certainly like Twilight to take charge of the situation."

Pinkamena made a strange noise in response to that. It was a sort of choked-off snort. "You didn't see her yesterday," the poet replied. "When she found out Ponyville's been late with Winter Wrap-Up ten years running, she practically had an aneurysm. Muttered something about 'Magic Boot Camp' over and over, then ran off to Town Hall."

Applejack blinked in confusion. "What does Magic Boot Camp have to do with anything?"

Pinkamena looked at her and shrugged. "I asked. She said I didn't want to know. I was going to tell her that asking questions is an indicator that I do want to know, but she looked like she was going to throw up, so I dropped it."

The businessmare laughed before covering her mouth, trying to suppress the snickering that came from that mental image. "And that sounds just like Twilight too."

"Applejack? Is that you, deary?"

Applejack's voice cut off mid-laugh at the aged voice behind her. She turned around and gulped as she suddenly found herself face-to-face with Granny Smith, who gave her a gummy smile that stretched across her wrinkled face before throwing her forelegs around the businessmare. Applejack was so stunned at the ponies she was looking for having somehow gotten behind her, she couldn't think of any of the things she had expected to say. She just sat down on her haunches, bringing a foreleg up to return the hug while she looked past Granny's shoulder to see the rest of the Sweet Apple Acres clan. Big Macintosh was watching the reunion, quiet and stoic as always save for a small smile.

Apple Bloom, by contrast, clung to Winona as the farm dog sat and wagged her tail happily. The little yellow filly was looking off to the side, only furtively glancing toward her big sister. Every time she did, it made Applejack's heart ache a bit as it came with a sulking glare. The orange mare tried to wave to her little sister, only for her face to fall as Apple Bloom hid behind Winona.

"So... hi, everypony. How did you manage to sneak up on me like that? I thought I was following you, but then lost sight of you!"

"Quick detour," Big Mac replied, not entirely answering the question.

Granny Smith, however, didn't have any problem filling in the gaps. "I had t' visit the little filly's room," she explained shamelessly. "It was a bumpy ride from the farm!"

"Not that you'd care about that..." Apple Bloom muttered quietly.

Big Mac responded to that by reaching down and picking up his littlest sister by her bow with his teeth, pulling her out from behind the family pet and setting her in front of Applejack. "Go on an' say hi t' yer sister," he told her. Apple Bloom looked like she wanted to protest, but didn't say anything when she saw Big Mac looking down at her. For her part, Applejack crouched down a little, smiling hopefully.

Apple Bloom looked up into her big sister's emerald green eyes, which matched the sparkly jewelry dangling from her ears. She looked at the coat Applejack was wearing, which even the schoolfilly could tell probably cost as much as their house. She looked past the coat at her sister's cutie mark. A tree, but where there should have been apples, it sprouted golden bits instead.

That brought the frown back to Apple Bloom's face as she replied, "Hi there... nice t' see you again... Jacqueline." Both of her older siblings visibly flinched at the hurtful tone in the filly's voice as she wielded Applejack's fillyhood nickname like a weapon.

Trying to make peace, Granny Smith interjected, "Now, Apple Bloom, your sister Applejack came all this way t' see us..." Even the matriarch of the Apple Clan couldn't soothe her granddaughter's indignation, however. Instead, Apple Bloom flared up at her.

"That ain't her name! She ran away from her family an' threw that name away lahk it was a piece of trash! That ain't how Apples are supposed t' be, an' ah don't need any sister what does all that just to... to... wear fancy dresses an' swim around in piles of bits!"

Applejack was taken aback, practically pushed back into Pinkamena by the force of her sister's accusations. At the same time, her defensiveness was turning in upon itself. "No... no, that's not why I left, darling, I swear! I was young and I wanted a better life..."

"Well you got it, so why don'tcha go back to it, 'stead of comin' around an' pretendin' you're an Apple every time you feel guilty?!"

By this point, the tension building up in Applejack had reached its breaking point. Having been put on the defensive and kept there by Apple Bloom's anger, Applejack had become like a spring getting wound tighter and tighter. Had she been given a chance to release that tension, she would not have said what she was about to say, but being driven into a corner put her into the same state as when dealing with pushy executives or corporate lawyers. The need to assert that she was not a mare to be pushed around boiled up to the surface.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady," she said, starting to channel the tone of her aunt Orange on the occasions when she herself had gotten bratty with her Manehattanite relatives. "Whatever you might think of me, I am still your sister, and just because I don't live on the farm, that doesn't mean that I don't care about my family, or work hard to make things better for you!"

Apple Bloom stepped up with a challenging glare, not backing down one iota. Rather, she redoubled her offensive. "What would you know about hard work? When Big Mac got hurt and couldn't buck trees, where were you?! Gettin' fat an' laughin' it up with yer diamond tiara an' silver spoon friends while we had t' hire ponies we didn't even know! You have any idea how humiliatin' that is? A real Apple woulda come runnin' home t' help!"

"That's enough, Apple Bloom." Big Macintosh put a foreleg around his littlest sister to pull her back. Applejack held up a hoof to stop him, though, returning her sister's glare with one of her own.

"So, you think that I don't do enough to help the family? That I'm getting fat and lazy on a pile of my ill-gotten gains?" Apple Bloom's defiant stare was answer enough, so Applejack poked the little filly with her hoof as she said, "Alright, let's put our bits where our mouths are. If I can prove to you that I can be just as helpful as any other Apple, you will admit that you were wrong. And you will do so right here in the town square while wearing the most ridiculously fancy, overblown, 'frou-frou' dress that I can find!"

Apple Bloom went a paler shade of yellow at that, the filly's pride shuddering at the thought. It wouldn't let her back down either, though. "An' when you ain't, y'all're gonna go back t' the big city an' tell all yer fancy-pants friends that y'all're nothin' but a useless phony!"

"Why not go one better? After Winter Wrap-Up, I'll set up a press conference, and then all of Equestria can hear the loser say anything the winner likes!"

"Anything?"

"Any. Thing."

"Deal!" Apple Bloom spat on her hoof, then held it out toward her sister. Applejack stared at the saliva-covered hoof, hesitating to touch it. When Apple Bloom noticed and got a smug little smirk on her bratty face, however, Applejack narrowed her eyes, spat on her own hoof, and pressed it against her sister's.

While this was going on, Pinkamena looked past the duo at where Big Mac and Granny Smith were watching the whole thing play out in dismay.

"Cheer up," she told them. "It's going a lot better than my last family reunion."

-----

Up on the podium, Twilight was levitating a map of the town that was separated into color-coded sections. "--focus on the areas marked in green before moving to the mauve areas. Your team leaders will be given schedules and tips on how to coordinate with the other units for maximum efficiency." She smiled out at the crowd, taking a moment to gesture toward Fluttershy as her pegasus friend flitted about and passed the paperwork out to those who would be leading each task. "Are there any questions?"

A few hooves went up, but a raspy, tomboyish voice didn't bother waiting to be called upon. "Yeah, do we all need those vests, or can we just do whatever if we don't have one?"

Twilight blinked in surprise. Ponies moved aside just enough for Twilight to clearly spot the Witches of the Everfree standing alongside Rarity and her family. "Rainbow? And Zecora! What are you two doing here?" Immediately realizing that her surprise came across as something harsher, she quickly stammered, "B-but of course we're happy you are! It's very neighborly of you to help out." She muttered, accidentally doing so into the microphone, "Especially after you said you were going to sleep in all week..." She then yelped upon realizing that last bit was also broadcast throughout the square, her face lighting up with embarassment.

Rainbow Dash winced, then gave her zebra mentor a weak grin. "A-heh... heh... that Twilight, she's such a kidder!" Turning her gaze back to the podium, the pegasus narrowed her eyes while keeping up her fake smile. "You're such a kidder, aren't you, Twilight? Everypony knows I'm not that lazy, right? ... Right?" Zecora just rolled her eyes and facehoofed in response. A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd.

Clearing her throat, Twilight's voice cracked at first as she leaned against the podium and tried to get back on track. "A-anyway, in answer to your question, if there's any pony who, for whatever reason, doesn't have an assignment yet, we have spare vests for each team. Come see me about whatever task you'd like to be assigned to, and we'll get you set up!"

A crisp, refined voice from the back of the crowd called out, "Pinkamena and I will be volunteering for the snowplow team!" Already slightly off-balance, Twilight's hoof slipped and she banged her face lightly against the podium before she caught herself.

Quickly recognizing the voice, but even more startled by her presence than she had been with Dash and Zecora, Twilight picked herself up and asked, "Applejack?!" Sure enough, the mare from Manehattan who had helped save all of Equestria was standing next to her family and Pinkamena. She then cocked her head in confusion. "Really? Snowplow duty?"

For some reason this made the businessmare give her an annoyed look. "Yes, really! We'll take two green vests, please!"

while Applejack fumed and Twilight stammered a little, Pinkamena cleared her throat to get her friend's attention. "Actually... I'm already on a team."

That broke Applejack out of her mood for a moment as she looked back over her shoulder. "You are? But you aren't..." Before she could finish her sentence, Pinkamena pulled up the hem of her turtleneck. Past her cutie mark of a blank stone tablet with a hammer and chisel next to it, Applejack saw that her friend was wearing a blue vest. "Oh..."

"Ice-breaking. Been leading the team for years now. You could join if you want."

Applejack actually seemed to consider it for a moment, but she glanced over at Apple Bloom who was glaring at her for some reason. She then turned back toward Twilight and said loudly enough for her voice to carry across the square, "Snowplow, if you'd be so kind!"

Twilight had a feeling that she was missing something about this exchange. "Well. Alright then. We could always use more help with clearing the snow. So, are there any other questions?" She looked over the crowd. "No? Alright, then let's go and make this the best Winter Wrap-Up Ponyville has ever seen!"

The crowd cheered excitedly, even as a chill wind blew through the square to punctuate Twilight Sparkle's moment of confidence.

-----

I have to pull back one of the creatures as it draws too close to the town... Ponyville. It is hungry, and drawn to one of the six-who-are-one. An orange mare, allowing her anxieties to boil over and become warped into something that my new pets find tantalizing.

They are almost painfully simple creatures, these Windigoes. They crave only to feast on the distrust, hatred and paranoia of living things. The more they eat, the stronger their ability to freeze the world and incite even greater strife, and yet they cannot comprehend that this cycle would only lead to the extinction of their only source of food. Such thoughtless selfishness. It reminds me so much of the Sun and Moon that I would laugh at the irony of turning them against the Princesses if I still had the capacity for laughter.

Nevertheless, they will be my distraction and my weapon. The treachery I have suffered makes me a greater source of nourishment for the Windigoes than all of the ponies in the town below put together. Unlike them, the very essence of my being makes me immune to anything that these mindless creatures might do, and grants me a small measure of... not exactly "control," as they are primal forces made manifest, but the ability to direct them toward a target of my choosing.

I let them feed, gorging them on my hatred and tiny slivers of my essence. They quickly draw strength and vitality from the bottomless font of my feelings for the Sun and Moon. I then cut them off before they get their fill, or as close to it as such insatiable beings can ever find. I point a talon toward the mountainside city that looms over this land. Even from here, I can sense that it has some measure of protection, but not enough. Not nearly enough set up to protect them from what my pets... my weapons will unleash upon them.

As I send the majority of them galloping across the sky toward the capitol, I have no illusions that this assault will put an end to my nemeses. However much I wish to see the Sun and Moon encased in ice for all of eternity, it will not be done by the Windigoes. Their duty is merely to surprise my enemies and their guards. To make them trap themselves within the safety of their city while I and the few Windigoes still at my side complete my task.

These ponies believe that Winter is something that they can simply sweep away. Perhaps a toy to be put back in the closet when they are done with it. They know nothing of its true face.

They will today.