//------------------------------// // Мохсква // Story: General Winter // by SONBoomer //------------------------------// Many say that you shouldn't judge a country by it's politicians. And yet, each country's politicians reflect the mindset of their people. Capitals can also tell a lot. For example, Canterlot, the capital of the Equestrian Triarchy, is a dreamlike castle-city, built on the side of the tallest mountain in Central Equestria. It's inhabited by both the créme of society, yet accepts just about anyone seeking shelter within it's walls. And still, the entire city is seated precariously on platform on the steep mountainside. The allusion is clear: disorder and havoc is as far as the nearest natural disaster. And in a world so indoctrinated, so encased by magic that controls everything, nature seems to want nothing else, than to overthrow it's conquerors. Canterlot's - and through it, Equestria's - safety is held up only by destructible brick, mortar, and fainting magic. The official capital of the northern region, Mosscow, was an entirely different story. It's population and size nearing that of a smaller country's, it was vast, sprawling city, set to be the example for all big cities within the Union. It was also the favorite building playground for every dictator the U.C.C.R. has ever had. Styles change in every district, and so does function. Even the seedier parts of town serve some aesthetic value. Not that the three mare would've been able to see it, considering that they were cooped in the Northern State Library (still streetwise known as the Linen Library to many). "Would you mind telling us WHY exactly are we staying here? Getting moldy? Wasting precious time?!" Sunset snapped, only to have a dozen voices shush her. "Why are we in the library?" Trixie whispered "You said you wanted to check out the local architecture!" "I still do." Twilight replied "But felt the urge to do some research. Besides..." she added, turning to the others with a coy smile "We have some grade-A modernized neoclassicism we have here..." "You tricked us!" Spike gasped, quickly receiving the chorus of "Ssssh!"s... "Partially..." the purple mare replied "We got up early. You were drowsy... And unassuming... Even when I said I want to check it out from the inside..." "Should've figured it out the moment you said you want to start with the library..." the dragon muttered. "But you didn't..." "Look..." Sunset, trying to keep her voice as quiet as she could - which wasn't quite enough for a few nearby ponies "We got a job to do. The Supreme Council awaits us. We're on behalf of the Equestrian Kingdom!" "The Equestrian Federal Triarchy, you mean..." Twilight questioned sharply, giving her a rather unfitting, sharp glance "Need I remind you that neither King or Queen of our fair country has made their presence know ever since the founding of Equestria?" she huffed "You might as well call it the 'Principality of Equestria', if that wouldn't be so demeaning in the eyes of peaked cap and necktie-wearing idiots." "Really?" the orange mare croaked "You start with your anti-establishment manure here? In a library? In THIS country?" Another chorus of hushes, silenced by a death-glare from Sunset. "It's not anti-establishment propagation. If anything, it's anti-idiot." Twilight replied coldly "And this is not just a library. This is the library of Mosscow: the Northern State Library, or Lenin Library, if you prefer..." "I. DON'T. CARE!" the fiery unicorn bellowed, and as the chorus started up, she roared at them as well: "ЗАТКНИСЬ! ИЛИ Я ПРЕВРАЩУ ТЕБЯ В ДРЕВЕСНЫЙ УГОЛЬ!" After calming down a little, she turned to the lavender mare - up, close, and personal... "I'll burn this place to the ground..." she hissed "I don't care about politics, the ponies here, or the money it'll cost us! I'll burn every single book in this place!" "Go ahead." Twilight replied, smirking "There's over 17 billion of them, and those are only the hardcover ones, all protected by fireproof spells." Sunset grinned. "Oh yeah? What about the structure?" Twilight's smirk faded. "It would be a shame if the poor lil' ol' books wouldn't have this grandiose place to stay in, now wouldn't it?" "You... You wouldn't..." Twilight uttered, shaking. Trixie and Spike exchanged worried looks. Twilight wore an indescribable expression, teetering between immense anger and panic, with eyes dilated painfully wide. This was the signal of a breakdown. And with Sunset already fired up... And Spike still remembered, although vaguely, the last time, when Trixie was thrown into the mix, crackling with anger herself... Many say that the lake at the bottom of the hill under Canterlot was a quarry lake - but there's no way one could mine on the grasslands of Central Equestria, not even illegally, what, with the capital being just a couple thousand meters above. Only a few, including Spike and the Princesses, know the real origin of the lake. Not even Twilight, Trixie and Sunset are aware of the nature of their creation. They passed out before they could notice... There was cough... They looked up. One of the librarians stood beside them. A pony with an oddly gorilla-like stature, his small glasses gave him an... Uncanny aura of intelligence... "Ladies, I have to request that you continue your "conversation" outside." he spoke with little to no accent. "Right away..." Twilight replied, organizing her notes. The stallion peaked over her shoulder. "Are you doing a research on the Winter Festival, miss?" "Yes, indeed." Twilight replied. "You may find further information about it in the Northern National Library in Linengrad, or in the library of the Linengrad State University. Wish you luck." and before Twilight could reply, he turned away, with a final "Увидимся." "Strange guy." Spike muttered. "Well, these two were on the verge of a fight." Trixie put in, rolling her eyes "Which reminds me: KNOCK IT OUT, YOU TOO!" "SSSSSH!" "Sorry!" *** The Push-keen Café was one of the more well-know, yet hidden wonders of the Crimson Square. Located besides the market, with a clear view on the Krumlin and Linen's Mausoleum, it was surprising quiet. The four friends sat in a box, passing sighs, one after the other. Finally, Spike broke the silence: "Was anypony else sweating bullets?" he asked "I was." "I've never seen such serious leaders before." Twilight muttered "Then again, leading such a large country... Probably requires quite a bit of seriousness." "And balls..." thus Sunset. "And guts..." thus Spike. "And alcohol..." thus Trixie. The others stared at her for a moment. "...Yeah, pretty much likely, actually..." Sunset yawned. "Aren't they supposed to be in Stalliongrad?" the blue mare went on "I mean, this persistence to remain in Mosscow kind of eliminates the purpose of the "wondering Capitol" concept." "Well, you can't except them to be a COMPLETELY perfect utopia, now can you?" Spike asked back, quite wisely indeed. The others remained silent, so the young drake stared outside, watching the awakening Crimson Square. Suddenly, he blurted out: "What's with those stars?" The others looked up. He was looking at the Krumlin building. Specifically, the towers... Specifically, the stars. Five of the Krumlin's towers were decorated by the enigmatic, five-pointed steel stars. Via a mixture of magic and machinery, they were constantly supercharged with an energy field, acting like passive Tussla coils that didn't had anything near enough to zapp. The other towers were decorated by the two-headed eagles, the crest of the former tsarist autocracy - a fairly recent addition, done for historical reasons, although, a bit counter-productively: the most of the original towers had nothing on top. Due to their supercharged state, the stars constantly emitted a captivating, bright red glow - haunting, yet beautiful. A common advice a Mosscovite would give to a visitor was the following: "Never go to Crimson Square during a thunderstorm, and, under no circumstances, should you look at the stars of the Krumlin at night." Many myths surrounded the pentacles, regarding their origins (some said they were produced in five different steel mills across the Union, either on their opening or their closing day), their purpose beyond decoration (foreign media often assumed them to be mind-control devices, others believed that the Councils have actually managed to enslave demons within the stars, only to slowly drain them of their powers and life until they died, then capturing new ones), and, most importantly, their enrapturing radiance. "Nopony knows, Spike..." Twilight answered solemnly, staring at the nearest star "Nopony knows..." The dragonling gulped, ever-so-quietly. The sky was overcast with dark clouds, enhancing the glow of the pentacles. The longer they stared into it, the more they closed out the surrounding world. Sounds blurred. Vision tunneled. A whisper came, uttering little more than a deep sigh... The scarlet light of the stars, pulling them in, deeper... Deeper... "Beautiful... Aren't they?" The soft, yet sultry voice snapped them out of their trance. Glancing to the side, Spike's eyes widened, and he gulped once more, though, for a different reason... The mare sat between two lamps, in the shade that provided much of that unique, winter beatnik ambiance that the café could easily claim to be it's own, and trademark it. Her ivory coat still radiated in the half-light, emphasizing the three gemstones: a red ruby, a blue sapphire, and a green emerald. They made up her cutie mark, clearly visible, as the hem of her black turtleneck only began at her stomach. Ebony horseshoes hung in the air, and nestled in the opposite foreleg's elbow on the table. A dark rose-colored beret crowned her neatly combed, wavy amethyst crest, reaching beyond her withers, while her tail just barely avoided scraping the floor. Eyes, cobalt blue, glanced at them from behind half-lowered eyelids, the eyes in their entirety decorated by blue eye shadows, black eye-lingers with naturally long, black eyelashes. Her smile was small, yet profound, her mouth only showing a gentle touch of rouge. Before her was an empty cup of coffee, and a full bottle of absinthe, verte. The brand was "La Fée Verte", respectively. Calling out to the bartender with a clear, soft northern call, she turned back to them with a sly look, winking. The three mares and the dragon exchanged looks. "Who is she?" "Do you know her?" "Why would I?" "You're the performer! And you've always bragged about your photographic memory... Among other things... So, who is she?" "I haven't performed outside Canterlot in the last 10 years!" "What did she say to the bartender?" "I don't know! I wasn't paying attention!" "Quiet! He's coming back!" The bartender returned, bringing a tray with four glasses and a carafe on it. Placing it on the table, it was revealed that the tray also contained sugar cubes and specially crafted spoons. Each glass contained a liquid with a distinct color, and everyone got his or her (most her) own, as the bartender placed the glasses before them. Sunset's drink was amber colored, while the ornate spoon she was given had small, flame-shaped holes on it. Trixie's was blue, with the spoon containing star-shaped holes set up in the elaborate pattern of constellations. The stars were all distinctively (as expected) five-pointed. Twilight's drink was of a rosy hue, her spoon depicting the entrance of the State Library through it's holes and slots. And finally, Spike's drink was clear, with a bit of white in it, the holes on his spoon were small hearts set around in distinctive, diamond-shaped patterns. Upon noticing this, the young drake gulped again. "Is this..." Twilight began, bemused. "...What I think it is?" Sunset finished. "Indeed. Absinthe." The simple answer came from the ivory mare, who now sat down at their table, with her own glass of green, accompanied by a spoon with the profile of Push-keen cut into it. There was a pause. "Pardon me..." Sunset spoke, breaking the silence before it grew awkward "But who, pray tell, may we respect in your person?" "Rarity Belle." the white unicorn replied coyly "And you?" "Sunset Shimmer." the orange mare replied, simply and militantly. "I am the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie!" Trixie declared, with less volume to avoid another jab into her ribs. She then quietly added "My full name is Beatrix Lulamoon." "Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, cheerily "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Belle." "Please, darling, call me Rarity." the mare replied, before turning towards the dragonling "And who are you?" "S-Spike..." he replied "C-Charmed to meet you..." "Likewise..:" she whispered, turning to the others "Do you know how to prepare your absinthe?" Silence. Perplexed looks. "Well then." Rarity went on, mood unfaltering "Follow my lead..." As they watched their drinks grow foggy after the application of sugar via a stream of icy water, their thoughts (or, at least, Twilight's thoughts) wandered back to the mysterious mare beside them. "So... Rarity..." she began "I have... A hunch that you're from Equestria, like us." "That's true." the white mare replied, stirring her drink "But what brings you four here?" "Were top students from the Canterlot School of Gifted Unicorns." the lavender one replied "Very high level ones. We were entrusted by... Our superiors... To observe the preparations for the Winter Festival." "Wow..." she quipped "You'd have to practically own that school to be given such a high task. I mean, I only attended it for a short time to complete my adeptian studies, but from what I gathered, they won't give such objectives to anypony, except the most trusted... Unless..." Her eyes widened. "You... You are the personal protégés of the Princesses!" Twilight blinked. "Yes." she blurted out "Well... Bless my stars..." exhaled Rarity "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance... Not that it wasn't before..." she added, smiling with that knowing smile again. "...So we've noticed..." Trixie mumbled "But what are you doing in Mosscow?" "Taking a much deserved break, darling." she replied "I live in a humble, quaint little town known as Ponyville. I also run my own establishment there - the Carousel Boutique." They gave her incredulous looks. "Oh, excuse me..." she gasped in a worried manner "Many ponies get the wrong idea about carousels, what, with all those... Impaled horses on the older ones, but please, believe me, my shop has nothing to do with it!" "No, it's not that..." Twilight replied "It's just that... A boutique?" "Hmmm?" "You went the Princesses' School of Gifted Unicorns, studied Adeptian magic... And you opened a boutique?" Trixie muttered, sounding rather unimpressed. "Actually, I merely took over from my mother. She started business when she was at my age, but then began to pursue other goals, leaving the shop abandoned. That was until she met my father. When they found out that she was pregnant with my little sister, they've decided to move from the prefab apartment we've lived in back to Ponyville, where she grew up. They bought back the old shop, and, deteriorated as it was, I was captivated by it, and... Well... The rest, as they say, is pony history..." "It's still a boutique..." Sunset stated bluntly... "Your point?" Rarity asked, sounding less sultry and more serious. "You've studied in the best school of the region, if not the entire country, and you've studied a field of magic that gave you the potential to do things many earth ponies and pegasi would kill for to be capable of doing. And you decide to run a boutique in some backwater town..." the orange mare spoke with a tone of disdain "What do you even sell there?" "Self-made clothes." Sunset blinked. "What?" "Hoof-crafted clothing attires for every and all ponies." the ivory unicorn stated proudly "I design my own clothes. It's my talent. I've been approached by many big companies that wanted to employ me, promising me a life of luxury. But I rather stayed where my roots, and friends, were. Where my heart was. Still, I'm an internationally renowned fashionista." "...Excuse me?" Sunset asked, eyebrows rising towards the sky. "I'm a fashion designer, a fashion dictator, if you will. Not just a trendsetter, I inspire as well!" The other two mares and the young dragon seemed highly impressed, but Sunset remained stoic. "Well?" she asked, as sweetly as she could. "...Fashion is just a few letters away from fascism." Dead silence followed the wheat-coated unicorn's statement. After a long pause, Rarity finally found her words: "Well, I guess you can't please everypony..." *** They left the café, heading out onto the now busy square. "Wow... That mare..." Spike mumbled, wiping his brow "She was... Something..." "Hmph. A bit haughty, if you ask me." Trixie announced. "You're one to speak." frowned Twilight, before reassuming her smile "I think she was nice. A fashion designer...! Even though she lived in one of those grey horseshoeboxes..." "Hey, I lived there as well, remember!" Sunset growled. "Anyways, what do you think, Sunset?" Spike asked. The mare took a sideways glance at the café, the ivory unicorn still seated inside. "...Femme fatale..." she murmured... "What?" the drake asked. Sunset didn't reply. She just trotted towards their next destination...