Snow settled on Ditzy’s head, piling up in a lump that rose up from her mane and reached the tips of her ears. The mailmare, however, barely noticed. When the day had begun she had occasionally shaken her head to keep the snow from piling up on herself, just as she had done the day before. After several more hours of dealing with the windigo, however, there just didn’t seem to be much point.
Another day had dawned, bright and cold, and with it had come the second half of the negotiations with the windigo. A night of rest and warmth had allowed Ditzy to fool herself into thinking that maybe they could make real progress, but if anything the ‘talks’ seemed to be moving even more slowly than the previous day. Trixie and Puissance would sometimes take twenty minutes just to work out the appropriate illusion to transmit to the monster. And, while the windigo’s responses were always prompt, they were also always the same.
“There will be supervision,” snapped Puissance, shaking her head at another scene which the windigo had forced into their heads. “The Elements and myself will be on hoof in case anything goes wrong for the entire duration of the meeting. That is not open to debate. Convey this, Dame Trixie.”
“I’m trying,” Trixie had protested. She was breathing heavily, and a small trail of steam or smoke was wafting up from her horn. Several discarded flasks of ether lay scattered around her hooves. They had been brought by another of Puissance’s servants, a retired Wonderbolt named Sonic Boom who was still one of the fastest mares alive. Normally, Ditzy would have mused on Puissance’s seemingly bottomless urge to have famous and special ponies abnegating their dignity to serve her, but at the moment she couldn’t work up the mental fortitude to care.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a long shiver, and when it abated she tried to refocus. More important than thinking about Puissance’s desires, Ditzy thought, was working out a way to rescue the Vault ponies. She wasn’t going to let them languish in that old, withered nag’s clutches…
“We’re not making progress,” grumbled Raindrops. “You’ve been trading the exact same images with the windigo for the last hour and a half. If neither of you are going to compromise, then that’s that.”
Trixie turned from the windigo--which was still standing out on the steppes, having remained there for the entire day and, as far as Ditzy could tell, through the night as well--to glare at Raindrops. Before the pegasus could respond, though, Puissance raised a wing and said, “Dame Raindrops is right.” She sighed. “I’m beginning to think that further negotiations are pointless.”
“So… are we done?” asked Lyra.
Puissance said nothing for several moments. The windigo opened its mouth and the winter storm roared louder, but she didn’t seem to notice. “I’m loathe,” she said at last, “To leave while there’s still any chance at all. After all, Ice Heart does want to see his father, and I would hate to deny that to him. Furthermore, Princess Luna has charged us making every effort to negotiate with this windigo and find some way of safely allowing the two to meet.” She glanced up at the sky. “I will not have it said that I neglected my duty to my sovereign.”
Ditzy’s ears twitched at that, and a small amount of snow tumbled off of them. Did Luna, she wondered, think Puissance might try to sabotage the negotiations in order to keep a firmer hold on Ice Heart?
“On the other wing, if the windigo will not relent to reasonable safety precautions, then further discussions are indeed unnecessary.” Ditzy thought she heard a trace--just a hint--of relief in the Vicereine’s voice, though she couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t her imagination. “And I must admit that I have no further ideas on how to convince this monster that we will not simply hand over a precious foal for it to do with as it pleases.” She turned to Trixie. “Dame. Do you have any suggestions?”
Trixie tilted her head as she looked at the monster. “Yes,” she finally said. “He really wants to see his son… so if we convince him that we’re going to leave, that this is his last chance, maybe he’ll come around. Do you mind if I try to convince him, Vicereine?”
Puissance looked puzzled, but she just moved back a few steps and nodded. “You may, Dame.”
Frowning, Ditzy glanced at the Vicereine. It wasn’t like her to let Trixie just ‘talk’ to the windigo without approving each message. Maybe she’s convinced Trixie will make a mistake and ruin the negotiations...
“Right.” Trixie took a few deep breaths, shut her eyes, and then blasted a spell from her horn. An image formed on the steppe of the ‘visitation’ conditions that Puissance and Trixie had specified two hours previously--Ice Heart in the center, the windigo being permitted to approach, the Elements and Puissance remaining close by the foal. The lighting in the illusion changed too, with the shadows vanishing as if the sun were overhead. Even the snow in the illusion seemed calmer than the flakes which were buffeting Ditzy’s cheeks and eyelashes.
The windigo snarled again, in a voice that sounded like ice cracking on a frozen river, and a moment later another image forced itself into Ditzy’s mind. Ice Heart and the windigo together on the steppe, the foal riding on the windigo’s back. The Elements were far to one side. Puissance was not present.
Trixie’s horn flashed again as the image faded, and the illusion she had just cast reappeared. Then, after a few seconds, she cast again and another illusion appeared. It was of them, the seven ponies currently facing the windigo. The illusory ponies were dressed identically to the real ones, down to the smallest details--the stuffing that was poking out of Carrot Top’s jacket, the ridiculously elaborate braids that the Vicereine’s mane had been curled up in that morning, the glower in Raindrops’ eyes. As Ditzy watched, the lighting in the illusion dimmed down, as if night were coming, and the illusory ponies turned and walked away. The light brightened a few moments later, indicative of a brand new day, but the ponies did not return.
“Interesting,” mused Cheerilee. “I guess it’s hard to convey, ‘we’ll go and never come back’ when all you can use are images, isn’t it?”
When the windigo didn’t respond, Trixie darkened and lightened the illusion several more times, as if to simulate the passing of many more days. The ponies, however, remained absent. “Alright,” she said. “You’ve got to understand that. Come on…”
The windigo reared back on its hind legs and then slammed down on the steppe. A huge mound of snow blasted up into the air, spreading out into a vaguely dome-like shape as it rose. The Elements yelped, and even Puissance looked unnerved. “Dame Trixie!” she snapped. “This was not the reaction I was expecting!”
“Sorry!” said Trixie. “I don’t know what--”
She trailed off as some of the snow began to hang in the air, a particle cloud of innumerable tiny dots which twinkled and shone in the snowy afternoon like mirrors. The windigo, on the other side, gave what sounded like a contemptuous snort and shoved one hoof into the snow cloud. The weird inner light in its body dimmed slightly, and the cloud glowed as an unearthly blue-ish light began to reflect off the snow in a confusing haze.
“...what?” asked Trixie, and Ditzy shared her confusion. The dome looked alien, with impossible geometries--the snowflakes kept moving and twirling in the air, though they stubbornly refused to descend, and the dome was therefore continually contorting into knots and contours never before found on any Equestrian structure--and the area beneath it was lit with a glow similar to that of the aurora borealis. “Um, somepony help?”
Carrot Top coughed. “I think he thinks you told him we’re afraid of the dark. So he’s making it light so we can stay and negotiate with him forever.”
Raindrops turned to look at her. “How did you get that?”
“Uh…” Carrot Top blushed. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Ditzy frowned, having a sudden image of their frozen bodies standing for all eternity before the windigo. “Trixie! Fix this!”
“I’m working on it!” Trixie said. She cast the illusion again, showed the ponies leaving, and then showed the planetary bodies moving in the sky above them. The sun and moon chased each other dozens of times, days melding into nights in a long blur, and yet the ponies still did not return. Then the snow in the illusion tapered off and began to melt, eventually revealing the hard, frozen ground of the Rushian steppe as the seasons changed, and still there were no ponies to meet the windigo. Finally, it all faded away. The illusory ponies had not returned once after leaving.
The windigo gave them what looked like a long, searching look. Then it struck a hoof down again and the dome collapsed, almost burying the Elements in a tidal wave of white powder. Ditzy managed to shield her face from the snow, and when her vision was clear, she saw the windigo staring at them as before. “I don’t think he liked that.”
“Hopefully, he at least understood it.” Trixie brought back the first illusion, the one of Ice Heart, the windigo, and the adult ponies in various positions on the steppe. “You get that?” she called. “This is your last chance! Okay?”
The windigo said nothing. It seemed to be glowering at them.
Puissance coughed. “A laudable effort, Dame Trixie, but unfortunately it appears that the windigo is not interested. I have made my decision. These negotiations are over--the windigo refuses to allow us to ensure the safety of Ice Heart in any scenario, and so the two will not be meeting.”
Trixie said nothing, and Puissance began to walk back. “Kindly convince the windigo not to pursue us.”
“But…” Trixie began to hurry after her, the other Elements following. “I think we--”
A screech rent the air behind them. Ditzy cried out and clapped her hooves to her hears, ignoring the cold sensation as she accidentally shoved snow into them. The screech reminded her of a horrible ice storm she had heard when she was just a little foal. In truth, the storm couldn’t have been that bad--the Fillydelphia weather patrol would not permit it--but when she had been alone, in her big bed and her dark room, and she’d heard the ice and the tree branches pounding on her window like they wanted to get in and grab her, it had sounded like the worst storm in Equestrian history. And now it was back.
Turning in horror, Ditzy saw the windigo. It seemed to have grown, somehow, and was standing in the middle of the steppe “Elements?” she demanded of the others. “Now?”
“Right!” said Lyra, who sounded just as shaken as Ditzy. “Girls, let’s--”
But then another image appeared in Ditzy’s mind. It was the same one that Trixie had created, the one with the windigo and Ice Heart meeting under supervision. And now the windigo was sending it.
“...is that a yes?” asked Raindrops.
“I think so.” Carrot Top nodded, though her voice was quavering. “It feels like a yes to me.”
Ditzy looked over to Trixie, who was talking with Puissance in a low voice. After a few moments, the Vicereine inclined her head. “Very well. Dame Trixie, convey to the windigo that Ice Heart will be brought here at noon tomorrow. And that any hostile action on its part, for any reason, will be met with use of the Elements.” She turned. “And then let us return to the hotel. There is no need to waste more time out here than necessary.”
Trixie nodded. “Yes, Vicereine.” She turned to the windigo and began to cast the next illusion. “Guess that did it.” A small grin crept across her face. “I am the best windigo-speaker in Equestria.”
Ditzy chuckled and clapped her friend on the back, but she couldn’t shake the knot of worry working its way through her gut. Somehow, I don’t see this going off without a hitch.
She glanced at the Vicereine. How are you going to react, she thought, If that windigo turns out to be as possessive and greedy as you?
***
It was a long journey back to the hotel.
“Finally!” said Raindrops as they made their way inside. Puissance, who had led the way, had entered a minute or so before them, and Ditzy couldn’t see any sign of her in the entrance hall. There were only a few servants with hot towels, fluffy robes, and cups of hot Brayzil chocolate infused with bourbon-smoked sugar and sprigs of fresh mint.
Carrot Top sighed as she took a long swig from a mug. Letting out another wordless groan of contentment, she sank to her flanks in the entrance hall and let her wet jacket fall around her. “Lyra, you need to get Bonbon to make this stuff.”
“My Bonnie already makes hot chocolate,” said Lyra, gripping her cup tightly between two hooves. “With the greatest ingredient of all--”
“Love?” drawled Raindrops as she sniffed one of the cups.
“No, cinnamon-infused peanut butter.” Lyra stuck out her tongue playfully. “Love’s not an ingredient, silly. It’s a state of mind.”
Ditzy tuned the conversation out, and though she drank the hot chocolate, she didn’t taste it. Her mind felt sluggish as she went over her strategies for rescuing the Vault ponies again. The bone-deep weariness from the previous day had returned, settling even deeper until it felt like it was pressing in on her from all sides, and whenever she settled on what she had felt was a clever plan, it just seemed too difficult and complex to pull off in her fatigued state. Plus, she was pretty sure that she should be using the crystal ball to talk to Dinky soon. But she couldn’t let herself be distracted or give in to despair. What Puissance was doing was wrong, therefore she had to be stopped, and only a fool wouldn’t see it…
But if it was that easy, then maybe a complicated plan wasn’t necessary. Ditzy made herself turn towards one of the servants. “Where are the Vault ponies?”
“In the west lounge,” said the servant, pointing down one of the halls. “The young master is presenting his ice sculptures to the Vicereine and his friends.”
Ditzy slowly began to meander towards that hall, but Trixie was suddenly in front of her. “Ditzy?” she asked. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to the Vault ponies.”
Trixie’s eye twitched. “I thought we discussed this,” she said in a faux-jovial tone. “Yesterday. You know. When we agreed to run things by Luna first.”
Ditzy remembered the agreement, but when she’d promised, she hadn’t been as full of contempt and anger at Puissance as she was at the moment. But her exhaustion was beating down any forgiveness of compassion she could muster for the old nag, and all that remained was her contempt of the mare who cared only for grasping as much of the world as she could fit between her wings, and anger of the Vicereine who would forbid her subjects from starting families. A cold hatred had formed inside her, one unadulterated by any other emotion, and it would not yield to a mere promise. “And we will,” she said. “Before we do anything about the matters we discussed yesterday. But there’s nothing wrong with me saying hello to the Vault ponies, is there?”
Trixie frowned. “I don’t--”
But Ditzy stepped around her and went down the hall. She glanced back after a few steps and saw Trixie pursuing, and Cheerilee following after her, but she opted not to wait for or call the rest of her friends. She just continued on and entered the lounge.
All six of the adult Vault ponies that Ditzy had met were there, as well as Ice Heart, Puissance, and the servant named Pageturner who had checked the Elements into the hotel. All of the adults except for Pageturner were seated on couches and chairs while Ice Heart moved his wings around a big block of ice in the center of the room, which seemed to be molding under his continued ministrations. He looked up when the others entered the room and burst into a big grin. “Miss Doo! Hi!”
“Hello, Ice Heart,” said Ditzy. She inclined her head towards the others and managed to give the appropriate bow to Puissance, though her heart wasn’t in it. “Vicereine.”
Puissance inclined her head by the minimally-acceptable amount. “Dames. Please--be seated. My ward is showing some of his delightful talents.”
Ditzy moved to step further into the room when she felt a pressure on her back leg. Turning, she saw that Trixie had grabbed her with telekinesis and was shaking her head. “Ditzy--” she began to whisper.
The mailmare turned and moved in close to Trixie. “You’re my friend,” she whispered. “I need you to support me on this.” She was silent for a moment, unable to find a way to express how vile she found the very concept of the Vault to be. “Please.”
Trixie hesitated a moment longer, but as she looked into the fire burning in Ditzy’s eyes, she slowly acquiesced into a nod. Behind her, Cheerilee gave a more enthusiastic nod, and a wink besides.
Ditzy returned her focus to Ice Heart and the others, letting her wandering eye drift until it was vaguely pointed in the direction of Puissance. “Thank you,” she said. “I would love to see Ice Heart’s art.”
Puissance waved at a chair, and in moments Pageturner had rushed over, fluffed it, laid down a thick blanket, and put a dish with a variety of snacks on one armrest. “I,” said the Vicereine, “am pleased to hear it.”
After sitting down, Ditzy watched Ice Heart for a few minutes as he worked. The sculpture was crude and blocky in places, obviously crafted by an untrained hoof, but even so it was soon clear to Ditzy what the intention was. The top of the block was mostly cut down, except for some roughly spherical bits supported by thin columns of ice. The sheer faces of the rest of the block were warped into something more curved, like a tent, and one side had thin edges melted into them that looked kind of like door flaps. Then Ice Heart laboriously went over the other walls and etched faint outlines within them, like shadows of something inside the block of ice. “Get it?” he said when he was done. His wings buzzed behind him and he was actually hopping up and down. “Get it? Get it?”
Puissance coughed quietly, then moved her wings out by a fraction of an inch. “I’m sorry, dear,” she said. “Could you please repeat that?”
“Oh, sorry!” Ice Heart stopped bouncing and stilled his wings. “Auntie Puissance, do you know what it is?”
Orangerie snuck a hoof up. “I know! I know!” TIM and Bones laughed quietly, and even the stern Bounty seemed bemused. “I know the answer!” the farmer continued.
Ditzy raised her own hoof. “I know it too,” she said, trying not to smile too much. If she was right about what Ice Heart had carved, it would present an opportunity that she could take advantage of even in her tired state.
For a moment, Ditzy thought she saw annoyance in Puissance’s eyes, but there was no trace of it when the Vicereine said, “Well then. In the interests of offering our guests the first opportunity, I turn to you, Dame Ditzy. What do you believe my young ward has carved?”
“A circus tent!” said Ditzy. It looked fairly similar to the sketches that Dinky had drawn of such tents; she briefly wondered if foals all over Equestria had the same basic idea of what they looked like. “With balloons on the top, and plenty of ponies inside eating popcorn and candy and playing all kinds of fun games!”
“Yes!” Ice Heart’s grin was almost blinding, especially with his icy, reflective teeth. “That’s it! You got it!”
“Volume, dear,” said Puissance.
Ditzy ignored this. “It’s very good,” she said. “Have you seen many circus tents before?”
“Two or three,” said Ice Heart. “My mom took me to one once. It was great.” A wistful smile crept over his face, only to soon vanish. “And I saw a couple after I left my cousins, but… I couldn’t go into them…”
“Well then,” said Puissance. “If you don’t mind me saying so, I think that, upon our return to the Vault, we ought to have a proper circus for you, Ice Heart. We’ll have the biggest tent in all Equestria, and the best concessions, and the grandest games.” She curved her mouth into what Ditzy supposed could be called a smile. “Would you like that, dear?”
“AWESOME!” said Ice Heart, before catching himself. “I mean, uh, awesome! Thank you, Auntie!”
“I thought that nopony but the Vault ponies could enter the Vault, though,” mused Ditzy. “Where will you get the clowns and the other entertainers?”
Puissance frowned as she looked at Ditzy. “Ice Heart’s friends,” she said, “And my trusted employees are more than capable of staffing a circus tent.”
“But it won’t be the same as a real one,” said Ditzy. “Don’t you want to go to a real circus, Ice Heart? One with real clowns, and real performers, and hundreds of other ponies who might become your friends?”
Ice Heart blanched. “But I don’t wanna have to meet with other ponies,” he said. “If my amulet fell off, they’d run away. Or they’d make me run away.”
“Not necessarily,” said Ditzy. “In fact all of you could meet new friends and--”
Puissance swept a wing up, and despite her distaste for the mare, Ditzy felt her words die in her throat. There was something about Puissance that was, for lack of a better word, imposing. “Dame Ditzy,” said Puissance, in a tone of voice that was too pleasant for Ditzy’s liking, “are your proposing that Ice Heart and his friends should leave the Vault?”
“Well, they have that option, don’t they?” asked Cheerilee. “You did say that any of them who want to leave could do so… and that you’d even fund them starting new lives. Remember?”
Nopony spoke for a moment. Then Puissance said, “Of course. If any of my little ponies are unhappy, they need only tell me and I will move the stars and skies to please them. Should they dislike the Vault, I will ensure they can live pleasant and comfortable lives outside of it.” Her voice grew pensive. “Of course, I do find it hard to imagine any environment outside the Vault which has anything that the Vault lacks. Did you have a particular location in mind, Dame Ditzy?”
“Wait a minute,” protested Orangerie. “Um, Ditzy, like I told you yesterday, I don’t want to leave the Vault. I like it there.”
“Me either,” said Bounty.
Puissance held up a wing again. “Now, now. It’s good to be open-minded, isn’t it?” She smiled at the Vault ponies. “If Dame Ditzy believes she knows of some location which would be even more suitable than your current homes, I would encourage her to tell us. After all, if she does know of some wondrous place for you to live, you should know about it so that you can choose for yourselves whether it is preferable to your current lives. My desire being for your happiness, I would hate to see you languishing in my care if you could be living happier, more productive lives somewhere elsewhere.” She turned back to Ditzy. “Dame Ditzy, I promise that if you can indeed help me to provide an even better home for these ponies, I will reward you copiously. And so: where do you think they should move to, Dame?”
Ditzy let a smile of her own cross her muzzle. “Ponyville.”
“Ponyville?” asked Bounty. “I thought that was just a little town in the middle of nowhere.”
“Bordered by a forest that wants to eat you,” added TIM.
Ditzy shook her head. “Ponyville has all the important things that a town needs--a library, a market district--”
“A proper school for the foals,” Cheerilee chimed in.
“--but at the same time, it’s little enough that it’s easy to be secluded for a while if, say, you want to work on an art project.” Ditzy’s smile grew. “So you’d be able to work on your projects all day if you wanted, then go to a restaurant or by the pond and meet some friends for dinner and conversation. And--”
Puissance lifted up a wing. “Ah… Dame Ditzy, please forgive my interruption, but I must ask: exactly what sort of access to art supplies do Ponyville residents have?”
“Anything can be shipped in by train,” said Ditzy. She was hesitant for a moment, knowing that Puissance would likely have her beat on this issue, but she still had to make a good showing--and besides, she felt she had a trump card that would help sway the artists in the group once she got there. “In fact, there’s a foal in our town who loves pottery and who wanted some special clay that’s only dug up in the griffin kingdoms for her birthday. Her family was able to get it in less than a week--from clear across the continent.” She looked at Silver Sculptress. “If it exists in Equestria, you can get it to Ponyville.”
“A week?” Silver snorted. “Every special material I’ve ever wanted arrived in three days or less. Including the ones that aren’t available to the general public. When I needed Cavallian limestone studded with specks of rubies, it reached me within twelve hours.” She shook her head. “The muse of a true artist is fickle, Ditzy. We can’t wait a week. If we don’t strike while the iron is hot, then it’s just gone.”
Ditzy saw Puissance settling back with a satisfied look on her face. She steeled herself and began her next move. “It’s true that supplies might take longer to get,” the mailmare began.
“And cost more,” chimed in Puissance. “Unless Ponyville also has ‘preferred customers’ for whom major materials dealers will grant reduced prices.”
Ditzy shrugged. “But don’t forget--you’d be able to create whatever you wanted.”
“We can do that now,” said TIM. “That’s kind of the point, actually.”
“Can you really?” asked Ditzy. “Your books are popular, aren’t they, TIM? Influential?”
TIM slowly nodded. “Sure. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Well,” said Ditzy, “What if you wanted to write a story which clashed with Vicereine Puissance’s policies? Wouldn’t that cause problems?”
The writer looked baffled. “I don’t write political tracts,” he said. “And, honestly, I don’t even know what the Vicereine’s policies are.”
“I do,” chimed in Cheerilee. “Vicereine, aren’t you founding a series of state-run orphanages in your provinces?” When Puissance nodded, the teacher continued and said, “Well, what if you wanted to write a novel in which private charity was shown to be better than government welfare? Maybe you’d describe a hero that was adopted or raised in a private institution, or as a backdrop you’d write about an orphanage that shut down due to poor service or lack of funds. If your books are popular, that could really influence the zeitgeist.”
“Right,” said Trixie, though with obvious reluctance. “Like Uptail Sinclair’s The Jungle, which was a novel about unhygienic agricultural practices and was so popular that Pferdreich had to completely revamp how they harvested apples and pears.” She was silent for a moment. “So--anyways, think about that. Now, who wants to talk about that new bourbon brewery in Neigh Orleans? It’s--”
“If your books conflicted with the Vicereine’s politics, TIM,” interjected Ditzy, “Wouldn’t you feel pressured not to write them?”
Trixie quietly put a forehoof to her head.
“I would never,” said Puissance, “Seek to censor my artists in any way. If they elect to write or create something which causes me political difficulty--that is a price I am willing to pay in order that my little ponies be able to follow their passions.”
“Granted, you wouldn’t restrict them outright,” drawled Cheerilee. “But aren’t you concerned they’d feel like they shouldn’t create certain things anyways? I mean, they’ve told us in great detail how much they love you. It’s hard to write or draw something when you know that a pony you love wouldn’t like it. Especially when that pony provides for your every desire.”
Silver Sculptress snorted. “That’s only a problem if we were going to make things the Vicereine wouldn’t like. But why would we do that? My art--all of our art--reflects truth. And the truth is, the Vicereine is a generous and noble pony who has taken us in and given us homes. We would never want to make something which falsely asserts anything bad about the Vicereine or her policies. Even if there were some condition that we couldn’t say anything bad about the Vicereine, we would never want to anyway.”
Ditzy looked directly into Puissance’s eyes. “‘Yet that is still a condition, is it not,’” she said, quoting the Vicereine from the previous day, “‘even if you never expect it to be invoked?”
Puissance frowned, though Ditzy thought she saw a spark of respect in her eyes. You claim they’re free to indulge themselves and their art, she thought. But they’re not really free, not in that gilded cage. You’ve just hidden the bars. But I’ll expose them and--
“Begging your pardon,” said Stream Dreams, “But I’m not sure I follow how Ponyville would be different. You said that it’s hard to make art critiquing ponies that you love. But you all seem to have loved ones in Ponyville, so wouldn’t moving there simply be exchanging the inability of critiquing one pony--the Vicereine--for many more?”
“It’s not the same,” said Cheerilee.
“Because we love her more?”
“No,” said Ditzy, too harshly. “Because you’re not as tightly bound to them as to her. Nopony in Ponyville would be directly responsible for feeding, clothing, and sheltering you by themselves. You could criticize or critique a pony whom you know without worrying about offending the pony who provides everything for you.”
A silence again descended over the room, and Ditzy could tell that she hadn’t convinced them. Second argument, then. “You would also be able to expand your artistic horizons. After all--isn’t it good for artists to experience more things, see more of the world, so that they can learn more about it and have more material to draw upon?”
Bounty chuckled. “We can experience it all where we live. The Vicereine provides me with ingredients, cookbooks, and completed dishes from the four corners of the world. When I was studying how to bake sweetheart cakes, for example, the Vicereine imported a pallet of many different types directly from Shouma. I doubt Ponyville could match that.”
“In materials, perhaps,” said Ditzy. “But not in experiences. You can’t have done too many Runnings of the Leaves in the Vault. Or Winter Wrap-Ups. Or even a proper Hearth Warming’s Eve pageant--there just aren’t enough ponies. Then there’s concerts, restaurants, plays, museums--”
“Nothing,” said Puissance, “That I cannot provide.”
“What about nature?” asked Cheerilee. “You might have trouble replicating the Everfree Forest in the Vault. Or the ocean, or a mountain for climbing, or dozens of other environments.”
Stream Dreams tilted her head. “I’ll admit,” she said, “That I sometimes long for the open ocean--”
“Stream!” hissed Silver.
Stream ignored her. “But again--I fail to see how Ponyville is different. Are there really that many geographic locales within the town limits? Or, for that matter, that many museums, theatres, restaurants, and other such venues?”
“We do have these things called trains,” said Trixie in a weary tone, as if she was reluctantly joining a futile battle.
“But then to attend these events which Ditzy enumerated, one would have to travel, and that would take time and resources,” said Stream Dreams. “Whereas, in the Vault, when we want something, we can have it delivered to our doors. I won’t deny that perhaps there is something special about actually traveling to a museum exhibit and seeing it in the context of all the others… but, speaking only for myself, I’m much more likely to actually see that exhibit if I can simply have it brought to me, where I can peruse it at my leisure.”
“There is also the matter,” said Puissance, “That, were you to leave the Vault, you would again need to devote countless hours to tasks which are of little interest to any of you. Bounty, I know that you don’t want to have to run your own bakery again, baking tired old mainstays of the shelf such as Prench loaves and archaic croissants, which you have no interest in but which you would have to sell to customers in order to pay your rent. TIM, you would have to be your own agent and publicist again, or manage those ponies who would do it for you. And, of course, you would all have so many other duties… chores, cleaning, shopping, helping out at various civic engagements, and so forth. Bones, you might not even be able to see Stream Dreams for much of the day, so busy would you be with other affairs.” She smiled as Bones wrapped a leg around Stream Dreams. “I won’t deny that Ponyville has its charms, and its own unique events which even I cannot replicate. But taking it all together, I personally believe you will be far more productive artists...and far more content… in the Vault than there.”
TIM nodded. “Totally. Sorry, Ditzy, but I’ve written outside, and I’ve written in the Vault. The latter’s much better for my productivity.”
“No comparison,” said Silver Sculptress. “Of course, you wouldn’t understand. You’re not an artist.”
Trixie frowned. “Then talk to me,” she said. “I’m a performer. I know what it’s like to not have time to polish your craft--”
“You’re the protege of the Princess, with all the luxury that entails.” Silver rolled her eyes. “Before I joined the Vault? I was a copyeditor at a big Manehattan firm. I worked ten hour days. By the time I got home every day I was so tired I couldn’t even pick up a chisel. I hadn’t carved in months before the Vicereine took me in. Now, I can carve every day.”
“Have any of your carvings ever incorporated details from your copyediting job?” asked Cheerilee.
“Of course--”
“Then aren’t you concerned that, without access to such opportunities, you won’t be as creative in the future as you could be if you were able to go out into the world and experience more things?”
Silver was silent for a long moment. “I’ll take that chance,” she said at last. “I’ve lived in the Vault for years now. My art’s doing just fine. I don’t need your help or your ‘events’ to improve it.”
Ditzy looked away so that she wouldn’t have to see Puissance’s subtle smirk. “Well then…” She went for her last argument. “Maybe the Vault has all the art supplies you would need. Maybe it has all the food, and drink, and clothes, and leisure time, and anything else. But there’s one thing we all know the Vault doesn’t have.”
“And what,” Puissance asked, “Might that be?”
“More friends.” Ditzy looked at each of them. “How many new ponies might you meet in the Vault every year? Ten? Twenty? In Ponyville, there are thousands of ponies, and more arriving all the time. You could meet so many good friends there, ponies who you’d love to spend time with and play with and have fun with. Friends can brighten everything up, and--”
“We have each other,” snapped Silver Sculptress. “That’s enough.”
“Just the six of you? No family, no other friends?” Ditzy frowned. “Don’t you ever want more?” She looked at Stream Dreams and Bones. “A foal, perhaps?”
The two glanced at each other and said nothing.
Ditzy turned to Orangerie, who was also quiet and looked disturbed. “Haven’t you wanted to be able to write your family and tell her about all the good things you’re doing? Even once?”
“My family’s nuts,” said TIM. “They want to overthrow the Crystal Kingdom and restore Sombra’s reign.”
“Mine drove me out in a coup,” said Stream Dreams.
“Fine… but that’s not true for all of you.” Ditzy approached Orangerie. “I think some of you would like very much to see them again--”
“Stop it!” Silver Sculptress wrapped Orangerie into a hug with her forelegs, while her wings wrapped around Bones and Stream Dreams. The other Vault ponies hugged her as she said, “You’re upsetting them. You don’t think we ever wanted more friends? Of course we do. Everypony does. But in case you forgot, Ditzy, we’re not normal ponies. We wouldn’t find any friends in Ponyville. Just more ponies calling us freaks and monsters.”
“That’s not true!” said Ditzy. “I’m different too. You’ve all noticed it. Yet the ponies in Ponyville don’t hate me because I have a wandering eye. They’re tolerant and kind, and I have many wonderful friends there. Besides the Elements, there’s Postmaster Silver Script, and the apple farmer Big Macintosh, and Berry--”
“Friends. Right.” Silver snorted. “Tell me--when these friends say hello to you, do they look you in the eye? Ever? And if they do, how long did it take before they could do it without tensing?”
“That’s unfair!” said Trixie. “There’s plenty of ponies in town who don’t care about Ditzy’s eyes.”
“Name one,” challenged Silver.
“Me,” said Trixie. “I don’t even notice them. As far as I’m concerned, she may as well have two normal eyes.”
The Vault ponies looked at each other, and Ditzy could feel that this was the wrong response. “Well,” said Silver Sculptress at last. “How charming. You love your friend so much that you’re willing to pretend that her eyes are different and more acceptable to you just so that you can make yourself tolerate her. Some friend.”
Trixie flushed. “That’s not what I--”
“A real friend,” said Silver, “Wouldn’t need to pretend that Ditzy has normal eyes. A real friend would note that her eyes are different, and that they’re beautiful, and would love her all the more for it. If you can’t accept her for who she really is, then you’re the one with the problem.” She turned back to Ditzy, her own eyes blazing. “You think I haven’t tried what you did? I spent years wrapped up in sweaters and coats so nopony would know I was a pegacorn. But I don’t need to do that anymore, because I found real friends--and they weren’t in Ponyville, or any other random village. They’re my Vault neighbors. And--most of all--the Vicereine.”
Ditzy’s stomach turned. “She doesn’t like you for who you are!” she said before she could stop herself. “She likes you for one superficial trait! Did she know anything at all about you before recruiting you besides that you were a pegacorn?”
“You sound jealous,” mused Bounty. “That you still have to deal with ponies who are unnerved by your eyes everyday, even to the point of having to pretend that you don’t have the ones you do, while we found a pony and patron who loves us for who we are, and who only wants our love in return.”
“You don’t love her,” said Cheerilee. “You just let yourselves be bought by her.”
“Hey!” said Orangerie at the same time that Trixie gasped, “Cheerilee!”
Silver Sculptress sneered. “Absurd. Ours is the real friendship. While all you pretend to care about Ditzy, we can tell. What, would it hurt your self-esteem if you acknowledged you can only stand her by pretending not to see her eyes? If--”
Ditzy was on her hooves before she knew it. “My friends are real friends!” she growled. “They actually care about me. But Puissance doesn’t care for any of you. She just thinks you’re unique and wants to collect you, like a misprinted stamp! And--”
“Waah!”
Everypony turned to Ice Heart, who was starting to cry. “Auntie Puissance does love me! She loves all of us! And she protects me from the bullies, and she helped find me a home, and…” He trailed off. “Stop being mean to her!”
Ditzy felt sick. “I didn’t mean to,” she began, reaching out a hoof for him, but he batted it away and fled the room. “I mean--”
“Excuse me!”
Ditzy turned again to see that Puissance had risen from her seat, and that anger was blazing in her eyes. “Pageturner. Collect Ice Heart and bring him to me,” she growled. “I will soothe him.”
“Uh--yes, Vicereine.” Pageturner, who had been watching the argument with a stunned expression, hurried off after the foal.
“And as for the rest of you…” Puissance took a theatrically-deep breath. “I appreciate your obvious concern for the welfare of my wards, Dame Ditzy. But you have made your case, and it seems they would still rather stay with me. I consider this matter closed, and I will insist that you not bring it up again, lest it be construed as harassment.”
Ditzy bit back a sharp retort. “I--”
“Furthermore, I will reiterate my wish that you and your friends stay out of this wing of the hotel.” She rang a bell on one of the tables in the lounge, and two burly ponies raced in a moment later. “Please show the knights back to their rooms,” she said. “And secure the doors to this wing.”
“But Vicereine--” began Trixie.
Puissance turned away. “I will see you all tomorrow when we go to meet the windigo,” she said. “And not before. Good day, Dames.”
***
Trixie let out a long sigh when they got back to their suite. “Well. That went swimmingly.” She glanced at a timepiece on one side of the room. “And we missed our time to contact Dinky again.”
Ditzy grunted. “Fine.”
“...fine?” Trixie frowned. “Um, Ditzy, are you feeling okay? You wouldn’t--”
“I’m fine!” said Ditzy. “Just upset. About the Vicereine, and all the rest of it.” She scowled. “That old nag…”
Trixie was silent for a long moment before speaking. “...first things first,” she muttered, and then said more loudly, “Look, I don’t like it either, but don’t you think you overreacted just a little? I mean--”
“No. I don’t.” Ditzy began to trot back to her room. “The Vault is evil. I’m going to shut it down--with or without you.”
Trixie turned to Cheerilee, who shrugged. “We took down the Night Court,” she said. “You don’t think we can deal with one Vicereine’s pet project?”
“That’s not the point! It’s just--”
But Ditzy didn’t care. She entered her bedroom, slammed the door, and flopped down on the bed as she turned over the argument in her mind.
I’ll destroy it, she thought, in a burst of cold fury. She kicked a log into the room's fireplace to increase the temperature the chilly room, pacing in place as she waited and stewed. And the Vicereine too, if I have to. No matter the price.
***
It was over an hour before Ice Heart and the others had regained their good cheer, and Vicereine Puissance was not amused.
“The nerve of that Ditzy,” she muttered to herself. She had retired to her own quarters to rest, but even the luxurious furnishings--once designed for Emperor Sharptooth of the hippogriffs--failed to calm her. “To speak that way to me and mine, it’s… really, it’s beyond what I should be expected to bear. There are limits, after all.”
It wasn’t just that Ditzy had insulted her. That was bad enough--no mare of her position and stature should be subjected to such abuse--but she at least had dealt with that before. She knew well that there were no shortage of ponies who yearned to bite the hooves that fed them and to heap coals on the heads of those who guided the nation towards ever increasing prosperity. Some of them were even members of Puissance’s own family, and she had more than enough weary experience at the tantrums they threw when she fixed the mistakes they had made with their own lives. But to insult her treasured ponies, the Vault residents, to damage the happiness and joy that Puissance had so carefully crafted to suffuse every aspect of their lives… it was too much.
After all--they were hers! She took perfect care of them and tended to their every need, just as she made sure that each and every one of her treasures was polished and cleaned on a regular basis. For Ditzy to attack them, to put a frown on their faces for even a short moment, was like a vandal spattering dirt over her fine collection of Shouma vases, or chipping the edge of one of her jewel-encrusted carriages. It was beyond the pale.
Puissance couldn’t quite stop herself from thinking of possible schemes to punish Ditzy appropriately, even though she knew that, in the light of the firmer hoof that Luna was taking with the Court, most of them would no longer be possible. A mere half-year ago, it would have been possible to arrange for the post office to transfer Ditzy to a colony in the Mild West, or to burden her with dozens of new regulations that would keep her at work every day until long past the dinner hour, or to audit her and her friends and slam them with more penalties and fines than anypony could bear if they were short by so much as one jangle. But alas, such days were past.
Which wasn’t to say that there was no way for the Vicereine to express her displeasure. She might not be able to attack a pony directly, but she could certainly help those they disliked, which could cause them no end of dismay. Had she wanted to punish Raindrops, for example, it would be as easy as giving more unearned honors and merits to the boss Raindrops disliked so much, Weather Captain Rainbow Dash. She could practically hear Raindrops’ teeth grinding as Rainbow was given a parade and a medal for her ‘skills as a weather captain’ or her ‘discipline and industrious labor’. Similarly, if she’d wanted to get back at Carrot Top--though she’d never need to, the mare was as bland and inoffensive as watered-down punch--she could simply give a sizable donation to the Apple Trust juggernaut and neglect the struggling Farmer’s Union. Now that would cause some envy and more than a hint of frustration… and all without arousing Luna’s ire. What would the Elements do, complain that Puissance was helping ponies they didn’t like?
Still, if she were to do such a thing, she would first have to find some pony that Ditzy didn’t like and didn’t want to see succeed. And that could be difficult; the mare was generally kind and compassionate, and she didn’t seem to have many enemies. There were the mafia ponies who had abducted Dinky, of course, but Puissance was hardly going to put her reputation on the line to support common thugs, and while Ditzy wasn’t in touch with Dinky’s father, that didn’t mean she would hate it if he suddenly had several good breaks in life.
Although… couldn’t a concerned citizen argue that Dinky’s father should take more of a direct role in caring for her? Guardianship, even? After all, her mother is always risking life and limb defying the Tyrant Sun. Noble and honorable, certainly, but perhaps not the most stable environment for a foal. Perhaps…
But that would have to wait, she told herself as she glanced at a candle which was starting to burn down. As much as Ditzy had offended her, as much as the mare deserved some comeuppance for her horrible insults towards the Vicereine and her attacks on the Vicereine’s ponies, she did have larger concerns. The negotiations, against her own predictions, had been successful. And that meant Puissance needed a new plan. Fast.
Maybe, she thought, she should have tried to sabotage the negotiations. She had spoken with the windigo to the honest best of her ability--after all, she knew full well that the Elements were there in part to spy on her and would report any dereliction of duty to the princess. Besides, she treated her duties, just like all of her other things, with the absolute best of care, and an ill-performed job was just as distasteful to her as a cracked gemstone or chipped vase. Still, she had been holding out hope that the windigo would prove to be simply too alien and hostile to deal with, and that, after two days of genuine effort, she could report back to Luna that she had tried but simply hadn’t been able to complete the job. But the windigo had cracked at the last moment and had seemingly agreed to all of Puissance’s conditions. That meant that Ice Heart would be delivered to his clutches. And if he used the opportunity to seize Ice Heart and flee…
“I won’t let that happen,” she muttered. “He is mine.”
Unfortunately, she had few options. Some of the servants she had brought with her were trained as bodyguards, but she was certain they couldn’t fight off a windigo. The seventh Vault pony--a powerful warrior who was so devoted to Puissance that she would charge the gates of Tartarus themselves if she thought it would help the Vicereine--might have slightly better chances, but she still wouldn’t bet on her defeating a windigo. Besides, if Puissance was too obviously hostile, such as by attacking the windigo with her own fighters, the Elements could report to Luna that she had tried to undermine the negotiations. That could not be permitted.
Trixie and the other Elements, by contrast, were probably capable of using the Elements to defeat the windigo, but Puissance knew she couldn’t count on them. They were opposed to her, just like all those other ponies who didn’t know or care about the wonderful things she’d done. They’d give the windigo the benefit of every doubt, and if the windigo took advantage of that, it might steal away Ice Heart before they intervened. That they might be willing to favor a beast from the depths of pony ghost stories over her was monstrous, but it was true nonetheless, and she would have to take that into account.
The problem is, she thought, The windigo is a monster and is dangerous to Ice Heart… but it’s kept that under control all this time. It acted almost civilized when negotiating. To fend off the windigo, I need the Elements, but to get them to do that, I need to trick the windigo into revealing its monstrous side in front of them. But how? If I could offend it somehow, or anger it, or hurt it…
Hurting it might be possible. Hadn’t the Elements said that true friendship could hurt windigo? And the windigo was going to approach Ice Heart; that was the whole point. If Ice Heart was with another pony when he went to see his father, a pony that he shared a bond of friendship or love with, the windigo might be hurt. And if it was hurt enough, it might do something that would convince the Elements to attack it.
Of course, that in turn raised two problems. First, where was she to find another friend of Ice Heart’s to approach the windigo with? Nopony present qualified; Ice Heart barely knew the Elements, and Puissance had no plausible excuse to bring the other Vault ponies to the meeting. Second, if the windigo was angry, somepony would need to protect Ice Heart while the Elements prepared to attack it. Who would that be?
Puissance sighed as the answer came to her. It wasn’t a pleasant answer, and there may well be a high price to pay, but it was serviceable, and--if her calculations were correct--it would allow her to get the windigo to reveal its true, monstrous spirit without any overt act on her part. Then the Elements would drive it away, Puissance would take Ice Heart and the other Vault ponies back home, and all would be well. Her ponies would still be hers, and nopony, nor any monster, would dare try to take them away.
With a short nod, Puissance rang a bell to summon her servants to prepare her for bed. Tomorrow would be a big day, and she was going to need her rest.