//------------------------------// // Peace or chaos on the rocks? (Edits Pending) // Story: One bad egg // by KarmaSentinal //------------------------------// The silence was so deafening that not even a mouse stirred.. or any warm blooded creature for that matter. The normal abundance of pitter pattering hooves remained not but a memory as the freshly laid frost slowly covered the window seal. Living so far in the north only meant one would be dealing with nature on a daily bases but to see real honest snow falling within the city limits was nothing to be excited for. For anything other than the scheduled rain or sunlight meant something had happened to the protective barrier. It had only been three days and already the Empire resembled the desolate catacombs of the lower city. Their life had been overturned so suddenly that time froze in that moment to forever remind them of what they once had, and perhaps that was more vile than being froze in lasting hatred. “Do you see anypony?” a young, feminine voice asked          “None, just the fresh snow drifts and their dingos.” replied her hoarse elder.                  The first sentences spoken since the calamity of the endless flakes had pelted the ground from above. Mother Nature is and forever will be the supreme force in the world, there is no question about that and yet a few arrogant will rise up and challenge this notion. Harnessing her birthright ceded from nature itself, the phoenix had installed her own warped sense of “perfection” in the Crystal Empire; a fantasy world where only the truly lonely and apathetic could stand proud in this frozen wasteland.                  The shirl snaps as the wind whipped itself into another frenzy caught their attention as they scanned the main road underneath their window lookout. Glazed over in a permanent sheet of ice, the only thing the pair could even remotely consider close to “alive” was their own reflections staring back. Shreds of finely woven fabric flapped wildly in the new blizzard, the stalls and carts of the week long celebration were the only objects brave enough to face the cold.          That and the rasorial windigos roaming the entirety of the deserted plaza.                  A few unlucky ponies stood scattered about the plaza wasteland, acting as frozen markers of the dangers in the area. Even with the increased wind and snowfall, it was relatively easy for the pair to observe their predators moving through their routines. Far of to the left, in the direction heading towards the castle courtyard just on the fair ground’s boundaries, the two could faintly make out a windigo licking a frozen pony as it hungrily ate what little emotions were left.          “I think we’re done for the day, Agatha. There’s nothing here: no survivors, usable resources, or hope...just more of those damn wendigos.”                   His young partner said nothing as the he listened to the wind howling in laughter. When his comment failed to revoke an action, he grunted his displeasure as his old bones popped from the exposure to low temperatures. Limping to the nightstand next to the bedroom door, the old stallion began to collect what little supplies they had managed to find. It’s a gut wrenching pain, to be exposed to this sort of environment was no easy task for a pony of his age, but it was better he dealt with it than a pony just entering their prime.                  “Agatha listen, I’m sorry if I sound uncaring or insensitive but…” he paused, looking down at the ice cold bag laying just beside his hooves. Why did he really not care as he should? A simple but important question he needed to answer himself before he could even give a truthful response.          “... but I’m not. I’m just more exposed to this aspect of life and for that reason I try not to think about it too much. You do understand…”                  He gasped, finding the sudden chill running against his back not only discomforting but worthy of his attention. Acting his age and not the part of a hot headed, and young stallion, he calmly turned around and was greeted to the last scene any parental figure should witness. Perched by the same window, his partner Agatha sat wide eyed as she continued staring out into the frozen no-pony land; her expression remained constant and unchanging as not one but two windigos licked her ice tomb, with a third’s gaze locked on him.                    He swallowed his fear as he took in the situation; there wasn’t any hope for Agatha and his chances were even similar with three in the same room. Glancing to his side was the table that held their...his bag and right next to that was the gateway to either salvation or damnation. His eyes didn’t linger on it for too long before swiftly returning to the object of his trepidation; a creature he stood zero chance against in actual combat but only had the advantage of just being smarter.                  As swiftly as the endless winter had come, he felt the sharp cold first followed by the numbing of his nerves. He left his eyes on the nefarious creature hovering just a mere jump away, any loss of eye contact and it would be all over; the windigo shrilled to the world in laughter, waiting for its meal’s inevitable end.          _________________________________________________________________________ What had once been the beating heart of a city empire now laid placated in the empty void known only as the Frozen North. That shielded heart of hope no longer pulsed its otherworldly light, but instead welcomed the darkening cold that surrounded them. Life that had once flourished and warmed this wasteland was either in hiding or had been consumed entirely by the endless snow. Yet, not life suffered this fate but in fact had adapted and even managed to thrive despite the harshness. Even as the banshee winds howled outside the castle, the Heir of Ice and Peace, the Cryophoenix Victoria casually traversed her new castle looking for some sort of distraction. With its previous occupants having been evicted from the frozen halls, a sense of tranquility had moved in but even with this surreal peace coating the very walls, Victoria couldn’t find rest. The phoenix’s strategy was running off of her past actions and memories despite its obvious gap, she felt it needed to be filled with a purpose or a distraction if she was to eventually find her own inner peace. Sharp clicks bounced mournfully as her talons struck the mirror ground, repeating the same event over as it had happened for nearly three days now. This by all means was a preview to what is to come if Victoria succeeded and heralded world peace like she had promised. But this “peace” was lacking…this peace felt almost wrong. Her gaze found yet another “lucky” being to have been saved by her selfless kindness, and yet his face wasn’t one of alleviated bliss but contorted in an unreadable mixture that looked anything but thankful. In fact, each hallway she strolled through had offered the same feeling of nothingness. That all of her work was for not and she wasn’t the harbinger of peace, but this world’s Lissandra. “They just don’t understand the blessing.” Victoria would hear this statement repeated multiple times a day. From where she knew not but only that it was another constant in her increasingly active life. Moving on, the phoenix found herself in another hall both similar and unfamiliar to her. The design of this marvel was both awe inspiring and a major flaw; each hall: room, floor, staircase, painting, window was a mirrored copy of another. Granted she couldn't say even her own kind was immune to this architectural laziness, but at least there was some attempt to give the illusion of variety. Just like the castle’s design, Victoria found more blessed ponies littered about the hall, some captured in their obliviousness to the danger before their salvation. Irony if her associate learned mind ever saw; ignorance is bliss, and the way to true lasting peace was to be unaware of the world around you. An unorthodox approach to achieving it no question about it, but that in the end all will discover peace.   One, two, three, eight, fourteen ponies just down this very hall alone. Each hallway held at the very least two ponies with many having that very moment captured; perfectly sculpted statues to admire and treasure for decades to come, but is that all? What is to happen when she grew tired of them and leaves this place? What becomes their purpose then when the audience has left and the statue is unable to admire themselves? Victoria’s feathers chattered angrily as her thoughts dug further than was required as the harbinger of peace. “What is the point of this if there is no one to enjoy it?” the cryophoenix asked as she left the memorial for another hallway to her right. Instead of more stretches of tile and rooms, the space opened  suddenly to allow the winterous light to grace her. “Is it because I can get away with it?” to express her point, Victoria released all the trapped air in her lungs and watched the torrent encased everything before her. With the immediate area covered in ice the phoenix inhaled one massive gulp of air, and gave her best opera impression. The effect was instant but the result was lasting. The ice blanket hissed madly before fracturing under her relentless pitch; one major crack marked the path before more followed its example and followed the path laid before them. The sheet splintered into tens of thousands of ice shards no bigger than a common flash drive, but in the split second the voice became too much for them and in rapid succession they all detonated. Victoria was no fool and tucked her head behind her protected wing just as the quivers and shards impacted. With the power of imagination it was possible to see what sight it must be but, having never personally witnessed this ear shattering spectacle herself but her imagination was nothing more than a guess. The pondering phoenix waited until the miniature blizzard had weathered out leaving the air crisp, and augmented with the very minerals of the crystal. With the danger past, Victoria hungrily opened her beak and began inhaling as much of the fine dust she could manage; the dragon of the skies they once called her and rightly so! Unlike Philomena whose diet was restricted to their avian flock, crystals and other similar minerals like the dragon gave her the welcome additional benefits of health and power. Living in a city made entirely of this stuff is too much of a daily temptation to fight, and suddenly she had just provided herself a literal powered mineral boosted delicacy. Purple Haze didn't have nothin’ on this! Each gulp of air was laced with the crystal and each gulp left her feeling more refined than the last. Spurred by the power of the crystal Victoria shifted her entire attention to what remained of the memorial stain glasses, and in an act of her sovereignty completely annihilated a nation’s history. Historical stains of influential people..ponies or important events that that had sculpted this city’s future was shattered and discarded onto the desolate streets below. “Where are the castle guards to stop me? Who is even strong enough to stop me?” Victoria asked as she safely jumped onto the window’s edge. To answer her previous questions from before: not a single soul save the princesses could challenge her in terms of raw power, but where were they right now? She was in the Empire was she not? Than why wasn't there stiffer resistance by not only the castle guards but by the ruling unicorn family? There was simply too many questions that needed answering but to few places to have them answered. Looking back these past couple of days the phoenix may have been overzealous in enacting her duties, but how could she not have when those were the only thoughts plaguing her mind?     Now she stood uncontested on the very edge of fate looking down into a plunge of acceptance or while she still held some measure of control could recluse back into the castle. Prior to her imprisonment every action was assumed to be of her own but now the phoenix wasn't so sure. Would she really have so willing committed such atrocities in the name of a friend or was she under the influence just as Luna had been?    How long ago was the revolution anyway? Not long enough if those three guards from before could still feel terror, but perhaps it was not her they feared but the reputation she had garnered? Whatever the reason for their boiling dread was water under the bridge when other all consuming priorities eyed her down.     Victoria stole another look over the ledge and nearly cringed in disgust as the parasitic windigos all wormed closer to the castle courtyard as if it were a rotting, and brittle carcass. The disgusted phoenix subconsciously flinched at the thought of these scavengers doing what they do best; hundreds upon hundreds gathered into one giant living balled mass as they skirmished for the right to feed. A living sphere of carnivorous worms waiting hungrily for something to fall next to their hooves so they may gorge themselves. “They’re so greedy. Its almost sickening to watch as they degrade themselves like mindless beasts.” “They just don’t understand the blessing.” “They don’t understand, but what does that mean! Who doesn't understand and why should I care?” The floating mass of windigos whined questioningly at the sudden snow flurry created just above them but other than that continued on with their endless waiting. “You of all beings should know this very well creator of I and we.” the irritating voice replied “Born from you and they born from me. We are all linked and that is why we understand but can’t comprehend the master plan.. because the architect doesn’t understand it herself.” Victoria said nothing as her burden eyes gave away to the weight, and with it the comforting melancholy the phoenix had known since her last awakening. Here in this quiet and mellow plane of darkness she found herself once more questioning her motives- peace or chaos? It was here the voice asked the right question. “Do you remember your promise?” _________________________________________________________________________ “Why can’t they just understand your blessing and what it brings to them?” “Why indeed. How do they expect us to maintain the peace when our own subjects classify us as the threat?” That right there is the million dollar.. bit question. A question ever since her discovery and acceptance had continuously reared its ugly head in nearly every aspect of their lives. Two princesses and two phoenixes by many folklores would be considered a perfect example of balance or some equal variation of equality; like many things, Victoria was constantly discovering pony society strictly followed not only similar culture norms of ancient earth but the infamous herd mentality. The night had always held this stigma since the feudal ages that had lasted into the beginnings of the 21th century.  But count her lucky because the time period not only matched Western chronology, but shared their ways of thinking.. which meant anything associated with a stigma subsequently became an extension of it.   While a princess of the sun ruled from a throne molded from gold: cushioned with the purest clouds and lived in a castle shaped from the whitest marble magic could make, the princess of the night was forced to live like her very title. There wasn't any true place she could call home nor was there any welcome party waiting for her return. The only home they had was the very trees that provided them with a roof and the very earth that gave them a bed. Despite this unfair treatment the pair had each other and the extremely few ponies that understood their mission. The night was late and the two friends knew it. Their companions, all three of them, in this current affair were fast asleep but that time like everything in life was coming to an end. The nipping winds had  finally gave up their game and left them alone to enjoy what little nighttime remained. “Can you feel it Victoria? Can you feel the tapestries being pulled back more and more until we’ll have nothing but the naked truth?” The phoenix made no effort to answer her princess and closest friend from the little bush acting as her roost. The silence stagnated the air between making each breath before more treasured than the last as each interpreted a different meaning. The bird spoke. “I have and I find it hard to say otherwise my princess.. we are dying as the world around us continues moving forward. This is called progress, the strong survive while the weak perish but then again this is Equestria. A land filled with magic and happiness to those willing to pursue it.” Victoria’s mistress and friend said nothing as she gave her moon its farewell, watching dejectedly as her sister’s sun rose to prominence once more. In the moon’s fading light did the sun follow close behind, and with it the trailing comet tail in full spring bloom. Both friends shielded their weak eyes against the impairing onslaught until its effects gave them their sight back; the looming blanket of peace had been forcefully discarded without another thought if it meant cementing its place under the sun. “Your words hold weight Victoria and I admit it carries more than I’m ready to handle.” Luna’s eyes fell onto the sleeping ponies beginning to turn and tussle. “We’re too few as it is, and that’s not including those brave few we’ve lost in the past years.. where are our reverses? Denied on request of Princess Celestia. Where are our provisions and equipment to wage this dogged pursuit? Denied by Celestia, but are free to collect whatever we can find.” “We are outsiders in our own land while forced to defend it, and then made to sleep in the dirt while that pretender bakes in your praise.. you know Luna, this would actually make for an interesting book or maybe a decent film. The outcasts being the heroes.. ” “Please Victoria, this is a serious matter of the urgent kind. You said it yourself we’re slowly being driven into extinction and unless we do something it will happen.” “Well what if we head for the outer towns? The area surrounding the castle is safe and its not likely we’ll be missed if we just left; the only pony that may notice us missing would be Celestia but I don’t think she’ll bother looking for us.” “What about Philomena? Would you really leave her behind without sparing a visit and words of goodbye?” “What about Philomena?” Victoria asked herself. The line in the sand was being drawn even if it that line curved and looped in every direction but straight; Celestia and Philomena stood on one side with Luna and her limping to the other as years of bubbling animosities finally evolved into motivation. A rivalry between sisters spanning across time before bounding itself to the thoughts of a single action but ultimately a single ideal. Friends and family will be hurt or worse torn after everything was said and done. Unlike an infant Equestria that was just starting develop thoughts, her kind had been experimenting with the inner most understandings of logic and how it played out on the world. Today in this very moment she would be able to give back to her new home and hopefully leave the mark she desperately wanted to create.   “She has Celestia and all of their worshipers, we only have each other. I made a promise to serve and stay by your side when you took it upon yourself to care for me. Even if that didn't happen, you’re my friend Luna and friends stick together.” The world was changing and they needed to be the forerunners of this change. “It warms my heart and eases my mind to hear you say that Victoria. We’ll let them rest a tad longer before we make our journey to the outlying towns. If the ponies here don’t understand the blessing we bestow upon them, than we’ll make them understand when we taketh it away.” Above all, they need to survive and adapt to the change or give in and finally die beneath the glaring sky. Their burning eyes met and only a simple nod was needed to convey their pack, and seal the world’s future. “Oh herald unto thou, the succulent offerings from the tree. Let not thee hesitant hooves wane and dwindle for them, but instead have them strengthen and grow for thee!  Dust and dirt are the salt of life, for thou, milk and honey are the nectars of life’s offerings, for them. Met by chains and ropes are the ideals of the masses, open clouds woven with the finest fabrics for the few. Gather under thy wings and have at the clouds! For fire and wind amass amongst the skies above The Divine Castle, wilt thou arise or sleep in the ashes?“ Those very words were the very spark that ignited their cause, and lit the shouts for a better tomorrow. Every great awakening had their rallying cry and theirs was no exception; no greater banner erected could match its emotional calling and what a glorious sight it was. For a short but brief span.. two years of fire and ice clashing for dominance. What a sight to see it once again... ___________________________________________________________________ Victoria opened her eyes, with her wings stretched to their max as she fell from the window ledge into the heart of the mini blizzard. The blizzard reacted to her presence immediately, instead of dispersing the clouds whipped and whirled so violently it forced the dozens of windigos to the ground. Her supporters whined and cried as their big sister disappeared, only to be quieted by the thunder that followed. Defying the odds of nature but following the molds of magic, the storm contracted and then expanded slowly as it continued to throw lightning everywhere. Shrills of pain and fright sent the herd scattering from the city center to the frozen outskirts, even forcing them to ignore an elderly pony caught in the open. “Go my siblings. Go forth and bring them to their knees.” Victoria’s voice flooded every crevice of their simple minds, making the urgency even more dire. They seized this and with the speed of their birthright, the windigos waited until the city was nothing but a flashing speck in the distance before disappearing into the night sky in search of their unseen prey. With the troops mobilized and on the march, the miniature storm began its ascension into the heavens, with the castle spire to be its perch. As the storm rose, so did the intensity of the lightning flares once she spread her wings. The clouds had gradually twisted and evolved to the point of taking their host’s desires; massive wings of frozen ice stretched nearly the entire width of the castle, talons of pure lighting burst forth to grab hold of the crystal as this new entity scaled the highest point in the land. “They just don’t understand the blessing.”  The voice whispered again, but so softly the phoenix barely heard it. The feeling from before came and went and that alerted the giant prey bird to its existence. An itchy chain that rubbed and rawed her cognitive mind to the point she’ll do nearly anything to relieve the itch, even if it meant applying the destructive ointment of absolute peace. This near monstrous representation of a perfect storm given form clawed and scaled her way up the vertical walls until at last she felt the leveled floor of the upper most viewing balcony. Why ponies had even built this bare, and open platform was just another ignorant and unsightful quality the phoenix found distasteful, and yet it was serving her purpose very well. As she climbed into this space, the storm that had coated, and armored her melted off once she left the open air and entered this magically protected sanctuary. Here, lounging contently in the cold laid not only her greatest creation but her greatest gift to the world… the first windigo to have lived in centuries. Following its initial creation, the ancient instincts of its kind took root and a wonderful metamorphosis took place that had led to the species return. Just like their mother, her children had inherited the life defying quality of the phoenix… rebirth. Moving close enough to nuzzle this enormous creature, Victoria cooed the familiar tune she had first used to greet this beautiful windigo into the world. While soft and energetic in nature it was too alien to be pony inspired; this simple tune, along with her scattered memories was one of her last connections to her human life and her last attempt to save what little remained. With this song the phoenix kept her fading life alive just a little longer, and reaffirmed her connection with her “daughter”. The large windigo, nearly as long the castle’s spire and taller than both princess standing on each other whimpered. This beast whimpered and neighed as it listened to the rhythmic tune Victoria cooed, its swirling ears matching its timpo until the massive windigo opened its bleak eyes. “They don’t understand our blessing mother.” she whispered. The phoenix said nothing as she merged briefly with the past before severing that connection. Mother and daughter met the other’s gaze, one searching for an answer while the other sought  a reason for this continued madness. A madness that felt no end and demanded continued justification to exist. A justification that had existed many years in the past, when Victoria first discovered this world and found life more bearable in the form of a wounded nightly soul.   It is for this wounded soul Victoria owes her new found life to, and by extension her aspirations for the world. A hindsight she had forgotten until now but cursed her forgetfulness; how she could question her life’s purpose and even go as far to consider ending this eternal olive branch was simply... insulting. The time for soul searching was over, and from the ashes arose a bigger, and stronger being from it. The phoenix could see the tinges of a smile forming on her daughter as she caught the sudden change in mood. “Does this mean?“   “Then we’ll make them understand.” The two leaned on the other, crying in laughter as their hopes and dreams scaled the mountain of adversity unchallenged. Soon, it felt, the old world will give in and for the first time in the her young life Victoria would not only witness a unified world, but would be its caretaker. An undying  god amongst an empire frozen dirt and ice.