//------------------------------// // But It is All Too Real // Story: Dreams and Wishes Brought to Life // by NotanImportantPony //------------------------------//         ‘BRRIIINNG’         ‘BRRIIINNG’         ‘BRRI-’         Snowfall swung her hoof out from under her warm covers into the frigid air and swung it into her alarm clock. The clock fell to the ground and all was silent. Cold but silent. However, in moving her hoof around she had let the cold air into her warm cocoon of blankets. She shivered and moaned as the cold air didn’t go away, instead it seemed to seep into her aching joints, preventing her from sinking back into her pleasant dreams. She curled up into a tighter ball, tucking her tail between her legs and buried her head under the heavy nest that was her down comforter in an effort to banish the cold. It worked. Now covered by her blankets and seeing only darkness with no way for the cold to get in Snowfall breathed a tired sigh of relief and snuggled down into her mattress, preparing to give herself over to her exhaustion.         She slept. She slept like she had for the past several days and nights for there was nothing better to do. Her horn was burned out and her magic seemed to be in no hurry to return. She lacked the physical strength to free her windows or the front door from the deep layers of ice that had adhered to them over the past several days. But to top it off, she was running out of food and wood. She had a couple cans of diced apples left; she never liked them because they were too bland. As for her supply of wood, it was nearly non-existent; most of it had been used in an attempt to cook or brew something, Snowfall couldn't remember what it was. So she did the only thing she could, sleep. As it turned out, Snowfall was very good at sleeping.         Plus, sleeping meant that she didn’t have to worry about much. She didn’t have to worry about the cold or the outside or even her ‘friends.’ All she had to worry about was food, fire, and water. Food was easy enough she had it stockpiled in the cellar so she didn't have to spend money, although it took effort to brave the cold every time she wanted foodstuffs. Fire was another matter altogether. Before her horn burned out all she had to do was put some wood together, make a condensed magical spark, float it over to the wood and let nature take its course. Now though, because of her lack of magic she had to do things like an Earth Pony. Not that she had a problem with Earth Ponies, it was just that Unicorns had magic that could be anything while Earths just had some very basic magics. It was the same with the Pegasi. Sure they had wings and could control the weather but the Unicorns had controlled the Sun and the Moon for years. Still, Snowfall had greater respect for those two species. Making fire by hoof was harder than it looked and colder too.         Although, there were some problems with lying in bed and not being able to sleep. When that happened Snowfall would think. She would think good thoughts, bad thoughts and anything in between. Even when she didn’t want too she would start thinking, often times it would start because of the cold then from there it would evolve into a tale of a wanderer traveling down a dark and winding path that ended in an ice covered town and plain with its denizens made of snow and frost. The wanderer would warily wander through the streets, wading through snow piles and watching as the wind swept the snow from roofs and deposited it in her intended pathways. When that happened the noble adventurer would backtrack and find another way around then press forward towards the destination. However, the destination would never be reached for there would always be something that blocked her path whether it was an ice wall, a chasm, or the stinging wind. All those trials forced the wanderer to turn away and once again she would seek another path.         But Snowfall was not that adventurous traveller. She could not wade through mountains of snow nor could she brave desolate wastes to get to her destination. No, she would lay curled up in her bed where it was safe and warm. There were no signs of snowy mountain passes or desolate windswept wastes. Nope not at all because it was her bed, the only thing that even remotely resembled a mountain was her rump. Which was not surprising because of all the lying around she did. But even so, if she was not making tales of fantasy then she would be thinking about real matters like the weather, food and fire. Or a letter. A letter that she penned days ago, a letter to which she received no reply, no acknowledgement. The matter of her letter began weighing heavily on her mind.         She didn’t need to send that letter in her moment of weakness nor did she need to use her time for it. She would’ve been better off not sending anything but now, because of her over exertion, she could no longer use her magic until- until...         Snowfall’s head ached and her jaw fell open a she came to the realization that she had never burnt out like this before. She had never used up so much magic as to cause her crippling physical pain. She had read up on these conditions before where if a Unicorn overexerted themselves they suffer burnouts, but in the books the symptoms only lasted a few days, a week at most. Snowfall shook her head, it had been how long. A week? Two weeks? She didn’t know, but she knew that, for her to experience this much pain, she must’ve broken something. It was the only option. The troubling matter was that even with her vast knowledge of magic and anatomy Snowfall couldn’t figure out what the problem was. She knew she didn’t chip her horn, nor did she have an infection, the only thing she had done was over exert herself. Maybe the weather had something-         -And Snowfall face hoofed under her blankets. Of course the weather had something- no, everything to do with her condition. She had written to Celestia saying that the weather was throwing off everypony’s magic! That’s why it was taking forever to heal or even feel better. Snowfall moved her right hoof up to the top of her head and stroked the tip of her horn. Before, when she had done this it had resulted in pain on contact but as she gingerly pressed her hoof to the bony appendage, she didn’t feel pain at least not immediately. She pressed down and gasped, ripping her hoof away and jumping as pain zapped from her horn to her dock then spread throughout her body as a tingling sensation. She curled up into a ball as the sensations passed through her body making her shiver and moan in pain.         After a couple of minutes the sensations faded, leaving Snowfall with aching joints and a blinding migraine. Groaning, she shifted her blankets around into a tighter cocoon and stayed that way, letting the warmth from her attack bleed back into her body, relaxing her stiff muscles and soothing her cold joints. As she felt her body loosen and relax, Snowfall closed her eyes and searched for the darkest spoty she could. She found it and felt her body sink into the abyss.         They had been at it for days. They had gone through with the plans. The rumors that everypony had heard, the rumors about martial law and curfew, they were true. The guards along with concerned citizens would enforce those laws and rules for the safety of everypony. Ponies would be subject to search without question and imprisonment without bail. All ponies not associated with the Guards or the newly formed Constable Service would have to be inside from sunset to dawn or before a storm hit.         But as the days went on and the weather looked to continue its downward spiral, the rumors began. Rumors of foul magics being used and dark evil rituals being enacted began to fester within the minds of many ponies. The guards and Constables responded appropriately.         Together, the two organizations tracked down leads, executed plans, swarmed residences and ponies suspected of enacting witchcraft or dark magics. However, even as the fear of foul magics increased and the rumors grew to outstanding tales of smoky dark figures swarming poor innocent ponies in the dead night, the real events told a different story altogether. For in truth there were no Witches nor were there Dark Wizards, those tales were created by fearful ponies in the dark recesses of their homes. But it is only by fear that those fantastical tales may come back to life.         After days of searching, raiding, questioning, and arresting, the Guards and Constables had nothing to show for their efforts but a pile of lies, false evidence, and numerous cells full of poor innocent ponies who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.         Many of those ponies were put there by one zealous Pegasus. One prismatic Pegasus.         “Snowdash!”         The force of her landing had blown the light snowfall of that day into the Sergent’s face before he had even closed his mouth. With a huff he spat out the frozen water and glared at the source of his troubles and salvation.         “Officer Snowdash reporting, Sir!”         The bundled form of a pegasus was revealed to him as the falling snow recovered from the chaotic pegasus’ landing. The snow, once gone from the folds of her clothes settled back into the nooks and crannies, giving her the picturesque look reminiscent of the great statue that stood in the town square.         With her recent acts, Snowdash was quickly named the go-to pony for any job. Just point her in a direction and let her go. While she was a loose cannon and would often do things of her own accord, there were ways of controlling her.         “Officer Dash, please follow me.”         With that, Sergeant Feather turned and walked into the police compound, leaving Snowdash to scramble behind him.         “Sir-Sir! Where’re we going? You got another one for me to bust?”         Feather paused and let Dash catch up.         “Maybe.”         He resumed his steady march towards the offices. Ignoring the rest of Snowdash’s questions. He made his way across the training yard to the converted warehouse that served as the headquarters for the Constable Service. He opened it and motioned for Dash to go inside. She did, but not after giving him a withering glare. Feather shrugged nonchalantly. Stepping into the building, Feather closed the door behind him and and resumed his steady pace towards his office. Once again he did not answer Snowdash, instead he let her stew in her own curiosity. When they finally reached the door to his office, Feather opened it and Snowdash shot inside leaving a dull rainbow trail behind. Feather sighed in exasperation, stepped inside his office, then closed the door. Turning around, he saw Dash already sitting in her chair, her eager face was turned to him her eyes beaming. That at least, made his job easier. Walking around Dash, Feather made his way behind his desk, his left wing trailing on the polished brass trim. He did not sit, instead he pushed his chair out of the way and locked eyes with Snowdash as he pushed a file towards her. “Snowdash, you are one of the best recruits the Constabulary has ever seen. Your drive is remarkable and your success rate is marginally better than most guardponies. You expressed a willingness to go where no others have gone and a need to do better than everypony else. Those traits are what have distinguished you in your service of the Constabulary. As such, it is with praise and honor that I promote you to the Guard.” As feather had continued speaking, Dash’s eyes continued to widen until they were seemingly leaping out of her face. But what Sergent Feather said next was what shocked her the most. “Officer Snowdash of the Salem Guard I hereby grant you the rank of Sergeant. All w-” Feather never got to complete his sentence as he was tackled by a blinding rainbow colored blur. It also happened to be talking very fast, too fast for Sergeant Feather to make heads or tails of. However, as he signaled the need for air the rapid fire speech slowed down enough so that he could actually hear something. Even so, it was difficult because what he could hear sounded like the words ‘Thank you’ just repeated over and over again at a very fast pace. Eventually he was able to pry the overly enthusiastic Pegasus off of him and sit her chittering form in a corner where she substituted his body with one of her own wings. He tried to get her attention but what he got in reply was jargon containing the words ‘Thank you’ and ‘Awesome’ repeated in varying patterns and intensities. He decided to give her a few minutes to calm down. In the meantime, he looked over at his desk and sighed. The paper work wasn’t going to fill itself. Flake had been on leave, sitting in his little home by the town square when the doorbell rang. He, with his impeccable manners answered. He regretted answering the door. He regretted it because he had been dragged out of his home by his overly enthusiastic pegasus friend and dumped at the guards training grounds. Then he had been forced to sit there and not move until she came back. Oh how he loved his job. And not forgetting how he was repeatedly told about the ‘honor’ he would have in serving as the second in command for the  ‘best Pegasus Sergeant in the guard.’ Still, all he did was save his friend and this is what he got.  Not that he didn’t appreciate his job, he loved it, it was just demanding. While he did love the rigorous work schedule it was just that, work broken into properly segmented tables. He had everything he needed to do written down and any interruptions to his reverie were not appreciated. However; when his new ‘Commanding Officer’ came to his house and picked him up he had no choice because if anything you are supposed to obey your commanding officer. Now Snowdash was his Sergeant and he was her second in command. All that was left for him to do was to wait while Dash got the squad together for a brief teamwork session of her own devising. After that she said that she had something special planned for all of them. Snowfall grumbled as she tripped her way down the stairwell of her house. At two-thirty in the morning. Two-Thirty in the morning. Sompony better have a darned good reason for waking her up right in the middle of the best dream she ever had! The knocking and scraping on her door had stopped and Snowfall breathed a sigh of relief. “Miss Frost this is the Guard open your door! We have a warrant for your arrest due to your involvement in witchcraft and magical negligence!” Snowfalls breath hitched in her throat and she started coughing as she stumbled the last couple of steps and landed on her shoulder on the carpet of her hallway. Her mind raced, the guards! They? Why? Wh-         “Snowfall Frost! This is the Guard! Open your door now! You have five seconds to comply!”         Snowfall Frost scrambled to her feet and rushed to her front door. Hastily she started undoing the locks and bolts on it. She was going fast, but apparently it was not enough. Just as she finished with the last deadbolt she was thrown back as her door shattered and shadowy shapes swarmed into her house. She was quickly lifted up and slammed against a wall as numerous voices filtered through the ringing sound in her ears.         “-ear!”         “Bedroom cl-”         “-holy Celestia!”         With a jolt, Snowdash was ripped from her painful position on her wall and was brutally thrown on the floor then restrained and cuffed faster than she could think. Again, voices started beating through the buzzing in her mind.         “-under arrest for witchcraft and magical negligence!”         With her mind foggy and her vision blurry Snowfall felt herself move under another’s power. She was not handled gently for it felt like she hit every bump, nook and cranny on her way out the door. And once she was out the door. Well, she was dragged through and on everything, gravel, ice, rocks, snow. All of it accumulated in her coat eyes and muzzle. Some of the debris cut her, some bruised her and still some gave her a rancid taste in her mouth. Did she know where she was being hauled off to? No.         That was why, when her punishment stopped so too did the fog and numbness. With the absence of such inhibitors Snowfall could feel every cut and bruise on her body. She wanted to scream but when she want to open her muzzle she found it to be bound shut with a metal contraption so she did what she could. Restrained, with a muzzle cinched to her skull and her hooves bound by metal hoof cuffs, Snowfall moaned and groaned as the feelings of pain flooded her system. With each roll and spasm Snowfall could feel grit and dirt being ground even further into her coat and flesh.         Though she could not hear the voices of the guards, she could feel the reverberations of something. And as she spasmed again she felt the pain only grow to encompass her body from dock to horn. And within moments she was blinded by pain and felt like she was being pulled along a grater. She couldn’t move nor speak she was trapped in her mind and she was terrified.         But in an instant her torture was over, she felt right as rain. The feeling was so foreign to her that by the point in time that she realized she could walk, move, and talk again she had missed the great magenta orbs staring at her with tears brimming in the corners of them. When she did notice them, she saw the eyes of a saviour, of someone who dealt with pain and overcome it. She saw a stronger pony than her. And with a single blink, she fell into them.         Falling. She felt like she was falling. She moved her head around but there was no ground, there was no place nor thing around her. She just felt like she was falling. And there was no one to catch her. Looking into her glassy blue eyes Celestia could see herself reflected in them. She could see a mare drowning in an ocean of tears. An ocean of tears brought on by a scant few but perpetrated by so many all to harm those who were different than all others. The poor, the rich, the crippled all were at the mercy of the Guards and these ‘Constables’. With a shake of her head Celestia bent down and whispered in Snowfalls twitching ear.         “-Up.”         “Snowfall Frost. Wake. Up.”         And she did.         The first thing she was met with was those twin magenta orbs set in a white face. But now, those twin orbs held no tears, instead they let the water fall down and mingle with the dirt and grime that adorned the face of Equestria’s Princess of the Sun. Celestia.         Celestia had come! She had received her letter! And she could fix everything now! Everything would- Go. Back. To normal.         Snowfall gasped and rolled upright using the steady hoof of the princess as a firm guide. Shakily she turned around and opened her mouth only to find it blocked by a golden shod hoof. She brought her eyes up in warning only for the Princess to meet her gaze with one of her own. The water was evaporating into steam before Snowfalls very eyes and the look in the Princess's eyes and the set jaw of her muzzle said it all. She would personally render judgement upon the town of Salem.         Pulling her hoof away from Snowfalls open mouth Princess Celestia, Solar Diarch of Equestria, turned to the large crowd of ponies and made sure the consequences of their actions would be seen by everypony.         Lighting her horn, Celestia prepared to act. She flared her wings and spread her feathers as far as she could. Rearing up, Celestia cast her cold gaze amongst the crowds of ponies and spoke.         “My little ponies-”         Her voice echoed throughout Salem. It was deafening, unbearable in its tone and judgement. She had come down from her mountain home and saw it fit to render her judgment upon the guilty ponies of Salem. However, there were some who disagreed.         Despite the power behind her voice some ponies were not frozen in fear. One brave, nameless pony cast a rock at the Solar Diarch and she, the great foundation upon which Equestria was built, crumbled to the ground as the rock struck her horn with a sharp ‘crack’. The crowds were silent, the victim was silent, the perpetrator ran away. As for Snowfall Frost, she lay beside the Celestial giant and watched everything unfold. She watched as Celestia fell to the frozen cobblestones and lay still. Snowfall could only watch in horror as the lifeblood of Celestia leaked from a crack on her horn and ran through her fur to the hungry ice below. She could see the dilated irises of her ruler. There they lay, one the master and commander, the other a simple mare who attempted to make a living.         But they were alive, and for one of them the insults would not stand.         With a hiss, Celestia sat upright and locked eyes with the Captain of Salem’s guards. Lifting a hoof to her head, Celestia winced as she brushed against her chipped horn. Jerking her hoof away she saw a dash of red smeared across the surface of her hoof. Bowing her head, Celestia let her pastel mane settle about her head as the consequences of her injury came to light. She could not use magic with a horn injury like that. She would risk creating a feedback loop or, a she would suffer a violent expulsion of magic. Despite it all, despite having lost her magic, Celestia, The Solar Diarch was not a mare to be trifled with for she had existed in many forms throughout the eons and had suffered much more than any mortal could comprehend. And so, she stood up.         Stalking through the fresh snow and ice Celestia made her way to the trembling form of Blitz, Captain of the Salem Guard. Leaning in, she peered into his eyes and watched as they widened in fear. Though she never did condone violence there were times in her history when she would use it for different purposes. Seeing that Blitz had backed up, Celestia belted out a hard laugh and watched as steam flowed out of her mouth and passed upwards. Then she stood to her full height, towering over all of the little cowering ponies. She took a step forward and felt the weight of the world on her back. But just this once the weight of the world was too much her. Celestia’s front knees buckled and she fell, prostrate before her little fearful ponies.         Snowfall lay paralyzed in the swiftly dropping temperature as she saw her saviors front knees buckle. She could only watch in fear as the white monolith that was her Princess collapsed to her knees as some thing penetrated the sky and fell upon Celestia’s back freezing her haunches with its touch. Whatever foul creature it was lay crouched upon her coiling its cold tendrils around her flanks, around her barrel and around her horn. Through all that Celestia’s kneeling form stood frozen in place as the creature roamed over her body freezing the flesh and the hair with a light touch. The ponies in the crowds watched as their Princess slowly froze. None moved as the creature continued its work. Slowly it slid into Celestia’s icey form as its tentacles left glowing swirls and patterns across her glacial form. Wherever the creature traveled, a cold harsh white light followed and soon enough, the light settled in her breast. In her cold, dead, heart.         Ponies all around her were silent and still. All frozen in disbelief as their idol lay permanently kneeling. And yet there was a small sound. So small as to almost be mistaken as a squeak from errant hooves on ice. But that was not the case. From the horrible cold white growth within her frozen breast came a hard cracking sound and it ended at the joint between Celestia’s wing and her barrel. The loud crack echoed throughout the area. The ponies shook awake from their trance and a second crack appeared mirroring the first one. For the next minute cracks spread throughout Celestia’s body causing many ponies in the rapidly dispersing crowds to blanch and pedal backwards. For any who stayed they would’ve heard the end of the cracks. Then the twitching began. First her left eyelid slid downward with a sharp snap, it remained close. Then her right eyelid repeated the same motion and once again, it was accompanied by the cracking of ice.         Her right hoof, frozen to the flagstone by the fog cascading out of the cracks slid forward with a snap, a crack and a pop. Safely out of her line of sight, Snowfall sat watching as the ice pony in front of her absentmindedly moved each part of the body. With each movement and rotation more cracks snaked throughout each limb and each time that happened just a bit more of the cold fog crawled out of the cracks and flowed to the ground where it gathered around her figure. Cautiously, Snowfall crawled away from her Princess to safety. But, as cautious as she was, others weren’t. Snowfall locked eyes with a trembling stallion and motioned for him to run. He did so bumping into the corner of a frozen food cart. His errant movement shifted the cart, and an icicle fell to the exposed cobblestone with the sound of shattering glass. With eerie precision, Celestia’s head snapped around and her illuminated irises alighted upon Snowfalls quivering form. Like her namesake, Snowfall’s freezing form was covered in the soft snowfall and sharp frost of the winter storm. But she didn’t notice any of the snow nor the frost. The only thing she did notice was the burning blue irises of her Princess and how they reflected her quivering form in their lifeless gaze. But maybe, just maybe... Captivated by the Princess’s icey gaze Snowfall squeaked, “Princess Celestia?”         The word had no effect on the Princess, the only thing it did was to keep their eyes locked together. Snowfall’s blue eyes looked into Celestia’s fractured magenta eyes. In that moment Snowfall knew that there was nothing left of the Celestial Princess. The new Creature stood stock still, shadowy tendrils trailed from the exposed cracks in her crystalline figure. With solid, jerky movements, the icey equine turned the rest of her body around to face Snowfall who scooted away until she lay against the newly exposed wall. Fractured magenta irises tracked the quivering pony’s brief flight. Stepping forward, it looked down at Snowfall’s balled up form until she was a scant foot away. Smoothly, she raised her cracked right hoof and held it in front of Snowfall’s face. Gingerly Snowfall uncurled from her ball and looked at the frozen hoof. With tears adhered to her face, she lifted her right hoof and gently tapped it against the creature's own. As soon as she made contact a shock passed through Snowfall and a cacophonic series of cracks could be heard throughout Celestia’s icey tomb. Snowfall watched as the icey spot she touched with her hoof cracked and caved in. She could only stare with her hoof suspended in air as the pattern traveled up the extended leg. Time seemed to slow as Snowfall lay watching the body of her Princess crumble into a fine white powder. As each piece poured to the ground it swirled around Snowfall in a non-existent wind. Even as the magenta luminescence of the eyes faded away the non-existent winds kicked up the glassy particulate remains and they clung to Snowfalls body. With each flake that landed Snowfall felt a harsh stinging sensation then a small spot of warmth. Throughout it all she kept staring at the tip of her outstretched hoof. She no longer felt cold, pain nor hunger. Snowfall felt warm and content. Her eyes locked onto the ghostly image of Celestia’s gaze as she felt the snow creep up and around her body covering her from hoof to crown. Gradually, as though she were a third pony, Snowfall saw her eyes glaze over and the snow cover them. The last thing she remembered was the indifferent blue glow that emanated from those snow covered eyes as the snow rushed up and filled her vision with white. With that Snowfall felt and saw herself fall apart as her body imploded in a flurry of snow. Her fine particles were carried up and away into the coming storm.         Far above the panicking town of Salem, Snowfall peacefully floated in the stormclouds. But far below her in the distant windswept streets she could see the townsponies fleeing as dark shapes plummeted from the sky. Some ponies dodged the shadowy forms and managed to escape. Others were not so lucky. Those that did not escape ended up like their Princess did. An icey golem, incapable of thought but as dangerous as anything that Snowfall had ever heard of. As the day drew to a close, the icey golems had hunted down the ponies that remained in town. By the time the moon rose the streets were empty and the spectres had slunk off past the horizon. With the moon reaching its apex, Snowfall felt a tugging sensation in the pit of her stomach. Looking down, she saw the empty streets of Salem as she hurtled through the outlying storms of ice and sleet. When she cleared the majority of the weather she found herself to be in a flurry of snow and ice but she could see clearly. As she descended to the desolate streets Snowfall saw several crumpled and shattered equine forms strewn around the streets. When she felt her hoofs finally make contact with the shattered cobblestones Snowfall looked up and found herself on a snow swept street that was devoid of any life. With her hooves under her once more, Snowfall took a step forward into a small mound of soft powdery snow and kicked it up. She watched as the small crystals blew in the wind, each turn and rotation giving off a different color of light. When the cascade of rainbow colors was over Snowfall’s gaze had fallen upon the gateway that led out of town. Now knowing where to go, Snowfall passed through the gates of Salem and left the town behind as she made her way out into the cold, hard wastelands.