Ponies of the North

by HarmonicaJay

Book 1: Journey to the North: Chapter V: A Meeting of the Minds

While the Old Caribou made his way towards the city, a meeting was going on in the palace of the Twin Princesses, Celestia and Luna. The palace stood on the end of a cliff overlooking the whole of Equestria. It was a symbol of the strength and unity of the three races. Of their willingness to come together and create a home for all of the races. It had endured much over the centuries since it was built, including an invasion of Changelings that threatened to drain the inhabitants of their emotions, leaving them dried husks. It was thanks to the six heroines of Equestria, and an extraordinary amount of luck, that the invasion was repelled and Equestria wasn't overrun by a swarm of Changelings.

Combined with a battle against Dark Magic Vines that once threatened, it seemed to Twilight that there was nothing she and her friends could not accomplish. So, it was understandable to everypony there that Twilight was incredibly frustrated that the yearly tradition of Winter Wrap-Up was being held because the weather decided to have a mind of its own and not allow the Ponies to carry it out. The only place something like this would happen would be in the Everfree Forest, a dark stretch of land where everything functioned without the input of Ponies.

Twilight sat at her assigned seat in the Palace council room. Beside her sat Rainbow Dash the sky-blue Pegasus, keeper of the Element of Loyalty, Pinkie Pie the bouncy Earth Pony and keeper of the Element of Laughter, Fluttershy, keeper of the Element of Kindness, Rarity the Unicorn and keeper of the Element of Generosity, and Applejack, keeper of the Element of Honesty. Along with her friends, Twilight was conversing with her former mentor, now colleague, Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. Right now, they were stumped as to what was causing the rebellious winter. So far, they had only come to one conclusion and that had already been disproven.

“You are quite sure Discord did not do it, Fluttershy,” Twilight asked while rubbing her eyes in exhaustion.

Fluttershy gave a small nod. “Yes. He promised me that the only things he had done recently was turn the Everfree Forest Polka Dotted, make the Buffalo near Appleloosa fly, and turn all the water in Equestria into grape soda. Aside from that, he hasn't caused the snow to remain here. I am certain of it.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah dunno about that, Fluttershy. Ah know that Discord is your friend n' all, but Ah just don't trust him given his nature. He might be playin' ya.”

Fluttershy was taken aback by this. “Applejack, I am shocked you would ever think that,” her voice going up a few octaves. “Discord would never lie to me like that. Especially after the Dark Vines incident. He promised he was done endangering Equestria!”

This time it was Rainbow Dash's turn to speak up. “He was responsible for the Dark Vines in the first place! You know that!”

Celestia stomped her hoof against the council table. “Enough,” she commanded. “This gets us nowhere. Fluttershy, Rarity, you are in charge of the care and maintenance of the animals and their homes. What is their status?”

Fluttershy answered first, her voice getting higher and higher as she spoke. “All the animals are safely in hibernation for now. Though I'm afraid that if they don't wake up soon, their muscles will atrophy and then they won't be able to move or eat or... or...” Her voice trailed off as it degenerated into a high-pitched indiscernible whine.

Rarity patted Fluttershy on the back to calm her down. “Their homes are in good condition and have not been entirely overrun by the snow piles. So there is that bit of good news.”

“Applejack, what is the status of the cleanup across Equestria?”

Before Applejack could answer, Twilight's horn glowed as a pile of scrolls in front of her were levitated and spread across the table, one in front of the eight ponies seated around the table. The scrolls unraveled showing images of the various cities and towns across Equestria, all covered with snow.

Applejack sighed, “It is not going well. All the cities across Equestria have been trying to remove the snow with little to no success. Every time the crews get close to completely clearing a path, more snow immediately falls in its place, thus undoing all effort made. We even had Fluttershy contact Discord to try and make the snow non-existent. The same thing happened again. Except that an entire snow field fell right on top of him just as soon as the old one disappeared.”

“Twilight, have you determined what magical properties the snow may possess?”

Twilight shook her head. “That's just it. I've analyzed the snow again and again and all I've come up with is that... it's snow. Ordinary snow. Nothing more and nothing less. That leads me to believe that this is being caused by an outside force. The only thing we can do is try to figure out its cause.”

As the ponies began to converse further a black maned Unicorn Palace Guard trotted up the stairs. She halted and saluted. Celestia noticed her and smiled. “Ah, Captain Holiday. It is good to see you. How is everything outside?”

Captain Holiday, a recent graduate from the prestigious Hoof Point Military Academy, had risen well in the ranks. While she hadn't seen much in the way of battle, her tactical prowess, her magical ability and the strength of her telekinetic ability and shield magic had raised her well in the ranks. Right now, she was simply on guard patrol. Celestia had ordered her and the guards to notify her if there was any change in the snow outside.

Still at attention, Captain Holiday answered. “Your Highness, everything concerning the snow is normal as it can get. I came to tell you that an old Caribou is outside banging on the door with a stick and is demanding to speak to... our “king and/or queen”. He claims to be from the...” She paused for a moment as if considering what she was going to say next. “He claims to be from the Frozen North beyond the mountains that border the Crystal Empire. He says that if he doesn't have the chance to speak with our monarch, the entire world is doomed. His words, not mine, Your Highnesses.” She saluted again and stood still, awaiting Celestia's word.

Celestia's and Luna's eyes widened at the mention of “The Frozen North”. They looked at each other and at Twilight and her friends, all of whom were equally as shocked. The Frozen North, for a long time, had been merely a memory told to young fillies and colts as a bed time story at Hearth's Warming Eve. They had been sure that all the Ponies that had previously lived in the Frozen North had left it for good. None of them had even considered that anypony would have stayed there. To have done so would have meant a death sentence for anypony foolish enough to stay.

Celestia looked at Captain Holiday and nodded. “Send him in at once. We will all see him.”

From outside and below, a voice that sounded ancient and worn called out. “And it's about time I got some attention! Earthmaker help me, I thought you Southerners would at least have some respect for your elders or your guests as opposed to those cantakerous old so-and-sos back home!”

Twilight and company all looked over the balcony to see the gates opening and a pair of Unicorn and Pegasus guards attempting to help a pure white Caribou with strings of beads in his antlers through the gate. He promptly rapped them on their helmets with a staff he had wrapped his foreleg around. Even from a distance, they could still hear the old Elk. “Don't coddle me. I got here well enough on my own and I can walk the rest of the way to the palace on my own. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm helpless. You young folk today think we all need your help. Well maybe, some of us can take care of ourselves. And another thing...” His voice trailed off as Applejack chuckled to herself.

“Reminds me of Granny Smith. I'd like to see them butt heads.” Twilight smiled to herself. Granny Smith, Applejack's Grandmother and Matriarch of the Apple Family, was probably as old as this Caribou. Still, she was intrigued by the news that this Caribou came from the Frozen North. She had thought, logically, that all the inhabitants of the North had left in order to survive. While she knew that some Caribou lived in the mountains, she never thought they would have the strength to live beyond the mountains. She had to meet with this Caribou and ask him of life beyond the mountains.

After a few minutes of waiting, the faint sound of rambling came from the stairs above the clatter of cloven hooves and the steady tap of the staff on the marble staircase. After a few more minutes, the old Caribou was in the meeting hall and stood before Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. The Caribou slowly bowed before the three of them. “Your Majesty,” he said, addressing Celestia. “My name is Sven of the Northlands. I am Chief Shaman and Soothsayer of the Caribou Tribes. I come to you with a warning. The Northlands and indeed all the world is in great danger. If something is not done soon, I fear that my home and yours will burn.” As he continued on, Twilight remembered her dream. The blizzard, the old grey pony, and now a Northern Caribou with prophecies of fire. Little did Twilight know that this was only the beginning.

Comments

[MadScientistSidekick]

"Beside from that, Discord hasn't done anything." Should probably be "Aside from that."

Aside from that, this is a good chapter. I know I've mentioned it before, but I really like that you used Caribou. I've seen some people use zebras, but other than that most people forget their are other sentient quadriped species in Equestria (we've seen buffalo and cows).