Thaw

by Hap

2: Winter's Ascent

“Stuck together, hehe-CHOO!”

Confetti popped out of Pinkie’s ears as she sneezed. She sniffed, then wiped her nose along the entire length of one foreleg. “You’re a hoot, Applejack.”

Applejack set a bowl of hot soup in front of Rarity before tucking a blanket closer around Fluttershy’s shoulders. She turned to Rainbow Dash and smirked. “Toldja.”

Rainbow’s teeth were chattering too much for her to reply, so she simply rolled her eyes.

After fruitlessly searching her immediate area for a spoon, Rarity lifted her soup bowl and sipped as daintily as she could. “Thank you for the soup, darling.” She looked toward the balcony, where Twilight stood motionless, watching the sun set over Ponyville. Rarity raised her voice and asked, “How goes the cleanup, Twilight?”

Twilight paused for a moment before she turned to walk into the room, stopping to pull a blanket back over Spike where he lay curled up on a couch. “I think everypony is going to be thawed by the time Celestia finishes setting the sun, thanks to all of AJ’s bonfires.”

Rarity nodded. “Good.” She went back to sipping her soup.

Fluttershy gave a tiny sneeze that made Rainbow Dash chuckle.

A log popped in the fireplace, sending a wave of sparks up the translucent chimney.

Twilight stepped across the room and opened the double doors to her Eastern balcony. A warm summer breeze blew through the room, carrying the scent of wood smoke and magic. Applejack sat down next to Twilight and took off her hat as they watched the moonrise together.

Teams of pegasi flapped wearily back and forth across the sky, corralling wayward puffs of cumulus and breaking them down. Twilight smiled as she picked out one white speck against the deepening indigo, growing larger as it wound its way through the crowded airspace. A few seconds later, Princess Celestia landed softly on the balcony. Applejack gave a quick bow while Twilight rushed forward for a hug.

As Celestia walked into the room, she looked from one sniffling pony to another. When they began to sluggishly climb out of their seats for a proper bow, Celestia held up a hoof. “That’s not necessary; not in your state, and not in your own castle.”

“T-t-thanks, P-p-princess-s-s,” Rainbow said through her chattering teeth.

“I don’t mean to rush you,” Twilight said, “but we’ve got a sleeping filly in the other room, and we know next to nothing about her. I’d like to at least know what we’re dealing with before she wakes up.”

“Yes, of course.” Celestia pulled a large cushion up next to the fireplace, prompting everypony to gather around her. She inhaled deeply, then closed her eyes as she began her story. “Many thousands of years ago, well before Discord, before even Luna…

---

…the world was a different place. It was wild. Like the Everfree Forest, every animal cared for its own needs, weather mostly happened on its own, even the sun rose and set by itself, regardless of the needs of ponies.

The tribes did not yet work together. There was trade, but no trust. Civilization is truly a thin veneer; even now, the world is only nine meals from anarchy. Only, in those days, meals were more difficult to come by.

Winters were always hard, but this one had been particularly harsh. Education was uncommon, but everypony could do enough math to know that the food wouldn’t last til spring. All three tribes agreed to move. But the green land of plenty we found didn’t last for long; the winter had followed us. And it only got worse.

Everypony was hungry. There were fights. Theft. Reprisals.

Where was I in all of this? I was studying the sun. I had earned my cutie mark while researching the sun’s magic. I was certain that, if a unicorn could understand how the sun worked, that it could be manipulated to help all of the ponies suffering in a winter like this one.

Like Twilight, I had an epiphany. I took control of the sun, and something happened. Something terrifying and wonderful. Just like Twilight, I was surprised and confused. As far as I know, I was the first alicorn.

I burned away the clouds that had been keeping us in the dark. With the sun shining, the cold didn’t cut quite as deep. But in the clear air, we could all see something that had been hidden in the clouds. There was a castle, high on a mountain that we now call the Canterhorn.

The castle was made of ice. It was beautiful, the way the sunlight passed through it was…

The pegasi were nowhere to be found. Since I had brought the sun back, I became the de-facto leader of the Earth ponies and the unicorns. Since I was the only one with wings, I was elected to investigate the ice castle.

It was full of food.

One exceptionally talented pegasus named Windy Glow had gathered a number of followers, and trained them to manipulate weather like nopony had ever thought possible. The winter had followed us because Windy brought it with her.

Her plan was to starve everypony to the point of desperation, then demand loyalty in return for fair weather. I felt sick as I realized that the unicorns had an equally selfish plan to secure our own place in a harsh world. I thought about the way Earth ponies had used food as leverage against the other tribes, and something inside of me broke. I had magic, I had wings, and I could feel the rhythms of the Earth. I knew then that every pony was the same, that our struggle was not against each other, but against our own anger and mistrust.

Windy was clever and strong, and I was still not in full control of my abilities. It felt like our fight took hours. At some point during the battle, she also ascended. Every form of weather was under her control, especially ice. Her ascension left her as confused as I had been, and I was able to banish her to the arctic ice.

None of the tribes was innocent. Windy was simply the most ruthless, the most aggressive. Instead of revealing each tribes’ plan, I told them a deeper truth, and invented the story of the Windigo. With each generation the narrative became more real…

---

…and Equestria was born out of the harmony that grew from the Hearth’s Warming story. I never thought that I would see Windy Glow again.”

Twilight stared into the fire. For a long time, nopony spoke a word, listening only to the hiss of the last coals as they sputtered and died.

Applejack cleared her throat. “So, are you sayin’ that Equestria was founded on a lie?”

Twilight bit her lip, and looked at her mentor before turning back to Applejack. “I don’t think so. The winter was caused by a cold heart. Mistrust, on the part of all tribes, contributed to the problem. And, only by working together, ponies were able to bring about an age of cooperation and plenty.”

Celestia nodded. “The story is true, though the details may have a bit of artistic license.” She chuckled. “Not entirely my own, either. I haven’t told the story for millennia. Each generation adds their own flavor, but the truth behind it remains a guiding light for Equestrian harmony.”

“Well,” Rainbow said as she watched Spike add another log to the fire, “that was a cool story and all, but we still don’t know what to do with her.”

Rarity stood up and pulled her blanket around her shoulders like a cape. “I think that depends on whether she tries to take over the world again. The question is, does she remember who, or rather what, she is?”

Twilight looked toward the door opposite the fireplace. “Did you see her blank flank? The age spell somehow erased her cutie mark. That means her destiny may be completely different now.” She glanced at Celestia. “Right?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia said. “I’ve never removed a pony’s cutie mark. I’d never even considered it.”

“So,” Rarity asked, “how will we find out?”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess we wait until she wakes up, then talk to her.”

Rainbow tossed her blanket on the floor and hovered into the center of the room. “And what if she is still evil?”

“I don’t mean to sound overconfident,” Twilight said, “but I’m pretty sure that I can handle a little filly, even if she is an alicorn.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “Unless she also is aware that she is overmatched, and feigns amnesia until you let your guard down.”

“Yeah,” said Applejack as she stepped beside Rainbow Dash and pointed one hoof at Twilight. “Just like you pretended to be so scared and helpless, til she turned her back. Then, zappo!”

Twilight looked at each of her friends in turn before settling her gaze on Applejack. “So what do you suggest we do?”

Applejack looked down and poked her hooves at the floor before she reestablished eye contact with Twilight. “Same as we did for Tirek. Send her to Tartarus. Just ‘cuz she doesn’t remember what she did, doesn’t mean that she ain’t still dangerous. You heard what Princess Celestia said about ponies starving. I won’t let that happen here.”

Fluttershy shrugged off her blanket and stood nose-to-nose with Applejack. She spoke in a voice that was quiet but unmistakably firm. “Absolutely not. She’s just a filly, no matter what she’s done in the past. She deserves a second chance, just like Discord.”

Rainbow pushed Applejack out of the way and stood in her place, matching Fluttershy’s gaze. After a moment, Rainbow’s face softened. “She froze you solid, Fluttershy.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said as she sheepishly shuffled her hooves. “But I can’t really blame her. I got very angry when she started to freeze all those poor animals, and she was probably just scared. I’ll make sure to be extra nice to her from now on.”

“So, Tartarus is out,” Twilight said. She glanced around the room and received nods from everypony, some more reluctant than others. “That leaves us taking care of a young alicorn who may or may not be evil. But I still believe in the power of friendship—” she glanced at Rainbow Dash “—even without lasers.”

Rarity gasped and clopped her forehooves together. “I do believe you’re right! If we can teach her the value of generosity, then perhaps she will find a new destiny.”

Everypony started talking at once, until Celestia stood and spread her wings. She smiled, turning her gentle eyes onto each pony in turn. “I have no doubt that she can benefit from each of the aspects of friendship, and I have no doubt that you are just the ponies to show her how wonderful friendship can be.”

Twilight let out a relieved breath. “I’m glad we have a plan. So, what do we do now?”

“And I thought I was bad at paying attention,” Rainbow said. “We’re going to teach her about friendship.”

“No,” Twilight said, with just a hint of irritation in her voice. “I mean, now now. Where is she going to sleep? Who’s going to take care of her?”

Celestia smiled and reached out a wing to Twilight’s shoulder. “Windy seems about the same age as you were when I took you on as my personal student. I think you’re ready to have a student of your own.”

Twilight gently pushed away the warm touch of Celestia’s wing. “I’m ready to be a teacher, but I’m not ready to be a mother. She needs a family.”

“Ahem.”

Both ponies turned to look at Fluttershy. “Twilight, right now, you’re the only family that Windy has. We can look for a more permanent home tomorrow, but right now, there’s a scared little filly sleeping in your bed. When she wakes up, she’s going to need someone to comfort her and tell her that everything’s going to be okay.”

“I… Of course you’re right, Fluttershy.” Twilight stood up and held her head high. “Spike, don’t stay up too late. Goodnight, Celestia. Goodnight, girls. Thanks for all your help.”

After a chorus of goodbyes and goodnights, Twilight turned and trotted into the dark hallway. With so few rooms on the top floor, she had no time to think before she was standing in front of her own bedroom. She took a deep breath before opening the door as quietly as she could manage.

The alicorn of frost and famine remained curled up on Twilight’s bed, with Starswirl-themed blankets pulled up to her chin. The curtains shifted in the evening breeze, letting in a sliver of starlight that danced on her mane. Twilight used her hooves to grab a few blankets from the closet, then arranged them on the floor next to the bed.

It seemed so long ago that Twilight used to fall asleep on the floor next to Spike’s crib, but she could remember every detail. She sat down on the pile of blankets and leaned over the bed, resting her chin on the covers. Before long, the rhythm of the filly’s quiet breathing and the smell of a summer night had pulled Twilight into the realm of dreams.

Comments

[Csquared08]

the smell of a summer night had pulled Twilight into the realm of dreams

I like that take on the old Hearths Warming tale. So far, so good.

[PresentPerfect]

I'm not sure how I feel about the backstory overall, but I definitely like your take on Celestia's ascension.