I. Awakening
Awakening
Few understand the true dangers of hatred.
So precious few understand what it truly is, it’s insidious power, how easily it can warp one‘s heart and soul, the destruction and despair it can bring, and how even the purest of hearts can still find itself led into its icy embrace.
Hatred is bitter. It’s sharp, painful, and unrelenting, it can cloud one’s mind and erase all rational thought. It can rise up out of nowhere and vanish just as fast. It can turn allies against each other and transform reason and harmony into despair and rage. It can destroy all in its path until nothing but hollow remains are left on its wake.
Hatred is cruel like a harsh winter storm.
Hatred is a Windigo.
That was a truth that once nearly erased all three pony tribes from existence, as the storm of their hatred grew into an endless blizzard while the specters of despair howled their fury amidst the merciless winter winds.
A truth that, had not been for the miracle of harmony brought forth by three individuals, who despite all odds sought out to break free from the clutches of hatred, would have erased the world into a white void.
But as time pass and history turns into myth, truth is lost. Slowly forgotten, bit by bit as the darkness of the ages comes forward with its all encompassing mantle.
The time of the Founders has long since passed, and with them the memories of the bitter cold and the harsh biting winds. Of the eternal blizzards and the apparitions that lurked within their screeching winds. The fearsome Windigos, eldritch beasts of hate and hoarfrost, reduced to mere legends and folktales.
Time has passed; leaving only precious few that still care to remember the truth of what has happened, of the dangers that still slumber far into the endless white ocean of snow and ice of the Frozen North.
Only precious few remember the consequences of the icy touch of hatred and despair, and what was necessary to finally keep the cold at bay. Of the stakes of bringing disharmony into one’s heart.
Time has passed, and the toll of forsaking that which should have been treasured shall now demand its price. For winter’s white embrace is once again stirring.
For the time has come for the mourning cry of hatred to echo once again across the frozen wastelands.
The wind was howling through the heights in the dark moonless night. Crossing frozen valleys and icy peaks on it’s never ending journey through a world forgotten beneath the white embrace of eternal winter.
It’s chilling song echoed through the night as it carried the swirling flakes of fresh snow as they fell to the white blanket down bellow, where they would rest undisturbed alongside the remains of countless past blizzards and snowstorms, immobile and unchanging unto time immemorial.
The Frozen North was known for its stark beauty, its towering spires of sparkling ice and magnificent glaciers that stretched beyond eyesight, just as it was known for its unforgiving climate, harsh wild magic and unchanging appearance.
In no place was this truer than in the white expanses of its innermost reaches, a place where even the few creatures that thrived in the freezing embrace of the north dared not thread.
A place so unchanging and devoid of life that one could even believe that time itself had been frozen in its white void, into its eternal glaciers.
And yet as the first fresh snowflakes of the gathering blizzard that loomed in the horizon slowly fell towards the ground, being carried by the fierce winds of this land, something stirred from within the white void of winter’s embrace.
Deep within the tallest glacier, buried within the ice and snow, words that were not words seemed to reverberate throughout the frozen depths, as one who had been all but forsaken by time slowly awoke from centuries of dreamless slumber.
‘Celestia…’
It was a presence that seemed to permeate the entirety of the icy wastelands that stretched as far as the eyes could see, carrying within it the biting frost of the darkest winter night.
‘Thou will pay…’
Hidden from the world, entombed away in a prison of pure ice, a form long since forgotten by all but precious few awakened from the clutches of her enchanted slumber.
‘Thou will pay for the actions thou hath taken, the choices thou hath made…’
A white manned Pegasus rested in her icy tomb with her eyes closed, her ice blue coat covered by a cloak of the purest white and a silver pendent worn as a tiara resting upon her forehead, a pendent depicting a winged unicorn with a glowing red jewel on its center.
The form was perfectly still, showing no sign at all that there was still life beating throughout her entrapped form, no sign to show that she was more than the ice that surrounded her from all sides.
‘Thou will pay for the dreams thou destroyed, the oaths thou hath broken…’
The entire glacier seemed to tremble for a moment, as if sensing the stirrings of the will it had contained for many long years, as the seal containing the white form trapped within slowly unraveled.
‘For the truth thou extinguished…’
With a sudden movement, that sent thundering cracks crawling throughout the entire icy mass of the glacier, she opened her eyes.
Dull silver eyes, no light reflecting from within their silvery depths, stared unseeingly through the transparent confines of her prison.
‘Thou will pay…’
Pale blue light seemed to form from the silvery void that had just been opened, growing until pale blue ethereal fire seemed to seep out of her eyes.
‘The time hath come for thou to understand the gravity of thy sins…’
With a mighty roar that seemed to tear the very heavens asunder the entire glacier collapsed into a tempest of crystalline shards, of countless ice spikes that were hurled into the frozen night, each taller than an ancient tree, the howling winds screaming their anguish into the darkness as if in answer to the happenings below.
‘For thou to understand the consequences of thy actions…’
A single flap of her pale wings and the raging blizzard disappeared as if it had never been there, the diamond hard shards of ice immediately settling down upon their master’s command.
Unminding of the biting cold the white clad figure calmly walked towards the edged of the frozen top where she had been held, stopping at the very brink of the white abyss as if to look at the frozen snowy expanses her eyes could not see.
‘It’s time for thou to understand, just as I did so long ago, what it’s like to live without the light...’
The pale blue glow in her eyes intensified for a moment, the red jewel upon her forehead shining in kind, it’s fierce red light gleaming as if in defiance for but a single moment before turning into a deep blue glow.
‘The time hath come for thou to remember the cold embrace of winter’s might…’
The glow intensified, gathering ice at the very center of the shining jewel, growing a pale blue blade like horn on its surface.
An unreadable expression fixed on her face the mare kept perfectly still as the power within her, the raging blizzard that she contained within her very being, grew with each moment that passed.
Her eyes and horn gleaming with the pale blue light of the eternal permafrost, of places where the sun’s blessings where but distant memories, of places where spring’s soft touch would never reach, she faced the horizon.
‘The time hath come…’
She lifted her wings, and as if understanding their master command’s the frozen winds picked up speed, howling their fury, their hatred, their anguish, with renewed intensity.
Ice and snow started to rise from the ground and descend from the sky in an ever growing swirling maelstrom, a raging blizzard forming upon the merest flicker of her pale white wings as the entire world was suddenly encased into a white void.
‘The time hath come for thou to pay for the frozen tears that I hath shed…’
Her face still an expressionless mask, eyes and horn aglow with pale blue light, she flapped her mighty wings, rising high into the sky and into the icy storm of her own creation as she started flying towards the distant south, ghostly equine forms appearing as if out of nowhere to ride the storm alongside her, joining their hate filled cries to the howling winds.
‘Thou shall understand now princess, the mourning fury of the eternal frost…’
‘The time hath come…’
Deep into the heart of Equestria, in the highest tower of Canterlot’s castle, one who had withstood the test of time, one who had seen history turn to legend with her own eyes and understood far too well the price of peace, suddenly awoke from her night’s rest.
Princess Celestia, The Eternal Sun, Diarch of Equestria, awoke from a fitful slumber, a feeling of unease and apprehension permeating her entire being as the remnants of a dream flickered trough her consciousness.
Rising her head from the soft mattress upon which she had been resting she looked around her personal chambers, as if searching for the source of the dread that seemed to be forming upon her heart, for the reason of the sudden weight she could feel upon her soul.
Her silent form stared into the darkness of the night, the light of the stars shining upon her pristine white coat, her multicolored mane gently floating as if picking an ethereal breeze only it could feel.
Letting out a tired sigh she attempted to remember the dream she had just experienced, searching for any possible clues to the reason why her peaceful dreams had been suddenly plagued by nightmares.
But before she could try and meditate on the meaning of her feelings her eyes widened as she saw the breath she had exhaled condensing into a deep white mist right as it left her mouth.
It was the middle of the summer, the temperature should be at its highest point of the entire year, and yet, now that she had stopped for a moment to truly concentrate on her surroundings, she could feel the deep cold emanating from the very air around her.
Rising from her bed she quickly moved towards her balcony, taking in the entire landscape surrounding her castle, from the bustling city sprawled around it, the verdant plains far down bellow stretching into the distance, to the small village near the horizon where her faithful student now dwelled.
But her eyes only briefly took in all these sights, focusing instead into the mass of dark grey clouds that were forming far into the distance at the northern horizon, multiplying with each minute that passed, slowly but surely heading southward and filling the sky with their dark colors, hiding away the stars.
She could feel the chill in the night air, deep and biting like the cold of midwinter, the wind rushing forward with the sharp tang of a snowy night, not the warm summer breeze that had been flowing as she had laid to rest.
And as she took in the uncommon weather, silently wondering how could it had been altered so quickly and in such a drastic manner without her notice, her eyes locked upon a small white shape that was slowly falling towards her awaiting form. A beautifully delicate structure, incredibly detailed despite its small form, glittering upon the night as it was gently carried by the cold winds.
Raising her hoof she stopped the small ice crystal before it could reach the ground, watching as it quickly melted due to her body heat. Gazing upwards once again she watched with a spark of incredulity in her eyes as countless more of their delicate icy forms slowly fell towards the ground.
As the pure white sight of fresh snow falling in a midsummer night filled the night sky, each a beautiful frozen tribute to the stars above.
A look of sudden understanding replacing her incredulity she once again turned her head towards the northern sky, taking in once more the ever darkening clouds that were gathering on that side of the horizon, preceding the distant blizzard that she now knew was surely coming, approaching by the second with the same inevitable surety of the coming dawn.
“Snowdrop…” She murmured in a barely audible whisper, sadness and grief clear in her voice as she closed her eyes in pain and remembrance, in memory of what had been lost due to her own foolishness and rashness so long ago.
And as she stood there, her pristine coat and ethereal mane fluttering upon the icy winds, eyes closed as the truth of what was happening dawned upon her, of the ordeal that awaited her dear little ponies, she shed a single tear.
A single tear that slowly went down her face before falling to the ground, the small drop of water freezing mid-fall due to the growing chill, capturing the pale glow of the stars in but a brief instant only to shatter upon hitting the balcony’s floor.
A frozen tear shed as she acknowledged that the time had come for her to face the sins of the past.
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+1
No criticism required.
I like this story. It's got a rather interesting idea, and you are writing in a bardic cadence for recanting epic poems. I have no idea if that is intentional, if so bravo, if not, keep doing what you are doing because it's excellent.
My only negative point is the simple [ hr ] tag to separate scenes is not quite enough. You should put a blank line above and blow those tags to make sure they are visible. The line is simply too thin to realy notice without extra space. Or perhaps use two hr tags instead, to make it a bit thicker and more noticeable. Like so.
Scene 1
Scene 2
7193881 I did try to give this chapter a more poem like feel, glad to see that it worked.
Regrettably I doubt I'll be able to keep the style for the rest of the story.
The double hr line is a good idea, will do.
Thanks for the review.
7193851 Thanks!
Now that I'll have to see!
This seems oddly familiar...
Oh that's why!
Jokes aside, interesting idea, looking forward to how you will develop it.
7213806 Thanks!
I don't know if unrevealed is the word your were looking for. Unrevealed is to be hidden. I think you were looking for something more along the lines of released.
Title drop!
I am adding this to my tracking list. I'm excited to see more.
Overall, this was a very interesting read. My only issue with it is Snowdrop's monologue. I find the words to be strange, only because of the original animation having very little of the old language. Outside of that, I was highly pleased. I feel like Celestia screwed up, but why? How? And did Luna know? Because Luna believed Snowdrop to be dead. (Again: only if you're going by the first animation). I also agree with the lines being really light. Hmm. You can always insert a divider if you'd like. I'm still looking for a good one for Echoing Silence.
You could use similar dividers such as these:
7232200
I'll be following most of the animation, save for the very ending since Snowdrop is obviously alive.
The divider idea is certainly interesting, I specially liked the first and second examples you showed.
Regarding the old language, in my head canon the animation lacked it since ALL the ponies talked like that, after all back then it wasn't an 'old' language yet. I used it as a way to show Snowdrop had been frozen for a long time.
Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!
Ps: You were right, I meant to use unraveled, not unrevealed.