Prologue : Legend of the Seasons
A Fanfic by Mathew Swift and CrunchtheDestroyer
Edited by NotARealPonydotcom
The Winter Alicorn
A Frozen and My Little Pony Crossover
Prologue 1:
Legend of the Seasons
Have you ever wondered how the seasons change in Equestria? How nature works it's magic? How the snow falls in the winter; how the flowers bloom in the spring; how the heat intensifies in the summer; how the leaves change color and fall from their trees in the autumn? It seems that nopony, not even Princess Celestia, is working the seasons. There have been rumors that there are more than Luna and Celestia—more alicorns, that is—bringing happiness and joy to Equestria and its loyal citizens. That there are more princesses in the kingdom, hidden away to control the balance of the seasons.
The rumors are true.
There is a place, tucked away in a forbidden valley, that is known as the Valley of the Seasons. There, all four seasons live and rest in peace until their time. It is a place that they may call home, a place where they can just be themselves. A place where the Seasons live in harmony.
There are four seasons, as you all know very well. Three of them are princesses, and one is a prince. Like their aunts, Luna and Celestia, they are Alicorns: immortal, magnificently powerful, and capable of using the abilities of all three types of ponies—Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus. With their magic and other special talents, they are able to make their purpose—the passing of seasons—a reality.
Maple Phoenix is like any regular gentlecolt: compassionate, kind, and caring. He's also quite full of laughter. He is the Prince of Autumn, as his appearance will easily tell you—his mane is colored with the shades of the rejuvenation season: copper-red, lemon-yellow, and sunset-orange; his coat is the color of a sky at twilight, with scarlet blended into it; his cutie mark is an oak tree sporting grand, orange leaves on it's dying and graying branches.
Sunflower is the princess of the Summer, and the hardest to describe. Why? Well, you can barely see her during the day—her shining, golden mane and tail reflect the sunlight in all directions, creating a blazing aura about her. Her's is an interesting legend, as well: abandoned by her family in a dark and freezing forest, a young Sunflower brought the touch of heat to the coldest day in the land with her magic. For this, she was gifted with her Alicorn status, and it is said that in this moment, her lavender coat and emerald-green eyes became the colors of the morning sky. She is slightly older than Phoenix, but her magic keeps her looking young, as it can for anypony she wishes to reward.
Tulip Rose is the adventurous one. Naturally, as the Princess of the Spring, she loves nature, and communicates with that which other ponies can't. Her mane, a brownish-red flurry, is often found twisted into two lengthy pigtails, her own favorite style. Her coat is a gentle shade of turquoise, and can usually be found to be accented by the small pink robe she wears to hide her wings, since she does not like to use them. Her cutie mark consists of her namesake—a tulip and a rose. She is the youngest of the Seasons.
Winter Winds, the Princess of Winter, is the most majestic and the most unique of all seasons. Her uniqueness is not found in her cutie mark ( a flurry of pure white snowflakes), though, nor in her coat (light-blue, like a frozen lake) or mane (a large white ponytail, similar in a way to Tulip's). It is found in her magic. None of the other seasons have magic as powerful or as plentiful as hers. She, like her winter, can create snow from thin air and freeze the water in lakes to ice. In truth, she can control the entire element of cold itself, her power is so great. Even her emotions have an effect on her power, changing the intensity or frequency of a snowstorm she summons. She is the eldest of the Alicorns of the Seasons, yet she displays such love, daring, and energy that she is most closely bonded to the youngest of the Seasons, little Tulip Rose...
It can very much be said that Tulip and Winter are like sisters!
The next part is like the video. Listen while you read:
Youtube Video
There was a tradition in Equestria involving the Royal Seasons, and it went something like this: the head of each town in all the land would choose four gifts from the citizens of that town to pay homage to each of the Seasons, in order to maintain harmony throughout the year. Each year, Tulip would refuse the gift, saying that it is a gift enough for everypony to get along and have fun during her spring. For whatever reason, Winter's gift was forgotten after a while, perhaps because her's is the harshest (t hough certainly most beautiful) season. It seemed everypony neglected the loveliness of wintertime, thanks to its frigid temperatures. Winter liked to remember her first nights outside of the Valley, over a thousand years ago.
It was a beautiful December night, and Winter Winds flew through the cold, night sky. A town has been asking for snow for Heart's Warming Eve, some sleepy little village called Ponyville. Winter felt excited, but maddeningly nervous. She was recently shown by Princess Celestia how to create the snow and ice, and she was hoping to make Ponyville's wish come true. She reached the town and found its center. Winter checked to make sure that nopony was watching her, then flew down to the town. She gazed up at the moon after landing, and noticed a silhouette coming closer to her. As it grew in her vision, she saw it was Princess Luna flying towards her, and she smiled.
The Princess of the Night landed next to the light-blue filly and gave her a nod. It was time to bring winter to Ponyville. Winter took in a deep breath and began to sing. As her voice serenaded the silent town, white magic poured from her horn into the air, solidifying into cold, crystalline snow.
"Let It Go" (The Winter Alicorn Version)
As she became silent, so too did the swirling snow, falling peacefully to the now-blanketed ground. The snow-covered Ponyville was a beautiful sight to behold, Winter thought, and as she turned to Luna, she could see on her face that the Night Princess thought so too. She looked back out at the town and gazed upon her handiwork: the midnight-blue sky was flecked with white powder that drifted along in the gentle winter breezes; the rooftops looked like the roofs of gingerbread houses, caked in layers of sweet, white frosting; everything, in fact, seemed sugarcoated, and pristine, and very, very beautiful.
Princess Luna turned to Win ter. On her face was a small, satisfied smile.
"Well done. Very well done."
That had been a long time ago, though. Now, it did not seem like such an accomplishment to Winter: other ponies certainly never said so. They were, apparently, too busy adoring Spring and Summer and Fall. Yes, Phoenix's Fall was gorgeous to look at (so was Winter), and Tulip's Spring was a wonderful time to play (so was Winter!), and Summer was the best time to get a tan (okay, so Winter couldn't do that). But what made Winter so unpleasant? Certainly ponies could see through the coldness in the air and ground, and see Winter's beauty?
Evidently, they could not. And that made Winter very, very sad and very, very lonely.
Chapter 1: The Centennial of the Seasons
Chapter 1:
The Centennial of the Seasons
Over 1000 years later...
Getting letters from the Princess used to be a usual thing. Twilight would wake up, have Spike make breakfast and sit down as Princess Celestia wrote to her about interesting things she had heard. She even got the occasional letter from Luna, who always had interesting stories to tell.
But, since she had grown her wings, the letters lessened. She only got letters occasionally, usually from her brother or friends who live out of town. It was a little depressing, but to be honest, she was busy enough as it is! The library was usually full, due to the new Daring Do book that was out, and she and Spike were swarmed with responsibilities, not to mention the usual crazy happenings that seem constant in Ponyville.
However, today was one of those few days. Spike did his whole overdramatic letter-burp thing, and suddenly, Twilight was sipping on her coffee, reading the beautiful handwriting of Princess Celestia.
Dear Princess Twilight,
I regret to inform you that, due to a sudden and dire situation that requires immediate action, I will have to call you and your friends to Canterlot for a mission of great importance. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but the problem is too urgent to ignore.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia.
Without a second more of waiting, Twilight ran from the library, off to gather her friends.
The trip to Canterlot was quieter than usual. Something definitely seemed ominous about the letter, which Twilight had read all of her friends, and it kinda killed any conversation. Nonetheless, the scenery outside the train was as beautiful as usual.
Big Macintosh was laid down in one of the rows, snoring lightly. Applejack had brought him along to let him see the city. He was so tired from working, he just went to sleep and ignored anything else. Twilight felt like she wanted to also. Turns out she accidentally made decaf coffee this morning. Spike had already fell into a deep sleep.
The obvious exception to the dull, boring train ride was Pinkie. As always, she was hopping around, looking out the window, anxiously trying to be loud, but quiet enough that she didn't wake anypony. Leave it to Pinkie to somehow beat reality in the face enough to be able to do something like that.
The end of the train ride couldn't have come sooner. Twilight was beginning to get a sore butt from those so-called cushions. I mean, seriously, she's a princess. Perhaps a seat that actually had comfort?
The second Twilight left the train, she lost her breath. Of course, Canterlot was always beautiful. Fantastic architecture and beautiful plants were everywhere, making it so that no matter how crowded or busy it seemed, it always felt like home. The sun was always brightest here, and the air was always crisp and fresh. But it wasn't the beauty of the city that took Twilight 's breath away.
It was as if it was three seasons at once. The orange, red and yellow leaves that were normal in the Fall were accompanied by soft green leaves and buds, as well as darker green leaves and blooming flowers. And it wasn't just one of two trees. Every tree in the entire city was like this.
It was like the day when the sun and the moon hung in the sky together. Twilight could feel the tension, as if each season was fighting to take control. She almost instantly got a headache, and nausea touched her stomach. No wonder Celestia needed her.
"Uhhh, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash started, after a long, awed silence. "Am I seeing that same thing you are? I swear I haven't been drinking any cider, but this...this makes me wonder if I have." Twilight nodded, despite the ache in her head.
"This isn't natural. Fluttershy, does this have anything to do with your pet snake?"
Applejack asked bitterly. "This reeks of Discord."
Fluttershy was about to protest, when out of nowhere, the draconequus appeared behind her. Twilight could take sudden appearances from Pinkie, but she never really had gotten used to the God of Chaos popping in without warning.
"Applejack, I'm hurt." Discord said flatly. "After I let those blade-hooved bulls plow your field for free and after I made your drinking water into chocolate milk because you were too busy to sleep."
Before Discord could even start a new sentence, Big Macintosh broke his silence and said: "After you turned my bedsheets into giant flatworms because I had decided to sleep in."
"After you brought my dresses alive and almost had them burn down my house." Rarity added.
"After you cursed every copy of "Little Mares" in the library so that every time somepony read the book, they had the sudden urge to wear lettuce instead of clothes." Twilight added. "Besides, what are you doing here, Discord?"
"I will assume I am here for the same reason you are here." Discord said. "It seems Celestia is having trouble choosing what color she wants the leaves to be. I think a nice Blue is in order." With that he snapped his fingers, and Twilight and all of her friends watched as the trees... did nothing and stayed the same.
Discord's face was priceless. It was a mix between surprise, anger and concern. Twilight could've laughed, if it didn't terrify her. Discord turned and met her eyes, the panic indefinite between them.
"Bu- bu- but--" He was stammering as he kept snapping his fingers over and over and the leaves did nothing to change. "How is this possible?!"
"Maybe Princess Celestia may explain?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, if she wants."
"Well, one can only hope, My dear Shutterfly." Discord answered, and without another word, Discord snapped his fingers, and the scene in the city dissolved into the familiar throne room. Twilight expected to only see Celestia, maybe Luna also, but there were three more ponies, Alicorns, there as well.
The most striking one was a male, brightly colored and clothed in robes of red. His coat was pure orange, like the sunrise, and his mane was red, yellow and orange. He stood tall and regal, but he looked worried, and worse still, he looked physically exhausted.
The second Alicorn was also tired looking, but she looked more like she had just woke up from a crazy night. She levitated a cup of tea beside her, occasionally taking sips. She had a lavender coat, and was clothed in bright pink. But the most distinguishing feature of her was her hair. Never mind, if it was shimmering gold, it was LONG. It was braided, woven with flowers, but it was still too long. She wrapped it around her leg, and there was still slack. Whenever she turned or moved, her hair swung around, about five feet out.
The last one looked like the youngest. She looked perfectly energetic, compared to the others. She was dressed in green and white, with golden birds sown into her robes. Her coat was light brown, and her main was fiery red, with two French braids. On her snout, she had small freckles.
They were all talking to Celestia and Luna, looking concerned. None of them were in the least bit surprised when Twilight and the others teleported in. They just looked up and gave them looks of grave concern and hidden worry.
Celestia, bless her, smiled when she saw her favorite student. "Welcome back, Princess Twilight." She said, with a small bow. Twilight returned the bow, then gave one to Luna and the other Alicorns. They all returned her bow. Niceties aside, Celestia's face turned back to her business face. "I can see you and Discord came as fast as you could. Thank you for that. As you can see, things have become dire. I would like to introduce you to our guests. These are-"
"Ohh! They're the Royal Seasons!" Pinkie Pie cheered, excitedly.
Everypony looked shocked. Finally, Luna broke the silence. "How did you know?" She asked in awe.
"I read the title and the opening chapter." She said simply, further confusing everypony. They stared in complete blank awe at what they heard.
"Well, I'm glad I made you laugh, random reader." Pinkie finally said, with a smile and a squee.
Recovering quickly from the pure strangeness, Twilight finally realized she had no idea who the Royal Seasons were.
"The Royal Seasons?" She asked. "Who are they?"
The stallion Alicorn spoke up. "We are the watchers of the seasons. We are the reasons for Spring, Summer, Fall and... Winter."
He said the last word bitterly.
Celestial spoke up. "I'll keep things short. You only see three seasons? That's because Winter is missing. She has been for quite some time."
"Which is bad. Winter is important to leave the earth to rest, so that Spring, Summer and Fall can be a time of growth and harvesting." The youngest one said. "We need someone to fill the position of the Alicorn of Winter."
"Fast." Luna said, summing it up. "You must find her. The fate of Equestria depends on it." Then, Luna heard a sniff from the left. It came from the light-brown Alicorn.
"Are you alright, little Tulip?" Celestia asked. Tulip looked up.
"It's just..." Tulip gave a sob. "Things weren't the same since she left. She was like a sister to me, and she just... disappears for a thousand years."
"If that's true," Twilight raised a hoof. "then who was managing the Winter?"
"Auntie Celestia, of course." Tulip sobbed.
"She's right." Celestia replied. "I had many tasks since Luna was banished and Elsa was..."
"Elsa?" Rarity trotted forward. "Is that Winter's name?"
"Well, no," answered the purple Alicorn. "Her name is Winter Winds, but we just call her Elsa."
"...since Elsa left Equestria, I had many tasks, like raising the moon for Luna. I had to give up my task for rainbow production when Elsa disappeared."
"Doesn't Cloudsdale manage the rainbows?" Applejack asked.
"Uhh... yeah!" Rainbow Dash gulped. Nopony took notice of the scared look on Rainbow's face.
"Well, I hope Elsa's alright." Tulip looked down.
"My sweet Auntie, have we forgotten our manners?" The stallion trotted down and introduced himself. "My name is Maple Phoenix."
"I'm Sunflower, but I'm relatively known as Rapunzel because of my hair." bowed Sunflower.
"And my name is Tulip Rose, but you may call me Anna." Anna trotted down and held out her hoof to Twilight, but as she was about to take it, Pinkie Pie starts shaking Anna's hoof.
"HimynameisPinkiePieandit'sreallynicetomeetyou!" Pinkie chants. "ItsverynicetomeetyouandI'venevermetaspringPrincessbefore! Doyoureallymakeitallgreenandgrassy?"
"Very well, Pinkie." Anna chuckled. "I've heard of all of you, especially you, Twilight Sparkle." She tries again to shake Twilight's hoof. "Even I can say, it is a great honor to meet you."
"Thank you, Anna." Twilight took the hoof and smiled back. Celestia cleared her throat and all was silenced.
"Shall we get settled in?" She asked. Everypony nodded and headed to the corridor. Discord then, raised a bear claw.
"Oh, Celestia," He asked. "Can you get me a teeny, tiny, glass of water?"
