The Fur Coat Behind the Door
Author's Note
Redoverse Ponypedia:
Sonnhalt: A yearly celebration historically claimed to mark the defeat of the oppressive sun and the beginning of cooler times throughout the Lunar Regency. The celebration was commonly held on the final moon of Tack during the Regency, a trend which would continue on into the Second Diarchy (even if the first Sonnhalt following Daybreaker's Return was a bit rocky). Situated two-thirds of the way between the Festival Days of the Running of the Leaves and the Winter Moon Festival, it is commonly recognized as the final day of the harvest, with the following month being spent preparing homes for the bitter cold of winter.
Although only a few historians are even aware of this fact due a false opinion in academic circles that the Regent has no interest in being reminded of such dark days, the date originally marked the final defeat of Daybreaker-loyalist Legatus Honor Chaff during her Ghastly Gorge Campaign. This event would force Daybreaker onto her rear hooves for the remaining six months of the Celestial Civil War, with only the Seige of the Castle of Two Sister and its resultant explosion of Chaos Magic that formed the Everfree Forest even remotely being able to be referred to as a "Daybreaker-loyalist Victory", despite it's terrible cost.
The Fur Coat Behind the Door
The town of Orkneigh was like many others on the Griffish Isles. Situated on the coastline of Long Mane Bay, the town had grown as a fishing village, well known for both the fish they caught for the bat ponies, pegasi, griffins, and other non-pony races as well as the kelp and other sea-greens that town harvested. All this was mostly only done during the summer, however, as Long Mane Bay tended to freeze over during the winter months.
However, along the outskirts of the town, there lay a single remote fishing shack tucked between some nearby woods and the bay. Its appearance might not seem out of place right now, given the fact that this very evening was Sonnhalt. Driftwood was pressed against the walls, giving the appearance they were the only thing holding them up. The rafters, those which weren't rotten and falling down, were draped with still salty and soggy seaweed. A fishing net draped over the banister of her front porch, its small buoys actually weighing it down against the cool sea breeze. Had night already fallen, the flame of the nearby lighthouse would occasional coat the small shack in dancing light as it made its circuit.
Many would think that this run-down looking shack was abandoned. In truth, however, it was home to a single young mare named Silken Farraige. Silken was a earth pony mare, standing slightly taller that most other mares while not quite as tall as the likes of the model Fleur de Lis. Her mane was a pale shade blue-green, while her fur was a deep gray. Upon her flank lay a cutie mark of a seal playing under an iceberg. When asked, Silken would often claim that her special talent was simply being one with the open waters that surrounded their home.
Silken began her afternoon like just about any other pony of Equestria, with a yawn and a stretch as she hopped out of bed onto her four hooves. While the Lunar Regency never dictated a shift to a nocturnal lifestyle, many in Equestria still tended towards doing so, especially on major festivals. She combed out her long, silken mane that was considered by many of the town to be her namesake, before sitting down for a simple breakfast of oats and toast.
Silken considered staying in tonight, as she did most nights. But, hardly anyone ever ventured this far away from Orkneigh. As such, no foals would likely come this far out in their yearly quest for sweets. The town proper would be where all the excitement was and, for once, Silken wasn't all too afraid to venture in for something other than a mere grocery run. She was certain her shack would be safe for the night, so she gave the seal-fur coat hanging behind her door one final look. The cold months of winter were certainly on their way, but their bitter bite wasn't in the air just yet. And so, with a shrug, she simply threw on the merpony tail cape she'd made as a Sonnhalt costume and headed into town.
Silken Farraige wandered the streets of Orkneigh with a laugh and a slight bounce in her step. She'd made it a point to flirt with just about every colt dressed in a sailor's uniform or pirate garb she passed. After all, wasn't it a merpony's job to lure sailors to their deaths? Wait, wasn't that a siren? Frankly, Silken didn't care. She was just enjoying being out of her shack for once.
"And then, Centurion Noble Bright of the Ninth Legion saw his chance! The Flamebringer, that most foul spawn of Tartarus, had fallen on the ground before him, held in place by her corrupted attire."
Silken slowly approached the stage in the center of the town market. All around her were young colts and fillys, cheering as the unicorn stallion playing the hero, Noble Bright, lifted up his sword and stood between them audience and the earth pony mare playing Flamebringer.
"Your campaign ends here, Flamebringer!" called out 'Noble Bright' as he raised his sword high in the air.
"You think that you, a lowly Centurian of the Legions, can stop me?" 'Flamebringer' laughed. "Swing that sword, if you must. But know, even if you kill me, one day I shall rise again like the phoenix!"
With a grunt, 'Noble Bright' brought his sword down upon the neck of 'Flamebringer', resulting in a bright flash as small pyrotechnics were set off in the front of the stage. The audience either looked away for but a moment or were blinded temporarily. When their eyes fell upon the stage once more, they were greeted by the sight of 'Flamebringer's' body falled to one side of 'Noble Bright', while her head and helmet at rolled off to the other. Several of the older colts cheered, while a few of the younger crowd found they were actually only looking at the cannon of their parent's forelimbs. Silken herself let out a gasp of shock, before she noticed a magical aura in the shape of a pony head on top of 'Flamebringer's' body.
The curtains closes slowly, as the narrator continued his tale.
"And so, with the Flamebringer defeated, the cooler nights of winter were once more allowed to return to the land. But, all here today heard her promise, did you not? She vowed to rise again like the phoenix one day! And, for that reason, we celebrate Sonnhalt, with silly masks and costumes to confuse the servants of the Flamebringer and candies and cakes to quench her sweet tooth."
The sun finally settled below the horizon, a slight flash of green noticeable for but a second against the deep blue of the open bay, as the stage curtains opened once more.
"So gather those sweets, my little ponies!" 'Flamebringer' called out, her head once more upon her shoulders. "Gather them up, that I might be convinced to spend another year in slumber!"
The colts and fillies let out a playful scream of 'fear', as they all went in different directions to begin the trick-or-treating. Silken herself decided to head towards the town tavern for a few drinks as well as, maybe, some companionship.
"She has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
She is sifting out the hearts of ponies 'fore Her judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Her! Be jubilant, my hooves;
The Daylight's time has come!"
There was a round of laughter from the bar and various other seats around the bar as 'Flamebringer' stood singing the Battle Hymn of the Dawn. It was rare to hear anyone sing that ancient song, especially since it was commonly viewed as a rally cry for the heretical Knigths of the Sun up until Daybreaker's return two years ago. But now, well... Seeing as how the mare was still wearing the old Legionnairix uniform from the show earlier, it somehow seemed appropriate.
"You picked the wrong side of the war, Sunwarmer!" called out one of the tavern guests with a laugh.
The mare just smirked. "Just picked the losin' side, Blindy! Not so sure it was the wrong side."
'This mare's playing her part well,' thought Silken, before an idea popped into her head. "How about I buy the famous Flamebringer a round or three? Get her drunk enough she won't wake for another century."
The tavern roared with laughter at the suggestion, as 'Flamebringer' made her way over. For the first time this evening, Silken managed to get a good look at the mare. Closer to the average height one would expect of a fellow earth pony mare, 'Flamebringer' had a bright blue mane cut short, in order to be well hidden under her legion armor while her tail was kept tight against her flank as well. Her coat was more an ashen blue-grey color, while her cutie mark was concealed by the armored hip pleats of her chosen costume. When the mare arrived by Silken's side, she lowering her voice into a sweet sing-song. "Shouldn't you ask me name before ya drown me, siren?"
"I'm a merpony, not a siren, Legionnairix. I merely give libations to those tossed upon rough waters. Nothing more, nothing less. Though, I must say, I've not seen you around here. Just visiting?"
The mare nodded. "Up from Trottingham with the White Pearl Troupe, headed for Flankstone and then o'er to the mainland. Since we stopped here for Sunnhalt, figured we'd handle the play for the townsfolk. Name's Golden Maeve." The mare offered her hoof to Silken.
"Silken Farriage. And, might I add, that bit at the end, which you losing your head. That was absolutely impressive. How did you do it? Unicorn magic? Some Zebra potion?"
Golden laughed as they shook hooves. "'Fraid I can't say. Bit of a trade secret, as it were. Hope ya understand."
For a brief moment, Silken felt an unnatural chill roll down her spine, akin to diving head first into a frozen lake without fur. She shook it off, before nodding in acceptance. "Would ruin the atmosphere if I knew. Yeah, I can understand. I won't press. But still, I do believe I promised you a drink."
Both Silken and Golden left the tavern an hour or so later, sharing a laugh as they headed towards where the White Pearl Troupe had set up their travelling show-wagons. Golden had wanted to get back to her wagon before the night was over in the hopes of scaring a foal or two, as well as giving out some candy. The owner of the White Pearl Troupe had apparently offered to open up their encampment for some additional fun for the little ones. As they neared the show-wagons of the troupe, however, Golden stopped laughing and sounded serious once more.
"Come on, Silken. I heard ya singing in there, you could make a career outta doing that on the road. Why don't ya join us?"
Silken blushed, having rarely ever sung before a crowd like that. "I... I don't think I'd ever really be able to do that again, Maeve." Luckily, anything more that Golden would have said on the matter was quickly silenced by the giggling of a few young fouls.
"More snow! More snow!"
The two new friends looked towards the sound of the laughter, only to find a pale-blue furred unicorn surrounded by snowflakes and cheering foals. Her cutie mark was a single snowflake, but her most striking feature was her deep blue, unfocused eyes.
"Very well, little ones. Very well. Just a moment."
Golden chuckled softly as more snow began to fall around the mare. "Trust Frostmare to attract the kids with snow. Next thing ya know, she'll be giving out snow cones as a Sonnhalt treat."
"She does this sort of thing often, then?" Silken asked.
"Oh yeah. You should see the look on the foal's faces in Saddle Arabia in the middle of the summer. Frostmare can't stand the heat, to the point she'll turn her whole show-wagon into an ice box."
Silken just shivered slightly at the thought. It's not that she wasn't use to the cold, she just preferred to have her coat with her for such times. The two continued on deeper into the small encampment of show-wagons with the occasional foal screaming playfully at the approach of 'Flamebringer' before running off to hide behind the protective hooves of their parents. Before long, Golden stopped at a show-wagon that, quite frankly, looked like it could belong to a Knight of the Sun. Painted an unblemished white, with golden sun emblems placed upon the light-pink shutters. However, all that was weakly hidden by a network of cobwebs and fake spiders, with the occasional... were those Old Equestrian pilums forced into the ground around the wagon to look like a spiked fence?
"Hold this? And for the love of Celestia, don't scream or drop it!"
Silken was so distracted by the sight before her, she'd not really been paying attention when Golden handed her something to hold. Taking the object, it felt a bit heavy and cold, almost like a large metal ball of some kind. Tearing her eyes away from the wagon, Silken looked down to find herself hold on to a severed head in a Legionnarix helmet, grinning up at her.
"Boo."
Frankly, it was a miracle Silken didn't faint.
Extra: The Empty Space Behind the Door
A lone stallion stood in the woods surrounding the only fishing shack along this deserted stretch of coastline outside the town of Orkneigh. He was a rather stocky stallion wearing a dark parka that concealed his identity. The only hints of who he might be were the light beige hooves and vibrant red-orange tale showing from beneath his parka. He'd spent the past two weeks in these woods, watching the run-down shack with a well-trained eye. Not once since he started his watch had the lone inhabitant left her home. That was, until it came time for the Sunnhalt festivities to begin. As soon as Silken had gone out the front door of her shack, the stallion began a slow creep towards the front door. He had only one goal, and tonight it would be his...
It wouldn't be until first light that Silken returned to her shack, completely exhausted from spending the entire evening out celebrating among the members of the White Pearl Troupe and those residents of Orkneigh that joined them. Sure, she'd been a bit freaked out when Golden had handed her an armored head out of the blue like that, but seeing Golden's body laugh while her head was covered with some kind of concealing magic... It had all been a lovely joke and nothing more. Maybe Frostmare knew some kind of magic to make it look like someone's head was removed from their body? After all, she hadn't been on stage for that part of the play. But, if not Frostmare, it always could have just been one of the other unicorns in the troupe. There were other unicorns, right? Honestly, Silken couldn't remember if she'd seen any, now that she really thought about it.
Despite the playful scare, a small part of her regretted going out so rarely. However, her shack was often targeted by the more rebellious colts, looking to prove themselves worthy of the more attractive young mares of the town. She simply couldn't leave her most precious possession alone for long, for fear someone might attempt to steal it. At least during Sonnhalt, the entirety of the town was in one place. Knowing where everyone was at least made her feel safe leaving it behind.
Walking into her shack, she tossed aside her tattered merpony tail and shut her front door. With a smile, she turned to look at her seal-fur coat... only to find an empty coat peg in its place. Silken collapsed to the floor, wailing in sorrow. Somepony... Somepony had come in and taken her coat while she was out partying! This was exactly the reason why she never left her home!
As she mourned its theft, seven sharp hoof-beats slammed against a table deeper within her house. Compelled to turn around, Silken noticed a unicorn stallion sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of hot tea held aloft by his magic. He motioned towards the other cup across from him with his light beige hoof, but the hood of his parka obscured his face to the point that Silken could not make out any facial expressions.
"Please, sit," the unicorn stallion began. "I believe I have something you want, Selkie. Don't bother spending too much time looking for it, you won't find it in this shack. In fact, you won't find it anywhere on the whole of the Griffish Isles. I have taken the liberty of securing it someplace you cannot reach. After all, you have certain abilities that I, no, that Her Highness the Regent requires. So, perhaps we can come to a deal?"
Silken let out a sigh as she sat down and reached for the cup of tea. "Alright, shoot."
Author's Note
Another Monster Mare story in the bag. It came out a little bit shorter than Schneller Geist, but I'm rather happy with the story overall. All new characters this time, but I also managed to start coaxing in an overarching story line that I thought of adding in after the first Monster Mare contest was completed. Also, I wanted to try a slightly different format for this one-shot story, splitting it into a sort of prologue, main story, and epilogue three chapter combo. Please feel free to let me know what you think of it!
Oh, and for those wondering... Yes, you're right, there is something a bit more ... monsterous... about Golden Maeve, about the whole of the White Pearl Troupe in fact, than meets the eye. Maybe we shall see them again sometime?
