You're all familiar with the story of Twilight Sparkle and her friends? Pffft, of course you are. It's a tale as old as time, told to fillies and colts across Equestria. Well, you see this story is not about them. Not about Lord Tirek, or Discord or the Changeling threat to Equestria. Nope. This story is about me, Winter. Hmm.. where to begin? Oh yes. Here seems appropriate.
~~~~~~
Fall was coming to an end, and the snowy season was upon the land of Equestria. In the quiet of the Everfree forest, multicolored leaves danced around as they were swept up by gusts of wind blowing through the trees. Among this peaceful scene stood a decrepit and foreboding looking castle. It's walls were falling apart, and the windows that once reflected beautiful sunlight lay broken and empty. Vines crept along the decaying walls, laying claim to several of the castles beautiful stone pillars.
The peace was suddenly shattered however, as a magnificent explosion rocked the castle and caused one of the eroded walls to collapse in on itself. Inside the newly created hole, a ball of magical energy crackled and sparked as it slowly moved through the air. Within this ball of energy, a figure lay curled up. It was difficult to tell what it was but that question was soon answered as the magical ball dissipated and dropped the figure onto the ground.
~~~
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes, was the tall trees of the Everfree Forest. Grunting with effort, I sat up and looked around me. Everything looked different. The castle, the forest, the ravine. Standing up on shaky legs, I turned and looked at my former prison. It was in terrible condition. But.. how long had I been away? When I was put into that miserable place, there was a glistening tree standing in the middle of these ruins. Now, it was gone.
Entering the castle, I worked my way to the room where I had last seen her all those years ago. Maybe she was still here. Right? It's a possibility. With my breathing increasing, I started galloping down hallways and through various rooms. Come on.. come on.. where is it? After several minutes of looking, I spotted a door with an inscription carved into it. Bingo.
Bucking open the decayed doors, I desperately looked around for any signs of her. The entire room was covered in a fine layer of dust and the bookshelves lay crumbling and destroyed, covered in an overgrowth of plant life. Folding my ears back, I panted softly, looking around.
"Luna?" I called out, my voice barely a whisper after centuries of not being used. Coughing, I licked my lips and called out again
"Luna!?" My words echoed around the room, traveling out into the quiet hallway beyond.
I began to panic. Breathing heavier, my chest heaved and my vision narrowed as I fell to the ground shaking.
"No.. you can't be gone. You must be alive still, but... the cemetery. I should check before I panic."
Standing back up, I took deep slow breaths to control myself and spread my wings. There was a cemetery not far from the castle where royals were buried. It was outside of Ponyville. Or... whatever may be left of Ponyville at this point. I was hoping... praying that she wasn't there. She was an Alicorn. She must still be alive. Alicorns are immortal, right?
Taking off from the ground, I flew out of a nearby window, and headed in the direction of the cemetery.
~~~
It was about an hour before the dilapidated looking graveyard came into view. Gliding down on a gust of wind, I landed in the center and desperately began looking at the headstones.
"No, no, no, no, nope,"
As I searched the headstones I felt a wave of relief start to come over me. Maybe she wasn't here? I had to be certain though. Trotting into the final row, I looked at gravestones. Nothing of interest caught my eye until the last few stones. Lighting my horn, I cleared away the dirt from one.
"Princess... Mi Amore Cadenza... Cadence?"
Princess Cadence was gone? I felt my stomach drop. If she was gone there was a good chance Luna was too. Clearing away the dirt from the other headstones, I read the names to myself.
"Princess.. Celestia.. beloved ruler and mother.
Princess.. Luna."
I froze. Looking up at the tall stone pillar, I noticed a crescent moon carved into the stone.
"No. This has to be fake.. it can't be."
My vision went blurry as tears formed in my eyes.
"Luna.."
Collapsing to the ground, I sobbed. She was gone. Forever.
I don't know how long I lay there. Minutes, hours? I didn't want to leave the grave. I was heartbroken. Never before had I felt a pain such as this. The mare that I had spent so many years with, the only one who understood me, who cared about me, gone.
"If it means anything, she meant a lot to me too."
I jerked my head up at the voice and looked around.
"Who's there!?"
From the shadows, a cloaked pony emerged and lowered her hood.
"Forgive me... I couldn't help but follow you. You're Winter right?"
Standing up, I looked at the newcomer. She looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't place my hoof on it.
"Who are you??" I asked.
The pony smiled a little.
"Forgive me for being so rude... I am Flurry Heart. Daughter of Cadence and Shining Armor."
I stared at the mare.
"Flurry? But.. You're so.. old."
"Yes.. time hasn't been very kind to me." She chuckled and walked over to Lunas grave. "You should know however, after your incident, Luna visited you every day. My mother told me stories of you two when I was young. She really did love you Winter."
I looked back at the grave and felt another surge of tears forming.
"How.." I asked quietly.
Flurry sighed and put a hoof on my shoulder.
"It's not gonna be easy to hear. So... please try not to lose your temper."
I already didn't like where this was going.
"After your incident, Sombra returned. With Luna and Celestia being too old to fight like they used to, it was up to Twilight and a group of earth ponies from the 3rd Guard regiment of Ponyville. Of course she had her friends but they too were showing their age. The fate of Equestria looked grim as Sombra took city after city with little to no resistance."
"What about the new students at her school?" I asked. But Flurry simply shook her head.
"They were never taught how to use magic to defend themselves because of a law passed by Celestia. Equestria had been at peace for so long, the council had decided it wasn't necessary to use magic for combat. So they shut down the entire program. The creatures and ponies that could fight did their best to aid Equestria in the fight, but Sombra had already taken half of the country."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sombra? But how? Wasn't he defeated once and for all by Twilight and her friends? Flurry looked at Luna's and Celestia's grave.
"That's where Celestia and Luna come in.. they volunteered to lead the charge on Ponyville which had been occupied by Sombra and was being used as a forward command center for his invasion. Against the advice from their subjects, they went anyway and lead a massive counter attack on Ponyville. The group of earth ponies assigned by Twilight to protect the Princesses failed to stop a group of Sombras soldiers from swarming them.. Luna and Celestia were both killed in the fray.. and the earth ponies retreated from the battle into the Everfree forest."
I was silent for a minute or so.
"They... abandoned them?"
I felt something stir within me. Something I hadn't felt in centuries. What was it? No...
"Yes, but Winter you must calm down. Please, it wasn't their fault. If they would have stayed then they too wouldve been-"
"RAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Everything went white for a moment as I felt rage fill me. Breathing heavily, I glared at Flurry, flames enveloping my body.
"Winter! Please, you must calm yourself! You can't let the demon take control of your emotions! Think of what Luna would've wanted!"
"Oh I can, Luna is gone BECAUSE OF THEM!! COWARDS!! WHERE did those ponies run off to Flurry?? Tell me-" I grabbed her by the scruff of her cloak and snarled. "Or I'll put you in the ground with the rest of them!"
I was no longer in control of myself. The anger, the rage, the demon side of me that I had forced down so many years ago had taken control. I no longer saw Flurry as a friend. But as somepony with information I needed. And I was ready to get the info I needed by any means necessary. Flurry's eyes widened as she looked at me.
"They.. they established a town to the south.. Maretime Bay." She squeaked out.
Letting go of her cloak, I took off like a fireball into the sky. Flames roaring around my body as horns grew from my head. My eyes turning into serpentine slits.
"Oh its so good to be back." I smiled.
From down below I could hear Flurry's desperate cries telling me to stop. That I had to control myself. Fuck that. I've held this demon in too long. Those bastards left her to die, and now I'm gonna make them suffer.
~~~~~~~
-To Be Continued
Author's Note
Hello everyone. It has been a while since I've uploaded. I took down my other stories for a good reason. I won't share what it was, but it was a good one. Please enjoy this new series stemming from the lore and background of my main original character.
Ch. 2: The Strange Appearance
As soon as I'd arrived at the quaint little town, I narrowed my eyes and looked at the streets. They were filled with ponies celebrating some sort of holiday. There were banners and balloons and booths set up along the main street. Lighting my horn, I prepared to bombard the festival with laserfire, but... I stopped.
"What? What are you waiting for Winter? Blow them all to hell!"
I shook my head and spoke back to the voice inside me.
"There are children down there. I... I can't kill innocent little ones."
Snickering, my demon laughed.
"Really? And how is that any different than killing those other ponies?" It asked.
I looked back down at the ponies talking and playing games along the boulevard. I unlit my horn and folded my ears back.
"Another time.. when it's right."
The demon raged at me.
"Another time!? They let your wife DIE! What happened to the vengeful Winter that nearly beat the fuck out of an old mare for information!?"
I struggled to find an answer. Indeed, I was filled with rage and hate, and I really wanted to cut them all down like dogs for what they did. Yet... there was that hesitation. That inkling of a moment where something else inside me told me this was wrong.
"The time will come, then they will pay for what they did. Cowards."
Turning away from Maretime Bay, I flew down to a wooded section of land outside of town and landed under a tree. All of these feelings were so familiar, yet.. I couldn't recall what had made me bury my demon deep and never let him out.
"Oh? You don't remember what you did before you met Luna?? Let me remind you Winter."
A sharp pain struck me in the head as I collapsed to the ground and cried out in agony. Images and memories flooded my brain as my demon showed me the terror I once was. Fleeting images of burning villages, explosions and raging battles.
"You were a proud warrior of Satan! Destroying villages, bringing terror to the Equestria of old. You survived with me. All you are and ever will be is because of me Winter. You are a demon! You kill, you rape, you pillage!"
"NO!"
I slammed my head into the tree and saw stars in my vision. Stumbling back a few steps, I fell over again and gripped my head.
"I've never killed! I've never raped! You lie to me demon!"
The demon laughed.
"Oh I lie huh? Where are all your friends Winter? Where is your wife?? Where is the life you used to know??? GONE. It's all gone because of what they did to you. They took Luna from you! You cannot deny reality!"
As much as I hated to admit it.. he was right. The life I knew was gone. My friends were gone, my wife was gone... I had no one but my demon.
"All you have is me Winter," he whispered softly. "And you and me is all you need now. We're on our own. The moment those ponies down there figured out the real you," the demon pointed my hoof in the direction of town, "they'd all run away. Just like they did before you knew Luna. Sweet, beautiful, kind Luna. Who took you in and loved you no matter what."
Looking up at the trees through tear filled eyes, I breathed heavily from rage. I wanted to kill them all and hang their corpses on display yet... there it was again. That hesitation.
"I have no one!" I yelled.
"No one but me Winter. Trust in me, I will guide you."
Fighting back more tears, I bucked the tree closest to me, knocking it over.
"Where! Where will we go?" I cried out.
"Don't worry about that. I have everything well in hoof my sweet demonic host."
Standing up, I covered my head with my wings and ambled deeper into the woods.
~~~~~
"Sunny are you sure this is safe?" Hitch asked, looking at the massive canon he was currently laying in.
"Of course! Quit worrying about it, I made all of the calculations myself." The earth pony smiled and ruffled his mane before turning and grabbing a microphone from the onstage stand.
"Hello everypony! And welcome to Maretime Bays first ever unified, Nightmare Night festival!"
The crowd cheered and stomped.
"For the first act of entertainment this evening, our own Sheriff Hitch, has volunteered to be the pony cannonball for the festival kickoff!"
The crowd cheered again, cat calls and whistling could be heard amongst the ponies. Hitch was a very popular pony, especially amongst the mares.
"Alright! Let's start the countdown! 5! 4! 3!"
The crowd counted with her as a stage pony lit the fuse and Hitch nervously disappeared into the canon.
"One!!" BAM!!!
There was a loud explosion and Hitch was suddenly ejected from the metal tube he had been laying in.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" He screamed, flying through the air.
A team of pegasi lay in wait to catch him before he hit the ground. And just as he was about to become a splatter on the concrete, the pegasi (including Zipp) caught him and carried him down safely.
The crowd roared with excitement as Zipp and the other ponies set the very shook up Hitch back down on the stage. Smiling, Sunny once again took to the microphone.
"Let the festival begin!"
Putting the mic back in its holder, Sunny turned to Hitch and straightened some of his mane that had become disheveled from being shot out of the canon.
"Excellent work Hitch, I've never seen Maretime Bay so excited for the festival before."
The sheriff rubbed his face and shook his head a few times.
"Yeah, I can agree with you there. I don't think I've ever seen them so excited. That was crazy though. I don't even remember how you talked me into that in the first place."
Smirking, Sunny handed Hitch a piece of paper.
"Here you go, free smoothies for one year." She smiled.
The sheriff took the paper and smiled.
"Ohhhh that's right." He chuckled. "I said I'd do anything for free smoothies and you made me the offer."
Sunny laughed with Hitch as Zipp and Pipp landed next to them.
"Hey, has anyone seen Izzy? I didn't see her at the kickoff," said Zipp.
"Maybe she's just enjoying the cotton candy booth and got carried away. Come on, lets go find out," Pipp said, taking a quick selfie with the disheveled Hitch for her Hoofbook account, before taking off into the air.
The others followed and looked around the festival grounds.
"Wow, Izzy really went all out with the decor," Hitch said.
"Yeah, she called it spooky unicycling. Made a bunch of fake spiders, cobwebs, ghosts, skeletons and whatnot." Said Zipp.
Indeed, the town main street looked absolutely spooky. Everywhere around them, ponies from all three settlements were dressed up and having fun. However, there still was no sign of Izzy. Sunny walked up to the cotton candy booth and looked behind the counter.
"No Izzy here, you don't think she-"
"GUYYYYYYYYYS!!!!"
The group turned to see ponies being pushed aside violently as somepony made their way through the crowd. As Izzy popped out from behind a mother and her foal, Sunny was relieved to see her. That was until she saw the look on the unicorns face.
"Izzy? What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Said Zipp.
Panting, Izzy took a few moments to catch her breath before she spoke.
"No ghost, big scary fireball, flaming eyes! Evil!!!"
Hitch walked forward and patted the disturbed unicorn softly on the back.
"Hey hey hey, take it easy now. Fireball? Flaming eyes? What exactly did you see Izzy?" The sheriff asked.
By now a small crowd had gathered around the unfolding scene. Some taking out their phones to record the unicorn freaking out, because they were petty enough to do it instead of help calm her down.
"I... I don't know! It looked like.. like.. a pony on fire!"
Sunny scrunched up her muzzle and raised an eyebrow.
"A flaming pony? Come on Izzy, there's no way that's even scientifically possible without magic. And there aren't any unicorns who can perform that type of magic."
Izzy shook her head rapidly.
"No... no no no. It had wings. It was flying Sunny!"
The earth pony looked at Hitch who looked back at her.
"Should we check this out?" She asked. Hitch nodded.
"Absolutely, if it was terrifying enough to scare Izzy, then we need to do something about it. Come on."
Sunny and her friends walked through the now murmuring crowd and made their way to the forest with Izzy in the lead.
~~~~~
"I've never seen anything like this." Said Hitch.
The group had entered the forest where Izzy had said she'd spotted the creature. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until they discovered the knocked over tree.
"Who in the world could knock over a tree of this size?"
Pipp walked around the fallen tree and took a video to post to her social media page, while Zipp examined the area on the tree where it seemed to be damaged by something else.
"Hey guys check this out," said the white pegasus.
The rest of the group joined her and looked at the damage.
"This looks like.. hoof marks?" Hitch wondered aloud.
"Yeah. Whatever knocked this tree down must've been strong. Everyone remain vigilant. It could still be around here." Said Sunny.
From the shadows some yards away, a pair of glowing red eyes watched the scene unfolding before him.
"They grow suspicious of our presence Winter. We must fall back to the mountain and begin construction on the castle."
"Indeed..." I replied back, disappearing into the darkness.
