Edited by TacoTown
Cold Days
Chapter 1
Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail
Twilight Sparkle was cold. She’d been cold so long that she couldn’t remember what it was like to be warm. The snow flowed around her face, billowing through her mane and tossing it about her head, contorting it into a flowing wave of purple with a streak of pink that shone like a beacon among the white flecked frozen air. The years had not been kind, of course how could they’ve been? Celestia lay subjugated and powerless at the feet of the throne; more a tool to be used in order to stop uprisings then a pony. Luna was gone; either dead or in hiding after the great battle. It was said that Cadence and Shining Armor’s heads still adorned the walls of the great fortress. And last of all Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements banished to the far north where she would live out her life under the gentle ministrations of the griffins.
It had been Dash’s idea; after the final battle had been fought and the resistance crushed they’d had nowhere else to go. Twilight had sent Celestia one final letter apologizing for being unable to save the realm. It was the last time she’d cried with her heart. Of course, it was hardly the first time that she’d cried with her eyes over the months of the invasion, and it surely hadn’t been the last.
An icy wind once again caressed Twilight’s cheeks in its icy embrace and Twilight suppressed a shiver, it wouldn’t do to lose the respect she’d gained among the griffins by showing something as pathetic as a sign of the cold. Instead, Twilight merely pulled her cloak tighter around herself and stared off of the peak of the mountain, looking for any signs of change. As always she was unsuccessful. There was nothing here except for herself, her friends, and the griffins who lived in the mountain city.
“Twi come inside, it’s too cold for somepony to be out here without a reason.” Applejack said gruffly from behind her.
Twilight turned to face her old friend. Applejack had changed. Her eyes lacked the same spark that they had years ago (although Twilight could say the same for herself and the rest of her friends). She’d gained pounds of muscle that stretched and coiled underneath the thick grey armor that protected the orange fur below. Her blonde mane was still tied back in a braid, but now it was far shorter and lacked any type of shine. Upon her head the Stetson still sat proudly, although now it was battered with age and wear.
“I’m coming, I was just looking.” Twilight replied calmly before casting one last look at the distant horizon before turning back to her friend and joining her in the doorway.
Applejack let out a sigh and led her back inside of their grey prison. The stone walls looked down at them uncaringly as they walked through the corridors on their way back to the common room where the rest of their group waited. Their steel hooved shoes clattered noisily across the stone floor, sending resounding echoes down the pathways that wound through the frozen heart of the mountain fortress that had been their residence for just over five years now.
The griffin’s had been surprisingly sympathetic to the ponies, offering them free room and board until it came time to return to their home. Dash’s renewed friendship with Princess Gilda had probably been the main motivating factor behind that, but Twilight couldn’t complain. She and her friends were still alive, and that was more than could be said about either of her brothers, draconic or otherwise. Twilight grimaced at the memory of Spike’s head being sliced off by one of the enemy ponies, not even a high ranking one, just a pony with one lucky strike. Applejack caught sight of the look and draped her fetlock around Twilight in a companionable silence, developed over years of shared grief.
The common room was the only place in the fortress that was capable of being described as anything above frigid. This was thanks to a large fire pit that took up at least half of the room and had been kept going for five years. Despite this, the cold still reached its frozen tendrils into the room even for those mere meters from the flames. Griffins sat around long, straight tables eating, drinking, and occasionally fighting each other while the griffin king strode among them, his blood red feathers and black leonine fur cutting clearly through the ranks of his people. Hatchlings ran (and flew) around the room, mimicking their elders and generally striking a balance of looking somewhere between adorable and ridiculous at all times. Her friends were there as well, each looked different from when the war had started and from the four years since it had ended.
Pinkie Pie’s mane hung flatly against her back, but her eyes had yet to give up the fight and the chicks seemed to keep her spirit up. She’d transferred her affection for the Cake twins to the chicks and now had dozens upon dozens of new friends who were happily oblivious to their pink friend’s depression. A small scar ran across the lid of Pinkie’s left eye from when a unicorn had decided to attack her from the side, it hadn’t ended well for him. She was sitting among a group of the chicks telling the story of how they’d defeated Discord and Twilight couldn’t help but smile slightly at the looks of awe that overcame the hatchling’s faces as she described the god of disharmony.
She spotted Dash, next easily discernible from the others in the room thanks to her brilliantly colored mane, despite the fact that several of the streaks had gone grey, a souvenir courtesy of an enemy spell caster who Twilight had killed. Her blue coat was still as vibrant as the day that Twilight had met her, but if you looked carefully you could see places where there was slightly less fur then there should’ve been. In fact if you paid even closer attention you would see that there was a latticework of scars that covered her body.
Sitting next to Dash was Rarity, who was as always concentrating her attention on a long purple robe. It was Twilight’s battle robe and Rarity had been etching enchantments into it for the four years that they’d been cooped up inside the griffin’s roost. Twilight doubted that she’d ever have another use for it, but it gave the fashionista something to do and kept her from going insane the way that Twilight had in the first year of their exile. Her mane was still perfectly shaped, and her fur coat was still a resplendent white, but her eyes were hard and cold after seeing the blood of too many friends spilled.
Fluttershy was not in the room; in fact she was not in the fortress. Twilight had no idea where Fluttershy was, she hadn’t seen the yellow pegasus mare since right before the final battle when she’d fled into the Everfree after one final goodbye. Twilight sighed, if there was one pony who she would’ve liked to have next to her, it was Fluttershy. The quite mare seemed to be able to calm any situation and resolve it so that every party felt like they’d come out the victor. But it was not to be, she was gone. The cynical part of Twilight’s mind insisted that she’d died in that forest, whether it was before or after the cold had come was still up for debate.
“Anything?” Dash asked her, but Twilight simply shook her head. “Damn.” Dash replied with a sigh.
“Language darling.” Rarity reprimanded her without looking up from her work.
“You’re right, it wasn’t foul enough. Fuck!” Dash exclaimed with a spark of amusement in her eyes that earned several amused chuckles from the nearby griffins.
Rarity poked her in the side with one of her extra needles, and Dash jumped into the air in surprise, shooting Rarity a mean look. Rarity was too busy with her enchantment to look up, but her face was turned up in a small smirk. Dash grumbled, but sat back down, knowing that there would be no point in continuing the confrontation, they were all that they had after all.
“Ah don’t know how much longer ah can take this.” Applejack said once they’d drawn close enough to the other two so as not to disturb the griffins with their conversation.
“What do you suggest we do then? Do you expect the five of us to march on the Capital and singlehoofedly fight his entire army?” Rarity asked scathingly.
“It’d be better than staying here!” Applejack replied heatedly clearly not appreciating her friend’s mocking tone.
“Girls, calm down.” Twilight told them with a sigh.
“Twilight’s right. We can’t afford to be fighting each other, calm down.” Dash told the two bickerers.
“Since when did ya become the voice of reason?” Applejack asked, turning to Dash who just shrugged.
“Sometime between having half of my spirit stolen and having it put back in slightly wrong.” Dash replied offhoofedly.
“I apologize for the interruption my ladies, but we have a messenger from your king who wishes to speak with you.” A griffin said from behind them.
“Who is it?” Twilight asked turning to face the griffin. His head feathers were pure black, except for a small line of white that ran around his neck, and his fur was a dark brown.
“She didn’t say, but I believe that you are acquaintances.” The griffin replied with a shrug.
“What makes you think that?” Twilight asked. Before the griffin could answer, the messenger walked into the room and Twilight’s breath caught in her throat.
The unicorn before them was light blue, with a wispy silver mane that she wore long. A flowing star bedecked cloak swirled as she walked imperiously towards them. Twilight’s eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything Dash beat her to it.
“What the hell are youdoing here, traitor?” Dash asked with a scowl.
“Trixie has come to deliver a message from King Taiga.” Trixie replied, her eyes glossing over Dash and focusing on Twilight.
“What kind of message?” Twilight asked slowly spacing her words so that she appeared uninterested.
“The King has requested that the five of you to come to Canterlot.” Trixie answered simply.
“Has his majesty lost what few brain cells that he possessed? Why would we do something as foolish as that?” Rarity asked disdainfully still not looking up from the battle robe.
“Trixie doesn’t know; she is but the messenger.” Trixie replied with a shrug. “Perhaps he wishes to pardon you, or it is possible that he has grown tired of his duties here and wishes to return home. Trixie did not ask.” Trixie added.
“Why should we do as he orders?” Applejack asked narrowing her gaze.
“Because he’s asking politely.” Trixie answered. “If he wanted to he could’ve sent an army, and not that I don’t respect the might of the griffin army, but I doubt that King Stormfeather would risk his people for five mares.” Trixie added, with a glance toward the griffin king who glared back at her, but Twilight heard the truth in her words. The king may have offered them his hospitality, but that didn’t mean that he would defend them.
“When do we leave?” Twilight asked with a slightly defeated sigh, she’d been expecting this day for four years.
“Immediately. Gather your things and meet back here in twenty minutes.” Trixie replied, turning her back to them and striding towards one of the tables laden with fruit (a rarity in Equestria that had been imported from across the sea).
Twilight and the others quickly made their ways back to their rooms and packed. Twilight had grabbed her battle cloak from Rarity, and its comforting weight settled across her back, sending her mind to the past. She quickly packed her meager personal belongings (which included several magi energy crystals, a hoof-full of old spell books, and a single collapsible telescope that all fit snugly in her small bag). Twilight took one last look at the small room that had been her home for the past four years.
A small cot covered in down had acted as a bed, and kept her tolerably cold throughout many nights. A small desk and a magical lamp were shoved against the far wall. The single bookshelf in the room sat next to the doorway loaded with books large and small. Twilight sighed, it was time to leave.
She met her friends in the hallway and looked into their faces. Applejack’s eyes were hard, but there might have been a spark of hope hidden beneath. Rarity’s face was set in a look of pure anticipation. She may not have been looking forward to seeing the King again, but at least she would be in a place where she could practice her trade. Dash looked optimistic, despite having gone through a lot she’d never really lost hope. Pinkie looked ecstatic. She’d get to see the Cakes again along with the rest of her friends, of course that was assuming that they hadn’t all been killed in the four years since they’d left.
“Let’s go home.” Twilight told them, with a small smile forming on her face for the first time in years.
Outside, the cold winter wind blew and the snow fell.
***
King Taiga, Lord of the North Winds, God of Winter, and Master of Frost sat on his throne, idly listening to the sound of cello and lyre music that drifted through the cold halls of Royal Palace. At the foot of his throne Celestia lay in the same position that she’d been lying in for the past four years whenever court was in attendance. The Solar Goddess looked good, almost exactly the way she had before the war; however if you knew her then you could see the obvious differences.
Her mane hung limply across her back, bleached of all color but a simple pink, while her pink tail was curled around her back legs as if in an effort to keep warm. There was also a great amount of sadness in her eyes, it had always been there (you don’t live a few thousand years without heartache) but recently it stood out far more clearly inside the purple orbs.
King Taiga himself was a powerfully built alicorn with a coat the color of glacier snow melt and a mane of pure white. His eyes shone with the harsh light of winter sunlight reflecting off of a northern ice field, speckled with dots of blue. A strong regal jawline tapered into a body of hard muscle that had been chiseled from a solid block of impenetrable marble. Despite his hostile appearance he was not a harsh ruler.
When the people came before him with a problem, he devoted all of his time and effort to solving it. If a monster attacked a small town, he dispensed a legion of soldiers to track it down and slay the beast and he made sure that the damages were repaired by funds from the royal treasury. Under his rule racism among the ponies had also disappeared entirely, they no longer had time for it and once he’d taken over he’d destroyed the majority of the ruling aristocracy. Unfortunately he hadn’t been able to rid himself of one in particular who decided to make his presence known yet again.
“How is my wittle auntie wantie today, is she alwight laying down here like a dog?” Prince Blueblood asked with a smirk on his face.
The stallion’s blonde mane glinted off of the icicles that lined the ceiling, further increasing his self-image. He wore a large fur cloak that was made out of a snow bear, not that he had killed it. Ever since the invasion Blueblood had played his cards close to his chest, and insulated himself in positions where he was too important to remove. Over the four years he’d grown even more snobbish, to the point where he now talked down to his infinitely more powerful aunt.
Celestia narrowed her eyes once, before looking to Taiga who nodded his head once in a nod at a speed only perceptible to alicorns. An icy smile spread across Celestia’s lips as she looked at her nephew. Blueblood’s eyes widened in shocked surprise as his cloak began to tighten at an astronomically fast rate, till he was coughing with the effort of drawing air to his lungs.
“She is not a pet, she is my consort and you will speak to her as such or I will snap your insignificant neck like an icicle.” Taiga told him simply, in a rumbling voice that sounded something akin to a snow storm while he lifted Blueblood aloft in a stream of clear magic by the neck of his cloak. “Am I understood?” He asked Blueblood, who could do nothing to answer but sputter and nod in blue faced agony. Taiga let the prince fall to the floor of the throne room with a thud. The prince fled the room at a full sprint in an attempt to put as much distance between himself and the king as possible.
“I still wish that you’d killed him instead of Cadence.” Celestia said once Blueblood had left the room.
Her voice was harsh and jagged, if she’d spoken like that before the invasion from the north then ponies would’ve stared at her in open mouthed shock, several would probably have fainted. Now however it was a common occurrence and Celestia’s old voice was an uncommon rarity that was hardly ever heard. She reserved it for the servants, old friends, and very rarely her husband.
“As do I, but they refused to submit, an example had to be made.” Taiga replied with a frown. “I could always kill him if you’d prefer it.” He offered.
Since their forced betrothal Taiga had looked for ways to melt Celestia’s heart. Most were unsuccessful, and considering what he’d done over the course of the war and the events immediately afterwards he couldn’t blame her. Celestia let out a sigh and her breath turned to mist in the frigid air.
“Don’t bother, he isn’t worth the work that replacing him would bring.” She replied.
The two deities sat in the relative silence of the throne room while the cello and lyre players’ music filtered around them. Steam rose from Celestia’s body, but Taiga had long ago learned to keep icicles from growing above her so she was spared the continuous dripping that she would otherwise be subjected to. For that small favor Celestia was grateful.
Taiga was the God of Winter; as such his domain was always encrusted with ice and snow that spread out across the country, radiating out from his body like a rolling wave of polar air. Within two months of his take over, Equestria had been covered in snow and frost. It was only thanks to the hearty northerners’ specially bred cold resistant grains that all of Equestria hadn’t starved.
In the streets they still whispered things about him being a windigo, which caused Taiga considerable anger. Where windigos wished only death and destruction Taiga wished order and peace in the grasp of winter, he’d destroyed many such spirits since he came to Equestria but no matter how many fell before his power the whispers lived on.
“You can’t blame them.” Celestia said quietly from below him, obviously picking up on her husband’s thoughts through their mental link.
“No I cannot. Were I in their position I would resent and hate just as much, if not more so.” Taiga replied with an invisible sigh.
“You killed far too many for them to forgive you within this generation, The Cold Butcher was your name if I remember correctly.” Celestia added, causing Taiga to snort out a breath of frost that settled across her spine and crystallized.
“I did what was necessary, if I had not killed them then the resistance would’ve carried on for years, dragging the conflict out for decades, killing thousands if not millions more.” Taiga replied.
“So utopia justifies the means?” Celestia asked with a scowl.
“Don’t be trite, we both know that I’m not a believer in that. I’m simply a product of my environment.” He told her with a slightly irritated snort that sent out another burst of frost, which settled on the floor next to the solar alicorn. “If I did, Twilight Sparkle would be dead as opposed to journeying on her way here as we speak.” Celestia gasped in surprise and it was only then that Taiga smiled down at her. "I forgot to mention that before didn’t I?” He asked with a smirk.
“If this is a joke…” Celestia said trailing off and fixing him with a slight glare.
“Why would I jest about something like this? After all, I know how much she means to you, and I may be the god of winter but I am not merciless, nor do I not know joy.” Taiga replied with a gentle smile, and his face softened slightly. Celestia returned the smile and looked into his eyes. Once again Celestia thought about how she didn’t (and probably would never) like him, but if she had to spend the rest of her eternal life bound to somepony she could do worse.
The moment was broken when a new group of nobles entered the room like a multicolored tide. Taiga turned to look at the nobles, and his face hardened back into its ordinarily impregnable expression of power and authority. The nobles continued forward, obviously seeking his attention and Celestia fought back a smile of satisfaction. These were not the same nobles that she’d had to deal with during her time as Princess of the land. No, these were ponies who actually deserved to be where they were thanks to a lifetime of hard work and effort. Then her mind went back to the day that Taiga had ruthlessly slaughtered the old aristocracy and she was forced to fight against the formation of a frown.
“My lord, we hate to disrupt your afternoon with our petty grievances, but there are several issues that require your input.” Lord Fancypants (one of the few nobles that had actually survived the destruction of the old aristocracy) said, giving the king a short bow. “And your input would be just as welcome my queen.” Fancypants added turning to Celestia and repeating the bow.
“I see; what troubles do you have to report?” Taiga asked, slipping easily into the mode that he reserved for those that he respected. It resembled the look that he had for most nobles, but his face was slightly less rigid and formal.
“The pegasi are reporting more difficulty then normal controlling the clouds around the southern mountains, they say that the signs point to either windigos or some other creature.” Fancypants told him with a nod towards the pegasi representative, a strong looking blue pegasus mare of the Kicker Clan who had evidently decided to let the white unicorn do the talking for her.
“I’ll look into it personally, expect me sometime on Friday.” Taiga told the mare who nodded in thanks before filing out of the throne room. “I take it that there are more.” Taiga said, turning back to Fancypants who nodded.
“Yes my lord. We have also gotten reports that a group of diamond dogs have been harassing the citizens of Ponyville, again.” Fancypants told him with a slight sigh that Taiga matched internally.
The diamond dogs had been a constant thorn in his side since he’d taken over, constantly trying to either abduct his citizens for use as slaves, or steal metal deposits so that they could arm another army for him to crush. If it weren’t for the fact that they were too stupid to give up then Taiga would’ve admired them in the detached way that a griffin chief admires another griffin who plans on beheading him as they fought to the death.
“I’ll dispatch a legion.” The king told Fancypants, who nodded once with a smile. “Is there anything else you require of me before I adjourn court?”
“Only one thing my lord, the upper echelons of Canterlot society would like some kind of celebration to break up the effects of having a four year winter. I would look over their proposals.” Fancypants told him, before bowing and walking out of the audience chamber with the other nobles following behind him.
“Now if only they could’ve behaved that way for me.” Celestia said with a frown.
“They could’ve.” Taiga told her flatly.
“Not without a large amount of bloodshed that I was unwilling to sew.” Celestia countered.
“As you say, I am going to retire in our room for the day. I would appreciate it if you would turn your mind to unearthing some things to keep Miss Sparkle busy when she arrives. I do not think she will settle down as easily as I would like and I do not need her looking into my business.” Taiga said, getting up from his throne and giving Celestia an icy peck on the cheek. The solar alicorn managed to suppress the shiver that came over her as the icy lips brushed across her fur.
