Sunbringer

Square wasn’t entirely sure—it was impossible to tell in this world of greys and whites—but her intuition told her that it must have been about nine moons ago when the Celestial first arrived. Back then Nature was still full of browns and yellows, and it only snowed for about half a moon at a time. Though deep down she already felt an unnerving tinge whenever she headed outside, she was too busy making friends with the world to care any more than that. Even in its weakened form Nature welcomed her warmly and sheltered the little filly from the encroaching reality around them. In return, Square kept Nature company and enjoyed long chats with the nearby forests and meadows, spoken one hoofstep at a time.

It was the same on that fateful day as well. She was out on one of her lone (yet very much not lonely) excursions, focused entirely inwards, muttering and giggling as she listened to a babbling brook nearby, when she almost bumped into a pony she nearly didn’t notice in front of her. That alone wouldn’t have necessarily been a rare occurrence, had the first thing she noticed coming out of her stupor not been the fact that the pony in question had wings. And they weren’t some bird’s wings, they were honest to the Earth pony-wings. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Square’s hooves moved on their own as she took a step back in shock, her eyes wandering onto the pony’s head, upon which sat a curved horn, only further fueling her utter bafflement. Square fell to her haunches trying to process what she had seen. Facts such as the visitor’s pale yellow coat and orange mane hardly even registered in her mind.

“You... I... what?” she stammered, now thricely confused. The pony, however, merely cast a charming smile towards her.

“Warm days to you, Miss...?”

As Square tried her best to calm her mind, the answer slipped right out of her mouth. “Square Hole. Bountiful earth to you as well...”

“I’m Light Bringer. I have arrived, sensing that this domain needs my help.”

“Y-your help?”

“Indeed. Did you, ahem, ponies of the earth perhaps not notice the ailing of the world?” Light’s smile turned cold.

Square frowned. She was used to her folk making fun of her for her preference towards nature instead of her kin, but being questioned in such a manner after just meeting somepony hit her differently. Still, she quieted her heart and tried her best to give a polite answer. “Well, yes. There were some slight problems, but...”

“So you do need my help,” Light finished her sentence, then continued without pause. “But before that can happen, I must know a few things about your tribe. How many of you are there? How much surplus food have you stocked up? Where’s the nearest source of easily extracted stone? Are there any ley-lines nearby I could tap into—”

“Okay, stop!” That was it. Square stomped on the ground, interrupting the stranger whose self-importance was getting more and more on her nerves by the minute. “Just who do you think you are? Firstly, I don’t know you. Secondly, you’re asking stuff I have no idea about.” She huffed a little and her ear flicked. “And with this kind of attitude, I’m not sure I care to figure out the answers for you.”

“Hmph! That’s fine by me.” Square felt two piercing yellow eyes staring her down. “I suppose you’d rather freeze than offer a crumb of hospitality to somepony who merely wanted to help. I’m sure there’s plenty of other places that could use the warmth I bring much more than you.” With that Light turned sharply around, flashing a mark resembling a sun towards Square, and began to trot off.

A pang of stinging guilt washed over Square Hole. After all, as much as she hated to admit it, this mysterious pony was spot on. Nature’s voice had been growing quieter every day and crops hadn’t been as plentiful as before. Not to mention, whilst her thick coat kept her warm at all times it was also true that the recent moons definitely felt a lot colder, than the ones of yore. If there was even a chance that this pony could really help them...

She took in a deep breath, then sprang up from the ground and cantered after Light. “Look, I’m sorry for my outburst. Can we please start the conversation again?” She cleared her throat. “I... still don’t really have any idea about the stuff you asked. But if you want, I can bring you to my tribe and then you can figure out if we have lines and all that.”

Light stopped and smiled at the filly once more. “Of course. Lead the way, Miss Hole.”