Concerning Ponies

“The Frozen North”

Dear Princess Celestia,

In the midst of my travels, I came to the Frozen North. A barren, desolate land filled with sadness. As you know, this Northern land was once home to the three pony kingdoms: The Earth Ponies, the Unicorns, and the Pegasi. Though it is evident that the Pegasi have moved their massive cloud cities to Equestria (and I should hope they remain there), ruins of the other two kingdoms remain.

Section 1: Concerning Earth Ponies

Upon my decision to explore the kingdoms, I was utterly lost. Literally. When I had finally found the remains of the kingdom, I discovered why I had been so lost. The snow has piled itself massively over the years, only the tops of the tallest buildings remain.

I was able to enter town hall after blasting through the reinforced ceiling with magic, and I explored the building. The doors and windows had been heavily reinforced, as to deny entry to the sea of snow. Out of curiosity, I made a decision which I soon regretted. I enhanced my senses, and closing my eyes I saw differently. The world was veiled in darkness, though I could see the aura of all things. In the submerged houses, I saw the shapes of skeletal ponies in their homes. Stallions, mares, and foals alike all killed by the merciless winter. These were all the ponies who had stayed behind, holding onto the hope that their land would recover from the curse of the Windigos.

Section 2: Concerning Unicorns

I took a detour through the ruins of the Unicorn Kingdom. After all, it is where I was born. I wish you could have seen these kingdoms, the way they once were, before the Windigos. Much fewer Unicorns had stayed behind during the Windigo attack, which I found to be quite interesting. As you are aware, Unicorns are typically materialistic, our race was the aristocracy of the three kingdoms, being among the few ponies in the land to experience a luxurious lifestyle. So many were quick to abandon it, even if it meant leaving absolutely everything behind. I do know of one group who did stay behind, though. The Great Council, comprised of my fellow wizards remained after the exodus to investigate why the Windigos still remained even as the population dwindled, but they had never left to rejoin us at Equestria. I made my way to the great library; a tower which stored the entire history of the Unicorn race (I had wrote over a quarter of the six-hundred thousand books in the tower), and after reaching the top of the tower, I was faced with a horrid sight; the other wizard ponies had been killed. Not by the cold nor starvation, somepony had killed them. I examined the wounds on their bodies; each one indicative of magic and steel. Additionally, in the fireplace lay the ashes of several documents.

I found a note near the body of one of my fellow wizards, it contained only three words, “dungeon... crypt... darkness”. Curious, the palace has a dungeon, though I know of no crypts there. As I searched my mind for a possible meaning, I looked out towards the remains of the Unicorn kingdom. For being located in the mountains, why wasn’t this city overridden with snow? Walking through town, I could still feel the cobblestone streets with my hoofs, whilst one could potentially drown in the snow covering the former Earth Pony kingdoms! Though I could not help but marvel at the brilliant architecture of my race. Perhaps we could employ such architecture in our capital Everfree?

Section 3: Concerning Darkness

I went to the palace. I had to find out the meaning behind that note, so I ventured down into the depths of the palace dungeons. While exploring this palace, I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched, though even with the most thorough examination of the palace, nopony could be found, all I felt were eyes heated with malice locked onto me as I made my way to the dungeons. Sure enough, after descending to the bottom depths of the dungeon, I had found a door once sealed with a powerful magical bond. Attached to this document is a sketch of the lock. I demand that Queen Sapphire be questioned with regards to the nature of this crypt. All I could see beyond the towering doorway was a curtain of darkness, a curtain I dared not penetrate. It was as though there were a set of eyes beyond the curtain glaring back at me, and I felt a powerful magic, the likes of which entirely foreign to my knowledge of the subject, only that it maintained the essence of darkness and evil. I dared not explore on my own, as I have many more lands to explore, and perhaps in those places I will find the answer to the mysteries of the palace crypt.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that (obviously) no survivors remain in the ruins of the old kingdoms, and the lands remain desolate. However, an answer is needed for the murder of the wizard council, and the crypt of the palace. How any magic so powerful that one could simply feel it has remained a secret for so long is beyond me, and the Unicorns must answer for this!
Your faithful student,
~Starswirl the Bearded