Frigid Destiny

Chapters

Prologue: What Has Come To Pass
Chapter 1: Warm Hearth, Warm Home, Warm Heart
Chapter 2: Ragged Running
Chapter 3: Better Daze
Chapter 4: Grin and Bear It
Chapter 6: [Interlude] What You Have Done
Chapter 5: No, That's Definitely Scheming. Plotting Looks Different.

Prologue: What Has Come To Pass

There are few things more glorious in this world than a sunrise over Canterlot. The way the light reflects off of the golden rooftops beautifully sends rays of luminescence in every direction. No, not many things can compare to a Canterlot sunrise.

The ponies of the capital city awoke with the rising sun, which didn’t happen very often. Usually the higher class did not rise with the sun, they were privileged enough to sleep in on most days. Today was not one of those days.

It was a day of mourning and solace for all of Equestria. No one was too privileged on this day to sleep in. No one was above anypony else on this day, there were no different races: No pegasi, no unicorns, no earth ponies. Just Equestrians.

The ponies flocked to the palace in the center of the city en masse, it was a sight to behold. Thousands of equines all trotting towards the shining jewel of the city in order to mourn the deaths of fallen heroes.

Banners of the regents flanked the large crowd, moons and suns watched over the populace as they gathered below. At the front of the throne room, the same place where only a year ago a joyous wedding had been held, eight tapestries decorated the far wall, covering the stained glass windows and bringing a somber darkness over the room.

Each of the eight banners were special in their own right. They spanned every color of the rainbow, and the designs on them were custom made for the ponies they represented.

The banner on the far left was a soft yellow, three pink butterflies decorated the center of it, and the edges were embroidered with the finest Cloudsdale silk to represent the fallen element of kindness’ heritage.

A banner of bright pink hung next to it, three balloons alternating between blue and yellow adorned the center, simple flowers made up the fringe signaling the element of laughter’s earth pony lineage.

A lavender tapestry hung gracefully next to it, a six pointed purple star surrounded by bright white shining stars, magic was woven into the cloth to make it flow as if it was in a summer breeze to proudly exclaim her unicorn roots.

The next one was much bigger than the rest. Bright white, pure and clean. A glorious gold emblazoned sun stood out in the center of it. The only thing that could compete with such a monument to the regent of the sun was the banner next to it. Dark as the night sky, a crescent moon surrounded by an inky starry night in the center.

The next three banners were white, orange, and sky blue. The white one was rimmed by purple, a set of three diamonds in the center of it. The orange banner was obviously hoofmade, three apples standing out against the background boldly. The last banner, the sky blue one, was fringed by a rainbow of colors and a polychromatic lightning bolt coming out of a storm cloud decorated the center of it.

Each banner represented a fallen hero, all lost on the same day. It had been a terrible tragedy, a group of changelings infiltrated the castle disguised as a group of tourists and detonated a magic bomb that took their lives along with the Princesses and the elements of harmony.

The bomb was only meant for the Princesses, the elements had been there on a surprise visit. It had been something that shocked the nation, no one had expected Changeling radicals, no one had expected the Princesses to die.

Now the regency had been taken over by the last surviving alicorn in existence. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had been recalled from her throne in the Crystal Empire in order to gain regency over the sun and moon and the throne of Equestria.

The new Princess of Equestria stood before the eight coffins, each one rested underneath the banner that represented them, the two center coffins being the biggest of the eight.

“Citizens of Equestria.” Princess Cadence’s voice was shaky and nervous, nopony could blame her though. Anypony would be nervous at her aunts’ funerals after inheriting the throne of the most powerful nation on the planet. “I regretfully welcome you to this somber occasion.” A few woeful sobs echoed from the crowd. “We are here to honor the lives of eight ponies who changed the course of world history with their noble actions. They were taken from our realm by a group of creatures who wanted to see our nation defenseless and vulnerable. But we cannot let this happen, we must show that even in our darkest hour we are strong. We must stand as a nation brought together by need, not divided by tragedy. We must protect the Equestrian dream that has been nurtured by the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony.”

A cheer started out in the front of the crowd and quickly worked its way to every equine in the room. The noise coalesced into a patriotic roar that formed into a war cry all around Equestria.

An ancient being shook its head at the noise. It had seen everything in the history of time, it had been there when Luna fell into madness, when Discord became encased in stone, and when countless other world leaders fell to their own hubris.

It’s name was Qilin. An ancient chimera with the head of a dragon, the body of a tiger scaled over, the hooves of a horse and the tail of a buffalo. Upon its head two deer antlers protruded, giving it one of the most regal looks imaginable.

Qilin showed himself during the fall of great leaders, wise creatures who showed themselves to be pure and untainted by the evils around them. It was Qilin’s duty to protect these righteous creatures, but some could not be saved. There were fixed points in time where every great and pure leader must die, not even the Qilin could stop them, and the death of the Monarchs of Equestria was fixed. He had saved them countless other times in their youths, making sure no roguish beast or fiend tainted them, but now he was helpless.

The truly great loss however, was the loss of the elements of harmony. Qilin could see where this new Princess was going, the path she was so dangerously treading. It lead to war, war that would divide a world and devastate it. It lead to the release of Discord, the return of chaos, and no way to stop it. He needed to protect the future.

As a being of unlimited magical energy, Qilin could see all possible outcomes to any situation. He needed this ability to see whether a leader was truly righteous, or heading down a path of deception. His golden eyes scanned the past of the elements of harmony, analyzed every variable that had a profound effect on them…and found that every outcome lead to their deaths in this very place. Though their fate was not fixed, it was simply improbable that it would vary.

Among the millions upon millions of deaths he saw, he saw one glimmer of hope. Removal. Not removal from the world, removal from their original place in the world. An entire life not even he could see because he would need to set it in motion…entire lives unlived because he needed to do something about it.

So he did.

Chapter 1: Warm Hearth, Warm Home, Warm Heart

Qilin was a kind creature to those creatures who were pure of heart, his very presence could soothe any goodly creature. This included foals, as they were the purest beings. No sins had yet tainted their delicate souls.

The six foals he was carrying in a wicker basket all looked up at him with a calm curiosity. He had stolen them all from their respective homes in the dead of night, but this was not a simple act of malicious foalnapping, it was for the good of the planet. For the serenity of generations to come.

He had them, now he was pondering where to put them. It needed to be near Equestria, with a being whose path would eventually lead them to Canterlot. Race did not matter as long as they were kind and good to them.

There weren’t many ponies in Equestria who fit the criteria and could also take care of six fillies. Then it occurred to him, it didn’t have to be a pony. For years he had been keeping an eye on another hooved creature that lived outside of Equestria in the Frozen North.

The Reindeer. They were an industrious species, surviving the harsh cold of the Frozen North with little natural resources available to them. They thrived in the lumber industry, what little trees there were in the Tundra were cut down by teams and used in the construction of houses. Small towns dotted the snow, each independent and lead by a council of elders.

Of course very few Reindeer ever left their small villages, there was no need to. They never exported any goods, they rarely had tourism. One would think it would be hard to find a reindeer whose destiny intertwined with that of Canterlot’s.

Though there was one...she might just work. In a single moment the scenery changed from that of the small town of Ponyville to the barren tundra of the Frozen North. Overhead the Northern Lights shone in full effect, bringing an eerie green glow over the snow covered landscape.

Ahead, not very far, a log cabin poked through the blanket of powder. A singular light was on, illuminating the crystals that littered the ground. The chimney billowed smoke into the cloudless night sky, letting any weary travelers know where they may rest.

Qilin approached cautiously. While usually he would cast an invisibility spell, he could not do so for all six of the fillies he was carrying. Even his spells had limits. His ancient hooves left deep imprints in the snow that disappeared as soon as he took another step. He was just fine with the cold, he could not feel it. But the foals could, not even his calm-inducing presence could contain the feeling of freezing they must have been feeling.

He approached the log cabin and sat the basket down in front of the door. He knew who lived here, a kindly young reindeer with big dreams and her toy maker father. She would raise them right, she would keep them safe and keep them from any harm, and of course when the time was right she would lead them into their collective destiny. Better than all of that, their friendship would be as strong as the strongest steel. Not even the fires of Tartarus can shatter the bonds shared by sisters.

With a nod f his head, nametags were attached to each of the fillies saying their full names and what their key personality trait was. For prudence. It was better to be careful than to rely on chance, chance could be so unreliable.

A strong equine hoof knocked on the door a couple of times, then the Qilin turned and walked away from the ponies he had saved from a terrible fate. He did not look back, his eyes would be watching over them for their whole lives. No need to spare a glance now.

Kringle Winter was not necessarily a busy reindeer. He did not need to be up this late, but he wanted to be. In front of him on a cluttered work desk lit only by a single candle was a small wooden train he was working on. It had been simple enough to carve the toy from a single block of wood, now he was on to painting it.

How did a big strong reindeer become a simple toy maker? He was neither big nor strong. Due to a congenital muscle problem he had, he was never able to haul timber like most of his kin. Early on he had found his talent for woodworking. Most reindeer used their antlers to score marks in trees or playfully fight with their friends, he used his to craft toys.

Trains, little wooden dolls, Jack in the Boxes, little wooden ponies, he made them all. He also distributed them to the local foals whenever he found the number was becoming too much.

While he had been cursed with bad muscles from birth, he had been blessed with many things. The ability to bring a smile to the faces of children, the ability to make finely crafted toys, a warm home, and a loving daughter.

His daughter was the light of his life, the only true thing that made him get out of bed in the morning. At birth, a strand of ivy started to sprout just outside the cabin, he took this as a sign of good luck…that she would lead a good life and named her after the plant.

*Knock knock knock*

Kringle’s attention was drawn to the front door. It wasn’t completely unheard of to have visitors at this time of night, many a weary traveler needed a warm bed and he offered that for little more than a story or two.

Slowly, the reindeer lifted himself up from his padded work chair and walked to the door. Luckily the only room of the cabin was not cluttered, it was clean and warm thanks to Ivy. She kept the floor clean, kept the fire stoked, and kept the three beds they had made and ready for use.

The older reindeer nudged open the solid timber door to expose his home to the whipping winds of the North. Being a reindeer, he had a naturally thick coat and could tolerate sub-zero temperatures much better than most species.

Strangely, nothing was outside. No sign of any creature was to be seen, no prints were visible in the snow and no obvious displacement from any wings flapping. He supposed it could be a few bucks getting their yucks by throwing snowballs at doors, but for some reason he doubted it.

Just as he was about to turn around and head back inside a small cry came from his hooves. As he turned his brown eyes towards the ground he saw a basket with six baby equines in it. He had only seen a few ponies in his life, but he recognized the unicorns and pegasi in the group.

But as soon as he realized that they were only young ones out in below-freezing temperatures, he quickly grabbed the basket and pulled it inside. As soon as the basket was jarred all of the foals in the basket started crying at once…while Kringle was good with foals, he couldn’t handle six on his own.

“Ivy!” His daughter could help, she loved foals as much as he did. Kringle sat on his haunches and picked up two of them, the lavender one and the orange one rested in his hooves. The reindeer began rocking them back in forth in order to get them to calm down.

“Ugh…what is it, Dad…? And what’s that noise…?” He felt bad for waking Ivy up. She worked so hard, she deserved what sleep she could get. As she drew closer, Kringle could practically feel his daughter’s curiosity raising. “Are those…ponies…?”

“Yes. Well, technically they’re only foals…but ponies nonetheless.” Now was not a time for semantics, but he couldn’t help himself. “Someone left them on our doorstep, now I could use some help calming them down.”

In a second Ivy was by his side and had two more of the foals in her hooves, the pink one and the blue one for her. As soon as she held them they calmed down immediately.

“Who would come all the way from Equestria just to dump foals…?” She asked as her own bright green eyes looked into the two sets that were curiously looking up at her. “And such cute little things, too.”

“A pony who wanted these foals to have a good home, that’s who.” Kringle had finally gotten one of the foals he was holding to calm down. So he put the purple unicorn back in the basket and picked up the white unicorn.

“What if they were foalnapped…?” Ivy put the seemingly happy pink foal back in the basket and picked up the yellow foal to calm her down. This foal seemed to cling to her as soon as she held it.

“Don’t be so negative, Ivy.” Her father chided her. “If anything, destiny brought them here. Not malicious intent.” He smiled at the little foals and cuddled them gently. “New lives never carry bad omens, only new experiences.”

Ivy sighed, her father was always the optimist. There could be a blizzard outside and he could see it as a sign that good weather was coming. But she had to admire his attitude, it was something that kept the home warm more than the hearth could.

“Hmm. They have names…” Kringle held out one of the little nametags and read it aloud. “Applejack. Honest.” The old reindeer felt a smile creep across his face. “Rarity. Generous. See Ivy? They come bearing harmony. Not discord.”

“Rainbow Dash. Loyal..” The little blue foal’s nametag read. The name seemed appropriate given the polychromatic nature of her mane and tail. “Fluttershy. Kind. Why can’t ponies name their foals normally? They always have these weird names.” Sure, Ivy had only seen two ponies before now, but they both had odd names just like these six seemed to. “What do the other two say?”

The old buck leaned forward to get a good look at the two foals that were sleeping in the basket. “Twilight Sparkle. Magic. Pinkie Pie. Laughter.” Once again, Ivy noted the strange names.

“What are we going to do with them, dad?” Ivy put the two foals she was holding back in the basket now that they too were asleep. “I mean, we can’t keep them can we?”

“I don’t see why not. They were left on our doorstep, that’s a sign of fate Ivy. To give away such a precious gift would seem wrong.” Kringle smiled as he put the last of the now-sleeping foals in the basket. “We have enough food, a nice home, and warm fire. We are blessed with excess, Ivy. It is best to be charitable than to hoard.”

“It’s not the question if we have enough, but can we raise six ponies…?” She looked at the six foals sleeping together in the basket, they were cute now. But in a couple of years they would be a lot to handle.

“Well it’s obvious I’m not going to get any grandfoals from you anytime soon, so I see no reason why we can’t.” Ivy let her shoulders droop at her father’s statement. Okay, so she wasn’t very social with the opposite sex. Did that really matter? She had work to do, she didn’t need to be worried about being courted by some overeager buck. “Just think it over, Ivy. Go back to bed, I’ll take care of them.”

“Are you sure you can handle them by yourself?” It was a legitimate question. He could barely walk into town without help these days, taking care of six foals might be too much for the old man.

“I’m sure. If they get hungry I think we still have some of your old bottles, and some Yak milk in the freezer out back.” Ivy nodded and trotted back to bed, she knew they had some milk in the freezer out back. She had went to town to get it earlier, so at least they were set on that front. But foals had other needs that they might not be able to be met at this time. “Why if I had to guess, they’re not even six months old…I can handle them.”

As soon as Ivy was in bed, Kringle turned to the little sleeping foals. “Let me tell you a story. I’m sure you all like stories…” He swiped a reindeer figurine from a nearby desk and held it up. “Not very far from here there was a beautiful reindeer named Summer Night. She was the most beautiful reindeer in all of the Frozen North, some say not even the Princess of Equestria could match her beauty. One day she met a weak buck who was struggling with some lumber.” Seemingly from nowhere he produced another figurine that looked similar to himself. “The buck was trying to drag some timber back to town so he could start his own home like all reindeer do once they grow up. Seeing how the buck needed help, she lent a hoof and helped him drag it back to town. Now the buck had never seen such a beautiful doe in his whole life!” He exaggerated his point by stretching his hooves out wide. “He was so scared of her beauty that he didn’t even say anything to her, but he knew that he needed to repay the doe somehow. So he went home and carved a little reindeer out of the most flawless block of wood he could find. Little did he know, toy making was his special talent…but we’ll get to that later, huh?”

The little pink foal, Pinkie, gave a yawn as she opened her eyes and looked at the colorful little figures that danced around when Kringle spoke. “So he took the little figure and gave it to her the next day. She said never had she been given such a perfect gift, that nobody had ever given her something out of the kindness of their hearts. She leaned in, and gave the weak buck a little kiss on the cheek. Like this.” He made the female figure give the male one a little peck on the cheek. “And then they lived happily ever after.”

Okay…so that last part may be a little embellished. But foals needed happily ever after’s, they gave hope that everything was going to be right. That nothing could go wrong.

Ivy may have been in bed, but she heard every word her father spoke. It had been years since he told that story, maybe since after her mother passed even. Just thinking about it brought both tears and a smile to her face. It was like being told a fairytale that had actually happened, but you knew it was not actually a happy ending.

Ivy woke up a few hours later to the sun shining through the windows of the cabin…that and the sound of a wailing foal. It was a sound that she immediately hated, it was like an alarm of the worst kind.

After throwing her blankets off in frustration, Ivy rolled off of her bed and onto her hooves. Her father was nowhere in the single room cabin, that means she was left alone….with upset foals.

At least before he left he found her old playpen and some toys. So they were at least contained for now. As she approached the playpen she saw it was the yellow one with the pink mane, Fluttershy, wailing. She was reaching for a rattle that Rainbow Dash was holding and shaking happily.

Great, they’re not even a year old and they’re fighting. At least the other foals were crawling around calmly or playing with their toys without incident. But Fluttershy’s crying needed to stop.

Ivy trotted back to her bed and got the stuffed bear she usually slept with, Mr. Bear. It was one of her oldest toys that her mom had given to her…she didn’t want the foal to ruin it…but it was worth a shot.

She hooved the little stuffed bear to the crying filly, who looked at it for a second then immediately latched onto it. She didn’t chew on it or pull on it roughly, the little pony simply hugged it as tight as she could. Okay, so they may be slightly annoying…but at least they were cute.

Kringle stepped into the cabin and shook the snow off of his coat. The powdery substance didn’t bother him any, it was just not a good idea to track it everywhere in the house.

To his surprise he saw Ivy in the middle of the playpen with the foals. They were clambering all over her, and she was actually smiling. When one wanted attention, she would give it to them, and when two of the little ponies got into a tiff she would break it up like an expert.

This was truly a blessing for their home.

Chapter 2: Ragged Running

“No, Twilight put that down! Rainbow Dash get down from there!” Ivy was being run ragged. It’s only been a few weeks since the foals showed up, and now they were comfortable with their surroundings. Now most new parents would be happy about that, but a parent of unicorns and pegasi? Not happy at all.

Twilight was lifting everything she could get her magic on, including the other ponies. Rainbow Dash was flitting about like a hummingbird, and worst of all Rarity would not quit pulling on the others’ manes and tails.

As of right now, Twilight had a candle held dangerously close to the roof and Rainbow Dash was perched on one of the roof beams. Now being a reindeer, Ivy could do nothing to get the pegasus down. But she could resolve the unicorn problem. A simple tap on their horn was enough to make the little magic-users lose their unpracticed grip.

So with her hoof she gave the purple unicorn’s horn a tap, the tap made the glow stop and the candle to clatter to the ground, effectively blowing it out. That was one problem dealt with…now she had to get Rainbow Dash down somehow.

That little pegasus was quite stubborn, she didn’t like to do what she was told to do. Ivy had tried everything in the book to get Dash to stay on the ground, but the troublemaker wouldn’t fall for anything.

“I’m home!” Her father trotted in the house, cloth bags hanging from his antlers. As soon as he entered the home Rainbow Dash flew down and landed on his back, hugging him and babbling incoherently. “Is that right? Well isn’t that just interesting.” Of course he was fantastic with the foals, they all just seemed to love him…then again, he was experienced.

“How come she comes down for you? She never does that for me.” Ivy plopped down on her rump, thoroughly annoyed that her dad seemed to be able to get the foals attention more than she could.

“It’s because I don’t yell at them, Ivy. Little ones don’t respond to anger, they actively shut it out.” The old buck sat down, lowered the bags to the floor, then grabbed Rainbow off of his back. “Isn’t that right my little snowbird?” The colorful foal responded by hugging his face.

“How do you not get frustrated with them, though? I mean Twilight’s always messing with stuff, Rarity’s always pulling on the other’s hair, and Applejack won’t quit tackling Pinkie. It’s chaos!” To punctuate her statement, she threw her hooves up in the air wildly. “The only one who isn’t a problem is Fluttershy, and she won’t let go of my bear…” Ivy’s hooves crossed her body with a huff.

“Now now, Ivy. We must pass down what we have to our young ones, possessions hold memories that cannot be told. It is one of the greatest mysteries in our world: Joy, hatred, laughter, and anger can all be passed down with the simplest of objects. Just look how happy little Fluttershy is with your bear, it reminds me of you when you were young.” Indeed the little yellow pegasus was cuddling the bear tightly, looking a lot like Ivy when she was younger.

“Alright, alright. I get it, dad. Pay it forward.” A little tug on her hoof caused Ivy to look down. At her hooves Rarity was looking up at her with little white hooves outstretched, signaling she wanted to be picked up. Ivy picked the unicorn up and cradled her close.

Rarity was an odd little filly, when she first appeared her mane was perfectly styled as if someone had spent a long time getting the purple coiffure just right. Ivy had realized when she had to give the foals a bath, that Rarity did not like her mane any other way. Just letting it be natural made her whine and cry, so Ivy had to learn to replicate her original manestyle. Easier said than done, even now it was a cheap imitation.

“Hello Rarity, how are you today?” Ivy nuzzled the white filly, which she immediately regretted. Rarity’s horn glowed a pale blue and Ivy felt the little tuft of hair on her head get tugged. “Ow! Rarity, don’t do that. That hurts Rarity.” Ivy rubbed her head and spoke slowly. “Ow.” She had to learn not to pull on stuff, it was starting to get annoying.

“You know, when I was in town I ran into Klaus.” Ivy immediately rolled her eyes, Klaus Fir was her father’s oldest friend and the town old fool. That old stag was always going on about how the Equestrians had it out for the reindeer, that the only reason it snowed all the time here was to kill them. “I told him that we had six new additions to our little family, he said he and Maple would be happy to watch them sometime.”

“No, Dad. I know you and Klaus go way back, but you know how he is about ponies. I don’t want him accusing my foals of doing him wrong.” Ivy’s grip seemed to tighten around Rarity without her knowing it. “He’s not watching them.”

The smile on her father’s face was perplexing to say the least. It was that smile he gave her when he caught her lying or admitting something, it was that fatherly smile. She didn’t like it.

“Oh, your foals? How interesting, I was under the impression you found them irritating.” Well that explains it. Ivy thought it was high time to backpedal.

“Well…I mean, they are irritating…but in a cute way. Like a puppy who won’t quit licking your face, irritating.” The young doe was met with a raised eyebrow from her father. “And they are sorta mine, they need a mom…”

“And a grandfather. Every little one needs a grandfather to spoil them rotten, don’t they Rainy?” Rainbow Dash responded by blowing a raspberry happily. “She agrees. Now I know you said no to Klaus, but what about Snowy Daze? She had an ad up in the town paper saying she’s looking to foalsit.”

Well Snowy Daze was just an innocent doe straight out of school. She was a tad ditzy, but she was sweet and kindhearted. She might just work…but Ivy would have to talk to her first.

“Well I’ll have to talk to her about foalsitting six pony foals. Not many reindeer would be up for that task, I don’t think…” Ivy let Rarity down once the little diva started to fuss, she promptly crawled over to applejack and started babbling. “I barely am…”

“Well great, because while I was in town I had Douglas fix up our sled. He gave it these little railings so we can cart them around.” Ivy was still a little iffy about taking the foals outside. Reindeer were born in the cold, used to it. But Ponies were used to more temperate climates, not two feet of snow year round. “And don’t worry, Timber gave me some of her extra scarves to wrap them up in. I think one is long enough to keep this little one’s wings tucked to her sides.” His hoof poked the blue foal’s stomach, which made the pony giggle and grab his much larger hoof with all four of hers.

“Well…alright. Let’s get them bundled up, then.”

Twenty minutes later the foals were bundled up in their oversized scarves. Each one was the traditional red and green stripes that most scarves had, like Ivy’s own. Most of the fillies loved the soft scarves and were chewing on the ends of them, Rainbow Dash and Rarity did not. Rainbow was tugging at the scarf, which was loosely around her neck, and securely around her barrel which kept her wings secured. Rarity was simply crying at the scarf and trying to push it away from her like it was a rabid timberwolf.

“The sled’s just outside. One you’re hooked up I’ll bring them out.” Ivy nodded, she trusted her father could handle the foals for a minute or two while she was hooking up the sled.

The young doe stepped out of the warmth of her cabin and into the blistering cold of the Frozen North. It was a beautiful day by the standards of it always being winter, it wasn’t snowing, there was no wind, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A beautiful day, it may have even been a little bit warmer than usual.

The sled that her father had been talking about was standing upright to the right of the door. She set it down flat and got the reigns that were hung up on a nail right by it. The reigns had silver bells on them that jingled at even the smallest movement, they were used to signal your position in the event of white-out conditions.

The bright red reigns attached to the sled via pegs, then she wore it as a harness. Most other hooved species found harnesses like it to be degrading or embarrassing because they found a muzzle being harnessed to be…well, Ivy didn’t actually know. She just knew that most species looked down on reindeers for using them. The offered superior control of whatever you were pulling, so they were alright in her book.

“Alright Dad, I’m all hooked up!” Within a few seconds her father came out with Pinkie and Applejack on his back. Those two were the heaviest of the six, she could only theorize that it was because they were earth ponies. He placed them at the back of the sled, basic sled logic; heavy stuff in back to keep it from fishtailing.

Next the unicorns, he put them in the middle. Finally the pegasi, who were the lightest of the six. Her father had said something about them having hollow bones like birds so they could fly, he put them in the very front.

“Alright. Now you all be careful.” As Ivy trotted off, her father waved goodbye. She turned to wave back and saw the little foals waving back to him and giggling, that alone brought a smile to her face.

The walk to town was not a long one, but it wasn’t a short jog either. Her father had built their cabin far enough away from town that they wouldn’t be bothered by noise. The walk was familiar to Ivy, she went into town almost every other day to fetch supplies or firewood.

The town didn’t have a name, most reindeer towns didn’t. They had some names that only the locals called it, this one was often called ‘Mountain Shadow’ after the location of it at the base of one of the many mountains in the region.

It was small, maybe ten to twenty building sporadically placed around a central meeting hall. There were no roads, only hoof madepaths through the snow that needed to be remade after every snowfall. If Ivy’s memory served her correctly, Snowy lived right next to the Fir’s. All of the houses looked alike, so this was going to be trial and error if she was wrong.

Before she could approach the house she thought was Snowy’s, she became painfully aware of numerous eyes on her and her cargo. As she turned her head to look around, she saw various reindeer staring at the foals in her sled. All reindeer were uniform brown with tan or white spots on their backs and stomachs, so six technicolor ponies stood out quite a bit.

It was almost painful to be gazed at like some sort of side show oddity. Sure ponies were a very rare sight here, but did they warrant such a heightened interest? Ivy didn’t think so, but then again she had been around them for a few weeks.

Ivy shook the feeling off and knocked on the heavy wooden door a few times, she was hoping that Snowy would answer. While Ivy liked Mr. & Mrs. Daze, the less interaction she had with curious reindeers the better. Luckily, the door opened and a young doe with bright grey eyes and a smile plastered permanently to her face.

“Oh, hi Ivy!” Her voice was chipper and clueless, just like Ivy remembered it. “What are you-Ohmygosh!” Snowy’s eyes went wide as she saw behind her friend. “Are those ponies?!” In an instant Snowy was right beside the sled, her eyes sparkling. “They’re so colorful and adorable! Look at this one, she has a little horn! Oooh you have to tell me where I can get one! Oh is that why you’re here? Are you giving them away? Please say yes!” Ivy was struggling to keep up with every word that came out of Snowy’s mouth, it was like a nonstop stream of nonsense.

“No Snowy…I’m not giving them away.” Ivy rubbed her forehead, trying to get rid of the headache that was creeping up on her. “Someone put them on our doorstep a couple of weeks ago, I took them in.” Before Ivy could continue her train of thought, Snowy tackled her into a ground.

“You’re a mommy?! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve thrown you a baby shower! Well…a post-baby shower…is there such a thing? I hope so, because I want to have one! Anyways, that is so sweet of you!” Snowy’s face was pressed right up against Ivy’s, creating a very uncomfortable feeling….for Ivy at least.

“Yeah. Well, I was wondering if you could watch them tomorrow. I really have to get back to work, and my dad can’t take care of them all by himself. I can pay you, I promise.” Reindeer used bits, just like ponies. It was a worldwide currency because it was just pure gold, the value determined only by size. Ivy often traded the lumber she moved for money in town, everyone needed a warm fire around here.

“Really?” Once again, her bright gray eyes sparkled with untold joy. “You’d let me watch them? Of course I’ll watch them! But I won’t charge much, I just want the happiness of watching theses little cuties!” Well that was a load off of Ivy’s mind…

A pair of eyes, one eye blue and the other riddled cataracts, watched the two does talk to one another out of an old warped window. The stag to whom the eyes belonged grimaced at the six little figures in the sled that were trying to get to the snow. They were little balls of evil.

“Klaus! The fire’s dying again!” His wife, Maple, called from the main room. Unlike most families, his had a multiple room home. He was one of the first reindeer to settle here, he had the most timber to work with, his home deserved to be the biggest in town.

“Dagnabit, Maple! Leave me alone, woman! I’m doin’ something…” His yellowed teeth showed themselves behind his curled lips. Sometimes his wife could get on his nerves.

He turned back to the window to keep an eye on the equines on the sled. His hoof went to his one broken antler, he often rubbed the rough, broken antler when he was angry or nervous. For now, he was the former. How could Kringle bring ponies into their town? How could he bring these chaos-bringers here? If it had been Klaus, he would have let the wolves have the little ponies. After all, the only good pony was a dead pony.

“Princess, it’s been three weeks. We have to give up, they’re gone.” Princess Celestia’s most trusted advisor, Check List, was trying to talk sense into the monarch. Scant weeks ago six foals had gone missing simultaneously from all over Equestria. Crime, being so rare in Equestria, had caused a national panic that had been difficult to calm down. It was Equestrian standard to search for lost foals for eighteen days. That mark had passed already, so why was the Princess so adamantly pursuing this?

“They are not gone. I know they are somewhere…” Princess Celestia was not sure where she was headed now. The maze of corridors in the palace could lead anywhere the hooves decided to go, but most often these days she found her hooves taking her to the rooms of the victims of this horrible tragedies.

Six separate families, each one with a foal missing, were staying in the royal apartments usually reserved for diplomats and the Princess herself. Celestia had looked into each family, their lineage, their lives, possible enemies. None of them connected to each other, the only vague connection was that Twilight Velvet had once had a brief fling with Southern Belle in their youths. But that was a case of college experimentation, not anything malicious, and no enemies came from it.

She had considered everything, Griffon slavers, Lunar cultists, Saddle Arabian radicals. None of their usual behavior matched these foalnappings…it was all just so confusing. The worst part was that as soon as she saw pictures of the foals, she felt their was something important about them. She felt that their lives were somehow meaningful to Equestria’s well-being.

“Your Majesty, we must give up. You have the royal guard scouring all of Equestria for them, you’re running them ragged.” Check List pleaded with the pony princess. She may not have to listen to reason, but she would not deny the well-being of her subjects just for some search.

“Very well, I will give up.” Check List sighed as the Princess stopped in her tracks. “But only if you can tell him his little sister is gone forever, that you decided she wasn’t important enough to save.” He followed the Princess’ hoof, it was pointing at a young colt, no more than five years old. He didn’t even have his cutie mark yet. His coat was a pearl white, while his mane and tail were a brilliant cobalt blue. He was the older brother of one of the foals that had gone missing, Twilight Sparkle. His name was Shining Armor.

“Fine.” Check List knew this was not going to end well, but if they didn’t bring their troops home things could end much worse. His dark hooves clattered against the tile floor as he advanced towards the boy, as he approached the little colt looked up at him with hopeful blue eyes.

“Hi mister, did you find Twily yet?” The young unicorn looked down and kicked a hoof. “Mommy hasn’t stopped crying since she went missing…” Check List braced himself, this was going to hurt the little one more than it was going to hurt him.

“No we haven’t…” Shining Armor’s head picked back up, tears welling in his eyes. As soon as Check List saw that sad face, he realized that he just couldn’t do it…he couldn’t let the hope leave. “But the royal guards will keep looking, I promise.”

“I hope so. I’ll become a royal guard one day so I can help get Twily back!” Somehow…Check List didn’t doubt that.

Chapter 3: Better Daze

“But what if she forgets to feed them, or leaves a window open and Rainbow flies out and gets lost? What if one of them wanders into the snow and freezes? What if she gives them too much sugar? You know how Snowy is! She’s…she’s…oh what’s the word?” Ivy was pacing a hole in the floor of the cabin, she had been all morning. The foals were still asleep, not even the sun was up this early. So luckily, she could have her miniature freak-out with only her father to see.

“Forgetful?” Kringle offered. He had been watching Ivy pace for about an hour and a half now, fretting over the safety of the little foals in her care. It made him smile, she was finally becoming a parent. A good parent always worries if they’re doing the right thing. “I think you’re overreacting, Ivy. Snowy is perfectly capable of taking care of them, she has enough energy to take care of them.” This was one of the first times where he could be the voice of reason in the house, usually it was Ivy telling him he was being a worrying old coot.

“I just…I don’t want anything bad to happen to them, dad.” Ivy finally sat down after what seemed to be an eternity of movement. “I know we’ve only had them for a while, but it’s like this is right…like it’s my job to make sure nothing bad happens to them.” Her bed, which she had been pacing by, was occupied by the objects of her anxiety. She had got into the habit of letting the fillies sleep in her bed with her, usually there was just enough room for all of them plus her on the bed. She acted as the barrier between them and the floor, now there were pillows there to make sure they wouldn’t fall off.

Idly, Ivy stroked Applejack’s mane. It wasn’t often that she got to just…look at them. Most of the time they were full of energy and moving about, but when they were asleep she just got to appreciate them just a little bit more. Like how Applejack had little white freckles that made a straight line from one cheek to the other, or how Pinkie’s mane was always unusually straight. The little things.

“Congratulations. You’re a parent, Ivy.” Kringle leaned back in his homemade rocking chair that doubled as his work chair, he smiled at his grown daughter. His all-grown-up daughter that had foals all her own. It was a little difficult to accept, but handled it with a smile like he did all things. “Being a parent is about worrying whether or not you’re doing everything wrong. It’s not very healthy, but that’s why those who don’t have children live longer.” Kringle laughed at what he said, it was true but funny. All of the worry that offspring brought was worth it.

“So…I’m supposed to be a nervous wreck…?” Her question was met with a nod from the graying stag in the rocking chair. “And I’m supposed to not trust them with Snowy?”

“No. Snowy’s your friend, you’re supposed to trust friends with them. It’s strangers you have to worry about.” Kringle knew he was going to have several conversations like this with his daughter in the near future. New parents always needed help.

Snowy Daze put some logs on the fire. For now she was responsible for the house, her parents had left for a week to go see some relatives in Equestria. She was only seventeen, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for running the house by herself. It meant she had to make sure the fire was sufficiently stocked, the fridge was full of food, and the house didn’t burn down. It was a lot to take in.

“I…hate…morniiiiiiiings.” Was all Snowy could moan out as she collapsed on the rug in front of the fireplace. She wasn’t used to waking up this early, the sun was supposed to wake up before reindeer. Not the other way around.

Snowy knew as sure as she had antlers on her head, that she didn’t want to be some doe who dragged timber around like Ivy. She was destined for something…not better, but less labor intensive than that. Like being a baker. She loved to bake, it was like a hobby she never got to enjoy. The only time she was able to bake was for parties, it’s one of the reasons she loved to throw them. That and they were just so fun.

*Knock Knock Knock*

That would be Ivy, she warned she’d be here early. But did Snowy listen? Noooo, Snowy was too busy thinking of games to play with the little ponies. She loved ponies, they were like polychromatic magical versions of reindeer…without the awesome antlers to boot. Those were an added bonus for being a reindeer.

Back to the door issue: Snowy didn’t want to get up and answer the door. It was so far away! It was like….fifteen feet. Who could ever walk that far this early in the morning? (Except Ivy.)

“S’open!” It was better to just let things handle themselves sometimes. This was one of those times, plus the floorboards were speaking to her. ‘Don’t leave us, Snowy!’ and ‘We love you, Snowy!’ How could she deny them? That would be rude and inconsiderate.

“Snowy?” She saw Ivy’s hooves enter her house, and the little wooden sled follow after her. “What are you doing on the floor? I thought I told you to be up by now.” Great, she was mad. Ivy was mad, and Snowy did not give a single care.

“Too early…sun hasn’t even woke up…” Snowy readjusted herself so she was lying on her back, hooves splayed out. Now she could see the daggers Ivy was glaring at her quite clearly, they were shiny.

“And lucky for you, neither have the foals. So it looks like you get some more sleep for a while.” Ivy unloaded a basket from the sled and sat it beside Snowy’s sleepyhead. “If Twilight or Rarity use their magic, just tap their horns. If Applejack gets too rough with Pinkie, just lightly thump her nose. If Rarity starts fussing, it means you’re doing something wrong. And if Fluttershy starts to cry, just giver her the bear….oh and if Rainbow Dash flies into the rafters…well, good luck on that one.” Snowy was making sleepy mental notes of all of that, and then drooling on the paper. So tired! “Their names are on a little sheet of paper in there along with which one is which in case you forget.” Snowy watched as ivy dipped her head into the basket and gave the blanketed foals a nuzzle. “Bye-bye girls, Ivy loves you and will be back later.”

‘Aww, how sweet…’ Snowy thought as she passed out.

“Go to breakfast without us, son. I’ll try to calm your mother down and we’ll meet you there.” Shining Armor sighed, he just wanted to have a meal with his whole family again…a happy mommy, a daddy who wasn’t worried, and a little sister who was home. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, because it didn’t happen.

But Shining Armor knew better than to argue. His mommy wasn’t not going to be sad for a long time, his daddy had said so…and his daddy knew everything about everything. He was a librarian for the Princess.

Nudging open the door, Shining left his family’s room and entered the big hallway outside. There were a lot of doors in the hallway, all looking like his family’s. Once he had even walked into the wrong room and saw the Princess eating a big chocolate cake. He didn’t tell anypony though, he didn’t think the Princess would like him telling everypony that she liked chocolate instead of vanilla. Vanilla was the best type of cake, but everypony gave into the dark side sometimes.

He knew what door the dining room was though, it was the one with the big fork and spoon as handles. The first time he saw that, it made him laugh. He bet it made the Princess laugh too, that’s why she had it like that.

So Shiny pushed open the funny doors that lead to the dining room and trotted in. The table that was in the really long room was….well…really long! It was like a gazillion feet long and had just as many chairs! But not many of the chairs were ever filled. The Princess was in her big chair today though at the far end of the table.

There were also a filly sitting closer to the door. Shining had seen her walking around the castle a lot. Maybe she lived here like the princess, she was pretty enough to be one. Usually he would be scared to talk to her, but today he felt really brave! Like he could stare down Nightmare Moon and make her run away! So he nervously trotted over and took a seat next to the pretty-princess-pony.

“Umm…hi.” All of a sudden, he felt really small. Like even a mouse could chase him away…he didn’t feel all too brave now.

“Oh, hi.” Celestia, she was so pretty. Like…like…like the first crayon in a new pack. Perfect.

“H-Hi…I-I’m pretty…you’re Shining Armor.” He face hoofed, smacking his hoof right into his nose and sending sharp pains through his face. “I-I mean I’m Shining Armor….and you’re pretty.” Luckily, she didn’t think he was as big a fool as he felt because she was giggling.

“Hi Shining Armor.” He wasn’t sure why a Princess like her was talking to him. It felt like his stomach was full of little butterflies that wouldn’t quit trying to get out. He only hoped she would speak her name. “I’m Inky Pie.”

“Pardon me, miss?” Ivy was busy cutting down a tree. How does a reindeer cut down a tree you might ask? Well they developed a special saw that spanned between the antlers and hooked onto each protrusion. The reindeer would then move their head back and forth to saw the tree in half, at first the motion could make some nervous but everyone eventually got over it.

“What is it, I’m busy?” Ivy didn’t like to be bothered during work, It meant that her rhythm she had going was broken and that meant it took longer to cut down a tree. Reluctantly, Ivy pulled the saw out of the tree and looked to whoever disturbed her.

It was a pony, a unicorn stallion to be precise. He was a pale yellow with a red and white mane draping across his head. Surprisingly, he was quite tall for a pony. Much taller than anypony Ivy had ever seen…but that wasn’t the only curious thing about him. He was towing some sort of machine, it looked like a carriage but had two smoke stacks on it and was making a whirring sound constantly. That and he was wearing a blue pin-striped vest with a pocket on each side, it wasn’t every day someone wore clothes.

“I am terribly sorry, miss. The name’s Arboreus T. Sap, I’m an Arborist from Hoofington.” He held out a hoof for a shake, but once he realized he was not going to get one he used the hoof to fix the wire rim glasses that were drooping down his nose. “Anyways, I’m here on very specific business and I require a large plot of land. Would you happen to know where I might be able to purchase some?” Ivy laughed. She didn’t mean it to be rude, it just sounded that way.

“The land belongs to everyone, Mr. Sap. No one can buy or sell it, that’s ridiculous. Here you find a plot of land and just set a house up on it, the house is yours and the land is everybody’s.” Ivy had given this spiel about a dozen times at this point, all to silly ponies who thought they could own land.

“Everybody? What a cute turn of phrase…” The unicorn pulled out a pen and little notebook from his pocket with his pale green magic, wrote something down, and stashed it again. “So nopony owns the land, huh? A little bit like the buffalo, you lot are. Not surprising, archaic societies and all.” The notebook and pen went back in his pocket. “Very well, I shall commence building a domicile all my own somewhere around here. Somewhere my boys can have some room to run around.” As if on cue two little horned heads poked out of the mechanical carriage, they looked to be almost identical to Arboreus. “There has been some terrible business in Equestria, foals being taken in the dead of night. Not good at all, so I thought that I could move up here away from all of the hustle and bustle of the old country. Well that and I happen to be working on a miracle plant that can grow in these harsh conditions, and every scientist knows that a real-world application of a theory is the only way to make sure it works.”

Ivy had been nodding in and out of the conversation while the stallion spoke. She had more important things to worry about, like getting her work done so she could go get her foals from Snowy. She just wanted to get home to her family.

“Well alright Mr. Sap. You have a nice day.” Ivy grabbed her saw with her antlers again and got back to sawing the tree.

“I don’t believe I caught your name, Miss?” Ivy sighed, she honestly did not want go on with this. Sure the stallion was nice and polite, but he was just way too talkative during work hours.

“Winter. Ivy Winter.” She was almost through the tree at this point, just a little more and she’d have to clear out. “I hate to cut our conversation short, but I think you should move along before this tree comes down.”

“Oh, you are quite right.” The stallion quickly put the harness that connected to the large machine he was towing back on and moved quickly out of the area.

Goooood morning ponies!” Snowy shouted as all of the foals finally woke up. Luckily they had given her an adequate napping time so she felt fully charged now! She was waiting with a big smile on her face now, and she was ready to play!

“WAAAAAAA!” Six little voices all wailed at the same time, sending Snowy straight to her haunches. The doe laid her white-tipped ears against her head to protect them from the unanimous scream that was coming from the little ponies.

“I’m sorry! I’m so so so so sorry!” Snowy advanced towards the little ponies’ basket. As soon as she got within reaching distance of the foals, she picked one up. It was the pink one, argh what was her name? It was something obvious, Snowy knew it…Pinkie! It was Pinkie! “There there, it’s alright. Auntie Snowy’s here to take care of you for awhile.” The response she received was a scream right in her ear.

“I’m in trouble…” Was all Snowy could say in realization of the situation she was currently in.

Chapter 4: Grin and Bear It

Snowy was not having a fun day. Ever since the foals woke up it had been a madhouse of epic proportions. First they wouldn’t stop crying, they just cried and cried and cried and cried. She had tried everything! Changing them, feeding them, burping them, making them laugh. But nothing worked! They wanted Ivy, they wanted their mommy…and Snowy was no mommy.

After they had eventually stopped crying, Rainbow flew up into the rafters and would not come down. Not for anything. Snowy wasn’t sure if foals were capable of glaring, but she was eighty-five percent sure the little pegasus had done so.

Twilight and Applejack were both secluding themselves from her underneath of the basket…which Snowy had accidentally tipped over while trying to get Rainbow down. Pinkie and Rarity were…well…okay…Snowy wasn’t sure exactly where they were, but they were in the house! She knew that much.

The only one who wasn’t a problem was Fluttershy, who was just sitting on the couch with her little stuffed bear looking at her sisters. She didn’t even cry as much as the others, thank Celestia for small miracles.

“Aren’t you guys hungry…?” Snowy held up a bottle for every foal to see, maybe some food would get them to come out. Before she could react, a little colorful blur took the bottle from her hoof and rested in the rafters once more. “Oh come on! I’m just trying to watch after you like a good foal sitter! I-I’m just trying to make you like me…” Snowy could feel her spirits dampen. “W-why don’t you like me….?”

Snowy, finally exhausted, fell to the floor and buried her face in the crook of her foreleg. She didn’t want any of this, she just wanted to have fun and play with the foals…she didn’t want to be hated. She could feel the tears start to come on, oh why couldn’t the foals just like her like they did Ivy?

She felt a little hoof poke her shoulder, Snowy sniffled and looked up to see an icing-covered Pinkie Pie with her mane wild and covered in the sweet substance offering her the very same tub where the icing came from. Snowy took it with a hoof and smiled…then she saw all of the other foals behind the icing-covered Pinkie. Maybe it wasn’t going to be such a bad day.

Kringle was whittling new toys from smaller blocks of wood. His grandfoals deserved custom made toys, not any of the models he produced usually. They deserved only the best.

He had whittled a few already, right now he was on Applejack’s. The old stag was not sure what exactly he was going to whittle, he just let his antlers decide. They were the creative force, he was simply their way to get around; their supplier.

A knock sounded at the door. It wasn’t unheard of to have visitors, usually Klaus came over and they talked for a while about whatever happened to cross their minds, or perhaps it was Snowy who brought the foals back because she was overwhelmed. That’s the beauty of a knock at the door, it always holds something new.

Slowly, Kringle got up from his chair and put the half-finished toy on his work table. It could wait for now. With every step he cringed just a little, it was getting harder to move around these days…some days he just wanted to collapse and sleep wherever he fell for the rest of the day, but that was not an option. He had toys to make, foals to bring happiness to.

He pulled the door open, on the other side was a pony. A rather tall unicorn, pale yellow, shaggy red and white mane. He was also wearing a vest that Kringle thought made him look rather dashing. Behind the stallion, two similarly colored heads poked out. It was obvious they were shy, as soon as his old green eyes made contact with their vibrant emerald ones, they hid once more.

“Salutations my reindeer friend, I am Arboreus T. Sap, arborist from Hoofington.” The stallion held out a hoof, which Kringle gladly took with a smile. “I am terribly sorry to bother you, but my carriage is caught in a snow drift not far from here. I’m not meaning to be a bother, but I don’t want my boys here catching colds out there.”

“Name’s Kringle Winter, toy maker. I thought you would know better than to try and pull a carriage through snow, that’s always nasty business, Mr. Sap.” Kringle wasn’t being rude, he was simply pointing out a fact, even ponies had snow.

“Winter…? I say, would you be related to that young female out there cutting trees? Ivy, I think it was?” Kringle was about to respond when the two little ponies behind Arboreus pulled on their father’s tail. “Oh, of course. I’m sorry, Mr. Winter, but may we come inside for just a second? I don’t mean to impose.”

“Of course!” Kringle stepped inside. “Come in, come in. I should’ve invited you in sooner.” The trio of ponies entered the small cabin, after they entered Kringle shut the door. “Ivy is my daughter, lives here with me.”

“How quaint, I must say that I love the quality of your cabins here. They are simply marvelous. Tell me, where may I buy one?” The two little colts that followed their father immediately went to a low shelf and began perusing the wooden toys that sat upon it.

“Well we make our own houses around here, but I guess you could pay some workers to help you out.” Kringle laboriously made his way back to his chair and sat down. “But we’re a friendly and helpful bunch. Just don’t go asking the Firs for any help, alright? They aren’t too sweet on ponies.” Aboreus gave a nod then looked at how boys, who were trying to get some of the toys. The unicorn was going to stop them when Kringle cut in. “They can play with them, it’s fine. Every toy needs someone to play with it, as far as I’m concerned they can have some of them.” Within a second, the two little colts had toys off of the shelf; Trains and little wooden mannequins trapped within their magical grasps.

“Flim, Flam, tell Mr. Winter thank you.” Arboreus sat down on one of the beds gracefully, then pulled a small notebook from out of his vest pocket. With the flick of a mechanical-looking quill, he wrote something down.

“Thank you Mr. Winter.” The two voices said simultaneously. Kringle gave them a little nod and the two colts started playing with the toys happily.

“So, some foals got taken in Equestria? How many?” Kringle was curious, every time they received pony immigrants it was because something happened in Equestria. That in and of itself was a rare occurrence. Equestria was a fairly peaceful place, save all of the stuff that happened about a millennium ago.

“I believe it was six, there were a few oddities but most of them were from a small town just by Canterlot…Ponyville, I believe is its name. A quaint little hamlet, I’ve visited it a few times to study the apple orchards there. Fascinating things, can even grow these rainbow colored ones they call ‘zap apples.’” Kringle simply kept quiet and listened, this unicorn apparently had a tendency to ramble. The old stag didn’t mind, he liked ramblings. It was the sign of an energetic mind, of a mind filled with wonder and thoughts.

“You’re interested in apples?” This conversation about the foals started feeling eerie to Kringle, his mind was making connections he did not like. The implications of the conclusions he was drawing were not good.

“Oh Celestia, yes!” Arboreus sat up straight and pushed his glasses back up his face. “Apples are a fascinating fruit, simply fascinating. Why, I even developed a special kind of apple seed that may be able to grow in these absolutely frigid conditions. Why, without that little incident in Equestria I may have never come here to test them.” Kringle was interested now, only a select few varieties of fruit could grow up here…and even those were scrawny and rare. Every once in a while Ivy would come across an odd crystal berry patch or some snowdrops, but it was very uncommon.

“Well I think you have a wonderful future here, Mr. Sap.” Kringle could only smile.

“Okay…now how do I get the icing out?” Snowy was holding Pinkie up and looking at the grinning foal with a cocked head. Her once straight, clean mane was now a tangled mess with globs of icing caught in it. Now most creatures would suggest a bath to remedy this situation, the only problem is that getting water was a bit of a problem. There was no indoor plumbing here, the pipes would freeze…sure she could go outside, fill a bucket with snow, and then melt it. But that would mean leaving the foals alone, and Snowy already decided that was a bad idea…

“Snowy, are you here?” Snowy put Pinkie down and turned around. There was only one reindeer who would barge into houses without knocking, and sure enough he was standing in the doorway.

“Oh, hi Mr. Fir.” Snowy smiled and waved to Klaus Fir. Her parents liked to use him to check up on her when they were out of town. Snowy was kind of scared by the old reindeer, his broken antler, yellow teeth, and bad eye made him look like a witch from storybooks. In the back of her mind, Snowy was always looking for any magic spells or cursed apples.

“Hello, I see you’re watching Kringle’s chao-little ones. How is that going?” Truth be told, Klaus was just checking on the little monsters. You can never be too careful with ponies around, they were always plotting something.

“Oh, it’s fine. But I’m glad someone’s here. I need to go get some snow so I can give Pinkie a bath, do you think you can watch them for like a split second? It’s okay if you don’t want to, but Ivy will kill me if she sees this…” Snowy was desperate, sure Mr. Fir spouted a lot of hate about ponies, but he was just an old stag. Nothing but hot air, now.

“Sure I can. You go out and do what you need.” Klaus gave a faux smile, and stepped over to one of the little demons, the white one, and patted her head. With just a moment’s hesitation, she picked up a bucket and went out the door.

Klaus frowned as soon as Snowy closed the door. He could forgive that clueless doe for cavorting with the enemy, she didn’t know better. But now that he was alone with the terrible usurpers, he kicked the white one away with his hoof and marched over to the couch. As soon as he entered he recognized the bear the winged beast was clutching, it was the same one that his wife had made for Ivy’s mother years ago when she was pregnant with Ivy.

This pony didn’t deserve it, so with a swipe he snatched the bear away and glared at the yellow demon. She didn’t even cry, she simply shied away and hid her face from him.

“That’s right, hide. Because as long as you’re here, you’ll have a reason to hide.” Klaus leaned in close to the cowering foal, his bad eye staring at her intensely. “Because I know what you are, and I know what you do…you don’t deserve this bear…” The door handle jiggled, so Klaus made his way to it, making sure to hide the bear from Snowy’s sight.

“Alright, I’m done.” Snowy was carrying a bucket full of snow on one of her antlers. “Thanks for watching them, Klaus.” He simply nodded and left, closing the door behind him firmly. Now of course he would give the bear back, but first he would need to make a small modification to it.

Chapter 6: [Interlude] What You Have Done

The very fabric of time is a very delicate and interesting thing. It is something only a select few beings could even look at. Once upon a time there had been a whole race of beings that were master time manipulators, all but one of them was even around anymore. So now the fabric of time was very seldom looked upon.

But Qilin, he saw it every second. To him is was like home, it was his palace. Each moment was his stepping stone, each century was but a room to the beast. To most it would be overwhelming, to Qilin it was just another moment.

Qilin looked upon the timeline he had created. Most would assume that changing something in time would have immediate ramifications on the timeline,, then again most would be wrong.

While he could see general events just by thinking about changing something, very minor things would not come to light until he actually changed something. Even then, he had to wait with the part he moved or changed, each second changing from the original, rewriting a moment that has already passed.

But major events, such as Nightmare Moon returning, he could see those clearly. The elements of harmony still prevailed, but in a very different way. Perhaps…if he focused on the moment, he could bring one of them here to discuss his changes wi-

“Well well well, look who muddled with things once again.” Just the mere voice made Qilin sigh. It wasn’t very often he was approached in this ethereal realm, but when he did something drastic…well, his twin brother always showed up.

Qilin turned around to look at his brother. Much like himself, his brother was a patchwork of different animals. But where Qilin’s form was elegant and beautiful, his brother’s was much more stilted. As if someone had jammed jigsaw pieces together rather than place them.

“I had to.” Qilin responded calmly. “I do not expect you to understand.”

“I quite liked that reality.” His brother snaked his way closer, his red eyes staying focused on some small moments that had yet to change. “Why did you have to go and change it? You just like putting me through this again and again, don’t you?”

“I had to prevent their deaths. You know they could not pass, Discord.” His brother used to be just like him, a guardian of time. A protector of the righteous, a true Qilin. Then..he was corrupted. He revealed himself to the world and used his powers to alter time so much that the very laws of reality changed. So, Qilin stripped him of his title and stranded him there…he assumed the moniker of Discrod soon after. Ever since then, only his ethereal form was allowed here, as his physical form was trapped in stone.

“And you know that is nonsense, my dear delusional brother.” Discord gave an insidious grin, his one fang gleaming. “Imagine it, a world without them. Imagine what would happen, imagine things running their actual course without your meddling.” He wanted nothing more than to see the world burn, to see time in jeopardy.

“I can. That is a world no one should live in, Discord. That is a universe in peril.” Qilin stood proudly as his brothers ghostly claw touched his chin and his beady red eyes glared into his stalwart blues.

“That’s a universe I want to live in though. That’s a universe where I am finally free.” Discord’s evil practically came off of him in waves, it radiated and poisoned any moment it touched, just like the creature himself.

“You gave up that privilege long ago when you revealed yourself.” Qilin pushed Discord from him and walked to the current moment that was in a state of transition. Ivy, the reindeer he left the elements with, was cuddling them in her sleep. The moment gave him a small smile. Families were always pleasing to watch…

“Even now you stare at them, wanting what they have.” The chaotic spirit sneered. “Even now you envy having someone to love, someone to hold, someone to share the journey of life with.” Discord’s lion paw touched the moment, as soon as he did so, the foals woke up and started to cry. “That’s all I wanted, all I ever wanted. Then I am persecuted and called a monster by them and you!”

Qilin smacked his brother’s paw away and reached out to the foals with his calming presence. As soon as it washed over them, they calmed down and fell back to sleep in their adopted-mother’s hooves.

“You wanted to change time for your own gain, you wanted to trick her.” It was a debate they had many of times, the biggest of them was when Discord was banished from the time realm. “You broke the rules, you were caught.”

“You know as well as I do that you loved her too, Qilin!” Discord’s form faded, but his voice remained. “You drove her mad! You did it with me!” The voice faded and Qilin was left with his own thoughts.

--1000 Years Ago, Canterlot--

“Wh-Who art thou, demon?” The dark blue alicorn retreated away from the mismatched beast that appeared in her personal chambers. He was a patchwork of many different animals, but it was not ugly. It was pleasing. “Are ye some sort of discordant vision?”

Dear Luna…” The beast spoke, his voice soothing. “I…I have been watching you for a long time.” He stepped closer to the Princess, who simply retreated further into her black marble room. “I-I have even saved you many times…”

Luna was beyond thought. Well, beyond rational thought. Who was this creature? Why was he here? What was he talking about? And most importantly: Why weren’t her guards in here?

“What art thou, creature?” The Princess of the night let her horn erupt in an blue glow, obviously threatening the intruder. “Speak the truth or face my wrath.” Luna was not known for her kindness, nor her tact. Very often she would threaten foals or even say something she was not supposed to, it very negatively impacted the public’s view of her.

“I am a Qilin.” The creature spoke, his voice reverberating throughout the room even though an echo was not present. At the mention of his name, a ripple spread across the room. “I am a being that exists outside of time, my brother and I are saviors to all those that are righteous…including your sister and yourself.”

“Why have we never seen you, Qilin?” Luna’s stance relaxed, if only a little. The creature, the Qilin, he was cooperating. If he intended to attack her, he would have done so already. “If you have saved us, why are you not heroes?” The Qilin sighed.

“Because…we are not allowed to reveal ourselves. To do so is a crime most heinous…it would mean revealing our work…” Almost as soon as he was done talking, a sharp pain went through the alicorn’s head, flashes went through her mind.

In an instant, Luna saw it all. Deaths that never happened coming to light, her Celestia being torn to shreds by a dragon, herself falling into a fissure before she could fly, a pack of griffons picking them off on the early plains of Equestria, and numerous other visions that would haunt her…then she saw something else. A future, a giant statue of Celestia towered over the Canterlot gardens, a smaller statue of herself stood in the shadow. Ponies flocked around the statue of the elder sister, her own was left alone and unkempt.

Luna felt it, a primal surge of power surging through her entire being. It was more than she had ever felt before, it was so powerful that it hurt. Every muscle, every bone, every nerve was set ablaze with immeasurable pain. She could feel it…every death, every consequence coming back to get her. This wasn’t right! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! The princess looked down at her hooves, only to see them disappearing, she screamed.

“NO!” The roar shook the room and completely stopped the flow of time completely. The doors to the Princess’ chambers were being pushed open by guards, now they were halted by the power of Qilin.

Right next to his brother, Qilin appeared. They were nearly identical, save for the fact that the Qilin that had appeared first had a goatee. The anger on the new creature’s face could be sensed throughout the cosmos, if only for that split-second in which they existed.

“What are you doing?! You are killing her!” With a toss of his head, his younger brother was sent flying away from the regent of the night. Qilin approached the frozen goddess , a look of pure horror was splayed across her face. One could almost feel the pain she was going through, the gauntlet of emotions was palpable.

His eyes softened for the dark alicorn. She was so beautiful, so…pure. She may have a bit of a temper, but she had never been spoiled by war. She had never caused a death, nor seen one occur…not until now, that is. She was the picture of a righteous and goodly creature if one ever existed.

“I can stop this! I know I can! I just have to-” As his brother approached, Qilin tossed him away once more.

“Stay back! You have done enough! You have brought discord upon this creature, you have corrupted this time stream and polluted the very future!” Qilin spun around, righteous fire in his eyes. “By the laws set forth by the Creator, I strip you of your powers! I strip you of your status and I strip you of your duty!” A magical maelstrom was forming around the younger Qilin, it was a typhoon of pure energy from the beginning of all things.

“No….NO! I-I can save her! I can change this! I CAN BE WITH HER!” The trapped creature was fighting, his magic was attempting to prevent the stripping of his powers. But every spell he put forth was torn apart, peeled back as if it was an onion. The more he attempted to combat the change, the more violent the storm became.

When the screams finally died down, another creature was left in his brother’s place. This creature was a serpentine patchwork of chaos. Qilin no longer recognized him as a brother, he was not supposed to by law.

“I am sorry…but as it is written, you are given the shameful name of Discord and are to be imprisoned in stone to prevent any more chaos…” Qilin conjured the spell and was ready to cast it, when the newly anointed Discord spoke.

“No! I will save her! I will prevent this!” He put one appendage to his chest and raised the other. “If chaos caused this, chaos can fix it! I-” Qilin sent the spell careening towards his brother, as soon as it struck a blinding light enveloped the room. When the light subsided, a statue was left in its place. A statue he now had to place in this timeline…

Qilin sighed. He had fixed the mess…he implanted memories in Celestia and Luna, explaining how Discord was an evil spirit who they fought and triumphed over. It was a lie, but it was necessary…then he had to deal with Luna. He could not alter his brother’s actions, it was not possible. So he simply used the energy that consumed Luna and channeled it back into her safely. It created Nightmare Moon, because absolute power will always corrupt absolutely…

Chapter 5: No, That's Definitely Scheming. Plotting Looks Different.

Ivy was waiting outside of Snowy’s door. She had done her job for the day, cutting all of the timber she could and hauling it back to town to sell. All in all, it was a pretty good haul. Almost all of it went pretty quickly, but she kept some of it for her family’s home. General repairs and fires took up a lot of wood.

“Coming!” Ivy was anxious to see the foals. All day her mind had been focused on the little ponies; were they alright? Did Snowy have any trouble? Did any of them escape? The door opened, pulling Ivy out of her worries. “Hi Ivy!”

“Hey Snowy.” Ivy gave a smile, she didn’t want to seem rude while plowing through this conversation. “They weren’t a hassle, were they?” Snowy sidestepped and allowed Ivy inside.

“Pfft. You act like I’m irresponsible or something.” Ivy shot Snowy a look that immediately made the younger doe’s ears lay flat. “I mean, no hassle at all. Of course not, they’re just six little angels…” Snowy had a terrible poker face, Ivy saw right through it but decided on not calling her friend’s bluff.

As soon as Ivy was a few feet in the house, a rainbow blur hit her, little cyan hooves immediately wrapping around her neck. Ivy sat down and hugged the little Rainbow back. It seemed as though the little pegasus was always one to stick close to the people she knew and loved, quite the loyal one.

Pretty soon, all of the other foals were gathered around Ivy and begging for attention. Of course Ivy gave it to them, but when it came to Fluttershy, Ivy noticed something. The bear was missing, Fluttershy never let go of that bear.

“Hey Flutters, where’s the bear?” Ivy raised her hooves in a shrug. “Where’s bear?” The little filly looked around the room, and then her lower lip started to quiver. “Did you lose it?” Fluttershy’s eyes filled with tears, in that instant Ivy scooped her up. “Oh my poor little pony lost her bear.” Ivy slipped into her mother voice, kind and soft. The little pegasus buried her head in Ivy’s neck, the reindeer stroked the little one’s mane. “Snowy, what happened to her bear?”

“Huh?” Snowy came back from her thoughts. They were filled with how adorable Ivy was with the foals. The surrogate mother was just as perfect as any biological one, perhaps she was destined to have these foals. It certainly seemed that way. “Oh, umm…well I’m not too sure. I looked everywhere for it but couldn’t find it…” Snowy let her head fall. “Sorry, Ivy.”

“It’s alright Snowy…it’s around here somewhere. Just tell me if you find it, alright? I have tomorrow off so I won’t be bringing them here.” Snowy felt bad…like she screwed up so bad that Ivy made up the day off thing. That’s what it seemed like…she failed, so now she was being punished. The young doe looked down and nodded, one of her forehooves swinging idly. “Now would you help me get their scarves on?”

A cataract riddled eye stared intently at a small stuffed bear placed on the table in front of it. The little bear simply stared back with its black button eyes, unblinking, unmoving.

Klaus didn’t trust the bear. It belonged to a pony now, it was not to be trusted! But that’s why he needed to sabotage it…he might be able to get rid of at least one of the little ponies with a little sabotage. But the question was: with what?

It had to be something undetectable, something that might be mistaken for something less dangerous. This would be so much easier if he had paid attention in school, perhaps he might have learned something. Or perhaps they would have just filled his head with more pony propaganda! Schools were not to be trusted either, nothing was.

A little light bulb went off in Klaus’ head. As dim as it was, it still shed enough light on an idea. Ice Bears. Ice Bears were magical creatures that consisted of living snow and ice, the venom that could be extracted from a Ice Bear’s fang was not deadly to a full grown reindeer…but to a pony foal? Well it might be.

And of course, Klaus was a resourceful stag. He knew someone who might be able to get him an Ice Bear fang by 2 PM. It would be a stretch, but he would get it done. He would rid his town of the pony menace that plagued it.

Across the continent in the shining capital of Equestria, a potential love story was about to unfold. A young colt was strolling through the hallways of the enormous castle, bored out of his gourd and more than a little depressed that his little sister was missing.

He had decided that instead of waiting in the room with his depressed parents, he would take a little walk through the halls and see what he could find to entertain his thoughts.

Sadly, every time he tried to think about something, his little sister intruded into his thoughts. He was so worried about her; was she alright? Did whoever take her hurt her? It was just so…so frustrating. Why did they take her and not him?

“Oof.” The young colt ran into something quite solid, after shaking the impact off her looked up and saw something he regretted: A long white leg with a gold adornment on the end of it…and where the leg came from was the body of a stern looking Princess Celestia. “S-Sorry..” He managed to get out through the fear of getting in trouble.

“Oh.” The Princess’ stern frown turned into a small smile. “I’m sorry my little pony. Are you alright?” The little colt could only nod. “We weren’t looking where we were walking, Little Cadenza was distracting me.” As soon as the name came out a little pink filly poked her head out from behind the monarch’s flowing tail. The colt took note of the horn. “Say sorry, Cadenza.” The filly stepped out, surprisingly a pair of wings also adorned her body…the only pony that he had ever seen like that was the Princess. Was this filly a princess too?

“S-Sorry…” The magenta, yellow, and purple maned filly stammered out as she stepped out of the Princess’ shadow.

“Now now, Cadenza. Clear and concise, do not stutter.” Celestia chided little Cadenza like a mother would her own foal. “Now introduce yourself to the nice colt.” The little filly straightened her posture and cleared her throat.

“I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” As soon as she introduced herself, she shrank back. It was obvious she was new to this princess stuff. The colt wanted to say what was truly on his mind…but he didn’t quite feel like talking much. He hadn’t said a word since his little sister disappeared. But it would be rude to not return the introduction

“Macintosh.” The young red colt spoke in a deep voice for his age. His word was accompanied with a nod.

“Hello Macintosh.” Celestia smiled, then pushed the littlest Princess from behind her with her pastel mane.

“H-Hi Macintosh…” The look that the elder alicorn gave her sent her into another gear. “Would you like some company..?” It was obvious she was uncomfortable with the notion just by her posture and tone of voice, but the older princess was not going to let the issue down, so he simply nodded.

“I told you something would happen, dad. She lost Fluttershy’s bear, my bear.” Ivy spoke as she swung the door open and entered her home. Instead of being met with her father at his work table, she was met with that unicorn and his kids from earlier…chatting merrily with her father.

“Oh, hello Ms. Winter. How are you?” The unicorn levitated a small teacup to his mouth and took a long sip. “Mmm, chamomile. My favorite. Tell me Ms. Winter, do you like tea?” Ivy felt her eye twitch, all she wanted was a nice evening with her father. Perhaps she would harp on Snowy, perhaps she would just enjoy her time with the foals. Not now.

“No…Mr. Sap.” She answered through clenched teeth as she pulled the sled in. “What are you doing here?” She was containing herself, barely. This chatty unicorn was going to be nothing but trouble.

“Well my cart broke down not far from here, and wouldn’t you know that your home is the first one I come across. Serendipitous, is it not?” The unicorn sat his teacup down and smiled as one of his sons came over to him holding up a wooden train. “Yes, it is a train, Flim. An old steam powered one based on the design.” The tall pony commented.

“It’s a toy…” Deadpanned Ivy. Kringle shot his daughter a look, the same look that he gave her when she wasn’t using her imagination like she was supposed to. She simply rolled her eyes. “I have to feed the foals, dad can you watch them while I get the milk?” She tugged the sled in the rest of the way and kicked the door shut with a hoof.

As soon as Arboreus laid eyes on the foals, his whole posture seemed to change. He sat up straighter, his pupils shrank, and his shoulders tensed. Ivy saw this, but decided that it was just surprise based off of a reindeer having pony foals.

“Of course, dear.” As Ivy nodded and turned back to the door, she used a hoof to undo the latch that kept one side of the railings up. As soon as the pen was undone, the little fillies tottered off of the sled and over to their grandfather. All the while, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were struggling to get their scarves off.

“Excuse me, Kringle?” Kringle looked up to see Arboreus pointing a hoof at the foals, a look of shock on his face. “H-How did you come across these foals, by chance?” Krinle cocked an eyebrow, what a weird question to ask.

“They were left at our doorstep in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, why do you ask?” Kringle picked up Rainbow Dash and undid the scarf for her. As soon as her wings were free, the little pegasus flew to the rafters as usual.

“Because I have seen these foals before…they were foalnapped. All of them in one night…”

“Aren’t you beautiful?” Klaus Fir held in his hoof, one fang from an Ice Bear. One dose of magical venom from a beast most fierce. How did he get it? As he said, he knew a reindeer who specialized in…collecting things from dangerous animals. A hunter, one of few on the continent.

He took the fang and looked at the bear. It was quite obvious where the bear took the most punishment, the ears. The plush ears of the bear were coated in saliva and had teeth marks around the edges. Therefore, the ears would be the best place to place the poison…even if only one foal took the bait, it would be enough. Just one death would be enough to let him convince Snowy to get rid of those ponies.

Just one death was all it would take, and he was willing to do whatever it took to preserve the reindeer way of life.