Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 2, 2014 22:52:03 GMT
The maid curtsied and made herself unobtrusive. Shortly after, Silver Platter returned and whispered into Asterian's ear.
"Milord and Milady wish to inform you that there are no particular plans for social events tonight or tomorrow morning, and to feel free to spend as much time as you wish with your newfound acquaintances, Master Asterian."
Meanwhile, Silver found an intriguing series of notes from the first Heartswarming Eve.
((the following excerpt from alexwarlorn's fanfictions, for flavor only. no infringement intended.))
They came from nowhere. At first I thought it was just the wind, or a new unicorn student flexing his magical strength. Nothing of note... But the tempo of the inequine howling had too distinct a pattern to it. Then came the first time I saw them.
I believed them to be ghosts, carrying their last memory of freezing to death. But there was nothing equine of these spirits except their appearance. Their cries will haunt my nightmares till the end of my days.
I don't know why they came to my settlement of all place. A few extra bright unicorns including myself, yes, but nothing of true meaning or value.
The first I saw them was an argument between two Earth ponies about charging the absurd prices they usually did to unicorns and pegasi to fellow Earth ponies. I saw them again when an Earth pony riot broke after a mother unicorn was beaten to death and Pegasi swooped down to bring order in the most brutal of fashions. The storm became so horrid that the pegasi could not fly, lest their wings froze over, leaving them easier prey for the earth pony rioters. As the mare's blood was left to freeze in the streets, I noticed an Earth pony besides her with the same coloring as the foal in her forelegs. Mixed blood? Still, I took pity on the small creature she held.
I only later realized the 'spirits' dispersed as soon as I chose to take her foal as my own.
My town is isolated. Even rumor does not travel swift to and from here. I still do not understand why they came here of all places. My one colleague who would listen to me suggested they arrived on the shooting star several month prior to their appearance. Such nonsense.
They came again, this time during a heated debate between two mages on whether Earth ponies had magic of their own. They were alone in the room when I left. When I returned, they were frozen solid, and those spirits were there, but quickly left. Their manner suggested indifference rather than fear.
Experimentation was needed. They haunt the very borders of our town now, each day becoming less of a ghost story and more a cause for fear among my fellow unicorns, the earth pony workers, and the pegasi enforcers.
An Earth pony screamed out at the top of his lungs that he wished all the unicorns and pegasi were dead before the pegasi descended on him. The ice storm picked up again in mere minutes.
I have chosen not to inform Clover of her diluted blood. I see no reason why she need be burdened. In spite of her disability, she has surpassed most of her peers. Incredible. I must review notes on other unicorns of diluted blood to see if this has happened before.
Spring. Summer. Autumn. It doesn't matter when, the ice storm comes repeatedly and more frequently than ever as time draws on. The filly, Clover (I found the name on her blanket), was scared to leave the only home she's known, but I fear if I stay longer my research will be pointless and I might as well have not saved her from freezing to death in her mother's hooves. Shows of power are less and less effective at keeping the earth pony workers in line, and the other mages have turned paranoid of their own earth pony assistants and servers. I am thankful to have Clover by my side.
Some scream 'freedom or death', others 'freedom, and death to the horned and feathered monsters.' Their howls are joined by the creatures. As if in a dream, many seem not to even notice their fellows being turned to prisoners of the impossibly swift-growing ice.
I took Clover and abandoned the mage refuge. I thought of telling my fellows to do the same, but considering they were shouting 'defend our knowledge to the death and death to any who abandon their defense', I thought it more prudent to simply teleport away.
We had no pursuers. The regular merchants in the nearest towns have returned with tales of mounds of frozen corpses. And no sign of Them. Clover seems to have blocked out the memories of her life before coming to this new town with me. Perhaps she is better for it. The unicorn king's court magician has died of old age and failed to train an apprentice. I need more resources for my research. I will not miss this chance, and should I pass on before my research is complete, I need to make sure Clover is in a position where she will be able to continue it.
I now have had time to think. The cold they produce - are they spirits of winter? But would there not being spirits of spring, summer, and fall as well that should have driven them away, if that were the case? Yet I cannot help but think that winter is the natural state of these spirits. They seek out hatred, do they feed off it? Fighting as well? It is possible, though hard to tell, as I could not find one without the other anyway.
The intensity of the riots I see now looking over my own notes seemed to be directly related to the intensity of the storm. Does the amount of cold they produce relate directly to the amount of hate they feed off of? It also appears that the closer I became to Clover, the less I cared about her diluted blood, the more I became, not invisible, but less interesting to the creatures. This adds to my above theory.
It is in the wind they go. So I shall call them 'Windigoes.'
"Milord and Milady wish to inform you that there are no particular plans for social events tonight or tomorrow morning, and to feel free to spend as much time as you wish with your newfound acquaintances, Master Asterian."
Meanwhile, Silver found an intriguing series of notes from the first Heartswarming Eve.
((the following excerpt from alexwarlorn's fanfictions, for flavor only. no infringement intended.))
They came from nowhere. At first I thought it was just the wind, or a new unicorn student flexing his magical strength. Nothing of note... But the tempo of the inequine howling had too distinct a pattern to it. Then came the first time I saw them.
I believed them to be ghosts, carrying their last memory of freezing to death. But there was nothing equine of these spirits except their appearance. Their cries will haunt my nightmares till the end of my days.
I don't know why they came to my settlement of all place. A few extra bright unicorns including myself, yes, but nothing of true meaning or value.
The first I saw them was an argument between two Earth ponies about charging the absurd prices they usually did to unicorns and pegasi to fellow Earth ponies. I saw them again when an Earth pony riot broke after a mother unicorn was beaten to death and Pegasi swooped down to bring order in the most brutal of fashions. The storm became so horrid that the pegasi could not fly, lest their wings froze over, leaving them easier prey for the earth pony rioters. As the mare's blood was left to freeze in the streets, I noticed an Earth pony besides her with the same coloring as the foal in her forelegs. Mixed blood? Still, I took pity on the small creature she held.
I only later realized the 'spirits' dispersed as soon as I chose to take her foal as my own.
My town is isolated. Even rumor does not travel swift to and from here. I still do not understand why they came here of all places. My one colleague who would listen to me suggested they arrived on the shooting star several month prior to their appearance. Such nonsense.
They came again, this time during a heated debate between two mages on whether Earth ponies had magic of their own. They were alone in the room when I left. When I returned, they were frozen solid, and those spirits were there, but quickly left. Their manner suggested indifference rather than fear.
Experimentation was needed. They haunt the very borders of our town now, each day becoming less of a ghost story and more a cause for fear among my fellow unicorns, the earth pony workers, and the pegasi enforcers.
An Earth pony screamed out at the top of his lungs that he wished all the unicorns and pegasi were dead before the pegasi descended on him. The ice storm picked up again in mere minutes.
I have chosen not to inform Clover of her diluted blood. I see no reason why she need be burdened. In spite of her disability, she has surpassed most of her peers. Incredible. I must review notes on other unicorns of diluted blood to see if this has happened before.
Spring. Summer. Autumn. It doesn't matter when, the ice storm comes repeatedly and more frequently than ever as time draws on. The filly, Clover (I found the name on her blanket), was scared to leave the only home she's known, but I fear if I stay longer my research will be pointless and I might as well have not saved her from freezing to death in her mother's hooves. Shows of power are less and less effective at keeping the earth pony workers in line, and the other mages have turned paranoid of their own earth pony assistants and servers. I am thankful to have Clover by my side.
Some scream 'freedom or death', others 'freedom, and death to the horned and feathered monsters.' Their howls are joined by the creatures. As if in a dream, many seem not to even notice their fellows being turned to prisoners of the impossibly swift-growing ice.
I took Clover and abandoned the mage refuge. I thought of telling my fellows to do the same, but considering they were shouting 'defend our knowledge to the death and death to any who abandon their defense', I thought it more prudent to simply teleport away.
We had no pursuers. The regular merchants in the nearest towns have returned with tales of mounds of frozen corpses. And no sign of Them. Clover seems to have blocked out the memories of her life before coming to this new town with me. Perhaps she is better for it. The unicorn king's court magician has died of old age and failed to train an apprentice. I need more resources for my research. I will not miss this chance, and should I pass on before my research is complete, I need to make sure Clover is in a position where she will be able to continue it.
I now have had time to think. The cold they produce - are they spirits of winter? But would there not being spirits of spring, summer, and fall as well that should have driven them away, if that were the case? Yet I cannot help but think that winter is the natural state of these spirits. They seek out hatred, do they feed off it? Fighting as well? It is possible, though hard to tell, as I could not find one without the other anyway.
The intensity of the riots I see now looking over my own notes seemed to be directly related to the intensity of the storm. Does the amount of cold they produce relate directly to the amount of hate they feed off of? It also appears that the closer I became to Clover, the less I cared about her diluted blood, the more I became, not invisible, but less interesting to the creatures. This adds to my above theory.
It is in the wind they go. So I shall call them 'Windigoes.'
