Songs of Innocence

Chapter 57: Fimbulwinter

Cathuria, the heart of the Caves of Melpomene

The Black Siren's scowl of annoyance soon twisted into a pleased smirk. The duppies she sent after the intruders she sensed had failed in killing them, but she could feel the Sahasrara moving closer to her. She could feel herself become stronger; she felt lighter, but simultaneously more powerful. The way she could absorb power was different from her three siren sisters, who had abandoned her long, long ago for being unable to grow stronger by absorbing others' anger. 

However, that didn't mean she couldn't grow stronger at all. After years of living on her own, helpless and alone, she eventually learned that she could grow stronger by absorbing a different emotion, one that had a much more broad meaning: chaos. She found that she could grow off of the subtle insanity that crept into the everyday. Chaos, along with general malice, fed her whenever she was hungry, and fortunately for her, it was present in Equestria every single day. She learned how to feed off of it from even the farthest depths of the cave in which she called home. 

Unlike her sisters, the power she absorbed affected her immediately. She could sense subtle movements from the surface, and command lesser creatures like duppies. She would send them after intruders that she could sense intended to enter the cave, so that no one would ever possibly find her. But she could feel the Sahasrara moving towards her, and that piqued her interest. Did whoever was carrying it into the caves know that it was her current source of power?

Her "palace" that she dubbed Cathuria was an impenetrable fortress... but perhaps she could lower the drawbridge for this gift-bearing guest. But the others trying to climb the walls would not be tolerated.

At the entrance of the cave

The nine were walking through the cave, occasionally teased by the ambient sound of water dropping from stalactites, which sounded like the footsteps of an unseen figure. The cave seemed to stretch on forever at a slightly downward angle.

"Ugh." Rarity groaned, "Why do caves have to be so damp and moist? I'm hotter than... uh... a phoenix in the middle of July!"

"Rarity..." Applejack replied, "Yer wearin' a fur coat an' a big fancy hat! Yer as cozy as a Fimbulwinter Wolf, so don't act so--"

"Oh, Applejack, you shouldn't say that. Everypony knows that it's bad luck to mention a Fimbulwinter Wolf in a simile about being warm." Fluttershy said sheepishly.

"Is that... true...?" Sun asked.

"I dunno!" Pinkie replied. "Why don't we ask him?"

Everyone turned around and saw a Fimbulwinter Wolf staring at them. True to its name, he was a wolf of mighty size, with a mane like fresh winter snow. The wolf didn't look angry, nor did he look like it was on our heroines' side. An eerie calmness was a trait inherent to others of his species, almost as if they were as calm as the snow on the Niflheim mountains they came from. Fimbulwinter Wolves in general were widely symbolized as bringers of winter and as symbolism for a sudden death. Guess why. 

But Sun didn't know any of this, and wasn't sure whether or not she should be scared. So, she asked Fluttershy. "Hey, uh, Flutters?"

"I think you should just call me Fluttershy." the pegasus said rather coldly.

That stung Sun, but now wasn't the time to be disheartened. "Oh. W-well, anyways, should we be scared right now? Like, is a Fimbulwinter Wolf really bad?"

The wolf stepped towards them, instilling the group with such fear that they couldn't move, only able to wait with bated breath as the giant beast towered over them. Fluttershy replied, "W-w-well, I-I'm just s-s-saying... as much a-as I hate seeing a-any creature b-be hurt... I-I-I wouldn't b-blame you if y-you s-saved us r-right now..."