twilightpony | When Winter Came to Equestria

One of the books Princess Cadence passed along to me is pretty interesting. It's a foal's storybook about how winter came to Equestria. It's a great insight into Crystal Pony culture. It goes something like this:

When Winter came to Equestria

Long, long ago when ponies first came to Equestria, the land was forever green and the grass grew long and lush. But the giant Windigo that lived in the mountains of the north came down to live in the plains and forests, and his name was Winter. Where he went, is hoofprints left sheets of ice. Where he swished his tail, frost covered the grass and the trees. Great clouds billowed from his breath, covering the sky and burying the land in snow. Soon all of Equestria became frozen and white. Nothing grew anywhere and the ponies became weak with hunger and despair.

Epona, the All Mother, decided to send the Windigo away. She traveled long through the wilderness, following the frost to where the snow was the deepest, to where Winter had settled. She found him one night, resting by a frozen waterfall as tall as a castle, on a carpet of pure white snow that glittered like a field of diamonds, under a breathless sky where every star stood still and shone with all their might.

The giant Windigo bid Epona welcome, but before Epona could speak, Winter began to mezmerize her with tales of the land before ponies, when all was cold and rock and sparkling crystals. Epona became drowsy and fell into a deep sleep. She had a dream. In her dream, the giant Winter filled the sky, his eyes like ice and his mane weaving across the sky like smoke. Then suddenly, in her dream he began to shrink and melt. Great rivers flowed all around and meadows of sweet grass sprang up. Epona slept for three whole months.

When she woke, the Windigo was gone and her friend the crystal hare was nestled in her mane. "Far to the south there lives a Princess," said the hare "her power is greater than the Windigo. Find her and bring her here."

More tomorrow.