Chapter Two
Titus woke from his place on the ground hearing screaming through the tower. His first reaction was to make sure Lyra was okay, but she was simply sitting up in her bed, looking as confused as he felt. He didn't know what had happened or where the scream had come from, but he had been around long enough to know that it more than likely meant something bad was happening, or was going to happen.
He quickly slipped on his armor, taking several seconds to make sure all the belts and such were secure. Thenhe crossed the room to Lyra and offered to let her ride on his back.
She declined. “I’ve got to start doing more for myself. You almost always carry me around, didn't you notice how I lead you all the way through the castle?”
Titus nodded. “I did, but I'd prefer for you to be someplace I can keep you in check.”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Okay, fine.” Titus quickly made his way to the door. He put his hand on it to push it open, and found it extremely cold to the touch. The chill went right through his gloves and into his flesh, making its way into his heart. He pulled back suddenly, and stepped away from the door looking at his gloved hand. It was a pale white, as if the cold was visible right on it. He cupped his hands and blew warm air onto his hand in question.
“What’s the problem?” Lyra asked, trotting up to him. She looked at his hand. “Why does your hand look all cold?”
Titus kept staring at his hand. “I'm not sure. The door, it was so cold.”
“Really? Let me check it out.” Lyra went up slowly to the door. “It can't be that cold...”
“Don't!” Titus gently pulled her back. “My hand was gloved, who knows what it could do to something without it.”
She pouted and stepped back. “Fine...”
Titus looked back at the door. It didn't seem natural for anything like that to be so cold. He was afraid to touch it again. All he wanted to do was lay back down and sleep, but he knew that his life would never be that simple. He slowly approached the door once more. By now the cold was emanating from the surface of the door with an uncanny poignancy that caused Titus' approaching hand to jerk back several times.
He was a micro fraction away from the door's surface when a voice came from the other side of the door. “Why there are friends up here.... I would never have thought...”
The voice was enough to persuade Titus to move back once more. He didn't know what was on the other side of the chilling door, but it couldn't have meant anything good, regardless of its use of the word 'friend'. He looked for his hammer and then smacked himself on the head, remembering he had not brought it with him when they had departed for Canterlot. What a fool he had been, expecting nothing to happen. He brought armor but not his hammer?! What had he been thinking?
The door suddenly swung open and Titus and Lyra were greeted by a faceless entity. Its limbs stretching well past the doorway to the room. Its faceless head scanned the room and slowly brought the rest of itself in.
“Very nice quarters, my friends...”
Titus felt Lyra hop onto his back then. He looked back at her around his shoulder. “I thought you were going to be more independent now?” He whispered to her.
“Shut up.” she muttered back.
The being loomed over them now. “No need for arguments... You will both be happy with what I have to offer...”
Titus' mind kicked into natural instinct as stepped back from the being's suddenly reaching arms. He looked around the room and found nothing to use against. He knew that his only weapon was his faith in the light now. He sure hoped it would be enough to stave back this strange new character.
He dodged the hands once more and found himself standing on the small, rotund bed Lyra had been resting on. The being's arms followed in suit, forcing Titus to drop belly first onto the bed. Unfortunately, the bed was not made to withstand his weight, and the sudden force of the drop. He fell through the bed's weak frame and in a flurry of feathers and springs brought himself back up, with Lyra hanging onto his back for dear life.
Titus quickly shot forth a strand of bright light. It grazed the being's arms and it pulled back, grumbling slightly. “My friend... I only offer you preservation...”
“I don't need any kind of preservation.” Titus said. He looked around the room and found the glass doors looking out into the balcony of the tower they resided in. He had a feeling there was no conventional way out and that the balcony would be their only salvation.
He shot another bolt of light at the being, causing it to recoil once more, but doing little damage. He knew that if they were going to get out of here, he had to do something now. He quickly hopped out of the bed frame and pushed the glass doors open, with the pale being right on top of him. He stopped right before the balcony's resting support, looking over a land he barely recognized far below the mountain.
It was completely frosted and snowed over, as if winter had come two seasons early. He had been trying desperately how this land worked before, but now he was confused even more after this image. Still, he had no time to ponder the thought right now.
“You would not take the gift willingly... I'm afraid I must force it upon you now...” The words ran up both Titus and Lyra's spine, and he knew that it was time to go.
He looked at the side of the tower and below it. There were loose stone steps fairly distinguishable that he could get a grip on. He was not known for his dexterity, but he had to trust in his ability and strong grip to get him through the climb if it all. The thought of another long fall sickened him greatly, he didn't feel like ending up in yet another strange world anytime soon.
He took a step off the balcony's side, finding his first grip. He found it strange that Lyra hadn't been protesting his rash decision making yet. Perhaps she was just too scared, nevertheless, he was still in danger and needed to get below quickly. He brought his foot onto another loose stone, hoping it wouldn't decide to give out on him and cause them to fall to their death.
He began to decline down the tower, looking desperately for a nearby window or something for them to escape too, but was having little luck. Lyra looked down to the valley far below, the sight making her sick. She brought her head back up, hoping there would be a better sight above the ever descending Titus.
Instead all she saw was that faceless figure, stooping over the balcony looking down at them soundlessly. It reached out a hand and gently touched the surface of the tower's exterior. The stone froze suddenly and she noticed it spreading down after them.
“Hurry!” She cried.
“I'm trying!” Titus called out. He quickly stopped descending and eventually began to circle the tower's perimeter. Perhaps there would be something available on the other side of the tower? He noticed what had been causing Lyra's distress and picked up his pace just enough to keep every limb in check. It was rough and the frost seemed to only being increasing in speed.
On the lower recesses of the castle Titus noticed a fairly secure looking rampart. He knew that this would have to be their only chance or risk the chance of touching the frosted stone. He began to release his hold on loose stones and quickly grab onto the lower ones an instant before losing control of his grip. It strained his hands and feet horribly but he knew that it would be worth it to escape the cold touch that the pale monster had spawned.
Eventually he missed a grip and continued falling. He reached out desperate to find a loose stone, and found one an instant before hitting the rampart. The sudden jerk caused him to grunt in pain. He must have torn several ligaments in his shoulder to pull that one off, and he was worried his arm wouldn't work the way it usually did for him. He quickly switched hands on the loose stone and descended down the last few feet.
His feet hit the secure ground of the rampart to his relief, and Lyra hopped off his back. He wasn't too mad about her not staying on his back this time, the added weight was only a burden on his way down the tower. He rubbed his shoulder and looked over the side of the ramparts.
The entire courtyard was frozen. It was quite the sight, almost pleasant but the abnormality of it all was what caused him to frown at the sight. Lyra came up to his side and looked down too. She was just as surprised as him by the sight.
She looked up at him. “This isn't right. It's the middle of summer, just days before the summer sun celebration to be exact..”
It was obvious that this was more than likely caused by their pale intruder. How it had managed to sneak into the nation's capital was beyond both of them, but then began changing the climate artificially was even further beyond their mental grasp. Perhaps if they found Luna, she would be able to explain? She had been the one to explain Titus' involvement in the recent events of Equestria and his initial arrival after all.
They both decided to look for her within the castle. If anyone was going to be able to hold these things off, it would be her. Titus spotted a nearby staircase leading down from the ramparts to the courtyard and they both took it down. The steps were extremely icy and they found it hard to keep their footing, but they managed to get to the bottom unscathed.
The courtyard was packed with snow already to Titus' ankle length. He couldn't believe how fast this thing worked, it was uncanny. They had to find a way back into the castle, but any of the walls and doors leading back into the castle's interior were completely frosted over. They both put their heads down and trudged through the snow covered courtyard.
Eventually they exhausted every available opening, finding nothing willing to budge, even after Titus' repeated assaults upon them. One thing popped into Lyra's mind, however. The window that was on the largest section of visible wall. Perhaps she and Titus could use that as a way into the royal castle?
Titus was simply going around the perimeter of the courtyard, looking for a way in when she pointed it out. “Maybe we can get in through that window?”
Titus eyed her for a second and then looked at the window she was mentioning. He supposed it could work, it didn't seem too far above his height. Perhaps he could shatter it and get Lyra through? The thought of shattering royalty's glass was a bit absurd, but he was desperate to find any way back into the castle.
He went over to the window and beckoned Lyra over. He grabbed a nearby icicle hanging from the windows indentation and threw it at the glass with all his might. It ricocheted off the window, hitting Titus squarely on the noggin. He rubbed his head while Lyra nearly fell over laughing. He looked back up at the window and shot forth a dart of light, shattering the glass. Luckily the majority of the glass fell into the opening and they weren't showered in shards of it.
He cupped his hands and had Lyra step on it as he propelled her up above him to the window. She slipped and fell through. She poked her head back out to Titus, indicating that there was no threat up above. Now was the hard part. Titus took a hop and grabbed at the ledge left by the window's shattering. As soon as his weight came down on his damaged arm, he felt a pain shoot up it. He let go and his feet fell back into the snowy ground.
Lyra looked down at him with concern. “You're going to get up here, right?”
Titus looked around and then back up to her. “I'll find a way, I promise. Just hold tight.”
He was about to have another go at it, preparing himself for the pain that was sure to come, when the hoarse voice from before came up behind him. But not just one voice, there was several.
“Oh why we missed some friends...”
“We'll have to fix that, I'm sure...”
He whirled around and he found himself surrounded by several of the pale beings. By the Light, there was more than one of them. He looked back up to the window and found Lyra panicking. He wanted to assure her that was going to be okay, but he wasn't sure himself.
Suddenly Lyra was no longer at the window, and Titus found himself backed into the wall below it. He shot forth more bolts of light, causing them to hesitate, but not stopping their grasping hands. Suddenly, a source of light came from above Titus' head. He looked up and found flaming books pouring forth from the window. What was Lyra thinking?
Titus noticed that the creatures had retreated well back out of the way of the flames pouring down upon them. He suddenly realized what had happened. Of course! They were entities of the cold, so it made sense that fire or heat would stave them off! He would have to give Lyra a hug for this one, but for now he had to get these beings to leave.
Against his better judgment, he caught one of the flaming books with his gloved hands. The heat felt good at first against the biting cold, but then signals of pain replaced those of pleasure and Titus found himself throwing the book out of his hand at the creatures. They all dodged out of the way except for one, and instead of merely bouncing off the creature’s body, it stuck in its chest. Its skin began to char and burn and spread around its body as it screamed in agony, picking desperately at the object lodged in its chest. It was futile as it only caused the burning to spread to its arms much faster, sealing its fate.
Its companions backed off completely as Titus threw more books that came into his possession. They eventually deserted the courtyard and Titus was blowing his hands desperately, trying to cool them down. Of course, Lyra was not aware of what had conspired in the courtyard below and more of the flaming literature rained down on Titus' head.
“Hey! Hey! I'm okay!” He called out, dodging the projectiles.
She poked her head out and blushed from embarrassment. “My bad...”
“It's fine just gimme some room to get up there,” he called back up.
She gave a nod of understanding and backed out of sight once more. Titus took several steps back, determined to get up this time if it killed him. He took a deep breath, and sprinted at the window giving a leap of faith with his good arm outstretched. His arm scooped into the window frame and he felt his grip register. He slowly pulled himself in and over the opening, flipping over and landing on his back.
He felt Lyra jump on top of him, but the hug was short lived as Titus began to take note of where they had ended up. He pushed himself up, and found that they had just entered the royal library. So that was where Lyra had found all those books. There was a candle on a nearby study table, indicating how Lyra had also set them aflame.
“You burnt a bunch of books belonging to the royal library?” Titus asked.
“Yeah... But it saved you, didn't it?” she responded.
Titus shrugged. “I can't beat you there, I suppose.”
She smiled, and trotted on between the nearby bookshelves, with Titus following after her. The library was huge, based upon a circular pattern, with all the bookshelves meeting in a epicenter where a large hourglass laid. Eventually, evidence of the pale beings presence reared its ugly head even in the out of the way library. After peaking around a corner, the two noticed something.
It was a being encased in ice, leaning upon one of the shelves. Upon closer inspection it appeared to a young scholar looking desperately through a book she had placed upon the ground to read, but had been frozen before her task was complete. A sad sight to see, as it must have been a victim of the pale being's supposed “gift”.
Lyra lifted the book the unfortunate mare had been reading with her magic and skimmed the contents. She gasped in shock and handed the book over to Titus to read. He took in his hands and looked inside to find an extremely distinct picture that resembled the pale creatures fairly accurately. Below the picture was a text describing them as 'The Icebringers', a race that worshiped the Windigoes long before the land of Equestria was founded. Eventually they were gifted with the power to manipulate the weather themselves in return for their faith and worship. Surprisingly, they had never left their crystalline land, preferring seclusion and isolation. Why they would want to encroach upon Equestria was beyond them, and it only made their need to find Luna even more desperate.
The found their way to the end of the library, the gate leading into it had been frozen and broken apart. They peaked out into the hall to make sure there was no Icebringers patrolling through the halls. All they found was a place barely recognizable as it had been frosted over as well. They slowly slipped out into the halls, careful not slip on the newly iced ground.
At any other time, this would have looked beautiful, as almost everything that made of the hall's structure was behind a thick wall of ice, giving it all a sort of pale distortion. They wandered the halls as they both had no idea where Luna's quarters were. Eventually, they ended up in the dining hall they had found themselves earlier in the evening.
The table had never been cleared, and the chairs had been knocked over, indicating what had likely happened. They ignored the mess that had never been cleaned up and hurried over to the other side of the hall. After several more frozen and dimly lit halls, they found a rather ominous looking stair case winding up to the main tower of the castle. If Luna was going to be anywhere, it was going to be in there.
At the top was a door that had already been thrown open, cool air blowing violently from its opening. Within it was rather large room, where a large bed sat adjacent to dressers on either side.
“Why didn't we get one of these rooms...?” Lyra grumbled as they examined the room. After several minutes Titus couldn't find anything and was about to give up. But from out on the balcony Lyra appeared to have found something.
“Titus! Come over here, I think I found Luna...”
He followed her voice and sure enough on the unseen section of the balcony was the Pony Princess of the Night herself, frozen in place. She had been examining the sky through a telescope and appeared to have no idea that she was about to be ambushed. Titus felt her mane to find it nearly stone hard. There was no way they would be getting a chance to talk to her anytime. The only other person that might have any knowledge on what was going on would be Celestia, and she wasn't even in Canterlot right now. They really had no idea what to do now.
“Friends... my friends... I know you wish to join the rest of them...”
Titus and Lyra both knew what that voice meant. They looked back into the room and sure enough, there was an Icebringer just barely pulling himself across the room towards them. There was definitely no way he would be climbing down another tower again and time soon, but there was something he could do. He just hated what would be required.
He picked Lyra up, and hopped onto the railing of the balcony. “Are you crazy?! What was I thinking when I let you live with me?!” she screamed.
Titus kept his eyes on the courtyard down below. “I'm not crazy, just faithful.”
He took the leap he had been dreading, and they were both falling to the icy earth of the courtyard below. As the ground sped up into view, Titus was reminded of painful thoughts tracing back to that horrible day in Shattrath. He wasn't going to let anything like that happen again. He sent a wordless prayer to the Light, asking for its protection. Luckily, do to his thinking ahead, the Light obliged this time and an aura surrounded them both as Titus' legs hit the ground roughly. He rolled several times, holding Lyra close to him making sure she was safe.
After the rolling had stopped he opened his eyes and let Lyra go. She shot up and glared at him, but she couldn't hold it for long as a look of relief crossed her face instead.
“You never tell me what you're going to do..” she sighed.
Titus sat up making sure all his bits and pieces were intact from the fall. “If I had sat there and explained what I was going to do, we would've ended up like the princess.” He pulled himself off the ground and looked around. “We better get out of here, there's nothing left we can do here.”
Lyra looked at him sadly but nodded. She sat down and outstretched her fore-hooves, beckoning Titus to pick her up. He scooped her up and held her to his chest as they left the courtyard, looking over the sad, frozen visage one last time. There had to be a way to fix this, there always was a way.