> Scars of the past. > by Sim D > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: The arrival. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 Arrival He was more than a brother The day He was born, he was just a little colt like any other, but he was something different. He was one of the rarest type of ponies - an Alicorn like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The day he had arrived into Equestria, he was alone and confused, he didn‘t know why he was here or what was he supposed to do. With no other choice given, he began exploring the land of Equestria. For days, weeks, he has travelled across Equestria, but sadly met nopony, only all kinds of landscapes, sights, sometimes even animals, both harmless and dangerous.He was not once attacked by beings like Manticores, cockatrices and other. But in the end, He was always able to survive, whether he had to escape or fight, he always prevailed. Then finally, he saw something he hasn‘t seen in a long while: other ponies. Two tall Alicorns and two smaller ones. He approached with caution, as this was his first time meeting other ponies.The one who quickly noticed the approaching little one was a tall, dark maned Alicorn. His mane reminded him of the night sky, it looked more like an aura than a regular mane. He was flying in atleast 10 hoof height with one of the smaller ones.After both of them landed, the little one hid behind the large one on his back, as he approached this never before seen alicorn. The first thing He had noticed was that the little pony was also an Alicorn.He thought that the four of them were the only one's.After a quick examination, He spoke: "Well, hello there little one, are you lost?" His voice was kind and gentle, didn't seem to have a "pinch" of agression. The little one started to introduce himself and told his story up until this moment. The day he somehow appeared here, how he has explored this world and how many times he was attacked. After he was done, they had felt a little sorry for him, and also concerned from his story. He has gone through so much at such age? The two elder alicorns started to discuss about him, while the 2 little one's slowly approached him. In front of him stood one with a pink mane, tail and white body. Behind her was a smaller filly, looked like she was only recently born, but very curious of the pony standing in front of her sister.Though it was the slightly older pony standing in front of him, the first to speak was the younger one, saying: "Hi, my name is Woona, this is my sister Cewestia". "Cewestia, Woona? Funny names you two have." "It's actually Celestia. And little Luna is still small so she can't pronounce my name right, or her‘s.“ ‘‘So, what‘s you name?“ ‘‘I don‘t know“ He frowned ‘‘I can‘t remember anything before coming here, not even my name..if i have one to begin with.“ Then the two sisters started asking about his adventures, things like: weather it was true that he had to fight his way through dangerous beasts and what kind of sights did he saw. For the first time since his appearence in Equestria, he finally felt warmth and joy, chatting with other ponie's was very exciting to him. As they were chatting, the two larger Alicorns stepped in. The one who spoke was a female alicorn with beautiful wings and mane.She spoke with a very tender and gentle voice. It relaxed him very much, as if the events upon his arrival had never happened and all the stress just dissapeared. "Well then, little one, seeing as you already befriended our daughters, and you seem not to have a place to call "home"... The darker one continued... "Would you perhaps like to come stay with us?" He was shocked with their offer. They‘ve just met him and yet, they seem so caring, loving, they would adopt him just like that. He never thought he'd meet somepony this kind and genorous, His heart never felt this warm.With a quick pause he answered: "I would love to!" The parent Alicorns were delighted to hear that, and so was Luna it seemed. "Yay Blacky is our big brother!" "B-Blacky?" – He blushed. The dark alicorn chuckled. “That dosen‘t seem like a very fitting name for a strong little colt liek you. How about we name you...Brave Heart?" "Brave Heart“ – He was confused. "I think it fits you very well.“ The mare alicorn lowerd her head to his head-level. "There aren‘t many ponies who can perform such acts at such age." "Brave Heart..I like the sound of that!" – He bounced in approval. "Well then, welcome Brave Heart“ – The elder colt smiled welcomly. Brave Heart was so happy. In one day, he received a name and even got the closest thing to call a family.Even though they were not at all related, Luna kept calling him "Big brother" , while Celestia, thinking his full name was a mouthfull, called him „Brave“ in short. It didn‘t seem to bother him at all. Time went by fast. The three foals grew up and their magic grew stronger. Both Luna and Celestia began learning how to change night to day, while Brave Heart acted as a gurdian throughout all of Equestria, keeping peace in the last and protecting other ponies from harm. Up until now, that was their parent‘s duty, keeping this balance in Equestria. But the time had come for them to pass down these duties to their son and daughter‘s. Afterwords, the parents dissapeared, they mentioned having bussines elsewhere, however decided not to tell them about it. Despite being new to these duties, all three alicorns got the hoof of it in mere days and were declared the new ruler‘s of Equestria. However, Brave Heart declined this offer. Even though Celestia and Luna offered him to be a prince time and time again, he refused, reminding them that they are not of the same blood and it would be wrong to call him a prince. Instead he became captain of the royal guards and a personal protector of Celestia and Luna. The colt's all over Equestria, at that time, looked up to him and respected him for his heroism and bravery. And the mares seem to be big fans of him, often sending love letter‘s and party invitations. While he did appreciate these kind acts, he had somepony else in mind. Sometimes, when Acheron leaves the castle to enjoy the lively streets of Canterlot, he would hear whispering about him and Celestia.Things like: "Hey, are Sir Brave Heart and Clesetia going out maybe?" or "I wonder if They‘re gonna get married someday?" Brave Heart felt embarassed in those situations, but just kept letting out silent chuckles and moved on. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few weeks after, there has been something that kept bothering Brave. He felt as if he was being watched by an unknown force. He did not like that... And they had only become worse. Every new day, Celestia felt something changing in Brave. She noticed that even some of her guards felt uneasy when Brave was around, as if he had a dark aura around him. Both of them were standing in the main hall of the castle, Celestia approached him. "Brave, are you feeling alright? You seem to be tired, whithered " There was a pause of silence. "I‘m fine, Princess. Maybe I‘ve just been getting too caught up in my duties. " "But.. " – Celestia looked in his eyes worried. "Don‘t worry" Brave spoke up smiling "Maybe I should just have some bed rest. I assure you, It‘s nothing you should worry about. " "Very well" The conversation ended, but Celestia knew better, something just felt different about Brave, something...dark. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moon has risen and Luna awakened from her slumber, whilst everypony else went to bed, iccept for the night guards of the castle. Brave Heart was now fully asleep, however, though he had hoped some rest would loosen him up a bit, but it was actually the night, when everything about him changed. He began having the worst nightmare of his life. He dreamt he changed into a dark being. He was destroying the castle, killing every guard in his path and opening what seemed to be some portal to another realm. He saw both Luna and Celestia standing in fron of him, begging him to stop what he‘s doing, but he did not listen. His body moved on it‘s own and what he did made him wake up and yell in terror. "NO! " – He was holding out his fore-leg to the ceiling, whilst sweating cold sweat. "What was that? It felt so real." He stepped out of his bed and came closer to his balcony/ "Was that me in my dream? What was I doing? Did I actually at-attack Celestia and Luna?" Then suddenly, he heard a whispering voice. "You know what you must dooo..." "What the?" – Now he knew something was going on. "It is your destinyyy..." "Who‘s there!?" – Brave started to unleash his magic, but was shocked from what he felt. "What is this?" – A mixture of black and red mist began surrounding him "Am..am I doing this? This isn‘t my magic." "Of course it is" the voice spoke up again "You have forgotten yourself, why you are here, what you must do." "Show yourself coward!" Brave‘s patience was getting thin. "I see you‘ve lived up to your current name: Brave heart, what a rediculous name for somepony as you, though they weren‘t far off." "You watch what you say. That name was given to me by the precious rulers of Equestria and I am not letting you disgrace it! " "Ah yes, the Queen and King of Equestria. And where are they now? They mean nothing to you, they were merely an illusion. You think they truly thought of you as their son? " "..Shut up. " "It‘s time for you to wake up, time to do what you were meant to do" "Shut up! " "Unleash your true form, Crimson Heart! Use your great power, open the portal, destroy Equestria, my son! " "No..." – Brave answered silently. "Destroy..." "No.." "It is your destiny...destroy equestria and enslave every living being there! " "NO" "DESTROY!" "NO!" Brave strugelled, but to no avail. He has fallen into the darkness. His true self has awakened. After that, Celestia was awakened by some dark presence.There was black magic in the air. She didn't want to admit it, but even though it was dark, cruel, she had felt Brave within all that magic. "No, It can‘t be" – Celestia jumped out of bed and ran to the main hall, where as Luna was hurrying back to the castle after taking a night stroll in the clouds. On her way, Celestia ran into one of the night guards, injured from battle. "Your Highness, it's Sir Brave Heart, he has gone insane, he started destroying the castle with some strange, dark magic!" Celestia was shocked and with not a second spared, She charged through the hallway until she came to the grand hall. What the guard said was true, the hall was destroyed and Acheron was standing there around defeated guards performing some strange ritual. "Brave Heart! What is the meaning of this?" – Celestia yelled with a terrified manner. "Celestia" – Brave turned around "There will be things i will do that you will not understand. Please know, I take no pleasure in this...” Celestia gasped. Who was this Alicorn, was it really the same Brave Heart? No, he was different, his eyes were glowing red and his body was surrounded by a dark aura, even stronger than before and now clearly visible. "Don't worry Celestia, I'll try to make this as painless as possible" Brave prepared to launch an attack. "Big Brother!" - yelled Luna while running in to the hall "Brave? Brother, what have done, who did you become? " There was a short pause, when Brave spoke. "Hm, It would seem that I get to finish you both at a time” . "Whatever is going on Brave, you must stop!What happened to you?" Celestia still couldn‘t believe what was happening. There he was, the little colt she met all those years ago, the one who played with her and Luna every day, protecting them from even the most dangerous creatures. Now has become a monster himself. " Forgive me Celestia, but...I was born to do this." With that said, he quickly charged at Celestia and Luna, charging up a dark spell to finish this quickly. But something stopped him, he looked down to see his legs being trapped by some blue aura. It was Luna‘s doing. "I‘ve underestimated you Luna, but don‘t think this can hold me" While Luna‘s magic can match up to Brave‘s, his physical strength was too great. Luna was struggling to hold him in place, but she couldn‘t do it for much longer. Then there was flash of multiple lights lighting up the whole main hall. Brave looked to Celestia, who was surrounded by some jewels. Then he realised, it was the Elements of Harmony. "What are you planning Celestia? You should know better that even with the Elements you can‘t kill me! " Celestia stood silently. Brave was now binded by a bright yellow aura and held in mid-air. "I could never do something like that to you..But I cannot allow you to continue this madness" – As she spoke, streams of tears began flowing from her eyes. "Celestia.. " Brave turned to Luna, who‘se eyes were also over-flowing with tears. "Luna.. " Brave had feared this the most. He thought he could finish this quickly, without seeing the Princesses cry for his doings. Celestia's horn started to to shine imensly, as Brave himself was being pushed to the dark portal was trying to open. He did not struggle. After witnessing the sadness in Celestia‘s and Luna‘s eyes, he was too overwhelmed with sorrow. He never wanted this, everything was just like in his dream. He had no control over himself, only now, when in this sad state, he forced himself to stop. Just as he was about to be thrown in his own portal, he looked at both of them. "Celestia. Luna" Both raised their heads and looked in his eyes "I‘m so sorry.. " The portal closed. Brave Heart, Guardian of Equestria and closest friend of the princesse‘s, was gone. "Sister...Why did big brother...?" – Luna spoke in a sad tone. "I don't know Luna" – Celestia came closer to hug her tightly "What has become of Brave, I do not know. " They both sobbed, realising what has happened, their heart‘s were sinked in sorrow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After that incident, the only who knew of what happened were Celestia, Luna and some guards of the castle.The Princesses did not want this news to spread. Whenever somepony asked as to where Sir Brave Heart was, they would answer that he has set out on an important journey and will not be back for a long time. A few days after, Celestia was walking down the hall-way and stopped next to the door which used to be Brave‘s room. She hesitated, still sad as to what heppened, but forced herself to come in. Nothing out of the ordinary: A couch, a fire-place, a bed and a stool with a box on it. Celestia was curious of what was inside that little box. She opened the box and in there were two diamond rings and a letter, saying: "Princess. The day I met you, it was the first time I have ever felt this warm tingly sensation. At first, I didn‘t know what it was, but as time flew, my feeling became stronger for you and it was then i realised, I fell for you. I couldn‘t hold these feelings for much longer. And even though you are royalty and I am a guard, I must know if your feelings towards me are the same as mine are to you. What I‘m trying to say is: Will you marry me? " A tear dropped from Celestias eyes. She opened her mouth slowly and softly said: "Yes..." “Dear sister?” – Luna was standing behind Celestia. “Luna, I feel that Brave may come back, but...not as the one we knew for so long..” “What will we do?” “For now, we must prepare for the worst, that is yet to come.” Celestia took a closer look at Luna. Her mane was darker than ussual and her eyes had changed aswell. "Luna, are you alright? " Celestia spoke nervously. Luna looked up to her "There‘s something I want to discuss with you, Celestia." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Meanwhile, in a another realm..* “You see? I told you Crimson wasn’t up for it, the time he spent in that world “Equestria” has made him soft and his powers weak. You should have sent me, I may be younger, but I could’ve handled it. This is your fault you know.” – Spoke a slightly dark blue coloured alicorn. “Yes...this is indeed dissapointing. Crimson, what do you have to say for yourself?” – Said an alicorn sitting on a throne, shrouded in darkness. “...There’s nothing i want to say to you...father. When the time comes, I will re-open the gate, just as you planned, but I will NOT hurt Celestia or Luna!” – Spoke Brave with an angered tone. “...Just like your mother...Frostbite was right, I should have sent him instead of you.” “Seriously big brother, just what did you see in that Celestia? We’ve been waiting here for a thousand years for that gate to be opened, and now it’s gone.” – Frostbite ended that sentance in a dissapointed tone. “Yes...but It is not all taht bad as it would seem, look. It seems our princesses are having a little- or should I say, a huge quarel. “What!?” – Brave yelled in shock. As the three alicorns were watching through a green orb, the one on the throne spoke up. “Well, well, fancy our luck my son‘s. Princess Luna‘s refusal to lower the moon cost het to be banished to the moon. “ The alicorn began to laugh menasingly. “Oh, and poor little Celestia, lost her close friend and now her own sister...this may put our plan to an advantage. “ “Luna...” Brave lowered his head. “Well then, all that is left now is to wait for the gates to open again, but this time, I will send you there Frostbite. And you Dreadsteed, you better start learning how to use your original powers, that display while fighting Celestia was just pathetic.” “C’mon brother, I’ll remind you how to use them” – Spoke Frostbite in a happy tone. “Fine...” – Brave was not happy with this at all. This isn’t how he wanted everything to turn out. The two colts left the throne room, leaving the one still sitting on his throne. “Just you wait Equestria, soon, you will know what true chaos is...and ALL will worship they’re future king – King Ragnarok!” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another one thousand years have past since that day. The plans of Ragnarok did not go as he had anticipated, for Princess Luna has returned to Equestria and all in Ponyville were celebrating. After the party, which was naturally planned by Pinkie pie, the Princesses returned to the castle. Soon after the arrival, Luna spoke “Sister, has Brave, by any chance, came back?” Celestia paused for a second. So, Luna hasn‘t forgotten about him either. But Luna has matured aswell, no longer she calls Brave „big brother.‘‘ “No Luna dear, no news about him, even after so long. “ Luna lowered her head. No matter what happened, Brave was dear to Luna as if he was her real brother. It sadened her knowing he has not yet returned. And even if he did, would it have been better? Would he return as the old Brave Heart they both loved? “Do you still believe he will? “ “After such a long time, I stil lhave not lost fate that he will, Luna” – Celestia put a warm smile. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Meanwhile, back in the dark realm, inside The Black Castle* “Well son, I assume you know what to do.” “Yeah, yeah. Enter the gate, Sneak into the castle and without hesitating, open the Gates.” “Good, as soon as it opens, our six captain’s will start chaos across Equestria, starting with the castle and that small village.” There stood six ponies, kneeling to Dread Stallion. Two earth ponies, two pegasus and two unicorns. “YeeeHaaw! They won’t know what hit them!” – Said a large, brown earth pony, wearing a black cow-colt style hat. ”Yeah, I’ll bring up a storm they’ll never forget!” – Said a pegasus with orange colored body and black, spikey mane. “Um...Let’s just try not to destroy everything, alright?” – Said a pegasus with a yellow body and a long red mane. “You’re one to talk, you control fire remember? That‘s as destructive as anyone can get” – Answered a purple unicorn pony with a blone mane. “My, my, anxious as always i see.” – Said a unicorn pony with a white body and blue mane. “I wonder what food they have there...” – Said an earth pony with a grey body and white mane. He did not seem to be intrested in the upcoming event, rather than he is about the food. “Let’s just get this over with, father.” – Spoke Frostbite. “Very well, I will open the gate now.After you travel through it, you will appear near that little village.If i were to send you straight to the castle, you would be immedietly sensed by the Princess and you wouldn‘t be strong enough to defeat everypony all on your own. From what I can gather, they are still well prepared even after all these years” – Ragnarok answered. The gate was opened, and Frostbite jumped into it. “Now watch closely Crimson. Your younger brother will show you, how one needs to do exactly, as planned.” – Ragnarok turned to Brave with a smirk. Brave stood silently. “Celestia...please be safe...” – He whispered. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Just a few miles away from Ponyville...* The portal had opened in Equestria, and out of it, came out Frostbite. “Hm, strange. This place actually looks better than I thought. It so..warm. “ Frostbite stoof for a few minutes, observing his surroundings. “Hm, nevermind, I have a mission to do.” - Frostbite walked up on a small cliff. “I almost feel sorry for this world. Seems to be a waste if father decide‘s to turn it into something like ours. Oh well, I hope you‘re as ready as father predicts Equestria. “ Frostbite looked at the castle in a distance with a smirk. To be continued... > Chapter 2: Meet the Elements. Pt.1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scars of the Past Chapter – 2 Twists and Turns. A few minutes after observing the land, Frostbite‘s ears started to ring. "Eeeyow! What is this infernal ringing!?“ – Frostbite frowned in annoyance. Suddenly, he started to hear a voice in that ringing. "Testing, testing, is this thing on? It‘s a little grubby.“ – Frostbite could recognise that mischefous voice anywhere. "General Boo, is that you? " – Frostbite had always wondered why the constant „happy-for-no-reason“ earth pony‘s name was „Boo“. Was it his palish grey body and his ghostly white mane? Or was it his habbit of oftenly pulling scare-pranks on others? Whatever the case, he was the most random pony he knew in his world. "Ah, you caught me, I thought i might make this more mysterious, but i guess there‘s no tricking a prince, you‘re good.“ – In that tone, one might think he had forgotten why he called in the first place. "Boo, I hope you‘re not making this a prank call? The Princess might sence the communication spell you‘re using.“ "Don‘t be silly, princy, I can‘t do any magic, Arcane is performing the spelly thingy, I‘m only using it to –„ - Boo was interrupted by Frostbite. "Okay, okay, just hurry up and tell me, before she does sence my presance.“ "Oopsie, sorry. Your dad told me to tell Arcane so that i could tell you not to rush in to the castle. Observe the place, find places where there are least guards and find a way to sneak in. Also, take a look at other ponies, see how well they are prepared, and bring some ice-cream.“ "Yes, I need to be coutious. I‘ll check every corner of the castle and analyze how well prepared are the guards or any ponies and bring some ice-cr- " – Frostbite paused for a moment. – "Boo, what does our mission have to do with this „Ice-cream“ you speak of?“ "Oh, that‘s not for the the mission, that‘s for me. Arcane told me about it, it‘s like ice, but with flavour, can you believe it?“ – Boo spoke with an excited tone. "Boo, I swear, sometimes...No, no not sometimes, I always think you are the most ran-„ – Frostbite was interrupted by Boo. "Opps, that‘s all the time i had, Arcane says he‘s having a migrane from the spell, see you later“ – The communication spell was cut. "-dom pony I‘ve...“ – Frostbite was left to feel like a fool talking to himself. - "How in the name of every living being did that colt make it to a general‘s rank, I will never know.“ As Frostbite was walking down the cliff and along the road to the village, he thought to himself – "Arcane obviously won‘t be able to channel the spell for another few hours, if not longer, and father is definitely too busy with plans and strategies, which means none of them are keeping an eye of him.“ – Frostbite put on a mischefous smirk. "Well, since nopony is keeping track of me, mind as well have a tour around this little place. Maybe I‘ll check out that dish Boo called iced-cream. " – He thought to himself. As Frostbite walked around the village, he was surprised how everypony here were so happy. Ponies chatting, foals playing, smiles on every side. It seems nopony noticed the „New guy“. But was he really that different from the others? Nopony seemed to notice that he was an alicorn. He was sure that he would attrack some attention. "This place isn‘t half bad, I can‘t remember the last time our world was this cheerful... In fact, was there ever a day in our world that looked like this? " – Frostbite spoke silently. As he made a quick turn, he saw one pony looking right at him. He could tell this was a filly, her body was light pink and her rediculously curly and bouncy. Frostbite snapped out of analyzing the filly standing before him. "Why is she staring at me like that? Could I have been discovered so soon? She looks like she knows something, she definitely suspects something about me. What should i do now? " – Frostbite had to think fast. "Um..hello? " – „Oh yeah, great plan Frost, you gonna tell you where you‘re from next?“ – Frostbite said to himself and put on a sheepish smile. *Gaaasp* - The pink filly let out a loud gasp and flashed passed Frostbite. " How did she- so fast- but with out wings...What just happened? " – He was flummoxed, that was about as random as Boo. After he was done compairing them, Frostbite noticed that by now everypony was staring at him. They had finally noticed the new pony. While Frostbite did enjoy attention, he couldn‘t risk getting too much of it in here, so he decided to move along. Moments after he saw a large farm-house in the distance and a sign that said "Sweet Apple Acres“. "Sweet? Apples aren‘t sweet, atleast they‘re not in our world, this sign doesn‘t really make sence. " – Frostbite said to himself. "Yeeehaaw! " – Frostbite‘s attention was caught by a shout a few meters away from him. It was an orange earth pony with blonde mane while wearing a brown hat. *Buck!* - A strong kick from both pony‘s legs made very apple fall from the tree into the baskets. Frostbite couldn‘t tell wether this was a light-weight colt or a very strong filly. But from the sound of her previous shout, he‘s betting she‘s a filly. He was just about to turn around and walk away, but the orange pony had already noticed him. Though he doesn‘t know her, it would still be rude to just walk away after making eye-contact. He had no choice, mind as well get introduced. Frostbite was first to walk up to her and speak. " Good day to you, my name is Frostbite" – Right after he finished his sentance, he felt a strong grip over his right hoof, the pony was shaking it up and down rapidly with a delighted smile. "Well how‘do mister Frostbite, real pleasure makin‘ your acquaintance. " – She was still shaking his hoof at the same pace. - "Ah‘m Applejack, we here at Sweet Apple Acres, sure do love making new friends. " "Friends? Uhm, a-a-ctual-ly-y i-i.. " – Frostbite‘s hoof feels like it‘s about to come off. Applejack had finally let go of his hoof and felt a strange chill on her‘s. "Heavens to betsy, you‘re as cold as snow, and it‘s the middle o‘Summer right now. " Frostbite was finally able to stop his hoof from shaking by itself. " She definitely has a strong shake. " And then noticed a conserned look on her face. "Oh, it‘s nothing, I just..I just slipped in a cold pond that‘s all. " – "Really Frost? A little foal wouldn‘t buy that" – He thought to himself. "Well doesn‘t matter, ah know just the thing that‘ll warm you up lickety split. " – Applejack trotted to a nearby table where a pie was laying. She took a slice and trotted back to Frostbite. "Here‘ya are, still fresh ought‘a the oven. " – Applejack was holding the plate near Frostbite‘s nose. While it did smell delicious, he had to end this conversation before he gets invited to brunch or something. "Thank you kindly, but i really sho-" – Before he could end his sentance, Applejack shoved the whole slice in his mouth. At fist he felt annoyed, just having something shoved in his mouth without warning, but then.. "Oh, this..this is amazing! " – Frostbite now knows why it‘s called the „Sweet“ Apple Acres. This pie was nothing compared to the sour apples from his world. "A‘hm glad ya liked it, and see? " – Applejack held one of his hooves - " Ye‘r gettin‘ warmer allready. " Frostbite felt it too. His ussual temperature got warmer a little and that‘s something he hasn‘t felt in a long while. How odd he thought, it wasn‘t fire that warmed him up, nor was it the sunlight, but a simple freshly baked apple pie. Come to think of it, he failed to notice how warm Equestria was at day, much warmer than his world. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed Applejack was still holding his right hoof in hers. "You alright, sugarcube? Had your head in the clouds for a second there. " "Oh, uhm, yes, I‘m fine. You‘re right, i was just lost in thought, that‘s all. " – Frostbite let go of applejack‘s grip and smiled sheepishly. "Al‘righty then, care to sample some more, we have the best apple dishe‘s here your taste-buds will ever taste. " "This Applejack is so welcoming, so honest. " – Frostbite thought to himself. - "Thank you, but i really must be going, a little business i have to take care of. " "Sure thing sugarcube, ya‘ll can comeback anytime, ya hear? " – Applejack waved hapilly. "I hear you. " – As Frostbite walked away from the farm, he remembered how Applejack was holding his hoof. It felt so..warm and welcoming. Frostbite gave a slight blush, but was put out when he remembered what‘s at stake here. "What‘s wrong with you Frost, you can‘t just begin bonding with the very ponies your father will soon enslave. You have a mission to do. " – He thought to himself ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back at the farm, Applejack looked back at the new colt in town and just noticed. " Was it just me, or did that fella had wings and a horn? Hmm, ah think ah should round-up the girls, just in case. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back Frostbite, who was lost in thought again while trotting back to the village. "Hm, maybe i should observe the village from the sky, wouldn‘t want to attrack more attention. " – Frostbite spread his wings and flew up to the sky, high enough to see the whole village. "Why didn‘t i think of this sooner? Nopony will think that there‘s a spy in the sky..heh, rhymey. " Frostbite continued to fly above the village, when suddenly the was a flash of rainbow that passed right through him. "Hey you! " – A pegasi pony shouted at Frostbite. "Wha- huh? " – Frostbite gave a confused look. Before him there flew a cyan-blue pegasus with rainbow mane. Frostbite has never seen a multi-colored pony before. "Yeah you, I dare you to race me to that big cloud there! " – The pegasus had a competetive smile. "Wait, who are you and-" "Onetwothree GO! " – With that the pegasus flew with great speed at the cloud she named. "I don‘t know what‘s this about, but I‘m never left behind! " – Right after he finished his statement, Frostbite dashed after the pegasus. Both were flying at incredible speed. Frostbite was quick to catch up to her speed. "Not bad new guy, but I‘m just getting warmed up! " "Well that makes two of us then" – Frostbite shot back. The cyan pegasus flapped her wings even faster and left behind a trail of a small rainbow. But Frostbite wasn‘t about to give up. He gave his wings a strong flap that made him burst into speed, once again catching up to his opponent. None of them noticed how the whistling and soaring sounds attrackted the eyes of the ponies below and how they were cheering. The cloud was getting close, this might need a photo finish to decide who would win. The two racers were in so much speed that they couldn‘t stop, resulting them into crashing in the cloud. A few seconds after, both raised their heads. "Wow, i don‘t think anypony was ever this close to beat me in a race. " "Close? pardon me, i think what you meant to say was: you‘ve never met a pony who has beaten you in a race. " – Frostbite smirked. "Ha, you wish new guy. Byt the way, name‘s Rainbows Dash, and you are? " "I‘m Frostbite. Have to admit, you took me by surprise when you swung through me back there, i‘m not so easy to sneak up on. " "Hehe, sorry, i was just in a rush, didn‘t have time to give you a warning. You were pretty good, but i still say I won. " – Rainbow dash smirked at Frostbite. "Well, there‘s only one way to find out. " – Frostbite challanged her to another race. "Sorry, as much as i would love to make you eat those words, i gotta clear the clouds for Ponyville before it gets late. " "Ponyville? Is that the name of this village? " "What planet are you from? Hehe, it‘s been cool and all, but gotta dash, see‘ya! " – And with that Rainbow Dash left Frostbite with a trail of a small rainbow. Frostbite took some time to recover from the race. After a few breather‘s he remembered: "Darn it, what is with all these distractions? I can‘t work if i keep getting in these situations. " Frostbite then noticed a rich looking building right below him. "Hm, something tells me i‘m going to regrtet this, but that building is so eye-catching, wonder what‘s in it. " – With that said, he flew from the cloud he was resting on and on to the ground near the entrance. He opened the door slowly, making sure nopony would hear him. However he didn‘t expect a bell was above the door, which gave away his position. "Cooming! " – A voice was heard from the second floor. Frostbite sighed thought to himself: "Well, no point in hiding now, mind aswell get stuck in another intoduction. " From the stairs, there came a pure white unicorn pony with a stylish purple mane. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where every garment shique, unique and magnefique, how may i help you this fine da-wuahAHAh! Oh my goodness, young colt, whatever happened to your graviour? " – Rarity gave a shocked expression. Frostbite stood confused, he didn‘t know what this „graviour“ was, but aftr glimpsing at a nearby mirror, he had to guess it was his mane and it was a mess, most likely from the race against Rainbow Dash. "Oh, you needn‘t worry miss, there was simply some strong wind in and i guess i flew too fast, resulting my mane to this. But don‘t worry, i was just curious to what this place was, i will be out of your hair in no time. " – Frostbite smiled, trying to end their chat before it would prolong itself. "Out of my hair? What about your hair?" But it was too late. The stylish unicorn started to push Frostbite. "Wait, where are you pushing me? " – Frostbite was pushed closer to the mirror he glimpsed a few minutes ago, standing confused. "Um, miss? " – Since it has gone to this, mind as well introduce themselves..again. "Oh, but of course, how rude of me, i didn't even introduce myself. I am Rarity, the owner of Carousel Boutique, and you are darling?" "My name is Frostbite, you could say i‘m very new to Ponyville. " "Ah, we haven‘t had somepony new in Ponyville for a while. But i must say darling, you mane is absolutely horrid. " – Rarity walked over to some cosmetics. "What‘s wrong with it? Beside‘s being ruffled up by the wind? " Frostbite felt a little insulted. He wasn‘t all that into fashion, but calling his mane horrid was a bit rude. " "I meant no offense ofcourse, but it feels cold and grubby and I will not let it continue to be like this. " – Rarity walked up to him with a comb and some spray cans. "I don‘t like where this is going. " – Frostbite thought and widened his eyes. Rarity began spraying and combing his mane all over. A few minute‘s past and it was done. "Done, tada~" – Rarity said happily. Frostbite was scared to open his eyes, he thought what this pony could have done to his mane as it was already bad enough. He opened his eyes slowly and was surprised. It wasn‘t just better than his ruffled up mane, it was better than his old one. "Well darling, don‘t hide your happiness from me, what do you think? " "My, this is actually good. " – Frostbite turned to Rarity who was frowning, obviously displeased with his reply. " I mean, it‘s great, magnificient, perfect even! " – Frostbite would, by any cost, like to avoid an angry lady. " Rarity blushed a little. "Oh you‘re a true gent, but then again, I always leave my guests satisfied. Even though my profession is making beautiful dresses and suits, styling manes jsut comes naturally. " "I see. " – Frostbite might‘ve gave too much credit for her work, but it was still better than having to deal with an angry lady. "Well, this has all been delightful, but i really must be going now, some business i must attend to. " "Ofcourse darling, don‘t let me hold you" – Rarity smiled delightfuly. "You propobly couldn‘t anyway. " – Frostbite whispered. "Pardon? " – Rarity raised one brow. "Oh, it‘s nothing miss Rarity, farewell. " – "That was close" he thought. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now Frostbite was beggining to feel stressed. It‘s already evening, and he hasn‘t even come up with a plan on how to sneak into the castle. Still, it wasn‘t a complete waste of time. He did meet some friendly ponies here. An honest earth pony, who did not lie about her delicious apples. A loyal pegasus, who puts duty before fun. And a genorous unicorn, who fixed up his ruined mane with no charge‘s. "I don‘t understand..Father said this world must belong to him, because these ponies are using the balance and harmony of this world all wrong. But how is that? I‘d say they are living here as they are supposed to, why would father want it to himself? " "Bah, it doesn‘t matter, father has always been right. And i must stop speaking with these ponies or else i might feel sorry for them when father comes. " – Frostbite said that, but he still can‘t shake the feeling that what he is doing is wrong. In a small distance, Frostbite heard singing. But not just any singing, by the sounds of the voices, those were..birds singing? This was, among other things, new to Frostbite. He had birds in his world aswell, but none can sing like these do. But it seems to melodie, as if they are being played by somepony else. His curiosity got the best of him, he had to see who was singing. He followed the road to where the singing was coming from, until he saw a yellow pagasus pony singing along with different kinds of birds. He felt the need to get closer, the singing was so beautiful, he had to hear it up-close. He walked slowly and silently, doing his best not to frighten the birds and the filly. *Snap* - The birds heard the snappy noise and scattered to different trees, and the young filly yelped in surprise. Frostbie felt a little embarassed, he knew this was going to turn out into another introduction, but how will the filly before him react, after purposely sneaking up to her like that? To be continued.. Sorry if you were hoping for Frostbite to meet the whole group, but i just thought a two-parter chapter would do. Again, sorry if this wasn‘t what you were hoping for. > Chapter 2: Meet the Elements. Pt.2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Gasp* – The yellow coloured pegasus pony let out a silent gasp. "Nice going Frost. " – He thought. "*Ahem* Sorry if I startled, but i just couldn‘t help but hear singing over that little hill and i just had to see who was it. " The pegasus pony flew down on the ground, but didn't respond, just turned her head a little to the right, avoiding looking him in the eyes. Frostbite smiled sheepishly and finally spoke. "So, what‘s your name? " "Um..my name is Flutershmm... " "I‘m sorry, didn‘t quite hear that? " – Frostbite took one step closer. "My name is uhm..Fluttershmh" – She took one step back. Frostbite knew that wasn‘t her full name. She was propobly just shy...really shy. He didn‘t know what to do, he‘s never met a pony who would be too shy to even pronounce her name. He understood the "Flutter“ part in her name, but the rest was a mystery. "Alright, um..Flutter, I won‘t trouble you no more, farewell. " – Frostbite stood another second to hear her responce. "Mhhmmh" – The only responce he got. "Alright then.. " – Frostbite spread his wings and ascended into the air. "What a strange little pony" He thought. "But her quiet attitude is somehow..warm and relaxing, as if, though awfully shy, she has absoloutely no troubles in this world. Hmph, wish it was that easy in mine. Hm, her shyness kind of reminds me of Searing Petal. I wonder if she too can...No, what am I thinking, an innocent filly like her couldn‘t secretly be like him. " – Frostbite flew back to Ponyville. The sun has gone down and the moon has risen right above Ponyville. Things were not at all going to Frostbite‘s plan. He had a whole day to examine the defences of this world, but all that he has done was waste time meeting ponies, who will soon be his father‘s slaves. "Waste...But, is enslaving them really the right thing to do, father? " – Frostbite landed near a wide tree. "No, I can‘t let myself be distracted by emotions. I promised my father i won‘t fail like Crimson and i won‘t! We‘ve waited for this for a thousand years and...My, that is a strange looking tree. " – Frostbite tilted his head. "Wait, is this supposed to be a house? Now I‘ve seen everything. " – He chuckled, but then noticed a sign near the entrance with a picture of a book. "Oh, so it‘s a library..That doesn‘t really make it any less stranger. " – Then he remembered what the building looked like in his world. - "Right, like I‘m one to talk. " The it hit him. "Wait, a library has books, books have information, information is what i lack right now and I‘m a complete idiot, why didn‘t i come here sooner? " – Frostbite glanced at the windows, the lights were out. "Well, not like somepony would live in a library anyway. " – He stood in front of the door and checked if it was locked. It opened. "Hm, somepony isn‘t very responsable, leaving the door unlocked like that. " – Frostbite stepped inside the library. - "Wow, it‘s as dark as a dungeon in here. Well, nothing like a little illumination magic can‘t-" "SURPRISE!" Frostbite almost jumped in shock, he looked around and saw everypony he‘s met so far, as well as other ponies from Ponyville. The next minute, a pink pony appeared out of nowhere. It was the same pony who gasped and flashed away when Frostbite first came to Ponyville. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this "Welcome to Ponyville" party just for you!Were you surprised?Were you, were you, huh huh huh?" – The pink pony started jumping around happily around Frostbite, who as still slightly frustrated to how his plan to hide in the library and gather information just flew through the window. "Yes, very surprised, nopony told me there was going to be a party for me." "Well duh, It wouldn‘t of been a surprise party if you knew about it. You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all like "Hi" and I was all like *Gasp*,remember? You see, I've never saw you before and if i never saw you before, that means you're new, cause I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville, and if you're new, that meant you've never met enyone yet and if you haven't met anyone yet, that means you don't have any friends, if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely and that made me so sad and i had an idea, and that's why i threw a great, ginourmous, super-duper surprise party and invited everyone in Ponyville.See? And you you have lots and lots of friends." Frostbite‘s eyes were spinning. He never met a pony who could talk so much and so fast. Well, nopony except Boo. Despite how everyone one of the generals took their duties seriously, Boo was always there to cheer somepony up, even in their saddest states. That‘s very rare in Frostbite‘s world, a pony who would are enough to comfort others. But returning to the matter at hoof, Frostbite realised what this Pinkie Pie just said. "Friends..." – He lowered his head. In his world, "Friend" has always been just a word to him, it had no actual meaning. Even among those who served in his father‘s castle, the more common words were "servant" are at the most "collegue". "I hope she's not bothering you too much?" – A purple unicorn approached Frostbite and asked. - "Hello, I think I‘m the only one in Ponyville who hasn‘t introduced herself to you, my name is Twilight Sparkle. And you‘re Frostbite, right? "Uhm, pleased to meet you. No, I don‘t think we‘ve met before, but how do you know my name? "Oh, well it would seem that you‘ve already met my best friends, they told me about you before you came to the library. But I have to say, your name is a little...odd. " "..Is she suspecting me? This place is so crowded, my cover might be blown. " – Frostbite thought and gulped. "I mean no offense, of course. " – She suddenly changed her tone. "It just seems..different. Is it because you‘re usually cold? " – Twilight put her hoof on Frost‘s chest. "A little personal space please? " – He thought. "My, you do feel cold. Are you sure you‘re alright? " – Twilight looked at him concerned. "Alright, this is so strange. Why does she look so concerned? We‘ve only just met, yet it feels like she‘s privileged to feel concerned about me. I just don‘t understand them. " – Frostbite thought. - "It‘s fine, really. I‘ve my body has always felt this cold for some reason. " – He said. "I mean, it‘s not like I could tell her: Oh, I‘m the prince of a dark world who uses ice magic and I‘m here to spy on you. " "Well, if you say so. " – Twilight was not a stupid filly, she was not convinced. "See Twilight? He has a horn and wings, just like the princesses." – Applejack said. "Hey, you‘re right. Mister Frostbite, if it isn't a secret, mind telling us where exactly is it you come from? " – Twilight looked curious, but suspicious aswell. Frostbite broke out a cold sweat. He couldn't possibly tell them where he‘s from and why is he here. - "I'm, uh...I'm not sure. I just woke up on a cliff, atleast a mile from here, and saw this village, so i decided to visit.." - "Oh yeah, great explanation there Frost. " – He thought. "It‘s strange" – Twilight said. "But ever since this morning, I‘ve felt a strange..presance. As if, I dunno, something other-wordly was brought into Equestria. " Frostbite‘s eyes widened. How is it possible that she could feel his presance, if not even the princess could? Or perhaps she has. Maybe the princess knew he was here from the very moment he arrived. But if that were the case, why hasn‘t she appeared yet? Wouldn‘t something like this attract her attention immediatly? "Wait, you‘re not saying Frost has something to do with it? " – Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight. "No, of course not. But, what Im trying to say is, if what Applejack said is true, that AJ met him this morning, and that‘s when i had this feeling, maybe he knows something about this presance I felt. " – Twilight looked Frost in the eyes. "C‘mon Twilight, It‘s Frostie‘s party, this isn‘t a time to be a super-smart-smarty-pants. " – Pinkie Pie said while bouncing. "Where does she get all that energy to constantly bounce all the time? " Frost thought. "Yeah, you‘re right Pinkie. " – With that said, Frostbite sighed in relief. "But still, I should write this to Princess Celestia. I‘m sure she must‘ve senced the same thing. " – And then he broke a cold sweat..again. His situation was dire, strong as he was, he wouldn‘t be able to defeat the Princess on his own, especially if she were to be accompanied by her sister, aswell as some of her royal guards. "That will not be necessary, Twilight." – Suddenly, a kind voice spoke and in the middle of the library, a bright light appeared. Out of the light, stepped the Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Everypony was so surprised by this unexpected visit from the princesses, they kneeled immediatly. The princesses recognised the ponies in the library, but one caught their attention. "Sister, is he the one? " – Luna was first to speak. "Yes, I‘m sure of it. I can feel the same presance within him as I did this morning. " – Celestia answered and locked her eyes on Frostbite. His situation just got a whole lot worse. There were no guards to be seen, but even without them, if a battle were to occur right now, Frostbite would surely lose. "Princess Celestia, what‘s going on? " – Twilight asked the princess nervously. "All will soon be clear, my dear student. " – Celestia answered and locked her eyes on Frostbite again. "I don‘t know exactly who you are, but i know where you‘re from. Why have you come to Equestria? What is it you seek here? " Frostbite was in a state of panic, but stood his ground. His plan just went down the drain. Though if he thinks about it, he hasn‘t accomplished even one objective all day, what with all the distractions he had to go through. But one thing was clear, his mission has failed. It doesn‘t matter if the princess doesn‘t know who he is, knowing where he‘s from is enough. "Fine. " – He thought. "There‘s no escape from here. Even if I were to teleport myself away from here, how long would I be able to keep hiding before getting caught? "What‘s goin‘ on here suger‘cube? " – Applejack asked. With a slight sigh, Frostbite had finally spoke - "My name is Frostbite..Prince Frostbite. " All ponies started gossiping and whispering: "Prince? " , "What‘s he talking about? " , "Is something going to happen? " , "Where are the muffins? ". Frostbite continued - " I was sent her by my father, King Ragnarok, with orders to-" "ENOUGH FROST!" – Suddenly, a loud voice boomed through the library and could possibly be heard in the whole village. Celestia wasn‘t expecting it, but did not falter. "Who are you? Show yourself! " "Is that how you speak to your guests, Princess Celestia? Why don‘t you come out and see for yourself. " – The voice was coming right outside the library. Both princesses and the six friends stormed through the door, where outside they have witnessed multiple figures standing. There were eight in total, while two larger one‘s were standing in the middle. "It can‘t be. " – Celestia spoke. "Sister, what is wrong? " – Luna looked at Celestia concerned. "B-Brave Heart, is that you? " – Celestia looked straight at the alicorn standing next to the one who spoke: "Greetings ponies of Equestria. After so many years of trying, we can finally see each other face to face. It‘s truly an honor..for you, that is. " – Ragnarok smirked. Right next to Ragnarok was Brave Heart, Who was avoiding Celestia‘s and Luna‘s eyes. "B-Big brother. " – Luna spoke silently. The six friends both said in union - "Brother!? " "Brave, why are you here? No, how are you here? You shouldn‘t have been able to return to Equestria. Brave Heart didn‘t respong, just stood there. Then Ragnarok said - "Yes, he wouldn‘t be able to return here, but that doesn‘t mean I couldn‘t. " "Who are you? What is it you inted to do in Equestria?! " – Celestia said angrily. "Ohohoh now, my dear. You can‘t possibly think I would just tell you about my plan. Besides, soon you won‘t have to worry about that, I assure you. " - Ragnarok glared at Celestia. "Hey, nopony talks to the princess that way! " – Rainbow Dash flew straight at Ragnarok. "Rainbow Dash, wait! " – Twilight shouted to Rainbow, but she didn‘t stop. Right before Rainbow would have made contact with Ragnarok, a flash of red lightning knocked her back at the six ponies. "Rainbow Dash! " – the ponies yelled in unison. "Woah there, hot head, ain‘t nopony gonna attack our king like that" – the ponies turned to a colored pegasus, who seemed to give out small electrical charges. Ragnarok laughed - "Well, now that that‘s taken care of, where is my dim-witted son? " "We don‘t know who you‘re talking about. " – Twilight said after helping Rainbow Dash up. "Father! " – Frostbite ran out of the library to Ragnarok and kneeled. "Father!? " – The ponies said in unison...yes, again. "Forgive me father, I wasn‘t going to tell them our plan, I simply-" "FOOL!" – Ragnarok charged a spell and knocked Frostbite away. "What was I thinking? Sending you on such an important task. Your boasting on how you would have succeded in this, where Crimson could not, were all just empty words. "Crimson? " – Celestia thought. He can‘t mean Brave can he? "Hm, by the look on your face, Celestia, I can tell what you‘re thinking. Yes, the one which you call "Brave Heart" is Crimson Heart, my first born son. Both Celestia‘s and Luna‘s eyes widened. The young alicorn who they‘ve met all those years ago, was the son of some evil tyrant? "Brave, please, tell me he is lying. " – Celestia turned to Brave. But he did not respong, merely frowned and looked away. "Oh I assure you, every word I say is true. Including this – by leaving your castle, you left the so called Elements of Harmony completely unprotected, and that was the chance I‘ve been waiting for so long. " "But that doesn‘t make sense, the Elements of Harmony are only what keeps the balance of this world in order, stopping any dis-harmony or chaos. " "Or so you thought. I‘s sure if I know some of your history, you should know it all. The elements were originally created by the King and Queen of Equestria not only to keep the balance of this world, but protect it aswell. However, that was far too difficult, even for them. They needed someone keep that protective power up. So in short: think of yourself as a magic energy source, that keeps the Elements charged and protecting Equestria. The moment you went too far from them, I used that to my advantage. So...here i am. " – Ragnarok smirked once more. Everypony was in awe. What is about to happen to their home? "So sending your own son was just a decoy maneuver. " – Celestia looked back at Frostbite, who was lying on the ground, motionless. "Correct. I suppose there is no reason to hide it any longer. There was no real task for my son to gather information about how well guarded Equestria is. I merely needed him to create a..well, call it a distraction if you want, to separate you from the Elements far enough. " "..F-Father.. " – Frostbite grunted in pain, regaining his consciousness. Brave Heart glared at Ragnarok. Though he isn‘t that fond of Frostbite, the way his father used him made him sick. "Well, as much as I would love to quickly end your life here, I have different thoughts in mind. Until we meet again. " – The group turned around and walked away slowly. "Oh, and Carter, if you would kindly.. " "He‘yes sir"- said a brown earth pony. "Yeee-" He lifted his front hooves "-Haaw! " and slammed the ground with great force. The earth began trembling and bulding cracked. Everypony was losing their balance, except the pegasus ponies, who flew in mid air. "Woah nelly, what the hay was that" – Applejack spoke, barely keeping her balance. "A meer demonstration of our strength. Do not worry, for there will be more. " – Said Ragnarok before entering a portal he conjoured up. The other‘s, including Carter and Brave Heart, followed. "Brave! " – Celestia shouted. Brave heart had stopped for a moment. He turned around and said: "Celestia, forget everything you know about me, nothing has ever happened in the past. The scars from which the history of Equestria has suffered in the past, none of us will forget it. that goes the same for you Luna." – With that said, Brave once again turned around and dissapeared along with Ragnarok and the other ponies. Before he entered the portal, Celestia saw him blink twice. She was sure that, in their past, that was a sign Brave used to use. The portal had closed, and the group was gone. The rumbling had also finally stopped and the ponies could finally stand straight. Twilight, who was still in shock, approached Celestia. "Princess Celestia, what will we do now? "For now, my fateful student, we must remain calm and come up with a plan to ready ourselves. " "Dear sister, what shall become of him? " – Luna pointed at Frostbite. He was still lying on the ground, still motionless. However, his wound wasn‘t taht serious, he just couldn‘t move, because his father had forsaken him. Celestia approached him and leened down. "What of you, Frostbite was it? Do you still see yourself as oru enemy? Will you stay by your father‘s side and continue to do as he commands? "What father? He is no father to me, just a power hungry monster that won‘t stop at anything until he gets what he wants. " - He slowly stood up. "What of me? I don‘t care anymore. Lock me up in a dungeon, banish me, destroy me, do what you want. I‘m nopony‘s prince anymore. Suddenly the six ponies surrounded him and looked at the Princess. "Princess Celestia, please, mister Frostbite never wanted any of this. " – Twilight spoke first. "Mister isn‘t really necessary.. " – He whispered. "Yeah, Frostbite is a really cool guy, it was all that Ragna-whatever‘s fault. " – Rainbow Dash backed her up. "He is just a little colt who didn't know right from wrong. " – Followed by Fluttershy. "I‘m sorry, little? I‘m a thousand years older than you. " - Frostbite thought. "Hm..Tell me Prince Frostbite-" "Please, don‘t call me that. Like I‘ve said, I‘m nopony‘s prince anymore. " "Very well. Frostbite, you‘ve only been here for one day, but how do you feel in this world? Frostbite lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked up and said: "This world, is absolutely nothing like mine. It‘s so...peaceful here, so warm, kind. My world is filled with chaos and disharmony. Everypony follow‘s the words "Only the strong survive", there is no place for those who can‘t fight for them selves in our world. You would find no kindness, generosity, joy, honesty, loyalty, nor magic, that is so pure like in Equestria. But my father does not care about such things, for he only seeks power, to make it easier to control his subjects. " – Frostbite kneeled before the princess. "Please! I never thought i would have to say this, but I don't want this world to fall to him! I don‘t want it to end up like ours has. Please, let me help you! That‘s the only choice I have now. " Celestia closed her eyes - "Twilight, is Spike around? " "Right here Princess" – A small dragon came out of the library "Woah! What happened here? " – Spike jumped in shock. "Spike, how could you have slept through all this? " – Said Twilight. "I dunno, but...Hey, who‘s this guy? " – Spike pointed at Frostbite. "Spike, take a note please. " – Said Celestia/ "Wha? Uhm, ok?" – He sprinted back to the library and back with a quil and a sheet of paper. The princess spoke: "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree, that the alicorn - Frostbite, shall take on a new mission upon himself. from this day forward, he will help everyone protect Equestria from all harm from his new home-town – Ponyville. " With that said, everypony cheered from joy, including the mane six, who were smiling at him. "Thank you, princess. I swear, on what honor I have left, i will help protect Equestria as it were my own home. " – Frostbite stood proudly, but couldn‘t stand for no longer. It seems the blast made by Ragnarok was more powerful than he thought. He collapsed on the ground. "Frosty! " – Pinkie shouted and helped him get up. "Ughh..What kind of name is Frosty..? " – Frostbite groaned. Pinkie giggled - "I think it suits you. " "Either way" – Twilight spoke "We should propobly get you to the hospital. That blast hit you bad. " "Thank you, but I think I can manage, just show me where it is, I can walk there myself. " – Frostbite walked slowly. Then he noticed he was surrounded by the six ponies. "No way, partner. We ain‘t lettin‘ no friend of our‘s on his own. " – Applejack said while trotting ahead. "Look. " – Frostbite stopped "Why are you calling me your friend? We‘ve only met this morning, we haven‘t even spent that much time together and on top of that, just a few minute‘s ago, I was your enemy without you even knowing that. " – Frost lowered his head, avoiding their eyes. "How can you just forgive like that? My actions could have meant your end. " The ponies looked at each other. They realised it must have been painful in his world, having no friends and following a very strick law. This made them sad. The first to speak up was Rarity. "Oh darling, don‘t torture yourself with these details. You were simply confused with what is right and wrong. In the end, you made the right choice, you chose to protect us and for that we are greatful. " – Rarity‘s words made Frost rise his head once more. "Yeah, dude. I mean, you‘re nothing like those chumps.You‘re a good guy, we all think so. " – Rainbow Dash continued after Rarity. "Well, everypony in Ponyville is my friend. And now you‘re here too, so you‘re my friend too silly. " – Pinkie giggled. "I‘m sorry i couldn‘t introduce myself properly earlier. I‘m Fluttershy. I‘m just always shy in front of ponies I‘ve never met before. You‘re not like those other scary ponies, your voice is kind and heart warming, and i feel safe around you. " – So far, Fluttershy‘s words were the one‘s that touched him the most. How can such kindness even exist? Twilight spoke up - "We all think you‘re a good pony, mister-" "Please, enough with the formalities, Frost is just fine..Or Frosty, I think I‘m beggining to like it" – Frostbite smiled, finally feeling relieved. Twilight continued - "We all consider you our friend, Frost. And like you promised us you would protect us, we‘ll do the same for you. " Frostbite looked at the night sky. "Guess this is where I belong for now. You were right Crimson, this world is worth protecting. And by my honor, I will. Good luck, brother. " – He thought. And so the ponies and Frostbite continued to walk to the hospital, while other‘s returned to their homes. The princesses, still concerned of what‘s about to happen, returned to the castle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Meanwhile, many miles away from Ponyville. " "Yes, these ruins will serve a perfect hide-out for you. " – Ragnarok turned and smirked at his soldiers. ""You? " – Arcane spoke "Your highness, don‘t you mean us? Will you not stay in Equestria? " "No, Arcane. I must return to our world. Though it is chaotic enough, what will happen if there sn‘t a king to control it all? For now, I am promoting you to be the leader of this group. I hope you won‘t dissapoint me. " "Never, your highness. " –Arcane kneeled. "But why me? Wouldn‘t it be better to give this position to prince Crimson Heart? " "No. Crimson has almost learned his full potential. However, his bonds with this world have not yet ceased. I am already risking my plan with letting him stay here, but you will need his power to defeat the equestrians. " – Ragnarok glared at Brave Heart, who was looking at the night sky. " Then, out of nowhere, Boo sprinted in between Ragnarok and Arcane. "Big news, king Ragny! " – Boo yelled. "Boo, what have I told about calling your king that? " – Arcane said angrily. "It doesn‘t matter, Arcane. Now tell me Boo, and do it fast, for I must return to my world. " "I saw it with my own eyes, you highney. Prince Frosty be-friended the ponies. " "Well done, Boo. But listen, ALL of you listen! As of now, Frostbite is no longer your prince or ally. Now, he is, like the rest of this world‘s inhabitants, your enemy. Do not underestimate him, but do not show mercy before him either. Am I clear!? " The six soldiers stood silently, but they had to listen to their king. They said in Unison: "Y-Yes sir! " – All except for Brave Heart. Afterwards, Ragnarok dissapeared in his portal, leaving his best soldiers and Brave on their own. "I believe in you Frostbite, don‘t let me down. " – Brave Heart whispered. "Hey uh, prince Crimson Heart, sir? " – The orange pegasus approached im slowly. "It‘s alright to call me by my first name, Red Clash. " "Uh, Crimson, sir? Arcane was chosen to be the leader of this operation. Are you ok with this? " "I‘m more than ok with it really. Actually, I‘m glad he didn‘t choose you instead, for I need you to keep a secret. Think you can do that? " "Sir, i‘ve always been the most loyal soldier to the royal family, so yeah, my lips are sealed. " – Red Clash stood proudly. "Hm, very good, now come closer. " – Brave Heart leened and whispered to his ear. "S-Sir? Are you sure about this? " – He said surprised. Brave Heart nodded - "But for now, keep this a secret from everyone, including my father. " Red Clash was still shocked from what he‘d just heard. But and order is an order and he will carry it out until the end. To be continued.. > Chapter 3: The Elites. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter – 3 The Elites - Part 1 It was a bright and sunny morning in Ponyville. Birds singing, the sun was shining and everypony was enjoying it. While some are still worried from yesterday's event, most believe that they are safe while their princess is keeping an eye out. A few miles away from town, Frostbite lays in bed, but is awakened by some whispering. He slowly opens his eyes. 'Hey girls, I think hes' waking up.' - Rainbow Dash was right above Frostbite. "...wha?" – Frostbite groans sligtly and slowly lifts his head. 'Hey there suga'cube, feelin' better?' Applejack held her hat in her hoof. Frostbite yawns 'Yes, the impact I received yesterday wasn't deadly, it was rather more..humiliating." 'Thank heavens you're not seriously hurt' - Rarity brushed her hoof through her forehead. 'Has anything happened while I was asleep? Has my Ragnarok made a move?' "Luckily not" - Said Twilight while holding a letter with her magic. "However, the princess sent me an urgent letter. She says she wants us to come to her castle as soon as you wake up." "A-Are you sure you're alright?" - Fluttershy asked. " I'm sure we can go later if you haven't fully recovered yet." 'No, it's fine. Actually, I would have gone to the castle without an invitation. The princess, as do I, understands how important this situation is.' - Frostbite stepped out of his bed, stretching his limbs. 'The princess was kind enough to send some carriages to Ponyville. They should be arriving any minute..' - Twilight looked through the window and saw multiple carriages, pulled by pegasus royal guards, who landed near the entrance of the hospital. '..Now. Well that was fast.' - Twilight walked to the door of the room. 'We mustn't keep the princesses waiting.' 'Agreed'' - Frostibte, along with the other ponies, exited the room, said their farewells to the doctors and entered the carriages. All but Rainbow Dash, who wanted to see if she could beat the royal guards to the castle. The flight didn't take long, it would seem the guards were aware about the importance of this trip and flew as fast as they could. As soon they arrived at the main gates, Frostbite took a look around and noticed how heavily guarded the castle is. 'It seems the princess acted quickly to enforce the castle. I only hope this will be enough.' The group stepped out of the carriages and made their way into the castle, where the two princesses were waiting at the entrance . As soon as they approached them, Twilight was the first one to speak. 'Princess Celestia, we arrived as fast as we could.' 'It's good you've finally come.' - The princess replied. 'Frostbite, how are your wounds?' 'Nothing serious, I've been through worse. ' - After replying, Frostbite turned to princess Luna, who seemed a liitle drowsy. 'But I wonder if you are you alright, you seem rather tired?' Princess Luna tried her best to look wide awake. 'We are the rulers of the night, we are not used to staying awake at day. But for the sake of Equestria, we will do whatever it takes.' 'Princess, your letter sounded urgent, what is it you want to discuss?' - Twilight said. 'Yes, it is a matter of most importance, but this isn't the best place to discuss this. Please, follow us to the Dining Hall.' The group, after a few minutes, entered the hall, where they took seats in a circular form. 'Now then.' Celestia spoke. 'Before we can act, we must first know what we're up against. Frostbite, what can you tell us about your fath-' The princess was interrupted by Frost's yell. 'DON'T!' - Frost sighed and frowned from his sudden shout. ' I'm sorry, but please, don't call him that any more. Up until now, I never noticed how dark his heart has become. Now, he is nothing but a monster and I wll do all I can to help you.' 'I understand. So tell us, what exactly are we up against?' 'Well, first of all, the biggest threat is not Ragnarok, it's his elite guards and-" - Frostbite paused. '..And?' Twilight asked. '..And it's strange, but I think Ragnarok just left your world' 'What?' Celestia's eyes widened 'Are you sure?' "It's only a guess, but I no longer feel his presence, however, I can still sence his guards. I can't tell where they are, but I'm certain they are still here in Equestria.' Celestia stood up and walked to a nearby window. 'Hm, his absence may give us an advantage.' 'For now, maybe.' - Celestia looked back at Frostbite. 'But I don't think he left to pick up his laundry. As a matter of fact, his retreat to our world could mean he is prepearing his army for an attack and left his guards to keep an eye out.' 'Then we must be ready as quickly as possible.' - Celestia sat down again. 'Frostbite, if what you say is true, that Ragnarok isn't the greatest threat, tell us about his guards. They did not seem like any ordinary guards.' 'Wise choice' - Frost replied. 'Indeed, the Six Elites aren't just any guards. Each of them posseses great power, but the question is: what exactly do you want to know?' 'Everything, down to the last detail.' - Celestia replied. 'To the last detail? Well then, this might take a while.' "We shall prepare some tea for our guests" - Luna stood up. "Oh, let me help with that, darling." - Rarity happily offered help. As they walked to the castle's kitchen, Frostbite began explaining. 'Right then. Ragnarok's elite group has six members: two earth ponies, two unicorns and two pegasus ponies. Each of them posses their own unique abilities, we call them Elements.' 'Elements? Could they be like the Elements of Harmony?'- Twilight asked. 'No, it's nothing like that. I don't know much about these "Elements of Harmony" you speak of, but we call them just Elements. Although, I've read somewhere that it can also be called the "Elements of the World" , in a manner of saying. These elements are: fire, earth, lightning, air and water." 'Hold on one secon' Applejack said. 'That's only five, didn't you say tha'r were six o'them?' "Yes, but one of them uses a type of magic that isn't considered as one of the Elements. His name is Arcane, I suppose i'll start with him. Ironicly, the magic he uses is also called the Arcane arts. From what I can gather, it's not much different from the magic you unicorns use, There is only one dangerous differance - Arcane magic has a price, if your will is weak, it can make magic users want even more power, often resulting to their own demise.' 'Well that's stupid. I mean, why learn something that could destroy you?' - Rainbow Dash frowned. 'When Arcane began his research on these arts, it wasn't because he was in search of power, it's because he wanted to find a way for all unicorns to use this power without the dangerous price. His actions were noble, he wanted to teach this magic to those who could not defend themselves. Our world is cruel, there is no place there for the weak, that's why he wanted to share his knowledge with other unicorns, so that the ponies could fight for themselves againstthe dangers of our world, without losing your mind for power.' 'Tea is finished' Said Rarity, returning with Luna. 'Did we miss anything important?' 'No, not really. We'll fill you in later.' - Twilight replied, taking a sip from her cup. 'Alright,this Arcane pony's story doesn't sound so bad, so why is he working with somepony like Ragnarok?' 'I was getting to that.' Frost continued .'This research was very important to Arcane, however, when my fa-' Frostbite cleared his throat. 'When Ragnarok offered him a position in the elites, he could not decline this opportunity. If he had continued his research, i'm sure it would have been a success, but Arcane respected him far too much to dissapoint him." - Frostbite took a sip from a cup. ' It's a shame really, while it is considered a great honor to be one of the elites, I personally believe his research was far more important than this offer.' 'That's so sad, he could of helped so many.' - Fluttershy lowered her eyes. Frostbite continued. - 'In the end, only he knows how to resist this magic's lust for power. He never did get the chance to share his knowledge with those who truly needed it.' 'Is that all there is to know about this pony?' - Celestia asked. 'The only thing you should worry about is his mind tricks.' 'Mind tricks? As in, he uses illusions?' - Twilight asked curiously. 'Yes, as it was mentioned in many magic books: "A unicorns greatest strength is his mind." Don't try to engage him alone, unless you know how to counter his spells in his own game. That goes especially for non-unicorns. Other than that, try to move him as many times as possible. Whatever you do, Don't let him stay still, for he needs to be in extreme focus to channel a large number of illusions, thus rendering him immoble.' 'So, in other words, teamwork for the win?' - Rainbow Dash asked. Frostbite chuckled 'Yup, you got it.' 'What about that big pony, the one that shook Ponyville?' Applejack asked. 'How in tarnation he even do that? Ah've never seen anythin' like it.' 'Ah, you speak of Carter. Yes, sometimes even I think his strength is some-what monstrous. I would even go as far as to say he could overpower my father, if it were a test of pure strength.' Rarity put down her cup 'But even so, that dreadful quake he made, he couldn't of did it without the help of some kind of magic, could he?' ' You're right, while he is very strong in general, he was only able to shake the ground, because he is the element of Earth.' 'Huh, that actually make's sence. Earth, earthquake, go figure.' said Applejack. Twilight was glaring at Frostbite. 'A penny for your thoughts?' he asked. 'But this still doesn't make sence.' She answered. 'What do you mean?' 'So what if his element is earth, earth ponies and pegasus ponies can't use magic.' She ended her sentance and after her Rainbow Dash spoke. 'Yeah, and what about that other pegasus, the one who-' Rainbow Dash paused'-Who got a lucky drop on me?' 'One elite at a time, please.' Frostbite took another sip of his tea and contiuned 'Unicorns are naturally adapted in using magic, their minds are much more capable of withstanding it than earth and pegasus ponie's..no offense. But as a matter of fact, earth and pegasus ponies can use magic, you just don't see it.' Twilight frowned in confusion 'I..I don't follow.'. Frostbite continued 'Think about it, have you ever noticed how many times an earth pony is stronger than a unicorn?' Frostbite paused 'They can't do any magic, because it is converted into pure strength. So, in short: their strength is their magic.' Everyponie's eyes stared right at Frostbite, all this time they thought earth ponies were just strong in general, but to actually have magic. Twilight turned to look at princess Celestia 'Princess, did you knew this aswell?'. Celestia's ears lowered and she looked through a window 'M-my, it's almost evening already?' Then Rainbow asked 'Wait, does that mean pegasus ponies have magic too?' 'Well that depends. Tell me, what's the most "magic" thing you've ever seen a pegasus do?' 'The Sonic Rainboom!' Fluttershy shouted. 'Oh, I'm sorry' she smiled sheepishly and sat down. 'Alright, enlighten me, what's this sonic rainboom you speak of?' Frostbite asked curiously. Pinkie Pie started jumping around ' It's the most amazing thing a pegasus can do. Flying in super sonic speed and then "boom!", a giant rainbow wave goes miles and miles, and Rainbow Dash was the first to do it.' Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head, slightly blushing 'Aw, it wasn't that big of a deal.' 'I believe Pinkie gave you the answer you wanted. Surely something like that rainboom must have some magical content.' Frostibte took a deep breath 'But now we've goen off topic, back to Carter.' ' I'm sure right now you're all thinking that he's just a mindless brute. Well don't, because he is not just some mindless brute - all brawn and no brain. As a matter of fact, he is one the kindest ponies I know and that is truly rare in my world. If I recall, before he joined the elite ranks, he lived on a poor farm with his parents. Being the only child and his parents too old to work, he had to look after both them and the farm by himself. It was hard on him, of course, but it made him incredibly strong, both physically and spiritually. Despite the hardships he had to endure, he's truly a friend anypony would want to have.' Applejack blinked twice 'Well ah'll be, guess this goes to show ya shouldn't judge a book bah it's cover.'. Everypony looked at Applejack. 'Ah mean we shouldn't judge a book ba'h it's cover, eheheh' She took a sip of her tea. 'And? what would be the strategy against him?' Twilight asked. 'Not gonna lie, you musn't engage any of the elites alone. I'm not implying that you're weak, but against an elite, alone, you'd stand no chance.' Rainbow Dash flew up in anger 'Hey! I'll have you know that Fluttershy here stared down a dragon all by herself!' 'Really? Well, I know a pony that can beat that, but i haven't finished with the strategy yet, so if you'd kindly sit down?'. As Frostbite finished talking, Rainbow Dash looked at the others, who were staring at her, giggling from her sudden shout-out. 'Fine...' She pouted and sat down. Frostbite continued 'Well, as I was saying, you musn't engage any of them alone. As you said before Rainbow: "Teamwork for the win". The strategy is bassicly the same, only you're unlikely to move a power-house like Carter. Avoid him as much as you can, attack him from afar, wear him out and finish him. It will take a while, of course, but it's propobly the only safest way to beat him. 'Yeahyeahyeah, easy peazy. I wanna know who's that jerk that-' "Got a lucky drop on you?" Frostbite said sarcasticly. 'Well, he did!' Rainbow crossed her fore-hooves and turned around. 'Hehe, I'm only teasing Rainbow' Frostbite smiled 'Anyway, that "Jerk's" name is Red Clash, the group's speed demon.' - Rainbow dashed flicked her tail. 'I saw that.' Said Frostbite. 'Anyway, I'm sure that, from what happened yesterday, when he knocked Rainbow away.." Frostbite saw Rainbow Dash giving him a "look". '...No offense, you can guess his element is lightning.' 'Well, we heard lightning, that's for sure.' said Twilight. 'And what's he like?' 'Well..Clash is very protective and loyal to Ragnarok, almost as loyal as Arcane. He's pretty easy to anger, he often jumps straight into combat before coming up with a plan. It's reckless, I know, but it's never failed him before. He often tends to do things his way, even if it wasn't part of a plan, Clash always gets the job done, usually his way. 'Doesn't sound like a friendly fellah' Applejack added. 'In a way, yes.' Frostbite continued 'But he doesn't like it when the strong opress the weak. I've seen it once, a group of older ponies were beating on a younger one. When Clash saw them confronted them...Well, let's just say they'll be afraid of thunder storms for a long while.' Frost smirked. 'Ok, maybe he's not a total jerk, but just out of curiosity, how did he get to be an elite?' Rainbow Dash asked. 'Well, before he joined the group, he was a rogue pegasus. He was the kind that "Goes with the flow", he didn't let him self get troubled by the hardships of our world. Being a rogue, he had only looked out for himself. He told me that he once tried to break his sky-dive speed record and that's propobly the day he discovered his power. When he reached his maximum speed, a huge thunder cloud of red lightning traveled atleast ten square miles. It was very loud, as if a valcano instantly erupted. 'Hey, that's almost like the sonic rainboom!' Pinkie pointed out. 'More or less, but what Clash did would likely terrify everypony, rather than amazing them with a colorful rainbow.' 'And how should we be prepared to fight him, what's the strategy?' Twilight asked. 'Attacking him head-on would be too dangerous and ineffective. As I said, he is reckless and often attacks without thinking, so a cunning work of magic and mind play should give you the upper hoof, but if you're feeling lucky next time-' He turns to Rainbow Dash '-Yes I'm talking to you, Rainbow. If you're feeling lucky, you can try beating him with your own speed.' Rainbow Dash stood up 'Ha, he won't get a lucky drop on me next time, I'll show him why I'M the fastest in Equestria. 'Alright, so that's three down, three to go.' Said Twilight. 'Right then' Frostbite continued. 'The next elite we'll be discussing might seem a little..strange. Okay, very strange.' (End of part 1.) (I made a two-parter because the full chapter might have taken me another few days and I've already delayed this chapter for too long.Don't hate me >.<) > Chapter 3: The Elites. Pt.2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 The Elites - Part 2. 'Right then' Frostbite continued. 'The next elite we'll be discussing might seem a little..strange. Okay, very strange.' Frostbite cleared his throat. 'This one is an earth pony, his name is Boo.' 'Boo?' Twilight raised her brow. 'Boo who?' 'Sheesh Twilight, you don't have to cry about it.' Rainbow Dash said and everypony shared a small giggle. Frostbite chuckled as well and then continued. 'Frankly, I'm not even sure how to describe Boo, for he is the most random pony I've ever met.' 'heh, spend sum' more time in Ponyville and you'll change ye'r mind in no time.' Applejack turned to look at Pinkie Pie. 'Trust me, you don't know Boo like i do. Let's just say, he's unique in our world, wether the good or the bad kind, you'll get to decide if you ever run in to him, which you propobly will.' 'Unique? Care to tell us about him in more detail?' Said Twilight. 'Well, that's what I've been doing this whole time, wasn't I?' Frostbite noticed how Twilight glared at him, obviously that was a little rude of him. he cleared his throat and continued. 'Well, you could say Boo is our "happy-go-lucky" group member. He has a unique character. While most ponies in our world are either always serious or frightened, Boo is the other side of the same coin. Meaning he is the same as us, erm..mostly, lives in the same world, but is always, and I mean always, happy and carefree.' 'Well, I'm glad somepony from your world is' Rarity stated. 'Yes, in a way, it's good that we have somepony like him always trying to cheer those in sad states. Most ponies are too busy to lend a hoof to others, but Boo just isn't affected by any negative emotions. Well, atleast I've never seen him being sad or depressed. Oh, and since you want to know every detail, I should tell you that he has a huge craving for sweets.' 'Ooh, he sounds like fun' Said Pinkie. 'Pinkie, he's the enemy, remember?' Twilight asked rhetorically. 'Doesn't mean we can't make him our friend, does it? i mean, he wouldn't be our enemy anymore if he's our friend.' 'But how could we be-friend somepony who's attacking us?' 'Actually' Frostbite cutted in. 'Pinkie may have a point there.' 'She does?' said everypony, except Pinkie, who raised her head in pride for being right. 'As I said, Boo is very carefree and personally, I don't think he even cares about this whole "attacking Equestria" idea. If you can show how fun Equestria can be, perhaps offer him some of your catering delicacies, he might just turn against Ragnarok.' 'Well, that's a relief, but we still need to know about his element and what strategy we should use against him, in case he still refuses.' Twilight stated. 'Yes, you're right. His element is wind or air, whichever you prefer, and he wears a dagger around his chest, though I've never seen him use it before. He might just be the only one that can match-up to Clashe's speed. Before he was accepted in the elites, Ragnarok gave him a test. He had to defeat three of his best guards. And since he is one of the elites now, you can easily guess he passed it.' 'How did it go exactly?' Twilight asked. 'It all happened very fast. The second Ragnarok said: "begin", Boo started running around his opponents at such speed, I could see doubles, or even triples of him. He ran for a few seconds and then, in a blink of an eye, it looked as if he charged at them from three sides, and the guards were face-down on the ground. There were no signs of blood or cuts on the defeated guards, which is why I'm assuming he's never used that dagger of his, but if he did, then he's a master with it, despite his wacky attitude.' 'Wow..Just what exactly is he?' Rainbow Dash asked nervously. 'He's just Boo, there's just no way I could describe him better than by his name. Like I said: unique. And this is exactly why you should do your best to be-friend him, instead of starting a fight you propobly wouldn't win.' 'Good advice' Said Twilight. 'Now what about the other unicorn? Don't suppose we could talk him out of attacking Equestria too?' 'The second unicorn's name is Sir Rapier and, propobly by coincidence, he wields a rapier sword. And believe me, he knows how to use it.' 'I'm sorry, didn't hear that, use what?' Pinkie asked. 'A rapier' 'I thought his name was Rapier?' 'His name is Rapier' 'So he's a sword? I thought you said he's a unicorn?' 'HE IS A UNI-...' Frostbite paused for a second. 'You're just messing with me, aren't you?' Pinkie Pie giggled 'Ahh, looks like you got me, I thought I could make this last longer, you're good.' Frostbite just looked at Pinkie with a poker face. 'Aaanyway, Rapier's element is water and-' 'PAhaha, water? What's he gonna do, make it rain on us?' Rainbow Dash almost fell off her chair from laughing. 'No, he can't create rain-storms, but he could flood Ponyville, if he concentrated hard enough.' 'Oh..' Rainbow sat back down. 'Well, perhaps I exaggerated a little. I mean, he could flood a small town like Ponyville, but only if there was a huge lake or an ocean close to it. For as much as I know, he shouldn't eb able to conjure up enough water on his own.' 'So, it's a type of magic that needs recources then?' Twilight asked. 'Yes, although he can make small amounts of water himself, for his power to be at it's full potential, he would require a vast, natural resource of it.' 'So then, I'm guessing the right strategy against him would be - not letting him get near to any source of water?' 'Has anypony told you "You're too smart for your own good"?' 'I'll take that as a compliment.' Twilight blushed slightly. 'You guessed the right strategy. however, Rapier isn't naive, he might quickly see through your plan. Being the element of water, he can sence it in places none of you can see. He can find water deep under-ground, in the trees and the grass. After all, every licing thing ahs some water in them.' 'So much for "Not letting him near water" ' Rainbow Dash stated. 'Well, besides having to battle him, you might be able to persuade him into joining you cause.' 'Persuade him?' Rarity asked 'How?' 'His power may be destructive, but he is quite the gent on the inside, if I do say so myself. While he is skilled in combat, both close and from afar, he often chooses to use his persuasive speeches to avoid conflict. He's even able to talk Ragnarok out of using unnecessary violance. He once told me: "Power is often the key to victory, but it comes in many forms.". In his case, he chose the power of words.' 'Well, I'm glad to hear that atleast one of them is civilized.' 'So, that just leaves one more pony.' Twilight finished her tea. 'And if I'm not mistaken, his element is fire, right?' 'Correct. Last, but definitely not least, is Sear Wing. I know I've said that you shouldn't confront any of the elites alone, but whatever you do, never, and I mean never, try to take on Sear alone.' 'What's the big deal about this dude?' Rainbow asked. 'I'll get to that, but first, I think you should get to know him better before judging him.' 'I-Is he really dangerous?' Fluttershy asked. 'Fluttershy, all the elites are dangerous. But Sear, he's a bit different, and I dare say in a good way. About his personality, well..He's rather quiet and pretty much harmless most of the time. He likes being around his friends the elites, because only around them he becoems more open-minded. Sometimes I have a chat with him aswell, but royal duties come first. Other then that, it is nearly impossible to anger or provoke him into violance. Even by being an elite, I've seen our guards treat him with little respect, sometimes he's even bullied by them. But he just doesn't seem to react to all that. I can't think of another pony who's as passive and forgiving as he is.' 'Ah can think o' one pony' Applejack turned her head to Fluttershy. 'Well, if he wasn't forced to fight against you, I'm sure you'd come to like him.' 'Wait a minute, forced?' Twilight asked 'Ah yes, I forgot to mention. Sear Wing wanted to avoid having to participate in this upcoming war at any cost. Before we arrived here, I've seen him ask, beg, and even demand Ragnarok that he wouldn't be a part of this plan. But sadly, as I expected, Ragnarok denied him his pleads.' 'So if he hates violance so much, why did join the elites?' 'I never said Sear joined us. Just like he is forced to be here in Equestria, he was forced into the elite ranks by Ragnarok after...' Frostbite lowered hsi head 'After that night that decided his place in the elites.' The ponies looked at eachother, worried. 'What happened?' Fluttershy asked. 'This is the part where I tell you why you musn't engage combat with him. It happened about a year ago, when I decided to take a walk around the castle grounds at night. All was silent as it should be, but then, in the direction of our closest village, I heard our subjects panic and scream in terror. I walked up on a ledge and saw smoke and fire coming out of it, and between all that smoke and fire, a massive dragon.' The ponies gasped. 'I saw how our five elites were fighting him, but even together, they stood no chance. Carter was overpowered, Rapier's water couldn't extinguish the dragon's flame, Clash's lighting strikes couldn't go through the dragons tough scales, Boo's speed wasn't enough, even Arcane's magic couldn't bring him down. It wasn't long until they were all down, while I was still only half-way to the village. But then I witnessed something completely unexpected: A pegasus, standing right in front of the dragon, untouched by his spreading fires, was trying to talk to him.' Everypony's eyes widened as they continued to listen to Frostbite speaking. 'I couldn't make out what he was saying to the dragon, but just as I was about to land, a flare of fire emitted around Sear and the dragon. It almost felt like an explosion, as I was knocked down on the ground. When I finally came to, the battle was over. Carter came up to me and helped me stand up and after that, I was stunned from what I saw.' 'What was it?' The ponies asked simultaneously. 'The dragon, the beast that not even the five elites fighting together couldn't stop it..' 'Yes?' 'Was...' 'Yes?!' The ponies were both frightened and eager to hear what happened '...Can I have some more tea?' 'NO!' 'Sorry, you just looked Way too serious.' Frostbite chuckled and cleared his throat. 'The dragon was laying breathless next to Sear Wing.' The ponies gasped. 'So, he took out the dragon all by himself?' Rainbow asked. 'It would seem so. But what seemed a victory to the other five and the villagers, Sear saw this as a terrible act.' 'How so? Ah' mean, sure it ain't easy doin' somethin' like that, but he did save that town.' Applejack asked. 'Or what's left of it, anyway. I slowly approached Sear and when I was right behind him, he turned his head to me, weeping. He said the dragon didn't listen to him and that he had no choice but to stop it. He just sat there, motionless, overwhelmed from what he had done. That's when Ragnarok appeared before us. He took a look around and saw his village burned and the dragon who did it - killed. Then he turned to Sear and that's when he offer-no, not offered, but decided that Sear would have a place in the castle elites.' 'What a jerk!' Rainbow shouted 'His own village was in danger and all he did was eat popcorn and watch?!' 'I-I'm not sure about the popcorn, but he's been suspecting Sear for having these powers for a while now and I guess this dragon attack was like an unexpected test. I felt sorry for Sear that night,but what choice did he have? He might be powerful, but on the inside - he's soft and didn't have the courage to refuse Ragnarok. After he joined us, he was silent for about a week, until Boo decided to befriend him. It wasn't long until he finally got used to being around the others. Guess I should be glad we had somepony like Boo to cheer him up.' 'Poor colt, he had to go through all that..' Fluttershy lowered her head. 'Ok, so that's everypony, right?' Twilight asked. 'Yes, I've told you all you need to know about the elites. Will that be all, your highness?' 'This upcoming battle may be the biggest threat Equestria has ever experienced. Thank you, Frostbite, for helping us in this time of need. My little ponies, it is getting late, return home and get some rest, for we do not know when the enemy might stike and we will need to be at our guard.' '*Yaawn* Ah wouldn't mind for a lil' shut-eye' Applejack stood up and walked towards the exit, followed by the others. 'Frostbite, if it would be alright with you, would you consider staying in the castle for the time being? There is something else i want to discuss.' Celestia asked. 'I understand, very well.' Frostbite stood and waved the other six goodbye, then went to the throne room, where princess Celestia and Luna were waiting for him. 'Tell me, Frostbite, what do you know about an alicorn Brave Heart?' Celestia asked. 'Well, for one thing, that's what you call him, but his real name is Crimson Heart and he is my older brother.' 'Brother?' Celestia and Luna said in unison. Then Celestia continued 'Please, you must tell us why he turned against us that night all those years ago.' 'From what I can gather, he didn't turn against you because he wanted to, it was because Ragnarok ordered him to, against his own will. He may still have his mind, his emotions and memories of you, but his body is practically under Ragnarok's control.' 'So, he may still be saved from Ragnarok's foul binds?' Luna asked. 'I believe so, yes. Plus, considering Ragnarok has returned to our world, hopefully for a long while, his binding should be much weaker around Crimson.' Celestia sighed "Thank goodness.' A single tear formed in her eyes. 'I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?' 'Oh, no it's..It's nothing.' She wiped her tear away. 'It is already late, Frostbite, you should rest aswell, the guards will show you to your room.' 'Thank you, your highness' Frostbite turned to Luna and tipped his head in a "Farewell" manner 'Princess Luna.' He was then escorted by the guards to his room. Celestia proceeds to her own room 'Good night, Luna.' 'Oh, yes, sleep well, sister.' Before leaving the throne room, Luna glimpsed at Frostbite one more time, before he closed the door to his room. A few hours had passed since everypony left to rest. Luna, being the ruler of the night, stays awake and gazes at the moon from the royal gardens. She then notices a figure standing in a distance. She comes closer to inspect it and is surprised when she sees Frostbite, gazing at the same moon she had. 'Sir Frostbite, art thou not tired? Surely this day must have been stressful?' 'Oh, Evening your highness, no I am not at all tired. And even if I was, I love night time far too much just to waste it on sleep.' 'Thou enjoyest the night?' 'Daytime is fun and all, but it's the night I truly enjoy. It's peaceful, it reveals the stars from hiding, it just calms the mind. Plus it is slightly colder and that's much better for me.' 'We see.' Luna couldn't help but smile, nopony has complimented her night like Frostbite for a long time...For a thousand years to be exact. 'But what of you? Not tired at all?' 'We are the rulers of the night, just like our sister is the ruler of day. It is our responsibility to keep watch of the night, until day our sister rises the sun.' 'Power over the sun and moon. I must admire you for having such great responsibility.' 'Y-You flatter us.' Luna felt embarrassed. 'Well, since it's only the two of us here, perhaps we should get to know eachother better? Since the night is still young and we'll most likely see eachother everday and night...?' 'We would love to have you as company' They both smiled and strolled around the garden in the peaceful night. With Frostbite on their side, the ponies may rest soundly...For now. To be continued... > Chapter 4: "You thought THAT was bad?" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 "You thought THAT was bad?" '-And that was the day I discovered I had a natural power to control ice, or other known as "frost" magic.' 'Thou has intresting abilities. In Equestria, 'tis the pegasi that mainly welcome winter time.' 'Well, I can't take all the credit, for the pegasus ponies in our world assist me in changing seasons. I'm sure I could do well on my own, but they have a strong sense of responsibility for every upcoming winter. I am, of course, grateful for their help.' Princess Luna and Frostbite walk around the castle grounds during the peaceful night, sharing tales of their worlds, their pasts and other intrests. As they chatted, the morning sun slowly rose over the horizon. Frostbite looked at Luna and noticed her horn glowing. 'Oh, we've completely forgotten our responsibility over the night.' 'Oh, that's right'He thought 'She did say she's the ruler of the night.' Frostbite looked at the setting moon, switching places with the sun. 'Forgive me, your highness, I must have wasted your time with my tales and made you forget to set the moon.' Luna turned to Frostbite surprised. "No, no! We've thoroughly enjoyed sharing tales with you and we likest being around y-' Luna imediately placed her hoof to her lips, stopping her from finishing her sentence. Frostbite looked at her, she had a faint blush on both cheeks and her eyes were looking down, avoiding his gaze. 'Thank you, princess Luna, I enjoy being around you aswell.' Frsotbite smiled, which made Luna blush more visibly. 'But perhaps, for now, you should get some rest. You've been awake ever since yesterday noon.' Luna didn't feel like departing yet, however, he was right. She had only now noticed how heavy her eye lids have become. 'Perhaps you are right.' Princess luna spread her wings, preparing to fly up to her tower room. 'But..' She paused. 'We would very much likest you to join us again, during the next night.' Frostbite stared at her for a few seconds. ''Wait, is this what the citizens of my world would call a "date" ?' he thought, then he replied. 'I would very much like that aswell, your highness.' Luna was overjoyed, but didm't express her happiness to Frost. Eh, it's a royalty thing. 'Just Luna is fine, Sir Frostbite.' 'If so, then just Frostbite is fine, Luna.' They both smiled, both sharing a moment of silence. 'Or Frosty.' 'Beg your pardon?' Luna was confused. 'Frosty. i believe it's a nickname, given by on of the Elements Pinkie Pie.' Ah yes, Luna remembers her well, the hyperactive pink mare who gave her some trouble whilst making friends with the citizens of Ponyville. But in the end, because of her methods of scaring the children, they've discovered new found love for the princess, and both Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle are to thank. ' Then, until evening comes. Goodmorning, Frostbite.' Luna ascended and flew to her tower room. Frostbite just stood there with a confused grim. 'Good mor-...Oh, I get it!' He chuckled. He watched how the sun was slowly rising, illuminating the gardens. 'Perhaps I should go see princess Celestia, maybe she'd want to discuss about Crimson some more.' He thought as he began to walk towards the castle's entrance. As he walked, he noticed the castle was once again at full guard. Royal guards stood in every passage, hallway and balconies. The castle was as much guarded as Frostbite's, if not even more. Soon, he'd reach the room where he and the Elements came to see the princesses yesterday, and noticed princess Celestia standing in the middle of the room, waiting for Frostbite. 'Ah, it's good to see you woken up early, Frostbite.' 'With all honesty, your highness, I never fell asleep. Instead, I chatted with your sister through the whole night, until she became weary and went to bed herself.' 'I see, then I suppose you're enjoying Equestria so far?' 'Oh yes, this world is great, nothing like the one we live in.' 'Curious. If it is of no trouble to you, can you tell me about your world? And what is it called?' 'Of course, but there really isn't much to telln and I'm afraid the name of our world can't be pronounced in your language. In your case, it would propobly mean "Eclipsia". It got such name for having no day time. Which is propobly why I'm more of a night pony.' He smirked. 'That's the main difference, really, and other than that, I'd wager it's much more dangerous there, what with that dragon attack I spoke of yesterday, or how the ponies there are so much more aggressive. It's a land nopony wants to live in. Heck, not even our own subjects.' 'I am very sorry to hear that' Celestia said with a saddened tone. 'Please, don't be, not like it was your fault. Ragnarok rules with an iron hoof, what he says - goes.' 'I wonder, if your fa-' Celestia noticed Frost raising his eye brow. 'If Ragnarok is such a cruel ruler, why hasn't anypony tried to stop him?' 'Oh, believe me, many have tried, so many...' 'I trust many have failed?' 'Not only that, but Ragnarok has no mercy for rebels. Let's just say, after he passes judgement on to the rebels, they fear to even think about rebelling once more, poor souls.' 'This Ragnarok, his cruelty speaks for himself, we must stop him at any cost. I fear to even think what would happen to Equestria if he were to succeed.' 'Hey, don't worry princess, you have my word - I won't rest until I see him in his own chains, not until the last drop of blood leaves my-' 'Princess Celestia!' Frost was interrupted with a shout made by a royal guard, who ran up to the princess and bowed. 'What troubles you, guard?' 'Your highness, we have just received word from you student - miss Twilight Sparkle, that an unnatural earthquake is shaking Ponyville. From what she has gathered and informed us, we fear it might be the actions from the same enemy that has attacked the village yesterday.' Celestia's eyes widened in fear and worry. 'Guard, inform the rest of your group of this danger and head to Ponyville as soon as they've gathered.' 'Yes ma'am!' The royal guard didn't need to be told twice, as soon as he received his orders, he sprinted through the door he came in.' 'Frostbite, give me your hoof' Frost knew where this was going, without hesitation, he lifted his hoof and connected with Celestia's. The same second as he did, a flash of yellowish white light emitted from Celestia's horn and they both dissapeared. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frost knew this was a teleportation spell, as after one minute, they were both floating a small height in front of Ponyville's hall. upon landing, they felt a dreadful rumbling, that forced some of the building's beams to break, causing most of the hall to collapse. Frostbite and Celestia were both able to keep their balance, but other ponies were constantly tripping and failing to keep their own. 'This kind of quake..' He lowered his head and his horn glowed 'I'm sure of it, this is Carter's doing.' 'I will evacuate my subjects to safer ground. Frostbite, make haste to the library to find Twilight and her-' 'Way ahead of you, princess.' Frostbite launched himself from the ground and flew swiftly to the library. His flight didn't take long, as the library was quite close to the hall. He landed and entered the library, where the elements of hamrony have already gathered. 'Frostbite, oh thank Celestia you've-' 'Took your sweet time, pal! What if there was no more Ponyville anymore when you'd come, huh?' Twilight was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who had the look of both anger and concern in her eyes. 'Yes, it's good to see you too Rainbow, but I'm here now, aren't I?' 'Easy now, suga'cube. Ah'm sure he came as fast'as he could.' 'Faster than you think, actually.' I was teleported here by princess Celestia, who is now evacuating everypony to safer ground, while I'm supposed to find you and...' 'And...?' The ponies said in unison. '..And i didn't get that last part' He said in frustraton. 'Because I was already on my way here, but I'm pretty sure she wanted us to meet up with her after I've found you.' 'Then let's not keep her waiting, let's go girls!' Twilight was prepared to go through the door, but noticed Frost slightly frowning at her. '..And Frostbite.' With that said, the group sprinted through Ponyville and followed Twilight. Appearently, Twilight could sence the princesse's magical aura.' 'Frostbite, this doesn't seem like any ordinary earthquake, you think it might be-?' 'Yes, I'm quite sure this is Carter's doing, But this one feels different.' 'Different, How?' 'Different, as in, this force is way past his own limits, something isn't right.' 'Hey look, theres the princess!' Rainbow Dash pointed out. The group had finally reached Celestia. 'Twilight, I'm glad to see you and your friends are not harmed.' 'Princess' Twilight spoke. 'This rumbling isn't from any ordinary earthquake, it's-' 'Yes, my student, I believe I've detected it's source due north-west, not too far from here.' 'Alright, time to show that chump he's messed with the wrong town.' Rainbow Dash cracked her hoof joints and flew in the direction Celestia mentioned. 'Rainbow, wait! Remember what Frostbite said about not engaging them alone!' Twilight shouted, but it was too late. Either she couldn't hear Twilight because of the wind blowing through her ears, or she was too confident that she could stop the "chump" on her own. 'Darn it, does she remember anything I've told her yesterday? Said Frostbite and flew after her. 'Princess, we have to help them.' 'And we will, Twilight' Celestia spread her wings, getting ready to take flight 'A squad of royal guards should be arriving soon aswell.' 'That should make things easier, come on gal's' Said Applejack as she began running to Rainbow Dash's direction, while the others followed.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As they were running after Frostbite and Rainbow Dash, they felt the violent rumbling become stronger. They were close. As soon as they ran up on top of a small hill, their eyes widened in horror. Rainbow Dash was on the ground with blood coming from her head and Frostbite standing in front of Carter with a serious wound on his side, as if he was hit with a sledge-hammer. 'Dashie! Frosty!' Pinkie shouted as she ran to them, while the rest followed. 'Hehe, looks like ah've fanally got ye'r attention, eh elements?' Carter smirked. 'Frost, are you okay? Oh no, Rainbow Dash!' Twilight nudged Dash's body 'Rainbow Dash is fine, she's just unconcious. Me on the other hoof, I took one to the side hard.' He grunted silently in pain. 'We'hell don't you worry, princey', there's plenty more where that tha'r lil' bruise came from' 'You horrid monster!' Rarity yelled at Carter 'How could you do something like this?' 'Jus' doin' what any other good soldier would do for his king, lil' miss - followin' mah' orders.' 'As we will for our princess, feind!' The ponies looked above them, where they saw about fifteen pegasus guards getting ready to land. The leader of the guards approached the princess. 'Your highness, as you requested, I have brought my squad to help stop this enemy.' 'Well done, lieutenant' Celestia looked at Carter. 'You are outnumbered and outmatched, stop this destruction now and you will be spared from serious harm.' 'Outnumbered - true, but outmatched - not on yer life!' Carter shrugged his hat off to hang on his neck. 'Ah know what'yer thinkin'. Yer' thinkin' to use them wings o'yers to your advantage.' He turned to Frostbite 'Nice try, Frost. But before ah' got here, Arcane gave me a lil' "power up", if ya will.' 'Power up? ..Oh no...' Frostbite frowned in worry. 'Eyup, think he said somethin' before he casted it, now what was it again...oh right, he said "Ar' Gundai", or somethin' like that.' Frost slammed his hoof on the ground. 'You fool! That's a forbidden limit breaker spell!' 'Ah still don't see how ah'm a fool 'cause o'that' 'Because this spell comes with a grave cost - the longer the spell remains on you while using any type of combat activity, magic or physical, death it self gets closer to knocking on your door!' Carter stood silent, slightly quivering. 'Hold on there, does that mean ah'm actually slowly killin' mah'self? His quivering suddenly stopped and he looked at Frostbite with a serious grim. 'Well then, ah guess that means ah'm gonna hav'ta finish this before ah die, startin' with them fancy guards o'yers.' 'Don't be a fool, Carter! You'll sooner be killed by the spell before you can take any of us down!' 'Is that a challange? Ah'll take all those guards out in ten seconds...tops!' Carter turned to the guards and cracked his limbs. 'So, there's about fifteen o'ya, no problem. One!' He slammed his hooves and a large stone pillar rose from the ground, hitting four guards.' 'Attack formation! Ascend, scatter and attack from the skies.' - The lieutenant shouted and his guards followed their orders. 'Two!' They scattered and started flying in random directions around Carter, attempting to confuse him with their numbers. Two guards attacked from his left and right, but Carter foresaw that. 'Three!' Just before the impact, he jumped back to dodge them. The guards were quick enough to stop from hitting into each other, but Carter rose his hooves and hit them both in the head, slamming them to the ground. 'Four!' One of the guards felt enraged and charged right at him, confident that a direct hit would overpower him, but as soon as he was about to hit Carter, he raised his head and headbutted the guard. 'Five!' 'I don't understand, they're moving at amazing speed, but why isn't it working against him?' Said Twilight. 'It's that forbidden spell, looks like it did more than increase his strength. This is going to be a problem..' Frostbite grunted, his side was still injured. 'And this isn't helping at all.' His horn glowed and a layer of ice enveloped his wound. 'This will have to do for now.' 'Six!' Carter noticed a guard charging at him from behind. He leaned on his fore-hooves and bucked the guard in the chest. He was aiming for the head, but the guard was quick enough to avoid that...more or less. 'Seven!' 'Soldiers, Penta Charge positions, slam him to the ground!' Five guards got into their positions and charged in a pyramid form. 'No, that's not going to work, they can't overpower him!' Frostbite shouted, but the guards ignored the warning and continued their charge. Carter wasn't moving and the guards didn't stop. As soon as they were about to make impact, Carter swiped his rear hooves, forcing a stone wall to slide at the guards from the side and knocking them to the ground. 'Eight!'. Carter turned to look at the lieutenant, who he thought was the last of the guards. However, he didn't notice something yellowish coming up to him from his side. One of the last guards flew as hard as he could, put his rear hooves up front and kicked him the side. 'How's that, huh?!' Carter took one step to the right, regaining his balance, for he didn't expect a good kick like that, but.. 'Nine..' Carter quickly stood on his rear hooves and picked up the guard with his front's, then threw him at a nearby boulder that the had risen during the battle. The guard hit the boulder hard and passed out from the impact. Carter, now confident that there were none of the guards left, turned back to the lieutenant, who was on his rear, eyes wide opened, almost quaking from fear. 'Ten!' Carter charged at the last guard at full speed. He lowered his head, planning to knocking him away with a powerful headbutt. 'Enough!' Carter was stopped by something, something hard and cold. He scratched his head, giving a slight grunt in pain, looked at the object he had hit and saw a massive wall of ice. 'That's enough, Carter! You're fighting a losing battle here.' Frostbite shouted at him. 'Huh, your ah'ce was the only thang that ah' couldn't ever break. But don't you go thinkin' that-KHUGH!' Carter gave a sickening cough, leaning from the sudden pain in his body. He wiped his lips with his hoof and saw blood...alot of it in fact. 'Wha-..What in the hay is this?' 'I told you, you're fighting a losing battle here.' Frostbite approached Carter calmly. 'You've over-used the spell's effect, this whole time, you were slowly killing yourself, thinking that ten seconds would be more than enough, before the side effects take place.' 'Ah'm...dyin'?' ' 'Fraid so, Carter. The battle was pretty much over the second you started your countdown.' 'So then, this's the end of the road for me, ain't it?' 'Well, Not necessarily. You see, I know how to nulify this spell from you and I consider doing so, but you have to do something for me first.' Carter spat a small amount of blood to the side. 'Yeah? An' just what would that be? 'Drop your loyalty to Ragnarok, forget following his orders to conquer Equestria and come work for me.' 'What!?' Yelled Carter. 'What!?' Yelled the lieutenant. 'What!?' Yelled the few still concious guards. 'What?!' And finally the main six yelled in unison. All but Celestia, who just lookd surprised. She then coulnd't help but smile at Frostbite's mercy and approached them both. 'Frostbite is giving you a generous choice, Carter. You would be wise to accept this second chance.' 'Hmph, jus' what in tarnation happened to 'ya, Frost? The Frostbahte ah knew would take this chance to freeze me solid. 'I guess as time goes on, ponies change, even if it's our kind. So, what do you say, "partner"? ' Carter coughed a few more times. 'You're right, princess, this here [bi]s a generous offer comin' from Frost, but...' Carter sighed deeply. 'But ah just can't take it, b'cause ah swore loyalty to our king till the end of mah life.' Frostbite tiled his head. 'You're not telling me something, Carter, something else is bothering you and I feel it's the real reason why you can't accept my deal.' 'Now how in the-..y'know what, nevermind. It's mah parents, Frost, king Ragnarok said somethin' about a deadly plague that caught to them, and he said he'd cure'em if ah followed his every order.' The ponies couldn't help but gasp from what he had said. If it were their parents, they might just do the same to save them. But Frostbite didn't flinch from this, he only frowned in anger. 'Ah know it's an un-honorable way to use mah loyalty, but would you do any different if-' 'Carter, I didn't think my father could stoop this low, but what he didn't tell you is that...your parents are long dead.' The ponies gasped once more. 'C-come again, Frost?' 'You heard me, Carter, your parents have been dead for a year or so and Ragnarok lied to you, so that you would do your best in your assignments. You thought he would save them if you did, but that's just like him to do something like this. 'Frost, this isn't funny, partner, you're jus' pullin' mah leg, you gotta be!' Now Frostbite felt sorrow for Carter aswell. 'I'm sorry, Carter, but it's the truth. The night I saw you walk to your room with a serious grim, I thought he had told you, but apparently, it was just another chance for him to use somepony...' Frostbite closed his eyes 'Just like he had used me.' 'Ma and pa...dead for a year now, and ah didn't even see them off, not even lay a single rose upon their graves...' Frostbite widened his eyes from what he was seeing: Carter, the toughest pony he had ever known, was weeping. He heard someponies in the back sniffing aswell. 'Unforgivable...' Carter looked up at Frostbite with a serious grim and wiped his tears away. 'Prince Frostbite, ah am leaving Ragnarok's elite group and joinin' yer cause. To use me like this, he's got sum' nerve, that king has. Ah'll help'ya bury him to the ground, ah promise!' Frostbite smiled and looked at the princess. 'I think he's determined on this, your highness, but the real choice is yours to make.' Celestia looked in Carter's eyes and she saw his hunger for vengeance. 'I believe he is, do it.' With that, Frostbite's horn glew light blue and engulfed Carter, removing the forbidden spell that was put on him. When Frostibte had released Carter from the spell, Carter barely held his balance. 'Woah, ah feel like ah just dropped a boulder from mah shoulders.' 'While you're in the clear now, the spell still damaged your body, so just, you know, take it easy, alright?' 'Frost, it's me yer' talkin' to, remember?' Carter lifted his head in pride. 'You know me, ah'll just shake it off in a couple'o'days.' While he was boasting, Pinkie Pie swooped in and held her hooves around him. 'Yay, Rocky's gonna be ok!' 'Woah thar', little lady, ah'm tough, but ah don't heal that fast.' He chuckled and saw Applejack approach him aswell. 'Welcome to Equestria, partner.' AJ gave a welcoming smile, which seemed ever so odd to Carter. Sure he just agreed to give the Equestrian's a helping hoof, but they look like as if this chaos never happened. Carter smiled back. 'Thank'ya kindly, ma'am.' But then he remembered how much destruction he had caused in Ponyville. 'Think ah know what ah should first, bein' yer ally now and what-not.' Frostbite smiled at Carter. "Yeah, I think you're gonna be busy for a while.' 'Pfft, no. Ah repaired stuff on mah farm all the time, this ain't no problem either, you'll see.' The ponies smiled in unison. while Carter, led by Frostbite, walked to Ponyville to ask for their forgiveness, everypony else was helping the guards and Rainbow Dash, who was slowly regaining consciousness, to the hospital. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile, at the elite's temporary hide-out. 'Boy, oh boy, king Ragnarok ain't gonna like this, not one bit.' Red Clash said and gulped. 'That fool, what is he thinking, joining them like the prince?' Said Arcane. 'You know, even if it was the king's order's, it wasn't very nice of you to put that nasty spell on him.' Said Boo. 'Nice? In situations like this, Boo, the word "nice" doesn't exist. This is war, Boo! We do what we are told, for we've sworn to obey the king no matter what. If this is Carter's choice, then so be it, but I don't want to see anypony else following his hoof-steps, understand?' The group had their doubts, but in the end, they nodded in agreement. Crimson Heart was sitting on a cliff, watching as the sun was still high above the horison and smirked. 'Well played, Frostbite.' To be continued... Author's note: Yes, i know, I know, this chapter took way more time than it should have. It's just that, I don't feel the "rush" if you could call it that, while writing this fan-fiction anymore. And this fic has nine OC's with nine different personalities. In conclusion, I might write some more chapters, but I just feel like quiting on this fiction and perhaps write something else. Oh, and I also draw stuff on deviantART, so I have 2 hobbies :3. It isn't much, it doesn't have alot of this fan-fictions drawings, but if you're curious, It's right here ---> http://xardboy.deviantart.com/