Yellow. That’s all he could see for the moment. It took him a while for his vision to come into focus, but when he did, he was shocked at what he saw.
“Are you alright?” a yellow mare said, worry in her eyes. Freeze jumped back a little in surprise, before staring at her for a minute.
“Um, uh, yeah. I-I’m fine,” he says, his voice wavering, a blush appearing on his face. “Sorry, I was just caught off guard for a moment.” He began to look her over. She was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and bright blue eyes. She looked to be about his age. Her cutie mark was of three pink and blue butterflies. She took a step back when he answered, as if unsure of what to do.
“Oh, um, well, I’m glad that you’re ok,” she says in a timid voice. “It’s just that you, well, you were sitting there for a while and I thought that there was something wrong..”
“Oh, was I?” Freeze said. “I must have zoned out. Sorry if I worried anypony. I was just thinking about some stuff.”
“Well, um, I’m glad that you’re ok,” she said softly. She turned around and started to walk away, trying to hide a small blush creeping across her face. “Who was that stallion?” she asked herself. “I haven’t seen him around here before..”
Freeze watched as she walked off, before shaking his head and standing up.
“Who was that?” he asked himself. “And why did she ask if I was alright? I don’t even know her.”
The sun was setting as Freeze made his way back to his house. His mind was wandering at the moment, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the voice he heard in his head and the mare he met near the Town Hall. He was very tired, and just wanted to go to sleep. Unfortunately for him, life had other plans.
He walked up to the door of his house and turned the doorknob, opening it. He gave a small yawn upon entering the house, before turning the lights on so he could see where he was going. When he turned on the lights, however, there was a loud blast and a wave of streamers, balloons and confetti washed over him, knocking him off of his hooves. Pushing the streamers from his eyes, he shook his head and got up, only to see that almost all of the residents of Ponyville were in his house!
“Wha- What the heck!?” he stammered, spitting out some confetti that got in his mouth. “What is all of this!?” His right eye started to twitch.
Suddenly, a pink blur covered his vision, and he was greeted by the pink mare that he had met before.
“Hey there!” she said, as energized as ever. “So, were you surprised? Were ya, were ya?”
“What is all of this!?” Freeze said, almost shouting. “It’s almost eight at night!”
“Don’t you forget, silly? This is the party I planned for you!” Pinkie said, still smiling.
Freeze’s eye stopped twitching, and he just stood there for a moment, a blank expression on his face as the gears in his brain tried to work out what is going on. Several seconds later, he facehooved, giving a small growl.
“Celestia darn it!” he exclaimed. “I completely forgot! I am so sorry, but I’ve just been through alot today, you know?”
“Oh, it’s alright!” Pinkie told him. “I heard from Fluttershy that she found you really deep in thought and that she was kind of worried you passed out or something. Well, I gotta g and see if everything is in perfect shape, but I’ll see you later. Bye!” With that, she bounced off to another part of the party.
‘Fluttershy.. So that’s her name..,’ he thought to himself. ‘Maybe I’ll see her again here.’ A low growl suddenly emitted from his stomach. “I hadn’t had much to eat today. Maybe I should see what kind of food Pinkie made for the party.”
Freeze walked over to the refreshments table, where an assortment of sweets and drinks were set up. He grabbed a small slice of cake and took a bite out of it.
“Hmm. This is pretty good,” he said after swallowing. He continued to eat the cake, unaware of a purple mare walking up behind him. She tapped him a little with her hoof, and he turned around, a small piece of frosting on the left side of his mouth. When he saw who it was, however, he immediately stood up straight, as if he was a soldier standing to attention.
“Oh sweet Celestia!” he exclaimed, before quickly bowing. “I- it’s an honor to meet you, Princess!”
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the bowing stallion, rolling her eyes. “You really don’t need to do that,” she said. “I don’t really like it when other ponies bow to me.”
Freeze quickly got up blushing from embarrassment. “Oh, of course, sorry! Whatever you say, Princess!” he said, his voice shaky.
“Please, just call me Twilight,” she said, a small smile on her face. “I just wanted to welcome you to Ponyville. Trust me, you’re going to love it here. Your name’s Freeze, right?”
“Yeah,” he says, nodding, before getting an idea. ‘Wait a minute, maybe she could help me with the voice that I heard earlier today,’ he thought to himself. ‘She is a Princess, after all.’
“Well, I hope that you will have many good memories here, and maybe make some new friends,” Twilight said. “If you need any help, my door is always open.” With that, she started to walk away.
“Wait!” Freeze exclaimed, making Twilight turn her head back towards him. “Actually, there is something you can help me with right now.”
“Oh really?” she said, a small bit of surprise in her voice before walking back to him. “Well, what is it?”
Freeze closed his eyes for a second, before taking a deep breath. “The thing is, I heard a voice in my head earlier today,” he said. “I don’t know why or how, but it sounded old, and like it came from some sort of large creature. I was hoping that you could help me to figure out where it might have come from.”
Twilight stood there for a moment, trying to process what Freeze just said, before nodding. “Of course I’ll help you. I think I can research a bit on the subject and try to find the origin of the voice for you. Maybe Starlight can help to-” she stopped suddenly when she saw Freeze holding his head and giving a small shout of pain. She stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. “Freeze? Freeze! Are you alright!?”
Freeze gave another shout of pain, this time a little louder, before he began to feel a little woozy. “Ugh..,” he said. “Twilight… I…” It was all he said before he fainted.
Darkness. It was all he saw for the moment. He still felt a bit dizzy, but after a minute or so he got up slowly, shaking his head. As he got up, he could start to see the landscape around him. It looked like some sort of forest, with large trees that covered the sky above. A small stream trickled close by, and he could hear the rustle of leaves in the wind. The sounds of birds and other animals were in the air. It looked like any other forest, but he felt like there was something unsettling about this one. Something… wrong.
“What is this place?” he asked himself, taking a few steps forward. In the dim light, he soon saw a small dirt path. “Well, better see where this leads. It’s not like I have any other choice.”
It felt like he was following the path forever, but eventually, he came into a small clearing. There were not as many trees, so the sunlight was able to get through to the ground easily. However, there was something in the center of the clearing that caught Freeze’s eye. It looked like a jagged pillar made of ice, with ice surrounding it. It looked impossible, however, since it was the middle of summer, and there was a large amount of sunlight hitting the surface of the ice.
“What... What is that?” he said, cautiously approaching the strange structure. Suddenly, he started to hear a voice coming from it, or rather, a voice in his head.
“I have been waiting for you..,” it said, the voice low and gruff. “You are the one who will be the savior of this world, but you will not be able to do it alone. You will need my help.”
“Who... Who are you?” Freeze asked, fear creeping into his voice.
“That is not important now,” the voice said. “What is important is that you find me in the real world. I will be in the exact same place you have found me here, but know this. It will not be as easy to get to me in the real world than here. Good luck, young pony..”
“Wait, what do you mean it will not be as easy? That I will be the savior? What is this all about!” he shouted, before everything turned black.