//------------------------------// // Confrontation // Story: FrostBound // by Azrael the alicorn //------------------------------// “Soup for everyone!” announced Granny Smith, as Big Mac and Applebloom carried one big heavy cauldron filled with smoky and aromatic smell. All the ponies carried their bowls, taking a good portion for each others. “Mhm, apple soup” moaned the last pony, sniffing into the air. “I guess this time is offering the house?” asked, with a cheeky smile. “Yup” replied Big Mac “Good. But just in case” the pony said, pulling a coin out of nowhere. “There’s no need--“Granny tried to say. “Allow me. I’m not the kind of person that just takes and takes. I also repay my debts, especially to those that deserve it”. “I guess that makes part of your work as a merchant, am I right, mister...?” asked Applebloom. “Gloomy Dusk. And please, don’t call me mister. I’m no lord”. “Oh, sorry”. “Oh, never mind kid. I should be used to this, by now”. And as he said that, he moved back to his place, near the window. “Big Mac” whispered Granny to Big Mac, “Do you also feel like there’s something weird about him?”. “Weird? How?” asked the strong earth pony. “I don’t know. The way he look and talk to me, to you, Applebloom and most of the residents of Ponyville. It’s like he somehow already knew us, like an old friend”. “Mhm, got to admit that is quite weird” admitted Big Mac, but then added, “But, then again, whatever mysteries he may be holding, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy”. “I guess not” admitted the old pony. When Gloomy Dusk entered in the palace following the crowd, with his dark robe, she immediately feared that he could be a troublemaker or even a threat, especially by how he glared at the walls of Twilight castle. But then he started to helping them keeping the situation calm, distracting the ponies by telling jokes or narrating captivating stories. “He sure has a talent with words”. Gloomy certainly looked... well, glum at first sight. Other than his dark robe that covered his cutie mark, his fur was of a very dark shade of purple, so dark that it made him look more blue and violet. Then there was his mane: long, dark as raven feather, were clean but also tousled in way that made it look like the barber was a lunatic. Around his eyes there were shades just as black as his mane. At first, she thought it was eye shadow, but then she realized that it was just the colour of his fur. Such shades made his eyes, of blazing orange, stand up even more. But most importantly, he was rather tall for being a unicorn. A bit taller than Cadence, in fact. And yet, despite that appearance, he was so charming and fun to have around. “We shouldn’t judge a book from its cover” once had told her Applejack. That memory made Applebloom remember what was going on outside and what her elder sister was doing. Please she begged to the heaven, Let her and her friends come back home in one piece . Unknowingly for the young filly, even the mysterious Gloomy Dusk was talking to an higher entity. I really hope you know what you’re doing, kid . *** “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, look! The blizzard is coming to an halt” made notice Shining Armor. Indeed, the snow was starting to slow down. “Could it be a sign that FrostBound has been defeated, sister?” questioned Luna to her elder sister. “Possibly”. The chance that the elements of Harmony had won should have made her happy. Yet, a part of her couldn’t help but to think what had happened to the ice dragon. She didn’t know what would have been worse, if his destruction, or him being purified by the elements of Harmony. The first would made her feel as if she ordered his execution, the second would have made her feel like an idiot. Dead or alive, he’s finally free from the Windigos torment. Which is more than I can say for the guilt I feel lashing at my soul she thought, frowning. The only thing I can do now is preparing myself to face the consequences of my choices, good or bad that they are . The respect that Twilight and her friends felt for her, would have been put to the test. I couldn’t blame them, for despising me . “If FrostBound has been defeated, we must warn Spike” came up Princess Luna, “So that we can tell him that there’s no more need for the army of--“ “DRAGONS!” shouted a guard, a grey pegasus, rushing inside the throne room, covered in snow, his armour greatly damaged, “Your majesty, the city is under attack by dragon like creatures! We’re being overwhelmed!”. The two alicorns and the captain of the guards exchanged alarmed glares at this sudden news, wondering how could they miss the battle that was going on outside. But then they realized it that, between the strong wind and all the snow and ice that had covered the palace, they were practically cut out from the rest of the world. “We must go helping them!” said Princess Celestia. “I will go. You will stay here” countered her sister, “you too, Shining Armor. Somepony has to protect my sister”. The captain of the guards didn’t liked the idea of remain behind while his troops were in danger, but he apparently knew better than ignoring an order from one of the royal sisters. Princess Celestia, on the other hand, seemed less willingly to accept it. “I can’t stand still when my people are in danger!”. “You need to stay safe sister. I have no idea if this attack is part of FrostBound presence, but until contrary proof, we must take that this attacker is from his side and this assault is made to lure you out. I can’t take any chances”. The response of Luna made awfully sense. She may be younger than me, but she’s not any less wise . “Alright. Just, be safe”. “I will” promised the dark blue alicorn, as she marched out from the castle, followed by the guard, closing the gate. *** Princess Luna raced the grey unicorn through streets covered in so much snow that nearly reached the lamp post, buildings painted white by the frost attached to it, windows clouded by the condensation made it impossible to see inside the residences. What once was one city full of life and richness, now looked like a ghost town. And now, the ghost town was invaded by monsters. As she marched through snow and ice, under the cloudy sky, she could hear the cries of terror of the soldiers and the atrocious roars of the attackers. Once reached the main square of Canterlot, Princess Luna could see what this creatures looked like. It was like a mix between a dragon and a bat. Two wings, two legs, one tail and one mouth filled with sharp fangs. While not nearly as massive as some of the adults dragons she had seen in her life, they were still much bigger than a pony. They are nearly twice as tall as buffalo. And they were far more stronger too. Every attempt to fight them directly, ended with guards being knocked down. Not even keeping distance was enough to deal with them, thanks to their long tails and breath attack, that reminded her of cold vapour, which froze the ponies on their place. Those dragons-like were even durable; their ice scales seemed too thought to be pierced with their spears, which more often than not broke apart at contact. Not even the magic bolts of the unicorns seemed to be more than an annoyance, to them. With those ability and powers, this dragon-like creature were still capable of taking the royal guards on, despite the latter having the numbers on their part. There are more or less fifteen of those monsters, against forty of our soldiers. I must intercede, before we lose that advantage thought Princess Luna, as she shot a bolt of magic against the “dragons”. Unlike the bolts of the normal unicorn, hers managed to burst the head of one of those creature open, making it fall to the ground and shatter in a thousand pieces. “Royal guards!” she called with her royal voice, “Unicorns, focus your magic on one single target and hit it at once, but a ray instead of bolts. For the others, point your spears at their eyes, they look like a weak spot!”. The soldiers listened to her advice, focusing their attacks. While not powerful as hers, the united force of the magic ray managed to damage the ice scales of the monsters, and while the pointy spear couldn’t pierce the eyes, it still managed to push them back. With the help of the princess of the night, the pony managed to defeat and destroy all the dragon-like attackers. It was easy... way too easy . This attack was sudden. If this is work of FrostBound, either he has underestimated our forces . She turned around so quickly she nearly hit one of the guards with her tail. Or all of this was a distraction, to lure me away from my sister! “We must go back to the castle, now!” she ordered, as she made to run back. Or so she would do, but the guards stood still, blocking her way. “What are you doing? My sister may be in danger!” she screamed at them, “We must--AAAARGH”. She cried in pain as she felt something sharp and burning cold bite her sides. She turned around, seeing that her left hip had been hit by a spear made of ice. “What” she whispered as she stared at the face of her attacker. Or, the lack of face. The muzzle was completely absent. She turned around, noticing that all the royal guards were just as blank. The ice sculptures of which Shining Armor had mentioned, when Cadence was abducted! “You damn freaks!” she shouted, her anger overcoming any fear she would have felt in front of those things. The ice ponies ignored her outcry and advanced, swarming princess Luna, all of them summoning other ice spears to put her down. “You will not stop me!”. And as she said that, she let out a powerful magical explosion, shattering them all in one powerful hit. Yet, despite her effort, the damage was already done. She could feel a sting on the side that was hit by that ice spear. It burnt in a way so similar to fire, and yet it felt somehow even worst. She felt it crawling on her body, making her feel less and less capable of moving. I don’t have much time . Princess Luna flew in the windy sky, trying to reach for the castle before it was too late. She was halfway there, when her wings stopped working right. She crashed against the wall of a tall building, near a window. And through that large panel, she saw a chilling image: Ponies, be that adults or foals and filly, were frozen on their spot, as if they didn’t even had the time to react. No . In that instant, her wings stopped working entirely. She fell hard on the ground, the snow so hard that it offered very little to softening her fall. Biting back her pain as best she could she proceeded at fast pace. For a few dozen meters. Then her hinder legs stopped supporting her, making her fall face front on the ground. No, it can’t end like this thought Princess Luna, as she felt the sting of coldness grow more and more. She didn’t felt her wings and half of her body. In a desperate attempt, she crawled with her front legs. But it didn’t took long before even those stopped moving. Her body was starting to turn into ice. She could feel her flesh and bones being devoured by the frost. “Sister” she muttered, weak, scared and broken. “I couldn’t keep my word... I’m sorry” she said, as she could feel the ice climb on her throat. “Twilight...Bearers of Harmony...please...save...her”. And with those words, Princess Luna turned completely in a frozen sculpture, all alone in the cold. *** “This is all my fault” sighed Celestia, after her younger sister run out in the cold, to help their forces. “Nonsense, Celestia. How could this be your fault?” wanted to know Shining Armor, confused. “You yourself said that this is all because of that damn Web Heart and the Windigos”. “Maybe. But I still have my responsibilities about this situation. Is not the first time enemies of the past returns, threatening to destroy all that me and my sisters have built through the years. I should have learned better than presume that they would just stay down. But with FrostBound, my fault isn’t limited to just presume something” admitted the ruler of Equestria. “What do you mean? What links you to this monster?”. “Is a long story, of which I hoped that I could tell to you, your sister and her friends” . The white alicorn lowered her head, the weight of guilt becoming more and more unbearable. “But now, I’m starting to feel like I’ve sent all of them to their doom”. Tears started to dwell in her eyes. “Discord was right, this plan of mine was terrible. I shouldn’t have let my fear take the hold of me, as I shouldn’t have sent others to deal with my sins!”. Before she could curse her own mistakes, the light of the chandelier turned off, leaving the only luminosity the cold light outside. “Oh no” she whispered, fear strangling her voice. “Don’t worry, princess. I won’t permit that monster to kidnap another princess from my watch” tried to comforting her Shining Armor. Celestia appreciated his bravery, but she knew that the captain of the guard was way out of his league...just like her, after all. Suddenly, a cold mist started to creep from the corner of the windows, followed by crawling ice. “Oh no. He’s here” she gasped, terror grasping her brain, “He’s here!” she repeated, turning to Shining Armor, who was watching the main door. “I know” Shining Armor replied turned around, his eyes of a dark shade of cobalt staring her down with pure hatred. As Celestia made to gasp at this sudden reveal, a cold light surrounded her *** When the ruler of Equestria opened her eyes, she found herself laying on the ground of a wrecked throne room. As she tried to stand up, she noticed that her shoes, collar and crown had disappeared without a trace. I’m alive she realized. Of course I’m alive. He wouldn’t have gone through all of this scheming for just killing me on the spot. An hatred such as his can’t be satisfied with a quick death. He’s going to make sure I will suffer first . And she sure was suffering now. As she stood up, her body trembled for both the extreme cold and the pain. Her horn was covered in ice, same was for her wings. She couldn’t use magic, and she couldn’t fly away. And even if she could, where could she go? I could fly to the end of the world, but he would never stop following me, destroying everything in his path. No, I’ve already tried to escape from my responsibilities. Is time for me to face it and, if necessary for the sake of my people, pay the price of my errors she decided, as she watched the devastation caused by the ice dragon. The walls and the ceiling of the throne room was practically been removed. The ground, while still standing, looked scorched-like by something extremely hot... or extremely cold. That explosion of power didn’t just destroyed her palace, but it completely obliterated, leaving her vulnerable not just to cold, but to attacks from any directions. She stood still, waiting for a sudden strike, trying her best to compose herself. In the instant she felt regain her dignity, she felt something rise behind her, towering on her like a bear does with a rabbit. She turned around slowly, as her formality started to crumble by the weight of fear. FrostBound was there. Despite being on four legs, his head didn’t had a problem to reach and surpass her point, as his enormous wings peaked from his sides. The ice dragon glared at her with such coldness that it made the icy temperatures warm, in comparison. His skull-like face, filled with fangs sharp enough to chew the very mountain Canterlot was built in like it was soft pastry. She expected him to roar at her, expressing his hatred and rage like a wild animal. But he didn’t roared. No, he did something far worst...he spoke to her. “Celestia”. His voice was like the union between coldness and power incarnate, its vibration enough to shake her ear drums and flesh. It’s tone was polite and calm, and yet so filled with hate. It’s a good sign, if he wants to talk she tried to cheer herself up, Maybe there is still chance to solve this without causing any more suffering . But to do so, she had to be very attentive when choosing her words. “Yes, is been a long time, Cryo” she said, trying to offer a small smile, which turned out to look more like a grimace. “I must say that I’m impressed by your power and astuteness. You managed to make sure that I was left completely vulnerable, weak and with no way out. I must presume that Shining Armor has never left Cadence side and that my sister has fallen into your trap. Is she...”. A sudden screech made her jump. A dragon-like creature flew over her head, dropping something that looked like an ice statue. To the horror of Princess Celestia, it was her sister, Luna. Her body, frozen in a crawled position. In her face, despair. “What have you done to her and the guards? Are they...”. “Frozen. Not dead. Not alive. Stuck in a sort of limbo, until I decide otherwise” he replied. Her attempts to break the ice with the ice dragon seemed ineffective, to say the least. “Same goes with the inhabitants of this city. A fate that soon all the inhabitants of this world will suffer”. For a second, Celestia felt her heart succumb to rage, wanting nothing more than attack FrostBound and making him pay for his crimes. But only for a second, before she realized how stupid such approach would be. Even if she could use magic, it would still do no damage to him. I can’t be mad at him. Not when I’m the one responsible for this predicament . “And what about the Dragon Watch and the Bearers of Harmony? Did they suffered the same fate?”. “Those flying toys has suffered some loss, but the most of them, included your pupil and her...servants, are fine... for now. They have just found the wagon where your niece and her husband are trapped, guarded by a copy of mine. Soon, your lackey will manage to defeat the clone, for then discover what you already know. Without a doubt, once that will happen, they will rush here in a frantic attempt to rescue you. But with the damage that my clone wrought on their vehicle, they will not arrive here in time” FrostBound told her, his voice ever so calm and filled with scorn. “Now allow me to ask you something: Why do you think I’m here for?”. “You’re here for me. To make me pay for what I did to you” answered Celestia, trying to hold his glare. “And I can’t blame you for that, Cryo. After what I did to you, after the pain that I made you feel... since that day, every time I thought about it, I’ve never felt so ashamed for my choices--“. “Don’t you dare trying to make me pity you, Celestia” he stopped her, his voice even more stern, his eyes even more narrowed. “Don’t. You. Dare”. “I just want to--“. “Comparing my suffering to yours? Don’t make me laugh, Celestia. There’s an infinite void between what we’ve been through. Even if by chance you regretted betraying me, at least you were surrounded by people who loved you and saw in you and your sister two benevolent goddesses , unaware how many secrets you hold from them and so ready to forgive any of your mistakes, all while you can come and go as you please. I, on the other hand, was stuck in that damn volcano for thousands of years, since when I was a but a whelp, saw as a monster which sole objective was to wipe out the pony kind and bring the eternal winter, forced to stay there for the rest of my eternal life, until the end of time itself, while on the inside the Windigos haunted my mind and spirit, trying to turn me in their slave”. For every word of FrostBound, the princess felt as if she was being flogged. When he finished talking, Celestia tried in vain to find an argument, but her guilt held her back. “Let me assure you, Celestia, for how much it saddened you to leave me behind, I felt much, MUCH, worse”. “It was a mistake, turning my back to you, Cryo” Celestia managed to say, “And you’re right, there is no comparison between what we two went through” tears started to fall down her eyes and turning into ice before they could even touch the ground. She laid gently the iced up sister, then she got up “And I’m so sorry for it”. Her words were heartfelt and true. And yet they seemingly failed to warm the ice dragon. “Do you really think that saying that you’re sorry will fix everything, Celestia? If so, you’re terribly deluded” responded FrostBound. “Excuses won’t work. Just like keep repeating the name you chosen for me will not mend our relationship, nor is making me feel like having mercy for you”. “No, but I feel that this is the least I can do for you. But there is something than can fix this matter: The Elements of Harmony”. “If I knew that I had to actually be a threat, to make you decide to use them on me, perhaps I should have done this sooner” commented FrostBound, with dry sarcasm. “Another mistake for my part” she admitted, “but that isn’t important. What is important, is that I think the Elements can heal you from the Windigos influence. After the recent events, the Elements of Harmony and their bearers have become even more powerful than before!”. “Good to know. There is just one problem”. “What is it?”. “I don’t care about a cure anymore”. “What!? But... I thought”. “You thought what? That once cured I would go back to be your personal pastime pet? That things between us could go back to be the same?”. “Of course not!” she blurted out, “Cryo, I always considered you not like a pet, but as a friend! But I’m painfully aware that things between us could never be the same. I just want you to be free!”. “If you truly wanted me to be free, you would have freed me a long time ago” replied FrostBound. “You’ve missed your chance to prove me you were my friend. Now the only thing I want the most is to make you suffer, at least as much I did” Celestia remained silent for a few but long seconds, staring her frozen sister with a gleam of sadness and comprehension. This truly is all my fault she thought. The white alicorn caressed gently the frozen face of her young sister, I’ve brought to you all this cataclysm, now is up to me to end it. “You’re right” she admitted, walking towards the towering dragon. “I’ve allowed my fear to take the hold of me, which in turn led to this disaster. No excuses are going to change that. And while I can’t forgive your actions, I can’t deny that the reason behind your hatred are fair”. She nearly reached the edge of the construction. “And because of that I won’t try to stop you from taking what you want” mainly because I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted . She opened her wings, in a sign of surrender. “You want revenge? Take it. Kill me. Torture me, if you want to. I just ask you one and one thing only: let the ponies of Equestria and the other creatures of this planet be. Please, do not harm them, I beg you, they have nothing to do in this matter”. FrostBound remained silent, while his eyes seemed to look into her soul. “Is this that you truly wish?” he asked. “I do” she proclaimed. And to prove it even further, she even bended her knew, bowing in front of the gigantic dragon, hoping that this act of submission would convince him. It didn’t. “Then the answer is no”. “What!?” shouted Celestia, getting up. “No! That’s--“ “Not your desire? Well, we don’t always get what we want... do we, Celestia?”. The hatred in that question could have destroyed worlds. “This is not you, FrostBound!” she shouted. “I can understand wanting me to suffer, but leave the others out of it!” she demanded, her despair giving actual strength to stand her ground. “I assure you, Celestia, my choices are my own. The Windigos are just helping me to control this power, organising the hate in me, making me stronger. And now that my emotions are flowing in order, my mind is actually clear” he replied, while raising his massive paw. “You claim that your dear little ponies have nothing to do. We both know that that isn’t true. I haven’t forgot what you told me in that cursed day. You specifically told me that one of the reason behind your betrayal was to protect them. They are part of the reason behind your choice, Celestia. And are just as guilty as you are. And as such, they will not be spared by the eternal winter!” he declared, as his energy started to gleam from it. What is he doing? And why I feel like a part of me is shivering? Celestia wondered in terror. Then she noticed the light up above in the sky were getting brighter. And then, through the clouds, the sun appeared, tied up in a ring of cold energy. “What...?” she whispered, terrified at what FrostBound was about to do next. The sun landed right in the palm of his clawed hand, which then closed, capturing the sun in an inescapable hold. The ice dragon looked at the sun with a mixture of curiosity, glumness and anger. “Ah, the sun, the celestial body that’s under your responsibility” he said, while keep staring at it. “For so long I’ve yearned to have the chance to be under it, basking in its warmth, admiring his light, like all the other creatures on this planet do, even for just a few seconds. And now, I’m actually holding it in my hand, like it was nothing else but a bulb of a lamp. Yet, despite me keeping it in my clutch, I can’t feel anything at all”. He slowly turned his attention back to the princess. For a moment, she saw in him the ice dragon she knew and loved, the innocent and kind Cryo. But it was for just a moment. Then, any sign of weakness disappeared, leaving only the vicious and fierce creature that was FrostBound. “Warmth is for me just an illusion. And today, this illusion will be shattered!” As he said that he closed his grip, concealing any sight of the celestial body. For a few long seconds, the world was engulfed by nearly complete darkness. “NO!” screamed Celestia, only to get ignored by the giant ice dragon. The princess feared that he had just put off the sun, taking away the source of light and warm of the planet. But when he opened his massive clawed hand, she realized what he has just done and how much worse his action was. He didn’t killed the sun, he changed it. Of ghostly white and a dark shade of blue, it was releasing just as much cold as the original sun emitted warmth. “What have you done” she whispered, “What have you done!?” she repeated, shouting, dropping any pretence to sound and act calm. “The first step toward the complete annihilation of this wretched planet” he replied, coolly, as he let go the now cold sun, which flew up in the sky, back at his place in the orbit. As it did so, the clouds disappeared, showing a sky that has darkened as if the night had already came. “To say the truth, I could just destroy this planet with my own hands, but that would be too fast and merciful for you. In this way, the death of the ponies and all the living things on this planet is going to be just as I want: Slow and agonizing. Think about it, Celestia: Your own sun, that you were so much proud of, turned into the one thing that is going to wipe out all your beloved subjects and friends. Poetic, isn’t it? Your decision, made to protect them, is going to cost them everything” As he said that, on his skeleton like face appeared a chilling looking grin. “You... are no longer Cryo” said Celestia, silencing the terror in her heart with her anger. “You are a monster!”. “I am what you made me, Celestia. Web Heart may have turned me into this thing, but it was you that proved him right”. “Enough! I’ve offered you my apologies and even my life. And for how much I may be responsible for this situation and how awful I feel for you, that won’t preventing me to end your kingdom of terror! I won’t let you harm my people!” she declared, as she tried to focus all her power into her horn so to free it from the ice. But no matter how much determination and force she had and how hard she tried, her horn remained covered in ice. FrostBound didn’t seemed impressed by her effort to break free. In fact, he shook his head in disappointment. “Even after I’ve bested you in both power and intelligence, you still have the arrogance to claim to have power over me? I should let your horn free and allow you to see for yourself that there’s nothing you can do to stop me. But I know you well enough to know that you would still go at me even once you would have run out of power. Commendable, some would say. A complete waste of time, I say”. “Maybe I’m powerless to stop you, Cryo. But the Elements of Harmony will!” promised Celestia, exhausted by her attempts to free her horn. “Wrong. Again. But now, Celestia, is time for our talk to end!”. As he said that, with an agility unseen for such giant creature, he moved his hand, capturing the white alicorn. Keeping her between his thumb and index, as if she was nothing more than a gnat, he took her to his eye level. Despite being weak, scared and alone, Celestia didn’t wanted to let the ice dragon have the last word. “If you expect me to quiver in terror and beg for my life, you’re wrong. I’m not afraid to die” she hissed. “Die?” he repeated, releasing a rumbling sound that was supposed to be a laugh. “But you won’t die, Celestia. In fact, you won’t die for a very long, LONG, time...”.