//------------------------------// // The peak of the storm // Story: FrostBound // by Azrael the alicorn //------------------------------// Spike felt good. He, Ember and Discord had managed to gather as many dragons that they could, using the magic of the Draconequus to bring even the ones that were too much far away to reach. Then he, with Ember, succeeded into convincing them of the importance of their help, and of how much of a threat FrostBound was. Sure, not everything went smooth. Garble of course had to act all cool, saying that they shouldn’t get involved helping ponies; Discord made some snarky with Torch, making the ex-dragon lord tempted to try and, well, torch him. “You would try”, responded the Draconequus. Torch was about to pass from the words to the fact when suddenly the cloud vanished, showing a sun that, instead of warmth, sent cold waves at them. A signal that things had been going south in Equestria. It was time to go and fight. To make things more quicker, Discord decided to use his magic to make them appear right in the valley below Canterlot, so that there wouldn’t be a problem of space for the army of dragons. Spike agreed on the idea. With 5000 dragons (Which included the gigantic Torch) and Discord, Spike felt as if things weren’t as bleak at it seemed. And then, once arrived in front Canterlot, he saw the palace of the royal sisters wrecked. That sight made his heart sink. “What happened here?” he asked. “Do you think we have arrived too late?” feared Ember. “Probably” said Discord, staring the ruins. If he was worried for either Luna, Celestia or Fluttershy, he was good at hiding it. “Where is this FrostBound?” wondered the young dragon lord. “He can’t be far away”. “And you would be right, child” replied Torch, pointing at… them? No, not at them, but rather was under them. Spike and Ember looked around for a bit, before realizing where they stood: inside the mark left by a dragon which size alone outclassed the ex-dragon lord. “Holy” gasped the two young dragons. The rest of the dragons shared the same reaction, showing an hint of fear on their faces. “Are we supposed to fight against the one guy that left this sign?” asked Garble, voicing the dread that most of them felt in their heart. “What’s the matter, Gurgle? Suddenly afraid to fight?” asked Discord, with a grin. “What!? No, of course not!” responded hastily the teenager dragon. “Is just that… well, I didn’t expect him to be this big! Also, my name is not Gurgle!”. For once, Spike could agree with Garble. Just by looking at the paw-print left by FrostBound, it was clear that the ice dragon was on another level. If the size of this thing is correct, he could hold Torch as if he wasn’t more than a whelp realized Spike. “Bah, he may be bigger than me, but I bet he’s not as powerful” scoffed the ex-dragon lord. “Wishful thinking” whispered Discord, appearing beside Spike and Ember. “If we follow his tracks, we will find him” added, by making notice other print on the ground “Why does he walk, instead of flying? Or does he lack wings?” asked Ember, confused. “Oh, he has wings, let me tell you that. For why he preferred to walk instead of fly, well, I’ve the distinct feeling that in this way he would be sure to be found”. “Are you telling me that he knows about us?”. “Maybe” said Discord, caressing his beard with a thoughtful look. “Then what are we waiting for?” demanded an adult red dragon, “Let’s follow the trail”. “Hold your horses, hot head. If we charge all together, we may lose the surprise effect on him. He may know that there were reinforcement coming, but he may not know who this back up or how many there are. I say is better for you to stay here, while me, the actual dragon lord and Spike go take a look. Once we actually know where he is what he is doing, we will call you”. “Sounds like a good idea” nodded Ember, “Didn’t expected such logic from the spirit of chaos” added, sarcastically. “I am logical enough, if the circumstances require it. Now, can please move it?”. And so Spike jumped on Ember back and, with Discord, they followed the traces left by FrostBound, with the Draconequus leading them. The purple dragon thought about what Discord had just told them. He’s walking instead of flying, so that we can follow him. And yet, he could have left an even bigger sign by just walking through the mountains. I’m sure that something of his size and his power, he wouldn’t have a problem to do so. Is almost as if he wanted to avoid needless destruction . It was an absurd thought. Why a being that was causing an ice age would be worried of wrecking some rocks? Before he could dig deeper into that question, he, Ember and Discord turned around the mountain, coming in sight with their target. While they knew about his size by his footprint, seeing it in person was a whole another deal. Spike and Ember were about to shout by surprise, but Discord closed their mouth. “Now now, let’s try to not get his attention already, shall we?” he said with a low voice. The two young dragons nodded, so Discord let go their mouths. “He hasn’t seen us yet” noticed the female dragon lord. “He looks like he’s on trance” noticed Spike. FrostBound was standing sit, his eyes gazing into the nowhere. “Don’t be fooled. I bet what you want that, the second we advance on him he will snap back to reality, so to snap on us” warned him Discord, without taking his eyes off the giant ice dragon. “We need all our forces to stand a chance against him” said Ember. And in that instant, FrostBound lowered his stare right where they stood. “Oh crud, we are SO busted” whimpered Spike. “Not if I can do something” replied Discord, shielding the two young dragons. “I will distract him, you go bring up the other fire sputters”. At that, Spike and Ember exchanged an unsure glare. “Are you sure about that, Discord?” asked the young purple dragon. “Yeah, weren’t you the one stating that that guy is too much for everyone?” pointed out the female dragon lord. “Reminding me of that won’t help us!” answered the Draconequus, clenching his teeth. “I’m the only around here that can buy you some time. Or do you think he will listen to you and your staff?”. “No” admitted Ember, looking at the dragon lord stuff with impotence. “Good. Now go and try to not take it forever. Me in the meantime I’m going to get introduced to the big freeze”. “Just don’t do anything stupid, Discord!” said Spike, as he and Ember flew back where they came from. “As if me standing in this world would be any smart” commented the spirit of chaos, as he prepared himself to engage an adversary that he knew being far too powerful. *** Inside the enormous head of FrostBound, the embodiment of the ice dragon soul looked through the two huge round windows that were his eyes. “They will be here shortly” he said to the Windigos. “Be on guard and warn me if you see them”. The Windigos remained silent, replying to him by moving their heads affirmatively. FrostBound moved to the center of the room, where Celestia had been placed. Most of her body was now covered in ice, leaving only her eyes and part of her mouth, allowing her to breath, but not to talk, forcing her to stand up. “Is it comfortable, Celestia? I hope so, because you’re going to be here for a long time” he said to her, while circling around the trapped alicorn like a predator does with its prey. “I think is time to reveal what I’ve in store for you, my dear Celestia. That ice that covers you isn’t just to keep you still or to make you feel cold, but to connect you to the rest of the creatures out there. As they get trapped into ice and I will feed on their emotions, you will feel it too. You will feel ALL OF IT. All their despair, all of their pain. Of all the ponies in Equestria, of all the dragons and all the creatures that inhabit this miserable planet and the universe that contains it!” he said, stopping in front of her and staring in the deep of Celestia eyes. “But it won’t end there, my dear ex teacher. Oh no, I haven’t forgotten our talk about the alternative reality and dimensions out there. Once I will be done with the planet and everything in the cosmos, I will use the knowledge I snatched from your mind while you were unconscious with this alien power and will shatter the barriers and bring the everlasting winter in the whole multiverse, even if it takes eons to do so”. As her eyes widened in terror, he gave her another sharp and malevolent smile. “Oh don’t you worry, Celestia. I’m going to take care of your mind, making sure that all that agony and guilt you will feel won’t drive you insane, so you can taste it all. And then, when all life will be trapped into eternal ice, I will let you break down. And then I will decide if to keep you as my personal jester or put you out of your misery. Quite the hard choice, now that I think about it, but I’m sure I will have all the time to decide”. Celestia couldn’t speak with her mouth, but the way her pupils shrink into small dots and her eyelid narrowed, she was saying, “No, please, don’t do this to them. I’ll do anything!”. “Too late” replied FrostBound, growling. “A millions years too late”. “FrostBound!” called the Windigos. “They are here!”. “Good” he said, turning his back to the trapped alicorn. “Watch carefully, Celestia. I’m about to extinguish any last burning hope that you had”. The ice dragon walked back towards the eye-windows, stopping right in the middle. There his form started to shine and to become much less concrete. *** As the ice dragon switched from standing sit to stand up on his four legs, extending his two immensely wide wings and emitting a low growl, staring at the Draconequus which floated a few dozen meters from him. “Hello there, I don’t think we have met before” Discord said. And I sure wish we never had to thought, offering his best smile. “Oh, but we have, Discord” replied FrostBound, his tone indecipherable. “Oh? When and where exactly? I would remember someone of your size” asked Discord. The spirit of chaos was surprised that the giant dragon wanted to talk, but he sure didn’t minded that much. If he could engage him in a conversation rather than a battle, maybe him acting as a diversion wouldn’t have turned too bad. Instead of answering the question, the ice dragon seemingly ignore it “I’m surprised that you decided to face me directly, giving how scared of me you were in Twilight castle”. Why does everyone keep bringing that up over and over again!? “Is it really that bad to be only one realizing what kind of threat you…” was about to say when suddenly the words of FrostBound made stop. How did he know? Unless “You… you were Shining Armor” muttered. “Angry that I’ve managed to deceive you?”. “Maybe a bit. Actually, I’m more impressed than anything else” commented Discord, sincere. Not even the best Changeling would manage to fool me. But this big freezer with wings and scales managed to do it with easy “I mean, turning from a big scary dragon into a little pony? Color me surprised. And I thought that you were good only at being freezing stuff with your frigid attitude”. The derisive comment didn’t get anything else but a scornful snort from the ice dragon. “Is this that has become of the great master of chaos that I’ve heard so much about? A comedian with reality warping powers?”. “You think little of me?”. “I think that, not counting myself, you were the most powerful being on this planet. But then you turned your back to your true nature”. Hearing that, the Draconequus rolled his eyes. “Please, spare me the “friendship makes you weaker” speech. I have already heard it once and it won’t work on me twice” “I’m just stating a point. We two have come into this world for an exact reason. Yours is to bring chaos, mine is to bring coldness”. Discord didn’t looked impressed by the words of FrostBound. “Maybe, but since when does chaos has an order to follow? Maybe me acting friendly is just as chaotic as I have to. I don’t need to turn the world upside down to prove who I am. Perhaps you should follow my example and stop being such a cold shoulder to everyone else”. “I’m afraid I can’t do that because, unlike you, I know what friendship truly is”. “Oh please, enlighten me, oh cold one” mocked the Draconequus. A mockery that once again FrostBound ignored. “A pleasant illusion, a temporary feeling of warmth, followed the glacial feeling of loss. Open your heart to friendship and so you will open it to pain and sorrow. Time will take away any kind of happiness you had, leaving you cold, bitter and alone”. “Quaint” scoffed Discord, even if he couldn’t help but think that maybe he wasn’t completely wrong. Maybe he’s not mistaken, but it still sound too much like an edge lord . “You may not believe me, but I think in time you will, as you find out what happened to your friends”. “Oh, I see what you’re doing” said Discord, pointing his finger at the giant ice dragon. “You’re trying to make me hate you, aren’t you?”. “I admit it. Is it working?” asked FrostBound, strangely amused. “Not quite. I may be sad for whatever you did to Celestia and Luna, but I know far too well that if I allow my temper to get the best of me, my hatred will make you stronger. Oh yes, I know about the Windigos inside that brain of yours and that, with all probability, they will feed on my hate. Well if you want to eat something you can go eat some rocks, because I won’t give you a darn thing!” he said crossing his arms and turning his back to the ice dragon in a offended manner. Doing so, he hoped to see any trace of the arrival of the dragon army. Sadly, there was none. Where the heck did they go? Discord wondered, nervous, I doubt I can stall him for any longer. Not with words, at least . “Oh, but I wasn’t talking about Celestia and Luna” replied FrostBound, with a sinister grin. At those words, Discord turned around, looking at the colossal dragon with an alarmed expression. “What?”. “Your friends… or at least, the one friend you have. The one you seem to have the closest thing to respect from…Fluttershy”. “What… what did you do with her?” asked the Draconequus. “She and her friends arrived here, so full of themselves, certain to stand a chance against me. I proved them wrong, crushing their hopes and bodies, ending their lives with my bare hands”. “You’re bluffing” blurted out Discord, “How did they managed to reach you before us?”. “You’re talking about your teleportation trick? Easy to slow down, once perceived. Your magic might be powerful for the ponies, but compared to mine, they are but child play”. Discord stared at FrostBound dead into the eyes, before suddenly bursting out in a nervous laughter. “Ah! You nearly got me, frosty” he said, slapping his knees. “If you truly had harmed Fluttershy and her friends in any other way, I sure would have gone nuts. But unfortunately for you, is not that easy to fool me twice!” “I guess you want proof, so here it is” he said, opening his right hand. As if at command, a cold breeze lifted something so small that would have passed away without anyone noticing. But Discord did. And he saw that those little things were hairs of different colors, that belonged to the manes of the Elements of Harmony. One in particular caught his attention: a pink one. He managed to grab this one before it disappeared from his sight, then he brought it in front of his eyes, analyzing it, praying to find something, anything, to prove that this wasn’t what it seemed. But it was. “Fluttershy” whispered Discord, as he felt something inside of him break and tears started to spill from his eyes. She’s gone he realized. Once again, he had let down the one being crazy enough to be his friend. “You feel it, don’t you?” asked FrostBound. “The pain, the coldness, the feeling of being powerless and alone”. Discord lifted his gaze, glaring at the giant dragon, while hot air escaped his nostrils. “Oh, how could I forget about the anger. Tell me something, is it more towards me, for having killed your dear friends? Or is it towards yourself, for having failed to save her?” “AAAAAAAHH” shouted Discord, shaking both skies and earth with his anger, but not moving in the slightest FrostBound. “Apparently is the first” replied the ice dragon, indifferent from the rage of the Draconequus. The spirit of chaos rose his hands in the sky, while purple/blue energy started to emanate from them. Such energy was none others than his own chaotic magic. Despite the fury boiling his blood, Discord was still painfully aware that his foe was still on another level. Yet, he felt that maybe, just maybe, if he used his own energy in a direct attack rather than just summon some random weapon, he could have at least wound the ice dragon. And so, in a few instants, a gigantic sphere of chaos magic formed over his head, double the size of FrostBound. This will have to hurt him. It must hurt him he thought. “Quite the display of power, even though cartoonish” commented the ice dragon, not a bit frighten by the massive sphere. “It may look cartoonish, but is going to make you cry in pain, you walking freezer!” cried Discord, throwing his destructive orb at FrostBound. This one remained still, while the sphere literally gobbled him inside of it, disappearing. The magical attack of Discord was powerful enough to cast a dreadful wind, making it seem like the world was coming to an end. It will be his end smiled the Draconequus. After using most if not all of his magic on that attack, he was a bit weary. But I’m sure it will pay off. Nothing could get out of that without a scratch thought, sure of himself. But then, slowly but clearly, the sphere of chaos magic started to disappear, revealing the still standing figure of FrostBound. He didn’t had a scratch. You’ve got to be kidding! That sphere would have obliterated a galaxy and he took it like I just blew some air at him . “That was rather... disappointing” commented, as he got thirty meters higher, “Thanks for the hatred”. “Don’t thank me yet, you overgrown lizard!” hissed Discord, “You’re not the only one capable of getting smaller or taller by will”. And as he said that, he grew of one head bigger than the ice dragon. “If magic won’t hurt you, then my fist will!”. Making appear a boxing glove made of steel and covered with fire in his lion arm. But as he tried to punch FrostBound, this one managed to halt his attack with one hand. Discord had barely the time to register what just had happened that the ice dragon turned the flames off and crushed the boxing glove as if it was made of cardboard. And with it, the very hand of Discord. The spirit of chaos kneeled while screaming in pain, as he tried to free his hand from the clutches of FrostBound, but it was only for his choice that he managed to get his hand back. But before Discord could take a breath of relief, the gigantic hand of the ice dragon grabbed by the head, holding it as he would do with a pony by how big it was. Then the pain became nearly unbearable. The touch of the ice dragon was so cold that it felt like it was scorching his head, his attempts to break free pointless. “Weak” grunted FrostBound, before lifting the Draconequus up and then down, making his head smash onto the ground. Holes and cracks opened the ground as far as the eye could tell, as the planet itself seemingly got moved by the impact. After that, Discord attempts to break free nearly stopped. The only thing the Draconequus could do was glare defiantly at his attacker. He knew that FrostBound would have just gotten stronger, but he couldn’t help himself. “And here’s where that friendship of yours has taken you; down in the path of pain” claimed the ice dragon. “Now tell me, was it really worth it?”. With his chicken hand, the spirit of chaos snapped a finger, making fall on FrostBound a whole casket of eggs, much for the irritation of the enormous beast. What do you think, you big jerk? Discord thought, grinning despite the pain in his body. “You find this amusing, don’t you?” asked FrostBound, cleaning himself from the yolk of the egg. “You know, I thought I would just kill you, but seeing how determinate you are to die for a lost cause I think I will change my plans”. The cold hand of the ice dragon turned even colder, making Discord squirm helplessly. “If you insist into helping the ponies, you will share their fate. Frost will engulf you, trapping you into an ice statue. You thought that being turned to stone is bad? Stone may be cold, but ice is colder and far more relentless. It will literally bite your bone, flesh and mind, as if it was burning fire. It will make your captivity look tame in comparison. And unlike that, it won’t never end”. Discord was about to try and summon something else to try and distract the ice dragon when he heard the sounds of thousands of wings beating. Ember and Spike were finally back with the rest of the dragons. What took you so darn long, you dang fire spatter wondered Discord, frustrated. “Looks like the so called dragon lord and her servants have arrived” mused FrostBound. “I will deal with you later”. The ice dragon threw Discord apart as if he was trash, sending him flying and then crashing violently to the ground. Aching and exhausted, the spirit of chaos turned back to his standard size. This one is up to you, Spike. I’m fighting my own battle to stay awake . Without much to do, Discord watched as the dragon army charged the titan dragon, painfully aware that, if neither he or the Elements could stop him, Ember army was about to enter a fight they couldn’t win. *** “Girls, I’m afraid my cage is getting colder” said Fluttershy. “No way, Fluttershy. Is my cage that’s getting colder” countered Pinkie Pie. “Girls, is not that I don’t appreciate the attempt to cheer Fluttershy up, but I think we should use the time we have to find a way to break out of here” pointed out Applejack. “Right” agreed Rainbow Dash. “We can’t let all our friends and family to suffer the eternal winter!”. “Even if we managed to get out of this cells, there’s one particular that I feel we need to address: what are we going to do against FrostBound? Our elements doesn’t work against him” reminded them Rarity. That question made everyone fell silent, aware that they lacked the answer. FrostBound is smarter and more powerful than us had to admit Twilight Sparkle, has she made work her brain in search of a solution to their problems. Now that she wasn’t plagued by doubts about Celestia and her secrets, she could finally feel her mind work like it usually did. But he has to be a weakness we can use to our advantage . Just as she thought that, the purple alicorn remembered what FrostBound had told to Celestia. “This body is immune” he said “I’ve got it!” shouted Twilight, euphoric. “You got what?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I know how we can stop FrostBound!”. “Really!?” cried the rest of the Mane 6. “Tell us everything!” said Applejack. “His body is immune to the Elements, right?” “That’s what he said!” nodded Pinkie Pie. “But now we are inside his body”. “You mean his spirit may be actually vulnerable to the power of Harmony?” asked Rarity. “Is a chance. The only one we got”. “Better than nothing. I’ll take it” stated Rainbow Dash. “Well, good to have that solved. Now, anything about to how get out of here?” questioned Applejack. At that, Twilight didn’t knew the answer until her attention turned to the bars of the cell containing Fluttershy. “I think that, while greatly empowered by that mysterious cold element, the ice is still mostly made of the Windigos magic. For proof, look at Fluttershy bars. They are far more thin compared to all of us”. “Is true!” exclaimed the yellow pegasus. “But how…” “That’s because unlike us, you have a greater control over your hatred towards FrostBound” explained the purple alicorn. “If we want to break free, we need to control our emotions, putting the hate we may feel aside”. “Well, after hearing the story of Frost…Cryo, I don’t feel that angry at him” admitted Rainbow Dash, “In fact, I actually feel very bad for the big guy”. “He went through so much. Alone” nodded Applejack. “Without a family”. “Without a good laugh” added Pinkie Pie. “Tormented by ill thoughts”. “But we can actually grant him his greatest wish. We can cure him from his curse” said Rarity. “He’s not a monster, he’s just a victim of a cruel fate” stated Fluttershy. The bars started to melt away. “We must help Cryo, not destroy him” claimed Twilight. “Celestia may not have kept her word, but we will!”. “FOR CRYO” cried the Mane 6 like one pony. At that, their cages disappeared in mist, allowing them to get out. “So good to be out of there” commented Pinkie Pie. “Is going to be much better when we will be out there” said Rarity. As they said that, they rushed outside of room. As they did, they found themselves into what looked like a giant ice organic cave, mostly dark “It reminds me of a story of Daring Do: Into the belly of the beast” mentioned Rainbow Dash. “And how did she found a way out in that story?” asked Applejack. “By following the digestive system” told her the cyan pegasus. “But we won’t have to do that… right?” questioned Rarity, shivering in disgust. “No, we must go up, not down. And instead of following the digestive system, we will follow those things” replied Twilight Sparkle, pointing above their heads. On the ceiling there was the only source of light in the place; they looked like veins filled with intense white energy. Suddenly the sound of distant thunders echoed till them. “Sounds like the battle started” noted Rainbow Dash. “If we want to avoid a slaughter, we’ll better hurry”. “Let’s go”. And with that the Mane 6 race through their goals.