//------------------------------// // Flurry // Story: Winter Aria // by Arcanum -Phantasy //------------------------------// Color! Shapes! Shining walls. No cold. Not ice! New. New is dangerous! Screams. Others. Others are dangerous! Not cold ice is dangerous! Not cold ice hard under hooves. Echoes. Echoes of screams. Hot. So hot! Burning! Burning is danger! Moving shapes is new. Moving color is new. New is danger! Attack danger! Head spinning. Danger. Danger! DANGER!!! So hot. Kill hot. Hot will kill. Must kill hot! New Echoes. New is danger! Attack! Attack!!! ATTACK!!! Find cold. Cold is normal. Normal safe. Cold ice safe. Find cold ice. Make cold. Cold. Flurry. Find Flurry. Flurry warm. Good warm. Soft feathers. Soft good. Good is normal. Flurry is normal. Flurry is safe. "F-F-Flurry," Alto growled, hooves unsteady as he walked out of a hall flooded with ice and rubble. *** The throne room was a chaotic mass of activity as guards and castle staff scrambled in a panic. Maids and butlers from the castle's east wing were in hysterics as medical staff tended to their injuries while the guards tried to relay information to both Prince Shining and Captain Onyx as quickly as possible. All the while, Princess Cadence tried to maintain some semblance of order among the members of the castle's staff that came from the unaffected wings. A full blown riot looked to be on the horizon. Flurry froze as she watched her fellow ponies act like scared, cornered animals. All the while, she could feel her friend's magic running wild throughout the castle. "ENOUGH!!!" Shining demanded, slamming his hoof into the ground as his own version of the Royal Whee echoed through the room. Everypony froze in the face of one of their ruler's anger as he rose from his throne. "Captain Onyx, front and center!" he barked. "Sir!" he called back, body ridged as he teleported in front of his lord. "Form the guards we have into two groups. One group will be in charge of escorting non-combatants out of the castle until this matter can be resolved. The other will go to the castle's east wing and rescue any trapped or injured ponies. Should they encounter the hostile they are not permitted to use lethal means to bring him down. Is that understood?" "Sir, yes sir!" he called, only to smile as he added. "Though I don't think we need to worry about the little guy too much." "Why's that?" Shining asked. "Goldy," he chuckled. "That's why." *** Alto stumbled through the halls without aim, his eyes glowing green and cheeks flushed blue with fever. Howling winds surrounded him like a small tempest as the walls and floor around him became caked in ice. Heavy pants poured past his muzzle as his unfocused eyes scanned his environment. Flurry...Flurry...Flurry... "There you are," a cloaked figure said as they stepped into the hall. Alto paused, his muddled brain struggling to process what he was looking at. To him, a black blob with flecks of gold in the middle was moving towards him. The blob's voice was unfamiliar to him, and it filled him with dread. New. New was danger. Attack. Attack! ATTACK!!! A haunting wail filled the hall as Alto let out a blast of sound at the figure. She quickly jumped to the side and charged forward. When she made the one foot mark, a soft click could be heard as a wrist blade on her left forehoof activated. The second she was in range, she took a swing at him only to be thrown back into a nearby wall. She let out a frustrated growl as she pulled herself out of the small crater the impact made just in time to avoid a hail of ice blades. More blades came as she elegantly danced around the projectiles with the grace of a leaf in a windstorm. Another blast of sound came flying at her as Alto's fever-driven mind pushed him to find a way to end his threat, only for the unstable attack to shatter on contact with Gold's wrist knife. He let out a feral howl as more blasts of sound flew towards the lieutenant. At the same time, Gold struggled to find an opening to capitalize on. Damn. He may be running on instinct, but those instincts are very keen! At this rate, it will be next to impossible to tranquilize him. She risked a quick glance at the blade on her forehoof and grimaced. The tranquilizer rune on the blade was already starting to fade. If she didn't find a way to end this soon, she was going to have to resort to less efficient ways to get the job done. Ice and sound met steel and tact as the two warriors clashed with everything they had. The hall was turned into the sight of an arctic storm with two ponies seemingly dancing in its heart. Alto was too delirious to know what was going on, but Gold knew that this couldn't go on forever. One of them was going to make a mistake. One way or another. Little did she know just how soon that time was going to come. Alto let out a roar as spikes of ice burst out of the ground in front of him in a wide wave towards her. Her eyes widened and a single thought passed through her mind just before the frozen blades closed in on her. Shit! A scream of agony filled the air along with the sound of tearing meat and cloth. Alto stared at the gored remains as life started to fade from the mare's bright orange eyes, a growing pool of blood puddling on the ice covered floor. *** "Let me go!" Flurry yelled, struggling against the bonds of her father's magic as she pulled herself towards the throne room doors. "Flurry! Stop!" Shining growled, hooves slowly dragging across the floor as he tried to hold her back. "Let Gold handle this! She's more then-" "NO!" she grunted, forcing herself to take a step forward. "H-He needs me!" "How do you know that?" Cadence asked, desperately trying to talk her daughter down. "I-I just DO!" she grunted, finally managing to take two steps through Shining's telekinetic grip. "Now let...me...GO!" Shining's grip finally shattered as the young Princess' magic suddenly flared around her. She wasted no time as she bolted towards the doors, only to be caught in a barrier just short of her goal. A frustrated growl slipped past her lips as she let loose a blast of magic into the barrier. "Flurry, calm down," Cadence begged, her heart breaking as she watched her daughter slam against her confines. "I know that this isn't easy for you, but you need to let the guards handle this. They know what their doing and will do everything in their power to stop Alto before he hurts himself. He'll be fine." "No," she whimpered. "You don't get it. If the guards come at him the wrong way, they'll die!" "What?" Shining asked, blinking in shock at such a claim. "His mom taught him how to use his magic to survive, even if it means killing somepony. Nopony in The Empire knows how to use Cryomancy but me and he trusts me. So please, just let me go." Shining stared at her and with a sigh, dropped his barrier. "Go," he groaned. "We'll catch up as soon as we can." "Thanks dad," she smiled, then wrenched the throne room doors open. As the doors shut behind her, Cadence gave her husband a questioning look. The Prince answered with a sigh as he summoned his armor and spear to his side. "She couldn't've fallen for a normal pony," he grumbled as he fastened his helmet into place. "It had to be some cave pony from Celestia knows where." Cadence chuckled as she helped him secure his peytral. "She's our daughter Shining. Since when has anything been normal in our families." "Right," he sighed, securing his left vambrace. "Looks like the family curse is still going strong." "And there's no sign of that ever changing," she giggled. *** Alto stared blankly at Gold's corpse for a moment, then let out a cough as he turned away from it to continue his quest. He had barely took three steps when what sounded like shattering glass made him turn again. One of Gold's forelegs hung limp, a large icicle still running through it just below her elbow. Another snap filled the air as her other leg broke free from its confides. Then, a loud series of snaps filled the air as the gold coated mare tore herself away from the ice blades, pieces still lodged in her body as she landed on the floor. "Fantastic," she grumbled as she examined the now tattered condition of her cloak. "Now I am going to have to schedule a trip to Ponyville. Rarity will not be happy." She casually pulled an ice blade out of her neck as she cast the destroyed article of clothing aside. In doing so, her golden coat glistened in the light of the castle's chandeliers. Her silver mane and tail was cut short and wild with waves that covered one of her orange eyes. An anvil wrapped in golden vines was displayed proudly at the center of a ring of runes on her flanks along with the countless scars from past battles that dotted her coat. She barely reacted as she plucked the enchanted ice blades out of her body like weeds, the wounds rapidly closing behind them as she spat them into the crimson puddle beneath her. Alto stared at the mare in confusion, what few parts of his mind that still functioned unable to understand why the strange gold blur in his vision was still moving. "Well, I suppose this makes things a little easier," she sighed. "It's much easier for me to replace flesh and bone then clothing after all." "Why...moving?" Alto rasped. "Hm?" she asked, then smiled as she said, "You want to know why I'm not dead? Well, that's a bit of a long story, but let's just say that's something I'm not allowed to do. That's why they call me Gold Vine the Undying I suppose." Alto let out a savage snarl as he conjured yet another cluster of ice blades and fired them at her. Gold stared at the incoming barrage with a smile as she casually weaved around them. Seeing this, the colt let out a blast of sound at her that she cut away with her blade before attempting to close the gap between them. Just as she moved within striking range, he jumped back and fired another blast of sound. She screamed, her foreleg dislocated at the shoulder as she was thrown back by the attack. A soft crunch filled the room as her leg healed herself before she landed on all fours ten feet away. A second later, more ice blades flew at her only to be knocked aside by her wrist dagger. This isn't working, she thought, dodging yet another sound blast. Even if his fever is slowing him down, his instincts are too sharp. I need a better way to tranquilize him, and fast! A small splash by her hoof caught her attention and a small smile spread across her muzzle. A bit macabre, but it will do. Quickly, she poured as much of her magic as she could into her blade and jammed it into the puddle of blood. The blade glowed as what was left of the Sleeper Rune's magic transferred to the puddle. The blood then shifted and slithered like a snake as it traveled up the blade to her foreleg until the entire puddle was now coiled around the limb. The parts that covered her leg hardened and morphed into pitch-black armor while the blood that coated her weapon stayed in its liquid state as it hugged the blade. With a pleased smile she charged at her opponent yet again. Alto let out a howling roar as he fired another sound blast at the mare. The attack slammed harmlessly into the armor as she continued her three legged charge. The second she was in range, she swung out with her dagger. He jumped back, but just as the blade was about to miss, the blood on the blade sprang forth and added an extra four inches to the blade. A pained whine filled the air as the weapon scraped across Alto's barrel. There! Now I just need to wait for the Sleeper Rune to take effect. Her smile shifted into a confused frown as Alto continued his assault. Normally, when a pony is effected by the Sleeper Rune they start to get groggy before finally succumbing to it after a few minutes. Instead of instantly tiring, he seemed to grow more agitated by the second. She jumped back just in time to avoid getting a part of her muzzle bitten off. Wild winds filled the hall as the sick colt's fury seemed to grow. Gold channeled some of her magic into her blood armor and willed it into covering both of her forelegs. A second later a barrage of sound blasts soared towards her. She quickly fell to her haunches and punched the first incoming attack. More came and the mare battered them aside like flies, all the while waiting for the full effects of her rune to kick in. After three minutes of this, she started to grow concerned. What is going on? It should've taken effect by now. She squinted past the incoming attacks and whirling gales. What she saw surprised her. The colt's eyes were barely open as he continued his assault, seemingly fighting against the rune's power by sheer force of will. She marveled for a moment at the feat before refocusing on the task at hoof. Okay, this posses a problem. I might need to hit him more than once, but if I hit him too many times he might slip into a coma. No, I need to wait him out, but how much farther can he push himself before his fever kills him? Come on Gold, think! What can I do to get him to calm down enough to let the rune do its work?! No sooner had that thought crossed her mind did a voice familiar to everypony in the castle enter the fray. "Alto!" The raging colt froze, then shakily turned his head towards the source of the voice. Gold did he same and was greeted by the sight of a panting Princess Flurry Heart. All aggression faded out of the colt's features as he staggered towards her. A soft smile graced Flurry's lips as she met him half way. Gold stayed on guard as she watched, ready to jump into the fray should things head south. After all while she was immortal, Flurry wasn't quite there yet. "F-Flurry," Alto said, a heavy slur distorting his speech. "It's okay Alto," she smiled. "I'm right here. The tired colt nodded, then made the last two steps needed to get to her before the Sleeper Rune's power became too much for him to beat. As he fell, Flurry caught him in her forelegs and held him close. For some time they stayed like that, with Flurry gently stroking his back as he grew more and more limp in her embrace. A soft snoring broke the silence as Alto finally fell into a deep sleep in her forelegs. More hoofsteps filled the hall as two new ponies entered the former battlefield. "Is he okay?" Cadence asked, approaching the two hugging ponies. "Y-Yeah," Flurry smiled. "He's okay." "Not quite," Shining frowned, pointing at Alto's barrel. "He needs to get that looked at." Flurry looked were her father was pointing and gasped. A long gash bled from Alto's left side all the way down to his navel. The young Alicorn leveled a sharp glare at Gold. She shrugged helplessly at her and said, "It wasn't as if he gave me many options." Flurry sighed before she shifted Alto's position in her grip to get a better look at the wound. "Looks like a light scratch," Shining said, carefully examining the cut. "I should be able to take care of this." As he said that, his horn glowed and the wound slowly closed. As he worked, Cadence took note of how Flurry was acting around the colt. A wide grin spread across her muzzle as many possibilities started to form in her head at what this could mean. More importantly, she wondered what kind of grand foals would come out of this in a few years. Flurry noticed the look on her mom's face and glared at her in a way that only an embarrassed teen could manage. "Mom, no," she growled. "W-What?" Cadence asked. "I haven't done anything." Flurry gave her mother a deadpan then said, "I know that look. Its the "I wonder what that mare's wedding dress size is," look." "I-I have no idea what you're talking about," she stammered, avoiding eye contact as her cheeks reddened. "Right," Flurry sighed, staring down at her unconscious friend. "Whatever you say." *** The castle was a mass of activity again as ponies went to work trying to repair the damage from Alto's rampage. For the most part, that involved a lot of fire magic to remove all of he ice and snow in the east wing. Any other damage was relatively easy to fix thanks to contractors that Cadence and Shining requested direct from Ponyville. Meanwhile, the three High Royals stood in the one room in the east wing that managed above all odds to avoid destruction. At its heart slept the very source of the destruction just two hours ago. "Did he have any clothes in the cave?" Cadence asked, earning a groan from her daughter and husband. "No mom, he didn't," she grumbled behind her forehoof. "Caddy, please stop," Shining sighed. "The poor guy has enough to deal with. The last thing he needs is a crazy mother sticking her muzzle in his business." Both Alicorns gave him a raised brow at that. "Hey! I'm getting better about that!" he snapped. "Mostly." "Right," they said in unison, rolling their eyes. "Anyway," Cadence continued, staring at the sleeping colt. "I was just thinking that, with his complexion, he would look really good in a navy-blue suit. What do you think Flurry?" "I think that if I come in here in the middle of the night to find you measuring my coltfriend, I'm going to plan a coup." Both of her parents gave her questioning looks at that. "What?" she asked nervously. "Coltfriend?" Shining asked. "I-I meant friend!" she stammered, face turning beet red. Shining let out a dejected sigh while Cadence giggled. "Oh Maker take me now," Flurry groaned as she tried to hide her reddening face behind a forehoof. A bit of movement from the bed got everyponies attention as Alto turned towards them in his sleep. A bit of fear spiked through the group as his eyes opened a little towards them. "F-Flurry?" he asked, voice horse and dry. "I'm right here," she smiled, gently taking one of his hooves as she came to his side. He nodded, smiling weakly as his still hazy eyes scanned the room. He barely acknowledged Shining Armor, but that changed when his eyes landed on Cadence. Slowly, they widened with recognition before tears dotted his pillow and a sad smile formed on his muzzle. Then, just before his exhaustion could reclaim him, he said one word that left everypony speechless. "M-Mother." As Alto went limp, an entirely new worrying look grew on Cadence's face as she approached the sleeping colt's bedside and fell to her haunches. Flurry staggered back, reached for her stunned father's belt, and pulled his hip flask free from its holster. After taking a swig and hoofing it back to him, a single thought shot through her head that she unknowingly shared with her father. When did life get so bucking complicated?!