Chapter 8: Frozen Moments
Novell woke up to insanity.
The atmosphere from when he’d been sucked in had changed, if only a little. Instead of the constant, snowy nothingness that he’d been adrift in for the past...
How long have I been out?
The question fragmented as soon as he thought it, rattling off in the dark corners of his mind, the echo teasing him as it faded away completely. He struggled in vain to reassemble what he had just lost and was unable to concentrate enough to do so. Instead, the scene before him diverted his attention away from his efforts. Nothing but fire filled his vision, searing his retinas like he had been staring at the sun too long. His heart quivered in horror, recoiling from the sight before him, wishing he could close his lids to block out...everything.
Equestria was burning.
Flames had sprung up everywhere below him, his body far above it, watching it, feeling the heat even from this height. The smell of smoke clawed at his throat, causing his lungs to struggle heavily to pull in even the smallest bit of clear air. He was soaring through the ash choked air, pain and a great weariness slowly infecting his entire body. He knew if he kept flying much longer, his wings would just stop flapping and he’d spiral toward the greedy flames below.
The thought of rest, the need to find some kind of bastion to ward away his exhaustion became the foremost in his mind. He automatically sought out clouds upon which to land, even if only for a few moments, but when he glanced around, panic gripped him. None remained in the sky - just the awful, intangible smoke from the fires consuming the land. Cloudsdale! It can’t be destroyed!
He looked over toward where the magnificent city in the clouds would be, home to most of the pegasus in the lands under the Princesses’ rule. He hoped against hope it would be there, his eyes caught before they even arrived by a sight that was worse than anything else previous.
Canterlot Castle was in rubble, the proud and pristine towers crumbled to the valley floor. The ethereal gardens were filled with blackened stumps and twisted vines, a coat of pale ash covering every surface. Statues of great pony scholars and teachers were littered across the once verdant park like the pieces of a chess board flung away in anger. Colleges, schools, and libraries were smashed to pieces, books strewn about with a casual disregard for the knowledge within.
He noticed all of this in the space of a few seconds, a worm of absolute misery squirming in his gut at the loss of so much potential. Before he could even begin to reconcile the feelings, his vision zoomed impossibly to behold a monstrous, red demon. The beast was holding an orb of fire and standing in the remains of the Canterlot throne room, the stained glass cracked and warped by the heat.
Glowing, black eyes flickered with glee from the fire that danced along the monster’s body, the orbs staring at the two once regal alicorns bowing before him. The stone form of a collection of random body parts from a dozen different animals sat next to the broken throne, trapped in the midst of an expression of terror.
“How do you like the world you gave me, Discord?” A hissing voice called out from the inferno, more akin to the crackling of a flame than the icy whisper Novell recognized from the mountain prison. “Chaos abounds, just like we’ve always wanted! Equestria dies, thanks to your...distractions and, of course, my servant. These ponies will be put to the torch and after civilization crumbles into dust, l will remake the world as I see fit!”
The statue of Discord trembled, flakes falling off as the other essence of chaos reacted to the havoc surrounding it. The tail was the first to be released, twitching as it regained its life, twirling agitated in the air as the being trapped inside waited to be freed.
The massive beast reared up, standing on two widely different legs - one was hooved and furry not unlike a goat’s, though rippling muscle showed through beneath the fur, while the other was reminiscent of a bird of prey’s. A large, snakelike tail whipped in barely contained fury, fire running the length of it to meet at the inferno at the shoulders. Novell could see the similarities between the two as he stood next to the statue, but from the waist up, they were very different creatures.
Large arms ending in claws of obsidian gleamed balefully against the guttering light all around, gripping the statue by the neck. The look of panic on the stone face seemed to increase as more chips flew off, the tail squirming even quicker.
“Now, now, Discy, freeing yourself without permission is just rude, wouldn’t you say? Stay awhile and listen to the world burn. A gift from one half of chaos...to another.” Havoc chuckled madly as the tail resumed its petrified state.
Energy crackled through the air, the pieces of stone that had fallen reassembling themselves like a puzzle, burning from the alabaster marble to a glassy black stone. The beast threw the statue tumbling down the steps with its heavily muscled arms, stepping into the firelight after it to complete the dreadful sight.
Havoc’s torso reminded Novell of a Yeti’s, but instead of fur, there was a metallic substance that the pegasus realized wasn’t armor, but skin. The head drew his gaze the most, though, surrounded on either side by flames, a curled horn akin to a ram’s on one side and a two pronged horn that swept backwards from his head on the other. One large fang jutted out from his upper lip, so like the statue’s own. A sneering smile appeared on the darkly handsome face as Havoc stroked the small goatee on his chin.
“Novell,” the seductive voice whispered out softly, even though he could hear it from where he was in the sky. “Come down and say hello to our new subjects!”
The pegasus felt himself obey, his wings tucked to his side as he fell into a dive. A feral grin slid across his face, to his abject dismay. Before he could slam into the molten ground, his wings stretched outward, the full span of the blackened feathers larger than his own, white ones. Hooves covered in the same obsidian that coated his master’s claws slammed into the stone where the two alicorns lay. They shrunk away at Novell’s presence, the princesses staring up at him with fear and betrayal. The smile grew as he stepped toward the smaller of the two.
“Princess Luna,” the transformed pegasus felt his voice begin, almost as beguiling as the master’s. “Thank you for your gifts. They served this land well.”
“Thy gifts were for a creative, little pegasus. Not a monster like thou hath become,” she snapped back in her strangely accented voice, suddenly defiant.
“Oh? Such fire,” he responded, his lips moving against his will. “Perhaps you would enjoy a bit of my own?”
He felt a flash come from his horn - his horn!? - and fire shot out from his forehead, engulfing the area in flames. The rest was lost as Novell’s mind skipped, the scene rewinding itself until he once more flew above Equestria.
Long plumes of smoke polluted the sky, fields, trees, and towns falling beneath the fire. The urge to vomit hit him, but he could no more control this body than before. He was trapped, doomed to stare out across the land of flame and brimstone. Thankfully, his eyes didn’t glance toward Hoofington, but his imagination was more than willing to fill in the blanks.
Finally, his brain simply couldn’t process it all and shut down, blissfully succumbing to the darkness. It chilled his soul, as if he were frozen solid - he couldn’t remember ever feeling in his real body.
This is my real body...isn’t it?
The horror returned tenfold as he realized he didn’t know if it was or not.
*****
A second ticked by as he existed in the nothingness, thoughts forming and slipping away with frustrating regularity. He tried to flap his wings, to move his hooves, even wiggle his nose. Nothing happened.
Slowly, a blue dot pierced the inky infinity, a spot of color in the nothingness. He was drawn toward it, his mind already beginning to spin into sensible patterns. With excruciating sluggishness, the dot grew until it replaced the emptiness he had been floating in. Sensations returned as he fell into the field of bright blue energy.
First came touch, the chill of ice surrounding him, his coat registering the change in temperature with nary a twitch. An intermittent breeze blew across his back, disturbing the fur and his wings enough to irritate them. Aches returned in most of his abused muscles, but Novell savored every ounce of it as a welcome respite from his previous condition. Just the ability to move was a blessing.
Smell was the next as he drew in a shuddering breath - the fresh sourness of grass filling his nostrils. His stomach rumbled as he imagined the taste, his tongue running over his parched mouth to look for any hint of moisture. Bizarrely, his imagination went straight to Miss Hops’ orange juice, the citrus tangy across his taste-buds. Unfortunately, that just made him thirstier.
The sound of a flickering flame caused his ears to twitch toward the source, his body wearily standing up despite the complaints from many of his muscles. He shrugged it off and winced as he gathered himself for the first step, his hoofsteps echoing in what he imagined was an enclosed space. Heavy breathing fell into the same rhythm of the wind across his back as his ears recovered completely, the thought of something big next to him not doing anything to increase his comfort level.
Sight was the last of his senses to return - nothing but a glaring whiteness viewed through blurry eyes greeted his rebooting brain. He moved forward another step, his hoof clattering into something not ice. His head fell as he glanced down, his recovering eyes picking out green in the midst of the colorless world. Again his stomach rumbled as he quickly sank to his knees, pulling the grass into his mouth with an almost reverential bliss, a hollow pit of fear forming in his heart despite the gift.
Where did this come from? Did Pensive save me?
The crackling came again, his ears twitching toward the sound and causing him to look up from his ravenous hunger. He stopped chewing as he beheld the thing in front of him. It was sitting on the throne he’d seen earlier that day, staring at him. Or, at least he thought it was earlier that day. He wasn’t really sure how to tell time in the mountain.
A glance to his right confirmed his suspicion that he was in the same room, the Professor still frozen in a block of ice. Then that means...
“So, you’re awake,” the voice observed aloud, no longer wheedling as it had been coming from the wisp. He glanced back at the Draconequus on the throne, the wild ménage of animal pieces merged together to create a fearsome being. There was a certain, sinister handsomeness to the beasts’ jaw, its eyes glinting with a hard earned intelligence at odds with the brutish features. The metal that served as Havoc’s torso gleamed as if covered in a thin sheen of frost while his tail gently twitched in his lap, encased at the tip by solid ice. “I wonder, pony, what you saw.”
“Can’t you just read my thoughts and find out?” Novell replied bitterly around a mouthful of grass. After a few seconds of chewing, his brain swiftly fell back into normality as he realized what he had said. He blanched, filled with dismay at his disrespect to something that could snap his neck as easily as snapping a twig.
“I could, yes. Would you prefer that?” the Draconequus asked, looking at him with those cold, calculating eyes as a small smile graced its face.
Novell shuddered involuntarily, wondering what game the essence of Chaos was playing. “No.”
“Ah, progress. You’re being honest with me. How refreshing to hear the ring of truth behind your words. I had thought that lying to me would become something of a habit for you,” the bipedal monster replied amiably, shifting its hooved and clawed legs against the ice to a more comfortable position. “What do you want, little pegasus?”
“What do I want?” Novell parroted, taken aback by the sudden turn in the conversation. Even in his befuddled state, though, an answer sprang into his mind. “I want you to let me and my friends go.”
“True,” Havoc replied with a slight chuckle that sent a chill down the pegasus’ spine. “But not the want that weighs most heavily on your mind. Besides, my errant thought already escaped with two of my prisoners. I benevolently let them go, as another example of my good faith with you, my little pony. Is that not enough freedom before you’ve even agreed to my deal? Before that, however, I see you still have questions - tell me, what is on your mind?”
“Where was I? What was that...nightmare?” he blurted out before he could think his response through. He mentally kicked himself for mentioning it, especially when it felt more real than any dream he had ever experienced.
“A nightmare, you say?” Havoc answered irritatingly before steepling his glistening blue claws, the black eyes shining with barely contained glee. “I only brought you here, where you began to shudder and scream. As interesting as your torment sounded, I had nothing to do with it. Now I’ll ask again. What did you see?”
“I saw you trapped here, forever,” Novell lied quickly, trying to keep the image of Equestria burning out of his mind.
Havoc smiled sadly, snapping his claws together with a clack. “A lie. But one I’ll let slide for now. Very well then, about our deal? Have you come to a decision? Think carefully before you refuse me. Being locked in ice for eternity is extremely...unpleasant.”
The edge of simmering anger tinged the last part, but the frozen facsimile of the demon in Novell’s nightmare covered it well behind a feral grin. Something welled up inside him, a faint feeling at the back of his mind that he needed to keep Havoc talking. He glanced over at the Professor, wondering if perhaps the unicorn was sending him a telepathic prod of some kind.
“I need information,” he began slowly, another plan slowly building in his mind. Hopefully this one will work, he thought dryly. “On this prison, I mean. If you want me to find a way out, I need to know who built it and how it was created.”
Havoc stared at him for a few moments, unblinking, his gaze boring into the pegasus’ eyes. Novell glanced to the side, unable to hold that ageless stare as sweat began beading on his brow. He wondered if he had gone too far, too fast. The thought of being imprisoned in ice brought a lump to his throat - being closed in on all sides terrified him.
Thankfully, the smooth voice of his captor dispelled that notion.
“Very well. As those earth pony twins told you before they were stolen away, I was imprisoned by my ‘brother’, Discord. He was a Draconequus, similar to myself - a beast of many united into one. We ruled Equestria and your kind from shortly after its founding...until the alicorns arrived, at least. He was intelligent - deviously so - but I had no cause to distrust him, as he usually left me to my own devices,” a hint of amusement crept into his voice as he said the last, swallowed by the neutrality once more.
“I was tricked into coming to this prison, one he built without my knowledge. I saw nothing amiss, but I was naive, then. You cannot trust a soul in this world, I’ve come to find,” Havoc stared pointedly at the pegasus as the beasts’ tail thrashed with irritation for a moment. “I raged against these walls to no avail and in doing so have found no weakness that I can exploit. Discord planned well, for between the two of us, I was physically the stronger. He knew I would find my way out if he created this place by such mundane means, and so he cast a spell on the entrance.”
“What kind of spell?” Novell asked, though he thought he already knew the answer. Havoc’s next words confirmed it.
“One to take away most of my powers,” the beast growled, his eyes lighting up for a few seconds in anger as steam appeared above his shoulders. “And so he was able to keep me here, bereft of all but the slightest bits of my strength. It has not returned in all the time I have stewed here, so my powers must have been drawn-,” Havoc paused a moment before continuing. “But this has no bearing on our conversation. Is what I have specified enough for you to find the way out?”
“Almost,” the pegasus returned, filing away the Draconequus’ slip of the tongue. Obviously, Havoc wasn’t as smart as he thought, even if he could read minds. Another useful tidbit of information. “I just need some help to figure it out. The Professor knows all about magical prisons.”
Novell put on a big, fake smile for the beast, hoping there was enough truth to the statement that there would be no suspicion. Havoc stared at him, raising an eyebrow slowly as a bead of sweat dripped down the pegasus’ face. They sat there, looking at each other for several, very agonizing moments. He continued smiling cheesily, not sure if he should stop or keep the expression on his face.
Finally, Havoc snorted, though whether it was in amusement or agreement, Novell couldn’t tell. He let the grin drop from his face, more beads of sweat appearing as he glanced around the suddenly heated room. A cracking sound caused his ears to twitch, his head automatically swinging in the direction of the noise, thoughts of doom tolling in his mind.
“- going on? Why are you- wait, this isn’t the mountainside,” the voice sent a thrill of triumph through the pegasus’ chest, a genuine smile breaking out on his face. “Novell? What are you doi- why am I frozen? Wait, is that an Afrit? Why are you talking to an Afrit? Why didn’t you let me talk to it first? I’m the Professor here, after all, not the assistant!”
This one is every bit as annoying in pony, came the voice in his mind, exasperated for once. Ask your questions, pegasus, before I decide to silence him for good.
“He’s not an Afrit, Professor. He’s a Dragonini- Dracoquizno-,” Novell stumbled over the word, shaking his head irritatingly. “That’s not the point. I need you to tell me everything you know about magical prisons.”
The Professor furrowed his brows. “Why would I know anything about magical prisons? That’s not my field of study.”
“But you knew about the Yeti magic prison thing!”
“Oh, well, yes, but that’s only because I was researching the creature that makes the traps. You pick up some things-.”
Novell felt like exploding right then, but he held it in with effort and took a deep breath before interrupting. “Can you teleport us out of here?” He winced as he heard Havoc snort behind him at that.
“Hmm,” the Professor replied, looking down at the rest of his frozen body. “Nope! This ice is like the Yeti’s magic trap, coincidentally. Can’t do anything about it!”
A smile ghosted across his face as he remembered thinking the same thing about his friend’s icy prison earlier. It quickly fell as he wracked his brain for what to do. He couldn’t stall much longer and he didn’t see anything that coul-. No, no, stop looking, he admonished himself, not trusting that he would actually find the way out.
“Professor, I need you to keep Havoc busy,” he whispered, casually looking away as if examining the walls. One particular point drew his interest, near the ceiling, causing his eyes to linger there for longer than he would want. Thankfully, Professor Search proved to be an able distraction.
“Havoc? Is that the Afrit’s name?”
“He’s not an Afr-. Yes, sure. That’s his name. Just keep him talking!”
The pegasus forced his eyes away with a determined effort from that little spot in the ceiling. There was a prickling sensation in his shoulder blades, right where his wings met his body. He bit his lip to avoid opening his wings to investigate, bringing his hoof up to examine it in confusion. If there was ever a time not to submit to his curiosity, that time was now.
He glanced back at the ceiling anyway.
“Excuse me, Mr. Havoc. How are you? I must ask, what kind of an Afrit isn’t made of ice? Though I can see you’re very nearly covered in it, I do not see evidence of the factors I read about in the books.”
“I’m a Draconequus, pony. Perhaps you’ve heard of Discord? The one who very nearly took over Equestria again but didn’t even bother to check on his dear ‘brother’?” Havoc’s voice rose several octaves until the steam issuing from his back clouded the frozen throne. “So many years and he didn’t even have the nerve to say hello? What kind of brother is that? I mean, honestly, he nearly stomps the Elements of Harmony and then doesn’t even try to taunt me in the process! It’s not like he can’t be in several places at once. I’m glad he’s back in his stone prison. Serves him right for what he did to me!”
Novell’s attention broke from the ceiling at that, his ears twitching with curiosity of a different kind. The Elements of Harmony? He inwardly fished for information on them, knowing he’d either read or heard about them somewhere. It had something to do with Princess Celestia...
“Discord? No, no, I’m afraid I have no idea who that is. Is he an Afrit, too, by any chance? Wait, I do seem to recall something happening in Ponyville!” Havoc’s face brightened at those words. “Yes, yes, it was horrible, I remember. Ponies were all in such an uproar, you could hear it from Canterlot! I say, Parasprite infestations are not that bad. One must simply know how to control them! Music, of course, but only from a full band!”
“Parasprites?” the Draconequus growled, suddenly lacking the slight smile he had been wearing.
“Indeed! You would not believe the chaos those tiny things can create given even the most minute amount of food. Of course if they keep eating, food won’t be the only thing they’ll devour. One almost tried to eat my glasses when I unleashed them in Canterlot! The nerve!”
“Parasprites?” Havoc repeated as his face grew darker and the steam increased. “Of all the troubles your puny land has experienced, Parasprites are utmost on your mind?! Discord almost defeated your princesses’ champions and Parasprites are the first thing you think of?! If I had my powers right now, I would turn you into a Parasprite!”
“Oh, my. That sounds regrettable. I admit, I’m not a fan of being imprisoned in other bodies,” the Professor paused and coughed, glancing down at his legs, “but I seem to have a habit of getting myself into traps and magical transformations on an alarmingly regular basis. You know, Novell here is quite adept at finding ways out of things like this. Though he did get trapped that one time with the Yeti...hmm, but that’s unimportant. At any rate, where was I? Ah, yes, are you allergic to oatmeal by any chance?”
“What could oatmeal possibly have to do with anything? That’s it, you’re going back into the ice, pony!” Havoc exploded and bared his one huge fang, heating up again as he leaped from his throne.
Several things happened at once at those words, all which came as a complete surprise to everpony present. Novell’s jaw dropped as a blue hoof and leg poked out of the Professor’s forehead, close to the horn. After a certain amount of wiggling, a head poked through, revealing Pensive’s concentrated countenance and another foreleg. Without another word, the rest of the strange unicorn’s body tumbled out of the Professor’s head to land unceremoniously next to Novell.
At the same time, one of the stalactites above the throne grumbled and cracked due to the heavy amount of steam and heat coming off of Havoc. It fell, slamming into the frozen throne and smashing it to shards that flew every which way. The Draconequus roared in pain at that, his eyes veritably lighting up with the power of his anger. Flames sprang into existence, causing the steam to increase and fill the entire room.
During all of this commotion and surprise, Novell felt his heart lurch and his wings snap open. Now was the exact moment he needed to leap into the air - the decision coursed through him like he’d been inside a stricken bell, his entire body vibrating. His heart hammered in his chest as he took flight for the first time since saving the Professor, squinting his eyes against the suddenly heated room. If he didn’t make a vent right now, they’d all be boiled alive.
Time seemed to stop to Novell as he realized what he was about to do, his mind suddenly as clear as a freshwater spring. The clouds that had been unnoticed until that moment evaporated, the subtle control on his mind weakened both by Havoc’s distracted pain and Pensive’s aura of clear thought.
His wings fell through another stroke with excruciating slowness, his left foreleg raised and ready to press into the indention in the ceiling - one shaped suspiciously like a hoofprint. There were only seconds before he reached the objective, but that was plenty of time to decide in his time-altered state.
If he touched the print, he would save his friends from the rage of the Dragonequus’ flame, opening a vent for the steam to escape through. Novell could fly out with it and Pensive could take the Professor with him and everypony would be safe.
But at the same time, the opening would be exactly what Havoc had been wanting him to create. Another step forward to the nightmare Novell had experienced.
Save your friends, pegasus, a sickeningly sweet voice wheedled, or fall with them.
Another beat of his wings and another second closer. Novell’s mouth dried out as he fought against the voice, his wings pausing in their ascent. He couldn’t let them die, not the Professor and certainly not Pensive, who had only just begun life as a real pony. That would just be too cruel, cutting the unicorn’s freedom off only hours after it had started. But if I save them, everypony else will...
Equestria would burn.
Or his friends would die.
And what about you, pegasus? Don’t you want to know what you’re meant to do before succumbing to the flame? Havoc’s voice taunted. Do you want to die without the knowledge of what you’re meant to be?
Novell’s mind clicked to a stop at that as his wings traveled upward to deliver one last downdraft to bring him to the opening. It wasn’t fair. Why did he have to die when he was so close to finding his talent?
Anger coursed through him, a counterpart to Havoc’s own as the heat increased tenfold around him. He felt his skin start to sweat as the humidity rose to uncomfortable levels, hearing the pained yells of his friends below. They didn’t deserve to burn. He didn’t deserve to burn just for something he saw in a dream. Havoc doesn’t even have any powers! What can he do?
Everything sped up to normal as a Novell completed his last flap, slamming his hoof forward into the ice with enough force to jar his whole body. He needed to find out who he was!
The whole world around him exploded as the pressure of the steam in an enclosed space blew outward with the wall of rock and ice. Novell’s body shot upward like a cork on the high pressured stream, a tremendous hissing sound accompanying him as the heat met the frigid mountain air.
He slammed headfirst through a cloud, tearing it to shreds as he passed. It felt like his stomach was still back in the chamber as his body careened into another cloud, slowing his ascent just enough to reach the arc’s peak. Gravity took hold of him as he hung in mid air for a few seconds, the steam behind him dispersing. Novell felt a rush of air stream behind his body like a speeding snowball, freezing his wings for a second before he could start flapping it away.
Thank you, Novell, the voice exalted with an evil laugh that resounded through his mind. You’ve played your part perfectly! You ponies are just so easy to manipulate! Who knew free will was a factor in opening my prison? Oh, Discord, you sly little snake! No wonder my previous attempts failed so miserably.
“What about our deal?” the pegasus yelled into the night, his simmering anger still present. He flapped through a few beats before the voice returned, fainter than before.
What about it? Havoc whispered sinisterly, a shadow detaching itself from the mountain across from him. It was the Draconequus, one batlike wing and the other feathered like Novell’s own. The moonlight from the crescent above them gleamed against his fang as the smile widened with each beat of those ghastly wings.
Novell sucked in a surprised breath, suddenly terrified, but he managed to stammer his question out. “M-my special t-talent. Wh-what is it? What am I supposed to do?”
The beast drew closer, no longer speaking in his telepathic format, the powerful rush of air from each downstroke keeping the large body aloft enough to shift the winds around the pegasus. “Ah, ah, ah. I never said when I would tell you, my little pony.”
“Bu-but-!”
“Bu-bu-but!” Havoc imitated, cackling insanely and breathing in a deep breath. “Ah, you ponies amuse me. No wonder Discord locked me away to continue his fun! To be free again...maybe I’ll even keep a few of you around as pets. How would you like to be my servant, Novell? You could be as powerful as your silly regal duo! Imagine, never being laughed at or cursed again, controlling ponies with an iron hoof!”
The beast ran a claw along Novell’s jaw, cradling his chin between two of the sharp nails as he tried to shy away. “To have everything you ever want, to see all the things that can be seen, and to know it is all at the wave of a hoof. I’ll even tell you now what you’re meant to do if you join me. Come now, does this not tempt you?”
Yes, Novell wanted to say, more than anything I have ever wanted. The key to the mystery of his entire existence was in the draconequus’ claws, dangling there. All he had to do was say yes, to give in again. It wouldn’t be so bad, having all that power, would it? He could even make it so his friends could live beneath him, slaves, but at least alive. Was freedom such a big price to pay for life?
The key shifted into a chain as he watched, so similar to the one around the colt’s hindleg when he touched Pensive’s mind. It called to him, offering him purpose and promising little more than a cage. The cage was gilded, surely, with almost unlimited power, but at the cost of his free will and that of his friends’.
Friends.
He had lost a friend to this monster, already. Whisper, her eyes searching his as she fell, wrapped in magical chains. The bleached shell of her pet as Swirley realized his owner and he were done. Helplessness as he was trapped in a field of blue energy, unable to even twitch in the pegasus’ direction.
Professor Search trapped in a pillar of ice, suspended in the animation that he embodied, forever doomed to a frozen existence. The imprisonment was counter to everything the unicorn was, fiercely adventurous and boisterous, always learning, always teaching. Stagnation did not suit the unicorn in the slightest.
Could he really make such a decision for them? Friendship was new to Novell, who had always been cursed and pitied by others. His friends accepted him without reservation, without an attempt to change who he was. Help was offered freely because they cared for him, regardless of what he did or did not have.
But even so, the pegasus still felt himself drawn to the power, the ability to create anything. Magic. Control. Secrets. The possibilities were far greater with access to it. To be a god... Novell felt himself breathe heavier in excitement, drawn to it. All it took was one little word. Everything else in his mind fell away to his imagination. He opened his mouth just as the decision was taken away from him.
“Think about it,” Havoc interrupted his thoughts with a dark chuckle as the moment passed. “Better to let you stew on it. Cya later, pegasus. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again real soon.”
With a jaunty wave, the monster flew away into the night, disappearing from sight seconds later. Novell stared at the spot for several minutes, thinking and feeling a steady pull from the draconequus’ direction. After another two beats of his wings, the longing faded, replaced by nothingness. He had released an essence of chaos into Equestria, but he just felt numb to everything, frozen in the moment.
Time ticked by as the mountains below him cleared of all their clouds, calm and peaceful despite what had transpired. The stars above twinkled in the darkness, shining down with all their splendor. But the moon drew Novell’s attention the most, the silver crescent vanishing into darkness as if dipped in blackness. A new moon, his mind whispered.
But was it for a new world or a part of the cycle for the one he had now?