Rise of the Elements Part I: The Lost Element

by Radiant Dawn


Cold Rage

Chapter 10: Cold Rage

I woke up to an empty bed, but I was rested all the same, so I rolled over onto my stomach and said, "Ah…what a good dream." to myself.

I stepped into the washroom to clean myself up a bit, and frowned at my mane. I was so used to not really doing anything with my hair back on Earth that I realized I hadn't brushed my mane once since I'd been here. It was frizzy with strands going this way and that, so I grabbed a brush and sighed…this was going to suck. I proceeded to brush out my mane, getting all the tangles out and all the strands flowing the same way. My eyes would tear up whenever I hit a knot. 'Dammit…how do women do this without crying every time? What a pain…'

After brushing out my mane and doing the same to my tail, I grabbed a short-bristled brush and brushed out my coat until it shined like it did when I first came to Equestria. I stepped out of the washroom and descended the stairs, catching the attention of Twilight and Luna, who were eating a bit of breakfast at the table.

Luna smiled at me. "Well good morning, Steel. You look very…dashing, as Rarity would say it."

I chuckled. "Nah, I just figured I need to start taking some pride in my appearance. You girls don't deserve to be seen with a stallion that looks like he's homeless. The mane was a pain…literally."

Twilight giggled with a smirk. "Now you see what we go through to look nice for you. I hope you appreciate our work."

I nodded as I sat down and raised my hooves to the air. "I do now, my eyes have been opened. I see the light!" My antics caused both the mares to laugh, and I couldn’t help but revel in the sound of their laughter.

We quickly finished a breakfast of eggs, hash, and hay (which much to my surprise was pretty good) and cleaned up the kitchen. Luna gave each of us a kiss on the cheek (yes, Twilight too) and stated that she needed to get back to the palace, as she had duties to attend to and missed her sister. We hugged her and said our goodbyes, with a few tears in our eyes.

Luna  simply gazed at both of us with a smile. "I shall miss you both, but I will keep in touch with letters and I will make sure to come back to you when I can. I love you both and we will be together again soon, I Pinkie promise." We hugged her again and she trotted out the door.

This left just Twilight and I in a now strangely quiet room. It seemed less like home without Luna there, and I could tell Twilight felt the same way.

Dash walked in the library and looked over at us, taking notice of our somber expressions.

The pegasus frowned a bit and questioned, "Luna had to go back, didn't she?" Twi and I nodded and Dash closed her eyes and sighed. Then, she surprised us both with a confident smile. "Don't worry you two, she'll be back before we know it." She came over and hugged both me and Twilight, and this made me feel a little better. "I promise, it's going to be okay. It's not like we're never going to see her again…she's like family."

I tilted my head in confusion at first, but quickly realized Dash was right. It took me a moment to realize just how close we all were with Luna. Family…that felt like the right word. Twilight looked at me and smiled, and I realized we had become a family right before my eyes, and I hadn't even noticed. It just felt so natural. It scared me for a moment at just how easy it was going, but seeing Dashie's smiling face made my worries melt away.

Dash had left again to pick up her duties on the weather team, as she had been slacking a bit. I felt kinda bad until she told me it was worth it. Twilight also had work to do, as she had been shirking her studies, so I gave her a kiss before I left, leaving her and Spike to work.

I decided to take a walk in the park to clear my mind and found myself in a main square with a fountain and benches. For a moment I simply took in the scenery, but then I saw Vinyl sitting on a bench next to a familiar mint-green unicorn. I chortled at the way she was sitting. 'Guess the fan fictions were right.'

I trotted over to the duo with a smile. "Hey Vinyl! How ya been, girl?"

The DJ looked over at me and smiled before she jumped off the bench tackled me to the ground, hugging me. "Man Steel, it's been a long time. Where have ya been?"

I chuckled and smiled, returning the hug. "Oh you know, here and there. How's the music going?"

The white unicorn grinned and winked at me. "It's going great. Dark came by the other day and showed me how to make that dubstep music you showed me. I played it for the first time at one of my shows last night…and the crowd went nuts. Thanks for that, Steel."

She stepped off of me and I stood up with a grin as well. "No prob, Vinyl. Always here to help a fellow musician."

I then looked over at the new unicorn, realizing I hadn't even introduced myself. Vinyl noticed too and took the lead. "Oh I'm sorry, Lyra this is Steelbreaker. He's a friend of mine. Steelbreaker, this is Lyra Heartstrings. We've been friends for I don't even know how long." I looked at Lyra and smiled at which point she started blushing profusely. 'So cute…'

I approached her and held out a hoof. "It's nice to meet you Lyra."

The unicorn stared at me with a dreamy expression for a moment, but must've realized what she was doing and shook her head, regaining her composure. She grabbed my hoof in hers and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, Steelbreaker. Vinyl has told me a lot about you. I was wondering when I was going to meet you."

She started staring again with that dreamy expression, and I grinned. "Lyra you might want to blink once in awhile so your eyes won't dry out."

The mare blushed and looked away, clearing her throat. "Y-yeah, sorry."

I felt Vinyl pop up in my head and she sent, “She totally digs you, Steel.” I grinned at Vinyl and nodded.


Vinyl had to leave to set up her show for tonight, and as expected Lyra chose to stay with me in the park. I wished Vinyl good luck and she left, leaving me and the little unicorn sitting on the bench. I was slumped down in the bench, sitting much the same as Lyra was, and she noticed.

She tilted her head at me curiously. "You sit like that too? Wow…I thought I was the only one.

I chuckled. "Well Lyra, it felt better with my old body…" My hoof shot up to my mouth in realization of what I’d let slip, and I started mentally berating myself. 'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…'

The mare at my side looked at me with utter confusion, and a little suspicion. "What do you mean your ‘old body'?"

I sighed in defeat, as I didn’t want to lie to her for some reason. "Alright I can tell you because I already have the feeling you're going to be a good friend to me. You have to swear that you won't tell anypony else though. This is a super-duper-mega secret, you got it?" She nodded and I quickly looked around to be sure we weren’t being watched, then I continued with, "Okay…I'm not from this world."

She stared at me for a second before bursting out laughing. "Haha, very funny Steel…" She stopped laughing however when she noticed that I was staring at her, straight-faced. She grew uneasy. "Steel…you're scaring me a little bit. This joke isn't funny anymore."

I sighed in annoyance. "I kinda figured you wouldn't believe me, so I'll just show you." I leaned over and touched my horn to her forehead, focusing on passing on the memory of my first meeting with Luna, back on Earth. After the transfer, Lyra just sat there with her mouth hanging open.

I must have been five minutes before she spoke, "W-wow…you weren't joking."

I shook my head. "No, I wasn't. You believe me now?"

She nodded slowly before making eye contact and asking, "How is this possible though? I mean, I've always hoped Terra wasn't the only world out there, but I never really thought about it beyond that."

I laughed. "Well I may be an alicorn now, but you're sitting with a genuine alien."

She hopped off the bench and started bouncing around in excitement. "This is so COOL! I never thought in a million years…"

At her outburst, I grabbed the unicorn with magic and sat her down on the bench. "The whole reason I told you to keep it a secret was to not cause a scene. Well, you're causing one. I know you're excited, but please control yourself in public." She looked crestfallen for a moment before smiling at me and nodding in agreement.


Lyra and I walked around the park for quite some time before settling beneath a tree. I propped myself up against it and Lyra sat next to me. For a moment the two of us sat in silence before I said, "So Lyra, I just realized that I don't really know that much about you. What's your story?"

The mare smiled. "Well, I've lived in Ponyville most of my life. I moved here when I was just a filly with my mother...she was a doctor at the hospital."

I realized she said "was", and I found myself strangely curious. "'Was'? What does she do now?" She lost her smile and looked down at the ground. "Oh...I'm sorry Lyra. I had no idea."

The small unicorn closed her eyes and sighed. "It's okay, you didn't know. Not many ponies do. Just Bon Bon and Vinyl really, that's about it. And before you ask no, Bon Bon and I aren't together."

I chuckled. "Not that I was going to ask, but okay."

She furrowed her brow and then sighed. "I'm sorry Steel. I was teased a lot in school for being a filly-fooler and I guess it still bothers me. Most ponies in Ponyville don't really care, but once in awhile there's one pony or another that wants to make a big deal about it when they see us in public. Bon Bon and I are just good friends, nothing more. Besides, she doesn't 'swing' that way."
The mare looked up at me and I smiled warmly. "Don't worry Lyra, I don't judge one way or the other, it's not my place to do so. I also don't really have a problem with said lifestyle...you love who you love." I chuckled. "It's kinda funny, Vinyl got it in her head that you liked me that way."

She was silent for a moment before responding, "Well actually..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, I'm flattered to have caught the eye of such a pretty and cool mare."

She blushed, but shook her head. "C'mon Steel, I'm not pretty. Now Vinyl is pretty. I'm just...plain."

'Great, another Fluttershy...' "I don't give compliments just to give them, Lyra. If I say you're pretty, you're pretty. Accept the compliment." I said sternly.

Lyra blushed again, but rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well when you put it that way, I guess I have no choice."

I nudged her with a grin of my own. "There, was that so hard?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Well Steel, it's been fun but I have to get going. Bon Bon will be expecting me at home, we're going out tonight to Vinyl's club. Will I see you again?"

I nodded. "You will. I'm staying at Twilight's place though, so you can drop by if you're in the neighborhood."

The mint-green unicorn nodded before scampering off. "Alright Steel, I'll see ya!"


By now it must have been a little after 17:00, as the sun was just starting to touch the horizon, so I headed home with a smile on my face. I couldn't deny that I liked Lyra, but it wouldn't be fair to be more than a friend to her without my girls being okay with it. I may have settled into the idea of multiple marefriends, but I still had my morals. I took my time getting home to find a note on the door written in handwriting I didn't recognize. It simply said, "Northern Cliffs, 18:00. Come alone." For some reason this awakened a nameless fear in my heart, and I burst through the front door to find my brother sitting on the couch with Spike, my mother and sister standing next to the kitchen with sad faces. Spike was crying, and I felt horror well up inside me.

"Where is she?" I asked with panic in my voice.

My brother looked up and said, "We don't know, she was gone when I got home."

I really started panicking now. "When was the last time anyone saw her?"

My brother shrugged. "I haven't seen her since this morning."

I looked at the clock...17:43.

I left the library and took to the skies, flying faster than I ever have. I flew to where I thought these Northern Cliffs were, and landed in a clearing next to a cliff face. I looked around before I saw them - an entire squad of twelve armored gryphons. I saw Twilight being held by the one in front with some sort of weird object on her horn, and her eyes widened when she saw me. Twilight started struggling and the beast in front slapped her, making her stop.

I flinched and ground my teeth in anger, roaring, "What do you want?"

The gryphon in front smiled. "Well if I was briefed correctly, you have my captain locked in the Canterlot dungeons. We propose a trade...our captain for this unicorn. Agree and everyone walks away happy. Disagree..." He then dug a claw into Twilight's side and drew a long cut from her shoulder to her cutie mark, causing Twilight to scream in pain through her gag.

I growled but figured it best to not argue, so I nodded. "Fine. Hold on." I then quickly made contact with Celestia. “Celestia, it's Steel. We have a situation at the Northern Cliffs.”

The urgency in my mental voice must have been heard, because I felt her connect with my eyes and heard her gasp. “Is that Twilight? This is TREASON! They will pay for this...”

“Later princess. They want those gryphons in the dungeon or they're going to torture her...possibly kill her.”

I heard Celestia gasp again. “Okay Steel, I'll prepare transport. Just wait, we'll be there within an hour. Please distract them somehow!”

I glared at the gryphon that held Twilight. "Princess Celestia herself states transport is being arranged for your comrades." The gryphon laughed. "Do you think me a fool? I wasn't hatched yesterday you know. I warned you..." With that, he grasped Twilight's foreleg and punched her in the chest hard. I heard a resounding *CRACK*, and Twilight fell to the ground, breathing with much labor, tears flowing from her eyes.

With that sound, something in me snapped. I felt my armor cover my body, but something was different...I began to feel the sensation of ice underneath my skin, spreading quickly...

Perspective change - Twilight

Pain...so much pain.

Can't breathe.

I'm going to die...this is it.

I started to cry, already missing my friends. I just wanted to go home...why did this have to happen? Why? I closed my eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Steel. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger...'

I was ready to resign myself to my fate, so I opened my eyes to look at Steel one more timel...and was suddenly afraid again. Something was happening to him. I didn't know what but I could feel the magic in the air as It made my horn tingle. His armor was covering him, but I could feel magic flowing into him from the surrounding air. I felt something in the air...something that reminded me of Luna when she was Nightmare Moon...

Hatred...

I saw dark clouds forming overhead, casting the bright day into blackness. Steel was clenching his teeth so tight I thought they were going to crack, and he was snorting like a mad bull. I felt the air around me suddenly get very cold, and I could see my breath through the rag that had been stuffed in my mouth. Steel began to be covered in some sort of darkness, as if the light from around him was just ceasing to exist...it was like the air itself became black. His body continued to drink it in and I saw him start to grow taller, larger, and more menacing until the energy surrounding him obscured my view and all I saw was a dark cloud of crackling energy.

The cloud started to take shape, and it only scared me more.

It looked like Steel, but with a flowing white mane and tail that looked like ice crystals, and armor as blue as the ocean. Its fur was no longer silver, but instead a pale blue to match the armor, and its cutie mark was a sword that looked like it was made of ice. The pony then opened its eyes of pale blue and smiled at the gryphon that had hit me.

"Hello there. I heard from a friend that you enjoy torturing helpless ponies. Is that right?" It said, the voice having the sound of howling winds accompanying it.

The gryphon growled, "Who are you?"

The pony laughed. "I have no name, but I suppose you'll need a name to remember me by in the afterlife. You may call me Frostrender."

The gryphon laughed. "What a foolish name. I'll be sure and inscribe it on your headstone." The leader gryphon lunged at the tall pony, but Frostrender simply stood there with a smile on his face. When the gryphon was inches away, Frostrender blinked...and the gryphon froze solid, falling to the ground.

Frostrender simply looked down at the frozen body, a wide grin on his face. "Tsk tsk...it's too bad. You would have made a nice captain one day, I'm sure." With that, he stomped on the frozen gryphon, shattering it into pieces. The other gryphons screeched in alarm and started to run away. "Oh no, we're not finished yet, young ones." A freezing gale blew the gryphons back to the ground in front of us, and as they started to scramble to get up Frostrender blinked again, and their four limbs were frozen to the earth. The pony finally looked down at me. "Hello Twilight Sparkle, will you be alright? Your Steelbreaker is concerned."

The mention of Steel's name as if he were here gave me comfort for some reason, and I nodded. "I think I have a few broken ribs, but if I get to the hospital I'll be okay I think."

Frostrender smiled. "We are relieved. We apologize you had to see this, but they committed the crime of violence against a loved one. Do not worry, no others need die here today. Your princesses will want words with this bunch."


Perspective change - Princess Celestia

'By the gods, please be okay Twilight and Steel...please...don't die.'

I had lost control as soon as the carriage doors had closed when we left Canterlot, and I found myself sobbing uncontrollably. I could not bear the loss of Twilight...she was as a daughter to me. It vexed me to no end that this trade would be giving the gryphons the power to attack my student and her friends again, but Twilight’s immediate safety was far more important. As we flew near the cliffs, I looked out the window of the carriage to see a large swirling cloud, creating a blizzard on the ground.

'Hmm...that is not natural weather. Have the weather team been shirking their duties?'

I tapped Luna to get her attention and pointed towards the disturbance. "Sister, does that storm look normal?"

She gazed out of the window and narrowed her eyes. She suddenly sat up quickly with a frightened expression. "Tia, they are there! I'm sure of it! Land the carriage now!"

I was unwilling to wait for the carriage to land, so I flung the door open and flew out, with Luna following closely.


As we approached the storm, I could feel a very familiar energy in the air.

Also sensing the energy, Luna suddenly stopped in fear. "Sister...that feels like..."

I nodded. "Nightmare Moon. That cannot be possible though, she no longer exists. It must be something else. Come sister, we cannot wait."

We flew with all haste into the storm. The blizzard was intense, but I caught the sight of a lavender body in the snow and I landed next to her...Twilight.

I shouted, "Twilight! Are you okay?"

She was obviously in pain, and I could see tears in her eyes as she looked up at me, but she smiled and pointed towards the cliffs. "I'm okay princess...he saved me."

I turned my eyes to where she had pointed, only to be stricken with awe.

There stood what seemed to be the very embodiment of winter, looking out over the ocean. I approached the pale blue pony cautiously, very aware of the incredible amount of magic radiating off of it.

It didn't even turn around as it spoke, "Twilight Sparkle is injured. Princess Luna, you must get her to the hospital now. I would have a word with your sister."

Luna's eyes widened in fear as she whimpered, "W-what are you?"

The figure turned and frowned. "Princess Luna, your friend is in a great deal of pain. There will be time for questions later. For now, tend to her." Luna stared for a moment at the pony, then nodded. She ran to Twilight and disappeared in a flash.

I strode to the icy figure, its smile warm in contrast to the air around me. There was a feeling of so much power, but oddly, no malice. All the same, I was still cautious, as a being with this much raw power could easily do massive damage.

I stopped in front of it, looking deep into its icy blue eyes. "Who are you?"

I was surprised when it bowed to me. "It is an honor, Princess Celestia. I am Frostrender. You could say I am...and acquaintance of Steelbreaker's."

I was confused by his words and stated, "I do not understand. The energy I feel in this place...that is the energy of Nightmare Moon. Is she here?"

It...no, he laughed and shook his head. "The energy you feel does not belong to Nightmare Moon. The energy you feel is the magical pressure of pain...sadness...and hatred. The same fate that befell your sister has befallen Steelbreaker. I am the result."

I suddenly felt fear...and sadness for my sister. If what had befallen Luna had indeed happened to Steelbreaker, there was only one thing that could be done about it. Still, I stood tall with an unreadable expression. "What do you want, Frostrender?"

He smiled at me. "I am Steelbreaker's judgment to those that would do harm to those he loves." He pointed at the chunks of ice that were on the ground behind me. I looked at them to notice...oh my... "I've already passed my judgment to the one that did harm to Twilight Sparkle. The ones behind you are his comrades. Like him, they were determined to torture and kill your beloved student. I have no ill will towards them...they are yours to decide what to do with."

I nodded as I turned my gaze back to him. "Why are you here? You do not seem to be evil as Nightmare Moon was."

Icy laughter reverberated through the cliffside at my statement, and it took a few moments for the being to collect himself. When he did, he answered, "The emotions that called both myself and the one known as Nightmare Moon into being are not evil emotions. The reason Nightmare Moon was as she was is because of the state of the beings living here. As Steelbreaker explained, humans have the potential for both good and evil. Because of this, they also have the ability to control what your world considers 'evil' emotions. Princess Luna did not grow in the world that Steelbreaker did, and so these emotions were too powerful and corrupting for her pure soul and heart. She could not control them, and completely lost herself. Steelbreaker is not lost, and is perfectly fine. He is resigning control to me because he wishes you to hear this from the horse's mouth, so-to-speak, so do not worry yourself, I am only a danger to our enemies.” He then hummed to himself and added, “It appears my time is up. With that I bid you adieu."

I felt the air suddenly warm and the sky cleared, and the ice began to melt, so I cast a knockout spell at the gryphons previously frozen to the ground. A bright flash came from in front of me, and I found myself looking at the sleeping form of Steelbreaker.


Perspective change - Steelbreaker

I woke up in a room I was unfamiliar with.

I looked up to see what looked to be a magic painting of the night sky above me. I tried to move, but found myself restrained by a hoof and a wing. I looked down to see a white wing and a blue hoof, and next noticed that Luna had fallen asleep snuggling me, and Celestia had draped a protective wing over both of us. I yawned loudly and Celestia began to stir, as did Luna.

Luna's eyes fluttered and she looked at me, so I leaned over and kissed her softly. "Good morning, beautiful." The princess of the night went wide-eyed and fell backwards off of the bed, and I heard giggling from Princess Celestia.

The solar princess gazed down on me and whispered, "That was quite the experience, Steel. Are you okay?”

I nodded and stretched a bit. "Yeah I'll be alright. It just took a lot out of me.” I then pushed myself up to lay with my legs curled under me and asked, “Is Twi going to be okay?"

Luna stood up and fixed her crown before responding, "Twilight had a few broken ribs, but with the help of myself and a few choice unicorn doctors, she is like new. She is resting at the moment."

I relaxed and smiled. "Thank you Luna. I'm sorry if I scared either of you."

The sun princess laughed, her chortles echoing in the large room. "I was afraid at first, but after Frostrender explained himself, I am not worried."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "What about you Luna...you still love me I hope?"

The lunar goddess grinned warmly and nuzzled my cheek affectionately. "I do. I apologize for my expression, I was in shock. I worried that somehow Nightmare Moon had returned."

I laughed. "Well all is well, Luna. I'm okay and Twilight is going to be okay.” I then reaized something I’d overlooked and asked, “What about those gryphons?"

At this, Princess Celestia grimaced. "They'll be lucky if they ever see my sun again. The one that Frostrender disposed of got off easy, I'll say that. I do not take kindly to threats and violence made towards the ones I love either."

I nodded in agreement and asked, "Okay, well where's Twilight? I want to see her."

Luna smiled at me and nuzzled my cheek again. "She's at the library sleeping. It is near midnight, so I am positive she is awake without you there. You should get going."

I frowned a little in guilt. "Are you sure Luna? I don't want to leave you so soon. I miss you."

The dark blue alicorn leaned down and kissed me softly before replying, "I shall miss you as well, dear Steel. It will not be long before I will see you all again, I promise."

I smiled at my beautiful goddess and kissed her back before looking to the alabaster alicorn beside me. "Very well, I'll be going now. Thank you for everything, Princess Celestia."

“You are a friend, Steelbreaker...I ask you simply call me Celestia.” the solar goddess requested.

I nodded once before focusing my magic and teleporting to the library.


I found myself in the main lobby and quickly hurried upstairs to Twilight's room. As I ascended the stairway, I heard giggling, so I gingerly stepped over to the door and walked in. I found myself being stared at by Spike and Twilight, before they both broke into smiles.

I walked over to the bed next to Twilight, and Spike surprised me by standing on the edge of the large bed and hugging me. "Thanks for saving her, Steel...even if you did scare the hay out of her.”

I chuckled and embraced the dragon in a half-hug. "Anything I can do to help Spike." I then released the small dragon and looked at Twilight. She looked tired, but okay otherwise, which I made me relax a bit. I smiled and said, "I don't know about you Twi, but I'm beat. Move over."

She scooted over and I slid under the covers beside her as Spike left the room, turning off the light on his way out. Twilight was silent and just hugged me tight.

"My hero!" I said, impersonating her voice.

She giggled and shoved me before her smile fell away and she took an expression of deep thought. "Steel...I was afraid. I was so afraid you were going to be lost like Luna was. I'm so glad that you're okay.” The unicorn then poked me in the chest and said, “I have to say, I prefer you to be warm like this. I don't do so well with the cold."

I laughed loudly and nodded. "Yeah well I'm just cool like that."

She rolled her eyes. "That was a horrible joke."

I then smirked at her before kissing her. "Yeah, but it's all good."

The last thing I remember was looking into her lovely violet eyes before falling into a deep sleep.