//------------------------------// // Breaking Point // Story: Cold as Ice // by CamoBadger //------------------------------// Chapter 14: Breaking Point         The story he told Cryssy was one of pain, of suffering, and of death throughout Canterlot. Her magic had caused the level of destruction that she had never even heard of in storybooks, surpassing even her own imagination. Every time it had happened in the past, she never even thought of what the effects were on those which were caught within the ice she created, the endless pain she caused them.         Her magic did not only affect the air on the outside, but also the inside of the bodies of those around her, her victims. The air in their lungs froze just as the air surrounding them, scarring the tissue and tearing them apart. Upon awaking, they had entered a new level of misery, if they awoke at all. His story told of ponies coughing blood in the streets, and collapsing before the eyes of their loved ones, never to stand again.         She had caused all of this without knowing it, without caring what the effects were. The tears flowing from the unicorn’s eyes could never pull the sadness from her body, unable to show the regret and horror she felt. And these griffins did nothing to comfort her, leaving her alone as she lay broken on the stone of the dungeon, laughing as she began to wish that she had never been born.         The collar burned worse than it had ever done the last time they forced her to wear it, and she thought it may just burn right through her neck and leave a scar on her skin.         Pictures of the carnage outside filled her mind constantly, scenes of dying and dead ponies plaguing her thoughts, only increasing her own pain as the collar continued to fight back the magic building within her body.         And once again the thought of what would happen when the other ponies found out bubbled to the front of her mind. When they discovered she had done this, imprisonment would be the last punishment on their minds. They would demand that she be exiled, or worse, banished like Luna had been so long ago. And she couldn’t blame them for it.         It was another moment of relief, a moment when the doctor took his time in ensuring that Rainbow Dash would not succumb to her wounds, or any infection that may follow them. Despite asking him each day to tend to her friends first, and make sure they were alright before her, the pegasus was once again the first to be cared for.         The blatant disregard for her wishes, coupled with the continuing screams from her friends, infuriated the pegasus to no end. Were she not afraid of what may happen if she struck out at the doctor she would’ve bucked his beak into his head right there, but the thought that he may forgo tending to the others kept her temper in check.         As hard as she tried to keep up a tough act during her own beatings, inside she quietly wished that they would just end it all and kill her already. The worst pain of her life had been nothing compared to the last few days, and she was frightened to think of how much longer this could continue.         Suddenly the door slammed shut, and Rainbow realized that her break had ended, leaving her alone with the guard once again. The large griffin cracked his knuckles and slowly stepped towards her, his eyes scanning over her body with indecision as to where he should strike next.         Just as his talons were raised in preparation to strike, the door once again flew open, stopping his strike just in time. The guard turned to the intruder, quickly falling into a bow rather than attacking the pegasus further.         “Majesty, I didn’t expect to see you here again.”         Rainbow’s eyes narrowed at the intruder, her body bubbling with rage as she realized who was standing before her.         “Guard, you’re shift is complete. I will take over from here.”         “Of course Majesty” the guard’s voice poorly hid a hint of enjoyment at his relief’s request, doubtlessly assuming that the pain he had caused would be nothing compared to that which she would cause.         He quickly rose to his feet and stepped from the cell, closing the gate behind him as he made his way down the hallway to the barracks.         Once she was sure the guard was out of the dungeon, Gilda quickly went to work unlatching the chains which held Rainbow to the cell’s wall. At first the action confused the pegasus, but did nothing to remove the anger from her mind. Once the chains were completely detached, the pegasus drove a hoof into the griffin’s beak, knocking her back into the far wall.         “Well, I deserved that” the griffin offered as she wiped a small spot of blood from the side of her beak.         “You’re darn right you did! What the hay is wrong with you?”         The griffin slowly pulled herself back to her feet, taking a brief moment to wipe the dirt from her feathers before speaking, “Listen RD, I know what I’ve done is bad, but-”         “But what? You feel bad?” the pony’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she cut the griffin off, half-tempted to slug her again.         “Not far off” the reply surprised Rainbow a bit, giving her pause as she tried to think of how to respond. “Honestly, I never expected Father would go this far. He told me that he was going to do this without death or pointless violence, but…”         “So how does releasing me stop that?”         “Not just you Dash, I’m here for everyone. This has to end, before Father takes it further.”         Cryssy couldn’t sleep, no matter how tired or exhausted she felt after the events of the past few days. The outburst of magic had drained every ounce of energy from her body, leaving her weak and crippled even after being knocked out for three days. She hoped that Typhoon wouldn’t need her soon, she wasn’t sure she perform another act like that and survive.         Her body had grown used to the surges over the years of her life, leaving her immune to the nastiest of the effects; hypothermia, difficulty breathing, and for the most part she was able to stay on her hooves after each attack. But this had been different. After building the magic for days, it had been even worse than the first ‘accident’ when she was just a filly. Even now she felt weak just laying down, unsure if she would be able to stand if asked.         But even that couldn’t allow her to sleep, not with the thoughts of what she’d done flying through her head, and the fear of what would happen when she was discovered. She had tried to think positively about it, and considered that maybe ponies would see that it wasn’t her fault, that she had been unwilling. But those thoughts were shot down one by one as the negative memories returned.         No, this had not been her fault, but she was the one that couldn’t control her power. The thoughts of how the others could use that against her overpowered the positive hopes she had. What if she was used again? What if she did learn to control it, and became an evil pony that chose to use this power for her own gains?         There was no way to see the future, and no way for Cryssy to defend herself when these questions arose. She had no way to promise that she wouldn’t be used again, and even if she wanted to, she had no way of knowing if the future would lead her to do evil.         And yet, the more she thought, the more something changed within her.         This hadn’t been her fault, and she knew it. She had been forced to do this, used as no more than a weapon by someone that WAS evil. Typhoon had done this, not her, and HE was the one that was to blame for it.         As her thoughts changed, so did the magic within the unicorn’s body. The freezing in her gut was quickly melted as a spark of heat lit within her chest, fueling her thoughts further as the flame spread through her veins.         She never asked for any of this, she just wanted to live happily in Snowhoof with Mama and Daddy, and Red Lightning. And then…then…the griffins came and ruined all of it for her. They chased her for years, tormenting her, and forcing her to avoid friends wherever she went. And she remained afraid, helpless.         And to top all of it off, they had stolen her from the nicest town of ponies she’d ever known. For a few days, they had given her the life she had dreamed of for years, and the feathered demons came and crushed it all again. They…they…they RUINED EVERYTHING!         The cold in her body no longer existed, having long been extinguished by the intense hate building within her body. The fire filling her veins rivaled the collar around her neck in heat, leaving its burn as insignificant as a warm teacup against her skin.         No, she would not be used like that ever again. Little Cryssy was finally going to fight back, and when she did, all of these demons would pay. Every. Last. One.         The fire flickered lightly in the hut, providing just enough warmth to keep the ponies from freezing in the early morning air. Though the sun had finally risen after Celestia’s release, the days of night had left all of Equestria much colder than it was used to in the spring.         Each of the gathered ponies watched patiently as Zecora rubbed an herbal mix over a large gash in Fluttershy’s neck, quickly sealing the wound and killing any infection which may have begun to take hold over the area. The mix burned in the exposed flesh, but the pain quickly subsided once the mixture finished its work on the shy pony.         Each of the others had already completed their own treatments, though they still remained sore from the days of torture they had endured. Even the herbalist zebra could not counter every bit of pain they felt, but she had done everything in her power to heal the ponies.         Getting Celestia to bring them all here rather than leaving for Canterlot herself had taken little work from Twilight and the others, their injuries crushing any opposition she may have put up under other circumstances. But now came the hardest part.         The Princess was once again back in control of her magical powers, which should have made overthrowing Typhoon and his army foalsplay for such a powerful pony. However, the more she thought on this, the more she doubted that charging in alone would be the right way to approach the situation. They knew that Ice Crystal was likely still in Canterlot with Typhoon, and they had no doubt that at the first sign of the Princess he would release her magic once again.         Even for an alicorn, being frozen in ice was not something that could be fought without proper warning. And with the speed that the magic took hold, such a warning was impossible to sight. While she had no doubt that she could put up a protective shield around herself and a few others, the effect this spell would have could never be guessed.         Nopony understood how the blind unicorn’s magic truly worked. If it was simply a wave of power that froze all before it, then a shield would work perfectly, but if it simply flash froze the air, even those under a shield could be stuck within the glacier.         This would require careful timing, and complete surprise to stop Typhoon before he could unchain Ice’s magic, something not easily accomplished when his exact whereabouts were a mystery.         These same thoughts had plagued the mind of Twilight Sparkle as well, and attempting to think of a plan was a challenge for even her overactive mind. If they teleported into the castle itself and were sighted, a guard could sound an alarm, and they could be stuck in ice before they knew what happened. On the other hoof, an all-out assault on the city would leave Typhoon with plenty of time to unchain Ice.         “What is on your mind my student?”         The lavender unicorn turned to her mentor, shaking her head from side to side slowly, “I just don’t see how we can do it Princess. No matter what I think of, there is always the chance that we won’t have enough time.”         “There is always an element of risk Twilight, but sometimes you just have to take it, and stay confident that everything will work out.”         The Princess’ words provided little comfort to the unicorn as she continued to sort through her mind for any new ideas. The risk here was just too high to chance. If they failed and were captured again, they may never get another chance to stop Typhoon. They had one shot.         A sudden thought popped into the unicorn’s mind, something that she had forgotten about after so long.         “Taking risks…THAT’S IT!”         “What’s it? Oh, oh, are we playing tag?” Pinkie shouted in response to Twilight’s outburst, suddenly bouncing around the hut excitedly.         “No, but I think I know how we can stop Typhoon even if he uses Ice’s powers.”