Five years of Ice, A thousand years of Flame

by Lucky424


Chapter 21

"Well lookie who we have 'ere." I stopped my walk through Ponyville, turning to the pony behind me. "And what the buck do you want?"

"I'm just doing some shopping, Applejack, and then I'll be leaving."

"Leavin'? Where to this time, Appleloosa?"

"Maybe. Dunno, I just go where the path takes me."

"Well how come ya don't take the path north any more?"

"Because there isn't anything in that direction for me. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to buy three dozen of your freshest apples, and then I have a few more bits to get." She trotted over and put a hoof on my arm, her eyes filled with pleading.

"Why don't ya come back t' live here, Sugarcube? Ponyville misses you."

"Misses me? They only speak to me when I bring stuff by to trade for supplies I need. Let me put it this way, the Cakes haven't spoken to me for twenty three days, and I know I'm being followed by Royal Guards, even if you can't see them."

"They're just concerned for ya, we all are. It can't be healthly, livin' in the Everfree Forest."

"My shelter is safe. It's construct by supplies I got sent down form the Crystal Empire, and I had a couple of unicorns come by to give it magical protection."

"Unicorns? Does Twi know?" I raised my eyebrow at her, and shook my head.

"Do you really think I'd tell her where I was staying? No, that is not an option. Now, if you don't want to sell me some apples, I'll be one my way." I turned to walk off, but a large red leg was put across my chest, and my hand settled on the knife on my belt. "Mac, don't do this."

"Do what, exactly?"

"You know you won't win."

"An' Ah aslo know you don't wanna hurt me. So Ah guess we have a good ol' stand off, don't we?"

"Yeah, looks like we do... unless..." He gave a yelp as I kicked his rear leg out on the same side as his raised forehoof, and as he stumble to regain his balance I continued on my way. I felt the tremors in the ground before he got there, and jumped to the side as he ran past me, skidding to a stop and turning. I had pulled my knife out, holding it up in front of me. "You were right about one thing Mac, I don't want to hurt you, but that doesn't mean I won't."

"Big Mac." We both looked to the side to see Twilight stood there, several guards around her. "Let him go."

"But Ah thought..."

"It is his right to come and go as he pleases. If he chooses not to stay, then we can't change his mind." Mac bowed his head as he walked up to her and gave her a quick nuzzle, before Applejack socked him in the face and had a go at him.

"Thank you, your highness, I really didn't want to hurt him."

"I didn't do it for you." With that she turned around and walked off. I put my knife away and walked out of town, ignoring the stares being thrown my way. It didn't take long to reach the forest, and I stopped by Zecora's to get the last of my supplies. She was an invaluable ally now, and very helpful in undoing the spell Luna had put on me. I shook the thoughts of her out of my head and knocked on the door.

"Is that a knock at my door I hear? Who would come by a place many fear?" The door swung open to reveal the smiling zebra mare.

"Hey Zecora, just the usual please."

"Of course for you, the norm, but if I may, what is with this storm?" She waved a hoof at my face, before turning around and gathering some small baskets together. It was mainly herbs and spices, but this time she had added a coupe of brews that she had said would keep me warm during the coming winter months. Smelt like brandy to me, but I wasn't going to complain

"Just a little, well a big, confrontation in town, but nothing too serious. Anyway, thanks for the stuff, I'll see you later." I headed out the door, but Zecora's next words made me stop.

"I think it will be a start, if you mend the hole in your heart." I carried on, letting the door close behind me. Another half an hour of walking and I came across a rather large tree. Reaching into one of the holes, I grabbed a bit of rope and pulled it out. I had to walk backwards, but soon the lid came up, and I chucked my supplies down the steps before rolling the rope back up and putting it back in the hole.

I made my way down the steps and grabbed the crank at the bottom, using a path through the trees and some mirrors to bring light inside. The Crystal walls reflected and amplified the light, so there was enough to see by. I returned to the entrance and checked the area making sure I hadn't been followed, then pulled the hatch shut. From the outside, anyone going by just minding their business wouldn't find it. And neither would those who were looking for it, as they had tried.

Opening my fridge (magic battery powered, courtesy of Trixie and Blueblood.), I saw only one slab of meat left. I pulled it out and started my oven, also magical powered, and let the heat fill the small room. Once it was about a third of the way cooked I added some spices and let it continue. Once done, I grabbed a pate and some cutlery, then dug in. After cleaning them off in the underground stream that was running through one of the corners, I left them near the oven to dry off and climbed into bed. Tomorrow would be a hunting day, and I'd need all my energy for it.


The library door swung open and Rainbow Dash trotted in, followed closely by Soarin. The other ponies looked to her with hope, and she shook her head. She could track him to Zecora's, but always lost him after that. She then noticed the Lunar guards standing in the corner, and Luna sat on the couch in the room. She looked at Rainbow once, and then stared at the table. She just wanted to see him, know that he was all right.

Twilight pulled Dash into the kitchen, and the others could hear a hushed conversation which quickly escalated. "...so the next time I see him, I'm going to give him a good buck to the head, maybe knock some sense into that thick skull of his!"

"Rainbow Dash!" She stuck her head out of the kitchen door and looked to the couch, where Luna was still looking at the table. "I would prefer it if you did not do that. It is not his mind that is troubled, much as I thought it was mine. I am staying for a few days, and maybe I will have the chance to speak with him."

The mares chatted the night away, until one by one they left. The guards had gone to take up positions around the library outside, and Twilight showed Luna to her guest room, and then trotted to her own room. A few hours later she was awoken by the sound of sobbing coming from the guest room. She gently eased the door open, seeing Luna holding the blankets to her chest. "Luna... are... what's wrong?" It was then she realized that no one had stayed in this room since he had, and she hadn't actually changed the bedding.

"It has his smell!" Twilight hoped up next to Luna and held her until the tears ran themselves dry.


Fluttershy was trotting by the edge of the Everfree Forest, humming happily to herself when a bear cub came running out. At first she was afraid, but something about the cub made her curious, so she approached it slowly. "H-hello, are you lost little bear?" It stopped and stared for a few moments, then let out a pained whimper. "Oh dear, that's terrible! Take me to her, and I'll see what I can do."

The cub turned and ran back into the forest, going slow enough to let Fluttershy keep up. After twenty minutes they emerged into a clearing, and she immediately saw the problem. On the other side was the cub's mother, one of it's paws trapped in a strange metal device. Closer inspection revealed sharp metal teeth, some of which were stabbing into the bear's leg. It tried to pull it's leg out, but stopped with a painful howl. "Oh dear, please don't do that, I'll get you out."

She tried to pry the bars apart, but they wouldn't budge, so she had a look at the bottom of the device. There was a button on it with strange writing, so she pushed it. The device instantly fell apart, and the bear fell forward. Fluttershy gave the wounds a one over, and discovered they weren't that deep. She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a tube of cream. "Now hold still, this will sting a bit, but it will help." She gently rubbed the cream on the leg, the bear wincing. "There, that should do it. Now, be careful where you walk for now." The bear gave her cheek a lick, and disappeared into the forest.

Fluttershy looked around and tried to get her bearings, but froze when she heard bushes rustling behind her. She could hear thudding getting closer, and jumped into the bushes to her side. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear it, walking around the clearing. And then it spoke. "Where the fuck is my dinner?"

She gasped as she recognised the voice, shocked she had found him so easily. "A-a-alec, is t-t-t-that you?" He stopped moving, and came closer to the bush. Fluttershy started shaking as a rifle barrel was pushed through, pointing right at her face.

"Who's in there? Come on out, slowly."

"O-o-okay." She followed the barrel as it withdrew, stepping back out into the clearing, smiling as she finally saw him after over a month with no contact.

"Fluttershy? Shit!" And with that he took off, heading deeper into the forest. Something in Fluttershy made her chase him, and she managed a pace where she could still see him. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she reopened them he was gone. She looked the the scenery, finally at a place where she could get her bearings. Zecora's cottage would be to her left, Applejack's farm to her right. The farm was closer, so she took off and flew as hard as she could.


"Art thou certain this is where he was?"

"Yes your majesty. It was definitely here." With a quick wave of her head, her personal guard spread out, searching the area. After two hours of searching, their efforts turned out to be in vain, and the refused to meet Luna's gaze. In their eyes they had failed her. She trotted over to the nearby tree and reared up, stamping her forehooves on the ground in frustration. There was dull thud, as if she struck something hollow. A few taps and she was rewarded with the same sound.

"Guards, clear the ground here immediately!" They did so quickly, revealing a slab of crystal. Luna tried to teleport past it, but didn't even move, and that is when Applejack came over.

"'e said that it was protected by unicorn magic, so Ah guess that means all magic." The guards started digging at the ground, going far enough to reach the bottom of the slap. With a mighty heave they pushed it up, revealing a cave underneath it. The parted as Luna came over, looking in to the darkness. She cast an illumination spell, and walked down in to it. It was a fairly simple shelter, with just a bed, oven, and fridge. There was a small pile of abandoned supplies in the corner, meaning he had taken only the essentials. Something silver caught her attention under the bed.

She lifted it up to find all but two of his weapons, meaning that he wanted to travel light, and quick. He would disappear forever if they didn't find him soon. "Fluttershy, how long ago was it that you saw him?"

"About two hours ago, your highness."

"Then he couldn't have gotten far. Captain, summon reinforcements, enough to surround the forest." He saluted and took off, heading towards Ponyville. They left the shelter and stood in the clearing, the remaining guards looking for any evidence of where he was. They all looked to the centre of the clearing, where a small cylindrical object had thudded to ground. Luna leant closer, before her eyes went wide with shock, she had seen such a item before! Nopony had time to react as it exploded with a flash and a high pitched whistle, blinding and disorientating them. Luna felt herself moving as she tried to clear her senses, and then dropped to the floor.

Once the ringing in her eyes died down and her vision returned, she looked around. She was alone now, laying on a cliff overlooking the forest. A rock falling caused her to turn, where she could just make a bipedal shadow. Her heart jumped like a school filly talking to her crush as he stepped into the light. "A-a-alec?"

He looked her in the eyes, before turning his back to her. "If you haven't worked it out by now, I'll tell you myself. Leave. Me. Alone." With that he jumped of the cliff, and glided above the trees, Luna's outstretched fore hoof reaching for him.

"No... I will not let you run."


"...once you have eyes on, you are to contact me. Is that understood?" The soldiers were paying rapt attention to the admiral. This was the full briefing, with all information unclassified. They had tracked three entry paths on to the planet, landing in three separate locations. The first scan was a bust, just a smoking crater in the desert. The second was a smoking hole in a canyon. The third was a damaged shuttle, registered to the Friendship Of Magic.

That ship was legendary amongst the fleets, one of the few true 'ghost' ships. The admiral's earlier mission had been declassified, and they at first thought it was a joke. At least until they saw the results of the planetary scans. "You will be split in to five teams. Team Alpha will secure the bigger crash site, and locate the black box. Team Bravo will head to the shuttle, and scout out the local city that we scanned. Team Charlie will scout out the city on the mountain. Teams Delta and Echo will secure the smaller crash site and scout the nearby town."

"Ma'am, I have a question."

"Yes lieutenant?"

"Is it really him? I mean, I can understand why you want to find him, but for it to actually be true... it would be nothing short of an act of God. I don't know about you, but I don't believe in that shit. Give me something to shoot and I'm happy."

"Yes, it would be an act of God, wouldn't it? Or perhaps there is something else here at work. You know as well as I do that our very notions of existence changed when we encounter other species, and what they could do." She turned round and type commands in to a terminal, a hologram appearing with different creatures on it. "The dominant species on this planet seems to be quadrupeds, close to the ponies that humanity had on Terra a thousand years ago. There are also some other creatures, from our very old legends. We have confirmed the existence of griffons and Minotaur, but their territory is nowhere near our locations, so we shall avoid them for now."

Another soldier, a clear rookie, spoke up. "Ma'am, where does the SOS signal come from?"

"It comes from the damaged shuttle, why do you ask?"

"Well, it doesn't make sense to send only one squad there, Surely that is where we should concentrate our searches? And what about the Solar Reich?"

"A good point, however thermal scans show the shuttle is empty, and low on power. I would like to think that he would seek out help as soon as possible, as there is no way he would be able to fix that vessel on his own. The Solar Reich will be providing support from orbit, and keeping an eye on our blind spots. You have twenty four hours to prepare, and report to your designated launch tubes. Now, get ready."

The entire room stood and saluted, speaking in unison. "Yes ma'am!" They all turned to filter out, except the lieutenant and private that had asked questions. They just stood their studying the map. The admiral took note of their shoulder patches, a sniper's rifle placed over a flaming comet, a smirk playing across her features.

"So, you're both from the 105th? I have a separate job for you." The map changed and a new area was highlighted. It was a small section of forest just to the east of the small town. It changed to a thermal video instead of a image, and a small orange blob appeared, running from a slightly smaller one. The large disappeared, and the smaller one stopped. The video was shifted, and they noticed it was two hours later. There were more blobs, searching round the area. Once flew away a while later, and then something flared on the screen, and a larger blob than all the others left the area.

Once it stopped moving they saw it was in fact two blobs, and they stayed still for a while, then one moved around a little, before taking a short run, and from what the camera showed, jumped off a cliff. The image changed to a coloured video still. There were three with lights down the back, two in the middle of the arms, and red and green navigation lights at the extremities. "That was a few hours ago, and we are currently tracking a large force moving to surround that forest. You two are going to drop in and try to spot him. If you do, stay on him, and make sure he stays alive. Is that understood?"

They both replied in unison. "Yes ma'am."