//------------------------------// // 4 - Ice // Story: Bullet With Alicorn Wings // by ToixStory //------------------------------// I ran. The gloom of the night vanished in the light of torches and magic that creeped their way toward me in the dark. I could hear them; the pounding hooves and grunting voices that sought to reach out and find me. A thin coat of sweat covered my face and my back underneath the cloak, and half of me wished I could just toss the ratty thing away. They had at least chosen to leave their hounds behind, for which I was grateful. They grew their dogs big in the north, and it would have been unbecoming for them to find me shrieking and soiling myself under their attack. Bare branches whipped past me and clawed at my face. Well, no, they weren’t bare; snow had simply replaced all that had once been green. Hard-packed flakes crunched beneath my feet and threatened to trip me where it got too deep. I cursed my warm-weather complacency and pushed on, even as my heart felt like it would rip itself from my chest. Torches flashed to my left and my right. In my mind’s eye, I could see them, closing the pincer in around me. But no, if they were only on my sides, it wasn’t a pincer movement, it was a— I skidded to a stop in the next clearing before I could impale myself on one of the waiting spears. The ponies who had patiently waited to spring the trap quickly rushed toward me, and I could only stand and curse myself for being so stupid. For a mare who had once been a princess, I had been trapped as easily as a rabbit. Armored ponies formed a circle around me, spears thrust outward and bodies packed safely behind their shields. Each of the wooden squares was painted black with a golden hound’s head in the middle. Twenty of them snarled at me in unison, and their mouths seemed to howl in the flickering light. Most of the soldiers were wearing plain, silver chainmail and armor to cover their backs, legs, and heads, but one among them stood out from the rest. She was tall for a mare, enough that others would have called her gallant. On her back was solid plate mail, colored as white as the snow she strode upon, as was the armor on her legs and the magnificent helm on her head, shaped like the head of an eagle. A greatsword was strapped to her side, the pommel made of gold. To most ponies, she was probably a hero and the stuff of legends, but I could see her eyes. The eyes that stared back at me were not those of a hero or great soldiers, but were cold, dead, and blue as ice; they were the eyes of an executioner. She drew her longsword in her teeth and walked to me, those eyes of hers never leaving mine. I could feel her looking into my soul, and even Discord within me was wrinkled. YOU KNOW, I COULD PROBABLY BURN THEM ALL . . . Stay out of this, if you had wanted to help you would have done it when we got here six months ago, not now. WHAT, CAN A PONY NOT HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART? You’re not a pony. Before he could come up with a witty retort, the vorpal blade sliced across my cheek, straight through the flesh covered in Discord’s tattoo. I could hear him scream as a thin cut spread across it, stinging like cold fire.I hissed and fell to one knee, reaching out with my other hooves to steady myself. Steam rose from the cut like I was some sort of machine, while the mare looked on without an expression. Whether it pained her to injure me or gave her joy, I could not tell. She did lean down to me and raise a hoof beneath my chin, extending my head upwards for her to examine. “This is she,” said the mare. “Her mark is just as the magi said, ‘Like a devilish beast.’ We shall bring her back to Wintergarden.” None of the soldiers made any move to correct or ignore her order. If not for the time period, I could have guessed them to be robots. Two of their lot tied up my hooves and slung me over their backs, letting the chainmail dig sores into the skin beneath my bare coat. Of course they had to remove my cloak first. Discord silently steamed and licked his wounds. JUST LET ME AT HER, he kept saying to himself, over and over. I wasn’t sure whether to tell him to pipe down or make good on his promises.   The soldiers gathered together and set out beneath banners colored the same as their shields, save for a picture of a hound running than just a head. They fluttered in the winter air, so cold that it burned my lungs. On the backs of the stallions, I had no choice but to stare at the sky above us. The moon was beautiful, half of it hanging not so far above us, while thousands of pieces great and small trailed behind in its wake from where they had been blown off. Just as my eyes started to close from exhaustion, snow began to fall silently, covering the sins of the land in a blanket of white. The journey to Wintergarden was not overly far; I had been doing my best to avoid it, but the castle sat at the confluence of three major rivers, all of which had their best crossings within sight of the castle. Even on a winter night, the soldiers ranged far and wide over the plains that surrounded the great stone keep. Wintergarden itself topped a hill that, while stunted, was the tallest piece of geography for leagues, and commanded a view so far that I was surprised it had taken them two days to spot me. Snow was falling heavily by then, and I could only barely make out the shape of Wintergarden as we came within the shadow of the massive castle. Its high ramparts stretched up toward the stars, made of stones so gray they were almost black. The towers were as blocky as the walls, and the parapets more of the same. There was beauty in its stark shapes, perhaps for it being so large that it commanded respect more than criticism. Three rows of walls awaited me. Each was higher than the rest, and all lined with scorpions, ballistae, and ponies operating them. We crossed a rickety wooden bridge that spanned a shallow moat. I wondered what was the point, until I saw the glimmer of steel spikes sticking out the snow. The party passed beneath the walls of the castle, and all I could do was look upwards at the stone. I couldn’t see it, but from the sound of the gate opening, the doors were massive. I heard shouts from within the walls. We had obviously been noticed, and they must have figured out the soldiers were bringing me in. Part of me wanted to cower and hide. The other part wanted to get up and fight them all off. I thought that, more than likely, I probably could make it, but what would be the point? At this point, I had been stuck in their world for six months, so who knew when I was going to be able to leave? The soldiers carrying me came to a stop within the inner courtyard. A stiff breeze had me shivering when some other soldiers pulled me off. I was forced to kneel on the hard ground before the mare in white. She regarded me with a look that I thought was disgust, though she showed so little that it could have been anything. Trumpets blared out in the night. Torches were lit all along the castle. Ponies in nightgowns or nothing at all came wobbling out of their beds, standing on ramparts or around the yard to get a good look at me. Wintergarden was huge, so there might have been a thousand ponies all told. I looked up to see a large contingent of guards approaching me. They wore plain silver armor with black chain mail underneath. In the middle of them was a stallion who stood taller than all of them, clad all in white just like the mare next to me. I suddenly wanted to urge Discord to do something to break me out. As if she had heard me, the mare next to me pulled out her sword and pressed it into the nape of my neck. I would have tried to teleport away, had my magic been working properly. As it was, I was more likely to teleport my neck right into her sword than anything else. The guards fanned out in front of me. From their middle walked the stallion in white, and everypony before him bowed down. Somepony even shoved my head against the dirt. I didn’t try to fight it too much by that point. I didn’t move until somepony else tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up to see the stallion standing directly in front of me. Unlike the mare in white, he could show an emotion; at that moment, it was anger. “Just as the magi said,” he grunted. “Nice to see she wasn’t just another old hag trying to trick a king after all. I didn’t quite expect a horned one of all ponies to possess the mark.” “If you will let me explain—” I began, but got a slap to the back of my head for the trouble. “You do not talk to a king that way!” the mare in white bellowed. “King Boreas will hear your pleas, but only as it pleases him, wench.” For his part, King Boreas looked only slightly bemused. “That is enough, Elysia. No daughter of mine should treat a prisoner like a simple animal. We of Highgarden are better than that.” Like a lever had been pulled, the mare in white—Elysia—grew still and any trace of emotion on her face vanished. Still, for the princess of Highgarden to capture me set my stomach worrying again. This magi must have told them some very interesting stories if they were so hellbent on capturing me. “You will be brought within the keep for questioning,” King Boreas continued. “I’ll have your filth cleaned off and dressed like you deserve to be within my sight before we speak.” His face hardened. “Do not think me a hospitable stallion, however. You will speak well before myself, my daughter, and the magi, or you will die.” He strode away, and his guards scurried after him. The crowd let out a collective sigh of relief and dispersed as well, presumably back to their rooms within the castle. Elysia looked at her father, then back to me, and then hauled me to my hooves. She shoved me forward toward the inner keep, and around its wall to a small side door. I wasn’t allowed to speak, so I was afraid she would take me to some dungeon cellar before we arrived in a large washroom. Candles on the floor and torches on the walls made it the warmest room I had been in for half a year. There was a large copper tub in the middle of the floor. “Get in,” Elysia barked, shoving me to the tub. I complied and climbed in. The walls of the tub were warm, and I was able to settle in and even close my eyes. Not that Elysia was going to let me. Where a freezing cold castle got scalding hot water, I didn’t know, but she splashed a whole bucket full of it on my head. My skin burned from the sudden meeting of cold flesh and hot water, but she didn’t let me do anything more than cry out. Bucket after bucket filled the tub until I was soaking in the stuff. I would have thought it would feel good, but six months of cold had really hardened my skin against anything hot. “Oh quit whining,” Elysia said. “Most of the castle does not even get hot water in these months. If it was my decision, I would scrub you with an ice brush. Be thankful my father is so merciful.” Merciful wasn’t the word I wanted to use when I felt the brush she did use. I had to wonder if she was trying to stroke my mane with a hundred needles plastered together. The water was at least soothing, so I couldn’t complain too much. I even started to close my eyes and let her work, before she got to my back. When she did, I heard her grunt, then her hooves pressed against me. “Is, ah, something wrong?” I asked in my most innocent voice. “Your wings,” said Elysia, “they’re not here. The magi said the one we were looking for could fly.” For a moment, I thought that maybe it would let me off the hook. Then I felt a dagger pressed to my throat and had a very angry mare in my face. Though, if it weren’t for her tone, I couldn’t have known she was angry by her face. “Show me your wings at once lest you wish to see your own blood first.” I could take a hint. At that point, I didn’t really know what the point was in hiding them anyway. With a little effort, I released the spell and felt my wings shudder into the light of day. I forced myself to look at them, and winced. They were just as bad as before. Most of the feathers were either barely clinging to them or torn clean off. The bones were cracked and half of my right wing hung loosely. Blood was smeared across them. I dared not try to use them, lest the numbing spells wear off and I would pass out again. Elysia gasped. It was the first emotion I had heard from her that wasn’t anger. “Your wings, they’re . . .” “Broken, just like the rest of me,” I said. “Can I put them away now or do you want to scrub those clean too?” She nodded, and I redid the spell. I thankfully felt them slip away until I could only feel the barest hint that they were there. Elysia went back to washing me, and I closed my eyes again. The magic feeling was gone, though. Strangely, the brush didn’t seem as bad, and her strokes were almost . . . softer. I wanted to laugh at myself. I was so messed up I attracted pity from the cold-hearted princess. I had a bucket of water thrown over my head, and then we were done. Elysia gave me a threadbare towel to dry myself off with, but I wasn’t able to get to my mane before she started to dress me. For an earth pony, she managed to slip on a shimmering white tunic and dark fur cloak in almost no time flat. Rainbow Dash would have been proud. I had a hood pulled over my head until it rested just over my eyes, covering my still-dipping mane and horn. Elysia at least seemed pleased, so I didn’t fight it. I was too tired for that. We marched out of the chamber and into wide, arching halls that led through the interior of the castle. They were mostly lit by candle fixtures. For some reason, I had imagined it would be torches, but I had no idea why. Tapestries and banners were placed every ten feet or so. Most showed simple stories like hunts or small wars or saving princesses. But, some of them made my gaze linger. One showed a gathering of ponies in a dark circle. Above them, the moon was breaking in half. Elysia pushed me along before I could look more. We came upon two massive, heavyset doors blocking our path. Four guards stood out front, and gazed at us with cold eyes. They only lowered their weapons when Elysia herself strode forward and opened the door. I hurried past them as fast as I could. Inside the throne room, the air somehow felt colder than outside. The only light was from a strange glass fixture attached to the ceiling that provided light but no warmth. King Boreas sat on a throne of dull iron, carved to look like he was bestride a mountain. He was wrapped in furs and surrounded by ponies in dark robes and even darker armor. They all stopped talking once I came in. My knees felt weak the closer I got to the throne. The massive rug I walked on was too soft for hooves that had hardened over the last few months, and all I wanted to do was run away. Doing that would only get me caught again, though, so I pressed on. At least this time I didn’t forget to bow. I went down on my knees at the same time Elysia did, and didn’t rise until the king gave a grunt. From the sound of it, he would have preferred we skip it. “Father, I have cleaned and dressed the prisoner as you commanded,” Elysia said, her head still down. “I bring her to you now, just as you wished. I hope to have done my Lord well.” I almost felt bad for her, the way she was practically pleading for his happiness. Well, almost until I heard what else she had to say. “Shall I be the one to sacrifice the demon mare,” she continued, “or would my Lord prefer to do it himself?” For a moment, my heart stopped beating. I retreated back in my mind, and all I could hear was Discord laughing. Not in the mocking tone he usually used, though. In the same manic way he got when we were about to die. OH MY, OH MY, YOU WERE JUST STARTING TO LIKE HER! MAYBE THEY’LL LET HER KEEP A PART OF YOU AS A SOUVENIR! YOUR HEAD, MAYBE? OR PERHAPS JUST THE HORN . . . I’ll figure a way to get us out of this. I could use some help, you know. WITH HER POSSESSING THAT SWORD, YOU REALLY DON’T. BUT . . . GOOD LUCK! MAYBE IF WE’RE LUCKY SHE’LL DO IT QUICKLY! I sighed. Since the incident at the farm, Discord had been loathe to fight for me or even talk to me. It was just as well. Had I been in the mood to talk, I probably wouldn’t have wanted him to make me feel better. All the gathered ponies were looking at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t care. They were the ones who wanted to kill me, after all. The worst thing was, I wasn’t sure what to do. In the past, when our lives had been threatened, Discord and I had made it through fine because our body was freakishly good at healing. What worried me this time, however, was the cut she had made on Discord’s tattoo. From what I could tell, it was still there, and not going away anytime soon. Just great. The king looked at me right in the eyes, then sighed. “It would be ill to stain our halls with her blood,” he said. “I will not have her cut down in here.” I started to let out a sigh of relief, but one of the ponies seated beside him spoke up. “Your Highness is correct in this,” the . . . mare, I think . . . said. It was hard to tell with the robes. She waved a hoof toward me. “The demon mare must be sacrificed, but not here. It is in the Hall of the Once and Future King that she must be slain and left as a sacrifice. Only then will we know peace from the Fall.” The Fall? WELL, JUDGING BY THE STATE OF THE MOON, THOSE CHUNKS THAT GOT TORN OFF WILL BE FALLING ANY DAY NOW. ONCE THEY DO, THIS FIEFDOM WON’T LAST. So they know what they’re talking about? LOOKS LIKE. NOW, STOP MAKING ME SANE AND EXPLAINING EVERYTHING. I missed a little of what had been said, but they were pointing out Elysia and talking amongst themselves. The king eventually raised himself up and knocked his hooves on the table. “My daughter is perfectly capable of escorting the prisoner on her own,” he bellowed. “She has the special sword, and the spells we placed on the demon mare’s garments will keep her in line well enough.” Spells? Now that I thought about it, though, the robes I wore were a little too constricting. Like I couldn’t get them off at all. Maybe that was what was setting Discord off. I didn’t know. All that I did know was that everypony seemed happy but Elysia and I. We had that going for us, at least. The king and his court eventually settled down and he began to speak properly. “It is decided, then,” he said. “Elysia, you will take the demon mare to the Hall of the Once and Future King. There, you will sacrifice her and save our kingdom. Demon mare, if you fight back, you will not be killed, but crippled until Elysia can deliver you. Do not make things harder on yourself.” I could tell if he was joking when he added: “We thank you for your service.” Everypony started to file out of the room, so I guessed that meant the meeting was over. If there was one thing primitive cultures were, it was efficient. Then again, from the look of her, the princess was only around seventeen or so, and the king probably thirty-five. I guess short lives made you more practical. Elysia walked out without a word, and I followed her. I suppose I could have stayed, but I just didn’t feel like it. The idea that I might actually die didn’t really scare me. In fact, part of me was kind of excited to see if it was true. The search for my other self was going horribly and the rest of my life was crap, so why not? We walked through the main hall of the keep, which was as ornate as this frigid place got. Tapestries, carpets, and lanterns were everywhere. The tapestries here showed more and more clues to the past, with ponies cowering in fear of great monstrosities and massive explosions miles wide. I wished I got more of a chance to look at them, but I was always hurrying to catch up with Elysia. Outside, the air was bitterly cold again, though it felt like the temperature had dropped even further. Though I guess they were meant to wrap me, I was thankful for the robes. They kept the cold out better than I had hoped. I was almost . . . warm. I was content to follow Elysia to the front gate, but once we reached it she spun around and pressed her nose against mine. “Demon,” she said in a hoarse voice. “So you lead us on a chase for months and suddenly, once you are here, you accept your fate. Why?” My heart beat a little faster, and I picked my words carefully. I kept looking at the magic sword in her scabbard. “Well, ah, I was . . . looking for the Hall of the Once and Future King, too. I wanted to see it for myself, and now you give me the chance to do that. So I’ll go along with you.” “Yet I do not think you will sacrifice yourself so willingly.” “Would you expect me to?” For a moment, I thought she looked . . . relieved? “No.” She snorted. “Now come, there is little time to waste. We will take traveling bags from the guards and strike out. Winter deepens every day, and the path ahead is far worse than what you have seen.” She trotted away, and I followed. I could feel Discord yammering in my mind, and I let out an inward sigh. ARE WE REALLY NOT GOING TO FIGHT THEM? Look, I just spent six months looking over this empty land, trying to see if I could help anypony, or if they were even still alive. Now, I find out there might be a way to save them all at this hall place. I’d say it’s worth a shot. SHE’S GOING TO TRY TO KILL YOU. I know. SO WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT HER FLANK? That shut me up. I bit my lip and tried to keep my head down after that. Discord only laughed. We collected the heavy saddlebags from the guards as Elysia had said, then set out beyond the wall. Maybe I was imagining it, but when I was putting mine on, I thought I saw her looking at my flank. After that, we turned west, away from where I had approached. The going was slow. Snow came up to my knees, and each step was a pain in and of itself. Heavy saddlebags didn’t help at all. My head started to swim from the effort, and I could still see Wintergarden behind us. I wished more than anything to use my wings and get above it all, but they were far too broken. When I tried to use my horn, I only got a shock from my robes. Elysia was in heavy armor, and she still managed to get ahead of me. The gentle clanking of her steel plates was the only sound besides the roar of the wind. She looked back at me every once in a while, I guess to see if I hadn’t run off. I had thought about it, of course. Every time I did, I thought about her sword, and how the last few remaining ponies in Equestria would all die. “So how far, exactly, is this place?” I yelled over the howling wind. “At least two days’ journey,” she responded. “That is if we move quickly. The path into the lands of Never Summer are treacherous, and filled with beasts and outlaws. The Hall of the Once and Future King itself is just as dangerous.” Great. “And it’s just the two of us? How are we going to get through them?” “I can protect you.” “What, and am I not allowed to fight?” “If you can with those spells on you, then do so. Otherwise, try not to get hurt.” The irony of trying to stay safe so I could be killed later was enough to make me laugh, if only slightly. At the moment, all I could really think about was that hall they kept talking about. If there was anything I could use to help the ponies and not die, it was probably there. “So, who was the Once and Future King?” I asked. “He was what his name implies,” she said simply. I sighed. “No, I mean, why is he called that? Who is he, really?” “He is the ruler of the lands of Never Summer. It is he who told our people of the cracking of the moon, so we could create our tales and tapestries. His rule extends before the Great Devastation, and will go on forever. He can see the turn of the world, and is wise beyond all measure.” “And I am to be sacrificed to him.” “His justice is merciful. You won’t be in pain for long.” “But . . . I die.” She whirled around, just as at the gate. Though, this time, her face was a clear mask of anger. “And, what, did you not plan on ever doing so? To birth me cost my mother’s life. The winter claimed two of my brothers, and my sister was found in her chambers with her guards. She bled . . . everywhere. More than likely, I will die with you in the Hall.” Elysia spat, and it froze before it hit the ground. “You have the privilege to die with honor and save thousands of ponies from more horrible deaths. Be lucky you get the chance.” Elysia turned back around. “The snow is too heavy tonight to move further. We need to set up camp.” For a moment, her eyes softened and it looked like she wanted to say more, but it passed. She trotted off toward a stand of trees, the first I had seen since we left the castle. The closer I got to it, though, the more I realized the entire land ahead was covered in trees. It was at least five times the size of the Everfree Forest, and even darker. I lost Elysia as she went inside the thicket, but soon found her, not too far from the entrance. She stood in a spot beneath two large trees. The snow was lighter on the ground there, and she was clearing what remained away. Though she didn’t ask, I set about helping her. I was exhausted, now that I thought about it, and just wanted to sleep. I would have preferred to sleep in the castle, but it was long gone by now. Once we had the ground cleared, she pulled out a large wool tarp, and nailed it to the two trees to give us a cover of sorts. It hung down all the way to the ground. She motioned for me to get in first, to which I sighed and did so. I found I had a bedroll packed into my saddlebag, but I used it as a pillow instead. The princess got in after me. I had to stay awake while she removed her armor as slowly and noisily as possible. At least my robes were nice enough to let me use a flashlight spell, so she could at least see what she was doing. I could tell she could have done it blind, though. Her hooves found the straps with ease. When she was done, I noticed how thin she was. Not bony thin, as she did have muscle, but still much more than I would have guessed. her coat looked a bit ragged, but thicker than mine. A side effect of living in a cold environment, I supposed. She lay out on her bedroll, and turned to me. “It’s not like I want to kill you,” she said quietly. “We all have a duty to do . . . I have to be the warrior and princess, and you have to be the sacrifice.” “I know, I get it,” I said, but she just shook her head. “No, no you don’t get it,” she said. “What you don’t get is—” I was afraid she was going to cry. Without the armor and stoic look, I realized she wasn’t much older than a filly and looked like it, too. Then she leaned forward and kissed me. Of course she did. THIS ADVENTURE KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE FUN TO WATCH!         Oh shut up.