Alandra was all dressed, her mossy green mane shining. Her leaf green eyes seemed to be glowing with anticipation. Maelstrom and Callista left the room to take their positions, and left Starlight alone with her.
He looked around the bedroom. There were plants everywhere: climbing ivy on the chandelier and walls, morning glory wrapped around the bedposts, and bright tulips sprouted from random patches of grass on the floor. The entire room smelled of dirt, rainwater, and fragrant flowers.
Alandra had opened her wardrobe and had two sticks of her special incense in her mouth. Her head was drooped and she was staring at the winter storm ensuing outside. Starlight approached her. “Are you afraid, Alandra?”
“No,” she whispered. She looked at Starlight, she was crying. “Is this all my fault? If I had been at the transition ritual wearing a bride’s gown, would he still have gone insane? If I had married him, would Shining Armor and everyone else we lost still be alive?”
“Alandra, you cannot blame yourself for this. The only one to blame is Snowhoof. Even I was fooled by him.”
Alandra lit the incense on fire, and a small trail of smoke wafted up to the ceiling. “You might want to leave, Starlight. It doesn’t take long for him to come when he smells my incense burning.”
Starlight had a moment of fear then. This was a risky plan, and it would be Alandra’s charm versus Snowhoof’s deteriorated mental state. Had Starlight, and everyone else, gotten so wrapped up in the notion of getting revenge that they were willing to sacrifice Alandra? Starlight looked into her eyes, and deep inside, he knew that she blamed herself for everything that had happened. Alandra smiled sadly and put a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Starlight. I’ll be fine.”
Starlight nodded and slowly turned away. He took his position on the floor right above. When Alandra would give the signal, a high pitched scream, Vaelan would smash through the roof and they all would descend upon the powerless Snowhoof. Dragons were hiding all about the citadel courtyard, waiting to react if trouble arose or if Snowhoof tried to escape.
Princess Cadance cast the invisibility charm, and everyone vanished out of sight. Now we wait.
They waited awhile, and Starlight wondered how Alandra was feeling. She was so brave for doing this, risking her life on a plan that he had come up with. Eventually, he could smell the incense on the breeze. It smelled like cherry blossoms with a touch of mint. Starlight actually fancied the scent.
Vaelan groaned in pain, and Starlight looked at him confused. The dragon was covering his ears, struggling to stay silent. What was wrong with him?
Starlight suddenly felt nauseous, and his head was spinning. What’s happening to me!?
He heard the balcony doors slowly creaking open on the floor below. He heard Alandra’s seductive purr. “Oh, Snowhoof. Look at you.” There was a note of panic in her voice. “Wait, what’s in that bag of yours?” Alandra squealed. “Is that blood!?”
Starlight couldn’t hear anymore. He felt so disoriented, and he collapsed to the ground. Callista fell right on top of him as well, passed out. Starlight finally heard it then— A low pitched screech at the very edge of his hearing.
He blinked, not understanding. It was then he saw the Tempest pressing its muzzle against the balcony door. Its mouth was moving, like it was whispering through the crack in the double doors. Aw, hell. I didn’t know they could do that.
Starlight’s vision was going blurry and he felt like he was falling asleep. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the sound of Alandra’s terrified screams.
***
His head was spinning as he was cast into the black void. He felt like he was falling through a large empty space, floating adrift in some sea of cold nothingness. He shivered. It was cold here. Where am I?
“Starlight Mirror….” A voice whispered from somewhere. Starlight looked around for the voice, but could not see anything. The drifting sensation finally ceased and the world materialized around him. He was in a large chamber, the walls a dark gray and covered with rime. There was something about the room that made his skin crawl.
As he looked around, details began to appear. A tray of rusted surgical equipment lay on the ground besides, a hard, wooden operating table with leather restraints, and he saw metal tools hanging on the walls and the chains hanging from the ceiling. Starlight shuddered. This was some kind of dungeon.
“Starlight…Help me….” The voice whispered again. It was a mare’s voice and hauntingly familiar.
Starlight looked around, searching for the mare. She had sounded weak and hurt. He heard chains tinkling from overhead and looked up. Suspended from the roof with barbed wire, hung Princess Luna. “My queen!” Starlight cried out.
She was hanging upside down, the spikes on the wire embedded in her flesh tore at her every time she moved. “Oh, Starlight…I’m so glad you’re alive.”
There were tears in her eyes, and she looked emaciated. “My queen! I’ll come get you down from there.” He ran to the edge of the room, looking for the lever that would lower the chains. He found it and tried to push it down, but his hoof went straight through.
Luna groaned. “My dear Starlight, this is only a dream. I’m locked in the bowels of Frostcrown Citadel. I contacted you because….” She began to cry, and Starlight could only watch. “I contacted you because I won’t be alive for much longer.” She struggled in her chains and lowered her head so Starlight could see her horn. There were wires hooked up to it, draining the power from it. “Starlight, he’s taking my power. Once he’s leeched the last bit of power from me, he’s going to alter the orbit of the moon around Equestria and make winter eternal. It’ll be irreversible once it happens.”
“No!” Starlight cried. “Don’t worry, my queen! I’ll come and save you!”
She smiled weakly. “My brave champion. Tell me, how is my sister? I tried to get into her dream, but I couldn’t find her. I miss her so much.”
Starlight couldn’t say anything. She was already dying, he could not tell her of Celestia’s death. He swallowed. “I don’t know, my queen. I haven’t seen her.”
“Oh,” her ears drooped. “I just wanted to see her one more time.” A tear fell from her eyes. “When you see Celestia, please tell her how much I love her.”
Starlight hissed. “No! You are going to live! I’m coming to save you!”
“My time is running out Starlight….” Her voice began to fade away, and Starlight felt himself being pulled back.
“No! No!” He felt himself awaking, and the dream shattered around him.
***
He woke up in a cold sweat, his entire body shaking. Princess Luna was alive! She was alive! She didn’t look like she was going to last much longer though. He had to save her. He had to get to Frostcrown. There was no more time to waste, especially the fact that upon her death, winter would become eternal and they were all done for. He estimated that she had about three or four days still in her. He had to hurry.
Starlight looked around and saw he was the first one to awake. Everyone was sprawled out on the ground, passed out. He slowly stood up, still slightly disoriented. He remembered Alandra then, and tried to rush downstairs. He stumbled over Maelstrom’s sleeping body, and fell down the staircase. He crashed to the bottom, but he barely felt the pain.
Alandra had been screaming before he had passed out. He struggled to get back up, his body numb. He kicked open the door to Alandra’s bedroom and saw that the whole room had frozen over. All the lovely plants had died and a thick sheet of ice covered the ground. Starlight’s breath billowed out in front of him, the room as cold as the outside. He nervously approached the bed and he felt like his hooves had turned to jelly. He wanted to retch.
There had obviously been a massive struggle. The mattress was soaked with half-frozen blood, the covers were torn, and it looked like she had been dragged, screaming out of the bed. He could see the bloody trail across the ice as Snowhoof had dragged her to the balcony.
Starlight followed the trail of blood and gore, and walked onto the balcony. She had been struggling the whole way, the way the blood was splattered all about…until this point. There was a large splatter of blood, and she had gone slack as he had drug her and carried her away. Starlight looked at the splatter more closely, and in it he could faintly make out pieces of what appeared to be bone splinters.
Starlight’s heart went cold. Blunt force trauma. That had caused the splatter. He imagined Alandra’s head striking the cold floor in slow motion, her skull shattering at impact….
He couldn’t think about it anymore. Both female seasonal alicorns were dead. The plan had failed. Snowhoof had truly gone insane. He had killed the love of his life, and soon Luna would be dead too. Starlight howled. “No more! NO MORE!”
He grabbed his head, screaming. I’m coming for you right now, Snowhoof. Prepare yourself!
***
“We have no more cards to play.” Princess Cadance said. Her head bowed in mourning, even upon the news of Princess Luna’s captivity. “Canterlot is under three feet of snow, and food rations are about to run out.”
Emperor Vaelan nodded. “The time to act is now. Especially now that we know of Luna’s imprisonment, we have to confront Snowhoof head on. Before she expires.”
Callista sighed. “People are already disappearing from Canterlot. Once the hypothermia, frostbite, or starvation sets in, they are dragged away by Frostbites and no one can stop them.”
Maelstrom drooped his ears. “I wish Celestia was here…” he turned and faced his wife and kissed her. “I hope we get to see the sun again soon.”
They both began to cuddle, wrapping each other warmly in each other’s wings. “I love you,” Callista whispered.
“I love you more,” Maelstrom replied.
Starlight looked away. He trotted up to Cadance and Vaelan. “You two,” he growled. They looked at him surprised. “Prepare your soldiers. We move towards Frostcrown at dawn, we have to save Luna. Get everyone assigned to their dragon transport, get the unicorns to cast their heat preservation enchantments, whatever. Just have everyone ready by tomorrow.”
Princess Cadance sighed. “I guess we have no choice in the matter. I’d really like to make a plan first.”
Vaelan rumbled. “The time has come for our final push against Snowhoof. If we fail, all life will perish from Equestria. We will discuss battle strategy once all the soldiers are assembled.”
Princess Cadance moved away. “I shall assemble all my soldiers here in an hour.”
Vaelan went his separate way. “I shall do the same, and I will inform the others that we are taking our last stand at dawn. We can coordinate our forces.”
Starlight watched them leave. No more waiting. No more tricks. They were going to attack Snowhoof head on.
They would ride on the back of dragons to Frostcrown. The fate of the world rested upon this. “Luna, I’m almost there. Just survive a little longer.”