//------------------------------// // A Chill in the Air. // Story: Friendship and Mysteries // by The Cake Devil //------------------------------// Chapter 17 (Now edited by Neko Majn C) “Have you found anything yet?” Discord shouted over the screaming winter winds. “Does it look like we found anything?!” Stan shouted back, slamming the door to yet another set of memories. “We’ve been here for hours and all I can say for sure is this is one sick puppy—er—pony, whatever,” he said, rubbing his arms in an attempt to regain his lost body heat.” “I hate to break it to you, Stanny boy,” Bill said, popping out from behind a closed door, “but it’s only been about ten minutes.” “Oh come on!” “Yeeeah. Time has a tendency to slow down in here,” Bill explained, manifesting a hot mug of cocoa which he proceeded to stir whilst he spoke. “It’s kinda funny really, to me, not to you. To you, it’s probably an unending nightmare of ceaseless cold and unrelenting winds, to me it’s…oh wait, that’s what it is to me too…ha,” he finished as he poured the hot drink on his face and promptly tossed away the mug, which in turn landed on Stan’s head before falling to the ground and incinerating on the spot. “Why is it so c-c-cold in here again?” “Well,” Discord said, opening another door. “When this is the only thing your senses can pick up for a thousand and some ought years, one’s mind would begin to accept that as reality. Oh, that’s not right,” he mumbled to himself before slamming the door to another set of memories shut. “That’s all fine and dandy, but I’m still freezing my orthopedic soles off out here!” “Well then, do something about it,” Discord shouted back, looking annoyed. “Word to the wise, Stan, we’re in the mind. You can do whatever you can imagine in here.” Taking a step back, Discord closed his eyes. With a sudden flash, a pink jumper appeared around the draconequus. “Huh,” Stan said, closing his eyes. In an instant he was surrounded in the warmth of a heavy black jacket and “Mystery Shack” brand ear muffs. “Gonna have to remember that.” “Now that you’re over your little ‘crisis’,” Discord said, making air quotes for emphasis. “Would you please get back to searching?” “Wow, take it easy there, buddy,” Stan replied, quickly following suit. “I know we’re in a hurry, but didn’t the floating tortilla chip just get done saying we have plenty of time?” “True, but we’re not the only ones in here.” “What, you mean tall, dark, and scary?” Bill asked. “No need to worry about him, even if he does wake up, we’re so deep in his subconscious that he’d need a completely different set of eyes to find us.” “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Stan and Bill paused, looking at each other with a shared look of confusion. “Something you’re not telling us, Discord?” Stan asked. “It’s—it’s nothing,” he said, giving his head a firm shake. “Come on, let’s try another door.” The three carried onwards, moving deeper into the screaming winds. ------- “Come along, Silver,” Luna said as she walked down the long corridor. “We’ve almost arrived at your room.” Silver Shroud trailed close behind her, his head tilted slightly downward and his eyes pointed at the floor. His mind was still elsewhere as he followed the sound of Luna’s voice. Alright, he thought to himself. All we know is that she ‘might’ have had something to do with what happened to Diamond. Nothing concrete, so when we see her, don’t outright accuse her, just— “S-Silver, watch out!” blurted Luna, causing Silver to snap back into reality just in time to feel his face smack into a hard wooden surface. “Blasted door,” Silver groaned as he rubbed his snout. Luna stifled a giggle. “I don’t believe it to be fair to blame an inanimate object for one’s lack of awareness.” “Albeit true,” Silver said, trotting into his room, “my lust for vengeance burns nonetheless.” He grumbled, earning a giggle from the Lunar Princess. “Care for some friendly advice?” Luna asked. “Always,” Silver said. Before he could register what was happening, Luna had made her way to his side and was gently nuzzling her head underneath his chin. “Forget about everything, at least for tonight. I know it may seem like a lot to ask, but worrying about your friend isn’t going to do anything but cause pain on yourself.” She stepped away from the now stark red King, a small smile on her muzzle. “So, get some sleep. We will have a carriage summoned for you first thing in the morning. So until then, I wish you the sweetest of dreams, your majesty.” With that, Luna gave a small bow and made her way out, shutting the door behind her. Finally coming to with a quick shake of his head, he gave a content sigh and turned his attention to his bed. “Yes, yes perhaps she’s right,” Silver said, removing his cape and crown and placing them both on the nightstand before crawling into bed. “First thing—” he paused as a yawn overtook him. “—in the morning.” -------- “Diiiiiamond,” a voice called out, causing a stir from the stallion. “Diiiiiiamond, wakey wakey.” The voice called out once more, earning another stir from him. “Oh for the love of—wake up you old fool!” Diamond suddenly shot upright. Finding himself not in the carriage, but in the middle of an icy tundra. The bitter cold tearing at his exposed hide, and the winds attempting to take what little hearing he had left. Wrapping his arms around himself to retain his slowly draining body heat, Diamond looked to the sky and, with clattering teeth, asked, “Where in the name of Tartarus am I?!” “You don’t like it? I was hoping to do the world like this.” Diamond turned his head toward the source of the voice, finding an all too familiar black mass floating mere inches away. “Y-y-y-you?!” He said through both fear and rage. “What have you d-d-d-done, where have you t-taken me?” “Oh relax, will you. You’re passed out after your little ‘talk’ with Celestia. Silver took you to the clinic and you’re fast asleep in a soft, cozy bed.” “Th-this is not a bed.” “Brilliant deduction there, Diamond. No, we’re in the former sanctity that was your mind. I got a little bored waiting for you to come to, and well, here we are.” Diamond remained silent, his sense of feeling in his limbs slowly draining with each passing second. “But if you’re so opposed to my creativity, I suppose I can turn up the temperature.” The dark figure extended a jet black arm and with one swift downward motion, the storm and snow vanished, leaving the two beings in utter and complete darkness. Diamond rose to his hooves, regaining the sensation in his limbs. “I’m not going to thank you,” he said flatly. “Good, then listen,” the figure said as he draped an arm over Diamond’s neck. “If you haven’t noticed already, you’re kind of dying.” Diamond scoffed. “Now who’s pointing out the obvious?” he said, pulling away from the figure. “If that’s all you’re here to tell me then I’m afraid you’ve come all this way to spit cold air.” “Well, I’m glad you’re taking this with such a light heart.” The figure straightened his back and leaned its head against a cupped hand. “Do you think young Silver will take death so easily? After all, he’s on the fast track to meet him shortly after you.” “What are you—wait—you mean Tia's barking?” Diamond paused, his eyes falling to the ground in contemplation. “She—she wouldn’t actually—” “You saw her tonight,” The figure said, slowly shifting around the stallion, its arms held gracefully behind its back. “You heard the rage in her voice, you saw the desperation in her eyes. Skivier, I think you and I both know that she fully intends to enact what she’s promised tonight.” Diamond said nothing, his whole body trembled as reality struck him head on. “The Crystal Empire will burn,” the voice continued. “ The crystal ponies will die. And the one who you hold most dear to your heart, will perish. All of this will happen, and you’ve only yourself to blame.” “What do I need to do?” Diamond muttered, his face still directed toward the ground. The figure turned, its face holding a twisted smile as it gently placed a hand under Diamond’s muzzle, lifting it upwards so their eyes met. “There’s but one thing, and one thing alone, my little pony.” ------- Silver shot up in his bed, sweat dripping from every pore in his body. Looking around the room, he cursed inwardly to himself before resting his head in his fore hooves. “Just another nightmare,” he grumbled. “Too old, I’m too old to still be having these.” Slipping out from his bed, Silver groggily made his way to the door. “Nothing a small midnight snack shouldn’t quench.” But as the King poked his head into the hallway, all thoughts of returning to his slumber perished. For slipping into a room five doors down, was Princess Celestia herself, closing the door behind her as her form disappeared into the room. Silver’s eyes narrowed, he took a step forward, making his way to the room. Reaching the door, Silver’s eyes picked up a light flash from under the cracks of the door. Taking no mind to it, the King cleared his throat before giving a polite series of knocks. “Your Majesty,” he started. “It is I, Silver Shroud. I apologize for calling upon you at such an hour, but I feel that we must talk. May I come in?” There was only silence from the other side. Silver knocked once more. “Princess Celestia, please,” Silver said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I must insist we speak, I believe you are aware of the circumstances of my stay.” Once again he was met with silence, his eye gave a noticeable twitch. “You were one of the last to speak to Diamond, he was in your room.” His breaths grew more rapid with each passing moment of silence, each question accompanied by slam on the door. “Was he acting oddly? Did he have a limp? Did you see anypony with him? For Faust’s sake, answer me so I know I’m not addressing an empty room!” With one final slam the door burst open, swinging on its hinges and slamming against the hard stone wall. Silver’s mouth hung agape, the door was one thing, but it was what stood before him that caused his shock. Emptiness, save for a bed, a bookshelf, a chair, a desk, and a lone bust, the room showed no signs of anypony’s presence, much less Celestia. “This—this can’t be,” Silver stammered, taking a hesitant step into the room. “Teleportation, perhaps? But then why even bother entering the room?” Searching the room, Silver soon discovered that the room was far more abandoned than upon first glance. Most of the furniture was coated with a fine layer of dust, the books that lay in the book shelves wore coats so thick, it rendered their covers nearly unreadable. The room itself was only lighted by a small window from the north side, producing not enough light to illuminate the room, but just enough to allow Silver’s eyes to adjust. Too caught up in his observations, Silver was thoroughly caught off guard as his nose collided with the bust, knocking him backward. Quickly regaining focus, he hastily returned his gaze back to the bust, hoping to intercept the statute as it fell to the ground. Yet the bust hadn’t moved, in fact, nor had the pillar supporting it. Brushing off the pain in his snout, Silver approached the offending decoration. The statue wasn’t anything special, a simple marble carving of a pony’s head. Two ears, two eyes and a muzzle were present, though the lack of pupils on the bust was enough to send a small unnerving chill up the young King’s spine. But upon further inspection, something seemed off. Around the area where the neck connects the head, there was a clear circle where the dust was absent, revealing the statues true pearl white color. “How odd,” Silver said to himself. Raising a hoof, Silver lightly pushed the chin of the bust. In doing so, the entire head rotated with Silver’s touch, the sound of stone rubbing against stone meeting the King’s ears. In a fright, Silver retrieved his hoof and jumped back, as he did, the head snapped right back to its former position. Taking a deep breath, Silver placed his hoof back onto the bust, pushing the head in a counterclockwise direction. The sound of stone against stone began once more, nonetheless, Silver pushed on, doing his best to ignore the painful sound. Just as the head reached a full circle, it stopped with a sharp ‘click’. The sound of cogs turning echoed throughout the room. Fearing the worst, Silver turned to the door, anticipating a hasty retreat from the room. The sound of cogs finally came to a stop. With a sharp metallic squeal, the bed lifted upwards, shoving the mattress into the wall to reveal a hidden flight of stairs. Silver took a moment to regain his senses. “Must have been a muffling spell then,” he muttered to himself, thinking back to the flash. ”But now a new question arises.” Silver’s eyes gazed down the dimly lit flight of stairs. With a loud gulp, he began his shaky descent into darkness. It didn’t take long for Silver to reach the bottom of the stairs, but once he did, his eyes were greeted by nothing but darkness. With an illuminated horn, he slowly navigated his way through the corridor. Lining the walls were dozens of tapestries. Some depicting events familiar to him, the tale of Hearths Warming, for example. The fine stitching depicted the three pony tribes putting aside their differences and coming together to fend off the dreaded Windigos. There were other familiar events, the dethroning of Discord, and the building of the castle of the two sisters. As Silver’s eyes rested on the final tapestry, he stopped. Before him was a sight he had read in books, or been told about it from hardened soldiers. An event that he prayed he nor his crystal subjects would have to suffer through. War. It wasn’t just the war itself that drew the young King’s attention, it was the two opposing forces. Depicted by the stitchery were ponies of all the three races, adorning armor from head to hoof, bodies of fallen soldiers lie strewn about the battlefield, on the other side of the tapestry were what appeared to be... Silver shook his head, brightening his light to be sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him in the darkness. They weren't. His eyes had held true, the ponies were up against an army of bipedal candy creatures of all shapes and sizes. Leading a charge stood a fleshy pink creature, its legs were covered in a dark blue fabric, while its upper half was shielded by an armor set of its own, with two pieces of lighter blue fabric surrounding its forelegs. In one of its hands it held a sword of the purest white, its length stretched downward and the sword seemed to be surrounded by an orb of the purest blues. And resting on the being’s head sat an odd white hat, tipped with two little nubs, ripped and torn, revealing bits of blonde mane. Silver continued to stare in bewilderment, what was this surreal image doing among theses historical moments? Surely this couldn’t be implying that this battle actually took place...could it? Shoving the thought to the side for a moment, Silver’s eyes continued to scan, only to stop once more on another figure. From the top right hand side of the battlefield, soaring above the combatants, there was creature similar in form to the blond maned one, sharing the same placement of its odd limbs. But that’s about where the similarities ended. This creature wore a dark blue tunic over its body, from what little could be seen, its skin appeared a lighter shade of blue as well. From its forelimbs shot what looked like lightning made of ice toward the ponies. What wasn’t covered by his tunic was snow white hair, wafting from down his face and from the top of his— “Imposible!” Silver blurted. A hoof pressed against his muzzle as his eyes darted back and forth, making sure he hadn’t caught any unwanted attention. Being met with silence, his fears were put to rest, the stallion returned his eyes to what rested upon the creature’s head. Sure enough, a golden crown, ending in three points and adorned with three crimson gems. “The Ice King’s Crown, then that means—” “No more excuses!” Silver flung his back against the opposite wall, only to shoot forward with a muffled cry as he unknowingly backed into a resting blade mounted on the wall. Biting his tongue as the pain raced through his body, Silver turned his head to assess the damage. Sure enough, dashed across his right flank was a single cut. As the pain slowly faded from his fresh injury, Silver turned his attention to the source of the voice. Or rather...voices? With a deep breath and quiet steps, the King ventured further down the hall toward the source of the voice, curiosity blinding him to any dangers that might lie ahead. From the opposite end of the hall, as it turned off into another room, there shone a iridescent light that went unnoticed. Drawing closer, there were indeed two sets of voices. One belonging to Celestia, while the other sounded alien of sorts. Its tone was feminine, but it was as if it was being filtered through something. “Why must you make me wait longer, my dear?” the voice said. “We know who has it and we know where it is, why are you not bursting down that empire’s doors right now and retrieving what’s ours?!” “Because it’s an entire empire we’re talking about,” Celestia yelled back. “Full of ponies and their families! They at least deserve a chance to hand over the crown—” “Decades, he’s had decades! We finally track him down after all this time, and now, just because he’s using a few flesh shields, you feel it necessary to give the dingus a little more time to further donk up my plans? He could just as well use that time to escape!” Silver edged closer to where the voices emanated, his steps taking longer to hit the floor as with each hushed breath intake. Stopping his stride as he reached the corner, not daring another step lest the two entities see or hear him. “No!” Celestia screamed, desperation coating her tone. “It’s not like that, he won’t leave the Empire, he cares too much for Silver Shroud to just abandon him. Besides, I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.” Silver’s brow furrowed. “I’ll say, after the way you messed him up, I’d be surprised if he even made it through the end of the month.” “Please, you know as well as I do that I had nothing to do with that.” At this point Silver was absolutely livid, not only had the Princess of the Sun admitted to knowing of the assault on Diamond, but had a hoof in it herself. “Yeah, well, your sweet talkin’ wasn’t working so somebody had to take over if anything was going to get done.” “I just wish you weren't so...harsh with him.” “Wait...oh my glob, no way, you still have feelings for him?” The voice let out laugh. ”All that time and you still can’t get over him, oh that is just precious.” “Mother, please!” “Mother?!” Silver blurted out. His eyes shrank to pinpricks as the realization of his actions hit him square in the face. He quickly turned to run only for his eyes to be bombarded by a flash of golden light. Shielding himself from with his fore hoof, Silver’s vision cleared just in time to see a white foreleg swing behind him. With a sudden sharp pain the King’s vision went black as he fell to the ground. ----------------- “No!” Diamond yelled. “No, no, no, no, no! I can’t do it, I won’t do it!” “What part of ‘there’s no other option’ don’t you understand?” The figure said, its hands placed behind its head as its body lay on the ground. “You roped him into this the second you laid eyes on him and you’re the one who’s going to give him the best chance he has to defend himself.” “But what you’re suggesting is madness!” “Madness is all we have left. Diamond Chisel, Skiver Topmen.” The figure lifted itself to its feet and turned to the elderly pony. “I’m offering you the one option that will give the one being you care for more than your very life, the means that he’ll need to defend himself against a force that knows no limit. Will you deny him that and instead selfishly perish, leaving him and his home defenceless?” “N-no,” Diamond stammered, his eyes welling with tears as he faced the figure. “There must be another way, any other way. I’ll be dooming him down the very path I lost myself on so, so many years ago. He has so much life left to live, so much more to experience. Please, doing this is as good as sending him to his death.” “And not going through with it isn’t?” The figure bent down to Diamond’s level, gently dabbing the tears away with the black cloth surrounding its form. ”I wish I could say there was another way, truly I do, but this is it.” Diamond gently pulled away from the figure, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. He looked back up at it, taking a deep breath before giving a nod. “Excellent,” the figure said, a smile crawling across its mouth.”Now then, first thing’s first, you’ll need to get out of here and get to the Crystal Empire. For that, I’ll gladly lend my hand in the matter. But first, you need to wake up.” Raising his hand, the figure brought it to his mouth. With a soft breath, it blew a small cloud of snow into Diamond’s face. Upon making contact, the stallion vanished from the dark room. The figure stood there, a smirk on his face. “You know this is wrong.” “That’s all in a matter of opinion,” the figure said, turning to face the new presence with an annoyed glare. “No, no I’m pretty sure causing the fall of an entire kingdom is pretty low.” “It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve been responsible for the fall of an empire.” “Doesn't make it any better. Yeah, in fact, I’m pretty sure that makes it a lot worse.” “Did you come all this way just to make me feel guilty? Because I have to say that’s quite a waste of energy on your part.” “I came here to try to talk you out of doing this, maybe appeal to that one tiny shred of humanity that says it’s not okay to mess with things like this.” The figure chuckled. “You and I are very much aware that that spot of me shriveled up and died a long, long time ago.” “A guy can hope, can’t he?” “Even the youngest of children know when to give up hope. But then again, you never did know when to quit, did you?” “One of my many good qualities that I pride myself on.” --------------- Back in Diamond’s room, a crystal guard stood by the elderly stallion as he slumbered. Quartz Spear was his name and unfortunately he’d almost reached his limit. His eyes threatened to close every so often, growing heavier and heavier, only to be kept conscious with the occasional shake of his head before he fell completely to sleep. His attention was quickly drawn to the main door as a series of knocks echoed from the other side. “It’s Double Check, I’m coming in,” the voice said before the door opened, allowing the mare to make her way in. “How has he been?” she asked. “Still,” Spear answered. “Aside from a slight jolt here or there he’s been sound asleep. The lucky stallion,” Spear added with a yawn, eliciting a chuckle from the doctor. “Well, don’t worry, I’m just here to make sure nothing’s changed since I was here last. After that, you can go back to your not sleeping.” “Oh joy.” The Doctor proceeded to pull out a thermometer from her white overcoat and gently place it under Diamond’s tongue. Taking the binaural of her stethoscope in her hooves she stretched the two pieces apart until she comfortably slid the ear pieces into their proper positions, after which she proceeded to grip the bell as she searched for the stallion’s heartbeat with the diaphragm. “So doc, anything out of the ordinary? Two heartbeats, a fifth leg, a third eye.” Double laughed and shook her head. “No, nothing like that, in fact he’s exactly how I le—wait a minute.” “Wait?” Spear asked with a raised brow. “What’s up, doc?” “Come over here, quickly.” She said waving a hoof to him. Spear obliged, making his way over to the bed. “What am I looking for, doc?” He asked scanning the stallion. “Look at the thermometer.” Spear did as she said and found the little red line of mercury steadily making its way to the bottom. “Wow, maybe it’s a faulty thermometer?” “Maybe,” Double reached out with her free hoof and placed it on Diamond’s head, only to reel back in shock not a moment later. “By Celestia, he’s freezing cold!” “His fur.” Spear said, his fixated downward. “What?” “Look at his fur, and his mane, they’re...changing.” Double looked back and sure enough, the stallion’s grey-blue coat was fading into an icy blue. Around his muzzle grew a thick and luscious beard of the purest whites, as his mane turned to an identical color and grew along with his facial hair. “Doc...what’s going on?” Spear said in a shaky voice. “I...I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like th—ah!” Double Check reeled back as shards of glass from the broken thermometer flew everywhere. “Go for the other guard, now!” Spear ordered. Double nodded and rushed out the door, only for Diamond’s body to begin violently convulsing, shooting up and down in the bed as if he were being shaken by an invisible foe. Spear quickly spread himself over the stallion’s body. The guard was jostled about, only managing to stay on the elderly stallion by gripping the side of the bed and pressing his barrel into him with all his might. Moments later, Double came back with the additional guard just in time to see Spear lose his grip and fly to the other side of the room, hitting the wall with a loud ‘thud’. “Don’t just stand there,” Spear shouted to the other guard. “Hold him down!” The guard did what he was told, but just as he was about to make an attempt to get on top of the stallion, the convulsions stopped. Diamond lay still on the bed, motionless before his eyes shot open, eliciting a scream from Double check. His blue eyes had faded and were now a pale white. Wasting no time, Diamond removed himself from the bed and started heading for the window. “D-don’t let him leave!” Double blurted. The additional guard quickly moved to intercept the stallion, blocking the exit and stopping Diamond in his place. Diamond looked up the the crystal guard, the guard looked back, meeting his gaze. The guard held fast, staring deep into Diamond’s soulless white eyes, his own eyes, trembling with fear. With a low gruff voice, Diamond spoke one sole command to the guard. “Move.” “I’m sorry Sir,” the guard said. “But I can—” Without any warning, Diamond lifted a fore hoof and pointed it at the guard. With a sudden flash the guard was encased in a layer of clear ice, a look of terror frozen on his face. Diamond gave the block a slight push, causing the guard to easily slide to the side. The remaining occupants were petrified. Double Check was reduced to tears as she shook uncontrollably. “Stop!” Spear yelled, pointing his spear at the assailant. “Y-you’re going to undo what you did to that guard. Th-then you’re going to get back into bed and—” Diamond turned, with another raise of a fore hoof and with a sudden flash, Spear was encased in his own icy prison. Diamond gently slid the window open, stepped into the hall, put his fore hooves onto the windowsill and stuck his head outside. “For what it’s worth,” he said as he turned his head back to the petrified mare. “I’m sorry.” With that said, his beard and mane split into two parts and gave a mighty thrust downward before throwing himself out the window. Double Check watched as the crystal earth pony, flew away with his mane and beard wings. Keeping her eyes open for as long as possible before passing out. -------- “Diamond!” Silver shouted, shooting upright in his bed. His eyes instantly shut closed as the sun shone through his window and into his eyes. “What on Equis happened last night?” he asked himself, vaguely recalling blurred visions of the night prior. “Was it...just a dream?” Knock knock knock “Silver?” Silver groaned at the sudden bout of noises. Knock knock knock “Silver please, you need to get up,” called the voice. “It’s Diamond!” “What?!” Silver yelled. Shooting out of his bed, he used his magic to fling the door open. Princess Luna stood in the hallway, a look of worry cast upon her face. “What’s going on, what happened, is Diamond okay?” “We don’t know,” Luna said shaking her head. “We weren't given the full details, but from what we were told, your friend bested the two guards you left to protect him, then fled through the window.” “W-what?” “Come,” Luna said turning down the hall. “Gather your things, there’s a carriage waiting to take us to the medical center.” “Us?” Silver asked. “Luna, there really is no need to—” “There’s no time to argue,” Luna blurted. “The carriage awaits. Besides, is it not a friend’s duty to be there when another friend is in need?” “Well yes, but—” “Then together we shall go, grab your wares, posthaste!” Silver nodded. Turning around to grab cape and crown, Luna’s eye caught a glimpse of something before the cape enveloped the King’s upper half. “Let’s go.” Silver said, as he moved past the Princess. “Right.” Just how long hast Silver had that ghastly scratch?