Chapter 3: The Frozen Legion
{1020 Years Ago}
The two regal alicorn sisters were wandering through the snow-covered wasteland of Northern Equestria. They were equipped with thick scarfs and saddlebags filled with survival rations and folded-up tents. The weather was a soft gust of snowy winds; not strong enough to impair the two sisters vision.
“Sister, we think thy plans to intercept the Crystal Empire are not well thought out. We insist that thou reconsider.” Princess Luna says in her traditional vocabulary.
“Trust me, Luna. We’ve been over the plan over a dozen times and it’s the best course of action we have. I know you’re not comfortable with complying, but we have to try. Remember what I said; ‘When it comes to the safety of the kingdom, sometimes you have to take a risk.’” Celestia responds.
“But sneaking into the Legion’s stronghold? Even our greatest spies were unable to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks! How does thou expect us to succeed where they have failed!?”
“Luna, too soon!” Celestia looks at her sister in disappointment.
Luna lowers her head in shame.
“We apologise. It was wrong of us to dishonour their deaths. But how can thou be so optimistic? The Legion is determined to end our reign and destroy Equestria.”
“Sombra controls their forces. Without their leader, the Legion would crumble. We must sneak in and interrogate Sombra; it won’t be easy, I know, but it’s not impossible. We must remain vigilant.”
The royal sisters continue to trek through the frozen barren for a few hours. The cold didn’t slow them down, as they have natural fur and a thick scarf to keep them warm. Hunger was also not an issue since their survival rations contained enough bare essentials to last for at least a week.
What is the Legion, you might ask?
The Frozen Legion; a vast army of crystal ponies, living elementals and various races all corrupted by dark magic who seek to destroy any trace of order in Equestria and dominate all that they see. It is unknown who their main leader and founder is, but it is certain that Sombra is only a second-in-command for the Legion. It can be said that the Frozen Legion is the greatest threat to Equestria.
Their first target of conquest was the Crystal Empire and corrupted the once-beloved king Sombra into a monstrous tyrant due to the Legion’s influence. Many members of the world’s races have fallen victim to the corruption of the Legion’s dark magic, turning them into soldiers with no free will. Their forces now count in the tens of thousands. It is now up to the regal rulers of Equestria to put an end to the chaotic and disorganised state that the Legion has wrought.
Approaching their destination, they notice the smell of the cold air disappear and replaced by the strong scent of stone.
Slowly and quietly walking to the peak of a snow-covered hill, the two princesses could see pillars of grey smog billowing from multiple locations. Finally making it to the top, they could see it all.
“Keep your head down, Luna.” Celestia whispers.
Luna gulps nervously and nodded in silent agreement.
The sight of a massive army met them. They could see many races among the hostile crowd; Ponies, Gryphons, Minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, even a few Dragons made up the Legions’ army. All the soldiers were standing in formations of squares all over the barren landscape. The Crystal Empire, now littered with black crystals instead of its usual cold-coloured stones, can be seen in the distance; their destination was in sight.
"Now comes the hard part." Celestia whispers, observing their enemies.
"Care to explain how we make it to the Crystal Empire without being seen?" Luna asks quietly.
"All of those soldiers have their consciousness corrupted by dark magic, so they lack most perception, but we won't be able to fly high above them; not with all those dragons. An Invisibility spell is not an option since our hoof-prints can easily be discovered. Teleporting into the Empire would draw too much attention…”
“Why would that be, sister?” Luna interrupts, to which Celestia sways her head and mutters a response.
“Princesses don’t interrupt, Luna.” Celestia whispers kindly, “We must be kind in our words; it’s what the broken state of Equestria requires most of us right now.”
Luna nodded solemnly, an apology gracing her lips, before Celestia raised her hoof to stop her. “We are sorry, dear sister – We did not mean to chastise. Just think; why dost thou think we cannot teleport inside the Empire?”
“Well…” Luna ponders, one of her hooves touching her chin, “We don’t know what could be in the Crystal Empire, and the flash of magic could draw unwanted attention.”
Celestia nods in agreement to her little sister, before continuing, “We also can't disguise ourselves as soldiers as they're all in formation and we would be the only ones left out." She puts a hoof on her chin, imitating Luna’s action. "The Legion is more cautious than I thought when it comes to intruders infiltrating their ranks."
"Then we are at a dead end. If only we knew an easier way to sneak in."
Moments later, after analysing the landscape for any more openings, the two sisters heard light hoof-steps in the snow behind them. Remaining crouched, they both turned around; horns glowing, preparing for what danger they may confront. Unexpectedly, the two alicorns were met by a Crystal Pegasus mare; her coat as white as the snow falling around her while her mane and tail were a light shade of blue. As the mare got closer, the two sisters were able to get a clear view of her face.
What they saw made them both transfixed.
There was a long, fresh scar vertically across her left eye. The dried blood was easy to notice on her white coat. The mare lifted her head to the two princesses before collapsing sidewards, losing consciousness.
Both alicorns gasped in horror before rushing to the downed mare. Upon closer inspection, Luna noticed something out of shape; the mare’s belly was more expanded than the average pony...
"Luna, we must return to base. She needs medical attention."
Luna gently put a hoof on the mare's round belly, feeling a hard firmness. She only needed one guess as to why that was.
"Yes, sister, we must make haste! This mare is heavily pregnant!”
A few hours passed and they managed to trek back to their base camp with the pregnant mare suspended in their magic. In a medical tent of the Equestrian Military, the two alicorns and medics were standing around the bed that held the pained, suffering mare.
"Doctor Herbal, may you and your staff kindly allow my sister and I to talk to this poor mare in private?" Celestia asks.
"I’m afraid not just yet, Your Highness – we feel we should wait until this mare is stable. However, it may be best for this patient to not feel so crowded." Celestia nods in understanding and the doctor smiles sheepishly, leading the fellow medical staff out of the tent with a harsh word and a wave of his fetlock hooves.
The doctor leapt back to the bedside of the mare, and Celestia was the first to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled between the five ponies still inside the tent. "My little pony, can you please tell us your name?"
With fear still cloaking her mind and a look of desperation on her face, the mare lowered her head and whispered:
"C... Corona."
"Corona. Would it be alright with you if we ask you a few questions?" Celestia asks her, softly.
Corona limply nods her head.
Luna asks the next, and obvious, question, - "We would like to know what had happened to thee." - Okay, maybe not in the form of a question.
Corona hesitates to answer, and both alicorns realised, by her expression, that the answer they seek wouldn't be that easy.
"We understand if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, so please - take all the time you need. In the meantime, feel free to ask us any questions that you have in mind."
Corona raises her head at this, and stares at the princesses. After a moment of silent pondering, she opened her mouth. "Umm...” She pauses before speaking, with a hoof over her distended belly. Celestia immediately recognises the concern in her eyes as that of a mother to a child - she lightly tapped the doctor’s shoulder with a cloven hoof to stir him out of his thoughts. He jumps at the sudden contact.
“Perhaps this stallion will be able to answer your questions better than we can at the moment.” Celestia comments.
"Certainly”, the doctor answers, “…What was the question?”
“How is my foal, doctor?” Corona stutters out a question in a soft voice.
"First of all, from what we could analyse, you are 10 months pregnant and should be giving birth any moment, which raises another question that I will ask later. Secondly, you're body is suffering from a minor case of hypothermia, but you should be safe and warm in this tent."
"But what about my baby? Is it still alright?"
"Your foal is perfectly fine, Miss Corona. You have nothing to worry about."
As the doctor and Corona discussed her condition, Celestia felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. She turned to look at her sister who intervened. "What is it, Luna?"
"Sister, as much as we would like to hear more from this mare, shouldn't we focus our attention on the Legion's advances?" She whispers.
Celestia stares at her sister for a few seconds before briefly turning her glance at Corona and back to her sister. "...You're right. Our time is scarce and we must act with haste. Go to the command table and formulate a strategy while I..." She was suddenly interrupted by an agonising scream.
"Aaaaaaaaaahhh, haah, haah!!"
Turning to the source of the scream, the princesses saw Corona flailing in her bed. Right on cue, the rest of the doctors and medics who were waiting patiently outside came storming in the tent to analyse her condition. Doctor Herbal's horn lit up and slowly moved his magic aura around Corona's pregnant belly. The medical staff were holding her limbs down to avoid any accidents. After a brief moment, Herbal quickly turned his look of worry towards the princesses.
"She's going into labour! Your Majesties, please give us some space!"
They both nodded "Of course. Please look after her." Celestia said.
As they both exited the medical tent, they made their way to the command table in the officers’ tent.
"Sister, after the foal is born, I suggest we move them both to the refugee camp back at the castle."
"Good idea. This is no place for an exhausted mother and her newborn foal. I'll arrange two of our scouts to escort them when Corona's ready."
{Present}
"After a few hours, my sister and I returned to the medical tent to check in on Corona. She gave birth to a healthy Pegasus colt... But, unfortunately..." Luna concluded with a frown.
"What happened" Twilight asked.
"Corona died in the process."
“…oh.” Twilight responded. Sadness filled the room.
"Her overexposure to the cold left her body completely weak and had suffered internal bleeding while giving birth. The colt was unharmed, but now, he had no mother."
"Oh, that poor mare." Fluttershy whispered reverently.
"So what did y'all do with the poor lil’ guy?" Applejack asked.
"With the Legion not making any advances as far, we assumed it was safe enough to let one of our pegasus troops escort the foal to our castle. But not everything went according to plan...", Luna sighed, lowering her head as she recalled the events. She paused briefly before proceeding, "After transferring Corona's corpse to the morgue and the newborn colt to my bedchambers, with the company of one of the medical staff, the entirety of the castle started to rumble. After moving outside onto the balcony, we witnessed catapult artilleries coming from the forest - we were under attack by the Legion."
"Were you able to beat them up?" Rainbow Dash asks.
"Unfortunately, no", Luna answered, "We were hopelessly outnumbered. The Frozen Legion made their move when we least expected it; The only thing we could do was flee. While we were successful in evacuating the refugees and escaping the onslaught, our castle was in ruins, along with what remains of Corona."
"The poor mare never got a proper burial." Rarity lamented.
Before Luna could continue with her story, Grey Nimbus raised his hoof, gaining the attention of everypony in the room.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but what does all this have to do with me? I'd like to get to the point, if you don't mind, Princess."
"Very well. But you might not be prepared for what I'm about to tell you." Luna closed her eyes, "The little colt who was born that day..." She then reopened them and gave Nimbus a serious look.
"...Was you."