Legend of the Burning Snow

by Phoenix Frost

New Plans

"With all due respect, princess," Rainbow Dash said, pointing at Celestia in ridicule. "Ya dun goofed."

Celestia accepted her mistake. "Yes, I should have given you more information before sending you on your way. Please excuse the sense of urgency I had for rushing," she said sincerely.

"Excuse you?" Dash asked with a subtle irritation in her voice. "Excuse you!? Because of you, we now have an ice god about to freeze all of Equestria over, after he just proved to be stronger that the fire goddess, and you want us to just excuse you!?" she exclaimed as Celestia backed away, regretting her decision even more. "Sure, let's just forget about the death sentence you've given us! You know, what, princess? The Tartarus with you! You can go back to Canterlot without us. Go tend to your 'loyal' subjects who you can lie to some more." She turned around and sat in the snow with her hooves crossed. "Good riddance!"

Celestia swallowed. She'd really messed up this time. Her actions caused the Element of Loyalty herself to scream in outrage to her face. She was being shunned by one of the ponies whom she trusted most. Now she had lost all faith in the princess. The very thought of such an event ate at Celestia from the inside, now it was a reality. "No," she said at last. "I'm not leaving my most faithful subjects here to freeze to death." She knelt down beside Rainbow Dash and brushed her face against hers. "Come, it's a long way back to Canterlot."

"Then you shouldn't let me be dead weight, then," Dash snapped.

Twilight chimed in, "Rainbow, I think you should come along with us. Everypony makes mistakes."

"No!" she yelled, looking up and hovering in the air. Her face was full of rage, her eyes piercing into the lavender alicorn who was trying to keep calm. "If there's anything I had to learn in the Wonderbolt Academy, it's that we have to come out clean, no matter how hard it is to admit or what you sacrifice for it." She pointed to Celestia, but her eyes didn't leave Twilight. "If this is the pony you want as your role model, maybe she should learn a thing or two. Applejack, help me out on this."

The farmer pony kept silent, staring disapprovingly at the blue pegasus asking for her help. Dash looked worried, and sad at the same time. Her anger quickly returned to her face. "Fine then!" she said. "Rarity, are you with me?" The unicorn gave the same response. Rainbow's expression turned sorrowful again, but this time it didn't leave her face. "Pinkie," she asked. The party pony shook her head and walked in the opposite direction, her friends one at a time following her. The last one facing her was Fluttershy, who held her head down low in silence.

"Fluttershy?" Dash pleaded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. The yellow mare closed her eyes tightly and turned her head to her right. She waited a moment before joining her friends leaving the pegasus behind. Dash cried silently, watching through her her blurred vision as Celestia and her friends pulled the golden chariot out of the snow. She dropped to the ground and cupped her hooves around her eyes.

Celestia flipped the chariot back over so it stood right-side-up again. She unlatched the harnesses on the two unconscious pegasi on the ground. Twilight took one of the harnesses and put it on, securing it with her magic. Celestia took the other harness and brought it over her back, then stopped as she saw something moving in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a familiar blue pegasus slowly walking over to the chariot to join them. The princess smiled at Rainbow's reconsideration. Her friends were happy to see her turn around, too, but Celestia understood that it was anger she just needed to let pass. She had forgiven Dash for a more personal reason.

"Welcome back, Rainbow," Applejack greeted her.

Dash gave a weak smile. "Thanks." The friends loaded the knocked out guards into the back of the chariot. Their limp bodies flopping all over Applejack and Rainbow Dash as they moved them into the far end of the cart. Dash hooked herself to the empty harness next to Twilight. They smiled and exchanged nods to each other. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all huddled together in the back of the chariot, leaning up against the guards to keep them from falling out. Celestia would follow on her own wing strength. Twilight and Rainbow started running, pulling the cart behind it. The hills of snow made it difficult to get it moving, but with time, they managed to pull up into the sky and maintain their altitude.

There wasn't much to talk about on the way back to Canterlot, as all six friends' minds were set on getting back home. Of course, there was the awkward moment of the two chariot pullers waking up, screaming and flailing all the while as they tried to comprehend why they were shoved up against a group of mares (which they didn't mind too much) in a chariot hundreds of feet in the air. Laughs where shared among the ponies while the guards couldn't get over their confusion to join them. They reached Canterlot late an night, the moon high in the sky. The six friends and Celestia gathered inside the castle to escape the cold night air while the guards stood outside, stretching and trying to crack their backs from the hours of bad posture.

Celestia took the six friends back to the throne room for further discussion. The entire group was glad to be back inside, and away from the cold air. While the cold didn't phase them much, anypony could get frostbite from being out there for hours. They reached the doors to their destination, and with a yellow magical glow, they slowly opened. Luna was waiting for them inside. She must have headed back while Magmare and Frostborn were fighting. "Sister," Celestia greeted her softly. She smiled and trotted over to give the moon princess a hug. After a couple seconds, they pulled away from each other.

"Frostborn won, didn't he?" Luna asked.

Celestia was surprised at the accurate guess. "How did you know?" she asked.

"Visions, dream powers, and such," Luna answered. "I was able to tap into the dreams of the two guards in the chariot with you. Even as unconscious as they were, I constantly felt an icy breeze around me." She directed her attention to the farmer pony. "The one has taken quite the liking to you, Applejack."

Applejack stiffened. She was blushing and her eyes were wide open. "Uh," she managed. "Alrighty then?"

"I suggest you take in his admiration," Rarity whispered in her ear. "Whichever one it was, he had quite the bulk in those legs," she chuckled, eyes retreating up into her head as she recalled their masculine bodies. A.J. turned her head and gave the unicorn a disappointed gaze. "What?" Rarity asked in complaint of the farmer pony's judgement.

"That is also how I sensed the danger of King Sombra in the north," Luna continued. "These two," she gestured to Rarity and Pinkie Pie," were taken over by fear in his presence. With nightmares so sinister, I knew there was a dark presence in the mountains with these two." Luna's expression told them that their dreams even sent chills down her own spine. "Something I assume you ladies wish to keep to yourself."

Both ponies froze, staring off deeply into space. They gave quick shakes of their head "no" and didn't speak. Twilight turned to her left to see Princess Celestia. "How did you know to come for us?" she asked.

Celestia hesitated. "Magmare was a massive threat to you," she finally answered. "I knew you would need some assistance if you had encountered her." She spoke quickly, trying, and failing, to hide a sense of anxiety inside her. The six ponies staring at her like they had expected more didn't help.

"Uh, is there something you're not telling us, Princess?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.

"Most certainly not," she replied as if the question were ridiculous. "What brought you to that conclusion?"

Silence filled the room. The six hadn't given up that Celestia was hiding something. Twilight finally spoke, "Princess Celestia?" Celestia looked down to her ex-pupil with caution. "What did Magmare mean when she called you her kin?" Her voice was light. Twilight was sure this is what she had been keeping to herself.

Celestia's discomfort grew, and it was reflected in her eyes. All six friends looked up in a mix of worry and curiosity to their prestigious idol. Celestia felt tense, but she couldn't hide the truth any longer. She took a deep breath, and her head lowered to the floor. "Should I say, sister?" she asked. Luna gave her a sympathetic look, then nodded slowly to the sun princess. Celestia shut her eyes lightly, then returned her head to it's correct position. "I suppose it is time." She turned her body to the six friends eagerly awaiting a response.

"Magmare is my mother." All around the room, wide-eyed glances were exchanged in shock. Celestia had expected that reaction, but it did not stop her from feeling uneasy with it. "But I was not born from her. I was created, forged. Brought to life as an adult to serve Magmare for her own purposes. Tiresome of the eons spent fighting Frostborn, she decided to create a permanent body of power to aid her in her fight. She gave me the strength of the sun, and asked me to bring it to her wherever she may need the extra power. I was nothing but a tool to help the tyrant." Tears formed at the edges of Celestia's eyes. "It was all my life was worth."

"Soon, Frostborn had taken notice to the plan Magmare had brought forth," Luna added. "Fearful of this new ally, he knew he had to create one of his own. That is when I was created." The friends faced Luna, not only intrigued, but astonished. "Frostborn bestowed upon me the power of the moon, and demanded the cold night to be brought to him on any battlefield he came to. Of course, I was not me. My true form was the spirit of Nightmare Moon. It was my nature to bring night to the land by any and all means. I was made to be a monster." The sisters shared the same tears, snuggling up to one another in sympathy.

"So," Applejack asked, trying to move things along. "How'd ya meet?"

Celestia sniffled, "Oh, right." She cleared her throat. "Naturally, as beings meant for battle, we met in a fight."

---

The sun shined brightly on the battle between the two alicorns many millennia ago. The earth was split right down the middle from top to bottom. To the West, the land was scorched, and a raging blaze engulfed all in it's wake. To the East, the world was frozen solid, holding it's own against the violent flames pushing with such force against it. The chilling air collided with the heated winds blowing from the fires of the West. Above these two feuding forces were two feuding alicorns. On the western side of the divide was a bright orange mare, who's massive feathers were tipped with small embers, and a dress made of pure fire with a crest that branched out over her two front shoulders, and coursed along her underbelly. Her mane and tail were a live blaze that violently waved in the air with great speed. Her red eyes could pierce through any soul that dared draw her attention to it.

On the eastern side was an icy-blue colt, with a mane and tail that resembled the cold breeze flowing in the sky. He donned a full set of armor carved from chunks of ice, including boots on all four hooves, a chest plate that traveled down his body, shrouding his torso in the ridged armor. His helmet covered nearly his whole face, save for his blue eyes and lower jaw that still shined through the ice. Both alicorns soared just above their claimed land, their powerful wings outstretched over the grand sight to behold.

The sunlight glowed brilliantly from the West, coating the icy East in a magnificent orange light. The rays slipped through the feathers on Magmare's wings and into the blinded eyes of the Master of Ice. The distraction had him shielding his eyes with his hoof, lowering it every few seconds to get another view of his foe. Every time he looked, all he could see was the yellow-orange sunlight coursing around the Mistress of Flames, leaving only a large black silhouette to be seen. The blinding light pushed Frostborn back, and as he did, his frozen ground slowly retreated further to the East, the raging fire filling the space that it had left behind.

Magmare laughed maniacally. "The power! The force! The beauty of my strength!" Frostborn grunted, trying to fight through the light of the sun that hindered his strength. "Father is smiling down on me, brother! Can a weak maggot like you say the same!?" Frostborn continued to push, but it was no good. The sun brought Magmare strength as well as the distraction she needed to get him off his game. At this rate, the world would be consumed in flame in just a few hours. He needed a way out of this situation.

Suddenly the sky started growing dark around Frostborn. A dark blue color began inching it's way over the icy ground and eventually over the illuminating flames. Frostborn uncovered his eyes, and he was able to hold that position. The sun's rays couldn't reach his face. A barrier of shadow shielded Frostborn from the blinding light. Magmare looked behind her brother in disbelief. The moon was slowly rising behind him, and the higher it rose, the darker the sky grew. "What?" she demanded. "How is this possible?"

The moon ascended high above Frostborn, followed by a black shadowy figure flying close behind it. The anonymous character hovered before the moon, and outstretched it's curved wings in the glimmering moonlight. The light reflected off a set of light blue armor on the alicorn's head, chest, and hooves. The breastplate bared a pale blue crescent moon in the center, much like her cutie mark, and her eyes glowed in a magnificent shade of the same color. The dark, starry night sky that made up the mare's mane and tale blended nicely over the large white source of moonlight in the sky above. Her teeth were razor sharp, glaring in the night sky as her wicked cackle echoed through the air and off the icy ground below her.

Magmare's shock had passed, and she growled at her brother's copycat plan. "Celestia!" she roared. "Take care of this one!" Behind the Mistress of Flames, a white alicorn mare ascended into view and reached equal altitude with her new adversary. She wore a golden breastplate that wrapped around the back of her neck and over her chest, complete with an embedded amethyst and spiral carvings. Her mane consisted of a variety of bright colors, including pink, baby-blue, and lime green. Her cutie mark depicted a symbol resembling the sun, it's corona a fine shade of orange. She wore a set of golden armored boots with a unique pattern on the front of her hooves. Her irises were a brilliant shade of purple, the pleasant color negated by the seemingly angered eyes of the mare.

Celestia's horn glowed yellow, elevating the sun behind her to her own height, letting the light shine through her like a personal spotlight. Frostborn glanced to his pupil. "I trust you know what to do," he said. Nightmare confirmed with an anticipated grin towards the white alicorn. She made no hesitation before taking a shot at Celestia. Her face showed a dash of insanity, as she was eager to fire the blast. The sun alicorn made a quick maneuver downward, spiraling towards the ground and pulling herself back u just before she nosedived into the flames below. She propelled herself at her rival at full speed, charging her horn in the process.

With her hooves extended out as far as they could go, Celestia rammed herself into Nightmare Moon while at the same time, releasing a magic explosion from her horn at point blank, smiling maliciously all the while. While the blast hurt the caster some, and pushed her back a fair distance, her foe was launched far back into the glaciers north of the battle. Nightmare Moon struggled to her hooves, and looked back to Celestia, who brushed off her attack and came charging back.

But in that glance, something caught her eye. She watched as Magmare and Frostborn dueled in the distance. The fray left much destruction in it's wake. The icy ground chipped apart and the fire raged in a massive display of unrest. The beams of magic flying around the area fueled the chaos as the siblings stayed mobile, evading each blast with their best efforts. Nightmare Moon had completely forgotten her own battle, and Celestia rammed herself into the stunned alicorn of the night. Nightmare collapsed on the ground a short distance away from the impact, while Magmare's creation stood firm where her rival once stood, a sadistic smile imprinted on her face.

Celestia's horn glowed yellow, and Nightmare Moon's horrified face reflected itself in the sun alicorn's bloodthirsty eyes. The crippled alicorn held up her hoof in plea, hoping Celestia would find mercy on her soul. The sinister expression she bared didn't give her a very good feeling about whether or not Celestia would accept. Nightmare Moon lowered her hoof and lightly closed her eyes. Celestia still didn't relent.

She fired. A ray of her solar magic made it's way towards the incapacitated mare.

But not before Nightmare's own horn radiated in her own blur lunar magic. Her mane and tail quickly shifted around, covering her body in the starry texture. Once her whole body was engulfed, the beam struck it. The purple smoke slit in two, and the halves coursed their way around Celestia, merging together on the other side. The night sky mane revealed Nightmare Moon from the inside, standing tall and strong. Her foe turned around, charging for another attack with her nostrils flaring. The blast of magic shot at the moon alicorn's head, but she was able do duck before it made contact that could be lethal.

Nightmare took her hoof and held up Celestia's head with it, forcing her to look up to the sky and unable to use any magic against her. "Enough of this!" Nightmare ordered. "Look at the madness we have been born into!" The sun alicorn looked up to the battle between the two siblings. The fight looked to be in Magmare's favor. Frostborn took a fiery blast of magic to the chest as Celestia glanced over, and he staggered back, trying hard to recover.

Celestia smiled gleefully. "What?" she asked. "Objecting to the sheer power the flames have over the frost?" Nightmare Moon turned around to see her father injured from the attack, and going back for an attack of his own. The alicorn of the day pulled herself out of Nightmare's grasp, gaining back her attention. She held her head down so her horn was aligned with her rival, and shifted her weight to her back legs. She pushed forward with all the force she could muster towards Nightmare Moon, who took a quick evasive maneuver to Celestia's right side as she passed her by. Her body turned to mist again and she caught up with her foe as she brought herself to a stop.

She manifested back into her alicorn form and grabbed Celestia's face once more, pointing back towards the battle between their parents. "No," she insisted. "Just watch." Celestia tried to fight, but she felt her heart sink to the pits of her stomach as she saw Magmare take a clean beam of ice magic to the face. Her scream of pain echoed in her petrified daughter's head. The Mistress of Flames fell down into the blazing abyss below her, nowhere to be seen.

"MOTHER!" Celestia called out in terror. Her sadistic expression was gone. All that remained on her face was a pair of worried eyes and a mouth clenched tightly.

Nightmare Moon came to the troubled alicorn's side, and spoke some words of advice to her. "This will be our future if we allow them to control us." Celestia pulled herself away from the battle, staring deeply into the eyes of Nightmare, concern in her own. "We will spend millennia fighting each other in the same barbaric manner if we follow in their footsteps," she continued. Celestia looked horrifyingly at the ground beneath her, and Nightmare wrapped her hoof around her. "This is our chance to start anew. Don't succumb to the primitive outrage that our parents share." She stared softly into Celestia's eyes, pleading for her to stand by her in the matter.

The sun alicorn's eyes darted from side to side, still not looking back to the battle. Finally, her thoughts came to a close. Celestia straightened out and stood tall on the icy ground of her enemy. Her eyes were shut, and her chin dipped down to the ground. She lifted her head proudly, and opened her eyes with a peaceful smile. She looked back into Nightmare Moon's eyes gratefully. "Let's go," she said. Nightmare nodded back, and the two offspring of the legendary duo turned their backs to the battle, and flew side-by-side to the north, out of their parents' sight.

---

"Eventually we stumbled upon a tall mountain that was also split down the middle by the fighting of Magmare and Frostborn," Princess Celestia informed the six friends sitting curiously in the Canterlot throne room. She looked back at Luna and continued to wrap up her story. "We sheltered ourselves in it's cave system for what felt like an eternity." She looked back to Twilight and her friends. "For the longest time we hid away in the caverns from the fire and snow that shrouded the land for an even longer time. As the days passed, Nightmare Moon and I let go of our violent nature in exchange for peace in our own land, no matter how small. Luna even abandoned the body that Frostborn gave her, and took on the one she has now. We lived in each others loving embrace, and we named each other our sister.

"When the day came that Magmare thawed the ice from the Earth's core, we stepped out of the darkness into a grand new world. One with lush, green grass and trees. The air wasn't hot nor cold. It was a balanced medium that me and my sister thrived in. We took the minerals from the caves that we resided in and used them to build a magnificent city on the mountain side. A city we named Canterlot."

The six friends sat quietly, gathering in all the information that was kept from them for so long. It was all so much to take in, and at such a fast pace. Celestia and Luna's pasts were a lot deeper than anypony could have ever imagined, but Twilight still had one question to ask. "Princess Celestia," she began. "What about when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon again a thousand years ago? I thought she gave up her old form."

The question hit Celestia like a ton of bricks. Her head drooped to the floor, and she cried uncontrollably. The ends of her mouth quivered as she tried to hold back her sadness unsuccessfully. After a few seconds of miserable memories, she darted to her sister who was there to comfort her. The friends tried to reach out to the troubled princess breaking down into tears. Celestia took a few seconds to help calm herself, and turned back to Twilight to answer her. "That was undoubtedly the hardest time in my long life," she sniffled. "Those thousand years dragged on longer than the time we spent in the caves below this mountain. In the cold nights we spent separated from one another, I would sing to her, hoping that my message would reach her in her exile all those miles away. I prayed for those thousand winters to pass by quickly. I loved her. I missed her. She was my sister, the one pony I ever found to be inseparable, and I continued to overshadow and neglect her. It was only a short time before her jealousy took her over and she reclaimed her old form."

Celestia continued to cry over Luna's shoulder. Twilight and her friends sat in silence and let the princess cry the memories out. They didn't want to remind her of the current events occurring outside Canterlot and closing in. Times were hard enough for her right now, being put through a situation that required combating her own mother, an ice age about to wipe out all life on the planet, and her past actions coming back in emotional force. They needed her to calm down on her own so she could focus on a solution to the problem.

Suddenly the doors burst open, the noise echoing through the room. A white unicorn colt with a dark blue mane with a streak of light blue in the center. His cutie mark was of a dark blue shield with a pink six-pointed star in the middle, much like the one on Twilight's flank. "Princess Luna!" Shining Armor announced. "I got your messa-" he noticed Celestia crying over the moon princess' shoulder. "Oh, my bad, you're busy with something." Luna gave him a distasteful glance, and her sister stood tall again and wiped the tears from her eyes. She turned to meet the captain of the royal guard more formally.

"Shining Armor, I told you to wait up!" yelled another familiar voice coming from the hallway just outside the doors. The whole room turned to see Princess Cadence jogging into view, gasping lightly for air. "You know I can't run as fast as you, Dear." She looked away from her husband and saw Princess Celestia with a beet red face and a couple tears forming at the backs of her eyes. Her tone lightened, "Oh, I'm sorry. Were we interrupting something? We can leave right now if you want."

Celestia held up her hoof to quiet the concerned mare. "No," she sniffled. "We shouldn't waste time, we hardly have any at the moment." She turned to Luna at her side. "You sent out a message?"

Luna nodded, "Again, I assumed that Frostborn had won the battle, so I issued an evacuation of all the Equestrian cities to Canterlot."

"We're lucky the fire went out," Shining Armor added. "I guess when Magmare was defeated, all her fire went with her."

"And the citizens of the Crystal Empire?" Luna asked.

"Taking trains here as we speak. All seats full, no families separated. I hope traffic doesn't pile up at the train station here. Train traffic isn't pretty."

Celestia sighed, "Good, so everypony should come out safe. Good plan sister." Luna straightened out triumphantly. "But there is still the matter of stopping Frostborn. I have a plan, but it is risky."

Rainbow Dash jumped up in excitement. "Well what is it? I'm up for it!"

"Perhaps you should sit down," Celestia urged. "This isn't going to be any type of mission even a Wonderbolt would be prepared for."

"Then I'll be the first! Just tell me what it is!"

"Maybe you should settle down and save your excitement for when she gives it to you," Rarity snapped.

"That's what I'm waiting on!"

"Well then," Celestia began. Dash leaned as much weight forward as she could without falling flat on her face. "You will be going deep into the Equestrian Changeling Hive, home of Queen Chrysalis and her army of changelings."

Rainbow's eyes widened and her ears wilted on either side of her head. "Oh." She paused. "That's, uh, not what I was expecting."

"What's the matter?" Rarity asked. "Not exciting enough for you?"

"Oh quiet, Rarity."

Applejack chimed in, "Ya had that one comin'."

"Enough of this!" Luna interrupted in her royal Canterlot voice. "We are on the brink of an apocalyptic ice age, and you wish to waste our time with bickering. However I, for one, wish to fight for the world my sister and I created from our vision, and not let it rot in the frozen earth along with us."

The bickering ponies straightened out instantly. "Uh, yes, princess!" Dash uttered quickly.

"Yeah, go on," Applejack added.

Luna gave a snug smile, and turned to Celestia. "Please go on, sister," she encouraged.

"Thank you, Luna," Celestia said. She directed her attention back to the six friends and the spouses who were now patiently awaiting her explanation. "I was hoping to persuade Queen Chrysalis to join our fight against Frostborn. The changelings are a force to be reckoned with. Not even the royal guard could stop them once they were in the city. If anything can convince them to join us, the return of the Master of Ice can."

"And if it doesn't?" Shining Armor interrupted.

"I don't think we have another option," said Twilight. "If the changelings don't agree to help us, we're all doomed anyway. If they don't believe us, or take us hostage, Frostborn wins." She turned to Celestia. "Princess Celestia, we won't let you down."

Celestia interrupted her without hesitation, "I'm sorry, but you're not going with them." Nine puzzled faces looked strangely at the white alicorn. Up to now, Luna was on board with the plan, as crazy as it sounded, but that was risky enough. Shrinking the team's numbers didn't sound like the brightest decision.

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak. "What!?" she demanded.

"Twilight has a special task to com-"

"Twilight has been uneasy all day," Dash cut her off and lifted herself off the ground, "worrying about her three other friends who were going to face unknown danger up north, and you think it's a good idea to separate us from her AGAIN!?" She closed in on Celestia's face, giving her barely any room to breathe.

"Don't do this again, Rainbow," Applejack advised.

"No! I am fed up with what the princess is doing to us! If she wants to split us up right down the middle to make things move a little faster, by all means! But pulling us all away from the one pony who she saw suffering without the other half!? What kind of mentor are you!?"

"I only want what's best for-"

"No, forget it. We've already trusted your gut once, and look where it got us. There is an ICE GOD taking over the world right now! Give us one reason why we should listen."

"Because she's right!" yelled a voice from behind Rainbow. The whole room turned to it, zoning in on Twilight, who sat alone on the floor. Dash dropped back to the ground and looked at her with a face somewhere between stunned and confused.

"You're," Rainbow Dash began. "You're fine with this?"

Twilight nodded. "Princess Celestia is a smart leader, she won't let us down. Besides," she stood up and walked over to Rainbow Dash, putting her hoof on her shoulder. "I've survived the first time she split us up. I can survive this one."

Dash found this hard to wrap her head around. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Twilight gave Rainbow a short hug to help calm her down. She pulled away and gave her a reassuring glance into Dash's eyes. "Better?"

Rainbow scratched the back of her head, "Yeah, I'm good."

Twilight smiled, and turned to Princess Celestia. "What was my task, princess?"

Celestia shifted back on her weight to her back legs in preemptive retreat for what she was about to say would bring out in the ponies. "I think it's best if the others leave before we tell you." She was relieved to see nopony wanted to give her another verbal beat down.

Dash looked to her immediate right, trying to fish out Twilight's take on the matter. The purple alicorn patted her on the back. "You should go," she encouraged. "You have your own job to get to." Dash didn't let go of her nervous feelings, and didn't do too well at hiding them, either. She and the others made their way for the exit, each with a little slack in their posture.

"Good luck, Twilight," Applejack wished her, trying to hide the group's insecurity, including her own. The doors closed behind them, and Twilight was suddenly washed over by a slight feeling of regret as they slammed shut, and her head sank down a tad when the sound subsided.

"What about us?" Cadence asked Celestia.

"You two should get some rest," she advised. "You'll need your rest by the time Frostborn reaches Canterlot."

Shining Armor took a bow. "As you command, princess." He glanced over to Cadence. "Come on, Dear." They took their leave, closing the large doors behind them.

Twilight looked back to Celestia and Luna. "So what's the plan?" she asked.

"Well, as you know, Frostborn possesses power beyond any that Equestria has ever encountered," Celestia began. "With the power to encase the entire world in ice on a simple whim, nopony we know has the strength to match him. However, there is one we know of that might help us. One who has the potential to neutralize this power. There's just one problem. We've sent him to Tartarus."

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. "You don't mean."

With a nod, Celestia confirmed, "Indeed. Tirek is our last chance against Frostborn."

"Bu-. Wha-. Then why did you send my friends away to get the changelings on our side?"

"No offense to them, but they aren't as, accepting, of my contributions to the solution. I think Rainbow Dash made a perfect demonstration of that. It would be much easier to convince one pony to get the job done rather than six."

Twilight couldn't believe her ears. Princess Celestia, her role model, told her straight to her face, that her friends were getting in the way of her plan. She just told her, that the friends that improved her life and enjoyment of it, weren't allowed to help her because they were an interference. Was Rainbow Dash right? Had Twilight made the wrong choice in trusting Princess Celestia this time? She didn't know what to believe anymore.

"Are you ok, Twilight?" Celestia asked. "You don't seem all there."

She snapped out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said sincerely.

Celestia smiled. "Now, clearly, we can't release Tirek from his imprisonment. We can't risk another catastrophe taking place, especially while the majority of the country is in a state of deep freeze. But there is the possibility that he will teach you to steal magic."

The youngest alicorn stared at her in dismay. "You want me to learn to steal magic?"

"My sister has a point," Luna added. "While Tirek can use an ability unseen to be used by any other being, it is still magic. Therefore it can be learned to master."

"Are you sure?"

"Undoubtedly. I'm certain you've seen ice spells used before. Frostborn is not the only one capable of using it, but he is prominent in the art."

"The only issue that comes to mind is the persuasion," Celestia noted. "Tirek is quite tyrannical. He believes his secrets and powers to be his own. Tapping into them will not be easy."

"If I could make a suggestion, sister," Luna chimed in. "I believe that a certain draconequus would be the most convincing option."

"Discord?" Twilight asked in uncertainty. "I think we all know that he's not the most loyal character we've ever met."

"Luna raises a good point. Discord has felt the pain of betrayal from Tirek when he was rising to power. He knows just as well as we do to not trust him. If anyone can convince Tirek to teach you to steal magic, it's Discord."

Twilight put this together in her head. As if enough things hadn't happened today to rattle her brain. She was skeptical, of course, but as bleak as times were, she would take what she could get. "Understood, but where are we going to find Discord at this hour?"

"I have an idea," Luna sighed. Her horn glowed in dark blue magic and she closed her eyes. A bright flash of white light spawned on the floor between the three ponies. When it faded away, Discord was lying there before them. He was covered in a pink, frilled blanket that left his feet exposed, or rather hoof and claw, in this case. He wore a matching dream mask with white flowers over where the eyes were. He lay on the floor snoring peacefully, then taking notice to the suddenly hard ground and started shifting about. After a few rolls from side-to-side, Discord sat up and lifted the dream mask from his face, his expression immediately turning to annoyance.

"Gah, every time," Discord grunted. He snapped his talons and the blanket and mask disappeared in a white flash. He stood up and began stretching out in all different positions, cracking whatever he could. "You couldn't have summoned me in a nice, comfy bed, Celestia? Talk about inconsiderate."

"This was my doing, Discord." Luna corrected.

He stopped stretching. "Well then, my apologies, Celestia. You, Luna, are the rude one. I'd expect a host to have her home prepared if she were to invite someone over like this."

"In case you haven't noticed, Discord, we're in a bit of a crisis," Twilight enlightened.

"Oh don't act like that should come as a surprise. A new crisis pops up in Equestria just about as often as a celebration happens in Ponyville."

"I don't believe the world freezing over is considered to be just another epidemic," Celestia said.

"Well it should be. I certainly didn't notice."

"Wait, you didn't notice the ice spreading?" Twilight asked.

"Not at all! In fact when I went to sleep about ten minutes ago, It was quite warm."

Twilight continued questioning, "It's the middle of the night and you were just now going to sleep?"

"He must find that Fluttershy doll of his to be quite soft," Luna joked.

Discord turned in disgust to the moon princess. "Some of us, Princess Luna, do not want our secrets exposed to the world, if you don't mind."

Luna leaned over to Celestia, "I had no idea the doll even existed." At which, she gave a snicker.

"Well if an ice age is imminent, I suspect you want me to lend a hand in the matter," Discord said, bringing the subject back into light.

Celestia hesitated. "You will be joining Twilight on a special mission we have assigned for her. On said mission, you will be offered a chance to get revenge on a certain centaur you are well acquainted with."

Discord's eyes sprung open. "Say no more! Let us be off, Twilight, we have a mission to complete!" He belly flopped onto her back, and planked himself on it, pointed excitedly towards the door. "Lead the way!"

"Forget about the mission for a second, and let us straighten things out, first," the annoyed alicorn stated. The draconequus' body turned limp, and he face-planted onto the floor. He teleported off her back and back to a stand on the floor next to her in a flash of light.

"Well why spoil the surprise, then," he mumbled.

"As you know, the entrance to Tartarus lies in the valleys of the badlands to the south," Celestia continued. "As of now, it is a dry, barren strip of land. But very soon I expect it to be frozen solid, so you too must move quickly."

"Will do, Celestia, darling," Discord said impatiently. He grabbed Twilight's tail and pointed towards the exit. "Onward! To the badlands!"

"Same way to open it up as last time, right?" Twilight asked Celestia, disregarding the eager draconequus behind her. Discord stopped pulling on her tail, but never let go of it. He stood behind Twilight with his arms crossed and tapping his lizard claw, looking up to the sky in impatience. "Do I just walk o- OH WILL YOU STOP THAT!?" She snapped at Discord, who immediately stopped tapping his foot. "Ugh, thank you." She turned back to the princesses. "So what will I do the-" she was interrupted again by the draconequus' obnoxious whistling. She started growling to herself in rage.

"Maybe you should go wait outside," Celestia advised him.

Discord stopped whistling. "Fine, then. It seems I wasn't as trustworthy as I thought." He let go of Twilight and started walking for the door. "Can't even trust me to be in the same room with you for a few measly minutes." He opened the left door and slammed it behind him.

"Why wouldn't he just teleport out?" Twilight asked.

"It's best to not question him," Luna decided.

"All that matters is that he's gone," Princess Celestia said with a sigh. "Back to business. Yes, same routine as last time. Just find the stone with Cerberus carved into it, and relax."

"I understand." The young alicorn started turning toward the exit. "Wish me luck!" she called back.

"You travel with Discord," Luna reminded her. "You will need all the luck you can get." Twilight snickered, and closed the doors behind her. Discord wasn't in the hall beyond it, he must have gone ahead to the chariot. Twilight took the time spent walking down the moonlit halls to think about who to side with. Princess Celestia is a wise pony, but she called Twilight's friends a burden. And even in previous times when Celestia suggested to go on without them, being together always worked out in the end. How credible was her wisdom? Star-Swirl the bearded didn't need friends to become a great wizard, but because Twilight did, she was able to complete his work.

Tonight she was left with one question that never felt so heavy on her shoulders.

Your friends? Or your idol?