The Frost Chronicles: Book 2: Shadow of the Storm

by steelwingx

Chapter 4: Glimpse into the Past

Author's Note:

Okay then, here's another chapter for all you awesome reader's. i want to apologize for the last short chapter, but i hope you will all enjoy this one.

On another note, the next chapter after this, is where we will learn the fate of an important character from the show, feel free to make guess's!

CHAPTER 4
Glimpse into the Past

Even though I had no idea as to why Luna wanted to speak with me, I knew it would be best to get up to see her. As I walked, I couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving River behind, and even though she understood the situation, I couldn't help but feel bad for missing out on our special moment.

As I made my way up to Luna’s quarters, I couldn't help but think of various scenarios that would happen. What did she want to show me? Even though I had no idea of the reason for her calling me, I knew it would be best to get there as quick as possible. Despite that, my mind drifted back to what Iron Star said about Luna confining herself to her quarters for the whole day, and not wanting to see anypony, which only made me wonder why she wanted to somepony, let along me.
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After making my way up, I stood in front of the large door that lead to the observatory. The guards who usually stood guard at the door, had gone off on a break, leaving me there alone. I took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open, only to be met with a loud creak. The room was lite with the usual candles all across the room, the evening light shining through the top window.

As I entered the room, I slowly made my way to the center, but I saw no sign of Luna anywhere. “Luna?” I called out, but there was no answer, but I quickly heard a door open, and I turned to see Luna emerge from her room, her mane was not as neatly combed as it usually was, and there was a small smile on her face. “Frost…I’m glad you could come” she said as she walked out to greet me, I watched her calmly walk up to me. I cleared my throat and spoke up, “yeah, one of the guards told me you wanted to speak with me. Are you alright?” I asked with a concerned tone, she smiled and nodded calmly, “yes of course, it’s just…” she said but stopped and looked away sadly, I looked away as well.

“Iron Star told me…it’s that day” I said with a sad look, she nodded and looked up at me again, and I saw it, the look that showed decades worth of pain and loss, but she smiled. “Indeed, but rest assured I am fine, it was many years ago, and although it was a difficult day to remember, I try not to let it affect me too much. But, that is why you are here” she said as she turned and made her way to one of the bookshelves.

After removing some of the books on one of the shelves, I watched as she reached into the back with her hoof and pressed the back panel. Much to my surprise, there was a loud click as a small chest slid out, Luna picked it up and brought it over to the desk, motioning for me to come over. I walked over to the desk and watched as she opened the small chest, revealing a set of small crystals, all lined up evenly.

I looked at them in awe, as Luna gently traced a hoof over to them, a somber look on her face. “What are these?” I asked looking them over, she didn't turn to face me, “these are memory crystals, they allow a pony to record a moment they remember with detail. If a pony wishes to relive a moment from their past, they merely have to focus and it takes them back, these are mine” she said turning to face me, I slowly turned to face her as well.

“I would like you to see them” she said in a calming tone, a stern look on her face. My eyes widened at her words, she actually wanted me to look into her memories, to see the memories of a princess, who not only watched her kingdom fall, but lost those closest to her. I stood there completely dumbfounded at her words, while she simply waited for my answer. After a moment I shook myself from my shocked state and looked at her, only able to form a few simple words.
“Why me?” I asked in a state of shock.

Luna simply smiled and stepped toward me, “because Frost, it is time you learn about the events that led to Equestria’s fall” she said in a calm yet stern tone. I looked at her in shock, but I looked down for a moment, but I took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes, and nodded. She simply smiled at me and turned to pick up one of the crystals and walked over to me, offering me the crystal.

“Remember, you must concentrate. It is different for you to travel into somepony’s else’s memories. This one will take you to the day the Crystal Empire fell, but you will only be in the place’s I was” she said with a confident look. I looked at her and nodded, levitating the crystal up, I looked into it and took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, letting the memory flood into my mind.
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I felt a strange sensation brush over me, it was like a gust of wind that blew through my coat and mane, but I kept my eyes closed regardless. After a moment, the sensation stopped and began to hear voices in the distance. I slowly opened my eyes and watched in awe as a large room made of a strange crystal like substance, slowly began to fade in, as if it was some extraordinary drawing. As the room continued to fade in, I looked down at my hooves, and saw that my normal greyish coat, was now tinted with a light blue aura, which almost allowed me to see through them, with a quick check of my body, I confirmed that my entire body had become transparent.

As the room faded in, I looked around and saw a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bright lights shined from it. There was a low rumbling, that made the chandelier shake slightly, but after settling again, I heard a deep male voice come out.

“Captain! Captain! Come in! Tell me what’s going on out there, damn it!” the voice yelled, with a deep commanding tone, indicating that they were a pony of military status. I turned to see three ponies standing around a large circular table, with a map of a territory that I didn't recognize on it. Despite my initial shock, I instantly recognized one of the ponies standing around the table, a dark blue Alicorn, with a waving mane.

It was Luna, or at the time…Princess Luna.

Despite me recognizing her, she did look fairly different. She was a few inches shorter from how I know her, and she was dressed in her normal royal regalia, which made her look like the pictures I had seen of her. The other two were ponies I did not know myself, but from whom I have heard of in stories and seen in pictures. One was a strong looking white coated unicorn with a blue mane, while the other was another Alicorn with a pink coat and colorfully striped mane, their identities hit me like a heavy brick.

It was Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, Aurora’s mother and father.

It took me a moment to realize that it was Shining Armor who was yelling into the radio, but all he received at first was static. But soon a voice quickly replied back, their tone was filled with panic, “Prince Shining Armor, we've been overrun, the enemy forces are pushing us back towards the city, we can’t hold them off for much longer…we…Ne-need…rein-reinforcements” the voice said before static took over again, I watched the Prince’s expression turn somber as he looked toward his wife.

His wife shared his expression as they both turned toward the older Alicorn, “that was the last of our major defense’s…our soldiers are in retreat now.” He said as his face took on a more angry tone, as he slammed the table with his hoof. “How?! How did they break through, we had the advantage!” he yelled, as his wife came over and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

As I watched the scene unfold before me, suddenly Luna spoke up, “Red Spear is an excellent tactician, our only hope now is Twilight and her friends” she said with a sad tone, but as if fate was waiting to drop another batch of disappointment on them, one of the Crystal guards burst into the room, his eyes filled with panic and fear. “Princess Cadence, Princes Shining Armor, we received a message from Canterlot…” he said with a sad look on his face.

At the mention of his younger sister, Shining’s head shot up and he slowly walked over to the guard, “what happened? Were Twilight and her friends able to stop Red Spear?” he asked, but the guard’s face told him he really wouldn't want to know the answer. “I…I’m sorry sir, but…Princess Twilight and her friends…failed your highness. Red Spear managed to stop them, we don’t know how…but…your sister, she’s…dead” he said with a pained expression on his face.

The look on Shining Armor’s face was the most terrified and heart-broken expression I had ever seen, his eyes widened in shock, and he stumbled back, almost falling over if his hoof had caught the table. His breaths were quick and heavy, his eyes filling with tears and darting all over the place. “No…no, it’s…it’s not possible, that can’t be true!” he shouted as tears spilled down his cheeks. Both Cadence’s and Luna’s eyes widened in horror at the news, with Cadence slowly tearing up and sitting down, the loss of her sister-in-law had a heavy effect on her. Luna simply looked away sadly as tears spilled down her cheeks.

The guard quickly left them, as Shining Armor wept at the loss of his little sister, but before long Luna cleared her throat and spoke up. “Then…all our hope is lost. We must make a final stand…we shall make it here…” she said with a saddened tone in her voice. But by this time, Shining Armor had slowly stopped crying and stood up, tear trails staining his cheeks, he sighed heavily and looked at his wife and Luna, “yes…we will make a stand…but not with you Princess Luna” he said with a form tone.

A shocked look appeared on Luna’s face, but before she could respond, Shining raised his hoof up, “just hear me out. We can hold off Red Spear’s forces for a little longer, it will give you enough time to escape with some troops” he said, but Luna frowned at him, “what? No! I will not run like a coward from Red Spear, I will stay and fight!” she said in a strong tone. But now it was Cadence’s turn to speak.

“Shining is right Aunt Luna, we have both prepared to go down with our kingdom if need be, while we hold them off, it will give you the chance to escape. If you survive, then there is hope for the future generations” she said in a confident tone that was laced with sadness. Luna’s expression softened as she stepped toward her niece, placing a hoof on her cheek, tears began to form in her eyes. Even though she may not have agreed with her, she knew it would be for the best.

As tears began to spill down her cheeks, “I don’t want to lose you as well. Please, come with me, I don’t want to lose you two as well, I already lost my sister” she said with a sad tone, Cadence smiled as tears filled her eyes as well. “I know…but I will not abandon my kingdom to hide. But with you…there is a chance for a better future, you can take our remaining soldiers, we’ll make a last stand with the castle guards. I know you’re afraid Auntie Luna, but everything we’ll be fine, just…promise to never stop fighting” she said as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Luna reacted in the best way she possibly could, pulling her niece into a tight hug, Cadence hugged back as well, and spoke into her ear, “ take Aurora with you, she’s the rightful heir, hopefully…she will one day return to take the throne. Take the passage into the mountains, Red Spear will never find it. If you ever make it back here, find the old bunker, it can help in winning the war” she said as they separated. Luna turned and hugged Shining Armor as well, giving an equally tearful goodbye. She quickly turned and ran out of the room.

I watched as the room around began to fade away, the same way as it had come in, the familiar sensation from before passed over me again, and with that…I closed my eyes, letting the scene fade from my vision.
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My eyes shot open as my magical grip on the crystal faded, and it clattered to the floor, the sensation passed over my body in a quick flash. I staggered backward, as I tried to find my footing, but I fell backwards and landed on my back. Heavy breaths left my lungs, as I placed a hoof to my chest, my eyes darted around, and I saw that I had returned to the observatory, I then turned to see Luna take a concerned step towards me.

After my breathing had calmed down, I pushed myself up, and turned toward her, her face filled with concern. “I know the first time using a memory crystal can be unpleasant, I am sorry” she said as she picked up the crystal with her magic and returned it to the chest. I looked at her as I noticed my cheeks had tear stains on them, indicating that my body was crying while my mind was gone, I swallowed nervously and looked at her.

“I…I’m so sorry…I never knew you've been through so much, but I still don’t understand…why me?” I asked her. She frowned slightly at me, “because Frost, if anypony should truly understand how Red Spear came to power, it should be you, you may not yet realize it, but we can’t do this without you. The medallion chose you as its host, and it is up to you to discover its virtue and unlock its power. Because…only you can defeat the king” she said in a calm yet determined tone.

I stared at her in shock for a moment, until I finally worked up the words to respond. “But why? I never asked to be a hero. I just wanted to live my life, why does it fall to me to save the kingdom, what if I don’t want to?” I asked her. She gave me a comforting smile, “if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that fate rarely calls on us when we want it to. But there was another pony I knew who thought like you did” she said with a smile as she turned back to the chest and closed it up.

I watched her with a confused look, “really? Who?” I asked with a frown on my face. She smiled and placed the chest where she found it, “you may remember her as the Princess of Friendship, Twilight was much like you when she was young, she never wanted to be a hero or a Princess, she merely wanted to study magic and live a normal life, but fate had a different plan for her, and she became one of our greatest heroes’, defeating many of the countless enemies Equestria faced” she said with a calm expression, but I could tell her mind was thinking back to her best memories with the young Princess.

I looked down with uncertainty, “but…she was an Element of Harmony, she was already special among other ponies, but…I don’t even know how to work my medallion, how am I supposed to help ponies if I can’t even help those I care about” I said with a frown, lowering my head in shame, my mind wandering back to the moment when River nearly died in battle.

After a minute, I felt a hoof bring up my face, only to meet Luna’s eyes, she smiled warmly at me and spoke up. “Believe me Frost, when I was young, I was not sure if I would be able to serve my subjects right, but I grew into the role, and through many hardships, I became wiser and more confident in my duties. I know you will discover your virtue soon enough, when the time comes, you will come to understand your role in Equestria, just as we all have here” she said with a smile that couldn't help but fill me with confidence.

Her smile faded slightly, “go now, the effects of memory crystals can be taxing, you will need your rest, go and be with your friends. Tomorrow will discuss your next mission, I’ll have Iron Star bring me the information you got from Silver Wing” she said as she motioned to the door, I smiled and nodded as I turned made my way to the door.

As I opened it with my magic, I turned back and smiled at her, she smiled back and nodded. And with that I turned and made my way back to my room, where I could get some sleep for our next mission.

Comments

[Vaughn]

quickmeme.com/img/8d/8db7b0daa841e85849db55fc1a83bb0e4ce5cc91b66df11e8584093b3c9ec284.jpg
Suspense! I guess Twilight!

[steelwingx]

4830817 you'll just have to wait and see, could be anybody. could be Twilight. could be Spike. could even be one of the mane six. could be Cadence or Shining Armor who mysteriously survived the fall of the empire.

so...you never know. but i will give you a small hint. it is one of the ponies i mentioned!

[Vaughn]

4830885 *shocked face!*