Hooves of ice
Chapter 10
Frost leaves, Blood follows
World: Equus. Land: Equestria. Location: Everfree Forest, Abandoned castle. Year: 1001
Blood Cleaver's POV
I hated being stuck in Equestria after doing everything I had come over to do. Don't get me wrong, freedom is great. But when you're a human in a world full of equines it's a different story. I so missed the showers, the food and most of all, the toilets meant for humans. Out of all the realities I had jumped I had stumbled over only a surprisingly small amount of Equestrias where the inhabitants were humans instead of ponies, regular or anthropomorphic. It gets to you after a while.
I was currently stuck in an Equestria before the escape of Discord. I had not spoiled anything to the locals and this world's Displaced was encased in stone, just like Discord. I had already prevented the same disaster that befell my world from repeating in this one. I had also left a message for the Displaced in case they didn't already know what they were. So I currently had nothing to do and nowhere to go, seeing as there had been a certain spell attached to this world sun and moon that prevented intentional void tears the way I made them. "Thanks, Celestia." I thought sarcastically.
But I was of course not without hope. If any other Displaced or other creature found my token and used it to summon me I have my ticket out of here. Sadly I had already been here for eight days and could quite possibly be here for a while longer. I was about to see if maybe Discord against all the odds was about to break out earlier than expected, but that's when my old flip phone started playing a tune that sounded like bells. I had gotten mail.
As I opened my flip phone and looked at the screen I saw that it was a summon, one I hadn't felt myself. Probably from Celestia's spell, but it no longer mattered. I now had my ticket out of here, so I said my goodbyes to the different plants in the room and then jumped into the portal my token opened up for me. "Hope it's a human version of Equestria." I thought before the void completely enveloped me and sent me on my merry way.
World: Equus. Land: Equestria. Location: Ponyville, Twilight's Library. Year: 1001
Face; meet floor. Floor; meet face. That seems to be the usual exchange whenever I get summoned to a new Equestria. This time was no exception as I came into existence in mid-air and quickly fell to the floor before I could get my energized flight going.
Funny thing, being summoned is not something that happens to me very often. Most Displaced I've met I met by going to their universe myself. I believe that before this summoning, the only ones to call me by my token would be Lance and a few others.
I quickly glanced around the place and settled my gaze on the closest power level. Probably the one who summoned me. What surprised me however was that the power level didn't belong to a Displaced, the only Displaced in this universe was quite some distance away. But the power level was familiar none the less. I was looking at Twilight.
About my story with Twilight: I hate her. I do. But I'm not stupid and realize that Twilight is different in every universe and they couldn't possibly know what happened to me. So for the sake of not getting off to a bad start with my apparent summoner, I decided not to insult her on sight.
"Sup, you're the ones who summoned me?" I asked. I might be sure of the fact that she summoned me, but I have been wrong before and I wanted to keep explanations to a minimum if possible this time. If she was the one to summon me, I wouldn't have to explain the summoning part of tokens.
As Twilight was looking at me with her mouth having transformed into a flycatcher (not literally) I decided to look around at my surroundings. I quickly recognized them. I was in the Golden oak's library. Books littered the floor and it was quite a mess, something that wasn't really like Twilight. The CMC were here and some kind of crystal upon a pedestal of ice that seemed like it wasn't about to melt anytime soon. Speaking about Twilight; she didn't have wings and that meant this universe was about 6 years behind mine.
Getting bored of Twilight not explaining why I had been summoned and instead gawking at me, I decided to say something to get her to move on with why I was here. "There's quite a mess in here. I hope this isn't the trouble you called me for." I spoke. Letting it be heard in my voice that I was not amused.
Twilight's eyes seemed to return to the land of the living for a moment before they rolled back in her head and she fell over. I was surprised about her falling unconscious. This was the first time I got a knock out on Twilight without trying... Yay? I suppose? Deciding this wasn't favorable to anyone at this point except me having a memory for life, I turned to the CMC.
"I think she broke. You don't happen to know why she summoned me. Do you?" I asked the three little adorable filly versions of the CMC. I had to hold back myself from squealing like a little girl as I found them extremely cute.
They looked at each other and then all started explaining what had happened recently before my arrival, even using the magical crystal to show me in pictures. It took them a while.
World: Equus. Land: Equestria. Location: Somewhere between the frozen north and Canterlot. Year: 1001
3rd POV. Following Black Frost.
Black Frost was flying through the air on his way towards Canterlot and then later on to Ponyville. He had a few things he wanted to tell the two Princesses and then teach his little frost ponies what happens when they don't acknowledge their creator.
But all plans of his were stopped right in their tracks as a book was suddenly materialized in front of him. Before gravity could do its part and drag the mystic object down, Black caught it. As soon as he did he heard a voice in his head.
“I am the Tactician Robin, wielder of the Levin blade and master of the Arcane! I am the greatest strategist the world has ever known, able to lead those to victory despite all odds! Should you require my knowledge, write within this book your plight and I shall know of it! Should your cause be worthy, you will have my help!”
Black smiled as he thought of what he knew about token. Tokens were an item that allowed one to summon another Displaced to aid one. However, tokens could also work in reverse, allowing the one possessing the token to travel to other Equestrias. Now that was an idea. "Before establishing control in this world, maybe I should get some practice in another? Well, I guess I'll be visiting this Robin then," Black thought to himself as he summoned an icicle to use as a tool for writing. In nice curvy letters made out of a thin layer of frost, he wrote: "What an invitation, don't mind if I do come over. Don't worry, I'll be there in a few minutes... Prepare," signing it off with ‘Black Frost’, written in big letters.
"Now, how do I send it?" Black asked himself. He wasn't sure if the message would automatically appear in the other book, or if he had to confirm the fact that he wanted to send the message. "I mean, what would you do if you messed up and wanted to edit the message?" he thought.
"Eh, what the hell. Let's see if this works," he spoke to himself, a bad habit he had picked up from being alone all the time. Sending a bit of his frost magic into the book he felt the connection between this token and the receiving one waver for a moment.
"Oh, guess I wasn't supposed to do that, whatever. Let's give him some time before I go over there..."
"..."
"Eh, that's enough time for him to prepare," he said as he opened a portal and quickly jumped in, following the connection between the two tokens to make sure he appeared in the right universe. "Let's see if I get a welcoming committee."
World: Equus. Land: Equestria. Location: Ponyville, Twilight's Library. Year: 1001
Blood Cleaver's POV
"Alright, so let me get this straight. This world's Displaced is called Jack Frost. He was all nice and fun to be around when you met him and he made it snow and told you about his ice powers and The Mare in the Moon. He also can't be seen by those who don't believe that he exists." I asked, looking at the CMC for confirmation that I was getting everything right so far. I had also explained about the Displaced, explaining why Jack Frost and I were so alien to Equestria. They all nodded in agreement and I continued with my summary.
"But, today. A magical being called Discord escaped from his stone prison and started bringing chaos to Equestria?" I knew everything about this part. But I kept my mouth shut about that as I had learned how much of a Bad Idea it was to reveal that you practically knew the future in front of the CMC; they wouldn't stop with their questions about their cutie marks!
"And Discord then sought up Jack somehow and challenged him, corrupted him and got his plot handed to him? And after that Jack left and is now making it snow, even though it's not supposed to snow?" I finished my recap.
"Yes, that's what happened. We're not sure where he is now. And Discord is missing as well." Scootaloo explained.
"And the crystal won't tell you what happened to Discord?" I asked. The CMC shook their heads collectively.
"Well then. I guess you wanted help to track down and stop Jack Frost before he does anything he'll regret and make sure to get rid of the corruption?" I asked to confirm the details of my new mission.
"Mmmhmm." The CMC nodded in unison.
"So you'll be able to help Jack?" Sweetie Belle asked me.
"Yes, I'm currently searching for his power level so that I can track him down and try to reverse the corruption," I explained as I continued looking for a power level that was similar to all other void crossers. Something a little bit hard as the one I was looking for had spread their magical influence all over Equestria, making it hard to find him in the mess. It was like trying to find a white building in a snowstorm, while being snow blind. You wouldn't find it unless you ran into it headfirst.
I took another glance at Twilight. I had used some magic to review her thought process before passing out. She had realized that my sudden appearance wasn't a kind of magic. Something she saw as an impossibility, like the time she followed me around trying to figure out my Pinkie sense. I was a little confused at first. How had she known I didn't use any magic? She hadn't seen me appear, and yet she somehow knew.
Diving a bit deeper into her mind gave me an actual answer. This Equestria had a fundamental difference in the mechanics of their magic. The magic itself was barely anything different, what was different was the method for using the magic. And this difference left certain trails or signatures after a spell had been used. While this was a disadvantage, the method was slightly more conservative in the use of magic and put less of a strain on the user. Yet the actual spell did use up just about as much magic, the excess magic being what created said trail.
It was an interesting thought; with this, I would most likely be able to improve some of my spells. And if I were to provide my findings to other Equestrias I- I stopped my train of thought right there. No way was I going to give Twilight access to such information in every world I visited. It would surely be something that would help the development in magical knowledge, but that would, in turn, change the already set timeline. Something I didn't want to disturb if possible. It was already messed up enough thanks to the local Displaced.
Returning my attention to the CMC I was about to ask them a few more questions but didn't get the chance to as I suddenly found the power level of a nearby Displaced. He was a lot more powerful than I had expected.
"Well, I believe I found him. I'll be-" was all I managed to get out before I felt the power level leave this reality. Seeing as this was the exact one I had been looking for as it matched the "snowstorm" I knew that there was now a corrupted Displaced on the loose.
"Damn, he left. Sorry girls. I'll have to leave immediately. Please tell Twilight that I understand my assignment from you three and will return as soon as I caught him." With that I saluted before got up from Twilight's couch and left through the front door, getting a few looks from nearby ponies that happened to be close by. I ignored them and took off for where I had sensed Jack Frost disappear.
As I did I examined what was left from the void rift he made. All void particles already having been sucked back. Thankfully the disturbance itself was still there and I could track down to where he decided to go. The trace I observed was going straight for something. Meaning Jack Frost most likely had a set course, probably with the help of a token. I groaned to myself. With a token, he could get there almost instantly, and for me who didn't have the token, it would take some time to traverse the void.
I followed the disturbance as far as I could while searching for his power level. And once I found it I latched on. Now, no matter how far he ran I would be able to find him. Grinning to myself I entered the universe Frost was now in. Hoping I wasn't too late.
Yeah! Save Robin!
6031754 Well, I'm glad to tell that the crossover is written. I just have some editing left... Ok, a lot of it actually. But I should have plenty of time for that tomorrow! So, look forward to it. Cause No actual spoilers. I'm not like that. So you'll have to wait.
There is a dot behind the "prepare" that should be a comma.
ETA on the next chap?
huh... never thought of that. Well, first impressions are important, so don't screw it up!
6035556 What can he say? We all make mistakes...
6117435 Feel free to keep commenting while you progress through my story.
6117467 You are the first one to call me out on that... I will stay away from adding a gore tag for now. But if I do add anymore scenes like that I'll be sure to add it.
6117470 was just a suggestion if dark scenes or gory scenes become necessary for some reason, for example to demonstrate the extremes some characters are willing to go but only really do so once or twice.
It's the same as warning people about incoming clop/sex scenes at the beginning, or in between, the chapters.
It doesn't bother me that much personally, I just noticed that the previous chapters were pretty cheerier and 'good willing' with an easy atmosphere since the beginning, hardly any violence as well (except for that one punch in the merchant's face, but he is a really bad character anyway so whatever), only for it to take an extreme turn of mood and display of graphical violence, with the now Black Frost cutting of Discord's leg, emphasis on "blood pouring out". That all in spite Discord not even being such an evil character, as admitted previously when Jack talked about him with the other displaced. He already regrets what he had done to him, and this world, after all.
In addition to that follows the torturing (destroying the horn, leaving him to die, etc.)
Other readers might react badly to that sudden and extreme change, without having received a warning first.
That's why I thought: "Don't add Dark tag to the story since it's not centering on such level violence and actions, but add a warning of incoming "possibly warranting a Dark tag" scenes, as an author's note at the beginning of the chapter.
It could save you some trouble with readers, or prevent dislikes from happening, since such sudden and very violent 'twists', in contrast of previous chapters, may not be everyone's stick.
I'm not really comfortable with it either, to be honest :(, which is why I wrote this.
6117633 You bring forth a good point and I fully agree with you. Thank you for pointing it out.
Um....fanatic?
Moar?
I-if your willing that is...
6122189 Yes... I'm editing a 10 000 word special... so... Have some patience?
6122197 dang 0_0 yea.....take your time lol.
6122305 But you are right... I could probably speed it up by a lot but... I'm procrastinating... But I'll get to it tomorrow, honest.
6122424 lol take as much time as you wish dood. I'd rather read an AWSOME story than a crap one that was rushed! ;)
6122437 Well, It's actually completely written. But... It's a crossover and was written in the wrong perspective... Meaning I have to fix it myself... And the other author won't be uploading his version for quite some time... It is really, really drawn out work as I have to input a few extra scenes and remove a few others. (Kinda meant to force readers to have to read it from both perspectives if they want to know everything there is about the chapter. See it as an Easter egg.)
6122453 I read that and my brain hurt so Ill just with you good Luck and be on my way lol
6236338 Thank you for this comment. English is not my primary language, and some of the rules between languages differ and I have trouble remembering them all. It doesn't help that my education rarely covers certain parts of the language more than once, making them easily forgettable.
Reminders like this are really appreciated as they allow me to improve.
I will try and commit what I learned here to memory.
6236386
Don't feel too bad, English really doesn't make any sense if you try and rationalize it's rules. Even when a rule does make sense, it always has exceptions that you will only know by memorizing those exceptions since they're unpredictable.
This is pretty much the only Displaced story I like. Good job!
6317120 Thank you.
Great fic so far. I see shit's about to hit the fan.