The Puppetmaster

by XSomeGuyX

A Cold Heart in the Frozen North

The group had arrived in the Crystal Empire. Though usually a bustling city, the early hours only saw the ambitious shopkeeps setting up their wares and goods for the day. As they made their way through to the northernmost part of the city, a dazzling light caught Twilight’s eye. The rays of the dawning sun reflected off the castle at the heart of the city, creating a magnificent display of color. She had never seen dawn at the Crystal Empire before, most of the time, she was much too busy to admire such a beautiful spectacle, as she was now. As she marveled at the sight, a thought suddenly popped into her head.

“Mind if we make a quick stop while we’re here?” Twilight Sparkle asked Cloud Slider. “We don’t come here that often. I’d really like want to pay my big brother a visit.”

“I guess not, but we really should get going as soon as possible, Princess,” the courier said, trying to hide any hint of pushiness. Twilight gave him a quick nod before taking the lead. “I didn’t know you had family up here, Princess.”

“I’m a little surprised,” the alicorn said, smiling when she realized the courier was finally comfortable enough to speak openly. “He is pretty important up here. And so is my sister-in-law.”

Twilight teasingly left out their names, leaving Cloud Slider scratching his head. As they proceeded down the city’s main road, lined with stalls and shops, many of the store owners gave the Princess a quick bow before continuing on with their preparations. The local bakeries were also readying themselves for the day ahead, as the smell of sweet breads wafted through the air, nearly causing Pinkie Pie to abandon the mission for a taste. Finally, they reached the large, crystalline palace that sat in the middle of the city.

“Umm…” Cloud Slider said, biting his lip a bit. “I thought we were going to visit your brother, not the castle, Princess.”

The mares all let out a mischievous giggle as they entered the castle, given no trouble by the guards on duty. The courier paused in his tracks, not knowing what was happening.

“Her brother’s Shining Armor,” Spike whispered to him before continuing into the palace as well.

“Wait! As in ‘Prince Shining Armor!?’ The one that’s married to the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of the Crystal Empire!?” Cloud Slider asked, dumbfounded. “Oh… what did I get myself into?” He drooped his head and he slowly followed them into the castle.

---

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! You have a visitor.” The herald’s thunderous voice resonated the large throne room. “I present Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

“Twilight!” Princess Cadence exclaimed as she raced down the long and luxurious red carpet. She quickly adjusted herself, feeling the eyes of her guards on her. “Excuse me. I mean, welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

With a nod, Cadence dismissed her guards, leaving her alone with the group. The two alicorns immediately started their little dance that they shared since Twilight’s foalhood. After a small laugh, Cadence set her sights on the newcomer in their group as well as the semi-grown dragon.

“Wow, I know they say ‘they grow up so fast,’ but I didn’t know they meant it literally,” the Princess of Love said, wide eyed.

“Actually, that’s what we’re here to find out about,” Twilight replied from behind her. “Spike had a sudden growth spurt. According to Zecora, it was due to some kind of herb called ‘Age Sage.’ I tried to fix him with my magic, but it didn’t have any effect on him.”

“I suppose I can try, Twilight, but I’m not too sure I’ll do any better than you,” Cadence said, charging her horn.

“Actually, we were on our way to find a pony that has been researching dragons up here in the Frozen North,” Twilight responded.

“Ah, of course! Professor Tall Tale from the Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!” she exclaimed as her horn lost its powerful light.

“Told you!” Cloud Slider yelled, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash. Realizing that his sudden outburst had again earned him the attention of the Princess of Love, he quickly covered his mouth with his hoof.

“Who are you?” Cadence asked, raising an eyebrow as she walked up the stallion.

“U-umm… I-I’m…” he stuttered, trying to disentangle his tongue. He quickly fell to the floor with a bow. “M-my name is Cloud Slider, Princess! A courier from Cloudsdale!”

“You can stand,” Cadence laughed.

“I-it’s n-n-nice to meet you, Princess,” he replied.

“Expanding your little group I see, Twilight. I guess you are at that age. Not too sure how Shining’s going to take the news, though,” Cadence said before giving the courier a teasing wink. “I’d start running if I were you.”

“N-n-n-no, I-I’m not…” Cloud Slider tried to speak, feeling his cheeks almost literally burning from embarrassment.

“He’s actually here to help us get to the mountains,” Twilight said with a small giggle, believing that the poor pegasus had had enough.

“If you’re headed for the mountains, I think you should get moving soon,” the pink alicorn responded, giving Cloud Slider a smile for being a good sport. “No pony can survive out there at night.”

“But I was really hoping to see…” Twilight trailed off as she saw her brother enter the room.

“Twily! I haven’t seen you since your coronation!” Shining Armor said, hugging his sister tightly. “When my guards told me you were here, I came right over!”

“We didn’t even get to talk too much at the coronation,” Twilight said, breaking away from the hug.

“So what brings you here, Twily?” Shining asked as he looked over to the two unusual members of her group. “I’m guessing this isn’t just a friendly visit.”

“H-hello, Prince Shining Armor,” Cloud Slider introduced himself with a bow after locking eyes with the unicorn. “My name’s Cloud Slider.”

“Nice to meet you, Cloud Slider,” the guard captain said, extending his hoof. He smiled warmly as he shook the younger stallion’s hoof. “Did you manage to work yourself in with one of Twily’s friends? Not a bad bunch of mares. A little kooky, but not bad. Though, if you managed to somehow get this little bookworm…”

“I aaaammmmm—” the courier said, his voice strained by the pain of the tightening hoof shake.

“Should’ve taken my advice…” Cadence whispered to him with a small chuckle.

“Take it easy, Shining. He’s only here to help us visit Professor Tall Tale,” Twilight said, feeling a little guilty at how far the teasing has gotten.

“I thought I remembered you from somewhere,” Shining said, letting go of the courier’s hoof. “You’re one of the Cloudsdale Couriers that come around every month or so to deliver him some supplies, right? My guards always have to authorize your passage to the Icepeak Mountains.”

“Yes, sir…” the courier agreed, sucking on his stinging hoof.

“Sorry about that. Guess I overreacted a bit,” Shining apologized. “Well, I don’t want to keep you then, Twily. I’ll tell my guards to let you guys through.” He took a small pause, his smile disappearing from his face as his tone fell a bit somber. “But, Twilight, please be careful. The mountains are dangerous, even if you have a guide with you. I can send some of my guards along—”

“We can manage ourselves, Shining!” Twilight interrupted, a bit annoyed. “We are supposed to be the ‘Guardians of Equestria,’ right?”

“I’m just looking out for my L.S.B.F.F.,” Shining said, his mouth drooping into a frown. “But you are an alicorn, and a princess at that. Maybe I am being a little overprotective, but you’ll always be my little sister, Twily, even if you tell me not worry.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said as her gaze fell to the floor. “It’s just... this is my first real test as a princess of Equestria. I really want to try to do it without too much help.”

“I understand, Twily,” her brother said, giving her another hug. “Good luck.”

“Just remember one thing, Twilight,” Cadence interjected. “If you ever need help, don’t be afraid to ask us. There’s no shame in doing so. We’ll always be there to help you whenever you need us.”

“Thank you, both of you,” Twilight answered, resisting the urge to tear up. “We’ll be back! Don’t worry!”

---

The group took a quick pause as Cloud Slider and Twilight Sparkle talked with the Crystal Kindgom’s border patrol.

“So, we coulda asked any of the other couriers to take us?” Rainbow Dash asked, nearly boring a hole in the back of Cloud Slider’s head with her eyes. “We went through all that trouble finding the sky-pirates and rescuing his sorry flank and we coulda just gotten another courier to take us.”

“Hey! I was the one that got kidnapped by pirates and squished an anchor!” the courier retorted, furrowing his brows.

“Yeah, but if it wasn’t for us, you’d probably be swabbing the decks for some dirty pirates!” the blue pegasus said as both got into each other’s face. “You didn’t even want to take us anyways! A ‘thank you’ wouldn’t kill you!”

“Well, I didn’t! I didn’t ask to be dragged into all of this, you know!” Cloud Slider barked. “I’m just a courier! I deliver mail and packages! I don’t wake up expecting to have to fight pirates, or find dragon eggs!”

“Calm down, both of you!” Twilight said sternly, separating the two with her magic. “You’re fighting like little foals.” Her brows furrowed as she turned her attention to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, it is our duty to help the ponies of Equestria now. And besides, Spike finally found out who found his egg,” she paused, briefly setting her sights on the courier, “even if he’s being an insensitive blockhead. I don’t think it was a waste of time.” Turning to Cloud Slider, she continued, “Cloud Slider, she’s also right. You haven’t been very grateful. Her and Derpy were the ones that saved you from the pirates. It might not have been the perfect rescue, but they still did risk a lot taking on those pirates alone. You might not want to be here, you might not have wanted to find Spike’s egg, but you’re here and you did.”

Cloud Slider found himself unable meet the purple alicorn’s intense eyes. As he averted his gaze, he noticed the reactions of the rest of the group. Fluttershy was shaking so violently behind Applejack that one would think she had been walking through the snowy wonderland bare. Applejack herself kicked some dirt up with her hoof. Rarity comforted Spike who seemed to have reeled back from his comment on finding his egg. Even Pinkie Pie, usually a vision of positivity, pretended to play with the buttons on her jacket, refusing to look up at the trio.

“I’m… sorry, Princess… and to you too, Spike...” Cloud Slider’s voice trailed off. With narrowed eyes, he turned to Rainbow Dash. “Thank you…”

“That’s more like it!” Rainbow Dash said with a victorious smile.

“Rainbow…” Twilight growled, staring daggers at the proud pegasus. “Ugh… nevermind. We’ll talk about this later. You said we need to get going, didn’t you, Cloud Slider?”

“Yeah,” the courier said, tearing his glare away from the blue pegasus. “It looks like it pretty clear today, we should get to the mountains in no time, as long nopony wanders off. After that, the easy part’s over.”

“Wait...” Spike said quietly, having stayed out of the toxic situation until now. “I don’t have a coat, or hat, or, well, anything...”

“Oh yeah…” Cloud Slider said, taking the lead of the group, leading them through the weather barrier that defined the Crystal Kingdom’s border. “Well, you shouldn’t need it really. According to Professor Tall Tale, dragons are really sturdy, even in really cold or hot weather. Something about their ‘inner flame’ and their thick hides. You should be fine.”

“Ya sure about that, partner?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. “It looks mighty cold out here.”

“I don’t understand all the details, but I got the gist of it,” the courier said, his voice seeming even more distant than before, to Twilight’s dismay. “He should be okay, at least until we get to Professor Tall Tale’s cabin.”

The fight as they left the border had set the mood for the group’s journey, any chance of conversation being as dead as anything to be found in the frozen tundra as they travelled towards shadowy outlines of a distant mountain range.

---

As the group neared the base of the mountain, the bright blue skies turned into a frosty, grey shroud. The weather changed as they got further and further from the crystal city, turning the clear skies a cloudy grey with a small flurry of snow showering them.

“Don’t worry, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said as she noticed that the snowfall was starting to affect the group’s speed. “I got this!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” Cloud Slider warned halfheartedly.

“Well, I’m the leader of the Weather Squad back in Ponyville. I think I can handle some little snow clouds,” Rainbow Dash huffed, taking flight towards the clouds. Cloud Slider simply shrugged as the rest of the group watched the blue pegasus.

“Why shouldn’t she try to clear the clouds?” Twilight asked the courier, turning her head between the two pegasi.

“Because... those clouds are made by draconic magic,” Cloud Slider said with a heavy sigh. “It’s much stronger than anything regular ponies can do.”

“Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Twilight yelled, flying after her friend.

Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash had already reached the dark clouds, winding up for a big kick. However, with a loud yelp, she repelled back with a stinging sensation in her hoof. She looked down at her hindleg that made contact with the clouds and found her hoof encased in ice. She immediately descended and kept her icy hoof above the snow.

“Agh! What happened?” Rainbow Dash as the group seated her on Spike’s back.

“I did try to warn you,” Cloud Slider said, reluctantly joining the group. “But no, don’t listen to the one pony that’s been here before. He doesn’t know anything.”

“Y’know, I’m getting pretty tired of you!” Rainbow Dash said as they entered another staring contest.

“Don’t worry! As soon as we’re done here, you’ll never have to see me again!” he replied loudly.

“That’s more than enough out of both of you already!” Twilight yelled, her eyes emitting a powerful light. “This trip isn’t about either of you! It’s about Spike! So please, can you just get along long enough to finish it!? Even if it’s just for him!”

“How come you’re taking his side?” Rainbow Dash whined.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side, but you have started most of the fights, Rainbow!” Twilight answered.

“No offense, RD. But it’s kinda true,” Applejack said. “And Cloud Slider might not be that excited about bein’ here, but heck, he came. It ain’t exactly a small favor to ask a pony ya just met.”

“Fine, fine! You guys win!” Rainbow Dash admitted, throwing her front legs in the air. “I’ll just keep a lid on it until we’re done. But I’m not apologizing to this jerk!”

“No one is asking you to…” Cloud Slider said, turning away from her.

“You talking back isn’t helping either!” Twilight said, teleporting in front of the stallion.

Again, Cloud Slider could not bring himself to look her in the eyes. “I… I’ll stop.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a deep sigh. “So, where to next?”

“Up the mountain,” the courier said, pointing about halfway to the peak. “The Professor has a cabin set up close to the top so he can be close to the frost dragons. This is where everypony needs to stick close. It’s pretty easy to get lost up there. Unless you always wanted to know what it feels like to be a ‘ponysicle,’ you really don’t want to get stuck on the mountain at night.”

“What about my hoof!?” Rainbow Dash asked with an outstretched hindleg.

“I’m not sure if I know a spell that can fix that, Rainbow,” Twilight said, frowning as she inspected the thick ice around the hoof.

“The Professor knows a spell to counter the frost dragons’ magic,” Cloud Slider told Twilight. “Something like that happened to the other couriers when we first came to deliver supplies for him. If we can make it to him, he can definitely help.”

---

The group had made only some headway up the mountain before their pace slowed to a crawl. Both Fluttershy and Rarity breathed heavily, constantly stopping to catch their breath every few steps. Even as they took turns riding Spike with Rainbow Dash, they still could not keep up with the rest of the group. Twilight and Pinkie Pie also seemed to be a bit winded. Though not as ragged as that of their friends, their breathing was loud enough to be audible. Their speed also suffered accordingly. Only Cloud Slider, Applejack, and Spike were able to keep up their original pace.

“Hey, Cloud Slider, partner?” Applejack whispered to the beige pegasus. “Ya think we can take a bit of a break? It don’t look like the others can keep this up much longer.”

“I guess we can, but it can’t be too long,” Cloud Slider answered after taking a quick look over his shoulder. He looked up at the shroud of snow ahead of them, so thick that he could not see anything more than couple of feet ahead. “It’s starting to snow even harder. If it gets any worse, I might not be able to find the cabin. I’ve never seen it this bad before.”

“Y’all! We’re takin’ a break!” Applejack called out, much to the relief of the group.

Without any place to sit down, however, their break was little more than a moment to catch their breath. Cloud Slider kept his distance from the group, especially from Rainbow Dash, and simply stared straight ahead.

“Spike, dear, can I ask you an tincy-wincy favor?” Rarity asked gingerly, giving the dragon a small pout. “Can you please breathe a little of that fire of yours? Just to warm my hooves… Plea~se?”

Unable to resist her charm, Spike took in a deep breath and let out a small, but constant, stream of fire. Rarity took turns holding either of her front hooves near the fire, closing her eyes and taking in its warmth. The rest of the mares followed her example.

“Hmm… I wonder…” Twilight said under her breath. She looked at the fire, then at Rainbow Dash’s frozen hoof. “Rainbow Dash, come here for a second.”

“What? What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked, carefully slipping off the dragon’s back. She hopped over to the purple alicorn on her three good hooves.

“Okay, now turn around…” Twilight ordered as the blue pegasus raised an eyebrow. The pegasus cooperated and Twilight grabbed the frozen leg. Twilight pulled the icy hoof close to the fire, hoping that perhaps she could fight fire with fire, or more literally, ice with fire. The ice showed some signs of melting, some droplets of water sliding off the bigger chunk of ice, but the small stream seemed to weak to fight the ice magic.

“Spike, can you try to breathe a little harder?” she asked the dragon. The dragon paused for a second, took another deep breath, and let out a much larger cloud of fire. The mares all took a step away from the intense inferno, except for Twilight who continued to hold Rainbow Dash’s hoof close to the fire. Slowly, but surely, the fire began to melt the ice around her hoof. “Just a little more, Spike. It’s really starting to melt now.”

Spike strengthened his breath even more, its length creeping closer and closer to the oblivious courier ahead of him. Most eyes were on Rainbow Dash and Twilight as the ice finally melted, the last chunk of which falling slipping off Rainbow Dash’s hoof.

“You did it, Spike!” Twilight cheered, smiling up at him.

“That’s feels way better! Thanks, kid!” Rainbow Dash said, giving him a small punch on the shoulder.

Though the mares celebrated and thanked the dragon, Spike could only stare straight ahead with his maw agape. Twilight followed his gaze and found what had him so shocked. He had incidentally lit their guide’s tail on fire. The flames slowly ate away at what little tail he had and was inching close to his body.

“I think we should get movi...” Cloud Slider paused as he turned around, sniffing a peculiar smell in the air. “Did you guys burn something?”

Most of the group remained too shock to say anything. All but one.

“Your tail’s on fire!” Pinkie yelled panically, pointing at the courier’s behind.

“My... “ Cloud paused again, his irises widening and his pupils shrinking after realizing the severity of what she had said. “MY TAIL’S ON FIRE!”

He began to run around like a headless chicken, desperately trying to escape the creeping flame on his tail.

“Hold on there, partner,” Applejack said, running towards a nearby tree. “I got ya.”

She timed her buck on the tree with his frantic running. A large amount of snow fell on top of the courier, easily extinguishing the flame on his tail, and then some.

After shaking off the excess snow, Cloud Slider frowned at his miserable, singed excuse for tail.

“Hey… Look at this way,” Twilight said with forced smile, “at least you won’t need a tail cut anytime soon.”

“Let’s… let’s just go…” Cloud Slider replied, taking the lead again with a low hanging head.

---

After hours of marching through the snow storm, the group’s destination finally was within sight. A small, brown cabin stood out in the backdrop of pure white. The steady cloud of black smoke from the chimney and the shelter from the constant snowfall was a sight for sore eyes for the cold and weary travellers.

Cloud Slider made his way to its door, knocking with a trembling, snow-covered hoof. Within a few seconds, the door opened and the group was greeted by the silhouette of a unicorn.

“Well, if it isn’t Cloud Slider!” the unicorn said cheerfully. “And what’s this!? One of the Princesses too! And a dragon no less! You keep some interesting company, Cloud Slider!?” He paused as he saw his visitors trembling uncontrollably. “Ah! Where are my manners? Please, come in!”

Comments

[XSomeGuyX]

So... uh... I messed up...

Some of you may have noticed a rather large "missing section" between chapters 6 and 7. I accidentally posted chapter 8 INSTEAD of chapter 7. I have corrected the mistake and posted the right chapter. My original plan was to upload around every two weeks, but I'll repost chapter 8 early since I kinda already leaked it. Expect it to reappear some time next week.

[Hillbe]

img00.deviantart.net/d100/i/2015/244/3/d/his_ladys_honor_by_hillbe-d982b0w.jpg Oops