The frozen Fates

by Equestriasservant

Chapter 1: The winter visitor

PONYVILLE: SOME YEARS LATER

Twilight-Sparkle frowned as she stared out of her window, watching the blizzard lash outside. The village of Ponyville was in the grip of one of the worst winter-storms to date. The Unicorn sighed, watching the giant flakes of snow lash the window. She was bored. Incredibly bored. In the several months since coming to Ponyville, Twilight-Sparkle had seen and stopped a Dragon attack, prevented an eternal night and stopped a mountain-sized bear from crushing the town...but now, she was, stuck inside the Golden-Oaks Library, in the middle of a blizzard. The Unicorn sighed again, attempting to prop her head, which had been drooping from boredom, on the writing desk she was sitting at. Several books lay open on the desk, alongside several scrunched-up bits of parchment. For the first time in living memory, the vast amount of books contained in the library had failed to stem the studious Unicorn's thirst for knowledge. She'd been reading for the best part of the day, though any-pony who knew Twilight-Sparkle, knew that the Unicorn's lust for knowledge was insatiable and no library could ever satisfy it.

Twilight groaned, pushing herself away from desk. The Unicorn knew that moping about was a surefire way to build up her temper. The Unicorn turned to look at the Library that had been her home for the last few months. Built into a thick tree, with bookcases lining the circular walls, a warm fire burning in the hearth, several cubby-holes filled with quills and notepads...a real home away from home. Of course, the Ponyville library couldn't compare to the Canterlot Library but still...Twilight chuckled to herself. The Unicorn considered any place-of-learning as a home-away-from-home. To many of her friends amusement no less. Twilight smiled, amusing herself with the thought of the looks on some of her closest friends faces at this time. Rainbow-Dash, the brash, Rainbow-Maned Pegasus would be bouncing around the walls with impatience, joined, no-doubt by Pinkie-Pie, the poofy-maned, pink party pony. Chuckling to herself, Twilight pushed herself onward, hoping that a cup of strong tea would wake her up.

"Twilight? Twilight, where are you?" Called a voice. Twilight smiled, turning to look at the stairs. A small dragon, covered in purple scales with green spines had appeared, hopping down the stairs to meet her, a bright glimmer in his emerald green eyes and a smile on his face. Her assistant, Spike, was holding what appeared to be a small scroll of parchment, tied with a length of red ribbon and secured with a small golden seal. The baby-dragon panted slightly as he came to a stop in front of Twilight, his scaly tail wagging slightly behind him. "This just came for you." The dragon said, waving the scroll. "I think it's from the Princess." Twilight smiled, taking the scroll from her assistant. The dragon turned, moving over to the small kitchen. "I'll make us some tea. It's so cold upstairs, there's frost on my scales." The Unicorn rolled her eyes at the dragon's exaggeration, slitting open the letter with her magic, Twilight unrolled the letter, smiling as she recognized the hoof-writing of her mentor, Princess Celestia.

"To my most faithful student, Twilight-Sparkle. I hope this letter finds you in good health. As I am sure you know, Ponyville will be entering the first stages of Winter-Wrap-Up in the coming weeks. I have therefore decided to delay my next royal parade till then. I am very pleased to announce that my sister, Princess Luna, will also be joining us."

"Huh." Twilight huffed, tossing the letter onto the desk with a soft snort. "That's a shame, now I won't see her for another three weeks." The Unicorn whined, disappointment rising up inside her. As Princess of the entire country, the Alicorn Princess did not have a lot of free time. Now that she'd fully moved into Ponyville, Twilight didn't get many chances to speak to her mentor. A loud whistling noise coming from the direction of the kitchen snapped the Unicorn out of her thoughts. "Spike!" Twilight called, noting the small cloud of steam that was pouring out from the kitchen. "What in Equestria are you doing in there?" She demanded angrily, striding over. Spike, who was so small he could not reach over the counter, was stood on a stool, a large, whistling kettle in one claw and a small tin, container of biscuits in the other. The kettle was clearly the source of the steam, as thick, white clouds were spraying from the spout, leaving large spots of damp on the ceiling and the windows. "SPIKE!" Twilight shouted, using her magic to take the Kettle from the baby Dragon, setting on the counter and peering inside. "You know better than to boil the water at that temperature. Now I'll be..." But Twilight stopped as a loud knocking noise sounded.

"I...think there's some-pony at the door Twilight." Spike said timidly. The Unicorn sighed angrily, striding away from her assistant and back into the main part of the Library, making a mental note to have a word with the baby-dragon when she'd dealt with the visitor. Twilight tried hard to compose her face into a welcoming smile. But then, just as she reached out a hoof to pull the door open, she stopped. Turning her head slightly, Twilight checked the cloak, situated next to the door. The hands were pointed at: 10:50. Surely No-pony in their right minds would be looking for a book to read, this late at night, in the middle of a blizzard....would they?

---

The Stallion had been walking for the best part of three hours. Wandering through Ponyville, he had been searching, almost frantically for the Library. The Library where SHE lived. Where that Unicorn who'd let him out lived. After years of searching for her, he'd found little-miss-Sparkle. The Unicorn smiled coolly, feeling the patchwork cloak flapping around him, in the grip of the powerful blizzard. Flakes of snow whistled about him, some sticking to his patchy fur, soaking the silvery fur. Despite the cold, the Stallion was not shivering. Indeed, the stallion showed no sign that he was cold, nor did he show any sign that the wintry atmosphere was affecting him. Such weather was no bother to the Lich-Pony He continued to stride through the thick banks of snow, his bloodshot, green eyes staring around at the cottages around him, sealed against the raging storm.

"Where is it?" The Unicorn pondered, his voice, whisked away by the winds. Then he saw it. A large tree stood in a plaza of sorts, with an small wooden door set into one side. Several small windows, each window ledge piled high with snow, obscuring the lights. Each branch, was bare of leafs, some tossing and turning in the wind. The stallion smiled to himself. "How nostalgic," He muttered, striding over to the door. "Oh how it reminds me of the frozen forests." But the Stallion froze, one hoof raised to knock at the door. How to go about this? If she recognized him, then...A revelation hit the Lich-Pony. Of course! What better way to get inside the home of his target, than to play the victim? And the weather was certainly a convenient excuse. The Lich-Pony smiled, raised his hoof and knocked on the door. He only had to wait for a few seconds as the door swung open. The Lich-Pony felt elation as he saw who was standing in the doorway. Dark-Purple mane, light purple fur with a pair of bright violet eyes, widening at him. It WAS her! Forcing himself to remain calm, the Lich-Pony opened his mouth, making his teeth chatter for the effect. He may as well be convincing. "E-E-Excuse m-m-me? Could I t-t-trouble you for a p-place to s-s-stay?"

---

"Have we met?" Twilight mumbled, staring in surprise as the shivering Unicorn spoke. The silvery-grey fur and those bloodshot green eyes...She'd definitely seen this Pony somewhere before. She continued staring, even as the new arrival continued speaking. It was only when the Stallion waved a shaking hoof in front of her face that she snapped out of her thoughts. The Unicorn was staring at her through nervous eyes, shaking from horn to hoof. "S-Sorry!" she stammered, "I thought I recognized you for a second." The Mare smiled nervously, extending a hoof. "My name is Twilight-Sparkle. Would you like to come in? It's freezing out here." The Stallion smiled, nodding vigorously, taking a step into the house. Then his eyes rolled and the pony collapsed. "Spike!" Twilight shouted, shaking the unconscious Stallion. The Stallion was ice cold. She never felt any-pony so cold. "Spike!" She shouted again, just as the dragon came running out, the biscuit tin still clutched in his claws, the question dying on his mouth as he stared down at the unconscious pony. "Spike, go get some blankets, this Stallion is freezing!" Twilight shouted, wheezing slightly under the weight of the Stallion as she dragged him over to the fire. As the Dragon ran out, Twilight gazed down at the unconscious stallion. One thought raced through her frantic mind as she continued to watch him. "No-Pony could be that cold...could they?"