Ice Fall

by Bluespectre

Chapter Thirty Six - Midnight Sun

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

MIDNIGHT SUN

The gangplank hit the ground with a heavy thud as the ponies around the clearing stood and stared in open mouthed disbelief at what they were seeing. Celestia remained silent, watching the cherry red mare with the yellow mane and maroon eyes appear at edge of the ship’s railing - the Captain of the King Sombra’s Revenge no doubt. The name itself rankled; didn’t they know who that monster was? Was the name some kind of joke? If it was, it wasn’t funny. Worse yet, was how that beast had made these ‘ships’. Celestia knew all too well what lay inside this construction of wood, iron, canvas and rope. Above her, the railing and rigging of the vessel suddenly bristled with crossbow wielding ponies, all of them with a look of determination and resolve that Princess found quite impressive. Yes…these ponies would do…very nicely.

The red mare walked down the gangplank while several others followed behind with loaded crossbows and festooned with swords and daggers. They looked like they knew how to use them too.

Stopping at the bottom, Captain Gretel lifted her head, her foreleg on her sword’s hilt,

“Who is in charge here?” she demanded in a loud voice, “Which one of you scum sucking verminous rats threatened one of my crew?”

“I believe that ‘scum sucking verminous rat’ would be me.” The Princess said stepping forward, “A pleasure to meet you, Captain Gretel.”

“And you are?”

The Princess bowed her head, “I am Celestia, Princess of Equestria.”

“How nice for you,” Gretel said snidely, “I’ve met your other half and I wasn’t impressed with her either. Now I will ask you only once, ‘Princess’; where is my crewpony?”

“You mean, Chalk Dust?” Celestia smiled, “Oh, he’s here. First though, won’t you please accept our hospitality and join us for tea?”

“No.” Gretel’s hoof twitched towards her sword, “You bring Chalky here now or I’ll blow the lot of you to hell, and don’t think that fancy damned magic of yours will help you ‘Princess’, because I assure you, it won’t be worth a damn when you’re dancing with the devil.”

“And are you that devil?” Celestia asked curiously.

Gretel smiled, “I could be.”

General Dray whispered quietly into Celestia ear, “Your Majesty, do you want me to fetch him here? He’s our trump card.”

Celestia nodded, “I think so.” She raised an eyebrow, “I like her. I think we can…negotiate.”

The Princess watched the red mare quietly. On the surface, the Captain looked to be a rough sort: uncouth and strong willed, but there was a certain aura about her that she’d wished more of her ponies had. They needed more like her, the type who would stand up for themselves and not be cowed by others, especially when they had something, or in this case, somepony, they wanted. Celestia closed her eyes; the image of Rush haunting her even in the daytime. If she’d been in the Captain’s position, how would she feel, how would she react? If somepony had taken Rush and were using him as a bargaining chip, wouldn’t she be…

“GRETEL!”

A streak of white shot past her and launched itself at the red mare. In seconds, the two were…well, to be blunt, all over each other. Clearly Captain Gretel wasn’t shy about public displays of…’affection’. Celestia shuddered. Was this how others saw her with Rush? No…probably not. The two of them hadn’t, well, they…just hadn’t. She gritted her teeth, angry with herself, furious that she hadn’t done more to rescue him. She could have, she should have! This wasn’t fair, to be alone, here without the one she…she…

“Princess?” It was the Captain, “I believe you wished to negotiate some sort of trade agreement?”

Giving herself a mental shake, Celestia took a breath and steadied herself. Emotions were all well and good, but there was a time and place, and this was not it.

She swept a hoof towards the tent standing nearby, “Follow me, please.”

******************************

Gretel took a sip of her tea. It wasn’t bad, but certainly nothing like the variety that Amy had given her, even if it had been illusory. She looked about herself at the tent. It was a fairly bland affair, functional to say the least and certainly nothing like the portable palace the ‘other’ princess had. She took off her hat and gave her mane a good scratch - the bloody thing always made her hair itch like mad! From the corner of her eye, Gretel could see the Princess watching her politely, that curiously flowing mane of hers looked more like a living rainbow than actual hair. Gretel’s on the other hoof…well, a mane was a mane wasn’t it? Suddenly she felt incredibly self conscious.

“May I ask a question?” The Princess asked.

Gretel shrugged, “Sure, go right ahead.”

“How exactly did you intend to ‘blow us all to hell’?” Celestia gave her a polite smile, “Forgive me, Captain, but you don’t appear to have many unicorns aboard your ship?”

“Didn’t you consider I may be bluffing, Princess?”

“Naturally,” Celestia replied, “but I know sincerity when I see it Captain, and I feel you would have been all too willing to carry out your threat should we not have acquiesced to your request.”

“Ac…what?” Gretel asked screwing up her face in confusion. The powder blue pony she’d brought with her muttered something in her ear. “Oh…right, yes.” She waved a hoof dismissively, “Well, we may be able to provide you with a product that could prove to be of particular use in your future endeavours.” She grinned, her eyes showing that she was far more calculating that Celestia had first envisaged. The Princess nodded to Dray,

“Intriguing, Captain. Now then, General Dray shall explain our proposal.”

Gretel sat and listened, taking in the older stallion’s words and looking for an angle. There wasn’t one, or at least, not one she could see. It seemed fairly straight forward so far as the actual logistics of it went, but if they did go ahead with this plan, there would be no turning back - the die would well and truly be cast. Finally, Dray finished and both he and the Princess sat in silence, waiting for her reply. Gretel leaned back in her chair, her voice low,

“Doc?”

“It’s a gamble Captain,” the ship’s doctor replied honestly, “no doubt about it, and if it goes wrong…”

“-I know, we’ll have the whole Legion after us.” Gretel looked up at Celestia, “What you want us to do is tantamount to a declaration of war against Nightmare Moon and her forces. To do so would risk both my ship and her crew and that is something I cannot do, not even for a Princess of Equestria.”

“I see.” Celestia said quietly, “A shame. I’d hoped that you would have joined us in our fight to free our home from the darkness which is engulfing, it even as we speak.” She stretched her wings, “You see Captain, if you were to ‘assist’ us, then your financial reward would be…considerable.” She left further explanation hanging, “Moreover, all charges against you for aiding our enemy would be dropped and you would be given favourable trading rights - most favourable indeed.”

Dray cleared his throat, “Captain, your crewpony, Chalk Dust, is a serving soldier with the army. If you were to help us, I could see to it that his enlistment is voided after we complete our goal.”

“You mean if he survives.” Gretel shook her head, “It’s a suicide mission, Dray, and you know it. Taking Chalky with you is like putting a knife to my throat to make sure I do as you say.”

Celestia raised a hoof, “Not at all. Chalk may stay with you on your ship.” She sighed, “Please, I’m afraid we may have started off on the wrong hoof, Captain. It was not my intention for you to see us as holding Mister Chalk Dust as a…’hostage’, quite the opposite in fact. I had hoped that returning your loved one and offering you trade may have…”

“-I didn’t say I wouldn’t trade.” Gretel cut in, “I just…” she shook her head, “Look, let me talk this over with my crew, Princess. I assure you, I have no love for the Legion and would much rather deal with yourselves, but it is the risk to my ship and my crew that is staying my hoof. If Nightmare Moon found out I’m aiding you…”

“Oh, I think you’ll find she already knows.” Celestia said quietly.

Gretel choked on her tea, “What? How?!”

“You had a black earth pony on your vessel didn’t you?” The princess asked, “One with a blue mane and tail, grey eyes, goes by the name of…”

“-Bracken?” Gretel sputtered, “He’s Chalky’s friend. What about…oh, my Goddess…”

Doc lay a hoof of his Captain’s shoulder as he addressed the Princess,

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but Bracken is with you is he not?”

“He is.” She replied.

“Then you know that he’s being tracked?”

Celestia nodded, “I do.”

Doc looked at his Captain, “I think this puts a different complexion on things.”

Gretel slammed a hoof down, angrily rounding on the Princess, “If you knew he was being tracked, then how the hell could you let him stay with you, Celestia? Are you mad?! Nightmare Moon’s Legion could be on their way here right now!”

Celestia calmly took a sip of her tea, “All the more reason for us to get away as soon as we can, Captain, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Why you sneaky…” Gretel threw her forelegs up and then shook her head, smiling, “A mare after my own heart, eh?” She turned back to Doc who nodded, a slight smile across his face. “Very well, Celestia,” The Captain said with a toothy grin, “it looks like we have ourselves a deal.”

Gretel reached out her hoof which Celestia bumped with her own, a smile crossing her muzzle. Dray pointedly cleared his throat,

“Excuse me Captain, this ‘product’ you mentioned; what is it?”

Rising to her hooves, Gretel gave him an expansive grin, “Well, General, I always say that ‘seeing is believing’, so why not come aboard and see for yourselves?”

Outside, Chalk was catching up with Strata, the two of them clearly delighted to see each other again. They were so deep in conversation that they barely even noticed the Princess until Gretel called out to them. With a start, the two unicorns turned and bowed low as they passed by. Celestia smiled at them, her large purple eyes twinkling in the sunlight. The party continued their walk over to the Revenge as Chalk homed in on General Dray,

“Sir? Have you seen Bracken?” he asked anxiously, “I haven’t seen him since he went off for sentry duty this morning.”

Dray nodded solemnly, “He’s on special assignment at the moment, Mister Dust. Don’t worry though, you’re friend’s perfectly safe.”

Chalk didn’t feel convinced. Everything was happening so fast! One minute the Princess reappears, then Gretel arrives with the Revenge. But here too was Strata! The fellow had somehow managed to become part of the crew and he’d said something about Gretel’s leg and…and…

“Will you stop bouncing around? You’re like a bloody jumping bean!” Doc gave Chalk a stern look.

“It’s just so much to take in!” Chalk exclaimed, “I mean, I have so much I want to ask, and so much to tell Gretel too, its…”

Doc suddenly stopped in his tracks and rounded on him, “Chalky, listen, I know you’re excited to see Gretel again but look, please, just take it easy with her, okay? She’s been through a lot recently.”

Chalk looked across at Strata who nodded his agreement.

“Sorry, Doc,” he replied letting out a sigh, “I’ll wait until we’ve got some time to talk and she’s not busy with other matters.”

Doc smiled, pleased that the young unicorn had actually listened to him, “Good lad.”

“Hey, Strata, ever heard of Pixies?” Chalk piped up excitedly.

Rolling his eyes, Doc trotted after the Captain and the rest of the entourage. There was only so much ‘Chalky’ he could handle in one day. Thankfully, the two unicorns were more than content to keep each other company and kept up a constant stream of chatter that continued right up until they reached the ship. To his surprise, Princess Celestia was standing stock still in the middle of the main deck, her wings ruffling in some unseen breeze and her eyes glazed. Around her the rest of the ponies stood quietly, watching and waiting, although for what, Doc wasn’t sure. No doubt, he’d find out soon enough – meanwhile, he took the opportunity to light his pipe.

***********************

The cricket match was absorbing, the away team all out for four hundred. The home team had already begun to celebrate their apparently impending win when they broke for tea and sandwiches. Rather fitting considering the tea, sandwiches and cakes neatly arrayed on the table within the beautiful marble pillars of the gazebo.

Celestia and the Captain were sat with a silver-grey mare, her elegant coiffure neatly held in place with long silver pins which caught the light as much as her eyes. This pony, Celestia thought to herself, this ‘being’ was more of a magical entity than an actual living thing; perhaps even godlike in her existence. Here, in her world, she would need to tread very carefully indeed. The Princess admittedly knew very little about the sky galleons of the Empire, but what she did know made her blood run cold. She would keep her guard up while she was here, but even so, politeness cost nothing.

The mare sitting before her passed them each a delicate china cup of the most evocatively scented tea,

“I can honestly say,” the being Captain Gretel had referred to as ‘Amethyst’ began, “that I never thought one of the Princesses of Equestria would ever set hoof upon my deck.” She raised a sparkling eyebrow, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Celestia nodded patiently, “Indeed. I couldn’t agree more.”

Amy’s eyes never left the Princess’s, even as she took a sip of her tea,

“I presume you are here because you require something from me?”

Celestia nodded, “Yes, I wish to engage your services on a most important mission.”

“Really?” Amy replied with a slight hint of sarcasm, “You will forgive me ‘Princess’ if I find your ‘asking’ a ship of the Empire to assist you with anything a rather bitter pill to swallow. After all, the last time you had anything to do with my people, you took matters into your own hooves without much in the way of dialogue.” She watched Celestia’s reaction carefully and placed her cup back on its saucer, “Or, perhaps I have it wrong? I don’t believe I’ve ever had the chance to ask you directly before now.”

The Princess closed her eyes a moment. The memories of that dark time had been locked away deep within her – not gone, not forgotten, but was a time and place she did not want to revisit. She could sense ‘Amy’ probing for information. Whether she was doing it consciously or not, the entity sitting opposite her drinking tea was quite capable of reading your innermost thoughts and feelings; it was something she herself guarded against habitually. As a foal, Luna had often spied on her dreams and teased her incessantly about what she’d seen. Setting up mental ‘walls’ in her mind was one of the earliest things she’d learned about the art of magic from her mother - much to Luna’s annoyance. The girl had sulked for days.

Celestia took a sip of her tea. Illusory or not, it truly was superb, and reminiscent of her time in the human realm - a time she wished to savour for herself when she had time. It was not, she thought to herself strongly, for sharing. Amy looked shaken, the strength of Celestia’s rejection of her ‘probing’ had obviously take her off guard. The Princess sighed; she would have to be careful with this being,

“Amethyst, what happened with the Crystal Empire was a terrible tragedy, and a heartbreaking time for many ponies. When your homeland was swallowed up by the dimensional rift, many families, friends and loved one were stranded both there and here, never to be reunited in this world. Luna and I considered doing what we could to bring the Empire back, but the risk was simply too great, both to your people and ours. You have to understand, that nopony, not even myself or Luna could have foreseen what was going to happen.”

Amy leaned forward to pour more tea, “There were those who may say that you and your sister had no business interfering with the Empire, Princess. Did you not consider this at the time?”

“Naturally,” Celestia replied, nodding her thanks for the tea, “but the magic that King Sombra had unleashed was having a backwash effect on the rest of Equestria and created, amongst other things, mutations and maladies that we are still seeing the echoes of to this very day.”

The silver-grey pony looked away, her gaze on the now empty cricket field, “You could have spoken to him you know. He used to be a good listener.”

Celestia paused. There was something in Amethyst’s tone of voice, a sort of wistful longing that spoke of a long buried pain that it would likely be unwise to probe. She took a breath and smiled kindly,

“When your physical body was alive, maybe,” The Princess replied, “although when Luna and I met him, he was no longer the pony whom his people had once loved. The Heart of the Empire was dying, its king, the one charged with protecting that most sacred of items, had corrupted it by dabbling in magic’s that were locked away for a reason.”

“He had to do something,” Amy said quietly, “he had to save our people. Where were you then, princess? Where was your magic when we needed you?” she turned back to Celestia, her eyes darkened, haunted, “You came not as a saviour, but as a destroyer. You took my home, my people and my…” she closed her eyes, “You took them away.”

Celestia raised her head, her voice firm and full of authority, although retaining a level of compassion and understanding that she hoped Amethyst would understand,

“Do you think I wanted that to happen, Amethyst? To see a whole people, an entire civilisation, vanish, taking the hopes and dreams of so many with them?” She shook her head, “If I had known what Sombra was doing, if I’d known just how dire your homelands predicament was, I would have done something earlier. But that pony was stubborn, and he never asked for our help.” Celestia closed her eyes, “You said yourself, we had no right to interfere with the Empire’s business and, to my eternal shame, I considered its troubles as something that did not concern us. We had our own problems to contend with and the Crystal Empire, always at the forefront of equine magical ingenuity, seemed more than capable of dealing with its own affairs.”

Amethyst stared at her tea, her voice sad and distant, “Will they ever return, Princess? Will we ever see the glistening towers of the Palace of Crystal, the bridges that glistened in the sun like diamonds, the home of the people that wanted nothing more than to live their lives in peace?”

Celestia shook her head sadly, “I don’t know Amethyst, I really don’t. I will be truthful with you: I am worried about what would happen if it did. At the moment, the evil that Sombra unleashed is contained along with him, his people and the Empire itself. Right now however, I have concerns that involve the ponies who live here, in this world. Perhaps one day, when the time is right, the Empire will return and we will have a chance to purge those darkest of magics from your home.”

A round of applause made the mares look up. The second half of the day’s cricket was just starting and the teams were waving to the audience beneath a pale blue sky with its bright golden sun. Amy sighed. She’d gone beyond thoughts and feelings such as hope and love…or so she’d thought. Right then she wasn’t sure how she felt about it all. This alicorn, this ‘Princess of Equestria’ had been instrumental in sending her beloved Sombra away - casting him, her family, her friends… She shook her head sorrowfully. Celestia hadn’t done that out of malice though, had she? She knew herself all too well about those awful magics that the Empire’s mages had uncovered - the ones that could, quite literally, suck your soul, your very essence, from your body and lock it into a crystal…forever. If she’d known then what she knew now, would she still have agreed to it? A warm presence nudged her. It was the little foal, always there at the back of her mind, ready to comfort her when she felt sad or alone. And there too, was the Captain - the two of them the nearest she had to family and friends now. And not forgetting Salty too of course! She had plans for him, she’d seen his dreams and oh! The things he thought about when he didn’t think she was looking! She smiled and nodded to the Princess,

“Do you like the tea?”

“Very much,” Celestia replied pleasantly, “it’s deliciously rich.”

Amy took a breath, pleased at her reply,

“Celestia, I wish to speak with my Captain, alone. I’m afraid I shall have to send you back. Gretel will pass you my decision.”

Celestia nodded and almost immediately found herself back on the deck surrounded by curious ponies. Gathering her wits about her, she turned to Dray, keeping her voice low,

“I believe negotiations went…”

“-Princess?” The red coated Captain strode up to her, derailing her train of thought, “You may start embarking your troops immediately.”

“…Well.” Celestia finished with a grin. She gave the red mare a smile, “Should we have a look at this cargo of yours whilst our passengers get themselves ready?”

Dray waved to one of the officers and followed the Princess and the Captain down the stairs into the hold. Preparations wouldn’t take long. The biggest question on his mind though, was what to do about their ‘black and blue’ problem. Fortunately, Celestia had assured him the matter would be dealt with, and if it was something that involved magic, then he was more than happy for her to take charge of the situation. He shook his mane. That poor sod, he’d been through the mill alright and now this. Dray felt a shudder run through him. He certainly didn’t envy that young soldier, not one bit.

“Well? What do you think?” The Captain asked, holding her lantern up to illuminate the contents of the hold.

Dray stared at the huge number of small barrels, all of them covered in strange writing and heavy copper straps that suggested whatever was in them was something you really wanted to be damned careful about manipulating. He walked up to one of them for a closer look. The language on the barrels was griffin, there was no mistaking that angular, aggressive style, but as to what it said he had no idea.

“I believe it roughly translates as ‘do not drop’.” The Captain piped up helpfully.

“What are they?” Dray asked furrowing his brow.

Gretel smiled, “Remember River Valley, when we flew in and caused a little mayhem? Benefitted your lot quite nicely I expect; the very fact that you’re here and not inside some dragons belly suggests our intervention may have even saved the day.”

“It certainly helped,” Dray replied, “But…what are these?”

“Bloody expensive, that’s what!” The Captain chuckled, clearly enjoying having the upper hoof in the conversation.

The Princess’s eyes glinted in the lamplight, “Unstable magic, distilled into a liquid form that reacts energetically when initiated.” She turned to Dray, “It explodes, General.”

The Captain grinned, “It sure goes boom, and there’s two hundred barrels of boom right here. You want a game changer, Celestia? This is it.”

Dray couldn’t help from grinning. This was it alright, this was what they needed! It was the proverbial rabbit in the hat, the trump card that could bring the Legion down to its knees. He looked to the Princess, who had an encouraging look of determination on her face,

“Your Majesty?”

She nodded, appearing to reach a decision in her head,

“Captain Gretel, give me a price for these and I will guarantee your payment upon delivery.” She turned suddenly towards the stairs, “Now, forgive me, but I have another matter to attend to before we can leave.”

Gretel bobbed her head, letting the Princess and the General pass. It was turning out to be a pretty good day all in all. She’d found Chalky, her leg had been fixed up, they’d sold the cargo and all of them would soon be as rich as Llamalian stew. It didn’t look like she’d have five minutes to herself for some time to come though, what with loading all those soldiers and the inevitable excited interrogation by Chalky to look forward to. She smiled to herself as she walked up the stairs - she’d enjoy telling him about the ship, about the Wind Wraith and all the excitement he’d missed. He wanted adventure? She’d fill him full of the best yarns she could, and if that’s wasn’t enough, she’d unleash Salty on him! Gretel chuckled, opening the door to her cabin and threw herself onto her bunk; everything was going to work out right for once. All she needed to do was to dump this lot off, grab the cash and get the hell out of there - if the Legion weren’t waiting for them of course. She shrugged to herself. What was profit without a little danger and excitement? The Revenge was happy, the crew keen and besides, those scummy bilge rats in the Legion had it coming. She hadn’t forgotten what they’d done and she’d make sure she paid them back in full. Suddenly, she sat up, looking across at the bookcase and the corner of the letter poking out; the letter from mum to…Bracken. Oh dear Goddess, what was she going to tell him? She sank into the pillow with a groan and closed her eyes. A few minutes snooze wouldn’t hurt, and with all that fur missing on her hind leg, a bit of beauty sleep wouldn’t go amiss.

**********************

Gretel groaned. It was warm here, and so comfortable. The grass smelt simply wonderful and the warmth of the stallion beside her as he tousled her hair felt absolutely amazing. She felt the most relaxed she had in longer than she cared to remember; no cares nor worries in the world could ruin this perfect moment. Chalky stroked her neck and she giggled coquettishly,

“Mmm, that’s nice.”

“Yeah…” he said seductively, “your mane’s so soft…”

Gretel had never thought of her mane as soft before. Rough, certainly, unmanageable and with a life of its own, definitely. Dad had always insisted on short manes and tails onboard due to practical reasons. Several of them, mares and stallions alike, had adopted plaits which now appeared to be becoming a bit of a fad amongst the crew, a virtual badge of the ship so to speak. Perhaps…

“Would you like my mane longer?” she muttered, enjoying the sensations, “I could plait it you know, would that be nice?”

“Mmhmm”

Gretel felt the stallion breathing softly in her ear, sending tingles down her spine as he began to nibble her ears,

“That’s nice…”

“Yeah, your ears are delicious…”

“Delicious…” Gretel sighed, “Hang on…” she jerked awake, her eyes wide, and found herself staring into the large green eyes of…

“CHALKY!”

The white unicorn grinned back at her,

“You expected somepony else, my Captain?”

She threw her forelegs around him and pulled him in tight, “Oh, you bloody stupid idiot!” she gasped, “I’m never letting you go again, never!”

“I hope not!” he chuckled, “This is the second time in one day you’ve greeted me like this. I could get used to it.”

Gretel pushed her muzzle into Chalk’s neck,

“I thought you were off looking for your pal, Bracken?”

“Nah, Brack’ll be okay.” He replied, “The General said he’s off on some special assignment but will be back soon. I dunno, but I think I kinsa trust the old fella, you know?” He looked down her flank, “Strata said you’d hurt your…”

“-Don’t look at it!” Gretel suddenly shrieked, pulling the covers over herself, “It’s embarrassing!”

Chalk frowned in confusion, “Why? I saw you before and I didn’t see anything wrong. Strata said you’d made a full recovery and were ‘new and improved’, whatever that means.”

“The…the furs not grown back yet,” she said looking away in embarrassment, “it’s…it’s cold too.”

Chalk leaned a foreleg over her, “Want me to warm you up?”

“Chalky…I’ve got jobs to do…” Gretel groaned, turning back to face him, “I have to…”

“Surely they can wait just a few minutes? I’ve not held you for so long, I just want to feel you against me.” Chalk pushed his muzzle into her mane, “You smell so wonderful.”

All of Gretel’s worries and concerns, her fears and trepidations, vanished as if they’d never existed as she nuzzled the white unicorn. She shook her head and smiled at him, gazing into his eyes,

“You really are a pretty pony.”

“Eh? What?!” Chalk said in surprise.

Gretel grabbed him suddenly and pulled him into a deep kiss, her voice smothered by his lips,

“Oh…shush…”

************************

Bracken sat by the picket fire, his cloak pulled tightly around himself, cursing under his breath. It was absolutely bloody freezing out here! Several times he’d scooted so close to the fire he’d managed to singe his fur, but it wasn’t as if he had much choice in the matter. His orders had been to follow Fan, the white guardsmare, out into the thick overgrown part of the forest and await further orders. Goddesses damn it all! Even Fan looked as bored as he did. What made matters worse was that the forest was so dense here he couldn’t see more than a few yards in front of him, let alone any Legion soldiers. If they were indeed out there, they’d be on top of them before they could react. Who’s stupid idea was this in the first place? He’d have to say something…

“Fan, I really think we…”

“Shhh…” the mare waved a hoof dismissively.

“But….”

“Shush, will you?” she hissed back irritably.

“Bollocks to you then.” Bracken muttered under his breath as he adjusted his position to something a little less uncomfortable. Goddesses above, what a bloody killjoy she was! No conversation, no pipe…oh yes, that was right, he wasn’t even allowed to smoke was he? Ostensibly it was in case the smell gave away their position - like the bloody campfire wasn’t going to do that already, right? He drew his sword and cleaning kit.

“Put that away!” Fan hissed.

“You know, you are really starting to…ah, buck it!” Bracken slammed his sword back into its scabbard and folded his forelegs angrily. He wasn’t good with mares at the best of times and this one in particular by the looks of it! If silence was what she wanted, then silence she’d get.

“Somepony’s coming” she suddenly murmured staring off into the forest, “It’s one of ours.”

How the hell did she know that? And what was with all these white ponies anyway? ‘Probably bleach’, Bracken thought to himself bitterly, ‘so they can look like their bloody princess no doubt’. He wasn’t impressed; a tall mare with wings and a horn? Big deal! Now if that had been Luna, the Princess of the night, then he may have been…

“Stand down, Corporal.”

It was General Dray.

Bracken looked up from under his bundled cloak. This was different. Why would the General himself come out here to see them? Doing the rounds of pep talks perhaps? The bushes rustled behind him and the white alicorn Princess emerged, her golden armour glinting in the dappled sunlight,

“Hello, Bracken.” She said quietly, “May I speak with you?”

Bowing quickly, the young stallion moved around the fire to make room. This was unexpected, not to mention worrying. Oh, hell fire! She couldn’t read thoughts could she? Oh, Goddesses he was in so much trouble!

“You and your friend have had quite the adventure haven’t you?” Celestia said derailing Bracken’s train of thought.

“I…er…yes, Your Majesty,” he stammered trying to re-order his thoughts, “its been…‘interesting’.”

“Indeed.” Celestia said pleasantly, ”Now then, since it’s just the two of us, I’d like to have more of a ‘heart to heart’ with you. Do you mind?”

Bracken’s heart suddenly leapt as he noticed Dray and Fan had disappeared, leaving, quite literally, just the two of them…alone. He cleared his throat,

“Um, no, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent.” She replied with a nod.

The Princess moved closer, a gold shod hoof reaching out and gently brushing against his neck, “Lie down, Bracken…please.”

“Oh…OH!” Bracken gasped as he found himself shrinking under her touch. His heart began hammering in his chest fit to burst and his breathing was coming faster and louder. Goddess above, what was happening? This was…he…had to get away! He had to…

The forest suddenly darkened around them, as if the light of the world itself was being drained away like water down a plug hole. Bracken could feel the icy tendrils of fear snaking their way through him, but also another feeling as well, one of…love? It was a perplexing mixture of emotion he didn’t like…not one bit!

He had a sudden awareness of something standing behind him, something…something big, and it…it touched him! Oh dear Goddess, he could imagine the sharp white teeth sinking into him at any moment, biting into the tender flesh of his rump. He squeezed his eyes shut and began to shake in fright, even as a voice, surprising calm and sultry, spoke in his ear,

“If that is your desire, dear Bracken…” the voice said exotically, “I may ‘indulge’ you.”

A lilting laugh echoed around the tiny clearing. Bracken’s emotional state, already feeling fragile enough as it was, now felt like it was about to explode, and most definitely for all the wrong reasons. Celestia let out an irritated snort,

“Your depravity truly knows no bounds, does it, Luna?”

The black mare laughed, her azure eyes sparkling in the glow from the fire as she sidled up beside Bracken,

“And yours does not, ‘sister’?” The mare laughed, “No, I suspect not! You always were such a boring prude Celestia, no wonder you are as withered and dry as ancient parchment. Nopony in their right mind would take you to their bed.”

Celestia snarled, “Whereas you were never fussy, at least, not once you’d joined with that foul thing from the Wither World.”

“Jealous, Celestia?” Nightmare Moon asked cocking her head to one side, “I can imagine you would be.” She leaned down and gently took Bracken’s head in her forelegs and kissed him. The black stallion closed his eyes and groaned happily as the mare finally released him, “That is power, Celestia, that is control.”

“That is a lie!” the white alicorn snapped, “He doesn’t love you, ‘Nightmare Moon’, you’re pulling his strings like some freakish marionette!”

“You think so?” Nightmare Moon replied, a slight hint of annoyance entering her voice, “You should know all about manipulation, Celestia, all too well.” The black mare’s mane billowed out behind her, “You use everypony like a tool: a ‘thing’ to be utilised and then cast away when the job is done. You wouldn’t know love if it jumped up and bit you on the rump.” She lowered he stance, her teeth bared, “Your heart is dead as the black sands.”

“Be silent, you cursed creature!” Celestia roared, “You have more than enough to answer for, you monster! How many of our people are dead, how many more have been left grieving those that are lost? All the misery and suffering that has befallen Equestria is because of your insatiable lust for that which you cannot have!”

Magical energy quickly began to build around the camp fire, the darkness increasing in intensity until only the ethereal glow of magic and the black of night were left,

“Cannot have? CANNOT HAVE?!” Nightmare Moon floated off the ground in an aura of magical fury, “You DARE to tell ME what I can and cannot have? I WILL have that which I desire Celestia, and MORE! MUCH, MUCH, MORE!” she began to laugh, a hint of what Celestia could only describe as ‘madness’ creeping in. “You stand before me, ME, like some damnable righteous prig and think you have the right to lecture ME!” The surging magic was building up to a hurricane of naked aggression, “You are a liar and a hypocrite! You will NEVER know what it is to love somepony Celestia, NEVER! You will be a dried up old virgin until the day you die and nopony, NOPONY will mourn when all the long years of your meaningless life finally snuff out like a guttering candle!”

Celestia could feel her heart breaking in her chest. Her sister…that thing’s words, cut like a knife right through her soul. She was….was she…right? All those years, the decisions she’d made, the things she’d done…her heart felt so empty…Oh, Gods…Rush…

“Yes! YES!” Nightmare Moon shrieked, “You see it now, don’t you?! I’m right! I’ve always been right! And now your tyranny and oppression of our people is finally at an end. I have won, Celestia, I’VE ALREADY WON!” she began to laugh, her voice resounding around them, loud and clear.

Celestia’s eyes filled with tears - that vile creature’s words hitting her with the force of a sledgehammer. Her sister, her beloved sister, tainted by that evil spirit had turned her into…into this…this beast! Memories of what she’d seen at the battle of River Valley assailed her, the horror visited upon Dray’s family, the cruelty and depravity of it all running through her mind like a tempest, and now the architect of all of that suffering was standing before her. Nightmare Moon’s laughter was still ringing in her ears as she raised her head, her horn glowing, her teeth bared,

“You evil…BITCH!” Celestia roared, “You dare bring your sickness into my home, murder my people…and stand there laughing about it?! Get out of my sister, you evil monster! GET OUT OF HER!”

The black mare shook her head, her mane billowing like the smoke of the camp fire, flowing and rolling around the clearing as she laughed,

“You don’t understand, do you, Celestia? Luna is me, and I her. She invited me because she needed me, and only I can give her what she most desires. It is that which you cannot stand the thought of isn’t it? That she, that I, could find something you never could.” The black mare sneered, lifting up Bracken’s unresisting face to hers, “Something you will NEVER know!”

Celestia took a step forward, her eyes glowing, “Get out of that pony, demon!” she snarled, “Leave him and return to your wicked realm and leave us in peace!”

“What, and leave my cute little Bracky?” Nightmare Moon chuckled, “Why should I? Luna has her fancies and I have mine. Young Bracken here…” she tapped him on the muzzle making him grin inanely, “he just hits the spot, don’t you my dark stallion.” She smirked at Celestia, “Oh, and don’t think about doing anything to him, Celestia.” Her voice lowered menacingly, “You really don’t want to know what I will do to your precious ponies if anything happens to him.”

“You’ll never know, demon.” Celestia said, her magic growing in intensity, “I shall draw you from him as poison is drawn from a wound. You shall leave this pony and never return!”

Magic suddenly began to build to a massive degree, causing the rocks, trees and ground to shake violently. Bracken looked about in fright, but his eyes still lingered on Nightmare Moon as she advanced on Celestia,

“How dare you!” The dark mare bellowed, “HOW DARE YOU! This is my domain, MINE!”

Celestia’s magic burned brightly, turning Nightmare Moon’s darkness into the brilliant light of day. She gritted her teeth and spread her wings, building her magic into a maelstrom of power and ethereal energy, focussing it, tuning it. Bracken cried out, his eyes bulging as he held his head. Nightmare Moon’s echoing screech of outrage rang out,

“Leave him ALONE!” She screamed, “You’ll pay for this you witch! I’ll hunt you down and you’ll all PAY!”

Celestia’s magic focussed upon Bracken, the black stallion shaking and gasping as the magic lanced through his body. The Princess took a deep breath,

“I…said…get…OUT!”

Nightmare Moon’s cry sounded as if it would crack the very world asunder, mingling as it did with a shriek of pain from Bracken and of triumph from Celestia. Nightmare Moon’s image shivered and began to fade, her words carrying to the Princess of the sun all the hatred and malice that lay within her heart,

“I know where you are, witch…I’m coming for you…I’M COMING FOR YOU!”

“Oh, I hope so,” Celestia gasped, wiping the beads of sweat from her brow. “I really hope so.”

Bracken cried out in anguish and fell back, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He barely noticed the combination of magic and hooves carefully lifting him up and carrying him away. Goddess help him, his head hurt so much! He was adrift, floating away on a sea of nothingness - his exhaustion and disjointed memories deluging him with images of…things…such terrible, awful things! He could see it now, as clear as day - the enormous copper dragon, its eyes two large gleaming emerald like orbs. The beast was in absolute rapture as the limp body of a mare slipped down its gullet in one swallow. Bracken stared in horror…it was…unimaginable! Why? Why would they do something like this? As he watched, another dragon flicked up a tangerine coated stallion into its maw, his dead eyes staring accusingly as he was snapped in two by the brightly scaled beast. Another pony, another and another and…

She looked across at him. Her two tone pink mane caught the slight breeze that helped carry away the stench of carrion. She watched him with her lantern yellow eyes, calling to him silently, pleading with him to help her, but…but he couldn’t! His body wouldn’t move, his legs frozen like ice. All he could do was shout out to her in silent anguish as the giant maw, bristling with sword like teeth, descended upon her. He struggled, oh, how he struggled! She couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t hear her, but he could see the resignation in her eyes - the merciless, casual cruelty of the dragon as it took up just another piece of meat…just another life. Bracken screamed. He howled, thrashed and cried out his anger and hatred to the world around him. His mare, the only one who’d ever seen him as something other than a hanger-on…she was…there was nothing…nothing he could do! But…he had to try! HE HAD TO!

“PICKLES!” he screamed, “PICKLESSS!!!”

Voices, voices in the darkness shouted at him, trying to calm him. Didn’t they understand? Couldn’t they see them? They were dying! They were nothing to these beasts, nothing more than food! They had to run, they had to escape, they had to get away!

“Damn it, will somepony hold him down!”

“Doctor, we have to get his temperature down, he’s burning up.”

“Goddesses damn it all! Get the Princess down here somepony: she did this for bucks sake! Strata! STRATA!”

“Hang on, Doc, I’m here….Dear Goddesses, he’s in a bad way. Make room everypony, please!”

Now came a new voice, one he remembered from long ago…it sounded…so far away…

“Brack? BRACK! Dear Goddesses, no! What the hell have you done to him!”

“Somepony get him out of here!”

Bracken’s screams echoed around the ship, making even the Revenge unsettled. She shuddered at her anchor, sending her feelings of unease throughout the crew and especially her Captain. Gretel hurried down the stairs, following hot of the hooves of the Princess and past a highly agitated Chalk Dust.

“Stay out here, love, please.” She said, brushing a hoof along his cheek. Chalk closed his eyes, shaking with emotion and unable to speak.

Closing the door behind her, Gretel prayed the situation wasn’t as bad as Chalky obviously thought it was. She still couldn’t believe this was happening though; what in Equestria had happened to Bracken to cause this sort of reaction? She let her eyes adjust to the light in sick bay as the Princess examined the curled up form in the bed. Her face paled,

“Nightmare Moon’s magic ran deeper than I had anticipated.” Celestia said shaking her head. She looked across at Doc, “I fear that by forcibly pulling the spell from him, I’ve put his life in jeopardy.”

Strata leaned across the bed and stared down into Bracken’s wild eyes, “Princess, do you know Sceptre’s Parallax Inversion?” he asked without looking up.

Celestia looked taken aback, “I…yes, yes I do.”

“Good, then set it up between the two nodes…” he motioned to a brass contraption with suspended wires and gems that he was quickly setting up over Bracken’s bed, “here…and…here.”

The Princess nodded, her eyes focussed on the task at hoof. Nopony else spoke, the tension in the room as intense as the light from the alicorns horn. Celestia’s magic glowed like the sun itself, sending out what appeared to be thin strands of light into the space between the gems Strata indicated. As the ponies watched, the strands began to merge, to knit together into a symbol, or patttern of some kind. Whatever it was, Strata was nodding intently.

“That’s it…” he said distractedly, adjusting the device. Strata’s own horn was glowing now, “I need to re-connect this node, and then…” he gritted his teeth, the effort clearly straining him, “Hell! This is like knitting with pins!” his horn glowed brighter, “Come on, damn you…come…on…yes! There!”

Gretel looked down at the cloth and bowl she was holding in her forehooves. What possible use was this going to be now? Come to think of it, this must have been similar to what Strata had done to her. She’d thanked him of course, but he’d waved it off as nothing of importance. As for the ship’s insistence that he was one of the ponies known as ‘Shipwrights’, she hadn’t enquired further. After all, what difference would it make if he was? Strata was Strata, and a valued member of her crew - it didn’t matter a damn ‘what’ he was. Hadn’t she learned anything with the whole unicorn fiasco? She paused, nodding her head…yes, yes she had. Gretel looked at Doc who gestured for her to leave quietly; he’d seen Chalk’s head poking round the door, his bloodshot eyes wide as saucers with worry for his best friend. Gretel quietly trotted over and gently pushed him back out, pulling the door shut behind her,

“Chalky, I think he’s going to be okay. Strata and the Princess are both in there with him, so he’s getting the very best of care.”

The white unicorn sank to his haunches, his eyes downcast, “I know,” he said helplessly, “it’s just…he’s been my friend for so many years, since we were foals really, that…if anything happened to him, I…I don’t know what I’d do…”

Gretel took him up in her forelegs and kissed his muzzle, “I know, but you have to have faith in your friends, both Bracken and Strata. That unicorn knows magic beyond anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Chalk looked up, a ghost of his usual smile on his face, “He’d better! Some unicorns are…” he trailed of, “Oh, sod it. Ignore me, Gretel, I’m being a dick.”

The red mare chuckled, “You? Mister Unicorn, I would never think that of you.” She leaned down and gave him a cheeky grin, “Now a twit, meh…maybe?”

She narrowly dodged the playful grab which Chalk made for her and hurried off down the corridor to the stairs up to the deck. She’d get him outside and into the sunshine; ponies needed the sun and Chalk needed a distraction from his worry for his friend. In typical Chalk Dust fashion, the distraction came soon enough,

“What’s happened to Stock and Cyclone?” He asked curiously, “I haven’t seen them about since you landed. Are they alright?”

“Oh yes, they’re fine.” Gretel said smiling back at him, “They’re off delivering a hold full of ‘the most exquisite rugs and tapestries’.”

Chalk opened the door to the cabin, “How?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m missing something here aren’t I?” the white unicorn said raising his eyebrows.

Gretel chuckled, “As always…” she trotted over to the rack of bottles and took down two glasses, “There’s a lot to tell you, but I think we can make a start.”

“But…but we have to leave!” Chalk said urgently, “The Princess said that…”

“-you haven’t noticed?” Gretel said shaking her head, “We took off ages ago, while you were panicking besides yourself over Bracken.” She tapped him on the nose, “We’re off to a place called…” she peered at the map, “here it is…’Drakestown’.”

“Wh…what?! Drakestown?!” Chalk spluttered.

“You’ve heard of it?”

“Good Goddesses, have I heard of it?” Chalk sighed, rubbing his muzzle with a hoof, “I think we need to talk…”

Comments

[supersport]

Things are going well for them.... maybe too well....
I'm expecting everything to go horribly wrong soon enough though, don't think you've lulled me into thinking that they've had enough hardships!

Also are we going to get to see Thorn at all in this? One of the biggest questions I've had is just how Celestia eventually becomes sympathetic enough towards Thestral's to not completely run them off, and I'm sort of hoping he has something to do with it.

One last thing I've been thinking about is why this and actually many of your other story's have such low viewer counts even though they are quite good. I think it stems from the amount of OC's featured in them, and even though many of them are quite good it just puts off a lot of readers. And to be completely honest with you I am one of those people that is put off by OC driven story's, the only reason I decided to give this a shot was because of how much i liked "When The Snow Melts." Now I'm certainly glad I did! Now at some point I'm probably going to have go back and read your Fairlight series as my fear of your OC's is over. But I've digressed now, the suggestion I'm trying to make is that you should try at some point to write a story with more canon character interactions, I think it would help you attract more readers to your other story's.

[Bluespectre]

7012310 I think Ice Fall was always going to be a challenge due to the sheer scope of it. Celestia and Nightmare Moon do feature heavily but, as you’ll have seen, are not the sole focus of the story. I’m certainly not averse to writing in main characters though, and in fact the Mane Six appear in the Fairlight series as well as Luna and Celestia. You could say that my particular interests have been more focussed around what was happening ‘in the background’ of the original series. For example, the Fairlight series was intended to be a complement to FiM. The premise being that there is usually something beneath the shiny veneer that the majority of people simply don’t see.

I suppose I am a little resistant to using main series characters as protagonists for various reasons, but basically I write because I enjoy the stories and I hope you, the reader, do too. It would be nice to get more views and thumbs up, and I do find it a little disheartening when I see one chapter of a clopfic receiving a massive number of thumbs up when you can probably guess what’s going to happen in the first five minutes! Rarity and Rainbow find a jar of mayonnaise and… You get the idea.

Some stories have that ‘certain something’ that I love, and that is 'originality', with an element of surprise and engagement with the characters that make you really feel for them. Some of my favourite authors can really pull that off and its something I strive for with my own scriblings. I fully accept that there will be a lot of people out there who want to read about main characters only, or stories centred predominantly around them - WTSM was certainly like that – and for them I have another Celestia centred story in the pipeline which I was writing as a semi-humorous take on what happened after Rush arrived back in Equestria. As to whether is gets panned or does well, we’ll have to wait and see, but as I’ve always said, so long as somebody reads it and enjoys it, then it was worth the effort.

As for Fairlight, it does have some grammatical issues here and there but has received some very good feedback. It centres around an OC called ‘Fairlight’ (No surprise there), but it is intended to complement the original FiM series as I said. Be warned though, it features some sexy scenes and violence, but this was my first foray into creative writing so I hope you’ll be forgiving of any surprises in there. I tried to make Fairlight as ‘real’ a character as possible - a protagonist who you could find believable and relate to, rather than the stereotypical hero type. This may turn some people off, but if nothing else, I wanted the reader to think - what if I had been him? What would I have felt and done?

Ultimately, it’s the reader’s choice whether to give a story a chance or not. Obviously I hope people do, but I still worry that if I write a story just about a main character it will lose some originality and flow, as I need to ‘feel’ for them, or else it could just end up falling flat and be just plain boring.

Anyway, that’s enough from me. Thanks for the feedback, it really is genuinely appreciated, and I hope you don your hazmat suit, have a look at Fairlight and let me know what you think. I would have liked to have given you a hint of what happens to Thorn in Ice Fall, but I’d end up giving too much away. If you're interested, he features in Fairlight, as indeed do his people to a large degree, so I’m hoping I got the continuity bang on!

Take Care, and thanks again,

Bluespectre

[That One Brony Dude]

I shall draw you from him as poison is drawn from a wound.

Well said Gandalf the White. I remember he said that after he returned to kick some butt... just like Celestia! I'll bet this is an homage and a foreshadow in one! Talk about awesome-sauce!

[LexCrowne]

I'm actually feeling a bit sorry for NMM/Luna at this point. From the earlier interactions between her and bracken, it seemed she had actual feelings for him. from when she allowed him to see her as Luna just before he was abducted, to when she got irrationally angry overcompensating for her 'unnecessary feelings' the last time they dreamed together.