Victory within
“And this would be all” concluded Cadence, while studying the expression Spike, Ember, Steel Wing and Discord.
The captain of the Dragon Watch seemed shocked to hear the story of Web Heart and of how FrostBound was borne.
The dragon lord looked saddened to hear that a poor and vulnerable dragon egg was used to such nefarious purpose.
The spirit of chaos though was the worst of them all. There wasn’t just surprise on his face, but also anger. “I always knew that Celestia wasn’t as pure and innocent as she played out to be” Discord said, while trying to keep his anger under check. “But this… I really hope that Celestia isn’t dead, because I REALLY want to have a nice chit chat with her. Not even the old me would be so cruel as to play with emotions like she did”.
“Is a bit more complicated than that--“ tried to say the pink alicorn. But Discord silenced her brutally.
“Oh quit trying to defend your aunt, Princess of Crystal Bucket! If she had even the slightest backbone, she would have told old Star Bucks Beard to shut it, staying on the side of the one true victim here”.
“She didn’t feared Stars whirl, she respected him”.
“Shame that she didn’t respected Cryo the same, didn’t she?”. At that retort, Cadence didn’t know how to reply.
“Now is not the time for this, Discord” tried to intervene Shining Armor.
“I think the contrary. If we are to survive, I want to make sure that Celestia actions won’t be forgiven with a simple “I’m sorry”. What do you think, you two?” asked Discord, looking at Ember and Spike. “Surely, having one of your kin treated this way...” was about to say, but then noticed that the young dragon wasn’t no longer standing right beside the dragon lord. A quick look around revealed that now Spike was near to the edge of the bridge, staring at the towering ice dragon with sadness and sympathy. At that, the anger of the Draconequus nearly vanished, feeling bad for the young drake.
“I knew that Spike was far more capable of empathy compared to others of our kin” commented Ember, “But why does he look so… sad?” she asked to Cadence and Shining.
“Because Cryo story is familiar to his” told her Shining Armor. “Both didn’t knew their true parents, both get raised by ponies which growth attached with. But unlike Spike, Cryo story ended in a nightmare. While Spike had friends, Cryo had no one except Princess Celestia”.
“And in the end she left him” concluded Discord, bitterly.
“You’re never going to live it down, aren’t you?” grumbled Cadence.
“Not until I, Celestia, or the world lives”.
“Look!” stated Spike, catching everyone else attention.
“What is it, Spike?” asked Ember, rushing at his side with the rest of the group.
“The eyes, look at the eyes” he said. “There’s something going on in there!”.
Steel Wing put on telescope that he kept in one of his fanny pack and took a good look. “Good eye, kid, there’s clearly some movement up there. A lot multicolored lights, clashing against a white/blue one”.
“It must be the Elements of Harmony battling the spirit of Cryo!”.
“I knew it that they were not let us down!” stated Shining Armor, smiling proudly at the thought of his younger sister and her friends facing down the main theat.
“So the voices weren’t wrong” mumbled Discord, thinking out loud.
“What?” asked Steel Wing.
“Let’s call it an hunch”.
“Ok, I’m just happy that not everything is lost”.
“You, me, and all the creatures on Equestria and the rest of the world”.
“Our hopes are all in you, Elements of Harmony” said Ember. And so the group watched, hoping for the liberation of the planet from the rule of the eternal winter.
Unknown to them, two figures were standing right behind them. But even if they turned around, they wouldn’t be able to see them. “The signal” whispered the caped one.
“Excellent” said the unicorn, smiling wickedly while his horn glowed. In a flash of deep purple light, a big scythe appeared to his side, floating in his magical hold. “Let’s go finish this”. And with that, the two vanished.
***
It took few seconds for the Mane 6 to understand that victory was far simpler to claim than to achieve, as their rainbow ray clashed against the glacial beam that FrostBound was shooting not from his mouth, but by his own body, only to start getting pushed back one moment later. Their best effort was to avoid to get completely overwhelmed by the ice dragon assault. But even then, the cold ray was gaining more and more ground. The ponies could only scowl at the sight, feeling that their best attempt was not getting anywhere.
The Windigos, on the other hand, were ecstatic. Any fear they had to face against the Bearers of Harmony had gone, and now the frost spirits wore the most sadistic smile their intangible muzzle could bear. “Die” they said, “Die!” said again, their smiles growing bigger as their voices sounded more and more deranged. “DIE!” repeated for the third time, sure that victory was theirs. FrostBound remained silent, his face devoid of any emotion.
But the Mane 6 didn’t gave in to panic and fear, instead, put even more power into the battle, pushing as best they could.
Then, slowly, something started to change. The rainbow ray of the Elements of Harmony started to actually gain back some space. “We’re doing it!” claimed Rarity, in surprised and joy.
The event made the maniac grins of the Windigos vanish “No… how are they…?” questioned the frost spirits.
“Looks like now it’s them being afraid of us” noticed Rainbow Dash.
“Then let’s give them another good reason to be” said Twilight.
Suddenly what looked like an hopeless one sided battle turned into an actual fight. A fight that the Mane 6 were winning. The two sides were so much focused that they missed the nearly invisible presence of two intruders. Except for the ice dragon. It’s time .
One bit at the time, the power of Harmony gained more ground. And as that happened, the Windigos become more frantic. “What are you doing, FrostBound!? Put more power into this fight! Don’t you see we are in trouble!?”.
“We do?” asked the ice dragon, with such a causal tone that for a second the frost spirits didn’t knew how to reply.
“Yes! And if we go down, you will follow!”.
“I am?”.
“What?” gawked the Windigos, confused by the irrational behavior of their ally. But then they saw his maw turn in a smirk, and finally understood what was going down. “You… wanted this to happen!?” shouted the frost spirits.
“You catch on quick” mocked them FrostBound, confirming their words.
“But how…”.
“How I managed to fool you for all this time? Is pretty simple, actually. I just had to give you what you wanted. I’ve allowed you to feed on my hatred that I felt towards Celestia, so that you wouldn’t bother to pay attention to what else was going through my mind”. As he explained that, the rainbow ray gained more ground.
“You…” the Windigos were just as baffled as furious, “You dare betray us!? After all we have done for you!?”.
“To betray someone is to switch side. The truth is that I was never on your side. And for what you’ve done for me… are you even serious? What have you gave me, other than nightmares and misery? You tried to turn me into a monster”.
“You whelp!” hissed the Windigos, almost forgetting of the assault of the Elements of Harmony. “Do you really think that this will change what you’ve done? All the lives you’ve taken!? You’re monster, just like us!”.
“Maybe. But I still do have a soul” replied the ice dragon, before turning to the Mane 6. The ponies looked baffled at the sudden turn of events. Only Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle seemed to realize something about Cryo latest actions “Elements of Harmony, listen carefully if you want to stop this once and for all. I will let you hit me. When that happens, you need to use all the power you wield. And I mean all of it. The curse won’t be undone by just one blast. You will need to make it course through my essence, only this way the world will finally be free of the Windigos presence! I won’t lie to you, the power that you will have to output… is going to be painful, for all of us. But I promise you, you won’t die for it!”.
The Mane 6 exchanged some thoughtful stares, but then nodded. “We aren’t afraid to die, if it means to protect our friends and family” stated Rainbow Dash, proving why she was the element of Loyalty. “Still, thanks for worrying”.
“You must be really desperate to trust him!” sneered the Windigos.
“And who should we trust? You?” told them off Applejack, “We will take our chances. You should be more worried about yourself!”. And with that said, the Mane 6 renewed their assault, as slowly the assault of the ice dragon became weaker and weaker.
“No! We will not let you ruin everything!” screamed the frost spirits, in panic and anger. “We share your essence, FrostBound, we will--“.
“You’ll do nothing. If Web Heart ritual was completed you could, but it was interrupted, remember? I’m no mindless vessel for you to use. You, on the other hand, are just a burden that I’ve carried for far too long” replied the ice dragon ignoring them, keeping his eyes closed as if he was meditating.
“Then will just hide inside your essence! We are still part of you!”.
“That you could do… if only I didn’t overfeed you so much. Now you’re far too powerful to hide inside of me and I won't allow you to creep in my soul!”.
“FrostBound…” snarled the Windigos, as the rainbow ray was just two meters away, “We will make you suffer!” promised the frost spirits, glaring him down
At that, the frost drake snapped his eyes open, responding at the glares of the ice spirits with one of his own “My name. Is. CRYO!” roared, halting his assault and letting the Elements of Harmony to hit him.
“NOOOO!” shouted the Windigos, as the power of the Elements started their purification process, shaking powerless into an attempt escape from defeat.
Cryo remained still, embracing for what was about to happen next. “Now, Elements of Harmony, do your magic! And don’t hold anything back!”.
“We won’t!” promised the Mane 6 like one single pony.
Soon, they realized that just because Cryo had let them win the beam war, that didn’t meant that victory would be obtained. The ice dragon was right, there was just as much opposition inside of him than outside. They poured their own essence, trying to cleanse his own, corrupted by centuries of being linked to the Windigos. And, just as Cryo had warned them, the whole ordeal was downright straining. But still, they kept going, using all the power of the Elements that were coursing through their body and souls. In a literal way. As they put more and more power, their “rainbow” form started to vanish, slowly turning each of them back to their normal looking self, before falling to the ground, unconscious.
The first ones to fall were Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The elements of generosity because of her wanting to make an easier work for the others, the element of honesty because of her wish to maintain all the promises to her and her friends, the element of loyalty because she knew of all the lives that were at stakes.
The seconds to fall were Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. The element of kindness, because she wanted to help a being that had suffered too much, the element of laughter, because she wanted him to feel more than just bitter emotions like anger and hate.
The last one standing was Twilight Sparkle. The element of magic had channeled the power of others 5 elements through her, but it wasn’t enough. Not yet. She pushed herself to the limit and, as she turned back to her normal form, something started to happen to her wings. Feathers were starting to fall from them, like leaf in the fall season. The purple pony didn’t noticed that, as she was too much focused on channeling the power of Harmony, using every bit of it. Once she run out of that, she joined her friends on the ground, too weak to stand up, but still barely conscious. She could see the Windigos vanishing into nothingness, like a nightmare in the wake. One of them though seemed to put some struggle against the purification. And this one attention focused right into her.
“Wretched ponies!” he shouted, his voice twisted by pain and hatred. The last Windigos charged right into Twilight with clear violent intentions. But whatever plan of vengeance he had it in mind, he never managed to fulfill it. A figure appeared right in front of the downed element of magic, armed with a scythe. The blade of that weapon plunged into the Windigos neck, cutting it like it was flesh and not ghost-like energy. The frost spirit looked first the blade, then the one wielding the scythe, baffled and terrorized. A wheeze came out of his muzzle, before that and the rest of his being joined the rest of the Windigos into the nothingness.
“What a relief” muttered the mysterious savior, making vanish the scythe in a flash of light.
“Who… are” tried to say Twilight Sparkle, but the words came out more like whispers than anything else.
Yet the figure, a tall and lean unicorn, managed to hear her. He turned around but, because of the strong light coming behind him, she couldn’t see nothing but his dark orange eyes. “A friend” replied the figure, with kindness “You six have made an incredible job here. Rest now, Twilight Sparkle, and enjoy a healthy slumber with your friends”. Twilight didn’t wanted to sleep, but her desires weren’t enough to keep her up. Her head slowly laid down, she fell asleep.
***
As the multicolored light faded after gleaming so brightly, the white/azure glow returned to shine, so powerful that it hurt to look at. For a second, they feared that it was a sign that the Elements had lost. But then, they saw something happen to the giant ice dragon. His body was starting to crack, as energy started to pour out of the many fissures.
“Is that a good or bad?” asked Steel Wing, worried.
“Eh, as long that barrier is there we are safe” shrugged Spike. Not even three seconds after he said that, the barrier vanished. “Never mind” grumbled, annoyed by the timing.
“Shouldn’t we… oh, I don’t know… run!?” pointed out Ember, “I doubt that energy will do us any good”.
“I don’t think we have to worry about it” said Discord. Then, preventing the questions of ponies and dragons, added, “The energy that is coming out of him is quite different from the one that nearly blow us away. I can feel it”.
“Does that mean that the Elements of Harmony have actually won?” questioned Shining Armor, hoping for a confirmation.
“I’d guess so. So, let’s relax and enjoy this wave of energy”.
“Not like we have much choice on the matter” pointed out Cadence.
Indeed, once FrostBound body crumbled apart completely, the energies started to expand through all directions, absorbing everything and everyone. Some dragons, frighten by the output, tried to fly away, only to follow the same fate. As the energy burst advanced towards them, Shining and Cadence embraced, Ember grabbed Spike and covered him with her wings in an attempts to protect him, Steel Wing stood still, facing the coming blast with the bravery of a soldier. Discord instead put on his sunglasses and waited with curiosity the consequences of being “devoured” by what could be described as Cold itself.
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Couldn't resist.
9800182
So, what are your thoughts on the story?
9800202 I liked it, was intrigued on where this was going until all the blame for this was taken off from Celestia. Kinda ticked me off there, and since I'm a person who hates the reformation route with a passion. The ending was kinda bleh, still the story was enjoyable enough.
9800324
.
Well, Celestia still had some responsability on the matter, but yeah, the big of the fault as been taken away.
The thing is that I've wanted to explain why Celestia acted so suspiciously in the main show, linking the facts of my other story, the Seal of Death, to it (Gloomy Dusk is, in fact, the son of Princess Luna and Azrael).
But, at the same time, I didn't wanted to make Celestia into a monster. I guess I've tried to bake the cake and eat it too, but it didn't worked as intended to. Sorry to have let you down.
For the ending, I though you would have appreciated the fact that, characters aside, I just stopped the FIM movie to happen, giving a lesson to Tempest Shadow.
I had also planned to make a second ending in which Starlight Glimmer gets what she deserve from Gloomy and his team.
Anyway, glad that you enjoyed the story, sad that the ending didn't satisfied.
9801398 It's fine, you should write whatever makes you feel good and what you like.
9801453
Thanks.
I wanted to ask you what your thoughts on FrostBound/Cryo (The character).
9801477 I like him well enough ^^