Holiday
It was now the brave and bold Prince's turn to panic. It's not every day that any pony watches what looks like a giant frog roll over in the snow several miles away. It's not every day that a giant frog even exists! He looked through the telescope a second and third time, hoping that he and his wife were just undergoing tundra mirage hallucinations from the stress they've been under. He left, drank a glass of water, slapped himself in the face, came back, and once again looked through the optic designed for long distance gazing. It was still there. He could even see the odd looking webbed feet of the creature, the large crease that was its mouth, its tail... wait.
Visions and memories of his youth started flooding in. Specifically, memories of biology class when he was just a little colt. All ponies from all walks of life had to learn basic biology of the creatures that co-existed with them from place to place. One particular topic was the life cycle of frogs and toads. The switch in the prince's head clicked into place. If basic biology applied to this creature, which resembles a giant frog, then it's possible it isn't even fully grown yet. It could very well be even LARGER and much more dangerous than it already might be.
"Honey?" he heard his wife call, and felt her hooves gently place themselves on his shoulders, "You're shaking like a leaf."
All at once, his train of thought halted, and felt himself shake just before he stopped. With a heavy sigh, he finally relaxed. It's ok, he thought. Yes, there is a potentially incredibly dangerous monster a couple miles away from the city. Yes, it might not even have reached its full size, and could be even WORSE than he thought. Yes, its sudden appearance could be an omen that spells the end of the empire that he only so recently started to rule with his wife. But that doesn't necessarily mean he should worry. He was a Captain of Celestia's prestigious royal guard. He was the top of his class. He knew how to kick flank and take names. If he could face down rogue dragons, hydras, and other such monsters, than what's a giant frog to him? His confidence began to grow as he continued to remember that he isn't some pushover daisy.
"Glad you're feeling better," Cadance said with a smile, and pecked him on the cheek, "I'm gonna go and send a letter to Twilight now. I have an idea to solve this problem."
"Wait, what?" Shining Armor sputtered in slight confusion, deflated a little. He turned, and watched his lover re-enter the castle, heading for the drawing room. He followed suit.
"Seeing as this situation revolves around what is basically an overgrown and oddly colored version of a common frog, it would probably be best to have Fluttershy brought here to assess the situation."
"Wait, Fluttershy?!" he asked with further confusion. Shining Armor loved his sister, and her friends, but he also knew them well enough to believe that they probably wouldn't be able to fix this. It wasn't exactly a task the Elements of Harmony could take on. Twilight could handle herself on her own, he reasoned, but Fluttershy was a different matter. Just by looking at her, he could tell that she would cower before a running leaf, let alone a mega sized beast. Sure, he heard the stories about her giving chiropractor therapy to a grumpy bear, had made a dragon cry, and actually tamed a very irritated manticore, but this was bigger than any of that. In this case literally.
"Look, I understand that they are very capable mares, but I think this is more of a job for the Crystal Guard. I could lead them out, and handle this," he pleaded as he cantered up beside Cadance, whom was writing the letter as he spoke. "I don't want to involve Twily unless we absolutely need to."
"Shining," she uttered gently, "I'm not going to have them fix this. I just need them here to shed some light on the situation. We have no real idea of what this thing is like, what it's capable of doing, or even why it's here. We can't jump to any conclusions, even if it did just suddenly appear out of nowhere with that flux of magical energy I felt." She finished the letter, rolled up the scroll, and sealed it with the Crystal Empire insignia. "I can't let you charge in head-on all the time. Remember when Sombra stopped you from using your magic?"
Shining Armor felt the tip of his horn out of reaction. He wasn't much of a fan of having it coated with tiny black crystals, like they were some sort of ticks on his body. They hurt like ticks too, funnily enough.
"Which is why we need to take these steps. Don't worry, you and the guard will still be going out there to escort them, in case anything happens." She wandered to the south balcony, and faced towards the general direction of Ponyville. "Now... how did Aunt Celestia say that spell went?" Her eyes shut in concentration, and with a little time and effort, the scroll set alight in a green flame, and traveled towards the south.
"I hope it works, Cadance,"
"Me too," she replied with an optimistic smile. The sound of a growl shattered the moment of heartfelt drama, as the Crystal Princess blushed slightly. "Well, that sure tells me I've been up here too long. Let's go get something to eat."
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
The great snow white beast stirred in his slumber, coated in a soft blanket of the white fluff that continued to drift down from the sky. Eyes gently fluttering open, he slowly began to come back to the waking world. His vision was slightly blurred, but that was acceptable. It'll fix itself soon enough.
"What a dream," he lowly muttered, still groggy, but feeling better than he was. "Being sucked into a different world, stranded for Argosax knows how long, getting beaten up by a human... how absurd."
He yawned, smacked his disgusting mammoth sized lips, and squinted into the direction he was facing. His vision began to return, as he started to make out in the distance a bubble shaped color of translucent aqua, and-
"... A tower of crystal," he groaned bitterly. It wasn't a dream. He was in a different world, stranded, and he most certainly did get his tail kicked by a pathetic human with a glowing arm. He slammed his front foot into the ground with a frustrated and heavy grunt. The ground, in turn, gave a tremor from the sudden strike, but nothing more. He sighed in defeat, telling himself to calm down. At least he didn't die and was forced to start all over as a low level demon in the Underworld like so many other failures.
The master of the Frozen Soil stood up, and roughly shook his body, kicking off the blanket of snow from bis back. Now that he was well rested, he could think straight. Without any help from bis brethren, genotype related or otherwise, he was in a vulnerable position against watchful eyes. That tower, he reasoned, could have someone watching over the land, and probably could have spotted him. If this already happened, which is a huge possibility taking his luck into account, he would need to first get shelter.
"They'd be sending a snack over any minute," he chuckled darkly at his own cruel joke. He turned around, and spotted a wall of rock and ice that could be mistaken for mountain ranges. It was the perfect place to make a cave, and likewise, a choke point if he were ever to be cornered by an army. It wouldn't matter, however. His mouth was big enough that he could gobble a good chunk of them before they even tried anything. Not to mention that he still has the snow and wind at his eternal beck and call while he still breathed.
With a flex and spring of his legs, he jumped right to the wall in a single bound. The moment his great mass landed at its target destination, he began to dig. The process really didn't take him very long due to his size and strength, as he cut out a decent sized hovel in the wall in well under ten minutes. The cave was deep enough that if anyone so brazen and foolish to go in too far would be unable to escape him if he noticed. Of course, he would have to create more tunnels and passages later. Just in case those that may or may not swing by for lunch decided to come back with more than he can chew.
No matter, first a meal, then further excavation. He giggled slightly and snuggled himself in the back of the cave tunnel, awaiting his prey. "I hope there are some stupid humans here. They're always the tastiest."
-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-
As soon as the lavender unicorn mare with a streaked pink and violet mane known as Twilight Sparkle got the message, she was on her way to the shy pegasus' house. It wasn't often that she'd receive a letter from her favorite foal-sitter turned sister-in-law turned Princess, but she wished that her first one in weeks wouldn't be under a seemingly dire circumstance. Just once, she'd wish that she could spend a little time with ponies she cared for without having to save Equestria from potential doom. Despite her gripe, a magical anomaly would be a perfect subject to research and further her studies, and she wouldn't be willing to pass up that opportunity. Even if such an event brought over a creature from an origin beyond pony understanding. In lieu of the trip, she left Spike under Rarity's care while she was in the Crystal Empire, which he gladly submitted to.
She only hoped that Cadance was making the right choice in involving Fluttershy in this ordeal as well.
She reached the beautiful little earthy homestead, which teamed with an assortment of lush and active life, and gently tapped on the front door. She heard a small squeak from behind the wooden frame of the barrier, and stepped back a bit. The door creaked, and the gentle yellow pegasus with the rosy pink mane shyly inched her head out the front door. Apparently, she wasn't expecting any visitors.
"Oh, uhm, hi Twilight," she said softly, barely audible to her dear friend, "I wasn't expecting to see you today... Not that there's anything wrong with that... uhm..."
Twilight, knowing she couldn't really comfort the pegasus out of her natural fidgeting behavior, decided it would be best to get right to the point of her visit. "It's ok, Fluttershy. Listen, I just received a letter from Princess Cadance, requesting me and you to travel to the Crystal Empire and-"
The shy pony nearly jumped at the name 'Crystal Empire', immediately remembering what she went through while they were there. Including the most dreaded experience she ever had to face in her entire life... Jousting.
She started to shrink back into her home. "Oh, uhm, if it's ok with you Twilight, I think I'll just stay here and-" She shut the door in her friends face, acutely muttering inaudibly behind the wood.
"Fluttershy," she said rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, "It's a royal request. We have to go. They need me to study this magical anomaly that Cadance found emanating from the tundra and-"
"Have fun with that," Fluttershy interrupted quietly.
"... AND, they need your help to evaluate the situation up there. It seems as if a new kind of creature resembling a frog was dropped off in the middle of the-"
The door then suddenly swung open, right before Fluttershy body checked Twilight and pinned her to the ground with now heavy panic set in her eyes. The same kind of panic that only surfaces when an animal or friend is in danger.
"A frog in the tundra?!" She almost bellowed, "Oh the poor dear! Is he injured? He must be so cold! What if he'll get frostbitten?! We have to go and see him right away! There's not times to lose!!"
Twilight giggled lightly, relieved that she could convince her to go.
"First," Twilight said with a daring do attitude and a wry smile, "... could you please get off me?"
"Oh... uhm..." She stepped off of Twilight, and let her friend stand once again. "Sorry."
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Wait till Fluttershy learns that the frog is a few stories high and loves it to eat everything that crosses its path oh and the he is a demon with a nasty temper.
1815818 As funny as it would be if this villain behaved as he did on earth, terrorizing pony folk, i think it would be funnier if i tortured him a bit, and just get him more and more pissed off and desperate...
1815838
a desperate and frustrated demon who is used to being on top of the food chain with nothing challenging him suddenly getting punted down a few steps by adorable multicolored ponies? Now that is something i can appreciate even more than him scaring ponies!
1816314 It's not that the ponies punt him down a couple notches... it'll be clear why he's going to suffer in the next chapter...
1815818 shed probably freak out like when she first saw the dragon that she made cry. And I don't think she would handle the fact the this frog-demon-thing eats humans/ponies.
Given his sister put an approximately three story tall bear CUB back to sleep and he is an (ex-)soldier, I don't think he should be taking this long to allow for the possibility that his eyes are correct. Rescuing a member of what might be a teleported creature not suited to arctic climates (this is not the case, but HE can't be sure of that) would be one contingency. A crew armed with very long pokey things, and the largest insects available to keep it from blocking the railroad tracks might be another. Somewhat less urgent (well... depending on the train schedule...) would be getting a biologist, a diplomat, and/or an Earth Pony who can talk to frogs out there for first contact and/or documentation purposes.
11408172
Couple things on that. First is, that while Shining saw Bael, he wasn't the one that first saw it nor was he the one to take command of the situation. Cadance was on both counts, and he does express that he should gather a crew to go check out the situation. Besides, I've somewhat come to see him as a worrywart when the chips aren't yet down, and steps up only when the time has come, so I can easily see him panic a bit in a somewhat comedic way when the situation is still at its calmest. It doesn't help that the poor dude is also under quite the significant amount of stress, along with his wife.
The second issue is that, while Shining is probably aware of how talented Twilight is (being hoof picked by Celestia herself), I don't think he's aware of how powerful she is on top of that. Besides, he never saw her actually handle the Ursa Minor, and there has been little opportunity for Twilight and Shining to actually sit down and talk very much (with he and Cadance being so busy ever since the wedding and later being crowned as rulers of the Empire). *EDIT* There's also the fact that, while Twilight is self aware about her talents (more or less), she's not the one to boast about them, which would make it more difficult and seldom for her own brother to hear of her exploits without someone outright talking about it.
Though, I still thank you for bringing it up. In truth the first arc is perhaps my roughest part of this story, as it was made in a time where my skills were definitely not where they are today. However, It's very difficult for me to go in and change anything without worrying about affecting the flow of the chapter itself, especially since I recognize there are some things that are more or less explained and utilized later for the most part, so I also don't want to create moments of redundancy.
11408184
I see. I would have expected more of a Captain, even if his commanding officer was the one to report the sighting. Maybe you simply have him being as outclassed of a commander as the Royal Guard are often portrayed in the show are as combatants?