In order to create a stable climate for Equestria, Luna and Celestia created four alicorns to embody and maintain control of each individual season. Though problems arise as international relationships deteriorate and conflict within the royalty.
In the beginning of Celestia and Luna's reign over Equestria, it was decided that four alicorns should be created for the second most powerful elemental force other than Night and Day, the seasons. Four "Keepers" were created for each season, and were tasked to control the weather during their season and provide smooth transitions from one season to another. Luna created the Keepers of Winter and Autumn, Snowhoof and Amberleaf; while Celestia created the Keepers of Summer and Spring, Brightmane and Lilyheart.
Now we draw to the present. Luna has returned from banishment, Snowhoof also had been banished and he is returning as well. In Luna's absence, international relationships had degraded and the whispers of world war pierced the uneasy tranquility. With Luna back, world leaders fear more treachery from Luna, and a harsh winter from Snowhoof as vengeance for his brutal incarceration. War breaks out as leaders fear food shortages, and adverse climate changes. Starlight Mirror, Luna's champion and general, must restore peace before the world is engulfed in war.
Contains: A few instances of foul language, combat violence, and suggestive material
In the beginning, long before Equestria ever existed, there was only the void. It was a vast empty space, an infinite black canvas just waiting to be filled with light and creation. Then there was the Bang. An explosion of energy and matter radiated out through the echoing void, providing the raw materials required to make the first structures of the universe.
In the wake of the Bang, within the immense tides of radiation, Aeon Gradius was birthed. He was a being whose body was crafted from an agglomeration of the first constellations, veiled in light blue argon gas, and shaped into the likeness of a dragon. Two bright stars for eyes, he spread out his gaseous wings and saw potential in these primordial heavens.
Aeon Gradius, Lord of the Stars, weaver of constellations, became fond of a small, yet extremely promising sector of the universe. Determined to create order out of the disorder, he gathered whirling globules of smoldering magma, bright veins of molten metals, and clouds of glowing amber gases.
Collecting the magma and metals, and using the new element of gravity, he forced it all into a tight sphere of dense gray rock with veins of fire. Using his starry wings, he channeled the gases to form an atmosphere for this new world.
After billions of years of Gradius’ work, Equestria was created. What was once a volcanic wasteland with an atmosphere of toxic gases was now a lush paradise. Continents emerged with forests full of verdant trees, golden deserts, grand stretches of mountains and grassland, dotted with pristine lakes and flowing rivers, all surrounded by vast blue oceans.
It was time for the first ponies to be created. From Gradius’ starry loins, emerged King Solaris and Lady Galaxia who would be given dominion over this new paradise. Proclaiming himself the guardian of this sector, Gradius vanished into the depths of space. It is said that on some nights, his constellation can still be seen among the other stars which are his children.
King Solaris and Lady Galaxia, now left alone in this world, used their magic to create the rest of the denizens of Equestria. Fashioned in their image, generations and generations of ponies with unique traits were distributed to all corners of the world. Soon, civilization arose as ponies marched out to conquer the wilderness. Quaint towns, shining cities, bustling ports all became commonplace throughout the world as ponykind flourished under the guidance of their two beloved monarchs.
After thousands of years of their peaceful reign, they were finally blessed with a child. A lovely alicorn filly with a bright pink mane and the sun emblazoned on her white flank. King Solaris and Lady Galaxia named her Celestia. As she grew and matured, Lady Galaxia grew heavy with child again. Giving birth to another alicorn filly with an azure mane and the crescent moon emblazoned on her midnight blue flank, they named her Luna.
Many years passed, and the young sisters grew up to become Equestria’s most lovely princesses. Happy and fulfilled, love was in full bloom between the two sisters and their parents.
The two daughters proved to be adept goddesses, young Celestia helping her father raise the sun every morning, and younger Luna helping her mother raise the moon every night. For the longest time, it stayed that way. Until the time came for King Solaris and Lady Galaxia to depart into the heavens and disappear into the night as Gradius did eons ago.
Their material bodies fading, weakening as the days drug on, they granted their two daughters full charge of their practiced duties of raising the sun and moon. On the night of their departure, there was a coronation festival for the two daughters as they officially took their parents’ throne and roles as Keepers of the Day and Night.
Faces streaked with tears, Celestia and Luna embraced their parents. Smiling sadly, the old king and queen told their two daughters how much they loved them. They vowed to always look down at them from the heavens, and until they were together again, they would always be waiting among the stars. Only faint impressions of their bodies remained, and they made the two sister promise this: “My sweet daughters, you must preserve the harmony of Equestria. Balance must be kept between all forces of nature, and you two have been given the most prominent one, the stewardship of night and day. Rule justly, love each other and your subjects, and never forget the magic of friendship that allowed ponykind to flourish.” Their bodies emanating beads of light, the wind whirling around their feet, one last thing was heard from them before they vanished. “Luna and Celestia, we will always love you.”
They vanished, and the grief stricken sisters looked to the night sky to see two new shining stars above. They twinkled once, before returning to their normal glow. The two sisters comforted each other in their grief, and in order to keep their promise to preserve the harmony between both the forces of nature and their denizens, Luna and Celestia decided to create stewards for one of the most powerful forces of nature, second only to Day and Night: The Seasons.
Since all alicorns were vested with a duty maintain the balance and order of a certain aspect of nature, four new alicorns were created for each of the seasons. Since Luna was the goddess of the night, she was tasked to create an alicorn embodiment of Autumn and Winter in which her powers were stronger; while Celestia, the goddess of the day, was tasked to create alicorn embodiments of Spring and Summer in which her powers were stronger.
Winter: This was the season where the night was longest and Luna’s power the strongest. Since Winter was favored by Luna, she crafted him to be the most powerful of the two seasonal alicorns. She created him from her own heartblood, the seed of the mightiest frost dragon, ice from the most ancient glaciers, and frozen bone marrow. When he arose, he had icy blue eyes that chilled those who looked into them, a snowy white mane that always smelled of cold, and his pelt was colored a frosty, paled azure like the sky during daybreak. Kneeling before his mother, Luna bestowed this name upon him: Snowhoof Tundran.
Autumn: This was the season where Luna’s power would increase due to the lengthening of night and Celestia’s power would wane as the days shortened. Autumn was not as favored by Luna, but seeing this was a time of decay and dormancy she still put much effort and love into this alicorn as she did with winter. Luna created her from blood drawn from her own throat, the pollen from the Tree of Harmony itself, decaying leaves and peat, and dry bone meal. When she arose, she had eyes the color of amber sap from a maple tree, a hazelnut mane tied back in a cool, sophisticated style, and her pelt was tannish beige like sandy topsoil. Kneeling before her mother, Luna bestowed this name upon her: Amberleaf Priyya
Now, Celestia had to create two alicorns which would embody the seasons of Spring and Summer. Each alicorn would control his or her respective season, and ensure the smooth transition between one season and another.
Summer: This was the season where the day was the longest and Celestia’s power the strongest. Since Summer was favored by Celestia she crafted him to be the most powerful of the two seasonal alicorns. She created him from her own heartblood, the flesh of a fire behemoth, lava from the most ancient volcano, and scorched bone marrow. When he arose, he had bright orange eyes that had the spark of flame in them, a proud scarlet mane signifying his passionate nature, and his pelt the light red of the sunset on a hot summer day. Kneeling before his mother, Celestia bestowed this name upon him: Brightmane Verán
Spring: This was the season where Celestia’s power would increase due to the lengthening of day and Luna’s power would wane as the nights shortened. Spring was not as favored by Celestia, but seeing that she signified a time of rebirth and rejuvenation she spared no love and effort into making her. Celestia created her from blood drawn from her underbelly, enchanted sunflowers which grew in her personal care, the teal leaves taken from the Tree of Harmony, and damp bone meal. When she arose, she had bright green eyes like sunlit leaves, a mossy green mane which always smelled of flowers, and a grassy pelt that resembled the color of the light bands on a watermelon. Kneeling before her mother, Celestia bestowed this name upon her: Lilyheart Alandra
Now that all four seasonal alicorns were created, they were distributed to different parts of Equestria where they would establish their dominions. Winter, Snowhoof Tundran, was given dominion over the cold polar regions of the world where winter was the strongest. Summer, Brightmane Verán, was given dominion over the tropical equatorial region of the world where summer was the strongest. Autumn, Amberleaf Priyya, was given dominion over the ring of land south of summer’s domain, and north of winter’s domain since autumn was strongest in that region. Spring, Lilyheart Alandra, was given dominion over the ring of land north of summer’s domain, and south of winter’s domain since it was here where spring was the strongest.
Changes in the season of power would be provided through ritualized mating ceremonies which would take place at the domain boundaries of the seasons in question, and at the end of every three month cycle. This system fosters goodwill towards each season’s neighboring domain, and allows smooth transition from one season to another.
These rules and guidelines were set in place by Luna and Celestia to ensure harmony among the seasons, the same way there should be harmony between day and night. They have to know their boundaries…but tragedy struck.
Luna grew discontent of how everypony loved the day and glorified Celestia, but did not appreciate the beauty of the night and ignored her. Luna soon grew resentful of her sister. Intoxicated by fame, Celestia bragged about the affection everyone showed her, and scoffed at Luna for being so unlikable.
Luna’s desire to be loved the same way Celestia was soon poisoned their relationship, as her envy turned to jealousy, and jealousy to hate. Luna lashed out against her sister, insane with jealousy she attempted to kill her sister to alter the moon’s orbit and create eternal night. Celestia lay dying, but at the last moment she unleashed the Elements of Harmony and banished Luna to the moon.
Snowhoof, being Luna’s favored child and strongest champion, was banished as well, because the alteration of the moon’s orbit would also usher in a new Ice Age. Though it was still unclear if he collaborated with his mother’s revolt or not, for the preservation of natural harmony, he had to be put in a position where he could do no harm. Since no one could bring winter like Snowhoof did, he was put in chains and sealed in a chamber buried below the North Pole so he could still muster a mild winter, but was otherwise completely immobilized.
Centuries passed with Snowhoof being imprisoned in the arctic, Luna remained banished to the moon, and the world went on without them. Now with a thousand years passed, we draw to the present:
Princess Luna returned to Equestria on the night of the thousandth anniversary of her banishment, and attempted create eternal night once again. Though she was redeemed by the Elements of Harmony, and was restored to her old self. Luna’s first action was to go to the arctic and release Snowhoof from his icy tomb. He was released, and reestablished his domain over his territory. Like his mother, he was shocked at how much the world had changed in his absence…and this is where our story begins.
I have a collection of masks. One for my parents, one for the rest of my family, one for my friends and everyone else I know. I have worn them for so long, that I have forgotten who I truly am. Though I do remember what their original purpose was. To hide what was inside, to conceal the bitterness, the grief, the paranoia raging inside. Those masks served to protect, to silence the words that would break the glass hearts of loved ones around me. Not only were they for the protection of others, but for my own sake; for my survival, as to prevent the monster inside from cutting all my personal ties, the tethers keeping me anchored to reality.
Each mask was a set of lies I told myself about who I really was and those around me. Somewhere along the line, I prayed that those masks would become truth, that I could cover the festering wounds within, and actually be what I projected to those around me. But I know that is a delusion. I am empty inside. At first I thought I was selectively emotionally detaching myself from the situation to preserve my mental wellbeing, but I realized how comforting the calm void was, and for the time I was within, I felt safe. It was my armor, and it soon became part of my flesh. And I realized all along that this was truly me. There’s no one behind the mask. My face is just a mirror, it reflects whatever is necessary to preserve social harmony. I become invisible, or whatever is required to survive. My personality, my character is constantly evolving to adapt and overcome the trials of my environment.
My name is Starlight Mirror. Some might consider me a victim of fate, the luckless stallion who would always get the short end of the stick, others might say that I am a survivor and my strength should be commended. I am neither. I don’t want people’s sympathy or admiration. What I did, or attempted at least, was selfish and for the most part foolish. I was so caught up with the romantics of the noose before me, so wrapped up in self pity, so lost in my own psychological constructs that I forgot the purpose of my life. I live to serve my queen and goddess, Luna. She is my adopted mother, as all the stallions and mares of the night are.
After years of dancing with my demons, and repeatedly shunning the noose hanging above my bed, I became strong. Born a stallion of the night, I turned to the military to build upon the strength I had found after defeating my demons. To think I even considered suicide all those years ago, it almost made him want to laugh. It was simply an irrational, illogical action. It is the result of an obsession of the self, and an ill-based and persistent pessimism.
Here I stand now, the High General of Luna’s wing of the military. Success is the sweetest revenge. Starlight was perfectly aware of the stigma of being a Nightborn among the denizens of the Day. Our eyes were different, our pupils were slightly elongated compared to that of a Dayborn, and they glowed in the dark to provide us with night vision. There were many other slight variations in the anatomy and physiology of our species, compared to that of the rest of ponykind. Those slight differences made his soldiers, and all members of his species subject to discrimination, and at one point it almost led him to take his own life. Ignorant bastards.
Whatever.Starlight no longer cared of what the ‘common’ folk thought of him. Of course, not all were like that, perhaps it wasn’t their fault at all, but it is what it is.
Starlight spread his wings and stretched out like a cat, making a show of his fangs and muscles. His dark gray pelt shone in the moonlight as he yawned, the gentle autumn breeze chilling his insides as he took it in. He straightened himself when he heard the approach of footsteps. He turned away from the view of the lake and saw one of his underlings walking out from underneath the evergreens which encircled the body of water.
The young mare soldier, Silent Dawnstrider, approached him and following her were the rest of the escort. Lady Amberleaf drew near, surrounded by his soldiers. The Keeper of Autumn had presented herself beautifully in a dress weaved by the bright orange, yellow and red colored leaves of the trees kissed by the cold and cast to the ground. She would be dancing with the Lord of Winter tonight, and the morning would bring the first day of winter.
Dawnstrider dipped her head in respect to him, and Starlight acknowledged her. All the other guards fell into line behind her and Lady Amberleaf tread past them, her brown eyes fixed on Starlight. She gave him a small smile. “We meet again, Starlight.”
He returned her smile. “Yes, and are you ready for our expedition into winter’s domain?” She smiled again, but he could tell that she was nervous. “Don’t worry. Queen Luna will be there as well. She has decided the transition ritual will take place at the traditional location, Iceheart Citadel.”
Amberleaf sighed, looking up at the full moon. “It’s been a thousand years since I last saw Snowhoof. I heard Celestia did terrible things to him before she locked him up in the arctic.”
Starlight nodded. “Yes, that’s why Luna herself went to liberate the Keeper of Winter. They stripped him of his wings and broke his horn before they put him in chains, but thankfully Luna has restored him.”
“Those were dark times.” Amberleaf said, “And I wonder how things will work out now that Luna has returned from banishment. This will be the first winter since then, and Luna will be at the height of her power. Everybody is frightened at what might happen this winter, the Keepers of Spring and Summer actually wanted Snowhoof to remain in prison for the rest of eternity.”
Starlight rolled his eyes at the mention of the other two seasons. “Summer and Spring are only thinking of themselves and their queen, but they have raised quite an uproar in their domains.” Starlight sighed, irritated. “Summer actually threatened to go to war over Luna’s return. In his eyes, Luna is a treasonous wench, and would like nothing more than to send her and all her children back to the moon. He was actually considering the genocide of the Nightborn people, but Celestia reprimanded him and it was the end of that.”
Amberleaf sighed. “There’s a lot of fear out there. Fear of Snowhoof and Luna’s revenge, everyone is expecting a brutal winter. They are right though, it would be the perfect opportunity for Luna to seize the throne.” The Keeper of Autumn looked down at her hooves. “Do you think Snowhoof will be angry with us? We punished him even though he was innocent.”
Starlight Mirror shrugged. “Do you really think that he and Luna didn’t plan their seizure of the throne together? Many people, including Summer and Spring, certainly think so.”
“I don’t think so at all. I spent many nights with Snowhoof, and he understood the balance of things. He would never try to hurt Celestia. Though that’s the least of our worries, Luna’s return has upset the power structure of Equestria.”
She was right. Even though Luna and Celestia had seemed to make amends with one another, he had hoped there would be stability as a result, but Celestia’s followers were still very discontent. “This will be a very momentous season. Things were already tense even before Luna returned, and now the return of Snowhoof could be the catalyst or inhibitor of global conflict. These elemental power struggles affect everyone, and intensify normal political conflicts as well.”
“To say we are at the brink of a new world war would be no exaggeration. I will fully submit myself to Snowhoof, and ease his anger if he has any. He’s very intelligent, he’ll see reason.”
“Well said, Amberleaf.” Starlight spread his wings and prepared to take flight, and all his guards in his pegasi unit did as well. “We must make it to Iceheart Citadel while the night is still young. Luna and Snowhoof are scheduled to arrive there at midnight.”
They took off in the night, his guard forming a protective escort around Amberleaf as they gained altitude. Soon they left the moonlit lake behind, and flew over a landscape of rolling hills covered with evergreens. Apparently a thousand years ago, this whole forest used to be part of winter’s domain and had once been covered with snow year round. Snowhoof’s domain had shrunk significantly in his absence, and tonight with his return, he would reclaim all of this.
He checked his map of the old seasonal boundaries and compared it with a modern political map. They were at the southern region of the Gryphon Kingdom. It was the nation of proud gryphons, one of the many races which resided in Amberleaf’s territory. They had extended the southern boundaries of their kingdom to encompass this evergreen forest over the centuries, finding the climate increasingly favorable. That would all change when Snowhoof returned.
Hopefully Autumn wouldn’t mind losing territory as Winter returned to his former strength. Amberleaf shouldn’t be the one he was worry about. The Keeper of Spring, Lilyheart Alandra, would not react as sensibly. Spring’s territory was more densely populated, so the climate shift would affect her far more than Autumn. That territory loss would surely earn Snowhoof her hate. Starlight felt a twinge of pity for the Keeper of Winter. The poor stallion would have to serve her bed when winter transitioned to spring.
The edge of the evergreen forest came into view, and the tall trees gave way to smaller foliage and eventually giving way to the flat taiga where the current seasonal boundaries stood. The air was much colder here than the evergreen forest they had flown across, providing more evidence that they were very close to Iceheart Citadel.
Starlight lowered his altitude towards the ground and the escort followed his lead. His front hooves brushed the frosted, pale green grass of the taiga. The winding dirt road came into view and they followed it closely until the citadel came into view.
Eight massive towers extended into the sky, all connected by frostbitten stone ramparts thirty meters high. Past the wall, they could see the fearsome spires of Iceheart Citadel itself. They landed on the dirt road before the massive gates, and Starlight called out to guards on the rampart.
A moment later there was the grinding noise of the parting mechanism and the gates slowly drew apart to reveal the city enclosed within. They stepped onto the cobblestone road choked with weeds, and looked at the quaint storefronts and abandoned residences made from dark spruce wood. This once used to be the most populous city in Winter’s solitary realm. The Nightborn ponies who once lived here had moved away when their protector, Snowhoof, had been banished. This city was almost entirely abandoned until recently.
They walked forward and the gates closed behind them. Starlight was quickly met by a small platoon of crossbowmen and their Nightborn captain. “Welcome, Starlight. Tonight our queen shall reach her season of power, and the Nightborn can finally come out of hiding. Come, we have made preparations for this joyous occasion.”
Starlight nodded and they all followed the captain to the citadel itself in the heart of the city. Things began to look more lively as they drew near the citadel. Nightborn from all over Equestria had come to see Snowhoof, Amberleaf, and Luna, restoring some life to the city which had been dead for a thousand years. Young mares hung laundry on their balconies, guard patrols walked by, and a gang of fillies and colts rushed down the street to see Amberleaf. They cheered and Starlight saw Amberleaf give the slightest of smiles.
They arrived at the citadel, and it was buzzing with activity. A group of attendants immediately led Amberleaf away, complimenting her on her choice of dress and fussing over her mane. She glanced back nervously at Starlight one more time before she disappeared around the corner. She would do well with Snowhoof, he knew she would.
Starlight sighed with relief. His mission had been successful. He had delivered the Keeper here in one piece. He drew away from the commotion of the main hallway and his pegasi soldiers went to their separate rooms. They had to prep themselves for the feast tonight. Starlight could not relax despite the merry atmosphere. He would remain in his armor, for he could not be comfortable until his queen arrived.
He climbed up the staircase all the way up to the top of the citadel where his queen would be received and would be residing the night. The bedroom where Snowhoof and Amberleaf would be staying was also up here. He wandered down the stone corridor to his own room adjacent to Luna’s guest room, and opened the wooden door. The bedroom was decorated with icy blue and azure finery and white frills, too much for his taste, but he stood next to the window and awaited his queen’s arrival.
The cathedral bell tower at the northern end of the city chimed in the night, each haunting ring of the bell sending shivers down his spine. Ding---Ding---Ding---Ding---Ding…The grand bell chimed twelve times. It was midnight and his queen had not arrived yet.
Starlight and his first lieutenant, Dawnstrider, walked on the ramparts on the north side of the city. He said he was inspecting the scorpions and flak cannons that lined the fortification, but he just needed to be away from the citadel to calm his nerves. Everyone was awaiting her arrival, it was not like Luna to be late.
What if something had happened to her? What if Snowhoof had lashed out against Luna? Or maybe they had been intercepted by enemy forces? He shook his head, grunting. Dawnstrider looked at him with concern, but she knew better not to say anything.
Starlight made an abrupt turn and walked up to the mounted binoculars like he had done for the twentieth time. He looked into the lens and scanned the horizon, but there was still nothing. He turned away from the binoculars, sighing. Dawnstrider could no longer be silent. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go back inside.”
Starlight grunted. “What’s that, Dawn? Afraid to be alone at night with a virile stallion like me?”
Dawnstrider laughed. “That’s the Mirror I know. You’re worrying too much. Luna and Snowhoof are perfectly capable of handling themselves.”
Despite her gentle camaraderie, he looked into the binoculars again. He swiveled them on the stand and on the horizon he saw two figures approaching. He sighed with relief, and he turned away at the sound of someone’s approach. A messenger was sprinting towards them and stopped right in front of him, out of breath. “Queen Luna and Snowhoof have arrived at the southern gates.”
Starlight sighed with relief. “Oh, good. I was getting worried.” He furrowed his brow and did a double take. “Wait, what? The southern gates?” He jammed his face back into the binoculars and saw the two figures again. He increased the magnification level, and the two figures multiplied before his eyes. Gryphons! There were about two dozen armed gryphons headed their way! Starlight flipped around and there was a whistle above his head and a spear lay embedded in the ground before him, the shaft breaking and clattering off the rampart. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!”
Dawnstrider ran the other way as the ground behind her was peppered with arrows. Starlight whinnied, and the air raid sirens started to blare. He flapped his wings and took to the air. With a flicking motion of his hooves, his “glass blades” slid out of their sheaths and locked in place. The transparent steel blade extended from the tip of his hooves, and whistled in the air when he swung them around. Dawnstrider had joined him the air, dodging projectiles. “Starlight! There are too – arrgghhh!” A javelin had gone through her chest, knocking her out of the sky and into a downward spiral. He swooped down to save her, but a gryphon raked its claws down his hindquarters, pulling him back as he roared in agony. Starlight swung his blade-hoof around, slashing the gryphon’s throat open with a splash of blood.
The gryphon fell from the sky and Starlight spun around and searched for what had become of Dawnstrider. He gasped in horror, for there was nothing left of her but a red smear on a rooftop down below. He bit back tears, and became aware of the sound of battle around him. The guards had engaged the gryphons in battle.
He bared his fangs in a snarl, and charged into the nearest gryphon. He plunged his blades into the burly gryphon’s underbelly, but the thick armor deflected his death blow and he collided with the gryphon’s muscled torso. Starlight had knocked the breath out of him, but the gryphon swung his fist around hard and connected with Starlight’s jaw. The impact jarred him, making his head spin and his helmet was sent flying off. Blood trickled down his snout as they grappled with each other in the air.
Starlight kneed the gryphon in the belly, the metal spike on his kneecap armor ripping through his bowels. The gryphon screamed, disengaging from him and clutching the intestines hanging from his stomach. Starlight took his opportunity and drove his blade into his gullet. The gryphon made a gurgling sound and spat blood in his face, before Starlight ripped the blade out and let the gryphon fall to the ground.
He turned around and saw that the main invading force was headed for the citadel. Their target was Snowhoof and Luna!
He charged towards the citadel, flapping his wings as fast as he could. The citadel’s garrison of unicorns were filling the air with barrages of glowing ice shrapnel, which looked like streaks of light shooting up from the ground in the night. The icy projectiles bounced off the gryphons’ armor to no avail. Starlight grunted as the wind roared in his ears. They were too heavily armored!
The gryphons penetrated the last line of defense, breaking the windows and entering the citadel itself. “All guards to the citadel!” He commanded to the garrison at the gate of the citadel. “Protect the Queen and the Keepers!”
The earth pony strike force with the unicorn artillery rushed into the citadel while his pegasi charged in through the windows the gryphons had broken. Starlight tumbled into the hallway of the top floor and two gryphons ran at him with their lances drawn. He spun around swinging his hoof-blades, knocking the lances to the side and decapitating one of the gryphons. The other gryphon slammed his elbow down on his spine, and Starlight howled in pain. The gryphon spun around and grabbed his shoulders, slamming his skull down onto his. There was a solid crack, and Starlight couldn’t see straight for a moment. There was a hiss as the gryphon presses his advantage, charging. Starlight reflexively raised his blades so they pointed outward. The gryphon crashed into him, slamming him hard against the wall. The shock of pain threatened to knock him out and he lay helpless, expecting the finishing blow any moment.
He felt warm blood seeping onto his hooves and realized that the gryphon had impaled himself on his blades. Starlight slid his blades out of the gryphon’s torso, wiping the blood on a tapestry. He stood up uneasily, and heard the sound of a fierce fight on the floor below.
His vision still spinning, he trotted to the staircase but he heard a mare’s scream from behind him. He turned and ran towards the origin of the scream. There was the sound of magical explosions in the adjacent hallway and the sound of gryphons screaming.
He turned a corner and saw the ruined hallway. There were the corpses of five or six gryphons splattered on the walls on the roof. Gore, bits of bone, and viscera dripped from the roof and walls, pooling on the ground. Whoa.
He gasped when he saw a massive, heavily armored gryphon walking at the end of the hallway with Amberleaf in tow. Amberleaf had a large bruise on the side of her face, and she appeared to be knocked out. That had to be the biggest gryphon he had ever seen. He must be their leader.
Starlight ran through the blood soaked hallway. Did Amberleaf do all this? He turned a corner and saw the gryphon captain punch a hole through the wall, the cold winter air rushing in through the breach. “Let her go!” He yelled, catching the attention of the gryphon. “Picking on unarmed mares, how pathetic are you? Come fight a real stallion, or are you scared?”
His taunt was too obvious, but it did the job. The gryphon captain dropped Amberleaf and growled at Starlight. “Well,” the gryphon rumbled. “Isn’t it the famous Starlight Mirror. Your skull will make a great addition to my collection.” The fighters drew closer together, and Starlight decided to do his battle dance. He would show this gryphon why they called him “Mirror Blades.” He raised one hoof, making a flicking motion so the glass blade would be unsheathed and lock into place. His blade was almost invisible to the naked eye, and he began to dance. The gryphon hissed, and he did as well. Starlight began mimicking the gryphon’s footwork, mirroring his battle stance.
The gryphon hesitated, noticing Starlight’s reflection of his moves. Starlight leapt forward, his glass blade flashing. The gryphon raised his foreleg to block the blow with his bracer, his blade slid off and he disengaged. Leaping backward, he began copying the gryphon again. The gryphon changed battle stances and he did the same. It was working. He was intentionally making his stance more complex to throw Starlight off, and that would be the gryphon’s undoing.
The gryphon charged, using an elaborate and impossible to copy pattern. The complexity required a tremendous amount of energy and thus slowed the gryphon’s movement. Starlight easily caught the gryphon, leaping above and slicing into his spine, before landing on his feet again on the other side. The gryphon whipped around with such unexpected speed, Starlight couldn’t evade his claws. The gryphon, instead of raking him with his claws, grabbed his left hindleg and drug him back towards him. Starlight resisted but the gryphon dug his claws into the sinew of his hindleg, and Starlight screamed as blood seeped down his legs. The gryphon continued to dig his claws into the wound, tearing up his sinew and scratching his bone. Starlight couldn’t handle the agony and flipped around, but he immediately realized he had made a fatal mistake. With a single flourish of the gryphon’s meaty hands, he broke Starlight’s leg.
Starlight screamed in agony, his leg bent in a way it wasn’t meant to. Starlight shook his leg free and crawled away. He tried to stand up but the gryphon tackled him, flattening him on the ground with a crunch. The pain was so intense that he almost blacked out. The gryphon’s weight was crushing, and he wrapped his thick forearm around Starlight’s neck. Starlight knew this position too well. It was all over. Now with a single motion the gryphon could easily break his neck.
In his last moments, he realized a white frost creeping up on the ground. Starlight tried to struggle, but he was pinned. Starlight closed his eyes, accepting his death. Then something happened. The temperature of the room dropped so fast that he felt his head ache. Aw hell, am I dead?
Starlight opened his eyes and found himself trembling. The weight was removed off his back and the cold was soothing on his wounds. He felt so weak, but he clung to his consciousness. He heard a sweet melodic voice from behind him, and his heart soared. “My Queen?”
“My brave commander.” He felt Luna's soft kiss on his head. “You have performed most admirably; but now, it is time for answers.”
His vision faded for a moment and he felt someone take his hooves and lift him up. When he opened his eyes again, he was resting on a soft cushion and his wounds had been bandaged. Amberleaf was resting against his side, and she stared at him with her soft brown eyes. “I’m sorry about your leg. We might have to do surgery if it doesn’t heal properly.”
Starlight blinked. The gryphon captain was chained to the wall before him, and Luna cleared her throat. In the dark corner on the other side of the room, there was a stallion lurking there. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness, watching the gryphon captain with intense interest. Was that Snowhoof?
Luna cleared her throat again and a guard threw a bucket of water on the chained gryphon. The gryphon awoke with a start, startled. “Speak.” Luna commanded. “Why did you attack this citadel?”
The gryphon sighed in surrender. “We had to stop the transition between autumn and winter. We could not allow Snowhoof to regain control of winter.”
Luna stared down in disgust at the gryphon. “Why not?”
The gryphon sobbed, tears in his eyes. “We’ll lose a fifth of our territory then, and many of us will die. If winter expands his domain to where it was a thousand years ago, we will lose the great evergreen forest. The climate will become too cold for hunting and the weather too treacherous for anyone to live there. The fear of famine looms over us, for the forest has become a great source of food. To allow Snowhoof to return means starvation and death for us, just the way it was all those years ago.” The gryphon began to cry. “These mild winters have been such a blessing for our people, and not only our people, but all the races that have their countries near the seasonal boundary. So many will suffer again at the hands of winter…please do not allow that to happen. Send Snowhoof back to the arctic where he belongs.”
Luna sighed. “It is the way of nature, winter and summer, day and night, life and death. We suggest you move your people to the warmer northern parts of the Gryphon Kingdom if winter’s expansion is such a problem.”
The gryphon captain burst into fresh tears and became hysterical. “We can’t! The north isn’t safe anymore!”
Amberleaf stood up, concerned. “Why not?”
“We have been on the verge of war with the Fire Dragons of the Tropics for many years now, and now they have finally declared war on us! We have nowhere to go!
Everyone in the room gasped. It was as he feared. Snowhoof’s return had provided the aggressive races of Summer’s territory with a tactical advantage over the races of Autumn and Spring. The hot headed dragons had been given the perfect opportunity, and now they would attack while the Gryphon Kingdom was struggling with possible widespread famine, Starlight thought. Now, let’s see how many other nations follow the dragons’ example…
Starlight was still shocked at the gryphon’s revelation, but he had expected such. In a war between the dragons and gryphons, he would definitely put all his bits on the dragons. According to the gryphon, the declaration of war was based on resources. But Starlight knew that was a lie.
The dragons were always looking for opportunities for conquest and warfare, but it had been many centuries since such an opportunity had arisen. Until tonight, of course. Now everyone would start declaring war on one another and all hell would break loose.
Though resources were still an issue; both nations had rising populations, both required more food, and with Snowhoof’s return, the amount of land suitable for agriculture would decrease by sixteen percent at the least.
Starlight had failed to see the impact that this climate shift would have on the food market, but the lush equatorial regions of Equestria could easily fill in the gap. Though it did make a great excuse to start things up, it was evidence of how bad international relationships had gotten of late. Everybody was out for blood, whether it was out of bloodlust like the dragons, or desperation like the gryphons, greed, revenge, whatever it was, the end result was the same…All because of the paranoia of what could happen this winter. It was all speculation, nothing was for certain, but everyone was making desperate, foolhardy decisions as a result of it.
The water in the bucket of war had been slowly accumulating with every territorial dispute, power struggle, and competition for resources, and now Snowhoof’s return would cause the bucket to spill over. It was bound to happen sooner or later….
The gryphon was still crying, and Luna looked over at Starlight, wanting his counsel. The gryphon began to wail. “Please just send Snowhoof back! I beg of you…”
Luna rolled her eyes, but Snowhoof howled and leapt out of his corner. The gryphon flinched as Snowhoof landed in front of him and there was a blast of cold. Starlight looked away as they were all blasted with a freezing mist.
Starlight looked back over and the cloud of ice crystals slowly dissipated, revealing Snowhoof’s hooves wrapped around the gryphon’s frozen neck. “I’m never going back to prison!” The Keeper of Winter screamed at the frozen gryphon. “I’d rather die!” Snowhoof struck the gryphon, and his body shattered into a thousand fragments of frozen flesh. Amberleaf gasped, and Luna put her hoof on his shoulder. Snowhoof looked up at Luna. “Mother, what you told me about the state of the world…It’s true, it really is. How could Celestia have allowed things to become like this?”
Starlight managed to stand up, his hindlegs trembling with the effort. “It is true.” Snowhoof, Luna, and Amberleaf looked at him. “Yes, people complain about how the power structure will become imbalanced with Luna’s return. Well, they’re wrong. It’s been imbalanced ever since Luna was banished. Luna was the cool, rational sister who preferred justice over mercy; while Celestia was the warm, emotional sister who preferred mercy over justice. Now with Luna’s return, balance will be restored and people will be able to think clearly again.” Starlight sighed, “Hopefully.”
Snowhoof looked down at the ground, crestfallen. “Yeah, right.” The alicorn knelt down on all fours, looking heavenward. Starlight gasped. That look. It reminded Starlight of someone he used to be. The way Snowhoof was now…Starlight had looked exactly like that way when he had first made the noose. A look of surrender, desperation, a cry for help…the solidification of the resolve to do something terrible to alleviate the pain…Anything to stop the pain.
Snowhoof stood back up, that vulnerable moment where his soul had been laid bare now far gone behind the deadly resolve in those cold eyes. He stomped his hoof, huffing. “I promise…” Everyone looked back at Snowhoof. “I promise that this winter and every one henceforth will be an easy one. It’ll be as if I never returned.”
There was something bitter in his tone, but Starlight appreciated the gesture of peace. Luna approached Snowhoof, nuzzling him. “Well said, we will declare your peaceful intentions before Celestia and the rest of the council. Everyone should know there is nothing to fear, and will you join us in the meantime?”
“No.” Snowhoof shook his head, and Luna stepped back. “No, after tonight I return to the arctic. I am disgusted and disheartened by all this, it just makes me so….” There was a flare of hostility from Snowhoof that surprised Starlight, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Snowhoof groaned, and looked up hopefully, scanning the crowd. “Where is she? Where is my sweet Alandra?”
What? Luna’s ears drooped and she approached Snowhoof with tears brimming in her eyes. “She’s not here. I’m so sorry.”
Amberleaf looked down at her hooves, shyly glancing at Snowhoof. The stallion looked confused, hurt. “The Keeper of Spring promised that she would see me when I was liberated from prison.” Everyone was quiet, and Snowhoof looked around confused. “Exactly how many years has it been since I was away?”
Had Luna not told him? Starlight saw a tear fall from Luna’s eyes. “It’s been a thousand years, Snowhoof.”
He gasped, backing away from her. “A thousand years? How…How could have so much time have passed? Alandra told me…”
Luna nodded sadly. “Yes, she told you that you would be in prison until they figured out whether or not you were involved in my coup.” Luna cast her eyes to the ground again. “I’m so sorry, but Alandra betrayed you.”
Snowhoof froze for a moment. “Liar,” he whispered. “Liar!” He yelled, and Luna withered at her son’s anger. “Alandra told me she loved me, and I…I loved her! I went through all that pain and humiliation of losing my wings and horn, of enduring the chains and torture without resisting, because she promised me that we would get married on the eve of my return.”
Spring and Winter were once lovers? Starlight hadn’t expected all this drama when he had signed up for this. Luna sighed. “You were never meant to return, as I was never meant to return from banishment.”
“What? I don’t understand…” Snowhoof struggled against his emotions. “I don’t understand. I was innocent, and Alandra believed me when I told her. I wasn’t involved in any way! I hadn’t even known what you had tried to do to your sister until a month after the fact. What do you mean I was never meant to return? Alandra told me—”
“Alandra lied!” Luna cut him off. Snowhoof stared at her in shock, speechless. “Alandra told you that so you wouldn’t fight when they put you in chains and stripped you of your dignity. Alandra and everyone else thought you were guilty, and they still do! You were supposed to remain in that icy tomb for the rest of eternity!”
Snowhoof shook his head, tears in his eyes. “No…no, Alandra and I were in love. We were meant to be together from the moment of our creation, and she would never lie to me.” He gave a shuddering gasp, and looked up at Luna. “I still love her with all my heart.”
“If she loved you the way you love her, why isn’t she here now? She promised you that she would marry you, then why hasn’t she planned a wedding? She was heartbroken when I betrayed Celestia, and since it was during wintertime…I am are sorry, but she doesn’t love you anymore. She hasn’t for a thousand years.”
Starlight could see the anguish in Snowhoof’s eyes, and he saw all that anguish turn to rage. He huffed, looking up at Luna with fury. “This is all your fault. She hates me now because of you. The world is so messed up today because you had to be selfish!”
Luna’s tears were now flowing like streams. “I’m so sorry! I made a mistake! Please, please forgive me! You are my son, the stallion closest to my heart. I made you from my own blood….”
Snowhoof turned away from her. “You should have stayed on the moon.” Luna collapsed onto her knees, sobbing. Snowhoof looked right at Amberleaf then, and she gasped at the cold fury in his eyes. “Come,” he said softly. “Make winter come again for old time’s sake.”
She was unsettled by his demeanor, but Amberleaf submissively got up and followed Snowhoof as he led her into the bedroom. “Starlight, tell everyone that winter will be no harsher than it was for the past thousand years.”
Starlight nodded and Snowhoof slammed the door behind him. Everyone dispersed then, and Starlight helped Luna to her bedroom. She was sobbing uncontrollably, and he kissed her gently. “My queen.” Starlight lay down on the floor next to her bed. “This too, shall come to pass. He will forgive you in time. Until then, I will try my best to serve you.”
Starlight and Luna fell asleep and later on in the night, frost overtook the window and the first flurries began to fall….
Starlight arose early the next morning on Luna’s bedroom floor. It was brisk in the room, and Luna was sleeping with her back turned to him. Starlight stood up and stretched his wings, before he kindled the fire in the hearth.
Luna was shivering, and he trotted over to her. He took the still neatly piled sheets at her feet into his mouth and drew the soft sheets over her. He tucked her in, and he realized that her eyes were open. She probably didn’t get any rest, he thought. He nuzzled her mane softly. “Do you want something to eat, my queen?”
She didn’t answer, but continued to stare blankly at the wall. Just when he was about to turn away, she said. “He’s gone. Snowhoof has returned to the arctic, and I’ve lost the love of my son.”
Starlight nuzzled her again, trying to make her feel comfortable as possible. “Rest now, I’ll fetch you some breakfast.” Luna sighed and spoke, her voice flat and defeated. “Forget me. I need you to stop this war going on between the gryphons and dragons. I want you and Amberleaf to mediate a peace process, tell them that Snowhoof is no longer a threat.”
Starlight bowed. “It shall be done, Luna.” She nodded, and closed her eyes. He turned away and left the room. He was glad that Amberleaf was coming with him. The dragons of summer hated the Nightborn. He looked back at the closed door of Luna’s bedroom. His queen would be fine, she was strong.
He wandered into the feast hall where he saw Amberleaf eating porridge alone. There was the faint buzz of a few conversations in progress on the other side of the room, but otherwise it was quiet. Starlight sat next to Amberleaf, and she looked at him with tired eyes. Starlight smiled for her. “Hey there. How was it?”
She smiled faintly. “He was very sweet, and for the most part gentle.” Amberleaf’s smile grew. “For the most part.”
Starlight was glad that she had enjoyed herself. “Good, and today is now the first day of winter. How did it feel when the ritual ended and Snowhoof took control of the world’s season?”
“It was exhausting. I had forgotten the power drain associated with the ritual. Snowhoof is now in control of the climate of Equestria, and for the next three months he will be the most powerful of all the seasonal alicorns.” Amberleaf stared down into her porridge. “I hope he’s all right. Sometime during the night, I thought I heard him crying.”
Starlight nodded sadly. “It’s tragic what happened, but hopefully everything will be fine.”
Amberleaf shrugged. “I don’t know, Starlight. Snowhoof was once very reserved and stoic, and to see him show so much emotion, it’s so unusual.” Amberleaf looked at Starlight. “You don’t think he’s gone insane, do you?”
Starlight honestly didn’t know. Last night had been very intense, and he had seen some signs of depression, but who wouldn’t be depressed after going through all that? Starlight sighed. “He’ll be fine, don’t worry. In the meantime, we have our own mission. We have to settle a peace between the gryphons and dragons. We have to tell everyone of Snowhoof’s promise to continue the mild winters.”
Amberleaf nodded. “Yes, we must go to the capital of the Gryphon Kingdom and inform the king of what has happened here. He and his people will be so relieved, the dragon’s tactical advantage will be eliminated, and things will slowly return to the way they were before Luna was banished.”
The wind roared in his ears as they flew back over the great evergreen forest. The air had grown cooler than what it had been on their way here, but it was barely noticeable. The air currents were also slightly more turbulent, but that too was normal for early winter. Starlight was distracted by a low cry from below. The sound had resembled the whistling of air one hears when there is a particularly powerful gust outside the walls of his house.
He looked down and saw a Tempest floating above the trees. The entity resembled a spectral pegasi pony with a translucent body, and eyes of icy blue fire. The Tempest gave another cry as it channeled and directed the frigid polar air which was responsible for ushering in the climate change associated with the change of seasons.
Starlight watched in fascination. He had heard of the seasonal elementals, but this was the first time he had seen one for Winter. Each seasonal alicorn had these entities called ‘elementals’ which were all under the control of the respective alicorn. They were the so-called footsoldiers of climate change, the aides of seasonal transformation.
For winter, he remembered there were three distinct classes of elementals. There were the Tempests, which always appeared first for they paved the way for the other two. Tempests controlled the wind patterns to induce colder weather, and intensify the other two. After that come the Revenants, which were disembodied in appearance and were a tightly compressed vortex of freezing air with a breastplate, vambraces, helmet, sword, and shield made from ice. They were the ones who brought in the precipitation associated with winter. Lastly there were the Frostbites, which resembled spectral wolves. They could only appear below a certain temperature, but they were the ones who initiated the dormancy stage in the trees and animals present.
The appearance of Tempests was common routine, and they would remain here on the edges of the seasonal boundaries. With winter now here, the other season’s elementals would fade away to allow the current season’s elementals to do their job. The Tempest cried out again, and this time there were several answering calls. It then looked right up at Starlight, its eyes of blue fire piercing him. Starlight shuddered, and Amberleaf took note of the Tempest. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Since Snowhoof promised mild winters, they should be passive and no threat to us. Although they do increase in number and strength as winter takes hold….”
They flew for the rest of the day, and when the sun was setting they saw the first gryphon town with its glimmering lights. They had only seen villages and trading posts before, so this was the biggest population center so far. They were reaching the more densely lived in parts of the Gryphon Kingdom, and soon they would reach Avendale, the heart of the kingdom.
He felt a touch on the tips of his wings. Amberleaf gestured for him to land, and to do so quietly. Starlight sensed her urgency, so he cautiously descended into a thicket of trees on the outskirts of the town. She immediately barreled into him, knocking him into a bush. He was about to protest, but Amberleaf stood over him and put a hoof on his mouth. Her amber eyes were wide with fear. “Something’s wrong. The streets and skies are empty….” Starlight realized the truth in her words. The place was unusually still, but perhaps the gryphons were sleeping off their hangovers from the Winter Festival the night before. “My gryphon friends who live here, they were supposed to be….”
There was a loud clamor of voices and she immediately fell silent. “I swear I saw two pegasi flying here a minute ago.” A stallion’s said, and Starlight and Amberleaf watched silently from the bush, holding their breath. There was a rustle and six more stallions appeared, suited in battle armor and armed to the teeth. Starlight recognized their insignias. These were soldiers of the Darrowshire Confederacy. The country was composed of many city states strung together by the Confederacy, and shared their eastern border with the Gryphon Kingdom. What were they doing here?
The stallions wandered the brush, searching for them. “I swear I saw them. I think one of them was Nightborn,” the same stallion said.
Another stallion snorted. “Seriously, Blackhooves? I don’t see anypony here.”
Blackhooves pawed the ground, grunting. “There must be no witnesses. Those were our orders. He will have our hides if we allow word to get out, Commander Fireclaw will literally eat us.”
Starlight gasped at the name. It was obviously a dragon’s name. This wasn’t a good sign at all. The stallions eventually gave up their search and returned to their patrol.
As soon as the sounds of their hooves crunching in the underbrush faded away, he stumbled out of the bush. Starlight spread his wings and immediately took off. Amberleaf gasped in surprise and followed him, weaving through the trees behind him. The sky was darkening as night fell, it was an opportune time for him to do some reconnaissance. Please don’t let it be what I think is happening here. Please….
He drew as close as he could to the city without losing the forest’s cover. He happened to be on a hill, and it allowed him to see much deeper into the city. There were no signs of life here, save for the Darrowshire patrols who were carrying torches, casting orange light on their verdant green and gold armor.
Amberleaf joined his side. “Why on Equestria are Confederate troops doing here? Unless….”
The unspoken thought remained heavy in the air. Starlight shook his head. “We have to find out what happened to the gryphons, and for that we have to enter the city.” Starlight felt confident in his ability to sneak in. He had the cloak of night, and his night vision. It was all he needed. A thought occurred to him before he began his approach. “Amberleaf, can you use your powers to create clouds to block the light of the moon? The darker it is, the better it is for me.”
Amberleaf shook her head. “It is no longer autumn. I’m not the dominant season anymore, and therefore I cannot alter the weather. I can still fight as well as any alicorn, but I cannot gather those clouds for you.”
Starlight sighed and nodded. “I guess we’ll go in together in then, we need to….”
“Starlight, look!” Amberleaf hissed, pointing her hoof down towards the town. Starlight gasped, and watched. A block away from where they were, there was a large patrol of Darrowshire soldiers filing into a square. Behind them, five gryphons were roughly pushed into the square and were forced against the wall. They were all in pajamas, looking worn and tired. Amberleaf gasped. “It’s the town council. There’s Mayor Lightfeather, she’s an old friend of mine.”
The soldiers backed away from the gryphons, and the Mayor stood defiantly where the others were cowering. A rank of five soldiers stepped forward, raised their crossbows, and there was the loud snap of them being fired. Amberleaf looked away, and Starlight lowered his gaze as the corpses of the town council were dragged away. His worst fears had been confirmed. It now appeared as if Darrowshire had banded together with the Fire Dragons to invade the Gryphon Kingdom.
Amberleaf was crying, but they weren’t tears of grief, but of rage. The air around her crackled with energy, and Amberleaf’s eyes were glowing with magic. “I will kill them all. We will liberate this town, and we will get to the bottom of this.”
The town’s name was Nora’s Landing, and it was under occupation by Darrowshire forces. Doing a quick recon flight, it was clear that the enemy base of operations was in a quadrangle in the heart of the city. That was also where the highest concentration of soldiers were, and that was also where he saw the hulking, crimson figure of Commander Fireclaw strutting about. Other than the dragon, he estimated about two hundred soldiers formed the garrison occupying the city.
Regarding the gryphon civilians, it appeared that they were under a strict curfew. For the time being, they were alive and locked inside their homes. Though if it were Starlight planning this attack, he would kill all the civilians, plunder the town, and then burn it all down as fast as he could. There was no point in holding the town, so why waste manpower holding it? It was already so difficult to defend, lacking any form of fortifications or natural barriers….
They also had the element of surprise. No one could have seen this coming. An alliance between Darrowshire and the Fire Dragons was unheard of, and even more so was that the attack probably took place the morning following the Winter Festival. Everyone got dead drunk and passed out sometime after midnight, so overwhelming the town’s defenses should have been an easy feat. This town was the easternmost gryphon settlement, so the enemy hadn’t penetrated that deep into gryphon territory. If it were Starlight planning this invasion, he would have executed a blitz attack, taking town after town in quick succession to exploit the gryphons’ vulnerability as much as possible.
They were dirty tactics, but brutally effective. All is fair in war. While the Gryphon Kingdom’s forces were concentrated up north to defend against the threat of dragon attacks, Darrowshire had cut them down from the east.
The question burning at him now was what should they do? Starlight looked at Amberleaf, wondering which approach was best. “Amberleaf, we could go back to Iceheart Citadel and come back with reinforcements, go to Avendale and hope to get reinforcements from there, or liberate this town ourselves. What shall we do?”
Amberleaf hissed. “I had friends in this town, friends who had family. They killed Lightfeather! You and I both know all the civilians will be dead by the time we return with reinforcements.”
She was right. It would take at least a day or two to get reinforcements, and they didn’t have that time. The soldiers could probably even invade another town while they ran back to Iceheart or to Avendale. This had to stop right here and now, and preferably when it was still dark.
Starlight had a plan, but that dragon would pose a serious problem. “Amberleaf, I have an idea.” She was listening now. “I spotted an armory in the western side of the city, and if we can get a hold of those weapons….”
Amberleaf smiled. “We can get those weapons to the gryphons, and with your military expertise we can liberate this town!”
“Exactly, now we have to get to that armory without getting noticed and distribute the weapons to the gryphons.” It was the best plan they had, but Starlight wasn’t confident in it. These gryphons they were arming probably had no fighting experience, how would they fare against trained soldiers?
Starlight kept his doubts to himself. He led Amberleaf out of the foliage and they dashed across the street and into an alley. They crept around the corner of the building, and they hid behind a trash can. He could feel the heat of Amberleaf’s skin on his back, her minty breath against his ear. In the street ahead, he spotted a whole brigade of guards marching down the street, enforcing curfew. There were so many of them….
If his memory served him correctly, the armory was about four blocks away. They would have to evade every patrol, and avoid that large cluster of soldiers roving about. Shadows passed overhead and he could make out the figure of two pegasi before they disappeared. Damn, he had not seen any air patrols during his recon mission.
“Amberleaf,” he whispered. He looked behind him and saw that she was gone. Panic gripped him. Where had she gone? He frantically searched the alleyway, and he was just about to give up when he heard a groan of pain. Two strangled pegasi dropped right in front of him, their armor hitting the ground with a heavy thump. Amberleaf flew down and smiled at Starlight’s awestruck expression. “Well, what do we have here?”
She immediately began to take the armor, undoing the straps from the corpses of the two guards. A moment later they were both wearing the green and gold armor, and Amberleaf had dumped the corpses in a trash can. Starlight looked himself over, but he realized some problems with the disguise. “Amberleaf, your horn. They can’t know that you’re an alicorn.”
She had been trying to force the helmet on, but this set of armor had been made for a pegasi pony, not for a unicorn, let along an alicorn. She looked up from her struggle, “Starlight, your eyes. They can’t know you’re a Nightborn.” Amberleaf tossed the helmet, and put her hoof up to her mouth, thinking. “Hmmm. Ah!” Her eyes lit up, and her horn started to glow. “Hold still, Starlight.” There was a tinkling sound and his vision grew blurry, as if there was a film over them. “There, your eyes look normal now.” Amberleaf sighed, and strained herself. Her horn began to fade, disappearing. “The illusion will last for two hours. We have until then to get things going.”
They trotted out from the alley, careful not to be seen yet. He held up his lance, and led Amberleaf to the armory. As they progressed, they trotted past two guards who gave them strange looks. Starlight’s gut clenched. “You two!” His breath caught in his throat. They slowly turned around, trying to mask their fear. The two large unicorn stallions approached, anger in their eyes. “You guys are pegasi, right?”
Starlight didn’t answer. This was obviously a senior officer, and it had been a rhetorical question; though Amberleaf didn’t pick up on that. “Yes, we are.”
The stallion flared. “I should have you flogged right now, but you two are ten minutes late for Commander Fireclaw’s strategy meeting which all pegasi are required to attend. This town is going to burn tonight, and it’s the pegasi’s job to make sure the blaze is controlled and that all the neighboring towns will be able to see the smoke.” The two stallions snorted with laughter. “When their friends come running to help, we’ll be waiting for them.” The two stallions shoved them forward and sent Amberleaf away with a firm smack on her flank. “Get going,” they barked.
He and Amberleaf rushed forward until they were out of sight of the two officers. Time was of the essence now, for this town would be nothing more than a burnt husk when the sun rose. They arrived at the armory, and saw that all the lights were turned off inside. Starlight tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. He forced the door and it gave in. They walked inside and gasped. The armor, the weapons, where were they?
The shelves had been emptied, the crates of weapons ransacked, the Darrowshire ponies had gotten here first. Amberleaf was frantically searching, but it was useless. How were they going to lead a rebellion without weapons? Amberleaf sighed, resting her head against the wall. Starlight looked around, and something caught his eye. From the window, he could see a line of storefronts with various goods set on display. His eyes drifted across, reading the names of the stores. He gasped. “There. Follow me, Amberleaf. Hope is not lost.”
Excitement bubbled up within him. He had never done this before, but the novelty of the plan was encouraging. Starlight led the intrigued Amberleaf to the store he wanted to show her. The sign hanging above the entrance read, “Mary’s Cleaning Supplies”.
Amberleaf was confused. “What? I don’t understand.”
Starlight forced the door and rushed inside. Yes, yes, here it was. He grabbed all the bleach, lye, and ammonia based cleaners as he could. Amberleaf stared at him, confused. He decided it was time to explain. A mischievous smile lit his face, “We don’t have any conventional weapons to use, so why not employ chemical warfare?”
Amberleaf was impressed. “I’ve never heard of this style of combat, but we don’t have any choice.” She smiled and shrugged. “Just tell me what to do.”
Starlight pushed about a dozen bottles of lye at her. “Take these, and you see those water sprayers over there?” he pointed at these large tanks he assumed were used for pressure washing, and fortunately they were made out of corrosion resistant metal and had large nozzles. “Pour all the lye into those tanks. Those will make some fine acid sprayers. Whoever messes with will get a face full of lye.”
She set to her task and Starlight began uncorking the bleach bottles. He poured the bleach into thin plastic bags, and did the same with the ammonia cleaners. He tied the bags together, so when they were thrown and hit something, the bags would rupture, causing the bleach and ammonia to mix, creating large amounts of toxic gases that would choke the enemy ponies very quickly. While he was at it, he also fashioned some Molotov cocktails out of some flasks of pure alcohol and a few rags.
He strapped on all the bleach bags, and Molotov cocktails onto his armor. Amberleaf gave him a gas mask. He helped Amberleaf wear the tanks full of lye on her back, and helped connect the pipe to the nozzle. She wore her own mask, and she giggled as they went outside. “Alright, what’s the plan?” she asked.
“Just spray anyone you see.”
She giggled and they made their way to the heart of the city. All the soldiers had gathered in the quadrangle, and Commander Fireclaw had emerged from his massive tent and was speaking to them. “Tonight, this town will burn!” All the soldiers roared, and Fireclaw loosed a massive jet of flame into the air. He spread his wings and was preparing for flight when Starlight and Amberleaf appeared. The Commander’s eyes caught them. “Who are these strange soldiers with strange armor?”
Starlight gave this as a response. He threw three Molotov cocktails in the air, and they all landed with a fiery explosion, immolating dozens of soldiers. The dragon roared, opened his mouth, and Starlight saw a great fire rising up in his throat. Amberleaf sent a jet of lye into his open mouth, and he choked. He spat out blood, and his soldiers rushed forward with lances pointed outward.
Starlight danced away from their weapons, and threw all his bleach bags in one go. They splattered on a soldier’s armor, and the stallion stared in confusion as the vapors spread throughout the quadrangle. There were cries of agony as the poison gas took its effect, killing whoever breathed it in. Amberleaf was sending jets of lye here and there, and Starlight saw one of her victims run out of the gas cloud with the skin dissolving from his face and bloody sores all over his exposed skin. Commander Fireclaw bellowed, and began flapping his wings. Massive buffets of air from his wings began to clear away the gas.
Starlight cursed, and threw another Molotov cocktail. The gas had been cleared away, but all the pony soldiers lay dead on the floor. Their corpses were covered with chemical burns, bloody sores, and were partially charred. Commander Fireclaw was outraged at the loss of his soldiers, and set his fiery gaze on him and Amberleaf. “I will paint these walls with your blood, and then I will set this whole town ablaze myself!” The dragon leapt forward, and Amberleaf screamed as the dragon spewed boiling blood all over the ground in front of her.
At least he couldn’t breathe fire anymore. They ran then, and the dragon gave pursuit. The ground trembled as the massive commander stomped after them, roaring in fury. Starlight wedged himself into an alley, and Amberleaf followed close behind. She screamed, and grabbed his tail. “Starlight, the tanks!”
He saw that the tanks had gotten stuck between the walls of the narrow alley. Starlight slid out his blade and cut the straps. The dragon roared and barreled into the alley. There was the crashing and splintering of wood, concrete, and steel overhead as Fireclaw ripped through the two apartment buildings. Starlight was buried underneath the downpour of debris, and he heard Amberleaf screaming as the dragon chased her down the street.
He clawed his way upward, emerging from underneath a large piece of roofing. Dozens of frightened gryphons appeared from all around as he dusted himself off. He immediately had an idea. “Follow me!” he commanded.
They obeyed without hesitation, and followed him to the quadrangle with all the dead soldiers. Starlight began picking the weapons from the corpses and distributed them among the gryphons. He had to hurry, Amberleaf was in danger. More gryphons were appearing as they realized that they had been liberated from the occupation. Liberated for the most part anyway, there was still a blood spewing fire dragon still running amok somewhere in the town….
He handed them all weapons and he instructed them to follow as he took off. “Thank you, stranger!” A gryphon cheered as they flew.
Starlight grinned. “It’s not over yet! We have to take down that dragon!” He pointed at Fireclaw, who now had Amberleaf cornered. “Fight now!” he commanded. “Fight for your town! Fight for your kingdom! FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM!”
Starlight whipped out both his blades with a flick of his hooves and they all roared as they dived down upon the dragon.
They had all swarmed the dragon, and Starlight had found a weak spot in Fireclaw’s armor that had allowed him to drive both his blades into the dragon’s spine. Fireclaw had then roared in agony as Starlight had twisted the blades in the wound, and finally severed his spinal cord. The dragon had immediately died then, collapsing to the ground with a tremendous thump.
The gryphons had cheered then, raising their weapons and praising Starlight. He ripped his blades out of the dragon’s spine, and raised his hoof in the air. There was a roar of approval as all the other gryphons raised their fists in the air. “Starlight Mirror and Amberleaf! Our beloved saviors!”
Amberleaf joined him as he hopped off the dragon’s corpse. “Whoa, what a night.”
Starlight smiled. “We make a great team.”
She blushed, and said. “We killed a commander. That’s a pretty high rank in the dragon army. Do you think they’ll try to get revenge now?”
Starlight waved his hoof, dismissing the idea. “They attacked us first, it was their fault. Anyway, we should check out his tent to see if he left behind anything interesting.”
They left the gryphons to sort themselves out, and went to Fireclaw’s tent in the quadrangle. They parted the large canvas flaps which were the doors and entered. The tent reeked of smoke, and was a big mess. A pile of gemstones and treasure lay in the corner alongside some messy sheets on the ground which he assumed was the dragon’s bed. There were tapestries of dragons fighting hanging from walls, and it was there he saw a large, oak desk with stacks of scrolls and papers on them. He gestured to Amberleaf who was pawing through the gems. “Hey, Amberleaf. I think I found something.”
Starlight looked over all the papers, but right in the center of the desk there was a large map that the commander had been looking at the night before. It was a large map of Equestria with arrows depicting troop movements, flags indicating the status of cities and other settlements, and figurines of ponies and dragons lay on top. Amberleaf looked over the map, her eyes went wide. “Starlight, these are battle plans!”
He nodded grimly. “Yes, definitely, but look at all those arrows. There are dates for future troop movements, along with numbers, troop types, and all sorts of useful information.”
Amberleaf was shaking. “There are invading dragon forces fanning out into three other countries besides the Gryphon Kingdom. Oh dear Goddess of the Moon, these plans are on a global scale! They are going to attack another country in my domain after they are done with the Gryphon Kingdom, and then they’re going to attack two countries in Spring’s domain!”
So many arrows. So many troop movements. These charted troop movements were not only for the dragons and the ponies of Darrowshire, but several other countries were running their own conquests alongside the dragons as well. In about three months, the entire world would be at war….
Amberleaf nudged Starlight. “Look.” She put her hoof over where they were on the map. “Here’s this town, Nora’s Crossing. Yesterday’s date shows the troops moving into the town, and according to this schedule, they were supposed to move out today and rendezvous with another attacking force up north.”
Starlight nodded. “So there’s another, much larger Darrowshire force waiting up north for Fireclaw’s forces.” Starlight touched a figurine of a catapult sitting on top of the larger Darrowshire force. “Apparently the main force is equipped with siege weaponry for taking down large fortifications, but where are they going next?” Starlight traced the arrow north. Once Fireclaw’s forces were done here and rejoined the main force, they would march north and….Oh no.
Amberleaf said it before he could. “They’re going to do a pincer attack on Avendale. The dragons will sweep down from the north, and the Darrowshire forces are going to simultaneously strike from the south. It’ll be a massacre.”
Starlight was overwhelmed. Celestia would not allow the dragons to attack Avendale, would she? He shook his head, he could not rely on Celestia for anything. When Avendale fell, there would be a chain reaction rippling across Equestria. Other countries would initiate their own invasions, military alliances would come into play then and more countries would be drug into the conflict as they were obligated to defend each other….This destructive chain would all start with the conquering of Avendale in four days.
Amberleaf looked at Starlight with determination. “We have to stop this. The siege is scheduled to begin in four days, and it’ll be only a matter of a few hours before the walls come tumbling down. We have to warn Avendale of what is going to happen, and I, Amberleaf Priyya, Keeper of Autumn, will broker a peace process. With the news of Snowhoof’s mild winters, everyone should calm down.” Amberleaf looked at Starlight uncertainly. “Right? They should calm down, because Snowhoof promised….”
She trailed off seeing the hopeless look on his face. Starlight honestly didn’t know what would happen, but he’d be damned if he was just going to sit down and do nothing about it. “We have to get all the alicorns. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, all the seasonal alicorns and we have to get as many world leaders to band together to stop this.”
Amberleaf nodded. “Hopefully they’ll be able to put aside their political views for the greater good. Knowing Summer, I doubt that’s going to happen.”
Starlight shook his head. “We still have to try, even though our chances are slim. We need a few volunteers from the gryphons to be messengers for us.”
“Right!” Amberleaf said. “We need to tell them that there is an emergency meeting in Avendale regarding Snowhoof. That’ll get their attention, and all that royalty in the Gryphon capital will stall the siege!”
Excellent. Perhaps there was still a good chance at peace. Amberleaf went outside and gathered the fastest gryphons in Nora’s Crossing to be messengers for them. Every international power, royal, and seasonal alicorn would be getting a message about an emergency meeting in Avendale.
Amberleaf and Starlight signed their names on the messages and sent the gryphons off. Now, they needed to get themselves to Avendale to warn the gryphon king about the impending siege. Starlight had Commander Fireclaw’s battle plans neatly folded and hidden away in his armor to show to the king.
After devouring a quick meal with Amberleaf, they were on their way. Starlight was exhausted from the lack of sleep, but there was no time to rest. They flew over the rolling green hills as noon drew closer, and Starlight couldn’t help but notice at how cold it had gotten. He shivered and they continued flying until they could see the high, stone brick walls of Avendale. A patrol of gryphons met them, crowding around them. “Welcome, High General Starlight Mirror; Keeper of Autumn, Amberleaf Priyya. What brings you two to Avendale?”
Starlight didn’t waste his time with pleasantries. “Take us to King Lightheart, it’s urgent.”
***
They were taken right to the palace in the heart of the city. The gryphon guards formed an orderly formation around Starlight and Amberleaf. The other gryphon civilians stared at them as their convoy passed. There was an unusual hush that had fallen over the city, and Starlight couldn’t help but notice all the abandoned stores and houses. He also saw soldiers leading large groups of gryphon refugees through the city. Amberleaf saw them too. “They look so sad, Starlight.” She was right. Their faces were downcast and miserable, their eyes sunken in from tears and exhaustion. They had fled from their homes in hopes of finding safety in the refugee camps in the south of the kingdom. Amberleaf sighed. “It was prudent of King Lightheart to evacuate the towns near the dragon-gryphon border. Hopefully that’ll minimize civilian casualties.”
Amberleaf said that last part with a bit of optimism, but Starlight knew that there would be heavy civilian casualties regardless of what happened. It was just a matter of when. So many lives depended on this meeting of world leaders. He prayed to Luna, that everything would be alright.
The gryphon guards lowered the drawbridge and several portcullises leading into the palace, and finally they arrived at the grand entrance of the palace itself. They were led inside, and went down a vast hallway lined with ivory balustrades, grand tapestries hanging from the ceiling, and statues of gryphons in armor posed heroically. The azure carpets dulled the sound of his sabatons, and he was grateful for that.
At the end of the hallway, there was a large set of double doors that led into the throne room itself. One of the gryphon guards cleared his throat and approached Starlight and Amberleaf. “Ahem, King Lightheart and his generals are in a meeting at the moment.”
Starlight grinned. “Excellent, then we will meet all of them.”
That was not the answer the gryphon was expecting, but the guards opened the doors anyway. Starlight and Amberleaf trotted in, and saw King Lightheart and his four generals planning a defensive strategy on a large table that had a 3-D geographic map integrated into it. They all looked up from it when the guards announced their presence. “Your Highness, High General Starlight and the Keeper of Autumn.”
The King looked at them with his grave, brown eyes. “What brings Luna’s champion here?” The king’s eyes drifted to Amberleaf. “Oh, and a seasonal alicorn as well.” The king and his generals approached them. “I hope you have brought good news, I could really use some at the moment.”
Starlight pulled out Fireclaw’s battle plans from his armor. He unfolded it and set it down on the table. The king and his generals looked the plans over and their faces became lit with horror as they read. They looked up at Starlight, demanding an explanation.
Starlight had explained everything to them: Snowhoof’s promise of a mild winter, his encounter with the Darrowshire ponies in Nora’s Crossing, and the gathering of international powers in Avendale to discuss the preservation of peace.
When Starlight was done explaining, the generals were in awe. King Lightheart swept Starlight into his embrace. “Thank you, Mirror. You liberated one of my settlements from occupation, and you have brought news that could save my kingdom. For that, I am in your debt.”
The king released Starlight from his embrace, and one of the king’s generals spoke. “Thank the stars that Snowhoof has continued the blessing of mild winters. Many of our refugee camps have been set up in the evergreen forest, and I feared that they might freeze there as winter picks up pace.”
King Lightheart nodded. “That’s why we equipped the shelters in the refugee camps with the finest heating systems, but hopefully with this meeting, things can go back to the way they were and all the refugees can return home.” The gryphon king looked at Starlight with gratitude again. “This is the most hope for the future I’ve had since the threat of war first cast its dark shadow over my kingdom.”
Amberleaf smiled. “We were glad to help. Hopefully everything will turn out fine.”
The generals all nodded optimistically, but Starlight was still wary. “What will you do if these talks don’t work out? How will you protect this city from the pincer attack?”
King Lightheart smiled. “Generals, send our reserve troops to deal with the Darrowshire force down south. Destroy their siege machines and their assault will be crippled. Tell our soldiers up north to be ready for anything, and continue evacuations to the southern refugee camps.”
The generals nodded and left the room, moving to fulfill their tasks. King Lightheart sighed. “Excuse me now. I have to make this city presentable for the royal visit. Hosting such a grand affair will take planning.”
***
Starlight and Amberleaf had been given adjacent rooms in the palace to stay in, and as soon as he got to his room, he took a hot shower and plunked himself down on the bed and slept. Two days passed as they rested, and already figures so many figures of note had arrived. The President of the Darrowshire Confederacy, the Chieftain of the Buffalo tribes, and many others had taken up residence in the palace and the surrounding hotels. He wondered when Luna and Celestia would arrive, it was critical that they both be in attendance.
Starlight had his armor shined and polished, his mane rubbed with special scented oils, and his fur neatly groomed. He had to look his absolute best for the grand meeting tonight.
He wandered into the palace courtyard, and it was even colder than it had been yesterday. An icy wind cut through him and he shivered. He looked over to the stone pathway cutting right through the courtyard. Makeshift fences had been erected at the edges of the path, and a luxurious red carpet had been rolled out. A crowd was already beginning to form, ponies and gryphons anticipating Celestia’s arrival. Something cold touched his nose. He looked up and saw flurries falling around him. What? Snow so early in the winter?
There was shouting and Starlight looked to see Celestia’s carriage descending upon the courtyard. Those gryphon messengers had proved very reliable, he had to reward them somehow when this was all over.
The carriage stopped in front of the red carpet and everyone was cheering. The door opened and Celestia stepped out, her translucent rainbow mane flowing in the breeze. She trotted across the red carpet, surrounded by her bodyguards. Starlight sighed in relief as the princess disappeared inside the side entrance of the palace. There was a large shadow overhead and Starlight reflexively ducked for cover. A massive black dragon with a pony rider descended on the red carpet. It was the ruler of the fire dragons, Emperor Raelas.
The dragon emperor landed, and the pony rider hopped of his back and took off his helmet. Fiery orange eyes with a scarlet mane, the Keeper of Summer had succeeded in making a flashy entrance. The crowd remained silent as Emperor Raelas and Brightmane Verán walked side by side, a smirk on both of their faces.
Starlight decided it was time for him to go to the large council room where all the leaders would congregate. Hopefully he could stand with Luna when she arrived. He felt nervous that she wasn’t here yet. She had been in pretty bad shape when he had left her at Iceheart Citadel.
Starlight saw Amberleaf talking with a little colt. He stared at her for a moment. Amberleaf was dressed beautifully, a blue ribbon in her hazelnut mane and a simple earth colored bodice that complemented her beige pelt nicely. He joined her, and her hazel eyes twinkled at the sight of him. “You look handsome, Starlight.”
“As do you,” he replied. Starlight looked ahead at the large doors leading into the council room. Already the seats were filling up, and he decided it was time to take their own place beside Luna’s throne. “Let’s go, Amberleaf.”
Amberleaf nodded, but stopped. Her lips curled up in disgust and she pointed with her hoof. “Look at him,” she said, pointing at the Keeper of Summer. Brightmane was strutting towards the entrance of the council room with Lilyheart Alandra, the Keeper of Spring, in tow. Amberleaf snorted. “He’s so cocky and arrogant. He’s a jerk, yet Lilyheart fawns over him. Not to mention ever mare that crosses paths with him.”
Starlight watched Brightmane and Lilyheart enter, and soon they also entered the council room. As soon as Starlight entered, he could feel the tension in the air. It hung in the air like smoke, and Starlight felt as if he was going to choke.
The room was set up in a circular fashion with an empty spot in the middle. It looked sort of like an arena. At the end of the room, there were two thrones for Luna and Celestia. The one, empty throne burned at Starlight’s mind. Luna was still not here, and he began to get worried.
Everyone else had taken note of Luna’s empty throne and started whispering amongst themselves. Starlight looked behind him and saw the last of the leaders take their seats. The gryphon guards began closing the large doors, and Starlight wanted to protest, but said nothing. The doors slammed shut, and Starlight felt extremely exposed standing beside the empty throne with Amberleaf.
Amberleaf shot him a worried look, and Starlight shrugged. Celestia looked concerned as well, but continued anyway. She trotted to the center of the room, and cleared her throat. “Esteemed world leaders, I wish to begin this meeting on a positive tone with this news: Snowhoof has promised mild winters for the foreseeable future. With this news, food prices should go back down and these silly resource struggles should be put to rest.”
There was a loud snort of laughter from very close to him. He looked across Amberleaf and saw that it had been Brightmane who had laughed. The Keeper of Summer tossed his mane and spoke. “How do we know if we can even trust what Snowhoof is saying? He aided Luna in the attempt to dethrone you.” There was a murmur of consensus among the world leaders. Brightmane smiled and his tone became patronizing. “It warms my heart that you are so trusting of Snowhoof’s peaceful gesture, but let’s be realistic.”
Starlight wanted to trot over there and punch him. Celestia shook her head in response. “No, Snowhoof was not involved in the rebellion. Luna acted alone in her attempt to kill me.”
“Hmmm, really?” Brightmane said, his voice sarcastic. “Speaking of Luna, where is she?” The empty throne beside him pricked at Starlight. “Snowhoof is absent as well. Why are they not here?” There was another, stronger murmur of consensus and Celestia looked dazed. Brightmane continued. “If Snowhoof really wants to redeem himself and promise us peace, why isn’t he here in person?”
Celestia glared at Brightmane. “What are you implying?”
“I’m implying what’s on everyone’s mind.” Brightmane stated. “We don’t believe that Snowhoof can be trusted. It wouldn’t surprise me if he wants revenge for his imprisonment, I know I certainly would. No offense my queen, but we don’t trust Luna either.”
“Excuse me? You can trust Luna, she has been redeemed.” Celestia flared.
This time, Emperor Raelas spoke from his dais. “How do you know what lies in her heart? It’s been a thousand years since you last saw her,” the dragon rumbled. “You didn’t see the betrayal coming last time either.” The dragon looked around the room. “Were there any witnesses to Snowhoof’s promise who aren’t loyal to Luna?”
Starlight looked at Amberleaf. Yes, there had been many other witnesses at the transition ritual. Many figures of note had been present at the historic event. Starlight looked around the room and spotted the empty chairs where they were supposed to be sitting. Starlight was baffled. Where were they? There had been dozens of them, and they were all missing.
The dragon saw the panicked look on Starlight’s face and grinned. Starlight immediately assumed a stoic expression, but it was too late. The dragon looked around the room and noted the empty chairs. “It appears that all the other witnesses to Snowhoof’s promise aren’t here.” The dragon put a claw on his chin and looked upward. “I wonder why not?”
There were murmurs of suspicion all around, and the president of Darrowshire spoke out. “For all we know, Snowhoof could have declared war on all of us at the transition ritual and Luna is trying to cover it up!”
The murmurs solidified into cries of outrage. Celestia raised her hoof, desperately trying to calm everyone down. “Please, order! I sent my own captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, to the ritual!”
Amberleaf aided the queen. “Yes, I sent a gryphon messenger there as well to inform Luna of this meeting.”
Brightmane looked around the room. “If what you say is true, my queen, and I’m sure you’re telling the truth, then where is Shining Armor?” Brightmane looked over at Amberleaf. “Where is your so-called messenger?”
Amberleaf was speechless. Princess Cadence cried out from the crowd. “Oh my stars! You’re right, my husband should have returned by now!” She looked at Celestia. “Where is he? You sent him to Iceheart Citadel, has he reported back to you? Have you heard anything at all since the ritual took place?”
Celestia looked around nervously. “No, I have not.”
Princess Cadence was panicked. “Has anyone heard anything from the other guests attending the ritual?” Everyone shook their heads. Starlight could not understand what was going on here. Everything had been fine when he and Amberleaf had left the citadel, but they had been the first to leave while everyone was still preparing to depart. Princess Cadence looked like she was about to cry. One of Celestia’s guards spoke up. “My princess, we’ve lost all contact with Iceheart Citadel.”
A tense silence had fallen over the room, and everyone was staring at Celestia. The doors of the council room burst open and one of King Lightheart’s generals appeared, looking panicked. “My king! The refugee camps in the evergreen forest, all communications from there have ceased entirely! No one is picking up on the other end!”
King Lightheart was shocked. “Camp Alpha, Beta, and Charlie…nothing from all three?”
The general shook his head. “It’s all gone silent, sire.”
What in Equestria is going on!? Amberleaf flashed Starlight a terrified look, even Brightmane looked unsettled. The stunned silence broke, and someone shouted. “Oh, bloody hell! Snowhoof is coming for revenge!”
Everyone was terrified and began shouting at one another. Starlight looked down at the ground, trying to understand. Snowhoof had indeed looked unstable, had he…had he lied to us all? Celestia stomped her hoof on the ground, shattering the flooring. “Silence, all of you! The point of today’s meeting was to ensure that the peace is preserved in the face of this potential crisis!”
Everyone grew still for a second. Then somepony somewhere cried out. “I declare war on the Crystal Kingdom! I have to get food for my people before the new Ice Age starts!”
Celestia stomped her hoof again. “I forbid you from declaring war! Let’s not make foolish decisions under what is only speculation.”
Emperor Raelas shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t know, Celestia. The evidence is pretty compelling.” Everyone began talking frantically, desperation in their voices.
Starlight watched as all semblance of order deteriorated. Celestia tried to calm them down, but they were no longer listening. The president of Darrowshire began leaving, presumably rushing back to her home country to start wars with her neighbors.
Other people began to leave, and Amberleaf grabbed Starlight. “We have to stop these people from leaving! As soon as they’re gone, the siege on Avendale will begin and we will be standing in the dawn of a new world war!”
Starlight and Amberleaf rushed over to Celestia. He hastily bowed and spoke to her. She looked crestfallen and was watching everyone leave. “My queen!” he shouted above the commotion. Celestia looked down at him, tears in her eyes. Starlight’s words died in his mouth.
Celestia sobbed. “I’m such an incapable ruler. I should have seen the hate, the animosity building up between these countries. Now instead of working together to survive, they are all fighting one another.” A tear streaked down her face and landed on the floor. “I have failed, and the siege on Avendale will begin as the last guest leaves.” She looked down, sobbing. “And perhaps my own sister has betrayed me again.”
Starlight felt a rush of determination. “Look, we don’t even know if Snowhoof and Luna have betrayed you or not. All I know is that the dragons will destroy Avendale, and then war will break out everywhere as others will be encouraged by the dragons’ victory.” A desperate plan formed in his mind. “Celestia, I need you to stall these people. Prevent them from leaving and keep the siege from happening as long as possible. Amberleaf and I will go investigate, and bring Luna and Snowhoof back here as soon as possible. I promise.”
Celestia turned away, looking hopeless and uncertain. Starlight took her hoof in his. “Look, Celestia.” She turned back around and he looked into her eyes. “You have to believe not only in your sister, but in yourself as well. You are a great ruler, everyone is just scared and not thinking rationally.”
Amberleaf nodded. “The peace must be preserved at all cost. More people will die from war, than the famine they fear will happen.”
Celestia looked back up, hope being rekindled in her lilac eyes. “Yes, you’re right. The peace must be preserved.” She beckoned two of her personal bodyguards over to her. “Here, these are two of my finest warriors. They will aid you in your search for Luna and Snowhoof.” The two warriors, one mare and one stallion, bowed before them. Celestia looked around, the stands now almost empty. “Go now. I will try my best to hold everyone here for as long as I can, but you must hurry! Find and bring my sister here and let these foolish people know that Snowhoof was telling the truth and that there will be no Ice Age, famine, or betrayal. Go! The fate of the world depends on you two!”
They rushed outside, and as the doors were flung open they all were blinded by the whiteness. “What the hell?!” the stallion knight yelled.
Amberleaf, Starlight, and Celestia’s two champions stood transfixed. A light blanket, perhaps three or four inches of snow had covered everything. The snow was still falling in thick heavy clumps, and Starlight shivered as they were blasted with icy wind. Amberleaf spoke in awe. “So, it begins.” Amberleaf looked over at the mare and stallion that were sent by Celestia to accompany them. “You two, who are you two?” she asked, and they tore their eyes away from the snowfall and looked at Amberleaf. "What are your names?”
The stallion spoke first. “I am Maelstrom,” he pointed at the other mare. “That is Callista.”
Callista stepped forward. “We are Celestia’s champions, and we’re always together.” She gestured to the wedding band around her hoof. “We’re married.”
Maelstrom held his wife’s hoof, their wedding bands gleaming in the white light. He grinned, pride sparking in his eyes. “We are known as the twin terrors in battle, the most kick-ass couple in all of Equestria.”
The wind howled especially loud, and Starlight’s face was blasted with icy powder. He shivered. “The storm is intensifying. We must make haste.”
They all nodded, and ran outside. Starlight was buffeted by the wind, the freezing snow spraying onto his hooves and torso as they dashed though the courtyard. All four of them spread their wings, preparing for flight.
There was a blast of heat and a wall of fire blazed in front of them. Callista screamed, narrowly avoiding the flame. Starlight crashed to the ground, sticking his face in the snow to cool the burn on his snout. He raised his head, and saw the flame disappear and Brightmane was standing there, smirking. “Where do you four think you’re going?” Two dragons who had breathed the wall of flame stood at his side. “Trying to redeem those traitors, Luna and Snowhoof?”
“Piss off, Brightmane.” Maelstrom hissed. “Get out of our way.”
“Oh-ho,” Brightmane laughed. “I like you, but too bad I’m going to have to burn all of you.”
Amberleaf stepped forward. “Why? What are you up to, Brightmane?”
The Keeper of Summer laughed, and the dragons prepared to fight them. “Well, it’s obvious. Snowhoof has given us the perfect excuse to wage war on one another, and I’ve been fueling the flames of this conflict. Because when all the wars, bloodshed, and conquests are over, the races of my domain will benefit the most from the conflict.” The dragons grinned and roared, and Brightmane gave them a wolfish grin. “As the dragons and all my other races expand their territories, I too, will be able to expand my seasonal boundary. Summer will reign supreme, and I will be the most powerful alicorn.”
Amberleaf grunted in anger. “You are not taking any of my territory, and you will not kill any more of my people. Not if I can help it.”
“Oh, look at little Amberleaf being so brave.” Brightmane scoffed. “Resistance is futile. Soon, the races of your season and Lilyheart’s season will be replaced by the races of Summer, and killing Snowhoof will be easy then. Armies of dragons will descend upon his territory, and as the Keeper of Winter takes his last breath, it’ll be eternal summer! I will have year-round control of the climate of Equestria!”
“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” Maelstrom whispered to Callista.
Brightmane and his dragons stepped forward. “Prepare to fight!”
The dragons charged Starlight at the same time, and he barely managed to avoid their claws. There was a howl from behind them and a dozen of gryphon soldiers swarmed the dragons and Brightmane. King Lightheart rushed in front of them and stared at them. “You guys have to go! Now! You’re running out of time!”
Starlight nodded. They spread their wings and took off, and he saw Lightheart join the fight. Brightmane and the dragons were howling in frustration as the gryphons slashed at them. The sound of the battle faded away as they sped away. All Starlight could hear now was the howling of the wind. The air currents were turbulent and ice lashed his face. The weather is getting worse as we go south, Starlight thought. It’s true. Snowhoof has betrayed us.
Starlight wondered about Luna. No, she would never do this. He knew Luna, she had been redeemed. Starlight shivered. What has Snowhoof done to Luna and the other guests at Iceheart Citadel?
***
They had been flying for several hours, their progress hindered by the powerful winds. The gusts tossed them around, whipping them back and forth. Through his struggle, he heard a sound. It was the howl of the wind, but it seemed shriller and steadier as if it was coming from a single source instead of all around him.
He ignored it in his exhaustion. It was becoming too difficult to fly, and all he could see up here was white. Every once in a while he caught the flash of Callista’s gray tail, the sound of Amberleaf struggling, and a muffled curse from Maelstrom.
There was another shrill howl of the wind, but this time it hurt his ears. Was it getting closer? What’s going on? Starlight blinked and stared at the horizon. He could see faint lights scattered on the ground…The gryphon refugee camps! They could take shelter there!
He heard Amberleaf scream from somewhere in front of him, and the sound of Callista and Maelstrom shouting. What happened? Starlight frantically thought. Everything grew still then. The wind stopped and Starlight could see the world around him. A spectral pegasi with glowing blue eyes appeared before him. It was about the size of Celestia and was staring at them with its piercing eyes. A Tempest!
Amberleaf, Callista, and Maelstrom were nowhere to be seen. Starlight searched for them, but could not find them. He stared at the Tempest. “What have you done to them?!”
The Tempest continued to stare at Starlight with its baleful eyes. “Where are they?!” he demanded.
The Tempest screamed, and with a flourish of its wings there was such an intense blast of wind that Starlight was knocked out of the sky. His world spun out of control as he spiraled downward. The wind felt like whips on his back, beating him down with rapidly changing and powerful gusts, cutting him as the icy shards falling from the sky were blasted at him. He could hardly breathe, and flecks of his own blood sprayed his face and body.
Throughout, he could hear the scream of the Tempest. He hit the ground hard, his wings mangled and broken. The thick, five foot blanket of snow cushioned his fall, but the impact jarred him and he couldn’t move. His vision was fading, and he felt his warm blood trickling down his belly, mixing in with the snowy tomb around him.
He wanted to sleep, but he knew if he slept now, he would never wake up. The shrill scream of the Tempest was gone now, and he struggled to stand in the heavy snow. The cold seared at his exposed skin, and freezing the wound. Starlight was bleeding from the cuts he had received, some were deep where others were only scratches, and his wings looked like the tattered sails of an abandoned ship.
Where are my friends? Starlight desperately thought. He began trudging through the snow, the cold powder spilling over his head as he tunneled through. The gryphon camp had been ahead, he just had to get there before…
The spectral wolves appeared before him. They were here to claim him. To lull him to sleep as the cold numbed his body. Frostbites!
He fought through the snow. They ran alongside him, waiting for his body to drop below a certain temperature…He frantically struggled, his breath raggedy and the cold burning his lungs. One of the wolves leapt forward and bit his front hoof. He screamed as there was a spike of pain there, and then it suddenly went away. He looked at his hoof and saw that the tissue where the wolf had bitten him was dark gray and dead, frostbitten.
He struggled, but it was as if he was going through an endless sea of white. Each movement became more exhausting, and he screamed as another Frostbite bit his hindleg. They would bite his extremities first to immobilize him, and then finally they would bite his heart and kill him.
It would be a painless death once he reached a certain point. He would go completely numb, the nerves in his frostbitten limbs dead and unresponsive, so he would feel no pain…He would actually feel warm right before he died. It was a bit of mercy on the part of the Frostbites.
He didn't want to die. Yet his resolve to keep going began to fade as the wolves continued biting him, the frostbite spreading up his legs. Soon he would lose control of his legs….
His thoughts became exhausted and slow, and he stumbled. He could no longer feel any of his legs, and his world was a white blur. He saw a line of snow coated evergreen trees up ahead, and a cluster of lights. He would never get to that building.
He fell, the cold surrounding him as he lay there. The Frostbites stared at him as he felt a pleasurable warmth coursing through his veins. The wolves were drawing closer to him as his vision faded and went black.
***
“Starlight!” A mare’s voice screamed, but it felt so far. Starlight was too tired to answer her, and ignored her.
“Starlight! Wake up!” It was a different mare this time, but the voice was much sweeter and melodic…he wanted to know where such a beautiful voice was coming from. He opened his eyes, and saw a bright light. Was he dead?
He saw her figure then, and she spread her wings. An angel, how sweet.
Slowly, the figure became more defined and color began to appear. He moved and he heard water sloshing at the movement. “He’s waking up!” A stallion yelled. Maelstrom? Was he dead too?
His vision became clear and he realized that he was indeed alive. He was in a brightly lit room with medical equipment lying around everywhere. He had been submerged in boiling water, and he saw Amberleaf then. She smiled and spoke. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re awake!”
It had been her voice. She had been calling him. Starlight’s heart fluttered as she rubbed his hoof. It was back to its normal color and he could faintly feel her touch. She leaned in close and began to nuzzle him, singing softly to him.
“How did I get here?” he asked, his voice a soft whisper.
“You were at lying at the door of the building, almost dead.”
Starlight was confused. How had he got there? He remembered blacking out….
“Hey, look who finally decided to wake up!” He heard Maelstrom joke loudly. “I thought you might be giving us the cold shoulder, but I guess not!”
Callista groaned and put her hoof on her forehead. “If the frost didn’t kill him, your bad puns will.”
Amberleaf was still nuzzling him and she whispered in his ear. “I thought I had lost you….”
Starlight stared wide eyed at the Keeper of Autumn. When he thought of the alicorns, he thought them to be above this kind of love. Or perhaps he just wasn’t expecting such feelings from them. Starlight kissed Amberleaf on the cheek, and she blushed. Even though she was one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, she still had a heart capable of loving a mortal stallion like him.
Maelstrom appeared beside Amberleaf. “Do you two need a room?”
Starlight almost said “yes”, but he couldn’t get the words out. Amberleaf backed away from Starlight, and he groaned, wanting her to come back. Did he love her as well? How could he have not noticed his own feelings for her?
Callista sighed. “Guys, we have a problem. This is a refugee camp, and according to the log we found in the main office, there was supposed to be at least a thousand refugees here. But this place is empty.”
Amberleaf was concerned. “Are you sure they’re gone? Where could they be? They wouldn’t leave with a storm like this howling outside.”
Maelstrom nodded. “We found something, it turns out these gryphons have technologies that us ponies are unfamiliar with. In the main office, there are screens with what appears to be a live feed from security cameras all over the camp.”
Callista stared gravely at them. “The cameras have been recording, and we saw what happened to the refugees. You guys have to see this….”
Amberleaf helped Starlight out of the tub, careful not to agitate his wounded wings. Maelstrom and Callista had raced ahead, and he was glad they had, because he didn’t want them to see Amberleaf drying him off with a towel and helping him into his armor like he was crippled.
Starlight couldn’t stand unassisted, so he put a hoof on Amberleaf’s back and she helped him walk to the control room. “Thanks,” he gasped.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly.
They arrived at the control room, and Starlight gasped. He had never seen gryphon technology firsthand, but this was amazing. In a brightly lit, white room there were radars detecting weather patterns, computers analyzing meteorological data, large pressure and temperature gauges, and in the back of the room he saw Callista and Maelstrom standing before the surveillance system console.
Starlight let go of Amberleaf and he tried to walk on his own, but his legs buckled and she caught him. “I had to revive all your dead nerves after all the ice there melted, so you won’t be able to walk for at least another few hours,” she said.
He nodded, and they approached Maelstrom and Callista. Maelstrom was fiddling with the thermostat, while Callista was trying to work the system controls. Starlight looked up at the cluster of blank white screens. The system seems to be functioning properly. These were live security feeds from cameras all over the refugee camp, but why are they all white?
Maelstrom laughed. “Hey, you can control the temperatures of all the main rooms and hallways with this one interface! Central heating systems rock!”
Callista hit a button, and one of the screens lit up. The camera feed depicted four ponies standing before the security console. Starlight immediately recognized himself, and the other three. He turned around and saw the camera trained at them, hidden in the corner. Callista sighed in frustration. “I don’t get it, all the cameras are working but why is it all still white?”
Amberleaf nodded. “It appears that the refugee camp is a complex of buildings, and we just happen to be in the maintenance building. All the buildings in the camp are connected with these long access hallways.”
Starlight agreed. “The security feeds from our buildings appear to be the only ones working. Not even the hallway cameras are working.
Callista shook her head. “No, all of them are working. They’re all just…white.”
“What the hell?” Maelstrom said. “Look at this.” All four of them drew around the central temperature control interface. Maelstrom pointed at what appeared to be a map of the entire complex. “For each room, the system tells the current temperature and what the heating system has been tasked to change it to.” Maelstrom pointed. “Look at the temperature of this building, and compare it to that of all the other buildings.”
Starlight looked at their building’s internal temperature: 72 Fahrenheit. That seemed normal enough. Starlight looked at the temperatures of all the other buildings and gasped. -40 Fahrenheit for the Common Room, -47 for the Living Quarters, and all the other building were about the same. “Why are the other buildings so cold? Any gryphon would freeze to death in there without heavy winter clothing.”
Maelstrom nodded and Callista wandered back to the security console. “The set point for the heating system is at 80 Fahrenheit, so it’s working full blast. Why is it still so cold in there?”
Amberleaf nodded. “There’s no way someone could survive such cold temperatures for an extended period of time.”
“Guys…” Callista whispered. “You have to see this.”
They rushed back to the security console and saw that Callista was playing the recordings of the cameras. “Stop. Look here. That’s forty seven hours ago.”
Starlight watched the screens. All the cameras were normal, and were showing typical gryphon activities. Refugees were eating in the Common Room, sleeping in the Living Quarters, and a group of technicians were wandering about in the Maintenance Room, and the outdoor cameras showed that flurries were falling outside. Then it happened. Starlight gasped and pointed at the camera in the upper left hand corner, where a strange alicorn had appeared in the camp courtyard. “Look! Is that Snowhoof?”
Amberleaf nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. It’s the middle of the night, what is he doing out there?”
Maelstrom looked at the screen in disgust. “What a creeper. He’s just staring at the camera.”
Snowhoof stared at the camera for three hours, not moving at all. There was something about his eyes that unsettled Starlight. There was definitely something wrong with Snowhoof. Suddenly, Snowhoof’s horn began to glow, illuminating the dark courtyard with a stark blue light. An entity’s outline appeared, and slowly materialized as Snowhoof channeled energy into it. Then it fully solidified. Amberleaf gasped. “A Revenant! I’ve never seen such a big one before.”
The Revenant, a cyclone of freezing air with a helmet and breastplate, towered above the surrounding buildings. Snowhoof appeared to be commanding the Revenant, and a group of Tempests and Frostbites appeared beside the Revenant. Snowhoof disappeared, and he saw some gryphon security guards appear around the corner with flashlights. Amberleaf gasped as the Revenant sent an icy blast at the surprised guards, freezing them solid.
The Revenant turned around, and using its giant warhammer, swung at one of the Living Quarter buildings, and ripped the entire roof off the building. The security camera inside that building showed a sleeping gryphon family, and then the roof was ripped off and they all awoke, screaming and frightened. The Revenant could be seen staring down at the frightened gryphons, and it opened its mouth, sending a blast of ice, freezing all the gryphons solid. Starlight gasped. A few Tempests came in and then collected the frozen corpses, dragging them out.
The Revenant then went to the neighboring buildings, killing everyone inside, and Tempests dragged out their frozen corpses. Amberleaf stared in horror. “I’ve never seen such aggressive elementals.”
While the Revenant was going on its killing spree, a blizzard was brewing. The Revenant was the monstrous heart of the storm….
Callista sobbed as one of the screens showed a dozen children cowering in the corner and being frozen by the Revenant. “Why!? Why is it killing everyone and taking their corpses!?”
Maelstrom cursed. “Snowhoof controls the elementals! He did this, that bastard!”
Eventually, the Revenant had killed everyone in the camp and the Tempests had taken the bodies. The blizzard was in full blast now and snow was collecting inside the ruined buildings. Soon, the snow covered the cameras, and that explained the blank white screens.
All the screens went white, and they all stood back in horror. There was a silence that elapsed a few minutes before Callista spoke. “Snowhoof has gone insane.”
Amberleaf nodded. “He obliterated the camp without remorse….”
The dark realization dawned upon Starlight. “I think…” everyone looked at him. “I think it’s safe to assume that everyone who is south of this camp is dead.”
Callista was crying. “But, there were two other refugee camps about fifty miles from here….”
“They’re dead,” Starlight said. “All communications were lost with all of them at about the same time.” Starlight’s heart felt like a rock in his chest. “I also think it’s safe to assume that everyone who was at Iceheart Citadel….”
The word remained unspoken. Dead. Dead. Dead. No, no, could Luna have? He shook his head vigorously, not wanting to think of the possibility. He felt a warm hoof in his, and saw that Amberleaf was holding his hoof. What was going to happen now?
***
They all sat down in front of the security console in numb shock. Starlight had wandered over to the weather radar, and saw that the monster blizzard was spreading farther and farther. Equestria had never seen a storm like this before. Did Snowhoof want to kill everyone for punishing him unjustly?
Starlight shivered, and sat beside Maelstrom who was staring at the temperature gauge. Maelstrom looked at him. “Starlight, the outside temperature is has dropped ten degrees for the hour we’ve been in here.” The temperature gauge now read: -62 Fahrenheit. It dropped one more degree in the time Starlight had been watching. Starlight blinked and stared at the howling storm outside. Maelstrom sighed. “It’s too rough out there for flying, and too cold to even go outside.”
Starlight nodded. “We’re trapped here until the storm subsides.”
Starlight walked away and left Maelstrom to stare at the dropping temperature. He saw that Callista was eating a ration packet, and Amberleaf was sitting down, staring at the storm outside. It was getting chilly in the room, so he turned up the thermostat and sat next to Amberleaf. She looked up at him with sad eyes, and pulled him closer. “What are we going to do, Starlight?”
“There’s nothing we can do….”
There was a ringing sound. Starlight immediately stood up and everyone was looking around. There was another ringing sound. “Hello?” A voice said. “Camp Alpha, please report. This is Lewis from Avendale. Please report.”
Callista ran to where the voice was coming from and saw that it was coming from a speaker, with a cone shaped receiver next to it. She picked it up, and spoke. “Hello, this is Callista reporting from Camp Alpha.”
“Oh, thank the stars! Is Commander Starlight and Keeper Amberleaf there?”
Callista handed the phone to Starlight. “Hello, this is Commander Starlight Mirror.”
“I have some dire news. The siege on Avendale has begun!"
Starlight gasped. “Where is Queen Celestia?”
“She has donned her armor and is preparing for battle! She will be personally defending Avendale along with our own gryphons!”
Starlight sighed. The queen shouldn’t be putting herself in danger like this, but at least Avendale would be defended for the time being. Lewis’ voice came through the speaker again. “Commander Starlight, what is the status of the refugees?”
“Dead,” Starlight said. “Snowhoof sent a force of elementals to kill the refugees. In fact, this is the only building still standing.”
There was a pause on the other end. “That is…unfortunate. We are receiving reports of entire towns being emptied overnight, and all that is left is the frost when the sun rises again.”
They all looked at each other, and Starlight’s demeanor became grim. “We were wrong. Snowhoof has broken his promise and has declared war on the rest of the world. We fear that Shining Armor, Luna, and all the other guests of Iceheart Citadel are dead.”
“That is the least of our worries, we…bzzzz…can’t…bzzzz.” The transmission was breaking up. “Avendale…bzzzz…heavy snow…bzzzz…trade has been paralyzed…bzzzz…a blizzard unlike anything…bzzzzzzz…..”
The transmission went silent and all that could be heard was the static. Callista screamed and Starlight dropped the receiver. Amberleaf gasped and Starlight flipped around. Standing at the window and staring in with piercing blue eyes was a vicious looking Tempest. Starlight looked in horror as more Tempest eyes appeared all around them. Maelstrom cursed. “Blow me, you breezy bastards!”
The Tempests all shrieked and the glass began to vibrate and crack. “Oh shit!” Maelstrom cursed again and they all held their ears, and ducked for cover.
Her armor glowed as radiant as the sun, despite the overcast, stormy skies. She was the light in this cold world. She was Celestia, goddess of the sun, and she would shed light on this bleak situation.
It was dark outside, and streaks of fire descended upon Avendale. She could taste the acrid smoke mixed in with the cold snow, along with the dust of shattered buildings, and the fear of the civilians trapped inside the city’s walls. Celestia had failed to retain the world leaders in the city, and as soon as they left, the catapults were already at the Avendale’s walls.
“The audacity of these dragons!” she exclaimed. “How dare they attack this city against my wishes?”
Celestia was standing on top of the king’s palace, watching the battle going on at the wall. There was the rattling, popping sound as the flak cannons on the ramparts blasted shrapnel into the air.
King Lightheart joined her on the wall, his talons grappling with the icy domed roof. “Queen Celestia, our communications have confirmed that Starlight and Amberleaf have reached Camp Alpha. It is as bad as we feared.”
Celestia sighed. “We can’t worry about that now. We have to fend off Brightmane’s dragons and get these civilians out of harm’s way.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you let Brightmane escape.”
King Lightheart sighed. “He’s very powerful, my queen. He has two armies at his disposal as well. Thank goodness we have that huge wall….” There was a tremendous roar, and all the buildings in the city shook at its might. A huge dragon appeared in the distance. Emperor Raelas!
The massive black dragon barreled into the wall, and there was the sound of a mighty upheaval as the shattered remains of massive stone bricks rained down on the buildings adjacent to the wall. Screams and terrified shouts filled the air, the ramparts destroyed and the Darrowshire infantry fanning into the city. Raelas roared again, standing before the massive breach.
King Lightheart gasped. “The wall has been breached! We must act now!”
Celestia took off into the air, towards the breach. She muttered an incantation and her horn began to shoot bright sparks into the night sky, and they rained down on the ranks of approaching Darrowshire infantry. The streets were lit with explosions, and there were screams of agony along with enemy fire. Their unicorns were shooting lightning at her, but her shields absorbed any electricity that came towards her way.
She dodged as a giant, ignited boulder flew past her and crashed into the ground. Those catapults have to be dealt with. There was a giant wall of flame approaching her, and she gasped. She ducked for cover, but the flames washed over her shields, the heat making them glow and finally shattering them. She was forced to the ground, and saw Raelas approaching her. Behind the dragon were ranks of Darrowshire soldiers standing in the massive gap in the wall. Celestia looked around for the gryphons that were fighting in the frontlines, but there were none to be seen. They were probably fighting the dragon attack force, she thought. She would be getting no help from them.
Celestia confronted Raelas. She had been burned slightly from the wall of flame, but she was more than capable of fighting. The dragon grinned at her, and Celestia flared with anger. “Pull back your forces, and I will allow you to live.” There was a rumble of laughter from the ranks of Darrowshire soldiers. Emperor Raelas grinned, baring his fangs. “You were always full of yourself, Celestia. I’m taking this city for Brightmane. At least he is an effective leader.”
Celestia growled and charged the dragon. She lowered her horn and aimed a bolt of energy at his chest. Raelas dodged it, and swung his tail at her. It clipped her hooves and she stumbled. “You’re mine!” he roared.
He descended upon her, and she got herself out of the way right before he slammed his fists down onto the ground. He roared in frustration and shot a jet of flame at her. She lowered her horn and shot a beam of ice to counteract it. Her ice met his fire and there was an explosion. Celestia stood her ground, shielding her face. Out of the smoke, Raelas charged forward.
Celestia was caught off guard, and Raelas knocked her to the ground. Her head spun at the jarring impact, and Raelas hung over her as she lay dazed. “Time to die!” he raised his claws up, preparing to decapitate her. Celestia couldn’t see straight, but she saw something approaching on the horizon. It looked like a tidal wave, or an approaching sandstorm made of snow rather than sand. There was a flash of cold as the temperature dropped fifty degrees as the tidal wave of polar air washed over them. Her world became white as snow whirled around, and she heard Raelas howl in pain and his boiling blood splattered all over her.
Just as quickly as the blinding snow came, it was gone. A giant Revenant, standing higher than most of the buildings, had impaled Raelas on its sword.
Raelas groaned weakly, his blood pouring down on Celestia. She scrambled away, as the Revenant ripped out its sword, and Raelas collapsed, dead. The soldiers screamed in terror as the Revenant turned on them. It breathed a spray of freezing air over them, the sheer cold killing the ponies instantly.
The Revenant howled, and a pulse of paralyzing cold spread throughout the city. She saw dragons and gryphons being frozen in mid air, the streets covered in a sheet of ice, and the buildings entombed with ice.
Celestia gasped, the cold making her shiver. It was going to kill everyone in the city if she didn’t stop it! She gathered all the power of the sun in her horn, and blasted the Revenant. A golden beam of energy descended from the sky onto the Revenant. The Revenant shrieked, and there was a blast of air. Celestia opened her eyes and saw there was nothing left of the Revenant but a heap of molten armor and steam.
She shouted in exhausted triumph. “The city is safe!”
“No, it isn’t.” A voice growled.
She flipped around and saw him standing there. The Keeper of Winter stared at her sideways, some kind of sick joy on his face. Celestia stepped back, frightened. “Snowhoof.”
He smiled. “It’s nice seeing you again, Celestia. Too bad your sister can’t join us.”
Celestia growled. “What have you done to Luna!?”
Snowhoof ignored her, and his voice became soft and whimsical. “Oh, Celestia.” He turned his head sideways, staring at her like some awestruck child. “All those years ago, did you enjoy making me suffer?”
She remained quiet. Secretly, she had blamed Snowhoof for corrupting Luna. It wasn’t until recently she learned that Luna had acted independently. “I did what I had to do, but now I see that my actions were wrong.”
“I was in so much pain, Celestia. The only thing keeping me alive was the thought of seeing my lover again,” Snowhoof twitched. “But unfortunately, she couldn’t be at my Awakening.”
Celestia looked at all the frozen people all around her. “You have to stop this, Snowhoof. I’m sorry about what happened, but the past is the past!”
Snowhoof sighed, looking sorrowful. “I just wanted to say, that I…I forgive you, Celestia.”
Celestia blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I forgive you,” he said again. “I just hope you can forgive me as well for what I’m about to do to you.”
Snowhoof’s horn started to glow and before she could even react, the Tempests were upon her. They all began blasting her face with a steady stream of air, and she found herself unable to breathe. She choked, and blasted as many of them with her magic, but there were too many.
Her head spun from lack of oxygen, and she collapsed onto the ground. Snowhoof stood over her as her vision became blurry. “I’m so sorry, Celestia.” She choked, desperately trying to breathe in the blasting air. “You’ll be reunited with your sister soon.”
It was the last thing she heard before her world went dark.
The Tempests screamed, the glass cracking as they all joined in the horrible cacophony. Amberleaf’s horn started to glow, and she changed the chemical structure of the glass so it would not resonate with the Tempest’s shrieks. The glass stopped cracking, and the Tempests eventually stopped screaming.
Starlight uncovered his ears, and sighed in relief. Maelstrom laughed, and stuck out his tongue at the Tempests. “Ha ha, what you gonna do now!?”
Callista tackled Maelstrom. “No!” she hissed. “You’re not going to make them angry again!”
Amberleaf dashed towards Starlight. “Guys, we have to get out of here!”
Maelstrom nodded, standing up. “Yeah, but how? It’s -70 out there, we’ll freeze to death in minutes,” he shivered. “It’s already getting colder and colder in here.”
“Yeah, and that’s why our time is limited,” Starlight said and turned to Amberleaf. “Can you use some kind of spell to get us out of here?”
Amberleaf shook her head. “I tried a teleport spell before, but those elementals have created some kind of anti-magic field. It took all my power to fix that glass, teleporting four full grown ponies is out of the question.”
Starlight looked around the control room. “There has to be some gryphon technology here that can help us escape.”
There was a clank, and the vent started blowing out warm air, trying to raise the room’s temperature back to a normal level. Starlight saw the Tempests outside flinch, and stared in wonder at the vent on the roof. Could they detect the temperature of the air currents in here?
Starlight watched in mute horror as the Tempests raised their hooves, tracing the flow of the warm air back to its source. The Tempests were now all pointing at a building in the distance, and Starlight could faintly hear the hum of generators from there. What were they doing?
All the Tempests began to leave, heading towards the generator building. The realization struck him. “They’re going for the generators. The moment we lose power, the heating system will fail, and we’ll all freeze to death in a few hours.”
“We have to get out of here!” Callista yelled.
“Search the room!” Starlight commanded. “Anything that can help us!”
They all began looking. Starlight ripped through a pile of papers, yanking out the desk drawers, and finding nothing but meteorological tools. The lights went dark, and there was the humming sound of the power failing. Everything went dark, and a red pilot light flicked on. “Emergency power activated.” The temperature interface said.
Starlight could immediately feel the temperature dropping in the room. “We’re running out of time!” he yelled.
Starlight’s eyes caught the temperature gauge as he searched around. -90 Fahrenheit. How had it dropped so quickly?! Panic began enfolding him. He flipped over a desk, in frustration. He heard something tinkle then. Huh?
Something metal had made a jingling sound. Starlight moved the desk over a bit and found what appeared to be keys. There was a tag on them that read. “APC ignition.”
What was that? He picked them up and stared at them. Callista screamed and Starlight saw the giant hammer of a Revenant moving towards him from the window right in front of him. The hammer ripped through the glass, and he felt Amberleaf charge into him. She knocked him out of the way, and he saw a flash of light as she conjured a shield. The hammer shattered her shield, knocking her hard against the wall.
Starlight scrambled to his feet, and saw the Revenant raising its warhammer again. Amberleaf was cornered, her body streaked with blood, and her horn broken. Starlight charged forward to save her. The Revenant’s warhammer began to descend, and she weakly raised her hoof as to protect herself, her eyes lit with terror. She looked at him then, seeing him running towards her. “I love you,” she whispered before the hammer crashed down on her.
There was a splash of blood and gore, which immediately froze in midair. “Noooooo!” Starlight screamed, anguished tears in his eyes.
The Revenant raised his hammer again, the crushed remnants of Amberleaf stuck on the end. He felt a hoof grab him and pull him away before the hammer came crashing down again. “Get up!” Maelstrom cried. “We have to get out of here!”
Starlight felt as if his heart had shattered in his chest, and all the sharp, broken pieces were pricking his insides. He somehow found the will to stand back up and run. The three of them ran into the hallway, and the Revenant was outside again, following them as they made their way down the hallway.
The hammer came ripping through the walls in front of them, and they turned back around and ran the other way. Tears burned in Starlight’s eyes, and his entire body shuddered in grief. He didn’t care if he left this place alive or not, Amberleaf was dead and nothing mattered anymore.
They ran back into the control room and ripped through the doors of the hallway on the other end. They ran through and saw the Revenant appear again outside. They made it to the room on the other side before the entire hallway was wrecked by two Revenants. Callista slammed the steel door behind her, and in the dark red light, they appeared to have stumbled into a garage.
“Look!” Maelstrom yelled. There was a large, armor-clad, personnel carrier parked in the garage. It even had fancy looking snow treads, and a rapid-fire crossbow turret on top. They rushed to it, and Callista tried to open the door, but it was locked. Maelstrom joined her and tried to force the doors, but they wouldn’t open.
Starlight stared at them, completely numb with shock and grief. Maelstrom was banging on the windows, but being an armored vehicle, he couldn’t do it. Callista began to cry in desperation, desperately looking around for anything that could save them. Starlight realized that he still had these keys in his hoof. He stared at them. “APC ignition.”
“Armored Personnel Carrier,” he softly said to himself. He pressed one of the buttons on the keys and the vehicle beeped, and the doors automatically slid open. “Oh, cool,” he softly said to himself.
There was a terrible grating sound and white cracks appeared in the roof. A Revenant had ripped off the roof, and was staring down at them. Starlight’s preservation instincts kicked in and he ran to the APC, ripping the door open and jamming the key in the ignition. Maelstrom had pulled Callista in, and he slammed the doors shut.
Starlight floored the gas pedal and they jolted forward. They crashed through the steel garage doors, and began sailing across the snow. “Callista!” Starlight yelled. “You’re our navigator!”
She nodded. “Where are we going?”
“Just get us out of here!” Starlight yelled.
“Sounds like a plan to me!” Maelstrom agreed.
Starlight shouted as a giant spike of ice appeared in front of the APC, and he swerved out of the way. The snow treads hit the icy spike, and the entire vehicle tipped precariously on its side and fell back down with a thud. “What in Equestria….”
Another spike of ice appeared and he swerved out of the way. Callista looked out the rear window and gasped. “The Revenants! They’re following us, and there’s like three of them!”
Two ice spikes appeared in front of them at the same time, and he crashed through one, the windshield cracking and the engine threating to stall. “We can’t continue taking these hits from them!”
Maelstrom leapt up. “Leave them to me!” he opened the hatch on the roof and began climbing up.
“What are you doing!?” Callista yelled.
“Starlight drives, you navigate, and I’ll shoot!” Maelstrom said.
There was the sound of arrows being fired in rapid succession as Maelstrom spun around on the crossbow turret, shooting at the Revenants. “Eat it, bitches!”
Maelstrom was yelling above the turret fire, and Starlight dodged another ice spike. A Tempest appeared in front of them, but Maelstrom shot it down quickly. “Thanks!” Starlight yelled.
“No problem!” he replied.
“Change direction, head north now!” Callista ordered.
There was an earth shaking explosion, signifying the death of one of the Revenants. A bar of ice in front of them, and Starlight couldn’t avoid it. They crashed through it, and the jolt sent Maelstrom flying off the turret. He was hanging off the edge of the APC, still holding onto the mounted crossbow.
“Maelstrom!” Starlight yelled.
Maelstrom pulled himself back up and started shooting again. “Drive better, dammit!”
Starlight grinned, and they picked up speed. Maelstrom’s crossbow fire had been warding them off, and now the Revenants were falling behind. “We’re getting away! You can’t even see them anymore!” Callista cheered. “Now, where are we headed?”
“Canterlot,” Starlight growled. “Something needs to be done about that bastard, Snowhoof.”
If I see him, I will personally send him to hell. Starlight had been foolish to trust him, and now…now Amberleaf was dead. I will find you, and I will kill you Snowhoof for all the lives you’ve taken.
The sky was overcast, and rain was pouring down in heavy sheets over Canterlot. The rain was cold though, and it reminded Starlight that it would start snowing soon here too. He didn’t want to think of that. Things were bad enough as is.
The royal guard had lined up at the edge of the courtyard, and they raised their trumpets and began playing the funeral dirge. All the black-clad ponies bowed their heads in mourning. Starlight, Maelstrom, and Callista did the same.
Princess Candace and Twilight proceeded down the black carpeted aisle, carrying a portrait of Shining Armor as he had been in life. They carried the portrait up to an altar, where the flag of the Crystal Kingdom, his armor, and bouquets of flowers and candles had been set up.
As the princesses passed Starlight, he could tell that the streams of water running down their faces weren’t from the rain. Princess Candace set the portrait down among the roses, and lit a candle for her deceased husband. Princess Twilight did the same.
They remained frozen there for a while, their heads drooped and Starlight could hear Candace shuddering and sobbing. Starlight’s heart ached fiercely. Shining Armor had been a noble stallion, and no one had been even able to recover a body for the funeral. Shining Armor’s parents had been so grief stricken that they were now in the hospital under intensive care….
Starlight wanted to cry, but this was the third funeral he had attended today. He had already spent all his tears at Amberleaf’s funeral. Princess Candace began wailing, “Why!?” she screamed up at the stormy sky. “Why have you taken him from me!?”
Princess Twilight put a wing around Candace and everyone cast their eyes to the ground. Hours passed, and everyone had long departed. The gusting wind had blown out all the candles at the altar, but Candace and Twilight remained. Starlight decided that it was time to approach them.
Starlight trotted down the aisle and bowed down. “My dear princesses…It is time.”
Princess Candace lifted her hoof and touched her husband’s portrait. “Goodbye my love. Thank you for all the happy memories.”
Princess Twilight hugged Candace, and they drew apart after a few minutes. Twilight trotted away, and Starlight approached Candace. “My lady, we cannot be late.”
The princess sniffed and raised her head. “You’re right. I must be strong now. I must be strong for my people.”
They left the courtyard and Starlight trailed behind her. Soon they arrived at the arena, and Candance invited him to sit next to her throne. Callista and Maelstrom were already there, and Starlight looked at the crowd.
Seeing all these dragons here made his skin crawl, but it was necessary. A silver dragon with lilac eyes approached Candance, and Starlight felt the temptation to slip out his blades even though he knew this particular dragon was a friend. The dragon bowed, “My dear Candance, I am so sorry for your loss.” The dragon lifted himself up. “I, Vaelan, will promise to bring you victory today. When I fight in that arena, when I stand above the broken corpse of my enemy, I will pledge myself and the entire dragon nation to help you defeat Snowhoof.”
Princess Candance nodded. “Yes, Vaelan. I don’t like brutality, but this is how the dragons choose who is the alpha, and who gets to take the deceased alpha’s place. Since it is confirmed that Emperor Raelas is dead, it is imperative that you win and secure the aid of the dragons. Once your forces join ours, the other nations will be encouraged and will join as well.”
Vaelan nodded. “Yes, a very clever observation.” The dragon frowned and dropped his head. “If I fail, the other…” they all looked at Vaelan’s competition waiting for him in the ring, a large purple dragon. “If I fail, not only will I die, but everyone else and in time, the entire dragon race. If he haves his way, he will turn the denizens of the surrounding nations into a food source, and they’ll just ‘weather the storm’ that way. But someone who isn’t wrapped in his own selfish greed can see that there is no ‘weathering the storm’, the spring will never come as long as Snowhoof lives.”
Starlight nodded. The majority of dragons were supporting Vaelan’s competitor, Lord Arren, but if Vaelan won against him, the dragons would be forced to obey and would eventually see reason on their own. Then all the other nations would join the crusade against Snowhoof. But first, Vaelan had to win this fight.
Vaelan dipped his head one more time. “Wish me luck.” He turned away and left, joining his competitor in the dirt arena.
The dragons were roaring and stamping their feet, and Starlight felt nervous. The dragons faced each other, our silver dragon versus their purple. Vaelan had a good soul, and that was rare among dragons. Please win, Vaelan. Starlight looked at Candance. This world has already lost too many good souls. Celestia, Luna, Amberleaf, Shining Armor….
The dragons began circling one another, and the fight had officially begun. The winner takes the dragon throne, the loser dies and his cause is shamed. The purple dragon, Arren, leapt forward and Vaelan barely dodged the blow. Vaelan spun around, sweeping the ground with his heavy tail.
Starlight gasped as Arren easily caught Vaelan’s tail and pulled him back. Vaelan cried out as Arren sunk his claws into his spine, and the two dragons tumbled in the dirt, biting and clawing. Starlight saw crimson, lots of it, the dark red streaming down Vaelan’s silver scales. He was losing. Vaelan was losing.
Vaelan’s blows were becoming weaker, and Arren had him pinned beneath his massive body. Starlight couldn’t watch what happened next. According to tradition, the winner had to humiliate the loser before he died….Starlight remembered all too well what dragons in the past had done to humiliate the losers.
Arren had Vaelan pinned and instead of relieving the dragon of some of his anatomy as Starlight expected, Arren stuck out his thumb claws and drove them down Vaelan’s face. Vaelan stopped the claws before they descended into his eye sockets, and Vaelan’s hands shook as the claws slowly lowered down.
The dragons were roaring for Arren to finish the deed, and Candance looked away. Starlight could see Arren’s claws sinking into Vaelan’s eyes, and the silver dragon thrashed but it was futile.
In a moment, Arren had turned out Vaelan’s eyes. He saw Callista throw up all over the floor, and Starlight’s own stomach was churning. Blood flowing down Vaelan’s eyes like tears, he was still pinned. Arren raised his claws to finish the deed, when Vaelan blew a hot jet of flame onto Arren’s face.
Arren howled in pain, and Vaelan slid underneath Arren, gutting the purple dragon with long talons as he slid out. Arren cried out as his entrails slid out onto the dirt, and Vaelan blindly slashed at Arren’s hindquarters. Arren fell forward into the dirt, and Vaelan leapt onto his back and decapitated the dragon with a powerful bite.
Hot, steaming blood was soaking the dirt of the arena and he heard Maelstrom cheer. The dragons were in stunned silence, and then they erupted in applause. Vaelan was still hysterical, wandering around and bumping into things, blind. “On behalf of my people, I declare war on Snowhoof!” he announced. “The entire dragon race will no longer antagonize our neighbors, but will rain down our fiery wrath upon the Keeper of Winter.”
The dragons cheered, excited at the prospect of war. Princess Candance went down into the arena, avoiding the spots where the ground was particularly bloody. She kissed Vaelan, and led him out to get his wounds treated.
Starlight’s stomach was still churning, but now he could relax. Starlight saw a dozen or so emissaries dash out of the arena, on their way to tell their masters that Vaelan had won and the Crystal Empire and the Dragons of the Tropics had joined forces to fight Snowhoof’s reign of terror.
Starlight smiled. Vengeance comes on swift wings, Snowhoof.
***
After the news of Celestia’s taking had been confirmed, Princess Twilight was put in charge of caring for the refugees and managing food supplies. Princess Candance had volunteered to help fight alongside Starlight, Maelstrom, and Callista.
Starlight was optimistic. They now had two of the world’s strongest armies on their side. The remnants of the Gryphon Kingdom’s army had already joined Candance’s coalition, and others were flocking to join as well.
The others have come to their senses. They cannot stand alone, that is clear. It is decided here that the races of the world must fight back if they are to live. To fight, to bring back the spring, to kill the wintry tyrant that had taken so much from all of them. Even Brightmane had surrendered himself to Candance. Starlight saw looked out the window and saw flurries falling from the sky. Midwinter approaches, Snowhoof’s peak of power. They had to strike first, before the equatorial regions were compromised as well. Otherwise they were all dead. Princess Candance was at his door, dressed in armor. Starlight followed her, as the other crystal war generals headed down to the war room. There was planning to do.
“I was foolish,” Brightmane said. “I thought…I thought everyone would be much happier if we had warm, sunny weather year round.” He lowered his head. “But although summer is enjoyable, it has its place in the natural cycle, and all the seasons are just as necessary as summer is.” He bowed before Princess Candance. “I saw Snowhoof kill Emperor Raelas with such ease. It was a reality check for me, and I realized how unrealistic my ambitions were with Snowhoof around. He has to go.”
Princess Candance nodded. “Rise. You’re forgiven, but you have to pledge your full cooperation.”
Brightmane agreed, and took his place at Vaelan’s feet. All the generals returned to the battle map. Candace slammed her hoof down on the map. “To Frostcrown Fortress, the icy heart of Snowhoof’s domain!”
Starlight was once feeling optimistic, now not so much. Frostrcrown Fortress, Snowhoof’s residency, was about fifty miles away from the South Pole. Starlight shook his head. “My princess, an attack on Frostcrown Fortress cannot be carried out by conventional means.” She stared at him. “When I was at Camp Alpha, the northernmost gryphon refugee camp, the weather conditions were so terrible that flight was impossible, travel by ground was also impossible, and the only way we got out was on a military vehicle with specialized snow treads.”
Brightmane agreed. “The question is: how do we get our troops and siege devices to Frostcrown?”
Princess Candace looked at King Lightheart at the edge of the table. “Lightheart, do you have any more of those APC’s?”
“That was an experimental vehicle,” Lightheart said. “We had a few others at the refugee camps and at Avendale, but they are inaccessible at the moment.”
Starlight stared down at the map of Equestria. There was a large white string that signified winter’s advance, and Avendale was at least a hundred miles behind enemy lines. Emperor Vaelan, still partially blind, spoke. “My dear princess, my soldiers can provide transportation. We are much better fliers thanks to our bigger and more durable wings. We are also more resistant to the cold. Each dragon can carry a small platoon of soldiers, but they will require a heat preserving enchantment so the ponies don’t freeze to death.”
Princess Candace nodded. “That can be arranged, but we will still be at a severe disadvantage with all those elementals being strengthened by the cold weather. They will be stronger now with midwinter approaching, and I still have doubts about how well your dragons can handle a Tempest, or even a group of them.”
Emperor Vaelan shrugged. “I have never encountered a Tempest, so I cannot foretell whether my soldiers will be able to handle it or not. But I do know we can withstand bad weather.”
Those elementals have to be dealt with, or at least weakened somehow. Maelstrom spoke. “The elementals grow stronger the colder it is. The advance of winter towards us is dictated by how quickly Tempests can cool the air, and once the temperature is below a certain threshold, Revenants and Frostbites can enter. We need to do something to make the weather warmer.”
“But how?” Brightmane said. “Snowhoof has full control over the weather. We seasonal alicorns can’t do anything. Even we are susceptible to winter,” Brightmane stared at his hooves. “I had no idea a seasonal alicorn could be killed until I heard of Amberleaf’s death. I honestly thought we were invincible, it was one of the reasons I decided to join you guys.”
Emperor Vaelan nodded. “It’s about time you learned some humility, Brightmane. But still, how do we make it warmer? Could princess Twilight conjure some kind of warming spell? Maybe increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to create insulation for the planet? You know, like the greenhouse effect?”
“No,” Candace said. “The cure is worse than the disease. It may even strengthen winter, granting Snowhoof access to increased moisture in the air. It may backfire on us.”
Everyone went quiet, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Alandra. That’s it. Starlight cleared his throat and everybody looked at him. “I have an idea, but it will involve treachery and a lot of risk on the part of the seasonal alicorns.”
“Go ahead,” Candace urged.
“Well, I learned a lot about the transition ritual when I was at Iceheart Citadel. When it comes time for winter to end, Snowhoof has to submit himself before Spring’s bed. The moment they pull away from each other, control of Equrstria’s weather is surrendered to the other pony.”
Princess Candace nodded. “Yes, I think I understand. We need Snowhoof and Alandra to get in bed somehow.” Alandra’s eyes went wide with shock. “But that’s impossible,” she continued. “Snowhoof will know it’s a trap and we’ll lose another seasonal alicorn.”
“Not exactly,” Starlight looked at Alandra. “It turns out that Snowhoof and Alandra were once lovers.” Everyone at the table gasped. “And at the transition ritual at Iceheart Citadel, it was apparent that Snowhoof still loves her.” Starlight looked at Alandra. “He still wants to marry you. Even though you betrayed him, he still loves you with all his heart.”
Lightheart grinned ferociously. “We get Alandra to tell him that she still loves him, and wants to be with him. He’ll take her in, and when he takes her to his bed….”
Princess Candance laughed cruelly. “She’ll seduce him, and the moment he finishes, she’ll be the more powerful one and can rip that icy heart out of his chest.” Candace laughed. “He’ll be at her mercy! The winter will end, and I can torture him to my heart’s content.” Candace smiled at everyone at the table. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everybody gets a turn before I end his miserable life.”
Starlight wondered out loud. “But can it be done? Can winter be ended prematurely?”
Candace shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter. She’ll pretend to be his ally and lover, and if it doesn’t work, she can sabotage him, and maybe even act as a spy for us. Winter’s time will eventually end, and when Alandra pulls him into bed….”
Starlight looked at Alandra. She looked terrified, and finally found her voice. “I’m scared, Candace. Even if he still loves me, we all know he’s gone insane. What if he kills me as well? What will happen then? Winter will last another three months, and then Brightmane will have to bed Snowhoof or something like that.”
Brightmane shrugged. “Hey, I don’t mind. Snowhoof’s actually kind of attractive.”
Starlight’s eyes went wide. Brightmane was bisexual. Well, you learn something new every day. Candace nodded at her. “Do not worry, Alandra. It will work, because love is a powerful thing. Even stronger than insanity.”
Everyone nodded satisfied. Well, we now have a plan. Alandra swallowed her fear. “Silverleaf Citadel. That is the traditional place for the transition ritual, but it is also where we fell in love. Whenever I wanted Snowhoof to come see me, I would burn my special incense on the citadel’s balcony. Snowhoof came running every time.”
Candace nodded. “It is settled. We will set up a trap at Silverleaf Citadel. The moment Snowhoof’s power is drained, our soldiers will come rushing in and seize him. Then, justice will be finally done.
Everyone nodded and left the room. Candace had already ordered Rarity of Ponyville to make the most beautiful and provocative dress for Alandra to wear at Silverleaf Citadel, Vaelan and Lightheart were discussing how they were going to get Alandra to the citadel, and in Starlight’s mind, gears were spinning.
All his favorite torture methods were running through his mind. Snowhoof was going to suffer, and everyone was going to make sure of it. Losing his wings and horn will be the least of Snowhoof’s pain.
Alandra was all dressed, her mossy green mane shining. Her leaf green eyes seemed to be glowing with anticipation. Maelstrom and Callista left the room to take their positions, and left Starlight alone with her.
He looked around the bedroom. There were plants everywhere: climbing ivy on the chandelier and walls, morning glory wrapped around the bedposts, and bright tulips sprouted from random patches of grass on the floor. The entire room smelled of dirt, rainwater, and fragrant flowers.
Alandra had opened her wardrobe and had two sticks of her special incense in her mouth. Her head was drooped and she was staring at the winter storm ensuing outside. Starlight approached her. “Are you afraid, Alandra?”
“No,” she whispered. She looked at Starlight, she was crying. “Is this all my fault? If I had been at the transition ritual wearing a bride’s gown, would he still have gone insane? If I had married him, would Shining Armor and everyone else we lost still be alive?”
“Alandra, you cannot blame yourself for this. The only one to blame is Snowhoof. Even I was fooled by him.”
Alandra lit the incense on fire, and a small trail of smoke wafted up to the ceiling. “You might want to leave, Starlight. It doesn’t take long for him to come when he smells my incense burning.”
Starlight had a moment of fear then. This was a risky plan, and it would be Alandra’s charm versus Snowhoof’s deteriorated mental state. Had Starlight, and everyone else, gotten so wrapped up in the notion of getting revenge that they were willing to sacrifice Alandra? Starlight looked into her eyes, and deep inside, he knew that she blamed herself for everything that had happened. Alandra smiled sadly and put a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Starlight. I’ll be fine.”
Starlight nodded and slowly turned away. He took his position on the floor right above. When Alandra would give the signal, a high pitched scream, Vaelan would smash through the roof and they all would descend upon the powerless Snowhoof. Dragons were hiding all about the citadel courtyard, waiting to react if trouble arose or if Snowhoof tried to escape.
Princess Cadance cast the invisibility charm, and everyone vanished out of sight. Now we wait.
They waited awhile, and Starlight wondered how Alandra was feeling. She was so brave for doing this, risking her life on a plan that he had come up with. Eventually, he could smell the incense on the breeze. It smelled like cherry blossoms with a touch of mint. Starlight actually fancied the scent.
Vaelan groaned in pain, and Starlight looked at him confused. The dragon was covering his ears, struggling to stay silent. What was wrong with him?
Starlight suddenly felt nauseous, and his head was spinning. What’s happening to me!?
He heard the balcony doors slowly creaking open on the floor below. He heard Alandra’s seductive purr. “Oh, Snowhoof. Look at you.” There was a note of panic in her voice. “Wait, what’s in that bag of yours?” Alandra squealed. “Is that blood!?”
Starlight couldn’t hear anymore. He felt so disoriented, and he collapsed to the ground. Callista fell right on top of him as well, passed out. Starlight finally heard it then— A low pitched screech at the very edge of his hearing.
He blinked, not understanding. It was then he saw the Tempest pressing its muzzle against the balcony door. Its mouth was moving, like it was whispering through the crack in the double doors. Aw, hell. I didn’t know they could do that.
Starlight’s vision was going blurry and he felt like he was falling asleep. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the sound of Alandra’s terrified screams.
***
His head was spinning as he was cast into the black void. He felt like he was falling through a large empty space, floating adrift in some sea of cold nothingness. He shivered. It was cold here. Where am I?
“Starlight Mirror….” A voice whispered from somewhere. Starlight looked around for the voice, but could not see anything. The drifting sensation finally ceased and the world materialized around him. He was in a large chamber, the walls a dark gray and covered with rime. There was something about the room that made his skin crawl.
As he looked around, details began to appear. A tray of rusted surgical equipment lay on the ground besides, a hard, wooden operating table with leather restraints, and he saw metal tools hanging on the walls and the chains hanging from the ceiling. Starlight shuddered. This was some kind of dungeon.
“Starlight…Help me….” The voice whispered again. It was a mare’s voice and hauntingly familiar.
Starlight looked around, searching for the mare. She had sounded weak and hurt. He heard chains tinkling from overhead and looked up. Suspended from the roof with barbed wire, hung Princess Luna. “My queen!” Starlight cried out.
She was hanging upside down, the spikes on the wire embedded in her flesh tore at her every time she moved. “Oh, Starlight…I’m so glad you’re alive.”
There were tears in her eyes, and she looked emaciated. “My queen! I’ll come get you down from there.” He ran to the edge of the room, looking for the lever that would lower the chains. He found it and tried to push it down, but his hoof went straight through.
Luna groaned. “My dear Starlight, this is only a dream. I’m locked in the bowels of Frostcrown Citadel. I contacted you because….” She began to cry, and Starlight could only watch. “I contacted you because I won’t be alive for much longer.” She struggled in her chains and lowered her head so Starlight could see her horn. There were wires hooked up to it, draining the power from it. “Starlight, he’s taking my power. Once he’s leeched the last bit of power from me, he’s going to alter the orbit of the moon around Equestria and make winter eternal. It’ll be irreversible once it happens.”
“No!” Starlight cried. “Don’t worry, my queen! I’ll come and save you!”
She smiled weakly. “My brave champion. Tell me, how is my sister? I tried to get into her dream, but I couldn’t find her. I miss her so much.”
Starlight couldn’t say anything. She was already dying, he could not tell her of Celestia’s death. He swallowed. “I don’t know, my queen. I haven’t seen her.”
“Oh,” her ears drooped. “I just wanted to see her one more time.” A tear fell from her eyes. “When you see Celestia, please tell her how much I love her.”
Starlight hissed. “No! You are going to live! I’m coming to save you!”
“My time is running out Starlight….” Her voice began to fade away, and Starlight felt himself being pulled back.
“No! No!” He felt himself awaking, and the dream shattered around him.
***
He woke up in a cold sweat, his entire body shaking. Princess Luna was alive! She was alive! She didn’t look like she was going to last much longer though. He had to save her. He had to get to Frostcrown. There was no more time to waste, especially the fact that upon her death, winter would become eternal and they were all done for. He estimated that she had about three or four days still in her. He had to hurry.
Starlight looked around and saw he was the first one to awake. Everyone was sprawled out on the ground, passed out. He slowly stood up, still slightly disoriented. He remembered Alandra then, and tried to rush downstairs. He stumbled over Maelstrom’s sleeping body, and fell down the staircase. He crashed to the bottom, but he barely felt the pain.
Alandra had been screaming before he had passed out. He struggled to get back up, his body numb. He kicked open the door to Alandra’s bedroom and saw that the whole room had frozen over. All the lovely plants had died and a thick sheet of ice covered the ground. Starlight’s breath billowed out in front of him, the room as cold as the outside. He nervously approached the bed and he felt like his hooves had turned to jelly. He wanted to retch.
There had obviously been a massive struggle. The mattress was soaked with half-frozen blood, the covers were torn, and it looked like she had been dragged, screaming out of the bed. He could see the bloody trail across the ice as Snowhoof had dragged her to the balcony.
Starlight followed the trail of blood and gore, and walked onto the balcony. She had been struggling the whole way, the way the blood was splattered all about…until this point. There was a large splatter of blood, and she had gone slack as he had drug her and carried her away. Starlight looked at the splatter more closely, and in it he could faintly make out pieces of what appeared to be bone splinters.
Starlight’s heart went cold. Blunt force trauma. That had caused the splatter. He imagined Alandra’s head striking the cold floor in slow motion, her skull shattering at impact….
He couldn’t think about it anymore. Both female seasonal alicorns were dead. The plan had failed. Snowhoof had truly gone insane. He had killed the love of his life, and soon Luna would be dead too. Starlight howled. “No more! NO MORE!”
He grabbed his head, screaming. I’m coming for you right now, Snowhoof. Prepare yourself!
***
“We have no more cards to play.” Princess Cadance said. Her head bowed in mourning, even upon the news of Princess Luna’s captivity. “Canterlot is under three feet of snow, and food rations are about to run out.”
Emperor Vaelan nodded. “The time to act is now. Especially now that we know of Luna’s imprisonment, we have to confront Snowhoof head on. Before she expires.”
Callista sighed. “People are already disappearing from Canterlot. Once the hypothermia, frostbite, or starvation sets in, they are dragged away by Frostbites and no one can stop them.”
Maelstrom drooped his ears. “I wish Celestia was here…” he turned and faced his wife and kissed her. “I hope we get to see the sun again soon.”
They both began to cuddle, wrapping each other warmly in each other’s wings. “I love you,” Callista whispered.
“I love you more,” Maelstrom replied.
Starlight looked away. He trotted up to Cadance and Vaelan. “You two,” he growled. They looked at him surprised. “Prepare your soldiers. We move towards Frostcrown at dawn, we have to save Luna. Get everyone assigned to their dragon transport, get the unicorns to cast their heat preservation enchantments, whatever. Just have everyone ready by tomorrow.”
Princess Cadance sighed. “I guess we have no choice in the matter. I’d really like to make a plan first.” Vaelan rumbled. “The time has come for our final push against Snowhoof. If we fail, all life will perish from Equestria. We will discuss battle strategy once all the soldiers are assembled.”
Princess Cadance moved away. “I shall assemble all my soldiers here in an hour.”
Vaelan went his separate way. “I shall do the same, and I will inform the others that we are taking our last stand at dawn. We can coordinate our forces.”
Starlight watched them leave. No more waiting. No more tricks. They were going to attack Snowhoof head on.
They would ride on the back of dragons to Frostcrown. The fate of the world rested upon this. “Luna, I’m almost there. Just survive a little longer.”
All the leaders had joined them in the war room again. They anxiously waited for Cadance to speak. “My fellow commanders…” she said softly. “The plan has failed,” everyone gasped. “The Keeper of Spring is dead.”
Lightheart looked up at Cadance. “What now, my princess?”
“There is still hope,” she said. Everyone looked up at her. “Princess Luna is still alive.”
“How?” Brightmane asked.
She nodded. “Luna contacted general Starlight in his dream. She’s being held in the dungeon of Frostcrown Fortress.”
Starlight stepped forward. “We don’t have much time. Not only are our food supplies dangerously low, but Snowhoof was draining Luna of her power. Once she dies, Snowhoof will use her power to permanently alter the orbit of the moon around Equestria. It’ll be a new Ice Age then.”
Everyone began whispering then. Cadance waved her hoof to silence them. “That’s why we must make all haste towards Frostcrown. Starlight, Vaelan, and I have already drawn a plan.” Cadance laid out a map of Frostcrown down on the table. “See, this mountain pass is or only ground advance to the citadel. It is the most heavily fortified, and getting our soldiers through in one piece will be impossible. So, we will be equipping our soldiers with these.” Cadance put the parachute bag on the table. “All soldiers who cannot fly on their own will wear one of these. The dragons transports will arrive from vulnerable back side of the citadel, and our infantry platoons will jump from their backs, beginning the assault on the least fortified part of the citadel.”
King Lightheart raised his hand. “But my princess, the skies above Frostcrown will be full of Tempests. Our paratroopers will never make it to the ground with them around.”
“We’ve already got that covered. King Lightheart, what happens to oxygen when it is superheated?”
King Lightheard shrugged. “It expands, I guess.”
“Precisely, a squad of dragons will clear the skies with a wave of flame. Then another squad will bombard the fortifications with giant boulders, and after that our paratroopers will be deployed.” Princess Cadance nodded at Vaelan. “Our preliminary attack is heavily dependent on your forces, Emperor.”
Vaelan nodded and Princess Cadance continued. “Once the ground infantry is deployed, the dragons will maintain control of the skies overhead, and we will advance to the rear gates. It’s the side facing the mountain, so the gates there are the least fortified against attacks by ground. The infantry will advance on this bridge here, Starlight and Lightheart will lead them. A squad of gryphon engineers will enter once the gates are cleared, and will blow the gates to the citadel wide open. Reinforcements will cover our backs while the main force enters the citadel.” Princess Cadance rolled up the map. “We have no maps depicting the interior of Frostcrown. So once we’re inside, we’ll be blind. Since it’s the rear entrance and there are no anti-infantry traps there, I’m assuming the inside will be same.” Princess Cadance looked around. “Any questions?”
Lightheart nodded. “So, the dragons will clear the skies, bombard fortifications, and deploy the paratroopers. Then the paratroopers will advance to the gates, my engineers will break the gates, and we all rush in.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Brightmane raised his hoof. “But what happens when we reach the top of the citadel? Who will fight Snowhoof?”
Princess Cadance nodded. “You and I, Starlight, Maelstrom and Callista will face Snowhoof at the pinnacle of the citadel. Vaelan will be keeping the skies secure and prevent air reinforcements from arriving, and Lightheart will be covering the gate entrance.”
Starlight waved his hoof. “Are we all clear here?” Everyone nodded. “Then get your troops ready. We leave at dawn.”
***
Starlight had sharpened his hoof-blades, donned a new set of armor which was lightweight as well as durable, had gotten some food and the heat enchantment, and was now trotting to where the dragons were. Maelstrom, Callista, and Starlight had all been assigned a dragon together.
He arrived in the courtyard, and saw Maelstrom latching his bags to Vaelan’s saddle. Callista was already sitting on his back, and Maelstrom joined her. Starlight was surprised that the Emperor himself would be carrying him into battle. “Vaelan, I am glad we will be flying into battle together.”
“It’ll be an honor,” the dragon rumbled.
Starlight climbed on top of Vaelan and all the dragons in the courtyard had been loaded up and now were in line. “Here we go,” Vaelan said.
The first dragon in the line began running, and soon everyone began following. Starlight’s world was bouncing up and down as the massive dragon ran, flapping his wings. Starlight’s stomach lurched as Vaelan took off, the air whistling in his ears. Maelstrom had put his hooves in the air, screaming. “Wooooh! Hell yeah!”
Starlight felt surprisingly warm and realized the heat enchantment was doing its job. The world up here was white with snowfall, and the wind was gusting powerfully, but Vaelan was a strong flier and handles the rapidly changing air currents with ease.
The other dragons had formed a V-formation, and at the edge of the formation, Starlight saw Princess Cadance, Lightheart and Brightmane on another dragon.
Starlight looked ahead. The flight would last a day, dragons were much faster than pegasi or gryphons. Or anything else for that matter.
As they flew, they had encountered a few Tempests. All the dragons had concentrated their fire on them, and they had screeched and disintegrated from the intense heat. Conventional weapons weren’t that effective on Tempests, but a dragon’s fire was a totally different story.
They were picking up speed, flying south into the horizon. Don’t worry, Luna. I’m on my way.
The dragon attack formation had positioned itself. The fire squad who would clear the skies had lined up first, behind their ranks was the bombardment squad who had their boulders in their claws, and the farthest behind were the paratrooper transports. Starlight couldn’t imagine how this could have been possible without the dragons. Even the president of Darrowshire had been humbled by Vaelan’s prowess and had joined their coalition.
Frostcrown’s steel spires would soon rise up from the horizon, and the battle would begin. Starlight had been in many battles, and the anticipation was building up in him. He wondered how the battle would be like. No one had seen Frostcrown since Luna’s banishment, and he wondered if Snowhoof had altered the layout of the fortification in anyway. But sending out a reconnaissance squad would have been too risky and could possibly ruin their element of surprise.
The map Cadance had found gave them some idea of the layout of Frostcrown, but it told nothing of the defending garrison stationed there. A whole army could easily take refuge at the immense citadel. There were massive chambers below the citadel, and each one could carry a legion of Tempests. Starlight shuddered. They were flying right into Snowhoof’s heart of power.
He thought of Luna then. Where in that citadel was she being held? It would take days, of not weeks to search every corner of the place. Would they find her in time?
He shivered again, but it wasn’t the cold that was making him do so. He wondered how the inside of the citadel would look like. Starlight grunted in frustration. There was still a lot about the enemy they still didn’t know, but time had run out. There was nothing that they could have done.
A rumble from Vaelan stirred him from his thoughts. “Starlight, look ahead. It’s hard to see with the snow, but the citadel can now be seen.”
They all leaned forward, and he was right. In the snowy world around them, Starlight could see the silhouettes of the mighty spires of Frostcrown rising up. Maelstrom stared up in awe. “That’s a big ass castle.”
They all nodded. There was a vortex of snow, wind, and ice veiling the citadel. Starlight looked more closely, and he noticed a blue beam of light rising up from the heart of the citadel, shooting up into the sky from the epicenter of the vortex. Even from here, he could feel the pure energy emanating from it.
The energy filled the sky and the surrounding mountains with a stark blue light, and Starlight gasped. The vortex had twitched. Vaelan motioned to the fire squad dragons, “Line up and prepare to attack. Avoid that vortex of energy.”
The dragons flew ahead and took their positions in an arc. The vortex twitched again, the beam of energy began swaying. It began to shake violently and the beam of energy collapsed. Starlight shuddered in fright as thousands of Tempests poured out. The blue beam of energy had actually been a cyclone of Tempests. It was the light of their eyes that had been creating the beam appearance.
“Duck down!” Vaelan commanded. Starlight lowered himself, pressing himself as close as he could to Vaelan’s neck. There was a blast of air as the vortex collapsed and the Tempests fanned out to meet the invaders. “Now!” Vaelan roared.
The fire squad breathed their flame, their fire creating a wave that washed over the Tempests. Starlight couldn’t help but grin in satisfaction as they all burst the moment the flame made contact with their airy bodies. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something large approaching the paratrooper transports. What?
Before Starlight could say a word, something barreled into Vaelan and sent Starlight flying off his reins. His world was spinning as he tumbled through the air, and all he could hear was the howling wind in his ears and of dragons and ponies crying out in alarm. Starlight spread his wings, trying to stabilize himself. What the hell is going on!?
There were bright flashes of light and explosions going off in the sky. Dragons were roaring in alarm, and a jet of fire streaked past him. Starlight spread his wings and slowed himself down before he hit the ground. He crashed hard. He was filled with a blinding pain as he bounced down the mountain. His back hit a boulder and he was sent airborne for a moment before landing hard on the steel walkway of the citadel.
He lay still for a moment, his vision knocked blurry. The sky was lit with fire and light, and something large crashed down, shaking the ground. Starlight’s vision became clear enough to see the enemy. Having a crystalline appearance, and their serpentine bodies resembling that of dragons…The frost dragons!
Snowhoof himself had been created from their seed. They had gone extinct long ago, but apparently not! He saw the frost dragons tearing the paratrooper transport squad apart, and the air was filled with fighting dragons and ponies desperately trying to deploy their parachutes. The frost dragons were ignoring the other squads and were going for the transports!
The initial sequence had been ruined. He had to remember the plan. He charged ahead to the bridge that would lead up to the gates, as was the plan. The mountains surrounding him and the citadel up ahead, he had nowhere else to go. The ground shook again as one of the transport dragons hit the ground hard, his back crushing the three ponies that had been unable to deploy their parachutes. A frost dragon crashed onto him and ripped the downed dragon’s wings off.
Damn! The transports had been taken by surprise and most of them had been knocked out of the sky. Those ponies and gryphons who could fly on their own were trying to rescue those whose parachutes had failed to deploy or were protecting the paratroopers who were slowly drifting to the ground, vulnerable to the thrashes of the frost dragons.
Soldiers were landing all around him, only a quarter had made it to the ground alive. The rest were bloody splatters on the steel approach, or had been killed by the frost dragons. Starlight looked all around, the soldiers in a panic. Starlight howled and they all looked to him. “The battle is not yet lost! Charge!”
The other ponies snapped out of their panic and confusion and joined him. Starlight gasped as a dragon crashed into one of the citadel’s spires, and the air was filled with sound of wrenching steel as the tower collapsed. A giant boulder landed behind him, followed by the terrified screams and he could feel the hot gore splashing onto his flank. The bombardment squad….He looked up at the sky. The transport squad had been decimated, they being the most vulnerable. The fire squad had engaged the frost dragons and the Tempests who had survived the initial wave, but the frost dragons were trying to attack the bombardment squad. They were also extremely vulnerable, carrying giant boulders and they could not drop them, for the target fortifications were still up ahead.
Starlight looked back down as two fighting dragons swooped to the ground, chasing each other as they blasted jets of fire and ice. Another boulder crashed down in front of him, and he ran around it. “Don’t stop!” he cried. “We must make it over the bridge!”
The steel bridge’s entrance came into view, and a rank of small Revenants manifested to guard it. Starlight unsheathed his blades, and leapt up and struck the first Revenant. He tore right through its armor with his mirror blades, ripping through its heart. The Revenant exploded, sending him sprawling to the ground. His eyes caught a Revenant above him, lifting its sledgehammer to strike him. Starlight couldn’t get out of the way. He closed his eyes, and there was a loud clang of steel meeting. “Get up, you idiot!” Maelstrom cursed.
Maelstrom had blocked the blow, and they disengaged. Callista rushed ahead, pushing their advantage. Maelstrom joined her, and they coordinated their blows until Callista finally decapitated the Revenant. They all leaped back, and the Revenant exploded. Maelstrom faced Callista, “That was so badass,” he said as pieces of the Revenant’s armor rained down around them. “I freaking love you.”
Callista smiled, “I love you too.” She leaned forward and they kissed as another Revenant exploded in their wake.
Vaelan roared from up ahead. “Make haste! Frost dragon reinforcements are arriving from the south!”
With the skies contested, there goes our air support. Starlight grunted in frustration and looked around. The Revenants had thankfully been dealt with. King Lightheart rushed ahead, followed by his gryphon guard. “Get to the bridge! Move!”
Starlight joined him at the head of the charge, Callista and Maelstrom joining him. They rushed ahead, and Starlight was the first on the bridge. The bride was long, narrow and stretched out over a ravine, with spiked rocks on the bottom. They were all halfway across the steel bridge when there was a tremendous roar overhead. For a moment, everything slowed down. Vaelan crashed onto the bridge, his back slamming down on the steel and the whole bridge shook and the metal groaned. Many of their soldiers lost their footing and stumbled. Vaelan was dazed, terrible wounds covering his body. “There’s too many…” he said in a choked whisper. Some kind of aberration frost dragon of immense size crashed down onto the bridge, and Vaelan moved just in time to avoid the death blow. But the bridge hadn’t been so lucky.
The support beams underneath the bridge shattered and the steel path crumbled before them in a cacophony of shrieking and groaning steel. The whole bridge was collapsing into the ravine!
Starlight felt lightheaded as the bridge, scattered and broken, fell into the abyss. Ponies were screaming, and Starlight took wing. As soon as he lifted off, he was struck down by debris and knocked back down. “Gah!”
He looked down and saw the razor sharp needles at the bottom of the pit rushing towards them. This was it. They were going to die.
Starlight was falling. The downward momentum was too strong for him to lift off from the fragment of concrete he clung to. The spikes which would impale all of them were getting closer and closer…he closed his eyes.
He had them shut, but nothing happened. He felt himself rising. He opened his eyes and saw that the falling debris and ponies around him were coated in pink light, and were slowly floating upward. He looked up and saw Princess Cadance, her eyes blazing with light and her horn emanating a strong pink magic.
Starlight sighed in relief as Cadance deposited them on the other side of the bridge. Starlight picked himself up, and she joined his side. “Let’s get going, Starlight. The gates are up ahead.”
He stood up and blinked. The gates were about a hundred feet ahead, the massive steel sliding doors engraved with the strange words of a long forgotten language. The doors looked impenetrable, how would the gryphons break through them?
“Move aside!” an impatient voice said. Starlight leapt out of the way as the squad of gryphon engineers flew towards the gate. “Cover us!” the head engineer cried. “When we bust this gate open, prepare for hell!”
Starlight ran ahead and the ranks of soldiers followed closely behind. He stopped halfway through as the engineers frantically waved at them. “Back off!”
They kept their distance. The gryphons had pulled out these small drills, and the air was filled with screeching as they bore tiny holes into the massive doors. The gryphons then stuck these black rods into the holes. Each rod had a string at the end, and they were tying all the strings together.
Starlight took a step forward, and the steel plate he stepped on, seemed to sink at the pressure of his foot. The pressure plate was depressed, and everyone looked around terrified as the ground began to rumble. “Aw, hell.” Starlight cursed.
There was a muffled roar, but it sounded like it had come from beneath the ground. There were massive chambers networks beneath the citadel….
The roaring became louder, as the creature tunneled towards the surface. “Fire in the hole!” the engineers yelled. There was a tremendous blast, and Starlight saw the doors had been torn open. Starlight’s triumph quickly went to horror as he saw the pairs of glowing blue eyes staring at him through the darkness of the citadel’s interior.
The ground before him ruptured, as a giant ice wyrm rose up from the ground. It looked like a serpent, but it had plating of ice on its head and had teeth and claws suited more for tunneling than combat. The wyrm turned around and stared at them, and it opened its mouth. “Everybody take evasive action!” Starlight yelled.
The wyrm blasted them with clouds of freezing gas, and the vapors fiercely stung Starlight’s pelt as they touched his skin. Behind the wyrm, he saw what appeared to be hundreds of Frostbites slowly walking out of the darkness of the citadel. The engineers had fled skyward, and were now throwing their dynamite at the Frostbites. Explosions shook the ground, and Starlight danced away from another gas cloud, trying to get to the wyrm.
He saw that the Frostbites were now piling on each other, forming giant columns to reach the engineers. Encumbered by their equipment, they couldn’t get away. The engineers were knocked out of the sky by the Frostbites and were dragged into the citadel, screaming. Starlight cursed as more of the freezing vapors touched him.
The pain was blinding. He sheathed his blades and slashed at the wyrm, but his blades could not penetrate its armor. His slash went awry and he tumbled to the ground. Arrows and beams of magic pelted the wyrm, but its armor was too thick. What the hell were they going to do now?!
Somewhere above, a dragon roared. Vaelan crashed into the wyrm, his bloody muzzle ripping into the wyrm’s neck as he grappled with it. “Get inside!” he yelled, tearing into the wyrm. “I’ll handle this guy!”
Starlight nodded and howled. “Follow me! This way!”
King Lightheart joined his side as they charged. “Starlight, will Vaelan be alright?”
Starlight nodded. “He’s a dragon, you don’t give him enough credit.”
They rushed into the dark entrance. Starlight couldn’t see a thing. Princess Cadance’s horn began to glow, along with all the other unicorns. Light flooded the interior of the citadel. Starlight gasped. They were in a vast, stark, gray steel chamber with stairs, bridges, and gateways all the way to the pinnacle of the citadel. Soft blue light was now radiating from the crystal roof, and the unicorns ceased their light.
As soon as the light faded, the Frostbites that were hiding in the darkness screeched and attacked. The chamber was filled with the sounds of battle as the soldiers clashed with the elementals. Frostbites and small Revenants were pouring down the stairs and out of passageways to meet them. “Seal off those approaches!” Starlight yelled.
A brigade of unicorn artillery started blasting the stairs, and streaks of red light filled the air. Starlight nodded. Now that the approaches were being bombarded, no more…The roof above shattered as a pair of fighting dragons came crashing through. There were screams and Starlight leapt out of the way as debris fell all around them.
Debris continued to fall as the dragons knocked each other into the bridges, and shot beams of fire and ice at one another. As the debris fell, it piled up to form new pathways down to where the main battle was going on. The elementals took full advantage and started rushing down the makeshift pathways.
Starlight’s blade met the cleaver of a Revenant’s as they battled. He ducked down as the Revenant tried to decapitate him with a slash, and Starlight thrust upwards with his blades while the elemental was vulnerable. The Revenant exploded and he was thrown back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Callista and Maelstrom fighting a pack of Frostbites together. Back to back, they were fending them off.
A hoof grabbed him and pulled him aside. Cadance looked into his eyes. “We have to start moving upwards!”
He nodded and took flight. King Lightheart joined them, Maelstrom and Callista joined them as well as they flew upward. As was the plan. Princess Cadance nodded. “Alright, we have to engage Snowhoof on the pinnacle while the rest fight below. Our dragons will prevent reinforcements from arriving as long as they can.”
Starlight nodded. Down below he could see the battle ensuing. Bright streaks and sparks of unicorn magic, the clang of steel meeting steel, Revenant explosions, the citadel rung with the sounds of battle. Starlight barreled out of the way as more debris fell from the roof. He had to look upward now. There was the crash of the debris hitting the ground and there was a chorus of screams from down below. “Keep going!” Cadance yelled.
Starlight continued flying upward, the entrance to the citadel pinnacle getting closer and closer. The sound of a metal wires whizzing towards them startled Starlight. He looked up ahead and saw a grid of razor sharp metal wires descending towards them, sliding down using metal pipes.
The two dragons were still fighting overhead, and the fire dragon pushed the ice dragon into the path of the grid. The metal wires cut right through the dragon, literally dicing him. There was a shower of gore, and the fire dragon roared in triumph. But now the grid was headed right for them.
Starlight’s first instinct was to get out of the way, but Lightheart held him steady. “We have to destroy the grid or it’ll kill everyone down below!”
Everyone nodded. “Blast the railings the grid is using to slide down!” Lightheart yelled. Princess Cadance unleashed a beam at the steel railing, melting it completely. Starlight rushed to another one, slashing it in half with his blades. Maelstrom and Callista kicked theirs with such strength that the metal shattered. “Hell yeah!” Maelstrom shouted in triumph.
They drew back, but the moment the descending grid met the broken rails, it shattered. The grid broke into a mess of falling razor sharp steel. Princess Cadance created a shield for everyone, but Starlight was out of range. There was blinding pain and he found himself falling out of the sky. There was nothing but a bloody stump where his right wing was supposed to be and he was spiraling downwards.
Lightheart caught him and pulled him upward, but they looked up and saw another razor grid descending towards them. “Get into the side passages!” Cadance yelled. “We have to find another way up!”
“But the soldiers down below!” Callista yelled. “The grid will kill them!”
The fire dragon roared from above. “I’ll take care of it! You guys get to the top!”
Starlight nodded and Lightheart threw him into the door which once had a bridge connected to it. Everyone tumbled into the passageway, gasping for breath. Starlight picked himself up, dizzy. He saw a staircase up ahead, a faint blue light illuminating the steps. “I guess that’s our way up,” he said.
Starlight checked to see if everyone was here, but he noticed that Brightmane was missing. “Where’s Brightmane? I haven’t seen him at all.”
Princess Cadance nodded. “He’s fighting with Vaelan. Don’t worry about it.”
Starlight nodded and they made their way to the stairs. After a dozen flights of stairs later, they arrived at what appeared to be the pinnacle. The stairs had led them up into a large room, with windows all around them. It appeared to be some kind of observatory.
Ahead of them was another steel gate. It was adorned with diamonds, sapphires, and lined with silver. Snowhoof’s figure was etched into the door, and there were words written above him. “Winter brings death, so new life can emerge in the Spring.” There were more words that had recently been etched into the metal door. “As nature intended to be, for the sake of harmony.” Scratched more erratically on the edge it said. “A necessary evil,” it was written in red, and Starlight realized it was blood.
They all approached the door warily. “This is it,” Callista said. “Snowhoof is behind that door.”
Maelstrom agreed. “Yeah, we kick his ass and make him tell us where Luna is.”
“And I will finally avenge my husband’s death,” Cadance said with an edge in her voice that made Starlight uneasy. She looked at him then, noticing his missing wing. “Come here.”
The stump was bleeding again, and she put her horn against it. Starlight clenched his teeth. He screamed as a skeletal wing sprouted from the stump. The bones were then laced with muscles and tendons, covered with slivers of fat, and wrapped in skin and feathers. Princess Cadance gasped, exhausted.
Starlight moved his new wing around, the new bone still sore. “Thanks” he whispered. Princess Cadance nodded and stood up, catching her breath.
Starlight looked at the massive doors. It appeared to be sealed. Princess Cadance approached it. “This door can only be opened with alicorn magic,” she looked around at all of them. “Are you all ready for the final confrontation?”
Starlight’s new wing was stinging him, other than that, he was ready. Princess Cadance’s horn began to glow, filling the observatory with a pink light. Starlight steeled himself. The hour of justice had come.
Princess Cadance’s horn was glowing pink, and the engravings on the steel doors slowly lit up with her energy. Starlight could hear the mechanisms inside the door whirring, and the doors slowly started to retreat to the side. The air was filled with a grating as the parting doors revealed a large chamber with a balcony.
They slowly stepped into the cold room. The steel in this chamber had a particularly cold bite as they stepped over it. He shivered and gasped. At the edge of the balcony, he saw an alicorn’s cloaked figure.
The wind was rustling his gray cloak, and they all jumped as the steel doors began sliding shut. “You’re the first visitors I’ve had in such a long time…” Snowhoof whispered in his cold voice. He turned around and faced them, dropping his cloak to reveal a heavy set of sleek looking armor covering his body and his snowy white mane tied into a pony tail which protruded from a hole in his helmet. He gave them a sick smile, his blue eyes glowing softly. “What brings royalty to my lair? I’m so flattered.” He did a mock bow, and they all steeled themselves. Cadance was about to speak, when there was sobbing from the door on the side of the chamber. “Ah,” whispered Snowhoof. “Lilyheart has been keeping me company.”
“You sick bastard!” Starlight yelled. “What have you done to her!?”
Snowhoof rolled his eyes whimsically. “Oh, nothing. She doesn’t seem to like me,” he put a hoof to his chin. “Maybe it was where I beat her bloody over at Silverleaf, or maybe where I chained her to my bed and fucked her so many times that she can’t even stand. She’s such a whiny little….”
“Shut up!” Cadance yelled. “You’re going to pay for all the people you’ve killed!” She stomped forward. “And believe me, I’m going to make you suffer for every life you’ve taken. For all the pain you’ve caused, for killing Amberleaf and raping Alandra!”
Snowhoof grinned. “Oh, I’ve already done all my suffering in prison. My stupid whore of a mother caused all this, but she’ll soon be dead.” Snowhoof raised his hooves, laughing hysterically. “And the winter shall last forever!” The wind started to swirl around Snowhoof, his blue eyes glowing. “Only one more hour, and everything on this wretched world will freeze.”
“Not if I can help it!” Princess Cadance raced forward, and they all followed. Snowhoof leapt up and blasted them with a pulse of air, sending them all flying backwards. Starlight struck the cold wall of the chamber hard, the metal booming at the impact. He slid down, his vision blurry. Snowhoof was approaching him. He gasped, but shackles of ice formed around his limbs. Snowhoof cupped Staright’s chin with his hoof, so they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Oh, Starlight. You believed in me, because we are so alike. You a Nightborn, me the Keeper of Winter. Both things we could not help, but they designated us as targets for hate and fear.” Snowhoof looked outside to the balcony where there was an army waiting. “I should thank you for your tremendous effort putting this invasion together, and I admire you for that. I like you. I shall grant you a quick death when this is all over.”
A needle of razor sharp ice began to extend from his hoof, and Starlight could feel the cold biting into his throat. He could feel the ice pierce his skin and touch his blood. Immediately Starlight felt all the heat being drained out of him through the small cut. He felt himself getting colder and colder, and it felt as if his spirit was being yanked out of his body and replaced with something much colder and sinister. His teeth started to chatter and he began to tremble.
“Stop!” Maelstrom yelled. He barreled into Snowhoof, but the alicorn struck the charging stallion with a solid crack, sending Maelstrom flying into a wall. His back hit the wall hard, and he then lay ominously still against the wall. Callista screeched and ran to her husband.
Starlight’s thoughts were racing, his vision shifting and changing. He was losing control of his body. He felt so cold….
Princess Cadance shot a beam of energy at Snowhoof. “You aren’t going to hurt anyone anymore!” Snowhoof met her pink beam of energy with his own beam of blue energy. The beams met, and a white sphere formed at the contact point. Shockwaves rippled throughout the chamber, and Cadance was screaming as the white sphere moved back and forth. “Even if I fail,” Cadance whispered. “Even if I fail, I have an army waiting outside. And another army already inside the citadel.”
Snowhoof laughed as the white sphere slowly neared Cadance. “It was an impressive display, I admit. But all futile.” Snowhoof grinned. “Very impressive, actually. Who would have thought the dragons would aid your cause? I certainly didn’t expect that.”
Starlight looked to the side. Callista was crying over Maelstrom’s body, wrapping him in her embrace and nuzzling him. “Please wake up, Maelstrom. I can’t…I can’t go on without you. Please….”
Starlight looked at her sideways, his mind echoing with a cold clarity. Oh, the poor thing is suffering so much, Starlight thought calmly. I should put her out of her misery.
Starlight stood up slowly and started to approach Callista. He unsheathed his blades, the transparent steel scraping the ground as he drew closer. Some small part of him that was still in control was screaming for him to stop, but he didn’t want to listen. Poor mare just lost her husband, I shall reunite her with him soon enough.
He stood in front of Callista staring down at her. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “Please, help him. Starlight, please….”
“Don’t cry, Callista.” He moved behind her, raising his blade to decapitate her. “I can make the pain go away….” Starlight swung down, but a hand grabbed his hoof, pulling him back. Lightheart glared at him, holding the blade in the air. “Hey, Lightheart.” Starlight said softly, “How’s it going?”
“Traitor!” Lightheart cursed, and pushed Starlight back. “You tried to kill her!” Callista was too busy hugging her husband, and no longer cared whether she lived or not. She hadn’t even noticed that he had tried to kill her.
“Hmmm?” said Starlight, dreamily. “Maelstrom’s dead, so I just thought….”
“He is not dead!” Lightheart screamed into his face. “He’s just—arrgghh!”
Starlight had driven his blade up the gryphon’s gullet. “Please be quiet,” he whispered politely. The gryphon fell to the ground, gagging and trying to stem the scarlet tide flowing from his neck. “Thank you.”
Starlight looked over at the center of the room. The white sphere was drawing closer and closer to Cadance, and Starlight watched in faint amusement as the sphere hit Cadance. She screamed and was sent pushed backward. Somewhere in his mind, a voice was screaming for him to help her. But it sounded so far away….
Cadance stood her ground, her pink mane singed and burnt. She was gasping, “You monster. Do you have any idea of how much suffering you’ve caused?”
Snowhoof faltered for a moment. Starlight cocked his head. He had seen something flicker in his eyes for a moment. Snowhoof smiled then. “Do you want to hear the sound your husband made when I killed him?”
Cadance flared and charged Snowhoof. Starlight gasped as a flurry of wings raced past him. Callista attacked Snowhoof from the rear, driving both her blades into his flank. “You murderer!” She ripped the blades out. “Rot in hell!”
Snowhoof cried in anguish, kicking away Callista. Then Cadance gored him with her horn. Starlight began walking forward. Those poor heartbroken mares have lost their husbands….
A hand grabbed his hindleg, and he couldn’t move. Starlight looked down in annoyance at Lightheart. “Please, let me go,” Starlight muttered. He looked back towards Snowhoof. Cadance had pinned Snowhoof against a wall, her horn in his chest. Snowhoof was crying in pain. “Ahh…you have impaled me.”
Callista struck him hard across the face, his helmet flying off. Cadance grunted, her horn glowing with magic. Snowhoof screamed, and blood began to pour out of his mouth.
As Snowhoof’s power faded, Starlight could feel his own conscience returning. Snowhoof slammed his hooves down on Cadance’s head, and she screamed and pulled away from him. Her horn was covered in his blood, and Snowhoof collapsed. Callista tried to strike him while he was down, but he blasted her with magic, freezing her solid. Hot rage erupted within him, breaking Snowhoof’s icy grip on his mind. “Noooo!” he yelled.
Callista’s frozen body stood before Snowhoof, her face twisted in horror. Cadance stared at Snowhoof, tears in her eyes. Starlight charged forward, swinging his blades at Snowhoof. Snowhoof raised his hooves just in time to deflect Starlight’s blow. Snowhoof was pushed backward. Starlight roared in rage and swung again. This time he made contact. His blades had slipped off Snowhoof’s armor, but his hooves struck his jaw. Starlight grinned in satisfaction, Snowhoof’s warm blood wetting his hooves. Starlight attacked again, and every time Snowhoof was pushed back. Snowhoof’s defenses were weakened every time Starlight struck. Hot rage was coursing through his veins, and Cadance joined in. Starlight drove his blades into his gut, Cadance charged her horn with energy and made contact with his horn. Snowhoof howled in pain as his horn shattered.
They continued their punishment, pushing Snowhoof to the balcony. Starlight had ripped open his belly and had shattered his jaw, Cadance had broken his horn. Starlight grabbed Snowhoof, wrestling him down. He nodded to Cadance. She grabbed the base of Snowhoof’s wings, and bent them backward with a crack. Snowhoof screamed, and once the bones had been broken, Cadance easily ripped his wings off. Blood gushed from the mangled bony stump, and Cadance slammed both her hooves down on the splintered bone stumps. Snowhoof cried in pain, and Starlight drove his blade into the wound on his chest. He twisted his blade inside, and he could hear the flesh ripping. Snowhoof sprayed blood onto Cadance as his lungs were punctured and he slowly began drowning in his own blood.
Cadance punched him hard, sending him sliding across the floor. There was a crimson streak where he had slid, and Snowhoof was weakly trying to drag himself away. “Enough…” he whispered. “Please.”
Starlight watched Cadance fume. “Your pain is only just beginning.” She rushed forward, and raised her hoof to strike him. Snowhoof weakly raised his hoof to deflect the blow. There was a flash of light, and Starlight gasped. A tall dark blue alicorn mare held Cadance’s raised hoof. Cadance gasped. “Princess Luna!”
Princess Luna stood before them, shielding Snowhoof. “My queen!” Starlight yelled, rushing forward. “Snowhoof is evil. He’s going to kill us all!”
Luna remained silent and helped Snowhoof stand. “I’m in so much pain, mother.” He looked up sadly at her, his face covered in blood. “I’m sorry for all those things I said at Iceheart Citadel.”
Was Luna in on this!? Had she betrayed them too!? Princess Cadance stomped her hoof. “Luna, how could you take the side of this—this monster?”
Snowhoof withered at her insult, but he smiled. “Better go free Lilyheart before she bleeds out. She wasn’t looking so well before you guys arrived.”
Starlight and Cadence looked at each other, and then dashed off to Snowhoof’s bedroom. Cadance broke down the door with her magic, and saw Lilyheart lying in a large poster bed. Starlight rushed to her, and gasped. She seemed to be sleeping, wrapped in silk sheets and snoring softly. Cadance’s jaw dropped. “Look at her clothes.”
Starlight looked at her. She was wearing a red silk sleeping robe. She looked groomed, and was definitely well fed. There was a bowl of steaming broth lying on the table beside her, and a spoon lay on the ground where someone had dropped it. Cadance shook Lilyheart, “Sweetheart, wake up.”
What did this mean? Starlight thought. He had seen the blood, the bone splinters....Lilyheart awoke, blinking sleepily. She stretched, grinning. “That was the best nap I’ve ever had.” She looked around, confused. “Where am I?” She stuck out her tongue. “And why does my mouth taste like broth? I don’t remember….” She looked down at herself. “I don’t remember these clothes either.”
Princess Cadance shook Lilyheart. “You were abducted by Snowhoof! We all thought you were dead.”
Lilyheart looked herself over. “Well, I do remember seeing Snowhoof…and then I can’t remember.”
“Do you feel fine, though?” Starlight asked and Lilyheart nodded. “This doesn’t make any sense,” he whispered.
Lilyheart looked in distaste over herself. “Who wears a silk nightgown in a bed with silk covers? I swear I feel like I’m just going to slide out.” Lilyheart touched something besides herself. “Oh what’s this sharp thing?” She pulled out what appeared to be some kind of crystal. It glowed in her hoof. It made a sobbing sound. Starlight recognized the sound immediately. So it had been the crystal making the sobbing sound, not Lilyheart? Starlight was really confused now.
Cadance pulled Lilyheart out of bed and they all went outside. Luna was holding Snowhoof steady as he choked up blood. “Mother, my lungs are filling up with blood.”
“Shhh, dear. Everything is going to be alright.” Luna cooed to him like a mother consoling her foal.
“What is the meaning of this?” Cadence demanded. “Starlight saw you in a dungeon, suspended from the roof with horrendous wounds.”
“A fabrication,” Luna said softly. “I wasn’t really in a dungeon, I was here the whole time. It was just so that you all would hurry up.”
“But what about him draining you of power? What about the eternal ice age?” Starlight asked.
Snowhoof coughed. “I made it up. No one’s crazy enough to do such a thing.” Starlight blinked, confused. Snowhoof nodded. “Walk with me, Starlight.” He looked at Cadence, “You too.”
They walked together to the edge of the balcony. Down below Starlight could see the banners of many nations flying together in the breeze, dragons, gryphons, and ponies were all waiting to receive news from the inside of the citadel. “Look at them,” Snowhoof whispered. “A few months ago, these people hated each other. A few weeks ago, they had made plans to kill one another in the wake of my return. Now the same people stand united, such an alliance has never happened before in history.”
Starlight and Cadence stared at Snowhoof. Luna joined their side. “War was inevitable, we knew that. It would be a war so terrible that it would leave entire nations forsaken and species wiped from existence. Equestria would have been devastated.”
Cadence was outraged. “So you decided to devastate it instead, hoping it would be better?” She spat. “You’re just as bad as all of them, you both are monsters.”
Snowhoof looked pained. “Please, just hear me out. But I can ease your pain so you may listen better.” Cadence took a step back, preparing to fight. Snowhoof raised his head and spoke, loud and clear. “Awaken Subject 2453.”
There was a loud hissing sound and a hidden door opened on the side of the chamber. A stallion stumbled out, disoriented. Cadence stood frozen. The stallion with the blue mane and white coat shivered. “I’m cold,” he whispered. “Where am I?”
Tears were in Cadence’s eyes. “Shining Armor….”
Luna nudged her softly. “Go to him.”
Cadence ran forward and leapt into her husband’s arms, sobbing. “I missed you so much!” They both were crying. “I thought you were gone forever.”
Snowhoof was smiling and Starlight stared at him. Snowhoof walked forward, and touched Callista’s frozen body. The ice began to melt and Callista awoke once her body reached a normal temperature. She gasped, breathing heavily. Starlight rushed forward and embraced her. Snowhoof whispered from behind him. “Cryogenic sleep, it preserves the body perfectly. It’s rather comfortable as well.”
Starlight stared at him. “That still does not change the fact that you’ve killed hundreds of thousands of others. You’re still a monster in my eyes.”
Snowhoof winced. “You know how there are a network of massive chambers below this citadel?” Snowhoof coughed, spitting up blood. “Sorry…Well, there are massive chambers. If you noticed, that when I was clearing out that gryphon refugee camp or when you passed out in the cold. The Frostbites, Revenants, all my minions were putting them all in a cryogenic sleep. That’s why there were never any bodies, that’s why they were always dragged away. All those empty towns and cities, the residents were frozen, dragged to this citadel, and stored in the chambers below. It wasn’t to conceal evidence, it was for their preservation.” Snowhoof pointed downward. “Once the ice melts, they’ll awaken with no memory of what happened. It’ll be like they were taking a restful nap….”
Starlight stared, shocked. “All of them? All the gryphon refugees, all the soldiers from Avendale’s siege, the dying ponies in Canterlot, all of them?”
Snowhoof nodded. “They will all awaken once the ice thaws. Any unicorn can do the melting.”
“But what about Amberleaf?”
Snowhoof lowered his eyes. “She was an unfortunate accident. The Revenant got carried away, it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.”
Luna arrived at their side, Maelstrom and Lightheart in bandages and crutches. Starlight gasped, “You two are alive!” Maelstrom smiled, and was about to speak when Luna clamped his mouth shut. “You’re half paralyzed. You can’t talk.”
Starlight turned and glared at Snowhoof. “There many other deaths besides Amberleaf, like Emperor Raelas.”
Snowhoof hissed. “That dragon had it coming. He was stirring the flames of war and had to be eliminated.” Snowhoof pointed outside. “But look what took his place. Emperor Vaelan, a dragon of incredible virtue from what I hear. A true leader that united the world with his prowess. Surely, he is a better alternative than Raelas?” Snowhoof looked down ashamed. “Though, unfortunately, lives were still lost despite my delicate approach. Like Amberleaf.” Snowhoof looked pleadingly into Starlight’s eyes. “I pray you can forgive me.”
Luna nodded. “Amberleaf would have wanted it. Imagine what would have happened if Snowhoof hadn’t done what he had done? This world would be in ruins, the gryphons would be extinct, and soon only the dragons would rule the world. And they would then turn on each other, and descend into total anarchy, dancing on the edge of extinction.”
Snowhoof nodded. “We lost a few dozen lives, but take a look outside. Out there, you’ll see not a cluster of nationalities, but you’ll see a bond unlike anything else. Once hated enemies, forced to work together in the face of a terrible threat, and as time passed, surviving tribulation after tribulation…they realized that they’re not so different after all. They learned to work together, to trust in one another, to be friends. The bond forged between soldiers in battle is unbreakable. Surely we will now enjoy generations and generations of peace and harmony as our children and grandchildren will look upon this event with wonder, how the world forgot about the lines that separated them and joined together to fight a terrifying evil.” Snowhoof looked up. “Me. I’m the terrifying evil.” Snowhoof smiled. “Create a villain evil enough, and the world will galvanize to protect itself.” Everyone looked up at Snowhoof, wonder in their eyes. Snowhoof sat down, exhausted. “I just hope you all can forgive me for the emotional pain I have caused you all.”
Cadence swept him in her arms, kissing him. “You saved the world, Snowhoof. You fooled the entire world into thinking you were the bad guy, while you were secretly saving all of us.”
Callista nodded. “A hero disguised as a villain.”
Luna put a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder. “I can bring Amberleaf back. A seasonal alicorn can be reborn. She might not look the same, but she’ll have all her memories. I knew you had feelings for one another.”
Starlight smiled. Snowhoof choked up more blood, and he lay down on his side. Blood began to pool around him, and he trembled. “Luna…for the first time, I’m feeling cold.”
He was dying, and no alicorn magic could heal such grievous injuries. Starlight felt ashamed. He had gotten carried away. Snowhoof looked up at them. “Alandra….”
The Keeper of Spring stepped forward, sitting down next to him. “Yes, Snowhoof?”
Snowhoof smiled. “I love you. I love you with all that’s left of my heart.” Snowhoof looked down shyly. “Do you…do you still love me too?”
“Oh, Snowhoof,” she said, putting her hoof on around him.
“Marry me,” he whispered. He pushed a ring up at her, wiping away a fleck of blood on it. “I’ve been waiting so long.”
Alandra hesitated. Luna glared at her and mouthed. “He’s dying. Say yes.”
Alandra smiled. “Of course, I love you.” Snowhoof leaned upward and kissed her, tears in his eyes.
“I finally have the mare of my dreams,” he whispered. He coughed up more blood, gurgling.
Luna sighed. “He’s drowning in his own blood. He doesn’t have much time.”
Snowhoof blinked weakly. “I’m scared, Alandra.”
She embraced him, and he wrapped his hoof around her. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”
They all leaned in, sharing their warmth with Snowhoof. Starlight saw Snowhoof smiling. “Never I felt so loved and hated at the same time in my life,” Snowhoof jested playfully. Snowhoof coughed, and shuddered. Starlight looked skyward. Everyone needs to be loved. Everyone, even the darkest ones among us, have hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Even though it might not seem like someone has a heart, they may have a righteous cause to do so. Or if they are acting cruel or indifferently, there is a beating heart still there. It just has been damaged, and only through love and kindness it can be fixed. We are all creatures of love, and there is no one who is beyond repair.
Snowhoof lay cold on the floor, clinging to his last shred of life. Luna urged her to consummate the marriage and end the winter. They were taken to the bedroom, and an hour later, the storm had finally cleared. They all filed intoto the bedroom and saw them in bed together. There was blood everywhere, and Snowhoof’s breaths were raggedy, but he was smiling. Luna kissed her son’s fevered brow. “Safe travels, my dear. Know that everyone here loves you and will waiting for you when you return next winter.”
Snowhoof took his last breath, and the rise and fall of his chest ceased. They all looked at each other. Lilyheart began to cry, hugging Snowhoof’s corpse. “Oh, how could I have ever doubted you? My sweet stallion.”
They all looked down, and Luna and Lilyheart requested that they be alone with him so they could prepare his body for burial.
***
A few days later, Luna and Celestia walked ahead of them on the steel walkway of Frostcrown, talking animatedly. Cadence and Shining Armor were kissing, and the soldiers were cheering, and the dragons roaring in triumph. The ponies in the chambers below had been thawed and were walking alongside them. Starlight rolled his eyes. “How are we supposed to get all these people out of here?”
Vaelan rumbled with laughter. “Don’t worry, we’ve got lots of time. Spring is here, and I’m going to find me a lovely dragoness the moment I get back home.”
Starlight grinned, thinking of his own lover. He and Amberleaf would be reunited next fall, Luna had promised him that.
Starlight looked behind him and saw Callista carrying the wounded Maelstrom. King Lightheart was with his own gryphons, also being showered with praise. They were all being hailed as heroes, for slaying the evil Snowhoof. They all smiled at each other, knowing the truth.
The storm had ceased, and the sun was brightly shining. Starlight looked up at the sky, smiling. Things were going to get better from here on.
No one would ever forget their deeds on the fabled Battle of Frostcrown, nor the bonds forged that day. We will be remembered, and even though we might fade, the friendships made here today will last forever.
