A mysterious mare has arrived in Ponyville with a dire message for the Princess: an ancient being is about to awaken, threatening all of Equestria. Will the Elements of Harmony be able to stand against this threat, or will they fall as she did?
Peace never lasts long in Ponyville. A day beginning with relaxation, party planning, and plenty of research into ancient history soon turns south with the disappearance of Discord and the arrival of a mysterious mare devoid of emotion bearing a dire message for the Princess and her friends.
An ancient being is about to awaken, threatening all of Equestria. Will the Elements of Harmony be able to stand against this new threat, or will they fall just as she did?
Long ago, before Equestria was born, in a valley without a name, lived a village of earth ponies. Their home was beautiful and bountiful, but their prosperity was prevented by invaders from the outside world who sought the valley's riches.
One day, a strange pony unlike any the villagers had ever seen arrived in the valley, injured and exhausted. And although the valley ponies distrusted her, fearing that she was just another invader, they decided to show her kindness and generosity by taking her in and tending to her wounds.
No sooner had the stranger regained her health than did the invaders attack the valley again, and in greater numbers than ever before. The villagers feared it would be their last day, but the stranger they had saved repaid them with gratitude in spare – and with her mighty wings and astounding magic, she vanquished the invaders easily.
The valley ponies greeted their new savior with praise and celebration, which the stranger accepted graciously. That day, she swore an oath to always aide the valley and its ponies as they had aided her.
The stranger settled down in the valley with her new friends, and quickly came to call it home. Over time the valley flourished under her protection, as she vanquished foe after foe without ever faltering. She became renowned throughout the world, both for her unmatched power and for the boundless sense of duty in her heart – every promise she kept, and every deed she repaid.
But time passes quickly, and the earth ponies of the valley soon discovered that while they grew and aged and finally passed, their savior did not. Years became generations, and while the stranger still saw the villagers as her many good friends they instead came to see her as the guardian spirit of their land.
Slowly, reverence turned into worship. Though the stranger was confused, she gave no complaint – these were her dear friends that she'd sworn an oath to aide, who was she to decide how they show their gratitude?
More time passed, and with the stranger's power and reputation so fierce the valley experienced a golden age of peace like none other. And with little to protect the ponies and the valley from... the stranger became comfortable and complacent. While neither her body nor her heart waned, her mind soon became lax and prideful under the constant worship of the villagers.
Until one day, when tragedy struck. Invaders returned to the valley once again, and the villagers called for the aide of their guardian spirit – their savior. But the invaders did not fall as easily as they had in ages past, and the now-prideful stranger became anxious and fearful as she was repeatedly forced back.
Then she did the unthinkable, and fled the home she'd had for thousands of years. Without their savior to protect them the valley was finally overrun, and the earth ponies that lived there cried out in fear and confusion. They begged their savior to come and fulfill her promise to them, just as she had sworn to so long ago.
But those pleas soon turned to curses as the dying ponies realized their savior had abandoned them. With their last breaths they dubbed her 'Oathbreaker', and the name was carried across the world by the four winds.
Eventually, the Oathbreaker returned to find her beloved home in ruins, a cursed shell of its former prosperity. Her body and heart and mind all filled with grief for what she'd allowed to come to pass, and she used her powerful magic to sink into the earth, never to be seen again.
~ ~ ~
This is a tale nearly lost to the ages.
Few remain who know its truth.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The sound of water hitting water echoed through the cavern, leading back to a large pool carved deep into the limestone. Crystal clear and surrounded almost entirely by high walls, the water gave off a soft and ethereal glow – a light without source, but with unmistakable presence. And in the center of the pool, a single spire of rock rising as high as the walls but precariously thin, nearly the width of a quill at its thinnest point.
Drip.
The ripples from the droplet did not fade, but grew stronger – as did the light of the pool itself.
And slowly, something began to rise up from the water at the center of the unending ripples. It moved towards the edge of the pool, towards one of the few low ledges along its rim, bringing the ripples along with it. It kept rising, and so did the light, until all at once a form dripping with water pulled itself out onto drier land.
The water drained away from it with a supernatural quickness, flowing back into the pool and leaving behind a single dry earth pony – a grown mare, her coat a cold white and her mane and tail a dull black. Her expression was entirely bare, and so was her flank.
Drip.
The light faded again, and the mare slowly closed her eyes. She remained like that for some time, her stillness only broken by the occasional twitch – first her nose, then her ears, then her tail, and then each leg in turn.
Drip.
She opened her eyes again, and slowly turned her impassive gaze back to her flank – which was now marked by a trio of plain black dots, arranged in an upright triangle. She gave no reaction to the mark, simply turning her head to examine her surroundings – the ledge she was on sloped up shortly to a series of other ledges positioned close enough together to provide a path out of the high-walled pool.
Her first step was slow and tentative, but those that followed became less and less so. Soon enough she had climbed up to the open cavern that the pool had been cut into, and again stopped to silently examine her surroundings. Several paths seemed to lead away into the darkness, but she quickly fixated on one. She raised a hoof to take a step...
Drip.
...then hesitated. She turned to look back at the pool, and the precarious pillar at its center. There, on the very top at a level even with the rest of the cavern's floor, was an almost life-like stone statue of an alicorn. It was lying down, wings folded and neck turned to the side, an expression of pure sadness etched into its features.
Though the pillar was much wider at the top than at its middle, the statue was larger still such that several of its features extended past the pillar's edges. And thus it was that the water that welled up from the statue's eyes rolled down its cheeks and fell like tears to the pool below.
Drip.
Drip.
The mare blinked, then turned and walked away into the darkness of the cavern.
“So, remind me again why we're brushing up on ancient history?” Spike asked as he pulled yet another tome from the shelves of the Castle of Friendship's extensive library, adding it to his already-towering stack.
“Because, Spike,” Twilight Sparkle answered as she trotted past her assistant on a lower level of the room, several books floating around her in a magical field, “we've had so many magical disasters turn up out of nowhere. I just don't think we can afford to be surprised by every little threat to Equestria!”
“Ooh, I get it,” Spike said in slow comprehension as he carefully lifted the stack of books he'd collected. “So then this is kinda like what you did with Nightmare Moon then, right?” he asked the Princess as he slowly started to head for the stairs. “Find out some prophecy about something major happening ahead of time so you can try and stop it?”
“Kind of,” Twilight replied, pausing to catch a few books with her magic as they fell from her assistant's tower. “Unfortunately, the returns of Nightmare Moon and the Crystal Empire are the exceptions rather than the rule. Most of the stuff we've had to deal with were never foretold anywhere, even Princess Celestia didn't know they'd happen before they did! Discord, Tirek,” Twilight began to count off as she stopped at an empty table, “the plunderseeds...”
“The Changelings,” Starlight Glimmer supplied helpfully from another nearby table, a hint of pride in her voice as she read through a book held in front of her by magic.
“Exactly,” Twilight said, giving her student a nod. “All of those were major threats that we had absolutely no warning of.”
Spike dropped to the floor nearby, then paused a few moments to steady his swaying stack of books. “Okay, but if most of the stuff we've had to deal with hasn't been prophecized or whatever, what's the point of all this research?” he asked, carrying the books to the two ponies.
“Well, just because we probably won't find any,” Twilight said as she looked through her books, “doesn't mean we shouldn't look. I mean,” she paused to let out a short laugh, “it's not like we have some other way to predict magical catastrophes.”
“Plus,” Starlight spoke up, “even if we don't find any predictions of the future it's still a good idea to brush up on old legends just in case we need them in the future. Right?”
“Exactly!” Twilight said, giving her student another happy nod.
“In fact, I've already come across a few things that might be worth looking into,” Starlight continued, opening up another book with her magic and moving it next to the other one she was reading. “The Urn of Devastation, the Lost Land of Libra Dolce, the Cavern of the Lost...”
“Cavern of the Lost?” Spike repeated, raising a brow as he dumped a few more books onto Starlight's table. “What's that,” he said in a scoffing manner, “a cave where things that you lose end up?” He paused in his tracks. “Actually, we should check that out. I lost a couple of rubies the other day and-”
“Not that kind of lost,” Starlight told him. “Lost as in 'lost souls'.” Spike froze, his eyes wide in alarm. “According to legend,” Starlight read, ignoring the dragonling, “the Cavern of the Lost is a place where the spirits of ponies who died in great tragedies gather, unable to find true peace. Apparently, if the spirits' hate and anger grows strong enough, they can manifest as shadows of their original forms bent on revenge against those who killed them.”
Spike shivered. “Wow. That's way scarier than what I thought it was.”
Twilight laughed awkwardly as she walked over. “Yeah, true. Hopefully we won't run into it, I kiiiiinda don't like the idea of dealing with angry spirits.”
Spike and Starlight laughed as well. “I'll just set it aside for later, then,” Starlight said, floating one of the three books she'd had open back down to the table.
A rather long berry bush rustled. Seconds later, a mare walked out around it – her coat a cold white, her eyes a dull slate devoid of feeling. Though she bore no visible scratches or other wounds as she stepped out into the sun, there were more than a few leaves and twigs stuck in her dull black mane and tail.
She stopped, having emerged from the forest at the side of a simple dirt road. She turned her head and looked down it to the left, then to the right; neither direction bore any immediate signs of pony life.
She looked straight ahead, and blinked slowly.
Then, in a calm and fluid motion, she reached back and pulled a leaf from her mane. She held it on her hoof out in front of her, and stayed stock still until a gust of wind picked up.
It blew the leaf away to the right. Moments later she galloped out onto the road following in that same direction, her face still devoid of expression.
Some time later she came upon a sign on the side of the road and paused. It read 'Ponyville Ahead'.
She blinked slowly again, then resumed galloping down the road at a slightly faster pace.
Rainbow Dash inched a small piece of melon across her blanket to where her tortoise, Tank, was waiting. She smiled as he ever-so-slowly reached his neck out towards it, and giggled a little as he opened his mouth to take a bite.
Then she heard a knock from down at her front door. “Wha?” she asked, pony and pet alike raising their heads in confusion.
The knock was repeated a few seconds later, prompting Rainbow to shrug and zip down through her house to answer it.
It was Fluttershy. “Oh hey, what's up?” Rainbow asked her friend.
“Oh, umm, sorry to disturb you,” Fluttershy replied softly, leaning to the side to look behind Rainbow Dash and causing her to send a confused look over her shoulder as well. “I was just wondering if you'd seen Discord lately.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Discord? Why would he be here?”
“Umm, well, that's the thing,” Fluttershy answered, averting her gaze, “I don't really know. But I do know that this is our usual tea party time, only he hasn't shown up yet, and Discord is never late!” She turned an almost pleading look to her friend.
Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, so the guy's missing. What made you come look for him at my place?” she asked again, waving a hoof back into her house as she hovered in the doorway.
“Well, I just thought that maybe I'd done something to make him mad,” Fluttershy explained, “and since he gets along with you so well, at least better than our other friends, that maybe he came here to try and make me jealous. Oh, not that it was definitely that,” she quickly added, averting her gaze again as she worked through her explanation, “I'm sure he has plenty of other reasons to come visit you during our usual tea time, but it's just-”
Rainbow cut her off with a hoof over her mouth. “Yeah, don't worry, he's not here,” she said.
Fluttershy let out a sad little “Oh...”, followed shortly after by “I hope he's okay...”
“If you're that worried about him why didn't you just ask Twilight?” Rainbow asked, her hooves on her hips. “I'm sure she can track him down way easier than I can.”
“I know,” Fluttershy nodded and smiled, “I just didn't wanna make a big deal out of this if I didn't have to.”
Rainbow Dash sighed again. “Well, you're gonna have to make a big deal out of it,” she told her friend. “If the guy who can teleport wherever he wants whenever he wants is late to something he likes so much, something's up and it's our duty as friends to figure out what.”
Fluttershy's spirits rose visibly with Rainbow Dash's confidence. “Yeah! Let's go ask Twilight to help us find him!” she agreed.
“Yeah!” Rainbow echoed, raising a hoof. She prepared to zoom out the door, then paused. “Actually, hold on a second,” she told her friend before zipping back up to her bedroom where Tank was happily munching on the same piece of melon. “I gotta go for a bit,” she told her pet. “You be good, okay?”
Tank gave her a smile and nodded, slowly. When he finally finished, Rainbow Dash gave him a pat on the head and dashed back down to Fluttershy. “Alright, let's go!” she said, bursting with her usual confidence.
She sped off without waiting for a reply, but Fluttershy happily followed right after her.
Several minutes earlier, the mare with the cold white coat and the blank expression arrived in Ponyville. It was a decently busy day in town, with ponies of all sorts happily going about their errands, tending to their businesses, and visiting with friends. The mare paused about a yard into town and looked around at its residents with the same vacant look she gave everything; in turn none of them seemed to pay her any mind.
She slowly blinked, then resumed walking into town – only to stop again when she saw two ponies walking towards her, apparently embroiled in conversation. Both were earth ponies though the similarities ended there; the mare on the left was dull and drab with half-lidded eyes and a blank expression, while the mare on the right was quite literally bouncing with joy and an excited smile on her face.
“-and so then Rainbow Dash was like 'whoosh!' And then Rarity was like 'Oh no!' And then-” Pinkie recounted, stopping along with Maud in front of the white-coated mare.
The white-coated mare blinked, and the Pie sisters did the same a moment later.
The stranger opened her mouth and took a short breath, then spoke. “Excuse me-” Her voice was light and clear, but also flat and utterly monotonous.
She was also interrupted almost immediately by Pinkie Pie, who gasped so hard she lifted herself off the ground. Pinkie promptly bolted away, leaving her sister with the stranger.
The stranger closed her mouth, then blinked. Then blinked again. After a few seconds, she looked straight at Maud and said “I do not understand her reaction.”
“Oh,” Maud replied, her voice lower than the stranger's but just as flat. She briefly looked back in the direction her sister had gone, then said “She must not have recognized you. Are you new here?”
“Yes,” the stranger answered without pause. “I come to this land seeking audience with its ruler. Do you know where I can find them?”
Maud stared at her for a second, then pointed back over her shoulder. “If you mean Princess Twilight, her castle's at the other end of town. It's hard to miss.”
The stranger slowly blinked, paused, then bowed. “Thank you,” she said before she began to trot off down the street.
“Wait,” Maud called out, causing the stranger to pause and look back at her. “Who are you? My sister is gonna want to know.”
The stranger blinked. “Oh, my apologies,” she said before clearing her throat and closing her eyes. “Greetings and salutations,” she recited in a sort of awkward, obviously-rehearsed yet still monotonous manner. “I am called Cold Reason.” She paused to bow before continuing. “I come to this land seeking audience with its ruler. Do you know where I can find them?”
Maud just stared at her. “My name is Maud,” she finally said. “Why did you repeat the part about coming to talk with the Princess?”
Cold Reason stiffened ever-so-slightly, and blinked with a surprising quickness. “I apologize for unintentionally giving you my full introduction, Miss Maud. I most likely did it out of habit.”
“Oh. Okay,” Maud replied. She and Cold Reason stared at one another for a moment before she added “By the way, do you like parties?”
Cold Reason blinked, then blinked again. “I do not currently wish to partake in any festivities. I have an important message to deliver to Princess Twilight. Thank you for giving me directions to her castle.”
Then she turned and continued on down the road, leaving Maud by herself. Maud watched Cold go for a few seconds, then reached into her rock pouch and pulled out her pet. She held the small stone up to her ear, then nodded. “You're right, Boulder. She was pretty strange. Pinkie will be disappointed.”
She put her pet back into her rock pouch, then calmly headed back up the street in the same direction as Cold Reason.
“So, same time next week?” Rarity asked as she and Applejack exited the Ponyville Spa looking rather refreshed and relaxed.
“I'll see if I can fit it in,” Applejack replied with a small smile.
The two were stopped in their tracks by the sudden appearance of a pink blur in front of them, which soon slowed down enough to reveal itself as Pinkie Pie. “Rarity! Applejack!” she shouted. “There you are! I've been looking all over for you! It's an emergency!”
The two in question shared an alarmed look. “What's the matter, Pinkie?” Applejack asked. “Weren't you visitin' with Maud today?” She gasped in realization. “She ain't in trouble, is she?”
“No!” Pinkie replied, jumping up and down impatiently.
“Oh, it's not another monster attack, is it?” Rarity asked in concern.
“No!” Pinkie repeated at the crest of another jump.
“Some kinda ancient evil come back seekin' revenge?” Applejack added.
“No, it isn't any of those things!” Pinkie Pie replied in a panic. “There's a new pony in town and she's all alone, so we need to throw a welcome party to welcome her and there's just so much to prepare on such short notice!”
Rarity and Applejack shared another look, and then a small smile. “Relax, Pinkie,” Applejack told her impatiently bouncing friend, “we'll help you with whatever you need.”
“Of course, dear,” Rarity added. “Just tell us what it is you want us to do.”
Pinkie landed and took a deep breath. “Okay, so, I already left Maud to get the scoop on the new girl,” she said, briefly gesturing back over her shoulder, “but that's not gonna be enough. We need cake and streamers and loads of other party supplies,” she explained rapidly, “which I can get myself, but we also need a place to throw the party, cause what's a party without somewhere to throw it? Nothing, that's what. But I was wondering where to throw it, cause I don't know anything about this new pony yet, and then it hit me: the castle!”
Rarity and Applejack shared a surprised look. “It's, like, super big and super duper cool,” Pinkie continued to explain, “plus it's like the Castle of Friendship, duh, so it's like the perfect place to throw a big welcome party for our brand new friend!”
“So...where do we come into all this, exactly?” Applejack asked as Rarity quirked a brow.
She let out a small startled gasp as Pinkie zipped up face-to-face with her. “I need you two to go talk to Twilight and get her to help. Oh! And then go find Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and get them to help too! I'll grab what I can and meet you all at the castle, okay?”
She was gone before her friends could reply. “Well...I suppose we'd better get going, then,” Rarity said, still a little shocked.
“I reckon so,” Applejack replied. “Can't wait to meet this new pony, though,” she added as she and Rarity turned and started heading for the castle.
“Oh me too,” Rarity said. “I wonder what she's like?”
As it happened Applejack and Rarity reached the castle first, and Spike was the one to answer their knocking.
“Hey Applejack, Rarity,” he greeted, winking sending a flirtatious wink the unicorn's way that was completely ignored, “what's up?”
“Howdy, Spike,” Applejack replied as she and Rarity invited themselves in. “Hope we aren't interruptin' nothin'.”
“Pinkie Pie asked us to come,” Rarity explained. “It seems there's a new pony in town, and she'd like for Twilight to host a welcome party here.”
“New pony, huh?” Spike said, rubbing his chin as he shut the door. “Cool. I bet Twilight would love to host a welcome party. She and Starlight are in the library studying,” he explained, motioning for the girls to follow him.
Applejack chuckled. “Figures.”
The walk to the library was more than enough time for the girls to regale Spike with what little information they'd gotten from Pinkie Pie regarding both the newcomer and the party to be thrown for her, and so the three entered relatively unannounced. They were not, however, unnoticed.
“Oh hey,” Twilight greeted, perking up at the sight of her friends and trotting over to meet them. “I wasn't expecting the two of you to show up today.”
“Neither were we, darling,” Rarity replied. “But Pinkie has a bit of a party emergency and would like to make use of the castle.”
“Party emergency?” Twilight asked in confusion.
“Yup,” Applejack said. “Apparently she came across a new pony in town, and wants to throw a party to welcome her. She's off roundin' up supplies, leavin' us,” she motioned to Rarity and herself, “to round up help.”
Twilight's face lit up with excitement. “Ooh, that sounds like a great idea,” she gushed, “I'd love to help! Not only will it be a great way to welcome them, but it'll also be a perfect opportunity for Starlight to make friends with somepony that nopony knows!” She turned her excitement back to her student, who looked up from her books with a slightly wary look.
“Sounds...great...!” Starlight said with just a hint of uncertainty and nervousness in her smile.
“I know, right?” Twilight said, teleporting next to her and throwing a foreleg around her. “I'm so excited I just can't wait!” Starlight chuckled nervously.
“Well then, that settles it,” Applejack said confidently. “Now we just gotta-”
She was cut off by an urgent knocking that carried surprisingly well through the castle. “I'll get it!” Spike volunteered, immediately scampering out of the library.
“I expect that's Pinkie Pie,” Rarity noted as Spike left. “She did say she was going to rendezvous with us here after she picked up some things for the party.”
As the four continued chatting about the party, Spike hustled to the door as the knocking became more and more impatient. “Hold on, I'm coming!” he called out in exasperation, but the moment he touched the handle Rainbow Dash flung it open herself and flew in, Fluttershy right behind her. Spike tumbled backwards at the sudden blow, but soon got back on his feet and rubbed his nose in irritation. “Jeez, what's your problem?” he asked, Fluttershy giving him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry Spike,” Rainbow Dash said offhandedly, looking around as she hovered above him. “Where's Twilight?”
“Oh, you must be here to help with the party, right?” Spike asked with a smile. “Twilight and the others are figuring it out in the library.”
Both pegasi gave him looks of confusion. “Party?” Fluttershy asked. “We're not here for any party. We're here because Discord is missing!”
“He is?” Spike asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” Rainbow answered impatiently. “We'll explain more when we're with Twilight.” She promptly dashed away, prompting Fluttershy and Spike to follow after her.
Rainbow Dash arrived at the library just as Twilight, Starlight, Applejack, and Rarity were exiting it. “So obviously the great hall is going to need-” the Princess began to say before noticing her friend.
“Hey girls,” Rainbow shouted as Fluttershy arrived, “we got a potential emergency here!”
“Emergency?” Twilight replied, exchanging looks with her other friends. “Is this about the party?” she asked, cocking her head to one side with a skeptical expression.
Rainbow let out a grunt of exasperation. “What is it with everypony and parties right now?”
It was then that Spike arrived, huffing and puffing for air. “It's-” he began to say before Fluttershy flew up to the fore.
“Sorry for making such a big deal out of this,” she apologized, “but Discord hasn't shown up for our usual tea party, and I'm getting worried. I don't suppose you can help me find him can you?”
“Well of course,” Twilight replied, “I-”
She was cut off by a trio of calm, even knocks on the castle door. “Augh,” Spike groaned, “I just came from there!” He hustled back down the hall, leaving the ponies to share a look.
“Okay, now that's gotta be Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said.
“We should probably go meet her,” Twilight suggested, heading onward down the hall prompting the others to follow. “If something's really happened to Discord, that'll have to take priority over the welcome party.”
“Welcome party?” Fluttershy asked in confusion. “For who?”
“We'll have to ask Pinkie to explain, I'm afraid,” Rarity answered.
The six ponies quickly caught up to Spike, Twilight lifting her winded assistant up onto her back with her magic as the group continued to the door. The trio of knocks repeated, and the Princess opened it.
It was Cold Reason.
Ignoring the stares she was receiving, her gaze immediately fixated on Twilight. She blinked, then dropped into an exaggerated bow – repeating it with an added flourish after a brief pause. “Greetings and salutations, Your Royal Highness Princess Twilight,” she said in the same flat voice she'd used with Maud, earning seven odd looks. “I am called Cold Reason. I have come to your lands to give you a dire message.”
She stood back up and stared at Twilight, prompting her and her friends to exchange several nervous and uncertain glances.
Twilight Sparkle and her friends stared at the pony who'd shown up at the castle's doorway. Cold Reason stared at them back. She blinked.
“I apologize,” she said in her light yet monotonous voice. “Was my greeting improper?”
“Nnnnoo...,” Twilight hesitantly replied, sharing a look with Spike. “It's just...you weren't really who we were expecting. Sorry.”
“I see,” Cold Reason replied. “Then I apologize for my unannounced arrival. However I still must give you my message.”
A second passed in silence. “I'm...listening?” Twilight replied, still looking uncertain.
Cold Reason nodded. “My message is this: the-”
“THERE YOU ARE!” Everyone present was startled by the sudden outburst except for Cold Reason, who simply turned her impassive gaze back just in time to see Pinkie grabbing her by the shoulders. “We've been looking everywhere for you, silly! I never expected you to be here!”
Cold Reason blinked, then looked from Pinkie to Maud who had arrived alongside her. Both of the Pie sisters were carrying full-looking saddle bags. “I do not understand,” Cold Reason said. “I implied to your sister that I would be heading for this castle. Did she not inform you of this?”
“I tried to,” Maud replied looking at her sister.
“Sorry!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I didn't think you'd actually head straight to the castle without checking out the rest of Ponyville first!”
“-am about to have the time of your life?” Pinkie finished with a broad grin. “Cause I know you told Maud that you didn't wanna party,” she explained with a gesture to her staring sister, “but that doesn't mean we can't totally have some 'Welcome to Ponyville' fun!”
“I do not-” Cold Reason began to say before Pinkie cut her off again.
“Oh, where are my manners,” the party pony said jokingly, “I haven't introduced everypony yet! I'm Pinkie Pie, and you've already met my sister Maud,” she said, letting go of Cold to point to herself, then throw a hoof around her sister. “Then there's Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer!” She zipped over with startling speed to each of her friends as she introduced them; only Fluttershy and Starlight waved at the newcomer though Starlight's was done with an awkward smile. The others simple watched Pinkie. “Everypony,” Pinkie finished, darting back to the newcomer and throwing a hoof around her, “this is Cold Reason! She's new in town.”
“Yeah, we kinda figured that,” Rainbow Dash said.
“It's very nice to meet you,” Fluttershy said to Cold Reason with a warm smile on her face. “But I'm afraid we're kind of in the middle of a teensy situation right now.”
Cold blinked. “I see. Then please allow me to-”
“Situation?” Pinkie interrupted again, earning another stare from Cold Reason. “Ooh, is it a fun situation?” she asked with a wide grin. “Or is it a baaaaad situation?” she added, switching to an exaggerated frown.
“Bad,” Rainbow Dash answered, pausing a moment then adding “Probably.”
“Then please allow me to-” Cold Reason again tried to say.
“Well how is it probably bad?” Pinkie Pie asked in confusion. “You'd think that-” It was her that was cut off this time, courtesy of Maud putting a hoof over her mouth. She garbled out a few more words before she noticed.
Twilight cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention again. “Well, the truth is we don't know enough about the, uh, situation to tell just yet. But I think our new friend might be able to shed some light on it if we give her the chance.”
Pinkie blinked, then became sheepish. “Ohhh, oops...I was doing that thing where I get too excited and don't let anypony else speak, wasn't I?”
“Yup,” Applejack answered.
“Sorry,” Pinkie told Cold Reason, who simply looked back towards Twilight and the others.
“Well go ahead, dear,” Rarity told her. “We're all listening.”
Cold nodded at her. “Thank you Miss Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said, giving another short bow to Twilight. “I hope my message helps you understand your problem as well. It is this: the Oathbreaker will awaken soon, most likely within the week. Her awakening will have devastating consequences for the world if she is not contained.”
Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. Everyone else just stared blankly. “Umm, I'm sorry,” Twilight said after a few seconds, “I can tell this is important to you, but I'm afraid none of us know who this 'Oathbreaker' even is.”
Cold Reason blinked. “Unfortunate, but not unexpected,” she said. “The Oathbreaker was – or rather is – an alicorn of unparalleled power who lived a very long time ago. A great tragedy caused her to seal herself in the earth. That seal will be undone soon. She will begin an uncontrolled rampage once she is awake. She is powerful enough to do considerable damage to everything around her. Containing her must be made a top priority.”
Another silent moment passed; aside from Maud, the blank stares of ignorance on the faces of the others gave way to worry. “Wow,” Twilight said, “that really does sound pretty serious.”
“I'll say,” Starlight chimed in. “I am curious as to how you know all this, though.”
Cold blinked. “I do not wish to discuss that in such a...,” she paused, looking around at the others and then over her shoulder towards the town behind her, “public place.”
“Right,” Twilight nodded. “Still,” she told her friends, “this sounds like something we need to look into. And between this and our other problem, we really need to inform Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about everything, too.”
“Wait,” Cold Reason spoke up, loudly enough to surprise the others. “I apologize for my interruption Princess Twilight Sparkle. I need clarification. The alicorn sisters Celestia and Luna are alive?”
The others looked at her in utter befuddlement, and shared similar looks amongst themselves. “Uh, duh,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Why wouldn't they be?”
Cold gave her no reply, simply looking at Twilight. “And do they possess more authority in this land than you do Princess Twilight Sparkle?”
“Well obviously,” Twilight answered in disbelief. “They rule all of Equestria! Technically, I don't think I even rule Ponyville,” she said, motioning out towards the town.
Cold Reason blinked. “My humblest apologies Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said, giving her another deep bow. “I mean you no disrespect but my message was intended for the highest ruler of this land. Miss Maud told me that was you,” she said, turning her blank stare towards Maud and receiving one in return, “but that information was false.”
“Oh. Sorry,” Maud answered. “I didn't really understand your question.”
Cold blinked again. “Then I apologize for my poor choice of words. However I must not misuse any more time and deliver my message to the Sisters as soon as possible. They will better understand the seriousness of it and will be better able to contain the Oathbreaker. May I ask where I can find them, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” she asked Twilight with another bow.
“Uhh...,” Twilight began to answer, looking at the others. “Actually...maybe it's a good idea if I come with you. I don't know if you'll be able to get a personal audience with the Princess that easily by yourself, but if I'm there with you it shouldn't be a problem.”
“You have my sincerest gratitude Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Cold said, only then rising from her last bow. “May I request that we leave as soon as possible?”
“Of course!” Twilight said with a smile before turning once again to her friends. “Sorry everypony, but you're gonna have to look for Discord without me.” Cold Reason tensed slightly, but none of the others noticed.
“That's okay,” Fluttershy said. “You've got something important to do too. We'll be fine without you.”
“Totally!” Rainbow Dash added.
Twilight smiled at them, then turned her attention back to Cold Reason to find her mid-blink. “Excuse me,” Cold asked. “Is the Discord you refer to the draconequus Discord?”
“Uh, yeah, what other Discord could we be talking about?” Rainbow Dash replied.
“He still lives free?” Cold asked.
The others shared another confused look. “Well yeah,” Applejack finally said. “Didn'tcha know that?”
“I did not,” Cold Reason answered. “Is the problem that Princess Twilight Sparkle referred to earlier related to him?”
“Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy nodded. “He's gone missing, and I'm just so worried about him.”
Cold Reason blinked twice. “I do not understand. Why would anypony feel concern for the spirit of chaos and disharmony?”
“Oh, I don't blame you,” Fluttershy replied with a small smile. “He did a lot of bad things in the past, but we were able to reform him. He's our friend now!”
“More or less...,” Applejack muttered under her breath as Cold Reason blinked several times.
“...I am having difficulty accepting that as truth,” she said. “The Discord I know of should not be capable of such things.”
“Rrrriiight...,” Rainbow Dash said, giving Cold a suspicious look. “Girls, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked the others, grabbing Pinkie Pie and pulling her inside, then slamming the door shut.
“...I do not understand,” Cold Reason said.
“Don't ask me,” Maud said as Cold looked her way. “I'm not usually a part of these things.”
Cold Reason blinked, then looked back at the door and sat down.
“Okay, does anypony else think the new girl's a little...off?” Rainbow Dash whispered, huddling with the other six ponies and Spike a few yards away from the castle entrance.
“Well, she sure does act awful strange,” Applejack said.
Pinkie rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm...now that you mention it, Maud said the same thing on the way over.”
“She did seem a little...awkward, even taking into consideration her, ah, particular level of expressiveness,” Rarity said with a touch of delicacy.
“And it's not just how she acts, either,” Twilight added. “How in Equestria does somepony know of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but not that they're, well, Princesses?”
“Or about Discord?” Spike chimed in.
“Yeah, even I knew he'd come back before I met all of you,” Starlight said, “and I was living in an isolated village!”
“Exactly!” Rainbow said, hovering above them all. “Something smells fishy here-” she cast another suspicious look towards the door- “and I don't know if I can trust this 'Cold Reason' just yet. What if this is all some kind of set-up to distract us from Discord, or something else?”
“Oh, I hope not,” Fluttershy whimpered. “I don't like set-ups. At least not the bad ones anyway, and this one seems like it could be really bad.”
Pinkie stifled a gasp. “Oh no! I could've been about to throw a welcome party for somepony that's totally evil!” she whispered in panic.
“Now now, let's not jump to conclusions,” Twilight said with a calming hoof gesture. “I'll admit that I have a lot of questions about Cold Reason, but I don't think it's right to just assume she's evil. Especially since I don't think that really explains why she's so, well...”
“Stranger than a hog plowin' a field with its tail?” Applejack finished during the Princess' pause.
“...w-well, I don't know if I'd put it like that,” Twilight said with a faint blush. “The point is, I don't think we should just ignore her warning about the Oathbreaker. But at the same time, maybe a little caution is called for.”
“So what are you suggesting?” Spike asked.
“I'm suggesting that we split up,” Twilight answered simply. “Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, if you don't mind I'd like you to help me escort Cold Reason to Canterlot so if she does try something underhanded I won't have to stop her myself.”
“I'll be glad to help, dear,” Rarity said. “If nothing else it'll give me an opportunity to check up on the Canterlot boutique if nothing untoward happens with our guest.”
“Me too!” Pinkie replied with enthusiasm. “She'd better watch out,” she added with an intense look in her eyes, “cause Pinkie Pie is not gonna let her out of her sight!”
“Applejack?” Twilight asked, looking to the third friend she'd named.
“You know you can always count on me, Twilight,” she answered. “Just let me tell my family I'm gonna be gone for a little while.”
Twilight nodded. “Spike, Starlight, I want you to go with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to track down Discord.”
“What? Why me?” Spike objected.
“Yeah!” Starlight chimed in. “Can't I just...stay here and do some research into this whole 'Oathbreaker' story?”
Twilight shook her head. “Normally, yes. But I'm worried Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will need your magic for this. Plus, since you became friends with Discord when you rescued us from Queen Chrysalis, he might be a little more cooperative if you're there when you find him.”
“O...kay, I guess...,” Starlight said uncertainly.
“But what about me?” Spike asked.
Twilight smiled at him. “Well, you and Discord are close too, right? Plus if you're with them and I'm with Princess Celestia, we'll be able to communicate back and forth.”
“Huh,” Spike said with a blink of realization, “that makes a whole lotta sense. Good idea, Twilight!” he told her with a bright smile.
Twilight giggled lightly. “Thanks! Now let's get ready to go, shall we?” The group huddle broke apart shortly thereafter, Starlight and Spike heading further into the castle while the others headed back to the door. The Princess opened it to find Cold Reason still sitting on the porch, staring straight ahead at them.
“Oh, um, hi,” Twilight greeted with a sheepish smile, moving to the side to allow the rest of her friends to pass. “So, here's the plan: Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity are gonna help me escort you to the Princesses. Is that okay with you?”
“I have no objections,” Cold Reason replied, also shifting to the side to let the others through. “I only ask that we leave as soon as possible.”
“Oh, we will,” Twilight told her. “Just sit tight for a few minutes while I gather up a few things for the trip.” She turned and walked away, leaving the door open and Cold on the front steps.
Cold looked around her; the two pegasi were already out of sight, while Applejack and Rarity were galloping down the road – as was Pinkie, with Maud in tow. Cold looked back at the open castle and blinked.
“I do not know how to 'sit tight' Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
True to what she'd said, Twilight's preparations took only a few minutes – as did Spike's and Starlight's. The three regrouped briefly with Cold Reason, who had remained seated outside the entire time, before the Princess' assistant and student split off to rendezvous for their own mission.
“So...,” Twilight began as she and Cold walked through the streets of Ponyville, “where do you come from, Cold Reason?”
Cold blinked. “I come from a small village that is very far away. To the west I think. I do not know its name.” Her answers were brisk, and she kept on looking straight ahead.
“...you don't know the name of where you're from?” Twilight asked, giving Cold a disbelieving look.
“Correct,” Cold answered.
“...can you at least describe it?”
“It is average and unexciting. Nothing important happened there. I left because I needed to deliver my message. I do not wish to speak more about my past until my message has been delivered correctly and the Oathbreaker has been contained.”
“O...kay...,” Twilight said slowly, raising a brow. “In that case...what do you think of Ponyville?”
Cold blinked, then looked around. “It is...unexpected in many ways. But it is peaceful.”
“It is, isn't it?” Twilight said with a warm smile. “I've only lived here for a couple years now, but I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Ponyville's just so friendly and, well, peaceful! Well, when there's no monsters attacking or world-ending disasters to avert,” she added with a light chuckle that earned a stare from Cold Reason.
“...I see even this place is not free from troubles,” she said, looking back ahead. “I hope the Oathbreaker does not add to them for long.”
Twilight's smile faded, but only briefly. “Don't worry, we'll make sure that this 'Oathbreaker' is dealt with,” she said. “Trust me, my friends and I are all very accomplished at this sort of thing.” She finished with a slightly smug little nod that Cold Reason paid no attention to.
The two were silent for the last few minutes it took to reach the small one-story building at the end of the road they'd been traveling – the Ponyville Train Station.
“Looks like Pinkie and Rarity are already here,” Twilight said, trotting over to her friends and their luggage. Cold Reason followed after her, her attention more on the building than the ponies. “You all ready, girls?” Twilight asked her friends.
“Yup-a-rooni!” Pinkie answered with an excited bounce. “Maud was pretty sad that we had to cut our visit so short, but she understands.”
“I'm prepared as well. I've also taken the liberty of purchasing tickets for the five of us,” Rarity said, using her magic to levitate a ticket each to the two new arrivals.
Twilight magically accepted hers with a smile; Cold took hers in her hoof and blinked. “I do not understand. What is this?”
“Why, it's your ticket, darling,” Rarity answered, getting a blank stare in response. “For the train?”
Cold blinked, then looked from the ticket in her hoof, to Rarity, and back. “I do not understand what you mean. I apologize for my lack of what is apparently common knowledge.”
The others shared a confused look. “You...really don't know what a train is?” Twilight asked.
Cold looked at Twilight and paused. “That is correct Princess Twilight Sparkle. I do not understand what a train is in this context.”
“Oh, well then,” Twilight began to say with an almost excited smile on her face before Pinkie gasped and covered her mouth.
“Shh! Nopony tell her what a train is!” she stage-whispered to her friend, her eyes wide as she looked at Cold. “I wanna see the look on her face when she finds out!”
Twilight and Rarity groaned.
Meanwhile, Spike and Starlight Glimmer were arriving at Fluttershy's house – the agreed-upon meeting site for the Discord search team – to find one pegasus already ready and waiting.
“C'mon, what took you two slowpokes so long?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.
“We can't all be as fast as you, Rainbow Dash,” Starlight replied with a hint of annoyance.
“Plus, you did kinda go back to grab a few books to bring with you,” Spike said from atop the unicorn's back.
Starlight sputtered, a light blush forming on her face. “It didn't take that long!” she said. “Besides, if the whole Discord thing turns out to be nothing I wanna be able to at least try to do some research into this 'Oathbreaker' character.”
Rainbow Dash grunted. “Whatever. As long as you keep focused on helping with the search, it doesn't matter. Besides, we still have to wait for Fluttershy to be ready.”
Starlight and Spike looked at the cottage expectantly, but nobody appeared from it. “Any day, Fluttershy!” Rainbow called out. “You're the one who's worried the most about Discord, remember?”
Something like a faint “Sorry!” came forth from the cottage, and several seconds later the door finally opened. “I'm so sorry everypony,” Fluttershy apologized as she stepped out into the open and immediately got airborne. “I just needed to say goodbye to all the little animals. I hope they won't miss me too much while I'm gone again...”
“We shouldn't be gone that long,” Rainbow told her. “Wherever Discord is, he's probably sticking out like a sore wing.”
“So where are we gonna look first?” Spike asked.
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Oh, I don't know. The only place I can think of is his, umm, home.”
“So? Lead the way!” Rainbow told her.
“Well that's just the thing,” Fluttershy replied. “He's only ever taken me there by magic. I'm not sure I know where it is exactly.”
“Well, do you at least know what the area around it looks like?” Spike asked.
“Umm...it's sort of...chaotic?” Fluttershy replied, ending with a broad and sheepish smile.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Hey, good enough for me. There can't be that many super chaos-y places in Equestria, this should be a breeze. Let's get going!”
She flew off without another word, Fluttershy following shortly after. Starlight sighed, her magic soon enveloping her and Spike and lifting them into the air as well.
Applejack arrived at the train station less than ten minutes before the train was scheduled to, citing how long it took not only to travel to and from Sweet Apple Acres but also to ensure that her family would be fine to run the farm for yet another indeterminate length of time without her. She was given her ticket, and the five ponies moved to the boarding platform around the back to wait for their ride.
Cold Reason stared at the tracks in silence, looking from one end to the other. Occasionally, she blinked.
The sound of the train's whistle caused her to freeze in place, her ears swiveling towards the sound's direction first before she turned her head. “What is that?” she asked loudly, wide eyes locked onto the approaching locomotive.
Pinkie started to giggle, earning disapproving looks from the others. “Uh, that's just the train,” Applejack, having already been informed of Cold's ignorance.
The train began to pull into the station, and Cold quickly looked up and down its length as each car passed by. Eventually she opted to just look straight ahead at it, her breathing becoming louder and faster, and after several blinks she loudly said “This is highly unexpected! I do not know what to think or say regarding this!” The train came to a stop as her panting breaths slowed back to normal. Cold slowly lifted a leg to take a step forward, only for the door to the car in front of her to slide open and several ponies to walk out and nearly bump into her.
Pinkie fell onto her back with laughter.
“Well, it's nothing to be afraid of,” Twilight said, moving up next to the newcomer once the arriving ponies had dispersed. “It's just a machine that's used to transport goods and ponies across long distances at much faster speeds than they'd be able to go otherwise,” she explained in a know-it-all manner. “It's actually quite fascinating how they work. If you'd like, I could teach you.”
Cold Reason stared at the train and blinked. “Perhaps some other time Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she replied. “Additionally – and without meaning any disrespect to you – what you said about me is incorrect.” Twilight gave her a quizzical look. “I am not afraid of this...'train' machine,” Cold explained. “I have simply never seen or heard of anything like it. I was completely unaware that something like this 'train' could exist. I was slightly overwhelmed attempting to mentally process its existence. That is not fear as I understand it.”
“It's okay, dear, you don't have to put up a front with us,” Rarity said as she and the others prepared to board. “Nopony is going to judge you for being afraid of something as big and loud as this when you've never encountered one before.” She paused as Applejack walked by, dragging a still-laughing Pinkie Pie onto the train. “Now let's hurry up and board, shall we?” she continued, stepping onto the car with her luggage floating behind her. “The train isn't going to wait forever, and you have a message to deliver!”
Twilight boarded next, and Cold Reason followed after a slow blink. She hesitated and looked down for just a moment before stepping from the platform to the car, and the door slid shut behind her.
The first few minutes of the train ride to Canterlot had been spent in silence. Cold Reason had, after watching the other four mares do it first, sat down on a seat next to Twilight, and since then she had only looked around at the car and blinked a few times.
“So...how do you like your first train ride?” Twilight asked her.
Cold blinked, then looked at her. “I cannot say that I like or dislike it,” she said in her quick, light monotone. “Being transported in this manner is a very strange feeling.”
“Oh,” Twilight replied. “Well, that makes sense since it is your first ride and all.”
“I agree,” Cold said, turning her gaze out the window.
There was an awkward lull in the conversation before Rarity – sitting with Applejack across from the Princess and their guest – smiled and spoke up. “So, Miss Reason, I've been meaning to say this but are you certain you wish to meet with the Princesses as you are?” Cold turned her blank stare to Rarity. “It's just that, well, your mane is a bit of a mess, darling,” she explained.
Cold blinked, then held up part of her long, tangled mane so she could see it. “Oh. I apologize,” she said. “I removed as much of the debris that got caught in it during my journey before I entered town. But I do not know how to groom it in an appropriate fashion.”
“Don't worry about a thing, darling!” Rarity replied with a smile, putting a hoof on the small table that stood between the two benches. “I'll be happy to fix it up for you while we're making our journey to Canterlot. I promise you'll be looking fabulous in time for your meeting with the Princess.”
Cold looked at the hoof on the table, then blinked again. “Thank you for your offer Miss Rarity,” she said, looking up at the mare in question. “But I cannot accept it. I already owe you all for your assistance with my mission.”
Rarity scoffed. “Oh, pish-posh,” she said with a wave of her hoof. “You needn't do anything in return for this Miss Reason. I could see you needed help, and I'm happy to be of service!”
Another pause as Cold blinked twice more. “I see. Then I will accept your offer Miss Rarity.”
“Excellent,” Rarity said with a wide smile. “Now trade seats with Applejack here and I'll get started.” Both mares in question slid off their seats, and the farmgirl paused to let Cold Reason walk unsteadily to the seat next to Rarity before she herself took the now-vacant spot next to Twilight.
Applejack chuckled as Rarity levitated a few brushes and combs and such out of her bags, then got to work on Cold Reason's messy mane. “No offense Miss Reason, but for as much as you wanna deliver that message of yours you sure don't seem to have planned a whole lot out about how to do it,” Applejack said.
Cold blinked. “That is regrettably true. There was too much knowledge that I was unable to acquire and too many possibilities that I did not foresee. I should have tried harder. My mission could have failed due to my own actions.”
“Hey now, it ain't that big a deal,” Applejack told her, her smile fading away. “I mean, everything's turned out pretty well so far, hasn't it?”
“Yes. So far. But that does not excuse my mistakes,” Cold replied, her head moving back slightly as Rarity firmly brushed out a small tangle.
“You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself,” Twilight said.
“Yeah,” Applejack added. “Everypony makes mistakes. But what's in the past is in the past. If ya can't set 'em right ya just gotta learn from 'em and move on.”
Cold turned her emotionless stare onto Applejack, forcing Rarity to pause in her grooming efforts. The four mares sat in an oddly tense silence for a few seconds, before Cold looked away again. “Not all mistakes can be forgiven so easily Miss Applejack,” she said quietly.
Another moment passed before the others shared a look, and resumed what they'd been doing. “Well, maybe you're right about that Cold Reason,” Applejack said. “But I reckon it ain't worth frettin' over some small stuff when you're tryin' to do somethin' as important as passin' on that message of yours. Folks'll understand that you didn't mean no harm by it. Especially since it's pretty obvious that you don't know the first thing about Equestria.”
Twilight and Rarity tensed up, and looked from their friend to Cold Reason as she blinked again. “Is it really so obvious?” she asked.
Applejack frowned. “Err, sorry for bein' so blunt about it, but yeah,” she said. “It was pretty obvious from the moment we met that you were a little, err, different even for somepony comin' from far away.”
Cold blinked, and she tilted her head down a little bit. “I see. I apologize for my considerable ignorance of this land. My intent had been to disguise myself as an average traveler in order to avoid attention. But it is apparent that I have failed in this as well.”
The other three shared a questioning look behind Cold's back. “Again, dear, you needn't feel so down on yourself,” Rarity said, a smile forming on her face as she began to experiment with styles for Cold's newly brushed mane.
A pause. “Are you implying that I am feeling self-pity or something similar?” Cold asked.
“Well...yes,” Rarity admitted, using her magic to put a braid in Cold's hair, only to quickly undo it.
“You are wrong,” Cold stated. “I cannot feel self-pity. I do not feel self-pity. I am simply assessing myself so that my future actions will be more effective.”
The others shared yet another look, and Twilight shrugged in silent confusion. “If you say so,” the Princess said.
Rarity tutted as she continued to to fuss over Cold's hair. “I told you, darling, you needn't put up such a front with us.”
“I am not lying Miss Rarity,” Cold replied. She paused. “Also. Where is Miss Pinkie Pie? I have not seen her since shortly after we got on this 'train'.”
“Huh, good question,” Twilight replied as she and her friends started looking around for the fifth member of their party.
“She's gotta be around here somewhere, it ain't like her to just leave,” Applejack added.
“BOO!”
Their question was promptly answered by Pinkie herself, who burst out of the overhead luggage compartment above them hanging by her hind legs and making ridiculous faces. Her sudden appearance was enough to elicit gasps of fear and surprise from Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack, but Cold simply scooted backward a few inches with her same impassive stare on her face.
“Pinkie!” Applejack scolded once she and her friends recovered from the shock, and the party pony fell to the ground giggling.
“Hahaha, sorry girls,” Pinkie said, ending her laughter and wiping away a tear as she sat up on her haunches. “I couldn't help myself! I was gonna lie in wait in case trouble happened,” she explained, shifting narrowed eyes from side to side as she darted around their otherwise-empty car, “but then you guys started wondering where I was-” she popped back up in front of the others with a thoughtful look on her face, “which is like practically inviting me to pop out and scare you, and so I did!”
Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, I guess when you put it like that we kinda brought it on ourselves.”
Rarity cleared her throat. “Yes. Well. It's all in good fun, but remember that we do have a guest with us.”
“Oh, I know,” Pinkie nodded. “I kinda wanted to see Coldie's reaction to me popping out and going all-” she repeated the series of faces she'd made previously. “And honestly, I gotta say that you've got like a super straight face!” she told Cold, who was staring at her. “Like, your straight face might even be straightier than Maud's straight face, which let me tell you is pretty straight. What's your secret, Coldie?” she asked, looking straight into the eyes of the mare that was staring at her.
Cold blinked. Then she blinked again. “What exactly are you referring to Miss Pinkie Pie?”
Pinkie giggled. “Your straight face, silly!”
“Oh. Yes. As I have briefly explained two times before,” Cold said, “I do not feel. I cannot feel.”
Once more, Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity shared a confused look. “But...everypony has emotions,” Twilight said.
“I cannot,” Cold repeated.
“But...but how?” Twilight asked. “Why?”
Cold blinked. “I apologize for what I predict will be an unsatisfactory answer Princess Twilight Sparkle. But I do not wish to explain in great detail at this time. All I will say is that it is simply part of who I am.”
Twilight looked uncertain, but Pinkie nodded in acceptance. “Okay, that explains it,” she said. “Also, it's kinda sad if you think about it. I mean, no emotions means no happiness! No joy!” She gasped dramatically, holding her hooves to her mouth as her lip trembled. “No fun!”
“Correct,” Cold told her.
“No wonder you didn't want a party,” Pinkie said, drooping slightly...only to perk up excitedly moments later. “But wait! That means that we get to teach you how to be happy!”
Cold just blinked. “I do not know if happiness can be taught.”
Pinkie leaned close to her, fluttering her eyelashes with a wide grin on her face. “We won't know if we don't try~y!” she said in an almost singsong voice.
A pause. “I request that you wait until after the Oathbreaker has been contained. I do not believe I should attempt to feel happiness before then.”
“Right-a-rooni!” Pinkie said, standing at attention and snapping off a sharp salute. “Once that mean ol' Oathbreaker is dealt with, we're gonna have the biggest victory-slash-welcome party-celebration ever!” She jumped into the air with glee, a few noisemakers going off as a burst of confetti rained down upon her. “It'll be so awesomely spectacular,” she added, landing and putting a hoof around Cold's shoulder, “you won't be able to stop yourself from being happy!”
She paused, then frowned sadly. “Oh wait. You don't like parties, do you?”
Cold blinked. “I do not dislike them either. I have no feelings regarding them. But I do not wish to be festive while the Oathbreaker still poses a threat. After she has been contained I will join whatever celebrations are appropriate.”
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered, the noisemakers and confetti going off again behind her.
Applejack chuckled. “Not having feelin's about parties? You really ain't kiddin' about that 'no emotions' thing. Guess it fits your name, at least.”
“And your cutie mark,” Twilight added, looking at Cold's flank. “I've been wondering this for a while, but those three dots are a logic symbol right?”
“Yes,” Cold answered, turning her gaze towards the Princess. “They represent 'therefore'. I think, therefore I am.”
Twilight smiled. “I knew it. I guess not having emotions makes logic and reasoning easier, huh?”
“Yes. That is my understanding of it,” Cold said. “However it does make certain decisions where all options are logically equal more difficult to make. Additionally my skills do not extend far beyond my reasoning abilities. My repeated failures during the course of my mission make this clear.”
“Well, I'd say you shouldn't worry so much about your failures Cold Reason,” Twilight said, “but I guess worrying isn't really something you can do.”
“Correct,” Cold said.
“Still. Like Applejack said earlier, you don't need to be too hard on yourself for not doing something as well as you thought you should have,” Twilight said. “Nopony is good at everything.”
Cold stared at her in silence for a few moments, then blinked. “Yes. There is truth in what you speak and I will try to take it into consideration in the future. But the fact remains that there are mistakes that I do not want to risk making. I do not know enough about this land to know what those mistakes are. So I must remain careful and avoid as many mistakes as possible.”
“Fortunately you have us here to help you,” Rarity said, levitating a few small mirrors in front of Cold to see her from multiple angles. “We'll gladly help you learn what you need to learn, and we'll cover for any mistakes you make.”
A silent pause. “Thank you Miss Rarity,” Cold said. “Thank you all.”
“It's nothing, dear,” Rarity said. “Now turn around so I can get a better look at what I've done to you.” Cold complied, and the other four mares were silent as Rarity looked her over directly. After a few seconds, she smiled. “It's perfect! I decided to keep things simple and straightforward to suit your personality, dear, but even with only a little work you still look much better than you did before.”
She levitated a mirror in front of Cold, who took it her hoof and looked herself over. True to what Rarity said, Cold's new manestyle was fairly simple – still long but brushed straighter than before, allowed to hang almost entirely off the right side of her neck. In front, her hair had been let down into two locks that framed her face.
“Thank you,” Cold said after a few seconds' appraisal.
“You're welcome, darling,” Rarity replied. “I'd offer to give you a quick trim too, but I don't want to dirty the car with mane clippings. Plus,” she looked out the window,” it seems we've arrived in Canterlot.”
The whistle blew, and the train began to slow down. “Well, here we are,” Twilight said as she and the others left their seats and headed to the door. “It won't be long now before you'll be able to deliver your message to the Princesses,” she told Cold.
“Yup,” Applejack said with a nod. “I hope the others are havin' just as easy a time with their mission as we are with ours.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy touched down on the cloudy walkways of Cloudsdale, Starlight Glimmer landing with Spike on her back a few seconds later. “Alright, Cloudsdale floats all around Equestria and is filled with tons of pegasi,” Rainbow explained. “Somepony here has to have seen Discord's place at some point, so let's split up and ask around.”
“Oh, I hope it doesn't take too long...,” Fluttershy said worriedly before she and Rainbow flew off again leaving Starlight and Spike to wander off on foot in the other direction.
“I kinda wish one of them had stayed with us,” Starlight mentioned. “I mean it's not like I know anypony up here. How do I know who I should even ask?”
“That doesn't matter. Just ask anyone!” Spike told her. A light pink pegasus mare flew by, and Spike flagged her down. “Excuse me, but have you seen any particularly chaos-y places in Equestria lately?” he asked her.
The mare rubbed her chin in thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Sorry, can't think of any,” she said. “But I spend most of my time up here, so maybe somepony else has.”
“Alright. Thanks anyway!” Spike said, waving politely as the pegasus flew off. He looked back at Starlight, and raised his brow in surprise when he saw her reading from one of the books she'd brought. “Are you seriously reading now?” he asked her in annoyance.
“What?” Starlight replied. “You clearly have a handle on the information gathering, so I don't see why we should both do it. Especially since we're sticking together. Besides,” she smiled, “why not do some research into the Oathbreaker while I can?”
“Oh. Well, did you find anything yet?” Spike asked.
“Nnnnot exactly,” Starlight admitted a little sheepishly. “Neither 'Legends of Equestria' nor 'Monstrous Myths from Before Time' mention her at all...but I've still got a few more books to look through while I walk.”
Spike gave her a stern frown. “Fine. Just make sure you keep moving,” he told her before pausing, coming to a realization, and adding “Except for when I'm trying to get information.”
“Don't worry, don't worry...” Starlight said, exchanging the book she was floating with another from her saddle bags as she resumed walking.
True to her word Starlight paid enough attention to Spike so as not to inhibit his attempts at gathering information. The two wandered almost haphazardly through the streets of Cloudsdale, heading towards any pegasi that Spike saw. Unfortunately, none of them had any information on Discord, giving the duo nothing but sorry shakes of the head and suggestions to ask somepony else. But as Spike groaned about their poor luck, he spotted a familiar form flying towards them.
“So, any luck?” Rainbow Dash asked them, Spike calling Starlight to a halt with a simple tug.
“Nope,” Spike answered.
Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, me neither. I think I got unlucky though, a lot of the ponies I asked hadn't ventured very far from Cloudsdale recently.”
“Same here,” Spike nodded. “What about you, Starlight? You've been quiet for a while now, any luck with your research?”
“Huh?” Starlight replied, looking away from the text she'd been engrossed by. “Oh, no, sorry. None of the books I brought with me mention the Oathbreaker at all, which is...kinda strange to be honest. But then I started thinking about how Cold Reason might not be quite what she seems, so I've been reading through everything again to see if I can find anything that might explain why she's so...peculiar.”
Rainbow Dash huffed in annoyance. “I thought you were gonna save that stuff for after we found Discord, but whatever. Did you at least find anything interesting?”
“Hmm...maybe,” Starlight said, flipping a page in the book she was reading. “But I'm not sure yet.”
Now Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well, you're probably gonna have time to keep researching unless we catch a break soon, so you might as well keep doing that I guess.”
Starlight nodded wordlessly, and Rainbow prepared to fly off again – only to stop when she caught sight of Fluttershy flying hurriedly towards them. “Tell me you found something,” Rainbow asked, flying over to meet her halfway.
“I did,” Fluttershy replied breathlessly, earning the attention of Starlight and Spike as they hurried over to rejoin their friends. “A mailpony I talked to said he saw something really big and really strange moving along at ground-level just outside of Whinnyapolis.”
“That's not too far from here,” Rainbow Dash said with a thoughtful expression. “Let's go check it out.” She dashed off without another thought, once again leaving Fluttershy to follow after – and Starlight and Spike as well, once the former had reluctantly put away her book and resumed her flying spell.
Nestled to the northwest of Canterlot between the Galloping Gorge and Neighagra Falls, the city of Whinnyapolis was indeed a reasonably short flight from Cloudsdale's current location. As it happened, though, they didn't need to fly all the way there – they caught sight of the anomaly they'd been told about well before reaching the city limits. All three ponies stopped in mid-air, and four mouths dropped in shock.
Before them, moving along the ground at a surprising speed, was what could loosely be described as a towering cloud of pure chaos. Though it remained a roughly constant size overall it never maintained a shape for very long; sometimes it looked almost like a castle, or a mountain, or a giant tortoise, or something else definable, but most often it looked like swirling mass of random shapes and objects and colors and sounds. It was almost painful to look at for very long, and seemed to warp the landscape it passed through – though it left no visible trail of chaos or destruction in its wake.
“Umm...I think this is the place,” Fluttershy announced after a few minutes of shock.
“Ya think?” Rainbow replied.
Upon reaching the gates of Canterlot proper the royal guards stationed there called for a pair of their comrades to escort Princess Twilight and her 'entourage' to the castle, despite Twilight's insistence that it was unnecessary. And so it was that the five mares followed two guards through the city, the Princess at the front of their sub-group with Rarity pointing out various sights to Cold Reason while Applejack and Pinkie Pie took the rear and provided color commentary.
And soon enough, the group had made it all the way to the castle throne room.
“Announcing, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends!” one of the guards announced as both opened the doors ahead of the mares, and another set of guards inside blew out a short fanfare on their long ceremonial horns.
They all stepped aside moments later, allowing Twilight to lead her friends inside with a mild blush of embarrassment on her face. Across the room sat Princess Celestia, who donned an amused smile as she locked eyes with her former student. “Hello, Twilight,” she greeted. “What brings you and your friends here today?”
“Hello, Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied, her embarrassment fading into a more serious expression. “Sorry for coming at such short notice, but a couple issues have come up and I thought it would be best to bring them to you directly.”
Celestia nodded. “I see. I take it that one of these issues has to do with the new pony you've brought before me?” she asked, looking at Cold Reason who had been staring her way since she'd arrived.
“That's right,” Twilight replied with a nod of her own. “Princess Celestia, I'd like you to meet Cold Reason.” She moved to the side and motioned to Cold with her hoof, allowing Cold to step forward. “She arrived in Ponyville this morning from a faraway land with a grave message that she wants you to hear.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” she said with interest, looking back at Cold Reason.
To the surprise of her escorts Cold stepped forward with something akin to confidence, and neither blinked nor bowed at the end of her approach. “Well met, Princess Celestia,” she greeted with a nod, her voice stronger than usual but still largely monotone, “even in these dire circumstances.”
Celestia's brow raised even further, but she returned the nod all the same. “Well met, Cold Reason. Your message?”
“The Oathbreaker will awaken soon, most likely within the week.”
Immediately the Princess' eyes widened, and she began to cough.
“Princess!” the guards flanking her throne cried out, rushing to her side as the rest of the ponies in the room looked on with concern – all except Cold Reason, who continued to watch dispassionately.
Celestia's coughing fit soon ended, the two guards standing close by with worried looks on their faces. The Princess smiled at them. “Do not worry, my little ponies. I was simply shocked to hear that she was still alive! Are you certain of this?” she asked Cold Reason.
Cold nodded. “You should know well that alicorns do not die so easily.”
“And you are certain that she will reawaken soon?”
“Yes. Most likely within the week. But know that the Oathbreaker's state is such that she will go on an uncontrolled rampage as soon as she is awakened.”
“Oh my...,” Celestia said, bringing a hoof to her mouth in a thoughtful and worried gesture. “You were right to bring this to my attention, Twilight,” she told her former student, who along with her friends and the guards were all watching uneasily. “If I'm right about what's happened to her, then the Oathbreaker will be one of the greatest dangers Equestria has seen in quite some time. Guards,” she said in a commanding voice to the two stallions who had rushed to her aide, “go and wake my sister. Tell her it's an emergency.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the guards replied in unison, galloping off through one of the doors behind the throne.
“Umm, Princess?” Twilight spoke up, stepping forward with Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. “I can tell how serious this all is, but I'm afraid none of us-” she looked to her friends- “know anything about this 'Oathbreaker' pony beyond what Cold Reason's told us. Who is she, and why will she be such a problem?”
Celestia nodded solemnly. “I understand your concerns. In fact, there's a few questions I have regarding the Oathbreaker myself,” she added with a look at the unflinching Cold Reason. “But I think it's best if we wait for my sister to arrive. Now, I recall you saying that you had more than one issue you wanted to bring to my attention?”
“That's right,” Twilight nodded. “We also came here to tell you that Discord is missing.”
Celestia frowned in thought. “I'm not surprised...”
Slowly, cautiously, the three ponies and one baby dragon landed in front of the massive cloud of chaos. The four looked at one another hesitantly as it slowly moved towards them, and after a moment Fluttershy gulped and stepped forward.
“DISCORD!” she called out, and immediately the cloud stopped moving – and contracted into a massive ball of outward-pointing spikes, spears, swords, scissors, and other sharp objects. The sudden shift caused the four visitors to yelp, and Fluttershy to cower in fear.
After a few tense moments, though, she lifted her head – nothing had changed in the ball of spikes. “Discord!” she called again a little more softly, immediately wincing in fright. When she realized nothing had happened, she continued. “Are you in there? It's me, Fluttershy!”
The chaos-cloud suddenly changed again, one of the spikes peeling backward like a banana to reveal the familiar misshapen head of the spirit of chaos, though on a massive scale and made of clouds. Discord glanced warily from left to right, then looked down – and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the ponies looking up at him. Then, from one of his pupils, a telescope emerged and snaked down to ground level. Its lens became the familiar yellow-and-red eye of Discord, and it quickly honed in on its owner's first friend.
“Fluttershy?” the eye asked in Discord's voice, moving like a mouth. “Wha...what are you doing here?”
“Looking for you!” Fluttershy replied. “I got so worried when you didn't show up for our usual tea time!”
The mouth-eye-telescope seemed to flinch in shock. “That's...that's very kind of you, but...wait,” Discord said with a hint of panic, “did you bring anyone else with you?”
“Duh,” Rainbow Dash replied, “we're right here.”
The telescope immediately swung and extended to closely inspect Rainbow Dash. “Oh. Yes. Rainbow Dash,” Discord said tersely before moving on to the other pair. “As well as the wizard Garbunkle and...,” he faltered at the unicorn, “the new one...” Starlight scowled. The telescope swung back to Fluttershy. “Is that all?” Discord asked nervously. “You weren't followed, were you?”
Fluttershy looked around behind her in confusion. “Not that I know of,” she answered. “Why? What's going on? What are you doing out here?”
Discord paused for a moment, then the mouth-eye-telescope blinked and shifted into the upper body of the draconequus himself. He looked around nervously for a few moments, then after seeing nothing but Fluttershy and her friends looking at him in confusion he started to laugh. Awkwardly. “Oh, I'm just...moving house,” he explained. “Yes, that's it, the, uh, the view at my old place was getting a bit stale, you see, so I decided to...up and move it to another corner of Equestria.” He donned an unconvincing smile and batted his eyelashes.
“Pfft, is that all?” Rainbow scoffed in annoyance.
“No,” Fluttershy told her, “it isn't. Now Discord,” she turned to her other friend, “I can tell something's bothering you.”
“W-w-what are you talking about,” Discord replied with a nervous chuckle as his eyes darted around quickly, “there's no problem at all! Why would there be a problem?”
“I don't know,” Fluttershy told him, “but I do know that you would never skip out on tea time to move your house without telling me. So please, stop trying to hide that something's wrong. If you tell us what it is, we'll be able to help you!”
“I...that is...” Discord stammered before covering his eyes and growling in irritation. “Look, Fluttershy. I've been doing some thinking,” he said, flowing closer to her with a grim look on his face. “And perhaps it would be for the best if we just...just...” he closed his eyes and clenched his fists, and blurted out “stopped being friends!”
Fluttershy gasped. “You...you can't be serious!” she said, quivering in shock and horror.
“I...I'm afraid I am,” Discord forced himself to say. “I'm afraid you ponies just aren't fun anymore. It's time that I moved on.” He crossed his arms, and gave her a solemn and stubborn and haughty nod.
“But...but why?” Fluttershy asked, beginning to tear up. “I thought you liked being friends with me! With all of us!”
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash interjected angrily, flying in between Discord and Fluttershy. “After everything we've been through together, you're just gonna up and decide you don't care anymore? What gives!”
“W-well,” Discord stuttered, averting his eyes with a blatantly guilty look on his face, “I...I am the spirit of chaos, after all... Consistency is hardly my forte..”
Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to say something else before the telltale sounds of a burp and dragonfire caught her and Discord's attention.
“Uhh, it's from Twilight,” Spike read, hesitantly unfurling the parchment he'd just received. “She and the others are with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, obviously. And...” his eyes scanned the page, “apparently, they all want us to try and convince Discord to help us contain the Oathbreaker.”
Discord shrieked in terror. “Oathbreaker?! Where?! You all get out of here, now!” With a snap of his fingers he disappeared, the massive ball of pointy things replaced by a gigantic cube of something halfway between cloud and metal. Etched into each face of the cube was the same message in giant block letters:
NOTHING TO SEE HERE! PLEASE GO AWAY! NO SOLICITORS!
The ponies and dragon only had a few seconds to puzzle over it before a catapult manifested under them and launched them away to the east, screaming in shock and fear.
“Hoo-ie,” Applejack whistled as she, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Cold followed Celestia and Luna through one of the halls of the castle. “Hard to imagine a feller like Discord bein' afraid of anythin'.”
“Well, anything aside from losing his friends at least,” Twilight said almost offhandedly.
“Even those as long-lived as Discord can have trouble letting go of painful memories from their pasts,” Luna said.
Celestia nodded. “And I believe him having friends has only made it harder for him. Still, we'll need his help if we're to get through this.”
“I still am having great difficulty accepting the idea of Discord having true friends,” Cold Reason spoke up, earning a silent but discerning glance from each of the two elder alicorns. “How does such a thing even happen to one such as him?”
“Ooh, that's a really long but really neat story,” Pinkie said exuberantly, bouncing up next to Cold. “It all started back in the good ol' days, when Equestria was still young and nopony had invented the triple-layer chocolate cake yet. Which actually kinda makes it the bad ol' days if you really think about it...”
Rarity sighed softly. “Here we go...,” she murmured as Twilight and Applejack shared a bemused look.
As it happens, catapulting doesn't work especially well on pegasi. Nor does it work on unicorns capable of magical flight. Once Spike had been safely caught mid-air by Fluttershy, the three ponies flew back to Discord's slowly-moving giant unfriendly chaos cube and landed in front of it.
“Discord!” Fluttershy called out sternly.
The nearest 'S' suddenly became a pictogram of the draconequus, who turned an annoyed look to the group of ponies. “Why won't you take a hint already and just leave?” he asked angrily.
“Because we're your friends, no matter what you try to say!” Fluttershy replied. “It's clear to me that you're afraid of the Oathbreaker coming back! Now I may not know anything about her, but I do know that if friends stand together then they can do anything. Let us help you, and you won't have to be afraid anymore!”
Discord looked at her, crossed his arms, and harrumphed. “You have no idea what you're talking about, Fluttershy,” he said defiantly. “The Oathbreaker isn't just anypony, she was a living legend even before Equestria was founded! That monster was such a terrifying force for good,” he explained, his pictogram self snaking around the letters etched into the cube and giving gestures of drama and fear when appropriate, “that she was basically the bogeypony for all the ne'er-do-wells like myself when we were but wee little foals!”
“You were a little foal once?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.
“But of course!” Discord replied, a miniature copy of himself crawling out of Rainbow Dash's mouth wearing a comically oversized diaper and baby bonnet. “We all had to start somewhere, after all.” He flashed away, and Rainbow Dash frantically started wiping her tongue with a look of horror and disgust on her face.
Discord reappeared in front of them, hovering in the air in his usual form. “But...if the Oathbreaker was such a force for good in the world,” Fluttershy asked with a thoughtful look, “why are you still scared of her? You're reformed!”
“I know that,” Discord replied in a low voice, sprouting out of the grass with flower petals around his head and grabbing her by the shoulder, “and you know that, but she won't give me the chance before she comes after me.”
“Well, maybe if you give us the chance to explain-” Starlight began before Discord appeared at her side and cut her off with a short and mocking laugh.
“She wouldn't stop to listen to you all,” he explained. “Why should she? After all, she is the reason why I'm the only draconequus left in the world.” Fluttershy gasped in shock. “Well...that and all of our horrifically brutal in-fighting,” Discord added as an aside as he looked at his talons, “but still. She's responsible for far more than her fair share of the death of my kind.”
“Oh my, I'm so sorry!” Fluttershy said, flying up to him. “I had no idea you had lost your entire family! It must be very hard on you to have to face the Oathbreaker again...”
Discord hugged her and patted her on the head. “I appreciate your concern, my dear Fluttershy, but I'm really not all that broken up about being the last draconequus. The others were all vain, petty, spiteful, arrogant, selfish, manipulative jerks. Trust me, Equestria is a much better place without them around.”
Rainbow, Starlight, and Spike shared an odd look. “So...let me get this straight,” Rainbow spoke up with a skeptical tone. “You're afraid that this Oathbreaker pony is gonna come after you for basically being you, right?”
“Yes, that's right,” Discord said, puffing out his chest almost proudly.
“So then why are you 'moving house'?” Rainbow asked. “It only took the four of us a couple hours to find you. If the Oathbreaker's as strong as you make her out to be, she could be here in like minutes! Especially since you're pretty much making it super obvious where you are,” she said, hovering in the air as she pointed up at the giant chaos-cube.
“Oh, uh, you know,” Discord said, suddenly looking nervous and shifty again, “y-you've got a good point! I...I-I-I don't know what I was thinking!” He tugged at the collar of the brown feathers covering his torso as though they were a shirt. “You four had better leave while I find a better way to run and hide.” He gently pushed the ponies and dragon away, then turned around.
Fluttershy's brow furrowed in thought for a moment, then she gasped. “Wait a minute! You're not trying to hide at all!” she exclaimed, causing Discord to pause mid-step and wince. “You want the Oathbreaker to find you, don't you?” she asked, flying around in front of her friend. “And you don't want us around when it happens!”
Discord looked down in shame, a bowler hat appearing in his hands so he could wring it. “Fine. I admit it. I wanted to face her head-on, so I decided to hole up in my little home, shore up the defenses, and move the whole thing west to where she'll no-doubt turn up.”
“But why?” Fluttershy asked. “You're so afraid of her!”
“I...I'm stronger than I was back when she was last around...,” Discord replied, still averting his eyes. “I can handle her myself now...”
“Even so, you shouldn't face her alone!” Fluttershy told him. “We're your friends, we want to help you face this kind of thing!”
She placed a hoof on his shoulder, but he quickly brushed it off. “Don't you get it, us being friends is exactly the problem!” he told her. “I don't want you getting mixed up in some millennia-old grudge match between me and her! I don't...,” he deflated figuratively, “I don't want you getting hurt again because of me...” Then he deflated literally, air wheezing out of his now balloon-like body as he collapsed into Fluttershy's hooves.
“Aww...,” Fluttershy cooed, hugging her limp and rubbery friend. “I'm really flattered that you'd go so far to protect us, Discord. But we're still going to help protect Equestria from the Oathbreaker.”
“Y-you are? Really?” Discord asked, grabbing Fluttershy's cheeks in near-desperation has he lifted himself back up into his normal shape.
“Uh-huh,” Fluttershy nodded. “It's the right thing to do.”
“We were already looking into it before we even knew you were involved,” Starlight admitted.
“Plus, don't forget that we've whooped your butt ourselves,” Rainbow Dash added. “I'd say that's proof enough that we can handle this just as well as you can.”
“So don't worry!” Spike told him. “Like we've been trying to tell you, if we all band together we can handle anything.”
Discord sniffled and wiped away a tear. “Friends...I'm so glad to have you,” he said, bringing the other four into a group hug. “So,” he said with an air of renewed confidence as he let them go, “how are we going to do this? I suppose we should form some sort of...,” he mulled over the word in his head, “plan, correct?”
“Not quite yet,” Spike said as he penned a letter on another piece of parchment. “First, we gotta tell Twilight what's happened.”
He finished the letter, and sent it off in a burst of dragonfire.
With a snap of his fingers, Discord and the others appeared at the steps of Canterlot Castle.
“Alright friends,” Discord said as Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike all recovered from the shock of sudden long-distance teleportation, “let's make our entrance.”
It was not the throne room that Princesses Celestia and Luna had gathered all the others in, but rather a large study lined with shelves upon shelves of ancient-looking books. In fact, the two rulers and their five guests were making themselves comfortable around the room when the door suddenly swung open. A pair of kazoos floated inside and took up positions on either side, and started to play a rather short but grandiose orchestral piece. When it ended they flew towards each other and formed a pair of lips, then in a buzzing sort of voice announced “Presenting, Lord Discord and Lady Fluttershy!”
The very space that made up the doorway swung open like it was a door itself, giving the ponies inside the room a glimpse of a fuchsia void. Discord strutted out of it with pompous swagger, Fluttershy following embarrassedly by his side.
The air-door swung shut behind them. “...and their friends,” the kazoo-lips added halfheartedly, popping out of existence as Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer walked in with annoyed expressions.
“Hello!” Celestia greeted with an amused smile. “You're just in time. I'm glad you've decided to help us, Discord.”
Discord crossed his arms and snorted. “If I must...,” he muttered. “Though I'd still prefer to do this alone,” he added.
“I'm afraid that wouldn't be enough,” Celestia told him with a solemn shake of her head. “Now please, take a seat,” she smiled again, motioning to each of the five new arrivals. Spike and the three ponies sat or stood in the existing spots near their other friends, while Discord simply sat calmly in a plush turquoise armchair that appeared at the snap of his fingers. “Since we're all here,” Celestia continued, “I think it's finally time to share what we know about the Oathbreaker.”
“Ahem,” Discord interrupted, clearing his throat and raising a claw, “I'm sorry, but I don't believe... we've,” he turned a close and suspicious eye to Cold Reason, who stared at him in return, “been introduced.
A silent moment passed, and Cold said nothing. “Umm, this is Cold Reason,” Twilight finally explained with an awkward smile. “She's the one who alerted us to the Oathbreaker's imminent return.”
Discord twirled his beard in thought, then retreated to his chair with a level look on his face. “I see...,” he said, crossing his legs and pulling an old curved pipe from his ear. He started blowing bubbles out of it and drumming his claws on the arm of the chair, his eyes still locked onto Cold.
“Umm...right,” Twilight said, turning her focus back to her former mentor. “Princess, you were saying?” All the others looked moved their attention to the elder alicorn as well, save for Starlight who looked between Discord and Cold, then tapped her muzzle in thought.
“Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia said with a nod to her former student. She walked into the center of the room and her horn lit up with magic, and a large map of the world appeared in the air above a central table. Much like the Cutie Map it displayed all of Equestria and much of the lands beyond in miniature, though an idle touch from Pinkie Pie revealed the image to be nothing more than an illusion.
“The tale of the Oathbreaker is centered here,” Luna said with a hoof-point to the western edge of the map, which zoomed in to closer view of a desolate-looking valley nestled in a large mountain range. “The Cursed Valley, on what is now Equestria's western border.” All the ponies and Spike looked on with silent interest, while Discord simply blew a few more bubbles from his pipe.
“Though it wasn't always so cursed,” Celestia added, the illusory map shimmering and replacing the desolate valley with one vibrant and full of life. “Thousands of years ago, it was the beautiful home of a village of earth ponies, ruled by an alicorn renowned for her sense of fairness and justice.” Simple images of numerous earth ponies of various colors appeared in the valley, and above them appeared a large alicorn with rich brown skin and a mane of two deep and earthy greens.
“And for her strength in battle as well,” Luna added. “She protected that valley for countless moons, and drove off or vanquished all that dared to threaten it.”
Discord shuddered. “Don't remind me,” he said, clenching his eyes shut. “I only pulled a few harmless pranks on those valley ponies, and pow!” His disembodied eyeballs suddenly popped open in the space between Applejack and Rarity, startling them. “She knocked me for a total loop and sent me flying miles away!” The rest of his body materialized, only for him to immediately launch himself through the air on his back. He landed upside down on his chair.
“You were fortunate to receive no harsher punishment for your so-called 'harmless' pranks,” Cold Reason told him. She quickly blinked, then added “Or so I understand.”
Discord snorted in contempt, his body flowing back into a right-side up position without moving. “Well she's fortunate my beautiful chaos magic was still being shared amongst all my brethren back then,” he muttered. “Otherwise she'd have been the one unable to move for fifty moons...”
Princess Luna cleared her throat, earning the room's attention again. “Let us not dwell on what could have been, and instead continue with what was.” She motioned to the map, which shifted to show the image of the Oathbreaker seated on what looked like an ornate wooden throne and flanked by spear-wielding earth pony guards. “Though my sister and I only met her a small number of times-” images of two smaller alicorns, one white and pink and the other black and blue, both without cutie marks, approached the Oathbreaker's throne- “she struck us as a wise and much-beloved ruler. We learned many things from her.” Princess Celestia nodded.
“Yeah yeah yeah, okay,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “I get that she was pretty awesome or whatever. But what I don't get is why she's called 'the Oathbreaker'.”
Fluttershy nodded. “It doesn't exactly sound like the name of a wise and powerful ruler.”
Celestia and Luna shared a sad look. “I'm afraid that name is the result of what happened next. You see,” the elder motioned back to the illusory image, which zoomed back out to show the entire valley again, “about two years after Equestria was founded the Oathbreaker's surviving foes joined forces to form a terrifying army of darkness.” Countless shadowy and monstrous figures appeared around the high walls of the valley. “They declared war on her and those she protected. She drove back their earliest assaults,” the image of the brown-and-green alicorn angrily flew at the shadows, driving them back, “but they had become so powerful and her might had lost its edge after a century of peace that she found herself worried for the safety of her people. She called for aide from those few she called allies,” the Oathbreaker was shown sending off a scroll, which was received by another group of images including the alicorn sisters, an aging unicorn with a starry hat, and several other ponies, “but we arrived too late.” The illusory image turned black.
“We do not know exactly what happened,” Luna continued on, “but we believe that she was tricked into leaving the valley and confronting her enemies elsewhere. It was a cunning trap; they undoubtedly had part of their forces hide nearby so that they could destroy the valley while the rest drew her attention away from it.”
“The ponies of the valley never learned the truth,” Celestia said sadly, a wave of her hoof causing the image of the valley to reappear and burst into flame, “and thought that their ruler had abandoned them in their hour of need. As she had sworn an oath to protect them long ago, they decided to put a curse on her with their dying breaths: that from then on she would only be remembered as the Oathbreaker.”
The sisters paused, and looked over the faces of their guests. All of them, even Discord, were looking silently at the ghostly images of ponies being consumed in the burning valley. Only Cold Reason looked away, and for a brief second they thought they saw a tear in her eye before she blinked and it was gone.
“We never saw the Oathbreaker again,” Luna said, her sister dismissing the illusory image with a wave of her hoof. “We...,” she shared a hesitant look with Celestia, “thought she'd...done away with herself in her grief. We were wrong.”
“Yes...,” Cold said softly, drawing the gaze of all in the room but not meeting any of them. “What I...,” she paused, “...understand...is that she was unable to do more than seal herself in stone so that she would not fail the world again. But she failed in that as well. Her seal was incomplete.”
Discord snorted. “I'll say. That seal had more holes in it than Swiss cheese!” With a poof, several cheese-like holes appeared in his body. “Nothing at all like the one I was trapped in.” Another poof, and he returned to normal.
“Wait,” Starlight spoke up, “you mean you saw her?”
Discord gave another involuntary shudder. “Unfortunately, yes,” he answered. “I felt a magical disturbance a few days ago,” he said with a narrow side-eyed glance at Cold Reason, “and popped over to see what it was. Needless to say I practically fell to pieces when I saw who it was,” he said, his body literally falling apart into its component limbs and sections. “And since she was just leaking magic I realized it was only a matter of time before the seal came undone, so I popped back home and started preparing for the worst!” His detached lion's paw grabbed his antler and pulled upward, causing his body to reassemble itself.
“Wait,” Twilight said with growing dread, “did you say leaking magic?”
“Oh yes,” Discord nodded. “Enough to form a big pool of it just waiting for someone to fall in.”
The three alicorns tensed up, as did Starlight Glimmer. “Uh, mind explainin' what that means to the rest of us?” Applejack asked, the others noticing the sudden change.
“Nothing good, I'm afraid,” Celestia replied with a grim but thoughtful look.
“I'll say,” Twilight added. “Absorbing too much raw magic can make an unprepared pony extremely dangerous. That's what caused so many problems for my friends in the human world.”
“This is why I came here to warn you all,” Cold Reason spoke up. “I knew of the flaws in the Oathbreaker's seal. I knew that her imprisoned body would soon make contact with the pool of magic that had leaked from her. And when it does she will awaken and absorb the magic. Her mind is still consumed by grief from the deaths she caused. She will not be able to control herself. She will harm more innocents unless she is stopped and sealed correctly.”
“And we thank you for warning us,” Celestia said. “An alicorn of the Oathbreaker's power, enhanced by thousands of years of built-up magical, will be difficult to stop. But thanks to you we have time to prepare, and that will surely save lives.”
Cold Reason gave her a short bow. “I did only what I deemed appropriate.”
“Well then,” Rarity spoke up with an idle fluff of her mane, “I believe we now all have an adequate understanding of what it is we're up against. So how, exactly, are we going to stop her?”
“Isn't it obvious?” Rainbow Dash replied. “We just go over there and do what we always do!”
“Well that's hardly a proper plan,” Rarity said in a huff.
“Plus, I for one am gettin' the feelin' that our usual playin' it by ear ain't gonna cut it this time,” Applejack added.
“We fear that you are correct,” Luna said. “That is why we have decided to act more cautiously.”
Twilight smiled. “Hey, I'm happy we're going into a potential disaster with a well-thought-out plan for once. What do you have so far?” she asked her elders.
“So far, we're hoping the Oathbreaker doesn't awaken before Princess Cadance and Shining Armor arrive to help tomorrow,” Celestia answered.
“You're calling in my brother?” Twilight asked in surprise.
Celestia nodded. “The shield spells they can create together may be powerful enough to contain the Oathbreaker. We'll need their help in order to keep her in one place long enough to be stopped.”
“And resealed,” Cold chimed in, earning a brief glance from Celestia.
“Any further details will have to be worked out once they're here,” Celestia continued. “Though I am curious to hear if our guest has any input,” she added, looking back at Cold. “You've already displayed a surprising amount of insight into the Oathbreaker, after all. Perhaps you know a way to stop her?”
Cold shook her head. “I do not. I would have said so if I did.”
“I see,” Celestia said, her expression neutral. “Well then...perhaps you'd like to tell us how exactly you learned everything about the Oathbreaker? We might be able to see something that you didn't.”
Cold Reason blinked, paused, blinked again. “Yes. That is...sensible. But it would require me to share several deeply personal details.”
“Oo~oo~ooh!” Pinkie squealed, suddenly darting up next to Cold with a bucket of popcorn in her hooves. “I love a good life story! Or even just a story!” Discord loomed over next to her and nodded eagerly.
Cold stared at her, then looked at the other expectant ponies. “I apologize. I am grateful for your assistance. But I am not...comfortable...-” she squirmed slightly- “sharing these details with everypony present. I will only share them with the Sisters.” She motioned to Celestia and Luna, to the surprise and disappointment of the others in the room. “Please understand,” she finished with a bow.
“Aww!” Pinkie pouted. “C'mon Coldie, you can tell us! We're you're friends!”
Cold became tense for the slightest of moments, then blinked. “I said earlier that I cannot feel,” she told Pinkie. “This includes friendship. I apologize. Please allow me to give the Sisters this information in private.”
“You heard her, girls,” Twilight said, standing up and taking a step towards the door. “Let's let Miss Reason talk to the Princesses in private. I'm sure they'll tell us if something important comes up that we need to know.”
“We will, Twilight,” Celestia told her former student as she and the others slowly and reluctantly moved to the door. “Now I'm sure rooms have been prepared for you all, so try and get some rest.”
“We'll try,” Twilight replied with a smile, loitering outside the study with the others. The seven ponies and one baby dragon started to walk away, but before she took a single step their leader stopped and scowled. “You too, Discord,” she said in a scolding voice, turning back into the study and pulling the draconequus out by the tail.
“Fine, if I must...,” Discord muttered in annoyance, allowing himself to he led away as the study door swung shut and briefly glowed with magic.
The moment the group got far enough away, Starlight spoke up. “So...does anypony have an idea why Cold Reason acts the way she does?” she asked. “Because I think I might...”
“Well, if it has anything to do with her not being able to feel,” Rarity said, “then I'm afraid you're a little late to the party.”
“Yeah! The really-sad-cause-Coldie-can't-have-fun party!” Pinkie chimed in.
“Well to be honest, I'm starting to doubt that whole 'emotionless' story or hers,” Starlight admitted. “I'm pretty sure I saw her actually react to something beyond just blinking back there.”
“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Applejack said. “But I don't think it means nothin'. Based on what I've seen of her I'd reckon her feelin's are a whole heapa complicated, personal business that she don't wanna talk about. Prob'ly easier to just say she ain't got none, specially cause that don't seem too far off from the truth.”
“Well said, Applejack,” Twilight said with a smile.
Starlight glowered. “Okay fine, so maybe she was just simplifying things when she said that. It's not the point I was trying to make.”
“Then what is?” Spike asked.
With a smile and the glow of her magic, Starlight pulled one of the books she'd brought in her saddlebags. “Remember what I found earlier, before Cold Reason showed up at the castle?” Both Spike and Twilight looked her way, then away as they thought back to the morning.
“The...Cavern of the Lost?” the Princess asked after a moment, her face screwed up with disbelief. Spike shivered.
Starlight nodded. “Exactly. When I was reading through 'Monstrous Myths from Before Time' for information on the Oathbreaker I came across that legend again. Some of the descriptions were pret-ty interesting.”
“Uhh, what does a cave full of lost junk have anything to do with ancient alicorns?” Rainbow asked, hovering overhead.
“Not that kind of 'lost',” Twilight idly replied, taking the old book from her student's magic with her own. A few seconds passed as she scanned the pages it had been opened to, turned, scanned, and turned back. “Huh,” she finally said, causing the friends who'd gathered around her stationary form to lean forward in interest. “According to the legend, the lost spirits of the Cavern may take the shape of the ponies they were in life if their desire for revenge is strong enough. However, their new bodies are mere shadows of their former selves – muted in color, strange in behavior, and concerned only with enacting vengeance against the ones who brought about their demise. They neither eat nor drink nor sleep, and cannot be swayed from their path.”
A frightened gasp got Twilight and the others' attention, and an already-trembling Fluttershy flinched under it. “Sorry...,” she said softly. “But...you're not suggesting that Cold Reason is some kind of...of vengeful spirit, are you?” she asked, her eyes darting around and her voice lowering almost to a whisper as though she feared the very walls themselves were listening in and would attack her for a hoof out of line.
Starlight sighed, and gave her a grim smile. “Well, it fits doesn't it? Strange behavior, only really cares about dealing with the Oathbreaker...”
“And her mane isn't exactly vibrant,” Rarity added, catching attention despite her voice being little more than a thoughtful murmur.
The next gasp to get their attention was sharper and more dramatic. “And she hasn't eaten or dranken or even slept in since we met her!” Pinkie exclaimed, hooves to her mouth in fright.
“...it hasn't even been a day yet, Pinkie,” Twilight said, her brows lowered in deadpan disbelief. “And she hasn't exactly had a chance to eat or drink anything since we met her.”
Pinkie stared at her and blinked. “But that doesn't not mean she's a spooky spirit!” she countered. “I mean, not having the chance to not-eat, not-drink, and not-sleep doesn't mean she won't not-eat, not-drink, and not-sleep! I mean-” she raised her hooves- “you'd have to catch her not-not-eating, not-not-drinking, and not-not-sleeping to prove she isn't not-eating, not-drinking, and not-sleeping!”
Twilight groaned and hooved her face. “Yes. You're right. But all that doesn't not-not mean she won't not-not-eat, not-not-drink, or not-not-sleep either! So we can't just assume she won't not-not-eat, not-not-drink, or not-not-sleep!” Her voice sufficiently raised, the Princess took a few breaths to calm down.
“Uh...anypony follow all that?” Rainbow Dash asked her other friends. A general murmur of agreement rose up from five of the six.
“...not really,” Twilight meekly admitted a moment later. She let out a long and exasperated sigh. “Look, I know Cold Reason is different. But I don't think that automatically means she's some kind of...evil spirit bent on revenge!” She looked at the skeptical looks on many of her friends' faces. “C'mon, won't anypony back me up?” she asked, looking between them before noticing one who'd been noticeably silent. “Discord?”
“Hmm?” Discord replied at a murmur, perking an eyebrow as he filed his talons longer. He 'sat up' from the reclining float he's been in, and glanced at Twilight. She raised an expectant brow. “Oh, yes, right. Well, Miss, ah, Reason doesn't seem like any spirit I've ever seen before...,” he said indifferently as he admired his sharpened talons, then ate the metal file. “So make of that what you will.”
“See?” Twilight told her friends with an emphatic point in his direction. “I of all ponies know how important it is to take old stories like the Cavern of the Lost seriously. But I also know that for all Cold Reason seems like she fits the description of a lost soul, we can't just judge her on that before we get any concrete proof. And you all should know that too.” She looked across them, and they squirmed awkwardly under her gaze.
“Sorry, Twilight,” Applejack said, rubbing one foreleg against the other. “Even if I didn't say nothin' I shouldn't'a let myself get so caught up in Starlight and Pinkie's idea so quickly.”
The Princess sighed. “I don't really blame you, Applejack. I don't blame any of you. But we can't forget to give every pony the benefit of the doubt. And besides,” she smiled lightly, “if Cold Reason really is a spirit or something, then I'm sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will figure it out and let us know.”
The conversation ended there, and the party dispersed to find the rooms they'd been given – nearly all were in the vicinity of Twilight and Spike's former dorm from the Princess's tenure as a student, which the two were staying in once again. Soon enough the full group was called to dine with the rulers before their evening ceremony, and although Twilight had reassured her friends that it wouldn't be as awkward as they expected...she was wrong. The meal was pleasant enough on the surface, but an undercurrent of tension – from both the looming situation they'd been gathered to deal with as well as the strange looks both Celestia and Luna had been giving Cold Reason since they'd emerged from the study – made any attempts at conversation become stiff. Even Discord was unable to solicit more than a few token laughs from each of his many attempts at lightening the mood, and the final one – causing the cutlery to take up arms against each other – caused Cold Reason to dismiss herself entirely with nary a bite taken from her plate.
Eventually the meal ended, the sun was set, and the moon was raised. The ponies dispersed once more to whatever place had caught their interests, with only Twilight, Spike, and Starlight lingering behind.
“Umm, excuse me, Princess Celestia? Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, approaching her elders as they started to make their way to the royal sleeping quarters. “Sorry, I was just wondering what happened during your meeting with Cold Reason. I know it was supposed to be private, but ever since then both of you have been giving her...,” she paused in awkward hesitation for a moment, “well, strange looks!”
The sister exchanged a brief but uncertain look, and Celestia sighed. “You're as perceptive as ever, my former student,” she began, “though I expect we didn't hide our thoughts as well as we should have.”
“So...something did happen?” Twilight asked in growing concern.
“She's a spirit, isn't she?” Starlight blurted out.
The eyes of the elder alicorns widened with surprise, and the sisters shared another look. “We...are uncertain how to answer you,” Luna confessed after a few moments' thought. “The one called 'Cold Reason' confessed a great many secrets about herself in the course of our earlier discussion. However, they were only revealed in the strictest of confidences. I'm afraid it simply is not our place to share them.”
“I am truly sorry, all of you,” Celestia added, stepping to the side with a hint of regret in her eyes and voice. “We cannot give you the answers you seek. But rest assured that for all her peculiarities, she is on our side. And have faith that all will be revealed with time.”
Twilight let out a faint sigh, and bowed her head slightly in deference. “Thank you. I – we – understand.”
The sisters returned the bow. “I'm glad to hear that, Twilight,” Celestia said softly. “And I hope all your friends share the sentiment,” she added with a bit of mirth and a twinkling look at Starlight, who squirmed under it.
“Now take your rest,” Luna added. “We must all be ready for when the Oathbreaker reawakens. I shall guard the night as I always have.”
And with that, the sisters took their leave. Twilight turned and led her friends out of the dining hall, Spike walking alongside her with his usual cheer while Starlight trailed a few steps behind, visibly lost in thought.
“Well, I guess that pretty much trashes the whole 'vengeful spirit' idea, right?” Spike asked, the three walking down a hall lit only by the moonlight shining in through tall windows on the left side.
“Pretty much,” Twilight replied. “I'm pretty sure they would have told us if Cold Reason was something that dangerous.”
“Yeah, if they figured it out,” Starlight said, her face falling with just a hint of irritation.
“C'mon, it's the Princesses!” Spike told her over his shoulder. “They totally would have figured it out.”
Starlight pursed her lips. “I guess. But that doesn't mean something else isn't up with Cold Reason.”
A sigh from her teacher, and all three stopped at an intersection. “Yes, Starlight. It's obvious that Cold Reason has a lot of secrets. Maybe that means she's more than just an ordinary pony, or maybe that just means she trusts the Princesses more than us when it comes to her past. Either way, we shouldn't try to pry. Let's just hope that she'll open up more once this is all over.”
The Princess of Friendship looked away before her student could respond, and left the other mare standing while she headed for a narrow stairway. “But...” Starlight said, her expression becoming dejected.
“Sorry, Starlight,” Spike said, looking from one mare to the other. “Sometimes you just gotta let things like this go.” He scampered after his oldest friend moments later.
Starlight scowled. “Fine,” she muttered, turning around and heading down the hall where the rest of the guest rooms were. “If you wanna ignore something that could be this important, be my guest. But I'm not gonna be the pony who lets herself be unprepared for this, not when we know how important looking into legends and historical figures is. In fact,” a small smile formed on her muzzle, “I think I'm gonna keep an even closer eye on little Coldie from now on. Just gotta go find the right spying spells...” She laughed a little. “Or maybe just something to make her tell the truth! Whatever makes it so she won't be able to keep a single secret from me.”
She paused in mid-step, putting her hoof down and wilting. “Then again...maybe they have a point. Maybe I shouldn't be violating Cold Reason's privacy.” She started walking again, and looked up at the high ceiling as she thought. “I sure wouldn't want everypony bringing up my past if I was trying to do something like this. I mean,” she looked back down, “I do have a lot of regrets... Maybe Cold Reason's just hiding something like that, something that she thinks will make us think less of her? That certainly fits with what Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were saying...” She stopped in place to put a hoof to her muzzle in thought.
A sudden grunt got her attention. Looking up in surprise at the torchlit hallway lined with doors, she noticed that the one just ahead of her on the right was ajar just a bit. Her curiosity piqued, she quickly looked around her and then crept forward when she saw noone around. Despite finding herself starting to quiver in anticipation Starlight snuck a look inside as quietly as she could – and she smirked in satisfaction when she saw Cold Reason within, pacing around the firefly-lit room.
Even when Starlight took an absent-minded step to the side to get a better look, Cold paid no attention. Her grey eyes were wider and more full of light than Starlight had ever seen from her before, but the smug smile Starlight had donned soon faded as she continued to watch.
“Why...,” Cold muttered between clenched teeth, her breathing heavy. “They don't...they have to...” Even having heard the words come from Cold's muzzle, Starlight had trouble believing it was the same voice – Cold's tone had changed entirely, and the voice had taken on a forceful, almost boisterous quality to it. Starlight watched as Cold stopped in her tracks, clenching her forced-wide eyes shut again and gritting her teeth, then grunting in frustration. “I can't...” To Starlight's surprise, the next two words were practically whimpered out in Cold's usual monotone. “Must...pay... why...?!” But the rest were growled angrily, and the eavesdropper gasped when her target suddenly dropped to the ground, hooves on her mouth to stifle what sounded like a scream.
Cold rolled onto her back and kicked her hindlegs, then rolled back onto her stomach. And, as she began to pound the carpet with one hoof while the other firmly covered her mouth, Starlight swore she saw tears start to stream down her face. “I can't...” Cold said in a quavering monotone. “I can't...”
Then she sniffled, clenched her eyes harder, and began to sob in earnest. “Dead...all dead...because of...,” Cold's other voice said, ending with a loud and snotty sniff. “All...all dead! All of them!” she sobbed, and sniffed, and hicced, and rolled back and forth. “No...I need to...I need to...focus...,” she said, her tone flattening as though her monotone were trying to reassert itself. “The plan...,” she said through staggered but slowing breaths, “will work. I will...ensure it. Justice. Death...or as close as I can get... Never again will...,” her voice suddenly became more forceful and haggard while her breathing became quick, “f...f...friends...” She pressed her hooves onto her eyes and was silent again, but then all at once she resumed sobbing.
Starlight, transfixed by what she was seeing, took a step into the room...and brushed against the ajar door. It squeaked, and Cold froze in place as her ears swiveled towards the sound. Coming back to her senses Starlight hastily darted away from the door and pressed herself flush with the wall outside. Her own breathing became heavier and heavier as she heard hoofsteps slowly approach...and then the door swing shut with a faint creak. More hoofsteps signaled Cold's departure, and Starlight let out her breath.
“Well that was certainly interesting, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, it was...” Starlight murmured out a reply before realizing the first voice wasn't hers. Her eyes went wide and she let out a small gasp, and looked upward to see Discord standing on the high ceiling as though it were the floor.
“Hrmm...yes...definitely interesting...,” Discord murmured, staring at the closed door and rubbing his goatee. Then, suddenly, he looked up – down – at Starlight. “Say, I don't suppose this has given you any ideas as to what she really is, does it?” he asked casually, as though they weren't outside the room of the pony they'd been spying on. “Fit in with that whole 'spirit' story you cooked up, perhaps?”
“Umm...,” Starlight said, looking around nervously. “Can we not discuss this here?” she whispered at him.
Discord frowned. “Very well,” he sighed and rolled his eyes, and then suddenly everything started to twist. Now Discord was standing on the floor and Starlight on the ceiling, and as soon as she realized this she fell...
She landed on a bed. Her bed, she realized, or the one she'd been assigned anyway, once she recovered from the dizziness and disorientation. “This better?” Discord asked, and she looked up to see him pulling a book from one of the room's shelves and flipping through it.
“Err..yeah,” Starlight answered, giving her head a shake and stepping off the bed.
“Good,” Discord said decisively, letting go of the book as though he were releasing a bird that was sitting on his finger. The book, however, flapped and fluttered through the air like some bizarre butterfly. “Now, you were saying?” he asked Starlight, resting his chin on his interlocked claws.
Starlight grimaced. “Well...she's obviously not emotionless like she says she is. Plus I didn't see her eat at all during dinner...,” she looked down slightly as her expression became more thoughtful, “and some of what she just said did seem kinda vengeful now that I think about it...”
“Then that as good as settles it,” Discord said with a snap of his fingers and an air of finality. “That... 'Cold Reason' or whatever it is is some sort of spirit bent on revenge against the Oathbreaker. One of the ponies who died when she abandoned that valley of hers, no doubt. Can't say I blame her for holding a grudge against that monster-pony to be honest,” he said with an idle sigh.
“Well, hold on,” Starlight said with a frown. “I know this all seems to fit with the legend, but how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna reacted doesn't, and...” She paused, her brow furrowing. “Hold on, I thought you didn't think she was a spirit? You said she didn't seem like any spirit you've ever seen before!”
“Would you believe I don't deal with spirits that often?” Discord replied, looking shocked and affronted. “Or ever, for that matter? The dead are the dead, after all,” he added, suddenly disappearing and reappearing on Starlight's bed, lying stiffly on his back in a black suit with a wilting white flower in his claws. “Not much room for chaos there, I'm afraid.”
“So...you do believe she's really a vengeful spirit?” Starlight asked, quirking an eyebrow uncertainly.
Discord appeared in front of her, and blew the petals off his white flower. “Well, it's certainly the best explanation I've heard so far,” he said, watching the petals float down and towards each other, combing into a larger petal when they touched each other. “As I said, spirits aren't really my domain so I'm not sure. And since you're the only other one in this accursed castle who seems to care about figuring out the truth behind that little half-pony,” he plucked the large petal out of the air and took a bite out of it, “I thought I should get your perspective on things.”
Starlight stared at him for a moment, then blinked. “Uh, thanks then? I-” she paused. “Wait, did you say 'half-pony'?”
“Hmm...well, I suppose she's quite a bit less than a full half, isn't she?” Discord said with narrow-eyed suspicion, twirling his goatee as he stared off in another direction entirely. “But you get the idea,” he said back to Starlight with an amicable smile.
“...not exactly,” Starlight warily admitted.
“Why, she's few cards out of the entire deck! A single piece of the puzzle! Only part of a complete breakfast!” he told her. “I may not know spirits, Starlight Glimmer, but I do know you ponies,” he said, standing up tall and proud. “And that,” he bent down over and whispered in her ear, pointing in the same direction he'd been staring earlier, “is not a whole pony.”
Starlight looked in that same direction, then back at Discord. “So what does it mean?”
Discord teleported a few feet away and barked out a laugh. “For once in my life, I genuinely haven't the foggiest. Isn't that grand?” he asked jovially, claws on his belly. “I've seen plenty of ponies who were only mostly whole – made many of them myself – but this is the first time I've seen a pony who was mostly empty. Why do you think I'm so keen on that spirit story of yours?”
“Huh...” Starlight said, hoof to her muzzle in thought. “I'll have to do some more research, of course, but I think this might be right after all. And I guess the next question is what do we do about it?”
Discord laughed again, pulling out a tub of popcorn from nothingness. “I'll give you a hint as to what I'm going to do,” he told her, tossing a few kernels into his mouth before tilting the tub her way.
She looked inside to see it entirely empty. “Nothing. Why am I not surprised?” she said in a deadpan tone.
“Exactly!” Discord said joyously, eating another clawful of kernels of popcorn from the empty tub. “It'll be so much more fun that way.”
Starlight glowered at him. “Well fine. But I'm gonna do something about it.”
“I look forward to it,” he told her. “But for now, I think I'll take my leave and get some well-deserved beauty sleep. Toodles!” he said, twiddling his fingers before jamming the empty tub over his head. It fell down over him, and clattered to the floor like just another piece of garbage.
A moment passed before Starlight Glimmer let out an aggravated sigh, her face falling along with her shoulders. “Great. Now I have to figure out what I'm gonna do.” Her eyes lifted as she chewed her lip a little, and she began to pace around her room. “Think, Starlight, think! What does it mean if Cold Reason really is a spirit bent on revenge against the Oathbreaker?” She paused, letting her breaths catch up to her while she stared straight through one of the firefly lanterns that lit the room. “Okay. The Princesses seemed to think that the Oathbreaker wasn't at fault for what happened to the valley she ruled, so maybe the ponies that lived there wouldn't have sought revenge against her. But no,” she resumed pacing, “those ponies had no way of knowing that, so maybe their spirits really would want revenge. But would they really wait so long for it?” she asked, pausing again and staring up at the ceiling, biting her lip again.
She grunted in frustration and started pacing once more. “I guess they had to, since she sealed herself away almost immediately. And then...I guess the spirits must have sensed that the seal was going to break soon, which caused Cold Reason to manifest to...do what, exactly?” She paused and turned her unfocused gaze upward, tapping her muzzle as she thought. “How does a spirit get revenge against an ancient alicorn? By resealing her?”
Another pause, and she hooved her face and groaned. “Duh. That's what she's been saying this whole time! Uggh,” she slid her hoof down her muzzle, then huffed as it touched the floor again. “C'mon Starlight,” she said as she walked back towards her bed, “get it together. Stop going over what you already know and start thinking about what you don't.” She stopped again, just long enough to take a deep breath. “Okay. Cold Reason wants to reseal the Oathbreaker. Is this a good thing or not? Cold certainly made it sound like the Oathbreaker was going to be dangerous...but can we really trust the word of a pony who's entire purpose is revenge?” she asked the ceiling.
She closed her eyes and gave her head a little shake. “On the other hoof, everypony's been saying how the Oathbreaker used to be a great force for good. So then...,” she furrowed her brow and raised a hoof to her muzzle again, “maybe sealing her isn't for the best.” Her face lit up in realization. “Maybe we should be trying to reform her instead! I mean, it's worked for way worse ponies than her, and it's not like the other have never dealt with magical overload before. They should easily be able to...to calm her down, or purify her, or whatever else it takes to make her good again! We shouldn't have to reseal her! And we won't,” she said, stamping her hoof on the floor.
Starlight resumed pacing again, though more quickly than she had before. For several minutes she remained silent, her eyes darting back and forth as she thought. Then suddenly they stopped moving, and she nodded to herself. “Right. I'll just have to convince everypony that that's what we need to do, and I'll try and get Cold Reason to listen to, well, reason. Maybe if she hears what really happened way back then, then...then...,” she stopped dead in her tracks, her features becoming pale.
“Oh, horseapples,” she swore. “Cold Reason was there when the Princesses told us about the Oathbreaker. And if what I heard earlier was anything to go by, Cold Reason still wants her revenge. Which must mean that either the Princesses were wrong, which is unlikely, or that Cold Reason can't change her mind and stop seeking revenge. Or,” she paused and became thoughtful again, “I've been looking at things wrong this whole time!” she said quickly, pulling the books she'd brought in front of her with her magic and opening them up. “If the Oathbreaker really had as many enemies as she seems, then for all I know one of them could've become a vengeful spirit too. Who's to say Cold Reason really was one of her subjects and not one of her enemies? If that's the case, we can't trust a word she's said!”
“We could be making a very big mistake in trusting her,” Starlight said, her eyes rapidly scanning pages as she magically flipped past them. “If nothing else, I need to be ready to stop her if something goes wrong. Maybe something that'll let me deal with spirits directly, like a banishment spell...”
Holding the books she'd brought with her open in mid-air, she started to scan the shelves in her bedroom for any title that seemed relevant. She even pinned down the book Discord had animated earlier. And soon enough, she began to read...
The night passed without disturbance, or so Princess Luna told them in the morning after she sleepily passed the proverbial torch to her elder sister and before she retired for a good day's rest. A banquet of a breakfast was laid out for the others.
Princess Celestia couldn't help but smile as she watched them all partake in the meal – a variety of fresh-from-the-oven baked goods ranging from plain and simple toast to implausibly ornate crullers; the finest of fruits and juices both local and exotic; piping hot hash browns still sizzling in the pan; milk and coffee and tea all made to order; and of course a wide assortment of cereals and gourmet oatmeals just begging to have things added to them. Everything was of the highest quality, but more importantly all of her guests seemed to be enjoying themselves – save Starlight Glimmer, who had deep bags under her eyes and looked ready to fall asleep face-first into her oatmeal, and Cold Reason, who was back to her usual emotionless demeanor. The two sat across from each other, only a pitcher of orange juice and a bowl of fresh mangoes between them.
Keeping one eye on the pair and hoping Discord's passionate monologue about unusual food combinations didn't lead in to a song, Celestia turned her attention to her former student, who sat closest to her side. “So, Twilight, now that you've had the night to think about it what are your thoughts on the Oathbreaker situation?”
Twilight hastily swallowed a mouthful of a very jam-laden whole-grain bagel. “Well, if you're asking what I think we should do,” as she turned her gaze to her mentor her own student perked up and blearily turned to listen in, “I guess it's the same as last night: prepare as much as we can. Obviously I don't have any experience fighting another alicorn myself, but Spike and I still did a bit of research and found a couple of general anti-magic spells that might come in handy.” She paused to take a sip of a rather sweet-smelling tea.
“Not sure how much good they'll do if the Oathbreaker is really as powerful as everybody thinks,” Spike chimed in, his focus immediately returning to the plate of specially-crafted gemstone scones he'd been given.
“True,” Twilight nodded, “but every little bit might help. That's why me and the girls are gonna do everything we can today to make sure we'll be ready to use our rainbow powers at a moment's notice.”
“I see,” Celestia said. “And what about you, Starlight Glimmer?” she asked with a small smile, turning her attention to the unicorn who'd been listening in on them. “You look like you had a somewhat restless night.”
Starlight blushed. “Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so,” she said, chuckling awkwardly and averting her gaze. She yawned. “Spent too much time looking into a few things. Not that I found much even after reading all the books in my room.”
The three to her right gave her a look of mild surprise, but before they could say anything Pinkie Pie suddenly leaned over. “Excuse me, sorry, just gotta borrow this for a sec,” she said as she grabbed an entire trough of rice cereal and a pitcher of tomato juice, then made off with them back across the table.
A silent moment passed between the four before Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, perhaps you should get some more sleep this morning. I'd rather we all be well-rested when the Oathbreaker awakens.”
“R-right, about that,” Starlight said with just a hint of nervousness. “I was wondering. What exactly is our endgame with her?”
The Princesses shared a brief look, and Spike looked from them to Starlight and back to his breakfast. “Well, ideally we're going to purify her of all that excess magic and then try to help her recover from everything,” Twilight answered.
Celestia looked at Cold Reason just a split-second before the mare leaned out of her chair, slamming her hooves on the table with enough of a clatter to immediately attract the attention of all the others. “You must not,” she told the Princesses. “Her power and mental state will prevent her from finding redemption. She will only repeat the same mistakes she made in ages past. She must be sealed away forever.”
Starlight immediately looked to Twilight and Celestia, and couldn't help but smile when she saw the former squirming awkwardly and the latter letting loose a faint sigh. “No,” Celestia replied. “I understand why you feel that way, Cold Reason, but I still believe we should try to heal the pain in the Oathbreaker's heart.”
“No,” Cold replied with force in her voice. “She must bear that pain for eternity. Healing it would do a grave injustice to the ponies she killed. She must be resealed.”
Celestia shook her head. “You're wrong. She can still do so much good for the world. We only need to help her understand-”
“She cannot understand!” Cold retorted, raising her voice in a semblance of anger and slamming her hoof on the table. Almost immediately afterward she winced, and moved that hoof to her forehead.
“Umm...uhh...,” Twilight said, looking from her sternly-staring former teacher to her almost pained-looking new acquaintance. “C'mon, we don't really need to get so heated over this right? We can just compromise, try to help the Oathmaker first and then reseal her if that doesn't work. Right?”
“...yes, you're right,” Celestia said after a tense moment, relaxing back into her seat and closing her eyes. “I'm sorry, everypony, for distracting you from your meal.” She didn't look out at her guests and servants, nearly all of which had frozen in place.
“I am not,” Cold said. She grunted lightly, then leaned back and got out of her chair. “Your approach will fail. The Oathmaker will not be redeemed.” She took her leave, ignoring the stares of the others.
Starlight's gaze narrowed. “Well if that's how it's going to be...,” she muttered before levitating a mug behind her to a stunned waiter holding a pot of coffee. He filled it up, she took a sip, and took the whole thing with her as she left the table.
The sound alone seemed to be enough to snap the others out of the stiff states they'd fallen into after seeing the argument. The tension itself, however, did not fade. Even Discord was silent as he resumed his breakfast, snorting to himself as he procured a bottle of some unlabeled sauce from nowhere and stirred it into the donut-orange juice soup he'd made for himself.
“Wow, what was that about?” Pinkie finally spoke up. “I guess Coldie musta had a hard time sleeping last night. Or maybe she just didn't like breakfast?” she pondered, tapping her chin and then leaning comically over to where Cold Reason had been sitting. She sniffed the bowl of plain oatmeal that had been left behind, then stuck her tongue out and licked it up all at once. “Yup,” she said as she chewed, flecks of oatmeal stuck to her muzzle, “this is totally boring. Not like Coldie at all. Did you forget to pass her all the fun stuff?” she asked Rarity, who was seated between her and where Cold had been.
“She didn't ask for anything...,” Rarity replied in a strained voice, trying to keep her friend from leaning too close to her meal.
“Huh,” Pinkie said, springing back into her seat with her brow already furrowed. “Guess she knows as much about breakfast as she does about trains then. No wonder she was in a bad mood. Plain oatmeal is no fun by itself,” she quickly grabbed a bowl of oatmeal for herself, “it needs to have stuff added to it!” She reached a hoof out to grab something else, only to be met by the small bottle that Discord had produced.
“May I suggest my secret sauce?” Discord asked with a blatantly untrustworthy 'innocent' smile. “It's quite the experience.”
“Sure!” Pinkie said brightly, taking the bottle and pouring a bit into her oatmeal. She stirred it up and took an eager spoonful...and her lips immediately puckered as though she'd just sucked on the world's sourest lemon.
“Oh my...” Fluttershy said softly, Discord snickering beside her as Pinkie's face contorted and tears started streaming down her cheeks.
Her face turned purple and a noise like a whistling kettle rose up, until finally she involuntarily hopped up and light blue fire shot out of her ears. Rarity and Applejack, sitting on either side of her, were forced to gasp and quickly duck to avoid getting hit.
A rather shell-shocked Pinkie, steam still coming from her ears, landed back on her seat a moment later. A moment of stunned silence followed.
“Wow, that really was an experience!” Pinkie said brightly. Discord hooted with laughter, and Pinkie soon joined him.
“Hah! That was awesome, I wanna try!” Rainbow said, quickly darting over and grabbing the unattended bottle of Discord's secret sauce.
The others soon started to laugh as well, and just like that, the tension faded from the room.
Breakfast ended and everyone went about their business, most of them preparing for what they'd been gathered to combat. Twilight and Fluttershy searched for Cold Reason as well, hoping to at least talk to her about what had happened, but found her room empty and no sign of her anywhere else. Despite their worry they resolved to allow Cold her privacy once more, hoping that she would turn up when she wanted to. As such, it was with heavy hearts that they met up with Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike to work on calling upon their rainbow powers.
A few hours passed before the royal guards fetched all nine once more, requesting their presence in the throne room. The seven who'd been working together soon regrouped with Starlight, who brought several more books along with her, and they all headed onward through the castle. It wasn't long before they ran into someone else, however.
“Cold?” Twilight asked in surprise, leading her friends around a corner only to be faced by Cold Reason and one of the guards coming down the hall from the other direction. “Where were you,” the Princess added as she trotted forward to meet the mare and her escort. “We were all worried when we couldn't find you after what happened at breakfast!”
Starlight looked like she wanted to disagree, but she said nothing. Nor did most of the others as they rejoined their de facto leader, though Fluttershy did fly over to offer a concerned “Are you okay?”
Cold Reason immediately stopped and averted her gaze. “I apologize to you both. I have done nothing to earn your concern. I would feel embarrassment and regret if I were able to. In truth I simply got lost in the castle.”
“...for three hours?” Twilight replied, quirking an eyebrow.
Cold blinked. “Yes. Approximately.”
“Finally found her wandering through the staff's quarters,” the guard added helpfully.
“Yes. I was lost. I apologize,” Cold repeated, looking at the tiled floor rather than anypony's eyes. “We should get to the throne room.”
A light snort came from Starlight that only Rainbow Dash seemed to notice. “I still don't really trust everything that pony says,” the unicorn whispered upon noticing the pegasus' inquiring gaze.
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Rainbow replied, holding up a hoof to shield her muzzle from the others.
Noticing the others moving on without them, Starlight and Rainbow hurried to catch up. The guard who had been escorting Cold Reason was dismissed, and the eight ponies (and one dragon) soon found themselves just a turn away from the hall the throne room was at the end of.
Cold darted ahead in front of the other, but soon stopped and turned around to face them. “I would like to make a request,” she said in a strong, clear voice.
“Uh...go ahead?” Twilight replied after a quick glance at Applejack and Spike on either side of her, both of whom looked just as confused as her.
“Please do not attempt to heal the Oathbreaker,” Cold said. “It will not work. And even if it somehow does she has not earned it. Justice will only come by sealing her away permanently.”
“Well...,” Twilight said uncertainly, taken aback. “The thing is...I know that's what you want...but...”
“Nuh-uh, no can do,” Applejack soon interrupted, crossing her front legs and shaking her head. “Maybe it won't work, but we wouldn't be us if we didn't at least try. I ain't gonna act like we're gonna make everything better for her, but if the truth of things really ain't as bad as what she's been thinkin' then we gotta tell her.”
“Plus we just can't just turn our backs on somepony who's been through so much,” Fluttershy added. “It isn't right!”
“Yeah!” Pinkie chimed in. “When I think about how sad she must feel,” she said, her lip trembling, “I just know we have to spread some cheer her way!”
“Like Applejack said,” Rarity told Cold, “it's really not in our natures to do otherwise, regardless of what it costs us. Perhaps you're right that we won't succeed, though I hardly see how that could be possible, but even so I can't see any justice in leaving the Oathbreaker to wallow in despair for the rest of her life.”
“So you see, Cold Reason,” Twilight finally said again, turning a soft smile back to Cold. “I'm afraid we're just going to have to decline your request. Sorry.”
Cold gave no reply beyond a piercing stare punctuated only by the occasional blink, and so Twilight turned and led her friends the rest of the way to the throne room. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all gave Cold some token of apology as they passed her by, while Rainbow simply shrugged uncaringly before flying off.
Only Starlight lingered behind. “Sorry,” she said in a haughty, mocking tone. “Looks like you're not gonna get your way.” She trotted off after that.
Cold blinked. “I do not understand your meaning Starlight Glimmer!” she called out, chasing after Starlight.
“Shining Armor!”
“Twily!”
Brother and sister embraced, and to the quiet amusement of her friends and former mentor the Princess soon began her ritual greeting with her sister-in-law as well.
“I take it this is why you brought us all back here?” Applejack asked Princess Celestia, walking into the throne room with the others and seeing that Discord was already present.
“It is indeed,” Celestia replied, her eyes still twinkling as she saw her youngers finish their greeting.
“So, what exactly is this emergency you called us out here for?” Shining asked, approaching the throne. “I mean, not that I don't like seeing all of you, but we do have an empire to run after all.”
Twilight frowned. “Oh no, we didn't call you away from anything important did we?” she asked worriedly.
She was answered by a light laugh from Princess Cadance. “Don't worry,” she said. “Nothing major is happening back home, so the crystal ponies should be fine running everything without us.”
“What about Flurry Heart?” Twilight added, her expression still distressed.
“Safe in the care of Sunburst,” Cadance told her. “If we didn't think he could take care of her,” she said, glancing at her husband.
“...we probably wouldn't have come,” Shining finished. “Normally we would've brought her with us...” he looked to his wife.
“...but this sounded a little too dangerous,” Cadance finished. “Which brings us back to what, exactly is going on,” she said, looking back at Princess Celestia.
The eldest nodded, her face becoming solemn. “I'm afraid your concern for your child was well-placed,” Celestia said. She launched into an explanation of the Oathbreaker, who she was and why she was a threat. She also introduced the couple to Cold Reason, who only gave them a simple greeting, apologized for drawing them away from their home, and said nothing more.
“Wow,” Cadance said once the explanation was finished, frowning with concern. “That's...definitely serious. I think I can see why you'd want help.”
“So what's the plan, exactly?” Shining asked Celestia. “I think I already have an idea,” he said, looking around at the others who'd been gathered, “but I wanna make sure. You want me to make a shield strong enough to contain this 'Oathbreaker', right?”
“That's correct,” Celestia nodded. “Princess Cadance will assist you, of course. The Oathbreaker will be quite powerful when she awakens, and I believe only a shield strengthened by the love you share will be strong enough to hold her for very long.”
As she spoke, Shining and Cadance leaned into each other, smiling bashfully as they touched horns. “We'd be happy to be of service,” Cadance said, not looking away from her love.
“However,” Celestia continued, “I doubt the Oathbreaker will allow herself to be contained so easily. That's why Discord, Princess Luna, and myself will distract her first. This will also allow us to drain off some of the excess magic that will be corrupting her. It's a dangerous task, which is why I'm leaving it to the strongest of us.”
Discord snorted. “And what makes you think I'll just go along with all this?”
“Aww come on, seriously?” Rainbow exclaimed, flying over into Discord's face. He didn't look impressed. “Didn't you already agree to work with us yesterday?!”
“Hrmm...yes...I did, didn't I...,” he replied, looking away and rubbing his chin. “Then again, that was before Celestia decided I was to be bait without asking me,” he added, casting a narrow glance at the Princess.
“But you're not bait!” Fluttershy told him, flying over and taking Rainbow's spot in front of him. “You're going to be fighting the Oathbreaker so the rest of us don't have to. Isn't that what you wanted?”
His eyes widened as he was stunned into silence, unable to form words under Fluttershy's pleading look. “Y-yes, I suppose it is,” he finally mumbled. Clearing his throat and haughtily drawing himself up to his full height, he snapped his claws and suddenly was wearing a set of royal guard armor. “Very well then,” he said proudly despite the awkward contouring his body was doing to fit into the armor, and the stallion he'd stolen it from running from the room in embarrassment not too far away. “I shall fight the good fight alongside the Princesses. Ah!” he suddenly opened his eyes in realization. “That reminds me. Your dear sister does know about this plan of yours, correct?” he asked Celestia.
“Of course! We came up with it together,” Celestia replied with a calm smile that seemed to take Discord off-guard. He looked away and grumbled something under his breath, then sank into the floor and disappeared.
A number of strange and awkward looks landed on where he'd been, and the room was silent save the sound of the throne's fountains for a few moments. Then Twilight stepped forward, meeting her former teacher's eyes. “So, since you and Discord and Princess Luna are going to be distracting the Oathbreaker, and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are going to contain her,” she said, “that means the girls and I are going to be purifying her of the excess magic?”
“That's correct,” Celestia replied with a short nod. “Once the rest of us have weakened her and prevented her from escaping, the six of you will use the magic of friendship to remind her of how things used to be, and of how much good she can still do in the world.”
At the fringe of the group Cold Reason averted her gaze, though only Starlight noticed.
Twilight nodded. “We'll do our best,” she looked back at her closest friends, “right girls?”
“Heck yeah!” Rainbow shouted, raising a hoof with great enthusiasm. The other four added their own affirmations, and Twilight smiled.
“So, uh,” Starlight spoke up, garnering the room's attention, “looks like you've got this all planned out pretty well.” She shifted her body and put on an anxious smile.
“We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!” Spike added with oblivious cheer.
“Actually,” Celestia told them, “I was hoping Starlight could help Shining Armor and Cadance with the shield spell. From what I understand you're quite talented with magic, and you did help save Equestria from Queen Chrysalis. I'm certain you'd be of great help.”
Starlight blushed and looked at the floor. “O-oh, I don't know about that...,” she said. “I mean, sure, I'm good at casting spells, but I don't think any shield I could create could compare to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance...”
“Actually, I don't think it has to,” Shining Armor told her, walking over with Cadance. “In fact, I've already got a few ideas for just how you can help us.”
“Really?” Starlight said, her facing lighting up with excitement. “I'm all ears!”
“In that case,” Celestia interrupted, her voice cutting through the room and drawing everyone's attention like the first rays of sunlight shining into a dark room. “We should all resume our preparations. I expect the Oathbreaker to awaken any day now, so we must be ready for her as soon as possible.”
The others agreed, and promptly split off into their two groups – Starlight with Shining Armor and Cadance; Twilight with her closest pony friends. Spike lingered just behind this second group, but stopped when he felt Princess Celestia land behind him.
“Uhh...didja forget something, Princess?” he asked her.
“Not quite,” Celestia replied, a mischievous smile briefly forming on her face before it faded into something solemn. “I only wanted to inform you of your role in all this...”
Spike's brow shot up in surprise.
And so the rest of the day passed as the morning had, without issue. The six who'd once wielded the Elements of Harmony refined their control over their rainbow powers and worked out possible courses of action to take once the time finally came. Shining Armor tutored Starlight Glimmer in the use and creation of magical shields while Princess Cadance watched on. And once her business with Spike had concluded, Princess Celestia resumed the day-to-day business of ruling Equestria – while also making a few extra preparations with her aides and advisers. Discord stayed mostly out of sight, and Cold Reason remained in her room. Those that came by to try and talk to her were only met by her continued pleas to seal the Oathbreaker up forever more.
But as time went by, and preparations finished, the tension in the palace air grew thicker and thicker. The ponies who had been gathered to defend Equestria once more were stuck waiting and waiting for something to happen... Anxieties grew and nerves were tested as they wondered when exactly, the Oathbreaker would reawaken. Tonight? Tomorrow? The day after that? None knew, and Cold Reason's repeated assertions that it would happen 'soon' did nothing to help the mood. Even Pinkie struggled to keep spirits high.
And then came dinner. Once more the ponies gathered at the banquet table, joined by Cadance, Shining Armor, and now even Princess Luna. The meal proceeded tepidly, a thin veneer of small talk and royal business masking the anxious balloon just waiting to be burst. Even at Princess Celestia's insistence none truly wanted to relax, the warning to be ready at all times taken too much to heart.
The tension seemed to be affecting Cold Reason most of all, as she sat in silence staring at an empty plate. She neither looked at nor spoke to the others, gave no acknowledgment when a dish floated by in front of her from Rarity to Shining Armor, and didn't even seem to blink. Had she been seated elsewhere then perhaps she'd have been forgotten entirely, but as it was the other ponies couldn't help but spare a glance her way now and then out of concern.
But soon the meal, too, had come to an end. “Well, I suppose we may as well get some rest,” Rarity said as she slipped out of her seat. “No point in all of us maintaining a constant vigil, correct?” The others murmured their agreement, and began to leave the table as well. Cold was the last in her seat.
“Excuse me, Miss Reason,” Rarity said, walking towards the unmoving mare, “but are you sure you're alright? Would you like some assistance returning to your room?” She gently, cautiously, raised a hoof towards Cold...only to flinch and let out a small gasp when Cold's body suddenly trembled. “Oh my,” Rarity said, overcoming her shock in seconds and moving around to see Cold's front.
Her eyes were wide, and sweat was dripping from her trembling body. “You aren't well, Cold Reason! Quick,” she turned her head and called into the room, catching the attention of all who'd been at dinner, “somepony fetch a-”
“I-” Cold mouthed, her voice hitching in her throat.
“Yes?” Rarity asked, moving her head closer while motioning with a hoof for the others to go complete her unsaid command. “Don't strain yourself, dear.”
“I...” Cold repeated, her breathing becoming faster and more strained.
A shriek came from nearby, and Rarity looked away to see Pinkie shaking up and down as though she was experiencing a one-pony earthquake. “Aahhh! I think it's a doozy!” she shouted just before her shaking body launched into the air, flipping twice around before landing on her back. “No! It's like a doozy of a doozy! Or something really, really, doozy big anyway!”
“I can second that!” Discord chimed in, flopping uncontrollably past her like a fish out of water. “Major magical imbalance happening right now!”
“It must be the Oathbreaker!” Luna declared, still near the head of the table with her sister.
And then the sound of heavy, heaving breaths cut through the rising panic and dread and frantic action. Everyone looked back to Cold Reason, still on her seat and drenched with sweat and tears. “I...I...I...!” she breathed, the words soft and yet still heard over everything else in the room.
Her entire body flickered like a candlelight, showing nothing but an empty chair for a few brief instants.
And then her piercing scream filled the room.
Minutes ago, in a large cavern deep inside the earth...
A pool of water set deep into the cavern floor, lightning it up with an otherworldly glow. In the middle, a rocky spire rising up, dangerously thin at its midpoint. A statue of an alicorn, curled and crying, lying on the spire's wide top.
“The Oathbreaker's awake!” Twilight Sparkle said over the din of Cold Reason's wailing and the aftershocks of the earlier earthquake. “Everypony, we have to get to the Cursed Valley!”
Her gaze fell to Discord, who was being helped back to his hooves by Fluttershy. “Yes yes, I understand, no sweat for the Spirit of Chaos,” he said, dusting off his fur. “Though if I'm to be your chauffeur I'd prefer to take all of you at once,” he added, with a look back at the youngest Princess.
“Huh?” Twilight said, looking around to see who was missing.
It was her brother who realized first. “Wait, where did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna go?” he asked. His words seemed to catch the ears of most of the others, as they too began to look around the room for the missing rulers.
“I think I have an idea...” Cadance told him, the two sharing a look.
Discord crossed his arms and huffed. “Isn't it just like them to be late to the party they asked us to attend?”
“Hey now, I'm sure they got their reasons,” Applejack told him. “Though truth be told I ain't sure which I don't like more-” she crossed her forelegs and stared off at nothing- “lettin' the Oathbreaker do whatever while we wait, or goin' off to fight her without two Princesses.”
“...good point,” Discord conceded.
“Well, we can't go anywhere while Cold Reason is like this!” came the voice of Fluttershy over the continued wails of the pony whose body had flickered like a candle on the wind at the start of the commotion. “She's inconsolable!” As if to demonstrate, Fluttershy put a hoof around the sobbing pony's withers and patted her gently. “There there, don't you worry about a thing. We'll make it all better for you.” She paused to let Cold respond, but she only kept on wailing and crying. Fluttershy gave her friends a helpless look.
“Don't even bother trying to console her,” Starlight said, glaring as she walked up to Cold. “It's obvious more than ever that she's not what she seems. Real ponies don't fade in and out like that. She's some kind of spirit, just like I thought!”
“Oh, here we go again...” Spike muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Yes,” Starlight replied, looking daggers at him. “Here we go again. Will somepony please believe me now?”
The other ponies shared a few awkward looks. “Well...I guess we gotta,” Applejack said first, though the words seemed to shame her. “Unless there's some other explanation for what we just saw.”
“W-well,” Fluttershy spoke up, still at Cold's side, “just because she's a spirit doesn't mean we should just ignore her when she's suffering.”
“Even if she's evil?” Starlight asked, raising a brow.
“Hey now, let's not get ahead of ourselves,” Applejack said, inserting herself between Starlight and Fluttershy. “We may know less than we thought about her, but that don't mean Cold Reason's evil or nothin'.”
Cold wailed louder, causing the ponies nearest to her to flinch.
“I don't know...” Rainbow said, hovering over the long dining table. “The timing of all this seems pretty weird to me. Why's she crying anyway? I'd understand if she was on-edge cause of the Oathbreaker and all, but this is a little much. Especially since up until a little while ago she didn't even have emotions!”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie spoke up, jumping up and down and flailing her limbs to get the others' attention. “What if she's crying because she's finally realized how sad the Oathbreaker's story is,” her lip trembled and her eyes got teary, “and a lifetime of her own sad memories welled up inside her-” she mimed gathering something up close to her chest- “and burst like a big balloon!” Her eyes wide, she flung her forelegs outward as though something had exploded. The others simply stared at her.
Rarity cleared her throat. “Well. Regardless of the reason behind Miss Reason's sudden display of emotion, which I knew she was capable of from the start,” she said as an aside as she looked down at her hoof, “the fact remains that she is obviously in great distress right now. I say if we have help to give, we ought to give it.” She ended with a decisive nod.
“Hey, I'm not saying you don't have a point,” Rainbow told her, “but I don't want any of us getting hurt because we trusted something we shouldn't have.”
“Exactly,” Starlight said. “We can't take the chance that she's secretly some kind of monster who wants to hurt everypony! We need to find out what she is, and then decide what to do with her.”
“Well how exactly do you propose we do that, huh?” Rarity asked testily, moving past Applejack and getting in Starlight's muzzle. “She's obviously not in any state to answer any questions!”
“We'll just ask the Princesses!” Starlight replied with a self-assured smile, Applejack watching the budding argument warily while Fluttershy shrunk back and continued to whisper comforts to Cold Reason.
“The two who know aren't here!” Rarity countered.
A few feet away, the three royals watched the others in awkward silence. “Does it get like this often with you guys?” Shining leaned down and whispered into his sister's ear.
Twilight sighed. “Pretty much...” She trotted towards her friends, and in as loud and clear a voice as she could muster over Cold's unending crying she said “Girls, stop!”
This was enough to cut the argument short, but were yet more words that failed to get through to Cold. Twilight winced at a particularly loud wail, but continued on nonetheless. “Listen. I understand your concerns, believe me,” she began, looking most prominently at Starlight and Rainbow Dash. “But I think we need to keep giving Cold Reason the benefit of the doubt. I want answers as much as anypony, but we won't get them by arguing about her in front of her.”
“It does seem to have only made things worse,” Fluttershy admitted as she rubbed Cold's back, causing Rainbow, Rarity, and Starlight to look down or away in shame.
“Exactly,” Twilight said. “Now I don't think we have much time to spare, but calming down Cold Reason is a good use of it.”
“Fine, fine...” Starlight said, glowering as she trotted away from the others and over toward where Discord was happily munching on what was probably popcorn, despite its odd color.
“Thank you,” Twilight nodded. She herself approached Cold, whose crying has lessened slightly though seemingly more out of fatigue than anything else. “Can you hear me, Cold Reason?” Twilight asked, and the mare in question hiccuped. The Princess took that as a yes, and continued. “I get that whatever you're going through right now is pretty difficult for you. But just remember that we're here for you. And it might be tough, but please, try to calm down a little so we know you're still okay. We're really worried about you, Cold Reason!”
That seemed to finally get a response from Cold, who took a shuddering breath and opened her tear-filled eyes. For a single moment it looked like she was about to say something, and the ponies around her all fell quiet and attentive, but then she clenched her eyes shut as though she'd gotten a sudden and painful headache, and began to cry again.
Fluttershy uttered a disappointed groan, and resumed her comforting gestures. The others merely sagged a little and looked at one another.
The sound of hoofsteps got their attention again, and they turned to see the two elder Princesses returning to the room. “We apologize for disappearing as we did,” Celestia said. “My sister and I had one final thing to do before we leave.”
No reply came soon, the ponies too awestruck by the armor the sisters had donned – gleaming and majestic, made from a gold-colored metal that seemed far too mystical and sturdy to be gold itself. Each well-crafted piece was adorned with elaborate filigree, gold for Celestia and silver for Luna, their cutie marks serving as both inspiration and element.
“But now is the time for haste!” Luna declared, raising a silver-tipped hoof at Discord. “To the Cursed Valley!”
“Finally...” Discord grumbled, snapping his fingers and zipping open a hole in the air. “Now boarding, to the biggest dump in Equestria!” he called out, now wearing a train conductor's uniform. “All tickets should be presumed one-way,” he finished with a sardonic smile.
Celestia and Luna flew through the portal without a word, Cadance and Shining Armor following right after them. Twilight looked from them to Cold, then to her friends. “Looks like we gotta go, girls,” she said, starting a race towards the portal with her friends following shortly after.
“W...wait...”
That single word, weak though it was, was enough to get the eight to stop and look back. Cold Reason was looking at them, her breath unsteady as she reached a hoof out to them. “P-please...take me...with you...” she panted, reaching out a hoof to them and falling forward off her chair.
With a gasp, Fluttershy flew over and caught her on her back. “Oh my! You really aren't well!” she said.
“I...I must,” she stopped without warning, and forcefully choked back a sob. “Go...”
“Yeah, no,” Starlight answered harshly. “Not unless you tell us why anyway.” Twilight gave her a quick but stern look that made her flinch, but the Princess said nothing.
“I...must go...,” Cold repeated, and with a heave she slid herself off Fluttershy's back. “It is...important,” she said, taking a few stumbling steps forward before forcing back another sob and collapsing.
Applejack and Pinkie caught her this time, sliding up on either side of her to keep her upright. “I don't know,” Applejack said with a worried frown. “You don't seem to be in the best condition for goin' to the store much less much less to some cursed valley.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie chimed in. “It's gonna be super dangerous over there!”
“We couldn't bear to see you get hurt!” Fluttershy added.
With a grunt, Cold forced her way past them all. “No. I must go to the Valley,” she told them, her eyes locked onto the portal Discord had opened and furrowed into an intense look that gave pause to those in front of her.
They all looked to Twilight. She let out a small sigh. “Fine. If you're this insistent then I don't think we can stop you.”
“Seriously?” Starlight asked in disbelief.
“Seriously,” Twilight told her with a nod.
“But...but...what if she's an evil spirit?” she asked, looking at the others for assistance.
“What if she's not?” Fluttershy answered first, darting over to give Cold a shoulder to lean on when she stumbled again. “Sorry, Starlight, but I just can't bring myself to doubt her right now.”
Starlight's jaw dropped, and moments later Applejack took up Cold's other side again. “And it ain't like we're all for this or nothin',” she said. “It's just that we can see plain as day how important this is to her. So no matter what the truth of her is, we're still gonna do our best to keep her safe and that's a promise.”
Cold flinched and stumbled then, but Fluttershy and Applejack quickly caught her and got her back on her feet. “And honestly, just because you might not like what you get in return doesn't mean you shouldn't give at all,” Rarity added, following Twilight and Spike up to the portal. They crossed through, and before she did as well she flicked her mane and told Starlight “Why, if we cared about that then we wouldn't have made so many friends!”
“Plus,” Pinkie added as she hopped up to the portal and Starlight, “we can't leave her out now when she was the one who told us about all this in the first place! She'll feel so left out when we all come back here to throw our victory celebration!”
Starlight gave her an odd look as she passed through the portal, then watched Fluttershy and Applejack help Cold up to it as well. She sent one last pleading look at Rainbow Dash, but the pegasus just shrugged. “Hey, if they're willing to trust her then so am I. I'm more than willing to take a little risk to stand by my friends.” She flew through the portal shortly after, followed by Cold and her two helpers.
For a few seconds, Starlight was alone with only Discord and silence. “Sorry, looks like you've been outvoted,” Discord told her in an almost taunting manner. “Better hurry up if you want to come with!” he added, playfully waving at the portal he'd created.
Starlight grumbled as she walked through it. Once she was gone, Discord stepped inside as well. He zipped it up to the point where his paw was stuck in what was left, then zipped it up past that too. His disembodied paw disappeared with a poof before it could fall an inch.
“Well,” Rarity said, her voice as flat as the rocky ledge they'd all come out on. “This place could certain do with a little, ah, makeover.”
“I'll say,” Rainbow said.
True to their plan, the group had arrived at the Cursed Valley, former home of the alicorn they were to stop. Or rather, they had arrived at a large ledge on one of the mountains that completely surrounded the valley, offering a panoramic view of the landscape. It was desolate in every sense of the word, a lonely little scar in the earth populated only by a carpet of thick, lifeless brambles and the occasional snag. The light was dim, but through a careful gaze a few pieces of stone could just be made out through or atop the larger mounds of thorns. Too far from the mountainsides and unlike the piles of talus that dotted the valley's rim regardless, those stones were the only hints that something more had stood here ages ago.
But even with the sense of gloom that permeated everything the air still felt impossibly heavy. The rumble of thunder drew the group's eyes upward, to the sky blackened by thick and ominous clouds. They didn't look natural, but neither did they look pony-made. A fell wind blew across the group, and all but the three oldest shivered where they stood.
“There.” That single word carried the weight of ages, piercing the minds of the others and directing them – first towards Celestia, and then to where she, Luna, Discord, and Cold were all looking.
There, just a step or lean to the right to see down to the left end of the valley, floating – not flying – in a beam of light that looked to have erupted from the very earth, was...
But the light suddenly swallowed it and flared outward, forcing all but Celestia and Cold to shield their eyes from the all-consuming brightness. A mighty and terrible wail shook the earth and air alike, and after an instant that felt like ages the light receded. Not dissipating, like light should, but rather flowing inward toward its source like water towards a drain. It left only a feeling of dread and despair behind, clinging to the group like a film.
Hesitantly, the ponies lifted their heads towards the source of the light, paying no heed to Cold when her flickering form collapsed to the ground and resumed sobbing. Their attention was instead fixated entirely on another pony, curled into a fetal position with her great wings wrapped around her, who had rapidly grown to fill the space the light had left behind.
She was...large, far larger than any normal pony any of them had ever seen before, larger even than Lord Tirek when he had dueled Twilight. In fact, the massive shining alicorn reminded Twilight quite strongly of the spell that she, Sunset Shimmer, and their human friends had cast to defeat the sirens in the human world the previous fall. But that alicorn, nothing more than a magical manifestation of their seven-strong friendship, had been beautiful and awe-inspiring – skin like the night sky yet brighter; a flowing rainbow mane; a strong and confident demeanor.
This one radiated power, dreadful and lonely. Her body was the brownest of browns, the essence of fertile soil given form and light, broken only by the occasional vein of a magma-like searing orange-white that passed across her skin. Her mane and tail, the color of summer leaves and pine needles and young vines all growing together, thrashed wildly like the tentacles of some great kraken. And while her eyes, when she finally opened them, were glowing just as the spell's had...the light was harsh and unforgiving, and tears streamed down from them only to evaporate the moment they left her cheeks.
In one swift and fluid motion she spread her wings and unfurled herself, arching her back and looking skyward. She opened her mouth, and a bellowing wail seemed to come from all around them.
“Is...that...?” Twilight asked, hesitantly stepping toward her mentor as her friends huddled together and her family sought each other's comfort.
“Yes,” Princess Luna replied, not taking her eyes of the massive alicorn for a moment. “That is the Oathbreaker's new form.”
“You all know what you must do,” Princess Celestia added, also staring solemnly at their new foe. “Stay safe, everypony.” Without another word, the Sisters took to the air with their horns alight with magic.
Discord cracked his knuckles, and did a few quick stretches. “Well then, time to see how much has changed these past few millennia,” he said, his visage darkly serious. He, too, flew off at the Oathbreaker without another word.
As though reacting to some sudden unseen signal the Oathbreaker beat her wings and looped over backwards, entering a spiraling nosedive towards the valley below. The Sisters flew to intercept her and unleashed a salvo of magical blasts, but though each one hit its mark none seemed to effect the Oathbreaker. She continued her dive unabated, forcing the Sisters to break in unison and circle around on opposite sides as she flew between them – and crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of debris that briefly hid her from sight.
Cadance and Shining shared a look, unspoken words passing between them before the latter took a running jump off the cliff with the former flying overhead as he slid down the mountainside. “W-wait for me!” Starlight called out frantically once she noticed, scrambling to chase after them.
“This is it, girls,” Twilight told her friends as they and Spike watched the Sisters alight with gold and silver flame in the distance. “Be ready.” Nothing more than a murmur of assent came from them, struck by silence as they watched the battle unfold. Only the continued cries and haggard breathing from Cold Reason drew their attention away, and their collective worry grew.
But still they watched as the Sisters dove in unison, spiraling around one another in a dance that left a beautiful double helix of magical aura in their wake. Every move was elegant and without hesitation, as though the two were not separate beings but simply different parts of the same whole – a whole that was charging forward on the attack and glowing with a light that began to hurt to look at.
“No...” Cold said in a voice not quite her own, one dripping with despair. “NononononoNONO!” Her voice rose into a scream, and just as the Sisters reached the edge of the dust cloud a pair of massive hooves lashed out faster than any onlooker could see and struck them. To the gasps of their followers the two were sent flying out of sight, and the debris quickly – and unnaturally – dispersed to reveal the Oathbreaker bucking wildly on the valley floor. “Stopstopstopstop go away dead goaway GOAWAY!” Cold stammered, hooves over her eyes as she rolled back and forth on the ledge. “DeaddeaddeadDEAD!”
But before the element-bearers could do so much as ask her what was wrong, a sound like a crowing rooster rang through the air. A brief moment of confusion followed before they caught sight of a cloud of flying chickens swarming towards the Oathbreaker. Floating atop a mound of ancient stone a little ways away was Discord, moving his arms as though he were conducting an orchestra, causing more and more furious and monstrous fowl to coalesce from the dust that had been scattered.
The flock descended with great quickness upon the Oathbreaker, but many lost their false lives immediately when they were caught by her kicking hooves or thrashing mane. Those that survived got close enough to peck and scratch at her head and body, but she gave no sign of noticing – she kept up her wild bucking unabated, even as wisps of magic bled from her small and shallow wounds. But just twisting and turning in her ceaseless rampage was enough to destroy several more chickens by the second, and it soon became obvious that whatever wounds they had dealt her were rapidly closing.
“Hmmph,” Discord snorted from his perch, easily ducking as one of his chickens was kicked over his head. “You haven't lost your touch at all due to old age, have you? No matter.” He turned on the spot and disappeared, only to reappear mere feet from his foe. “Perhaps you should...cool down a little,” he said just as she turned her head past him, catching him with one of the tendril-locks of her mane. It smashed through him as though he were ice, and in fact his body broke apart into just that – and the pieces that had been caught in the hair suddenly expanded to encase it.
As the ice rapidly grew along the Oathbreaker's mane, Discord picked up the head of his shattered ice statue replica. “Runaway magic or not, I daresay that that should slow you down for quite some while. Just another one of my genius ideas.” He giggled to himself, not watching as the ice grew and grew around the Oathbreaker's head, down her neck, and across her body. He snapped his fingers, and teleported away.
Elsewhere, the trio of Cadance, Shining, and Starlight watched the battle unfold. “Wow,” Starlight said, breathless as the Oathbreaker's movements slowed as the ice encased her.
“I guess Discord gave us our chance, didn't he?” Cadance asked her husband, who was surveying the trampled and icy battlefield with narrow eyes.
“Yes yes, I am magnificent aren't I?” came the voice of the being in question, the three ponies looking up and back to see him standing behind them. “You can sing my praises later,” he said, preening himself in a hand mirror. “I expect no less than twenty verses, by the way,” he added as an aside.
“This isn't over yet,” Shining warned, and they all looked back toward the Oathbreaker to see the ice finish encasing her...and then explode, the alicorn spiraling upward from where it had been. “Shields! Now!” Shining commanded, the horns of him, Cadance, and Starlight glowing with magic as chunks of ice flew across the valley towards them. The protective bubbles encased them just in time, the ice bouncing harmlessly off the three ponies while Discord simply dodged the few that came his way.
“That was close!” Starlight said, releasing her spell and looking with shock at the ice that had crashed behind her.
“So is that!” Cadance exclaimed, tackling her to the ground as an large, erratic bolt of yellow magic sailed over their heads. It continued on until it hit the side of the valley, exploding on impact and causing a small rockslide. And, as they looked up at the sound of several more explosions, it wasn't the only one. The Oathbreaker had started flying through the valley, zigging and zagging with no clear pattern, thrashing and bucking in mid-air one second and in the next launching a flurry of magic bolts at no obvious target. Several time she suddenly dropped and scraped against the thorny brambles that coated the valley floor, only to shoot back up into the air moments later.
“She's fast,” Starlight said, nearly breathless once again as she watched the Oathbreaker dart back and forth quicker than she could keep up with.
“We're gonna have to get our shields up soon, who knows how much longer she'll stay in the valley,” Shining said, regrouping with Cadance and Starlight.
Cadance nodded at him, then looked back around her. “Discord!” she shouted.
“Yes yes, I can hear you,” Discord replied, his voice brimming with irritation as he leaned down from behind her and looked her in the eye. He snorted, then looked back at the Oathbreaker. “That monster never was one to do what she was supposed to,” he muttered as he rolled up the fur on his arms like they were sleeves. “But I'm not the Spirit of Chaos for nothing!” he declared, rising up into the air. Scrunching his face up with concentration, Discord waved his hands in front of him.
A wave of something rippled out in front of him, making the air shimmer and the ground twist and contort. The land left in its wake began to change – small things at first, but growing as the wave did. The dead and black brambles burst into bloom, sprouting rainbow-colored leaves and flowers with animal faces. Some branches turned into living ropes, or garden hoses, or licorice, or simply grew together into massive spidery forms. One dead tree uprooted itself, put on a top hat, and began tap dancing; another turned into a very large wedding cake with vanilla frosting and tiny figures of a frog and a rabbit on top. A rain of flour and marbles like hailstones manifested out of thin air and fell upward into clouds of soap bubbles, and a disjointed checkerboard pattern took over the ground. Even the sky itself took on a pale pink color, and the clouds above the wave of chaos broke ranks and started floating around shooting lightning at random. The expanding chaos-space collided with a rock slide, and the boulders began to tumble and teleport at random around the affected area.
“Let's see how you handle this!” Discord said, a dark smile forming on his face as he watched his power extend towards the path the Oathbreaker was currently on.
She seemed to collide with the edge of it, pushing against it as though it were some advancing wall of cellophane. And to Discord's growing horror, she bellowed and thrust her glowing horn into it.
A great rip shook the air and nothing else, and the Oathbreaker shot into the chaos. With a sound like scissors cutting through paper she tore through it, leaving normalcy in her wake and dispelling any of the chaos-magic constructs that tried to block her path.
“Oh dear,” Discord squeaked, raising his arms in fear as the Oathbreaker flew straight at him, her glowing eyes still streaming with tears.
Then, abruptly, she turned sharply to her left and crashed into the mountainside.
As rocks fell down on top of her, Discord cautiously lowered his guard and blinked. “Well that's odd,” he said, rubbing his chin and looking around. “I didn't do that, and neither did anyone else.” He teleported closer to the pile of rubble, but had to quickly dodge out of the way as the Oathbreaker exploded back out of it. She streaked across to the other side of the valley, tearing up brambles and stone in her wake, only to just crash into the opposite wall. “Hmm...I wonder...”
The Oathbreaker reappeared again and resumed her lightning-fast crash course around the valley. After a moment Discord snapped his fingers and smiled, then produced a comically large megaphone from thin air. “EXCUSE ME! OATHBREAKER! OVER HERE, YOU BIG MENACE!” he called out to her as she passed him again, even teleporting a few times to stay close to her. When she gave no response, he flattened the megaphone outward into a ringed target and slapped it on his back. “BIG EVIL DRACONEQUUS, JUST STANDING HERE READY TO BE JUSTLY PUNISHED!” he called out at the same volume as the megaphone. He even slapped his back a few times when she flew by, but once more she paid him no attention. She simply continued throwing herself around the valley, thrashing the air and firing off bolts of magic at random.
“My word,” Discord said, tossing the target away as his eyes widened in realization. “You haven't even noticed me, have you? I mean, you really haven't noticed me!” He stared in shock for a few moments, even letting out a little huff of air. “I don't know whether to be amused or offended! I mean, me! Not being noticed by you! It just isn't right!”
He teleported closer to her, and immediately began flying alongside her head. He pulled out a drinking straw of all things from his fur, and blew a spitball at her eye, but once again it didn't provoke any sort of reaction.
Discord stopped in mid-air, letting the Oathbreaker fly past him into a particularly large mound of brambles. “Now what in Equestria is going on in that dusty old head of yours?”
“Nonono badbad stop my fault myFAULT!” Cold moaned, still rolling around the ledge and sobbing, smacking or kicking away anypony who tried to offer her a helping hoof.
“Hnnn...what are they doing?” Twilight whispered, biting her lip as she looked from the mysterious mare to the battlefield. “Somepony please tell me Discord didn't just stop fighting.”
“Uhh, I think it's worse than that,” Rainbow commented, just before a resounding crack swept across the valley as the Oathbreaker hit Discord with a headbutt powerful enough to send him crashing to the bramble-covered ground. Fluttershy gasped.
“This can't be happening, this can't be happening!” Twilight repeated, holding the sides of her head. “Where are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? Has anypony seen them at all?”
“Not since they got smacked away by the Oathbreaker's kick, no,” Spike answered, his voice filled with worry.
Twilight began to murmur anxiously, dancing on her hooves and looking around for any sign of her elders.
“Goawaygoaway didn't didn't mean didn't sorry go away!” Cold continued to babble, the Oathbreaker resuming her wild bucking through the valley trampling bramble and stone alike. With a horrible bellowing whinny she suddenly stopped and lifted her head, her horn glowing with magic. Lightning started to strike from the gathered storm clouds, and the Oathbreaker took flight once more. Each time the ground was struck she raced towards it, turning the moment she saw lightning strike elsewhere. She continued this apparent chase until she herself was finally struck, and in that second Cold's stream of words stopped flowing.
But that moment soon passed, Cold wailing in despair as the Oathbreaker resumed her wild mid-air bucking with lightning still striking the valley around her.
“I think we're gonna hafta make our move,” Applejack told Twilight and the others, shoring herself up and taking a step to the edge of the ledge they'd been waiting on. Twilight bit her lip, then began to move as well, but before any of the six could leave their relative safety a beam of light pierced the clouds and fell upon the Oathbreaker who ceased her thrashing and looked up.
The clouds above parted as though blown by a fierce wind, but only just enough to show the full moon in all its glory shining down upon them all. And there, two shadows floating in front of it, each bathed in an ethereal glow that seemed beyond their usual magic, were Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.
A moment later the Oathbreaker whinnied and turned away, throwing herself once more into the rocky mountainsides. The Sisters merely shared a brief look filled with remorse, and dove. They did not go through the moves of their elaborate mid-air dance as they had before; their simply wasn't time with the speed they were flying. They circled around on opposite sides of the Oathbreaker, the berserk alicorn still apparently uncaring, and slammed into her wings, singing or freezing the feathers and pinning them to her sides. She let out a shriek of pain that shook the earth and dropped from the sky, Celestia and Luna sticking alongside her by force of their magic alone. She hit the ground with a tremendous thud and lay motionless afterward, and a strange calm descended upon the valley.
“My fault...” Cold Reason mumbled from the overlook. “Myfault...faul...fau...faaAUIIIEEE!”
But it was not to last – the Oathbreaker let out another earsplitting whinny, her entire body crackling with magic as she stood back up. And in one swift, fluid motion her wings opened and her magic pulsed, tossing the Princesses from her body.
“GO AWAY!” Cold Reason screamed, and the Oathbreaker threw back her head and launched a salvo of yellow magical bolts into the air. They rained down upon the entire valley and vaporized every rock or bramble they hit, forcing those who'd come to stand against her to either seek safety behind a magical shield or try their best to dodge. Still dazed from the retaliatory strike, Celestia and Luna both suffered hit after hit from the spell before they could shield themselves.
But, as countless bolts arced back towards their creator, it was the Oathbreaker herself who took the brunt of the attack. Once more she let out a bellowing whinny as she took the blows, not so much as flinching under them. The scene was enough to make those who'd been waiting on the sidelines look away, in turn causing the element bearers to notice that Cold's state had turned to a low and unmoving whimper as her body flickered in and out at a rapid pace.
Twilight stared at her for the longest, looked at the Oathbreaker, then looked back again. Her eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Girls!” she cried, unwittingly giving her friends a start. “I...I think...” she said hesitantly, creeping up to Cold Reason, “I think Cold has some kind of...of bond with the Oathbreaker!”
“Well duh,” Rainbow said with a mildly exasperated look. “She's like some kind of spirit of somepony the Oathbreaker killed or something, remember?” At that moment Cold let out a wailing cry, startling the others again.
“No no no, not that kind of bond,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “I mean she and the Oathbreaker seem to have some kind of...magical connection. I don't know how strong it is, and I certainly don't know what it means, but how she's been acting since the Oathbreaker woke up and started getting attacked can't be a coincidence.”
“She has been getting kinda worse...” Fluttershy said as Cold's crying and thrashing and flickering continued. “Oh, I wish I knew how to help her, she looks like she's in so much pain right now.”
An air of sadness fell over the ponies and Spike. “Well...” the latter spoke up, “if this is all cause of the Oathbreaker...”
“...then maybe kicking her butt will make it stop?” Rainbow finished.
Twilight looked silently at Cold for a moment, then sighed. “It's our only option right now. Maybe if I had a little more time to research their connection I could figure out something else, but we don't.”
“Heh. Guess we just gotta keep on doin' what we planned,” Applejack said, a small smile forming on her muzzle. “Fine by me.”
The others voiced their agreement, and turned their attention back to the valley in hopes that they'd receive some kind of signal for them to finally act.
“I do not think this is working, sister,” Luna said as she and Celestia got back on their hooves, a little worse for wear after taking part of the Oathbreaker's barrage but still in one piece.
“Agreed,” Celestia said, watching as their foe resumed her aimless and self-destructive rampage through the valley. “She's stronger than we predicted, and even in this berserk state she's a natural fighter.”
Luna nodded. “I am astounded that she has thwarted the three of us without even realizing it. I can only imagine what manner of terrible visions must have consumed her mind.”
“Oh, so you two have noticed that?” came the voice of Discord, who manifested in the open air above the two with a few bandages on his head and arms. “I was worried for a minute there that you hadn't.”
“Yes, we had feared that her mind would be overwhelmed like this,” Celestia answered.
“No doubt thanks to your little private chat with Cold Reason,” said Discord, crossing his arms and giving them a stern frown. “You know, I would have preferred to know that she wasn't going to recognize me before I marched off into battle all gung-ho.”
“We apologize,” Celestia told him after sharing a brief look with Luna. “We didn't realize it would be to this extent.”
Discord just snorted. “Save it, sister. There's nothing you can do about it now, so you'll just have to repay me for it later.”
“If we all make it out of this safely,” Luna pointed out.
Discord snorted again. “Please, Luna. That monster of an Oathbreaker might be nigh-invulnerable thanks to all the magic she's putting out right now, but we all know that can't last forever. We just need to get her to burn more of it off instead of just letting her fly around and bury herself in rocks all night.”
As if on cue the Oathbreaker flew past them at top speed, slamming into another mountain with enough force to send parts of it flying. Discord quickly pulled out and opened up a large black umbrella, shielding himself and the Sisters from the brief rain of stone.
“But in order to get her to use more of her magic, we need to have her attention for more than mere moments,” Luna said as Discord folded his umbrella back up and bit off the tip as though it were made of chocolate. “We have not been able to achieve that thus far.”
“Well then, good thing I know just the trick to make sure the Oathbreaker notices us,” Discord replied with a smug smile.
“Hmm...,” Celestia murmured as she rubbed her chin in thought. “If she does, there's a chance she'll recognize us and Luna and I will be able to help her through her grief.”
“However, if she does not we risk unleashing her full might upon us,” Luna countered. “If she is focused on combating the three of us, I fear we will not be able to stand against her for long.”
“Yes, I know,” Celestia said with a solemn look. “But this may be the only way we can end this before her tormented mind decides to leave the valley.” Luna gave her a silent nod.
“Then if we're all decided,” said Discord, snapping his fingers.
When the light faded to a few overhead stagelights, the roar of a crowd rose up. The Oathbreaker, as massive and magical as ever, looked around with something like confusion at the world around her. She now stood in the corner of a giant wrestling ring, bright light above and a crowd of cheering shadows rising up around the outside.
“Iiiiin this corner,” came the voice of Discord, who appeared in the center of the ring wearing the black-and-white striped shirt of a referee and holding onto a microphone that dangled down from nowhere, “weighing in at far more than our scales can measure, the Miracle Maker! The Hero Relentless! The Terror of Monsters! The Fallen Guardian of the Cursed Valley! Theeeeeeee OATHBREAKER!”
In that moment, the searing light faded from the Oathbreaker's eyes revealing the ones beneath: unfocused and bloodshot, with irises a little darker than turquoise. She slowly swung her head left and right, her mouth opening and closing as though trying and failing to speak. And after a few seconds...
“W...wha...” she said with the strained and weak remnants of what had surely once been a strong and boisterous voice.
“Aaaaaand in this corner,” Discord continued without acknowledgment, “at a combined weight of more than you'd expect, the Sisters of Sun and Moon! The Eternal Warmth and the Boundless Dream! The Rulers of Equestria themselves, Priiiiincesses Celestia and Luna!”
Another light appeared at his gesture to the opposite corner, and the Sisters flew regally into the ring. The illusory crowd went wild when they touched down, but they ignored the din and stepped forward. “O great elder!” Luna began in something approaching the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Do you not recognize us? Although many ages have passed since we last met, surely time cannot have taken us from your memory.”
“It is time for you to stop this,” Celestia added, stepping forward as well. “We know you wish no harm upon this world. Please, let us help you through your troubles as you once helped us. Do not throw your life away again!”
The Oathbreaker looked from them, to Discord, to the crowd, and back around again and again. A weary confusion dominated her expression at first until, slowly, comprehension seemed to dawn on her and she clenched her eyes shut in pain. “You......are......”
“That's Discord's magic,” Starlight said, staring in awe at the massive cloud of multicolored chaos that had enveloped a good chunk of the battlefield. “He's warping reality around them!”
“Well whatever's going on in there, here's hoping it lasts,” Cadance said. The three were standing many yards away from the altered-reality sphere, having shielded themselves fairly easily against the Oathbreaker's earlier barrage but failing to keep up with her rapid movements through the valley.
Shining nodded. “Agreed. I think now's gonna be our best chance to raise the shield. We gotta build it quickly.”
The mares nodded, and turquoise, rose, and cornflower-blue auras enveloped each pony in turn before they teleported away. They reappeared a mere ten yards from the boundary of the chaos-sphere, and for a few seconds they looked up at it as though entranced by its swirling colors and lights.
But then Shining and Cadance shared a looked, the Princess' horn glowing first as she closed her eyes and touched it to her husband's. Shining closed his eyes as well and charged up his own magic, and once their auras had blended together and enveloped them both they opened their eyes towards the sphere, and a thick hexagonal plate of rose-streaked-with-blue magic popped into existence a few feet from its surface. It was tiny in comparison, but it rapidly began to multiply with more and more plates tessellating outwards to form an ever-growing shell around Discord's realm.
“C'mon...c'mon...,” Starlight murmured as she watched the shield spell grow, anxiety growing in her features. “Keep her busy, it's almost done...”
“Ooooooh,” Pinkie said in awe as she and her friends watched the shield from around the ball of chaos that had appeared in the valley. “So. Pretty. Must. Keep. Staring!”
She walked out to the edge of the ledge as if on a trance, but before she could step off it entirely Applejack grabbed her by the tail and pulled her back. “C'mon, Pinkie, take this seriously!” she chided.
“Yeah, it's almost time for us to-” Twilight began before a sudden grunt cut her off.
“Hey, she stopped!” said Spike, motioning for the others to look at Cold Reason, who he was watching over.
Cold grunted again as she forced herself onto her hooves. “Pl-please...hurry...” she looked back and told them with bleary eyes and a panting voice still not entirely her own. “Won't be...distracted...for long...”
Twilight looked into her teary, pleading eyes for just a moment, then nodded. “Let's do this, girls,” she told her friends, look around at each of them in turn. The six mares turned inward to form a circle, briefly sharing looks of reassurance, of encouragement, of confidence before closing their eyes and bowing their heads. “Just like we practiced,” Twilight said as a familiar glow began to envelop each of the six. “Remember why we're here, and by the light of our friendship anything is possible!”
The magical light grew and grew, manes and tails lifting into the air from the sheer force of it as Spike and Cold watched on in silent awe. It built and built and soon the light flared as though about to burst...
...and then the swirling chaos-realm exploded, startling the six out of their spell. Out of the corner of their eyes they saw Celestia, Luna, and Discord slam against the walls of the nearly-complete shield spell, the alicorns' armor shattered and the draconequus tied into a knot. All three slid and tumbled uncontrollably down the shield-plates, unconscious. And hovering in the middle, just as imposing as she'd ever been and without a single injury or scratch to be seen, was the Oathbreaker.
She reared back and let out a bellowing cry, not out of victory or despair but simply out of some raw and primal sense of existence that shook the air, the earth, and all who had the misfortune of hearing it. And as she did so, Cold let out a scream of her own...
“No...” Twilight said, the word barely even a whisper, her eyes too wide with shock to see anything but the result of the battle. Beside her Fluttershy gasped and put her hooves to her mouth, and the others simply gaped.
“Oh no!” Cadance cried out, disrupting her concentration enough for her magical aura to flicker in and out.
Shining grunted. “Stay focused,” he told her, straining his concentration as the shield-plates continued to spread to form the bottom of the egg the Oathbreaker was inside. “We still have to...finish...”
“R-right,” Cadance said quickly, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as she redoubled her own effort. “Starlight, you're up!” she told the third member of their team, snapping the younger mare out of her shock.
“Got it!” Starlight replied with rising franticness. “I'll get them out of there and put up the inner shield!” She galloped forward, her horn glowing turquoise, until she was close enough to see the three fallen elders falling closer and closer to the quickly-diminishing gap at the bottom of the shield. With a grunt of concentration she formed a magical bubble around the closest one – Luna – and swung it around to catch Celestia and, just barely, Discord. “Grrr....” she growled, taking a step back and lowering her head. This caused the bubble to move down into the gap, but as it did the shield-plates slid into place and stopped it. Starlight glared at the stuck bubble with aggravation, then jerked her head to the left a few times until her magic was able to yank the bubble through. The shield-plates closed the hole in an instant, and the spell was complete.
And, moments later, so was the Oathbreaker's bellow. Her wings spread and her eyes aglow with harsh light once more she circled in place a few times before dashing forward horn-first into the shield. It held, but Shining and Cadance both grit their teeth in pain and large cracks spread out from the small hole that had been punctured by the giant's horn.
Starlight set the three she'd saved down on the scarred ground beside her, looked up to see the Oathbreaker preparing to charge again, and gasped. Her horn flared with magic once again, and in seconds a gigantic magical bubble appeared within the shield-egg. There was a gap between the two of about two yards, and the magical membrane was a hundredth as thick as the shield-plates at best, but Starlight still looked at it as though it was exactly what she wanted.
The cracks left by the first charge had begun to repair themselves thanks to the magic of the shield, but they did so at a rate so slow as to seem pointless considering the Oathbreaker had lined herself up to charge the same spot again. Once more she dashed forward, but this time she was caught by Starlight's bubble. It only took her a second to break through it, but when she finally impacted the original shield spell the damage to it was less severe. The plates continued their slow but steady self-repair, and the bubble healed itself in mere moments,
The Oathbreaker charged again only to get the same result, then backed into the center of her prison and whinnied in frustration. Her magical aura flared to life, and she flew forward fast as lightning and rammed into the shields once more. But instead of simply rebounding back into the center she struck the outer shield at an angle and ricocheted off it, leading her to slam into a another spot and ricochet off that in turn. She kept on going, bouncing from wall to wall faster and fast until the yellow trail of her aura seemed to almost fill the entire space. Nearly all the shield-plates were cracked now, and even the interior bubble was struggling to keep up its repair as the Oathbreaker broke through it again and again.
“Oh my,” Rarity said as she and the others watched the repeated and escalating escape attempts. “This isn't good.”
“We gotta get going, and fast!” Rainbow added.
“R-right,” Twilight said, finally wrenching her gaze away from the valley and turning back inward to the circle of her friends. “Breathe, Twilight, just breathe...” she told herself, taking several deep breaths in quick succession. “This is exactly the time for us to come together and act. We can do this!”
Their confidence swelling, their magic did as well, and soon the six were floating an inch off the ground. And then the lights rose up and spiraled together into a single column, the element-bearers disappearing within. The column curved around and shot towards the Oathbreaker's crumbling prison, stopping just outside it. The six colors of light coalesced into a single ball of rainbow magic, and the element-bearers reappearing inside it in the same forms they'd taken when they last called upon the power – manes and tails and wings grown out wild, streaks of vibrant new colors running throughout, and marks much likes their Cutie Marks stamped all over their body.
It was as though the sun had risen right there in the gloomy, storm-ridden valley, and both friend and foe alike could only stop and stare at the six in their rainbow-radiant magnificence.
The Oathbreaker did not move, even as the shield dissolved around her.
“Oathbreaker!” Twilight called out, her voice carrying loud and clear. “Your rampage ends here! Whatever pain you've suffered in the past, we will not allow you take it out on an innocent world. Together,” she and her friends smiled confidently, “we will free you from the magic that has overwhelmed you using the strongest magic of all: Friendship!”
Purple. Pink. Blue. Yellow. Orange. White. One by one, strands of magic shot out of the the radiant sphere and arced towards the Oathbreaker, shattering the last remnants of the shield spell in order to wrap around her. She looked at them with confusion at first, as though they were but strange insects buzzing around her, but when all six came together to form a single rainbow she clenched her eyes shut and curled up in pain.
The rainbow formed a ring that continually circled around her, and for several seconds it simply hung there with the Oathbreaker looking pained but nothing more. Just as the six began to look at each other in confusion, tears started to stream from her eyes again. Her mouth trembled, and first she chewed her lip before opening and closing her mouth in another attempt at speech. “F......”
“Friends......”
“I......”
“I'm so......”
“SORRYYYYYYYYYYYY!”
She threw her head back in sorrow, the rainbow surrounding her ceasing its movement for a brief movement before bursting outward as a shockwave with its former colors turned to gray.
For too long the six element-bearers simply watched as it sped towards them with mouths agape, their minds still struggling to process what had happened. Even the two most directly in the path of the wave made no attempt to move away...
“LOOK OUT!”
Yet friendship is a powerful magic indeed, and while Fluttershy and Applejack found themselves frozen in place two others did not. Pinkie Pie and Rarity rammed the two out of harm's way, but paid the price in their stead and their four friends were forced to watch in horror as the six's own rebounded magic slammed into them. The wave carried Pinkie and Rarity all the way back to the mountainside, slamming them into solid stone with enough force to knock them out of their rainbow forms, and their consciousness.
“WHY YOU!” Rainbow screamed, swelling with rage and speeding off like a bullet towards the Oathbreaker. She gave no reply or reaction, however, only holding her head in her hooves and blindly thrashing the air with her wings and mane.
Applejack shook the shock out of her own head, looking from where Rarity and Pinkie had crashed back to their foe as well. “YOU AREN'T GETTIN' AWAY WITH THAT!” she shouted, shooting forward just moments after Rainbow Dash.
“No wait!”
“You mustn't!”
Both Twilight and Fluttershy's cries fell on ears deafened by righteous anger, and despair fell upon the two as they watched blue and orange streak towards what they felt was certain doom.
Their magic allowed them to ride the turbulent air currents around the Oathbreaker – churned into a frenzy by the beating of her mighty wings – with ease, but that was the only break Rainbow and Applejack got. Although they were able to get close to her, her quick and unpredictable movements made it impossible for them to zero in on any one spot to strike at with the full force of their speed. Several times they slammed into or skid against her shoulders or chest to no effect, and their anger and frustration only grew.
“Alright, let's try hitting her where it really hurts,” Rainbow told Applejack as the two regrouped, pointing up at the Oathbreaker's eyes. Too angry to care about the danger, Applejack nodded her assent and the two took off again.
They never made it to her face, as a sudden turn of her head allowed the tendril-like locks of her mane to curl around the two mares and yank them from the sky. They shouted and struggled to free themselves as they were whipped around, but it all came to an end when they were swung into each other head-first.
“NO!” Twilight and Fluttershy cried out as they watched Rainbow Dash and Applejack fall from the sky, rainbow power fleeing from them. They swooped down as fast as they could and managed to catch their friends before they hit the ground, but set them down upon it when they saw that both had been knocked out.
“Fluttershy, get them to safety as fast as you can,” Twilight said, turning a glare up at the Oathbreaker.
“But-”
“Please, Fluttershy. I'll distract her.”
Fluttershy barely had the time to whimper before Twilight flew off horn ablazing, but nonetheless she grabbed hold of her fallen friends as best she could and started to slowly fly them off towards the ledge they'd all arrived on.
Twilight, meanwhile, fired off a beam of magenta magic that hit the Oathbreaker just below the eye. It left a small mark behind that was gone in seconds, but Twilight just banked to the side and circled around for another long-range attack. Most of the volleys struck bare skin or thrashing hair and were ignored, but one struck the Oathbreaker right in the eye – causing her to flinch and shut the eye in pain. She turned her gaze to Twilight, tracking the Princess as she flew around.
The Oathbreaker quickly charged her horn up with magic and with an angry whinny let it loose in the form of a salvo of yellow beams that curved around to shoot at Twilight from a multitude of angles. Twilight caught sight of them, gasped, and teleported away, but the beams simply swerved away from where she had been. When she reappeared on the other side of the Oathbreaker they immediately homed in on her again, and distracted as she was she was only able to dodge two by chance before the third struck her from behind and knocked her from the sky.
“TWILIGHT!” Fluttershy and Spike cried as they saw yet another friend drop. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were back at the relative safety of the ledge they'd arrived on, but Rarity and Pinkie and now Twilight were still out in the valley presumably unconscious, Cold was down on the ground with her head in her hooves and hyperventilating, and the others were nowhere in sight.
“This isn't good, this isn't good!” Spike whimpered, dancing anxiously from foot to foot and wringing his claws. He frantically looked around for something, but instead saw Fluttershy biting her trembling lip and looking out at the Oathbreaker. “Wait, Fluttershy, you can't be-”
Fluttershy silenced him with a brief but sad look, then flew over nearer to the Oathbreaker. The giant had been looking around at the ruined valley with glowing tear-filled eyes ever since striking down Twilight, and did not seem to notice Fluttershy's arrival.
She closed her eyes and took a deep and calming breath, then flew into the Oathbreaker's line-of-sight and began to Stare. “HEY! HOW DARE YOU!” she began to yell, her target just continuing to look around the valley. “YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, YOU KNOW THAT?” The Oathbreaker finally looked her way, but nothing more.
“YEAH, I'M TALKING TO YOU! WE HAVE BEEN TRYING AND TRYING TO HELP YOU OUT OF YOUR MAGICAL OVERLOAD SO WE CAN HELP YOU DEAL WITH YOUR GUILT, BUT ALL YOU'VE BEEN DOING IS MAKING THINGS HARDER FOR EVERYPONY! INCLUDING YOURSELF! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE, BUT IF THERE'S REALLY A PART OF YOU THAT WANTS TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT THEN YOU NEED TO STOP.”
And for a few moments, the world was silent but for the howl of the wind and the rumble of the remaining stormclouds as Fluttershy and the Oathbreaker locked eyes.
Then, with a deafening scream of anguish, the Oathbreaker reared back then swung her head down at Fluttershy and butted her out of the sky.
Her rainbow power dispersed as she fell unconscious like her friends before her, but before she hit the ground she was caught by Princess Cadance just as she herself had saved Rainbow Dash earlier. The last conscious Princess sped away from the Oathbreaker – who had once more started to buck and thrash wildly in the air – as fast as her wings could carry her, only stopping to rest once she'd gotten Fluttershy back to the starting ledge.
She was greeted by a solemn look from her husband, who along with Starlight had gathered up all the other fallen fighters and laid them out on the ground to rest. “That's everypony...” Cadance said as she set Fluttershy down alongside Applejack.
“What...what are we supposed to do now?” Starlight asked. “We obviously can't beat her ourselves.”
Shining shared a look with Cadance before answering. “We're going to have to retreat. Gather up whatever forces we can, and try to keep the Oathbreaker away from any populated areas. Spike!”
“I'm on it, I'm on it!” Spike said, hastily writing out a letter. “I can't believe I'm actually writing the letter Princess Celestia asked me to write.”
“Well,” Cadance gave him a small smile, “you are our most reliable messenger. Who else would Aunt Celestia count on to let the rest of the Equestrian government know about what's happened?”
Spike puffed up a little with pride, smiling and rubbing his nose. “True. I am reliable, after all.” He gave his letter a quick and silent read-through, then rolled it up and sent it away in a burst of dragonfire.
A sudden grunt got their attention. “Twily!” Shining cried, quickly moving to his sister's side as she tried to get back on her hooves. “Take it easy, little sis,” he said as he steadied her. “You took a big hit back there.”
Twilight looked around at the others, then winced in pain and put a hoof to her head. “Hnngh...I just...don't understand. Nothing we did seemed to have any effect on her! Even Friendship! It just doesn't make any sense!”
“Well, she was pretty strong to begin with,” Cadance said. “And with a massive magical overload on top of that...it's no wonder she's pretty much invincible.”
“But there has to be something we can do!” Twilight countered, desperation in her eyes. “Something we missed, some way we can make her understand that what she's doing is wrong!”
“She can not understand...”
The clear, monotoned voice of Cold Reason caught the others off-guard, and they turned their heads as one to see the mare struggling to her hooves as well. Starlight quickly gave her a shoulder to lean on, and she looked up at them with a gaze that was tired beyond words.
“Your plan to redeem her...has failed,” Cold said through heavy breaths. She paused to cringe in pain before continuing. “As I knew it would.”
“But...but...even if she's been overwhelmed by what happened to her and the valley, and by all the magic in her,” Twilight argued, “even if she's spent millennia blaming herself for it...there still has to be some small part of her that still knows that what she's doing is wrong, right? There has to be some, I don't know, conscience or voice of reason left inside her for us to work with, right?”
Cold weakly shook her head. “There is not, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The Oathbreaker no longer has the ability to reason.”
Twilight gave her a look sheer disbelief. “But...no, no,” she shook her head, “I don't believe you. How could you possibly know that?”
Yes. I am the Oathbreaker's ability to reason given form. I thought I would not need to tell anypony this aside from the Sisters. I thought the ponies of this time would understand my desire to reseal myself. I was wrong, as I have been wrong about many things. I apologize.
Though the time is dire please allow me to explain myself. I do not know if I will have another chance. You all must be made to understand. This is all I can do.
Thank you.
My tale is long. I will only tell its final chapters.
Once, long ago, I was called Oathmaker. I can no longer remember if that was my original name. I do not know if that memory was lost due to age, to my grief and punishment, or to the actions of my enemies.
I came to these mountains seeking shelter and solitude so that I could rest and heal. My own foolishness had caused me to become deeply injured despite my power, and the circumstances behind it left me unwilling to trust other ponies. I was shocked to find this valley inhabited, and filled with such beauty and bounty as well. Even now I can still see ghosts of its former glory – fields of golden grain, groves of succulent fruit, a lake that shined like crystal and streams that never ran dry. It was a paradise.
The earth ponies who lived in the valley did not trust outsiders. Many had come to the valley before seeking to take it for themselves. None succeeded, but the ponies of the valley feared a day would come when they would. When they saw me, they were prepared to drive me away as they had so many before.
And yet...
Their hearts had not yet been turned cold by the world, and they showed pity on me. The miller and his husband, the twin fillies, the old baker and all her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren... Even now I can see the faces of those among the villagers who first showed me kindness, and yet I cannot bring myself to speak their names. Their spirits are surely looking down at me with scorn for failing their descendants so badly.
They allowed me to stay in the valley to rest and heal, and for that I will always be grateful. During that time I got to know some of the more curious or brave ponies, but knowing that I would have to leave once I was able I avoided getting too close to any of them. I did not yet trust them, and they did not yet trust me. It was only natural.
When the time finally, came, I chose to leave with as little ceremony as possible. Leaving behind only a single note of farewell for the healer who had looked after me, I flew off at midnight to the mountaintops. I allowed myself what was meant to be one last look at the village, to reminisce on the memories I had made there. It was...beautiful.
But the sight I saw when I finally crested the peaks and saw the outside world again caused my heart to sink with dread. Surrounding the valley, poised to strike, was an army of monsters, ponies, and many others. Some I recognized as the forces from one of the petty warlords that claimed dominion over neighboring lands; they were the invaders that had plagued the valley so often. But far greater among the army were those sent by a handful of powers that I myself had become the enemy of for one reason or another.
In a single moment I understood: they had tracked me to the valley. And with the combined forces too powerful for the valley's guards to handle by themselves...I had doomed the valley to destruction simply by my presence.
I was wrought with guilt, and could not stand idly by. The ponies of the valley had shown me kindness. I could not repay them with death. So as the army of darkness launched its attack, I took flight and struck back.
My skill in battle was built by experience alone over many years. But it was enough to turn the tide of battle in the valley's favor, the guards preventing the bulk of the army from attacking the village and fields while I kept them from getting overwhelmed by scattering the enemy and destroying those who found themselves isolated.
It was over before daybreak. The guards and I thoroughly routed the enemy army, and the villagers suffered few casualties. The guards were praised and awarded as was their due. I...was still regarded with suspicion, especially as several of the enemies had openly declared that they had come for my head. But those who had first shown kindness to me, and those who I had fought alongside, declared me a true friend of the valley.
I was deeply moved by their gesture. For too long I had been taken advantage of. For too long I had been without friends. And I was still filled with guilt for having brought so many of my enemies to the valley.
My greatest and only talent, that for which I received my Mark, is fulfilling the sacred oaths and promises that I make. I have performed countless miracles in pursuit of keeping a promise, and I have caused just as many troubles for myself and others for the same. It only felt natural, after what had happened, for me to swear an oath to protect the valley forevermore. I owed its ponies no less. And my spirit soared to once more have a good and pure purpose in life.
I settled into the valley and opened my heart to the friendship of its residents. I learned their names, their stories, their very way of life. I danced with them. Made music. Gave counsel. Learned. And shared my own story. I came to love them all, and they all came to love me. And each time invaders threatened the valley, be they my enemy or theirs, I was at the forefront of the defense and drove them off as I had sworn to. It was my home.
As you no doubt know time flows differently for alicorns, but I did not despair as my friends aged and I did not. I had never been able to watch the wonders of life unfold to such an extent before. I witnessed births, the finding of Marks, and the blossoming of love. I trained new guards in the ways of battle. I oversaw countless festivities and traditions, and watched as new ones were created and set in stone. I held hooves on deathbeds, and assisted in laying ponies to rest. I mourned every lost friend, but never forgot that each new generation meant new friends to make.
The invaders from the outside never truly ceased, but neither did my commitment nor my prowess. My name spread further than it ever had before, attracting both friend and foe alike. And...I did not realize it at the time, but my status was becoming more and more deeply ingrained in the hearts of my friends. More and more they looked to me for leadership and guidance, both in matters concerning the outside world and its visitors as well as matters concerning the village itself. I, in my sense of duty and eagerness to help my friends, noticed nothing wrong.
It was only when murmurings of a shrine being planned to honor the valley's great and powerful guardian spirit began to pass through the village that I began to worry. I have seen all too well what befalls an alicorn who loses her humility in the face of worship. I did not wish to fall prey to that sickness of the mind. But I did not know how to change their view of me. No matter my protests, the very fact that I had lived in and protected the valley for generations alone was enough for earn their reverence in their minds. I could not leave and abandon them, not with my oath and all the countless other small promises I had made to them over the centuries. I could only keep trying to live as nothing more than a friend and equal, and hope they would one day see me as their ancestors had.
I failed as I have failed countless times before and since. I grew complacent with the villagers' behavior, and the reins of leadership and rule began to feel normal to me. I will not deny that the village prospered under my guidance, or that many ponies came to me seeking an example of a dutiful and just ruler. But I also cannot take credit for everything the villagers accomplished, nor will I hide from the feelings of conceit that had grown within me. I may as well have been a newly-birthed foal when I thought that my reputation alone had created an eternal peace for my friends and I.
Fate is never so kind. The stronger Good becomes by destroying Evil, the harder Evil lashes out in return. That is the way of the world. I should have known the peace could not last forever. I lied to myself that it could. I should have recognized the signs of a coming resurgence. I did not.
The army of darkness arrived in numbers a thousandfold from what I had first defended the valley. The guards were green to true battle and I myself had not truly fought in a century, but I remained confident all the same. Why would I not? I had sworn an oath to defend the valley and its ponies and I had never failed an oath before.
But...
I feel shamed to say that I was overwhelmed. Individually I greatly outmatched them, but together in such large numbers I could not kill them fast enough. For the first time since my youth ages ago I became uncertain that I would be able to work yet another miracle and save the valley as I'd sworn.
And that uncertainty itself became my biggest weakness.
That was when he appeared. An echo of a past I'd thought long behind me, the face of an ancient enemy I thought long vanquished. His sudden, grinning, knowing presence...scared me. Just the sight of him opened my guard to several attacks that should have been swept aside like dust. And he spoke to me in a voice that I alone could hear, telling me – showing me – how easily his minions could ravage my home with or without my presence.
He gave me another option. Invoked an ancient and sacred rite to single combat that we had both gone through before. His only goal was to crush me. He was willing to stake everything on a single fight to the death.
I...in that moment I believed him that I would not be able to save the valley, my home, by fighting his army. I accepted his deal, knowing that I could defeat him in a duel. But I had grown...wiser, perhaps, since last we had met. I did not fully trust him. I sent word to all my truest allies in the outside world in hopes that they would arrive to help protect the valley in my stead while I settled the duel.
I had hoped to stall for time before they arrived, but he demanded I leave for the dueling place at once lest he decide not to call off his army. I saw no other choice. I was a fool. I left at once, unable to even tell my precious friends of my intentions and plan.
I arrived at the long-forgotten temple that would serve as our dueling field and saw that we were alone. I should have suspected the truth. I was a fool and did not.
He soon revealed himself as nothing but a shade of his former self. I defeated him easily. He did not care. I moved to vanquish him in a way I hoped would be permanent. He did not care.
I will never be able to forget his hideous laughter when he told me that he had never truly commanded the army of darkness that had attacked the valley. He merely inspired their formation. Our sacred duel meant to settle a war with minimal death was meaningless. The army of darkness had never been called off.
I had left the valley, I had left generations upon generations of my dearest friends, to die. I was a fool.
I fled with tears in my eyes, returning to my home as fast as my wings and magic could take me. I was too late. The battle was over. My allies had not come. The army of darkness was gone. They had killed my friends and plundered my home of everything it had. All that remained was ruined stone and ash that smelled of death.
The moment I took my first disbelieving step into the valley I heard a whisper on the wind. The voices were many speaking as one and twisted by hate, but I knew them all the same as the voices of the villagers. Of my friends. They cursed me for failing them. They cast away a name I no longer deserved. The entirety of what had happened, of what I had allowed to pass, came upon me in a moment and my mind broke.
Tell me, young ones, do you know the pain of failing your Mark? The truest and most basic essence of what and who you are? It is a hurt more terrifying and dreadful than any other. It is a feeling as though you have done away with the entirety of your existence with your own four hooves, and yet are forced to continue living.
I do not expect you do. But if I am wrong, as I have been wrong about far too many things, then perhaps you can understand a fraction of what I felt that day. In the course of a few hours I had broken not only my oath to protect the valley, but nearly all of my active promises. To watch over families, to pass down and uphold traditions, to teach, to simply meet a pony at a certain place and time. Everything that I was had crumbled to ash beneath my hooves, and all of it was my fault. My fault for trusting an enemy instead of my own abilities. My fault for not keeping calm during a difficult battle. My fault for countless other mistakes that had led up to that day. All of my friends, dead, because of me.
I could not bring myself to track down and destroy the army of darkness. I was...too tired in mind and heart and body. And I knew it would not bring justice to the spirits of the friends I had failed. The army was merely the weapon that had slain them. I was the one who had brought it down upon the valley.
I could not live with myself after what I had done. I could not allow another tragedy to happen by my careless and foolish hooves. But alicorns do not die so easily. I saw no other choice but to seal myself away for eternity. I dove deep into the earth until I reached a small cavern and collapsed from exhaustion. It was there that I cast the sealing spell upon myself.
But I failed to cast it properly, as I have failed in countless self-appointed tasks before. It was meant to completely encase me in stone and suppress my magic so that it did not build-up to an extent that the seal could not contain me any longer. But instead it allowed my magic to leak out piece by piece in a form that would accumulate outside my body. The magic I lost to the leak each day was not more than what my alicorn body would naturally replenish on its own, and so the leak continued and the magic built up for millennia.
And with my mind so consumed by grief and despair I lost awareness of the world around me or the time that had passed. Only a small portion of my thoughts could comprehend anything beyond my crimes. I do not know when those thoughts noticed the pool of magic that had accumulated around my sealed form. But they did not think of it as a dire problem at first, but rather another mere mistake that exemplified my incompetence. And when at last they did...
They – I – panicked at the gravity of the situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before my sealed body fell into the pool of magic. I knew that thousands of years of magic would overload even a pony of my strength. And I knew that an overloaded pony would become consumed by the thoughts and desires they had when the overload happens. My mind was already almost entirely lost to grief and despair. I feared what I would become when overloaded. What I would attempt to do. What would happen when I failed. I feared that countless innocent lives would be lost by my hooves once again.
I could not let this happen. But I could not stop the unsealing. The only hope I could see of averting disaster was to warn the outside world and prepare them to reseal me. But my body was bound in stone. I had no means to send a message.
So I decided to create one.
In truth, I had no idea what I was doing. Magic is not my talent. All I knew was that with enough of it and a strong will, anything was possible. From the pool of liquid magic I built the body of a pony. I... split my mind in two, leaving that which had been consumed by despair imprisoned so my thoughts that remained could act unhindered. But a link would remain between the two minds and I realized I risked losing the new body to despair if I was careless. But by suppressing the new body's emotions I could control the link.
I gave this body – my new self – the name 'Cold Reason' and the image of a Mark to match what it was: the last shreds of my rationality, devoid of emotion by necessity. I gave myself a mission to find the highest power I could and tell them of what was to come. But I could not share the truth of who I was. I feared it would only panic, or confuse, or distract any pony who I sought aide from.
Eventually I found my way through the caverns to the surface at a spot well outside the bounds of the valley. I am grateful for that. Had I been forced to surface in the valley itself and see what had become of my home, I fear my mission would have failed then and there. It did not.
I did not know what had become of the world since my crime. I did not know who would have the power to reseal me. But I knew that an alicorn who had lived in that age could still be alive. I remembered the kingdom that the Sisters had founded shortly before my crime was located nearby. I headed east in the hopes that it still existed. I traveled for several days through forest without seeing another pony. I feared I would be unable to deliver my message.
Then I found a road. My hope surged and I briefly struggled to contain my emotions. But I remained calm by allowing fate to guide my next steps, and it led me to Ponyville.
You all know the rest.
…
...
Much of that was not necessary to recount. I apologize. But please understand the actions I have taken and why they are for the best. That is all I ask of you.
“But please understand the actions I have taken and why they are for the best,” Cold said at the finish of her story. “That is all I ask of you.” She bowed slightly, and looked across the faces of those who'd fought against her stronger half, all of them now awake again.
All but the three oldest stared at her with mouths agape in surprise and bewilderment. Celestia and Luna averted their gazes out of sadness and shame, while Discord merely stroked his goatee in mute comprehension as he looked Cold up and down.
“Oh my...,” Fluttershy murmured, her lip beginning to quiver.
“Well...uh...” Twilight tried to say, giving up after only a few moments.
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash finished for her.
Twilight looked over, then said “Yes. That.”
“Guess that explains a few things,” Applejack said.
“I'll say,” Starlight said, looking like her throat had gone dry. “Uhh...sorry for thinking you were some kind of vengeful spirit,” she told Cold, rubbing one foreleg against the other as she struggled to maintain eye contact.
“Apology accepted,” Cold replied without pause or hesitation. “I cannot blame you for thinking what you did when I did not try to explain myself as I should have.”
“And of course we can't blame you for acting as you did either,” Rarity chimed in, trotting over to Cold. “Oh darling, I can't imagine how stressful this whole experience has been for you. Fortunately, now that you've told us the truth, we can finally figure out just how to fix it. Isn't that right, Twilight?” she looked back and asked her friend.
Twilight, looking lost in thought with a hoof on her muzzle, gave a slight start before looking back at Rarity. “Oh! Oh, yes, umm, well, I guess so? Probably, anyway. Hmm...” She turned her gaze back downward, and started tapping her chin.
“I apologize again for not explaining myself earlier,” Cold said, watching Twilight think. “You were unable to fully prepare for this battle because of it. But I pr-” she seemed to catch herself, hesitating a moment before continuing- “I will answer any questions as fully and truthfully as I can from now on.”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up and down near Cold. “What's your favorite treat?” she asked first, then darted in close so she and Cold were eye-to-eye. “Also, how many hugs do you want? Because you really sound like you need a lot of hugs,” she asked next, tears beginning to well up and hair wilting slightly. Then she suddenly froze in place, her look of sadness shifting more towards pain. “Also, why does my everything still hurt?” she asked last, shortly before falling forward onto the ground.
Cold blinked and looked down at her. “Umm. I'm afraid I do not know the answer to those questions. I apologize.”
“Oh,” Pinkie said in a strained voice, still on the ground. “That's okay. Take some time and think 'em over.”
“Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt,” Shining interrupted with a surprising amount of actual remorse, “but do we have time for this? We're kinda in the middle of a battle.” He tilted his head vaguely towards the valley, now silent but for the occasional rumble of thunder.
“Come to think of it,” Spike spoke up, looking at Cold and scratching his head, “how come you were even able to tell us all that in the first place? You've been freaking out pretty badly ever since your, uh, 'other half' woke up. I couldn't make heads or tails of what you were saying! Why's that changed?”
Cold looked at him, blinked, opened her mouth, failed to speak, blinked again, closed her mouth, and then finally walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked around the valley. The others soon joined her.
It took them awhile in the darkness and gloom of the Cursed Valley to find the Oathbreaker's earth-colored body even with the glow of magic that she was emitting. To their collective surprise she'd stopped her wild thrashing, and instead had alighted upon a charred mound that had once been part of the carpet of thorns that blanketed the valley. Her back was to the ledge and her wings were wrapped around her, and yet those who looked upon her could feel a wave of misery emanating from her body. Occasionally she would shudder slightly.
“I...guess now she's the one having trouble doing things?” Cadance suggested, though her expression betrayed her lack of confidence.
“But why?” Spike asked.
Twilight stared off towards their foe and frowned. “Yeah, this doesn't really make sense. I mean, not that any of this makes sense in the first place, but still. It doesn't exactly fit with the rest of Cold, I mean Oathmaker's story,” she said as she began to pace. “She created the new body because she wasn't able to control her original body anymore, right? And she had to keep her emotions in check so she wouldn't be overwhelmed by what the rest of her was feeling. So obviously Cold – I mean Oathmaker - couldn't have influenced her more powerful side. So logically it must have been that side,” she pointed towards the Oathbreaker, “who calmed down enough for this side,” she darted back over to point at Cold, “to regain enough control to tell us her story. But that doesn't even begin to explain why the other side calmed down in the first place! It's too convenient to have been a coincidence!”
Cold blinked. “I...wish I knew the answer. All I know is that the Oathbreaker is not acting according to reason, so it may not be possible to understand why she does things.”
Twilight shot her a withering look. “We have to understand her if we want to fix this!” she shouted, her breathing fast and heavy enough for Fluttershy to give her a gentle pat on the back.
“Perhaps it would be a good idea to explain what you understand of your link with your...other half,” Celestia suggested with a moment of hesitation. “That may shed some light on our way forward.”
A few seconds passed in silence as Cold looked down at the barren rock, blinking or twitching or moving her ears every few seconds. “I...understand very little of what I did when I created this body,” she eventually said. “But,” she clenched her eyes shut, “I can feel the rest of my mind at all times. I can feel its thoughts and impulses all around me, repeating the same lines over and over again without rhythm or pattern. Up until recently it felt as though it was a great beast lurking just behind a doorway, with...myself...being the only thing keeping the door shut. But now it feels as though the beast is more distant, or...-” she shook her head- “no, not distant. Not sleeping, either. But I can no longer clearly hear her thoughts.”
“Hold on,” Starlight said, brow furrowed and hoof on her chin, “could your link be weaker than it was before? Maybe acting independently from the rest of you for however long has strengthened the magic you used to separate yourself? It would at least explain why you've been so lucid recently.”
Cold's eyes snapped open, a specter of fear passing over them before they settled back into their usual self-enforced dullness. “No...no, the link is as it has always been. I feel no change in it. There must be some other reason my other thoughts have become weaker.”
“Wow, too bad you can't hear what the other you is thinking then,” Pinkie said, back on her hooves but not looking any cheerier. “Maybe she's thinking about some great big clue?”
“What, you mean like whatever she's thinkin' about is the reason why she's actin' all quiet now?” Applejack asked.
“Uh-huh!” Pinkie answered with a nod vigorous enough to knock her off-balance again.
“Hmm...that certainly sounds possible,” Twilight said. “But difficult to find out for sure.”
“We could try Withercraft's Mind Meld,” Starlight suggested with a helpful tone. “Maybe add in Norwind's Telepathic Tranquility to smooth things over for us?”
Twilight shook her head. “I'm afraid any spells like those would either take too long to cast, or would require us to maintain physical contact with the target. Since we don't know how long this will last, we shouldn't risk it. We need to figure this out as quickly as we can.”
“Then I will do it,” Cold said, drawing all eyes back to her. “I will open the door to the rest of my mind just long enough to find out what has distracted it.”
“Oh, but isn't that really dangerous?” Fluttershy asked. “We wouldn't want you to lose yourself in...well, yourself.”
Once more, Cold was silent for a few moments. “No,” she finally said, the remark accompanied by a slight shake of her head. “If understanding the reason behind my other thoughts' inaction is truly important, then I am the one who will discover those reasons. If nothing else, I owe it to you all to help as much as I can no matter the risk to myself.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, concern in her eyes as she stepped forward. “You don't have to do this! W-we can find some other way to read the other you's thoughts!”
Cold shook her head again, then looked Twilight straight in the eye. “No. I will do this.”
That was all she said before turning herself back towards the valley – and the still-sitting form of the Oathbreaker – and sitting down in a motion that wasn't nearly dramatic enough for the situation. Her eyes quickly lost focus as she stared, unblinkingly, out at her other self.
The sounds of water dripping in a vast cave, and of faint whispers dancing just beyond her comprehension. The smell of lightning ripping through stale air. The feel of cold, carved stone beneath her hooves and against her skin. The taste of fresh berries, and the sight of the void.
None of it was real, not on the outside. Just a trick of the inside, created by her mind. Cold knew this. But it helped her to focus on what she needed to do, and so she stood. She turned around and saw in total darkness a giant door that wasn't there, hiding the part of her she feared so much.
She felt the beating of her own heart, loud and fast, a sensation she knew to be all too real. She did not look away from the door, and focused on the muffled whispers passing through it. She could not hear what they said, no matter how much she strained to do so.
Hesitation blossomed into fear as she understood that she truly had to do what she'd decided to, but that fear was quashed by the sense of duty that had always ruled her even after all that she had done. She had told the others, those ponies who had helped her so much already, that she would discover why her other thoughts, why the Oathbreaker, had ceased rampaging. And she would.
“And it was Duty who opened the door,” she whispered to herself – or perhaps simply thought, as she could not feel the words on her lips – and the door before her swung open. Only a crack, as she willed it. Just enough for her to pass her head through.
Beyond it, as she expected, was the rest of her – the Oathbreaker – sitting slumped against the wall of a cave much like the one Cold had started in. She was the image of her former self, her original body, fractured like the reflection in a broken mirror, parts constantly in motion as they spun and slid and swapped places with each other. Had circumstances been different, had Oathmaker not been looking inward at her own broken mind, she would have found it fitting.
Instead she simply listened.
Without the door of their link completely shut, Cold could make out the murmuring stray thoughts of her other self. “The Valley. The Valley. Why. Should never have come. Should never have stayed. All I bring is death no matter where I go. I never learn. Crimson Dust. Root Breaker. Simple Herb. Armor Fit, Long Spear, Helm Forger, Tiller, Golden Plow, Golden Tongue, Sweet Plum, Scroll Parchment, Cherry Stem, Quarry Stone, Big Mortar, Pest Pestle, Sharp Knife, Peak Watcher, Bronze Forge, Rock Chipper, Berry Bread, Happy Field, Brookwater, Shadow Keeper, Bee Singer, Harvest Moon, Frog Catcher...
...so many more. So many more. Can see it all. See them all. How many forgotten? All let down. All betrayed. All dead. Why come? Why stay? His fault. My fault. His fault. My fault.”
A shiver of understanding and fear passed through Cold's body as she watched her other self twitch and stir, an ominous wind blowing where none should be. “His fault. My fault,” she found herself repeating without intent, lips moving in time with her other self's, faster and faster as the Oathbreaker's wild and unfocused and irresistible eyes met hers. “His fault. My fault. His fault. My fault. His fault. My fault. His fault. My fault. HIS fault. MY FAULT.”
A sharp and sudden gasp came from Cold, the half-mare lurching up and forward as though waking from a nightmare.
“COLD!” Twilight Sparkle cried in panic, her magic and Rainbow Dash reaching Cold before she completed her tumble forward off the cliff. Several of the others rushed forward to help, but fortunately it wasn't needed – two alone were enough to bring Cold back to solid ground, Twilight even going so far as to turn Cold around to face the group.
She spent a silent moment looking across their concerned faces, then said “I apologize. I shouldn't have sat so close to the edge of the cliff.”
“I'll say,” Rainbow said, forcing a smile and giving Cold a light punch to the shoulder. “You gave everypony else a pretty big scare.”
“Hmm...yes...,” came the disinterested voice of Discord, speaking up for the first time since he'd awoken. His eyes brightened with mocking mirth as he turned them towards Cold, stretching his body over the backs of his startled friends to get closer to her. “More importantly, I'm just dying to hear what you learned in that dusty old head of yours,” he said, clasping his claws and batting his eyes.
Cold glared at him for a moment, then winced in pain. Once more the others took steps towards her, but she quickly waved them away with the hoof she'd brought up to hold her temple. “Please save your concern for me. I was able to learn the reason behind my other self's inaction with only minor difficulty. She has become fixated on several details of my past that relate to what I shared with all of you.”
“...what do you mean by 'minor difficulty'?” Twilight asked, a look of concern shared with Fluttershy.
A pause and a blink from Cold were broken by another sharp wince. “I...this part of myself was nearly consumed by the despairing thoughts I had tried to escape. I was able to break away from them once more, but I believe-” a piercing wail shook the air, startling the group and causing several to fall over- “it came at great cost. I apologize,” she said before clenching her eyes and teeth and holding her head in her hooves.
“No no no, don't apologize Cold, you did great,” Twilight said quickly even as the sounds of shifting rock and snapping bramble rose up from the valley.
“Indeed,” Luna said, standing over the younger Princess to look down upon Cold Reason with a beaming smile. “You should be proud of yourself, o elder, for the strength you have even in this form.”
“What-ngh-what strength?” Cold asked through her pain. “I am weakness, and nothing more. Were I truly strong this-nnnngh!-never would have happened!”
Luna shook her head. “You are wrong, o elder. Were you weak your reason would have been consumed just now, and in truth you never would have been able quell your inner turmoil to begin with.” She looked to her sister, whose thoughtful look was soon replaced by first wide-eyed realization, and then the knowing smile that fit her muzzle so well.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow asked, hovering over the group looking from the Princesses, to the struggling form of Cold, and then to her friends with a questioning look in her eyes.
Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. “Hmm...I reckon she means that Cold's the reason why her other half calmed down all of a sudden.” Another wail was punctuated a tremor that shook the mountainside and the sound of crumbling rock. “Well, you know what I mean.”
“Quite,” Rarity said. “Though I will admit I'm a little disappointed that the answer was simply that the story itself was what gave dear Cold the ability to tell it, in a manner of speaking. Poetic, perhaps, but not exactly the level of drama I've come to expect from this adventure.”
A gasp startled her and the others, and their attention quickly turned back to Twilight as she began to excitedly scratch number and figures in the dust. “No, it's perfect! Don't you see? This proves that Cold can still influence her other half!”
“I...what? No...,” Cold said weakly, lifting her head just enough to look at Twilight through hazy eyes. “Can't...be true...”
“Yyyyeah, that seems off,” Rainbow said, looking from Cold to Twilight once the former shut her eyes in pain again. “I don't think she'd be like this if she could help it.”
“True, her other half is stronger most of the time,” Twilight answered, still focused on her scrawlings – which Starlight and the other Princesses were now looking over as well, adding or correcting bits and pieces. “But that's just it – only most of the time. If it were all of the time, I doubt Cold could have even been created in the first place. But the reasonable side of Oathmaker's mind can still influence the rest of her, it's just a matter of how much strength she has to do so.”
“And that means what, exactly?” Rainbow asked. “Cold clearly doesn't have the strength to fight back right now.”
Twilight froze, then her ears fell flat. “Good point. Cold can't regain control of her mind right now.”
“So what do we do?” Applejack asked. “Cold ain't strong enough to get at her from the inside, and I don't gotta remind everypony that we sure as hay ain't strong enough to take down that Oathbreaker or whatever you wanna call her from out here.”
“It's true,” Cadance spoke up. “Every part of our plan failed – the distraction, the shield, the Elements...”
“Even Fluttershy's stare!” Pinkie sprang up to add, bugging out her eyes for emphasis.
“Nothing worked,” Cadance finished plainly.
Twilight stared, at the equations and figures scratched into the ground, at Cold writhing in pain, at the Oathbreaker throwing herself to the ground in the distance, and at nothing in particular.
“...because we were wrong,” she finally said, the words escaping her lips before she knew it. She looked up. “We were wrong. Just like Cold has been saying all this time, the Oathbreaker can't understand what we're trying to do, and can't be redeemed.”
All but the eldest of her friends leaned away, taken aback by the statement. “Uh, you're not makin' much sense there, Twilight,” Applejack said.
“Yeah,” Fluttershy added, hurt and astonished. “Are you saying that we should just give up? On a pony who's in so much pain?”
Twilight shook her head and smiled, looking across the faces of her friends. “No. I'm not saying we should give up. I'm saying that Cold was right about that part of herself, even if it was for the wrong reasons. It's not that we shouldn't try to help her, it's just that the Oathbreaker isn't the half we need to help!”
She watched with growing delight as realization dawned, one by one, on five of the faces that were watching her back. “Girls,” she said, “let's power up.”
The Six stood and reformed their circle without words or conscious coordination, the others just as wordlessly stepping back to give them room.
“Wait, hold on, I think I missed something,” Starlight spoke up, brow furrowing as she watched the Six smile at one another despite their scrapes and bumps and cuts and bruises, the familiar feel of their magic growing and swirling around them. “You're gonna use your powers on Cold?”
“But of course,” Celestia answered for them with a light laugh and a smile that reached her eyes. “Cold Reason and the Oathbreaker are simply two parts of the same whole, one consumed by the tragedy that befell her and the other trying desperately to keep such a tragedy from happening again. All this time we've been so focused on confronting the first part that we never thought to heal the second part.”
“Heal?” Starlight asked, still confused as her vision was torn between the smiling Princess and the Six rising into the air under the force of their own friendship.
Celestia nodded. “Yes, heal. For all the power and friendship that we share between us, we were unable to defeat Oathmaker's inner turmoil by ourselves. But the magic of friendship can do far more than strip away dark magic or show ponies its light...”
She trailed off there, mere moments before the Six shot into the air as a brilliant spiral rainbow that warmed the air, and the hearts, of the seven who were lucky enough to bear full witness to it. In a blink of an eye it pierced the clouds above, and for the few seconds the column persisted even the Oathbreaker paused in her rampage to look upon it.
It was gone just as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind the Six in their powered-up forms. They quickly flew into formation above and around Cold Reason, whose writhing and moaning ceased and whose eyes fluttered open to look up at the smiling form of Twilight Sparkle.
“...what...?” she asked, her voice weak and her breaths heavy. “I don't...understand...”
“It's alright,” Twilight answered, her voice as soft as the glow that surrounded her. “You will soon enough.”
“Exactly!” Pinkie said eagerly, floating clockwise from the Princess. “It's time for you to turn that great big frown, upside down!” She giggled. “With a little help from your friends, of course!”
Cold looked at her with a sort of pained, distracted confusion. But it was Applejack, next to Pinkie, who answered her unspoken question. “Aww, come on now, don't tell me you ain't figured it out yet? After everything we've been through, of course we're your friends! What happened to ya in the past doesn't change anythin'!”
“That's right, darling,” Rarity chimed in from Applejack's other side. “Why else would we be so happy to give you the help you need so desperately? We want you to feel better, so that your light may shine on life once again!”
“We know it's hard trying to keep going after so many terrible things have happened to you,” Fluttershy said next, “and we understand why you'd think that cutting yourself off from the world is for the best. But it isn't, and all we want is for you to realize that.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow added. “No matter what happens, remember that we'll be here to help you through it! Cause that's what friends are for!”
From their places above and around Cold, the Six nodded as one. “That's right,” Twilight said. “So remember, Cold. Remember, Oathmaker. Remember all the good times you've had, and not just the bad. And let the light of those memories, and our friendship, help you find a reason to keep moving forward.”
She locked eyes with Cold, and the magic of the Six flared. Purple, pink, orange, white, yellow, blue; one by one beams of light shot out and engulfed their friend, the rainbow mixing and swirling into a powerful whiteness that grew and grew. And as the light lifted her into the air and consumed her, Cold saw – the past few days, and all that her new friends had done for her. Talking with them on the streets of Ponyville and the train to Canterlot and in the castle; getting her mane styled by Rarity; making plans with Pinkie that she didn't have the heart to turn down; and all of them coming to her aide when her other self finally awoke and she struggled to contain the resulting wave of emotions.
And then came the faces of those she'd lost, not hateful or anguished as she'd imagined so much for so long, but smiling and happy as they'd been in life. So, so many in a blink of an eye, seeing and hearing and feeling all the good times they'd shared, and all the encouragement they'd ever given her in all her times of trouble.
Further back, further back, before the Valley and beyond. Ponies she could barely see at all, they were such bare wisps of memory, but which she could hear clear as day, and which her heart knew and cherished just as much as those who'd come long after. And at the furthest depths of the furthest depths of the furthest depths, sheltered by darkness, buried under centuries of tragedy and strife before she'd ever stepped hoof in the Valley, only words remained...
The light faded, and Cold Reason slowly floated back downward towards the circle of her rainbow-powered friends. For several silent moments they looked at her expectantly, her pale form hovering mere inches above the rock. Her eyes opened when her hooves touched the ground, and she looked around at all the others – the six around her, and the seven watching from nearby.
“Thank you,” she told them, bowing her head slightly as a soft and genuine smile graced her lips. “I know now what must be done, and you have given me the strength to do so.” Those words seemed to erode the remaining tension in the air around them, bringing smiles to her friends even as their power faded and they touched down upon bare stone.
Cold's smile faded into a solemn look as she turned around to face the valley, her gaze soon finding her grief-maddened other self as she launched a salvo of magical bolts that arced around and struck all over her own body. Cold closed her eyes and shook her head, then with the barest of effort launched herself into the air. She streaked through the sky like a shooting star, and flew all the way to her rampaging other half.
The Oathbreaker stopped mid-charge and looked straight at her, ears alert and eyes wide. And as Cold stopped directly in front of her, she took in a breath and bellowed. It lasted for minutes before her massive lungs finally ran out of air, but all through it Cold simply floated in place and weathered the wind and sound without changing her expression – her muzzle blank, but her eyes filled with sadness and regret.
“No,” Cold said, her voice as calm and steady but not devoid of emotion as it had once been. “I need to stop this.”
“I CAN'T!” the Oathbreaker wailed louder than thunder, folding her wings and dropping from the sky like a stone. She plummeted head-first to the barren land below, Cold flying down alongside her and disappearing into the cloud of dust she kicked up on crash-landing. The cloud dissipated in an instant, though, revealing the Oathbreaker lying on the stone and thorns with her head buried in her legs and wings. “WON'T END! EVERYTHING DEAD! ME! MY FAULT! WANT END! 'M SORRY!”
As she wailed and sobbed, Cold flew in through her limbs and hair and landed on the top of her muzzle. “I have to stop this,” she repeated, her voice still calm but more forceful than it had been. “This isn't helping.”
“CAN'T! NOTHING! WORTHLESS! ALL DEAD! MY FAULT! ALWAYS! JUST LIKE!”
“No. I cannot let myself do this. They do not want this. This is not justice.”
“THEN WHAT IS? DIE! END! MY FAULT! ALL MY FAULT! I SHOULD-”
“NO. I have to keep living. I cannot give up on life. They do not want this. It is not justice.”
The Oathbreaker wailed, and Cold closed her eyes and laid her head against her glowing head. “I have to keep living. I cannot give up on life. They do not want this. It is not justice.” And in her mind a door was flung open, and she flung herself at herself, and inside and out Oathmaker was consumed by light...
Those watching from the mountainside were forced to avert their gaze from the blinding flash that swept across the valley. It seemed to linger around them, dispelling the gloom they'd felt in the air since arriving and replacing it with a curious stillness. And then, at a pace that felt far slower than it could truly be, the light faded and the darkness of night took over.
The ponies blinked and Discord took his eyes out and rubbed them on his chest, and the group looked around as if seeing the valley for the first time.
“...the clouds are gone,” Applejack said softly, looking up at the shining moon and the star-filled sky that surrounded it.
“What happened?” Starlight asked, stepping closer to the edge of the cliff and staring at the large sphere of white light that was now sitting where Cold and the Oathbreaker had been.
“Oh, I hope it's something good,” Fluttershy worried. “I don't think I can take anything else bad happening to her...”
“I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, Fluttershy,” Twilight told her, gaze fixed on the sphere of light.
She heard a hoofstep behind her, and looked back to see Princess Celestia standing over her looking out at the light as well. “Yes,” she said softly, distractedly, her eyes squinting as though peering through the bright light. “I believe we will...”
And without another word she spread her wings and took off, her sister just behind her. Following their lead the others left the ledge by wing or by hoof, all headed towards the sphere of light. Only Discord remained behind, crossing his arms and snorting in annoyance.
Soon enough the twelve regrouped at the base of the sphere of light, which sat like an impossibly large egg partly buried in the ground. And, to their surprise, it was growing smaller – every second it seemed to pulse, expanding briefly only to retract further inward a moment later. The pulses came faster and faster and greater and greater, and then...it popped.
“Wow, that was a balloon the whole time?!” Pinkie said, eyes wide with amazement. The others ignored her, too fixated on the body of Cold Reason floating in the center of where the sphere had been.
She hung in the air for less than a second, then dropped like a stone.
A collective gasp, and the six and the two elder Princesses raced forward out of fear and concern – and for the second time, Rainbow and Twilight caught her before she got hurt. And as they gently lowered Cold to the ground, it struck several of the group how much different she seemed to look – fuller, more solid, more real. Her coat a warmer white; her mane a more vibrant black; her every breath more full of life. Gone was the trio of dots from her flank, replaced by a much more complex mark – the outline of a shield around the outline of two forelegs hooked together at the elbow.
She began to murmur and open her eyes, which only caused her friends to crowd around her even more. “Hey! Hey, are you alright?” Twilight asked.
“No, Twilight Sparkle, I am not.” Even her voice had changed, however slightly – still light and clear and almost monotone, but with a new-found sharpness about it as well.
“Oh no,” Fluttershy said, pushing past the others to get a better view of her, “nothing's broken is it? Where does it hurt? How are you feeling?”
Cold, trying to lift herself up on her forelegs, looked at Fluttershy with deep gray eyes and blinked. “No. My entire body aches but not to a particularly serious degree. And...,” she paused and looked down at her own hooves before answering the third question, “many things, it seems. Interesting.”
“Oh my,” Fluttershy replied, stepping back briefly with a frown on her face that the others shared. “I hope you're feeling better, at least.”
“Yes. I am, thank you,” Cold answered, still looking down at her hooves with an odd expression, as though she wasn't entirely certain what they were.
Several of her friends let out sighs of relief. “Well it's good to hear that that's all better then,” Applejack said. “I was afraid that even after all that, you'd still be beatin' yourself up over what happened all those thousands 'a years ago!”
Cold looked at her, gaze as blank as it had ever been. “You misunderstand, Applejack. My grief and guilt have not gone away. I am simply...,” she paused and briefly looked down before looking back up with sadness in her eyes, “no longer consumed by them to the extent that I was.”
Renewed concern swept over her friends. “But...even after all that, you're still...?” Twilight asked.
Cold nodded. “Yes. Your friendship has given me the strength I needed to continue moving forward, and I thank you all for it, but my pain can not be eased so quickly.”
Another silent moment passed before somepony spoke up again. “So...what now?” Rainbow asked. “Cause I gotta say, I wasn't expecting...,” she waved a hoof vaguely at Cold, “this to happen.”
“What were you expectin'?” Applejack questioned. Rainbow just stared cluelessly at her for a moment before shrugging. Applejack's face fell into mild annoyance.
Expectant looks fell back on Cold, who closed her eyes and shook her head. “I do not blame you for not expecting this. I barely understand what I've done myself, though,” she added with a distinct touch of bitterness in her voice, “that has often been the case for me. But...,” she looked back up at her friends, “I do know that this is the best path for me to go down. I have succeeded in sealing myself away as I had wanted since the beginning, though instead of stone the seal is...,” she looked down and put a hoof to her chest, “my self.”
“Your...self?” Rainbow asked, brow raised in disbelief.
Cold nodded again, keeping the hoof on her chest. “Yes. My body...my power...and much of my mind...all that made up the Oathbreaker has been sealed within this new body so that it might rest, and perhaps one day heal. So until that day arrives, I will live my life as Cold Reason.”
Behind the others Celestia and Luna shared a surprised look. “You...will not even take back your name, elder?” Luna asked.
“No,” Cold answered with another shake of her head. “I...am not ready yet. The shell named 'Cold Reason' will help me reconnect with the world in ways I do not believe I could do as Oathmaker.”
“And what of your magic?” Celestia asked, her expression betraying that she already suspected the answer.
“Under control,” Cold answered without hesitation. “I am certain of it. I used the excess that had...afflicted me...to recreate this body and fuel its seal. And I should be able to call upon my original form and magic at any time,” she suddenly looked away in shame, “though I fear doing so will not be wise for a great while...”
Celestia nodded. “I understand. Still, I must say that it's a joy to have you back, old friend, no matter what form you take,” she told Cold with a smile as warm as the midday sun.
“Agreed,” Luna added with a smile of her own. “There will be much rejoicing and merry-making!”
“Woo!” Pinkie cheered, leaping up and waving her hooves in excitement. “Get ready for the greatest 'Welcome Back!' party ever!”
That was enough to earn a short, small laugh from Cold. “Yes,” she said, “I suppose I'll join your celebration after all.”
Spirits lifted as the group went to rejoin Spike, Starlight, Cadance, and Shining Armor at the rim of the crater, the ponies expressing their joy at the well-earned and relatively happy ending and how much they were looking forward to getting to know – or reconnecting with – Cold Reason.
But before they reached the others, Twilight caught Cold's eye and hung back. “Sorry for asking this,” she said to Cold's questioning look, “I don't want to spoil your mood or anything but at the same time it's kind of bothering me, and I'd rather have it answered sooner rather than later...”
“What is your question, Twilight Sparkle?” Cold asked when Twilight trailed off awkwardly.
“It's about what you said before,” the Princess explained. “About having to...,” she waved her hoof vaguely before pointing it at Cold's chest, “recreate your body. What did you mean by that?”
Cold blinked. “The original form I took as Cold Reason was consumed when I reunited with my...other part. It was unexpected, but in hindsight I should have foreseen it. But, as with so much-”
Twilight cut her off with a smile and a hoof on her muzzle. “Don't worry about it. What you did, the magic you used, was something I've never seen before. I don't think anypony has. It's only natural that you didn't know everything about it. But you should still be proud that you were able to do it! If you hadn't, then, well...”
As she trailed off uncomfortably, Cold blinked and looked ahead to the rest of her friends. “I understand. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”
“No problem!” Twilight said, and the two quickly caught up with the others.
And there, at the edge of the crater surrounded by all of her new friends, Cold Reason bowed her head and smiled. “Friends,” she said, “I cannot express how much I owe to you all. For thousands of years I have been trapped in my own grief and despair, and at the thought of myself causing even more death and destruction my only wish was to trap myself further. But because of all of you,” she looked up and across their encouraging smiles, “all of your hard work, all of the risks you took to fix my mistakes, all of the friendship you showed to a stranger, I have been saved from myself. I have been given another chance at redemption, at justice, and at life; and this is a debt that I swear this day to repay you all in full.”
To the surprise of even the two eldest Princess, as she spoke a faint yellow magic swirled up around her, lifting Cold into the air even as she deepened her bow towards Twilight Sparkle. For a split second the image of a large and wild-looking alicorn, brown in coat and green in mane, overlaid her; but it was gone in an instant and eleven threads of glimmering golden magic shot out from Cold's heart and connected to the heart of each pony around her. A moment later a twelfth thread appeared, colored silver, and connected to Spike. And lastly, at a slow and extremely begrudging pace, a dull copper-colored thread extended away from the group and up towards the mountains...
And then it was over, the magic dispersed and Cold falling gently back down onto her hooves. The others gaped at her.
“Uh, what was that?” Rainbow asked.
Cold looked at her and blinked. “That was me making the oath I swore to repay all of you formal. I am aware of the risks posed by tapping into my true power right now, but...,” she looked down briefly, “I believe it best to try to resume the things that were once so normal for me, no matter how difficult they might now be.”
“Whoa, hold on there,” Applejack said, pushing her way forward. “I get that you're grateful and all, and that oaths are mighty important to ya, but that magic you just didn't ain't set in stone is it? 'Cause the last thing I want is somepony goin' around and bendin' over backwards tryin' to repay somethin' that I don't even consider a debt. 'Specially somepony that's bein', I don't know, magically compelled to do so.”
Another look, and another blink. And another for good measure as Cold finished coming up with an answer. “I believe you are mistaken, Applejack. I am no more compelled to fulfill my oaths than you are to fulfill your special talent. The spell I cast simply helps me keep track of them.”
“Wait, all that was just some...some kind of magical checklist?” Twilight asked in shock.
“Seems a bit dramatic if you ask me,” Spike chimed in, feeling the spot where the silver thread had touched him.
Cold looked at him and shrugged. “It is as dramatic as I like it to be. Though not, I suppose, as dramatic as it once was.”
“What, did you give even more of a speech during it?” Spike scoffed.
“Yes,” Cold answered without hesitation. “I have also tried adding magical sounds to the ritual, but I was never able to decide on a final score.”
Spike looked at her, dumbfounded, and blinked. “Oh. Well okay then.”
“No, not okay then,” Applejack spoke up yet again. “Cold, it's all fine and dandy if'n you aren't gonna force this with magic, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't want you runnin' around tryin' to do every little thing for me, or anypony else, as a way to pay us back!”
“You are mistaken again, Applejack. Small favors, no matter how many, do not repay a large debt,” Cold explained. She paused a moment, then looked out at all the others once more. “What I have sworn to each of you is to aide you in a moment of need as you have aided me. I do not yet know what tasks I will have to perform to repay you all, only that they will be equal to the part you played this night, and that I will know when each debt is repaid. And they will be repaid.”
It was a few moments before anypony spoke again. “Well then,” Celestia said, the corners of her mouth turned up in amusement. “I believe that settles that matter, right Applejack?”
Applejack looked at the Princess, then back at Cold. “Uhh...I guess so,” she said reluctantly, not quite meeting Cold's gaze as she kicked at the ground with her hoof. “I still don't like it, though...” she added under her breath.
“Noted,” Cold told her to Applejack's surprise. “Now then. May I ask that we leave? I am...,” she looked down sadly, “not comfortable staying here longer than I need to.”
“Of course!” Twilight said with a bright smile. “I'm sure we could all use some rest right now.”
“And a party!” Pinkie added, jumping up and blowing a party horn.
“That too,” Twilight told her she and the others laughed. “But let's wait until we're back in Canterlot.”
“So we're finally leaving this dreary dump then?” came the voice of Discord, who stuck his head out of the ground without warning and looked around at the group, Cold's expression immediately falling into level distaste.
“Yup,” Fluttershy answered him as he pulled himself out of the ground with a slight popping sound. “And we'd all really appreciate your help in getting back home.”
Discord crossed his arms and snorted. “You'd better, after how long you've kept me waiting.”
He raised an arm, snapped a claw, and the group was gone.
The fourteen arrived in the same place they had left hours before, the palace dining hall. They were greeted first by a few rather startled members of the cleaning staff, then a pair of palace guards, and eventually by Celestia's personal assistant, the mayor of Canterlot, and several other high-ranking diplomats and members of the Equestrian government. It was quickly explained that they'd been in an emergency meeting, called on account of the letter Spike had sent off after the first wave of attacks against the Oathbreaker had failed. For the first time since Tirek's attack, and thus the second time in centuries, old laws and protocols for a (presumed temporary) transfer of power had been brought back out, and preparations were being made to both reinstitute the full Equestrian military, as well as inform the other nations of the world of the threat they needed to be aware of.
Needless to say, the officials were all relieved that they wouldn't have to actually go through with any of it. Though, they eagerly informed the Princesses, they would have handled the situation perfectly if they'd had to. Celestia agreed wholeheartedly.
With lightened hearts the members of the government returned to business as usual, which for most of them meant a return to the warmth of their beds. Most of Equestria's Heroes followed suit, tending their wounds and retiring to the rooms they'd been assigned days ago. Even Princess Luna decided to suspend her nightly duties for an hour so she could rest.
And all too soon the morning came, Celestia raising the sun and the others raising themselves hours later. They took a jovial, if late, breakfast, and soon after broke apart for the new day's plans – Twilight, her family, and her assistants taking Cold to the Royal Library and Archives to try to catch her up on all that she'd missed during her self-imposed imprisonment; Pinkie and Rarity leading the rest of their friends (and several members of the palace staff) through the city to plan a throw-together party for that afternoon, with Discord spending most of the time either making trouble or pestering Fluttershy about whether or not she'd been impressed by his valor and power in the previous night's battle; and Celestia resuming the mantle of governance she'd held for so long.
Even the party itself was over all too soon, a large yet surprisingly modest and quiet affair – at the guest of honor's behest – held only for those who knew Cold's secret. Of course, Pinkie had loudly, enthusiastically, and repeatedly informed the others that it was only the first party she was going to hold for 'Coldie', with several more already being planned for their return to Ponyville.
It was after one such declaration that the question of Cold's living arrangements was brought up, with Cold herself promptly explaining that she would prefer to live close to as many of those that she needed to repay as possible – which meant Ponyville. Each of the Element Bearers volunteered to house her, but after Spike pointed out that most of them didn't actually have the room to board another adult pony (or in Rainbow Dash's case had a home that would be difficult for Cold to access), it was decided that Cold would stay in the rather spacious Castle of Friendship for the time being.
And thus, a few hours after sunset and moonrise, the party wound down and the guests began their journeys home.
“And that covers the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the library, the Cutie Map, and just about every other major room in the castle,” Twilight explained as she and her friends led Cold Reason on a tour of the place she'd agreed to stay at. Despite the late hour the full group had gone straight to the castle after having gotten off the train, the five non-residents citing a desire to help their newest friend get settled in as best they could.
“Yeah,” Spike said as the group walked down one of the many crystalline hallways together. “All that's really left is the lab where Twilight and Starlight do their more...practical research,” he added with a smirk and waggle of his claws.
“C'mon, Spike, all research is practical!” Twilight replied.
“Oh really?” Spike countered. “Even the research into historical organization methods?”
“Especially that!”
Cold raised a brow as the others giggled and laughed, and Starlight caught her eye. “What he means is that it's where we do the research that can't be done just with books,” she explained. “But it's mostly just equipment in there, there's not really any point in showing it off right now.”
“Oh, that's not true at all!” Twilight said with a happy smile, trotting back to the front of the group. “Even if there's not a lot to show off, Cold should still at least see it. Right?” she asked the mare in question.
Cold gave a noncommittal shrug. “I see no reason to put off seeing it.”
Twilight squealed in excitement and clapped her hooves together. “Great! Perfect! It's right this way!” she said with a wide grin, grabbing Cold and galloping off.
And soon enough, the whole group had reached the spacious room that Twilight had converted into a laboratory. As Starlight had said, it mostly held tables and shelves containing the equipment needed to measure or test various things, but set up on the far side of the room was a large mirror set in an elaborate crystalline frame shaped like an upside-down horseshoe. More horseshoes ringed the mirror's stand, and fixed to the ornamentation at the top of the mirror was yet another horseshoe shape with a piece of stained glass depicting a single rearing earth pony. The entire thing was hooked up to a bizarre contraption of wood and brass and rubber tubes and wires and various metal bits that didn't appear to be doing anything at the moment.
Cold stared at it inquisitively, walking up to it with Twilight. “Cool, right?” the Princess asked.
“Interesting...” Cold replied, her expression level as she examined the reflection of her manufactured body.
“It may look like just a mirror,” said with her eyes closed and more than a hint of pride, “but it's actually a portal to a completely different dimension!”
Immediately Cold's attention snapped her way. “...excuse me? I do not understand what you mean,” she said with a puzzled look.
“Heehee,” Twilight giggled. “I'm not surprised. I doubt even somepony as old as you has ever seen anything like it! Through this magic mirror,” she explained, looking into the mirror alongside Cold, “is a whole other world, parallel to ours but populated by humans instead of ponies.” When she got nothing in reply but a look of shock, Twilight smiled. “I know it's hard to believe, but trust me – I've had some amazing adventures with my friends in that world.”
“Uhh, Twilight?” asked Spike, nervousness rising in his voice. “Did you, uhh, heheh, you didn't leave the portal on, did you?” The room's attention quickly drew first to Spike, and then to where he was pointing – the book sitting on a small shelf at the very top of the apparatus the mirror was hooked up to. It was a thick brown journal bearing Princess Celestia' cutie mark on the cover, but more importantly it was glowing red and vibrating.
Twilight's brow furrowed. “No, I didn't. Starlight?” she asked her student.
“I didn't touch it,” Starlight answered with a quick shake of her head.
“Then who did?” Twilight asked, worry seeping in to every inch of her expression.
“Maybe it's related to the messages in the book,” Spike suggested, looking up again at the journal. “Maybe something happened?”
“Maybe you're right...,” Twilight said, reaching out with her magic to grab the book...only for magic to suddenly surge through it, down the wires and into the coils of the apparatus which sent out sparks of magic that collided and formed in the air between them a miniature maelstrom, which immediately surged into the mirror...
...and then a pony tumbled backwards out of it. Those who'd been standing nearby let out startled gasps and backed away, giving Twilight and Spike the room they needed to rush over.
Their mouths gaped when they saw the familiar-looking pony lying on the floor, dazed and confused and on her back. Between the amber coat, the vibrant red mane streaked with yellow, and the horn jutting out of her forehead, Twilight Sparkle came to a quick conclusion.