A pony frozen for 1000 years is thawed out only to find herself trapped in an unfamiliar world of the future.
An old friend of Princess Celestia has been found frozen in time deep in the Frozen North not far from The Crystal Empire. But when she regains her memory after being thawed, of the events that happened 1000 years earlier, things do not vote well for Celestia. As painful memories resurface of a dark day, will Flame mend her friendship with the princess? Or will she revert to revenge instead?
The Queen looked around and stood in silent taking in the morning air, it was dead still that day. "Something feels off..." She whispered. Just then, the white mare looked up and saw a thick black smokey fog rise from the distant snowy mountains. "What the? Oh no..." her purple eyes widened in terror as she recognised the black fog.
"Mwahahahaha!" A deep evil laugh could be heard throughout the empire. Ponies that shone like crystals lifted their heads as it spooked them."YOU do not belong here Queeny, this land belongs to me, King of the Frozen North."
"Ha, in your dreams Sombra... We have the right to live here!" She called out in her speech voice. "YOU WERE DEFEATED LONG AGO!" The winged mare shook her pale yellow mane back behind her neck as the king laughed, mocking her claim.
"Think again, I am reclaiming my land and NO PONY STOP ME!" Queen Light Shard gasped as he grew larger in size and began his charge towards the crystallised city gate. She turned to her assistant, "Queen get me the messenger pony!"
"I'M HERE YOUR HIGHNESS, Whoah!" the red mare slid on the tiles and crashed into the wall right next to the very guard the queen was talking to. The guard tried his best not to heave a disappointed sigh in front of Her Highness, so instead he ended up blushing bright red which stood out way too much against his blue fur coat.
"Oh good! Now listen carefully Flame! I need you to send a message to the Canterlot Princesses at once! Tell them we need help now!" She quickly scribbled down the letter with her yellow magic and gave it to the earth pony with bright orange and white mane and tail.
Shoving it into her message bag she nodded then before leaving she gave a quick salut of the hoof in respect. Then she smiled, "YES MY QUEEN!" Even though the city was a train ride away, she'd still have to make it from the gate to the station itself at the edge of the snow line.
"OH NO you don't!" The dark king hollered and shot his magic through the ground creating a vein ripping right towards the castle, up the support beams and shot crystals up through the floor just about hitting Flame and the queen off the balcony. But one of the guards grabbed Her Highness before she toppled over the railing and Flame managed to grab hold of it on her own regaining her balance.
"GO Flame, don't worry about us, just go get help!"
The wind blew through Her Highness's bedroom chamber as the red pony took one last look at her mentor and fled the castle, winding her way through the corridors and down the staircases. Her yellow eyes peered up ahead when she got to the courtyard under the castle where the Crystal Heart was hovering on its turquoise crystal pillars. She peered up town and spotted the route she would take leading straight to the gate."Flame! What's going on?" It was a little filly with an orange coat and strawberry pink wavy hair.
"Minty! You're suppose to be at home! Mother will freak!"
"Aw but big sis.... I wanna help!" Flame sighed and decided she didn't have time to argue.
"Fine, you can help by going back home and staying safe! I have to go to Canterlot City. The Empire is under threat! Now please little sis, I love you but please stay home and stay safe. She saw the disappointment in her sister's purple eyes but stood her ground.
"Aw... okay.... Love you too sis! Be careful!"
"I will..." She took one last look at the filly as she headed in the direction of their house near the castle courtyard. Smiling her approval, she turned her focus back on reaching the Crystal Gate. Dark black, red and purple crystals started shooting up from underground as the king made his way to the boarder line of the empire city. She gulped down her fear and made it through the gate without a break from galloping. The brown leather saddle bags bounced lightly against her sides and she hoped to Celestia that the clips wouldn't bounce undone so that the letter would fly out. She looked over her shoulder at the bag on her right with the royal silver buckle. It was still clipped shut and she sighed with relief turning her eyes back onto the road ahead.
"I can see you little pony! You stick out like blood in the snow!" He snarled at the mare making her quiver at that nice little image he planted in her brain. 'Gee thanks for that cheery though Your Majesty!' she thought sarcastically and rolled her amber orange eyes.
Racing closer to the lonely railway station where the train had just arrived from its late routine. But just as she was ten feet away from the wooden platform covered in clumps of snow, he blasted a beam of dark red magic and hit the ground just inches away from her front hooves! It shook the ground briefly melting the snow beneath her. But with the blizzard forming with his arrival, the patch of dirt was quickly buried under 3 inches of snow.
"Aiy! Gee that was close!" Her heart pounded against her chest so hard she could feel it without even touching her chest. She spun round to see him hovering high above her head making her feel just as small as an ant would to her. Glaring at him she spoke out first, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" She demanded with a stomp of her hoof.
"Wow aren't we fierce today? Feeling daring are we? Especially for some one who doesn't have wings or magic to defend herself! BAH! Such a fool!" As he said this Flame had made a plan to head towards the mountain to draw him away from his prize so to distract him enough so she could sneak away on the other side and reach the station to go to Princess Celestia for help. She bolted for it as he was talking to her.
"HEY! GET BACK HERE I WASN'T FINISHED WITH YOU!"
Back at the castle the walls crumbled slightly as Queen Light Shard pressed herself against the wall pillar to get clear of falling debris. The guard stepped back himself as he was about to save Her Highness. "You alright My Queen?"
Sighing in relief, "Yes... I believe so Echo Sonic... Wait what's going out there?" She looked outside beyond the gate to see King Sombra chasing after something in the distance. "Is that... FLAME! Echo! Go help her... She's under attack from the Shadow King! She has no defence!" She panicked ordering him to follow her but was reassured when he responded with a salut and bolted out the double doors to her room. "Good.... he's a unicorn with level 3 magic he'll be able to defend Flame. I should've sent him with her in the first place.." Sighing at her regret she watched helplessly as he left the palace below and raced down the street towards the Crystal Gate.
"Why are you running little pony? SCARED of me?" The Shadow King laughed hysterically but Flame still pushed on even though she was frozen to her bones as she finally reached the foot of the mountain. But just as she did he blasted a bolt of magic light almost hitting her from behind.
Bolting out of the way dodging each blast he sent out she rapidly grew tired and the thick snow storm AND the deep snow beneath her hooves made it extra hard for her to keep this up for much longer. "THAT's IT!" He rose up higher into the clouds preparing for the final blast of magic. When Flame was backed up against the cliff at the bottom of the mountain pass. She looked beyond the King back to the Crystal Empire feeling hopelessly outnumbered and feelings like a complete failure to the queen. The last thing she expected to see was a royal guard racing out of the city towards her in the distance.
"FLAME!" He shouted with a look of pure terror written over his face.
It was her friend "Echo?" She called back. But was distracted when she saw the smokey black fog change form and the king himself appeared on a large crystal above her. His evil stare glaring deep into her soul sending a shiver down her spine. "Oh... no..."
Then it all happened so quickly, she watched in horror as a bolt of red light came right at her striking her in the chest sending a burning sensation through her body that rapidly became completely frozen solid and completely surrounded in a block of thick ice. "FLAME!!!! NO!!" She could still hear everything going on as he fought bravely against the king but was wounded in his back leg. While he's down the Shadow King laughs out loud in victory.
"Now little ponies, watch as I banish your precious little Empire to the Frozen North for 1000 years!" King Sombra chuckled in amusement as he raced toward the city in full force back in the Black Fog form. Flame could barely even shiver inside the block of ice and felt her mind slipping into the dark void as she watched her home be destroyed by the evil entity before everything around her turned black and fell into an unconscious state.
The sound of echoing hooves could be heard throughout the corridor of the hospital. As the white alicorn mare approached Room 245, she heard mumbling coming from inside. She looked around to see if the coast was clear of patients, visitors, nurses and doctors before leaning in to try to make out what the pony was saying. "N...no. Stay back! Y-you can't.... the Empire.... m-my Queen..." Celestia jumped back in surprise. Though she was sleep talking it was clear the young mare was still in distress.
Breathing in deeply, she turned the silver door knob with her golden yellow magic spiralling around it. "Flame?" Celestia whispered as she entered the room quietly and closed the door behind her gently hearing a slight click from the lock. She turned to the pony lying in the white hospital bed with pale blue blankets on top of her. She noticed the IV drip wire going into the pony's right foreleg feeding her medicine and fluids to stay hydrated. She then heard a faint but constant beeping tone coming from the machine next to her bed with a black green lit up with a faint heart beat line running steady.
A vase of white orchid flowers sat on the table opposite the bed. Celestia could see nothing but blue sky and the snowy tips of the high hills outside the window as they were on the third floor of the building. The white mare looked right at Flame, though she looked peaceful in her sleep, she could sense the mare was anything but that. "Oh Flame... I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
The tall mare walked around to the chair near the window and made herself comfortable in the pale red soft armchair with a rounded back and stubby wooden legs that had rounded feet. along with a basic white chair cushion placed in the right corner of the seat. With her long mane flowing to her left side she couldn't really see out the window but she only wanted to focus on the friend she thought she'd lost forever 1000 years ago. She looked a lot warmer than when they'd discovered her embedded inside an ice cliff not far from the Crystal Empire during a visit to the newest princess of the city. "Mm..." Celestia almost jumped at the sound of the young mare's moan and noticed that she was slowly coming out of her coma. She looked up at the door and saw a doctor walk past and jumped from the chair.
She opened the door with her magic, "Doctor." The brown coloured stallion looked back over his shoulder and his eyes widened when he saw the Princess of Equestria standing there in front of him.
"Yes Your Highness?" He gave a low bow in respect holding a clipboard with his dark purple magic as he was a unicorn.
"I think Flame is waking up." he looked confused and looked at the number on the door above the window, Room 245. He suddenly realised who she was talking about and rushed past the princess and ran straight to the mare's bedside. It was then when the princess suddenly noticed a strange very light blue almost white patch on the centre of her chest. "Excuse me sir but what is the mark on her chest?" The doctor didn't reply for a while as he was checking her heart rate and the numbers on the monitor. He placed a stethoscope in his ears and placed the circular part onto her chest to check her breathing rhythm.
"She's been in a coma ever since you thawed her from the ice cliff in the Frozen North. I think you're right Princess, she seems to be finally coming out of it. But might take another couple of hours, perhaps even 24 hours more before she fully awakens." He picked up the mare's left foreleg and pressed down slightly to feel for her pulse and checked the levels of the fluid bags feeding into her IV drip wire.
"I see, that's still good news though! And... the patch on her chest?" But when he was about to answer, the young dark red mare suddenly gasped for air and her body went into an epileptic fit. Princess Celestia felt her heart almost beat out of her chest in fright at the sight of her friend shaking uncontrollably. "What's happening Doctor?" He pressed the emergency buzzer on the wall behind the bed and a nurse and another doctor rushed in a minute later.
"I'm sorry Your Highness but even you must wait outside while we stable her." He rushed the princess out of the room and slammed the door behind her leaving her shell shocked from the drastic turn of event. She stood wide eyed peering in the window and watched feeling helpless as they gave her extra medication injections and one of the nurses even grabbed the electric charger pads to help reboot her heart. That's when she became terrified of the worst.
"Princess? What are you doing here?"
She spun round to see none other than the infamous Spirit of Chaos himself, "DISCORD! What...but how?" She screeched in shock but then realised she should keep her voice down. "Discord! What on earth are you doing HERE?" the male draconequus looked over her shoulder and peered through the window with his squinted yellow and red eyes.
Twisting his head around in a full loop of his long horse-like neck he whispered, "Oooh my what's happening here? Some pony in distress are they? A friend of yours?" She mumbled looking down at the ground. Even though he was VERY annoying and chaotic, there was a certain charm to his character she found intriguing.
"Nows not the best time Discord... My friend is dying in there... I found her frozen in an ice cliff at the Frozen North when I went to check on how Cadence was doing in her new role." Discord's eyes lit up.
"Ooooh frozen you say? No wonder my senses have been going crazy recently! I've been sensing dark magic... that's IT!" he shouted with glee but then a white hoof with a golden shoe covered his mouth as she shushed him. "Oh right sorry..." he whispered hunching his shoulders up against his neck.
"What do you mean Dark Magic? Everything has been peaceful lately, no attacks involving magic of any kind!" She glared at him briefly as if to say 'how dare you suggest such things'.
"I'm the Spirit of Chaos Celestia! I can sense both chaotic AND dark magic. I guess you could say I'm your very own magic warning system!" He added with a cheeky grin showing his teeth. But Celestia just rolled her purple eyes. "The point is though, that there's something interesting about your 'friend' there my dear Princess. I think she's going to have both an interesting past AND an interesting future ahead!" and just as quickly as he appeared he vanished with a POOF of pastel pink clouds that dissipated into thin air.
A little shaken from his sudden appearance, she jumped out her skin when the door opened up behind her. "OH! Doctor... how is she? What happened to her?"
"Well... it seemed that it was a reaction to the ice embedded on her chest. It's like it's dark magic ice or something... we don't know yet." the Doctor shook his head at disbelief, "I'm surprised she's even alive still. It barely missed the poor mare's heart. Whatever she was hit with it left its scar as a scorch shaped ice patch to the right of her heart." Princess Celestia was horrified at what she was hearing.
"So is she...?"
"Dead? No. We managed to stabilise her condition. She might go into shock if she does too much physical work. So that means no long distance running, jumping, battling of any kind until we know how to treat her ice patch more with out causing more harm." Celestia nodded her approval and sighed in relief.
"I'm so relieved she's alive though. Is she awake and allowed visitors?" She looked past the unicorn and into the room to see the nurse and other doctor ponies packing up their gear to leave the room.
"Yes she's awake and can have one visitor a day for now. Just be aware that she'll be very exhausted from the episode she's just experienced. She shouldn't talk for long as she needs all the rest she can get."
Celestia softly smiled and nodded, "I understand Doctor..." she thought for a moment, "Would she be stable enough to rest in a different environment? She could be moved to my castle?" the doctor looked a little concerned at first but as he thought it over he came up with a solution.
"How about this Princess, we can move her to your castle on one condition. She must wear this bandage around her chest at all times and it will have a small flat disc shaped device inside that will alert us at the hospital of any dangers to her condition or any more seizures. Until the dark magic is removed from her completely, she'll keep having them every so often if her body comes under too much stress to handle. The device can be powered by magic to keep it running as long as she needs it to." He gave her the special black bandage that has a thicker padding than normal bandages as well as a thin pocket for the device to comfortably sit.
"Thank you Doctor, I will make sure she always wears it. She will stay indoors most of the time until she's fully healed. We will help find out what happened to her so we can treat her to the fullest." Princess Celestia promised the doctor and he nodded his approval letting her go into the room.
Having made there way cautiously to Canterlot Castle and into the same tower as the princess's chamber, Flame slept soundly in the large round bed plumped up by soft velvet red and orange cushions and pillows with matching gradient fire coloured bed covers. She had the room especially decorated by her maids to suit her oldest friend's favourite colours to make her feel more comfortable. Though Flame still contained the IV drip and a newly invented but approved machine to print out rolls of paper containing her vital signs. There was a large arched window that had a point at the top that was covered by silk dark red curtains.
There was a knock at the door as Celestia was watching the doctor inspect the room in order to be approved for the patient's accommodations. The white alicorn mare turned around to see her younger sister pop her head in with a look of curiosity. "Hello sister! Oh... what's this about?" The dark navy blue alicorn with cobalt blue sparkly mane and tail looked at the young pony laying in the spare bedroom with a special bandage wrapped around her chest.
"Hi Lunar... you remember a young pony I use to be good friends with before you were, you know..."
"Banished to the moon? I know, Flame wasn't it? There was a rumour that she went missing during that attack from the Shadow King." She raised an eye brow as a hint for clarification.
Celestia shook her head, "Turns out it was just that... a rumour. This is Flame here, alive but not so well." The younger princess of the night looked back at the red mare sleeping with steady breathing and couldn't believe her eyes.
"NO!...." She whispered loudly trying not to wake the mare. "But how is she still so young and even alive at all? She's just an Earth pony so she's not eternal like us alicorns." She lifted her right hoof and rubbed her head with the underside of the black royal shoe that covered her hoof.
Celestia thought deeply for a moment, "I'm not too sure yet but I believe it has something to do with what Discord said to me in the hospital."
"Oh no not Discord.... you had a visit from HIM?" Celestia laughed softly and nodded. "What did he want this time?"
"He said something about Flame being of interest to him. Said she seemed magical. But how? If she were a unicorn, I would've sensed the magic in her as I did with Twilight. Plus the giant dragon head sticking out of the building helped me discover her talents also." Laughing at the memory of the first time she met Twilight.
"Really? Weird... But I guess if he says so then it must mean somethings' up with your friend there then. I could...." she lingered on saying the last word for effect to show that she was thinking of a possible idea.
Celestia lowered one eyebrow and raised the other, "What Lunar?"
"Well, you know how I protect the Dream World, I could visit her in her dreams to see if she has any memories of possessing magic of any kind? I could even see if I could find out what happened when I go on my routine of entering dreams tonight? It is almost time for me to do it anyway..." she suggested the plan to her big sister and watched as the sun princess focused on the floor in front of her tapping her hoof on her muzzle as she thought about the idea.
"Mmm... wouldn't it be risky since she's barely just come out of an 1000 year coma? What about any affects on her and you with entering her mind?" Lunar could tell her sister was worried so she decided that even though there was a slight chance of herself going into a coma after entering the mare's mind, or even being trapped inside the mare due to her weak state, she would say, "The only risks involved would be the usual where the dream would become so hectic and out of control I'd have to leave the pony's mind and let them figure it out. It'll be alright, if it gets messy at all, I'll leave at the first sign of trouble."
"Fine.... But I'll be watching the entire time to be safe. Doctor Heart Well, is everything all good?" Heart Well looked over his clipboard check list and flipped the pages with his green magic.
Looking up at the princesses he glared at them before giving a warm smile of approval, "Very good Your Highness! The environment she's been moved too meets our requirements no problem. You know to call us for any emergancies involving her health condition? Unless of course we arrive anyway due to the device in her bandage letting us know if anything changes."
"Yes Doctor, of course." He finished writing down some details on the piece of parchment paper using a red feather quill.
"Ok then it's all signed and approved for her to stay here. Here is a copy of what I've assessed of her condition and situation along with the approval mark for the move of the patient. And that is my job done for now." the unicorn stallion handed Princess Celestia the form and he picked up his bag and briefcase.
"Thank you Doctor, we will keep you informed of her progress. My guard here will show you out." he bowed in respect and followed the guard out into the corridor to leave the castle. "Now, Lunar, are you sure you want to do this?"
Princess Lunar looked at the concern in her elder sister's purple eyes and smiled, "Yes dear sister, I'll be fine. It's just a extra long deep sleep that will be the only thing that is different this time. I'd better get started." With Celestia's hesitant nod of approval she watched as the dark navy blue winged unicorn mare with sparkling blue wavy hair compose herself to focus her energy on entering into a state that would allow her to enter the dream world but still be in control of everything around her. This was known as Lucid Dreaming and she always used the moon as a symbol to let her know she was dreaming. She decided to use her usual escape route of flashing her horn like a flashlight 3 times to wake up.
Taking several deep slow breaths and under the watchful nervous eye of Princess Celestia, she felt her mind go from black to white and then Celestia saw a stream of white magic come from the young alicorn's horn that would act as a link between minds. Within a time frame of a few seconds she was transported from her body into the mind of the young mare. She was greeted with a pitch black void of emptiness. No sound, light or anything in sight. "HELLO?" She called out and heard her deep voice echo against the void. Suddenly a red glow began to grow in front of her about 5 meters away. "Flame?" she asked in a lower volume. The young mare slowly faded into view and Lunar noticed she was tucked up into a tight ball with her front hooves covering her head in fear.
"Ahh! NO NOT AGAIN!" Flame yelled in terror as she felt her body began to shiver from the adrenalin. "Please! Leave me alone!" Princess Luna looked at the young mare watching in shock as the dream quickly grew into a nightmare. She could feel the familiar energy of her own monster she'd created that controlled nightmares she would relive in order to punish herself for becoming Nightmare Moon. She panicked slightly with heavy breathing and closing her cyan eyes, she focused all her energy on the task she came to complete and reopened them revealing the situation in front of her.
"Flame! You're ok! It's me, Princess of the Night..." she flew to the mare and gently placed a hoof against the mare's right cheek nudging her to lift her head.
"Sniff... Hu?" she reluctantly looks up at the dark blue Alicorn standing tall above her. "Princess Luna? What are you...?" Suddenly before Luna could respond, the void turned into a blue grey mist that surrounded a foggy, snow covered mountain.
"The Northern Mountains? That's all the way at the Crystal Empire!" Luna gasped as she slowly pieced the puzzle together. Flame wasn't just having a nightmare, she was reliving the day she was attacked! She could see a black haze coming towards the mare as it grew in size and height. When it was almost as tall as the mountain itself, the haze turned into a thick black smokey cloud of fog that rose above the two mares.
Then, out of the smoke, a pair of pointed red eyes opened out of no where staring down at Flame with an evil glare. "Flame... is that?" Luna gulped slightly as she slowly realised who they were standing against... the Shadow King himself from 1000 years ago.
"You shall not leave this city!" he raised his deep gut-wrenching voice as he reared his head over them. Flame stood up and stood her ground just as she did on that day.
"Let me go! You will NOT win. I'll make sure of that!" she snorted and the king laughed loudly.
"Who is this that challenges me? You're nothing but a defenceless Earth Pony! You cannot hurt me!" He snared at the red mare as her mane picked up off her neck and began to blow in the wind of the blizzard forming around them. Her tail lifted into the air in the same motion.
"No. But I DO have the ability to get help from the Sun and Moon Princesses!"
"HA! We'll see about that!" He reared back again as he began his charge towards the mare to try engulfing her with smoke. He managed to for a few seconds but she was able to break free by leaping out of his smokey fog. Coughing as she tried to catch her breath, he charged at her again. This time, he focused his black magic at the pony as she sprinted across the snow.
She looked back up at him from over her shoulder and saw him changing form from a thick haze, to a full body pony chasing her on the back of a large magic crystal generated from his own dark magic. He snared at her with his sharp teeth and his red cape the was lined with white fur blew in the wind as he rode the crystal her way. She screamed and dodged a blast of magic he shot from his red tipped curved horn. He blasted he a couple of times before she reached the base of the mountain and was trapped beside a large ice cliff.
"Hahaha! No where left to run LITTLE PONY! You will NOT get in my way!" She looked around frantically for a way out of the situation but felt her heart sink when she realised she was truly trapped and cornered by the beast.
"Go ahead! Do your worst! I'll find a way out and fulfil my task from the queen!" she said but she was trembling inside as she tried not to show her fear. Just at that time, Princess Luna watched as another pony came into view out of the void and saw that it was a Crystal Guard.
"FLAME!" he called but he was barely heard over the howling wind of the snow blizzard that had begun earlier. The Shadow King grinned an evil grin as an idea sparked in his mind.
Preparing his dark magic that shone from his horn, he stood tall and claimed, "This is MY time foolish mare. This... is the end for you!" He gave her a shallow glare as he used his magic to blast an ancient ice spell casted right at her completely encasing her with strong thick magic ice.
Luna watched in horror as the ice formed around the pony and there was nothing she could do as it was her own memory. Soon after, the red mare was freed from the ice and the first thing she saw was Celestia and another Crystal guard standing below her and talking to themselves. "Princess! I found her while on my route of checking the furthest boarders of the plains around the empire. I didn't know what to do so I sent word back to the palace."
"Good work General, I can hardly believe my eyes. She can't be.... alive...." But just as she said that the guard looked closer at the face of the encased pony and jumped back when he saw an ear move slightly beneath the ice.
"Your Highness! Look!" he pointed to the ear that twitched hoping to catch it doing it again for the princess. And it did, just when the princess looked up, the ear twitched again - ever so slightly, but enough to let them know that she was still alive.
"Oh my goodness! We must thaw her out and get a medic here immediately!"
Luna watched as the guard raced off and moments later a team came to thaw her out and once the mare was freed from the ice, the mare was almost purple due to being frozen stiff for so long. The princess caught the mare as she fell free from the icy cliff. The red mare briefly managed to open her yellow eyes and gave a weak smile, "P-princess?.... Empire... Queen Light... need... help.... Shadow..." then she passed out completely leaving Celestia speachless.
Luna felt awful at what she just witnessed. The mare must have felt that she let down the queen she served. But it wasn't her fault the king blocked her path and attacked her instead. Luna began to feel a little weaker than usual, uh-oh... time to leave, so she used up her energy to swiftly but gently leave the mare's mind.
