Dear Princesses Luna and Celestia,
Operation: Crystal Shard, has been sucessful. We have cleared the area, so that any and all threats have been completely eliminated. The Crystal Empire is currently not prone to any danger.
However, we have made a discovery. In the many caves of ice that run beneath The Frozen Wastelands, we have discovered the body of a Unicorn Stallion. The body is frozen, and the estimated size of this Stallion is that of a pony such as Sergeant Lightning Rage, or Colonel Oak Vengance, two of our largest warriors.
A few of our agents have confirmed that this Unicorn is still alive, and that his magic is what saves him. It seems to act of its own accord, and it is heating him, so that the ice cannot penetrate. The magic was in fact, dark magic, and his mind was clouded by such quantities indescribable of the dark magic.
We have also been able to confirm, that the body was of King Sombra.
Awaiting futher orders, yours sincerely,
~ Wind's Growl
A dark grey Pegasus stood at the centre of a cave, giving orders, his voice strong and demanding.
"Private Sun Scorch, update on the Shadow's current status," he called to an amber Earth Pony who stood at the exit of the cave, seemingly unoccupied and staring at an ice covered body.
"The Shadow continues to be alive and breathing, though only his magic is sustaining this, Colonel Lunar Aegis." The Earth Pony reported, locks of his crimson hair falling across his face, "The ice is still immobilising him, but it will not hold him for much longer."
"Good, Private Sun Scorch." Lunar Aegis evaluated, and examined the Earth Pony who stood still as if waiting for more orders.
He didn't give the Earth Pony the reply he had been expecting, "You may go back to base, and rest for the afternoon. Just stay on your guard."
Sun Scorch smiled up at the Colonel. The Pegasus' mane was Navy Blue and Jet Black, and his cutie mark was a shield with a crescent moon and three swords that had been arranged behind them. In most of the operations that he had been assigned to, he had been pushed around like a personal slave, merely because of his low rank. He was glad that he had ended up on Operation: Crystal Shard.
"Oh, and did Captain Wind's Growl send the letter?" The Colonel asked him.
Sun Scorch nodded. They had been told to update the Princesses frequently, one letter a day to be precise, and so Captain Wind's Growl, the only available Unicorn on the Operation, had been assigned to write letters including every little detail. Any private would spend a long time with him, trying find out what they didn't know. Meaning, they would know about his many letters to the Princesses.
Sun Scorch would give his thanks later, probably in the form of defending Lunar in battle, even though he knew the great warrior could defend himself. It was the least he could do, but for now, all he wanted was to get some rest.
Lunar Aegis wanted to slap him, but he instead gave him a cold, hard, voice, "We discover something major, and you run out of ink? We find out something that changes everything, and you run out of ink?"
His tone was bitter, but he knew that Captain Wind's Growl could not be punished. Severely.
"I know it wasn't your fault, but you could've at least tried to save ink! You know our resources are limited!"
"I'm sorry sir, but there's really nothing I can do about this." The maroon Unicorn said, his words sincere.
He knew that somepony was going to be harmed because of this, and it hurt to think ot would be because he hadn't done what he was supposed to. He had failed. He tried to push the thought aside, but it lingered there, clouding his mind and his thoughts, bringing him back to Operation: Star Eclipse, where it had all gone wrong...
"Sir, are you okay?" Wind's Growl was speaking to him.
"I'm fine, thank you." He was knocked out of his memories like someone had hit him with a sledgehammer, it should have been him, she was so young.
"Well, there's only one thing for it. I'll have to tell the Princesses myself." Lunar Aegis decided.
"But Sir, we could send a Private or-"
"No Captain Wind's Growl. There are some things that are considered classified, even for you, I'll go tell them personally, inform the rest of the ponies on Operation: Crystal Shard that I'm leaving."
"But when are you leaving?" Wind's Growl asked, but he was too late. Lunar Aegis was already headed for the surface.
The snow was waste high, and it chilled Lunar Aegis to the bone. He could have grabbed his thermal coat, but there was no time. He needed to warn the Princesses of what came next. He couldn't give up, not this time. The last time he had given up, the consequences had taken the lives of many ponies. He just couldn't bare that weight any longer. He just couldn't live with it.
Fluttershy had tried to tell him that it was all right when it had happened, but she was too kind, she would always say that, whatever the situation. This time, he'd give it his all, whether it cost his life or not.
Though the whole area of the Frozen Wastelands had been scanned, it was still dangerous, and many had been known to perish in the blizzards that could rip a weak pony to shreds. Lunar Aegis, however, was not weak. He was one of the toughest and most loyal ponies on Operation: Crystal Shard and was confident that he could take anything the Frozen Wastelands threw at him.
He could barely see the city of Canterlot, hanging lazily on the cliff, just a tiny spot in his line of sight. Partially, it was the harsh winds that whipped and lashed across his face that left his destination seeming further and further away, but he knew it was just as far away as it seemed.
His mouth was crossed in a line of determination as he left behind both the Crystal Empire, and the warm glow that eminated from the entrance to he crystal caves which he had come out of. All that he hoped, was that he was in time.
Then, without warning, tons of snow plummeted onto him from above, and all went dark for the grey pegasus.
Princess Celestia sat on her bed. The white, silk, pillows that were arranged either side cushioned her as she waited. In the current times, most royals had a Dragon which would be used for exchanging information, and doing chores for the bluebloods who considered them work for servants and low-lives.
Celestia, had instead of a Dragon, the head of one of the grand beasts carved from fine gold and silver. It was positioned just above the colossal doors which were the entrance to her dormitory. At its very core, there was the fire of a Phoenix, the silver lining of a cloud, the fury of a Griffon and the essence of Magic. All of these combined allowed scrolls to passed back and forth between two ponies. She was due to receive one from Wind's Growl soon.
She was a patient Princess, however, the recent events were making her close to restless. Yet, there was nothing she could do to change the time of arrival of the scroll, and so she waited in her room until the scroll came through. It was common knowledge that though magic was precise, it was not always fast, and on average, a scroll travelled on at the speed of 60mph, which was fast, but sometimes, not fast enough.
Suddenly, the room was alight with green flame that licked the gilded walls but was as cool as ice, and a piece of parchment floated down onto the Sun Princess's bed. She unravelled it with her magic, and once more, it was addressed to both her and her sister.
Celestia told her guards to send a message to Luna, an invitation to come in to the elder sister's own quarters, and read the scroll, as well as writing a letter in reply. Soon, dark blue magic glowed around the room as the doors were telekinetically swung open.
"We have arrived in our sister's quarters." She announced.
The night Princess, though had stopped using Old Equestrian, still made use of the 'royal we', a characteristic which defined the alicorn from her sister.
"Come, sit here beside me and we may read together." Her sister politely offered, still holding the scroll in the grasp of her light yellow magic.
The night Princess trotted over and sat down beside her sister. While she was making herself comfortable, the other Alicorn began to read out the scroll which she held up in front of her at a reasonable distance. Once she was finished reading, she noticed that her sister Luna had her mouth ever so slightly agape, but she quickly closed it when she realised that this factor of her appearance was being observed.
"So, shall we begin our reply?" Asked Celestia,
"Yes, we think that we should." Replied Luna, and holding up a Quill, she began to write in navy blue ink.
She sat there for a moment, looking at the four words that she had written.
'Dear Captain Wind's Growl,' it began, but to the letter she had just received, she knew not what to reply.
It was a letter that told both good news and bad. A letter that told of what most would have thought impossible, and yet there it was, the bare truth for anypony to see on that very piece of paper.
It was at these times, that Celestia would take over.
'We are glad to hear of this,' Celestia had taken the quill from her sister's telekinetic grip and was writing on from where the other had left off.
She continued to compose the letter, mostly writing of her own accord, with occasional thoughts from her sister. Eventually, the task was finished, and the scroll was ready to be sent to the Frozen Wastelands.
She gently pushed it into the golden Dragon's mouth, and once again, the room was lit with emerald green fire and silver dust was visible trailing its way out of the window and far away Northward toward the Crystal Empire and the Frozen Wastelands.
Dear Captain Wind's Growl,
We are glad to hear of this, and will send the good news to Cadence and Shining Armour so that they may have certainty that there will be no threat to the Crystal empire any time soon.
I take it that as this body is frozen, it currently poses no threat to the Operation and any members of the Night Panthers and Squad Sharp Talon. I have come across these two fine members of the Royal Guard before, so I am quite aware that if active, this Unicorn could be a problem.
This information is very interesting, and so will be sending Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends over to find out more, for it may prove useful to the young Princess, and I think that this is an experience she can learn a lot from.
This information is not a surprise to us, for after King Sombra was banished from the Crystal Empire, he landed somewhere in the Frozen Wastelands.
Yours Sincerely,
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
