MLP: Friendship is Adventure

The stallions proceeded until they marveled at what looked to be a great tower.

“This must be the citadel that holds Frostfright’s prison,” Midnight surmised.

The tower was frozen over with ice, icicles spreading out like glass thorns, a flag completely frozen in mid-billowing, and despite the frost over it, Midnight could recognize his teacher’s cutie-mark emblazoned on it. The doors had been blown clear off their hinges, the stallions having a good idea of what, or rather, who was responsible, as they made their way inside and found a vast circular chamber, likely making up most of the citadel’s lower level, considering the nearby stairs that ran up along the walls, and in the center they saw what looked to be a vast crystal, framed with metal yet broken from the inside out.

“This must have been Frostfright’s prison!” Midnight said. “Look around, the Spirits of Adventure have to be around here somewhere.”

Somehow, each stallion felt drawn towards five crystals in the prison chamber, and set them all before Midnight.

“I thought there were six Spirits of Adventure.” Thunderlane worried.

“The book said that when the five are united, a blaze of power will reveal the sixth,” Midnight replied as he examined the crystals.

“Wha’ in th’ hay does that mean?” wondered Big McIntosh.

“I have an idea, back away,” Midnight said, as he sat himself down and concentrated the magic of his horn, Big Mac saying, “Come on, y’all, let him work.”

Unfortunately, as Midnight was too busy, a swirl of icy winds surrounded Midnight, drawing in the crystals.

“The Spirits!” Midnight brayed as he leapt into the twister, as everypony charged forward to help.

But as soon as Midnight had dove into the freezing whirl, it vanished, taking Midnight and the Spirits with it. The stallions all began to panic.

“Where’d he go?!”

“Midnight!”

“What happened?!”

Suddenly, they heard a distant rumble above them.

“Come on!” Big McIntosh neighed as he led them to the stairs.

Midnight appeared in a flash of light, on the very top of the Citadel, shivering from the cold. He looked around and saw above and around him a structure that looked like a stone rotunda supported by pillars of crstallized ice, the outside revealing the vast mountainous terrain almost hidden by the flurry of snow. But ahead of him, standing on a stone platform, caused Midnight to gasp.

“Frostfright!”

Standing on the platform was Frostfright, with the Spirit of Adventure crystals at his hooves, as he laughed in wicked amusement.

“I must admit – You’re certainly persistent to have come this far…”

Not giving up, Midnight lowered his head, threateningly stamping his hooves, and charging his horn.

“Oh please…” Frostfright sneered, not at all intimidated. “You can’t be serious.”

Midnight then charged, as did Frostfright. The both of them held each other’s gaze as they galloped closer to collision, Midnight’s brows furrowed with determination, Frostfright’s lips sneered in amusement.

But right at the moment before they would’ve clash, Midnight teleported and Frostfright ran into an ice pillar while Midnight made it to the crystals.

“Just a blaze of power…!” he whispered as he charged his horn, trying to send power to the crystals.

Frostfright growled as he became a wind of blistering cold and whisked over, knocking Midnight away. Midnight stood up and saw energy crackle between the crystals, slowly levitating, but before they could do anything, Frostfright blew a freezing mist, and the crystals froze over and dropped to the ground, shattering to pieces.

Gasping, Midnight brayed, “But-! The sixth spirit should have appeared!”

Cackling in wicked triumph, Frostfright mocked, “You poor simple foal! Thinking you could defeat me! Never again will you see your precious princess, and spring will never come back! Welcome… to Endless Winter! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!”

A blistering cold encircled Frostfright as he continued to laugh in triumph as Midnight began to despair.

“There is something about you, though, my little pony…” Midnight looked up and froze as he found Frostfright now standing right in front of him.

“…Yes… You’ve apprenticed under your precious princess of the seasons, haven’t you…?”

“She’s my teacher…” Midnight could only glare back. “My hero!”

“Well your ‘hero’ has failed you and so perhaps I can take up where she left off…” Frostfright mused as he started to circle Midnight like a shark, “and perhaps you could be useful to me…”

“I want nothing from you.”

“Are you certain?” Frostfright asked in amusement. “Very soon Equestria shall bow before a new ruler, and I will admit the start will be as precarious as thin ice… I would require a powerful soldier.”

“I am no soldier!” spat Midnight. “And I would never betray Equestria.”

“You cannot betray that which you are not affiliated with,” Frostfright pointed out, “and Equestria will soon be beholden to me, while you will be the enemy.”

“Only a fool would fall for that excuse of logic,” Midnight furrowed his brows, trying to figure out the Frozen Horse’s game.

“Nopony with even a shred of morals would willingly follow you, or sincerely consider you a ruler.”

“But consider what I am offering you,” Frostfright pressed, “you will be a lord, legions of soldiers under your command, a share of the realm yours to do with as you will… answerable to but one master. I would care naught for whatever you did with your territory, so long as you adhered to an oath of loyalty to me. You could rule your land with a benevolence, be seen as a protector by your ponies, in time perhaps… a hero.”

“No hero would ever fall for such a bold-face lie as the horseapples coming out of your mouth…” Midnight growled.

Suddenly, he felt a bracing cold enfold him, the young unicorn seething as he felt the frigid ice enclose him, trapping him with only his head and a hoof showing, Frostfright’s eyes narrowed.

“I pity you, to be presented with such a glorious opportunity and lack the vision to reach out and take it… Very well. Die with your pride, pony, and languish when your last thoughts are of your own miserable failure…”

“At least I’ll die as myself…” Midnight struggled to keep his voice even, despite the bone-chilling cold that kept him from moving so much as a muscle.

“You gave in to jealousy, like a foal seeing another with a shiny toy! You couldn’t be content that you helped to maintain the balance of Equestria!”

“I brought Winter every year, to give the land respite from the burden of providing for everypony!” snarled Frostfright, beating his wings in fury.

“I alleviated the land’s pain, allowed for it to rest, gave ponies relief from the burning sun! I gave them soft and beautiful snow to marvel at and play in, I protected them from the Windigoes that would have loved nothing more than to feed on their petty conflicts and bring about their dooms at the behest of their own follies! And what was my reward? Ingratitude, complaining, persecution! Their ignorance of how the Winter is necessary drove them to fear me, hate me! All I ever wanted was acceptance, maybe a little gratitude, but no! They flocked around Florinda like flies to a corpse, desperate for warmth and sustenance!”

“And you chose to lash out like a colt whose parents put him in a two-minute timeout for roughhousing,” Midnight maintained an even tone, acting as though he were really lecturing a child.

“SILENCE!!!” Frostfright released a freezing gale, and that all but took Midnight’s breath away, his heart pumping harder in a feeble attempt to spread warmth through his body frozen over.

“Despair and draw your last breath!”

I’m sorry, Everypony… I tried, midnight closed his eyes and awaited the darkness when all of a sudden…

CRASH

Far behind them, a hatch-door blew open, and there was a haze of frost and dust and smoke, blinding Midnight and Frostfright. Two “whoosh”-ing sounds streaked past Midnight, a yellow streak slamming into the Frozen Horse and shattering him to pieces, while a dark gray figure struck the ice holding Midnight.

Collapsing and shivering, Midnight looked around and heard several gallops run up to his side, the haze clearing and he gasped.

“You’re all here…!”

Big McIntosh and Thunderlane stood at his sides, Bravissimo and Forester backing them up, and Starfyre above them in mid-flight.

“Eeyup!”

“Are we too late for the party?” Thunder asked.

“If so, consider us fashionably late,” Bravissimo chuckled.

“Or we could be just party-crashers?” offered Forester.

“Either way, we’re here to kick some flank!” Starfyre looked rarin’ to go.

They watched as the shards of ice that had been Frostfright collect like a flurry of snow, and he reformed from the frost, looking as unforgiving as a blizzard.

“You pitiful fools should’ve run while you had the chance! Now you can share in this ingrate’s demise!”

With a beat of his wings, the Frozen Horse kicked up a blizzard, vanishing in the flurry. The six stallions all huddled, unsure of where the enemy would appear.

“Buck!” Starfyre cursed. “Wha’do we do?”

“I can’t see hide or hair of him, can you?” Bravissimo scrutinized the flurry, trying to find an indication of where the enemy was.

“Nnope!”

Suddenly, Forester felt a powerful thwack to his shoulder, braying in pain as he yelped, “He’s behind me!”

But they saw nopony.

“Ouch!” Thunderlane felt his wing weighing him down and gasped to see his primary feathers had been frozen over.

“He’s not hiding in the blizzard…” Midnight realized aloud, “he is the blizzard!”

They heard a dark chuckle over the roar of the blistering winds, and realized Midnight was right, and Frostfright was mocking them.

“How can we fight something we can’t touch!?” Starfyre growled in annoyance.

“Much less somepony we can’t see!” Bravissimo added.

“You don’t…”

Almost at once, everything froze. The powder snow, the hail, perhaps even time itself as everything came to an absolute halt around them. And they saw him. Standing there as a tunnel-esque way formed to reveal him as he looked upon them with mocking contempt.

“Do you not realize the truth?”

Suddenly, Midnight was teleported to Frostfright’s side, painfully held by his throat in the Frozen horse’s Aura, the others gasping.

“That from the moment you chose to follow this pitiful miscreant, you were all doomed…”

Then Midnight was thrown aside, like a doll, groaning, as he tried to get up.

“Midnight!” yelled the others, but they felt the chill again as Frostfright leered at them.

“And now, he shall pay for his impudence… by watching his companions die!”

It all seemed to be in slow-motion as Frostfright unleashed a zap of freezing energy, so potent that Midnight immediately sensed the threat it posed.

“NO!!!”

The stallions all struggled to get out of the way but found their hooves frozen to the floor in ice as solid as stone.

They closed their eyes and winced for the coming end but heard the unmistakable sound of a teleportation spell and gasped to see Midnight had put himself between them and the spell. Frostfright’s eyes widened in depraved glee, giddily awaiting the demise of the unicorn who had managed to ruffle his feathers.

This time Midnight did not shy from what would most certainly be the end of him. Hopefully it would be quick, and even if the others did not make it, he would await them on the other side. His one regret was failing his mentor, and hoped she would find it in her heart to forgive him. He’d tried his best, and that’s honestly the most anypony can ask of anyone.

The spell made contact and there was the split-second silence before the explosion.

But there was no pain, no cold, no feeling of his body being torn asunder. Had it been so quick he’d felt nothing? He still felt the pain of having been in a choke-hold but then realized he was still in mid-air, his body seized up in the position of trying to protect his comrades. He peered his eyes open and gasped to find himself surrounded by a barrier of shimmering light! The others were with him, safe and sound, and outside Frostfright gaped in shock, unable to comprehened what was happening,.

“What is this?!” he yelled as he took a hesitant step back. “Where did this magic come from?!”

Midnight touched the barrier, and found it soft and warm, like the morning sun, yet he was unfamiliar with the magic creating it. Then he noticed them, floating around the membrane of the barrier! The shards that had been the Spirits of Adventure! A thread of sparkling magic extending and connecting from each and every shard, creating a web that held the barrier in place. Midnight then noticed five shards, each a different color, float towards one of his five comrades, and then he felt the web extend to him, connecting to his horn as well as to his chest, and felt the pain all over his body fade away, leaving a bliss of strength.

Finally, the barrier died away and the five stallions were alighted onto their hooves, standing together as the Frozen Horse glared at them, yet they saw the flicker of fear in his eyes as he noticed the shards around the other stallions.

“How is this possible?!” he demanded. “The Spirits of Adventure are dead! I shattered them to pieces!”

“It is finished, Frostfright. You have lost,” Midnight declared. “Your Endless Winter is about to thaw.”

“You still lack the sixth spirit!” Frostfright reminded him. “You might’ve saved yourself with that parlor trick, but your power was too weak to restore the spirits completely!”

Although Frostfright seemed to make a point it was obvious he was trying to discourage them.

“Because I tried the wrong kind of power…” Midnight spoke, his eyes closing. “True Power comes not from how much magic you can control or spells you master…”

A whirl of wind surrounded the six stallions but it was warm and pleasant, not cold and menacing, and the shards floating to each of the others glowed brighter.

“Power,” Midnight continued,” is measured not by the strength of your body but rather your heart, as you adhere to your morals and resist temptation!”

The shard next to Big McIntosh exploded in a burst of sparks, becoming a green jewel in the shape of an apple inset to a gleaming silver chestplate that strapped itself to Big Mac’s chest, and extended into pauldrons and added hoof-boots.

“Honor!”

Big Mac gave his new armor a look and nodded in agreement.

“Eeyup!”

“Power is having the compassion to consider another’s plight and lend a helping hoof regardless of inconvenience or even sacrifice!”

The shard next to Forester became an amber jewel in the shape of a pinecone inset into the same kind of armor as it clad itself onto Forester.

“Empathy!”

Forester gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

“It’s only natural to want to help others when they need it.”

“…it’s taking the time to look in even the most unlikely places and find something worthwhile!”

Thunderlane became clad in armor with a silver thundercloud jewel along with a piece of gold shaped like a lightning bolt affixed to it, mimicking his cutie-mark.

“Wonder!”

Thunderlane shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“Everypony’s gotta stop along the way to smell the roses, even if it’s accidental!”

“…it’s assuring the uncertain and doubtful that they are capable of surprising even themselves to achieve their dreams!”

Bravissimo marveled at his armor and the lavender jewel in the shape of twin spotlights.

"Confidence!"

Bravissimo gave his armor a quick shine and nodded.

“Now this would make for an interesting costume in my work…”

“…and finally, it’s having the courage to face even your greatest fears no matter how much your own might hinder you!”

Starfyre whooped as he got his own armor and loved the red jewel in the shape of a flaming Pegasus wing.

"Bravery!"

Starfyre loop de' looped and reared in place.

“My wings’re burning, baby, they’re burning!”

Suddenly, a light shined above Midnight, dimming to reveal a sixth crystal as he faced the Frozen Horse.

“You see, Frostfright, when those spirits blaze with the power that exists within us all, it summons the sixth spirit! The Spirit of… Light!”

Everypony rose into the air as the jewels of their armor each fired a beam at Midnight, engulfing him in blinding radiance. Almost at once it died away, revealing Midnight clad in his own armor but his included a helmet, that bore the star and of his cutie-mark, with a plume of black and blue hair on top like his own mane while the moon of his cutie-mark was displayed on his breastplate.

As the power of the Spirits of Adventure combined, the six stallions felt a plea from their jewels, a plea for aid. Instinctively, they sensed the sincerity of this plea, and answered by opening their hearts, feeling their strength empower the Spirits of Adventure, not with their energy nor with their lives. But rather, the spirits drew upon the strength of the bonds the six stallions had forged between them, the feelings and connections tempered by an adventure to test a new friendship proven true!

Midnight opened his eyes and shined a blinding white light that engulfed a screaming Frostfright.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I was so close…!!!”