The Frost Chronicles: Book 2: Shadow of the Storm

CHAPTER 12
Darkest Hour

After the darkness had consumed my vision once more, I was half expecting to be pulled into another dream like event. But I was surprised to find that my mind had returned to the real world.

I awoke to a pounding pain in my head, as my eyes began to open, I found myself lying on my side. I groaned as I pushed myself up, and moved my hoof to rub my head, but I was surprised to hear the clanking of chains. My eyes widened as I tried several times to weaken the chains, but they were latched on to me. After a few attempts, I managed to push myself into a sitting position, and look around.

My eyes widened again, as I found that we were safely in the Monastery’s observatory. The candles on the wall were lit, as the evening sky swirled into the room from above. I heard more clanking, and I turned to see all my friends tied up beside me, with the exception of River, Dust, and Vapor, who were nowhere to be seen at the moment. Even Spike was chained up on the far side, only he was chained down with a stronger looking set of chains.

I waited for a moment as Luna began to stir and sit up, she shook herself awake and looked around the room, her eyes widening at the sight of her quarters. She turned to me and sighed sadly, “Frost? Are you alright?” she asked me in a concerned tone. I nodded and continued looking around, “I’m fine, but…how did we get here?” I asked as I looked around, to see if anypony else was in the room.

She shook her head as the others began to stir, “I’m not sure. The last thing I remember was being shot down from the sky, over the forest” she said as Iron Star and Aurora sat up and rubbed their heads. Spike groaned and sat up as well and we all looked around, but before any of us could question the situation further, the doors to the hall outside opened and multiple soldiers dressed in royal military armor walked in and began to circle us.

We all watched as another pony walked up to us, a sinister smile on his face. He was dressed in a General’s uniform, and was more decorated than General Brick. “Ah, glad to see you’re all finally awake, we were beginning to think you wouldn't wake up. Allow me to introduce myself, I am General Razor’s Edge, highest ranking General in the royal army…welcome home” he said with a sly smile. Luna struggled against her chains to stand up, but only managed to lean forward, a look of anger in her eyes.

“How did you find this place? Where the civilians!?” Luna shouted in his face, but he smiled and shushed her. “Now, there’s no need to act irrationally. There’s somepony here who can answer all of your questions” he said in a menacing tone as he turned to the door. We watched as it opened all the way, and our eyes fell on the menacing shadowy figure that stood in the doorway.

It took me a moment to recognize the strange shape on his head, but as he slowly started making his way into the room, I recognized it as a crown. I turned to look at Luna, only to be surprised to see a look of pure terror on her face, but it was laced underneath by anger and hate. The others shared similar expression as he walked up to us, I watched as General Razor smiled and gave a respectful bow, as his full form came into the light.

His coat was a dark grey, his mane was full of red and black stripes, and his eyes were a light crimson color, I felt my heart beat heavily against my chest, as he smiled at each of us. His smile widened as he cleared his throat, “well…this certainly stands as a blast from the past. It’s been so long since I've seen you all, and of course we have some new faces here” he said smiling at Iron Star and I, as he walked over to Luna and leaned down slightly.

Luna growled at him in a threatening tone, but he simply smiled at her and sighed, “So…the leader of the rebellion, turns out to be none other than the Princess of the night herself, big surprise there. Tell me, is hard to raise the sun and moon by yourself? After all…it’s not like you have Celestia here to help you” he said with a light chuckle. Luna lunged forward, making it so their faces were only a few inches away, a look of pure rage in her eyes at the mention of her deceased sister.

“How dare you even mention her name, you bastard!” she shouted in his face, he simply chuckled and stood back up. “Now Luna, the language isn't necessary” he said as he looked down at her medallion and took it in his hoof, and with a hard yank, he broke the chain and stood back up, handing the medallion to the general. “You can curse me all you like Luna, but you and I both know that harsh words won’t bring back the dead. Isn't that right…Aurora” he said turning and walking over to the young Alicorn, who seemed to squirm in fear.

He smiled and shushed her, he raised his hoof and brushed it along her cheek, a calm smile on his face. “Hmm, you have the beauty of your mother, and the bravery of your father. Both of which served as formidable opponents” he said as he stood up once again.

“And look what else I caught in my little trap, Lord Spike of the Silver Claw Clan, it’s been a long time, you surely have grown over the decades. I heard about what you said to my messengers, very…interesting” he said with a light chuckle.

I watched as Spike struggled against his chains, and puffed out smoke from his nostrils, a hateful rage burning in his eyes. “Oh…I wouldn't bother trying to roast me alive, each of your chains are magically augmented. Yours to prevent you from breathing, and your friends here from using magic” he said as he chuckled lightly again, this time causing the soldiers around us to chuckle as well.

Spike got as close as he could and growled, “What are you going to do Red Spear, you know you can’t kill me. Doing so will not only bring war from my clan, but all the others as well!” Spike said in a threatening tone. Red Spear frowned slightly and looked down for a moment, and then looked back up at him and sighed. We were all surprised to hear him laugh at Spike’s comment, which even made Spike confused, “oh Spike, still as naive as ever. Kill you? Do you think I’m a fool? I know better than to bring the wrath of the dragons upon myself, but a time will come, when you and your kind will no longer be able to resist me” he said in a slightly threatening tone as well, which made Spike shrink back and sigh sadly.

Red Spear stood tall above him and frowned, “no…I’m not going to kill you. But I think I’ll bargain with your clan, for a little…economic incentive, and then you’ll be free to go” he said a she smiled and walked away.

I felt myself sweat nervously as he walked towards me and smiled, a calm and understanding expression on his face, he smiled as he leaned down slightly and studied me briefly. “So…you’re the one I've heard so much about, Frost Fall…so I take it your Luna’s newest pet. I must say…you've caused me quite a bit of trouble, but…I’m a stallion of forgiveness, ruling a kingdom has that effect. After all…you've helped me to complete my collection” he said as he looked at my medallion and snatched it away from me in a quick swipe, and handed it to the General.

After doing so, he turned back to me and smiled in an innocent way. “You know, for the longest time, I had this impression that you were something…more. But I’m not one to judge based on a pony’s outside appearance, it’s about what lies on the inside…that truly matters” he said as he reached out and tried to place a hoof on my chest, only for me to shrink back and glare angrily at him.

The smile fell from his face and he sighed, “Tell me Frost…do you think of me as a tyrant?” he asked as he turned to walk away. I glanced at Luna and the others and then back to him, “what does it matter what I think?” I asked him, and he chuckled and turned to face me. “Oh it’s nothing. I just wanted to hear what you thought of me. Instead of what they might have told you” he said with a sneer in Luna’s direction. I looked at her and then back to him, and evil glare in my eyes, “you want to know what I think? I think you’re a cruel, selfish, evil son of a bitch, who cares nothing of the kingdom he rules over, and isn't even fit to wear the crown. I think your cruel enough to wipe out anypony that questions your rule, even the entire population of a town if need be…like Ashen” I said with a sad look in my eyes, which was quickly replaced as he cleared his throat.

“Ah yes, I forgot you lived there before…all this. I feel as if I should apologize for that. You see…my orders were strictly to secure the town, not to massacre all of them, if a few decided not to cooperate entirely. General Brick decided to go against what my orders, he’s become a bit of a wild one. I suppose I should thank you for…taking him out of the picture” he said with a sick smile.

“How did you find this place? There’s no way you could have possibly have done it yourself” Luna said to him, venom dripping in her voice. He turned to her and smiled once more, “well your right about one thing, I didn't do it on my own. But…let’s just say…I had a bit of inside help” he said as he gestured to the door behind us. We all heard it creak open and another small group of soldiers walk out, this time led by somepony that shocked us all.

Lieutenant Arrow.

Our eyes widened in shock, as he smiled and walked over to the king, we all noticed the golden medallion he was wearing. Luna’s eyes widened in shock as she struggled against the chain, “no! Where did you find that?” she shouted in a desperate tone. Arrow smiled as he walked over to the king and gave a slight bow, “your majesty, we found Princess Cadence’s medallion” he said as he handed it to the General.

Red Spear turned to us and smiled, “well now, that makes four out of five. The only one missing is Twilight Sparkle’s medallion” he said with a smile. We all heard Spike gasp at this, “what? But…I thought you already had hers?” Spike asked in a confused tone. Red Spear looked at him and then at us with a confused look, but a smile quickly spread on his face, as he began to laugh loudly, wiping a tear from his eye. “Ha! That is truly priceless! You mean you never actually told him the truth?” he asked us, I turned to Luna to see her lower her head in shame, Spike turned to me with a desperate look, his eyes full of sadness and pain. I tried my best to say something, but I couldn't find the right words, just as Red Spear beat me to it.

“Well…since you've been left in the dark for so long, I shall enlighten you. Twilight was the only one to survive the confrontation against me, in the peak of the battle, when she and her friends were battered and beaten, she gathered the Elements and disappeared into the night…along with her medallion” he said with a sinister smile.

I watched with guilty eyes as Spike shrank back in shock, Red Spear smiled and walked over to the General. “Well…I hate to cut our conversation short, but I have other matters to attend to. Take them to the prison holds” he said as the General nodded and ordered the guards to haul us off.

We were helpless to defend, as Red Spear soldiers dragged us off into the hall, but not before I sneaked a look back at Spike, who glared back with a hurt expression.
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It didn't take long for the soldiers to take us down to the holding cell, where we were quickly reunited with our other friends. Despite the previous moment of sadness, I felt my spirits life slightly as I saw that my friends were safe and sound. The soldiers walked us over to our cells, opened the doors and shoved us all roughly inside.

“Frost!” River cried out happily as she ran over and threw her hooves around my neck, tears of happiness spilling from her eyes. I turned to see Vapor and Dust smile at me as well, just as the General walked over to us. “Well now, I hope you enjoy your stay here, and don’t even think of magic, these cells were magically augmented like your cuffs, have fun” he said with a sinister smile, as he slammed the cages shut.

Just as he did so, our cuffs magically unhitched themselves and fell to the floor, which allowed me to hug River back. The General calmly turned and left the room, placing the keys to our cells on a table at the far end of the room, in an attempt to tease us. I pushed myself up and sighed sadly, placing my hoof on my chest where the medallion should be. “What happened to all of you? When we woke up here, you weren't around” Dust asked in a calm tone, I looked up at him as River pulled herself away, “we…we woke up in the observatory, where…we met the king himself” I said with a sad expression.

All of them gasped, as River gave me a concerned expression. “He…he didn't hurt you or anything?” she asked me, her voice filled with worry. I looked at her with a sorrowful expression, “no…but he took our medallions, and our weapons” I said with a hanging of my head. They all fell silent for a moment, until Vapor stepped forward, “well…what’s the plan then? Come on guys, we can’t just sit here and do nothing” she said with a tone of confidence that failed to carry on to us.

Finally, Luna spoke up from the other cell, “you don’t understand, the more of the medallion he owns, the more powerful he becomes, if he gets to Twilight’s…then I fear our cause will be useless” she said looking down in shame. I walked to the bars of our cell and looked at them, all three of them were sitting there with a sad look on their faces.

I sighed and was about to say something, but then I heard the faint sound of approaching wings, and I felt a small smile crossed my lips. “I don’t think were out of the game just yet, look who’s here” I said, as the room was filled with a familiar screech, as Winter appeared in the window, at the top of the room. All my friends turned to look and I could see the glimmer of hope return to their eyes, as our feathered landed in front of my cell.

“Winter, thank the stars you’re here girl, you see those keys on the table there, I need you to get them, please!” I said with an urgent tone. She simply stared at me for a moment and chirped, I looked at my friends with a confused look, and then back to her. “What? I promise I’ll feed you later, just get me the keys!” I said as I heard a stifled laugh from my friends. The hawk screeched at me again, then spread her wings and flew over to the table, grabbing the keys in her claws, she flew back over to my cell. She used her wings to float directly in front of the hawk as she aimed the key into the slot, with a chirped quizzically she inserted it and turned it to the right, and we all heard the lock come undone as well as the magical barrier.

Grabbing the keys before they fell and made any noise, and opened the cell to let my friends out, they quietly walked over to a large supply closet and opened it, “the soldiers put all our weapons and armor in here somewhere, let’s get suited up” Dust said with a smile as I ran over and unlocked the other cells.

Luna slowly walked out, giving me a kind smile as she walked over and began to put her armor on, while I walked over to Spike’s cell. He stood up and walked over to the door, a small smile on his face, but I could still see the look of betrayal in his eye. “If it weren't for our current situation, I would be very tempted to roast you alive right now” he said as I opened the cell, which he had to duck under to get out.

He walked over and picked out a weapon of his own as I suited up in my armor and holstered my axe, and then we all gathered up in a circle. “Okay, now that we have the element of surprise, what’s ur next move?” I asked as we all gathered around, Luna brought her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. “well…our first priority is to get as many as we can out of here, and find a safe place to hide for now” she said as she looked at all of us. “but wait, the airfield is probably under close watch, if they even notice one of the ships taking off for launch without clearance, they’ll just blow us up before we can even get off the ground” Aurora said with a worried tone, but Luna quickly smiled.

“Not if we go to the secret bunker” she said with a smile, and we all looked at her with a confused expression, except for Aurora, who slowly began to smile. “Shortly after we came here, many decades ago. I had a secret launch bay built into the mountain, the entrance is camouflaged into the rocks. A large airship id held up there for emergencies. It was built to run with a minimal crew, so we can take a lot of ponies with us” she said with a confident smile.

We all looked at each other and smiled as I walked over to the door and peaked out. I saw that there were two guards standing by the door, I looked back at my friends and nodded. We all stuck to either side of the door as I quickly gave it a few knocks, and ducked back as the two guards quickly opened the door and walked in. “quiet in th-“ one of them was about to say and saw that the cells were open, they quickly ran in as we passed behind them.

With a quick swing of my axe, I knocked one of them unconscious as Luna blasted the other one to the wall, knocking him out as well. We then all quickly turned to each other, “alright every pony, I’ll go and find as many as possible, I’ll check the rest of the holding cells. Be careful though, watch out for Arrow, he’s working with the king, don’t trust anything he says. Alright every pony, let’s show these bastards why you don’t screw with the Night Ranger’s home” I said to them and they all nodded with wide smiles on their faces.

“Iron Star, River you’ll be with me. Vapor and Dust, you go with Aurora to find the airship. Luna and Spike, you go and find the medallions, that way we can cripple his power for a little longer” I said and we all put our hooves and smiled.
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While the others went off to finish their assigned duties, the three of us had begun moving through the other parts of the prison hold, where we hoped to find the others. After fighting off multiple sets of guards, we managed to make our way to another set of cells, where we were shocked to see all the younger foals of the Order, being held in those cells.

As I grabbed the keys off the table, I walked over and began unlocking the cells and letting the young foals out, luckily most of them were of an old enough age to understand the crucial mission we were on, but I was more preoccupied with finding one specific filly.

“FROST!” I heard a young voice yell in happiness, I turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by my younger sister. “Oh Frost! I though the soldiers had gotten to you” she said as light tears began to flow down her cheeks, I smiled and hugged her back as I stood up. “I’m glad to see you too, but we have more important business to attend to. Attention every pony, we need to get you all out of here, come on!” I yelled and we all quickly ran out of the room, the group of foals quickly following behind us.
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After making our way through the halls, we found ourselves walking through the main entry hall of the monastery. We kept a close eye out for soldiers as we quietly ran across the room, into the other hall, but before we could get far, I stopped and turned to River. “River, listen to me, I need to go back and find the others. You go with Iron Star and these foals to the airship” I said to her with a concerned look.

I could tell she wanted to protest, but she looked away sadly for a moment and then back to me with a confident expression. She nodded and leaned in for a kiss, which I quickly agreed to and then she turned and ran off into the hall.

I watched them go for a minute and then sighed as I turned around and made my way off in the other direction. But before I did so, I heard a rifle cocking and I turned to see none other than Arrow himself, smiling as he pointed his rifle at me. I looked shocked for a moment, but that shocked was quickly replaced by anger.

“You damn traitor! How could you betray the ponies you called friends? Iron Star trusted you, Luna trusted you, and this is how you pay them back!?” I yelled at him, as I stepped forward, but he kept his spot. He laughed at my outburst and lowered the rifles slightly, so I could fully see his face. “Oh Frost…still so naive and blind. I’m no traitor, I just finally came to my senses and joined the winning side. Did you honestly think we had a chance against the king, it would only have been a matter of time before they would have found us and wiped us out. But I plan on surviving this war, and if that means betrayal…so be it” he said as his smile grew, raising the rifle to me again.

I stayed there, simply staring daggers at him, “not if I have anything to say about it” I said and watched as his hoof tightened on the trigger, but not before I heard a familiar voice shout out in fear.

“Frost!” I heard a familiar voice shout out, time seemed to slow down as I turned to see Iron Star running at me, my eyes widened in shock as I heard the rifle go off, but a powerful force shove me to the side, as Iron Star collided with me and knocked me away. I heard the sound of the bullet tearing into flesh, but I did not feel any pain myself, but I did hear Iron Star cry out in pain.

Time resumed to its normal flow as Iron Star fell to the floor and rolled a few feet away, I pushed myself up and turned to him with a shocked expression. I could feel tears forming in my eyes as I stood up and ran over to him, I slid to a stop and rolled him on to his back and cradled his head. His eye were barely open and his breathing was shallow and labored.

I looked down to see the bloody wound in his chest, continuously spilling blood out. He looked over at me and tried to speak, but it came out very weak, “Frost…I’m sorry. It’s… Up t-to you now…you-you have to stop the king, and…bring peace back to Equestria. I know you can…do it…I-I believe in you” he said as his breathing slowed to a stop and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his hoof dropped from mine. I felt my eyes fill up with tears as they fell down my cheek and on to his shoulder.

I lifted my hoof up and closed his eyes in respect, and then gently let his body down, “I promise you…I’ll set things right” I said as I felt pure rage fill my body, as my gaze drifted up to Arrow, who seemed just as shocked by his own actions as I was. He slowly dropped the rifle, and staggered backwards, “it didn't have to be this way…you old fool” he said as his gaze drifted up to me and then narrowed.

I slowly unsheathed my axe and got into a fighting position, in which he did the same, drawing out his sword. “I’ll kill you for that…” I said in a low voice, as I charged forward, he did so to by extending out his wings and charging at me. We both yelled out as I swung my axe, he quickly evaded by doing a flip behind me and pouncing off the wall behind me, and charging with his sword out front.

I jumped back as he collided with the ground, I instinctively reached for my pistol and pointed it at him, but he charged and hit me in the chest, knocking both my axe and pistol out of my grip. I landed on my back as he jumped above and dropped his sword down, I quickly rolled to the side and watched as his sword struck the ground, I quickly reared up my back hoof and kicked it from his grip, watching it slide across the room.

He growled at me and unsheathed a large knife, as I reached over and picked up my axe with my magic. He cried out in rage as he charged at me swinging his blade wildly, not even making an attempt to have any finesse in his fighting. But I growled and clicked a small button on the handle of my axe, in which cause a small blade to stick out from the bottom of my handle, I yelled out as I quickly turned around and drive the blade back against him.

There was the sound of a blade tearing into flesh, but Arrow quickly stopped his flailing and yelling and gasped out loud. I opened my eyes and looked back to see the shocked look on his face, we both looked down to see the blade stuck into his chest, blood soon began pouring out around it and to the floor. In one quick move, I yanked the blade out and he staggered to the floor, coughing up blood as I turned to him.

He looked up at me with a shocked and angered expression, “damn…you…” he said before the life left his eyes and he dropped to the ground, no more life in his body.

I sighed and sheathed the handle blade back in, but just as I did, I heard the sound of clapping and turned to see none other than, Red Spear himself. He smiled at me and clapped his hooves to the ground, he stopped and stepped out from the shadows, “oh don’t mind me, I was just enjoying the show. It’s quite remarkable…you truly do have some skill with an axe, I must say I am impressed” he said as he smiled.

I once again felt my rage build up as I turned and faced him fully, “where re the others?” I demanded but he simply stood there and smiled at me, while readied my axe. “Such hostilities are unnecessary. I believe we can come to some mutual agreement” he said with a smile. I frowned at him and gestured to him with my axe, “If you think you can corrupt or threaten me into joining your side, forget it!” I yelled at him, but he simply stood there and smiled, chuckling lightly.

“Corrupt? Threaten? My dear boy you misunderstand. I am merely stating that we both have common goals that we want to achieve” he said with a calm smile that made me slightly nervous, but I stood firm and frowned again.

“Common goals? What could we possibly have in common?” I asked him, he simply gestured with his hoof around him. “Well…for one, we both want what we think is best for Equestria. Why fight amongst ourselves, when we could unite and make not just Equestria, but the whole world a better place?” he asked with an excited expression, but it slowly dropped as I chuckled lightly.

“You may think you can pull that little trick on me, but it’s not going to work! All you care about is tearing this kingdom apart, while we fight to return it to the peaceful land it once was. Our goals couldn’t be more different” I said as my horn started to glow. I cried out in anger, as I shot a blast of magic at him, but as it grew closer, he simply smiled and vanished in a puff of smoke, as my spell hit the wall and exploded, causing a small cloud to envelop where he was standing.

My eyes widened as I looked around in a panic, I lifted my axe and got ready to swing, and looked back as I heard a whoosh. I cried out as I swung the axe as hard as I could, but a strong force ripped it out of my magical grip, and threw it across the room, where it clattered to the floor. I felt a strange sensation come over my body as I couldn’t move, I looked up to see Red Spear appear from a black puff of smoke. He smiled and walked up to me, until our faces were a foot apart.

“impressive…you have quite the quick reflexes, I almost felt the breeze on that one” he said with a sinister smile as he lifted his hoof and placed it on my chest, and then with one swift motion, he delivered a push so powerful, it literally sent me across the room, slamming me into the wall a few feet above the ground.

I cried out in shock and pain as I crumbled to the floor and coughed deeply as I tried to stand up, but I was quickly frozen up again as he walked up to me. My body refused to move on its own, as I felt myself get lifted up into the air, I looked down to see a faint magical aura surrounding me, he smiled and threw me past him, to where I crashed to the floor and rolled a few feet away.

Pain racked my body as I felt blood trickle from my mouth, I felt the need to cough as blood began to trickle inside my throat as well. I was amazed at how fast he was able to subdue me, but I could only piece it together as his own magical abilities. But before I could think about it any longer, I felt the same sensation was over me once again, as I felt my battered body be lift up into the air, only this time I felt a magical grip tighten around my throat.

I looked down to see Red Spear walking towards me, a wide, sadistic smile on his face. “Hmm…I can sense the strength in you boy, and it’s a shame to for you o waste all your strength into one single act, but I still think you deserve a reward for your courage and strength” he said as his horn began to glow black as his eyes changed to purple, while his pupils became blood red, along with a faint lavender trail that flowed from his eyes.

I struggled as he reached toward my chest with his hoof and placed it in the center, he smiled as I felt an agonizing pain form in my chest. I began to feel the world around me fade away, but before he could finish his work, I heard the flapping of wings and an unsheathing of a sword. Red Spear gasped and looked to the side as a powerful blast of magic struck him and knocked him back across the room, his grip on me instantly lost as I fell to the floor and gasped for breath.

After a moment of catching my breath again, I looked up to see a familiar purple Alicorn land in front of me and sheathe her sword. She quickly turned to me with a concerned expression and helped me up, “are you alright?” she asked as I fully stood up and rubbed my throat, I took a deep breath and looked up into the eyes of Twilight Sparkle. I nodded my head and she quickly turned when we both heard Red Spear groan and stand up.

He rubbed his head and looked up at us, but when his eyes fell of Twilight, a wide smile formed on his lips and he started chuckling. “Well…this certainly is a twist. Here I thought you had run away like a coward, but now…after all these years, you finally have the guts to face me again” he said as he stood up fully and dusted his coat off from the dust. Twilight growled at him and unsheathed her sword, and pointed it at him.

“Last time my friends and I underestimated you. But I promise you this…I won’t be making that same mistake again” she said in a menacing tone, as she readied her sword. He did so as well, but before either of them could start, we heard hooves approaching from the hall, and we all turned to see our friends run into the room.

“FROST!” River shouted as she ran over and helped me up further, while Luna and Aurora stood beside Twilight and readied their weapons. Red Spear studied each of us and then looked down and sighed, but then started chuckling once more, “well now…I think this little blast from the past has gone on long enough. But I’ll see you all soon enough…that I promise!” he yelled as his horn glowed brightly and he was gone in a flash.

We all sighed and holstered our weapons, but before either of us could say anything, we heard Spike call out. “Twilight…is that…really you?” he said in a voice that was filled with sobs, Twilight cringed slightly and turned to face the tall purple dragon, who appeared to already have tears spilling down his cheeks. Twilight did her best to smile and walk up to him, “yes Spike…I’m here, it’s really me” she said as tears started to form in her eyes as well, but then Spike did something unexpected.

He quickly leaned down and picked her up and hugged her tightly, even to Twilight surprise, but she quickly hugged him back and began to cry as well. “All these years…I…I thought you were dead. I’ve missed you so much!” he cried into her smaller form. Twilight cried as well and smiled lightly, “I’ve missed you too Spike, things haven’t been the same without my #1 assistant” she said as they continued to hold each other.

We all watched with happy smiles, but soon Luna walked up to me and looked around with a worried expression. “Frost…where’s Iron Star?” she asked me with a concerned tone, the smile immediately feel from my face and I looked over across the room, her gaze followed mine and she gasped when she saw his lifeless body. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she quickly turned back to me and sighed sadly, “I see…we must hurry and leave, the soldiers will be on our location any minute now.

We all nodded and I began to walk after her, but I quickly felt the stabbing pain in my chest, which caused me to cry out in immense pain, as I clutched the spot where he touched with my hoof. The pain was too much to bear and I quickly fell to the floor, but not before Dust quickly slid to catch my head, and lift it so I could see. “Frost!” River cried out in fear as she loomed over me, but the searing pain was becoming too much.

I looked down to see a menacing black spot, forming on the spot where Red Spear placed his hoof. Luna pushed through them and kneeled beside me, and examined my body. When her eyes fell on the black spot, she gasped and lightly brushed it with her hoof, which only sent another jolt of pain through my body.

“What’s…happening to…me?” I asked in a weak tone, “Luna sighed and looked at the others, “this is Red Spear’s doing, he used a magic poison spell on him. It’s a very powerful dark magic spell, and its effects can be deadly. We need to get you out of here” she said, but by that point, by vision was beginning to fade. The voices around me became muffled as they tried to speak to me, but all I heard was garbled sounds.

Then the darkness took me, once again.

TO BE CONTINUED…