The Frost Chronicles: Book 3: Tide's of Destiny

CHAPTER 2
Moments of Peace

After leaving the old castle, River and I made our way to another one of the nearby that we had turned into our temporary home. As we walked, River told me what happened after we arrived, according to her, after I had blacked out, they hauled me on to the ship and left the monastery, but the King’s forces had pursued them to a certain point, before simply turning away, and allowing us to escape.

As we walked along the wide street to our building, we saw all the other Ranger’s going about the day, making sure that all those who managed to flee with us, were tended to. “Hey River, why did we come here? We could have gone somewhere else” I asked her as we walked along. She sighed and looked around as we walked, “it was actually Aurora’s idea to come here, and she thought that we would be safe from Red Spear here. Honestly, we were all surprised to hear her suggest it, considering it might bring up bad memories for her and Luna, but so far…they've managed” she said as we walked along the street.

Then a certain thought popped into my head, “wait! What about Spike’s dragon forces, we told them to head for the monastery” I said in a panic, but River quickly silenced me with a hoof to the mouth. “Relax Frost, Spike already got in touch with them after we got here, the forces know to come here instead” she said as she continued walking. I watched her for a moment as a wave of relief washed over me, I then sighed and walked after her.
________________________________________

The building my friends and I were staying in, was much like the one I had woken up in, except the room had a much larger, more solid bed. I cringed as River helped me on to the bed, and then sat next to me, lightly brushing my mane with her hoof. “You know Frost…I’m not sure if you remember what today really is” she said with a slight smile. I turned to her with a confused look, which only made her smile wider, “River…with everything that’s going on, you really think I’m going to remember what today is” I said with a slight chuckle, she chuckled back and scooted closer to me.

“Well despite all the terrible things that have happened, I think it’s only fair that I tell you…Happy Birthday” she said in a gentle tone. I stared into her eyes for a moment with confusion, but then it hit him, she was right!

21

The age when young colts turn into strong stallions. With the threat of a pending war upon us, it felt weird to me that I should forget the day I was born, but as happy as an occasion could be, I could feel a waving sadness wash over me, as I knew I wouldn't be able to celebrate it with my mother, or any of my friends from home. It was strange that I had seen so many horrible things, in the past few months, and yet I had still seen more than most full grown stallions had seen their entire life.

I smiled lightly and turned away again, but as I stared off into space for a moment, I felt the smile fade away, which earned me a concerned look from River. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she tried to bring my face to hers, but I resisted her touch for the moment. “It’s just…everything in our lives has changed so much. I mean…here we are, on the brink of a war, our home and much of our family lost to us. I know you think it should be a happy day, but…River…I just can’t find a reason to be happy. We lost many friends in that battle. We lost Iron Star, and…I almost lost you” I said as I turned to face her.

I was surprised to see a comforting smile on her face, she leaned in and gave me a loving kiss on the lips, something I greatly returned. She pulled away and brushed her hoof through my mane, “I know things are seeming dark right now, but we can’t sit here and give up hope. Spike’s forces will be here soon, and then we’ll have a fighting chance” she said with a confident smile on her face.

I smiled at her and leaned my head towards her, she did as well, and we both sighed happily as our horns rubbed together. “You always have to be miss sunshine, don’t you?” I asked with a loving smile, she smiled back and pecked me on the nose. “You bet I do, if it means keeping you in one piece. Anyway, I think you owe me something for keeping me worried for so long” she said as she kissed me again.

I felt a devious smile cross my lips, “oh really? Well…I suppose it’s only fair, just let me know if you can think of anything” I said as we kissed again. After we separated, she hummed lightly and smiled at me, “oh…I have a few ideas” she said as she pulled me forward and leaned back. She landed with her back to the bed, and I pulled on top of her and kissed her passionately. She shifted under me to get most comfortable, as a chilled gust of wind came through the window and blew out the candle by the bed. But…neither of us cared to fix it.
________________________________________

The faint morning light shined through the window of the bedroom, flashing right across my eyes. I groaned in annoyance as I lifted my head slightly and opened my eyes, and began to look around the room. My eyes began to focus more, as I found myself lying on my side, I tried to move my hooves, but I found that one of them was preoccupied.

I lifted my head to see another form lying beside me, and it didn't take me long to realize that it was River. My hoof was draped across her stomach, I leaned closer to pull my hoof out of her embrace, but I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face, as I saw the gentle smile on her lips. I leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, “I love you” I whispered gently into her ear, as I slowly sat up in the bed and got off. I chuckled to myself as I heard her moan happily.

As I got out of the bed, the memories of last night flooded back to me in an instant.

The intensity…the excitement…the passion.

I dumbfounded smile crossed my face as I walked over to the mirror and combed my mane down to its usual length. Just as I was doing so, I heard the rustling of sheets and turned to see River slowly turn to face the side I was sleeping on, I smiled happily and walked over there and sat by the bed. Her eyes slowly drifted open in the cutest way, as the light gently reflected off her mane, only increasing her beauty in my eyes. When she looked over at me, I could see a sweet smile grace her lips, as she blushed lightly.

“I was having a wonderful dream…about last night. Thank Celestia it wasn't though” she said as I smiled and took her hoof in mine. “Yeah...last night was amazing. Listen…I’m going to go for a little walk, you should get some more rest, and I’ll be back soon” I said to her with a warming smile. For a moment she looked briefly disappointed, but she quickly smiled and her eyes slowly drifted closed.
I smiled at her and stood up, and quickly turned to make my way out of the room.
________________________________________

I sighed as I stepped out of the house, and looked around, seeing all the ponies going about their day and eating breakfast. As I walked down the steps, I turned to see Vapor and Dust walking up towards the camp. As they came up to me, they both smiled, “well, look who finally decided to get up. You know…we were all starting to wonder where you two lovebirds went off to” Dust said with a sly smile. I felt my face burn slightly, but that quickly stopped, when we all heard a loud screech, and the flap of familiar wings.

I turned to see Winter, land on the ground next to me and give me an annoyed chirp. I smiled and brushed her feathers with my hoof, “hey, I missed you too girl, I hope you've been keeping out of trouble” I said with a chuckle, but she simply tilted her head at me curiously.

“Anyway, Luna sent us out to scavenge some food from these other buildings last night, and you would not believe how much food has survived for almost a century. Well, were off to grab some breakfast, care to join us?” Vapor asked in her usual calm manner. I chuckled and felt my stomach rumble, as I realized I haven’t eaten since I woke up. I smiled at them and nodded, and we all walked over to the lunch tent.

According to my friends, some of the other ranger’s had raided the old castle’s kitchen, and found loads of canned foods and other untouched goods, which amazed many of us at how well it tasted after all these years. As we exited the tent with our food, we came over to the table, and saw Aurora and the other pony, whom I only knew from last night, sitting at the table and eating their meals.

When we came closer, they both turned to us and gave warming smiles, but I could tell that they had a more morbid expression behind their eyes. “Good morning Frost, judging by where you and River were last night, we thought you wouldn't be up for some time” Aurora said in a joking manner, but I wasn't smiling, as I was too busy trying to hide the huge blush on my face, and failed miserably. I tried to say something, as I sat next to her, but she stopped me first, “relax Frost, need I remind you that I’m the Princess of Love’s daughter. Besides, it’s not really hard to tell where you were, you weren't exactly very quiet” she said with a devilish smile.

I instantly felt my face catch fire, as I slowly began to slide down in my seat, wishing I could merely disappear into some other dimensional void. They all burst out laughing, but as Dust sat next to me, he gave me a hearty slap on the back, “relax! Were just messing with you. What you and River do on your private time, is your business alone” he said, as they all began to eat their meals. It took me a few moments to get my heart to slow down, but I sat back up and began to eat my food.

But before long, Aurora turned to me again, a more serious look on her face, “by the way Frost, Luna wanted me to tell you that she wanted to speak with you in the throne room. I suggest you finish breakfast and go to see her” she said as she ate some more of her food. The awkwardness from just a few moments earlier began to fade, as I looked at all my friends, who merely had confused looks on their faces.
________________________________________

Shortly after finishing breakfast, I cleaned up my plate and immediately went back to check on River. As I walked into the room, I saw that she was sitting by the bed, a small picture levitated in her magical grasp. I sighed and gave a gentle knock on the door, she gasped and turned to see that it was me, and sighed with relief and smiled. “Oh it’s just you, you startled me” she said as I made my way into the room, “sorry about that, I just came to check on you. Listen…Luna wants to see me, so I just came by to see if you were alright…”I said to her and she merely smiled.

“Yeah…I’m fine, I’ll be down for some breakfast in a moment” she said as she turned back to the picture. I was about to turn and leave, but I noticed her unusually sad look, and made my way over to her. “River…what’s wrong?” I asked her as I sat next to her on the bed, she sighed sadly and I looked to see that it was a picture of her and her family…before her mother died.

She sighed sadly and sniffled slightly and put the picture by the bed, “it’s just that…how could everything we knew…come crashing down all in such a short time?” she asked me, but I couldn't find the words to say. After a moment of silence between us, I turned to her and said the best words that came to mind, “River, you listen to me now. You’re the one who said we can’t give up hope, and if we do, all the sacrifice’s that we’ve made, that all these ponies have made, would be for nothing. Iron Star would want us to keep on going, to fight until the end, just as he did” I said to her in a confident tone.

She took a deep breath and turned to me, a small smile gracing her lips, “you always have a way with words. Your right, we shouldn't give up hope. Go and see Luna, I’ll be fine here. I love you” she said with a quick peck on the lips, something I greatly returned. I smiled and made my way to the door and left the room.
________________________________________

After making my way across the city, I made my way up into the castle’s throne room, where I saw many ponies going through the halls. Either looking for more items and useful goods to loot, or merely admiring the great beauty of the once shining architecture. I soon found myself walking into the old throne room, where I had met with my friends the night before, I was not surprised to see Luna standing by the large round table that she and her lieutenants used to make our new strategies, her back to me.

“Luna…you wanted to see me?” I asked in a calmly fashion, she turned to me with a calm look, but it slowly spread into a warming smile. “Frost…good to see you’ve mostly recovered from your injuries. Yes, I called you here to discuss an important matter. Leave us for now” she said to her lieutenants, they all nodded and made their way out of the room, leaving just us two alone.

I watched them go for a moment, and then turned back to see her smiling face. “Frost…I understand you and River spent the night together last night” she said with an unusual tone. I felt myself blush again, not only was I facing this conversation again, but I was having it with Luna of all ponies! I sighed and looked away for a moment, “why does every pony keep bringing that up…” I said with a blush on my face. She chuckled and raised her hoof, “calm yourself, you’ll find no judgment from me. I understand that one would want to seek the presence of those they love, in this time of uncertainty. Please…come to the window” she said as she turned and made her way over.

I gave a confused look and walked next to her, the window overlooked the main street of the city, where we saw many of our ponies walking around. “Look before you, what do you see?” she asked in a more darkened tone. I looked down to see those who I had come to call friends, going about their new daily routine. “I see…my friends down there. I see the ponies I have come to call friends, but…what does this have to do why you wanted to see me?” I asked looking up at her.

She sighed sadly for a moment, and looked off towards the horizon. “Frost, I want you to know…that Iron Star’s death was in no way, your fault. Just like each of those ponies down there, he was willing to give his life for our cause. Many of these ponies looked up to him for guidance and leadership, and while I may be a Princess of Equestria, I feel that they need a new pony to give them hope. That pony is you Frost” she said as she turned to me and frowned slightly.

I turned to her with a shocked expression, “me? Why? I don’t think I deserve to have these ponies look up to me, I’m nowhere near as wise or brave as Iron Star. These ponies rallied behind the both of you, because they knew you would be able to help them realize their dreams of a free Equestria. But me…I may have this medallion, but it doesn't make me anymore special than any other pony down there” I said as I gestured to them.

I was surprised to see Luna nod at my comment, “that may be true, your medallion doesn't define who you are. It is the action you show that reveal who you truly are, and I believe…that you are capable of great courage, you showed that many times in these past few months. You will always have friends that will stand by you through any battle, and will support you in your time of need. Frost…these ponies need somepony like you, a pony who has faced great challenges…and seen them through with courage and commitment, I’m telling you this…because…I want you to be my captain” she said in a very straight-forward tone.

I looked at her with a shocked expression, with my mind racing like a Wonderbolt, I turned away for a moment and took a deep breath. “But…why me? How do you know I’m the right pony for this, I’m not as brave as Iron Star was, or any of your other previous captain’s” I said with a concerned tone as I looked away for a moment. To my surprise, I felt her hoof bring my face forward, until I was looking into her eyes once more. “A leader who does not feel fear…is a fool. Fear is a part of our lives, we face it every day, but only the truly strong can overcome it and rise to the challenge, you've proven that you’re capable of that. Besides…I think Iron Star would approve” she said with a comforting smile.

A moment of silence fell between us, and then she pulled her hoof away and sighed again, “I will leave the choice up to you, feel free to discuss it with your friends if you need to. In the meantime…we have a funeral to prepare for” she said in a saddened tone, as she walked past me and made her way to the door.

I stood there for a moment, completely shocked by her words. After my thoughts raced around my mind until they were unreadable, I turned and walked after her…a somber tone washing over my body.