Darkness Remains

Shining Armor and Cadence stood ready at the train station to see off the princesses, the mane six, Spike and Frigidos. They stood alone this time, without the accompanying guards. Eventually they saw the company of ponies and dragon walking towards them. Spike was pulling a giant luggage cart, towering about five feet high, half of which was most likely Rarity's possessions. Furthest back in the group was Frigidos and at his sides stood the princesses of night and day, making sure that he doesn't do anything that he should not.

“Remind me why we are letting them ride in the same train as him, let alone the same cart!” Shining Hissed.

“We must show him a more friendly side, to have him trust us we must trust him” Cadence said, attempting to calm her husband.

“You expect me to trust the stallion that is trying to kill me? Have you gone mad?”

“He was trying to kill you, not anymore since Luna paid him. They have given him rules and he is gonna stick to those”

“Like he did yesterday?” Shining said about to explode in anger. He didn’t want anything to do with the assassin what so ever.

“What about yesterday?” asked a cold voice. Frigidos stood right in front of Shining Armor and once again, the air lost some of its heat.

“You know very well what happened. And seriously, how the buck does it get so cold whenever you decide that it is time to show your ugly muzzle?”

Frigidos reeled back at what appears to be shock. “Shining Armor! I understand that you are frustrated but this is no time for profanities, there is a child here for goodness sake. And as for your question...” Frigidos leaned in close to Shining until there was only inches separating their muzzles. “It is my heart of ice that freezes everything in close proximity”

Shining Armor gave him a deadpan look. “Seriously? That is the explanation you are going for? That has to be one of the stupidest things that I have ever heard”

Frigidos chuckled. “I know, I made it up on the spot. But no, the cold comes from my tattoos” he said and quickly flashed them.

Before any of them could speak any further, there was another presence that made herself known. With a small cough the three ponies turned their heads and found Celestia standing there. “Frigidos, may I speak with you for a moment?” she asked and signaled for him to follow her. He complied and as soon as he left the crystal royalties behind, Twilight was quick to take his place and say her goodbyes.

“Listen, if this has anything to do with the rules then do not worry, I'm not gonna put my payment in jeopardy for the sake of some trivial rules”

She shook her head and dismissed the notion with a wave of her hoof. “It has nothing to do with that, believe it or not” she said sweetly. “I just wanted to tell you that I look forward to our cooperation and wish you a happy journey to and stay in Ponyville”

Frigidos gave her a slightly confused look. “I told this to your sister and I will tell you now, there is no need to act friendly with me, princess. This is nothing more than professional work in exchange for coins”

Her smile never wavered. “Who says that it has to be an act? I genuinely hope that you will enjoy your time with us. I know that you do not put much faith or trust in us but I hope that that may change in the future”

“And exactly what is it about me that interests you so much? Many other would have had me imprisoned or executed, but not you. Why is that”

Celestia didn't beat around the bush, she went straight to the point. “What is your connection to King Sombra”

“Pardon” asked Frigidos confused.

“How are you connected to Sombra? A simple enough question I would wager”

“Every pony in the crystal kingdom is connected to Sombra somehow, princess, he enslaved the kingdom after all”

She knew that there was something that he did not wish to say, so she played along, she was going to respect his desire to remains anonymous in his social position. At least for now. “True enough. May I also ask how wide your range of magic stretches? How many different forms of magic are you familiar with?”

“Too many for me to list for you on the spot”

“Would you care to give me some examples?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not? Beyond the basic knowledge and usage of utility and arcane magic I am also fully capable of phyllokinesis, Gyrokinesis, Hyalokinesis, Umbrakinesis, Chronokinesis and the elemental forces, just naming a couple”

Celestia's eyes said everything. She was impressed. She leaned in a little closer to him and lowered her head to his level, a sign of equality and respect. Frigidos could feel the ponies behind him staring at them. He had their full attention and the princess had basically deemed him her equal, and he lavished in the feeling it gave him. There was not proper words for him to explain how wonderful this sensation was to him.

“You are obviously a very skilled sorcerer and I am greatly grateful that you are willing to cooperate with us. You fascinate me, Frigidos. If what you say is true, then such magical prowess as you claim to possess has not been seen since the time of Sombra and Star Swirl the bearded” she said and raised her head again. “And there you have the reasons as to why I have such interest in you. Your past with Sombra and your magical power is what interests me. Trust me when I say that you would not have lasted this long otherwise” she spoke in the same sweet and kind voice.

Frigidos's eyes looked like his eyes was about to pop out of his skull at any given second. His state of absolute bliss was shattered in an instant. He looked up at Celestia and she looked back at him and behind those kind and caring eyes he saw something that would have terrified lesser ponies. Her outwards appearance, her gentle smile, those kind, motherly eyes, her calm demeanor, all of it was nothing more than a mask. And behind that mask was a ferocious beast, ready to tear him in half if he stepped as much as an inch more out of line. And when he saw it, he was not afraid, not even a shiver. But he felt something. Deep within him he found a brand new feeling he connected the princess to. Not hate, not anger nor jealousy.

He found respect.

He gave out a whole hearted laugh. “My my, so the princess has teeth after all? Then let me tell you that I too look forward to see the fruit of this arrangement”

“I'm glad you see it that way. Now move along, you don't want to miss your train, do you?”

Frigidos looked confused. “Wait. Are you not coming with us?”

She shook her head. “This train will take you straight to Ponyville. My sister and I will return to Canterlot by chariot”

“I see. Well then, I think this is goodbye for now then”. He bowed to the princess and she returned the gesture. “Until next time” he said and walked towards the train and walked on board. The other ponies were quick to get on board and the train was on its way. To ride a train was a foreign feeling to Frigidos. He felt soothed by the dampened rumbling sound of the engine and the occasional shaky motion. It was not long before he surrendered to his sleep.

A few hours later he felt a light tap on his shoulder, quickly reacting to it. But he knew he was in no danger so he fought against the instinct to attack the intruder.

Before him stood a beige mare with a chef hat on a pile of sugar for a cutie mark. “Do you want anything, sir” she asked, her voice kind of raspy.

“I do not have any bits” he said laying his head back on his hooves.

“The princesses have already paid for everything on this trip. It's all free to take”

His interest peaked and he started to look through all the treats and sweets, looking for something in particular but did not seem to find it. “I do not know, you wouldn't possibly have something with rhubarb, would you” he asked.

She started to look through her cart looking for said treat. “I'm sorry sir, I don't seem to have anything”

His ears folded in disappointment. “Well in that case, thanks but no thanks. You have nothing for me. You can move along”

She nodded, slightly saddened that she had failed to appease a customer but she kept up her cheery demeanor as she moved on to the next batch of customers.

Everypony grabbed something and went along with their own conversations. Seeing no reason to stay awake for the whole journey he went back to sleep, hoping to catch some peaceful rest.

The world became black as he closed his eyelids and the voices in the room became muffled to the point where it was almost inaudible. Then it all changed. The roof that was once above him dematerialized and above him was a clouded sky and the only source of light to be found was that from the bright full moon. Harsh and icy winds lashed at him mercilessly, the snow struck him like tiny arrows, piercing his fur and skin. He tried to fly away from the weather but the powerful winds forced him down to the ground again. He stood in the middle of a crater, uneven rock and  snow beneath his hooves. He was freezing, a feeling he had not felt since... He looked down and saw so many things missing. His marking were gone and he could not summon them. His wings were still abnormally big but yet they were smaller than he remembered. And finally he noticed that his four foot stature was missing too and in its place stood a barely one and a half foot tall colt carrying nothing more than a little saddle pack, soon depleted of supplies.

Without his say so, his legs started to move. Using every ounce of strength in his small body he started to climb up the edges of the crater he had fallen into. Frigidos remembered this moment. It felt not as much as a dream as a memory. He had been so distracted by the view in the distance that he had failed to notice the sudden loss of proper footing.

Every muscle in his body cried for him to take a break. To lay down and rest his aching and tired little body. But he refused to stop. He would stop when his legs could carry him no longer and until his wings went stiff from overworking themselves. He had seen unrivaled beauty and nothing was going to come between him and his destination. Beauty, light and warmth was what awaited him in the far far distance. He pulled himself up and saw that which he had been searching for again.

There in the distance stood the magnificent and prideful Crystal Kingdom. The worlds richest nation with the happiest population. This is what he had heard in his youth. It sounded like the ideal place to live. And it was that ideal that he was in search of, the perfect place to be and live in.

Time melded together during the last bit of his journey. Minutes melded into hours and hours into days. It all seemed to be like one single long day. But finally, he reached his destination. But once he reached the kingdom it was... strange, weird even. He had had this image of the perfect place to live and with that he had expected a whole different feeling. He had expected to suddenly feel fed and his thirst be quenched the moment he arrived, as if his destination would have filled up every inch of emptiness inside him. But it didn't. Suddenly his arrival felt less glorious. But he quickly dismissed the feeling and tried to interact with the locals. He figured that the feeling he was expecting would come as soon as he leaned back with a full stomach and a quenched thirst.

He tapped on the leg of a crystal pony, and he could not deny their beauty. Fur sparkling like gemstones, almost giving off the image that they were in fact made out of crystals. But that beauty soon faded. As the pony turned around to face him, the pony changed. Its features twisted into foreign shapes until what was standing before him was no longer pony. Whatever it was, it could not be described, for no such horrors could ever exist in the mortal realm.

Frigidos started to looked around only to find even more wretched creatures, glaring at him with hungry eyes. Frigidos turned the heel and sprung into a panic induced sprint. The hulking creatures were to slow to catch up to him, but for every monster he lost three was soon there to take their place in the hunt.

He ran as fast as his tiny legs could carry him but there is only so far you can go on empty reserves. He turned his gaze backwards and saw the massive monstrosities slowly closing in on him. He tried to fly away from the scene only for his wings to give out on him. He got back up on his hooves and continued running. He ran into an alley, hoping to shake them off. The creatures followed him still and now there were monsters on the other side of the alley too.

Trapped! Two walls to his right and left. Snarling beasts behind him and drooling behemoths in front of him. Realizing that all hope was lost he curled into a ball and awaited his oncoming fate. He sobbed. He sobbed and begged the monsters to leave him alone, to go away. He pleaded to his parents to come and take him away from here and lead him back to his warm and comforting home.

But there was no help to be found. He was alone and now he would die alone.

“STOP” A young voice called out. The voice of a little filly. Like angels descending from above came three figures and stood in the way of the monsters. The light that radiated from them was so bright that he sat blinded by them. The fiends growled and scurried away.

One of his saviors approached him and extended a helping hoof. The light faded and he happily took the foal's hoof. Once he got a more clear view he saw that the one who had helped him up on his hooves was a little filly. A faint pink filly with a scarlet mane and with glittering fur. “Are you well” She asked with a voice that was soft and soothing.

With his own feminine voice he spoke: “I am now. Thank you so much”

The young filly smiled at him. “What is your name”

“Fai-... Frigidos. My name is Frigidos... what is yours” he asked in return, slightly embarrassed to ask.

“Frigidos”

Frigidos became confused by the answer. “E-excuse me but did you just say”

“Frigidos” she said in a more worried tone. Suddenly everything dematerialized and evaporated into smoke. His surrounding crumbled and panic rose once again. His saviors vanished into the void and once again he was left alone. Alone with one single word, echoing throughout the nothingness.

Frigidos...Frigidos...Frigidos...

“Frigidos? Frigidos?”

Frigidos awoke with a jerk and started to inhale and exhale heavily. He quickly looked around, taking in his surrounding, making sure that he was safe and away from harms way. He let out a sigh of relief when he came to the realization that he was awake again and that everything had been nothing more than a dream.

“Frigidos, are you-” Twilight said, reaching for him.

He swatted her hoof away like you would a fly. “I am fine! …I am fine” he said and buried his face in his hooves.

Twilight took no offense to the unnecessary act of violence but instead looked at Frigidos with concern.

Frigidos looked up from his hooves and gazed directly at Twilight. A smile immediately grazed his lips. “Well, if it isn't princess Twilight herself. To what do I owe the pleasure”

Twilight saw his smile and felt unnerved. She could never tell whether he was genuine in his gestures or if it was all an act. She also could not help but to feel disgusted whenever she looked at the stallion, the thought of the ponies he had killed simply to make reference to some stupid religious book and not to mention, the attempted murder on her big brother. But she fought against those feelings and decided that if she was to be the one to reform him then she should probably get to know him.

“So... you can do magic?” she asked awkwardly.

Frigidos cocked an eyebrow. That question felt very strained. “Uh, yes. I would say that I am quite capable”

“Are you able to teleport?” she asked, her interest slightly growing by the minute.

He looked at her unamused. “For real? I'm telling you that I can do magic, you have a heard part of what I can do, and the first thing you ask is whether I can do something so basic as teleporting? Any unicorn with half a horn can teleport”

She reeled back, fearing that she had offended him. “Well, you are a Pegasus, not a unicorn”

He shook his head in a defeated manner. “Point”

“So what else can you do then?”

“Just like I told Celesia, I am capable of phyllokinesis, Gyrokinesis, Hyalokinesis, Umbrakinesis, Chronokinesis and using the elemental forces”

“Chronokinesis” she exclaimed.

“Um, well yes. I learned it a couple of years ago”

He had stolen her full attention with that single word. Chronokinesis or time magic is one of the most advanced forms of magic there is. Only the most top level unicorns could use such powerful magic and then it was mostly just for a short time. “How far back in time can you travel?”

“A couple of years” he calmly said, as if that accomplishment was nothing.

“A couple of years?! Most ponies can't travel more than a few days at best. How long can you stay in the past?”

“If that was not abundantly clear yet, I am not like most ponies. As for how long I can stay, just about as long as I want to”

“As lo-”

“I swear to god, if you repeat what I say one more time than I am going to haunt you in your sleep. Well it is not completely true. I can stay as long as I have magical energy to spend. And while a unicorn has near limitless and is only limited by her stamina, my energy is limited to what my marks/runes can contain”

“That is quite amazing. Where did you learn magic like that? And how can you cast them?”

He flashed his tattoos to her. “These works as replacements for the unicorn horn, Twilight. As for where I learned it, I traveled the world and read some of the books that can be found in the Crystal Kingdom. There was no school for magic back in my day. If you wanted to learn, you had to travel”

“Back in your day?” she asked.

“Well, I am from the Crystal Kingdom. I was there long before Sombra banished it”

“And you still know so much?”

“I have spent a great majority of my life learning the convoluted elements of magic, I would not be much of a sorcerer if I had not learned a thing or two”

Twilight was about to speak until they felt that the train was coming to a halt. “Oh, seems like we have arrived. We'll have to finish this conversation at a later time”

“If that is what you wish”.

When they stepped off the train it was in the middle of the night. Everypony eventually split up and went their own different ways to reach home. At the end there was only Frigidos, Twilight and Spike standing in the middle of town. “You'll be staying with us, Frigidos. If that is alright with you?” said Twilight.

He shrugged. “Very well, show the way” said Frigidos.

The walk to the library was a quiet one. Not an uncomfortable or awkward one but rather a pleasant one. The sort of silence when you know that there is nothing that needs to be said and that all you have to do is enjoy the pleasant night. Once they arrived at the library and stepped in there was one detail that Twilight had overlooked that suddenly dawned on her. Frigidos had no place to sleep.

“Um, Frigidos” Said Twilight hesitantly.

“Yes”

“I... um... I have no bed for you to sleep on”

“I see”. He took in his surroundings for a bit. The library gave off a very homey feeling as he stepped inside the house. It was nothing spectacular but it had its own likable charm to it. He tapped the floor with his hooves and took in the pleasant smell that filled the entire library.

He turned to Twilight with toothy grin. “Do not worry yourself, princess. I have dealt with far worse before. I will just sleep on the floor until further notice”

“Are you sure? I could try and find-”

“No, do not think about such matters right now. For now, just lay down in your own comfortable bed and enjoy a good night's sleep”. He walked to the middle of the room and propped himself down on the wooden floor and used his hooves as a makeshift pillow. “See you both tomorrow”

Twilight and Spike looked at each other and shared a concerned look. Spike shrugged and went up the stairs to their room. Twilight was soon after him but not before shooting a glance in Frigidos's direction.

That night she could not manage to get some sleep. For some unknown reason, she was feeling concerned for Frigidos. It was strange. In all actuality she should hate his guts and not care for in the slightest how he is feeling. But there was also this other feeling inside. A feeling which urged her to do something to fulfill her role as a host and to fulfill Celestia's wishes. And urge to offer some form of assistance to Frigidos, in what little ways she could.

She started to ponder what she could do to get rid of this guilty feeling in her gut. She considered the predicament that Frigidos was in. He was without bed, without blanket and without a pillow to use. She groaned in slight frustration as she pulled herself up from the bed and started looking through her closet. In there, as she had suspected, she found a replacement pillow and a battered old blanket. She had planned on throwing it away but it seemed like it would serve a purpose once again.

She quietly opened the door so to not awake Spike from his slumber. She walked down the stairs until she came into contact with something. She ignited her horn to see what it was and was surprised to see Frigidos standing right before her.

“Princess?” asked Frigidos confused. “What are you doing up so late?”

“I-I was just going to... Wait... What are YOU doing up this late?”

“I was just going to see if you had fallen asleep”

She still thought that it was a bit suspicious but she didn't press matters further. “Here, these are for you” She said and levitated the pillow and blanket. Frigidos was dumbfounded. “What are these?” he asked.

“They are for your nightly comfort” she replied. “But if you do not want them I can just put them back in the closet”

“No no, I did not mean to be rude” he said and grabbed the stuff in his own aura, which glowed very similarly to how Twilight's horn would glow when she cast dark magic spells. “Thank you, princess”

She nodded and turned around to go back to sleep. She had fulfilled her duty for the night and was now going to finally get some rest. “Goodnight, Frigidos”

“Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle”

He walked down the stairs again and once he was propped down on the floor again he picked up the knife he had hidden from Twilight. He toyed around a bit with it and looked back up the stairs. “Mission failed” he said to himself. The knife vanished into thin air as remembered that there was one last thing he needed to do. He walked up to a nearby window and looked up into the sky. He closed his eyes and drew four intertwined rings on his chest with his hoof and pressed it in the center of every ring and then whispered: “Dagen är färdig; Å gud herren, se ner på ditt lilla barn! Å ljus av ljus, håll mig sällskap denna natt, som i dina ord du lovat och sagt. Jag behöver inte frukta om du är nära; du är min räddare rar och kär” He said and kissed his hoof and pressed it against the window before going back to sleep.