Cimmy's Equestrian Side Adventures

"I'm never going back the past is in the past" sang a female voice as the songs energy combined with the spell's magic, creating a vortex of of swirling ice that encased myself and my serpentine opponent. As both our bodies became no more than life like sculptures I shed one last tear. Things would never be the same for me or anypony I'd bonded with in this plane....

"Top X Disney Songs?" I asked in surprise at the recommended videos list. "Ah hoof it, I'm already well under old man Walt's spell anyway so why not?" I shrugged clicking on the video image. "Might as well find out how many of the ones I've connected with have made it." I argued pointedly with myself. Deep inside I knew any songs I was all too familiar with would re-open wounds I'd had for a while. On the other hand what better way to weaken something's effect than to subject ones self with it until an immunity is built up.

After a short commercial the countdown music video began. I listened intently, feeling every bit of energy from every song that was listed. Suddenly a new energy caught my attention.

I paused the vid immediately, my mind ravenous for information. I rewound the vid until the end of the previous song, then hit the play button. The same energy that caught my attention again instantly held me in its grasp. As I stared at the screen in an emotionless trance I mentally jotted down the information given about the song. My body ached for the new energy as if it were an addiction.

I moved the pointer up to the search bar of the video webpage and typed in the words "Let It Go Frozen". Upon tapping the digital search button a page loaded filled with vids containing the words I'd used. I clicked on one that had the words "Sequence Performed By", hoping it would be as close to an official music video as possible.

The song started shortly after with a somber sounding voice. With the songs progress the energy strength grew but something felt hidden underneath the energy. Again an unsated hunger was felt, created by the songs energy. By the end of the song there was a primal need to find the definition of the song and therefore it's effect, I began me research as earnestly as a shark searching for it's next meal.

Days upon days of listening to the song went by. With them countless notes scribbled of each word and it's various definitions. I had yet to have gotten any closer to solving the riddle of "Let It Go".

Within a month I'd had "Let It Go" on every audio and video playlist within my possession. Every chance I had some free time I'd go to a quiet spot, place in my earbuds, close my eyes, and let the music take me away. Most of the times I did this late at night when I couldn't sleep. It was a decent way to relax and analyze. There were few chances to get as intimate with the song and I took every chance I was given. The only thing I'd come up with was that the song would be beneficial to the homesickness that plagued me.

One night though I'd gotten deep enough into meditation that I was practically half asleep by the time Rare came out to check on me. "Darling whatever am I going to do with you?" Rare sighed with a grin as she lifted me with one foreleg and secured me in a hug and once sure of her grip, Rare turned and brought me to our bed. I fell fast asleep as she curled up next to my pillow.

Days later I was feeling a bit dark following the rough events of the day. I was in the mood to seek some space and take out my frustrations on a few of the nearby forests more violent residents. Instead I decided to grab my guitar controller and chill out to a playlist of songs.

Dark moods and mood darkening music only go well together when the situation is appropriate, this is a general rule of thumb for any mood influencing music while in any given mood. I was overlooking this rule and wound up playing songs that wound up worsening my mood. Among the songs was one I'd considered a theme song. As I played through "Hail" in my dark mood I remembered that it, among a number of songs, also had a darker effect when used with a dark influence. The worst effect discovered came about during "Nightmare".

So far "Nightmare" had only served to open a few emotional scars, cause physical pain using said scars, and even sent my unconscious to places where fear became uncontrollable and irrational when I played it. In the mood I was in I was swimming in self-mutilative adrenaline at the thought of the pain it inflicted. Instead what I got was an idea that forced me to cut the song, and my dark mood farming, short.

"Nightmare" by definition is the scarier, darker visions ones unconscious mind creates while one sleeps. That is the main effect of the song by the same title. "Nightmare" by Equestrian definition, means a darker, more villainous version of a pony. As violent a mood I was in the song didn't bring out the former definition. When the solo began I had a mental vision of a "nightmare" version of my Equestrian alicorn morph, Hero Factor.

Instantly I quit the game in favor of trying to change my mood to something more peaceful. Research seemed to be a more logical and calming idea. If only I knew then how wrong I was.

With a dark mood and the psychotic thought from the dark song I'd quit in the middle of fresh in my mind I hit the play button on my closest "Let It Go" playlists. As the first few musical notes resounded I felt the urge to sing along. With the first few words I'd unknowingly lost all control of my body to the song. As "Let It Go" grew in strength, so did a swirling vortex of ice and snow that had appeared around me. As the song ended in its final climax a moment of clarity revealed to me everything I'd been searching for and solved the riddle.

"Dan dear, do you have the a.c. on?" Rare asked from the bottom of the staircase with a shiver. She'd unknowingly broken my concentration in doing so. "Darling are you alright up there?" Rare called again with a touch of worry in her voice followed by the sounds of hooves on stairs.

Taking stock of my surroundings I noticed I was in a work room. Every part of my body felt chilled as if I was outside in the middle of a December snow storm. A pile of snow slowly melted on the floor while ice seemed to pause mid creep towards the walls. Hearing Rares voice as she approached sent me into a small panic. I had to figure out a way to explain the frosty indoor weather in a way my marefriend would find pleasant in any way, or make it disappear entirely post haste.

"WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" Shocked radiated from Rare's inquiry. She ran toward my tiny seemingly unresponsive form. "Darling is everything alright, why won't you answer?" she asked in an urgent tone.

"Well slag, I can't think of a good cover to use for this." I replied seemingly to nopony. I used that little response to correct myself and think of the perfect cover. "I'll just outright apologize for the mess and clean it up, stupid idea anyway." I pouted moving in a false act of starting to clean. I cleverly peeked to confirm the curiosity on Rares face. "I was thinking about having a slight bit of indoor wintery fun for Sweetie and was in the middle of making snow cones for all of us when you called and spooked me and I dropped my work before the surprise could even get started." I answered her expression sounded broken hearted.

"Oh darling what a sweet thought, I'm sorry for spoiling your surprise." Rare replied as she embraced me. "I'll tell you what, how about you pick a random day and try again as then it will be a surprise?" She suggested non-verbally pardoning me for the mess. "For now though we might as well get this cleaned up and I'll treat the three of us to a night out?" Rare offered as a form of apology as we started ridding the room of the frozen water.

Later that night I found myself staring at mine and Rares bedroom ceiling next to a lightly breathing Rare. Thoughts of what I'd seen before the mare next to me had interrupted my meditative state were looping in my mind. My scientific mind was clamoring for answers to questions the conjured images asked. I couldn't sleep as long as my head buzzed with the excitement of possibilities. I had to think of a way to clear my head.

I crept silently out of bed and made my way to my basement lab. I had a goal playing in my mind but needed to figure out a way of reaching it. Experimentation was the answer but how to do so was a different question.

Nearby my main desk I spotted my mp3 player. I grabbed it and checked the screen to see what would play as soon as I pushed a button. I rolled my eyes in jest as lo and behold "Let It Go" was set for playing. I shrugged just wanting something to listen to as I thought and hit the play button. Hearing the familiar notes instantly got my mental gears turning.

The song would help me escape from the emotional wounds that plague my body and mind. All I needed was a memory sapping spell to combine with the songs effect and all my pain would disappear. I began enacting a plan without thought, not realizing I would be doing harm to everypony I'd bonded with throughout Equestria.

My heart gained a bit of control over my mind just before I left. I recorded a mental and emotional letter to Rare using "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", a song that was used as a part of the emotional bridge that made up our  relationship. I left the mp3 player that played the part of paper to place the words of my letter, quietly upon my pillow next to Rare. I then opened the window, morphed owl and took flight. The next part of my plan would prove one of the most difficult parts.

Aunt Lulu thought spoke noting my departure through her night time abilities. For this I had somewhat of a decent cover story ready. I would tell her exactly what I was doing without revealing my plans.

"Busted again, dadgum auntie there's no fooling you during work hours is there?" I asked playing the mostly innocent adopted nephew. "Ah I've had a rough day and couldn't sleep." I began my semi false explanation. "Decided I'd go for a flight, maybe visit that ugly centaur hoofer that tried to claim the country and have a decent conversation with the fellow." I stated seemingly absentmindedly.  "Before you ask I plan on doing it the "Switzerland" way and having both of us not be on any side, consider it a way of being mutual without forcing labels." I laughed predicting the moon princess' question. "Maybe after that take out at least one natural threat to an Equestrian city or two of I'm still feeling feisty." I finished as I turned my attention to my destination.

The main entrance to the plane of eternal imprisonment was a cave that sloped deeper underground the further you went inside. At the bottom of this slope, where the ground leveled, stood the only guard responsible for the prison known as Tartarus. A laughable obstacle for me to overcome but an obstacle non the less.

From out of the darkness, three distinct growls of warning were issued. Somewhere in the room the three headed dog Cereberus played guard dog. His duty was to prevent anypony unauthorized from entering and anypony imprisoned behind him from escaping. As I stepped closer toward the door leading into the prison Cereberus stepped into my path. An overgrown three headed dog was as threatening to me as a fly.

"Move pup I have business with one of your captives." I snarled in a tone that'd make most timbers take a step back. The over-sized guard dog yelped in response and moved out of my path. "Allow no others to pass until I have completed my business and left, otherwise it's back to your usual post." I ordered in a non threatening tone.

"Come for your weakly punching bag session early, human, or is this visit for something more relaxed?" Tirek inquired as I entered the room his chained form occupied. A while back Tirek had tried a hostile take over of Equestria. Being only at half strength after he'd drained my alicorn magic, I was only able to stand evenly against him but as time progressed it became a slowly turning battle in favor of him. Thanks to the element bearers and their discovery of rainbow power he was defeated and sent back to  Tartarus. Since his

imprisonment I'd come and spar with him weekly to keep him week and improve my chances against him in the event of a repeat.

"Actually this time I've come to do something out in left field compared to my normal visits." I said stepping up to his cage. "Where I come from younger generations were told stories of experiences some of the older generations endured." I stated thinking about the home I'd been taken from. "In a way it was a bond forming experience on both ends, it was also a way for the younger generation to learn about the past, as is my reason for being here." I explained my train of thought with a serious tone. I awaited a laugh from Tirek in mock of my idea. Instead he had a look on his face that showed mixed feelings.

"You want to hear about My past, my LIFE?" Tirek asked in disbelief. "If this is an attempt to create a friendship between us it's a waste of both our times as it will fail." He warned in a suspicious tone. "There's something else, something more specific you want, what will I get in return?" Tirek defined as greed brightened his expression.

"Admittedly yes, it's about that draining spell you used as well as any that you may know that have the same effects on one's memory." I confessed opting to go straight into business. I needed those two spells for my experiment. "As for what you get in return well, if you ever try another takeover of the country I might be less opposed to the idea and may even willingly assist you." I offered without telling him my exact plans. Hopefully the idea of an easier time of getting Equestria under his control would be enough to afford the information I needed from him. I also hoped it would be enough for him to start planning as by keeping his plans secret he'd be keeping my plan secret as well.

"I'll tell you what you wish because I know you're planning something I kinda like and wouldn't want to ruin those plans of yours by reporting a plot to the princesses." Tirek grinned evilly. Giving someone something that seems to good to be true with most ways it could go bad covered is a tried and true method of getting what one wants. "Have a seat and we shall get right to the meat of the matter, since you've probably taken care to cover your tracks." Tirek had already begun half plotting his next take over attempt.

Hours later I took to the air just outside the cavern entrance. Knowing auntie Lulu was more than likely still watching I kept my course on what appeared to be me looking for trouble to take care of. Everything was coming together oh so perfectly. It seemed as nothing could go wrong as I sailed on the slow wind currents of the night. I could only wonder how it could get better.

"I see you've finished your chat with Tirek." came a familiar sounding voice as it nearly caused me to crash by startling me. A blue aura enveloped me, catching me in mid air, and placed me on a dark blue fur covered back. I demorphed as I settled my body down from it's shock.

"TWO WORDS LULU; NOT! COOL!" I gasped grumpily eliciting a smile from the moon princess. I tied into a bit of fur to keep myself from being blown off by stray winds during her flight. "Nice catch by the way." I commented in appreciation of her save. "Yeah I finished my chat, quite interesting to hear about Tireks life from a personal perspective instead of the good vs evil perspective." I shrugged, getting a weird look from Lulu. "So what are you doing this far out of that palace scaring innocent nephews for?" I asked calculated what her answer would be.

"Oh, that, ah there's a huge snake terrorizing a small village near here." Lulu sighed in boredom at the would be foe. In my mind opportunity was banging at my door with MAC rounds. I nearly celebrated out loud at the sheer perfection of the situation.

"Get your plot back to the castle, I've got this totally handled." I assured, launching off the princesses back. Without an argument Lulu had taken my word and turned back toward Canterlot. I made sure by looking back every few minutes. Having my mentor around would surely be the bane of my experiment. Nothing would get in the way of my success.

"Oi scaly, your momma was a purse and your dad smelled of timber wolf breath." I hollered, landing within the snake's reach. Big had been a descriptive understatement. This snake was large enough to barrel through a two story house. Perfect for my "large opponent beating strategy #1". All I had to do was get it to swallow me.

The snake turned and inspected the new prey. Analytically it was an easy meal, it wasn't even running. With a hiss it struck and instantly felt the prey wriggling down into it's stomach.

Inside I molded two plans into one amongst the moist heat of the snake's insides. I would dust the snake by using explode while inside it. Using that as a cover, I would active the draining spells I learned from Tirek as well as use "Let It Go"'s effect.  I charged up the two spells and the explosion at the same time I focused on the song inside my necklace. I then braced myself for what was to come.

With an earth shattering kaboom the snake began disintegrating into dust. At the same time a swirling vortex of ice and snow swallowed the dusting snake, freezing it as it did. In the center of the flurry a form could barely be seen.

Instantly I'd been transformed into my alicorn form. The effects of all three energy sources combined and worked their magic on my body. The ice and snow adapted my powers to fit only ice and snow themes. Instead of losing my powers totally I was only changing them. I was now capable of using strategies that made the most of ice and snow.

The next changes to come were physical changes to my body. Nightmare changes accomodated for the dark mood. Color changes accomodated for the changes in abilities.

It began with my wings, eyes, and teeth. All three became dragonic, each sharpening in it's own way. Nightmare regalia, similar to that of Nightmare Moon's, appeared adorning my form. Every bit of my form and armor changed either to an icy light blue or a pure snowy white. My cutie mark changed to a frozen skull and a frozen question mark on each end of a modern scale.

With the end of the song approaching the final changes came. Events I'd participated in, friendships I'd made, all disappeared into the swirling snow around me. My love for Rare and Sweetie signaled the end of the memory drain as it slid down my cheek in the form of a tear.

With a sudden crash the airborn snow and ice fell to the ground in a pile. Gone was the storm that made it appear. Also gone was the somepony who'd been stuck in the middle of the icy vortex. All that was left of the situation that had occurred was the snow pile on the ground. Everypony that had witnessed the town getting saved now wondered where their savior had disappeared to.

My eyes opened to a sight that seemed familiar but brought back no memories. It was a grassy field with a forest to the left and what looked like a town to the right. My instincts told me that I didn't want to be here and that I should move to someplace more isolated.

I could feel snow covered mountains far to the north. That was were I would go. I spread my wings wide and took them for their first flight. In my mind a song played loopingly as if it were my heartbeat. That song was the source of all my instincts and knowledge.

After hours of flying I spotted the mountains just to the east of a huge city made of gems. Somewhere in those mountains would lie the foundation for my new home. I decided to start the construction with a cave. It took a flew laps around the range to find an unoccupied area. Finally I spotted the perfect cave entrance.

From there I followed a part in the song where an energy increase to place. Using this I turned a network of caves into my new palace home. I dubbed the frozen ground building my "cavestle".

Bright and early the next day a knock on my door interrupted my celebratory mood. I grumbled at fact that my isolation had been disturbed. I would have to think of a deterrent for anypony else looking to disturb me. That would have to wait until I dealt with this first visitor. Reaching the door I ripped the door open ready to tear into whomever was on the other side.

"Excuse me my good sir but I'm here on behalf of the Princesses." A golden armored unicorn guard announced. "They invite you the castle in Canterlot to personally welcome you to our fair country." He stated as he handed me a rolled up scroll. Afterwards he silently waited for me to read the scroll and give my reply.

I focused on the scroll using the icy hatred deep within. Instantly the scroll became an unyielding frozen parchment.  The guard's jaw dropped in shock at my disrespect. I turned my focus from the scroll to him. "Tell your princesses that i decline and wish no further disruption from anypony, no matter who, and that from this point on anypony who disrupts my solitude more than once shall be made into a garden party ice decoration." I snarled my response. The guard immediately took the scroll and was gone in a flash with a hint of fear in his eyes.

Two days later I was again disturbed. This time when I opened the door I found not one but two ponies outside. Behind them lay a carriage and a unit of guards.

The first was a large white mare with a wavy multicolored mane and tail, and a sun for a cutie mark. The other was slightly smaller with a dark blue coat, wavy mane and tail the resembled the night sky, and a crescent moon for a cutie mark. The former had golden regalia as bright as the sun on her flank. The latter had black regalia as dark as the spots of her cutie mark.

Both had smiles plastered on their faces, more than likely because they were trying to impress because it was their job. I was about as impressed with them as I was with the messenger they'd sent beforehand. I stood at the door with an annoyed look on my face and waited for them to explain their reason for bothering me.

"I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister Princess Luna." The white one began with a warm tone. "We are here to formally welcome you to Equestria." Added the younger princess.  "We would like you to know that if there's anything you need to just come visit us in Canterlot and ask." Celestia offered with a bow. All they got in response from me was one eyebrow raised. Their nervousness became more obvious.

"So you bothered me to say hello?" I asked with a tone dripping full of annoyance. "I shall reply accordingly with goodbye, go away, and never bother me again unless you want to be a frozen yard ornament." I rudely replied with sarcasm. Then I slammed the door in their faces and waited for them to leave.

Another few days passed before I was disturbed again. This time it was a royal guard carrying a scroll and package. "The royals were warned about disturbing my peace" I growled before I flash froze the guard and his delivery. I then lifted him out to a spot in front of my front door and placed him in plain sight as a visual warning to others. In emphasis I place a sign on him warning others to keep off or face the same fate.

It took a week to pass before my warning signs were ignored. I opened my door to find a third princess standing upon my door step. This one was light purple with a mane and tail of purple and pink and six pointed stars for her cutie mark.

"Hi, my name's Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends." she said introducing herself and five others with her. Her face was a shining smile of friendship and hope. I cared less and studied the other intruders in her party. If anything stood out from any of the ones I'd looked at it was that they caused a buzzing in my head. Then I got to the greyish white one.

Something about her sent the buzz in my head into a tailspin. Everything about her brought out emotional scars I'd never known I'd had to the surface of my skin. She also seemed to be suffering the most emotionally out of the six for some reason.

For a moment our eye met and time seemed to stop. Something in her eyes changed breaking the connection between us. I looked back toward Twilight trying to focus on somepony other than the greyish white mare. "I don't know why you're bothering me when your time would be best spent dealing with whine-o at the end there." I snapped hoping to chase the mares off. All six mares stared in shock at how rude my statement and attitude had been.

"T'aint very nice ta say somethin' like that 'bout somepony." the orange country pony chastised. She and the blue pegasi moved into a defensive position between me and their friend. The pink pony and the light yellow pegasi moved to comfort the upset grey white unicorn.

"Tell her to knock it off or I'll freeze her tears to the ground like chains" I barked, opting for a grouchier tone. "What's she blubbering over anyway?" I asked crabbily. For some reason something deep inside was making me care for this mare despite how little I wanted too. I quickly decided to deal with that later. My main goal was getting rid of these pesky mares.

"She's crying because a friend of ours, as well as her soon to be fiance, disappeared recently and we're wondering if you've seen him." The blue pegasi retorted. "Maybe you've seen him; Short, monkey like, amazing powers, annoyingly polite at times?" she offered adding a full description. This mare was really bugging me with her rebellious tone and her snarky attitude. It was very tempting to freeze her wings while she hovered. I didn't get the chance to do so before my plotting was interrupted.

"You know what girls, let's just go." Twilight suggested looking at me as if I'd stepped on her hoof or something. "We're sorry to have bothered you." she apologized before turning toward her friends. I watched somewhat happily as I left.

"Alright now to find a way to camouflage this place so I get no more visitors." I said turning and heading back inside. Just below that on my to do list was to use my powers to terrify towns on nightmare night. My to do list was quite small compared to my hatred for everypony else. On the bottom of my list I added "figure out why the grey white unicorn held my attention like she did". For the time being I would try not to let it bother me and get back to the business of making a feared name for myself.....

Rare's POV:

The girls comforted me on the way back to the Crystal Empire. How could anypony treat anypony else as rudely? I won't admit it to anypony else but for a minute I swear I felt something calling out to me when our eyes met.

After reaching Cadance and Shinings castle, I went and laid down to rest. It had been nearly two weeks since my love disappeared. We've searched all across Equestria for a sign of him and ended up fruitless. Usually he'd either be back by now or somewhat easier to track. The heartbreak I felt was beginning to take a toll on my physical health.

I awoke hours later to a light knocking on my door. "Come in." I answered weakly. The door opened revealing Cadance, the one pony I didn't want to be near at this time.

"You can quit hiding it, everypony knows how sick this is making you." She said pointedly with a comforting tone. "Nopony knows better how broken your heart is." Cadance assured as she sidled up next to me on the guest room bed. I had no choice to let it all out as she wrapped a foreleg around my shoulders. Cadance sat there for hours and let me cry into her fur. When my tears were all dried up she nuzzled me reassuringly.

"As the princess of love I'm able to fix, judge, start, and feel all relationships." She began getting up. She then lifted the mp3 player containing Dan's last note, and levitated it between us. "This little piece of love in my hooves is one of the biggest pieces of evidence for the vast amounts of love he has for you, you should use it to remind yourself of how much he cares rather than torture yourself with the fact the he seems to care no longer." Cadance said before leaving me all alone with one of Dan's mp3 players in my hooves.

I stared at the mp3 player remember all the songs we put in a playlist together that reflected our relationship. It was all songs of love and caring, and everything bonds were made of. Seeing the playlist made me realize just how right Cadence had been. Another remaining bit of evidence of Dan's existence flared up as I felt Dan's "spirit" flow through me. I fell asleep with the mp3 player clutched to my chest.

The next morning I was up bright and early. My heartbreak had been beaten into a corner by a strong sense of determination. I would be thorough in my new found search to find my fiance or die trying.

"Twilight I'm through sitting around, you MUST help me to find some evidence of what happened to HIM." I pleaded after gaining entrance to Twilight's guest room. I would need everyponies help but I also needed somepony who knew him as well as I did and could think like he would. Twilight fit that bill, especially since they both were equally intellectual. "There's gotta be somepony or something that can at least give us a clue to what happened." I begged sounding as desperate as I felt. Finally Twilight drew me into a hug and promised to do whatever she could to help find him.

"Alright let's look at what evidence we have available before heading out to find more." Twilight suggested sometime later. The six of us as well as Spike and Cadance were seated around a large table in hopes to come up with a decent plan. It was the best we could do after the events of the day before.

"Well the night he left he said he was going for a small flight and maybe assist Princess Luna if he still couldn't calm down." I offered, beginning with the night of the disappearance. "Whether he had any extra equipment with him I wouldn't know." I shrugged feeling a touch of helplessness not knowing that information. I attempted to fix that by trying to take inventory on what I knew he had lying about the boutique. There was enough stuff that I easily lost track and was unable to continue. Then some whistling caught my attention.

Everyony turned to find the source of the sound. In one chair Pinkie sat facing away from the group and was staring at something she held. Fainter than her whistling came the sound of a song.

"Pinkie would you please pay attention?" Twilight asked, annoyance darkening her face. No response came from the pink party pony. Everypony shook their heads at Pinkie's antics. With an eye roll, Twilight decided to raise the volume of her voice. After a second attempt to garner the hyper ponie's attention Pinkie replied.

"Sorry girls, it's just that this song is so awesome." Pinkie apologized pointing toward the mp3 player I'd brought into the room for evidence. Everypony in the room but Pinkie facehoofed at her excuse. Pinkie went back to enjoying the song.

"Wait, Pinkie dear what song is that?" I asked as something about the song hit me. The seven of us from Ponyville gasped at the song title Pinkie happily answered with. The rest of us each brought up memories of Dan talking about the song while Pinkie silently looked for an explanation. Each of us stared into the others' eyes with a grim consensual thought. "That's the song he's been studying for over a month now." I blurted, eliciting an "I finally understand and am fully caught up in the conversation- "oh, from Pinkie.

"AJ and Fluttershy, head to Canterlot and see what information Princess Luna can give you about the times she'd communicated with him that night." Twilight suddenly ordered, knowing exactly what needed to be done. "Rainbow and Pinkie, search around for any reports of strange weather mainly involving snow." Twilight issued knowing some of the tactics I used in battle as well as that I used music with effects. "Rarity and I will head back to the boutique and check on things he'd interacted with in the days before his disappearance while Spike and Cadance stay here in case he shows up here." Finished Twilight with an air of excitement.

"Something tells me he was hurting emotionally before he left." Twilight concluded examining his internet playlist history.  "What bothers me is that some of these songs are the same ones that he'd used while under the Dazzlings' spell." mused Twilight while inspecting the playlist contents. She thought back to the performances she'd witnessed of the songs she'd recognized. As she processed the coincidences an idea formed that took center stage. "He was the influence of dark magic when those songs had dark effects, what if all it takes to cause a negative effect is to be under a dark influence such as dark magic, consciously doing an evil deed, or" she gasped in realization, "maybe even in a bad mood." Twilight concluded with a sense of urgency.

"Darling you don't think that one of his songs backfired because of his mood, do you?" I asked fearing the worst. I've seen both sides of Dan's human world music first hand. To say I knew the extremes well was an understatement.

"Don't worry he's got notes saved onto his laptop." Twilight assured in a victorious tone. "We'll just find his latest notes using a search program, compare the songs on his playlist to the ones in his notes, and then combine them to see what kind of effect outcome they'd have." she explained as her hooves danced across the keyboard. Within seconds she had several virtual documents on screen and was switching her focus from the documents to an internet website with a music playlist on it. She started a document of her own,  jotting down the results of her research. She reminded me so much of Dan at this moment.

"Well I've got good news and bad news." Twilight said interrupting my reminiscence. "Good news is he's still in Equestria, bad news he's in a different form and apparently avoiding us." she explained showing me the results of her investigation. Now the only question to ask was which of the listed forms had my Dan become?

I took a long glance at the list. Only a select few songs had question marks under the dark effects column. It was hard to imagine a sweet little gentleman like my Dangy-Wangy turn into something as evil as these songs sounded. One song seemed to not fit in the list. Every time I'd heard or seen it used it was with another song and it empowered my Dan.

"Twilight I think you might have mistakenly placed "Hail To The King" on this list." I pointed out the spot on the list with the songs title. I started the song using the internet music player. Hearing it made it feel like Dan hand't disappeared.

"Actually there's a story behind that and a few others on the list." Twilight stalled rubbing the back of her mane. "During that trip to battle the sirens, Dan kinda fell under their influence." She rushed before ducking in preparation for my reaction. "He played this song during the band competition and he had royal regalia appear on his person as well as everyone in the audiences devotion." Twilight whispered in an attempt to soften the blow. After not receiving any sign of reaction, Twilight looked up to gauge my reaction. All she could see was the wide mouthed shock that covered my face.

Deep inside my emotions raged war with each other. After what seemed like hours I was able to control them all. "Why didn't anypony tell me about this?" I asked with a calm voice that betrayed my inner rage.

The main entrance to my boutique burst open, shocking me out of my emotional state. Both parties Twilight had sent out were returning with looks of success on their faces. Rainbow was the first one to find us and couldn't wait for the others to catch up before telling us what she'd found out. With a swift "wait for the others before you start" from Twilight, Rainbow was instantly silenced. I was just as eager to hear what Rainbow had learned as she was to tell.

"Alright so the only report of weird weather is a flurry that happened the night Dan disappeared, AND it happened during a giant snake attack AFTER the famed HERO FACTOR showed up and beat that ugly serpent." Rainbow gushed at the news she'd delivered. News of his alicorn form being spotted took a lot of emotional weight off of my shoulders. We turned to Apple Jack next to see what she and Fluttershy had found out.

"Well That Coinsides with what Princess Luna had said somewhat." AJ began cheerfully. "She said she'd met with him after he'd left the cave leadin' inta Tartarus and that Dan'd said he'd cover for her after she mentioned the snake emergency, same village and everythin'." AJ finished with a nod and crossed her forelegs in her usual "job well done" way. That stance lasted as long as it took for her to notice the looks she was getting from the remaining four of us. All six of us had the same thought hit us simultaneously.

"Why would he visit THAT ruffian?" I yelled at that top of my lungs in distaste. Everypony but Twilight shrugged. Twilight had a hoof on her chin in deep thought.

"I have a strong suspicion that it has something to do with a spell Tirek knows." Twi spoke up with a grim tone. "As we learned Tirek is very skilled at draining magic." she began as she paced around the room. "An ability like that can have many uses, especially for someone like our little friend." came Twilights equation based thought train. The five of us were still lost when Twilight returned to the desk chair she'd started from. "As a researcher Tirek's ability would be useful as a fail safe in case things got out of hand." Twilight shouted the explanation.

"So yer sayin' he's managed ta get Tirek to help him with his studyin'?" Applejack asked, unsure of her guess of where Twilight was headed. The rest of us thought about how difficult a task that could prove to be. I agreed that, as a logically thinking, calm Dan, getting assistance from Tirek would be just the idea for a dangerous experiment, but as far as we'd heard Dan had been anything but upset.

"Sorry to discount you Twilight but I think that if you add in Dan's mood at the time, that your solution may be a bit more positive of an event than what actually might have occurred." I summed adding my own anxieties into my voice. I had a theory that somehow had surpassed Twilight's in accuracy. "What if instead of having Tirek use the spell to assist him or giving it to Dan for use on himself, that Dan had Tirek either use the spell to weaken Dan or gotten Tirek to give it to him for a self use on his own powers?" I surmised looking at the gathered evidence. Nopony knew my fiance and his moods better than I did. I knew how he was likely to act given a proper mood.

"I'm Sorry but I don't follow." Fluttershy stammered her embarrassment.I hadn't heard her due to focusing on my own thoughts. As I recounted how Dan had acted before, I lost myself reminiscing.

The main memory that played was the time Dan had used a mirror to travel back to his home. During this event he promised to never abandon me nor anypony else voluntarily. Evidence of my thoughts formed in the shapes of tears sliding down my cheeks. Instead of reminiscing, my thoughts turned to "what ifs?" concerning Dan's reasoning for his latest disappearing act.  "WHY WOULD HE BREAK HIS PROMISE!?" I burst out as I couldn't help but react to what I feared the worst.

The others automatically surrounded me in an attempt to be supportive and comforting. The determination of Dan's spirit rose up once again deep inside my heart. "Twilight I need you to make composite sketches of what each possible song effected form would look like." I ordered, wiping the tears from my face.

Two days later we met back in Twilight's castle throne room.  Twilight had every one of her sketches on display as if at a museum. Unfortunately all were images of one out of Tia knows how many possible variations of effect transformations effects. The images were all too much to go through so with Twilight's permission I took the basic descriptions home. In truth I had a plan brewing on dumping the notes and making for that ice alicorn's palace.

The timing  couldn't have been better. Sweetie Belle had a crusaders sleepover with Apple Jack and I had business out of town concerning a custom made outfit. I would deliver that outfit straight after dropping Sweetie Belle off and use the rest of the trip to attempt a second chat with that strange hermit.

Upon arriving at his doorstep a couple hour train ride later, I found the door hard to find. I decided to try knocking on what appeared to have been a spot for a door. I also thought to yell in case the knocking didn't work. For a while nothing seemed to happen, then there was a stirring from the other side of the wall I'd knocked on. With a crash a door opened and the alicorn stood glaring at me.

"DIDN'T I WARN YOU NAGS ABOUT BOTHERING ME?!" he yelled before launching  a wave of snow at me. I reacted accordingly using one of the skills my Dan had taught me. I threw a red and white ball between me and the advancing frost. Out of the ball appeared a brown and tan lion with a shield like red and orange mane. Immediately it blew a stream of fire that prevented the icy wave from advancing.

"I've come here to test my sanity and prove to myself that I had sensed what I did when we stared into each others' eyes." I yelled back in  challenge. In response, his body began changing. It resembled the way Dan morphed into other shapes.

The alicorn's body grew both in width and height until he was as big as a shed, but covered with shaggy brown fur. His legs grew pillar like and seemed immovable unless by his will. From his face a pig like nose appeared as well as to tusks made of solid ice. He had transformed into a pokemon known as Mamoswine. Only one pony I knew could do that and I noted the evidence for use later.

Mamoswine lifted his front half off the ground and slammed down causing a bit of earth to charge at my Pyroar. It would have a devastating effect on Pyroar if it landed. I reacted quickly in an attempt to save my pokemon.

"Pyroar use flame charge to close in and then incinerate." I commanded, using the experience I had as a pokemon trainer. My flame maned lion did as it was told. In a flash of flames and heat he moved out of the earthquake attacks way and was weakening our opponent. It was a joy to see that my Pyroar was able to overpower the ice type pokemon that was usually a possible threat. It didn't take long for the ice mammoth to start melting back into the alicorn.

"Huh so you have the same skills I have hidden deep inside, how's about I tip the scales back in my favor?" The alicorn commented with a hint of confusion in his tone. Then a familiar piece of technological apparel took place on his left arm. "I play Compulsory Evacuation Device sending your creature back from whence it came" he said as a pink faced card appeared beside him.

"Fine then I shall use your own deck, the one YOU built from scratch, to win you back." I promised in a harsh tone. I placed Dan's blue duel disk on my left arm. From a pocket I pulled out the deck I had sworn victory upon. It was the last deck Dan had used. I shuffled the Lightsworn deck and placed it in it's spot on the duel disk.

The match commenced with my opponent taking the first turn. Instead of playing his own Lightsworn creatures my opponent through out creatures from the "Ice Barrier" archetype. He made the same opening moves my Dan would and he seemed to play at the same skill level. Within a few turns I was cornered and desperate for a good draw. If my draw wasn't good enough I was sure to lose during my oppenents next turn.

I drew, hoping for something that may help me turn the match around. I smiled recognizing the name on the card and remembering how my fiance would change it's appearance to one of the sun Princess. It was enough of a move to close the gap between our advantages.

"Hope you don't mind me raising the sun on this match and summoning one of my loves adoptive aunts." I grinned as I began my turn. "I

tribute my Wulf for Celestia LS Angel" I explained as I made my move. Between us appeared a version of Princess Celestia covered in a white and gold robe and carrying a staff. Immediately four cards from the top of my deck moved to my graveyard and I chose two of his cards to destroy on the field. I chose the only face down in his spell and trap zone and the creature on his field that prevented me from getting to my opponent's lp.

With two obstacles out of the way I then moved to special summon my "Judgment Dragon". I used my dragon to destroy his remaining creature and directly attacked my opponent with Tia. Then I had nothing left to do but let my opponent have a go.

He began after drawing by placing a creature face down. Next he used "Soul Taker" to destroy my Celestia. It was a curious decision since my dragon, with it's ability and 3,000 attack points was the bigger threat. My opponent then revealed to me his reasoning for such a move. He played "Creature Swap", forcing both of us to give control of our only creatures to our opponent. This means my opponent had the advantage only "Judgment Dragon" could offer me.

The icy alicorn grinned in victory as 1,000 of his life points were offered to activate JD's ability. In seconds flat the field was cleared of all but JD, leaving me wide open for an attack. Taking no chances, my opponent sealed my fate by removing the last 2700 of my LP.

"Now you shall pay the consequences for losing." The alicorn grinned evilly. A blast of ice flew from his horn. As it connected, I was sent flying through the air. Ice was creeping slowly up my limbs. "So this is what it's like to be Dan" I thought as blackness covered my eyes. The last thing I sensed before unconsciousness took me was the feeling of landing amongst a downy pillow that felt like it was flying through the air.

I awoke sometime later, feeling quite cold and unusually stiff. A voice caught my attention as it told me not to move and that I was stiff because I was covered with frost. I could feel a warming sensation on different spots all over my body as several doctors used melting spells to remove the frost.

Cadance arrived minutes later informing me that I was in the Crystal Empire. She could tell I had what felt to be vital information. Cadence instructed me to speak slowly and as clearly as I could. Stuttering, the words slowly moved from my brain to my lips. Before blackness overtook me a second time, I was able to get out the words "Target located, I found HIM."

When I next awoke, I found a different visitor awaiting me. Her dark, slender form seemed to melt into the walls of my darkened room. I easily recognized her by here wavy night sky mane and tail.

"Princess Luna, to what do I owe the honor?" I asked sounding half asleep. Her deep blue eyes turned toward me filled with mixed emotions. Her body posture said she doubted whatever had brought her to my room. She seemed to be mentally debating herself. After a few unsure steps toward my bed the Princess sighed as if she'd made her mind up.

"Glad you have awakened, can we talk?" Princess Luna asked softly. After nodding my consent she continued. "Some of the things I've experienced over the last couple of days I, myself, do not believe but what I have to tell you, though quite far-fetched, is true." She said taking a seat in a chair beside my bed.

"It started some nights ago, when I heard a familiar tune calling out to me." the Princess began as she stared into space. "While doing my nightly dream walks, I was pulled into a place that appeared to be Canterlot but was different in many ways." she told me hesitantly.

"There I went through many experiences that made me question my sanity but one thing, I believe, may lead us all to the answer we seek." Princess Luna confided conspiratorily. She then waited to gauge my reaction before continuing. She then looked deep into my eyes.

"I saw another me who called herself queen and wore different attire, my nephew looking like a tiny blue ball of ice, and another you curled around him despite being covered in frost caused by my nephew." She said as if sharing a secret with her sister as a kid. "Queen Luna said that when he'd been brought in that he was barely singing lyrics to a song called "Let It Go" the princess said as if the information was more like the answer to a test question. "The other you immediately said that their Dan was first stricken by his condition when he was singing that song." came her next words as I focused on what she was telling me.

The song title sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. I closed my eyes and concentrated on where I'd heard the title before. Then, with a memory flash of the list Twilight had made of songs that might have changed Dan, it hit me.

I leapt out of bed and, hastily excusing myself, ran straight to Cadance and see if she could inform Twilight that I needed to speak with her immediately. If I was right, I both had more evidence to support my theory concerning the ice alicorn, and may have found a reliable source of clues. I didn't bother making sure I was uninjured. I was desperate to get my message to Twilight. Luckily though, as I turned a corner toward the throne room, I bumped into the pony I was looking for.

"Sorry Darling I wasn't watching..... OH MY TWILIGHT!" I said helping the pony to their hooves. "i'm so relieved to see you I think I found something important out." I said hugging my friend. I could barely contain my tears of joy.

A few minutes later Twilight was staring at me mouth agape at the table in her guest room. She then retrieved her notes and one of Dan's extra mp3 players that she'd borrowed to help our search. I could tell that she was holding back from reprimanding me for my going off to face a possible enemy alone. After taking in the title of the song and the the possible effects Twilight became more curious about the songs origin. "Luckily I'd borrowed it from our little brother so I could watch it, I even brought it with since I haven't yet watched it." Twilight said rubbing a foreleg against the back of her head in embarrassment.

After gathering the other girls to "assist" in our "investigative review" of the film, we began the search for clues. Near the end of the movie Twilight had to pause it. She pointed out what she thought seemed a logical solution to the now unanimously agreed condition that had befallen my Dan. Unfortunately we had no clue how to find those that new the cure.

With heavy hearts we disbanded and returned to our respective rooms. I fell asleep sometime in the night while crying in my despair. I dreamed that I was the dream me that was curled around the icy ball that was my fiance. As I watched his frozen form struggle to fight the effects that controlled it, I reminisced back to the first time we'd met. Suddenly Princess Luna's voice interrupted my memory run dream.

"Did he ever tell you how he first arrived in Equestria?" she asked solemnly standing just behind me. I nodded my head and the memory changed the scene around us. "He once told me that if only he could changes things so he could jump through the screen instead of having to change the channel, it was a joke he repeated during his most homesick times that I never understood." the Princess said as she faded out and I awoke back in the Crystal Empire.

Stuck in my mind was what Princess Luna had said just before the dream ended. I was awake enough now that sleep would be hard to come by for the rest of the night. Instead I decided to watch some television and discuss the dream with the others later the next day.  I searched for the universal remote belonging to the guest room's tv. It wasn't hard to find sitting right on the coffee table in the living room area of the guest room.

I turned the tv on and began flipping through stations in an attempt to find something to watch at this hour. I stopped at one of my favorite channels. It was a jewelry selling station I usually kept up with during my lunch hour on week days.

The most beautiful rubies, diamonds, and other gems were always sold on this channel. At times I wished I could just reach in and take them all for myself. As I sighed with that exact thought in my mind an epiphany struck. I felt so unintelligent for not seeing such an obvious answer. My only concern was that whether or not I could portray my love well enough to save him.

I would have to use Dan's remote to go into the movie responsible for the song inhabiting my fiance's body. I hoped that I had the courage to do so seeing as I lacked the experience. That was also assuming that I didn't end up trapped somewhere else like Dan had in Equestria, in my quest to find the trolls from the movie.