The Bug-Bear Attacks Oldenmark
All ponies who knew her history called her the Snow Queen, the alicorn princess with the power over snow and ice that left herself be seduced by the darkness of the Lord of Chaos. After all, no one knew for sure the reasons why she became evil.
The truth was that what made her take the dark path as the Snow Queen was not evil or anything like that, but the pain of losing a beloved pony. Since the time that Princess Ingrid put her eyes on Day Glow, her heart began to flutter rapidly, something that happened every time she thought of him, until the day she found out that he just loved her sister, Princess Celestia. And Ingrid found out about it in the worst possible way.
The pain of her broken heart was such that Ingrid tried to attack her sister for stealing the stallion she loved, but Day Glow, to protect Celestia, took Ingrid’s attack, which hit his heart and was lethal, freezing and breaking him into pieces. From that moment on, the pain and suffering, in conjunction with the anger and the hatred of her sister made her become the Snow Queen.
For years, the Snow Queen spread her eternal winter everywhere, not bringing anything but cold and silence for all the ponies crossing in front of her, until Celestia, along with Luna, asked to the Lord of Order to lock her. He then sent the General of Affection, Heartbeat, to stop the winter of the Snow Queen, what she did, trapping Ingrid in an urn and then placing it in the solitary of Tartarus. After this incident, nothing else about the Snow Queen was known.
At least until the day when the Lord of Chaos took Tartarus and freed all the villains from there, including those who were in the solitary. When he freed the Snow Queen, she defeated her sisters and tried to rebuild a new world where her ideals were the law. However, in doing so, her snow and ice began to deregulate everything, starting to affect the matrixes of most of the Generals of Order of the Light Kingdom. But thanks to Princess Twilight of the Light Kingdom, Princess Ingrid got finally the heat needed to thaw the ice that covered her heart, which then was filled with regret for what she had done and, despite the love that her sisters showed her, that couldn't change everything she had done.
Although Leaf Mane have passed the winter coordination to her, since she could make the most beautiful winters and because the General of Nature didn't get along well with ice, Ingrid was still feeling as if she was still the Snow Queen, especially when all the ponies who didn't know her well continued to refer to her by that name.
Ingrid was in her room at the Canterlot Castle, looking in the mirror, while brushing her mane. When looking at her reflection, she couldn't even recognize herself, as she didn't know if she was looking at herself or the Snow Queen.
Suddenly she heard somepony knocking at the door and she said:
"Come in."
The door opened and Princess Celestia entered, greeting:
"Good morning, big sister. How are you today?"
But Ingrid just said Ah in a not very excited way while she brushed her mane. Celestia, who knew her older sister rather well, approached her and, holding her brush with magic, asked while brushing her:
"Say it, what's the problem?"
"Is that... it's been months since I came back, but..." Ingrid started. "I don’t know... I think that ponies still see me as the Snow Queen."
"Come on, Ingrid, that's not true" Celestia said. "Our people forgave you for what you did."
"Yes, but they have not forgotten" Ingrid said, rising and turning to her sister. "Celestia, you don't know what I did while I was consumed by grief."
"And I don't have to know" Celestia said. "And even if I and Luna get to know, we know that, now, you're not that pony anymore."
Ingrid, hearing those words from his sister, smiled and said:
"I'd like to be able to see the positive side of things just like you, Celestia."
"You're the one who taught me to be like that" Celestia said. "And remember, whenever you need to vent, you always have me and Luna."
That made Ingrid smile and then say:
"Thank you, Celestia."
The two exchanged a hug, but then they heard somepony knocking the door, which made them stop the hug.
"Come in" Celestia said.
The door opened and a guard entered, saying to Celestia:
"I'm sorry, Your Highnesses, but it was told me that you were here."
"What happened?" she asked.
"We received reports that the neighboring kingdom at the northeast, Oldenmark, is under threat of a monstrous bug-bear" the guard said.
"A bug-bear?" Celestia asked.
Ingrid was very upset when she heard the name of that kingdom, because she knew it.
"Yes, ma'am" the guard said. "The king and his guard are working hard to fight it, but the beast is quite tough."
"This is serious" Celestia said. "It's probably a creature that belongs to the Lord of Chaos. We need to send reinforcements immediately."
"Wait, Celestia, let me handle this" Ingrid said.
"But, Ingrid..." Celestia started.
"Please, I'm asking you this favor" her older sister insisted.
Celestia turned to the guard and told him:
"You can go."
"Certainly, Your Highness" the guard replied, leaving.
"You want to tell?" Celestia asked. "Why do you want to go face that monster alone?"
"It's not about the monster, it's about the kingdom that it's attacking: Oldenmark" Ingrid said. "Celestia, that Kingdom belonged to me in the past."
Celestia was surprised with that revelation. She asked:
"What do you mean?"
"After I became the Snow Queen, I settled on a certain region at the northeast of Equestria and I made this region and its inhabitants being taken by an eternal winter" Ingrid told. "I wanted to create an army to invade Equestria, when I heard that our parents went to Harmonia and left you and Luna to rule it, and so it was then that Oldenmark was created."
"I didn't know that..." Celestia said.
"Of course you didn't know" Ingrid said. "I did everything so that my plans were not revealed. But before I could start the invasion, Heartbeat imprisoned me. Apparently, the people of Oldenmark moved on with a new leader."
There was a pause and then Ingrid continued:
"Despite my imprisonment, the winter covering Oldenmark didn’t disappear and, as already passed centuries, I don't think I will be able to free them from that curse. But there's one thing I can do and that is to deal with that bug-bear. Please, Celestia, let me do this. It’s my responsibility."
Celestia pondered if she could let her older sister go trying to save Oldenmark alone. But then she saw the determination that Ingrid had in her eyes and said, smiling:
"Okay, you can go, but, just in case, I'll warn the Generals of Order."
"Thank you, sister" Ingrid said, embracing her. "Thank you."
And, after that hug, Ingrid move out of her room and, once she left the castle, she took flight and headed to northeast.
In Oldenmark, where everything was covered by a thick blanket of snow, its inhabitants were preparing themselves for the next attack from the bug-bear. It has been attacking them for several days, causing major devastation. The inhabitants of the kingdom took refuge in their beautiful homes made of ice, whose beauty was only exceeded by the great ice castle located in a higher part. It was there that the king of Oldenmark, King Freeze Burn, lived.
King Freeze Burn was a Unicorn with a navajo white coat with a frozen tree as a Cutie Mark, cool gray and blue-gray mane and yale blue eyes. He was wearing a warm coat and a warm hat. At that time, he was watching as his kingdom was being protected for the next eminent attack from the terrible monster. It was then that one of the guards approached and said:
"Your Highness, one of our scouts spotted somepony approaching Oldenmark flying."
"It was the bug-bear?" the King asked.
"We don't know" the guard said. "It was flying too fast to see."
"So we have to be prepared" Freeze Burn said. "We can't let that monster…"
But he didn’t finish, because there was a bang, followed by screams. The king and the guard looked and saw that the creature was back and was attacking the south area of the kingdom. The bug-bear was a huge creature with the top half of the body of a bear and the abdomen of insect with a huge stinger. It had two pairs of bear arms, a pair of bear legs, one pair of antennae and two sets of insect wings. It was light mulberryish gray on the head and in the area of lower arms and was dark gray mulberryish around the dark crimson eyes, the area of the upper arms and on the area of the feet and sting, and in the area of the abdomen there were mulberryish black and light amber stripes.
"It's back!" Freeze Burn exclaimed. "We're going to hit it with everything we've got. That monster will not bother my people again. This time, I'm going to get into the battle."
"Yes, Your Highness" the guard said.
The two joined the fight against the bug-bear. The King and his guards launched magic beams, but it seemed that that caused little effect at the creature, which resisted and continued the attack.
"Nothing seems to be working, my lord" the guard said to the King. "Our troops are getting tired. We have to go back."
"I swore that this creature wouldn’t bother my people and that's what I'm going to do" Freeze Burn said.
"But, Your Highness..." the guard started.
But before he could finish, the bug-bear showed up and prepared to attack, but it was then that a powerful magical beam hit it, causing it to give a groan. In the place where the beam had hit appeared ice that the creature broke soon. It turned and faced with Princess Ingrid who told it:
"Don't even think about it, freak. Now, I’ll fight with you."
The bug-bear roared and then it advanced towards Ingrid and the two started to fight. While fighting, Freeze Burn and their guards watched.
"But that’s an alicorn" the guard said by the king's side said. "But it's not any of the princesses. Who is she?"
Freeze Burn looked carefully to the alicorn princess who was fighting against the bug-bear. Then, admiring her beauty, as well as her ice attacks, he recognized her.
"It can't be..." he said, not wanting to believe.
"What is it, Your Highness?" the guard asked. "Do you know her?"
"Of course I know" he replied. "In fact, we all know her. That's the one that made our kingdom what it is today. She is the Lady of the Winter, the Snow Queen."
Everyone was flabbergasted when he said that and watched the fight between Ingrid and the bug-bear.
Despite her attacks hit and cause an effect in the creature, Ingrid couldn't defeat it. At the same time she was attacking, she had to defend hersef against its attacks that included its claws and its big sting. It was then that the stinger grazed Ingrid in one of her wings. Despite having been grazed, the blow made Ingrid lose balance and she fell on the snowy mantle that covered the ground, which, fortunately, broke her fall. But that left Ingrid vulnerable to the bug-bear which advanced to her, preparing its stinger for another attack.
But before it could attack, Freeze Burn and his guards released their attacks that made it turn to them. King Freeze Burn said:
"Hey, monster, here! We're here!"
And the bug-bear began heading to them. Ingrid got up and began preparing a new attack. But before she could launch it, golden chains appeared out of the ground and started to roll in the bug-bear, securing it against the floor. Ingrid knew those chains, because there was only one pony that could summon them.
"Golden Paladin" she said.
"Your sister told me about this monster" Golden Paladin said, appearing by Ingrid’s side. "It's a creature that escaped the capture before the fall of the Light Kingdom, but now we can put it where it belongs."
Carrying his horn with magic, Golden Paladin made an electric current pass through the chains, what made the bug-bear be electrocuted. After that, the creature collapsed. Then, Golden Paladin invoked the cell blaster, which was already with a life cell prepared, and sucked the monster to it. After that, he invoked the prison-book and put the life cell inside.
"And one more villain to the cells of Tartarus" Golden Paladin said, making the book and the cell blaster disappear. "Well, my work here is done. Thank you very much for your help, Princess Ingrid. You too, brave people of Oldenmark."
And, having said that, the General of Peace disappeared.
Then, Ingrid looked at Freeze Burn and his people who also looked at her. Knowing she had to tell them something, Ingrid approached them and said:
"Hello everyone. I don't know if you know who I am."
"Of course we know" Freeze Burn said. "You are the one who made Oldenmark what it is today. You are the Snow Queen."
"Please don't call me by that name" Ingrid said. "Call me Princess Ingrid, that is my real name. I just want you to know that I deeply regret that your people had to suffer with this eternal winter that rages in your land."
"Please, princess" Freeze Burn said. "With all due respect, allow me to say something. We can stop call you Snow Queen if you like it, but please don't tell us that you regret having given us this magnificent gift."
Ingrid was surprised when she heard those words.
"Gift?" she asked. "What do you mean? How does this cold and rigorous winter have good to be considered as a gift?"
"You're right" Freeze Burn said. "We also thought this eternal winter that you give to this land was a curse. However, over time, we learned to admire it. Your winter has made us strong and resilient ponies, able to face any adversity. Not to mention the beautiful architecture that ice allows us to make. One of our biggest prides is your beautiful ice castle that was home to all my family. Maybe for the other ponies the Snow Queen is just a villain who wanted to subjugate everypony in her eternal winter. But, for us, the Snow Queen is more than that. It was you who gave us everything that we have and, therefore, on behalf of my people, I thank you for everything."
And, having said that, he gave her a bow, followed by all his guards.
Ingrid was aghast at what he had heard. She couldn't believe that the Snow Queen to these ponies was not a figure to be feared, but rather somepony that they respected and admired. King Freeze Burn then stood up and said, extending the hoof to Ingrid:
"Please... Princess Ingrid, come see what we've done with the gift you gave us and that may change your mind about some of your actions as the Snow Queen."
Hesitant, Ingrid eventually accepted Freeze Burn’s hoof. He then took her to the citadel, where Ingrid was delighted with the houses made of ice. In fact, they were sublime and, despite their cold surface, it seemed that they could keep the heat inside. But she was really surprised when she came across with the castle, where she once resided before being imprisoned. The people of Oldenmark, seeing her, paid their respects to her, as she walked by. Although there was a certain fear in their eyes, Ingrid could detect also the respect and admiration that she saw in Freeze Burn’s eyes. It seemed like he was right.
Ingrid finally could feel peace in her heart.
The End
