Chapters "Stand down Will, it's over!" screamed Frost at his brother while pointing his rifle at him in the ruins of Augustgrad, he could still see Dominion troops and Daelaam Protoss finishing the members of Moebius Corps that are still fighting.
"The voice's demands are clear, the Keystone must remain ours" Will replied with no emotion in his voice while raising his Gauss Rifle at Frost.
"Drop it!" Frost said with his usual bored voice "Make a move and you're dead!"he continued while aiming for Will's chest.
Will was about to pull the trigger when a bullet pierced his chest and destroyed his heart. He fell on his back and remained motionless, Frost stood like a statue for a few moments before approaching his brother's lifeless body. He knelt down to collect his dog tags while saying to himself: "I'll scour the entire galaxy until i'll find you Amon and when I do, you'll wish that the Queen of Blades got to you first".
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Agent Frost snapped out of his daydreaming when one of his comrades was trying to get his attention :
"Captain Sleeping Beauty, wake up!" yelled a Marauder at him while waving his grenade launchers in his face.
"Cut it out Cranston!" a female medic in a white power suit lashed at the marauder.
"Come on, I was just messing around Lisa, besides, we all know you're banging him" Cranston left out a few giggles before the medic screamed:
"In his dreams, I'm married!" a silence settled for almost a minute before the entire crew exploded in a barrel of laughter except Frost.
"Nice one Lisa, I bet that Colt, Collins and Billy have the same dream!" a Reaper said pointing at three Marines that knew he was joking, then he gestured at the only firebat "And I think that Wabowski is getting a little fired up."
"Well, what about you Staton?" The firebat asked the Reaper.
"The life of the Reaper Man is always intense!" he replied getting a few laughs from everybody, even a few giggles from Frost.
At that time a two-way communicator activated revealing Admiral Horner:
"Agent Frost!" he called for the attention of the ghost that stood up and the rest of his team quieted down.
"Yes sir!" he responded while saluting.
"I called you to wish you and your team good luck in the events ahead." he said while looking at every soldier in the Dropship.
"We are proud to serve the Dominion, sir!" Agent Frost said in his usual voice "We will fight till the very end."
"I know you will, Hyperion out!" Horner said before his hologram disappeared.
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Frost's Dropship had cought up with three Warp Prisms and a few Drop-pods while the void energies started attacking the intruders. Frost's comrades were now silent, preparing for whatever fate awaited them in this forsaken realm. Frost stood up and moved in the middle of the Dropship so that everyone could see him:
"You all look like you're on death's door!" he said loudly having the attention of everybody,even the pilot "We've defied death so many times, don't you remember when we were deployed on Char, Tarsonis, Aiur and even Korhal, trust me, if we were meant to die, it would have taken us during one of those missions" he finished making way to the pilot while Cranston let out a "Believe it!" reigniting the confidence of his comrades.
"Sir?" the pilot asked.
"Peter, how long to the LZ?" Frost asked in return.
"Honestly, I don't know, we are just following those Protoss Warp Prisms." he answered pointing at the robotic transports "Command said that they found a way to land in this god-forgotten dimension." Peter finished when some lights started blinking "Incoming transmission sir!" he said surprised.
"Patch it through." Frost ordered, the image of a Protoss Adept appeared.
"En taro Tassadar Captain, I am Praetor Nalis and I contact you to inform you that our sensors have picked up some disturbances ahead, we suggest you brace yourselves." she finished with her echoing voice.
"En taro Tassadar Nalis, I thank you for this information, but what about the Zerg? " Frost asked.
"It appears that the Zerg here are led by a broodmother named Niagra, I have already contacted her. "she finished" Ending transmission."
"Good to know, Frost out " he said while closing the channel. " You heard her Peter, try not to kill us" he told the pilot in a frightening voice while returning to his team: " The Protoss say they detected some ahead, hold on to something" he announced to his teammates, then sat down in his seat and prepared for a few shakes.
At first the turbulences were almost ignored, but then they got stronger and stronger until the alarms started ringing, Frost and his team heard Peter yell "Brace for impact!" when they heard him everybody quickly prepared their gear: Cranston loaded his Concussive Shells, Colt, Collings and Billy equipped their combat shields, Lisa installed her Stabilizer Med-packs, Wabowski fueled his Incinerator Gauntlets, Staton prepared his combat drugs and Frost checked his Ocular Implants and loaded his gun, everybody were given a few Stimpacks to be used in dire situations.
From where Frost sat he could see that his team were not the only ones in trouble, even the Zerg and Protoss were having difficulties keeping their transports stable, but he could also see some kind of vortex that was sucking all three races in with no chance of escaping it, before they entered it Frost giggled a bit and whispered to himself "Ghost reporting, the irony."
Frost was surprised to see that the darkness of the void was replaced by a sunny sky which he put together that they were teleported inside a planet's atmosphere. Even though they escaped the void, they couldn't retake control of their craft, and neither could the Protoss nor the Zerg. Frost realized that all transports were going to crash in a that first started as a dot on the ground that grew to be one of the biggest forests Frost had ever seen, but that meant that the impact was going to be even harder than he anticipated. From a few miles above the ground he saw the Zerg Drop-pods almost making front-flips and the Warp Prisms were making perfect circles. Right before the impact he could see them crash then everything went black for him.
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Princess Twilight Sparkle was busy organizing the visit of not only Princess Celestia, but of Luna and Cadence. Twilight was determined to organize the most perfect formal visit in the history of Equestria "This is going the best event of all time " she thought while looking at her check list "And this has to be it." she said to herself after she ticked the final step on the list.
"Hey Twilight!" she heard her friend Rainbow Dash yell at her from a table alongside her friends "Get over here!"
"Hello girls, are you excited as I am about this visit?" she asked,
"Oh well, we know how important this must be to you, but do be careful not to exhaust yourself." Rarity answered.
"I agree wit' Rarity Twi, you wouldn't want to fall asleep while making your way to the stage" Applejack replied letting out a few giggles followed by everypony at the table.
"I'm flattered girls, but you don't have to worry about me because I'm not even winded." she finished just before trumpets were heard "The're here, everypony places!" she told while amplifying her voice with magic and a little panic.
"Don't panic Twilight, just remember that you are also a princess." Fluttershy told her before flying away.
"Announcing the arrival of Princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria and Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire!" a guard pony announced before the royalty arrived in the order of how the guard announced. All the ponies of Ponyville knelt with the exception of Twilight that joined her fellow princesses on a stage in the town centre.
"Everypony, I hereby declare this event open!" Twilight announced before all the denizens of Ponyville started cheering.
After they settled down, a mare screamed "What is that in the sky?" pointing at some kind of meteors falling. Everypony looked shocked and stood petrified at the sight, even the princesses were no different, only until the objects crashed they could regain control of their bodies. Twilight was the first to speak:
"Oh no! Those things have crashed in the Everfree Forest, we must make sure that every living being is unharmed. Princesses, do you mind staying here calming everypony?" she asked with panic in her eyes.
"We don't mind Twilight, you and the Elements of Harmony must find out what is happening there and make sure nopony is hurt." Celestia replied with her calm voice.
Twilight and her friends began galloping to the Everfree Forest with determination in their eyes to stop anything that might cause destruction.
Author's Note
Constructive criticism widely appreciated.
View Online
2-Even broken links can be made to serve the chain
Agent Frost woke up in the wreckage of the Dropship with his vision blurry and a splitting headache "Uhhh, you can't kill a ghost that easily" he said when his sight returned, surprisingly everyone survived the crash, no one was severely injured except for Peter who broke his arm. Frost crawled his way out of the transport and rejoined his team.
"Damn, I knew a little fall won't kill you Captain!" said Cranston the second he saw the Ghost.
"Shut it! What's the sitrep?" asked Frost changing his attention to Lisa.
"Actually not that bad, the only one hurt here is Peter and we saved all the equipment we need, Peter said that before we were caught up in that vortex he sent out a distress call to the Dominion Fleet." replied Lisa.
"I guess that they can spare only a couple of Medivacs, one for us and one for the extraction team." said Frost skeptically.
"You're right, they said that they can send them in two days." Peter completed Lisa's report.
"Any word from the Protoss or the Zerg?" asked Frost.
"None for now sir, but I've found something interesting" Peter answered him while showing his portable computer, "it seems that our communications can only work within this planet's atmosphere." he finished.
"This means that the whole planet is surrounded by some kind of invisible psionic barrier" Frost realized, "So this must be some kind of trap Amon set up to capture his enemies in it, this must have been for Kerrigan or Artanis because with them out of the conflict Amon would have the odds with him, but how is our extraction going to reach us?" he asked Peter.
"If my calculations are correct, the vortex can open two more times before it closes indefinitely. When our rescue reaches us we must find another way out of here" Peter answered.
"Some rescue.." Wabowski interrupted.
"Here's the plan" Frost said getting everyone's attention "We regroup with the Protoss and the Zerg, wait for the Medivacs then find a way off this rock." he finished getting nods of agreement from his comrades.
They started organizing their equipment and were ready to leave when Peter's computer turned on:
"Captain Frost!?" a familiar voice came from the screen "Thank Adun for finding you!"
"What is it Praetor Nalis? Frost asked.
"We have grave news, it seems that Niagra is losing control of her brood, she said that the majority of her brood was controlled by Kerrigan and since we arrived on this world that control was broken. Niagra can still control some of her best units but the rest have turned feral and will attack everything in sight. You will have to arrive at the location I highlighted on your map."
"Understood Nalis, we'll get there ass soon as possible" he said ending the transmission and turning to his team "Our destination is three kilometres north. She said that Niagra still has control of her best units so this means that we'll meet a lot of zerglings, Wabowski?" he asked smiling behind his mask.
"It's about damn time, I'll lead the way anybody of you need a light just call out and it's barbecue time!" Wabowski replied with a little joy in his voice.
"Let's move out !" Frost ordered.
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After meeting a few hostile Zerg units Frost and his team met up with his allies that were held up near a rock formation that served as a fort for them while being swarmed by the Feral Zerg. Frost ordered his team to reinforce the defenses while he met up with Nalis and Niagra.
"We thought that you and your forces have become carrion." Niagra greeted Frost.
"We don't die to a few Zerglings" he replied at her before turning to Nalis "Why are they so many Praetor?"
"it seems that there are two nydus worms reinforcing our enemies' forces, these rocks saved us from having one casualty, my forces are formed from four Sentinels, three Stalkers, one sentry, one High Templar, one Immortal, a Vanguard and a Dark Templar. Niagra's forces are formed from five Roaches, six Hydralisks and a Swarm Queen. We must find a way to kill those Nydus Worms before we are overrun."
"I'll take care of those worms, but i will need that Vanguard of yours."
"Done, his name is Amar, use the Tal'darim as you see fit" she said with contempt in her voice.
Frost turned and called for Wabowski:"Wabowski, you're in charge while I'm gone, cook'em good." the firebat simply nodded before unleashing a torrent of flame that turned everything to ashes in its path.
Frost sprinted to the Vanguard that stood a few metres taller than him therefore it was easy to spot him plus the colors of black, red and blue that contradicts the Immortal golden and blue.
"Amar!" Frost yelled "I need your help to destroy those Nydus Worms!"
"You must be the Terran Ghost the Praetor spoke of, what is so important that it requires my presence when my transgressions are so close to being forgotten!?"
"If you want to die I'll kill you myself, but first we must survive this battle!" Frost replied remembering the culture of the Tal'darim and that the Vanguards are at the very bottom of their society and the only way to not be seen as filth is to die on the battlefield.
"My death must be on the battlefield, not in the calm after the storm. What is it you wish?"
"Stand behind that rock, I will climb it and locate those Nydus Worms for you to take them out."
Frost cloaked himself then climbed only to see an unending tide of Zerglings coming for them, his visor located the Worms sending the coordinates to Amar who then rained red plasma from the sky using his Scatter Cannon. In a few shots the worms' corpses were sinking in the ground returning to wherever they came filling the holes with rubble. After that the Feral Zerg retreated almost instantly.
"I have to say that was a bold move Captain Frost."Nalis praised the Ghost.
"Now that we survived the onslaught we must find their hive cluster to stop it from sending more troops against us." Niagra said capturing the attention of everyone.
"And how do we dispose of their hive?" asked Collins with a few scratches on his face from leaping zerglings.
"I will lead what's left of my brood through the Nydus Network and eviscerate them from the inside." she answered with a hint of excitement in her statement.
"And while you infiltrate them we will be bait to lure the Feral Zerg from the hive cluster leaving it undefended." realized Staton.
"Precisely. And when the hive is no more the stragglers will be dealt with easily, then we can escape this soft world." continued Niagra then left to assemble what's left of her troops before venturing out to find her target.
"I propose we split our forces so that we may buy more time for Niagra to complete her task." Nalis proposed.
"I agree, the more ground we'll cover the more Zerg are being sent to hunt us, and the more Zerg means a greater chance for my forgiveness" Amar agreed.
After they discussed their plans the three races separated to prepare for their mission tomorrow, the battle took it's toll on everyone and most of them were sound asleep or on hold for the Purifiers. Frost's team would give Colt and Billy in return for Amar, this exchange was made to make the Protoss group more mobile with only one battle strider and give his more firepower, this changes would surely increase their survivability in case of an ambush.
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Amar was the first to stand watch for the night when Nalis visited him.
"Do not think that you being the key to our victory this day will make you grow in my eyes, if you ever dare jeopardize the entire battle with your customs, you will be thankful that you are the filth of your society." she said turning around and returning to their camp.
Amar remained in silence with his eyes scanning the perimeter paying no mind to the praetor's words.After his shift ended, the Immortal came to replace him.
"Do not let the Praetor's word of contempt deter you, friend Amar. There shall be a reckoning and when it comes we shall have an afterlife worthy of Khas himself" the Immortal said.
"Maybe that is your afterlife Vuhandis, but I only wish for my mistakes to be erased and serve the Chain." Amar replied heading to the camp making loud steps for being unable to exit his Strider alongside Vuhandis.
"It may be true, but with our presence in the energy of our people we shall serve for ever" he finished turning his attention to the forest.
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Meanwhile, Agent Frost was having some quality time with his team and discussing different subjects from war to love before Frost decided to organize the formation of their squad.
"Staton will be point man, looking out for traps and ambushes, Cranston will have the right , Wabowski the left , Lisa and Collins have the rear and I will be at the front with Amar in the centre" Frost finished seeing the exhaustion in his comrades' eyes "Uhhhh we'll do this in the morning" he said getting a few looks of relief then went to sleep.
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A few hours before the sun setting, Twilight and her friends reached the edge of her forest only to meet Zecora and most of the animals that were calling the trees their home. Fluttershy bolted towards them to ask them if the falling objects did something to the forest while the rest met up with Zecora.
"Zecora, Have you left the forest because of the meteors?" Twilight asked getting a nod of disapproval from her.
"It is not the meteors
That evicted me,
But the creatures
So full with fury." she rhymed.
"Creatures? They must be in grave danger, we must-"said Twilight before being interrupted by Zecora.
"You must not enter
For if you do
You will meet a tormentor
Who will bring you doom." she warned when Fluttershy returned from her animal friends.
"Girls, I have some bad news, the animals are shaking with fear even the apex predators are terrified, they told me that there were beings that were killed and they litter the forest."
"This is bad, Rainbow Dash go inform the Princesses and tell them to bring everypony to look for animals in danger."Twilight told her.
"Sure thing! They might even call the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow dash saluted before leaving behind a rainbow colored trail.
"Tomorrow we will scour the forest to help anypony in danger."Twilight said to the rest of her friends.
"But Twi-Twilight, what about the dead animals?" Fluttershy asked with fear in her.
"Those meteors must have been the cause of that, I'm so sorry Fluttershy, but there's nothing we can do for them now. You know what! For giving us information you can oversee our operations from the safety of your cottage." Twilight answered giving her friend some hope.
Twilight used her magic to create a camp in which to sleep for her and the whole of Ponyville to make their search much easier. She hopes that this will be enough to save all the trapped animals in the forest.
Author's Note
Here is chapter 2, enjoy
listen the first song for the battle sequence
In the morning, everybody was preparing to move out. The Protoss were almost done recharging their shields and the Terrans were counting their ammunition, Niagra was ready to depart when Cranston approached her.
"Yeah, well... hello your broodmotherness." he stuttered.
"Speak Terran! I must leave shortly." she said.
"Of course, you see, I figured you could use more firepower when destroying the hive, so I wanted to give you these bad boys" he said while showing her some explosives.
"You insult me Terran!"
"Wait, I personally modified this charges to contain a small amount of psionic energy that increases the blast tenfold, they can also be ignited by your psionic presence." Cranston explained.
"Very well, give them to me." she said while tucking the explosives in some kind of pouch in her.
"Captain wanted to know how are you going to destroy their base." Cranston said expecting an answer.
"That is simple, every time i lose a minion, I can reclaim control of a feral one using my psionic energy. Go tell your Captain that I am leaving." Niagra finished.
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At that moment , Twilight Sparkle was analyzing the map of the Everfree Forest with the Princesses and her friends when the Wonderbolts returned to report what they scouted.
"Your Majesties, we have returned from the patrol and we've found something interesting." reported Spitfire.
"What have your Wonderbolts discovered Captain?" asked Celestia.
"While we were flying this morning we have found two groups of individuals at what appears to be a battlefield, they weren't fighting each other, but it seems that they must be responsible for all the victims in the forest." Spitfire finished.
"This is unacceptable! We must confront them immediately!" exclaimed Celestia.
"With all due respect Princess, I think it is best to evacuate the forest as soon as possible, those creatures that got massacred didn't look like bunnies or little birds, this means that those we saw must be extremely dangerous." Spitfire contradicted.
"She is right sister, the forest is too dense for an expedition to apprehend those criminals, we need the whole of the guard to be able to subdue them." Luna said.
"You are right, we will pull everypony out of the forest and move our camp away from the forest and nopony is allowed to set hoof inside it" Celestia agreed.
"But what about those animals?" asked Fluttershy shocked.
Everypony looked at her until Rarity spoke up:"We're sorry dear, but it's too dangerous to rescue them."
After Rarity finished the sentence tears welled up in Fluttershys eyes and she ran to her cottage shutting and locking the door after she entered.
"Aww shucks! We'll never get her out of there and we must move to the safe distance." Applejack said.
"Don't worry, I'll patrol from the camp to Fluttershy every hour" reassured Rainbow Dash.
"Let's hope that those evil ponies won't even notice our camp or Fluttershys cottage." ended Twilight Sparkle sounding a little worried.
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Niagra finally found her way out of the Nydus Network alongside her Roaches and Hydralisks. She looked a little worried at the size of the Feral Hive "I never thought i'll say this, but the Terran was right. " she thought. She crept alongside the structures trying as hard as she can to hide her broodmother body, even though the diversion of the Terrans and the Protoss worked there still remained enough Zerg guarding their base to pose a threat to her plan. Niagra could see that the Feral Brood was evolving and improving its forces, she saw Spires, Infestation Pits and even An Ultralisk Den, "This will be more challenging, but at least I can take control of even more powerful minions. " she thought while scanning for an opportunity to attack.
When the guards comprised of Zerglings and Hydralisks split up, Niagra did not waste a second and she ordered: "Attack my minions, For the Swarm!"
The Roaches disposed easily of the guards, but they lost two of them. The Swarm Queen was trying as hard as she could to mend Niagras forces, when suddenly the remaining forces left guarding the hive started making their way to her location. "One of them must have escaped and alerted the hive! We must hurry. " she thought.
Niagra planted some of the bombs on the structures as quickly as she while her minions were fighting. She saw that her forces were fighting a losing battle and burrowed in the creep, moving slowly beneath it to a safe place. After she sensed the last of her minions perishing she unburrowed near the Hatchery, she planted more bombs on it "The Hatchery, a Spawning Pool, a Roach Warren, a Baneling Nest and a Hydralisk Den are ready, now only the Infestation Pit, the Spire and the Ultralisk Cavern remain. " Niagra thought as she made her way to her targets. She spotted a lot of Hydralisks, Roaches and Zerglings guarding the rest of the structures making an impenetrable defense, but Niagra sensed Banelings burrowed beneath the guards "Those Banelings are there in case the forces are pushed back, I'll make good use of them. " She planned with satisfaction. She took control of the acid filled living bombs and detonated them thus eradicating the army and brought the survivors back into her fold.
She planted the rest of the charges when suddenly she sensed a whole army making their way to her "They must have sensed the danger to the hive and are pulling back forces that have been sent to hunt down the Protoss and the Terrans, the blast will eradicate them, but I still sense a sizable amount of Feral Zerg attacking our allies, I must save their pathetic lives. " she realized "If I overload the hive mind with my psionic powers it will exterminate any Zerg lifeform on the planet, including me... no matter, I'll return to the Hatchery to begin the siphoning ".
Niagra reached the Hatchery and took control of it and every other structure to provide her defenses, but in doing so she tired herself "I must take control of every Zerg I can in order to defend me even though it will exhaust me more and more, but I have to save our allies" she reassured herself. Niagra entered the hatchery and started the siphoning: "Defend me, my minions , show these Ferals the fury of the Swarm!"
The Zerg under Niagras control did their best to counter the wave of the Ferals. Minions were morphing non stop from the hatchery to reinforce the front line, Feral Mutalisks were swarming the sky destroying everything that they came across, Infestors took control of Brood Lords to lay siege against Niagra, her forces were pushed back, but would not waver, clusters of Banelings and Hydralisks were holding the line against the unending Ferals. Ultralisks were wrestling each other for dominance and Swarm Hosts were spawning endless Locusts to attack their enemies. Niagra was in the Hatchery sensing the coming threat and almost done with overloading the hive mind, she kept her best units in reserve: "I am nearly done just a little more time do not falter, For the Swarm!" she said unleashing a Brutalisk and a very dangerous strain of Hydralisks, these almost pushed the attacking army out of the base before falling, now only Spine and Spore Crawlers were left guarding the Hatchery, after they nearly reached the Hatchery Niagra used what was left of her power to take control of the nearest enemy forces thus turning them against each other. Banelings exploded almost instantly eliminating great chunks of Feral Zerg. When they entered the Hatchery they only fought what was left of Niagras forces made only of Broodlings and Zerglings and a Hydralisk, they quickly fell leading an open path to the Broodmother. Niagra was finally done with her task and unleashed all of her psionic energy into the hive mind and detonating the bombs that were placed, she was surrounded by raw psionic energy that beamed up into the sky unleashing a maelstrom of energies eradicating every Zerg on the planet. Niagra fell on the ground lifeless while her body was swallowed by the explosion of the bombs.
Author's Note
Part 1 of Chapter 3, I'll try to release the others as soon as possible. Hope you like it.
Hours before Niagras sacrifice, Colt and Billy were marching at the rear of the Protoss column with Nalis at the front with the Sentintels, the Sentry, the High Templar and Vuhandis were in the centre with the Stalkers screening the flanks and the Dark Templar was scouting ahead.
"I feel kinda intimidated." Billy told his friend.
"Don't be, remember that these guys are rarely hostile to Terrans without a good reason, we helped them on Aiur destroying the Overmind so they are very grateful." Colt replied.
"When did you join the squad Colt?" the Marine asked.
"I joined right after Frost, Wabowski, Peter and Lisa switched from Raynor's Raiders to the Dominion right after the Fall of Aiur" he answered.
"What happened to them back then?"
"Trust me, while you were in the Academy and I was in the Marine Corps they went through what I can only describe hell, when they had to evacuate Char back when they were with the Raiders they got separated from Peter who could not extract them and he end up with Raynor in a Protoss outpost fighting against the Zerg, meanwhile the rest made it into the installation that was built by the Dominion in case of a Zerg attack, the power was cut and they had to survive until Tassadar came searching for Zeratul."
"What about Cranston, Collins and Staton?"
"Cranston and Staton joined at the start of the Second Great War and Collins at the end of the Brood War."
"And I'm the newest addition to the team, I joined during the Invasion of Char. When did the squad start?"
"Hmm... the squad started with Frost during the reign of the Old Confederacy, the team was originally named 'Night Terrors', a branch of the Confederate Omega Squadron or Death's Head Legion, they were the most brutal and were called only in extremely dire conditions. Nowadays the squad changed its name to Strike Team One, but we are known as 'The Squad' because we are the first to enter combat in an invasion and secure the landing zones and gather intelligence on the enemy."
"How many were in the squad? I heard that originally it was Captain with his brother and four others and that his brother then disappeared after the Dominion formed."
"His name was Will and he was so deadly that he was nicknamed Last Will, after the Confederacy got overthrown he was recruited into Project Shadowblade and assigned as security for Dr. Narud top secret research labs. Our team has possibly seen hundreds of members, due to us being the first in combat our mortality rate was the highest in the entire squadron. I heard from Wabowski that the many battles changed the Captain, he said that he's become deadlier at the cost of some of his sanity and now that he had to kill his brother I don't know what he'll do. In any case, just watch your back and you'll have a chance of getting out of here alive."
"Yessir!"
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After a few hours of walking, the group stopped somewhere in the open to lure as many Zerg as possible for Niagra to destroy the hive. The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxing due to the psionic powers of the Protoss to sense living beings, Colt and Billy started a conversation with Vuhandis to learn more about him.
"Just follow my lead Billy and try not to talk very much." Colt told Billy who nodded in agreement.
"Ahhh Friend Colt and friend Bill, I assume you have certain questions, do not be afraid, I will tell you as much as I can." Vuhandis predicted the Marines' approach.
"Yeah well... us Terrans feel more comfortable when we bond with our fellow brothers in arms so we thought that you could tell us something about yourself and your culture." Colt said.
"Very well , I was among the last to defend our beloved Xel'naga Temple on Aiur that was used to transport the Overmind on the surface, I and a fraction of our forces were pushed back by the Zerg until we managed to hold a small garrison on Antioch until Tassadar himself came to our rescue, we were so honored by this that we were the ones that led the charge on the Overmind's hive cluster. During that time, I was gravely wounded and placed in the chassis of a Dragoon. Even with the Overmind dead, the Zerg hordes were ravaging Aiur and the only choice left was the evacuation to Shakuras where I met the Praetor" Vuhandis stopped for a few moments nodding towards Nalis " She was part of the first refugees that arrived on Aiur and grew very fond of the Nerazim, but I still had my suspicions about them and so had Aldaris. I was assigned to the last forces of the Conclave and due to the presence of the Queen of Blades we were left as reserves for the Fleet of the Executor which was collecting the Uraj and the Khalis to activate the Xel'naga temple on Shakuras. Nalis was part of the fleet and the unity between the Nerazim and the Khalai grew stronger while we were suspecting everyone outside of the Conclaves control. After Aldaris realized the treachery of the Queen of Blades he marshaled our forces against the Matriarch of the Dark Templar which was under the control of Kerrigan. the rest of the Fleet was still being deceived and sent against us and on the field of battle I was engaged in glorious combat with the Praetor which ended in her greatly damaging my strider and rendering me unable to fight. After the battle, I was put in stasis until the death of the Matriarch, after my awakening the Immortal program started and I volunteered to be one of the first functional Immortal assault striders. Since then I fought on countless worlds for the Daelaam. Now enough about me, I wish to know more about my Terran allies." Vuhandis finished.
"That is an interesting service record, I don't think that any of our stories will top it, but here goes" Colt started: "I started as a soldier in Delta Squadron in the late days of the Confederacy and then joined the Dominion in the Marine Corps, I fought the Zerg on Korhal during the Brood War and alongside my comrades we fought on Char, Umoja and again on Korhal when Arcturus Mengsk was dethroned." he finished nudging Billy.
"Uhh I had perfect scores while I was in the Academy so I was enlisted in Alpha Squadron, my first battle was the Invasion of Char to deinfest Kerrigan. There I was alone when I met Captain Frost and his team, after the battle was over I volunteered to join the strike team."
"Do not think that your experiences make you inferior to mine, with your short life span you managed to finish what the Firstborn started, stopped the Queen of Blades and saved us all from oblivion!" said Vuhandis loudly and he was thanked by the Terrans, then they returned to their posts.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After some time waiting for the Zerg, Nalis started thinking that the plan had failed when the High Templar approached her:
"Praetor, I sense Zerg lifeforms nearing our position and their numbers are vast." he reported.
"Looks like the trap has sprung." she said "Templar, prepare for battle!"
Hearing this everybody readied themselves for the worst. When the Zerg neared them Nalis gave the order to attack and they all charged the line. After they defeated the first wave they saw even more Zerg units charging at them, the Praetor seeing this gave the order exit the forest and try to regroup with the Terrans, but they could not make it out in time due to their slow speed. A couple of Stalkers and a Sentinel volunteered to hold the Zerg as long as they can.
"For Fenix!" the Sentinel yelled.
"Strike now, we must buy our brothers time!" one of the Stalkers said.
"We will not go quietly into the void!" the other one shouted.
The warriors' sacrifice proved to be enough for the rest to escape the forest and meet up with the Terrans for a last stand against the Zerg.
Author's Note
This part doesn't have a lot of action, but I hope you like the Starcraft lore. I'll do a little more lore in the next and final part for the rest of the squad and there will be a lot more action and they finally meet with the inhabitants of Equestria.
Also, a big thank you for reaching 299 views and keeping the like bar positive, if you want to add something say it in the comments and I'll look into it.
And again thanks for the comments and likes and views, and thanks to you guys I can write more and more for you and as always I hope you enjoy En taro Adun! :D
Agent Frost and his teammates were walking with their fingers on the triggers. Amar was the center of a diamond formed by Wabowski in the front, Cranston in the rear and Collins, Lisa and Frost on the sides. Staton was far ahead scouting for the enemy, he flew using his jet pack through the foliage, this reminded him of his time in the Reaper Corps and the Icehouse where he "graduated" and became a Reaper moving alone through countless death traps.
"Hey, we could use this spot for a camp!" yelled Staton to his team.
"I agree with him, when the Zerg start showing up we could use the rest to outrun them." acknowledged Collins.
"Nice one Collins, looks like your time in the UED really paid off!" said Cranston.
"Not funny, I was sure that the Zerg would get me when I found you guys."
"We're all terrans here, well except Amar, but you get the picture. When I was still on Umoja I thought that the Zerg would massacre all of us, but you guys revealed to me that our camaraderie can beat the quality and quantity of the Protoss and the Zerg." Lisas words touched everybody's heart, even Amars.
"Even though we are very different I honour your cunning and prowess." said Amar.
"Tell us something about yourself, if you are feeling like it of course." said Wabowski.
"I am the last link in the Chain of Ascension, I am a Vanguard and only my death shall have meaning, I seek only for my failures to be forgotten." Amar answered.
"And what are these failures?" asked Lisa.
"The greatest of failures, weakness. I was assigned to guard one of our Pylons when the Zerg attacked, all my brethren fell, except me and since then I have been linked with Terrazine to this walker."
"It seems wrong, you should have been seen as a hero!" exclaimed Lisa.
"To my kind, strength is the highest of virtues and I have lost mine."
"Leave him Lisa." Collins interrupted.
Frost observed silently the conversation while checking every angle for an ambush then went to talk with Peter.
"Kid, are the sensors picking anything?" he asked.
"Just a few lifeforms that don't look like Zerg so I think we're good for now."
"When they come we will need every man available." Frost said while unsheathing his pistol "Take this and watch your six."
"I'm a pilot, not a fighter."
"There is a beast in all of us, it's up to us to unleash it" Frost finished while handing Peter the gun and then climbed a tree for a vantage point.
Peter held the pistol in his left hand due to his broken right hand and he stared at it for a few moments before tucking it in the bandage to keep it still. He saw Frost climb down the tree and overheard him speaking with Staton.
"You know that the mobility of the Zerg is almost unmatched so when they come I want you to keep them off us while we escape, understood?" Frost ordered the Reaper.
"Oh, that's all? I'm gonna' have me some fun." Staton answered.
Peter then saw all the sensors going critical: "Contact!" he shouted. Everybody stood with their guard up almost instantly after the alarm and started making their way out of the forest. The Terrans managed to convince Amar to lead the way due to his slow speed despite his eagerness for battle. Cranston and Collins spotted some Zerglings and started firing in the forest while they were moving in formation.
"We're surrounded!" announced Peter "They're everywhere!"
"Then shoot everywhere!" yelled Cranston "Bomb'em to hell!" he yelled again after he took out two roaches.
Staton knew what he had to do, he reloaded his pistols and readied his grenades and the he broke through the Zerg throwing charges everywhere and getting their attention, soon almost all of the Zerg were following him and some even managed to hit him while he was dodging their attacks. He hastily planted some charges and lured the Zerg over them, he readied a grenade and before he threw it he yelled: "Geronimo!". The blast wounded him badly and launched him towards his fellow teammates.
"Staton!" yelled Lisa.
"Don't worry man, I'm coming for you!" Cranston said before bolting for his fallen comrade followed by Lisa while the rest provided cover fire.
When the two reached Staton, the Zerg managed to get close to them and Cranston was shooting everywhere while yelling: "Kaboom baby! It's blasting time!" getting a little careless he got his left grenade launcher jammed and with him still pulling the trigger almost all of his arm exploded and he started screaming:
"AHHHH! Doc, I need some medicine!" he yelled.
"Freakin' healing beam broke, I'll get Staton, you retreat!" Lisa said while picking up Staton and running behind Cranston to their comrades.
Everyone was running as fast as they could, Amar had a head start so he could not worry about getting swarmed. Collins was carrying Staton and Cranston was still going while Lisa did her best to ease his pain on the run and Frost and Wabowski were firing on the Zerg that got too close.
Finally, they managed to exit the forest and regrouped with the Protoss and dug a makeshift trench not to far from the woods. Lisa was tending to the wounded while the rest were fighting for their lives.
"It's good to see that you are still with us!" shouted Frost towards Nalis while they were fighting side by side.
"The will of a Templar cannot be broken so easily!"
"Do you think that Niagra will be able to finish in time?"
"I don't know, but we must hold as long as we can!"
The battle took a heavy toll on the Protoss, the only ones remaining were the High and Dark Templar, Vuhandis and Nalis. Billy got shot with one of the Hydralisk spines in his stomach and now was screaming so loud that his voice was now booming on the battlefield. Vuhandis was in the front and as he fought he yelled his battlecries.
"We march to victory! Come brethren, join me in glorious combat! Our cannons are singing in the name of the ancients and strike woe to our enemies!" his lines rejuvinated his comrades that now were fighting alongside him killing every Zerg that they see "Our fury is unyielding! The battle is ours!" but after he announced this the Zerg got reinforced with more Roaches and Hydralisks "The enemy closes! Let darkness be parted" he yelled again before his shields failed and was attacked and surrounded "You will not fell me without sacrificing yourselves!" he yelled as he detonated his walker and eradicated all the Zerg that attacked him.
The Terrans and Protoss were still fighting with every bit of energy they had and then an Ultralisk emerged from the forest and began charging down, the High and Dark Templar looked at each other before they started merging into an Archon. The very air crackled as it made way for the psionic energies that formed the Archon. "Power overwhelming!" is all that it said before blasting away almost all of the Zerg before getting hit by the Ultralisk and being pushed back. With its shields being close to breaking, the Archon used its entire energy to generate a vortex that sucked the Ultralisk in and killing it.
Nalis was surrounded by Zerglings and before they attacked she yelled: "For the Daelaam!" taking as many as she could with her to the grave. Colt and Collins were blasting away before they were taken down by Hydralisks. Now only the rest of the Terrans and Amar remained.
"We can't take much more of this heat!" screamed Wabowski.
"Lisa, what's happening?" asked Frost.
"We lost Staton, he bled out!"
"Amar, keep firing those Scatter Cannons! You are our only hope now! And for goodness sake shut Billy up!"
"I ain't waitin' to die! Let's have a blast!" yelled Cranston before jumping into the fray with only his one hand firing grenades.
"Peter, you have anything on Niagra?!" Frost screamed.
"No sir, but it seems that some of the Zerg are pulling back. It seems that she is almost done!" replied Peter and Frost turned to him.
"Good, we only need to hold out a little longe..." he started to say before being hit by two spine that were sticking out of his chest and right arm.
"Frost! Everyone, to our captain!" yelled Peter before charging alongside Cranston and Wabowski.
After a tough fight trying to get Frost to safety Peter was carrying him before some Hydralisks emerged from the ground and started firing towards them. Cranston jumped in front of their spines and before they hit he took out those that fired them, after that he fell down lifeless.
"The hour is upon us!" Amar was announcing their deaths when suddenly the entire sky crackled with psionic energy and all the Zerg started raging.
"Get the captain to safety!" ordered Lisa before being hit by Zerglings and Peter was hit from behind, he dropped the unconscious Frost and fell over him. Wabowski was launched in some bushes concealing him completely and the Zerg turned their attention to Amar and started charging towards him.
"So shall I suffer!" he prepared himself for his end when suddenly all of the Zerg dropped dead, but not before some of them crashed into him and toppled him to the ground and he too fell unconscious.
From a distance the ponies of Ponyville accompanied by the Princesses and some of the Royal Guard and the Wonderbolts watched in horror at the actions that unfurled before them.
Author's Note
This is the end of chapter 3 and I hope you guys enjoyed it. I was on vacation in Greece so this part took a lot longer than I planned, still I hope you weren't bothered too much with it.
Again, thanks for the growing views and I hope you will accompany me on this story till the end
Also, if you spot some discrepancies feel free to comment about it and I'll try to get it fixed as soon as possible.
While Applejack was moving some tents she heard what sounded like woodpeckers from the forest, she thought that there was no harm until the sound almost never stopped, at that moment she started galloping to Twilight. She saw that other ponies noticed the same thing and began to looked worried, Twilight was with the rest of her friends and the Princesses except Fluttershy when Applejack stormed in.
"Twilight, there are what sounds like woodpeckers in the forest but somethin' ain't right! They don't sound natural!"
"It must be nothing, but due to those evil ponies we must make sure it's not some of their tricks. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor would you you join me and my friends?" Twilight asked.
"Well of course my faithful student, anything that threatens my little ponies is our number one priority." Celestia replied.
"What about Fluttershy dear?" wondered Rarity.
"She needs some rest, she's been through enough already." Twilight answered.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get over there and kick some flank!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash before she started flying followed by the rest on hoof.
When they arrived near the forest they witnessed a most terrifying sight, they found the edge of the Everfree Forest transformed into a battlefield.
"Sweet Celestia, what is going on here?" asked Rarity dumbfounded before fainting.
"What are those monsters doing!" shouted Rainbow Dash before trying to fly in there only to be held back by Applejack.
"Watch out sugarcube, they are very dangerous, look at 'em. They are pure evil."
"And it looks like they were the ones responsible for those animals' deaths because I think they want revenge." said Twilight.
"What chance do they have?" replied Rainbow Dash angrily.
"Ohhh look it looks like they are winning!" said Pinkie Pie catching the attention of everypony.
"Looks like they will have to pay for their actions." said Twilight sadly before the entire sky seemed to explode "Princess Celestia, what is going on?!" she shouted.
"I don't know, but be careful!" answered Celestia in shock.
"Uhh... my head..." moaned Frost when he woke up and he saw the aftermath of the battle. "Looks like we won, but also lost." he said while trying to get up and felt the pain from the spines impaled in him. He took his gun and pistol from the ground and started collecting the dog tags of his fallen comrades until he saw that Wabowski was still alive and started limping towards him.
"Feels like... old times huh...?" said Wabowski barely breathing when he saw Frost.
"Look at you, all messed up." replied Frost while laying beside him.
"I'm always hot...'n bothered heh." the Firebat chuckled before coughing then he lifted one of his gauntlets: "Need a light?"
"Don't mind if I do." Frost responded while he lifted his mouth piece and grabbed a cigarette which he lit it with the flamethrower. "You know, while I was collecting tags I found some stimpacks."
"I won't need them... you look almost worse than me... how about... you just end it..."
"You sure about that?" Frost after he finished the cigarette and put his mouth piece back on and got his pistol.
"I'm sure as always..." Wabowski answered while looking at Frost standing over him with his gun pointed at his head. "Come on... Fire me..." he said before a loud bang was heard and his flame snuffed out.
Frost took his old teammate's dog tags and noticed the pile of Zerg corpses moving, the first thought that came to mind was that some of them survived, but once he got closer he saw the outline of Amar's walker. He tried to lift some of the bodies, but he couldn't because of his wounds and that he heard voices coming, he hid behind the bodies and saw some talking ponies walking among the dead.
"This is monstrous!" said pink pony with both wings and horn "I couldn't believe that somepony could do something like this." she continued before she started crying.
"Let's get out of here Cadance." said the white one comforting the pink pony.
"This sight makes me sick!" yelled a blue pony with wings.
Frost examined the creatures with his visor and saw that they are parted in four castes with a rare one reserved for the ruling one that seem to be a mixture from the other three. He knew that they will make their way to where he was hiding so he scanned his surroundings for an escape route until he spotted a cottage near the forest. He tried to whisper to Amar: "Hey, area is too hot, got to bail out. " then he engaged his cloak and limped his way to the building.
Fluttershy was hiding under her bed along her animal friends because of the loud noises outside and once they finished she started to calm down. she looked out the window, but due to the density of the forest she couldn't see a lot except, but the little she saw almost made her run back in her sanctuary when she was stopped by her animals. She tried to muster the bravery to join her friends out there: "They must be going through a lot now and I'm just sitting here scared like a bunny, oh, no offense Angel." she said as she was about to open the door when it burst wide open in front of her and revealed a strange creature. At that point she was petrified with fear and every move seemed to take all of her energy and she could only see the intruder, but eventually he collapsed on the ground and Fluttershy breathed slowly despite her confusion. She could move again and she slowly closed the distance between her and her unannounced visitor.
Frost had to rest for a bit because he had lost a lot of blood trying to reach the cottage and saw that the yellow pony was now approaching him, as soon as he felt some of his strength returning to him he jumped the little equine while closing the door and locking it, but her animals seemed to disapprove of his actions and started to attack him. He fought back the little ones, but he soon found himself in front of a bear and it tried to hit him with his paw. The Ghost had fought worse and even with his injuries he quickly dodged the attack and gave a few strikes of his own although he could feel the pain amplifying. He managed to scare off the bear and lifted the pony to his level.
"I will stay here for a few days and then I'll be gone, if you say anything about me I'll kill you and your pets. Got it?" Frost asked to which Fluttershy just nodded in agreement because she was now paralyzed in fear.
Suddenly, she heard the voice of Rainbow Dash screaming her name outside, Frost pulled out his knife and held if near Fluttershy's throat and then whispered:"Tell her that you don't want to see nobody. " standing against the door.
"Fluttershy! Come out, we are having an important meeting!"
"No, I don't feel so good."
"I know you feel sorry for the animals that had been killed, but please come with me."
"Animals... killed? I said that I can't. I'll talk with you girls tomorrow".
"Okay, fine."
After Rainbow Dash flew off, Fluttershy was now released from Frost's grasp due to his loss of blood. She saw the two spines pointing out of him and immediately forgot about the threaten and that he fought her pets.
"Oh my gosh! Are you alright? You're bleeding!" she said.
"I can take care of it myself" Frost said before pulling out the spine in his arm grunting a little.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Fluttershy asked perplexed.
"It does, but I can withstand it." He said while pulling the other spine in his chest and he quickly stopped the bleeding with any bandages he had on him and reached for one of his stimpacks.
"What are those?" she asked.
"These are stimpacks, they are like a drug, they will help my heart pump more blood." Frost said before injecting the syringe in his left arm.
"Ummm, may I ask what's with the mask? It scares me."
"It's not a mask, it's my Visor and I wear it all the time. Now, keep quiet, I must rest". Frost said while limping to a couch to lie down.
Fluttershy did not respond, but she was thinking what she is going to do next and how to keep her intruder a secret to everypony and even her best friends.
Author's Note
Chapter 4 is here and I hope you enjoy this one as well.
As always, give some feedback if you like it or if you spot something suspicious.
Rainbow Dash returned to her friends to relay Fluttershy's message. The Princesses left to organize a clean up for the deceased and the only ones left were the Elements without Fluttershy.
"What did she say, Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Fluttershy said that she's not feeling well and that we'll talk tomorrow."
"I hope she will handle the news." said Rarity.
"Hey girls, I found something!" yelled Pinkie Pie.
"What is it, sugarcube?
"I found some ketchup stains on the ground and it looks like they lead to Fluttershy's cottage, maybe she spilled it and did not notice."
"Oh no, girls, I think we have a problem. We must save Fluttershy immediately!" said Twilight before she started galloping followed by her friends.
Frost was sitting on the couch counting the dog tags in his hand.
"...Lisa, Collins and Wabowski."
"Umm, excuse me, but what are those small tablets?" asked Fluttershy.
"These are dog tags. They have the names of my teammates imprinted on them." he answered.
"Are they like to not forget about your friends, because it seems kind of nice."
"It's kind of like that in a way." Frost said before getting up and looked out the window only to find five ponies coming. "Damn, looks like your friends didn't buy it. Think of something more believable this time." he continued as he moved away from the window and started finding a finding a hiding.
"Oh no, what should I do? Think Fluttershy, think! Ohh right! Harry, would you please help me?" Fluttershy asked the bear that looked grumpy after losing the fight with the Ghost.
Fluttershy took some bandages and some ketchup and tried working something up that seemed more believable, if not, she and her friends will be in grave danger. After a few moments she heard a knock on the door.
"Fluttershy, are you in there?" a voice that sounded like Rainbow Dash asked.
"Umm, yes I'm here, I'm fine." she replied panicking a little.
"I thought you said that you are not feeling well."
"Oh well, I'm not that fine now" she said trying to mimic a cough.
"Fluttershy, what's going on?"
"Oh nothing, just ... taking care of my animal friends."
"That's it, you will open this door right now."
"No, don't..." Fluttershy started to say before the door swung wide open.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, we've come to save you!" Rainbow Dash said triumphantly before she saw that Fluttershy tending to a Harry almost completely covered in bandages.
"I'm sorry girls, but I had to tend to Harry because he slipped and fell not to far from here and when he returned he looked so in pain I had to take care of him and I didn't want to worry you with it." she made it up on the spot.
"It's ok, we thought that one of those evil things got to you." said Twilight Sparkle.
"We were pretty worried about you, darling. We sure are glad to know that you are safe and sound. Oh well, we'll not keep you from tending to Harry." said Rarity.
"Uhh yeah, I'm really busy with Harry, so busy that I'll need the rest of the day to make him feel better again. We'll talk tomorrow, Goodbye." replied Fluttershy.
After Fluttershy's friends left, Frost came out of his hiding spot and sat back on the couch then he took a Stimpack shot.
"I don't think that it's best for you to use those anymore." said Fluttershy a little worried.
"Hey, I am a professional." Frost replied "By the way, think they bought it?"
"I think it worked, you should rest now to save your energy."
"I was thinking the same thing" said Frost before laying on the couch to sleep.
"My friends, would you please warn me when somepony comes to visit us?" asked Fluttershy her pets which she was met with a lot of approving sounds.
Frost woke up in the morning and changed his bandages and then took another shot, Fluttershy was still asleep with her pets so he looked out the window to check the perimeter. Unsurprisingly, he saw nobody approaching so he started checking his gear, he still had plenty of ammo and enough Stimpacks to last him a few days and as food he's eaten a few fruit he found in the kitchen. He took another look at the dog tags before he heard Fluttershy waking up and started trotting towards him.
"Oh, good morning, I didn't think you would be up this early. Should I make breakfast?"
"No, I've already eaten."
"I'm sorry, so what should we do now?" asked Fluttershy.
"You're going to talk with your friends while I'll be out there checking my equipment."answered Frost.
"But what about not being seen and what am I going to talk about to my friends?" Fluttershy asked worried.
"Come up with something. Remember, You're still my hostage so no gossip." replied Frost.
"Ok, I promise not to say a word."
Fluttershy went directly to Twilight's castle and entered the map chamber and found her friends discussing with the Princesses, Shining Armor and Starlight Glimmer. They all paused when they saw Fluttershy enter which made her nervous.
"Ah, Fluttershy, we're so glad that you could make it." started Twilight Sparkle.
"Um, Harry is feeling much better now so I came here to talk with you girls." said Fluttershy.
"We're happy that he's feeling alright, but now we have more serious matters to attend." declared Celestia.
"The Princess is right, we have to finish organizing the burial of the deceased. I'm sorry, Fluttershy, you couldn't know what happened near the forest while you were hiding. There was a battle and a lot of animals died and we think that the culprits met the same fate." said Twilight.
"Ohh, I can't be-believe this. Who could do this?" Fluttershy replied before bursting in tears, but then stopped when she figured out who.
"We know how you're feeling, darling. If only one of those barbarians survived, we could have made justice." said Rarity.
"Oh, I think that you still have the opportunity." the voice of Discord was heard before he blinked in the middle of the room.
"Discord, do you know something of importance?" asked Luna.
"Why, yes. I do have some information to share with you because I love you all so much."
"This is no time for jokes Discord!" shouted Shining Armor.
"Very well, I can tell you that there is one survivor of your wanted criminals and that he is injured and right now he is trudging through the battlefield to see if he's the only survivor."
"How do you know this?" asked Cadance.
"I am the Lord of Chaos, show some respect."
"Well then, what are we waitin' for, we must catch him so he can tell us what happened! said Applejack.
"Ohhh not before I'll kick his flank." replied Rainbow Dash.
Everypony left almost immediately with the exception of Fluttershy and Discord. She looked out the window and saw that some of the guards and Wonderbolts left with her friends.
"Aren't you glad that I may have stopped a villain?" boasted Discord, Fluttershy realized that he didn't know about her captor.
"Oh yes, but maybe it was not their fault that they had to kill those poor animals. Maybe they didn't want to even hurt them."
"Well, we'll have to see and find out. Come along now!" Discord said before he blinked away.
"Oh goodness, how am I going to solve this?" Fluttershy asked herself.
Meanwhile, Frost returned on the battlefield trying to get to Amar. There were some guards, but he used his cloak and slipped right past them, he was looking for the pile of dead Zerg that buried the Tal'darim Vanguard. When he spotted it he went there and checked if Amar was still alive.
"You alive in there?" Frost asked.
"I had hoped that it was the opposite." Amar responded.
"I will try to hack your walker and implant this spare cloaking device into it so you won't stand out so easily."
"Why, may I ask?"
"Just to be safe."
Frost didn't know a lot about Protoss technology so hacking Amar's walker proved challenging, but eventually he installed the device without much damage to the software.
"You must be able to cloak now." Frost said while removing some corpses off the steel limbs of the walker which allowed it to get back up and proceeded to become invisible.
"I do not like hiding from the enemy."
"There is no enemy, but we should keep a low profile. Before I came here I made you some kind of shelter in the forest that is big enough for you and blends in the environment."
"Do you expect me to stay in one place the whole time?"
"It's not like I'll be sitting on my ass all the time, I'll keep scouting and when something happens I'll come to you. And you can still move around, but try not to make too much of a ruckus."
At that moment, Frost heard voices and saw that the ponies were returning in a hurry, he thought that some guard must have seen him or the yellow pony confessed. Either way, he had to get Amar and himself out of there.
"I've added the location of the shelter on your systems, get out of here. I'll come get you when I can."
"I feel that I am being more and more humiliated." Amar said before going into the forest.
Frost started running in the opposite direction, but he wasn't fully healed so he couldn't run at his fastest and the ponies were closing in on him. He tried to reach Fluttershy's cottage, but he was cut off by Applejack and Rarity so he tried to dodge them and activate his cloak, this confused the ponies and bought some time when suddenly, he was tackled by Rainbow Dash.
"Wow, how'd you do that, it was so amazing!" said Pinkie Pie.
"I was just aiming for him until he disappeared and I kept going."
The hit knocked Frost to the ground and he started to crawl to wherever he could hide, but the pain was becoming unbearable. He reached to find one of his smoke grenades.
"Where do you think you're going buster?" said Applejack before Frost vanished into a puff of smoke.
"What was that?" asked Rarity.
When the smoke dissipated Frost managed to muster his strength to hide behind one of the bushes, but his spot wasn't the best he could find because he was right in the middle of the ponies.
Fluttershy just arrived with Discord at the scene and saw that her captor was about to be captured, she doesn't want to incur his wrath because she knows that if he gets angry a lot of ponies will be in danger so she quickly thought up a plan to save him.
"Looks like our friends nearly captured this criminal by the looks of it, although I can't seem to spot him." Discord said.
"Oh, they've already caught him, but you can't see him because of all the vegetation around. You should go down there and congratulate them." Fluttershy made it up.
"But of course, how to celebrate this triumph without a congratulation to our friends for their hard work? blah, I'll do this my way."
Twilight Sparkle saw something move in a bush, but before she could get a closer look Discord appeared out of nowhere and fireworks started flying everywhere. With this distraction, Frost managed to escape the ponies and was now on his way to Fluttershy's cottage.
"Discord! What are you doing?" Twilight yelled.
"I was just throwing a firework show in honor of your recent capture." he answered.
"Say what now? Discord, we didn't capture the criminal." Applejack said.
"Even though those fireworks were amazing." Pinkie Pie butted in.
"But Fluttershy told me that she saw you catch him."
"Oh, I'm sorry Discord, I guess it was just my imagination, but because of me he got away. Oh, I hope you're not to mad, I should have been braver and been here with you." Fluttershy lied even though it pained her.
"It's alright Fluttershy, we'll catch him another time, he cannot evade us forever." Celestia said.
While the ponies were talking, Frost almost reached the house when he collapsed on the ground because of the pain. He got injected two more Stimpacks so that he wouldn't pass out and crawled the rest of the way until he entered Fluttershy's cottage and laid on the couch. After the pain resided he could move normally again so he continued to check if somebody would come to her hostage's house.
"One day, one more day and I'll get back after Amon" he told himself
Author's Note
Chapter 5 out now, I hope you enjoy it.
I'll be trying to update weekly, but if something comes up I'll try to communicate it to you guys
6-You called down the thunder...
When Fluttershy arrived home she was greeted with a knife to her throat. It happened so fast that she didn't even have time to lock the door and she watched with terror at the edge of the blade that seemed to have already cut her throat.
"What happened?" Frost demanded.
"Um-um-um, I didn't say anything, I swear." Fluttershy stuttered.
"Then tell me, who did?"
"One of my friends saw you outside and told the Princesses at Twilight's castle, but they don't know that you stay here, hmm." She wimped before the knife was lowered and she started to calm down. Frost sat on the couch with some device in his hand.
"Is somebody going to come over?" Frost asked.
"Uhhh, no, I didn't invite anypony over since before you arrived." Fluttershy answered.
"Okay then, go lock the door and be quiet."
"But I want to ask you what is that thing you're holding?"
"This will make me better in a few seconds, it's a scalpel lasergun and it will heal me in almost a flash."
After that Fluttershy moved away from the door and started taking care of her pets while Frost was using the healing gun on himself. Things started to calm down relatively quickly after the whole incident that happened outside and Fluttershy thought that she could see Frost pleased even with that mask on his face, but suddenly three voices could be heard from right outside her door.
"Fluttershy, we came to visit to make sure that you are okay after what Applejack told us about what happened here."
The moment she heard the voices she slammed into the door unlocking it by accident, the door opened slowly and three little fillies entered the house and saw Fluttershy getting up from the ground.
"Oh no, Fluttershy, are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm fine, I just tripped..." Fluttershy started.
"AHHHH! A monster!" screamed Applebloom.
For a few moments the ponies stared at Frost that seemed unfazed when he dashed with lightning speed to the door and closed it and captured the three fillies.
"What's going to happen to us?" asked Scootaloo terrified.
"Please don't hurt them, they are just fillies." intervened Fluttershy.
"I don't plan on hurting them." replied Frost and sat his new hostages on the couch. "You see that I have your friend here in a very dangerous place, right?"
"What do ya mean?" asked Applebloom.
"I have complete control over her well being and it's up to you to keep her healthy."
"And what must we do?" continued Sweetie Belle.
"Something simple, you don't say a word about seeing me or what happened here or she is going to be in a lot of pain."
"But how do we know that you'll keep your word?" asked Scootaloo.
"You don't."
"Okay, we ain't gonna say a word." Applebloom accepted reluctantly.
Frost picked the fillies and sat them outside the door after he made sure that there were no potential witnesses and Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo ran off. After Frost locked the door he turned his attention to the yellow pony that was sitting terrified in the corner, he walked calmly to her and stroked her mane a little before grabbing it with force.
"You better hope that something like this never happens again." he threatened to which Fluttershy responded with a nod. "Now tell me, how are the townsfolk?"
"Oh, um, they were shocked by the news about what happened at the forest, but it didn't seem to affect them so much." Fluttershy replied.
"Good, sneaking around town will be a lot more easier this way and you're going to be my point man."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You just go around town and observe things that could help me in some way."
"Oh, okay, I guess I can do that."
"Now, go, we don't have much time." Frost said while leading Fluttershy to the door and shoved her outside. "And remember, no word."
Fluttershy just trotted around Ponyville trying to find suitable information for Frost. She noted that only a few ponies were outside, most of the others were too trying to be as safe as possible, she also saw that some Royal Guards came in Ponyville due to the events that happened at the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy even saw Twilight's brother, Shining Armor with some of the Crystal Guard, this was a great opportunity to learn more about the garrison.
"Umm, Good afternoon Shining Armor, it is good to see you so soon." Fluttershy started.
"It's nice to see you too, Fluttershy. I guess you're wondering what we're doing here. Well, the Crystal Empire offered its aid in apprehending any one of those criminals that we saw at the forest, though we sent only a few guards they are the best of the best and you have me here, the Captain of the Royal Guard and Cadance is even here in Ponyville, she is with the rest of the Princesses at Twilight's castle."
"Oh, thank you for telling me that, I was getting a little bit worried."
"You mustn't fear no more, we are here to protect you."
"Thank you, I'll go visit them right now." Fluttershy finished and left Shining Armor to his duties and she started trotting towards her friends home.
While Fluttershy was trotting she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Sugarcube Corner and she went to talk to them and try to calm them down after what happened at her cottage.
"Hey there." Fluttershy said.
"Fluttershy, are you okay? We didn't say a word to nopony about that mon..." Scootaloo started to say before her two friends shut her up with their hooves.
"I am alright, but you mustn't worry about me because he will leave soon." Fluttershy said almost in a whisper.
"What are talkin' 'bout?" Applebloom asked.
"He keeps saying that he will leave tomorrow because they'll come to get him." Fluttershy explained.
"Who? More of those monsters, what if they decide to remain here?" worried Sweetie Belle.
"I don't think so, he told me that he has unfinished business from where he came from and it looks like it is something very serious. Anyway, anything new around Ponyville, I am just surprised at the presence of the guards?"
"We talked with Pinkie Pie and she told us that there aren't going to be a lot of changes except more guards coming here and nopony is allowed near the Everfree Forest." replied Scootaloo.
"And she said that she and your friends are at Twilight's castle for a meeting, it sounded pretty important." added Sweetie Belle.
"I should join them, thank you girls for telling me and stay safe." finished Fluttershy before galloping off.
Now that she felt satisfied with the information about the changes in Ponyville for Frost, she went straight to the meeting. The entrance to the castle was very fortified with both Crystal and Royal Guards. When she entered the meeting room, it has already started.
"Fluttershy, we're so glad you could make it. Now let's continue." started Twilight Sparkle.
"We have already fortified Ponyville enough so that we know everything that is going on there." stated Celestia.
"I tell you sister, we must scour the forest to search for all who would do such crimes." contradicted Luna.
"I believe the best course of action is to try to reform them, if they survived." suggested Cadance.
"We can't risk it, we must imprison them to stop their evil." retorted Luna.
"What about Discord, we managed to reform him." continued Cadance.
Fluttershy stood there motionless for the entire meeting until the evening, they decided to strengthen the Everfree border, otherwise it was a waste of time for them. She was now returning to her cottage and she ran again into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Hey there Fluttershy, why do you look so tired?" asked Scootaloo.
"I have been all afternoon at a meeting with the Princesses, it was very boring. I just want to go home and snuggle with my animal friends."she answered.
"But what about your "visitor"? said Sweetie Belle.
"Oh right, I forgot about him."
"How can ya forget you have him?" asked Applebloom.
"Well, he just plays around with all of his things, those must mean a lot to him. He's scary, I admit, but I think that beneath that hard surface is a soft heart."
"You do know that he is a murderer, did you forget about what he did to those animals." scoffed Scootaloo.
"I guess you're right, but still be careful, don't want to make him mad do you?" Fluttershy said before trotting off.
When she reached her home she saw that Frost was still playing with those dog tags and he didn't see her come, but as soon as she set hoof inside the house he immediately aimed his weapon at her.
"Did you get followed?" Frost asked.
"N-n-no, I didn't see anypony coming this way." Fluttershy answered frightened before she close the door.
"Did you get the intel?" He asked putting down his gun.
"Oh, yes, there are Royal Guards and Crystal Guards in Ponyville and I think that the Wonderbolts will patrol the skies. Oh and the Princesses had a meeting where they decided to tighten the security at the forest border." she finished.
"They can trap me here, when will the changes be implanted?"
"They said that in three days they will start bringing more guards here."
"Good, I can still leave this place. Very well done my hostage, get some rest, it has been a long day."
"I see that you are feeling better."
"I mended my wounds with the Scalpel Lasergun, now get some sleep, tomorrow is a big day."Frost finished before turning off the lights and Fluttershy trotted to her room.
Frost drifted off to sleep only a few moments after he laid his head on the pillow. As he was dreaming he felt a presence that was watching him and the light was dimming until Frost couldn't see anything. Then he could hear a chuckle in the darkness.
"Your kind amuses me, you are the result of a failed cycle, yet you still continue with your existence. You should have just perished on your world." A voice said.
"Amon, I know it is you, are you afraid of Ghosts now? You come to kill me in my sleep?" replied Frost.
"Oh, I don't need to kill you, I have other matters to tend to, but I will be amused when your life will be crushed by my servant."
"I'll kill your servant and then find a way to kill you, you son of a bitch."
"Will you now? I look forward to it." Amon said with a dark laugh and his presence soon faded.
Frost woke up in the middle of the night, his mind still on the words of Amon. He thought that it was a nightmare, but then he realized that it was a vision and that he must prepare for the battle to come, but now he must rest. He can't fight half asleep.
7-...now reap the whirlwind
When morning came, Frost was already up and checking his equipment before Fluttershy came into the room awoken from the noise he made. She turned on the light and was so intimidated because this was the first time she's seen him all healed up and ready for action, even the animals looked tense and she tried to calm them down.
"Good morning, what are you doing up so early?" she asked.
"I'm gonna settle some scores." Frost said holstering his rifle.
"You're not going to hurt anypony, right?"
"I'm just going to have a talk with some old buddy of mine."
"Oh, thank goodness, for a moment I thought that you really were like the girls say about you."
"It won't take long, I'll be back. No funny business."
With that Frost opened the door and headed into the forest to find Amar while Fluttershy looked dumbfounded at him leave, after all she did to keep him safe he still didn't trust her. After all, she was a little relieved that he will leave that day and she would stop lying to her friends and everything will return to normal. She would like to invite her friends for a tea party after Frost leaves and gets to talk openly about everything that happened to her in the past two days. After all, when her uninvited guest is gone nopony could hurt her and her friends now. She could barely hold her excitement, after a little while after Frost left she went into town to invite her friends over for the evening.
After walking for thirty minutes, Frost finally reached Amar's shelter, though it appeared that the Tal'darim was in some kind of self induced stasis. The Ghost stood right in front of the tall walker and tried to figure out a way to awaken the Protoss. Eventually, he managed to disable the stasis using an EMP round and Amar awakened startled.
"What have you done?" he asked.
"Rise and shine sleepy head, we have work to do." Frost said while walking to the battlefield and was followed by Amar.
"I suspect that Amon is playing a great part in this."
"You guessed it, he contacted me last night and he's sending his lackey to finish us."
"I believe that while we are here, our brethren and the Zerg are pushing Amon back and that he's trying to escape. Perhaps he plans to use this servant as a vessel for him."
"Even if you're right, I won't let him win this easily. He is from the Void, he is weaker here."
"We should never underestimate Amon's underlings. Even with their powers limited, they can still prove to be an extraordinary warrior. Even if I die by his hand I would be regarded as a loyal patriot."
"You need to get a hobby." Frost finished.
When the two reached the site where the battle took place. The ponies started clearing the dead and were moving quite quickly due to Twilight Sparkle's leadership along with her friends. Seeing that they couldn't get out in the open, Frost and Amar decided to hide in some bushes and observe the ponies in front of them. Frost used his visor to detect high value targets in case they get detected, he spotted Fluttershy's friends doing whatever they could to help and he even saw the four princesses sitting at a table and organizing the process. He heard something behind him and turned only to see Fluttershy there with an excited smile on her face, she didn't notice them. When she was close enough, Frost snatched her and held her muzzle shut with his hand.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh, well, today being the day of your departure I just wanted to invite the girls over in the evening." Fluttershy answered.
"Please tell me you haven't talked with them yet."
"Actually, I was just returning home to prepare..." she said trembling before shutting herself up.
"You're lucky that they would actually look for you if you disappeared. Now go and call that thing off before you blow my cover." Frost said.
"This creatures really are free of doubt, comfort breeds weakness." Amar added.
While Fluttershy was still trying to find her friends the sky opened again and a single meteor fell right on top of the field. All the ponies got to safety before the impact which resulted in an explosion. After the dust settled, it revealed a lone figure standing on two legs, Frost and Amar emerged from the forest to face their foe while the ponies were watching from a safe distance. When Frost got closer and could clearly see his enemy his thoughts turned into rage and hatred towards Amon. Before him stood his brother Will in his Spectre gear.
"I don't believe it!" Frost exclaimed.
"Does this enemy seem familiar to you?" Amar asked, but before he could get his answer the voice of Amon echoed from Will.
"You are the only things standing against me on this soft world. Once you are dealt with I shall have a realm in which to be reborn." Amon said.
"Do not underestimate me, Amon." warned Frost.
"Ah, yes, your brother's death launched you in this crusade against me. Now we'll see how determined you are now that I took control over his body. Would you kill your own blood twice? That makes you a murderer." Amon retorted.
"I live to kill." Frost said simply.
"You dare the wrath of a Xel'naga? You will not see the end of this day." Amon yelled before launching a psionic sphere out of his hand.
Frost managed to dodge the attack and rolled behind a pile of bodies while Amar stood and fought Amon with conviction, taking every attack thanks to his shields.
"The hour is upon us! Fighting you will grant me the honour that I lost." Amar yelled with a little joy in his eyes.
Frost was shooting at his possessed brother to no avail due to a Void Shield granted by Amon, but he saw that his attacks become weaker every time he is hit. Frost realized that the shield is draining Amon's strength and he continued to fire from behind the mound of corpses. Amon saw this and blasted Frost's cover leaving nothing to hide behind and the Ghost was now in open ground so he activated his cloak and tried to dodge Amon's attacks while Amar was trying to draw the god's attention. Eventually he succeeded, but not without angering Amon.
"Enough, do you think you can destroy your god?" Amon said while lifting Amar in the air and launched him into the ground almost destroying his walker. "All shall submit!"
Frost emerged from his cloak and unloaded his rounds into Amon's shield almost draining it. When he ran out bullets he pulled out his pistol and continued to fire, but to no avail, his brother turned to him and grabbed him by the throat before slowly lifting him.
"Such arrogance to think that you of all races can strike down a Xel'naga." Amon said before he lit a psi blade from his left hand."I will show you that you are nothing compared to me."
The battle attracted a large crowd around it, all the ponies that were working on clearing the bodies were now observing the brawl and were so shocked that even the Princesses didn't interfere. Fluttershy stood there in complete horror and saw firsthand that her kidnapper was about to be impaled, she was so afraid, but almost without thought she started galloping towards the two fighters. No one even saw the yellow pegasus until she smashed into Frost, freeing him from Amon who turned his attention to the little pony that was now paralyzed in fear in front of him.
"You foolish little creature! You will pay for this!" yelled Amon before the sky opened up again and appeared a Terran Medivac that was barely flying. "There is no escape for you, Terran." he said before firing a psionic sphere and hitting the Spaceship making it crash into Cloudsdale which arrived near Ponyville to assist on providing rain for the battlefield to grow plants again.
While Amon was distracted, Fluttershy was swooped up by Rainbow Dash and flew back to her friends. Frost landed near Amar and tried to get back up before the Tal'darim called to him.
"Terran, my systems are failing, I can fight no longer. But I can give you something that will help defeat Amon." he said as if he was dying.
"What is it?" Frost asked.
"It's the terrazine that fuels my walker, it will give you the power to vanquish Amon from this world." Amar said.
"You do know that the terrazine keeps you alive, don't you?" asked Frost rhetorically.
"I know too well, this is my time." Amar said before unleashing the terrazine from his walker and infusing the Ghost with it. "I am but memory..." the last words escaped the Protoss before his body vanished into thin air leaving the walker an empty shell on the ground.
"You should never underestimate your enemy, Amon. Vengeance is near." Frost announced drunk on terrazine.
"If you think that some of the Breath of Creation is enough to defeat its master, you are mistaken." replied Amon.
After that, Frost charged his possessed brother with bloodlust in his eyes. They both clashed, none wanting to give ground and Amon was even surprised at Frost's power for a moment. In a second, Frost pulled his knife and stabbed his foe in the side for three times to destroy the shield that was protecting Amon and stabbed and one more time before twisting it opening the wound. Amon managed to push back Frost, but was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Frost pointing his pistol at him.
"You were fortunate that this body has a limited supply of Void energies. You are only a spec of dust compared to my true power." Amon boasted.
"It may be so, but I have defeated you here. You will have nowhere to run once the rest come to get you in the Void." Frost responded feeling a little bit familiar to the day he had to kill his brother.
"I cannot be defeated! I am the one true god!" Amon roared before being shot by Frost with his last bullet. "How does it feel, to kill your blood for a second time? Murderer." he said while being consumed by the remaining Void energies in his body and caused him to explode leaving nothing behind but dust.
Frost managed to get away from the blast, but now he had to deal with a whole crowd of ponies that were looking for him the other day. He managed to slip by while they were dazed by the explosion. The effects of the terrazine wore off leaving him weak and barely standing. He had to get back to Fluttershy's cottage before someone spotted him.
Author's Note
Here is part 7 and I hope you enjoy it
As always, feel free to comment about everything you want. And I'll see you guys next week.
8-Picking up for dropping off
Agent Frost managed to make it to Fluttershy's cottage using his cloak leaving all the ponies wonder what happened before them. The princesses managed to keep the crowd together without panicking and sent them to the safety of their homes and stationing guards to keep watch for any new events that might endanger them.
"Twilight, we have received word that something has crashed in Cloudsdale, we need you to take Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and investigate what happened there as soon as possible." said Celestia.
"Don't worry princess, we'll do our best." acknowledged Twilight.
"But wha' about that monster that got away?" questioned Applejack.
"You'll try to find and capture it before it harms anypony else." added Celestia.
"Umm, I must return to my cottage before we go. I have to make sure that all my animal friends are safe."
"Very well Fluttershy, we'll wait. But please try to hurry." said Twilight.
Fluttershy started galloping to her home to see if Frost arrived so she could check on him and when she arrived the door to her home was wide open. She trotted inside and closed the entrance, but she couldn't see her captor anywhere and the lights were off, she was going to turn them on when a hand grabbed her by the muzzle.
"Are you alone?" Frost whispered in Fluttershy's ear and she nodded in response.
The Ghost let her go and went back to finding his Stimpacks.
"What happened out there, I thought you said that you wouldn't hurt nopony." Fluttershy said with an upset look.
"It was personal. Don't get in something you can't get out." Frost calmed her. "Where did that ship crash?"
"I think it landed in Cloudsdale, a floating city made out of clouds where the pegasi live." she answered.
"Take me there right now." Frost said suddenly.
"What? But I have to meet my friends so we can go together." Fluttershy tried to refuse, but Frost had already taken her outside and mounted her and made her fly with a kick.
"We have little time, fly me there as fast as possible." he said engaging his cloak.
Fluttershy, who is not a really good flyer, gave her very best to soar as fast as possible, but not without being seen by Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle who were quite surprised to see her friend going without letting them know and started to follow her.
After what felt like an eternity of flying, Fluttershy finally reached Cloudsdale and found the crash site surrounded by pegasi, but none of them dared to even get close to the downed starship. She landed right near the edge of the circle and felt Frost get off her and she realized that he had gone to the ship that was on some kind of airstrip that did not fall through the clouds.
Frost was trying to pry open the hatch quite calmly due to his cloak and that the ponies would just assume that it was just the wreckage falling apart from the gravity. He managed to slightly open it and crawled inside, only one of the lights was still lit and blinking. Frost decloaked to conserve his energy and he could figure out from the blinking light that everyone inside was dead so he started to collect their dog tags making his way to the cockpit. When he reached the cockpit he could see the pilot sitting eerily in his seat, he slowly approached to get his tags. Frost checked if he was still alive, but to no avail. He saw that only a few of the systems have been damaged by the hit and the impact, he could repair the ship in due time, but first he must take it somewhere secluded.
While Frost was inside the wreckage, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle caught up to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, we saw you fly away without telling us, what happened?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, ummm... One of my birds said that it was urgent and I had to come as quickly as possible." Fluttershy lied.
"Now, it doesn't matter. We must investigate this strange thing." announced Twilight while trotting towards the downed Medivac.
"I don't think it's a good idea." said Fluttershy.
"Oh, come on! Don't be afraid. It's just some piece of junk." Rainbow Dash tried to motivate her friend.
Twilight was right at entrance of the starship when it suddenly came back online, scaring all the ponies present. Twilight jumped back and saw the machine started to float due to its engines that were making a resonating sound. The Medivac floated for a few moments before its afterburners activated and launched it to incredible speed, disappearing from Cloudsdale in an instant.
All the ponies were confused and they all turned to the Princess of Friendship for answers.
"Calm down everypony, it was damaged and it must have just ran away." announced Twilight.
"Fluttershy seemed to know what was going to happen." said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh no, I was just scared of that thing. It looked so imposing." defended Fluttershy.
"It doesn't matter now. I hope that it is long gone and will no longer come here. We will talk it over at the tea party." said Twilight.
"Oh, of course. I must go and prepare. Meet you in the evening." said Fluttershy before flying off.
Frost managed to land the Medivac somewhere inside the forest away from prying eyes. He inspected the damage that it has suffered and realized he could repair it in a few days. Luckily, the engine and the navigation systems weren't very damaged, but still could use some work and the healing beam was beyond repair. He buried the dead some distance away and camouflaged the ship, after that he made his way to Fluttershy's home.
Fluttershy was in her home brewing some tea when Frost appeared in front of her and used a Stimpack. Fluttershy started to panic knowing that her friends will arrive any minute now.
"Oh, hey. What are you doing here? My friends must arrive." said Fluttershy.
"What? I said nothing that would blow my cover!" yelled Frost.
"Of course, I'm going right now to tell them that the tea party is off." Fluttershy said before she opened the door only to find her friends about yo knock.
"Good evening Fluttershy, we have just arrived. May we come in" greeted Twilight.
"Oh, but yes. Make yourself feel at home." said Fluttershy trying to hide her nervousness.
"Is Discord going to join us, dear?" asked Rarity.
"Oh, no. He said that he had business in the realm of Chaos." answered Fluttershy.
"That sounds fun!" screamed Pinkie Pie.
The six ponies sat down at the table and started chatting, eating and drinking tea with the exception of Fluttershy who was in a state of constant anxiety about her friends finding out that she shelters a wanted criminal.
"Is something off, darling?" Rarity saw her friend's discomfort thus drawing everypony's attention.
"Oh no, it's just that it has been so long since we've had a tea party at my house." defended Fluttershy.
"Are you sure, sugarcube? You seemed a lil' tense right there." said Applejack.
"Can't you see that she wanted a party so bad she forgot how to be in one!" yelled Pinkie Pie.
This answer seemed to please the friends who continued to eat and Fluttershy excused herself so she could find Frost. She went into the kitchen and waited for a few moments before the ghost became visible right in front of her.
"Why are they still here?" Frost asked.
"It just seemed rude to turn them away after they made all the way here." Fluttershy answered.
"Unbelievable. You risk everything just because you thought it was rude." Frost scolded.
"Can't you just become invisible again?"
"Ran out of energy. I can't use my suit until morning."
"Well, what about that thing you got from Cloudsdale?"
"I'll just let you know that if something happens, something bad will happen."
"Fluttershy, what's taking so long?" asked Rainbow Dash as she walked in the kitchen.
Fluttershy panicked and quickly hid Frost in the cupboard before her friend would find out who she was talking about.
"Oh, nothing. Just talking with my animal friends."
"Umm, there are no animals here, Fluttershy."
"They just ran off, let's get back to the party."
Frost felt irritated that he just leaves this ponies doing anything they want to him. He considered slaughtering every living creature inside the house, but he found out that these ponies are important figures in their society so them suddenly disappearing would raise some questions.
Frost waited until the last of the guests left until he finally came out of hiding heading straight to Fluttershy in an imposing matter. It seemed that he wanted to kill her.
"I swear, if somebody else knocks on that door. There will be hell to pay."
"I'm so sorry, um, I promise that nopony will ever bother us again."
"Good enough for me. Now, my scans have picked up strong psionic energy emanating from that big castle. I thought that you would know what is the source."
"Oh, well, it must be the magic map inside Twilight's castle. It calls us when a friendship problem happens and we solve it."
"Interesting, you will take me to it tomorrow and I will examine it."
"Oh, but I don't think you're allowed to do this."
"Remember that I am your captor and that you now have a choice, either you obey me or you will pay dearly."
"Yes, yes, I will do as you say and I'm sorry for all that's happened. I have been foolish to believe that we could actually become friends." said Fluttershy lowering her head in embarrassment.
"Good girl." replied Frost stroking her mane.
After that Frost went to keep watch over the entrance with his visor making sure that nothing would drop in unannounced on him while Fluttershy started washing the dishes.
"I would like to know more about you, like what is your name? But not like friends, I just thought that maybe we could have some mutual respect even though we're different." Fluttershy proposed.
"Ughhh, I'm the only Terran here so I think it wouldn't hurt nobody. My codename is Frost and I am a Ghost operative."
"Ghost... that sounds scary. What exactly do you do?"
"I can't go that far even if I was the only man left in the Universe."
"Oh, ok. So your name is Frost, is there any meaning behind the name?"
"Yes, it's cold blood."
"Like a reptile?"
"Just finish the dishes and get some sleep, we have a lot of work tomorrow." Frost said while laying down on the couch falling asleep with one eye open. Tomorrow was going to be the day that he would have to examine this magic map and likely get a sample for testing.
Author's Note
Here is chapter 8.
So sorry about the 1-week delay, I had a lot of work to do and it is still not finished, but I'll try to get next chapter out by next week.
It was dawn and Frost was ready while Fluttershy still felt sleepy when they had to go, but Frost managed to wake her up with a Stimpack shot that gave Fluttershy the feeling that she could run for days without stopping. She regained her composure and after she locked her house, trotted calmly towards Twilight's castle at Frost's order, while her captor moved uncloaked with the shadows, trying to conserve energy for when he reaches the castle. Ponies greeted Fluttershy as she trotted, not knowing that the shy pegasus was leading a cold-blooded killer right to the doorstep of the beloved Princess of Friendship.
Fluttershy even bumped into the Cutie Mark Crusaders who looked quite cheerful before they saw her and asked something that Frost couldn't hear. The yellow pony's reply seemed to calm down the fillies who had returned to their joyful state and Frost had resumed his following. He could see more and more guards as he was advancing, so he must be getting closer to his goal. If he could prove that this map was psionic in nature, he could find a way to get back to the Koprulu Sector, but first, he had to repair that Medivac that he went through the trouble to fly it out of that floating cloud city.
Fluttershy finally reached the castle when she was slightly pushed by a cloaked Frost trying to get her attention, but she did as best as she could not to look suspicious.
"My sensors have finished mapping the structure, we'll meet in the map room in fifteen minutes after we entered the castle. " Frost whispered before he vanished.
The pegasus walked through the entrance which was heavily guarded by both Royal and Crystal Guard, she could even see some Wonderbolts patrolling the skies. Fluttershy was feeling uneasy and started to doubt herself, what if they find Frost and he says that she was his accomplice, what if she panics and destroys the entire operation, this questions started to flood her mind before she finally managed to calm down after she remembered that he managed to remain undetected to her friends and even Discord couldn't find him easily. Fluttershy returned to her calm state and continued her way towards the chamber of the Cutie Map where likely the Princesses and her friends were and perhaps it would be
Fluttershy knew the halls very well so she arrived quickly to where Frost said to meet and she wondered why he said fifteen minutes to meet inside the most defended room in the castle. After a few moments it dawned on her, she was supposed to clear the room so he could work without being seen. Fluttershy was about to panic again when she stopped herself and tried to form a plan.
After a few moments of thinking she entered the room, the elements and the Princesses along with the former Captain of the guard stood at the table discussing the recent events that may have put the kingdom in danger. Fluttershy made her way quietly to her seat when the rest noticed her and greeted her.
"Fluttershy, we're so glad that you could come. We were discussing what happened in Cloudsdale the other day." welcomed Twilight.
"And we are going through all of the possible scenarios that might happen in the near future, darling." continued Rarity.
"Nonetheless, we must prepare for everything in the days to come. Right now, that criminal could be anywhere along with that strange flying thing that crashed in Cloudsdale and I believe that those two have a connection." said Celestia.
"I share your belief sister, but we must keep a close watch on the Everfree Forest. A few nights ago, I sensed a presence in the dream world that didn't belong in this world. I tried to enter it and I only saw a dispute between two beings, it seems that they decided to settle their scores outside the Dream realm." announced Luna.
"I do think that we should watch over the forests, but now they can strike anywhere, including the Crystal Empire and our daughter is defenseless without the majority of the Crystal Guard." worried Cadance.
"Do not worry, my love. The guards that remained were hoofpicked by myself, they are the best of the best." Shining Armor comforted his wife.
"Umm, excuse me! But what if Cloudsdale gets attacked, I mean, have you seen the guy the other day? His awesomeness has something to it, something dark." said Rainbow Dash.
"Relax, silly. The Wonderbolts are in Cloudsdale, nopony could get past them."
"I doubt it, I think this criminal has somepony working for him. How could he get to Cloudsdale even with the power of flight?" wondered Twilight.
"Maybe that thing that landed there ought to just sprang to life an' left." said Applejack.
"No, that is a machine and machines do not work without somepony pulling the strings." contested Twilight.
Fluttershy was becoming more and more nervous, it's a good thing that they know that she'll never be a suspect to her friends.
"Fluttershy, you're being quiet. I mean, quieter than usual." said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, umm, I was just wondering that this bad pony might be trapped here and he only seeks a way to return to his home." replied Fluttershy with a hint of truth.
"I don't think so, darling. Have you seen what he's done outside the forest with those scoundrels?" said Rarity.
"Rarity, please. It doesn't matter if he seeks a way home or if he decides to remain here, we must apprehend him immediately. I will not tolerate any form of disharmony in Equestria." announce Celestia.
"Your Majesty, we'll do our best to track this criminal." said Shining Armor.
"Umm, I want to make a confession." declared Fluttershy getting the attention of everypony at the table.
"What is it Fluttershy?" asked Twilight.
"I just want to say that I have seen the one you regard as an outlaw." Fluttershy answered with as much courage as she could muster, leaving her friends and the Princesses in shock.
"What are you sayin', sugarcube?" worried Applejack.
"I'm saying that when I saw him, he looked so intimidating and scary. I was outside my cottage when it happened, he appeared out of the bushes and as soon as he saw me he ran back into the forest. I think he has a hideout there." lied Fluttershy.
"When did this happen?" asked Luna.
"It happened two days ago." Fluttershy answered.
"We must scour the entire forest, we will find him." declared Shining Armor before everypony disbanded and left the room empty with only Fluttershy in it.
Fluttershy felt relieved that she managed to make everypony leave the room, now she waited for Frost to appear in front of her. He eventually arrived, but not how she expected, he dropped from the ceiling while he was uncloaking startling Fluttershy a bit.
"Now that that's done with, let's get to work. You watch the entrance and I'll see what is with this map." commanded Frost.
Fluttershy stick out her head out of the door so she could see if anypony would come. Nopony was coming, she could hear Frost tinker with the map. She decided to take a peak at what he was doing and saw the map interacting to his presence and started blinking like when there is a friendship problem. Frost used the butt of his rifle to break of a piece, if this map was psionic in nature then he could the tiniest piece, but that wouldn't be enough, he will need psionic energy from different sources so he can create a gateway back to the Koprulu Sector.
"I can feel the psionic energy coursing through my body, it is very weak. I must find something more." Frost said picking up a piece.
"Umm, I don't mean to bother you, but I think that somepony is coming." Fluttershy said nervously.
"We have what we came here for, let's hightail it out of here!" yelled Frost before he put the piece in a pocket and picked up Fluttershy and started sprinting out of the room.
"What are you doing? They'll see us and every guard will come to get you." shouted Fluttershy.
"We have little time, my energy was depleted while I was sneaking inside." replied Frost.
Surprisingly, nopony even saw or heard Frost as he exited the room, but they were really close. He started running in the opposite direction when he almost came face to face with a patrol, he hid behind the wall before he continued to make his escape. After running and avoiding guards for some time, he finally reached the exit which was heavily guarded and decided that the best course of action was to use the little energy he regenerated to sneak past the guardians. When he was about to cloak, Starlight Glimmer appeared behind him and screamed in surprise, thus alerting the entire castle. Frost decided to continue as he planned and ran past the ponies while being invisible, the plan worked and it had bought him some valuable time to get back to Fluttershy's cottage.
Frost took a more secluded route to his temporary home and luckily he wasn't spotted. He put down Fluttershy when he arrived and she looked not too satisfied by the ride.
"That was so intense that I almost fainted a couple of times! Please be more careful next time." she pleaded.
"We still have more work ahead of us so don't get too comfortable." Frost replied.
Fluttershy felt so relaxed to be back with her friends in her home, away from all the scary things that were outside, well, except for one that she herself was sheltering. Frost started examining the piece of the and discovered that it held raw psionic power, but very little of it. He would have to persuade Fluttershy to tell him of other possible sources for him to collect while he was busy repairing the Medivac. This irritated the Ghost a little, but he soon got over it and felt a little relieved that the first step to his gateway was done.
Frost checked if her hostage would have any visitors and then left to start working on the Starship leaving Fluttershy alone in the cottage. She felt so happy that she was again alone with her animal friends even though their time was brief. She wondered what would happen after all this was over, could she return to her normal way of life or was it changed forever by the arrival of Frost. Doubt started plaguing her mind, not knowing to continue to aid her captor or to try to escape his grasp. A quick glance at her friends was all it took for her to return to her normal state and almost forget what she was just thinking, then she remembered that as long as she had her pets and her friends, she would do anything. With this she fell asleep due to the stress and fatigue she experienced today surrounded by her animals. But for Frost the day wasn't over yet, he had to make sure that he wouldn't encounter any of the search parties that were likely sent after the meeting at the castle so he had to be extra cautious when he was repairing his ride.
After hours of working under the constant chance of being caught by Wonderbolt patrols or by the Royal Guard, Frost managed to make some progress and he was almost finished repairing the engine. At this rate he would be ready for take off in no time.
Author's Note
Hey there, I hope you enjoy chapter 9 and thank you for continuing to stay by my side as I write this story for you guys.
Also, we're almost at 1k views, this is a big achievement for me. Thank you all
Frost was almost done when he heard talking really close to him so he decided to cloak and waited until the area was clear again, but instead of the voices dying out they were getting louder and it seemed that there were more than one. A few seconds of waiting and the area was full of guards searching the area, luckily Frost camouflaged the ship before anyone could notice. The guards kept coming before they all stopped and from the sky landed three pegasi that were part of the Wonderbolts.
"Listen up! We believe that a very dangerous criminal is hiding in the forest! It is our job to fish him from whatever hole he crawled into and bring him to the Princesses! This being a joint operation so we will be joined by the Crystal Guard! Fan out and search the area!" she said like a Gunnery Sergeant before taking off followed by her two wingmen.
Frost had to get out of the forest before he got compromised, but first, he must make sure that they don't discover the Medivac. Frost crawled a few hundred meters away from his ship and found three ponies talking and three shots echoed through the forest attracting the majority of the patrols to him, now at least they won't find his only means of escape. He hid in the foliage and started sneaking letting the ponies wonder what happened to their comrades.
Frost made some distance, but he was coming across more and more guards and even aerial patrols. He must have sneaked where they believed he was more likely to be and now he was in deep trouble, more guards means more eyes watching every detail plus the bird's eye view from the Wonderbolts in the sky. Frost tried to go back the way he came, but to no avail as he was surrounded by the unsuspecting ponies that luckily hadn't found him yet even if he was right under their muzzles.
Frost had to think of something or he would be discovered soon. There was a tree right next to the bushes where he was hiding and he thought up a bold plan that could get him out of the circle. He activated his cloak and started climbing the tree as quietly as possible to not alert the Pegasi patrols, he made it to the first branch that was some distance above the ground and at the same level where the Wonderbolts were flying. He climbed a little more before he attempted to jump to the branch of another tree, the rustling made some noise, but not loud enough to attract unwanted attention, he again leaped to another tree and to another when he only had one jump to escape the encirclement and he jumped. This jump proved to be his most unfortunate one in his life as he plummeted down to the ground while making a hell of a noise.
Frost recovered from the fall with only his arm dislocated and a blurred vision as he made a run for it in the opposite direction where he heard talking or hoofsteps. Now with almost all of the ponies in the forest on top of him he had to find a safe spot to uncloak to recharge his energy, there were noises all around him and ponies even almost bumped into him. He continued to run until he found some dense foliage that could hide him for a while as he regained his senses. The suit uncloaked as he was still in the open due to him running out of energy and now was standing in the middle of an army of ponies. Just as he was about to get out of sight he got divebombed by the pony leading the search and now was trying to keep him down to the ground.
"Look at what the cat dragged out. Send word to the Princesses that the criminal is in custody!" she ordered.
Frost didn't use his full strength to wiggle a bit out of Spitfire's grasp, but she believed that he used his full power and started taunting him.
"Ha! Is that all you've got? I've trained rookies tougher than you!" She yelled not knowing that Frost was reaching for his rifle.
"If you are training your troops like you're gloating, than you're doing a wonderful job." Frost said before he hit her with his weapon butt stunning her for enough time to make a run for it.
"You will not get away so easily!" Spitfire shouted.
Frost continued to run, but now with Spitfire and a few more ponies hot on his trail. He started messing with their heads using the tactics that he learned from battles long gone, a few zig-zags to disorient the pursuers then a few improvised traps that he made in half a second. Frost was so close to get out of the forest and Spitfire knew so she sent for all the Wonderbolts near her location to surround him.
Frost was right at the edge when simply vanished leaving not even a track behind for the ponies to see and shocking them to the core.
"How in Celestia?! Where could he disappear to?! Check the bushes pronto!" Spitfire ordered annoyed.
"This guy really is something. He's like a ghost." Soarin' said after he landed near his commanding officer.
"Don't be ridiculous! Keep searching! He's here somewhere." Spitfire finished.
After a thorough search, the ponies concluded that Frost had escaped probably using magic and thus evading arrest, but unknown to them is that Frost hadn't even left the forest because he was hiding in a hole he especially dug for this kind of situations. After the coast was clear, he emerged from his hiding spot and a stimpack later he started making his way to Fluttershy's cottage.
"This truly are dire news." declared Celestia worried after she had received the report about the escape of the criminal.
"A non-unicorn using magic is almost unheard of, sister." said Luna.
"I believe he didn't use magic." announced Twilight getting the attention of three Princesses that met at her castle.
"It is possible that he could have suspected an attempt to apprehend him so he could have taken precautions." added Cadance.
"This proves that our opponent is very resourceful, but he can't hold out alone against the whole of Equestria." said Luna.
"But this doesn't mean that he isn't dangerous. He must be caught immediately and, if the circumstances call for it, be sent to Tartarus." added Celestia.
"We could at least try to reform him like we did with Discord." proposed Cadance.
"I agree. After he is captured, he will be given two choices, the path of good or the path of evil. It will be his choice to make." said Celestia.
"The search ponies said that there is no sign of his presence in the Everfree Forest and three ponies were found deceased. The mere thought fills me with dread. He must be staying somewhere really close to Ponyville, but where?" wondered Twilight.
"I want more guards stationed in Ponyville at once. I cannot allow somepony that dangerous roam freely so close to my little ponies." commanded Celestia to a guard.
"I can try to find him at night while I am roaming through the dreams of our subjects." volunteered Luna.
"Thank you, sister. Any form of aid is welcomed at this point." said Celestia.
"Maybe we can ask Discord to find him for us, him being the Lord of Chaos and all should make it easy for him to learn of his location." added Twilight.
"I dare ask, what if this criminal decides to come to the Crystal Empire? It is almost completely undefended apart from the guards that were stationed by Shining Armor." worried Cadance.
"Do not worry. You may return together with Shining Armor to the Empire and see to its defenses. We will remain in touch." said Celestia.
"Thank you, I will go as soon as possible." replied Cadance.
"One more thing Princess. The Cutie Map started acting rather odd lately, it always changes the patterns and colours and it is very difficult to spot a friendship problem. I believe that our fugitive friend may have been responsible for this, I have studied the surface and saw traces of hits and cuts. I think that he took a piece of it." announced Twilight.
"But what can he do with a piece so small and without magic it will prove useless to him?" asked Luna skeptically.
"I don't know, sister. But we must learn of his plans quickly so we may prepare." answered Celestia.
After the meeting and all the princesses left her castle, Twilight grew uneasy due to not knowing the reason behind the break in into her home and cutting a piece of the Cutie Map. She called for her student Starlight Glimmer to make her feel better in this turmoil.
"Starlight, I feel so confused and undecided. I know that I shouldn't ask this to you , but, what should I do?" Twilight asked dramatically.
"Remember all the times that I had been confused and looked to you for answers, everytime you said the same thing: 'Follow your heart.'" Starlight answered.
"I am so proud of you right now, I was afraid that I wasn't a good enough teacher to you, but you're right. I will go to the library and search for something about pieces of the Cutie Map. You keep things under control here with Spike until I return." said Twilight.
"Wow, really? Your heart tells you to go study at a time like this? No matter, I'll do my best to watch over the castle while you are gone." replied Starlight with a frowned face.
Author's Note
Here is chapter 10 and I hope you enjoy it even though it is very short.
I'll try to publish the next one next week so see you there.
Frost slammed the door shut after he smashed through it scaring every living thing in the house. Fluttershy rushed as quickly as possible to see what happened.
"Frost! What happened?" she worried.
"Got ambushed while I was repairing my ship. I lost them." Frost replied.
"Oh, goodness! Do they know about me sheltering you?" Fluttershy asked a little panicked.
"No, but my ship is almost completely fixed. Now, all we need is more psionic energy to make a gateway back to my galaxy," he answered.
"Do you know where we can find more of this 'energy'?" she asked.
"I have detected a stronger source in the north, it is a long way though." Frost answered.
"Oh, no. " Fluttershy whispered.
"What did you say?" Frost asked.
"Oh, nothing. I was just mumbling to myself."
"You know something I don't, tell me!"
"No, please. I swear I don't know anything about a source."
"But you just said that you were mumbling to yourself." Frost outsmarted her and now he loomed over her.
"I-I-I-I..."
"Spit it out!"
"Okay... The source you sensed can by in the Crystal Empire where Princess Cadance and Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, rule."
"And what could be that was picked on my sensors?"
"I think it was the Crystal Heart. A magical gemstone that protects the empire from evil."
"Is that so? Pack your bags, we're going on a field trip."
"But wait, how am I going to go alone in the Crystal Empire? I have never been there alone."
"You will say that you have business there or something else."
"But it will be awkward for an Element of Harmony to go alone without being on a Friendship mission."
"Do not disobey me!"
"... I'll just tell them that a rare species of penguin was discovered near the Crystal Empire and I will go and learn what I can from it."
"Good girl." Frost finished and went to his post to look for anyone that came to close to the cottage.
What have I gotten myself into? Fluttershy thought.
The next day, Fluttershy was trotting to Twilight's castle where she summoned the elements so she can lie again to her best friends, this thought weight heavily upon her and made her mind a battleground where she fought herself. Should she escape her captor's grasp and return to her old self when she was happy with her friends or should she continue to follow Frost's bidding until he leaves Equestria and her alone? These types of questions plagued her mind. She saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing in the sun and felt some joy that they don't seem to be affected by their encounter with Frost.
Fluttershy didn't want to make the three fillies remember Frost so she continued on her way to the castle. There seemed to be fewer guards than last time she was there, she realized they might be out searching for Frost in the forest or were sent to defend the Crystal Empire which would complicate things. Fluttershy entered the castle and in no time she arrived in the Cutie Map room where her friends awaited her.
"Fluttershy, what's so important that it had us summoned here?" Rarity asked.
"Before I answer, I want to ask where is Twilight?" Fluttershy said.
"She is trying to find a key to the mystery that happened with the map." Starlight answered.
"Oh, okay. Listen, I must leave for the Crystal Empire." Fluttershy answered Rarity's question.
"But what are ya doing alone over there?" Applejack wondered.
"Isn't it obvious? It's about some sort of new animal that she wants to befriend." Rainbow Dash said a little bored.
"OOh! When you find the little guy make sure to throw him a welcome party to the world!" shouted Pinkie Pie.
After Pinkie was finished a worried Twilight Sparkle burst inside the room.
"Girls, we must go to the Crystal Empire!" she announced.
"Wha', but why?" Applejack asked.
"I know why our buddy took the piece of the map and that it's not enough for him." Twilight answered.
"But couldn't he just come and take the whole map if he needs more?" it was Rarity's turn to question.
"He needs another source of magic. The only one that I can think of is the Crystal Heart, we must warn Cadance and Shining." Twilight replied.
"Well, isn't this a funny coincidence? Fluttershy said that she wanted to go alone there so she could study something about animals." Pinkie Pie said excitedly.
"Yeah, ha ha. What a surprise.." Fluttershy tried to hide her disappointment.
"Starlight, you are in charge until we come back and could you tell Spike to meet us tomorrow at the station?" Twilight said.
"Of course, I'll just need to find where he hid." Starlight sighed.
"And Fluttershy, you will be able to search for the animal while we are there, but only after we talk Cadance." Twilight commanded.
"Oh, yes. Thank you very much Twilight." Fluttershy replied trying to fake a more cheerful voice and then she staid a little more until the meeting ended and went home to tell the news to Frost.
A few hours later, Fluttershy had informed the Ghost of the change of plans and he seemed quite troubled of this, it would be much harder for him to sneak and find the source of psionic energy with the most powerful force in the country right on his tracks.
"This sure complicates things, but the plan remains the same and you will remain with your friends and find a way to inform me of anything they want to do." Frost ordered.
"Okay, I will do what I can."
"And don't forget that I'll need you at some point to cover my back."
"Understood."
"Why do we have to be so early?" Spike yawned.
"The sooner we get to the Crystal Empire the better we'll be." explained Twilight.
"All of us have to go to deliver some message?" asked Rainbow Dash annoyed.
"Tha' Crystal Empire is already weak with almost no guards. Wha' if we bump into that guy?" Applejack said.
"For me it doesn't matter what we do, I just want to see if the Crystal ponies have some new designs." said Rarity excitedly.
Frost followed Fluttershy using his Cloak and hid somewhere where he could uncloak. He observed the ponies that were going to give him a hell of a time after he reaches his destination. Fluttershy seemed uneasy, but she quickly fixed her posture so she wouldn't draw much attention as always. Finally, the train arrived. The ponies and Spike entered the car while Frost went invisible again and jumped in the farthest car from the engine. It was as he expected, empty with only hay on the ground, he sat near the edge so he could see Ponyville get smaller and smaller as the engines roared. Frost once again clutched tightly the dog tags he collected from his fallen comrades for the whole duration of the ride.
The train stopped at the station and everypony exited it and made their way into the depths of the city. Frost waited until the coast was clear to emerge from the car and went to find Fluttershy who was with her friends that were welcomed by Shining Armor.
"Twily, we're so glad you could visit, but why did you come during this time?" Shining asked.
"We have to tell you something. Go tell Cadance to wait for us in the throne room, we'll come immediately." Twilight answered.
Frost managed to pluck Fluttershy from the group as it was paying attention to the two ponies and whispered into her ear.
"Stick with your friends for now, I'll scout the castle. " he said with a full map from his sensors displayed on the visor.
Fluttershy shook her head before he let her go rejoin her friends and Frost activated his cloak and made his way to the castle. The security was weaker than the one in Ponyville, they thought that he wouldn't be able to move around country quick enough, but after they realize their search in the Everfree would prove almost fruitless they would smarten up.
Frost made it right beneath the building which seemed to remain intact due to four pillars and saw the thing he came for, the Crystal Heart. As he came closer his sensors seemed to not recognize the source of the psionic energy he felt back in Ponyville even if the Heart held incredible power. There was something inside the castle itself that had even more psionic energy and Frost decided to first search for it before making his move.
After his search around the castle he came across two new sources of psionic energy that could aid him, one was a gateway and the other was a little filly which his sensors calculated she held the most power in the area. With his energy almost depleted, Frost set out to find Fluttershy and put his plan in motion.
Fluttershy left her bags and accompanied her friends to the castle, she saw that the Crystal Heart was still intact and she felt relieved, but she wondered where Frost could be, normally he would come out of nowhere and... Suddenly, Fluttershy was again held back by her captor and hid her with him somewhere nopony could see.
"It's time, excuse yourself from the group and meet me at the Crystal Heart. " he whispered before pushing her out of hiding.
"Umm, girls. I heard that the cute little penguins are nearby so I will have to go, but I promise I'll be back" she lied.
"Alright Fluttershy, don't stay too long now." replied Applejack.
Fluttershy broke herself from the group and met up with Frost which waited for her in some darkened corner.
"Even if here are fewer guards than back at Ponyville, we must not take any chances and get caught. I want you to distract the guard while I work on the Heart." he ordered.
"Okay, I will do my best." she complied.
Fluttershy went to the sole guard that was standing right next to the Crystal Heart, she was a little confident that it was only one member of the Crystal Guard in sight and she wouldn't have to do many things to get his attention while Frost was doing his work on the Heart. She approached the guard with a little smile.
"Um, hello." she started, but with no result. The pony acted as if she didn't even exist.
"...I was wondering how you could keep this whole area in check all on your own, it means that you must be very special if you are to hold the defense of the castle all by yourself while the rest of the Crystal Guard are away in the Everfree Forest." she continued seeing that he started to look smug.
"I believe that you deserve much better than this, I believe that you could even be the Captain of the guard." she finished when she saw Frost working on the Crystal all this time.
The guard seemed to go into his dreams of grandeur so Fluttershy left him to them when Frost finished his job and met up near the entrance.
"Great, now I have to return to my friends. I promised to not stay long." she excused herself.
"The job isn't over yet, we still have two more sources to collect. The Heart was only the beginning." Frost stopped her while examining the piece that he got from the Crystal Heart.
"What are those other sources?" Fluttershy asked with a grim expression on her face.
"First is a type of gateway and the second is a little baby."
"What? You're talking about Flurry Heart, but she's just a filly. You can't do anything to her!"
"Relax, I won't hurt her."
"Promise?"
"I swear."
Author's Note
Chapter 11 is done I hope you enjoy it.
Some of you might have even figured out where this is heading, but I won't spoil it for the rest.
Thanks for >1000 views and positive feedback and keeping the bar green. It means that I am doing a good job at writing for you guys, hope you stick till the end.
12-Never know what hit 'em
Frost entered the castle followed by Fluttershy. First, they had to get to the gateway and collect its psionic energy, then they would go to Flurry Heart's chamber. The halls were mostly empty and whenever they came across any guards or servants they sneaked past them. Eventually, they reached their first target in a darkened room. Fluttershy closed the door and tried to hear footsteps coming closer to them while Frost started his work on the gateway.
"Hey, Frost? I wanted to know how is your home? " Fluttershy whispered a question.
"I don't think much about home. It's full with beautiful and horrible things, I just do what needs to be done. " Frost answered.
"Have you aver had somepony special to return to? You seem like you are always on the move. "
"I had someone, but they're gone now... SHHH! " he stopped when he heard voices coming closer.
"...Fluttershy will join us immediately, but we have to tell the Princess what we have discovered. Shining, take us to the throne room..." the voice of Twilight passed by.
"You better go before your disappearance becomes suspicious, I'll take care of the rest. "Frost whispered.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
Fluttershy left the room and Frost to work on the gateway and caught up with her friends. Soon, they entered the throne room and were greeted by Princess Cadance and Shining went to her side. Celestia and Luna were there also because they were notified by Twilight before she left Ponyville and would not miss the chance of learning the important discovery that she has brought.
"Princesses, we have come to warn you of our fugitive's agenda." Twilight announced.
"And what have you learned, Twilight?" Cadance asked.
"He has begun collecting from powerful sources of magic, he only needs small pieces, but they can contain a lot of magic. He has already taken a piece of the Cutie Map and I believe that his next target is the Crystal Heart."Twilight finished.
"Are you sure about this?" said Celestia worried.
"I am pretty sure." Twilight responded.
"Sister, if this is true then he could be in the castle at this very moment, we found no traces of him in the Everfree forest." warned Luna.
"Oh no! Shining, go watch on Flurry Heart!" panicked Cadance.
"Already on it!" he said before he started galloping to his daughter's room.
Frost finally finished his work on the gateway and he broke a piece from it. The pieces work like the Khaydarin crystals that the Protoss use and can be combined to create a gateway he can use to return to the Koprulu Sector. He carefully exited the room and made his way to the little princess' chamber. Surprisingly, more guards were stationed around Flurry Heart's area than in any other place on the castle grounds, this sparked some suspicion in Frost's mind. He realized that he may have been compromised, but he was so close to finish his mission that he could not back down, he would not. He engaged his cloak and bypassed the guards stationed outside the princess' room and entered with such stealth that no one around even noticed any disturbance.
Inside, he saw a pony in a wizard robe tending to the filly with his back to him. He uncloaked and slowly approached the unsuspecting Sunburst. He was right behind him when Flurry started to laugh which signaled Frost to catch the stallion by his neck and knocked him out.
"Wha-" Sunburst managed to say before he fainted.
Frost loomed over the little filly in her cradle who finally took a good look at the Terran and started to cry loudly. Frost tried to calm her down with a few lullabies that he knew, it took some time before he succeeded and Flurry Heart stood still with fearful eyes staring at him.
"Hush little baby don't you cry papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird... " Frost sang and he got a few giggles from the filly.
With Flurry Heart now calm, Frost proceeded to analyze the little filly using his visor that picked up strong psionic energy within her, especially her horn. With careful movement he got closer and started to cut a piece from her horn while he continued to sing to her. After he was done, he observed that it didn't really hurt Flurry Heart who was sound asleep. Frost wanted to move away from the cradle when he found himself on the ground after he was charged by Shining Armor.
"What are you doing with Flurry Heart?!" Shining yelled as he was on top of the Ghost.
Frost reacted by pushing the stallion off him and stood in a battle stance with his guard up ready for Shining to charge again. He did, and this time Frost met him with a few punches to the face and one to the stomach which forced his adversary to back down, but still determined to continue the fight.
Flurry Heart suddenly awoke and started crying and screaming due to the racket the two made. Shining wanted to go to her to get her to safety, but he was blocked by Frost who stood between him and his daughter, this enraged the young prince and started attacking again.
"Go tell the Princesses that he's here!" Shining ordered to one of his guards that was witnessing the brawl who started galloping as soon as he heard him.
Shining Armor managed to land a few good strikes to the stomach and liver and even the head, but he was still being pushed back by Frost that parried more and more of his attacks and then counter attacked with devastating blows to his sides. Eventually, Frost unsheathed his knife and held it in his right fist with the blade pointed outward. This worried Shining as he now figured out that he was now fighting for his life and possibly for the life of his daughter. Frost attacked and slashed at the stallion who tried to parry each attack, but to no avail as he was cut multiple time on his shoulders which led to a powerful stab to his right shoulder which made him collapse.
Frost stood above the exhausted prince and started removing the knife in a very painful manner when Shining's reinforcements have arrived. With the guards too shocked to react it fell on the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony to finish the job. Frost fully pried the knife out of the stallion before he was sent flying by a blast from Twilight which made him hit a wall and get impaled by his own knife in right arm. The knife had gotten so deep that Frost could feel the tip stick out of the other side of his arm.
Before the fight between Frost and Shining Armor began, Fluttershy was with her friends and the Princesses in the throne room and was worried about Frost, but maybe he could finish his job and evade Shining. Maybe she could help him if there is no other way. She snapped out of her deep thought when Celestia started to speak.
"If he truly seeks strong magical artifacts or even ponies, then we must guard them day and night. Nopony knows what he'll do if he manages to collect enough magic." Celestia said.
"Do not worry sister, we will defend them with all our might. He will never even get near them. Plus the Tree of Harmony cannot be bested. It will not succumb to him." assured Luna.
At that moment, a guard rushed inside and was out of breath. After a few seconds of inhaling and exhaling, he told the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony what happened.
"Your majesty! Flurry Heart is in great danger!" the guard announced.
"What?!" Cadance could only shout as she started galloping through the halls to her daughter's bedroom followed by the rest.
Fluttershy could not believe that Frost would hurt a little filly after he promised her, maybe he was just caught at the wrong time. They arrived at Flurry Heart's chamber where they could see the fight between Frost and Shining Armor and how the prince was stabbed by the intruder to which Twilight replied with a magic blast that sent Frost flying into the wall and get buried by closets.
"Shining!" Cadance rushed to her husband.
"I'm fine. This guy sure knows how to fight." Shining Armor replied.
Celestia and Luna went to unearth Frost revealing him wounded by his own weapon leaning against the wall. They were still afraid of him because they still don't know what could he do and charger their horns at a safe distance from him.
Frost did not seem phased by the wound and before the Alicorns could react, he lashed towards the cradle that still held a crying Flurry Heart. He snatched her before the rest of the ponies could have gotten to her and held her hostage. He then revealed a detonation device in his right hand while he held the filly by her neck with his left hand.
"Don't move! If I press this, the whole castle is going down!" Frost shouted.
"You monster, you would dare hold a little filly hostage!" yelled Luna back at him before Celestia calmed her.
"Calm down, sister. What do you want?" Celestia asked.
"I don't want nothing.. Frost answered.
"Then why have you come in our castle and foalnapped our daughter?" asked a tearing Cadance.
"I just want to see everything burn!" Frost announced.
"Frost! You promised me you wouldn't hurt Flurry Heart!" yelled Fluttershy furiously.
"I thought I left you in that dark room after I knocked you out . I mustn't have hit you hard enough." Frost words seem confuse everypony there including Fluttershy.
"What?" she asked before she realized that he was just bluffing.
"There is a reason why they call me Frost. It's because I am cold blooded and ruthless, none who stand in my way will get any mercy from me." Frost decided to stall telling something about him and what he does.
"Shut it, We don' know what you did ta Fluttershy, but Ah'll be roasted if Ah'll let ya leave this place!" warned Applejack not knowing that Fluttershy sneaked behind a standing closet and started to push it and create a distraction long enough for Frost to escape.
Eventually, Fluttershy managed to topple the tall closet and everypony turned their heads to see what's happened as if only to turn again to see Flurry Heart sitting in her cradle laughing and holding the detonation charge that Frost threatened them with. They all screamed when Flurry accidentally pressed the button, but remained confused after nothing happened for a few moments.
"He tricked us! After him!" ordered Shining to the disorganized guards that immediately started the chase followed by the Elements of Harmony along with Celestia and Luna.
Fluttershy felt as she was running a little happy that Frost held his promise even though he threatened that he was going to break his word. She managed to make the falling of the closet to look like an accident so she wouldn't be suspected as an accomplice, but she will be asked about what happened to her when Frost said that he hit her.
Frost's trail was getting hotter and hotter so he tried to create obstacles with anything that he passed as he was running, even throwing the plates of terrified maids that couldn't even move because of his speed. He created special points where Fluttershy could easily pass through them and now was the closest to him as the rest of the ponies were left behind. He finally reached the gateway room and barred the door with Fluttershy also inside.
"I just wanted to thank you for keeping your word. I really thought back there that you wouldn't." confessed Fluttershy as Frost was planting small explosives on the gateway.
"I told you that I swear, didn't I? Here, take this." he said as he handed her another detonation device.
"What are you going to do now? Don't tell me that you're going through the portal, you might never come back and Twilight has friends there!" Fluttershy protested before the door started being pounded.
"It's the only way out. After five second press the button and say that you tried to stop me. This shouldn't give you a lot of trouble." Frost finished before he stepped through the gateway and after five seconds past it exploded, leaving no way to pursue him. Her friends finally breached the door baring witness to the scene.
"Fluttershy, are you alright darling?" worried Rarity.
"I'm fine, I tried to stop him, but he passed through the portal before he blew it up." Fluttershy replied as Frost told her to.
"Oh no, I must warn Sunset Shimmer!" said Twilight.
"For now, it falls to her and her friends to stop him." announced Celestia as she stared at the ruins of the gateway with her sister by her side.
"May she have strength to stand against him." Luna followed suite.
Author's Note
Chapter 12 is out now and I was really excited to write it so I hope you enjoy it as much as I had creating it.
Let me know if you liked it or you found something that doesn't seem right and I'll see you next week.
13-I am here in the shadows
Frost found himself in a town that seemed familiar to him in the middle of the night and in front of what he figured out to be a school with the statue of a horse behind him. He realized that the statue was the portal itself to this world so he had to make sure he isn't followed. He managed to block the entrance with some boxes that were heavy enough to make some sort of wall, he filled them with dirt and other things to make them heavier and even wrote "Do not touch" on the boxes using a pen that he always kept since he enrolled.
His sensors were going off the chart, but they couldn't pinpoint the source of the psionic energy so he had to lay low until he finds it. He saw two Terrans walking nearby who loosened him up, not being around ponies all day really invigorated him, but he saw that their clothing was different from his suit. He had to at least find something to cover his gear, he spotted a fashion shop after the Terrans were gone and he took a closer look. None of the clothes were really useful to him, but a trench coat that was on a mannequin in the middle of the store which hinted to being a very expensive piece. After he finished scanning through the glass, Frost smashed it and quickly ran inside to steal the trench coat and made his escape before anyone showed up.
He found a safe space not to far from the school because he thought that there must have been a reason why the portal led directly to it, he put on the coat which covered almost all of his gear and suit and he put a balaclava that he took from the store so that it covered most of his face. He still looked like a complete lunatic, but at least it will buy him some time until he finds the psionic source. He decided to sleep in an alleyway with a clear view of the school, he'd get more information in the morning when it will crawl with teenagers.
In the morning, Sunset Shimmer was trying not to get late to class when she saw some boxes blocking the portal to Equestria which made her a little suspicious at first, but then she dismissed it as renovating tools for the gym which needed to be rebuilt. She met up with her friends that resembled the ponies from the other world and started talking about the trip to Camp Everfree.
"Ah am so excited to go in the forest and use mah know how to survive." started Applejack.
"You do know darling that we will sleep in tents and we will have enough food to last us the whole of the excursion?" retorted Rarity.
"Girls, let's just calm down and look forward to spending some quality time together with Mother Nature." said Sunset before a hooded figure bumped into her.
"Watch where you're going!" he shouted as he walked away.
"Sheesh, somebody sure could use a cupcake right now." said Pinkie Pie.
"What a jerk!" continued Rainbow Dash.
"Maybe he just has a bad day and he didn't really mean it" Fluttershy defended him.
Unbeknownst to them is that the hooded figure was Frost and he needed to touch Sunset so that he could confirm her psionic potential. Now that he had the information he needed to stay close to her and her friends to find the source of the psionic energy that he picked up that night. The bell rang and everybody went to their classrooms except for Frost who had to enroll first into the school.
After a very weird admittance for principal Celestia and vice-principal Luna, Frost had gotten into Canterlot High School and he made his way to the cafeteria to eat something else than fruit and vegetables. As he entered, all eyes were fixed on him with awe or disgust, but the years in training taught him to keep his cool in every situation so he made his way to get some food paying no mind to the stares that he got. He went to sit down near the seven girls that sparked his interest, but he was blocked by a girl in a blue hoodie.
"And who might you be and why do you dress like a complete lunatic? The great and powerful Trixie demands answers!" she stated.
"I'm the new student here and I wear this because I have a skin condition." Frost responded.
"Very well, carry on. The great and powerful Trrixie releases you." she finished stepping away from Frost's path.
He sat down in the table right next to Sunset Shimmer and her friends who were looking at him with curious eyes. After a few moments of eating and staring and after everyone else returned to mind their own business, Pinkie Pie stood up and started a conversation with her new colleague.
"Hello, I'm Pinkie Pie and I love parties! The're one of my most favorite things if not the most favorite in the whole world. I heard you said that you have a skin condition so I was wondering if you can't stand in the sun, does this mean that you are nocturnal like a vampire-" Pinkie spoke very quickly before Sunset managed to shut her up.
"I'm sorry, she always gets excited when a newcomer arrives. Plus there's the trip to Camp Everfree in a few days." Sunset apologized.
"I don't mind, but I haven't introduced myself. My name is Florian and you are?" Frost started his plan.
"Oh, I am Sunset Shimmer and these are my friends: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rarity and the one that wouldn't stop talking, Pinkie Pie." she finished.
"Nice to meet you, but I must apologize for bumping into earlier today." he replied.
"It's no problem really. I guess you were hurrying to meet with Principal Celestia." said Sunset.
"I heard some talking about a trip to Camp Everfree and I am curious to know about it." Frost wanted to learn more.
"I guess you arrived at the perfect time because new students can come for free on trips if they arrive a week prior. I think that you should come, maybe it will help you find friends." Sunset informed him.
"Oooh, if you come, I'll make sure you'll have the greatest time of your life!" announced Pinkie Pie.
"Ah sure woulda like to know more about the newest addition to our school." stated Applejack expectantly.
"There is not much to tell really. I was born with a skin condition which doesn't allow me to stay in the sunlight so I had to wear a lot of clothing and most of the time I felt like I was dying of the heat, especially in the summer. With nothing better to do I started training and studying almost every day to pass the time." Frost finished.
"I see you know about the old saying: 'a healthy body, a healthy mind'." butted in Twilight.
"Sheesh Twilight, leave the man alone with your egghead facts! I on the other hand would like to see if your training is as good as mine." Rainbow Dash said smugly.
"What would you like to do to see which one is the best?" asked Frost.
"How about a little soccer match? First one to ten wins." stated Rainbow Dash.
"Sounds fair, I do like a challenge." replied Frost.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" Rainbow yelled excitedly and grabbed Frost by the hand before she started dragging him out of the building and onto the field followed by her friends.
After an exhausting match for Rainbow Dash, she lost without scoring any points and she saw that Florian wasn't even winded, this kind of worried her because this meant that he must have been training even harder than her. They both returned to Sunset and the rest of the gang that spectated the match from the stands and they cheered for both of the contestants.
"Wow, you sure are ruthless, you didn't even let Rainbow to score one point." said Pinkie Pie.
"It doesn't matter, I wasn't warmed up so I couldn't move fast enough." defended Rainbow Dash.
"Yes you would. Florian, while you two were fighting for a ball, I went and discussed your company in the trip with principal Celestia and she agreed to let you come." announced Sunset.
"I am very grateful, but it seems that it has gotten quite late. I lost the sense of time because of this match and I have something to do so I'll see you guys tomorrow." finished Frost before leaving.
After a few seconds after Frost left, Sunset's journal glowed which signaled a message from Princess Twilight Sparkle from Equestria. This took her a little by surprise, but she really wanted to know what was going on back home.
"A message from the Princess? I wonder why at this time. 'Dear Sunset, I must inform you that a very dangerous human escaped us using the portal and I can't pass through it. I'm sorry I was so direct, but please try to stay safe and if possible try to apprehend him.'. This seems kind of fishy, don't you think girls?" asked Sunset.
"Maybe it's just a coincidence that Florian arrived exactly the same day as this man." Fluttershy tried to defend Florian.
"Plus, the boxes that no one can move them and that blocked the portal appeared there this morning so the scoundrel must be close." added Rarity.
"Anyway, we don't know enough yet. We'll be sure in a few days at best, until then, be very cautious." finished Sunset.
But while the girls were taking in the news, Frost was very close and he heard every single word that they uttered and now he returned to his planning.
Author's Note
Chapter 13 as promised and I hope you like it.
I'll be taking a break for a week because of various reasons, but don't worry as I will return in two weeks with a brand new chapter, see you then.
The day of the trip finally arrived and nobody was more excited than Pinkie Pie which was literally jumping up and down with her friends laughing alongside her while Frost was blended in the background. Everybody got in the school bus and they finally began their journey. All things went smoothly and a lot of students took some shut-eye including Twilight who woke up at some point because of a nightmare, but Frost sat at the back of the bus and he could see that it wasn't just a nightmare, that girl is at war with herself and this would mean a total breakdown of her conscious. Frost's thought was interrupted when principal Celestia started to talk.
"Attention students! We're almost there, but before we arrive we just wanted to say how proud we are of you for raising enough money to go on this class field trip." Celestia announced before Luna started speaking.
"When we were your age we made some our favorite memories in these woods and we're sure you will too." she said.
"Now, who's excited for Camp Everfree!" shouted Celestia who was accompanied by a busful of students cheering except for Frost who was sitting motionless at the back.
After a few hours they finally arrived at Camp Everfree. Everybody examined the place before they unloaded their bags from the bus. Fluttershy said something while Frost was sitting on a bench and watching her.
"Isn't Camp Everfree just beautiful? I can't wait until we have our first nature walk" said Fluttershy.
"I definitely want to go on one of those." approved Spike the dog.
"You wasn to see all the adorable woodland creatures too?" asked Fluttershy.
"Yeah, specifically squirrels, more specifically so I can chase them." finished Spike before he barked two times.
"I'm just looking forward to ruffin' it. I'm gonna make my own shelter, forage for food..." started Applejack before Rainbow Dash interrupted her.
"Uhh you know we're provided with food and tents, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep, still gonna forage though." replied Applejack.
"Hm, I'm just after some R&R. The past year was all but a bit too much for my tastes." sighed Rarity.
"I'll say: we fought three evil sirens who tried to hypnotize everybody with their singing, one ridiculously competitive rival school and two demon friends... Uh haha, no offense." Pinkie Pie said.
"None taken, you'll get used to it." Sunset Shimmer tried to cheer Twilight Sparkle up.
"Yep, Canterlot High has become regular magic magnet, gonna be nice gettin' away to a place where we don't have to worry about that kind of stuff." stated Applejack before a boy came running to Twilight with her bag in his hand.
"Here you go Twilight." he said.
"Thanks, it's Flash right?" Twilight asked him after she thanked him.
"Yep, that's me and you are you, and we don't know each other very well... cool story bro. " Flash Sentry answered losing some of his confidence.
"Right, I guess I'll see you around." finished Twilight and they both parted ways.
"You know how there's that girl who looks just like you when she's here but lives in another dimension and she's a pony princess?" Sunset stated.
"Aha" Twilight replied.
"Flash kinda had a thing for her." she revealed.
"Oooh." was all Twilight could utter before a sharp noise pierced the air.
"Hey everyone! If you could start heading to the courtyard that would be rad! It's time to start the best week of camp ever!" the voice from the loudspeaker announced and soon everybody did as it instructed.
Everyone was gathered and they were welcomed by a girl and a boy.
"Hi everyone! Welcome to Camp Everfree! I'm Gloriosa Daisy, your camp director, think of me as your friendly camp and nature guide and this is my brother Timber Spruce!" the girls presented herself and her brother before he snatched the microphone from her sister. Frost has been on too many overwatch missions and he could see that things weren't going very swimmingly for the two.
"Think of me as that awesome guy who should always be invited to fun things" he interrupted before handing the mic back to Gloriosa.
"We aim to please so before we hand out our tent assignments, we'd like to hear from all of you! You're free to do whatever you like here."
"Except hiking near the rock quarry. That's off limits."
"Yes, but otherwise, your options are wide open, so what activities will make this the best week of your lives ever?" Gloriosa asked before listening to some suggestions.
As some of the campers spoke their peace, Frost was drawn to the necklace that Gloriosa was wearing and he could feel the psionic energy oozing from it. This meant that he was really close to what he came here for, but it was as if the necklace was lacking in power, maybe there are more pieces to be added. Frost decided to keep a low profile until he can have the opportunity to obtain the full artifact and continued to listen.
"What about the camp gift? That was my favorite Camp Everfree tradition." added Celestia.
"The camp gift, of course!" replied Gloriosa
"Really? " whispered Timber.
"Yes, really! "
"Well I just thought... "
"Then you thought wrong! " now Frost was certain that the two siblings had some internal struggle and this time it wasn't just him that saw it.
"Anyone else picking up on a little tension between Gloriosa and her brother?" Sunset asked.
"Ehh little." Twilight and Pinkie responded.
"Every year campers work together to create something useful. A gift for future campers. Working towards this common goal is key to forming the strong bonds that will last well beyond your time here at camp which is why it's so important . This gazebo was a gift from last year's group. Oh oh and the totem pole and the sun dial were also made by campers." Gloriosa spoke.
"The sun dial is our year's gift" added Celestia.
"Even though some people thought it was a little impractical since a sun dial can't be used at night." coughed Luna.
"... You all seem like a really amazing group so I'm certain you'll come up inspiring to leave behind." Gloriosa finished and loud cheering started from the campers. Frost found this boring since it was very hard for him to be inspired because he continued to switch sides during the wars between the Terran powers, but maybe he could have inspired somebody from his victories against all odds and that he returned from suicide missions.
"Speaking of leaving things behind, now is the time when we give out tent assignments so you could leave your heavy bags behind." Timber winked.
"Girls will be getting their assignments from Timber. Guys, you're with me!" Gloriosa announced.
Frost ended up with no pair in the topaz tent, but this didn't bother him. In fact, he found it kind of calming since he was most of the time alone during missions.
"You don't have to worry about being alone, you can visit other campers anytime and I also dig the attire." said Gloriosa.
"I don't mind it. Actually, the silence soothes me." replied Frost.
"Just don't forget to have fun!" she said before blowing her whistle to let everyone know that she has an announcement to make. "Ok everyone! Go get settled in, we'll be meeting at the docks in fifteen minutes to go over some camp safety rules. Let me know if you need anything!" she finished after she heard the engine of a limo nearby.
"I need something!" the voice of a millionaire was heard from the limo and the person started walking towards Gloriosa Daisy.
"Filthy Rich! So nice to see you" Gloriosa said while pushing him back to the limo and trying to be as calm as possible before she started whipering "What are you doing here? Camp is just getting started! "
"Just taking in the scenery Gloriosa Daisy." said Filthy without even making an attempt to keep the conversation from prying ears and was actually looking kind of smug to Daisy. "It's so ... relaxing."
"Well, you can look around when camp is over! Now if you don't mind..." Daisy gave up her whispering and was know in a staring contest with Filthy Rich to see who breaks first.
"Fine..." Filthy conceded and got in his limo and drove off.
"Filthy Rich is aan alumni of the camp, he likes to check on his old stomping grounds every now and again. But enough about him! Find your tents and put away your things, We've got the best week of camp ever to begin!" she announced with newfound excitement.
Frost was in his tent alone and put the little things he had on the bed. He lied on the bed in deep thought, This place is full with the energy he needs to get back to the Koprulu Sector, but one question burns his mind: Why is he here out of all places? He decided not to go to the debrief because he couldn't be bothered after being in a constant war for almost ten years, he gave in and took an extra dose of Stim just to help him relax after what seemed a millennia. He hid the syringe beneath his bed with almost careless movement and got off the bed to put whatever he has somewhere else to free the bed and after he finished he stood for a whole minute staring at the entrance before he thought:"To hell with it! " and lied back on the bed for the rest of the day.
At daybreak, Frost was rejuvenated thanks to the Stim and since he was likely the first one awake at this time he decided to do some morning training to use up his energy. He made sure that his suit would be well hidden beneath his clothes and started training in the sunrise by the docks.
Later, when more of the campers started waking up, they saw the creepy new guy doing push ups in the morning light and having a fist fight with the bark of a tree that seemed like it was about to break.
"Wow! Who knew this guy is so strong?" said Bon Bon astonished.
"He is good! I'd like to arm wrestle him! Hey, new guy, I'd like to arm wrestle you!" shouted Bulk Biceps getting the attention of some campers.
Frost stopped doing his training and made his way to Bulk Biceps eager to measure his strength to his.
"Well then, let's get a table and we're on." Frost said before he spotted an empty table and sat in it followed by Bulk.
The two got in position and their hands were tied together by Lyra. The scene was full with suspense and Frost and Bulk hadn't even started the duel. Bon Bon started the countdown.
"Three...two...one... GO!" she announced and the two started struggling for dominance while the crowd was cheering.
It had taken a minute for Frost to get the upper hand, but when he did, he showed what his training transformed him into. Bulk sat speechless like everybody else who witnessed what seemed like the impossible to them. Bulk Biceps was defeated at arm wrestling and after a minute of silence everybody started cheering Frost, including Bulk himself.
"You really are tough Florian! This was the best arm wrestle in my life!" Bulk congratulated Frost before the winner made his way out of the crowd and saw inside the sapphire tent for a split second. Twilight's bed was levitating among other small objects. This has proven Frost that the energy here is stronger than anything he has witnessed before in Equestria and he realized that power like that cannot be contained by an untrained master forever.
After a few hours, Frost was at the docks trying to listen on Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer without looking too suspicious, he sat on the ledge with his feet almost touching the water and started eavesdropping.
"-we need to figure out what's going on with your magic. If you could learn to control it-" Sunset was clearly trying to calm Twilight down and help her find a solution no doubt to her overflowing energy before she was interrupted.
"But that's just it! I'll never be able to control it!" Twilight replied with a panicked look when Frost observed that a boat was racing towards him so he jumped out of the just in time before it hit the docks, he managed to land on the unaffected part of the docks, saving his clothes from getting wet and blowing his cover.
"What happened?" arrived Rainbow Dash in the nick of time.
"I didn't mean to!" Twilight assumed that it was her doing.
"We didn't see anything so we don't know what happened." Sunset saved the situation for Twilight trying to assure her that it wasn't her doing.
Frost was assuring everyone that he was alright when he saw Twilight wandering into the woods, perhaps this was a good time to take a closer look at her.
Frost followed Twilight to a clearing with a pond in the middle with a couple of logs on the ground with Twilight walking with a guilty conscience towards the scenery, but just as Frost was about to come out of the bushes to confront her, she started to sing. Frost was kind of annoyed, but he still allowed her the moment to get it out of her system.
After the song was over, Frost walked up to Twilight, scaring her and making her think that he heard her singing about her sorrows.
"Florian? What are you doing here? You didn't hear anything, right?" she asked flustered.
"You know? It is better to drown your sorrows, not sing about them." Frost ignored her questions and threw a canteen at her that she caught.
"What do you mean?" she asked again.
"Sit with me. And drink." Frost said.
Twilight sat back down on the log feeling a little embarrassed that she actually was heard by somebody and worst of all, it was the new student, she thought of how she looked in his eyes now.
"Drink." Frost repeated calmly.
"Oh ok!" Twilight jumped a bit after Frost pulled her from her thoughts and took a big jug of the canteen that made her cough. "What is in this thing?" she asked as if she was poisoned.
"It's something I brought from home. It's called an Umojan Mai Tai, do you like it?"
"Like it? I almost choked to death because of it."
"Well, it was the first time you drank alcohol, if I'm not mistaken."
"Alcohol?!" Twilight stood up in shock. "Why would you give me this?"
"To help you with your problem." Frost tried to calm her.
"What do you mean 'my problem'?" she sat down again, intrigued about what Frost knows.
"You have a lot of energy within you, but you are weak and I feel that something around here is causing your power to spill."
"How do you know about my magic? You weren't here-"
"I saw you in your tent floating in your bed this morning."
"You saw? Please tell me you didn't tell anybody else!"
"I kept it to myself."
"Thank you! But how do you know so much about my magic?"
"It really wasn't that hard. I saw inside you a darkness created by your own hand."
"What do you mean?"
"You are afraid that you will hurt your friends again and you doubt that you are strong enough to contain your energy. These led to your current state."
"How can I get rid of it it?"
"You can't." This answer almost shattered Twilight.
"But there must be something. Anything." said Twilight on the verge of tears.
"You misunderstood me. You can't get rid of the darkness inside of you because it is part of you and you must accept it as one of you and seek balance. Otherwise, you will end up destroying your mind, body and spirit."
"But then how can I accept something that I am not?" Twilight asked skeptically to Frost's statement.
"There is an old saying written down millennia ago: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.' I'll leave you alone to think about it." Frost finished before he stood up and made his way back to the camp, leaving Twilight with a confused look that sat like a stone lamenting on his words.
Author's Note
So sorry guys for the extremely long delay and I hope you can forgive me, but I'm afraid that the chapters will continue to come slowly until the end of June.
