A Cold Night's Sleep

Chapters

Prologue: Waking Up
Chapter 1: Lullaby
Chapter 3: Searches
Chapter 4: Golden Apple
Chapter 5: Messes
Chapter 6: Ramification
Chapter 7: Shadows of the Past
Chapter 8: Rise
Chapter 9: Buried Emotion
Chapter 10: Blood and Chitin
Chapter 2: New Aquaintances

Prologue: Waking Up

My beautiful world, it’s been so long since I’ve stalked your lands, the slithering being thought to himself as he stared down on his ancient home from atop a steep mountain range. The pale light of the moon bathed the lush fields which covered much of what he could see, filling him with joy and a sense of pure freedom after so long.

But so much has changed in you. His gleaming yellow eyes swept across all that he once knew, taking in every detail. The land had not shifted during his imprisonment, but it had been accented in strange new ways. It was nothing like what he would have the nation look like had he been around at the time of its founding.

This beast preferred a much more simple approach, no need for greens and yellows of the trees when the bare stone beneath always seemed so much more practical. True, it couldn’t be completely eliminated, after all, mortals needed their nutrients, but it could be minimized.

However, that didn’t haunt him nearly as much as the complete lack of the pony tribes where he once knew them to be. It seemed that they had moved long ago, leaving only the ruins of their ancient kingdoms behind. But they couldn’t have gone too far from this place, after all, he could smell their magic and love in the air.

I taste so much love in your air, so much happiness. In fact, the world reeked of it. Certainly a testament to how those children Celestia and Luna chose to rule, so weak and confident in their choices. They never were fit as Princesses, though he supposed that their ‘inequine powers’ likely aided in their takeover of his world.

He couldn’t describe the rage he had felt when Celestia visited that hellhole he had called home for nearly two millennia, and revealed that she and her sister were in fact the rulers of what they now called Equestria. Such an insult to his kind that an Alicorn had taken control of the world above, leaving him and his brethren to wallow within the flaming halls they were forever confined to.

But don’t worry my little ponies, I’ll soon have this world back to the way it should be. He flexed his decayed wings to the side, allowing fresh air to flow through the hole-pocked skin between the bones once again. With a single powerful flap, the serpentine creature took to the air, sending a rush of freedom through his rotting body.

Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed. Dear don’t dream of him, keep your mind off of his hymn. Dear don’t dream of him, or wake and see the dead.

A Cold Night’s Sleep

Prologue: Waking Up

A blue flash came to the resting unicorn as she finally woke from the world of dreams, her horn giving off a faint spark at the start of her day as it had since she was young. With another flash, the sight of her room filled the pony’s mind, and the memoirs of her life greeted her with all the memories they held.

A ragged scarf hung from a peg sticking out at the foot of her bed, granting her memories of all she went through to become a truly free mare. The stitching had begun to unwind a few years back, but the body of the garment remained mostly intact. She had often considered replacing it, but something about what the scarf had gone through with her when she was young gave it a value to her that couldn’t be matched with any number of bits.

Draped over a small mannequin in the corner was a flowing dress of unknown color to the mare, a gift from a dear friend in Ponyville whom she had met nearly a decade before. The dress was a reminder of her first and only time attending the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot, a night she held close to her heart as one of the greatest in her life. The gown still held its regal look and flow, never once losing its sheer beauty.

The unicorn rose slowly from her bed, stretching her still tired legs and neck with a series of cracks and a deep yawn. The mare trotted sleepily from her room toward the small living area just out the door, and the only other room in her apartment. The light of the sun fought to enter the room through a thin layer of ice which had formed over her window during the night.

Hung on the wall over the small fireplace on the far side of the room was a framed picture of the unicorn with six other mares draped in fancy dresses and adorned with jewelry. Though she couldn’t see the picture as it hung, the blind mare remembered that moment like it was yesterday. Her friends in Ponyville all posed in front of Carrousel Boutique in their new dresses before jumping in a carriage bound for Canterlot. They had all been so excited for the night ahead of them, and one or two even had dates meeting them at the Gala.

That had been five years earlier, and yet the memories of those times with her friends still hung in Ice Crystal’s head as clear as the day she gained them.

< < < > > >

A faint blue glow surrounded a clump of snow and lifted it gently into the air before launching it into the forest surrounding the fields. Where there was once white now sat green vines and leaves blooming with the first tomatoes of the season, small green balls hidden among the twisting vines on which they grew.

After almost an hour, half of the fields had been cleared of snow by the lone mare, a calming job for Ice to take care of each day after the usual snow in her home of Snowhoof. The northern town kept a regular schedule of snow each evening, and often times during the day, thanks to the diligent pegasi who inhabited the northern city. With this came the job of clearing snow from the farms which claimed the easternmost borders of the city to ensure the crops were not crushed or overwatered by the snow.

It had always been Ice’s dream to have that job of ensuring the town was provided with food year round. Ever since she had been given the work almost three years after returning from her Equestrian travels it had been a point of pride for her to be the most qualified unicorn for the job. It often seemed like it was her destiny to clear the fields each day since she gained the three icicles which painted her flank when she was just a foal, and her uncanny control over ice and snow made the job incredibly easy for her. At least it did after she learned to control her magic, a feat which had not been easy for the mare.

That was another glorious part of her job, it gave her opportunity every day to practice with her magic, and ensure that she didn’t lose control ever again. It had been a constant threat in her younger years, and because of this she still avoided any situation which may cause her to become overly emotional; whether in the form of anger, fear, or sadness. Luckily, it had been years since her last incident and even that had just been in the form of a nightmare from the past which caused her to wake in a room frozen over.

Another patch of snow rose from the fields, revealing a patch of budding carrot tops which would doubtlessly fill the farmer with joy. The blind mare tossed the bundle of snow into the woods, matching her movements perfectly with the music which drifted over the fields as she worked. A small portable record player sat not far from her, playing one of her favorite rock songs, Pony Erased. Something about listening to music while she worked helped her use her magic with ease, much more so than when working in silence, and the tones always calmed her.

Ice’s lips moved along with the words of the song as she worked, and her head gently bobbed from side to side with the beat. The unicorn lifted patch after patch of fluffy flakes, packing them into balls and launching them into the woods with the beat of her music, changing out the record with each finished song. She had amassed quite the collection in the past few years, a hobby made all the easier by the opening of a record store in the markets of Snowhoof recently. She would listen to just about anything, from rock to orchestral, and even a bit of techno now that it was becoming more common.

She had never had the chance to go to a concert, unless the live band at the Gala counted, but she was hoping to go some time. Each time she was paid the mare would place a small portion off to the side in saving for the chance to go to a concert when the opportunity arose, but so far she’d had no such luck. Not many musicians were eager to travel to a town which never knew a season that wasn’t winter.

Once her work was complete, Ice packed up her records and placed them in her saddlebags before disassembling the player and carefully dropping it into her other bag. Around her the fields were returned to their beautiful greens, even though she couldn’t see the colors themselves. The flaw of her ‘vision’ was that she couldn’t see many things as other ponies did. The sonar-like method her magic employed to give her sight only gave a vague image of what was around her, one which did not show pictures, two dimensional designs, or varying colors. It all came to her in one flat shade free of shadows or motion. If she concentrated the mare could increase the rate at which the magical waves fed her images, giving the illusion of motion, but it drained her quickly and often left her with a killer headache.

Still, the one moment when she had been granted true vision a decade ago had shown her the wonder of color and light, a gift from one of her friends in Ponyville during her first ‘visit’ in the town. She knew what color the fields should be, what shade the sky kept, and the awe inspiring glow of the sun at dawn. That image often appeared in her dreams, and every time it did the day following was always a bit brighter for her.

Not many other ponies were out in the town’s streets as she made her way home, most of them being either working or at school in the case of younger ponies. One or two waved to her from their stands in the markets, which she returned with a smile. She may not have been able to see motion, but she had figured out that a pony with their hoof in the air was usually waving.

She did stop to chat with her old friend Lemon Bar, who she had recently met for the first time since the two were in school together. After Ice had run from the town when her parents were killed, Lemon had followed close behind, moving to Fillydelphia for a change of scenery. It had lasted for a while, and the mare had even gotten married for a few years. She didn’t share many details about what had happened, only that it didn’t work out and after the divorce she moved back to Snowhoof.

“But the money I made there was enough to buy my own shop here in town, so I can sell my juices to everyone!” she had said in an attempt to change the topic, obviously not too excited to talk about her old life. And she was making off pretty good with her juice business, even getting contracts with a few of the local farmers to use their fruits and vegetables in her juices in return for a portion of the purchases.

After buying an Apple-Carrot drink from the stand, Ice continued on her way home with a smile on her face and a song in her head.

Chapter 1: Lullaby

Chapter 1:Lullaby

The halls of Canterlot Castle lay dark and silent in the night as usual. Only the occasional passing of a royal guard broke the emptiness with the clop of hooves on the polished floors, though the noise was hardly enough to wake anypony sleeping within the castle. The only chamber which remained lit was that of Princess Luna as she kept her vigil of the night.

Just beyond her doors stood two of her own guards, a pair of Bat Ponies hailing from lands far away. Luna had always chosen to recruit the foreigners for her own guard, both for political peacekeeping, and for their natural affinity for the night. They provided a perfect partnering with the Princess of the Night, and were loyal beyond reasoning to their guard. Many had often speculated about the Bat Ponies holding ulterior motives for providing the charge, but Luna vigilantly denied those rumors, holding complete trust in her guards.

The Princess had very little to do that evening, as her sister had completed much of their shared duties during the day. Any meetings held for the royal sisters were long over, and any laws or ordinances which had been presented had been dealt with while Luna slumbered. In this absence of work, the blue Alicorn resorted to occupying herself with reading most nights. She had found great enjoyment in adventure stories, most notably an old series about a daring Pegasus adventurer which had been provided to her by the head librarian in the Canterlot library.

Reading by the light of scattered candles, the Princess immersed herself in the world of Daring Doo, often times picturing herself as the heroine as she raced through temples and saved the world from evil time and time again. As she read, her magic subconsciously reached out to the moon, pulling it slowly across the sky to where it would eventually lay to sleep on the western horizon.

A soft knock rang from the heavy door of her chamber, pulling the Alicorn from her story. “Enter,” she offered politely.

The door slowly swung open until the slender head of one of her guards could fit into the room. His grey coat hid him well, even in the candlelight, so well that he could’ve been overlooked was it not for his tufted ears and the large ornamental fin sticking from his helmet. The pony’s serpentine eyes once served as a grim reminder to Luna of her dark past, but that had since lost its effect as she grew to accept it as a mistake, and nothing that she should dwell on.

“Yes Felix?” she asked the guard softly.

“Highness, there is a pony here requesting to see either you or your sister,” the guard informed her urgently. His crackly voice was far different from that of an Equestrian Pony, but to Luna this was a welcome change from the voices she heard much of the time.

“Did this pony inform you of what they require?”

“No, Princess. All she said is that it involves…” the Bat Pony halted and gulped dramatically. “Tartarus.”

Luna’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the hellish prison. Any news from Tartarus was not only unheard of, but could be presumably bad for everypony. Only ancient evils were kept imprisoned there; those who had once wreaked havoc upon the world in one way or another.

“Send her in immediately Felix,” the Princess sternly commanded.

The guard gave a small nod before closing the door. The sound of galloping hooves trailed away from the door, leaving Luna with a moment to consider what this news could be. Had one of the prisoners escaped? Or are there fears of a possible attempt? No, no, the guards of Tartarus could quell any attempt with the assistance of Cerberus. It must just be that the three headed mongrel had run off again, distracted by some shiny ball.

One day they would have to chain that dog in place, but his antics were so few and far between that the issue was forgotten long before he ran away again. But Celestia was insistent that the job of guarding Tartarus was boring enough for the dog without being chained in place, sometimes even an eternal protector needed a break. So Luna sealed her lips about the problem whenever it came up, not willing to get in an argument when the runaways never ended in disaster anyways.

After around five minutes a second resounding knock came at Luna’s door, and the Princess pulled it open with her magic. Once the blue aura had faded, the entry was filled by a rather slim mare clad in black armor, her coat stained by soot from her duty station.

“I apologize for arriving unannounced Highness.” Her voice was deep and raspy, the result of working long shifts over the fires of Tartarus for years.

“It is fine, what news do you bring?” Luna asked impatiently.

“I’ll get right to it; one of the prisoners is missing, and-”

“WHAT?” the Princess screamed with the full volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “What do you mean a prisoner is missing?”

The guard recoiled with fear in her grey eyes, her mane blown back from the sheer force of Luna’s voice. “W-w-we were one s-short during t-t-today’s count.”

Luna’s eyes flashed a brilliant white, timed perfectly with a strike of lightning outside her window. The blast of thunder shook the entirety of Canterlot Castle, causing every guard in the halls to jump in terror. The Tartarus guard before her shrunk lower to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut in fear of what may come next.

“WHO IS MISSING!?” the Princess yelled, her voice echoing through every room.

“W-w-we haven’t found out yet H-highness” she stammered while keeping her head low.

The number of expressions on Luna’s face could not have been counted as she flashed through every stage of anger known, and many unknown. But in the end, her eyes returned to their normal calming blue, and the Princess composed herself before speaking. “Get out, find out who is gone, and inform us as soon as you know more.”

Without hesitation the guard jumped to her hooves and spun, galloping from the castle as fast as her hooves could carry her. Once she was gone, the two Bat Ponies still standing vigil outside Luna’s room stuck their heads into the door. “Highness, should we ready a search party in the meantime?”

“Yes, Felix. Thank you,” the Alicorn said, followed by a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves. Her eyes fell onto the open book between the extinguished candles, cast in her shadow from the light in the hall.

It seemed that Daring Doo would have to wait for another time.

< < < > > >

It was a cold night in Appleloosa, the last remnants of winter still keeping its hold over the night. The sun had been tucked away by Princess Celestia and the moon rose to begin its own cycle, casting Equestria into a pale glow. The stars twinkled in the sky above, filling the city with a peaceful atmosphere to match the silence in the streets. Homes and businesses up and down the main street began to darken as lights were turned out for the evening.

One light which still remained lit was that of the nursery in Appleloosa General Hospital, a small room tucked away on the second floor with one window looking out upon the street. Inside, a warm yellow bulb lit the room as Nurse Carefree went about tucking the foals to bed as she did each night. Only ten foals were in her care this night; a relatively small group compared to what she normally had.

On a usual evening, Carefree would be responsible for almost thirty foals from parents who lived in any of the small towns throughout the Appleloosian Desert. Everywhere from Dodge Junction to Saltstone, Appleloosa General was the only hospital until Canterlot with a well maintained neo-natal ward. A few of the smaller clinics in the outlying towns had the ability to deliver and care for one or two newborns for a few days, but they were almost always filled up, leaving only Appleloosa for most families.

But no matter how many fillies and colts she had to care for, Carefree would enthusiastically accept her role. The young mare had always loved foals, and often dreamed of one day having some of her own if she could just find the right buck to raise them with. The blue maned pony just couldn’t find time to get out and look between her graveyard shift and the daylight hours spent sleeping or doing chores around her apartment while her roommate was at work.

“One day you’ll find him Carefree,” she always told herself with a smile. All she had to do was be patient.

She gently placed a yawning blue colt into his crib while caressing another two foals in her wings, softly humming the lullaby her parents had always sung to her when she was just a baby. She wasn’t sure how she had remembered it after all those years, but it always seemed to calm the babies and put them right to sleep, just as it had with her. Once the colt began to softly snore, the white pegasus quietly shuffled to the next crib and tucked a filly into the covers.

Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed. Drifting off to sleep, the exciting day behind you. Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of dream land find you.

The filly let out a squeaking yawn before closing her eyes and softly snoring. With a smile, Carefree turned away and repeated the process with each of the babies. Each fell asleep without incident; no crying, no fits, not a peep from any of them. Once they were all tucked in for the night, the nurse whispered a last “good night” to the room before dimming the light until it was barely noticeable.

She stepped into the similarly lit hall of Appleloosa General, pulling the door closed behind her until only a sliver of light escaped between the frame and door. With gentle steps she trotted across the hall and into the staff lounge where one doctor and a few other nurses nibbled on fruit and chatted quietly about their weekend plans.

“…and I was thinking about going to that new store in Dodge Junction, some big designer from Ponyville opened it up I think,” whispered the shift leader for the night, Nurse Scalpel. The green earth pony’s name was fitting, as she had a sharp temper and required a bit of time to get used to. She was very demanding of her nursing staff, and had caused more than one new nurse to quit with her criticism.

The pony she was talking with was a young doctor who had finished his internship just a few months before and had decided to stay with Appleloosa General, Doctor Gentletouch. His black coat shone under the lights in the hospital, and did a fantastic job of showing off his lean body, at least Carefree thought so. She had developed a bit of a crush on the buck since he started at the hospital a year or so back, and still held a little hope that he would ask her out sometime. Unfortunately, he was more interested in the bigger personalities such as Scalpel and a day-shift nurse by the name of Flitterheart.

“A designer? Is she any good?” the doctor asked with mock interest.

“Well I don’t think she has much for bucks, but she’s been designing dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala for years now. She’s very popular among the classier mares.”

“And that somehow interests you? I thought you were all about keeping the rugged look,” he flirted.

Carefree pulled her attention away from the conversation and lifted a small bag of popcorn from her locker, sitting to the side to enjoy her snack until she was needed for a chore somewhere in the hospital.

She had almost finished the entire bag when a soft noise garnered her attention. From across the hall a soft sniffling sound crept into the lounge, causing Carefree’s heart to skip a beat for a moment when she realized what it was. The nurse quickly placed the almost empty bag into her locker and swiftly made her way across the hall to the nursery.

Inside, the sniffling began to grow louder, until it eventually broke into a high pitched squeal. Carefree pushed open the door and soon found the crib where the crying was coming from.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay little one,” she cooed to the yellow filly. The pegasus gently lifted the baby from the crib and began rocking her back and forth while humming her lullaby.

Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed. Dear don’t dream of him, keep your mind off of his hymn…

She stopped mid song and went back through her mind, unsure of what had just happened. She had sung that lullaby to foals every night for almost three years now, and those words had never entered her mind as she went through it. They weren’t even the real words, so why did she think of them now?

The mare began humming again, but each time she got to that point the same wrong words filled her thoughts instead of what she knew. No matter how hard she tried to think of the right words, she just couldn’t seem to remember them. It was as if they’d been replaced entirely.

As she tried to calm the foal, the cries only grew louder until the doorway was filled by the faces of everypony who had been in the lounge.

“Is everything alright in here Carefree?” Scalpel asked aggressively, but still careful to keep her voice low as to not wake the other foals, who had somehow managed to stay asleep through the wailing.

“I don’t know, she just won’t stop.”

As if on cue, each of the other babies began wailing down the line, starting from those next to the yellow filly Carefree now held, and ending with those furthest away. The nurse’s panic rose as she continued rocking the baby in her hooves in a futile attempt to quiet her. The ponies gathered in the door each entered and began rocking a foal each, all desperate to silence the screaming.

But the more Carefree worked to silence the baby in her hooves, the more her panic began to grow and slip over the line into pure fear. She didn’t know why, but her mind was suddenly flying through every class she took on newborns, and all of the issues that could arise in the days following birth. No matter how unlikely or unbelievable they were, Carefree’s thoughts were fighting to convince her that every one of these foals was going to die, and that there was nothing she could do to stop it.

As she looked around the room, looks of fear which likely mirrored her own painted the faces of the other nurses and Doctor Gentletouch. Even Scalpel looked afraid for the lives of the foals, and she was always so vocal about her dislike of babies.

Crying foals shouldn’t have this effect on ponies. Why are we all so scared? The nurse thought to herself.

Suddenly the foals stopped crying all at once, as if it was scripted for them to do so at that exact moment. The room fell completely silent for a moment, and seconds later the familiar soft whistle of sleeping babies returned. The room suddenly felt lighter, as if it had been filled with water only moments before, and it had instantly all been let out. All of the fear Carefree had felt only seconds before dissolved in an instant. But she didn’t feel happy, didn’t feel relief, she didn’t even feel confused.

She felt nothing.

Chapter 3: Searches

Chapter 3: Searches

“So what do you normally do with the things you find?” Ice asked the buck as she trotted alongside him toward the southern edge of town.

Lug Nut cocked his head to one side as he questioned the curiosity of the blue mare who had so generously offered to guide him through town. They had only talked for a few minutes inside the record store, mainly about why it was ridiculous that the unicorn had never heard of Led Griffin, but she had still offered to help him find what he was looking for during his visit. It had been a bit difficult for him to reveal why he was in the town, since it was not exactly the most common reason, but he doubted Ice would have judged him for it.

As he had expected, she didn’t, in fact she told him exactly where to go and even offered to lead him there rather than give directions which she may have mixed up. Unfortunately, Lug Nut had to wait for Ice to finish up with work before she could take him to the scrapyard, but it did give him a little time to try finding a place to stay overnight.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him, wondering why the buck had fallen silent and seemed to be staring into the distance.

“No, sorry. I’m not used to ponies asking me that,” he told her roughly. “But if you must know, I’m a bit of an inventor.”

“An inventor? Why don’t you buy pieces instead of looking through trash?” the mare asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s not trash,” Lug Nut snapped at her. “Other ponies throw it out, I make use of it.”

Ice pulled back for a second at the violent reaction, deciding that she probably shouldn’t push the issue further for fear of angering him.

The next few minutes were spent silently walking further south, out of town and closer to the scrapyard where Snowhoof’s ponies threw out their unwanted or broken items. Ice had thrown a clock or two in the yard herself over the years, since she didn’t have the ability to fix them herself, and it was actually a bit cheaper for her to buy a new, cheap clock than to try getting her old one fixed. Others usually threw in anything from busted farm equipment to old music boxes, leaving the yard pretty full most of the time.

“So, what do you do for work?” Lug asked in a softer voice than the last time he had spoken.

“I clear snow from the farms,” Ice replied softly and with little embellishment.

“Sounds like hard work.”

“It was at first.” As she spoke, the mare turned to look out onto the southern fields, barely able to see most of them from her magical vision. “But I’ve gotten a lot better, so it isn’t that bad anymore.” Another awkward silence passed between the two, one which lasted until they reached the scrapyard. Ice continued to walk with Lug Nut for a few minutes, still curious about what sort of things he was looking for in the piles of what she still considered junk.

For as small as the town was, the scrapyard was still rather large. It covered almost as much ground as a small cornfield, and was easy to get lost in if a pony didn’t know where they were going. Most piles were pretty small, but a few grew to almost fifteen feet tall, and about as wide at the base. The owner of the land which held the yard was for the most part good about keeping like items together, and the town generally tried to throw out their unwanted knick knacks into the correct pile.

“Um, thanks for showing me where to go,” Lug said awkwardly as he began rifling through a pile of old clocks, occasionally tossing one into his saddlebags after a brief examination.

“You’re welcome,” Ice responded warmly, followed by hesitantly asking if he needed anything else.

“No, I’ll be fine,” the buck replied absently, still digging through the clocks.

With a small nod, the mare spun back toward the path out of the yard, leaving Lug Nut alone with years of discarded rubbish. Something about the stallion told Ice that he didn’t mind that at all.

She hadn’t realized while they were walking exactly how far in they had gone, and found herself almost at the furthest point from town. Luckily, she had a photographic memory and knew which way to go as long as nothing had changed since her last visit to the clock pile.

As she drew closer to the yard’s exit, Ice’s ears began twitching at the sound of shifting trash to her right. She stopped for a moment to listen closer, but after a few seconds decided Lug Nut had just changed piles. She continued to trot toward town, ignoring the shuffling and instead humming the tune of her newly purchased record, which she had listened to several times in a row while clearing the morning’s snow.

Her humming grew softer as more shuffling rose on her left, sending a small shiver of worry down the mare’s spine. She picked up the pace of her trotting, still continuing to hum softly as the yard gate grew closer.

Suddenly, her vision flashed brightly as a sharp pain bit into the side of her head, sending the mare toppling onto her belly. The sound of falling trash filled the air as images of the past and the present flashed randomly through Ice’s mind.

“Look what we got ‘ere Sweep,” a snide voice said from beside Ice as she lay face down in the dirt.

“She’s a pretty one,” a second voice chuckled, this one deeper than the last. “Think she’s got anything good?”

Ice’s magic flashed an image of her assailants into her mind, a pair of bulky stallions who stood almost a head taller than her, and were doubtlessly very strong workhorses. They stared down at her with sick grins on their faces, each laughing softly under their breath as the mare struggled to stand.

A hoof pushed firmly into the middle of Ice’s back, forcing her back into the dirt of the scrapyard. “Don’t bother getting’ up darlin’,” the first voice told her in a loud whisper.

A cold grip squeezed over the mare’s heart as she was pressed harder into the ground and tears started to form in her eyes. She was scared, not only for whatever the bucks were going to do with her, but of the fact that ponies like this lived in Snowhoof. She had managed to make it almost a decade without anything happening like this, and in that moment, her mind was that of a much younger Ice Crystal.

“Now just stay still, an-”

SNAP

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground behind Ice followed seconds after the mysterious snap, and suddenly the hoof was lifted from her back as the large buck who held her down backed away in shock. His face was drawn in horror, his jaw hanging open as he stared at the other buck. Ice turned her head slightly to see a set of hooves standing behind her, and over a crumpled body.

It took her a moment, but with the next flashed image, Ice noticed a dark splotch beginning to form in the mane of the fallen pony. She snapped her head forward again, and buried her head into her hooves, not wanting to watch whatever came next.

“Ya’…ya’ killed Sweep! Ya’ killed ‘im!” the assailant yelled, still backing away from Ice and the mystery pony slowly.

“And you will join him unless you leave. Now!” The blind mare couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The voice of a pony that not minutes before had been so distracted with a pile of junk that he couldn’t have even noticed she had walked off, and now the voice of a pony who may have saved her life.

The cold in her chest began to recede, calmed by the notion that she was actually safe. Hooves smacking dirt began to trail away from her as the buck who had just attacked her ran from the pony who had killed his partner. The blind mare pushed her head further into her hooves, sobbing into her pale blue coat.

“Are you alright?” Lug Nut asked through the pole held in his mouth, barely audible even to Ice.

She didn’t answer, she just kept crying.

The pole was thrown into a nearby pile, clanging loudly as it rolled across whatever made up the mound of junk. “Did they hurt you?” the stallion asked sternly as he finally turned away from the fleeing attacker, instead focusing on the sobbing mare at his hooves.

Ice shook her head slowly, no longer caring about the pain in her temple from the blow she had received. After a few moments, she lifted her eyes from her crossed hooves, looking up to Lug Nut as he continued to stand over her. “Th-thank you,” she told him with a sniffle.

The stallion raised an eyebrow at the mare, not exactly sure how to react. “You’re thanking me?”

“Of course, who knows what those two might have done if you didn’t show up?” she said with a smile as she finally rose to her hooves.

“You still shouldn’t thank me; it was the right thing to do.”

“You’d be surprised how many ponies wouldn’t have done anything,” Ice said grimly, her memories travelling back to her time running away from the hunters of her youth.

The stallion said nothing to that, instead walking away from Ice and toward Snowhoof. “Do you want me to walk you home, just in case?”

“Shouldn’t we…do something about him?” Ice asked as she looked over the still body of Sweep, his coat matted with blood.

“I’ll deal with that after I make sure you get home,” the buck told her passively.

Ice slowly walked away from the body to follow her savior, a small amount of worry for Sweep still lingering in her thoughts, along with some fear from the thought that Lug Nut had not only killed a pony, but a creeping feeling that he had done it before.

< < < > > >

“Twilight, my dear student,” Celestia chimed as she entered the Canterlot Archives.

The lavender unicorn lifted her head from a stack of books which cluttered her desk, smiling brightly at the Princess and her mentor as she entered. The mare had been in Canterlot working as the librarian for the Archives for several years since she moved out of Ponyville, a position she eagerly accepted despite being away from her friends most of the time. She was still able to visit them whenever she wished, a perk given by Celestia to ensure that Twilight and her friends remained close. Though the Elements of Harmony no longer all lived in Ponyville, the six made sure to meet up as often as possible, always clearing room in their schedules to meet up and catch up on each other’s lives.

“Princess, it’s wonderful to see you,” Twilight beamed as she rose from her desk, offering a small bow.

“It is good to see you too. How are you fairing?” the Princess asked as she looked over the books her student had been reading.

“I’m doing fine, thank you; just doing some reading in my spare time.”

“As usual,” Celestia joked.

After a small chuckle, Twilight quickly tried to organize the mess of books and scrolls on her desk before returning her attention to Celestia. “What can I help you with Princess?”

“I’m looking for some information on a very ancient creature, where would that sort of thing be kept?”

“Well…that depends,” the mare responded while rubbing her chin. “Do you know where it comes from? That might make it easier to find.”

Celestia slowly shook her head. “I’m afraid I do not know its origin, only that it would be…” the alicorn paused, casually looking around to ensure no other ponies would hear the grim news she was about to deliver. So far only the guards of Tartarus, Celestia, Luna, and a few of their own guards new of the escape, and to prevent panic the Princess wished to keep it in as small of a circle as possible. “Twilight, do you have any information here on the creatures within Tartarus?” she asked in a whisper.

“Why would you want to know about…” the unicorn began to ask. “Are they having problems there?”

“You could say that,” Celestia said grimly as she looked out to the shelves of the Archives. “Please, Twilight, this is important.”

A sense of worry spread through the lavender unicorn as she watched her mentor. She had seen the alicorn worried many times before when she asked the Elements of Harmony to save Equestria from one evil or another, and she was starting to look much the same way just in the few minutes since she’d entered the Archives. “Of course Princess, what kind of creature are we looking for?”

“I’m not entirely sure; Luna is going to Tartarus now to learn more about it. All we know is the name Deimos.”

The pair began walking deeper into the archive, neither sure of where to begin searching for the history of Deimos. After a few moments of tense silence, the Princess turned her head slightly to Twilight, a small smile on her face. “So, how is your little filly doing?”

< < < > > >

For as long as Luna had been a Princess of Equestria, she had never once visited Tartarus. She had never seen the state of the prison, its inmates, or even met its Warden. Celestia had always told her that it was a place of horror, one which she even wished to never see again after her only visit over a thousand years before. So as her carriage flew toward the ancient prison, thoughts of curiosity and fear flowed freely through the alicorn’s mind.

She wondered what sorts of spells must be in place to keep what were presumably the greatest threats to Equestria in check, and how large the group of unicorns must be to keep such spells powered? She wondered how large the prison must be to hold so many evil beings, and what they would look like? Surely some must be able to speak if they had been given names, but what would they speak of after such a long imprisonment? Would they hold bitter feelings, or would some be regretful of the actions which landed them in such a horrible place?

Luna shook the thoughts from her head, focusing on her task at hand. Perhaps after this incident was resolved and all was back to normal she could visit the prison again and indulge her curiosity with the Warden. But her job was much more important, and if she failed, there was no telling what might happen to Equestria. She only hoped that the Warden or another guard would have the information she needed about Deimos.

Behind her, the sky glowed a pale yellow as the sun fell beneath the horizon. She reached out with her magic, bidding the moon to rise into the sky and take the place of her sister’s light. Yet something ahead of the carriage disturbed the Princess. Even as the moon rose, casting a pale light onto the mountains below, a red glow still coated the horizon. She had never seen this end of Equestria, only knowing that it was the land which ponies had once called home before they were forced to build a new home after years of blizzards. But even with her lack of knowledge on the area, she had never read or heard of a red light on the horizon.

“Guard, what is that light?” she asked one of the pegasi pulling the chariot. She was no longer in the company of her own bat-pony guards, instead travelling with Celestia’s own guard due to the early hour of her departure from the Castle.

Without turning to look at her, the guard answered bluntly. “That is from Tartarus you’re Highness.”

A wave of shock passed over the blue alicorn, causing her eyes to widen. “A prison is lighting the entire horizon like that? How large is it exactly?” she asked quickly, standing as tall as she could to gain a better view.

“It would be easier to let you see for yourself…” the guard said quietly.

Luna continued to crane her neck in search of the prison, anxious to see what about it would cause such a strange phenomenon. Her questions were answered only minutes later.

A large ridge, which had to have been created magically due to how level the mountain tops were, spanned in each direction as far as she could see, unbroken except for a massive gate at the center. The metal of the gate was stained black by centuries of soot, and appeared unscarred as the carriage approached. At the top of the hills was the source of the strange light, a line of magical energy spanning the entirety of the ridge which Luna could feel even from a distance.

“Is that,” was all that the Princess could muster as she stared at the sight before her.

“Yes Highness,” the guard responded. “Welcome to Tartarus.”

< < < > > >

“No...Gem, no…” the buck mumbled to himself sleepily, rolling helplessly in his bed as nightmares tore through his mind. There was nothing he could do about it, only watch from behind some kind of invisible wall as his foal was torn apart by the timber wolves, screaming for her Daddy to help until finally she lay lifeless in a pool of blood.

Over his squirming form, a pair of yellow eyes gleamed with swirling energy, feeding the fear that filled the mind of its victim as he slumbered. The once rotted body of Deimos slowly healed as the dream dragged on, sealing the holes in his flesh and returning his glossy skin to its once glorious black hue. Wisps of yellow energy flowed through the wounds until they were mended, finally allowing him to feel complete once again.

The glow of his eyes receded, returning them to their usual serpentine look as he grinned over his work. The remaining yellow energy grew into a flowing mane around his neck, casting a sickly light across the room. For as much love this Equestria held, there was still more fear than Deimos knew what to do with, and always more to take from the pitiful ponies who lived there.

For a brief moment, the serpentine creature considered tormenting the young foal sleeping just down the hall; a little dessert after the main course that was her father. He even found himself suddenly floating over her peaceful form. It would just take a single thought and her dreams of flowers and rainbows would twist to his will, embodying her deepest fears and horrors. But he restrained himself, unwilling to risk giving away his presence should somepony in Equestria recall his name.

Still, he had to keep up the reputation that came with that name, and that meant leaving a memento of his visit behind for the stallion who had so willingly listened to the lullaby. Conveniently, the foal had been gifted a pet bird only a few weeks before. Not quite as large of a calling card as Deimos had once used, but it would do the trick for the time.

A tendril of yellow energy slipped into the cage that sat just beside the filly’s bed, gently caressing the small bird inside. “Rest well feathered one, and know the honor to be bestowed upon you,” the spirit whispered into the cage, his voice sounding like the wind to any but his victim.

Without warning the bird disappeared, leaving only three yellow feathers in the cage for the child to caress in the morning. The rest was left on the wall of the Father, its avian chest splayed open for him to see upon awaking from the nightmare which still gripped his mind.

Deimos appeared again in a swirl of sickly yellow energy atop a mountain overlooking Equestria, giving him a clear view of both Ponyville and Canterlot. He was finally whole again, and it had taken but a few days to achieve. Their minds have weakened, Deimos thought to himself as he stared out onto the horizon. And they have grown confident of their safety. The spirit chuckled softly as his head slowly turned to the north, out into the deserts and the lands beyond Equestria.

He could sense so much loathing for the ponies there, but it was suppressed, held back for uncertainty. He knew the energy, but he had gone for so long without feeling it that he had considered those insects long extinct. A smirk spread across his slender snout, revealing the fangs hidden behind his lips. It was time for him to move past feeding from sleeping fools, and finish what he had begun so long ago. Fear had led them to anger, anger had led them to hate, and hate would lead to their suffering.

All they needed was one last push.

Chapter 4: Golden Apple

Chapter 4: Golden Apple

When Lug Nut walked into the bar, his coat was pressed to his skin by a layer of water left from him rolling in the snow. His white and grey hair was clean of the dirt which had covered it minutes before, and the mud which had been caked onto his hooves was gone, leaving them clean, but causing him to leave a small trail of wet prints on the wooden floor of the pub.

Burying Sweep had not been a clean task, and had left a large amount of dirt on Lug Nut’s legs and chest, as well as some blood on his back from carrying the deceased pony. Luckily, Snowhoof was always coated in snow, so he didn’t have to look far to find a way to wash himself before returning to town. It had been a little painful at points, but the stallion had grown used to the pain throughout his life.

The air in the bar was kept nice and warm by a large central fireplace, allowing the buck’s coat and rust colored mane to dry quickly as he searched for the one he was meeting. It didn’t take too long, only a few seconds after walking through the door he saw the pale blue hoof waving to him from the back corner of the room.

The bar was a rather small stone building near the outside of town, the last business along the main street from the town’s gate. It was adorned with the usual array of random knick knacks and advertisements for different beers and liquors, as well as several posters from the local stores. The wooden floors appeared to be very strong, carved from wood which was found in the forests surrounding the town and protected by a high quality lacquer; a necessary touch in a place where wet hooves would be walking every day due to the snow covered streets.

Waitresses walked between the tables lining the walls, each wearing a small bag matching their cutiemarks around their necks as they took orders and delivered assorted drinks to the patrons. Most were earth ponies, carrying the trays deftly in their muzzles, but there was one unicorn casually levitating the drinks in an orange aura over her head.

Music flowed into the space from speakers which were spaced out around the room, currently playing a soft electric song by a musician from Ponyville, a tune which was familiar to Lug Nut. He made his way back to where Ice Crystal was sitting, careful not to bump into anyone as they enjoyed their drinks and the company of friends. When he got to the table, he found that the unicorn was speaking with a short earth pony waitress who had a shining silver bow in her green mane, and a martini for a cutiemark. He quickly noticed that her mane was no longer the mess it had been earlier in the day, but had been pulled into a pair of pigtails which hung down on each side of her head.

“Lug Nut! You’re just in time,” Ice chirped with a smile, waving a hoof toward the waitress. “Tini just got here to take our order.”

Lug Nut resisted the urge to point out the coincidence that such a small pony would be named ‘Tini’, and instead sat down across from Ice, turning to the waitress with a smile. “Nice to meet you Tini, what do you have for vodkas?” he asked casually.

“Well, we’ve got some Grey Pegasus, Cloud One, and I think one more bottle of Stallionoff,” Tini told him with a smile, waving her hoof in front of her with each brand she named off.

“Hmm,” Lug Nut groaned in thought, rubbing his chin with one hoof as he tried to decide. “I think I’ll try some of that Cloud One.”

“Great choice,” the waitress chimed as she turned to Ice. “And what about you dear?”

“I’ll have my usual,” the unicorn said with a smile.

“Excellent, I’ll get that right out to you two.”

Once the mare had gotten out of earshot, Lug Nut leaned close to Ice and quietly asked, “Her name is Tini?” He hoped that it wasn’t out of line for him to ask that, but he couldn’t get the thought out of his head until he asked someone.

Ice giggled softly in response, shaking her head slowly. “No, that’s just what ponies around her call her. Her name is Appletini.”

Lug Nut deadpanned as he internally kicked himself for not thinking that originally. She was a pony working in a bar, with a cutiemark of a martini, of course it would be something like that. The stallion shook the thought off and leaned back from Ice, looking around briefly before shrugging out of his cloak. “This is a nice place; do you come here a lot?”

“I come almost every Friday with some friends,” Ice told him with a smile. “I really like it, everypony is so friendly.”

Lug Nut nodded in agreement, having realized that unlike many bars he hadn’t heard a fight or shouting yet. It was actually pretty quiet, with everyone raising their voices just enough to hear each other over the music, which had switched to one of Lug Nut’s favorites from Led Griffin.

“I didn’t know you’re a pegasus,” Ice said suddenly from the other side of the table. She had her head cocked slightly to one side, her horn flickering with a blue light that the buck hadn’t noticed before.

Lug looked at her with a dry look on his face. “Is that a problem?” he asked sternly.

“What? No,” Ice said frantically, realizing that she had upset the stallion. “I just didn’t notice before...you were always in that cloak and…sorry.” The mare turned her head away from him, staring at the tip of her tail which curled around her side.

Once again, Lug Nut internally kicked himself for overreacting. She had just been curious, like when she’d asked about what he did with the stuff from junkyards, there was no reason for him to react like that, and he knew it. “No, Ice, it’s fine. Just didn’t expect the question is all.” He put on his best cheesy smile, doing his best to show that he was being sincere.

The unicorn looked back up to him and giggled slightly at his ridiculous smile, her usual joy seeming to return.

“Okay, here’s your drinks!” Tini sang happily as she placed a small tray on the table in front of the two. She lifted each drink and placed them in front of the pony who ordered them with a smile, a clear glass of vodka for Lug, and a bright green drink in a tall, Y-shaped glass for Ice. “Want yours on your tab Crys?”

“Put them both on there please,” Ice said with a smile.

“Gotcha,” the waitress chirped, lifting the tray from the table and giving a quick wave to Lug Nut before walking back to the bar.

“What do you got there?” Lug Nut asked the unicorn, staring at her drink with a raised eyebrow. He assumed it was probably a martini by the shape of the glass, but he’d never seen a green martini before, or a martini the size of his hoof before either.

“A TiniAppleTini,” Ice said with a huge smile, her horn flashing faster as she stared into the green drink.

Lug dropped his head into his hooves with a loud CLOP, groaning slightly. “Of course it is.”

< < < > > >

Tartarus was nothing as Luna had expected, nothing that anypony would expect if they had been told of its existence at all. She had been lead to believe it would be a large structure of some kind with several cells to hold the prisoners, perhaps with extra magical bindings or spell-reinforced doors to keep the creatures imprisoned there from breaking out. She expected a dungeon, not this.

What lay out before her after entering the black gate was a chasm so deep she couldn’t see the bottom. On the side which she entered from, the canyon was lined by the mountain range which had hidden the nature of Tartarus from horizon to horizon. At the top of this range was the red barrier which she’d seen as she approached, but unlike what she had thought before, it had not been a simple wall extending from the top of the ridgeline, but rather wrapped over the top of the chasm, touching down on the other side to form a giant bubble. From deep inside the earthen scar echoed unnatural calls of whatever horrors lurked in the shadows beneath, some of anger, others of pain, and occasionally even one of death. This was less a prison and more of a warzone as far as Luna could tell within a few moments, a sentiment which was only strengthened by the massive number of Tartarus Guards patrolling each side of the chasm.

Their coats had long lost whatever color they may have been born with, permanently stained by the soot and heat rising from deep within the stone they guarded with every breath. As was expected, the massive three headed hound, Cerberus, prowled along the near side of the chasm, always staying within sight of the gate should any of the monsters beneath attempt to break through. As disturbing as the thought was, Luna couldn’t shake the feeling that should any of the evil below attempt to rise, only that mutt would stand any chance of stopping it; that any guard unfortunate enough to be in the way would only have time to raise the alarm before being lost to Equestria forever.

It took only moments after the gate sealing behind her for the Princess to be greeted by a short guard clad in the traditional black armor of Tartarus. The colt’s eyes may have once been a blue or green, but the bloodshot sclera’s pulled the attention of any pony away from that detail quickly. He blinked constantly, as if trying to wash an obstruction away from his eyes eternally, but never turned his gaze away from Luna’s own. Strangely enough, his flank was marred by a cutiemark of the very chasm he spent his life watching, a note that sent a shiver through the Princess’ spine. The thought of anypony being destined to guard this horrible place was almost unimaginable to her.

“Welcome ta’ Tartarus, Highness,” the colt stated with a small bow. “Name’s Black Crescent, are ya’ hear for the tour?” Crescent smirked slightly at what was apparently a joke of some kind among the guards. When the Princess simply continued to stare at him, the colt’s smile disappeared. “If yer lookin’ for info on our little escape, you’ll want ta’ see Warden Praeses.” Crescent waved a hoof toward a tower on the far side of the chasm, directly across from the gate where Luna had entered.

“Thank you,” The Princess stated hesitantly, still slightly shaken by the sight of the true Tartarus.

The stout guard dismissively trotted away from the princess, returning to his post at the center of a bridge which spanned the canyon, and the only way across for miles. Luna didn’t want to know how these guards stayed sane with what they had to go through here. These guards never got to go home, she could tell they had all been here for years, or even decades for some; and yet they all remained vigilant. None of them even appeared sleepy or exhausted, each completely dedicated to being at peak condition at all times, no matter how taxing their day may have been. How anything could escape without raising some form of alarm seemed impossible, and yet none of these guards had noticed that something had escaped only a day before.

The walk across the bridge was just another piece of evidence for how massive Tartarus was; it took Luna a few minutes to cross, even moving at a brisk speed. Her guards from Canterlot flanked her on both sides, keeping themselves closer than usual in such a horrible place; likely more for their own comfort than to provide it to the Princess.

The tower was not particularly large, only rising high enough to see a mile or so across the line to where another tower rose on either side. As with everything else around Tartarus, the structure had been turned entirely black, whether it was by design or soot was unclear however. Regardless, the two guards standing atop the tower could have passed for statues did they not constantly turn their heads to keep watch over their comrades below.

At the base of the tower was a single stairway rising to the second level where Luna left her two guards to keep watch while she approached the Warden, Praeses. She had assumed that she would have remembered such a name if they were given the position of being in charge of Tartarus, but no matter how hard she tried the Princess just couldn’t recall the name. Perhaps he had been appointed before she had returned from her exile and still managed to keep his position over the decades.

The Princess of the Moon took a deep breath before enveloping the door to the tower in a blue glow, pushing it open and stepping in to learn what she needed. However, the alicorn froze after only taking two steps into the room, her eyes frozen on the body of the pony standing behind his desk, the only piece of furniture in the room.

Praeses’ legs held him almost a head taller than Luna, and his aged face was scarred and beaten, missing hair in several places and instead replaced by grotesque scars. As with the other guards stationed on Tartarus, his original coat color had been long since lost to the soot and heat of the chasm, leaving him a patchy black and grey color from his hooves to the tip of his wings. Upon his flank was the only recognizable patch of his original coat, a red shield around a black spiral, a bold statement that he was likely the one keeping up the barrier over the canyon outside.

As with the shorter guard outside, Crescent, it was apparent that Praeses had not only spent a long time guarding this hellish place, but had been born to do so, doomed to guard all of ponykind from certain destruction. However, the difference between the Warden and his younger guard was that unlike Crescent, Praeses did not have the relief of retirement rushing toward him to provide relief from this life.

The alicorn offered no warm welcome to Luna, only looking her up and down for a few moments before turning his attention back to the reports which rose in stacks from his desk. “You seem a tad young to be a Princess.”

< < < > > >

“And then Lemon Drop threw the pie out the window,” Ice exclaimed, reenacting her friend’s actions clumsily, nearly knocking the empty martini glass off of the table.

Lug Nut’s response was the next in a long line of laughing moments that night, the only times she had seen him do so since meeting him that morning; a deep laugh which would have been accompanied by a spray of vodka had he been drinking at the time.

The table in between the pair was covered in about ten glasses, nine of them once filled with Lug Nut’s drinks, and the single massive martini glass which had been empty for about an hour sitting in front of Ice. Neither was sure what time it was, but they didn’t care either. It had been a bit awkward for the two at first, and the first thirty minutes or so after getting their drinks was filled by silent drinking interrupted by a random question about Snowhoof. Once the two had gotten a bit of alcohol in their systems however, the conversation picked up in no time as the two began to grow more comfortable.

It had started with a discussion about their favorite bands or composers, and it had quickly become apparent that the two had a very different taste in music. Lug Nut had always been into some of the heavier bands and more old stuff. Ice on the other hoof was more interested in what Lug called ‘new’ music, and liked more smooth rhythms and softer voices. This conversation soon led to the two of them racing over to the jukebox, which wasn’t a fair race considering Lug hadn’t seen it since he entered and Ice had the layout of the bar memorized, and changing the lineup of music to fit their tastes and force them onto each other.

Lug Nut’s larger size and strength had given him the advantage of being able to block Ice from reaching the jukebox, but also lead him to discover that she had no problems clumsily climbing over him or under him to reach the controls. What may have appeared to be a fight to some turned into a playful wrestling match which ended in a random assortment of music being played for the rest of the night.

Once they returned to the table, each began telling funny stories about ponies they knew or had met, causing a large amount of laughter to echo from the back corner of the bar. After Ice finished her final story about Lemon Drop, the two quieted down greatly, looking around briefly to see that most of the other ponies had already left for the night. Appletini passed by their table to pick up the glasses which were scattered across the wooden surface, smiling brightly to each as she told them the bar would be closing soon. The pair nodded in understanding, but still stayed in their seats, not entirely able to pick up on the earth pony’s hint.

Once her giggling died down Ice turned back to Lug Nut, cocking her head slightly to one side. “You know, I’m surprised you haven’t said anything about my eyes,” she said softly, her voice slightly slurred but not as much as it had been earlier in the night.

Lug cocked one eyebrow at the mare, not even sure why she had brought that up. “Why would I, I mean besides telling you they’re pretty?” Despite the amount of vodka the pegasus had drank throughout the night, his voice remained mostly normal, the only difference from his normal tone being that he sounded more unwound and happy than when Ice had first met him.

For some reason the compliment caused the unicorn to blush slightly, most likely a result of the alcohol. “Well, most ponies tend to bring it up,” she told him with a shrug and a smile, her cheeks still pink.

“I don’t see a reason to,” the pegasus said with a chuckle that may have been louder than necessary.

With a smile, Ice bounced her chair noisily around the table to Lug’s side, leaning into him slightly.

Lug Nut’s eyes shot wide open at the closeness of the unicorn, but quickly began to relax to the touch. He didn’t lean back into her, but accepted the gesture, his smile widening slightly at being close to another pony for the first time in years. He wasn’t exactly sure if it was because of the alcohol or something else, but against his nature the pegasus didn’t mind the closeness of another.

He nodded slightly to himself that it was the alcohol, but that didn’t make him enjoy it any less.

< < < > > >

Blackened tunnels and sprawling webs of green slime surrounded her as usual; the home which she loved more than any other. All around her came the sounds of scuttling insects large and small, but all considered members of her family; the pets of her and her children. The Queen rested upon her throne, a raised section of ornate stone which towered over even her impressive height as she sat, a solemn look upon her dark face. The green of her eyes had lost its once bright glow, the result of seeing herself as a failure to her subjects, her children.

It had been so long since that faithful day, when her plans had been foiled by a paranoid mare, the one who just couldn’t let her guard down even at what would normally be called a happy occasion. Perhaps if the Queen had been more cautious, and never made the mistake of banishing young Twilight Sparkle to the caverns, her scheme would have come to fruition, but in that moment of weakness she had ruined everything. She had been careless, and the foolish wish to impress her power upon a shattered soul had overcome the needs of her children.

There wasn’t a day that went by that Chrysalis didn’t think back on that day and wish she could change what she’d done, to have the self-control she needed in such an urgent time for the Changelings. But those were only wishes, and despite what foals and even the more naïve of adults chose to believe, wishes cannot come true. She was stuck with what she had done, and everything that came after.

The Queen no longer held the admiration of her subjects as she once had, but now felt contempt and hatred in their stares. The loss of what would have been their greatest food source nearly assured her losing the throne, had it not been for the fear her subjects had of her power. That was all she had left to keep them in line; fear of a fate worse than death at her whim.

Of course there were those who still remained loyal, and who realized that even the strongest among them is capable of making mistakes, but those loyalists were in the minority. Their voice in her defense was a mere whisper among the collective cries against the Queen, one who they deemed unfit to rule; an embarrassment to her mother’s legacy.

But those words had died off in recent years, as Chrysalis ventured from her throne room far less frequently than she once had. The once proud Changeling Queen had become a recluse, almost never feeling the want or the need to show her face throughout the Hive as she had once made a point of doing each day. Now she was only seen by her personal guard, the Praetorian, and on occasion by a changeling who overcame their fear to ask for her assistance in a personal matter. Those visits were few and far between however, and it was not uncommon for the Queen to go months without seeing the face of another, only keeping company with the spiders and roaches which infested her hall.

Slowly, the dim light of the sun began to fade from the tunnels of the Hive, no longer reflecting through the gems which provided the underground home of the changelings with the light of day. Chrysalis let out a labored sigh, relieved that another day of her self-imposed imprisonment had reached its close. Without a sound, the Queen rose to her spindly legs and dragged herself around the throne to a narrow tunnel which led to her personal chamber. The guards did not follow, keeping their statuesque positions along the walls of the throne room. Even Chrysalis didn’t know if, or when, they changed shifts, as she had never seen a single one of them move in years. For all she knew, they could have died long ago, leaving behind the still forms of their gleaming black armor to defend the Queen they had spent their entire lives serving.

Chrysalis’ personal chamber held no unique features to set it apart from the rest of the Hive, made of the same stone and webbing walls, and adorned with two of the light-bringing gems opposite of the tunnel leading into it. At the center of the circular room lay a thick mattress of the green webbing which Chrysalis had made herself. There were no majestic portraits of her image, no brilliant silver jewelry on a fancy armoire, nothing at all to show that this chamber was any different from those used by the other changelings, and Chrysalis liked it that way. She had failed, and in her mind deserved no embellishment to set her apart from the common worker among her children.

She curled herself into a ball at the center of her mattress, exhaling deeply as her tattered grey mane fell limply over her slender face. Many ponies complain that their day runs through their mind when they attempt to sleep, in search of any mistakes they may have made in conversation or actions they should not have taken. Chrysalis did not have that problem anymore, as her day is spent looking back on the mistake she made, and nothing else. When she finally lay down to bed, she could not think on it anymore, and her mind fell blank.

Before she could drift into sleep, a soft voice caused her ears to perk up. She didn’t understand the words, but it was definitely from within her chamber. The Queen lifted her head slightly and her mane wrapped with a green glow before lifting from her face, allowing her to look around the room. She could see nobody standing before her, or anywhere around for that matter, and she began to wonder if she had imagined it.

“Chrysalis,” the voice repeated, a soft hiss which would have made her hairs stand on end if she had any.

She looked to the ceiling, and reeled slightly at the sight of a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring down at her. Her horn began to glow a bright green as she tried to illuminate the source of the eyes, hoping to see it was just one of her children playing a prank on her. But she did not see a changeling in the green light; instead she revealed a coiling serpent resting at the top of her room, staring down at her with a poisonous smile. Around the eyes a bright fan of yellow tendrils reached out across the ceiling like a web of moss overtaking a stone, causing the snake to appear much larger than it likely was.

“Who…w-what?” the Queen stammered as she lay frozen at the sight of the serpent.

“Look at you,” the serpent hissed with pity. “Once such a strong being, and now…you can barely bring yourself to wake in the morning.” Its voice was distinctly male, though the tone was hardly deep, and sounded more distant as if it was echoing from outside the room.

The green light of Chrysalis’ horn faded as she began to rise to her feet, a stern look beginning to form on her face as she glared into the yellow eyes above her. “How did you get in here?”

“No need to act Highness, the tough queen routine will not work on me.” As he spoke, the snake dropped to the floor in front of her, making not a sound as it landed on the stone floors of her chamber. “Your eyes give away your weakness, your sorrow.”

“How dare you-” the Queen’s mouth continued to move, but no words left her body, casting the room into an eerie silence as the serpent stared unfazed into her eyes. A sense of dread began to creep up Chrysalis’ spine as she tried to speak, aggravated and afraid of the silence which suddenly overcame her.

“But behind that sorrow is a caring soul, not exactly what I would expect from one who harbors such hatred for those who ruined her,” the serpent hissed as it circled around her, its body elongating with each movement.

Chrysalis gave up on trying to respond, keeping her lips pressed together firmly as she was slowly surrounded by the gleaming black body. Even though the light of the day had faded entirely from the Hive, the pale yellow light of the tendrils continued to light her chamber, allowing the Queen to see the slender form of the snake as it tormented her.

“You care so deeply for your subjects, no matter how distant and resentful they become…almost love,” the snake scoffed at the last words, completing a second loop around the Queen’s form. “And yet you no longer check on them, to ensure they are even alive.” A sense of callousness filled the serpent’s voice, as if he gained some enjoyment from how distant Chrysalis had become. “You don’t even realize they’re starving without a consistent food source.”

As if on cue, the room around the two began to unfold, the stones falling back from around her only to be held inches from the ground by the web of green. Within moments Chrysalis found herself within a giant net, staring out onto the outskirts of the Hive. All around her thinning changelings stumbled about, fighting viciously with one another for something as simple as a prime spot to sleep, or die. Many cracked bodies lay about, small streams of green blood flowing from their bodies to form pools around their sleeping brothers and sisters.

The Queen couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, she could hardly even think. It was impossible for this to be happening; not just being suddenly transported to the outskirts of her home, but the entire scene unfolding before her. She would have been told if her children were dying, they would have asked her for help, for her to help them in this time of need.

“No, they wouldn’t come to you, fool,” the snake snapped. “Why would they ask for your help when you’ve already failed them once?”

Chrysalis’ head drooped in agreement as tears began to form in her eyes. She didn’t know how the serpent knew what she was thinking, or how he knew about her apparently starving subjects, but she had no doubt that it must be right, after all, he had just shown her everything. But what can I do? She thought to herself, hoping the last mind-reading trick the snake had done wasn’t a fluke.

The net around her tightened, pulling the stones back into place, leaving the queen once again in her personal chamber for a brief moment before the walls began to spin. The rock and webbing above her began to pull apart, spiraling outward to reveal a dark and starless sky above, and allowing a bitter cold wind to swirl into the room. As Chrysalis looked to the sky, a fleck of white blew in through the gaping hole above, sending a sudden sting of cold through her body. A second came soon after, followed by a third and a forth, until soon the cold wind carried with it a flurry of snow.

The muscular body of the snake coiled around her body, caressing the Queen tightly as the head of the beast came around in front of her, those yellow eyes staring straight into her own.

“Try again, My Queen.”

Chapter 5: Messes

Chapter 5: Messes

“Deimos?” Praeses asked skeptically, cocking an eyebrow at the question.

After recovering from her minor shock that the Warden of Tartarus was in fact an alicorn rather than a veteran guard, Luna had quickly moved on to the business she had travelled to the hellish gate for in the first place. No other ponies were in the room with the two alicorns, making the meeting more awkward than it likely needed to be, especially since the Princess felt she should have known, or at least recognized, another alicorn such as herself. Then again, she had never been to the prison before, and from Praeses’ first reaction to the Princess of the Moon, he was a bit older than she was.

The Princess nodded confidently, awaiting an answer from the worn Warden who still remained behind his desk, appearing to size her up as he contemplated the question of who the mysterious escapee was. Despite her confirmation, the soot covered alicorn still offered no response either positive or negative to her. His red eyes drifted slowly up and down her body as they had since she entered; locking on her own blue irises for a moment each time they met. This did make Luna a bit uncomfortable, but something told her that the old pony wasn’t checking her out or admiring her, instead it almost seemed like he was examining her the way a doctor examines a patient.

“The name doesn’t sound familiar Princess,” he stated suddenly, quickly dropping his head back to the desk in front of him. His eyes continued to weave around, but now they were busy taking in the words of his guards’ reports and news from around Equestria. When his wings folded gently to his sides, Luna noticed that since she had entered the stallion’s feathers had been rigid since the moment she opened the door. A light clinking noise gave away that the fibers making up the wings hid some form of weapon, or at least something made of metal.

With a sigh Luna continued to press the Warden for information, asking if he kept any records of the prisoners beyond their names. Her own feathers ruffled slightly at the disregard she was being shown, and her patience wore thin quickly the longer she had to stay in the shack without learning anything.

Praeses rose his head just enough to spin his eyes upward and glare at the Princess, as if she was the one inconveniencing him. “You can check with Ink Blot, she is the pony responsible for all records on guards and prisoners.” He looked back down to his papers, magically flipping a new page to his eyes before quickly adding, “The guards outside can show you where to find her.”

Luna nickered quietly before turning back to the door of Praeses’ office, incredibly irritated with the disrespect shown by the other alicorn. An aura of blue magic slammed the door swiftly behind her, sending a faint echo through the chasm which lay below. Several of the guards who were nearby twisted their heads toward the angered Princess, but quickly returned to their watch both out of diligence, and to avoid further infuriating their nocturnal ruler.

Luna’s own guards stiffened at the crash, but held themselves back from looking toward their charge. Only after Luna had moved passed the two pegasi did they move, obediently following behind the alicorn as she swiftly approached a Tartarus Guard who stood at the edge of the bridge.

“Guard,” she snapped, still agitated. “Where can I find a mare named Ink Blot?”

The black-coated stallion chortled roughly as he turned from the bridge, folding his stained wings firmly to his sides before looking upon the Princess. “Her pigsty is the shack down that way.” The pony waved a hoof to Luna’s right, indicating a small building almost a quarter mile from the bridge. “Good luck getting anything from her though Highness, she’s been tearing it apart since yesterday morning.”

Luna raised an eyebrow to the guard, questioning not only his uncaring attitude toward her; something which seemed to be a theme among the guards of the great prison; but also why he had claimed the archives of Tartarus to be a ‘pigsty’. When he offered no further explanation, the alicorn spun on her hooves to begin walking to the shed the guard had indicated.

While her mind primarily focused on her task of discovering the identity of Deimos, Luna’s thoughts began to venture into wonder what would cause the guards of Tartarus to act as if Luna was just another pony, not the ruler of Equestria. Every pony she’d been around before either bowed out of habit, or at the very least spoke to her with a morsel of respect. The guards here, especially Tartarus, acted as if she was nothing, just some random questioner who had come to bother them further. Perhaps it was having spent so long away from the pomp and circumstance of everyday Equestria, or something more, but regardless it bothered her.

When she reached the shack where Ink Blot supposedly resided, Luna could see what may lead the guards to call it a pigsty. The cobblestone walls making up the structure were stained black by soot, just like everything else around the prison, with several chipped and scarred to the point of almost falling into dust. A series of thin wooden boards made up the roof; a detail which caused the Princess to pause considering the obvious presence of flames in the prison; were rotting at the influence of some unknown force in such a dry place, threatening to fall in on the occupant. The thin wooden door shared a similar appearance, hardly a secure entry.

When Luna pushed the door open, nearly causing it to fall off the hinges in the process, the interior made the exterior look like Canterlot Castle. Scrolls and leather bound books were flung all around, none of them resting on the shelves which lined every wall or on the single desk at the center. Most, if not all, of the papers looked ancient, much older than even Celestia and Luna were, yet they had been thrown about as if they were garbage. Behind the desk crouched the perpetrator, and apparently the only pony in Tartarus who was unaffected by the ever present soot and ash. Her coat was a slightly dirtied beige hue, marred by a spilled bottle of ink on her flank which seemed to fit her style of organization. Her mane was inky black, matching her cutiemark perfectly, and was pulled back into a small bun just behind her ears. Scrolls and the occasional book were lashed across the room in a blur of grey magic as she mumbled “no, no, no” repeatedly under her breath.

At the sound of the door closing, the mare quickly sat up and swiveled her head to the entrance, a quill hanging limply in front of her slate grey eyes. The front of her mane was poorly matched to the bun on the back of her head, sticking every direction randomly and with dried on ink holding many of the strands in clumps. “Oh, uh, Princess,” the mare sputtered, throwing the quill to one side. “What are you doing here?”

“Ink Blot I presume?” the Princess asked curiously, slightly worried by the state of Tartarus’ supposed record keeper.

“Uh, yes,” the mare stated exuberantly, as if she were overjoyed at royalty knowing her name.

“The record keeper?” As she spoke, the Princess took another look around the room, subtly pointing out the disturbing disorganization of the archive.

“That’s me!”

“Uh huh. I was told to ask you about information on our escapee.” Luna cut straight to her reason for visiting, somewhat worried that she might become part of the mess if she stayed too long.

“Oh, yeeaaaah,” Ink Blot groaned, looking around the shack while scratching her neck. “I’m actually trying to find that scroll now…or is it a book?”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Luna mumbled under her breath. “How much more do you have to go through?”

“I’m done with,” the mare paused for a moment, looking back and forth across the room before turning back to the Princess, “almost all of it. I only have these last two cabinets to go through, shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”

The irritation which had been building since Luna spoke with Praeses began to dissolve slightly. At least now she knew that it wouldn’t take long to find the information, thankfully the rather eccentric mare had been apparently searching feverishly for the records she needed since they had discovered Deimos’ escape.

“Thank you guard, I will be waiting outside when you find what you are looking for,” Luna stated bluntly, stepping quickly out the door to avoid her strange worry of becoming one with the chaos.

As she closed the door, she could faintly hear Ink Blot chiming out after her. “But I’m not a guard!”

< < < > > >

With a soft thud, a balled up mass of snow landed within the trees of the forest, adding into the already large pile where ball after ball of cold powder had been thrown. With a satisfied smile, Ice turned her head to allow her magic a complete view of the field around her, the final farm on her route for the day. A soft melody drifted through the air and into her ears as the record spinning nearby reached its end; a perfect time for the mare to finish up her work.

A gentle discomfort grumbled in the unicorn’s belly as she trotted to pack up her music player, the final remnant of her night out with Lug Nut. It had been a rough morning when Ice first rolled out of bed and her head began to pound like a drum, accompanied by a sour taste in her mouth and upset stomach. As a result, she had been slow getting to the first field before the rise of the sun, and focusing on moving the snow caused her headache to increase. It had taken her almost twice as long to clear the first few fields than she usually did, but as she worked the headache faded until she was able to move at her normal pace.

However, despite the long morning, the mare didn’t regret the night before at all. She always enjoyed seeing Tini and drinking one of her personal creations, as well as being around the other ponies in town for a night of fun and unwinding. And that night she’d been happy to have Lug Nut around as well, especially after everything that happened at the scrapyard, or what could have happened if he wasn’t there.

Once she’d gotten the player and her scattered records packed up into her bag, Ice turned to the town and began the trot back home, her belly continuing to rumble in protest at her doing anything more than lying in bed. She silently promised her body that she’d fix up a sandwich once she was home to put her gut at rest, and hopefully put the discomfort to an end for the remainder of the day.

A short burst of cold wind from the south sent a chill through Ice’s bones, a surprising effect considering she’d lived in the cold almost her entire life. Still, it had happened before, and the gust was likely just from a large storm the pegasi must have been cooking up for later that day. The corners of her mouth dropped slightly at the thought of a large storm only hours after she finished clearing the fields, but at least it would teach her to keep up on the upcoming weather better than only checking with the weather planners once a week.

After travelling less than a block into the town proper, Ice’s attention was pulled to one side by a cheery shout. A mental flash brought the image of her friend Lemon Bar waving exuberantly from her stand. The earth pony’s lime-green mane was pulled to one side by a brightly colored broach just in front of her ear, hiding one of her matching green eyes. A bright and mischievous smile was drawn across her muzzle as she waved to the blind unicorn, intent on pulling her over for conversation.

“Good morning Lemon,” Ice chirped as she diverted toward the yellow pony, offering her own smile, though not nearly as large as her friend’s.

“Morning Ice,” the juice-selling mare said quickly, jerking her hoof back to the ground with a soft clop. “So, how was your night?” As she spoke, Lemon’s eyes widened brightly and her ears twitched toward the unicorn, ready to catch anything juicy.

“It was nice, I had a good time,” Ice replied cheerily.

“Aaaand?” The yellow pony fished for more details, leaning toward the unicorn until their muzzles were only inches apart.

“That’s it Lemon. We had a fun night at the bar and then we went home to get some sleep, separately.” Ice was sure to put emphasis on her last word, putting an end to any insinuation her friend might draw.

Lemon pulled back from her lean, the smile on her face flipping to a small frown in disappointment. “He didn’t go for the pigtails then?”

A pale blue hoof smacked into Ice’s forehead as she shook her head slowly. “No, it wasn’t that, but thank you for doing that for me.” The unicorn dropped her hoof to the thin snow coating the street, looking back to her friend with a neutral expression. “He was, is, very nice, and I do like him.” Lemon’s face lit up a tad at that statement, but she was stopped from responding when Ice continued. “But I just don’t think I should get close to him.” Ice’s voice fell to almost a whisper, shrinking her friend’s smile to match her own neutral look.

“Why not girl? You said he helped you out without even asking, so he can’t be so bad.”

The night before, when Ice was waiting for Lug Nut to finish up his business in the scrapyard, she had gone to clean herself up and speak with Lemon, fully intent on explaining exactly what had happened. But when she’d actually started talking, the unicorn couldn’t bring herself to tell the true story, and ended up fudging a tale about how Lug Nut had helped her fix the door to her house after she’d accidentally broken it. The citrus pony had been about to argue why that didn’t make sense, but was distracted when she found out Ice was taking the stallion out for drinks.

As she always had before the two separated years before, Lemon began to freak out about her friend hooking up, and instantly began suggesting new mane-styles and giving her tips on how to keep him interested. It had been a bit annoying to the unicorn, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as if she tried to explain how she was attacked and that Lug had actually killed another pony for her; even though Lemon would probably like him even more then.

So now Ice had to either come forth with the truth, or continue her lies about the stallion. She hung her head in thought, hoping that the earth pony would think she was just nervous about speaking up, weighing whether or not it would be worth it to spill the beans.

“He’s not, he’s a great guy,” the unicorn finally said after a long, awkward silence. “I’m just worried about starting anything when he’s just visiting.” She continued the lies, deciding that telling the gossip-prone Lemon that the colt was technically a murderer, even if it had been to save her life.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun,” the yellow pony joked with a small wink. “Just test it out and see what happens, you two could always try the long-distance thing if you really like each other.” Lemon’s tone was more serious and caring, honestly trying to help her friend out. “And besides, you’re happier when you’re with a guy. The happiest I’ve ever seen you was the day Red asked you out,” she said with a nudge and a chuckle.

The fact that Lemon Bar could remember that after so long brought a smile to Ice’s face which only grew as she thought back on that moment herself, but only for a moment. Her friend was right, that day had been one of the happiest she’d ever known, at least until later in the night. And maybe the citrus pony was right; maybe it had been too long since she’d been in a relationship. She had told herself that she wasn’t going to get involved anymore after Red Lightning had left her. That experience alone had left her bitter toward relationships, and coupled with her history of losing those she cared for, that day had almost lead her to abandon Snowhoof once again.

Instead, Ice had turned to drinking for the first time in her life, spending most nights at the bar trying to throw back shots of whiskey or vodka, whatever she thought would numb her quickest. Unfortunately, she never enjoyed the taste and usually couldn’t take herself to the point of drunkenness, usually stopping after only two shots and leaving to cry herself to sleep. Even thinking about those few horrible weeks caused an icy talon to wrap around the unicorn’s heart, threatening to spread throughout her body.

The only thing that had brought her back from that point had been the invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala from Twilight and her friends, and ever since then she could just remember that night if she started to spiral into sadness. The cold grip released from Ice’s heart, her body once again filling with warmth as she remembered the dress, the music, and above all, the laugher with her friends.

Even if Lemon didn’t know exactly what had happened to her after Red left, Ice still felt that the mare had a point. Just because one stallion couldn’t accept her past didn’t mean that another would do the same. She was scared of Lug Nut and what he had done, but he didn’t do it just because he could, or because he had gotten mad. No, the stallion had killed because another pony was in danger; he did it to defend her.

Ice’s head lifted from its droop, a small smile forming on her muzzle as she nodded once to her friend. “Thank you Lemon.”

“Don’t thank me girl, go thank him for helping you,” the green maned pony said as she waved her hooves down the street. “The fun way.”

Ice chuckled loudly as she turned away from her friend, blushing slightly at the suggestion as she continued her walk home. “You’re terrible.”

Chapter 6: Ramification

Chapter 6: Ramification

The faint scent of oil filled the air of the cramped hotel room, covering the odors of cleaner and bleach from the sheets, remnants of the owner’s diligence to keep a clean building. The floral pattern wallpaper sat bathed in the yellow glow of a table lamp, the only source of light within the small room aside from the currently closed window. Bed sheets lay undisturbed over the old spring mattress, their current tenant having never even considered sliding under the covers for a night of rest.

A large pony sat under the golden light of the lamp, busily looking over his work. A metal clip held firmly to his forehoof, extending outward to end in a small prong; a device of his own creation to assist in his work. The prong carefully turned each gear as his eyes scanned through the teeth to ensure there were no catches or slippage. The polished cogs gleamed lightly under the lamp as they spun, moving without effort as each was tested by the engineer pony who had pieced them together like a puzzle. The carpet beside the table was stacked with several old, discarded clocks; all stripped for the gears Lug Nut needed to complete his project.

The sun’s rays had been fighting to breach the drawn curtains for hours before he completed the machine, casting a thin beam of light onto the floor beneath the window sill; an unnoticed sign of how long the pegasus had been at work. After spending the night with Ice Crystal at the bar and walking her home, Lug had made his way to the cramped room at the Northern Winds motel; perhaps the only Inn that Snowhoof had to offer. Despite the small amount of inebriation he continued to experience, the stallion pulled the gathered clocks and watches from the scrapyard onto a short table, getting right to business rather than risk sleeping too far into the next day.

Through the early morning the pegasus had been carefully polishing scavenged gears and pins, using just enough oil to allow movement. Each gear was placed in its planned spot, soon to be hidden within the wooden casing of what Lug Nut considered his most important work to date. Though the walls of the box didn’t appear to be much, they still gleamed with a perfect layer of lacquer, a detail which would be hidden by the intricately carved clock face. Unfortunately, the closing of this clock would have to wait for the pegasus, his creation still incomplete despite his night of toil.

A small ding broke the silence within the room as the pronged device was dropped from his hoof, no longer able to serve a purpose until the final pieces were found. The pegasus looked down to the pile of discarded clocks and imperfect gears, promising himself that he’d take them back to the scrapyard once he finished with a quick nap. The light clicked off, casting the room into an almost perfect darkness, broken only by the dim, grey light behind the shades.

In the dark, the sound of rustling sheets finally filled the room as Lug Nut carefully slid onto his back, sure to keep his wings out from underneath him. A soft sigh blew through the stallion’s nostrils, his eyes slid closed, and the bliss of sleep slowly began to spread through his mind.

As the furthest reaches of his body embraced sleep, one of the buck’s ears twitched toward the door, pulling an eyelid open in response to sudden activity. A quiet rustling accompanied small shadows under the room’s door, a crowd of hooves standing just outside. Hushed voices conversed beyond the thin doorway, their words unintelligible to the pegasus resting within. Memories of Lug’s past flew into the front of his mind, bringing his pulse up with them. The buck’s eyes shot open as adrenaline began to pump through his veins, stealing any hope or thought of sleep from his body.

With a quiet swiftness, the pegasus flipped himself from the bed, landing with slightly more noise than he had hoped to make. Using only the pale light from the blocked window, Lug Nut quietly placed his project into a saddlebag and packed as many of his belongings as possible into another. The rustling outside increased, but the voices died down, as if the ponies outside had dispersed without warning. The pegasus refused to believe that was the case, speeding up his own activity despite causing more of a ruckus within the room.

As he flipped the flaps on his bags closed, a rough knock came at the door, not the crash of splintering wood that Lug had expected. His body tensed slightly at the sudden noise, but after checking that the door had not indeed been cast from its hinges, his pulse began to slow. Leaving the saddlebags at the foot of the bed, Lug Nut cautiously approached the door, his hooves tensing with each step. Luckily, the landlord of the Northern Winds had thought to install a small peephole on each door, allowing the tenant to check who may be bothering them during their stay. Upon looking through the small hole, Lug’s pulse dropped considerably at the pony waiting outside, even if she likely wasn’t alone.

The door swung open, allowing the pegasus a full view of the black vest worn by the pony standing in the hall, and the golden snowflake-shaped badge pinned to the inner lining. Her mane was a deep brown, though a stripe of grey had begun to form close to her right ear, a detail which gave her a look of experience rather than just aging. Her coat was a brilliant white, and obviously cared for daily to give a constant professional look. A sterling silver choker rested at the base of her neck, holding a diamond ring close to her heart.

“Lug Nut?” Her voice was rough, but had a ring to it that told Lug she may have had a beautiful voice in her younger years.

The pegasus nodded in response, still slightly tense from the adrenaline rush moments before. It had taken him only seconds after seeing the badge to know what the mare’s visit was about, and what was going to come next didn’t worry him in the slightest.

“I’m Detective Goldenhoof with the Snowhoof Sheriff’s Office. Do you have a minute to talk?” As she introduced herself, the earth pony nodded quickly to her badge as if to emphasize her position. Her steel grey eyes never left Lug’s own, trying to read his next action in case she needed to act first.

“Of course,” the stallion replied coolly. Once it was clear he was calm and not aggressive, five armored ponies moved into his view from the walls alongside the door. Their armor plating was painted solid white with a blue snowflake printed on the flank, remotely resembling armor worn by Canterlot’s royal guards, but lacking the decorative touches. It seemed they expected more of an aggressive response from an accused murderer, but even with such an allegation Lug Nut was surprised at the drastic approach of Snowhoof’s police force.

The pegasus politely invited the officers into his room, fully ready to be taken into custody despite what he may tell them. He pulled back the curtains, allowing the greyed sunlight from outside to fill the room, revealing a thick blanket of black clouds forming near the outskirts of town in preparation for a large storm.

While the armored officers began to casually search the room, Goldenhoof took an immediate interest in the discarded pile of clocks, staring at each one for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Lug Nut. “Collecting?”

“Not exactly,” the stallion responded as he sat at the center of the room, providing no further explanation than was necessary.

“Can I assume these were what brought you to our scrapyard yesterday?” the detective asked skeptically.

“You’d be right.”

“Uh-huh.” While the earth pony paused to pull a scroll from her vest, one of the armored ponies began to rifle through Lug’s packed bag, causing his nose to scrunch up momentarily. “And while you were there,” Goldenhoof continued, pulling the pegasus’ attention away from the other officer. “Did you happen to run into anyone else?”

“Yes, a pair of stallions,” Lug answered, fighting to keep himself from snapping at the armored officer still pulling supplies from the saddlebags.

The detective nodded and looked back to her scroll, her eyes scanning over whatever had been written for her. “What did you do when you saw them?” she asked snippily.

Lug hesitated for just a moment at how quickly the mare had gotten to her point, suspecting that she had already written the outsider as guilty, a point which was only strengthened by the presence of the combat ready officers. “I cracked one upside the head with a lead pipe and told the other to leave.” At that point , the pegasus realized that this was probably the exact information Goldenhoof already had, and nothing else. The dead pony’s friend had probably been the one to report the incident, and as with most all ponies Lug had met in his past, the other stallion likely didn’t wish to be punished for his own wrongdoing. The detective probably knew nothing about what Sweep and his friend had been attempting before Lug Nut showed up.

“So you admit to killing, or at least trying to harm, Sweep?”

A burst of anger hit the pegasus as the detective finished speaking. He had been right, the mare had already decided that he was guilty. The only reason she had offered to talk was because it must be required for her to do so, not because she was actually trying to get his side of the story. Lug wasn’t sure if the police force in the town always acted so quickly out of close-mindedness or if they just didn’t appreciate outsiders causing trouble, but either way he was furious.

“Yes, I killed him,” Lug barked, drawing the attention of the armored guards immediately toward him. His ears began to grow red with anger, no longer caring to stay calm for the officers. “And I don’t feel bad, not even a little! And I bet that you would understand why if you had even bothered to ask why I did it before deciding I was guilty.

“And don’t you try to say you haven’t Detective. Why else would you bring your own personal SWAT team if you only wanted to talk?” As his attitude escalated, the armored ponies began to take more aggressive positions, waiting for the pegasus to do move even an inch from where he was.

Goldenhoof sat frozen in front of the pegasus, her ears pressed flat to her head as she endured the tongue lashing. “I-I,” she squeaked, clearly not expecting anything remotely close to that outburst from a pony who had been perfectly calm only moments before.

“Maybe you should ask Sweep’s buddy what he was doing in the scrapyard, but I doubt he’ll tell you that they were trying to rape a young lady there.”

The detective’s ears shot up from her head, her eyes narrowing to pinpoints at the accusation. Her stammer disappeared in an instant, her voice taking up a tone more serious than Lug had heard from her up to that point. “Did you happen to get this mare’s name?”

The 180 that Goldenhoof pulled nearly caused Lug Nut a moment of pause himself. It was as if she had completely forgotten about the killing in an instant, her mind completely focused on the new accusation. Part of the pegasus wanted to find out why she had flipped so quickly, but another part told him that she wouldn’t be inclined to tell him. “A unicorn named Ice Crystal.” The stallion had notably calmed down since his outburst, no longer shouting at the detective, but rather calm like he had been at the start of their conversation. A small hint of anger still lingered in his voice, but not from the brash actions of the police.

“Cryssy,” the detective quickly yelped, her voice filled with worry and sadness. The break from seriousness was the first time since the mare had entered that Lug saw any amount of actual emotion from her, not including the surprise after his rant. Something told the pegasus that his addition to the story almost made the case more personal to Goldenhoof. “Thank you for this information sir,” she told him more gently. “And I apologize if I offended you, it’s just that we take murder very seriously here.”

Lug simply nodded in response, not moving from his spot on the floor in case the armored officers were still waiting for a reason to jump.

After stuffing the scroll back in her vest, Goldenhoof waved the other ponies from the room, turning to Lug Nut briefly. Just before she disappeared through the door, the detective mouthed “thank you” to the stallion who sat at the center of his now trashed hotel room.

Once she was gone, Lug got to his hooves and trotted to the window. The clouds which were building outside town had begun to move closer, filled to the brim with snow and ready to fulfill the town’s name. The pegasus watched as the six officers trotted across the street, likely to continue questioning Sweep’s friend, or to talk with Ice. While Lug was no stranger to police interviews, he was still slightly confused about why the officers in this town had acted so drastically to a murder accusation against an outsider. It was common for every town to be forceful against murder, but most even Manehatten’s police didn’t approach a suspect with a fully armored team. Either something had happened there in the past to cause it, or they really were just close minded.

The other thing which caused him some confusion was how Goldenhoof had reacted to Lug bringing up Ice, and what she had said right before she left.

“Why did you thank me?”

< < < > > >

It was late in the afternoon when the heavy wooden door of the library groaned open, casting a long shadow through the entry. Celestia craned her head from behind a tall shelf, peering to the door to see who had entered, hoping it was her old student finally arriving. A smile jumped onto her face as the lavender coat of Twilight Sparkle trotted slowly through the tall archway, softly shutting the door behind her with a shining aura of purple magic.

“Good afternoon Twilight,” the Princess chimed, trotting around the bookcase to meet her one time pupil at the doorway for a brief break from reading.

Once Twilight had pointed her to the historical section of the library, Celestia had bid the unicorn a good evening to get back to her husband and young daughter, not wishing to keep her any later than she already was. However, sleep did not await the alicorn as it did for her librarian; her mind was far too worried for her sister and her search to allow such relief. Instead, she had spent the night and all of the following day skimming through every book she found on the shelf that held information on pony history, ranging from the time before ponies had settled in Equestria, up until the return of Princess Luna.

When her former student never arrived early in the morning as she usually did, Celestia had just assumed she decided to get a healthy amount of sleep for once in her life rather than race to work, and paid no heed to her absence. She had plenty left to read through, and if anything did arise she was certain that Twilight would be in at some point during the day to at least check up on the search.

The point where the Princess began to worry is when lunch came and went without any sign of the lavender unicorn. Even if she had decided to take extra time for sleep or to spend with her family, Twilight was still Twilight, and for as long as Celestia had known her, the unicorn never went a whole day without at least keeping updated with her commitments. She’d never even taken a full sick day before, choosing to send a letter almost every hour to the castle to check if there was anything she was needed for or if any issues had come up. Her dedication was inspiring, but it did tend to wear on the Princess’ nerves at times.

And now that Twilight had arrived, she hardly looked rested or ready for a day at the office. Her mane was frazzled and uncombed, looking as if she’d just gotten out of bed a few moments before, and her hooves dragged beneath her with each step. The smile which had shined upon Celestia’s face faded away at the condition of the librarian, replaced by a slight frown at the obviously exhausted pony.

“I’m sorry that I’m late Princess, little Gem had a rough morning,” the unicorn said tiredly, dropping her saddlebag behind the book-covered desk where she usually resided. Her voice was dry and raspy, hardly sounding like the usual Twilight at all, which only furthered the Princess’ worry.

“Is the poor thing sick?” the alicorn asked sincerely, hoping nothing bad had happened to Gemstone, Twilight’s four year old filly.

“No, thankfully,” the librarian said with a sigh. As if just discovering her ragged appearance, a small comb levitated from her bag and began pulling knots and tangles from her violet mane, eliciting a short wince at some points. As the unicorn ran the brush through her hair, she proceeded to apologize again and again for being late, ever the ideal student.

Celestia dismissed her worries with a wave of her hoof, assuring Twilight that it was perfectly fine. “Family comes first,” she said matter-of-factly.

The unicorn smiled briefly in response before wincing as the comb caught on one final knot in her mane. The comb dropped back into her bag, and Twilight turned to the Princess, taking a deep breath as if preparing herself. “So, anything you need help with Princess?”

“Actually, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me get through some of these books,” Celestia explained with a smile. “I’m not quite as fast a reader as when I was younger.”

With a small chuckle, Twilight nodded in acceptance. “Of course Princess.”

Despite her apparently slow reading, the alicorn had been able to get through a large chunk of the historical section, leaving a rather large mess in her wake rather than attempt to replace the books in their proper location. She apologized for the mess, but Twilight put her at ease, stating that she needed to reshelf the books soon anyways. Most of the completed texts were stacked toward the back of the room, ensuring Celestia didn’t accidentally go through the same book twice, while a few rested open on a nearby table.

“I’ve found the name ‘Deimos’ mentioned a few times in these older books, but they don’t say any more than that,” the Princess explained, shaking her head slowly as if disappointed by her searching ability.

“How old exactly?” Twilight asked, apparently on to something.

“It’s quite a wide range, but nothing mentions the monster after the founding of Equestria.”

Twilight rubbed a hoof under her chin in thought, looking to the shelf a few times before finally speaking up. “I knew I should have ordered them chronologically instead of alphabetically.” The unicorn clopped her hoof against the stone floor in frustration before turning back to Celestia. “With how much you’ve gone through, I think it’s safe to assume that this Deimos was sent to Tartarus before Equestria is founded, which means we need to look only in the older texts. That should narrow down the search quite a bit, but now we need to sort through these to find the older stories.” The unicorn sounded almost upset, as if she had organized the books poorly.

“Not a problem,” Celestia reassured the unicorn with a smile. “Older texts are easier to spot anyways right?”

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh softly as she began to levitate books and a few scrolls from the shelf. “Books yes, but scrolls are harder.”

While Twilight began to sort through the books and parchments she pulled from the shelves, Celestia trotted to the table that she had been behind since the night before, ready to continue her search with the help of her old pupil. The first book she unfolded was a recounting of the first pegasus invasion of earth pony lands, and coincidentally, the first alliance between two tribes in pony history.

The earth ponies had been a peaceful group that survived off of the land, growing all of the food they needed to survive themselves, but at the mercy of uncontrollable weather. Then one day, a race of winged ponies from the south arrived and began demanding control of the earth pony lands, stating that the ‘Dream Weaver’ promised them their land would soon die and they were claiming the earth pony land for their own. The earth ponies resisted, and a long war resulted between the two tribes.

As the war raged on, the pegasi held an obvious advantage, and conducted airborne strikes against which the earth ponies had no defense. But the earth ponies had their own advantage; a consistent food source. In the new lands they had found, the pegasi had not been able to cultivate the land quickly enough to feed their soldiers, and did not understand that their own native wheat and fruit couldn’t grow in the dryer climate where the earth ponies thrived. Soon, the pegasi began to starve.

When neither side would concede victory to the other, the leaders of each tribe met to discuss what to do. Neither side wished to see the other completely killed, and neither wanted to sustain more deaths of their own, so a compromise was made. The earth ponies agreed to take up the responsibility of cultivating crops for both sides, a task which was made much easier by the pegasus side of the deal; they would regulate the weather in the earth pony lands to allow farming to be easier and yield more plentiful crops. It was the first story of true harmony between ponies from two completely different walks of life, which is why it was one of Celestia’s personal favorites, but unfortunately it held nothing about an ancient evil monster.

Once all of the books and scrolls from the time period they anticipated any information on Deimos would be found in, Twilight sat down across the table from Celestia, unrolling a scroll of her own to begin scanning. The two sat for hours upon hours reading through the heap of text which had been prepared for them, working long after the moon had replaced the sun overhead. A pair of lanterns lit the text for the ponies once there was no longer enough natural light to read by, casting the library into darkness, broken only by the bubble of light around the two.

As the pile of unread history began to dwindle toward nothing, Celestia grew fearful that they wouldn’t find anything at all to give them more about the monster who doubtlessly stalked Equestria at that moment. Luna was the most likely of the two sisters to gain any useful information, after all from her knowledge of the prison, Tartarus kept good records of everything they knew about their inmates. But there was no way of knowing how long it would take for her to get anything solid, and even then it would be almost another day before she could return with that knowledge. If Celestia could find something here, she could start combatting this threat earlier, limiting any damage that may be done.

But her hope for that chance was spread thin, a mere string trying to hold the boulder of reality from falling onto her kingdom. Perhaps she had been wrong to even try, only wasting time she could be using to keep an eye out for any mysterious behavior throughout Equestria.

A sudden gasp from Twilight caused the alicorn’s eyes to shoot up from the boring tale of a pony who claimed to know the exact day of the apocalypse. The lavender unicorn’s coat was drained, her eyes narrowed to pinpoints as she stared into an old, wood-covered book with no discernible title. A shiver of hope and worry flowed down Celestia’s spine at the young pony’s appearance; hope that she had found something, and fear that she wouldn’t like what Twilight had found.

“What’s the matter my little pony?” the Princess asked as soothingly as she could, trying to hide her own worry.

The unicorn slowly lifted her eyes from the book as it slipped from her magic, clattering to the table with a resounding echo that filled the halls of the abandoned archive building. That did nothing to calm the Princess, and the hope that still fought within her was being beaten back by the fear of what was within the ancient words.

Twilight’s mouth opened and closed several times without a word leaving her, replaced by a soft squeal as if her voice had been stolen by the book lying open before her. After a few moments, the unicorn shook her head and seized the book within her magic once again. Her eyes returned to normal, but her coat remained pale.

“I don’t think it’s what we’re looking for…but…” Twilight’s voice shook with every word, her voice so low Celestia could barely hear her speak. The unicorn cleared her throat softly, and continued. “It’s an old mares tale from the unicorn tribe, back before they met either earth ponies or pegasi.”

“What is it about?”

“It’s…” The unicorn seemed to lose her voice again for a brief moment, but once again she cleared her throat and pushed on.

~ ~ ~

Once upon a time, there was a colt named Obsidian. This young pony was born into a world of wealth; the son of a duke and duchess in his village.

Obsidian had everything he could ever want, and once he came of age, any mare he wished. This was known to him, and to every other pony within his village.

But this colt did not appreciate everything he’d been given, everything he had. Instead, young Obsidian still fought to be the center of attention, often in the worst of ways. He would bully the less fortunate foals, steal food from the markets and blame another, and he would even throw the pets of other children into the forest.

His parents warned him again and again that his terrible deeds would come back to haunt him, but being young, the colt did not listen to their advice.

On the eve of Obsidian’s ninth year, he committed his most horrible of crimes. He met a young orphan on the street, one who asked only for a single piece of fruit to eat for the day lest he starve. Obsidian promised the colt that he would bring him a piece of bread if the foal waited for him in front of his large cottage. Hopeful for food, the orphan agreed and followed Obsidian home.

When Obsidian returned outside, he did indeed carry a loaf of bread for the orphan, seemingly giving a wonderful gift to one who needed it most. But when the foal bit into the bread, a snake slithered from within, biting the orphan.

Not a pony saw this action aside from the orphan and Obsidian himself, so he knew he could get away with it. Who would believe an orphan after all?

The next morning, young Obsidian woke in a sweat, shaking in his hooves and screaming of a black serpent. His parents came running to his bedside, urging him to calm down, and promising him that it was just a dream. The boy did calm, but only before he saw his pet dog quartered and strapped to the ceiling of his chamber.

In his later years, Obsidian never again tormented the less fortunate, or any other creature, and he passed the wisdom of his horrible awakening to his own children. He passed to them the lullaby which he had heard first on that night, and every night after in punishment for his youth.

Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now quiet now, it’s time to go to bed.

Dear don’t dream of him, keep your mind off of his hymn.

Dear don’t dream of him, or wake and see the dead.

~ ~ ~

When Twilight finished retelling the story, her hooves shook on the ground, clattering loudly in the surrounding silence. While the story had been strange, and perhaps frightening for a foal, Celestia was unaffected by the tale of Obsidian and his snake. Still, that fear remained in her body as her student reacted much the way a child in those old times would from hearing the tale.

“Why does this scare you Twilight?” the Princess asked hesitantly, hoping it was just that the unicorn had a deep seeded fear of snakes resulting from an incident in a cave or something of the sort.

Unlike after the first time Twilight had read the story, she was no longer stricken silent by her fear, though she was still shaky. “Remember I said Gem had a bad morning?” Celestia nodded her head, recalling that it was the reason the unicorn had come in so late. “Well, it was because her pet birdie died. We didn’t want to tell her, so we told her that her Daddy accidentally left the cage open and her bird must have flown away.”

In just the first portion of Twilight’s explanation, Celestia began to see where this was going to end, and suddenly her fear felt warranted and necessary.

“Truth is, when Azure and I woke up this morning, the bird was…well, you heard the story.” A haunted look passed over Twilight’s face, as if the mutilated remains of the bird were hanging from Celestia’s horn.

“And…did Gem…” For reasons Celestia didn’t quite understand, she couldn’t bring herself to finish the question. Part of it may have been that she considered Twilight’s daughter to be a part of her own family, and she could never imagine the filly going through what happened in that story. She was so innocent, and had never done anything bad to another pony in her short life, so she couldn’t have been tormented by a maybe-not-so-imaginary nightmare.

The other part of her hoping the filly didn’t have the nightmare was that her mind had already begun work on linking the nightmare in this story to Deimos. After all, it couldn’t just be a coincidence that something like this had never happened until the day she had been told a prisoner escaped Tartarus, could it?

“No, she didn’t,” Twilight said softly, her voice hinting that she was extremely thankful that her daughter didn’t dream of a horrible serpent. “But Azure did.”

The dread which had been fighting to consume Celestia’s mind finally won out, given the final push it needed to win the war with hope. As much as the Princess wanted to say it was just a coincidence, as much as she wanted to believe there was no way this could be happening, her mind wouldn’t allow it. Every story held at least an element of truth, that much had become clear to Celestia during her long life. Ponies could twist and cover the original story as much as they wanted to, but they all had to start with a real event; the truth.

Unfortunately, it seemed that some pony-tales were more truth than fiction.

Chapter 7: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 7: Shadows of the Past

The scene at the Northern Winds motel wasn’t exactly what Ice had expected when she had gone to speak with Lug Nut. A black chariot with a white snowflake emblazoned on the side sat just outside the door to the motel, pulled by a single pegasus clad in matching black armor who was distractedly staring into the distance as he waited for…whatever it was he was waiting for. The blue unicorn stopped across the street, waiting to see what was going on before she made up her mind on whether or not to continue over to the hotel.

After a few minutes of waiting, a cluster of ponies fully coated in black armor similar to that of the chariot pulling pegasus stepped out the front door. A lash of worry spread through Ice as she began to wonder what could have brought that many officers to the motel. Behind them trailed an officer she recognized, and the unicorn grew more worried from the frown on Goldenhoof’s face. Ice hadn’t seen the mare in a while, mostly because of the amount of work she did with the police, and partly because she tended to be on edge almost every time they talked. The unicorn knew that it was probably due to her work with the station, but it still made their meetings uncomfortable.

Whatever the team of armored ponies had been sent to the motel for, they apparently hadn’t found it, because no other ponies followed them out in chains to be taken away to the station. Goldenhoof stopped just outside the hotel and lifted her nose as she took a deep breath, shaking her head slowly and seeming to mumble something. Another flashed image and Goldenhoof was looking over to Ice, and then she was trotting across the street to her. The detective’s expression had softened, but she still didn’t look anything better than ‘mildly upset’.

“Good morning Cryssy,” the officer told her warmly, wrapping the unicorn into a hug.

Ice happily returned the hug, glad to see Goldenhoof could at least sound happier than she looked. “Good morning Gold,” she returned the introduction before breaking the hug. “Crazy day?” she asked with a wave to the motel.

“You could say that,” the officer answered with a sigh. “And from what I’ve heard, you had quite the day yesterday,” she suggested, apparently in no mood for pleasantries.

Ice frowned at the mention of her day, and was pretty sure she knew what Goldenhoof was doing at the motel. “You already talked with Lug Nut then?” she asked, hoping that it had gone well.

“Yes,” the officer replied flatly. “But I wish I didn’t.”

“Why’s that?” Ice asked with a raised brow.

“You tell me.” Goldenhoof stared at Ice with sad eyes, hoping the blind unicorn could still tell what her expression was begging for.

Ice sighed and lowered her gaze, shuddering inside at the thought of what had almost happened the day before. “He saved me yesterday…from those other two bucks,” she explained what Goldenhoof already knew. The officer had wanted it to be true, partly anyways. Part of her wanted to believe the blue mare had never been through such a thing, not after what she’d already gone through. Still, she took some confidence from the fact that she’d been spared what would have followed if Lug hadn’t been there.

“That’s…good,” Goldenhoof finally said, uncertain if it was what she should have told Ice.

“What’s wrong?”

The detective sighed, keeping her gaze away from Ice’s eyes as she tried to explain her new situation. “I’m glad he saved you, it’s amazing that a stranger would do that.” She paused, trying to think of the best way to word the rest of her decision. “But, that doesn’t completely clear him for murder. If he had just knocked out Sweep, it wouldn’t matter. I would smack him on the hooves and tell him ‘don’t hit ponies with pipes anymore’, but that’s not what happened. A pony died Ice,” the detective looked like she was about to fall in two pieces from her conflicting thoughts. On the one side, she didn’t think Lug had done anything wrong; anypony that planned to do that to a mare deserved death. But, on the other, the law didn’t see it that way. “I still have to take him in until we can get all of this sorted out.”

A frown curled onto Ice’s muzzle at the notion of Lug being imprisoned just because he saved her life, and from the sound of Gold’s voice, the detective wasn’t too pleased about it either. She considered trying to talk her out of it, but she’d heard the detective complaining about similar situations before. The law said what it said, and as a member of the Snowhoof Police Department she was obligated to enforce it to a tee. If whoever was in charge of the final decision ruled that the one charged was an acceptable exception to the law, then they could be released. Unfortunately, Goldenhoof was not that pony.

“Sorry Ice, I guess I better go explain everything to him,” the officer said in an irritated tone, turning away to face the motel once again. She sighed heavily before starting back across the street, trotting back into the motel without the other officers. Ice wanted to smile at the fact that her friend was comfortable enough to believe that Lug would come peacefully to leave her team downstairs, but she couldn’t.

Instead, the mare turned back the way she had come, a frown still dragging her face down as she slowly made her way back home for the night.

< < < > > >

Luna didn’t understand why it was taking so long for the odd mare to look through the last of her scrolls. She’d promised it would take only a few hours, yet almost half a day later she was still searching, and the Princess was growing impatient. She had already exhausted a sudden nap which overtook her while she waited, burning about four hours from her waiting, and hoping to awake with Ink Blot standing over her with the information she needed. Instead, her guards informed her that Ink was still digging through scrolls, appearing to be going over the entire collection a second time.

After finally losing any patience which remained, Luna lifted her hoof from the rather impressive drawing she’d made in the dirt and groaned. “What could be taking her so long?” she asked nopony in particular, rising back to her hooves and magically brushing the dirt from her belly. “Do they have no sense of urgency here?”

“Highness, perhaps while we wait you could speak with Praeses further,” one of the guards recommended in an attempt to calm the Princess.

Luna rounded on him, her eyes glaring into him as if he’d done some horrible wrong by suggesting that to her. “He knows nothing of Deimos, he already informed me of that,” she barked.

“But he may know more about how the escape may have occurred,” the guard quickly added, fighting the urge to back away from the princess before she did anything impulsive in her anger. She had not done such a thing recently, but the events of Nightmare Night in Ponyville the year following her return were still a reminder of her rather short temper.

Luna’s glare quickly softened at the recommendation, and she turned away from the nervous guard. “You make a good point, I will ask him more, and you will bring Ink Blot to the Warden’s office when she has finished her search,” she declared, proudly trotting away from the two guards who remained stiff outside of Ink Blot’s shack.

During her time in Tartarus, it became very clear that day and night had almost no difference within the prison. The red glow of Praeses’ shield remained constant with our without light from the sun, casting the entire area into an eerie state of purgatory. She wondered if the guards could even tell if it was day or night outside of the prison, and whether or not they cared one way or the other. She still didn’t quite understand the times of switching out fresh guards for those who grew weary and complacent after a long shift, it almost seemed random to her. One minute a guard would be at his post, and the next he would be replaced, but the guard further down the line would remain unchanged. Were she not at the prison for a specific purpose, Luna may have inquired further on their schedules, but it would have to wait for another time.

The one thing that did seem to remain constant was Praeses. There did not appear to be any form of bed or place to sleep within his office, yet she had never seen him leave. He may have gone off while she slept, but even for an Alicorn such as himself, remaining vigilant as he was must require more than a couple hours of sleep each night. Once again, this was something she would need to discover at a later time, after the business with Deimos had been dealt with.

Luna didn’t bother to knock before entering the office, finding Praeses exactly as he had been before; looking over stacks of paper which had somehow grown since her last visit. The Warden did not look up from his work, and simply acknowledged the Princess’ arrival with a quick, “Yes?”

The lack of proper acknowledgement pricked another hair from Luna’s patience, but for some reason she expected nothing less from the pony she’d only seen once before. “I have a few questions,” she said sternly.

“Ask them,” the other alicorn stated plainly.

A smirk spread across Luna’s muzzle at the Warden’s acceptance, her head hopeful that it wouldn’t end as quickly as it began. “Tell me how you think Deimos escaped.” Not really a question, but Luna didn’t care at the moment, staring at the soot-covered pony in anticipation.

“I don’t have a clue,” Praeses replied without even looking up from his papers.

Luna’s face deadpanned as she stepped closer to the desk. “I asked how you think he escaped, surely you have thought about it?” the Princess prodded.

“I have, but can think of no possibility.” Again with the shortness and the not looking up from his paperwork, seemingly more interested in his usual routine than an escaped evil.

“Well you must not be thinking hard enough,” Luna snapped at him. “Because Deimos did get out somehow!”

“I would appreciate you not shouting Princess.”

The blue alicorn’s face twisted into a scowl as dark clouds began to form within the room. “AND I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU COOPERATING WITH ME!” she shouted, her magic amplifying her voice to a point which caused the papers across Praeses’ desk to fly into the far wall. The Warden finally looked up to her, an expression that screamed ‘are you serious?’ plastered to his face as he rounded his desk.

“Princess, you don’t seem to understand much about Deimos,” he stated plainly, flexing his wings slightly. “He’s smart, much smarter than you or I.”

“Some filthy monster? Smarter than us?” she scoffed, but Praeses’ expression caused her to pause. “I thought you didn’t know anything about him?”

“I had to tell you that, and I’m sure you’ll understand once I explain.” The alicorn seemed in no way worried or stressed, keeping his tone level and soft. “You see, Deimos is…different, than the other prisoners we have here. Most are monsters, beasts so horrific they could send Equestria into chaos just by showing their faces nearby.” The alicorn began to pace in front of the Princess as he spoke. “But, there are some here who aren’t incarnations of death and senseless destruction. Deimos is one of them.

“Deimos was one of the first prisoners of Tartarus, he was here long before you, I, or your sister were even born. That is why Ink Blot has taken so long to find anything about him.”

As if on cue, the door behind them swung open and an even more disheveled Ink stood in the opening. “Princess! I’m so sorry, I looked through it all twice, but there’s nothing! NOTHING!” she whined loudly.

Both of the alicorns looked to the messy unicorn with surprise, waiting to see if she would yell anything else before they looked back to each other. “As I said, there is a reason she couldn’t find anything.”

“You knew?” the mare in the doorway yelped before falling on her chest with an exhausted sigh. “Why didn’t you just tell me I wouldn’t find anything?!”

“In a minute dear, I’ll get to it,” the Warden stated with a wave of his hoof. “The reason she wouldn’t find anything is because the ponies who captured him simply imprisoned him here, and left him alone. They didn’t want to go near him, so they didn’t bother to gather any records on him.”

“So…we know nothing about him?” Luna asked with a groan.

“I didn’t say that, I said there are no records.” Praeses quickly corrected the Princess. “The only knowledge of Deimos is within the heads of every guard here, including Ink Blot and myself.”

“Wait, what?” Ink asked quickly from the doorway, not bothering to rise from her chest.

“Most don’t know about it,” the alicorn quickly told her. “It’s very subtle, but Deimos likes to poke around in the mind of everyone who comes here, especially the guards. Usually, he does it in the form of nightmares the first couple of weeks a new guard is here. If they relent and ignore them, then he will stop torturing that particular guard. But if they are affected by the nightmares, Deimos won’t stop until that guard either abandons his post, or jumps into the chasm to end the thoughts.”

Luna gasped at the thought of guards jumping to the beasts waiting below, simply because an ancient monster needed his kicks. “Why would he do that?” she asked angrily.

“Because he needs our fear, he lives off of it,” the Warden explained coldly. “Without it, he would fade into nothing. You see, that’s what he is. Deimos needs us to remember that he is there, to believe in what he is, and he has grown very adept at reminding us here in Tartarus.”

“So, if we could somehow make you all forget, then he would disappear?” Luna asked brightly.

“No.”

Her hope disappeared and the brightness was replaced again by anger. “But, you just said…”

“I said we have to believe in what he is. And that is Fear. As Discord was the spirit of Chaos, Deimos is the spirit of Fear…if not more than that.” The last part of his explanation was a mere mumble, inaudible to Luna and Ink as they continued to stare at Praeses, still waiting to hear more. “That is why none of the ponies who captured him would go near him. He haunted their minds with images of what he could do, what he would do if they tried to study him. It was enough to keep them away.

“But, you probably want to know how I know all of this?” The alicorn looked between the two mares, both nodding briefly before he continued. “Because he told me himself, which leads me to his escape, and why I did not tell you about the lack of records, Ink.” The Warden trotted back behind his desk, his magic lifting the scattered papers back into neat piles. “Deimos began speaking to me soon after he relented in his torture of my mind, coming to me in dreams for simple conversation. He recognized me as the one who held the barrier which kept him and the other prisoners trapped here, and much like himself, not held by the same rules of age as the other guards.

“We talked most nights, most often about his past and how he came to be imprisoned. The story is long, spanning generations before Equestria was even formed, but very…interesting.” The alicorn looked to his two listeners, not surprised to see Ink passed out and snoring softly in the doorway. “When I took a few years to myself, leaving Tartarus for some time back in Equestria at your sister’s request, I ended up getting married to a nice young mare and having a foal. This was just over a decade ago, and I wasn’t too happy that I had to return after beginning such a great life outside of this hell.” A tone that almost sounded like resentment filled his voice and the Warden grit his teeth before returning to his story.

“Upon my return here, I was not graced with the nightmares of Deimos’ game as I had been the first time. Instead, the spirit seemed to completely ignore me, not even speaking to me for years after. I thought he must have found a new conversational partner, or that perhaps he had grown bored of me after so many centuries.

“I was so wrong,” he groaned, lowering his gaze to the ground. “About a week ago, Deimos spoke to me again in my dream, but not after putting me through the worst night of my life. I watched as he slowly tore apart my wife and daughter within my own mind. The bastard…he’d been planning for so long…” Praeses looked back up, his eyes glossed over as he recalled what happened. “He assured me, that he would escape someday, and that when he did he would find my family and destroy them, forcing me to watch as they were slowly torn from this world…unless I allowed him to escape.

“I refused him at first, telling him he would never get out. I didn’t realize how dedicated he could be, how cruel. He bombarded me with nightmares every night, dreams of the hundreds of ways he could escape; followed by the same horrible destruction of my family…I couldn’t take it.”

“You…you let him out?” Luna growled. “YOU LET HIM OUT?!” once again the papers flew across the room, and Ink jumped to her hooves with a start.

“I had to.” Praeses kept his calm demeanor, never averting his eyes from Luna’s. “If you had been in my position, you would have done the same…you can’t imagine what it’s like…to see that over and over again, and believe it is real every time…that’s why I couldn’t tell you…I don’t want to lose my family.”

Luna just stared, her pinprick pupils glaring at the Warden as he explained himself. Not only had he lied to her about knowing, but he had released the personification of fear upon Equestria after he had been imprisoned for longer than anyone could possibly know! She stomped her hoof, sending a bolt of lightning across her mane. “How do we stop him?” she spat.

“I don’t know,” the soot covered alicorn groaned. “But you need to find him.”

“And how do we do that?” Luna asked, her eyes glowing with rage.

Praeses looked into her eyes, a realization dawning on him of just how badly he had messed up. “I…I don’t know.”

Chapter 8: Rise

Chapter 8: Rise

Wind whistled between the darkened buildings which lined either side of Main Street, carrying with it a sheet of slicing crystals, slowly building frozen mounds at each corner and wall. This had grown to be a familiar sight among the citizens of Snowhoof, especially for those born and raised in the northern village. Though this storm was much stronger than most, its kind being seen only once a year, the howling winds and clattering snowfall would keep nopony from slumber.

Very few remained awake at such a late hour, those sheltered within the warmth of the hospital in wait for any injuries which may come from the storm. Even fewer were forced to endure the force of Snowhoof’s annual blizzard, those ponies of the Sheriff’s Office who held the position of night guards. Among these unlucky few was Officer Stormwell, a convenient name for the pony who somehow managed the luck to pull night shift during every blizzard since joining the force. The slate grey pegasus never greatly enjoyed working during the storm, but despite requesting just one year off of the duty, Chief had persisted that due to his experience with working during the hazardous weather, the pegasus could not be pulled from the shift. It of course didn’t help that this blizzard was a last second occurrence.

Luckily, in the years since taking the shift, Stormwell had never been involved in any incidents of any kind on that night. Not surprisingly, nopony including criminals or troublemakers were very fond of being out such a powerful storm. Even if a would-be-thief or other brand of criminal had planned to act on that night, they would have changed their plans very quickly once the surprise storm rolled in. Even Stormwell didn’t know the blizzard would be coming almost a month early, and assumed that it was because the weather planning committee knew something he didn’t. Regardless, the pegasus didn’t mind getting the storm out of the way for the year.

His route this year was easy enough, all he had to patrol was the far end of Main Street, as well as the cemetery which branched off on that side. The road had been cleared early in the afternoon of any carts or merchant stands by those not wishing to lose their portable shops, leaving the street deserted and eerily calm aside from the storm. Since going on duty almost five hours before, Stormwell had not seen another pony with the exception of an occasional run-in with the officer patrolling from the town gate to Midtown; something that promised him a peaceful, if not lonely, night.

Unlike on Main Street, the cemetery somehow remained relatively calm within the blizzard, likely due to the wall of trees surrounding the well-kept field. A layer of snow still crunched beneath the pegasus’ hooves with each step, only barely audible over the howl of wind between trees and headstones. Though the snow could not easily penetrate the wall of trees, chilling winds still swirled through the clearing as the black clouds overhead continued to unload their frozen cargo. Stormwell pulled his thick cloak tighter around his neck with one hoof, a feeble attempt to keep the wind from biting at his chest.

While he had a moment of escape from the brunt of the storm, the stallion sat for a moment to rest his worn legs, squeezing his thighs in to warm his belly as much as he could. He muttered a quick curse to the pegasi who had made the storm so brutal that night, and thought of his warm bed far above the curtain of storm clouds which looked down on him, alone in the cemetery. “Why couldn’t I be on the day shift?”

From the corner of his eye, Stormwell caught a burst of movement near the edge of the cemetery, pulling him quickly back to his hooves. The wind once again freely grasped at his chest under the cloak, unnoticed by the distracted pegasus. He scanned slowly among the headstones for another sign of the sudden activity, slowly thinking he just saw a falling branch. His eyes darted to one side as a shadow fired behind a pair of trees, a four legged shape dashing further into the woods.

The buck shook his head momentarily, telling himself it was just an arctic wolf who had strayed too close to town, likely looking for refuge from the storm. He had seen one every few years during the bigger storms, especially the annual blizzard, but they always ran back into the woods as this shadow had done.

Before he could turn back, another shadow darted from behind one of the headstones, quickly disappearing into the tree line. Its run was not that of a wolf, and a pair of wings were spread at the shadow’s sides as it ran, plunging Stormwell’s hopes for wolves into the gutters. Once again he cursed the storm and slowly began trotting toward the trees where the pony shaped shadow had disappeared. “What are you doing out in this storm?” he asked the shadow quietly, knowing it wouldn’t hear him.

Once he reached the trees, the officer shouted for whoever had run off to go where he could see them. After several seconds of no reply and no further movement, the pegasus once again yelled, and once again received no answer. With a sigh, the buck took his first steps into the woods, hoping the pony hadn’t gone too far in. The small shadow once again reappeared moments later, but rather than approach him, it dashed further into the woods.

Being much closer this time, the buck noticed the shadow stood almost a head shorter than he did, causing his heart to ache for a brief moment with the thought that it must be a lost filly or colt who couldn’t get home before the storm hit. His pace quickened along with his stride as the officer attempted to catch up to the small pony, shouting every few moments for it to not be afraid and that he just wanted to help.

The foal never offered a response, only running further into the woods until it disappeared entirely. Stormwell had no idea how far he had run, or how long he had been following the foal into the woods. All around him, twisted limbs reached down, forever trying to grab those dwelling on the ground below. Above, the black curtain could hardly be seen through the entangled branches and sporadic green needles clustered across the uppermost limbs. The howling wind had mostly subsided, the pegasus having run into a much thicker section of forest than that surrounding the cemetery.

With a sigh, Stormwell hung his head in defeat, disappointed in his inability to keep up with a lost foal. He decided that he should return to the town and report to the Station, try to set up a search party. That is if one wasn’t already being arranged; a lost foal would doubtless bring a report from the parents within hours, especially in such a terrible storm. It would be much easier for many ponies to find the young pony in these woods than him alone.

Lifting his head, the stallion’s heart stopped. The darkness filling the trees at the edge of his vision gleamed with a sea of shining eyes, unmoving and watchful. Fear swept over him as he slowly began to backpedal from the swarm of eyes, nearly tripping over twigs and rocks as he refused to look away from the watchers. When he finally thought he had enough of a head start to outrun whatever was staring him down, the pegasus quickly spun on his heels to begin sprinting from the woods.

His eyes fell directly into a glowing blue gaze, menacing orbs staring from within a shell dark as midnight into his own fear filled eyes. Before he could move further, before he could even take a breath, a wall of green flames surrounded him, licking at his cloak violently before pulling him into darkness.

Over the cloaked body stood its mirror image, a perfect clone of the pony who had just fallen to the floor. The once blue orbs had warped into the orange eyes of the pony who had owned them only moments before, staring down on the body with satisfaction and relief. The youngblood had never before experienced the joy of taking the form of another, her cluster having been born long after the Canterlot incident. The feeling filled the now pony with unrivaled joy, having finally experienced the true power of her birth.

Despite all of the joy, this new body felt so strange to her. The feeling of hair, of feathers, and of skin being bitten by the chilly air; it all filled her with wonder and confusion at the same time. She never knew what to expect from the change, but had always assumed it would feel like operating a puppet rather than actually living the life of another. But with the confusion also came contentment. She felt as if she were growing stronger, something feeding her body slowly from the air itself. The new hairs on her back prickled with warmth as a strange energy flowed into her, and for the first time in her life she didn’t feel hungry anymore.

This stallion had been loved by somepony, somewhere. Someone who was worried for him deeply at this moment, alone out in the storm the youngblood and her sisters had been promised. Her first taste of love, and it was the most wonderful feeling she had ever known.

Looking to her sisters, the youngblood smiled brightly. A symphony of whistles and howls echoed from the woods, calls of congratulations and of envy. The others knew that soon they would join their sister in her joy, in finally feeding. Their calls soon fell into symphony, reciting again and again the name of their victorious sister.

“Virula, Virula, Virula.”

The chant widened the young changeling’s smile to a point she never thought possible, a smile brimming with pride and honor.

From the depths of the woods, a voice which they loathed since birth echoed between the trees, casting the youngbloods into silence.

“Go my children, and feed.”

A new wave of howls and whistles filled the woods as the sea of eyes flashed away. All around the faux Stormwell a stampede of shadowy forms lashed out to the unsuspecting town, filling the air with the sound of crashing hooves and buzzing wings. Behind them lay dead silence, an eerie omen of what may await any who stood before the ravenous swarm of starving children.

The newly transformed changeling stood alone where the swarm once waited, staring down onto the still form of Stormwell with confusion. Her mind raced with wonder over how to dispose of or hide the unconscious body, never having considered what she must do once the transformation was complete. No words of wisdom or command echoed through the forest to assist her, none of her sisters remained to help her solve the problem, she was alone.

A bizarre feeling began to creep through the hairs on her shoulders, and suddenly Virula felt as if she were being watched from above. She lifted her eyes in expectation to see her Queen waiting overhead, eager to teach her child what to do next. Instead, she saw only black sky and flittering snow. The cold of the night began to win over the warmth from the love feeding her body, and her thoughts were overrun with fear of her sisters leaving her. They had run to the town to feed, and soon they would be reunited, but the youngblood’s subconscious refused to reflect those thoughts. Instead, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she would never see them again, that she would be alone forever in this new form.

Without warning, a shadow fell from the trees beside the new Stormwell, looking up to her with shining blue eyes. The new arrival was a younger changeling than Virula was, seemingly born in the cluster following her own. The sudden appearance filled her with new joy, effectively removing all of the fear which had filled her heart.

“You should put him in a cocoon and hang him in the trees,” the younger changeling rasped. “That way when he wakes up, he can’t give you away.”

A thin smile spread across Virula’s lips at the advice, though she was slightly embarrassed to have not thought of doing what had been recommended. It struck her as a bit odd that a changeling younger than herself would have thought of such a thing so quickly, but perhaps she had been given the advice from an elder since hatching. “What is your name young one?” she asked appreciatively.

“I’m Deimos!” the small one chirped roughly, baring her strangely long fangs in a devious smile.

Chapter 9: Buried Emotion

Chapter 9: Buried Emotion

A low groan filled the room as Ice lifted her head, the first dusty light of morning peeking through her window and falling across her face as she woke from a rough night of sleep. Her mane was even more disheveled than usual, falling across her muzzle in a web of knots and frayed hairs. She hadn’t been able to get much peace during the night, the combination of the storm outside rattling her windows and her sadness from not being able to speak with Lug Nut the day before combining to keep her awake most of the night. A blue spark shot from her horn as her magic began feeding her monotone images of her surroundings, revealing that her room was in the same state it had been just before she fell asleep. Her glossy eyes peeled open, and the blind pony slowly pulled herself out from the covers with another soft groan.

A few quick tugs pulled the sheets of her bed into place, returning it to a neat state that it was in whenever the mare wasn’t sleeping, and she stepped into the bathroom groggily. Her teeth gripped the nozzle of the tub and turned to let a flow of warm water fill the bath as she sat and counted down from 100. Once she hit zero, the mare twisted the knob shut and gingerly stepped into the pool of water, dunking her head to get her mane flattened out and hopefully remove the clumps that she could feel across her forehead.

As she bathed, Ice’s mind wandered to how Lug must have spent his night; cramped up on a rickety cot in a cold room with nobody for company except actual criminals. She would go see him that morning, right after she finished up with clearing the snow of the storm from the farms around town. That is if whoever was in charge of prisoner visits would allow her to talk to the buck, if not she would just have to wait until he was released.

Unless he decided to leave after that…

Ice shook the thought from her head, firmly deciding that she would find a way to talk to him, even if it meant waiting outside the Police Station until he was released. She felt a bit silly for being so set on talking with the visiting pony, but Lemon had been right the day before; if she had a chance to try being happy with him she should at least try. The mare focused her thoughts on what she would say to him as she began running a small brush through her mane, sorting out all of the things she felt, and how she could tell Lug without freaking him out.

The pony squeaked softly as the teeth of her comb caught on a knot just beneath her horn, derailing her train of thought as she focused on untangling the stubborn hairs.

< < < > > >

Ice’s eyes grew wide as she took in the view of Snowhoof, and the mare’s head turned every which way to find that almost every building in town shared in a dramatic amount of damage. Most of the windows had been shattered in the storm the night before, allowing the homes and businesses within to be filled with snow and ice without the glass to protect those sleeping within. Many ponies stood outside either appraising their damage, or covering the holes with cloth and wood until they could get a replacement. Here and there, unicorns magically repaired their windows, moving on to help their neighbors with their own homes once theirs were fully closed up again.

Needle’s record store was devastated even more so than several others. It had been built with a front wall almost entirely made from glass, something that helped the pony to show off her wares to those passing by, but had now lay shattered in front of the flow of snow that claimed nearly half of her store. The former DJ inside didn’t seem to care for the windows at the moment however, and was more busy digging through the snow to retrieve any disks that had fallen from their shelves during the night. A sad look was glued on her face as she tried to save the music she loved so much, and a steadily growing pile of vinyl that was damaged by the slowly melting snow sat just outside her broken window.

Ice considered helping her, maybe clear away the snow that covered her floor, but she didn’t seem to be in much of a mood for others to interfere. The mare sadly passed her by, turning her head to look at the damage others had suffered as the music loving pony tossed another ruined disk to the pile. Many of them looked fine by Ice’s standards, but she wouldn’t question Needle’s judgment on such things; she knew more about those disks than the blue unicorn could imagine.

Further down the street, Ice could see another of her friends trying to push snow from atop her stand with a lethargic motion, obviously not too enamored with what she had woken too. Lemon hardly even reacted as her blue coated friend approached and asked if she needed help, only nodding and stepping down from the collapsed covering. The cart that normally held bottled juices and frozen drinks sat lopsided from more than one shattered leg, making it nearly impossible for the yellow coated pony to solidly place her wares.

“Thanks for the help,” she said with a small grin after they were finished, looking over to Ice for just a moment before looking back to her broken cart with a sigh. “Some storm.”

“Yeah,” Ice replied plainly, not knowing what else to say about the weather. She felt lucky that her own home hadn’t suffered such damage, but couldn’t quite think of why it would be spared. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ice looked around briefly before turning her attention back to Lemon. “So…I still haven’t gotten to talk with Lug yet,” she explained, hoping it might lighten the mood for her friend and get her mind off of the damage.

“What?” Lemon asked frantically, snapping her head toward the blue unicorn before calming. “Oh, uh, why not?”

“It’s complicated,” Ice replied, ignoring her friend’s reaction. “But I’m going to soon, I just don’t know what I’m going to say,” she explained, hoping to run a few ideas by the other mare before embarrassing herself at the station.

“That’s not good. Uh, maybe you should write it down?” Lemon offered, looking around distractedly.

“Really? Would that actually help?”

“Uh, yeah! So that you won’t forget,” the yellow mare explained with a cheesy smile.

“Could you, um…right some things down for me then?” Ice asked nervously, not sure if she was comfortable asking the pony for such a favor, especially in public.

“What? Oh, sure,” her friend replied. “I uh…I’ll go find a quill.” The mare quickly dashed off, leaving Ice in the middle of the road with a confused look on her face.

She waited for a few minutes, watching the way Lemon had run off to wait for her friend to come back until a creeping thought worked its way into her head. She could wait, but if she did then it would still take time to write everything down, and by then Lug might have been released. She wouldn’t know where to find him after that, and then writing what she wanted to say down would be pointless. And besides, she couldn’t read anything she wrote down! Why did Lemon even suggest that? Was she really so distracted by her ruined stand that she couldn’t remember Ice was blind?

The mare sighed and stood up to head to the station. “Please don’t be mad,” she said to her friend even though there was no way for the mare to hear her.

< < < > > >

“Of course you can meet with him, I’ll set you two up with a room.”

Ice smiled to the officer as he stepped back from the desk to set up their meeting, glad that everything was working so quickly. She hadn’t really expected much trouble from the request since Lug Nut seemed like the kind of pony that would cooperate and behave with the police, but it was still good to see that she was right.

The station looked even worse than the rest of Snowhoof. Scattered papers were still being collected by several of the officers while other ponies worked on trying to block up the smashed windows across the front of the building. It was also eerily quiet, and almost none of the officers were talking with each other as they went about their work. Shards of glass littered the floor, a mess that seemed like it should have been more important to clean up than some scattered paper, at least to Ice.

While she waited, the mare looked around to see if Goldenhoof was working, hoping to ask the mare out for a quick drink after work if she wasn’t busy. Their meeting the day before had been so quick that they didn’t have a chance to catch up, and it had been a while since the last time they actually got to talk. Unfortunately, Ice didn’t see the detective anywhere and sighed. Maybe some other time.

After a few minutes, the officer trotted back over to her with a lively smile. “Okay Miss Crystal, I’ll take you back to see him now.”

“Thank you,” Ice replied excitedly, standing up to follow him into the back of the station.

He took her into one of the back rooms, and opened the door to let her in. “Take as long as you need, we’re still working on his discharge paperwork.”

The blue unicorn nodded and stepped into the room, glad she’d decided to head over rather than wait for Lemon. She could apologize later. “Hi Lug Nut,” she greeted him warmly, waving slightly as the door closed behind her.

Waiting in the far corner of the otherwise empty room, Lug Nut turned around and cocked an eyebrow. “Ice, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” she replied shyly. “I didn’t know if you’d be around after they let you out.”

“Well, you’d be right,” the stallion replied gruffly.

“Oh, well…I guess it’s good I came then,” the mare told him with a smile. When he didn’t reply, Ice softly cleared her throat and trotted forward, sitting on the floor as she tried to remember how she wanted to start. “So…I was wondering if you might…stick around for a while after they let you out?” Ice’s eyes danced across the floor as she spoke, but her magic still showed her Lug’s reaction. He looked even more confused. “I mean, if you don’t want to that’s okay, but I was hoping you might consider it.”

“Why would I do that?” he grumbled. “I’ve been here for two days and already got arrested for defending you.”

Ice winced and tried to think of how she could convince him without sounding crazy. “I know…and I really do appreciate it, you saving me, not the getting arrested part.” The mare kicked herself internally for almost slipping up on that. “But that’s really not how the town always is. If you stick around…maybe you’ll see that it’s really a nice place.”

“I’ve got a home of my own Ice, I really only came to get some parts.” Lug deadpanned. “I didn’t come for an extended vacation.”

“I know, but,” Ice sighed and started pawing at the ground with her hoof. “I thought we could get to know each other more…”

The buck stared at her for a few seconds, his face shifting to a confused look. “Why would you want to get to know me?”

“Because you’ve been really nice, and I had fun at the bar.” The mare looked up to him with a small grin. “And I’d like to keep seeing you.”

“I…you…what?” Lug stammered as his brain shut down.

“I mean, if you’re okay with it,” Ice quickly added, worried she’d done something wrong. “If not then just…forget I said anything.”

“No, no it’s not that,” Lug quickly replied. “I just…I didn’t think you of all ponies would be interested.”

“Why’s that?” Ice asked with her head cocked to one side.

“Maybe because you saw me kill somepony?” he pointed out bluntly.

“To help me, it wasn’t like you did it for no reason.”

Lug blinked and stared blankly at the mare. “And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Well, maybe a little,” she agreed, deciding that lying to him wouldn’t help. “But it doesn’t mean you aren’t a good pony, and I’m not worried about you hurting me if that’s what you think.”

Lug stared at her for a few minutes, and Ice was starting to worry that she’d said something wrong. The mare lowered her head again, staring into the floor as the spark of her magic vision slowed to a crawl. Way to go Cryssy…

“Okay,” Lug finally blurted, still staring blankly at the blue unicorn.

Ice’s head whipped up as her smile returned. “Really?”

“Yeah, couldn’t hurt to stay around for a few more days.” The buck grinned and shrugged. “Besides, it was a fun night at the bar.”

Ice barely managed to hold back her excitement at Lug’s response, doing her best to keep her cool so she didn’t frighten him. “Great! I think they’re almost done with your release papers, so I’ll wait outside,” she told him with a grin.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you soon then,” Lug replied with a small grin.

Ice nodded and waved goodbye before stepping out of the room. “All finished?” the officer waiting in the hall asked with a smile. The unicorn nodded and followed the stallion back to the front of the Station.

“Thanks again.” She gave the officer a wave as she stepped back into the streets of Snowhoof, which he returned happily before going back to work.

When Ice turned to go find Lemon and apologize, she froze. At first she thought her mind must be playing tricks on her, or that her magic was somehow messed up, but after another three images beamed to her head she was certain it wasn’t a mistake. Half of the town was marching through the streets toward the town gate. Loved ones scrambled among them trying to get their attention, but none of the marching ponies paid them any mind. They just pushed on toward the gate.

Behind her, the doors of the station burst open and half of the officers inside galloped out and joined in on the parade, completely ignoring the calls of the others to get back to work. Even Lemon was among the marching ponies, and Ice quickly ran up to her and tried to get her attention.

“Lemon, what’s going on here?” she asked loudly, trying to be heard over the yells of the other ponies trying to stop their loved ones. The yellow mare didn’t respond, she just kept walking with her eyes straight ahead. “Lemon, come on, this isn’t funny!”

A burst of bitter cold air flashed over the town with a crack of thunder, instantly halting the pleas of those trying to stop the marching as they raced for cover. Ice quickly backed away from Lemon and stuck her nose in the air, trying to feel for any snow that might be coming down, but she felt nothing. When she lowered her head again, the parade of silent ponies had sped up to a gallop, quickly stampeding toward the gate. The mare sighed and decided she had to at least try and stop them. Her vision blacked out as she halted the magic, and her horn began to swirl with wisps of blue energy.

Her head quickly began to burn and ache as her magic pulsed toward the front of the group, reaching unseen through the air. The pain worked its way through her body, and for a second she thought she was about to pass out just for trying. Come on, focus…focus…

In front of the stampede, a blast of cold air shot between the trees of the forest and across the road leading out of Snowhoof, instantly weaving ice through the air to form a wall. The charging ponies slid to a stop, slamming the front row into the ice with a loud smack.

Ice’s magic faded from her horn as she collapsed and gasped for air, not realizing she had been holding her breath the entire time. She was surrounded by darkness for a few minutes, her magic unable to continue after being pushed so far without the usual circumstances to cause it. When it finally returned, the stampede had changed course to run through the forest, trying to get around the wall. A few had broken off, a trio of pegasi that now hovered around her and glared down on the mare with angry faces.

“Do not interfere,” the center one hissed, barely sounding like a pony at all.

“Get away from her, now,” a stern voice shouted from a few feet away. Ice turned to see Goldenhoof, along with a team of armored officers levitating spears aimed directly at the three pegasi.

The blue unicorn tried to slink away and closer to Goldenhoof, but was stopped as another boom of thunder filled the air, and a gust of wind kicked up around them. Within seconds, the officers were surrounded by a cyclone of snow before being launched into the trees.

“No!” Ice screamed as they flew out of her sight, trying to catch them with her own magic, but instead cringing in pain from the effort. She turned back to face the pegasi who had been watching over her just to see that they had disappeared completely, probably rejoining the herd as it escaped town.

In their place was a single small colt, a unicorn, smiling at her behind a pair of… fangs. “Aren’t you a spunky one,” the foal chirped.

Ice was about to answer when she realized everything had frozen around her. Any ponies that had been moving were frozen in place, stuck in mid scream or run. They weren’t coated in ice or magic, it just looked like time had stopped completely.

“Oh, right. Don’t worry, they’re okay,” the colt assured her with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute without anyone interrupting.”

“W-why?” Ice asked shakily. She tried to back away but found herself unable to move.

“Because you tried hardest to stop them, and with such interesting magic,” the colt replied in an amused tone. “I’ve only ever seen it once, and I was worried I never would again.” The mare started to panic as the colt trotted closer to her. “But never in a pony. I wonder, does it still work from emotion?” Ice stopped struggling and just nodded, too afraid to speak with the odd pony. “Well that’s perfect! It’s a pleasure to meet you Ice Crystal! Or do you prefer Cryssy?”

“How do you know my name?” the mare squeaked, once again struggling to move.

“I know everything about you now!” the colt replied with a chuckle. “Like how you really want a certain stallion to come to your rescue like he did the other day.” As he spoke, the air around them swirled and changed to leave them in the junkyard. A few feet in front of them, Ice saw herself laying helpless as a pair of bucks leaned over her with wicked intentions. “This is my favorite part,” the colt hissed. Out of nowhere, a shadow shot from the piles of junk and rammed into the nearest of the two attackers, vaporizing the pony instantly. The second pony ran as the shadow looked down on Ice with caring eyes before slowly turning into Lug Nut. “Hm, interesting…” the colt tapped his hoof on his chin. “Did you know that you still can’t believe that it was Lug Nut who killed that pony? You can’t seem to picture him doing that to save you.”

“I know it was him,” Ice argued, looking away in shame.

“But you don’t want to.” The image around them swirled out of existence, and they were back where they were talking before. “Unfortunately, he won’t be coming right now, he’s still locked up.” Ice shrunk away, finally finding herself able to move. “Don’t worry little filly, I won’t do anything to you. You’ve made me quite happy with this little conversation.” The colt grinned deviously and trotted off, chuckling lightly under his breath. “I’ll be watching you Cryssy.” A deeper, more rattling voice, echoed all around her and suddenly time started again.

The colt was nowhere to be seen, and the stampede of fleeing ponies had disappeared from the town entirely. Crying mothers, wives, husbands, and fathers filled the streets as they tried to beckon their loved ones back, but to no avail. Ice slowly stood up and looked to the police station, hoping that Lug would be waiting outside, but he wasn’t. With her head hung in fear, the mare slowly trotted toward the doors. As she walked, the mare’s fear seemed to fade inexplicably, and suddenly she didn’t feel much of anything. It was strange that the fear was gone, but it was soon replaced by a warm feeling as she found herself without worry. She hardly even remembered the fanged colt who had spoken with her only moments before.

Chapter 10: Blood and Chitin

Chapter 10: Blood and Chitin

A cold breeze flowed through the mare’s mane as she sat outside the station in waiting while a chill of uncertainty filled her body. The excitement of Lug Nut being released had faded in the aftermath of the fleeing town, and her eyes darted between sobbing parents and children who still beckoned for their loved ones to return. A soft ache persisted in Ice’s horn as she sat; the remainder of her exertion after trying to stop the column of ponies nearly half an hour before.

And yet, seeing all of the sad ponies around her didn’t let her join them. She had lost someone with that crowd; Lemon had run off with them too, completely ignoring Ice’s existence as she went. They had been friends since they were fillies, and in just one day the yellow pony had seemed to completely forget about her. But she still felt no sadness for her friend, no grief, no fear for where she might end up. She felt nothing for Lemon.

Behind her, the doors finally swung open and Lug stepped out into the brisk morning. A small grin cracked his lips, and the mare quickly trotted to his side. His smile faded at the sight of the still distraught mare, and he wasted no time in asking what was wrong.

“The town…half of them just left,” she explained quickly, trying to think back to what had happened. “They didn’t pay attention to anyone, even their wives or foals.”

“They just left without saying anything?” Lug clarified, not sure what to think of Ice’s explanation.

“Yes. I even made a wall to stop them and they just went around it.”

“A wall?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “But that isn’t the point. The point is that they never responded to anything. They looked like they were zombies or something.”

“Zombies?”

“Not real zombies, just… they acted like them,” the mare pressed, growing frustrated with Lug’s lack of understanding. “And now they’re all going Celestia knows where.”

“Okay. What do you want me to do about it?” the stallion asked roughly, sitting down in front of her.

“I don’t know… we should go after them or something!” Ice waved a hoof toward the town’s gate.

“Why? They must have left for a reason.”

“Without telling anyone why?”

Lug sighed and shook his head, looking to the forest around the town. “What will that help? If they didn’t respond before, why would that change just because we went after them?”

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try right?” the mare pleaded, placing a hoof on Lug’s shoulder. “Please?”

The stallion stared at her for a few seconds, not sure if it was such a good idea to run off after a cluster of ponies that obviously wanted to leave. He took a moment to look around and saw that she wasn’t the only one worried over the missing ponies. Families with missing loved ones begged for their return, fathers tried to calm crying children screaming for their mother; it was a sad sight to see. He turned back and sighed. Ice was right, it couldn’t hurt to find out where the others ran off to, and at the very least maybe following them would put her at ease.

“Fine. Do you think we can follow their tracks?”

Ice nodded and grinned before throwing her hooves around Lug’s neck. “Thank you.”

The stallion froze as he was pulled into the embrace, not sure how to react to such a gesture. After a few seconds, he loosely placed a hoof on her back. “You’re welcome…”

< < < > > >

“Well they certainly didn’t bother trying to cover their tracks,” Lug commented as the pair trotted alongside the wider trail were the group of escaping ponies had run. Even through the forest it was easy to follow the trail around the snow coated trees and bushes, and once it reached the plains beyond the stampede’s path could be seen for miles ahead.

“I guess not,” Ice agreed with a smile. “Lucky us right?”

“You could say that,” the stallion replied simply. His eyes were locked ahead of them as they followed the trail and a determined look was carved over his face.

The two ponies hadn’t wasted much time getting going after Lug was released from custody, taking just long enough to gather their bags and anything else they thought they’d need for the trip. Ice had shuddered a bit at the thought of running out into the world again, especially once she wrapped the old shawl around her neck and head. It had been years since she’d worn the thing, and it didn’t necessarily bring back good memories for her. But it had never let her down before, and even after so long it still kept her ears and neck toasty through the wind and bitter cold of the Frozen North.

Lug had only brought the bags he’d arrived in Snowhoof with, laden down with whatever parts and supplies he carried around with him in his own travels. They looked much heavier than Ice’s did, but then again he was a bit bigger and could carry more weight than the petite unicorn accompanying him. The mare couldn’t tell what he was carrying, but she had a feeling it was more than the assorted snacks and small pouch of bits she carried in her single bag. It was less than she’d carried the first time she left Snowhoof, but she didn’t imagine being gone for almost three years again.

The mare shook the thought from her head and turned her focus back to the sprawling plains around them. It wasn’t too hard to keep track of the trail for her as the magic which provided her vision almost seemed to highlight the path through the otherwise perfectly flat field of snow.

“Any idea where this might lead?” Lug finally spoke up, turning his head to Ice.

The mare thought back to what she could remember about the area surrounding Snowhoof for any memories of what was out the way they were heading. “Um, there’s a little pine forest out this way. Just through there is a little outpost where you can rent a blimp,” she replied after a few moments, hoping that it hadn’t changed too much over the years.

“A blimp? Do you think that’s where they’re going?” Lug asked, a skeptical look over his face.

“I don’t think so, it can only carry 10 ponies at a time,” Ice recalled, but quickly corrected. “Unless Hot Air got a new one.”

Lug deadpanned and sighed. “Is there anything else this way?”

“Um,” the mare looked down in thought, racking her brain for any memories of what might be the way they were running. “Oh! The Crystal Empire appeared out this way a few years ago.”

“Would they go there?” Lug asked, not sure what to think of that.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” the mare replied with a little shrug while she ran. “It’s the closest place with a train station to mainland Equestria, so it’s the fastest way to get around.”

“I guess we’ll see then,” the stallion said flatly and turned back to the trail.

Ice took a second to watch him as he ran; he was so determined and focused, even after being so hesitant to go with her at all. She couldn’t begin to guess what had made him decide to go with her after seeming so reluctant, but she didn’t really care either. What mattered was that he was helping her even though Snowhoof wasn’t his home, and the ponies there weren’t his friends. And yet there he was beside her, rushing forward with his lean, muscular body propelled by those strong, sturdy legs.

The mare quickly looked away and tried to hide the blush forming across her face, pretending to be looking out over the mountains south of them. She didn’t know if Lug had caught her staring, or rather admiring, him, but she really hoped he didn’t.

< < < > > >

When the pair of ponies reached the small forest Ice had mentioned, Ice suggested they should stop for the night. The sun had almost dipped completely under the horizon when they finally got to the trees, and she was insistent that no matter how much she wanted to keep going, night time in the North was no time to travel. Lug took her word for it and dropped his bags in a small alcove of trees, followed closely by Ice.

Lug wasted no time after that lighting a small fire to warm the two and to cook whatever food they might want to, but that never happened. Ice took out a small bag of granola and snacked on it while the stallion pulled an apple from his own bag. The two ate silently, staring into the flickering flames from a few feet away. Ice had wanted to sit a little closer so that her back might be able to be spared a little of the night’s chill, but Lug insisted he was fine further back. Despite insisting that she could sit closer if she wanted, the mare refused and sat back with him as she ate.

“So… what do you do in Manehattan?” Ice finally asked after almost an hour of complete silence around the fire. She almost didn’t ask, but realized that she had never asked him before, and that technically the two were going on a date at some point.

“I run a little shop,” Lug answered simply, still staring into the fire.

Ice nodded and looked over to him, waiting for the stallion to say more, but he never did. “What kind of shop?” she asked, still trying to stay cheery and friendly, hoping that he would open up a little more like he had the first night at the bar.

“Uh, I guess it would be an antique shop,” the stallion replied, unsure.

“So you sell old clocks and stuff?”

“Some, but mostly things I build,” Lug explained.

“You build clocks? That’s cool,” the mare replied with a grin. “Is that why you were looking for parts in Snowhoof?”

“Not just clocks, but yeah.”

Ice looked away and frowned lightly at the simple answers Lug was giving her, trying to think of a way to get him more talkative. “Um… what other things do you build?”

“Lots of things,” he replied simply once again.

“Like what?” Ice replied with an interested smile.

“Uh,” Lug looked down and slightly over to her. “Whatever I think of.” He saw the smile over her face and tried to think of an example. “I made a crossbow once.”

“What’s a crossbow?”

“It’s, uh… it’s a…” the stallion paused as he tried to think of a way to describe the invention. “It’s like… a catapult that shoots little spears.” He didn’t know if that was the best description, but he couldn’t think of any better way to explain it.

“Why would you make that?” Ice asked with a cocked brow. “Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“Well yeah,” he replied. “But Manehatten isn’t exactly a safe city, so maybe someone would want something like that… for protection of course,” he added quickly, making it very clear he didn’t do it just to hurt ponies.

Ice stared at him for a few moments, her face still showing confusion until she quickly smiled again. “That makes sense.” She quickly thought of another question to keep the buck talking. “How does it work?”

The stallion sighed internally as the questions continued not too excited about being bombarded by the mare. Still, he could tell she was just curious. “It has this string that you pull back and lock under a lever,” he started telling her. “Then you put the bolt, the small spear, in front of the string and you pull another lever to let the string go and shoot the bolt out.” He didn’t think it was the most descriptive answer he could have given, but then again Ice didn’t seem like she knew much about how machines worked and he didn’t want to confuse her and invite more questions.

“That sounds pretty difficult,” the mare responded, still smiling. “You must be pretty creative.”

“Uh… you could say that,” the buck answered and turned back to the fire, much to Ice’s chagrin.

She quickly tried to think of another question, and said the first thing that came to her mind. “Have you… met many mares where you live?”

To her surprise, Lug spun his head to her with an unsettled stare. She flinched slightly at his look, and her smile quickly faded as she realized she’d done something very, very wrong. “I’m going to bed, put out the fire whenever you’re ready.” The buck stood up and trotted to his bag, laying his head on the bulging fabric with a huff.

Ice opened her mouth to say something and reached a hoof to the stallion, but no words escaped her. Instead, she closed her mouth and dejectedly dropped her hoof to the snow, not knowing how to apologize or why asking him that had gotten the reaction she’d received. A soft blue aura wrapped around a pile of snow behind her and floated over the small fire before dropping and extinguishing the flames with a hiss.

She stood and went to lay by Lug, but thought better of it and slowly trotted to the other side of the alcove, gently moving the snow from a patch of ground before curling around herself to try and get some sleep. She kicked herself internally for asking that question, and for not having the mind to apologize to him, even if she didn’t know why it was so bad to ask. The mare’s magic still allowed her to see him lying across the camp, and she quietly rolled to face the other way, not wanting to see him so upset with her for what she’d done.

Once she turned, her vision was filled by the sight of twelve legs only inches from her, leading up to three faces glaring down at her. The mare rolled and screamed at the sight, only to be enveloped in a glow of magic that lifted her from the ground. She could recognize one of them, the unicorn lifting her up. She’d never actually talked with the stallion before, but she had seen him buying smoothies from Lemon before.

Before she knew what was happening, a rock flew across the camp and into the other unicorn’s head, disrupting his magic and dropping Ice to the ground roughly. Another of the ponies, a pegasus in a police vest, dove at Lug and tackled him to the ground. The other two stayed focused on Ice, quickly moving forward at her. The mare felt a cold grip around her heart, and a clump of snow shot into each of the aggressor’s faces, bringing them to a stop.

Ice quickly jumped to her hooves and started making snowballs, not wanting to hurt the ponies from Snowhoof even if they were attacking her and Lug. She launched a ball at the pegasus that was wrestling with lug, dazing the pony long enough for Lug to land a blow. A barrage of snowballs lifted and launched at the other two, tripping them and forcing them to shield their faces from the attack.

“Stop that!” the unicorn yelled as his magic wrapped around Ice’s hooves and pulled her into the air, cutting off her focus and dropping the remaining balls of snow to the ground. Without warning, another rock flew through the air and cracked into the unicorn’s head again, this time causing him to wobble and fall limply to the snow before dropping Ice flat on her back.

The final attacker, an earth pony, jumped toward Lug with a branch sticking from her mouth, swinging it viciously at him. The stallion backed up from each swing, narrowly avoiding the branch and trying to find a chance to hit back. As the mare swung particularly hard, once again barely missing Lug, he drove a hoof into her neck. She coughed and dropped the branch before falling to the ground and gripping at her throat with her hooves. Her eyes bulged as she fought for breath, and her face quickly twisted into a look of panic. Lug ignored her and ran to Ice, helping her stand back up as the earth pony finally lost consciousness.

Ice threw her hooves around Lug’s neck, whispering a ‘thank you’ into his ear over and over. The buck froze and thought about telling her not to thank him, but if the last time was any indication, she would say it regardless. His eyes locked on the unicorn he’d stoned, and widened as the skin melted away in a green blaze, replaced by a black shell.

“Ice, stop,” he quickly told her, pushing the unicorn off gently. She looked at him with a worried glance, but pulled away as he asked. “Look.” He pointed to the body as it finished the transformation, replacing the unicorn with an insectoid equine.

Ice gasped at the sight of the thing, and quickly turned back to Lug. “What is it?”

“A changeling, didn’t you hear about the attack on Canterlot years ago?”

“Well, yeah but I never heard what they looked like,” she replied in a panicked tone. “What are they doing here? Didn’t Princess Cadence and Prince Shining exile them or something?”

“I don’t know, but it explains why -”

He was cut off by a groan from behind them. The two ponies turned to face the noise, and saw the pegasus attacker standing up with a wobble as he rubbed his head. Lug quickly trotted over and pushed the pony back to the ground, standing over him and pressing a hoof into the imposter’s chest.

“You can turn back, changeling,” he growled down at the pony, his teeth bared in a vicious scowl.

As directed, the pony was engulfed in a green flame that burnt away the skin and coat to reveal the chitin hidden underneath. “Get off me, pony,” the newly feminine voice rasped.

Lug just growled again and pushed down on the changeling’s chest with new force, pulling a wheeze from her.

“Lug, stop,” Ice begged and pushed at his side. “It might be able to tell us where the others went.” Lug sighed but agreed, removing his hoof while still standing over the changeling with a stern glare.

The black equine coughed before replying. “Thank you, Blue One,” she clicked.

“You heard her, where are the others going?” Lug grumbled, obviously upset that Ice had stopped him.

“Wherever the storm goes,” the changeling replied cryptically. “That is all I know.”

“What storm?” Ice asked from beside Lug, sounding upset but not angry like the stallion beside her was.

“You are from the Snowhoof, yes? Do you not recall the blizzard?”

Ice frowned. “You made that happen?”

A raspy chuckle escaped the imposter, and she shook her head. “No, we were only told that it was to help us. I do not know what magic makes it, or where it chooses to lead us.”

Lug placed his hoof on the changeling’s neck and grumbled as he pushed just hard enough cut off her breathing. “Thank you for the help.”

“Lug, no!” Ice said again, pushing his hoof off the black equine’s chest, gaining a disgruntled stare from the stallion.

“What now?”

“If they’re all changelings, aren’t the real ponies hidden somewhere back in Snowhoof?” she asked with a concerned look. “It might be able to take us to them.”

Lug sighed and glared back down at the changeling. “Get up. We’ll leave in the morning.”

“And what makes you think I will still be here when you wake?” she hissed in response, a smug smirk creeping across her muzzle.

Lug returned it with a smirk of his own, which quickly removed the changeling’s.

After a few minutes of hissing and grunting, Lug backed away from his work and smiled. “Sleep well,” he chided as he walked back to his bags to lie down again.

“This is not amusing,” the chitin coated equine hissed angrily as she glared at the two ponies from the tree trunk they had tied her to.

“Good night,” Ice told her rather cheerily, apparently amused by Lug’s choice of restraining the changeling. She just clicked angrily in response.

Chapter 2: New Aquaintances

Chapter 2: New Acquaintances

A fresh layer of snow crackled lightly under the hooves of Ice Crystal as she trotted merrily through the town streets in the orange light of dawn. Not many other ponies were out so early, only those whose shops opened earliest in the morning were awake while the rest of the town slumbered. Normally Ice would be among the latter group, but today was a special day in her mind, and she was anxious to get to the market as early as possible.

Her saddlebags were loaded in their usual manner; one side was filled by her portable record player, while the other held around fifteen records from varying artists. She tried to bring a little bit of everything each day, but without being able to read the labels on the disks, mixing up her choices proved quite the challenge. Of course that did provide an element of surprise for the mare, since she never knew exactly what she was going to be listening to through the day.

But this day wasn’t just special because of what awaited Ice in the markets; it was also the day she would wake up early to make a stop at the local cemetery. It was the day of her weekly trip to visit her parents.

The cemetery had been cleared the day before by one of the other unicorns in the town, a pony by the name of Snow Stone, who also served as the local gravedigger. Part of the stallions duties included insuring the grass remained cleared of snow, but as early as Ice would arrive at the graves the snow had yet to be cleared. She didn’t mind much, her parents had always liked the town best when it was covered by a light layer of snow. Mother had always said the early morning sun gave it a beautiful orange glow, something Ice had often wished she could see.

In the mare’s muzzle were two bouquets of fresh picked flowers from the day before, kept lively and fresh in a vase which always sat at the head of her bed; one arrangement for each of her parents.

As she approached the graves, memories of her childhood filled the unicorn’s mind. The days spent playing games with her Mother while Dad was at work, helping her Dad pick out a gift for Hearts and Hooves Day, and the nights when her parents would take turns helping her study for the entry exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Even though she never did get into the school, the nightly stories were still a memory she held dear.

But unfortunately, everything has to end sometime, and in Ice’s case that end came abruptly and with more pain than she has experienced since. Everything crashed down in one fateful night, a night which still plagued her memory every time she visited her parents.

As she placed the flowers in front of the headstones, each carved into the shape of her parent’s cutie marks; a star above waves for Dad, and a single cloud for Mother, her thoughts drifted to the darker side of her past in Snowhoof. Her vision of the real world disappeared as her mind, overcome by the memory of the past, began showing her exact images of what she had seen over a decade before. The fear she felt, the first moments after walking into her home that night, and the clang of metal in the kitchen. Flashes of the faces of the griffins she hated, each with eyes glowing with malice, and the echoes of their words to her that night: they were so tasty…

The rush of memory and emotion which filled Ice brewed a crushing feeling in her chest, amplified by the wave of cold which engulfed her heart and the air all around her. Small specks of glittering ice filled the air immediately surrounding the mare as her tears froze onto her coat, the results of her power, her curse, her birth given control over the ice and snow; control that had taken the majority of her life to gain. This had finally given her an element of freedom after being controlled by the magic she had been born with throughout the entirety of her young life.

This was another reason she chose to wake so early in the morning to visit her parents each week. It was better if she was seen with total control, rather than others seeing the full truth; that Ice’s emotions still fought with her will in a constant war for control of her magic, and ultimately her body. In the past, her fear had been the greatest challenge for the young mare’s mind to defeat, trumped in one case by the pure anger she gained after the second worst day of her life.

Before her mind could travel to that day as well, Ice shook the thought from her head and turned her attention fully onto the graves at her hooves, forcing her magical vision to abandon its crusade into the past. She wiped her sore eyes with a pale blue hoof, absently trying to remove the still frozen tears upon her cheeks as a smile returned to her muzzle.

“I miss you Mom and Dad,” she told them with a sniffle before nuzzling each of the headstones gently with her nose. “I’ll see you next week.”

< < < > > >

After spending a few more minutes staring at her parents’ resting place, Ice had turned back to the walkway leading into Snowhoof itself. Only her hoof prints marred the snow covering the cobblestone path, and she didn’t see any others until she grew closer to the markets. Only the prints of adult ponies dented the snow on the streets, the foals still having yet to awake for school. A light breeze whistled through the town, gently pushing the blue of Ice’s poorly combed mane back from her face.

As she rounded a corner, the mare’s destination came into view; Needle’s Vinyl, the local record store. It had quickly become one of Ice’s favorite stores after its opening, and she visited often to keep up on new music releases and to improve her collection of records. Her visit this morning concerned both of those reasons, as her favorite artist had recently released a new song by the name of Manticore Boogie. She had been waiting a few weeks for the record to be available in Snowhoof, and Diamond Needle, the owner of the store, had done everything in her power to get a few copies in her shop.

When she entered the store, the ringing of the bell overhead sent a tingle of joy through Ice’s body. After weeks of waiting she’d finally get to hear the new song during work that day, and the thought of that always made her day a bit brighter than it already was. Needle stood behind her desk on the right side of the shop as usual, a small player resting at the center to sample music for her customers should they wish to do so.

The rest of the store was lined with shelf after shelf of circular disks of several sizes and with what Ice assumed were colorful labels. Cutouts of musical pony’s cutiemarks were hung over several of the shelves, allowing customers to quickly find their favorite artists or groups from anywhere in the store. A few less well known artists were harder to find, and usually a customer would need to ask Needle if she had a certain song in stock, but she was always anxious to help ponies find anything they wished.

The shop owner was a crème coated earth pony with a vinyl as her cutiemark and a short, red and blue dyed mane. She almost always wore a pair of mirrored sunglasses for a reason Ice never quite understood, aside from they likely looked stylish. From what she had told Ice of her past, Needle had once been a travelling DJ with a natural love of all music. However, her wide variety of choices when she performed at an event lead her to be less popular than DJ ponies who stuck to ‘party’ music, which was actually Needle’s least favorite form.

“It’s just random noises,” she argued. “Ponies need to remember that music needs form, inspiration, and above all; tell a story.”

Ice thought that the mare might be a little bitter, but she could agree that the ‘party’ music she had heard wasn’t exactly her favorite either. It was too fast and loud for her.

“Ice! I think I know why you’re here,” Needle joked once the door closed behind the blue unicorn.

The crème pony ducked briefly behind her desk before returning with an unopened sleeve a little larger than her head. She placed the new vinyl on the table and smiled brightly from behind her glasses, “I’ve gotta say, you’ve made a great choice with this one girl.”

“I hope so! I’ve been looking forward to this since you told me about it,” the unicorn chimed. She practically appeared beside the desk in a blue blur with how fast she moved.

“You won’t be disappointed; I actually took one of these bad boys for my own stash.” As Needle spoke, she gently patted the top of the sleeve with one hoof, obviously satisfied with her new merchandise.

As the two mares spoke, the bell over the shop door rang as a new customer entered. Needle craned her head to the side and practically shouted, “Welcome to Needle’s Vinyl! Where music comes first and all sales are final!”

Ice giggled softly at Needle’s favorite joke, but one that probably wasn’t the best for attracting new customers. The unicorn turned her head to the side and allowed a moment for her magic to flash an image of the new arrival to her mind, revealing a cloaked stallion with an expression showing he wasn’t impressed with Needle’s joke.

The buck was a few inches taller than Ice and slightly bulkier in the chest and neck. Though Ice couldn’t tell, the stallion had a grey coat with white splotches spread unevenly over his body. His brown and rust orange colored mane was slightly disheveled as he lowered the hood of his cloak, revealing a pair of grey-blue eyes. His cutiemark was hidden entirely under the cloak which covered everything below his neck, only revealing his chest through an opening at the front.

“Cute,” the buck replied to Needle sarcastically, a scowl drawn across his muzzle.

“How can I help you today sir?” the music sales pony asked in a much more reserved tone, likely rolling her eyes behind the mirrored glasses perched on her nose.

“Do you have anything from Led Griffin?” he asked plainly. His eyes zipped around the store quickly as he spoke, freezing for a moment on the door and each of the two mares in front of him.

“Uh, I might. How new are you looking for?” Needle raised an eyebrow behind her glasses as she made her way to one of the shelves at the back of the store. As she walked, a glimmer of light shone from her flank.

“Oh my gosh, Needle! You finally got it?” Ice squealed from across the room as she noticed a small nub on the side of the earth pony’s flank.

Needle continued trotting toward the shelves as she looked back to the small gem piecing in the center of her cutiemark. “Yeah, hurt like crazy,” she replied with a chuckle.

The stallion who followed behind the mare audibly scoffed at the excitement Ice and Needle showed for the piercing, eliciting a glare from behind the pair of mirrored glasses. Cutieflourishes were a relatively new accessory which had become popular among many mares in Equestria, and normally involved a gem or metal accent pierced into the skin on or around a cutiemark. In Needle’s case, it was a small orb of obsidian at the center of the vinyl adorning her flank. Ice had been considering getting one, but the pain caused her to worry about getting one of her own.

“What, not a fan of Flourishes Mr. Cloak?” Needle asked with a sneer.

“Not particularly, no,” the buck replied defensively. “And it’s Lug Nut, not Mr. Cloak.”

“Lug Nut eh? Well you may not have the greatest eye for style,” Needle told him as she came to a stop in front of a display of disks. “But you do have a good ear for music. So what are we looking for here?”

Lug Nut looked over the albums slowly, taking a moment to read each title before moving to the next. Every so often he would turn his attention back to one he’d already seen. Ice began to giggle softly as the stallion’s nose scrunched up while he tried to decide on a purchase. After a few minutes, he pulled one sleeve from the shelf with his teeth and carried it proudly to the counter alongside Needle.

The crème pony smiled as her customer placed the vinyl carefully onto the counter. “Good choice, Houses of the Alicorn is one of my favorites.”

Ice cocked her head at the mention of the title, her horn sparking slightly as its angle changed. “I’ve never heard of that one; is it really new?”

Needle laughed as she rung up the purchase while Lug Nut turned his head to Ice with a soft glare. “Led Griffin…new? No, it’s a classic,” he told her plainly.

“Oh, are they any good?”

“Well,” the stallion turned to the disk Ice had purchased before looking back to the blind mare. “It’s a bit different than what you listen to, but most ponies consider it to be one of the best rock bands in history.” His voice was much softer than it was when he had first entered the store, though it still stayed mostly stern and blunt.

“I’ll have to give them a listen then, thanks for the hint,” Ice said with a smile.

“No problem Miss…”

“Ice Crystal,” she introduced herself with an outstretched hoof. “Good to meet you Lug Nut.”

< < < > > >

Luna paced quickly through the throne room of Canterlot Castle, her hooves beginning to leave a dull spot on the normally polished floors from where she had been walking. The sun beamed in the sky outside, sending colorful patterns from the stained glass onto the floors all around her. Normally the sun high above would signal that the blue alicorn was likely sleeping away the day in her chambers, but the news from the night before had left her anxious and unable to sleep.

She couldn’t believe that it had happened, and that it wasn’t just a bad dream. A prisoner of Tartarus had escaped into the world, and regardless of what, or who, it was, that was not good for anypony. The good news was that she was expecting a messenger to arrive shortly with news of exactly which inmate was missing, and if they knew who to look for, it would be easier to capture them as fast as equinely possible.

As she paced, the Princess came to a stop when a pair of shining gold hooves appeared in front of her. She lifted her gaze to her sister’s, a light feeling of embarrassment filling her.

“You shouldn’t pace so much when you’re nervous Luna, it gives you away,” Celestia told her with a small smile.

“I am sorry Sister, but I can’t help it. We’ve never had this problem before…” Luna turned her gaze to the large stained window above the castle doors, her mind racing through all of the horrors that might be on the loose in Equestria at that moment.

“It had to happen sometime,” Celestia said as she turned to face the large wooden doors leading to the castle grounds, a look of worry spreading across her own features as well.

The doors swung open with a resounding crash as they hit the stone walls on the inside, revealing the same young guard from that evening. Her maroon mane was disheveled and filthy with dirt and twigs from the run, and she heaved for breath under her dark armor. Luna held herself back from demanding a message from the exhausted mare, instead giving her a moment to regain her breath and compose herself.

“Your…Highness,” the mare panted between gasping breaths, her voice even more rough than the night before. “We’ve…we’ve found out who is missing.”

“And?” Celestia responded sternly, her manner now that of a ruler rather than a sister.

After a few more deep breaths, the mare took a few steps forward, pulling a large rolled scroll from her bag. She released the parchment to Luna’s magical grasp, reeling slightly from the sudden blue aura around it. “Don’t you mean ‘what’ is missing?” the Princess of the Night asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“No Highness, he’s got a name,” the guard stated matter-of-factly.

“And what would this prisoner’s name be?” Celestia asked as she read the scroll over her sister’s shoulder. It was a list of every inmate of Tartarus, from those with names, to those who were simply referred to as ‘The Kraken’ or something similar. Going down the list, each name and title had a small checkmark placed next to it, until the two alicorns reached one name which had been circled.

“Its name is Deimos, Highness.” The name which the mare gave matched the circled name on the list from Tartarus, but unfortunately it didn’t ring a bell in Luna’s memory.

“Sister, I don’t recall who this ‘Deimos’ is,” she stated as the scroll rolled back into a neat bundle before her.

“I’m afraid I don’t either,” Celestia said disappointedly. “Guard, do we know who this is?”

“I’m afraid I do not Princess,” the mare said softly. “I have not been at Tartarus long, but perhaps one of the older guards, or the Warden…”

“I will go Sister,” Luna demanded before the guard could finish her suggestion. “Please, let me investigate this.” At first the Princess didn’t know why she so quickly volunteered to deal with the escaped prisoner, but she soon knew that it was because the matter had been brought to her first, and as a ruler of Equestria she needed to take up the responsibility. Besides, her sister already handled much of the royal duties; she did not need the task of hunting down an escaped prisoner added to her list.

After a brief moment Celestia smiled and nodded to her younger sister. “Of course, I am sure you’ll do a wonderful job sister,” she said warmly. The outburst had been a brief reminder to her of the easily excited filly Luna had once been; a side of her sister she had not seen in a long time.

“Thank you,” the younger alicorn replied with reserved enthusiasm. She turned back to the young guard waiting just a few feet from her. “You may stay here and rest, you have earned it after such a long evening.”

The guard bowed slowly and offered a rough “thank you” before following a golden armored Royal Guard to their barracks for a meal and a nap. Once she had left the Castle, Luna turned her sister and offered one last warm smile before disappearing in a flash of blue light.

Once she was alone, a sense of dread passed over Celestia inexplicably, and she suddenly felt that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let Luna go off alone.

Author’s Note: Lug Nut is not my own creation as an OC Pony, that honor goes to XT Vengeance, who has been so nice as to let me borrow Lug for this story. Thanks man.