Author's Note

Thank you for making it this far into the story. Six more seasons to go and we are done. To celebrate this achievement, I've created a one shot exclusive for this chapter. May I refer you to an old blog system I had back when this series began? In particular this blog.
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/853107/hearths-warming-tidbit-7-ravens-eyes

Details involved in it, directly tie into this stand-alone chapter. However, this chapter will also drop major connections for the previous chapter and future chapters. In fact, this is easily the most important chapter of the whole series, period as we will finally get a proper glimpse behind the mask of CC Frost and the reveal of a hidden ally who has always been at his side.

This is not a full unveiling, but adds more details than ever before to the growing mystery, shining light on connections you might have never considered and popping a few headcanons. So sorry, and thank you for coming this far. Here are the two scenes to celebrate this midpoint.

Yes, this is part 1, but part 2 will not be dropping until near the final season. I don't want to reveal every single detail, but only what you need to know now.

Who is C. C. Frost?

Who is the Lavender Soul?

Who is Big Bad Wolf?

These answers aren't here, but I will be unveiling them soon.

JTHW Mid-Point: Casting Shadow Part 1

Thousands of years ago, in the deepest depth of the Batpony Canyons, a battle waged onward. It was mere days before Rex's legendary first fight with the giant centaur Ixion. To prepare himself for this dark deed, he needed to show the scythe, that he was worthy of its power. As such he needed to commit to it's will eternally so and ever-lasting.

So it was, that he stood face to face, with the last member of his kind. The everlasting final echoed of his species, and all mother of them. Free from any undead imprisonment, Queen Carmilla Darkest stood against him. The matron saint of the umbrum race, and last consort of Grogar. His mission in fighting her was to bath his hands in her blood, to smite her where she stood.

However, this was anything but an easy bout. She had the Raven's Eye under her command. This legendary orb granted true immortality. Where his Dark Alicorn Amulet granted him hydra-like regenerations, her item granted perfect invulnerability. He could never damage her, no matter how hard he tried. The two had been colliding for over a month. Their clashes had tore apart the canyons and trenches of equal proportion of craters in their wake. And each time, their battle comes to a stalemate. Rex could not wound her, nor could Carmilla bring him down permanently.

Endless powers beyond his might, yet Rex stood strong, never to fall. Ripping a massive pillar of darkness through his chest, the umbrum male rose back up to match the surviving queen of his race. With his chains, he would attempt to bind her so he could remove the Raven's Eye, yet she would just escape and tempt the same action upon his Dark Alicorn Amulet.

Carmilla could have killed him multiple, but the power of the amulet made that impossible. Just as the Raven's Eye prevents Rex from penetrating her flawless pitch-black skin. The two would fall to their ends, and then charge each other seconds later. They were clashing their powers in a blinding explosion. This was their dance of death. And it would continue until one of the objects faltered first.

Beyond all the fighting, two lavender souls watched the battle play out. They were there in secret, one wanting to watch Rex in full action, not held back by mere mortals in the crossfire. While the other was more curious about the objects that granted this endless fight.

The Raven's Eye and the Dark Alicorn Amulet. He knew of their previous holders, such names brought fear and panic to his eyes. However, the other lavender soul beside him assured him those fears were pointless now. She assured him that Rex and Carmilla were nothing like Heavonos and the original Indigo Frost.

The battle continued, neither side willing to yield. And the two witnesses watched on with awe and joy. As far as the two were concerned, the two combatants were equals, no matter the outcome. They weren't here to see the winner, just to enjoy the show and steal from the dead.

A flash of black and purple erupted from the field, and the battle came to another stalemate. Rex and Carmilla clash in sparks of maroon red and purest black. Neither of them was willing to back down. Their hands beat against the other's hands, as they attempt to push the other to the ground.

The female lavender soul grew a big grin on her face. A brilliant idea crossed her mind as she edged close to the fight. The male lavender soul attempted to stop her. He knew them being seen now would ruin that plan. Rex especially couldn't see either of them like this, it would ruin all of their hopes.

However, she would not be deterred now. These two could fight on for eternity, but Rex's time to claim the scythe was limited. She had to find a way to get him there sooner. Plus, the mere thought of taking this victory away from him without him ever knowing it was too damn perfect.

She truly despised Rex with all her might. The other soul had told her there were other ways in handling this. But she refused to listen. Her hate burned with an eternal flame, only matched by her incredible mind. And her current idea was perfect.

With the two combatants focused solely on the other, the female lavender soul approached. Rex and Carmilla were so caught up, that the only thing they could hear was their own rages beating in their chests. Getting into place was easy. The hard part lay in her own magical object around her neck. Something she never learned to fully control. However, that didn't matter in this moment. It only needed to be a conduit with their magic objects.

Gripping her hand tight over the sharp points of the necklace, she whispered it's name. "Element of Magic, grant me this wish... A single falter, I don't care one. Drop their guard for only instance." The purple gem glowed and followed her command.

Both Rex and Carmilla's items suddenly jolted. In all her vanity, the queen was the first to flinch. This gave Rex the moment he needed to knock the Raven's Eye off her throat. It rolled to the ground and Rex's strength won out. His arms rushed forward, ripping the umbrum queen apart. His hands broke in so many places upon trying to penetrate her impossible flesh. His amulet rejuvenated him at every step. It rebuilt every torn flesh and replaced all the bones only for those to fall and shatter to dust as well. Despite all of this, Rex kept pushing until the barrier was finally crossed.

In an instant, it all came to a halt and her heart slipped into his hands. The queen of darkness fell to her knees. Her eyes came upon the Dark Alicorn Amulet. It's maroon red glowed shined on her like a final glimpse of warmth in the umbering twilight. It was the only heat she ever felt in her millions of years of endless forever cold. A last kind of bliss given to her by the ever-dark soul imprisoned with the immortal lace. It could never reach out to her in this moment and could only give this ultimate wish.

With the last pieces of life, Carmilla Darkest gleamed up to Rex's face and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. She hummed like that of a mother nursing her child. Much to the shock of all three, her rage wasn't unleashed in her final breath. Instead, her hand raised to Rex's forehead. in her last moments, Carmilla padded his head like a loving mother. "I can feel your strength. Your will, it is unmatched. I can sense the endless power and fury you will unleash on the world, thousands, no millions of years into a future that has long forgotten your father and mother. Oh, how I long to be there, to see what you do to them. But I cannot... And I couldn't be happier." She leaned into his ear and whispered ever so softly. "As such take upon this final title, a name that's utter victory in our tongue..." Her breath faded before the word could be spoken.

She fell from him and shattered like black glass upon the ground. Her pure maroon-red blood flowed over his arms and the grounds for miles on end. It forged in it's path and destructive river of pure malice and darkness. Granting healing to all descendants of Sanity, god of Darkness and Space. The ending grace and gift to her beloved goat's soldiers.

Rex stepped back and turned to the river to claim his prize. His hands shaking the entire time as the full effect of everything slowly soaked into him. He did it, he killed the last of his kind. So lost in this wake that he could even process the Raven's Eye rolling out of sight.

The Raven's Eye rolled over to the female lavender soul. She quickly dashed it out of his sight and left him alone. He fell to his knees, unable to hear her actions as her footsteps were covered by the tears pouring down his face. The lone umbrum threw his head back as another truth hit him harder. In this moment, he truly was the last umbrum in existence. All this processing left him with the obvious reaction... screaming.

His cries of pain echoed throughout the canyons. The two witnesses took off after claiming their prize. They had seen enough, and their plan was set. The female soul laughed in utter joy of her success. She turned and wrapped her arms tightly around the male soul. "We did it, we did it! One more step closer to our dream!" She declared before planting a kiss on his cheek.

He couldn't help but smile at her. But he also felt a sense of sorrow as well. Rex was in mourning, and his heart went out to his former friend. This moment could have only been matched by another time Rex was left shattered, thousands of years ago, in this very spot when a radiant mare abandoned him. The lavender souls knew so much about Rex's history, watching him from afar for so long. But now, the plan was moving forward, and their moment was at hand.

Once at a safe distance away, the female soul fell to the ground, embracing the male soul in her arms. "We will win, we will win!!" She cheered louder, throwing her head back over and over until it shrieked with pain.

The male soul jumped out of the way and let her breath as her head began to bleed. "Not again..."

"No, this is why... we wanted the Raven's Eye in the first place..." She shivered in utter agony while pulling out the magical objects. "The Element of Magic could only postpone my death for so long." She ripped it off her neck and threw it into the sky, after which it flew back to the Tree of Harmony. "Damn thing hated my willpower anyway. I am still not worthy of its power." Instead, she turned her attention to the Raven's Eye, pressing it against her cracked skull.

The male soul gritted his teeth and held her down. He knew the full scope of the plan. He knew what this would mean. But he couldn't stop her now, not after they were this close. He stayed by her side as she forced the Raven's Eye into her forehead. Once in place, it fused the hole shut but the pain never faded.

After the work was done, she fell into a deep slumber with her final words ringing in his ears. "Wake me when the time is right, C.C. Frost." The male soul lifted her into his arms pulled out a skull mask and placed it over his face. The two vanished in crimson snowflakes. "Phase one of the plan is complete."

******

Many years later C. C. Frost flew down to the furthest point south on the map. It was past the Macintosh Mountains, lower then the greater deserts. It was even beyond the Ice Trolls and into icy Niflheim oceans. So far down that, not even other wendigoes would dare to tread. He only survived this long because of the lavender soul granting him so much grace.

Though her gaze was no longer upon him, he could sense her presence at all times. Her body and will had long since passed into that coma to heal and become one with the Raven's Eye. However, she was never truly gone from his heart. She had been by his side through all his recent trials. While he didn't always know her, he felt a strong kinship with her ever since they met.

He would have gone on and on with this feeling had his eyes not spotted something in the distance. A single mountain spiraling mountain at the bottom of the planet. Despite reaching his destination, he needed to fly upward, in reverse, but not backward. Such a phrasing confused him so but he understood the riddle just fine.

It simply meant, he needed to climb this strange mountain at the bottom of the world. It was so cold that it was frozen and yet on fire at the same time. The air was so thin that nothing could survive. The place was so void of life that even patches of the strongest grass could only reach so high up the mountain. Beyond the reach of the rest of the planet, the moon might as well be closer to the base of the mountain.

C. C. Frost could also sense the incredible age of this place. So old that he was surely the first creature in millions of years to ever step foot on it. And even beyond that, the stones at the very top were billions of years old. Yet so high up and removed from the rest of the world, there were no signs of weathering and erosion from any natural force. The wind had no effect, and the water never reached its peak. Nothing that ever existed on this planet could reach the summit, except perhaps the very gods themselves.

The half-breed wendigo arrived at this place, in search of one thing. It was just as old as this place, maybe even older. Standing before him was a distorted cave that inverse back through, down to the center of the mountain. No, all the way down, to the center of creation itself. Deeper than Tartaras, Muspelheim, and even Hell, all the way down into the Bottomless Edge where gravity was nonexistent.

However, despite all the hard work that was made to get here, this cave was not why he was here. Turning away from the forever-falling abyss, his crimson eyes hidden behind blue irises came upon the beast. An ancient soul, not as old as these lands, but far older then and certain had been here to far longer than history could ever record.

The half breed wendigo bowed his lavender soul to ensure this being couldn't smell him at all. "Beyond, the great honor in your presence. the original progenitor of all monsters... Name forgotten by all but the monsters birthed from your sinful womb. Thule."

The unforeseen chains flicked with billions of tentacles. However, that wasn't what sent shivers over the whole lavender soul's form. The entire mountain twisted and distorted with these. This revealed of two things, either this very mountain was designed to contain him, or he was the very mountain itself, bolted down into the planet pit to ensure permanent imprisonment.

Either way, he kept his eyes under the massive gaze of purple fiery eyes, that at this close dwarfed the Sun and Moon. It was an eldritch abomination, far beyond any living creatures. Not even the most vile demons or fallen angels could match the horror of this being. He could barely process any shape that dared come close to all of it. It felt like an endless mix of every monster to ever exist or ever would.

It's voice boomed like thunder and lightning. "Why call upon me here?!" His glare turned upon the world that was always out of his reach. "My centaurs and minotaurs have many altars to communicate with me. Coming here means to mock me, or impress me!!"

The half-breed wendigo shook, keeping his gaze to the ground. "Please, no mockery meant, oh mighty Thule. I come in search of my own goal, one that only you could assist."

The eldritch abomination chuckled and relaxed his intense stare, his voice dripping with amusement. "Oh, and what would that be? What can you, a half-breed, desire from me?"

C. C. Frost adjusted his stance, ensuring everything he did wasn't perceived as opposition in front of being who could vaporize him with just a thought. "I know, I'm not worth your attention. However, came here to ask you directly. Neigh, offer you, foremost and honestly, the thing you desire the most in exchange of helping me."

"You!" The rage returned in full. "It is my desire you seek!!" The mountain shook and creaked echoing across the oceans below. "You came here to ask for my help, but to offer your own to me?!"

C. C. Frost dropped to his knees in defense, leashing out the back of his neck to show he had no plans against him at all. "Forgive me, I am not trying to mock you... I simply wish to help free you from this imprisonment--" He was stopped as lightning struck at his feet.

The eldritch abomination laughed in full. "Oh, little child, what foolishness has filled your head? I have been trapped in this realm for far longer than this planet has existed. Yet, I am far from imprisoned in this place!!"

Hearing all these prostrations of self-praise, the wendigo half-breed stood strong under this god's metaphorical boot and dared not push me again. Instead, he let the tentacle abomination continue unheeded by his words, lacing each one with praise to lower the god's guard. "You do not need me to be heard. All of your monsters know you exist... And even the immortals and mortals that have long forgotten dare not mock your presence out of pure reaction. You moved beyond legend and myth and to a place of pure instinct in their minds. Your name and power is forever etched into their soul..." He raised his eyes again and twisted those blessed words into a curse. "Yet, even with all that power you are trapped."

"What foolishness is this?!" The eldritch abomination's rage and laughter increased. "I'm not trapped, I chose to be here. I could leave any time I want, but I stay for the sake of my children."

"That is what Lighttone Gryphonstar convinced you was right." C. C. Frost slowly stood up. "But even in the darkest depths of your soul, that is an utter lie!!"

"How dare you?!" The tentacle abomination struck with his full fury, only it to phase through him. The eyes widened and joy turned into growling rage. "Mere ghost, or magic! All is a mockery in my present?!"

"Go ahead, remove the spell..." C. C. Frost moved closer, no longer wishing to listen to these words anymore. "Strike me down, twist me neck, break every bone in my body. It will not change a thing!!" He screamed back, knowing full well he was the one who would have the last laugh. "I'm not mocking you, or challenging your will, Thule! I'm stating the absolute truth, and you know it! For what is the point of all these grandiose words if you can't see what I am offering you."

"What are you offering then!?" The eldritch abomination snapped at him, revealing the true shape of his mouth. A massive beak that blacked out the entire night sky. "I can smell the fear within your soul. It is not of me, it is not for you... It's for someone else."

C. C. Frost smiled as he took another step closer. He placed his hand upon the beak and made his final offer. "What I am offering you... is this?" His eyes glowed and the point on which his fingers pressed onto the beak began to match that glow as well. The light spread from the point and covered the entire beak. It was an endless stream of energy flowing straight from his soul, outward over the eldritch abomination.

Thule felt a coldness creep over his entire form. It was so strong that his body could feel the ice even deep within the lava of the multiple hellish prisons that kept him in place. He shivered as it went deeper, into his core, and then deeper still. It reached down and touched upon the center of his being, his soul. "What... are you doing?!"

Without warning the mountain crackled to the point of breaking. It spread so far and fast that in mere seconds the entire continent was collapsing. This was nothing about the half breed's power, but rather how Thule was reacting to it. He was pushing himself beyond the boundaries that kept him contained. The prison shattered away revealing an uncountable number of tentacles flying about, seemingly free, but never fully leaving this place. The abyss below his eyes remained, the ocean waters never above to reach inside no matter how much land between the two was destroyed.

The half breed wendigo didn't even try to stop the madness. He knew the truth, the eldritch abomination could not escape this place no matter how powerful they both were. He could never leave, he was chained in place. However, freedom of the body was never what this lavender soul was after. Instead, the glow changed colors. From white to a distinct maroon red, in the same moment, the tentacles stopped in place. The massive body started to shiver and shake, slowly dropping into the abyss as Thule's voice became so silent. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm freeing... your soul." C. C. Frost ignored the sweat caking down his face and the amount of power he was using for this stunt alone. "It will not be a permanent solution. These tentacles will still expand from your form... And any new body I give you will begin to decay and rot by your mere existence inside them..." He dropped to one knee but kept the spell going. Realizing, he was reaching his limits, the half-breed wendigo shorted his words. "You'll be able to walk among the living again. Have the greatest freedoms you once held before your final fight with that lion... And in exchange, you will help me with plans... to create perfect bodies... for us all." With that final word, C. C. Frost's eyes closed shut and he fell into the ocean aside from the pit.

Out of the glow, a simple and plain figure stepped forth. It was Thule's new body and his first taste of freedom in untold eons. He was no longer a massive eldritch abomination, mortal flesh. Extremely short mortal flesh as shown from his hand already decayed within seconds of having it. "What a fool you are, child," Thule whispered in utter disbelief. His eyes slowly dropped to the drowning lavender soul that had freed him. "Fine, I will help." With that, a tentacle split out of the rotting hand and into the waters to retrieve his new ally.

******

C. C. Frost awoke to blurry images and shapes that were too familiar to ignore. While he couldn't make out the details at first, the icy color in contrast with the wooden ruins was a clear giveaway. He jumped and a small grin grew over his face as the static faded and revealed the place of his birth. The former fortress of the Siren King, Crisis Blue. However, confusion was met upon seeing Thule standing there with him.

"You brought me here?" The half-breed wendigo asked the rotting corpse.

"Once I received this new body you gave, the coordinates were blasting into my new eyes." Thule examined his new body to ensure the decay rate was at manageable levels. "Tell me, is your master in this place."

"What?" C. C. Frost stood up and tried to adjust to all the power loss from earlier.

"No, he has no master... No of us do!" A voice brought their attention to the current tenant of this island. Thule was puzzled by the near blank white figure with no face at all. It walked over to him and placed it's hand upon his face. The new skin he was given changed color to match the same exact blankness and even healed some of the rot. "It seems even with your endless decay, prototype 031256 is a surprising survivor of your existence inside it."

"That is the name of this host." Thule raised an eyebrow. "And what is your name?

"Hollow Prince." The figure presented himself. "As you can see, all of us here have a common problem." He stopped before saying more and turned to C. C. Frost. "Your current copy will need to be replaced."

C. C. Frost looked over himself and realized his lavender coloring was completely gone. Instead, his skin was turning icy and the mane flowing yellow. His father's mask could barely fit upon the form anymore. "I need to return to my true body."

"Exactly." With that, Hollow Prince ripped off the mask and the half-breed's body melted away into a common ooze that evaporated soon after. The master of this land turned back to Thule and finished what he was saying before. "C. C. Frost and another brought us together under the pretenses of giving us perfect bodies. Each one of us is in a different state of lacking a body." He gestured back to himself. "I was born without a body at all. Master of the mindscape, I could only inhabit bodies of others before." Turning his attention toward the center of the island. "C. C. Frost has a proper body, but his unique hybrid DNA makes his magic quite unstable and his body translucent. As such, he rarely uses his wendigo powers within that body. Instead, he chooses the extra bodies I provide... to be more free as he puts it."

Hollow Prince guided Thule through the ruins and continued to explain every detail that led up to this point. He saw so reason to hide secrets as this place was purely Frost's desire, not his own. If anything, all these bodies swapping all him to finalize the details of his own experiments in creating the legendary omnipony.

"What is omnipony?" Thule asked Hollow Prince.

"A being that can wield both dark and light magic. The only thing is a creation that could ever prove a threat to my father, Redsting."

"God of Corruption." Thule was well aware of this one. "And that would make you, God of the Mind."

Hollow Prince nodded. "And my mother was Goddess of Balance. The first omnipony is believed to be her reincarnation too. Though they have yet to ever appear."

"Prophecy says they will only appear when the world needs them the most." Thule laughed at the idea. "Sounds more like you wish to speed up the process. What's the hurry? We god-like beings all have eternity ahead of us."

"Go ahead, call me in impatient child." Hollow Prince waved his hand. "This is my goal. C. C. Frost on the other hand has a goal beyond my current scope. I've grown bored of attempting to learn every single detail of that lavender mare he is working with."

"Mare? A unicorn?" Thule asked.

"She is an alicorn... And that's all the detail I know." Hollow Prince shook his head. "C. C. Frost has been hiding her identity ever since we met. He keeps saying she's far too sick to be involved with the plans directly." He opened the door and revealed an elevator. The two stepped in and he continued to speak. "She is a complete mystery outside the species. And that assumption is based solely on the timeline I've known him."

"So... how many millennia have you been working with them?" Thule decided to poke for more details.

"Not that long... less than three. But it was enough to show they are far from mere mortals." Hollow Prince shook his head and pressed the elevator. The doors closed, and the ride began. "They've lived long enough to keep my musing. I have no fear of betrayal because the alliance we have is super thin and built solely on nonconflicting goals. When we finish the plans, we will go our separate ways."

"A fair arrangement." Thule was satisfied with that. "And what is in it for me?"

"Whatever he offered you is your reward." Hollow Prince replied as they reached the bottom. "What that is lies between you two. I am simply providing the supply needed for your plans." With that, he revealed billions upon trillions of tanks filled with the same blank bodies surrounded by liquid. Every single one of them was ever so silent and still... except one.

The glass cracked, liquid shook and systems shrieked out loud. Hollow Prince and Thule followed the noise to a lone blank body slowly morphing into C. C. Frost's shape. However, the moment they could see his real face, the tank busted open and the half-breed wendigo spilled out onto the floor. The mask floated out of Hollow Prince's hand and into over the face of their mysterious ally that had brought them together.

C. C. Frost pushed himself to stand and smiled. "Sorry for the mess." He used his siren power to remove all the liquid from the floor and back into the tank where his wendigo power sealed it up. "That should hold it until you put a replacement inside."

"Indeed." Hollow Prince didn't even react as he watched the tank receive a new cell that would one day grow into a new blank body. "Prototype 002596."

Thule raised his eyebrow at the dramatically lower number compared to his own. "Your resources are limits."

"Yes..." Hollow Prince frowned. "However, I am slowly designing a proper replacement." He gestured to a tank in the center where another blank body floated. This was distinctly different as while there was no face of distinct features at all, there was a green mane flowing out of its head. "In a few more millennia... my first son will be born and through him will rise the omnipony." He stopped and pressed his hand upon the surface. "My, 001... and with this new species will rise to replace the three changeling tribes of old." His eyes glowed purple as he gave his final words and revealed his true goal. "Behold, Doppelgangers."

******

A few millennia later, a mere five years before Twilight and Starlight's arrival in this timeline, C. C. Frost and Thule arrived at their next destination. Thule had kept to his part of the bargain. He had long moved beyond the prototype bodies into hiding within the flesh of mortals. These didn't last as long as the pre-doppelgangers, but after using so many, even Thule accepted the resource had too many limits for him to accept. The rot upon mortal flesh was faster, but there was plenty more to use. And soon there would be a more bountiful feast upon this next destination as they came upon an ancient changeling hive.

C. C. Frost took in a deep breath. "The air is still so thick with changeling magic."

"This hive might abandoned..." Thule struggled to reply, his current mortal host would only last a few more hours He couldn't smell a single soul inside. Yet his ally showed pure confidence upon stepping inside.

"No, no..." The half-breed wendigo slowly smiled behind his father's mask. "I'm very certain this place isn't dead." He raised his hands in surrender. All around them the lights of the hive flickered to life and revealed hundreds upon thousands of changeling husks hanging off the walls. Not a single soul among any of them. Yet, someone, they were still moving.

"Zombified? Like the umbrums once were." Thule leered in shame at the corpses he couldn't use.

"Not quite, but a damn good attempt to copy their power." C. C. Frost was actually impressed by this amount. He found it shocking that their power here was still so strong. It assured him this final ally would prove to be the most useful one of all. He turned and gestured to Carnival Carnage to roll in the three bags behind them while he and Thule dealt with these forces.

C. C. Frost stepped up first and placed his hand upon his mask. The undead changeling husks flicked as he stepped forward. All of them narrowed their eyes upon him, waiting for him to approach just close enough to end his very existence in a single strike. Yet, he continued to enter the hive until he reached the center of the room. Only then did he speak.

"I've come to talk." He spoke loud and clear. "With your mother."

They didn't reply. Instead, the entire swarm rushed forward without any more regard. They descended upon his body and bit down. Every single one of them felt their teeth sink into his body. He didn't let a single one phase through his ghostly form and stink deep into his real flesh.

All the half-breed wendigo did in return was calm his breath and speak softly. "Ice Spell, number 99... Frozen Throne!" With that, a powerful and seemingly endless flush of ice burst out of him and over every single changeling husk, freezing them down to their cores. However, it didn't stop there. it spread over the ground and along the walls inside the hive.

Thule and Carnival Carnage stepped back and watched in a mix of awe and fear as the entire hive, from bottom to top was utterly frozen in its entirety. It was so far spread that even nearby dead hives were also frozen in place.

"That should be enough power... father." C. C. Frost removed his hand and the mask was back in place. He turned to the bags and smiled. "Drag them carefully to the deepest my loyal priest." The earth pony smiled and followed his words without giving a single comment. "That is where we will find our final ally."

"So you say," Thule replied.

"Trust me." C. C. Frost smiled and gestured forward. "Let's not keep him waiting."

Together, they walked through the frozen hive, past all those lost and gone souls, and right down to the heart of the hive. A chamber, unlike any other found in any hive. Instead of a queen in the center, there was a lone artifact unlike that of a changeling at all.

Instead, standing at the center of this ancient hive was a golden amulet with a blue gem in the middle. yet that wasn't the strangest thing, emblazoned over it was the image of an alicorn. As they approached it, the blue glowed a bright cyan hue. Despite their speed from before, they found themselves now moving far slower. Pushing back proved pointless as it felt that the gem was twisting all of the time around it.

"Enough pestering by..." A distorted voice echoed from the glow. "The barrier will prevent you from reaching me." The glow shifted to reveal the face of an alicorn's face covered in holes.

"Am I talking to the prisoner or his guard?" C. C. Frost was stopped as the voice laughed at him.

"That fool of a guard turned to dust thousands of years ago." The voice was a bit clearer and showed the amulet's magic refined in their presence. "You speaking to me, the one that cursed alicorns imprisoned in here."

The half-breed wendigo smiled and bowed to the voice. "So, you are the creator of the three changeling races... Or as those cruel alicorns simply refer to you now, Aitym, the alicorn of Abandonment."

"The irony of that title is not lost upon me." The face within the amulet's glow twisted upon hearing that cursed name once again. How it was the greatest punishment of them all, being forgotten by even his own creations. He was there to see the first alicorns rise to power and now, he was just a hidden scar on the perfection and purity of that godly race.

"It's a cruel and unjust name." C. C. Frost agreed and gestured Carnival Carnage over with the three bags. "But what if I could give you a way to get your revenge upon them and that lone earth pony family that served them so loyally." With that word he unveiled three siren children, minds blanked out enough for Aitym to use. He couldn't offer him a doppelgänger prototype. These had served a purpose. And above all, any single host couldn't contain so much magic.

Thule was a different example. Most of his ancient magic was bound beyond this realm. However, once freed Aitym's full power would be unleashed upon anybody that contained him. Finally, the worst problem lies in the magic he used. Being a pure light alicorn, his blood would burn and rebound against any body of darkness. Much like Thule, if the half-breed wendigo brought him a body with dark magic blood, it would soon prove useless.

"These sirens are the most unique of the entire species." He used his snowflakes to push them forward, revealing why he, Thule, and Carnival were slowed down. These three could move perfectly toward the Light Alicorn Amulet because they were of the same light magic blood as Aitym. "Their mothers were born from the same pool as you, my friend. And I've ensured these three have been fed a diet of pure light magic to make their bodies suitable for you."

The voice grew silent as the three infants reached around him in their mindless forms. Sensing their touch proved his words utterly right. Slowly, the amulet's glow faded to the bleakest blue of all hues. The image of the alicorn vanished and swarmed into the three new bodies.

They convulsed and even tried to scream through their mind control, but it was pointless. Their forms shook and twitched as his magic clashed against their weaker power. Aitym had completely overwhelmed them with his powers and forced his mind into the very core of theirs. Soon, the light faded completely into their bodies.

The siren children's eyes opened. Unlike their pure white orbs before, each of them now had cyan blue glow in the center. Their voices spoke together as one with Aitym's will. "Yes, these bodies will prove most useful... for now." Their lips smiled with his laughter as the barrier faded away. "Now, who do you want me to get revenge on?" He gave a soft bemoan in confusion. "The brother that imprisoned me, died in my arms. There is no immortal left in this reality I wish to torture."

"Yes, Heavonus is dead." C. C. Frost stood up and unveiled a drew out an image in his red snowflakes. "However, the earth pony family that served in him thousands of years ago still exists, with the curse you gave them still running their veins." His words stopped at the symbol of an apple.

******

Thousand of miles away, on this very same night, a lone red earth pony was returning back to his home. Grocery bags hung over his arms and his head was hung high as his thoughts of happiness drove him forward. He was unaware of the horror he was about to receive. Instead, the only thing on his mind was the message in his hand, meant for his brother and mother. Prove, that their family line could continue with the image of his newly born daughter.

However, cruelty awaited him further on this path. As if sensing Aitym's return, the curse reacted on his body without warning. It threw him to the cold ground and made him cough, over and over until blood forced its way out. This warm bliss only turned the torture up higher as the red liquid turned a distinct maroon red.

This didn't act like normal blood, instead, the liquid smeared over the dirt. it left behind crystal shards over the ground, making its way back over his arms and legs, binding him into place. The pony's screams of pain echoed empty and beaten path, no soul was nearby enough to witness his dark transformation.

The liquid grew out of his fur and formed into a thick grey beast. His jaw stretched and teeth sharpened into canines. His fingers were torn to pieces and grew back as massive claws. His eyes shifted upward and the pony was no longer, a monster took its place. The only part that remained was the tiny whispers of his soul in that growling voice.

Seeing his new form upon the puddle under him brought confusion and disturbance to his mind. This was a creature, unlike any beast that existed. The legends of his father and his father and his father were all true. Somehow, merely sensing Aitym's return was enough to bring the curse back from the dead. And unleashed upon their clan once more.

The way to save his brother and newly born daughter from the same fate was all too cruelly obvious. He started this journey to bring a hopeful to his family, which was shattered the moment the curse acted. If he brought this news back to his family, all the purebloods would be infected too. This was only ever an ever-so-cruel choice. The Big Bad Wolf needed to run away from his family... and never be seen again. That is until Aitym found him and brought him back into the fold of C. C. Frost's armies.

The next piece in the half-breed wendigo's game was complete. All he needed to do now was return to the lavender mare that ushered him upon this journey and wait for the right time to strike. After all, the perfect atmosphere of this play would take incredible patience. And he had nothing more left than time to spare.

******