The Birth of S.T.A.R.

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Faire
Chapter 2: The Recovery (Part 1)
Chapter 2: The Recovery (Part 2)
Chapter 4: Homecoming
Chapter 5: Allies and Assignments

Chapter 1: The Faire

Excitement was in the air, and things were looking fairly positive for Ice Storm. The icy blue unicorn was wearing a black sequin dress that covered both her cutie mark and the patch of darker blue that draped over her hindquarters stopping midway down her flank. Today was a fairly important day for her after all. Not everypony got invited to the Gala that was being hosted on the top floor of the Crystal Spire. It was definitely pointing that Ice Storm was starting to make some headway into the higher societies of ponies. Of course, starting a whole new franchise change of ice cream stores from a single store in Ponyville went a long way to help with that. With her blue and white striped mane done up into a bun for the event, she stepped into the room.

The decor was about what a pony would expect it to be for a ballroom in the Crystal Empire. The floor itself was wide open with an assortment of tables both for sitting and conversing, and for the service of others. The crystal that made up the floor was a pale blue in color, and the walls were a color that Ice Storm would expect to see from an arrangement of ice. She rather liked the decor herself being a pony attuned to the element of ice.

"Hey Icy! Glad to see that you could make it out here! With you having four stores in four different cities, and your apprenticeship with Princess Luna now, I wasn't sure if you'd remember to take time to enjoy yourself a bit," the blue mare heard from beside her. She would turn to find a yellowish tan mare with a silvery white mane and tail. Said mare was dressed in a a sea-green dress with a white saddle and a three-layered trail. Each layer had some swirling embroidery flowing around the bottom of each tier.

"Hey Pressy! Of course I'd be here! A pony just doesn't turn down an invitation such as this," Ice Storm responded. Her and Presteza had gone way back. Was one of the first friends that she'd made when she set up shop in Ponyville. She was also a member of the Canterlot Spellbound guild. Ice herself had recently just been named an archmage in the guild over ice and snow.

"I know right? This is the first Gala the Crystal Empire has hosted since it's return. To think they added this as part of the Faire! Everything here is absolutely stunning! The way the light reflects off of the crystals and somewhat through the crystals is just… unreplicateable," Pressy commented.

"Yeah… I tried to recreate that effect in my shop with benches made from crystalline glass. It made a nice rainbow effect, but that was about it," Ice Storm said, giggling a bit with Presteza in response.

"Speaking of, how is the snow cone business going? It must be going pretty well. I heard that you just opened a new store in Hoofington. I also heard that you rekindled things with your mom and she helped you find a building there for it," Presteza asked. She knew that Ice Storm and her parents hadn't gotten along well. From what she understood, a noblepony had come in and ended up splitting the family apart in ways she didn't want to think about.

"Mother and I did. Father still blames me for his own shortcomings but it's his loss. I made it this far without them, so there's no limit to how far I can go," Ice Storm replied. She didn't harbor any ill will against the ponies that brought her into this world, but she did hope to someday prevent something like that from happening to another.

Ice could still remember the day that Golden Hoof arrived at her family's door. He loved her mother's aquarium and her father's jewelry store and began showering their family with gifts. The one issue was, he absolutely hated her. Golden has filled her parent's heads with all kinds of lies and the fact that she was a late developer with magic didn't help. She didn't even show any signs of magic until she had gotten into her filly years. This led to her parents getting more and more distant instead of closer. After all, Golden Hoof kept telling them that a unicorn with no magic was going to be a blight on the family name and after a while, they started pretending that she didn't even exist. She still remembered the day that she granted their wish, and that neither of them batted an eye when she left.

That was then though, and this was now. She still had a distrust for nobility, and it led to a few issues in Canterlot her first time in the city. Now, however, she had to curb that distrust a bit because with running a franchise establishment now she found herself getting closer and closer to that noble circle. One thing she vowed though, was that she would never become like Golden Hoof, Jetset, or Upper Crust. She couldn't stand ponies like them and she refused to act like that.

A few more ponies had started making their way over to them. Among them were a couple friends that she had made along the way; A light brown stallion named Coffee Bean, and a light blue unicorn mare named Winter Frost, a fellow ice massage from the city of Stalliongrad. The other was a pony that she had heard of but had been actively trying to avoid after hearing that his noble arrogance was even worse than Upper Crust's… Prince Blueblood. She was certain that there weren't many ways that she'd be able to get along with him and tried to avoid him when she could so that she wouldn't accidentally say something that wasn't warranted. Now, he was standing right next to her. Just stay cool and give him a chance… she said to herself. He might have a reputation, but that doesn't mean I have to be a jerk myself, she thought, giving him a small smile and a respectful nod off her head when he approached.

"Why hello there. I couldn't help but feel that I had met you somewhere before, but for the life of me I can't seem to remember where… Was it at the Gala maybe?" Prince Blueblood asked.

"Oh, well it is possible that you might have seen me around Canterlot, or in the castle through the recent months. I've never had the opportunity of going to the Grand Galloping Gala before, though being an apprentice of Princess Luna in the study of stars I've been in the castle observatory quite a bit. Luna even gave me a personal key," Ice Storm replied. "My name is Ice Storm, and it's a pleasure," she added. She didn't exactly think it was a pleasure, but so far Blueblood hadn't done anything wrong. She would be no different than any other noble that she despised if she didn't give him a proper chance to be friendly.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Storm," Blueblood replied. "Though I will admit that I had not known that Auntie Luna had taken an apprentice. Such news fills me with a bit of sorrow."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! Nonono… nothing against you and more my own sorrow. I personally haven't been as close to auntie as I probably should have been since her return. I actually know very little of what she even does anymore. That is at least one problem that I should be able to remedy pretty easily though," Blueblood interjected immediately, sensing how his statement might have been interpreted. He knew his reputation wasn't there best and he was hoping to recover a bit from that fiasco at the Gala. It was part of the reason he was at this one.

"I see. Unfortunately there are many that still see her in a negative light, even though no pony alive today was around when the bulk of the evil was done. They have no right to judge her, just as no pony has a right to judge another without first giving them a chance. I’ve been a victim of that myself on more than one occasion,” Ice Storm mentioned to Blueblood.

“That is quite unfortunate. You seem like the kind of Mare that Canterlot and Equestria as a whole could do with more of,” Blueblood said. “That said, outside of apprenticing with my auntie, what is it that you do?” he asked the blue unicorn.

“Oh, I’m the owner of Frozen Delights. What started off as a simple store in Ponyville has turned into quite a hit. I just opened my fourth store out in Hoofington just about a month ago. We sell everything from snow cones to ice cream in just about every flavor available freshly made in front of the pony ordering it,” she answered.

“More like the absolute best store to get ice cream from! Seriously, I've never tasted Ice Cream so fresh, delicious, and creamy before!” Presteza interjected.

“I must agree with the pretty mare here. I’ve had the luxury of trying a few of her treats at her Ponyville shop, and I was blown away by it. She even did an amazing job with frozen coffee with just the right amount of pop to really give you a good kick in the morning,” Coffee Bean added.

“Ah, yes...” the prince started. He had gotten a lot better about himself than to refer to such food as ‘simple carnival fair’. That would be in even more distaste given the fact that this Gala was put on as a part of a larger carnivalesk event that was taking place in the city around them. “That would probably be why I haven’t heard too much about it myself. I don’t doubt your frozen treats are amazing, but I really do have to watch what I eat. All of that sugar goes straight to the thighs and then I would be a bubbling mess,” Blueblood finished.

Ice Storm couldn’t help but snicker a little bit at the comment. “If I’m being completely honest, as often as I’m sneaking snacks… I’m surprised I’m not heavier than I am… Although I don’t know if it really counts as sneaking snacks if you own the…” Ice Storm said, feeling the ground start shaking under her. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one that had as several ponies started looking around. Even more surprisingly… None of the guards seemed to be on alert. The ground started shaking again, first with a low tremble and then a few violent shakes with what sounded like explosions outside.

Ice Storm and several of the other patrons attending made their way over to the stained windows and looked outside. While most stained glass could be difficult to see through, the glass here in the Crystal Empire was made to be semi-transparent. “What is that?” Ice Storm asked, pointing to the smoky clouds that were looming in the distance. Nopony got a chance to answer her though as another, much stronger rumble shook the very foundation of the spire. When she looked down, she saw ponies starting to flee as dark figures began rising from the ground, and she spotted several figures in the sky heading towards them. They looked to be airships, but they weren’t of any make that she’d seen before in Equestria.

“What the hay?” Ice Storm asked as she looked before seeing a few flashes from the largest vessel heading for them… “Everypony get away from the.” she started before a massive explosion sent broken glass and herself kareening across the room. She had enough reflex to create a small wall of ice to catch most of the glass, but there were more than a few ponies that weren’t so lucky. She looked over towards the doors, and what she saw there made matters even worse. The guards that were supposed to be protecting ponies in a situation like there were blocking the doors. This added to her confusion as to what was going on until she saw their eyes. Both of the guards had green pupiless eyes.

In fact, as she started scanning around the room, she noticed that almost all of the guards had the same green eyes. Those who didn’t seemed to be forming some sort of line. “Something is controlling them…” she said to herself. About that time a rush of creatures came off of the deck of the longship that had targeted them and made little work of breaking through the line. She wasn’t sure what these things were, but one thing that she was sure of… they weren’t friendly.

“Icy, Coffee, everypony okay?” Presteza asked, rubbing her head a bit after getting knocked around from the explosions herself.

“Yeah… I don’t know who the buck they think they are though…” Ice Storm replied. Her attention was soon drawn back to the deer-like creatures as they began screaming about one of them called ‘The Red Jarl’. “This can’t be good,” she spoke.

Moving from the ship, was a large caribou. He had a dark brown coat with a grey stripe down the center. One of the antlers was vastly shorter than the other, looking like it had been a victim of a recent sword fight along with other scars. Behind him with enough weight to crack the balcony, a large vault-like chamber dropped from the ship. It was heavy enough that it easily gouged the crystal that the floor was made from. Only moments after the vault was inside the balcony that it had landed on had cracked again before falling and cascading down the side of the spire before crashing to the ground below. At this point the guards at the door had turned their spears on to the guests themselves. “Looks like we found who’s controlling the guards…” she said under her breath.

“Ponies! I am here for my payment and to show this so-called Empire what it means to be HUMBLED! If you wish to survive, do as I say. First, I know there are two members of the Equestrian royalty here. I need both. One is Princess, one is Prince. You will open this sealed vault, or my caribou shall exact the blood price for Sombra's betrayal on all of his new citizens!” He finished as the vault was no longer being moved. He tapped two hoof inlays. “This only opens to the Royalty of Equestria, so you better be quick before I find Celestia and Luna and cut their hooves off.”

"Excuse me… if I may," Coffee Bean interjected. "I myself am not a fighter by any means and if there is any way that we could talk this out without violence… I would be for it… unfortunately… I am afraid that whatever pony or group led you to believe Sombra has any power here is mistaken, and if you're looking for his power specifically, his horn was destroyed a long time ago. Whomever promised you that it was in that vault was unfortunately lying to you," Coffee finished.

The caribou looked at him incredulously. "Wa…. Wah….BWAAAAHAHAHAH...AAHHAHA...AAAHAHAHA… What would I want with that fool's horn!? Sombra does not need resurrection. He lives- he is at the Heart as we speak, dealing with your Princess and securing his so-called throne! This vault is a gift. I want it opened. Now, are you a royal pony or are you not? If not, then remove everything you have of worth and drop it in a pile near the ruins of the antechamber where your beloved Twilight Princess met her demise. If you are, then touch your hoof to the vault. I'd prefer it if you tried to fight, however!”

"I would think not!" Ice Storm said, stepping forward. With every step she took forward a plate of ice would wrap around different areas of her body, creating a full set of ice armor. The spell was similar to the ice creation spell that she used on super hot days to cool herself down. She would surround herself with a layer of ice that would cover her body, but would still allow her to move. She just made it thicker, denser, and more capable of taking a hit.

"Ice! What are you doing!? You're going to get yourself killed!!" Presteza interrupted.

"The guards have been compromised. That means that they are no longer capable of protecting the princesses, and as he had said, he's already slain Twilight because of this. With that being the case it falls upon those that are capable to defend the throne," she said as a few others stood up next to her. One, a grey unicorn that was built more like a brick house than a pony, and a light brown pegasus that was already drawing a sword. At first she wondered how in Equestria he had gotten that in here, but at the moment she honestly didn't care. She looked back to the buck. "I don't care what you want, I don't care who you follow, but you will not threaten our princesses like that, and I'm sure as Tartartus am not going to stand here after you've already claimed to have killed another. Whatever is in that vault is something that had to be sealed away for a reason that took more than one pony of immense power to be able to stop. What makes you think you can control what's inside of it any better than they can?"

“Hmmph,” the Red Jarl smiled as the ponies moved closer, each one in their own way oddly enough. The Jarl whistled, and back on the ship some shuffling was heard. The longship started to move, imperceptibly at first and then faster for a second before stopping. What was happening, blocked by caribou bodies and the vault. He whistled twice and the caribou started to part, the vault as well. “Your ice is impressive. Reminds me of my home, the land of ice and snow and wind and fury. You think you know ice? I was born in it. Lived in it. Saw my reflection in it. By the time I saw green grass it was nauseating! While you and your kind prance in fields and waste your lives, we hone ourselves on the razor's edge of survival. And survival is the greatest teacher of all...” he smiled as the line finished parting. A moment later, all could see why- they had cleared a path for one of the barrel launchers on the longship, which soon let loose a blackwebbed diamond tip and not the full barrel. It launched itself at terrible speed but was caught by the Jarl, who then tossed it up in the air playfully.

“And it taught us we needed ways to break through ice. Blackwebbed diamonds have such a fine and dense point that at the right speed they can penetrate anything. So our spear points, thrusting swords, tipped weapons, explosive barrels, pickaxes, crossbow bolts...we can do so much with it,” To illustrate, he threw the tip at the ice that was advancing. True to his word, it penetrated...and penetrated hard, shattering the ice and embedding so far into the crystal that it was sticking out of the ceiling of the floor below. “So please, do not threaten me with ice. Your armor will help you, but no more than my armor would against...” he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the fire-using mare, “against your fire. Oh, it's true. Fire would hurt me. Iron and wood are not the best combination, but if you think you're the first unicorn to try that...well, you're welcome to your delusions, pony. So do it. Attack me. But what do you think will happen first... we kill everyone, or a little bit of fire does anything more than tickle?” he laughed, beckoning to one of the dead guards. One of the other caribou picked the body up and tossed it to the Jarl, who himself caught it and then tossed it at Bulk Bicep's hooves.

“As for you...yes. I want a fight. I've been more than polite in trying to get you simple-minded ponies a chance, but if you cross that body, then we attack all of you. I don't need the royal hooves to be alive, after all, and I know there are royals here. Whether the rest of you live or die doesn't matter to me in the slightest,” The Jarl shrugged as the rest of the caribou started to unsheathe their weapons and raise their shields. One of Sombra's agents looked around in confusion.

“King Sombra said you were not to harm his new citizens,” he protested.

“King Sombra will have his own head on a pike if I'm not satisifed with this vault. And I am very much not satisfied with this vault. And I am starting to think that the only way I will be satisfied is if I order my longships to destroy the Spire and dig through the rubble to open it. So maybe King Sombra should pick citizens that listen to simple directions well because I very much prefer the idea of treating all of the assembled like we treated those guards-” he kicked a body for emphasis, “-when we came in. Now, somepony, something, somedog... open up this vault! Why and how it has been sealed matters not to me. It is our payment and will be used for the greater good of the Clan! Open! Now!”

"HEY!" Blueblood said, pushing himself up from some of the debris. Now that he was finally regaining his bearings, he started making his way to the balcony. "There's only four Royals in all of Equestria. What do you want to bet on this one's hooves surviving impact at terminal velocity?" It was like a hostage situation, only he was holding himself hostage. This probably really dumb, most of his ideas were, but he had no others just now, so it would have to do.

"You think I care if you live or die? I don't need your brains you stupid prince. All I need is your hoof that I can easily cut from you when you're dead. So jump, I don't really care. In fact, I would be more than happy to give you some assistance in the matter," he said motioning for another bou.

At that point, after seeing his rather stupid attempt at holding himself ransom falter, Blueblood stepped back from the balcony.

"That's a smart lad," the Jarl started. "Now… my patience is growing thin… bring my a princess now or," her started, interrupted as he had just enough time to react to the shard of crystal that was heading towards him. He looked over to the grey mare that had thrown it at him. She had no visible emotion on her face and she had almost no fluctuation in her voice when she began to speak.

"You've damaged the infrastructure of the many priceless formations of gemstones which make up this palace..." she started. "You attacked a dear friend of mine, and worst of all… you attacked my sister who was with her," she added, looking at the collapsed structure where Twilight had been. She chose the word attacked, because she could not convince herself the princess had actually been killed. There was no body, no charred remains, no trace elements. She was just gone. "I can never forgive you..." she finished strongly, traces of intensity perhaps momentarily visible even to an untrained eye before her expression returned to blankness. With nothing else said, she hurled two shards of diamond towards his face, the first embedding itself into another buck that took the hit for the jarl.

"Hahah, good shot!” The Jarl bellowed as two caribou tended to the wounded. One listened to his heartbeat and shook his head. The other stood back and with her spear impaled the wounded in the head. “The strong survive. The weak perish. Such is the way of the caribou,” she bellowed, affirmations from the rest as well as a nod from the Jarl.

“A good heart stopping throw there! Why, if we didn't find the Prince we would be all over you now. I wonder how a collar would fit around your neck? Maybe I should discuss with Sombra a further set of payment. The best and brightest of the resistance. We can always use a," he said before he was interrupted.

"So, you grew up around ice then? It's great that you have so much knowledge about it. However, I will change what you know," her heard the ice blue unicorn problem. He then watched as she created a veil of ice over the spear he had thrown before rapidly increasing the density around it to cause the spear to shatter. He could tell that she was powerful, but she was out of her element here.

"You may have survived in a harsh climate, but not all of us have had it easy. Of course, I did notice that you have extraordinary weapons for penetrating Ice, and the like," she said, taking point once more. Standing in front of everypony, she was more than ready to intercept the first attack that was handed out. "But then again, who said anything about Ice only being a defensive element? If you grew up around it, then you of all should know," she looked towards him, creating many objects in the air around her, all of which taking the form of shards. Each of them were as sharp as finely tuned obsidian. "Ice can kill as easily as it can defend. I may not leave here alive, but I guarantee if you attack, Neither. Will. You."

"ENOUGH!! Will everyone please just stand down!?" Coffee Bean shouted. He turned to the group of ponies. "If you open the vault… you leave… and no one else gets hurt?"

"Coffee!? What the buck are you doing!?" Ice Storm shouted.

"I'm saving lives, that's what I'm doing. Look around. There are hundreds of ponies in this room, myself included, that aren't like you and the others. We can't fight and we're all sitting ducks for the cannons that are in that ship! Even if we kill him," Coffee said, pointing to the Jarl. "That longship will open fire and this entire place is coming down and everypony else here dies… So I ask again," he said "if we open this… you leave?"

"Well well, it looks like some of you do actually have something inside that skull of yours. Yes… once the vault is open, we claim our payment, and then we leave. How many of you die along the way is completely determined by how many of you get in our way."

"And you're just going to trust the word of a viking? He's a viking. They don't leave survivors. He's going to kill us regardless!!"

"DO NOT INSULT MY HONOR FOAL!" The Jarl boomed. "We are not MINDLESS savages that kill for the sake of killing! And while I may be a lot of things, a liar is not one of them! Though for you I might make an exception!"

"My Lord!" One of the brainwashed guards shouted. "We've found Princess Twilight in the rubble. She's unconscious but still alive! She's being transported here as we speak," one of the brainwashed guards said.

Hearing this made Ice's brow furrow even more until she noticed something… this guards eyes… they weren't green. This guard was actively betraying those whom he swore to protect! This added another layer to everything now because now they had no idea who they could trust. She watched and waited. With Twilight now here with them, this changed things drastically, and there was one thing that Coffee was right about. Almost everypony else here were either unwilling, or incapable of fighting. These ponies would get slaughtered if fighting broke out. Ice wasn't certain fighting wasn't going to break out anyway.

Just then though, something happened that she was sure no pony was expecting except for maybe the traitorous guard. There was a blinding flash and a cacophonous explosion that rang from the vault. Where it was now was a large hole in the floor, but more importantly, a giant hole in the longship that was now lisping heavily and beginning to fall from the sky. She watched the guard tap something and the brainwashed guards had their eyes turn from green to yellow.

"Attack! No one leaves that's not with W.R.A.I.T.H.!"

Ice Storm was getting ready to help with the fight before she was cut off by the two grey ponies in the room.

"No. You and Winter get everyone that can't fight out of here. We'll handle things here," they told her. She really wanted to stay and help defend, but they were right. Between Icy's magic and Winter's magic… they were the only ones that really stood a chance of getting them out. Ice nodded.

"Alright! Everypony that can't fight over here!" Ice Storm said before launching the shards that she made at some of the bou and a few of the guards. This gave the non-combatants a path to get to her and Winter. Naturally this had gotten the attention of other guards that were heading towards her. Thankfully there were more than enough caribou in the room to intercept them.

Once Ice Storm had a majority of the ponies on the floor gathered, her and Winter started leading them towards the guarded doors. As they were moving, Ice Storm spotted where Twilight had been thrown from the explosion of the vault. “Wait a second! We can’t leave her!” she said breaking formation and running to Twilight’s aid.

“Ice Storm! We need to get these ponies out of here. She took an explosion point blank… she’s probably already dead!” Winter said.

“I’m not leaving her behind. IF there’s any chance she’s still alive we have to take it,” Ice said, ignoring any further warnings. Besides, most of the guards and the caribou were too focused on each other at the moment to worry about a single unicorn bolting through the room. That changed, however, as soon as they realized who she was going for. With a skidding stop, Ice Storm levitated Twilight onto her back and started bolting back to the rest of the ponies that were preparing to blast the door open.

“Ice! Watch out!” Winter said, firing a blast of ice and impaling a bou that was heading straight for Twilight and herself. Ice had to jump to the side, but the spear that the bou was wielding still got her along her side, cutting through her ice armor like a knife through warm butter and putting a decent sized cut on her side. “Ice!!”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, wincing a small bit before activating her magic and sealing the ice around the wound. At the very least it should help her from losing too much blood. “We need to move! Now! Get that door open!” She said before she felt the entire building tremble once again, sending her to the ground. She looked back to where the explosion had occurred and she saw cracks on the floor starting to spread as well as cracks starting to drift up the walls. At the very least, the doors had broken off their hinges and the guards in front of it had fallen backwards down the stairs. “This whole place is about to come down! We need to get out now!”

“There’s no time! We’re at the very top of the spire! There’s no way we’ll get to the bottom in time!” Winter said in a panic.

“We don’t need to!” Coffee Bean interjected. “I came to the gala on an airship of my own. It’s not the largest thing in the sky, but it will fit everypony here well enough. It’s about fifteen stories down! We’ll be cutting it close, and there’s no guarantee that it survived the initial attack on the spire… but I don’t think we have any other options!”

“Then what are we waiting for…” Blueblood interjected. “Let’s go!”

“There’s still the matter of the stairs… we can’t safely get down them in this number that fast!” Presteza proclaimed.

“Leave that to me!” Ice Storm said, taking a deep breath and in the region that she could see, turning the crystal stairs into an ice slide. “Everyone hold on to each other. IF need be, tie your clothing together so that we form a singular unit. We’re going to have to take this hard and fast if we’re going to make it!” she added. She took another breath and started channeling more magic into the ice, creating an embankment to help them get around the curves of the staircase that wrapped around the just inside the spire's outer wall, at least to where she could see.

“I’m going to have to channel this spell for the entire duration… I hope we can make it down before I run out of magic… Let’s Go!” she said making sure Twilight was secured on her back before jumping onto the slope. “If you don’t trust yourself to stand on the ice, then sit or lay. If you fall, do not try to get back up,” she said, jumping onto the sloped platform. This would be a lot easier if she had packed skates, but she couldn’t really say that she was planning on skating down an embankment of ice to escape a collapsing building today.

The rest of the group was quick to follow, staying close to Ice Storm with Winter Frost pulling up the rear. She would be able to help defend them from the back line while they moved forwards. Unfortunately, that path forward was already littered with those who were slain unexpectedly by what they could only presume were the guards that were meant to protect them. By the time the group had made it a couple floors down, there was more blood on the steps than there was exposed crystals. The very sight made most of the ponies in the group queasy, but for Ice Storm and Winter Frost… it filled them with rage. That burst of energy proved to be enough to power Ice’s spell for a little bit before she was starting to feel a bit winded.

Winter noticed this and was about to speak up until she noticed that piece of the building were starting to fall around them. “Presteza! You have wind magic right? You have to push us faster. Ice! Conserve your resources and pump everything you have into making this slope. Don’t create the water for your ice! It will double the longevity of your magic!”

“It’s… not like there’s any… other water for me to use…” Ice Storm said keeping her spell up. She could already feel it started to tax her body a bit, and the wound that she had suffered earlier was really starting to hurt at this point.

“Ice Storm! Drop your moral compass for a second and think! You have water all around you. As much as it is cold to say, these steps are coated in blood, and blood is mostly water! This is about survival at this point, and that option has already left these ponies! We still have a chance to survive!”

“But that makes us no better than the caribou!” Ice countered.

“Yes it does! These ponies are already dead! We’re not killing them for our benefit. We’re using what they left behind in other to ensure that we make it out alive! That’s not being cold or evil! That’s using all resources available! Now you can either risk running out of magic, or do what needs to be done!” Winter shouted as she herself started adding to the shoot of ice, giving them a cover to protect them from falling debris.

Ice Storm swallowed hard. She didn’t like the idea of using the blood of the fallen as a resource for her spell… It seemed beyond evil for her to desecrate them like that… however… the blood was going to end up on the steps anyway by the time the ponies had bled out… and they would have to be exsanguinated anyway when they were prepared for burial… With tears starting to well up into her eyes, the ice that she was casting was starting to take more of a red hue as she ultimately gave in and started taking her advice… They had only made it halfway to where they needed to rendezvous with the airship, and the cracking that the rumbling of the building was getting harder and faster. She could also feel the gust of wind behind them starting to push them even faster, signalling that Pressy had started using her magic to propel them.

“Only a couple more floors to go!” Coffee Shouted… “We’re almost there! We’re going to have to make a sharp left though to get to the landing port!”

Ice Storm nodded, losing her concentration a bit as she started coughing a bit… It didn’t last long enough for her to lose her connection to the spell, but there were a few noticeable patches of darker red on the ice that she was making afterwards, and the aura around her horn had shifted from her usually pale blue to a dark red.

“Ice! Hang in there!!! We’re almost there! You can do it! You have to do it!” Pressy yelled.

“You’ve got this Ice! A lesser mage would have worn out already!” Winter said as they prepared for the final turn.

Ice was going to have to get this angle right, or the entire group would get sent down the stairwell and then all of this would have been for nothing. She raised the embankment on the left of them to send them to the right and then turned the ice into a helix turn going through the door. The speed of which they were going made the force on the ice hard and she could hear it cracking a bit without the stairs under it and she heard it break not long after they passed.

“There it is! Coffee yelled. “It looks like the guards couldn’t get on board to destroy it!”

Spotting the guards, Winter followed Icy’s methods from earlier and fired some shards of ice at them, causing them to dodge out of the way. Then instead of harming them, she put a wall between them and the guards. “Drop the ramp! Drop it now!” Winter shouted out.

“No time we’ll make our own!” Ice Storm said, pushing the ice up until her magic. When the Ice reached the deck, she quickly turned to Pressy. “Pressy, reverse your wind magic to slow us down! We’ll fly off the other side of the ship otherwise!” Ice said.

With a bit of quick thinking, Winter forms a swoop on the other side of the ship to catch the group and loop them back onto the deck in case the magic couldn’t slow them down. Soon they found themselves on the deck of the ship and Ice turned around to address them.

Ice was panting at this point, and to say that she was running on fumes at this point was an understatement. She coughed a bit more, spraying more crimson fluid on the deck as she did. “Pressy… Take the princess… and get down below deck… I have to…” she said, starting to sway a bit. “I have to…” she added, feeling herself slump a bit before getting caught herself from one of the other mares on the ship.

“Miss… you are in no condition to continue fighting! You’re wounded, and you’ve exhausted your magic! You need rest, and you’ve already got the princess on your back,” A white pony that looked to be a medical pony said, already started to tend to her and nudge her towards the door leading below decks.

Ice Storm then felt the weight of a hoof on her shoulder. “Icy… you’ve done more than enough today. More than anypony could have expected from a bunch of civilian ponies. You need rest. Let the world's future best painter take over from here,” Presteza told her before turning to the medical pony. “Take her below deck,” she told them before turning to Winter. “And make sure she stays there. She’s no longer in any condition to continue.

“Right, with that settled, cast off and get away from the spire! It’s about to come down!” Coffee said as the engines fired up and started to propel them away from where they were. No sooner did they get out of the way the top of the spire came crashing down, rolling down the side of what remained. The resulting devastation left only a jagged tip where they once were, and a cloud of dust and debris on the ground from where the tip landed.

“Go… you need to hurry… there’s nothing we can do for them now… we need to save you while we still can,” Winter said practically forcing Ice Storm to follow the medical pony.

They had just made it down stairs before what little strength Ice had, faded and she collapsed onto the ground. The pony leading them down then noticed the aether lines at the base of her horn, along with the tint of red moving into the horn. “Blyad,” she said under her breath, though not going unnoticed by the fellow Mare of the Motherland.

“Ty govorish' po-russki?” Winter asked in her native language.

“Da, no seychas eto ne vazhno,” she replied back before continuing in ponish. “She’s gone into Aether Fatigue… she’s been casting magic from her blood, and judging by how bad this cracking and discoloration is from the base of her horn… She’s been casting like that for a while… I’m surprised she had the strength to walk down here…”

“Blyad… I told you Blue… Don’t go overboard…” Winter said, stomping her hoof.

“The princess isn’t much better, she’s breathing but only barely. She’s got a lot of damage from being caught in multiple explosions…” the medical pony continued before letting out a sigh. “They need more medical attention than what I can provide here,” she finished.

“After something like this… I imagine they aren’t the only ones…” Winter said, moving back above deck. “Coffee! We have to land immediately! As close to the Crystal Empire Medical Center as possible. Both Twilight and Icy are untreatable on the ship, they have to get to a proper hospital now!”

“Does anypony know where that’s at?” Coffee asked aloud.

“Over there!” a pony shouted. “It’s on the northern point that comes to the spire in the center of the city. It doesn’t look like it’s been hit too hard!”

“Set a course and bring us down. We can’t let the princess fall. We’re going to need her now more than ever. We also need to send any survivors that we can back to Canterlot immediately. Celestia and Luna must know of what happened here… We lost a lot of friends today,” Coffee said in a somber tone.

Author's Note

This story is a bit more serious than my other ones. They will be getting continuations, but this one will be my focus for the moment. The events that take place in this story are based on ten years of roleplay in an alternate universe.

Also translation for the different language in dialogue above.

“Ty govorish' po-russki?” = "You speak Russian?"

“Da, no seychas eto ne vazhno,” = "Yes, but that's not important now,"

Chapter 2: The Recovery (Part 1)

The sound of beeping was the first thing that filled the room as Ice Storm started to regain some of her senses. The small beeps were the sounds of life to most ponies, but right now all they sounded like to Ice Storm were giant sirens going off with every beat of her heart. She started to open her eyes, and then immediately turned her head and tried to bring a hoof up to cover her eyes from the light. She winced a bit, however, as she moved, and slowly let her eyes adjust to the room.

“Guys! Guys!” Presteza yelled down the hall of the hospital getting quite the look from some of the hospital staff. “Icy’s waking up!” she said before she noticed the looks. She gave a sheepish grin to the staff before zipping back into the room where her friend was lying.

Ice Storm started to look around the room now that she could actually see again, and she noticed her friend immediately. Granted, she noticed the yelling, and the yelling was like an icepick stabbing into her head. She tried to sit up a bit, but winced again as she did, and she also noticed that her head felt a little bit heavier than normal. She watched as Winter Frost and Blueblood both also came into the room, followed shortly by a pony that she could only presume was either a doctor, or one of the nurses.

“Chert poberi, Blue…” Winter said nearly tripping over herself trying to get to the side of the bed.

“What did I do!?” Blueblood scoffed.

“Not You. You’re Blueblood. Blue is my nickname for her,” Winter explained, making Blueblood roll his eyes a bit before turning back to Ice. “Don’t you ever scare us like that again!”

“Ahh good. You’re finally awake. We were actually starting to get worried that you had done more damage to yourself than previously thought,” The Doctor spoke.

“Finally awake? Damage to myself? I don’t understand…” Ice Storm replied.

“Your friends explained to me how you were responsible for what ponies were able to make it out of the top of the spire before it collapsed. A commendable act indeed, but you were casting so much magic, that you started casting from your own life force. I’m sure you noticed that once you crossed that threshold, your magic started turning red?” the doctor asked.

“Honestly, I can’t say that I was really paying attention to the color of my magical aura at the time. I was more paying attention to where I needed to put ice so that we didn’t go flying off of it, and end up with a cacophony of broken necks from falling down Celestia knows how many steps at however fast that we were going. Faster than a speeding pegasus, that’s for sure,” Ice Storm recounted.

“Regardless, you’re suffering from Acute Aether Fatigue. Your aether pool is completely drained right now, and we are not sure how long it will take for it to recover. You’d apparently used enough of your life force to put yourself into a coma for three days.

“What!? Three Days!? What about the search and rescue!? What about the ones that we couldn’t get out!?” Ice Storm yelled, trying to push herself up.

“Icy… you are in no condition to help right now. I know how badly you want to be looking for survivors, but it doesn’t need to come at the cost of you not being one of them,” Presteza started. “We weren’t entirely sure ourselves that you were going to wake up… you used so much magic, you were literally bleeding from the base of your horn. That’s never a good sign.”

“Indeed it’s not,” The Doctor stated. “For your own safety, we’ve placed an inhibitor ring on your horn. It’s enchanted to only be removed or applied by a medical professional,” the doctor started, watching as Ice let out a groan. “So don't try to remove it on your own.

“So how long am I stuck in this?” Ice Storm asked.

“As long as it takes for your aether pool to recover, or at the very least, stabilize. This could be a couple days, this could be a few weeks. It completely depends how quickly your body recovers…” he said, getting another groan in response. “As for the wound on your side, we’re using a special imported salve from the zebras to help the wound close on it’s own and not scar. The wound wasn’t too deep, probably thanks to whatever armor you had on. In fact, that should be cleared up here in about a week. We’re going to be monitoring you for a few more days before we let you go,” The Doctor said.

“Might as well be a few months, or years for that matter. We have no idea when these things are going to strike again or what spell they used to take over the entire guard!”

“Miss Storm! I understand your plight, but in your condition, you are in no condition to fight anything. Even a simple levitation spell could kill you right now. Aether Fatigue is no joke, and you’re suffering from its worst form! It was a small miracle that you even survived as it is!” Ice Storm heard the doctor tell her, looking away from him with a disdainful look on her face.

“Come now Blue… There are plenty of fine ponies that are out there that are capable of keeping the Crystal Empire safe from future attacks. Besides, with Celestia and Luna both here now overseeing the recovery efforts, I’m sure everything will be fine.” Winter said.

“WHAT!?” Ice Storm yelled in surprise making her friends shriek back a bit. “This is a tactical nightmare… we can’t have all four of the princesses in the same spot! If they attack again they’ll go straight for them!”

“I think you need to give my Aunties just a bit more credit,” Blueblood chimed in. “True, from a tactical standpoint, having every ruler of Equestria in one spot would make a prime target. However, we must remember that this is Celestia and Luna that we’re talking about. The ponies that harness the very power of the celestial bodies that they wear on their flanks. Being a protege of Luna yourself, you should be acutely aware of her power,”

“It’s not the power that I’m worried about. Without knowing how they corrupted the guards in the first place the vikings could finish the job without ever having to come back!” Ice mentioned.

“Actually,” Presteza interjected. “If you remember, Icy. They only wanted the princesses to open the vault. I don’t think they were actually here to conquer. If they were, they’d still be here and you probably still wouldn’t be awake yet, if you would have even survived getting out of the city. I have to agree with the doctors and Blueblood on this one… You need rest, and the princesses can handle things from here. You’ve already shown most of the Crystal Empire how amazing you are… Don’t overshadow that by being so stubborn that you go and get yourself hurt even more!”

Ice sighed as she looked away. She knew that they were right, but she couldn’t just sit here and do nothing! There were still so many questions left unanswered! Although, she supposed that some of those could be answered in ways that would be less taxing for her body. “Fine, I’ll rest here and relax, but I’m not going to let this time go to waste either! Doctor! If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I would like every book that the library has on the Crystal Heart. I wanna know how the Caribou were able to bypass the magic protecting the Crystal Empire to get here in the first place. I also want to see if it’s possible that they somehow corrupted the Crystal Heart to use as a catalyst for the brainwashing effects on the guards. I doubt I’ll find anything in the books, but it would at least give me some leads to follow once I’m out of the hospital!”

“Seriously?” The Doctor asked.

“What? It’s not like I have to use my magic to turn the pages. I couldn’t even if I wanted to remember?” Ice asked rhetorically, pointing to the inhibitor ring. “Besides, some reading material will make the however many days I’m in here go by faster,” Ice retorted, electing a giggle from Presteza.

“I’m afraid that she’s got you there, Doctor. I will go and see what I can find. Hopefully the library survived the invasion. I’ll find a couple adventure books for you as well, in case you get tired of reading history texts,” Presteza said. “Unless you’re secretly part Twilight and enjoy reading anything that’s reading.”

“Weeeell, anything that gives knowledge is a good book, but yeah… I can only tolerate so much history stuff. Still though, this is not without purpose. I just hope that I can find some answers. That anypony can find some answers. The fact that this was done once means that it can be done again, and I for one don’t want to see any more ponies get killed over something that could have possibly been prevented if ponies had known where the weak points were and corrected them.”

“Well, I suppose reading can’t hurt anything. Just make sure to let somepony know before you try to get up for anything. Preferably the medical staff, but anypony in the room will work. With you being bedrodden for three days, you’re still a fall risk until you get some of your strength back,” The Doctor said.

Ice Storm gave the doctor a nod, before noticing a familiar feeling between her legs. She wasn’t surprised. After all, if she was in a coma for three days they would have to do something to keep her from ruining celestia knows how many beds and pairs of lennons. Still, she wasn’t used to having them on with other ponies around. She usually saved her overnight protection for just that. Overnight. Thankfully The Doctor, nor Pressy had said anything about it. She knew that Pressy wouldn’t. She’d lived with the mare long enough to know that she wasn’t that kind of pony. It was the doctor that she was concerned about, but she presumed that they had a thing for the privacy of patients as well.

Winter sat down next to Ice, along with Blueblood while Pressy went to the library in search of the books that she was requesting. “So… all that aside, how are you feeling? That was a nasty wound that you took getting to the princess. If I had known you’d sustained that much damage I would have told you to stay in the back and I would have taken point.”

“Honestly, I’ve been better, and I could do without the ring on my horn, but it could be worse. Was I really out for three days?” Ice Storm asked.

“Almost four, actually. It’s already mid-afternoon,” Blueblood stated. “It’s part of why we were so worried. Though I would have been more worried had they actually left all the tubes and stuff inside you for breathing and stuff. The fact that you weren’t on a ventilator makes me think you weren’t quite as bad off as they suggested. Still, They are right about a few things, like your magic for one. I don’t know how it works, but I do know that Aether Fatigue is one of the few things that most unicorns actually fear getting because the state it puts your body in is well… deadly. Your immune system is weakened a bit because it doesn’t have your aether pool backing it, and yours was weakened even further from being wounded in battle. Not to mention, as the doctor also said… even a simple levitation spell can kill you. I think the only thing that would scare a unicorn more would be to hear a doctor say they have Miragomes. The Magic Death.”

“Bite your tongue Blueblood. We shall not speak of such things here. To do so entices the will of Karma, and I would not like to get on her bad side,” Winter Frost said looking to Icy.

“Relax Frosty. I’m sure if I had something like that the hospital would have me in quarantine or something. I’m pretty sure that’s actually highly contagious, because it feeds on magic,” Ice Storm said

“Still, there are certain diseases and ailments that aren’t mentioned in hospitals. It’s bad luck, and bad taste,” Winter countered. “Still though, this is one of the nastier things I’ve seen, and I grew up in Stalliongrad.

“Really? I would have thought that most cities in Equestria were prosperous and looked after one another…” Blueblood started.

“Ha!” Ice Storm started. “I don’t mean to be offensive, Blueblood, but if you believe that, you really need to get out of Canterlot more often. Outside of Ponyville, ponies will do anything to better themselves at the cost of somepony else. I was a victim of this myself in Fillydelphia before I was abandoned by my family and moved to Canterlot. Do you want to know why I had to move to Canterlot the first time?” Ice asked.

“Do explain…” Blueblood said, not sure if he really wanted to know where this was going. He likely already knew. After all, it took a rather eye opening event at the Gala to show him the error of his ways.

“It was a noble aristocrat named Golden Hoof. Came to town, and he fell in love with my mom's aquarium exhibit, and my dad’s jewelry store. He absolutely hated me, and he found every way possible to turn my own family against me. Be it a filly that couldn’t use magic yet, or a myriad of other issues that I had, a few of which I still have to this day, thanks to my father. I’m not going to go into the details, but let’s just say, when a five year old is thrown through a living room wall, it tends to do some permanent damage in some way.” Ice continued.

“Sweet Celestia… Why wasn’t this reported? Surely ponies in the medical facility would have noticed something,” Blueblood interjected.

“Normally they probably would have, but when you’re nobility, ponies look the other way because you have the bits or the power to make them do so. And then when a pony does actually need help, like after I left my own family so I wouldn’t get left to Celestia knows where, they all scoff and turn away. No pony in Filly would take me in because they didn’t want the ire of my parents. Such attention would ruin their own livelihoods. So I left for the once city that was always fabled to be the perfect city. Canterlot. And you know what I found there? Loads of ponies willing to help me! That was until they found out that I was from Fillydelphia and not from Canterlot.”

All of this information was leaving the prince aghast. Was this really how the nobility in Equestria operated? Why wasn’t Auntie Celestia doing anything about this? Was it possible that she didn’t know that this kind of thing was going on? He had so many questions that he knew there was no way for Icy to know the answers to.

“Aye, and Stalliongrad ain’t no much better,” Winter Frost spoke. “In Stalliongrad it’s everypony for themselves, and that starts at a young age. If you’re going to survive in a land that’s mostly ice and snow for a majority of the year, you kinda have to be like that. It’s difficult for us to grow food, but we’ve figured out how to use greenhouses to good effect and we keem post of our crops inside them. Otherwise, you’re just a tool for the city. IF you can’t do anything for the city, you’re ousted. We’ll at least provide them with a train to any other city though.”

“I’ll definitely have to bring all this up with my aunts later… Though surely you told Luna all about this though, right Ice? Something like this is something that she needs to know about. Especially if her guards are getting bought off! That defeats the entire purpose of them!” Blueblood said standing up. “I would love to stay and chat more, but these matters must get brought to the princesses’ attention, and I best would do it now before I forget about it later. I do hope you have a speedy recovery, and I will do my best to get back to see you before you get out. In the meantime. Get some rest.”

“I think I’m going to head out for the night too. It was good to see you awake, Blue. I’m sure both Twilight and Luna will be happy to hear that. I imagine that both will be by to see you at some point as well. Luna will probably want a recount of everything that happened in the Spire. She’s already gotten testimony from everypony else, and considering you’re her pupil, she’s probably going to have extra questions for you,” Winter said

“I don’t doubt it… It’s not likely that I’m ever going to be able to forget this any time soon myself,” Ice replied.

“Aye, it’s something I’m not likely to forget either. For now though, the only thing we can do is recover, and rebuild. We can focus on other things once we have more information, and once you’ve gotten some rest,” Winter said, making her way to the door. “Take care Blue, I’ll be back to see you tomorrow. For now, I have other matters that I must attend to.” she added.

Ice Storm waved goodbye to her friend before instantly going into thought about the events that had put her here. She looked for any way things could have gone differently. Obviously she would have rather the vault not gotten opened at all. It was the vault’s explosion that caused the structural integrity of the spire to fail. However, like Coffee said… if they were to engage in combat before the longship got taken out, the entire spire would have been toppled, and getting anypony out would have been impossible. She knew that she had done everything that she could, but she still felt empty… like she could have done more. So many ponies died that day because she wasn’t able to get them out in time. She didn’t know if anypony else in the lower floors even knew that they needed to leave. Thankfully it wasn’t the entire spire that collapsed, but it had done significant damage to the side that the top and crumpled down.

She remained in this deep thought until a knock at the door pulled her from it. She looked up to the doorway to find The Princess of the Night standing there. "It's good to see you finally awake, Ice Storm. When I first stopped in after I heard of your involvement with what happened, we weren't sure when you would," she heard Luna speak.

"I'm quite thankful of the staff here, even if some of the procedures are less to my liking," Ice said, pointing to her horn. "Though I can't help but wonder… if I was as bad off as everypony has been saying… Why wasn't I on a ventilator or some sort of sustainer? When I woke up, there was nothing of the sort on me. Just these oxygen tubes and some bandages."

"Actually, when you were first admitted from what I heard, you were. The nature of the wound, normally would have required magical healing, but without your own aether to interact with the spell, magical healing was not working, and you were barely breathing at that point. So for the first day you were here, you were on a ventilator. Once they got the wound sealed and stitched up, you started recovering faster. Thankfully their anti-scarring magic in the salve that they are using seems to be working. So, while you're having to heal the natural way, it at least should leave a mark," Luna started.

"That being said, I am going to need your account of everything that happened. You were the closest to the epicenter from what I was told when everything started so I need every detail that you can remember," Luna started.

"At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary," Ice Storm started before going further into the description of the events. She explained the tremors and how she could see the explosions outside before the spire was attacked. She explained the longship and told her about the one that they called The Red Jarl started making demands about a vault. She also told the princess about the ensuing conversation and how she didn't want to let him open it because if it was perfume enough that Luna and Celestia had to seal it away, then it wasn't something that he was going to be able to control either.

She also recounted the guards and how they're eyes glowed unusual colors when they were being forced to obey whatever commands had been presented. She also told the princess about the guard that had found Twilight, and he mentioned something called WRAITH. She visibly saw Luna's face turn to more of a scowl when she did.

"I see…" Luna commented. "Were you able to make out any details about this guard?"

"Not anymore than what would usually be on a guard. His coat was more eggshell than white, and he wore some kind of weird amulet thing that he was using to control the other guards," Ice replied. "But other than that, everything else was the same."

"I see. I will say it is rather disturbing that they have managed to infiltrate the guards. Alarming in fact. If we can't trust our own guards to protect us, then who can we trust?" Luna spoke.

"Me," Ice replied matter-of-factly. "And I know countless others that fought with me up in the spire… including ones that got left behind…"

"I know this is going to be hard, but do not worry about what you cannot control. Besides, they've been pulling a surprising number of survivors from the collapsed portion of the building," Luna answered.

"How!? That was a forty-five story drop! No pony should have been able to survive that!"

"I'm presuming a shield spell that absorbed most of the impact," Luna commented. "Though if I'm being honest, we find about two deceased for every survivor we find."

It did comfort the blue unicorn to know that there were some that had survived the fall. She wasn't at all surprised though when Luna told her the casualty report so far. "Unfortunately that probably means that whomever that was passing as a guard also had a contingency to get out…"

"That is very likely, and I doubt we've seen the last of him. Now, I'm presuming that right after the explosion was when you made the slide off ice? An impressive show by the way, even if it came at a cost. That ice is still in the stairwell, or what's left of it that is," Luna added.

Ice Storm blushed a bit from the compliment, but then nodded. "Indeed. I had to get everypony out and that was the fastest way to do so. If we had run down the steps otherwise, I fear we would be a part of the numbers that you're currently pulling from the debris."

"And that is something that I am very glad we didn't have happen. After all, I can't have my pupil getting squished under a pile of crystals now can we?" Luna asked with a smile. "Of course I'm also happy for the others that you helped as well."

Ice chuckled a few times before taking a breath, and then continuing. "There is still something that I don't understand though. What or who is WRAITH? I noticed your facial expression after I mentioned it, and then focusing on the guard… are they something that we, and by we I mean the general ponies, need to worry about?"

Ice watched as it was The Princess's turn to sigh before igniting her horn, closing and locking the door, and then creating a bubble of silence around them. "What we're about to discuss… doesn't leave this room. Once you know about WRAITH, your perception of who you can and can't trust will change. WRAITH stands for World Revolutionary Agency for Imperialism, Tyranny, and Hostility. It's members feel that the way of life in Equestria is… too complacent. That we've gotten too soft and that we can't defend ourselves. It's made up of ponies that have lost their light, or never had it to begin with."

"I don't mean to be offensive here Princess… but they did kinda just prove their point in the worst possible way. We were in no way prepared for what came at us," Ice Storm replied.

"That is somewhat true, but quick reactions from ponies like you prevented things from getting a lot worse. We're in the process of trying to solve that dilemma as well. Given your recent experiences, you would make a great asset to the Equestrian Protection and Information Command, or EPIC for short. You will need to talk to Twilight about that though. I can recommend you, but Twilight makes the decisions for that group. With any luck, we'll be able to get some more intel on WRAITH and figure out where they might be planning next. The other is, WRAITH has agents everywhere. Some of them can be the nicest ponies you'll ever meet, all part of their act. The more influence they spread, the more deceit they sow, the more power they gain. Right now they are no match for the four of us. But I fear they are starting to get closer than we would like to our level of power," Luna stated.

"So then EPIC is supposed to stand opposed to WRAITH… I guess I still don't understand… if they felt Equestria couldn't adequately defend itself, wouldn't it have made more sense to do something that would make Equestria better instead of basically trying to destroy harmony?"

"Unfortunately, they feel like they are trying to make Equestria better, and they don't care who they hurt along the way. Most of them don't have any Equestrian ties anymore. They use what contacts they have to create situations like this. They were behind a changling invasion not long ago on Nightmare Night back in Ponyville."

"Wait, there was a changling invasion in Ponyville on Nightmare Night? How the hay did I not know about it?" Ice Storm said surprised. "I mean, I have a shop in Ponyville. How did no pony mention this on any of the times I was there?"

"Mostly cause it wasn't well organized and there weren't any casualties. It actually ended up being a humiliating defeat for the changlings so there wasn't really a call for alarm. Plus they made the mistake of attacking with all six of the element bearers in town," Luna commented. "Though we only recently found out that WRAITH was behind it."

"Interesting… I'm gonna have to have a word with my store manager though, to find out why I wasn't made aware of such things though," Ice commented.

"Well, if there was no damage to your shop then I imagine that she didn't want to worry you over something that ended up being trivial. Seriously… without their queen… the changlings have very little cohesion. Until they can get one, or until Chrysalis reappears and can reunite them, they are no threat," Luna replied with confidence.

"That may be, but I still have plenty of questions. Right now one of my other friends is hopefully getting me every book the library has on the Crystal Heart. The Crystal Heart is supposed to protect the Crystal Empire from situations like this. After all… its barrier is able to keep out the elements of the Frozen North, and it was able to repel Sombra and other threats to the Empire. Why was it not able to detect this one, and how did the brainwashing spell get through? If the Crystal Heart was or could be used as a catalyst, then that opens up a plethora of problems. The first being trying to purify a corrupted artifact of that magnitude."

"I don't believe the heart had anything to do with the corrupted guards, but I am also seeking answers to those other questions. If you find anything out let me know. That being said, I must be returning to help with the search effort. Is there anything else you need before I go?" Luna asked.

"Maybee a written decree to take this stupid ring off?" Ice asked with a hopeful smile. She heard Luna give a small laugh at the question herself.

"Sorry my student, but not even I have the power to overrule a doctor's assessment. While I don't agree with the procedure, I understand why it's needed," Luna responded.

"Thanks anyway… Oh! Wait! Do they have any sort of symbol or anything that might give them away? That would at least make things a bit easier."

"There is, but it's almost always in a hidden spot, and it's different on most of their members. You'll get a full briefing on the mark and how to identify it when Twilight accepts you into the ranks of EPIC. Also when she does, I shall begin training you in the art of combat, and how you can more efficiently use your magic to help protect others. You're already a master of refining and creating Ice, but I can show you even more. We might even be able to get your teleport working right without making you sick all the time," Luna said with a smile. "That will be for another time though," she added, dropping the bubble of silence and unlocking the door only to find a doctor trying to get the door open. "Can I help you?"

"Oh… Princess Luna. I didn't realize you were in there… we noticed some irregularities in her heart rate, so we were coming to inspect it. I thought maybe something was going on otherwise." The Doctor said. "Please tell me you didn't remove the inhibitor. I know she's your protege, but she's in no condition to be using magic right now."

"I would never do anything of the sort. Like I told her when she asked, I do not have the authority to overrule a doctor. However, given the nature of our discussion, which I'm afraid I cannot divulge, I will be posting a few Lunar Guards by her door for the duration of her stay, rotating in and out," Luna told him.

"Is there something amiss, Princess? The Crystal Empire Medical Center prides itself on the comfort and security of our patients as well as their records. I assure you she's in good hooves," The Doctor replied.

"That may be, but there are larger forces at work here and I fear we may not be out of the woods yet. I would like the peace of mind knowing that I have one of my personal guards present at all times. She is the pony that rescued Princess Twilight, and that means she's made herself a target. While your security is admirable, this was not a request, but a statement. They will be here as soon as I send for them," Luna stated.

"Yes, princess…" The doctor replied, before returning to his rounds.

Ice couldn't help but giggle a bit at The Doctor's reaction. This got a look from the princess as she smiled. "I will be back when I can, though hopefully you'll be out before too long."

"Me too. I at least want to be able to help with the clean up efforts," Ice replied.

"When you get out, you are to go home," Luna said, getting a look of disappointment from the blue unicorn. "Icy, I know you want to help. And any other time I would be all for letting you do so. I am so happy to have a student that is willing to lay her own safety on the line to help protect others. That is what true nobility is. Right now though, without your magic I fear that you would be a hazard…" she continued, noticing the tears forming. "Hey… that doesn't mean anyone thinks that you are a hazard. You are a powerful friend, and one I want to keep from getting squished because she can't use her magic at the moment."

"Can I at least do some more investigating then? I don't need magic to read books or take notes," Ice asked.

"Wait until you've talked with Twilight first. Once you get accepted into EPIC you'll have access to higher tiers of information that you wouldn't be able to get otherwise. I don't doubt that she'll be by at some point once she hears that you're awake. She does want to personally thank you for saving her."

"Just doing what anypony else would have done, she said with a smile. "Thanks for stopping by, princess."

"You're welcome Icy, and may you have a swift recovery," the princess said as she departed.

Author's Note

Sorry this took a bit longer. This is part wasn't in roleplay so has to do some cross referencing to get my information right.

Chapter 2: The Recovery (Part 2)

It was a few hours after Princess Luna had departed, and Ice found herself standing by the window looking outside. It was starting to reach dusk in the Crystal Empire, and normally this view would be amazing. It was still quite beautiful, the orange rays of the setting sun reflecting off of the shards of crystal that made up the many buildings of the Empire. However, the sight was tarnished a bit from the buildings that had been damaged by the attack.

One thing that she had noticed though, was that there were caribou that had returned to the city. Ice instantly grit her teeth at them. She immediately assumed that it was as she feared until she saw them speaking with other ponies and apparently taking direction from them. She watched intently for a while trying to get a judge of these bou. These caribou had access on them, but they were more akin to those a pony would see in a wood cutting shop. She also could see other tools that would be used for building. These bou appeared to come to help. That either meant that they were a different… she wanted to say clan, but wasn't sure that was the right word… or that they were part of WRAITH'S plan all along and we're only helping rebound as part of their point. She wasn't sure which yet

She watched them a little longer until she heard a knock at the door. "Miss Storm, it is approaching the evening. I came in to get your vitals and get you changed for the night. Unless the notes in your file were incorrect, and you no longer suffer from Nocturnal Enuresis?"

Ice couldn't help but blush from that, and it only intensified as she remembered that she was still wearing the protective garment from when she woke up from being out of it. She looked back at the nurse. "No no, I do… thanks to a combination of my magic and what my father did to me, it's something I've been told I'm going to have to deal with for the rest of my life…"

"My apologies, Miss Storm. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. I'll try to make this as quick, and as comfortable as I can," Ice heard the nurse say patting the bed. She was going to ask if she could leave the fresh garment on the table and she'd change herself, but with the injury on her side it was likely to be more difficult and painful than she'd like. Reluctantly, Ice laid on the bed on her back, blushing profusely while the nurse started changing her. She didn't want to admit it, but it did feel kind of nice to not have to worry about it herself. She twitched a bit as she felt the cold worse wipes before the new garment was secured under her hospital gown.

"There you go. All set for the night. Also, Princess Twilight is here to see you. She was actually getting ready to know just before I was," she said, seeing the look on Ice Storm's face. "Don't worry, she doesn't know. We leave these in the cabinets in the rooms for that reason," the nurse said, visibly seeing Ice relax.

"Thanks. I appreciate that… the less that know that I have to wear a diaper at night, the better. I would hate to have to try to explain that. Everypony would either think I'm either a freak, or weak."

"Nonsense Icy," the nurse protested. "No pony would honestly care. Sure there might be a few that if they found out would try to tease you about it or try to hold it over you, but most would still see the same pony that I see. A strong, confident mare looking to make Equestria a better place. No pony can judge you for things you can't control, and medical conditions are among those things. Besides, you are kinda cute like that," the nurse said with a wink, making Ice blush a bit again.

"Thanks… moving on," she said, pulling the covers up since she was about to have company.

"Is there anything else I can get for you tonight?" The nurse asked.

"Maybe some dinner. I haven't had anything to eat since I woke up and I'm kinda hungry… am I allowed to have a salad?" Ice asked.

"You should be able to. I don't believe you're on any food restrictions, but I'll double check. I'll at least get some food up here soon for you," the nurse said, opening the door back up and heading out, leaving it open for Twilight.

Ice watched the purple alicorn come into the room and smiled. "Good to know that my efforts weren't in vain, Princess."

"Oh, Twilight is fine. After saving my flank from certain death, I'm pretty sure we're well past that formality," Twilight smiled. "I just wish I would have been somewhat conscious when you were using your magic. I've never seen another unicorn with the abilities that you have."

"I appreciate it, Twilight, but I'm nothing special. All I did was create and shape ice. Nothing more. Probably one of the most basic spells a unicorn can learn really," Ice admitted.

"Are you kidding me!? Most unicorns might be able to make anywhere from a few snowflakes, to a snowball or two, and you just made what amounts to a mini glacier down fifteen flights of stairs! That is most definitely not average unicorn magic!"

"Perhaps not, but seems pretty basic for an ice mage, not to mention… it did come at a pretty hefty price…" Ice Storm commented, pointing to the ring on her horn and the bloody crack-like cuts around it's base.

"Ah yes, aether fatigue. A case like that according to the books I've read, with proper care and treatment should heal within a couple weeks. Probably won't be able to use your magic again until then," Twilight said, rambling slightly.

"Gee, thanks for the words of encouragement there… I'm totally looking forward to being magicless for a couple weeks…" Ice said sarcastically. "That being said, I am kinda glad that you showed up tonight. I have a few matters that I'd like to discuss… first… this is probably a silly question… but do you know the silence bubble spell?"

Twilight just kind of raised an eyebrow, as if the answer would have been obvious before casting said spell. "I must admit… I am intrigued to know what you would want to talk to me about that would require a silence spell."

"I wanna know more about WRAITH, and how to fight them. Princess Luna said that you were the one in charge of the task force assigned to dealing with them. Equestrian Protection information whatever it was… I. Want. in," Ice said with a fire in her eyes. "Knowing now that I can effectively use my magic to protect others, I want to help make sure this can't happen again."

Twilight stood there flabbergasted a bit. Both that Ice knew about the secretive nature of this topic, and the fact that she knew about it to begin with. Then she remembered that she was a pupil of Luna and also front and center of the attack. Realizing that it came of little surprise that Luna would have informed Ice about EPIC, especially with the role that she ended up playing in the battle. "You definitely have the ability, but there's still a protocol I must follow. Background checks, health checks, make sure that you have nothing going on that could be a problem. But other than this incident, you've always seemed in perfect health, so I'm sure that won't be a problem," Twilight stated, noticing the blush that Ice Storm was wearing now. "Is something wrong?"

"Might as well get this cat out of the bag now… if you go through medical records you're going to find out anyway," Ice said, throwing her covers down, exposing the protective garment that she was wearing. She saw Twilight look down and then back up to her.

"Interesting… has a cause been identified?' Twilight asked. "It wasn't something you sustained from this fight was it? I can get the very best from Canterlot on it."

"Yes, a cause has been identified, but no it wasn't from the fight, though I doubt it helped matters… I was thrown through a wall when I was a filly, and it caused some permanent damage. Then, the stronger my magic became, the worse it got… thankfully it's only an issue I have to deal with once I fall asleep," Ice admitted through her blush.

"That is…rather unfortunate, but quite interesting at the same time! The way that magic interacts with the body has been a mystery in Equestria, and just when we think we're getting closer to a breakthrough we find something else that raises more questions. I've never heard of magic causing or strengthening bedwetting issues. It's something that I personally would like to study at some point. Perhaps we can find a way to reverse it," Twilight responded.

"I have to admit… that wasn't exactly the response I was expecting to get… also at least the nurse used the scientific name for the issue..." Ice replied.

"Sorry... though we are getting off topic here, and no this won't jeopardize your entry. However, I can't promise it will remain secret with it's other members. Now, what were you looking to find out? What I can tell you here is limited. What did Luna tell you about them, so I know where to start?"

"Well, I know what the acronym means, and I know that they wish to bring about a reign of tyranny. Otherwise that's about it."

"Really, that's about all there is to tell. Many of its members are misguided ponies that think that harmony is a sign of weakness. That just because our land is harmonious, we can't defend ourselves," Twilight replied.

"But they are right Princess," she said, getting a look from Twilight. "Sorry, habit… but as I said, they are right. At least in a sense. Harmony may make us stronger, but we are still woefully unprepared for things like this." Ice interrupted.

"But you're wrong. You yourself are living proof that you're wrong. Because of the harmony that we have, ponies can find ways to make themselves stronger. Ponies have access to avenues of advanced studies like The School for Gifted Unicorns and the Canterlot University of Magic, both of which you graduated from, am I correct?" Twilight asked, getting a nod. "It's ponies like you that step out of the shadows like this and help protect Equestria. We bind ourselves together and while we might end up bending, we will never break."

"This time, and only because they were going easy on us. If they wanted to, they could have flattened the Crystal Empire with their cannons, taken what they wanted afterwards, and by the time anypony figured out what was going on, the entire city would have fallen." Ice said.

"You're right about one thing, those cannons would have done damage, but they wouldn't have gotten much more than a few buildings, much as they did. Ponies, like you did, would have found a way to protect themselves," Twilight said.

"That would have been a tall order Twilight. Unless the Crystal Empire has crystal cannons hidden somewhere, those ships were essentially magic proof. If the Red Jarl outfits them with anything like that, they could overpower Canterlot easily."

"Not likely. That's not their style. They target from behind the scenes. This whole situation is actually very unusual for them."

"Which means they are getting bolder," Ice commented. "And after a successful attack like this their confidence is going to be high."

"It probably will be, but now that they've played their hand, we can prepare. We know that they are now working with this Red Jarl, outside of Equestria, which means they are going to have things that absorb or eliminate magic. However, they wouldn't be able to accomplish that on all sides at once. No matter how invincible a foe may seem, there's always a weak point. Between our intell, and the might of our guard, we'll be fine."

"Speaking of, I had one of my friends go to the library. She's going to pull everything she can on the Crystal Heart. I'm trying to figure out how all of our guards got brainwashed to begin with." Ice explained.

"I don't know how successful she's going to be. Not because that information is protected, but because we simply do not know much about the relic. We know that it's powered with the love and unity of the Crystal Ponies. Prior to a couple years ago, most of Equestria didn't even know this place existed. Because of that, we don't have anything in the Canterlot Archives on it either. However, those are questions that I to, want answered. Cause you're right, the heart should have stopped it," Twilight confirmed.

"I'm planning on looking into that as well. Since I can't use magic right now anyway, I was going to use this time to assist the guards that weren't affected in the investigation. Do something productive while I can't run my shop." Ice commented.

"Well, there is always the observatory. I know Luna gave you a key, and there's always something to do there," Twilight countered.

"True, but you should know that without magic, dialing those telescopes properly is neigh impossible. To do it right you have to turn the different knobs at the same time and I've only got two free hooves to work with," Ice said to the princess.

"That may be, but it would be in your best interests to hold off until we finalize your affidavits for EPIC, for which you have to be in Canterlot to fill out. Those forms aren't just something that we hoof out willy nilly. Then we'd have ponies trying to infiltrate us… Not that they probably aren't already trying," Twilight said with a huff…

"Yeah, Luna mentioned that as well. Something about being a member granting higher privileges."

"Exactly. But if you want to look around a bit once you get out, I won't stop you. I just can't promise you'll find much. To be honest, we haven't even found much. Many of the guards that were affected are stricken with amnesia, and don't remember anything starting from a few days before. They still think it's last Tuesday and that the Faire hasn't happened yet," Twilight commented.

"That… sounds like an intentional reaction from whatever they were under. Hopefully they aren't getting reprimanded too hard though...I imagine just knowing that they have blood on their hooves was hard enough for them. Can they really be held accountable for actions not of their own?" Ice asked.

"Unfortunately, there is still a layer of accountability. If anything it falls onto myself and the other princesses for not managing things correctly. I mean, we had no idea anything was wrong until everything started! The guards will be reassigned outside of the Crystal Empire and probably go through retaining. Surviving members of families from this probably won't have to work very hard for the rest of their lives after we compensate them. I know it can't bring anyone that was lost back but…"

"But we can prevent this from happening again, and prevent it we will. It might take some behind the scenes work, but Equestria is strong. Of all the mistakes that WRAITH made with this, the biggest was showing us where our weak point was," Ice said. "Now we can fortify it," she added, pounding her front hooves together with conviction. Then wincing a bit as the movement sent stinging lines down her side. "That… Want one of my smarter ideas…"

"Well, you did just wake up after getting stabbed and using an unprecedented amount of magic. I'm not shocked that you're a bit tender," Your said before there was a knock at the door and the nurse came in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Miss Storm, I have that salad that you wanted," the nurse said before pulling the mare's covers back up for her own modesty.

"Oh, thank you very much! I'm starving," Ice said.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can get you," she said before continuing her rounds.

"Well Icy, I think I'll let you go ahead and enjoy your dinner. I mainly came to make sure that you were doing okay and to thank you for getting not only myself out of the spire. But everypony else that you managed to get out as well. Equestria owes you a great debt," Twilight said with a smile. Have a good night!"

Ice Storm nodded, as she munched on a few leaves of lettuce. "Thank you for stopping by!" She said, swallowing what she had in her mouth. "It means a lot that you would stop by and pay a visit. Though after getting visited by two princesses in one day, I doubt I'm going to get a moment's rest in the waking hours."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much. Hospitals like this one are generally good about respecting the privacy of their patients no matter who they may be," Twilight smiled. "I'll see you back in Canterlot," she finished before exiting the room to let Ice Storm eat.

The next morning, Ice woke up with a stretch and a wince as she stretched just a bit too far. She also felt the familiar squish between her legs. Habitually, she tried to take the garment off with her magic so that she could shower, but was then reminded about the ring when it cancelled out her aether. "Oh… right… just when I thought my little issue couldn't make me feel even more like a foal…" she says to herself before pushing the button for the nurse.

While she was waiting she began thinking about what Twilight had told her last night. It appeared that WRAITH had covered itself pretty well from how it had staged this. Twilight and her team had found very little useful information and they have avenues of getting that information that most don't have.

"The guards don't remember anything… And Twilight said that there wasn't much of a warning or anything left over to find…" she said, feeling a familiar twinge in her lower region. She let out a sigh before cutting loose. It wasn't like she wasn't already wet anyways, and she went back to thinking about important matters. "I wonder if Pressy was able to find anything… she's been gone for a while," Ice said to herself.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and the nurse had come in. "Good morning Miss Storm."

"Please… just call me Icy. Being called Miss Storm all the time makes me feel like an old pony," she said with a giggle.

The nurse gave her a smile and then nodded. "Right. So Icy, I presume you slept well?"

"About as well as I could. I'm usually a side sleeper and I kinda can't do that at the moment. Otherwise I slept decently. I can tell I'm still feeling some effects of the medication though, as it was a dreamless sleep."

"Ah, that happens. We're you needing something this morning? If you're hungry, breakfast is in about an hour," the nurse said.

"Actually," Ice said, blushing. "I do need your help a bit," she added, pushing the covers off. "Normally I'd take care of it myself but I can't use magic at the moment, and bending like that is more painful than I would like at the moment…"

"Oh right! I actually almost forgot about that. The overnight nurse mentioned I'd probably have to do this for you in the morning!" The nurse said happily, closing the door to give them some privacy.

"You seem… a lot happier about that than I would expect." Ice admitted.

"Na, the perfect amount! I love any opportunity that I get to help others, big or small. That's why I became a nurse to begin with. Helping tend to the care of others is my special talent, and I'm always happy to help," she said breezing through the clean up. "Now, since you're getting up. Do you need or want another? We won't judge and will let you get more bed rest."

"I think I'll be okay for now, though if they give me meds later for pain I might need it. Anything that affects my state of mind affects that so…" Ice explained.

"Alrighty then. Just let us know. Despite what most may think, we are here for your comfort," she said, tossing the soiled garment into the trash.

No sooner did the nurse leave, Icy spotted Presteza coming into the room. "Sorry Icy! I would have come back last night, but I spent hours searching through the books in the Crystal library, and the only thing I found on the heart was what was in the history of the Crystal Empire. And by the time I found that, it was already later into the evening."

"That's perfectly okay. I had a rather full day of visitors yesterday as it was. Both Luna and Twilight both came by." Ice smile.

"Oh wow! You must be the talk of the hospital then! Having been visited by two princesses and having saved one of them? I bet everything is absolutely buzzing right now!" Presteza says with excitement. "Hey, you might even get a stained glass window in the palace!"

"While I don't doubt there will be a medal or something. I'm not an element bearer. Just a regular old unicorn. I doubt they'd spend that much money on a pony as simple as me. I just make ice cream and frozen treats." Ice stated.

"Icy, you are anything but a simple regular old unicorn. Not everypony can even come close to doing what you did. And as one of your best friends, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you are every bit as loyal as Rainbow Dash, and every bit as generous as Rarity. You could have easily been either one of those elements. You're always trying to brighten someone's day and it takes a very special kind of pony to stay positive in light of everything you had to go through," Presteza said, giving her friend a very gentle hug. "And now, whether you believe it or not Icy, you're an Equestrian Hero. Let yourself shine a bit! Show the ponies of nobility what it truly means to be noble!"

Ice smiled a bit as she thought on those words and gently returned the hug that she was given. "Showing nobility how it's supposed to be… I do kind of like the sound of that. And don't worry. After what Twilight told me last night, I wasn't expecting you to find much. In fact had I known we had that little information on the heart itself, I wouldn't have asked you to do that. I'm sure you had other valuable things you could have been doing with your time."

"You see!! Right there! Even laying in a hospital bed you're more concerned about others than you are you. Simple unicorn my flank."

"Careful Pressy, or once we're home I might have to take you up on that offer," Ice commented, making Presteza blush a bit and then lightly bap at Ice with her hooves.

"Icy! Bad! This is a hospital! What if somepony else heard you!?"

"And?"

"And what we do at home isn't anypony else's business!" Presteza said while Icy stuck her tongue out. "Anyway did they give you any better of an answer as to when you're going to be let out? I kinda wanna go home soon, and I don't wanna leave my best friend here all alone here."

"Don't know yet. I just woke up a bit ago and the nurse just finished cleaning me up from overnight. She was the only pony other than you to show up, but I know that they wanted to monitor this gash for a bit to make sure it was actually healing properly" Ice said as there was another knock at the door. "Oh, speak of the devil. Here's the doctor now."

"Good morning Ice Storm. I am Doctor Heartbeat. How are you feeling this morning?" The Doctor asked.

"About as good as I can be, I suppose. There's always a way to be better when you're in a hospital bed," Ice said, getting a laugh from the doctor.

"Well, I can't really argue with that. At least for most, but at least there are ponies like us here to help," Doctor Heartbeat started. "How's your range of movement? If you're able to stand, I'd like to get these bandages off and see the progress the salve has been making and apply new dressings," he added.

"I was up yesterday looking out the window. It was a little bit painful, but it wasn't unbearable. Felt about like when it happened," Ice replied, pushing herself out of bed. Hey friend looked as if she were ready to pounce at her with the slightest slip. She felt the doctor untying the gown, and she was suddenly quite happy that Pressy was here with her. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Doctor, but it still made her more comfortable.

She felt him pull the fabric away and he found the start of the wrap that held the bandages. He then slid a pair of scissors under the end and cut straight across. She couldn't help but wince a bit when the cool air hit the wound. "Oh yeah, this is healing up nicely," she heard the doctor start. As more was removed about a seven inch gash along her side was exposed. There was quite a bit of redness around the wound itself, but only very little in the way of swelling. The salve was keeping the tissue healthy and preventing it from becoming scar tissue. "As long as you remember to keep it covered and keep the salve on it, at least until the wound is receptive to actual healing magic, this should clear up without anything close to even a blemish within the next couple days," he finished.

"All that's left now, is to get you wrapped up, and to get a couple drops of blood to check your aether levels. While I doubt we will be able to take that off any time soon, this will give us a better idea of how long that recovery will take. Still, if this is anything to go off of, that shouldn't be too long either," Ice heard the doctor explain. "That said, would you be more comfortable if I had the nurse come in and reapply the bandages and the wrap? I know most mares aren't really comfortable with stallions around their underside," the doctor offered.

"It's fine. I trust you to be professional. Besides, if you tried anything funny my friend would blow you away. Literally," Ice told him. "How do you need me?"

"The easiest is either an upright seated position, or leaning with your forehooves against the wall. The seated position is usually the most comfortable and least revealing," the doctor admitted.

"Well as much as my best friend would love the show," Ice started, getting the biggest 'I'm going to kill you later' look from Pressy. "I think sitting will probably be best then,” Ice Storm said with a smile as she took a seat back on the bed.

Doctor Heartbeat nodded and then moved up to the mare and began to carefully apply a new coating of salve, making Ice Storm wince a bit. “You know… I’m glad that I was out the first couple times that this would have been put on…” he heard the mare say.

“Yeah, this stings quite a bit during application, but that’s because there is magic in it, and it’s keeping everything fresh and healthy. You know, so we don’t scar that pretty coat of yours,” he said, causing Ice to blush. He also noticed the snicker from her friend as she watched before he started applying the gauze and the new wraps. “Alright, there we go. Good as new. Now just need to see your hoof here for a second,” he said holding what looked to be a small meter like thing.

“Now, you're going to feel a small stick here as this pulls out a bit of blood,” The Doctor said once again before pushing the needle to her hoof and letting the needle hit the frog.

“Yeek!” Icy squealed as she felt the stick, making Pressy burst out laughing.

“You… you can take a shot from a spear… but you can’t handle a small prick from a needle?” Presteza said teasingly.

“In her defense, the frogs of the hooves have more nerves than anywhere else in the body,” Doctor Heartbeat said, siding with his patient. “Besides, a small yelp is hardly the worst reaction I’ve had to a needle,” he added, watching the meter and looking at the charts. “Let’s see… according to what I read in your chart… your aetherium should be sitting around the three-tens, three-twenties as far as your aether goes… and right now you are sitting… at right around eighty three… That’s not bad over the course of four days, and I think once we hit about one fifty we should be able to take the ring off. So as long as you don’t do much more than levitation or minor spells for a while afterwards, you should rebuild pretty quickly.”

“Does this mean that she can go home?” Presteza asked the doctor.

“With everything healing up this well, I don’t see why not. Besides, Canterlot has some of the best doctors in Equestria. They might be able to help her with some of the other issues that she has,” The Doctor said knowingly.

“It’s a good sentiment Doc, but they can’t. They’ve already tried,” Ice admitted.

“Worth a shot, and hey, you’re still one of the strongest mares I know. Nothing changes that,” The doctor responded. “I’ll begin the paperwork to have her discharged. With any luck, you two should be free to leave in an hour, though I guess technically your friend could leave at any time,” He said walking back out the door.

“Yes! Finally we can go home! I’d book the next train, but let's be honest here… we’re going to be here for a bit yet. He said an hour… in hospital talk that’s more like three…” Presteza said.

“Oh Pressy, they aren’t that bad.”

“Says the pony that was just yesterday complaining about how long she had to wear that ring on your horn! Though… I’d probably complain about that too… but that’s beside the point!” Presteza countered with Icy laughing.

“Oh, some of the procedures are awful, but with everything that happened, I imagine they need the extra rooms right now. So if he said an hour, I’m more leaning towards forty-five minutes,” she said, feeling and hearing her stomach grumble. “Once we’re out though… The Hay Burger… Ithink they had one by the station, and I could use a double hayburger with cheese, and a pound of fries.”

“Deal, I’m kinda craving the same,” Presteza said as they waited for the doctor so they could leave.

Author's Note

Hopefully this was worth the wait for everyone. There is a minimalist depiction of nocturnal incontinence from previous issues in the character's backstory. While it only plays a minimal role in the overall story, it plays a major role in character developement and some of the opportunities that open up for her later on from these, and other issues that come later in the story.

Chapter 4: Homecoming

The next few days were rather uneventful for Ice Storm. Presteza had been helping her a lot considering that she couldn't use magic at the moment, and it definitely made the bandages and ointment a… rather unappealing two-pony job. "You're lucky I'm such a good friend Icy," she heard from Pressy. "This is some of the most icky stuff I've ever touched. I can't believe this is supposed to help ponies… I hope you aren't offended when I say I hope you can use magic again soon so that I don't have to touch this stuff again. Even changing your diaper after a long night isn't as bad as that."

"Pressy…" Icy said blushing.

"Right… sorry… I forgot how sensitive you get about that. But seriously, no pony cares! It's not like you can help it! Judging you for something you can't control would just be mean," Pressy said. "Plus, the designs are kinda cute," she continued, giggling as she watched Icy bury her head in her pillow. "Now now, none of that. You have that meeting with Twilight today, remember? Something about a very important topic that you're not allowed to tell me about?"

"Pony-feathers… What time is it? I nearly forgot!" Ice asked, hearing Pressy snicker. "Hey! Being late to something like this isn't funny!"

"Hehehe, are you sure you aren't related to Twilight? You certainly act just like her at times," Pressy answered. "But to answer your question, it's not even ten yet. From what you told me, the meeting is at noon, the throne room. Oh, and Luna came by and left these for you last night. They are Lunar Lilies," she added, showing Icy the white she royal blue flowers.

"Ooo, pretty…" Ice started. "Wait… don't you have a cat? I'm pretty sure that is deadly for them. At least I know normal lilies are."

"Then we'll just have to make sure she can't get to it then," Pressy said. "You can't just turn down a gift from a princess! You must have so done something super special to get their attention and make them like you this much!"

"Hehe, yeah will… I imagine saving one of the Princesses and a good portion of the ponies in the spire has a way of putting you on a few radars," Ice said.

"It most certainly does," a third voice rang out as a pair of ponies were now seen in the doorway.

"Princess Cadence!? Prince Shining Armor!?" Presteza said, shocked.

"Weee didn't get a chance to thank Miss Storm here for her heroics before she had departed and it would be rude for us to not acknowledge a pony that played a vital role in saving what lives we were able to. Not to mention saving my sister. Have you ever thought about being a guard? You have real guard material. I could even see you running your own platoon at some point," Shining commented.

"That might be something that I put into the works. If I did, it would probably be the Lunar Guard. I mean no offense to the other regiments it to you Princess Cadence, I just know Princess Luna better…" Ice commented.

"No offense taken. We know that certain individuals are drawn more to others. We did want to let you know though that we will be holding a ceremony in the Crystal Empire honoring those who aided in our defense. You and a few other ponies will be receiving both the Equestrian and Crystal Empire Medal of Valor and the Medal of Courage. The ceremony will be in a week to give everypony time to prepare," Cadence spoke.

"Great! I'm wanting to return soon myself to actually investigate the attack more, but I'm waiting for a certain meeting and certain paperwork to go through to get higher clearance protocols first," Ice responded, prompting a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk from both of the Crystal Rulers.

"I figured that would be a path that you'd take," Shining Armor replied. "Nice to see some very capable ponies stepping up to the cause."

Meanwhile Presteza was watching and listening to the conversation with a look of confusion before it registered that her friend was getting two of the highest honors that the Princesses could bestow. She instantly let out a squeal. "Eeeeee! Icyyyyy! You're getting a medal, or well… medals… but still… eeeeee!" She said, hugging the mare tightly.

"Eek! Too tight!! Too tight!!" Icy yelled through a wince. Then would give a small glare at Pressy when she released her.

"Hehe… oops, sorry… you know how I get when I'm excited," Pressy apologized. She then felt Icy tickle her nose with a bit of leftover bandage. "Yaaachoo!" She sneezed with a burst of wind magic going through the room and clearing some of the shelves. This time it was her turn to glare at Icy.

"Wow! That's a powerful sneeze!" Cadence said, giggling a bit from behind her hoof. "Though magic like that I'm sure can come in handy. Hopefully you will join us as well?"

"Wouldn't miss it! I might even make a few paintings to commemorate it!" Pressy said with a smile.

"That sounds perfect! We'll see the two of you there. You two make a cute couple," Cadence said as her and Shining Armor left, making both the mares blush with a blank stare.

"Wow, they think that we are a couple? That's so hilarious! You're like my super best friend… with a few benefits," Presteza giggled.

"Right!? Besides, you're too amazing for me anyway. You're an amazing painter. Right now I'm a unicorn that can't even use magic," Icy replied.

"Hey, you're the one getting awards from all four of the princesses here. I think that makes you pretty amazing yourself. Besides, I don't think either one of us is willing to settle down yet, and by the sounds of things, you have grand adventures planned. You'll have to tell me all about them! As much as you can so that I can try to paint them!" Pressy said, watching Icy try to get up. "And where do you think you're going?"

"To get ready… for the meeting with Twilight? The one you were just reminding me about?" Icy said with a raised eyebrow.

"Not yet you're not! You got a couple hours, and I need to get you back for back at the hospital, and that sneeze," Pressy smirked. "You're not going anywhere until I'm done with you," she added with a saucy tone.

About an hour later Icy bolted out of the door of the guild hall and started sprinting to the castle. It didn't really feel good on her side, but the cut was almost completely healed at this point. It was still just a bit tender because of the salve. She made it with a couple minutes to spare. Thankfully she had just enough time to freshen up enough that there wasn't too much of a scent left from her… activities with Pressy.

She started to approach the doors, granted much slower than when she was coming here. She knew that running to the doors would put the guards on edge. "Sorry… I was running a tad bit late, but got here with minutes to spare…" she told the guards.

"Mhm... Twilight is expecting you. She's already in the throne room, and has instructed to not be interrupted. If you agreed to one of her crazy experiments, then may Celestia…" the one guard started before the other coughed. "Sorry… may Luna be with you," he corrected himself, though it still felt weird to say.

Ice nodded and made her way through the halls. Being an apprentice of sorts to Luna, she knew the castle pretty well and was able to find her way pretty easily. When she got to the throne room, she would hear Twilight greet her. "Hello Ice Storm, thank you for coming. I trust you are healing well?"

"I'm still a little sore, but I guess that's expected, all things considered."

"The fact that they let you come home already speaks volumes about your immune system and recovery. Do you have any idea when the ring is supposed to come off?" Twilight asked.

"I'm supposed to be getting it off tomorrow actually, if everything goes well. I'm feeling pretty confident and the other day my aether levels were just below what they were wanting to remove it. I would presume that it should be high enough now or they would have set it further out. I must say, not being able to use magic totally blows," Ice stated with certainty.

"I must say that I myself can't imagine being without magic, but I presume there are some that it would be less intrusive on. That said, I wish you the best on that. I believe that we have some official business to take care of?"

"Indeed. What do you need me to do?" Ice asked.

"For starters, I'm going to need you to stand in the center of this triangle, for it is a zone of truth and will be physically impossible for you to lie in. Not that I think that you ever would, especially after what you've already disclosed about yourself. That would be something most would lie about in a heartbeat. Then we will move through the three arcane circles here on the floor," Twilight instructed.

"The green circle will run a full medical screening, and will tell me of any issues that you may have. If I'm honest though, I'm not expecting to find anything other than the obvious. The red circle will give me an idea of your psyche and your state of mind. This will give me an idea as to good fits for missions as well as what some of your triggers might be. I have a feeling I already know one of them, but we'll ignore that one. The white circle will tell me just about everything about your past in a very thorough background check. When you're ready, step into the circle and we can begin."

Ice gulped a bit, but she did as instructed. She understood why all the security was needed though. You couldn't just let anypony into a top secret undercover organization. They had to be trustworthy, and share most of the same beliefs. Honestly, she was kinda worried that EPIC wasn't going to live up to the hype that she heard from Twilight and Luna, but if it helps then it's worth it. When she stepped into the triangle, she saw it light up with a white light, and a small barrier formed around her.

"For the record, please state your name and all occupations you may have," Twilight started.

"My name is Ice Storm, and I am currently the owner of the Frozen Delights Franchise across four stores. I own a store in Canterlot, Hoofington, Ponyville, and Seaddle. I am also an apprentice of Princess Luna in the study of astrology as well as some magical studies as well, and I am also the Archmage of the Element of Ice in the Canterlot Sorcerer's Guild," Ice Storm proclaimed.

"With you being such a busy pony already, are you sure that you can handle the responsibility of being an agent of EPIC?" Twilight asked.

"Pretty easily actually. In fact, being spread across Equestria like that would make it easier to pick up on potential problems through those channels. The only thing that I could see being a potential problem would be if I was in one place if something broke out in another area, but that’s a possibility no matter what path you go down. We can’t possibly be everywhere at once, so no matter what, there’s going to be some agents out of position to handle the current task. At that point I would expect those agents to focus on their task at hoof to avoid a chain reaction of events.” Ice explained.

“Elaborate,” Twilight instructed.

“Hmm… without magic it would be hard to show, but if we have agents scattered across Equestria working on different assignments, we’ll use the four cities I own shops in for this example. If we have agents in Canterlot, Ponyville, Seaddle, and Hoofington, and let’s say in this example, Canterlot is attacked like the Crystal Empire was. We wouldn’t want to pull the agents out of Hoofington or Seaddle because both of those cities are coastal cities for one, and would be susceptible to attacks of their own… but also because being that far away, they wouldn’t make it to Canterlot in time to be of any use. However, calling upon the agents in Ponyville would be okay, as Ponyville is close to Canterlot, and would likely be the next target of attack anyway.”

“An interesting take, but not unwise,” Twilight commented. “Now, What makes you think that you have what it takes to be part of EPIC? We are looking for the absolute best of the best, with something in their talents that make them unique. You show me that you have a decent knowledge of tactics, but what else can you bring to EPIC other than a bit of cold?”

“My ice magic, I would dare to say, is among some of the most powerful in Equestria. I am able to create it and shape it to any density and shape that I need it to be. If I need to make a block of ice that has the density of steel, in the shape of a swan, I can. All I have to do is envision it, and I can make it, and make it as strong as it’s needed. Not to mention if all else fails, and there’s no other options of getting out of a sticky situation, most creatures are mostly water,” Ice explained.

Twilight raised an eyebrow a bit at that answer, but took it for what it was. She knew everything that Ice Storm was saying right now was her honest opinions because of the nature of the zone that she was in. She wasn’t really shocked by this answer, considering what the mare had just been through. “Alright, I think I got what I needed from that. After seeing your magic first hoof, or at least the after effects of it, considering I was unconscious for most of it, and in collaboration with other ponies interviewed on the subject, I can safely say that I agree with your assessment. I have never seen an Elementalist with the raw abilities that you possess. You’re definitely a pony that I’m glad to have on our side,” Twilight admitted. “Now, these next series of circles are going to feel a bit weird, and the health one maybe even a bit invasive… but it is all necessary,” Twilight admitted.

Ice Storm watched as the first of the three circles moved from it’s corner towards her. It was the green one, the health one. She presumed that Twilight wanted to get the uncomfortable one out of the way first. Especially since if it was as invasive, with the recovering wound it was likely to be a bit painful as well. Once it centered on her, she felt the magic pulse and she felt the aether wash over her and feed through every crevice and hole that she had. She instantly understood what Twilight meant when she said invasive, and she couldn’t hold back a wince as she felt it going into the gash. She just hoped that the magic didn’t open it back up. She would hate to have to go back to the hospital again to get patched up for something that she couldn’t even really explain. That would make it look like she wasn’t taking her recovery protocols seriously, and then they wouldn’t take the ring off her horn at all until her magic had completely recovered.

She could see Twilight watching as the magic coursed through her, displaying every possible flaw that she had right now. On the plus side, with this much magic coursing through her, if she had something wrong with her right now that she didn’t know about, she’d find out about it and then figure out how to get it fixed from there, but from how Twilight was looking, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Everything from that one checks out. Your aether levels are exactly where she should be all things considered, so the doctors should in fact be removing that ring tomorrow. Otherwise, the only problems are the ones that you’ve already mentioned, though it looks like your um… other issue is actually caused by some lingering nerve damage. I would ask how that was caused, but I’m about to find out anyway. But I did also notice that your body has a surplus of water, and was quite a bit cooler than most ponies. Your temperature only reads about eighty-four point six! The average body temperature of a pony is about a hundred, so your magical affinity is definitely having some sort of effect on your body,” Twilight said. “Are you ready for the next circle? This one won’t be as bad.”

Ice Storm nodded and watched as the white circle started moving towards her. Once it centered around her, it basically played out the entirety of Icy’s past like a movie for the princess. Judging by the looks that the princess had on her face, she wasn’t really liking what she was seeing. After everything was said and done, the circle faded out, and Twilight spoke. “You actually went through all of that!? How are you not completely and utterly evil? How in Equestria were you able to stay positive through all of that!?” Twilight asked.

Ice Storm couldn’t help but chuckle a bit from the reaction before pointing to the stained glass window of Luna. “The moon,” Ice Storm started. “Princess Luna and I, we aren’t that much different. Aside from the obvious differences, we’ve both felt what it was like to have been left behind from those whom we would have called family, and like Princess Luna, I have rekindled my relations with at least one of my parental figures. However, It was Luna’s moon that gave me the courage to keep driving. I knew that no matter what happened during the day, Luna’s moon would always be there to protect me, and knowing that things eventually got better for Luna meant that as long as I had that same hope, that they would get better for me as well. Now look how far I’ve come.”

“How far indeed! Your mental fortitude is unbelievable. I’ve seen ponies crack under less stress… I’ve cracked under less stress!” Twilight said, remembering the incident with the Want-It-Need-It spell. "I don't even need to use the last spell at this point other than formality," Relight said, moving the red circle over to examine her mental state. The magic only lasted a couple seconds though, more like she had moved the circle just to say she finished the process.

After that, all the magic in the room faded, and Twilight wiped her brow a bit. "Phew… those spells never get any easier… but I can definitely say, I've never interviewed a pony quite like you before. I can definitely see why Luna chose you for a pupil. I do have one question though. When you came to Canterlot the first time, you know… when you were a filly, why didn't you go straight to the princesses? Celestia wouldn't have let you sleep in the park alone for all that time, and I doubt that Luna would either."

"Honestly, after the way most of Canterlot had treated me for not being from Canterlot myself, I just figured at the time that the Princesses would have been more of the same, or even worse. Not to mention there was the lingering thought of if they found me, they'd force me to go back to Fillydelphia," Ice Storm commented.

Twilight wanted to recoil at the fact that she heard somepony mention Celestia and didn't mention amazing in the same sentence, but she actually understood where Ice was coming from. "Well, I know one thing for sure. All those ponies that turned their nose at you before are probably wishing they hadn't now. Equestria owes you a great debt. Without your actions, I would not be here now to have this conversation or induction with you."

"Induction?" Ice asked.

"Well yeah. I mean you either pass or fail the magic exams, so the answer is always pretty clear. Postponing things at that point is just inefficient. I, Twilight Sparkle, co-founder of EPIC, hereby grant you admission into the Equestrian Protection and Information Command. Agent Storm, your first assignment will be the attack on the Crystal Empire. Since you were at ground zero, and have already expressed interest in the investigation, it seemed the logical choice. Plus, you need to be in the Crystal Empire by the end of the week anyway for your ceremony. Once you've gathered what information you can find, report to a pony named Deadra, and tell him that 'A Mocking Bird has landed'. He'll know what it means," Twilight told her.

Ice Storm nodded. "Is there anything else that I should know about?"

"You will get briefed on everything else once you get to Solstice Heights. The only thing you'll need at the moment is your badge. Before you receive it though, I must remind you. EPIC is for the most part, a top secret, hidden group of ponies. As such, the ponies that know of it are restricted to other members and government officials. To most ponies, you are an extension of the guard. With that in mind, Princess Luna has already agreed to assist with your training, and should you pass the guard training, which… I have no concerns about happening, you will be assigned to be one of her personal guards. A title that could, in all honesty get you into even more places than your EPIC badge can," Twilight explained.

"If that's the case, why does EPIC need to exist at all then? If being a high ranking member of the Lunar or Celestial guard can get you better access to locations, and most common ponies only know EPIC as guards of sorts, then it seems kinda pointless. Unless there's something I'm missing," Ice commented.

"Think about it this way, even within the ranks of the guards, you have those that are a cut above the rest, but there's not always enough rank to go around. You can't have too many chiefs and not enough indians, otherwise nothing gets done. EPIC are ponies that excel under pressure, and can fit into places most guards can't go, or get information that guards can't get because of tight-lipped ponies," Twilight answered.

"So wouldn't it make more sense for ponies involved with EPIC to not be involved with the guard? If a pony recognized someone from the guard it would spoil an entire operation, and put everyone in the operation in danger. I mean, I suppose that's why the organisation is a secret, but if the ponies that EPIC are trying to track are smart enough to avoid detection from the guards and the groups to begin with, then they are going to inevitably see through any disguises a pony might wear," Ice said concerned.

“You have voiced a lot of the same concerns that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna shared, but I assure you that I have taken precautions into account. Like WRAITH, we have our own unique identifiers, and most guard armor is enchanted so that while the guards are in their armor look mostly the same. With that in mind it would be considerably hard for a pony to identify a guard outside of their armor. This is done as a measure for them naturally. After all, the guards also act as the highest form of law enforcement in a region. If a pony were to figure out who they were and consequently who their families were, that would put them at considerable risk,” Twilight answered.

“Hm, I suppose that makes sense then. I didn’t know that all the guard armor was enchanted. I mean, I had always wondered how the princesses got all the guards to look all the same like they did. Enchanted armor makes a lot of sense now, actually," Ice commented, feeling a bit silly that she hasn't thought of something as simple as enchanted armor.

"It's nothing. You'd be surprised how many ponies don't actually know that. They just think that we somehow find hundreds of ponies that look almost exactly the same. Do you know how insanely hard that is!? I've crunched those numbers! It's really hard!"

"Of course you have, Twilight," Ice said with a smile. "Same Twilight I met in Ponyville before you got those," Ice added with a chuckle.

"I would hope so! Just cause I have wings now doesn't mean I'm going to behave any differently! It just means there's so much more to learn and so many new problems to solve! But anyway, we're getting off topic. It's important to remember that your badge will only work in government sanctioned locations. Like I mentioned before, most of the civilian populace doesn't know EPIC exists," Twilight informed.

"Okay, I get it. Super secret, not many know of it use with caution," Ice repeated. She still had some questions in the back of her mind on the matter, but she didn't think that she was going to get anywhere with them here. She'd have to ask them at HQ. The most important being, if EPIC is so secretive… then how are they able to get the clearance needed to get all the extra information that she was promised on the investigation of the Crystal Empire, or any investigation for that matter? Unless they have supper secret probes everywhere that link back to a central database. There were still a lot of things that didn't quite make sense to her, but she'd go with it for now. At the very least they were trying to create a better form of protection, so that's something at least.

"Now, if you don't have anything else for me, I'll be taking my leave. It would seem that I have some new paperwork that needs to be filed," Twilight said with a knowing smile. "Besides, Princess Luna should be here in a moment. She was hoping to speak with you herself afterwards, regardless of how the interview went," Twilight said before departing.

Ice wasn't surprised that Luna would want to know how everything went, especially since Luna had been the one to bring up EPIC to begin with. She didn't doubt that Luna already would know the answer before coming into the room. If she knew how the princesses operated, then it would be much different as how she would react knowing a friend went in for a job interview. One would give a knowing, questioning look, and the other would either give a nod in affirmation or a shake of their head if they didn’t get it.

Not to mention the fact that she hadn’t seen the princess since she’d been back in Canterlot. She actually hadn’t really left the Guildhall since she’d been back either. She had spent the last couple days looking through the library that The Canterlot Sorcerer’s Guild had to see if they might have had anything on the Crystal Heart. It was a magical relic, so there was a possibility, however much of a longshot it was. Of course, it came as no surprise to her when her attempts came up empty.

She did, however, learn about a few things and found a few tricks to make other spells easier. She would have to work at this and try it when she can again. If she could figure out how to use teleport and not make herself sick, that would add a lot of tactical maneuverability in different scenarios. Especially now that she could potentially end up being a frontline mage. No, there was little possibility of potentially at this point. After having felt what it was like to be able to protect others, and knowing that she had the power to do so, she would be a frontline mage. She wasn’t going to let anyone suffer anything like that again.

Her thoughts were interrupted though when she heard the door to the throne room open up, and she watched Princess Luna enter, albeit considerably more tired than when she would normally see her. It was late morning after all, and The Princess of the Night was usually fast asleep by this time. “Good morning, Ice Storm,” she heard the princess say through a yawn. “I trust your meeting with Twilight went well? She seemed to be in quite high spirits when she left.

“Things went quite well. I’m sorry I haven’t been at the castle the last few nights. Without magic, I kinda figured I’d just be in the way, so I pulled a Twilight and stayed where the books were,” Ice Storm said, laughing a bit.

The princess would join her with a laugh. “You needn’t worry about such things, Ice Storm. Your recovery is more important, and it still sounds like you're working on studies through a different means so I can’t really complain. Once your magic has recovered though, I would like to work on refining it even more. As powerful as you are,I still believe there is room for improvement, mainly in the form of efficiency. With that in mind, I would like to take you on as not only my apprentice in astronomy, but as my apprentice in Sorcery as well. With my help and tactical knowledge, we can have you leading platoons in no time,” Princess Luna stated.

“I don’t know about that. Outside of the spire, I don’t have any combat or leadership experience, and I hardly think that counts,” Ice replied.

“Actually that counts for a lot more than you think. A civilian pony who is untrained in combat and tactics being able to think and react on the spot like how you did isn’t common,” Luna said.

“But I wasn’t alone. I had other ponies there guiding me and helping me. Without Winter Frost being there, I would have never thought to use the blood on the steps as a material component. I still didn’t overly enjoy it, but without that I wouldn’t have had enough energy for us to get out, and without Pressy’s magic to speed us up and slow us down that would have been disastrous as well,” Ice countered.

“That means that you’re willing to listen to the experience and the wisdom of others. That is the most important quality in a good leader is being able to listen and take advice from others. It is a lesson that I wish I would have learned myself about a thousand years ago. I guess you’re already a bit ahead of me in that regard,” Luna said with another yawn and a smile.

“I suppose, I just kinda feel like because Twilight was on my back everypony is forgetting about all the others that helped me,” Ice commented.

“Trust me, we haven’t. Between myself, my sister, Cadence, Shining Armor, and just about every pony that we interviewed from the spire that survived said that they had you to thank for it. Decisions like these aren’t made lightly. Not to mention,” Luna said, looking around the room for a moment. “Between you and me… I think you might have a higher magical potential than Twilight, and I would love for a chance to one-up my sister on something, so it’s win-win for both of us,” Luna laughed.

Ice kinda raised an eyebrow at that. As much as she liked being the protege of the princess, she wasn’t sure if she could live up to that kind of expectation. “Well, if you think that I’m capable of all that, then who am I to say otherwise. I mean, I am just an ice mage, but I’m willing to try to learn more if I can, and I did find a few books in the Sorcerer’s Guild that help with efficiency and finding ways to make other spells easier. I was already planning on working on that.”

“Great! You’re already one of the most powerful elementalists I know. It will be interesting to see how far that potential goes. On that note though, I believe you have a train to catch, and I must be getting ready for bed. They are starting rehearsals for the ceremony within the next couple of days in the Crystal Empire so…”

“Wait a second… Princess Cadence and Shining Armor said that the ceremony wasn’t for another week yet. They came by this morning when I was getting ready to leave to come here,” Ice Storm interrupted.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that they were even in town. They must have come to visit Twilight and her family. It would make sense given what just happened. I’m sure Twilight Velvet and Night Light were quite worried about everyone. But they are correct, the ceremony is being held in a week, but you still have to rehearse it. You wouldn’t believe how many times we had to rehearse Twilight’s coronation,” Luna said. “We have you booked on the morning train.”

“Can we reschedule that to an evening train? I’m supposed to be going to the doctor tomorrow to get this removed,” Ice asked.

“Oh! That is great news! Consider it rescheduled,” Luna said with a smile. “That said, I’ll see you there. Though if you would like, the infirmary here at the castle is rather empty at the moment. We could take a stroll there and see if they can perform the test. We might be able to get that taken off today. Do you remember where it’s at? It’s been a while since we were last there, the night of the blizzard," Luna started.

"Vaguely. I'm sure if I get lost though, I can have a guard show me the way," Ice said, watching the princess depart.

"Then I'll leave you to it then. May the stars be with you."

"And may thy moon shine bright," Ice said, finishing the formality.

She then started making her way down the hall towards the infirmary. With where they were in the castle Ice actually did have to stop to ask for directions, twice. Once she made it there though, she explained everything to the nurse on duty. After running a few numbers and after freshly filling the medical report she had just received, the nurse nodded and removed the ring.

"There you go. I would still take it easy the next couple of days. You might still feel a bit weaker than anticipated so keep that in mind for a bit. After that you should be your old self again," she heard the nurse tell her.

"I will keep all that in mind. It just feels good to have that off," she said with a smile before opening and then closing the door with her magic. She didn't feel anything off, but that was a simple spell for most unicorns. It was akin to basic levitation.

"Anything else you wanted us to take a look at? How's that wound healing?" The nurse asked.

"Well enough. My roommate doesn't like the salve though, she says it feels weird," Ice said, giggling.

"Yeah, some of those ointments and creams can feel kinda gross, I'm not gonna lie. I would ask to take a look at the wound, but those bandages look fairly fresh. With that in mind, I'll trust your judgment. If there's nothing else, I wish you a great day. Unless there's a training accident in the guards, I doubt I'll have many other patients today," the nurse said.

Ice nodded and smiled. "Well, hopefully it won't be too bad. At the very least whenever I'm around the castle I can swing by and give you somepony to talk to for a bit," she said before departing the infirmary, and heading home to get things packed for a second trip to the Crystal Empire.

Chapter 5: Allies and Assignments

Many of the clean up efforts in the Crystal Empire were still under way as the train pulled into the station. The two-day train ride was uneventful for the most part, but Ice Storm and Presteza could still see the damaged buildings from the station. Most of the debris from the fallen part of the tower had been cleared and when they started getting closer to it, they could see a small memorial of flowers remained in its place to mourn those who didn't make it out.

What was more unsettling for the two unicorns, was all of the distraught looks on the Crystal Ponies. They were all justified. After all, the ponies of the Crystal Empire survived decades under King Sombra's rule, and the empire completely vanishing for a thousand years, for reasons that not even the princesses could figure out… only to have those that they care for taken from them like this. As she walked, more and more anger filled the blue unicorn, and her face showed it.

"Icy?" she heard from next to her, making her jump a bit in surprise.

"Sweet Celestia! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ice proclaimed.

"Gave you a heart attack? I've been walking beside you talking to you the whole time…" Presteza said, giving pause. "Icy, are you okay?"

"Honestly? Not really. Looking at how hurt all of these ponies are… these wounds," Ice said, pointing to her wraps. "These wounds heal. Those wounds," she said pointing to the emotionally exhausted and hurt ponies around them. "Those wounds don't. The hole that's left behind by the loss of a loved one is deeper than any cut, gash, or stab can reach… I wish I could have saved everyone…"

"Icy… you can't blame yourself for this! You quite literally almost killed yourself getting us out. I don't think anypony else could have done any better if they were in your hooves," Presteza told her comfortingly.

"I know, but it still hurts to see, and it makes my blood boil inside. Vengeance will be had for these ponies. I won't rest until that is the case," Ice Storm replied.

It was only then that The pair of unicorns realized that they had attracted the attention of some of the locals. They could hear the various ponies commenting and asking if "That was the pony from the spire". Ice wasn't sure how she honestly felt about that. Everypony was putting her up on some kind of pedestal, and she didn't really feel like she deserved it. There were more that didn't get out than those who did, and like she had told the princess, she wasn't the only one helping. Still, she at least has a means of preventing such things now.

"I guess word spread pretty quickly," Presteza said.

"It still didn't feel right. I'm not the only one that helped," Ice replied.

"No, but you were the primary force in the Spire. Plus Cadence did say that you were one of four getting awards, so they are recognizing multiple ponies for their efforts. It sounds like there were a lot of places hit. You did say that you saw a lot of explosions in the ground, and by the extent of what we see, it looks like the caribou carpet bombed their path in. There's probably other front liners that they are reaching out to as well," Presteza added.

"I hope so. I guess this just takes some getting used to. This must be how the element bearers feel all the time. I mean they've only saved Equestria like a dozen times already. It's hard to imagine them not getting mobbed wherever they go," Ice said with a small laugh.

"Ice Storm! Presteza! Glad to see you made it!" The two unicorns would hear, turning to see Prince Shining Armor coming towards them. "My apologies. I was supposed to meet you at the station, but we got a bit busier than expected at the castle getting everything set up. If you'll come with me, I'll show you to your room," he informed them.

"Wait, we're staying at the castle? We're not going to get charged a cancellation fee at the hotel right…?" Presteza asked. "Cause we didn't know anything about that so we already booked a room."

"Oh, my apologies. I suppose that we should have included that bit of information… I guess I just kind of assumed that you would know. We're still kinda new to this 'royal hosting' stuff," Shining Armor admitted. "Once you get settled in, we hope that you will join us and the other recipients for lunch."

"Some lunch does sound good, but afterwards I'm hoping to do a bit of digging about the invasion, and I do have some questions for you and Princess Cadence as well," Ice Storm said, trying to remember what Twilight told her to say. It was supposed to be in Solstice Heights, but Ice presumed that any royal figure would be privy to the message and it's meaning. After a moment, she remembered. "Let's just say, A mockingbird has landed."

"I see, well we'd be willing to answer any questions that you might have to the best that we can. If I'm being honest, Cadence and I are just as confused about the attacks as everypony else. There was no warning, and we didn't even know that we had upset any of the Viking clans of Whitescar," Shining commented.

"We'll discuss more when we are somewhere a bit more private, and more formal for said conversations. The middle of the public is probably not the best spot since many of my questions could contain sensitive information," Ice stated.

Presteza just kind of listened a bit, confused as to what Ice Storm was talking about. She imagined that it had something to do with the meeting that she had with Twilight. She knew that had gone tremendously well, and that Ice Storm was quite happy afterwards. It probably didn't hurt that the inhibitor was removed from her horn as well. About the only thing that she understood was that Ice has questions that she couldn't ask at the current time. She wasn't quite sure what a mockingbird has to do with the situation either, especially since she hadn't seen any birds since they got here. "Well, guess I'm going to have some free time after lunch then," she said as the group started making their way up the steps towards the doors.

"Hey, didn't you wanna do one of those Crystal Tours the last time that we were here? I remember you mentioning it before the gala at the spire. After everything that happened I doubt that they were doing much in the way of tourism at the time," Ice commented.

"Probably aren't doing them now either. It's only been a week and a half, and it looks like they are still doing clean up," Presteza replied.

"The main tours are in fact on hold at the moment, but if you'd like, I can have one of the guards give you an unofficial tour of the Empire while we conduct our meetings. It's the least that we could do," Shining said, making Presteza let out an excited squeal and trot in place a bit.

"You have yourself a deal!" Presteza said with a smile as Shining led them inside to their room.

"Hopefully this will work for the two of you," Shining Armor said, showing them into a room that was quite spacious. The room itself shared the same bluish white Crystal that the rest of the castle shared. In the center of the room, was a Clydesdale King.

"Work? This is amazing! It's probably way better than the room that we were going to get at the hotel! Though thinking about it now, if they are making such a big deal about us here, they might be a bit disappointed that we won't be staying there now. Do let them know that it wasn't anything personal and we appreciate the reservation," Presteza said with a bit of concern.

"You know what, here's the bits for the room," Ice Storm said, fishing out what they were supposed to pay. "Tell the hotel to upgrade the next pony's room to whatever room that they were going to give us free of charge," she says with a smile.

"Wow… I'm sure that they will love that surprise," Shining said with a smile. "Are you sure you're not Rarity in disguise?"

"I'm positive," Ice chuckled. "Besides, I'm not exactly hurting, bit wise. If I can make somepony else's day brighter in a time like this, then that's way more important," she smiled.

"I can definitely see why Princess Luna took a liking to you. In my opinion, you're the exact definition of what a model pony should be. You and your marefriend both," Ice heard Shining Armor say, making her blush a bit. She saw the same blush in Pressy's face as well and giggled a bit as she heard her speak.

"Oh, no no. We aren't a couple. We're like best friends with benefits that just happen to love together for the moment. I'm sure once things take off the two of us will move in separate directions by the time we're actually ready to settle down. Plus by the sounds of things I'm going to be getting a lot more alone time soon anyway," Presteza said in response. She was honestly a little disheartened at the last bit. She wasn't ready for them to grow apart quite yet. Honestly she'd never truly be ready for that and if she had her way, they would at least write to each other when their careers eventually took them down different paths. She was a humble painter. Icy was looking more and more like she was going to be following in Luna's hoofsteps. She didn't think that she would be full Twilight and become an alicorn or anything like that, but even she could see the potential in the mare. She would hate to be responsible for holding her back.

Shining Armor would give the two mares a soft chuckle. "Right. In any case, I'll leave you two be. We're hoping to serve lunch in about twenty minutes," he informed them before departing the room.

"Oh my gosh Icy, this room is amazing!! The bed, the decor," Presteza said before moving to the window and opening the curtains. A gasp escaped her lips as she did. "This view!!! I'm going to have to pick up some painting supplies while I'm out. I simply have to try to recapture this… oh! A sunset view from here! That would be amazing!" Presteza said with an excited smile.

"I'll say. This room has everything in it!" Ice replied, laying on the bed. "So soft… it's like it's made of clouds," Ice said before setting her bags on the dresser. The beauty of the room made her even more self conscious about everything. She didn't want to ruin anything here, mainly because she didn't think she could afford to replace it. She may not be hurting for bits, but she didn't have royalty pockets! She knew that something like this would cost several thousand bits at once.

"I know what you're worried about, and you'll be fine. I promise," she heard Presteza tell her, reading the look on her face.

"It's not that, well… it kind of is, but there's more to it than that. Before we left Canterlot I had a very large new responsibility put on me, and I want to make a good impression and not mess things with that either before things even get started."

"Icy, I'm sure you're already getting tired of hearing this from others, but you are literally one of the most amazing ponies I know. I have no doubt that you are going to accomplish big things and maybe even play a role in shaping Equestria forever. There's a lot of ponies that see this in you at this point, so I know it has to be true!"

"I know that everypony is believing in me… but that just makes it all even harder. What happens if it doesn't work? How quick will everyone turn on me when I make a mistake?"

"Icy, listen to me," Presteza said in a more serious tone, setting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "No matter what happens, you will always have friends that care for you and adore you. Even if you don't end up having the amount of magical talent that everypony knows that you have, your friends aren't going anywhere. And the ones that do leave weren't really friends to begin with. You can't let yourself worry about any of that. Go out there, have yourself some fun, and keep doing what you're good at. Good things will continue to happen," she said, giving her friend a gentle hug. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's go see what they are serving for lunch!"

Ice Storm smiled at her friend before returning the hug. "Thanks," she started. "I needed that,"she said, her stomach agreeing with Presteza's call for lunch. "I suppose we can unpack later. I won't need any of that until bedtime anyway, and that's a long way off."

At that point the two mares excited the room before looking at the long hallways. "You know… we probably should have paid more attention when we were going to our room. I have no idea where to go," Ice heard Presteza comment.

"Yeah... I wasn't really paying attention either. I should have been though. I need to get better at that. Celestia knows what I could have missed on the way here," Ice commented, making Presteza roll her eyes.

"Hey, here comes a guard. Maybe we can get them to give us directions," Presteza said to Icy, before waving her hoof to flag them. "Excuse me! Can you guards help us? We're supposed to be heading to the dining hall for lunch, but we're kinda… completely and totally lost… how do we get there?"

"Actually, Princess Cadence just sent us to come and see if you were ready. If you and Miss Storm will follow us, we'll lead you to the dining hall with the others," the guards told them with a smile.

The two mares followed the guards without hesitation, and they were led through the maze of hallways to the dining hall. Once inside, Ice drew her attention to the other ponies in the room. One of which being a rather buff looking light orange unicorn, with a long mane similar to her own except it was green. The main difference was the manetie. His appeared to be more at the base of his skull where her own was just mainly holding her mane together at the bottom. It was still pretty well kept though. The pony that was sitting next to him Ice recognized from the Spire. She was the grey earth pony that instructed her to leave with the others. She was relieved to see that she was among the survivors. She must have found another way out at the last minute. The last pony that was in the room was another pony that she knew quite well from when she lived in Ponyville. Her name was High Winds, and she had been part of the Wonderbolts for a while. It wasn’t much of a surprise that one of them would be honored for helping.

Upon entering, Ice would hear the stallion call out to them. “Ah! You must be the mare that aided in the rescue of the Spire! We were actually just talking about that with Maud. Quite an impressive display of magic if I do say so myself,” Ice heard him say, watching him stand and come over to shake her hoof. A gesture that she responded in kind to. “The name is Swift Squall, and I’m a sword for hire. I helped with the attack on the front lines to help keep the ponies on the streets safe.”

“My name is Ice Storm. I own the Frozen Delights franchise and am a direct apprentice of Princess Luna,” Ice replied, before setting her hoof back down. “And this is my best friend and roommate Presteza. The best painter that Equestria doesn't know about yet!” she smiled, giving her friend a nudge.

“My My Icy,” Cloud Chaser started. “You’re certainly moving up in the world. I mean, I knew you were destined for greatness when I first tasted your amazing snow cones and ice creams, but I would have never imagined anything like this! You’re one talented pony! I bet if you had wings, you’d be right up there in the skies with me,” the cream colored pegasus commented.

“Ice Cream you say?” Swift commented.

“Oh trust me. Once you had something from one of her stores, any other ice cream just feels like a let down,” Ice Storm heard High Winds say. She couldn’t help but feel a bit empowered by those words. After all, Frozen Delights is where everything started. Just because she was branching off into things that would help Equestria be safer, didn’t mean that she no longer cared for what got her there.

“A renown parlor host, a magical scholar, and an apprentice of the night! I would definitely say you are a pony worthy of some recognition.”

“Indeed she is. After all, that is why we invited her here,” Princess Cadence said, interrupting Swift Squall as she and Shining Armor took their seats at the heads of the table. “That is why we have gathered you all here. Everypony in this room played an integral part in saving lives during the disastrous events of the Crystal Faire. Everypony here put their own lives on the line to help protect their fellow citizens when those who normally do so had been compromised. For that, The Crystal Empire, and Equestria as a whole would like to give thanks. We are forever in your debt."

"Princess, really… I was just doing the right thing. Any pony that had the means to help in a situation like what happened should. I was just doing what anypony else would have done in my position," Swift started. "Judging by the fine ponies that are here, I wasn't alone in that thought process," he added before returning to his seat.

"Agreed," Ice Storm replied as well. "What kind of pony would I be if I just let somepony else get hurt? Especially if I have the ability to prevent it. That would make me no better than the creatures that attacked us. I would mention Canterlot nobility, but they've been doing quite a bit better at extending a good to help others recently. With that being the case I can't really talk down on them anymore. A definite improvement from when I was a filly, that's for sure."

"Not all of Canterlot is that bad, but judging by your comments you've obviously had a run in or to with Jetset and Upper Crust. Those two are absolutely insufferable. The only reason they are even nobility is because a few generations back their great great grandfather was a Duke," Swift Squall stated. "Otherwise, they do little to help anyone, and the only thing they do is suck up to the nobility that actually matter in the city like Fluer, Fancy Pants, The Sparkle family, and yourself at this point."

"Me? I wouldn't really say that I've made that much of an impact on things," Ice replied.

"Um, hello? Icy?" Presteza spoke up next to her. "The owner of the best up and coming dessert franchise in Equestria, an Archmage of the Canterlot Sorcerer's Guild specializing in ice, an apprentice of Princess Luna, current savior of Equestria and The Crystal Empire…" Presteza listed. "Do I need to continue?" she asked, getting a chuckle from both Cadence and High Winds.

"She has a valid point, but we're not here to have a gloating contest over who's done more for Equestria. Today is the first part of the ceremony we had planned to honor the four of you, and your plus ones if they decided to come with you," Cadence started. "We've prepared your favorite meals for the luncheon. Swift, we've prepared a Spinach and Broccoli dish for you with a Unyasi brown sauce on a bed of noodles. A towering plate of spaghetti with a creamy marinara sauce for High Winds, a seasonal fruit salad with extra, extra… Extra strawberries for Ice Storm, a maregharita classico style pizza following traditional Itaillian recipes, and an obsidian bismuth soup for Maud," the princess added as the server ponies brought the dishes out to them.

From there, the luncheon continued. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor would take turns getting to know the honored guests and how they spent their daily lives. Maud was a geologist that was studying to get a rocktorate degree to further study the makeup of the land. High Winds was a renowned Wonderbolt, and as expected, most of her time was keeping herself in shape for the team. By that point most everypony had finished with their plates and they were starting to file out for whatever plans they needed to tend to on the day.

Ice Storm waited patiently as the other ones left, and once it was just the four of them, Ice spoke up. "I had already brought this up with Shining Armor, but I do have some questions for both of you. Questions that might be better suited for a throne room or briefing room. I also believe Shining promised Pressy a private tour of the Empire with a member of the crystal guard," Ice said.

"I see," Cadence said, looking back towards Shining. Seeing him give a nod, Cadence then nodded in turn herself. "Crystal Breeze, can you show this mare the sights whole we have our discussion?" The guard pony would nod and the rest of them would depart. Then, with little warning there was a flash and the three ponies were back in the throne room. Cadence turned to the guards that were there. "Take post at the doors. We are not to be disturbed until further notice," Cadence instructed.

"Now, Agent Storm, I believe you have some questions for us?" Shining asked, a second look of realization coming over Cadence's face.

"I do. First and foremost, I would like permission to perform an extensive investigation on behalf of EPIC in regards to the attack on the Crystal Empire. Secondly, I would like to ask about everything you know about the Crystal Heart, and how the magic that it emits could be bypassed to allow for such an attack to happen? The very nature of the magic would suggest that The artifact protects the empire from sources that would cause it harm. It countered King Sombra, it helps keep the weather of the Frozen North at Bay, and plays a role in the balance and harmony of the land. Therefore, the magic of the heart should have made it impossible for the Vikings of Whitescar to get in," Ice Storm continued. "Furthermore, the brainwashing of the Crystal Guard is also a point of emphasis. How were so many of the guards influenced by the amulet?"

An awkward pause followed the first few questions before Cadence would start. "There are already a couple of investigations going on in regards to the events, but you have our permission. Even if I were to tell you no, I know that EPIC, and by extension you, would continue the investigation anyway in the shadows. That is after all, what we designed it to do. However, surely you do not believe that we would be behind something like this!?" Cadence said, a bit disturbed at the thought.

"No, Your Highness, I don't believe that. What I do believe though, of that as the rulers of the Crystal Empire, the safety and well-being of your subjects are the most important things. That means that you would be the most aware of situations or areas that are yielding less-than-desirable results. You would also be privy to weak points in the infrastructure where WRAITH could have slipped in and started planning whatever they had that could counter the heart, which hasn't been answered yet whether that should have been possible or not."

"Well, as much as we are loath to admit it, not even we know much about the heart. We just know it works," Shining Armor said. "But that being said, it is still a magical artifact. Magical artifacts can, with the right amount or power, or even finesse, be disrupted. This was something that we were trying to look into ourselves, but we too have found very little information on the matter. There just simply isn’t much known about this particular artifact or why it works the way it does. We don’t even really know who or what made it. The fact that WRAITH was able to manipulate it at all is scary in of itself, because that means they know more about that artifact than we do.”

“That is quite concerning. I don’t know much about WRAITH myself yet, as I haven’t had the full briefing on what they are capable of. I was only accepted into the ranks of EPIC three days ago, and Twilight basically put me in charge of the investigation here. I’ll admit I kind of wish that she would have given me more information to go off of. Considering that it was Twilight doing the interview… I don't mean to be offensive when I say this, but I was expecting her to be a little bit more prepared with information if she was planning on sending me straight here with no briefing. I haven't even been to HQ yet," Ice said.

"That actually is a bit unlike Twilight, but at the same time she's always been kinda super paranoid about things going wrong. She could suspect that there is already some sort of infiltration in the castle, therefore holding information as such in the castle would create opportunities for it to be compromised," Cadence commented. "I can safely say at this point that the integrity of our own guard has been compromised. I'm not entirely sure who I can trust here, and that makes things… difficult to say the least."

"We did have a guard bring a rather odd carving to our attention yesterday though," Shining said, making a scroll appear. "They found this on a pillar next to the heart. We aren't exactly sure what it means, but I do recognize a couple of the runes on it from the language of magic."

"Interesting…" Ice said, taking the scroll with her magic and opening it. "Well, this is definitely a magical circle alright. I'm not quite familiar with the school, but I can recognize a few of the runes. Based on those, this is definitely a mind affecting enchantment, but Twilight can probably give you a better idea of its scope. For all I know this could just make somepony forget something. If this was an ice spell of any sort, I could tell you exactly what it did. This is mostly outside my experience. But, this is still good information. There could be more of these around, I would have the guards scour the city for more, and have them pay extra close attention to any variations that might be on them. And for the love of Celestia make sure they don’t read anything out loud.”

“You think they might be activated verbally?” Cadence asked.

“Verbally, or by actually touching it. Magic circles like this always have a trigger. It’s how they were. Almost always, the trigger is something touching it. Exhibit a, an Ice Trap,” Ice Storm said, taking a few steps back. Once she was at what she considered a safe distance, her horn lit up and a similar circle appeared on the ground. It was glowing, and while similar in shape, the runes, and the actual symbol inside the circle was different. “This trap is activated when a pony or creature steps on it. The potency of the spell used on it is intentionally dumbed down for demonstration purposes.”

“I… don’t think that a demonstration will be necessary, but I appreciate your enthusiasm. I would just rather not treat a guard for frostbite today. That makes sense though. We use similar methods for trials,” Shining said.

“And Twilight had a really complex multi-stage circle set up for when she did my interview. The amount of magic that would use is immense. It’s definitely something that would be noticeable. Still though… You would think that the guards would have brought something like this up before hoof. After all, it would be hard to believe that every guard in the Crystal Guard has gone rogue. You would have thought in the days prior if any would have found that symbol, they would have spoken out about it. Though there could have been a clause in the activation of it to make them forget that they saw anything. If you’re trying to brainwash somepony with a method like this… I suppose that would be rather important.”

“I’m sure we’ll have more answers on that front once Twilight has dissected the spell. We could sit here and speculate all night and be no closer to figuring anything else out other than what we already know,” Cadence replied.

“That said, do you know of any creature that might have more knowledge about the Crystal Heart? I still believe our answer lies with that. Maybe someone like Discord? He’s almost as old as the land itself. If there would be anyone that would know about the Crystal Heart, it would be him.” Ice Storm said herself.

“You know Discord?” Shining Armor asked surprised.

“I’ve met him around the castle a few times, and been tested by him once… I think… you can’t ever really tell with him,” Ice replied.

“Isn’t that the truth! I tried to go to see Twilight for a weekend, and he pretended to be sick for the entire thing! He had us running to the end of Equestria, literally to find this exotic flower to cure it. Then Twilight and I fought some wyrm thing and some of its… whatever you would call it got on Discord. Sometimes karma likes to bite back,” Cadence smiled.

“Of course. Karma is the house, and the house always wins. That being said, I believe that wraps up everything that I had questions on. It’s not as much to go off of, but it’s not like you and Shining Armor were around when the Crystal Empire was founded the first time. The Crystal Heart is a mystery that I would like to solve though.”

“As would we. I’m sure that Shining Armor and I both would be quite interested in finding out any information that you find on that. Any way that we can help better protect our subjects, is something that I would be all ears for,” Cadence said.

"If I figure anything out, the two of you will be the first to know. What time do we need to be back in the morning for the ceremony?"

"The rehearsal is at nine tomorrow morning," Cadence answered.

"Then I will see the both of you then," Ice Storm said before departing. Unfortunately, she felt like she left with more questions than answers. But, nopony said that this was going to be easy. If it was, there wouldn't need to be an investigation on it. Still, it was a little bit concerning to the fact that ponies knew little to nothing about the very thing that was supposed to be protecting the land here. She shared Shining Armor’s assessment as well. The fact that their enemies knew how to manipulate it better than they did was also concerning.

She made her way back to her room with the help of some of the guards to get directions, and she sat on the bed in thought. While she was thinking, she used her magic to carefully put her overnight supplies into the dresser before placing a notebook and a few quills in it. She wondered if she might be able to get some information out of the locals about anything that they might have seen before the attack, or in the days leading up to the faire that might have seemed out of place. She would also want to question the guard at some point to see what they remember of the events. That would also put a few things in perspective for her, or at least she presumed. Something like that could end up being just like the questions she asked earlier, creating more questions than answers. “Well, I’m not going to find any answers here, so I might as well see what I can find out in the city,” she said to herself before making her way back through the halls of the castle and back outside.

As soon as she reached the door, a tall figure seemed to be making its way up the steps towards the door as well. It looked to be a caribou, and judging by the fact that guards weren’t swarming it, it was easy for Ice Storm to conclude that this was probably one of the Caribou that was helping with the clean up efforts. The blues bou's horns were a bit more rounded than the ones that she saw on the Jarl that attacked then. Her coat was also a lot better kept. She wore a simple gown that had several emblems on it.

"You must be one of the caribou that I saw from the hospital helping with the clean up. At least judging by the fact that you're here, and the guards aren't making a fuss about it," Ice Storm started.

"Quite the observant little pony you are. I wish some of the others would stop looping us all together with that daufi, miklimunnr blot."

"I'm presuming you're talking about the Red Jarl. The one that attacked my friends and I in the spire," Ice commented before watching the caribou spit on the ground next to her.

"Aye, that be the blot me talkin' about. The fact you dealt with him and survived is quite a feat. He might be a meinfretr and a tik, but he can swing an axe with the best of them," the bou stated.

"I'm presuming that you're not a park of his see l clan, might I ask who you are exactly? We're being honored tomorrow for some of the deeds that we did to help out with the attack and all. I would like to make a mention to you and yours for helping out in the aftermath."

"Little pony is generous, and unjudging. A peculiar combination of traits. Me like you. Thy name is Sigrun, Jarl of the Askr clan. Me and mine are aware of the upcoming festival of sorts. It is why we are here. The Jarls of you land asked for help keeping land safe from attack during event, and asked clan Askr for additional warriors. We simply need to know where they need us," Sigrun stated.

This was a little bit of a startling revelation as Ice heard the Caribou introduce herself as the Jarl. Given her past experiences with the jarl of a viking clan, she was definitely not expecting to have been speaking with one at the moment. “My apologies. I had no idea you were a Jarl. I’m afraid that I don’t know much about Caribou customs to know how to identify that sort of thing. I’m also not sure what the proper procedure is to show proper respect.”

The larger Caribou chuckled heartily. "Well, a simple 'nice to meet you' will do for now. It has been quite a pleasure to meet you and well… miss…" Sigrun said, giving pause and hinting to the mare that she had yet to introduce herself.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies. My name is Ice Storm, and I own a popular franchise in Equestria. In addition to being an apprentice of Princess Luna."

"Ah, an apprentice to the moon. We ourselves pay homage to the celestial body. The sun, the moon, and the stars are all vital to being able to navigate the seas. They also give power to the land. The sun brings what warmth it can to our lands, while the moon brings out dangerous predators that must be respected in order to survive. You must be quite strong yourself to have garnered the attention of such one of power," Sigrun commented.

"I'm sure that Princess Luna would love to hear that. She often feels that her work goes unappreciated because very few are awake to experience it," Ice replied.

"That be not how it is, in Whitescar. We have patrols that run at every moment, day or night. As I said, many of our homeland's dangers rear their heads at night. In order to keep the clan safe, others must keep watch," Sigrun responded.

"Well, there is a night watch here in most cities as well. But usually that's it. Large cities have a busier nightlife I've seen though," Ice commented as a spark ignited in her eyes. "Hey! Even if you're not on good standings with that other clan, you would have more knowledge on them than we do. Do you have any idea what they could have used to suppress the magic of the Crystal Heart?"

"The red clan is rather brutish in their ways, but they aren't complete blots. Just their Jarl. They probably used materials made from Askr wood. The trees grow all over Whitescar, and the wood absorbs all magic and renders it inert. Thy would tell you how, but that is not mine expertise. But… well… to demonstrate, shoot me, with the most powerful spell you got."

"Are you kidding me? And risk an international incident!?"

"There would be no incident, because nothing would happen. This gown is made from fabric made with the fibers of the tree. Thus it protects me from all magical effects," Sigrun stated.

"Oh. Well a demonstration won't be necessary. You don't have any reason to lie to me. Plus even if I wanted to, I'm on restricted magic at the moment as it's still recovering from the fight. If I used a combat spell right now I'd never hear the end of it from my doctor next week…"

"Hmm… perhaps I misjudged little pony’s power, if pony is afraid of medic,” Sigrun snickered a bit.

“Considering that any medical pony has the power to render a unicorn completely magicless until they deem otherwise, yeah… I am a little bit scared of them…” Ice Storm replied.

“Your medic ponies have that kind of power? How is Equestria not ailment free then?” Sigrun asked. “The magic from them should be able to cure anything they see!”

“Well, it’s not magic. It’s a device that they have. Imagine if they used this magic absorbing wood that is from your land, and made it into a ring to go on a pony’s horn. What would happen?” Ice Storm asked.

“Honestly, not sure. Never tried. It would either prevent pony from casting spell, or absorb all of their magical essence and leave them a husk,” Sigrun responded.

“Right… remind me to never actually get close to those trees if it’s the second option… But yeah, that first option pretty much hits the nail on the head. The only ponies that can remove one of those devices is another medical pony. Not even Luna or Celestia can remove them.”

“That is not smart practice. Easily exploitable. Princesses lucky only good ponies in medical field. Bad medical pony could easily seize power,” Sigrun replied immediately.

Ice Storm was going to respond and say that something like that was impossible, but she gave pause. Sigrun was right, and the fact that it was very possible shook her nerves a bit. If Sigrun saw this straight away as soon as Ice mentioned such a thing, then others probably had as well. It’s possible that it was already an avenue that WRAITH was exploring! “Thank you for this warning. I will definitely be making more ponies aware of such possibilities existing. Still the procedure itself is vital to our medical treatments. Otherwise an ailing unicorn could easily kill themselves with their own magic.“

“The very nature of magic is dangerous. Me not surprised that something like that is possible.”

“So… You said that this Askr wood could absorb and inhibit magic… This is information that I should get to Cadence and Shining Armor. They will want to know about something like that being possible,” Ice Storm

“Thine be happy to inform them as such meself, since me already goingthat way. That being said, probably shouldn’t keep them waiting too long. It would be impolite to do so,” Sigrun commented.

“Oh, yes. My apologies for holding you up. It was a pleasure speaking with you, and I hope I get the opportunity to do so again.”

“Aye, ye pleasure be mine. Ice Pony have friend in Askr Clan. Will definitely speak again,” Sigrun said before departing inside.

Ice Storm herself waved to the jarl before making her way down the steps and into the city proper. She wanted to go down to where the Crystal Heart was and see this carving herself. She had no doubt that it was still there, and she wanted to see if there were any indications of how it was placed. She also wanted to look for splinters or anything of the like that might be in the area of this ‘Askr Wood’. “Alright… so…” she said softly to herself. “We have these carvings, at least one that we know of, and the possibility that this wood could have played a part. If this wood could block artifact level magic, then I don’t want to think what it could do to a normal unicorn. In fact, I definitely think that a ring of the stuff would drain a pony’s magic rather than restore it. I'll need to let Twilight know and see what she thinks," she said, making a note. She still couldn't help but feel like she should have been the one to report that information to Cadence, but at the same time, if she stopped the investigation every time she found a singular piece of information she'd never get anywhere.

She found herself in the Crystal Courtyard under the castle and she started looking around and instantly spotted the magic circle carved into the pillar. "Okay… I spotted that instantly… how in Equestria did nopony find this before the Faire and report it?" Ice said aloud. "Yeah, there's definitely a mole here. Or at least there was," she said, wrapping her hoof in cloth and rubbing the dust off of the circle. "Let's see…" she says looking at the other pillars. "Only one was inscribed… at least here by the heart. So this is likely the one that was affecting it…" Ice said, walking to the heart itself. It was rotating in its holder without any indication that anything ever happened. There wasn't a mark or blemish anywhere on it, nor were there any splinters of any sort around its base.

Ice Storm let out a small sigh. "Should have expected that anything else that was here would have been cleaned up by now. If it was easy, I wouldn't need to investigate. If there is one of these though, there’s probably more. Now I kinda wish I could have gone on the tour with Pressy. No doubt that a tour from the guards would hit all the important spots in the empire… Wait, that's it! The librarian should be able to point out places of historical importance here! The places of historical importance would be the places that would have more of these inscriptions,” she said to herself. Without any further hesitation, she made her way to the library.

She was quite happy to see that the library hadn’t been hit too hard with any of the falling debris, but the first thing that she noticed was something just on the inside of one of the doorways. “Another inscription! This one’s a lot smaller though. At least it looks like they were trying to be subtle with this one. Still…” Ice started, making her way up the steps of the library to the door. “I could spot it from the bottom of the steps… How can nopony remember seeing these… and why is nopony else acknowledging them?” She began to wonder if they had always been here now, and if the ponies in WRAITH had just somehow managed to activate them. That didn’t make sense either though. What kind of pony would leave mindwarping runes all over the empire? Ice took a quick rubbing and then made her way inside.

The inside of the Crystal Empire library was about as grand as they come. The foyer was wide open leading to a grand double staircase behind it that led to an upper level of book shelves. As she looked around, Ice Storm could count at least four different wings of the library on both sides, further exemplifying the amount of knowledge and literature that was held within these walls. In fact, she was almost willing to bet that this library was larger than the one back at home in Canterlot. This made her even more flabbergasted that the library here was this expansive and there was literally nothing here on the Crystal Heart.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to the Crystal Library! Is there anything that I can help you find today?” the librarian asked, before realizing who it was. “Oh! You’re the mare from the Spire! What an honor! I can’t thank you enough for what you did!”

“I appreciate it, but I still wish that I could have done more. I was just doing what anypony else in my position would have done!” Ice replied.

“Still! My son is still alive because of you! I can’t possibly thank you enough!” Ice heard the librarian say, making her blush a bit. It did make her feel beyond good though. Sure, she felt a bit awkward at all the praise that she’d been getting so far, but this time it felt a lot more wholesome coming from a pony that she apparently had a direct impact on. “Anyway… I’m getting off-topic… What can I help you with, Miss Storm?”

“You know my name?”

“Dearie, just about everypony in town knows your name by now. Princess Twilight wasn’t all that modest when she announced who her saviour was, and who helped the ponies she could out of the spire. You’re almost as big of a legend here as Spike the Brave and Glorious! Many have started calling you the Mistress of Ice!” The librarian told her.

Ice really had to blush at that comment. She wasn’t sure that was the word that belonged there, considering what the term mistress actually meant. She wasn’t a pure daisy by any means, but she also didn’t want ponies thinking of her in that light. Then again, it seemed most ponies were only paying attention to the face value of the word. That would have to be good enough for now, and she’d address the other meanings should they arise. “I see… Well, I was actually coming here to try and figure out what all the important places in the empire are, as well as any place that might have historical significance. I know that all the tours are closed right now, so I thought that I would try to make one myself,” Ice Storm commented.

“Well, the most important part of the Crystal Empire is the Crystal Heart, in the Crystal Plaza. I’m pretty sure that most ponies know about that one though. The library here is a place of importance because we hold every piece of information that’s been created since the Empire’s founding. Though um… bear in mind we haven’t had a lot of time to add new scriptures to hardly any sections. Almost everything here is at least a thousand years old, but we’ve slowly been getting new material in.” The Librarian stated.

“Are you kidding? That makes everything here even better! This is a gold mine of historic literature from ancient Equestria! I could spend a lifetime here and not even be able to take in all of the knowledge that’s here!” Ice proclaimed.

“Indeed it is! That’s why we are a site of historical importance. There’s also the city gates, The Faire Grounds, which are mostly off limits right now. The Crystal Colosseum, which is where we hold all kinds of tournaments. Oh, and the Crystal Art Museum! At least those are the ones that tourists would be interested in. We have several city and tax offices as well as guard stations all over town, but I don’t think you’d be interested in those.” The Librarian continued.

“Actually… that’s exactly what I’m looking for. You wouldn’t happen to have a map or be able to point out where they are on mine would you?” Ice Storm asked with a smile.

The Librarian gave her a bit of a weird look at first but shrugged. “I personally can’t say that I see what the appeal is of a tax office or district halls, but if those are what you’re interested in, I won’t judge. Everypony likes different things,” she smiled before marking everything down. “These are the locations that I can remember. I don’t know how many survived the attack though, so I can’t guarantee it’s accuracy anymore,” she noted.

“Understood! This is all very helpful information. I appreciate all of it. Oh! How much will it cost?” Ice Storm asked.

“Cost…?” The Librarian asked, confused.

“Well yeah! Information always comes at a price. At least that’s what I’ve always been taught,” Ice Storm admitted.

“Well, I can assure you that’s not how things work here. The only time we charge for anything is when ponies are late bringing a book back, or they want to use the private study rooms. Otherwise, it’s impossible to put a price tag on information since it’s impossible to know what information is important. Like you for example. I would have never guessed you would have been looking for the government offices rather than the tourist spots, but here we are,” The Librarian giggled.

Ice returned the laugh. “I suppose that’s a fair point. I appreciate it all the same.”

“Is there anything else I can interest you in? We have a whole section on Crystal Tax Law over in the E wing on the back wall!”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I might actually look into that sooner than you think if I decide to open a store here,” Ice smiled. “I appreciate your time.”

“Come back and see us soon!” She heard, waving back to the mare behind the counter.

“Alright… Now I’m getting somewhere. Let’s see what I can find.”

The rest of the morning was spent walking around to all of the locations that were marked off on the map, including the other points of interest that the librarian mentioned. From that she noted that three of the guard barracks that were marked on the map had suffered catastrophic damage during the attack, and they were all fairly close to ground zero so that was to be expected.

She had made her way back to the castle and started going back up the steps so that she could start getting ready for the Ceremony Rehearsal, but she also wanted some time to piece everything together. Once she was back in the room she pulled out her notebook again. “Okay, so… There were a total of fifteen places of importance, counting the tourist spots and the government offices. Three of them were destroyed, and the other four that I was able to get to today all had an inscription on them. That means that the other ones likely have one as well. Well, at least the government ones. They are also all identical to another. That’s not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting some variance to keep from rousing suspicion. From how everypony’s been acting though, it’s like they never existed at all! That’s the biggest thing I don’t understand… how can nopony else not see these things!? It doesn’t make any sense!” Ice said with a huff before hearing a knock at the door.

“Miss Storm, Rehearsals will be starting soon. Will you be ready?”

“Yup! Is there anything that I’m supposed to wear?”

“Not for the rehearsal, though part of it will be getting measurements for the gowns for the actual ceremony,” the guard added.

“Sounds like a plan. In that case,” she said, setting her notebook down before realizing something. “I’ll be out in just a moment. I just have a couple things that I would need to take care of first.”

The guard nodded and stepped back outside. Once he was back outside, Ice Storm opened the drawer that had her overnight supplies in it, and slipped the notebook inside one of the folded up garments, and then put that one on the bottom of the stack. She wasn’t sure who she could trust right now, and leaving notes like this out and about would be asking for somepony to take them. She didn’t need her cover to be blown already to those that might be suspecting things. She closed the drawer and then sealed it shut with her magic. If somepony tried to get into that drawer that wasn’t her, she’d know.

With that done, she made her way back to the door. She opened it with her magic and trotted outside up next to the guard. “Alright, I’m ready now. Lead the way!”

Author's Note

I apologize for the lengthy delay between chapters, but my health took a drastic turn for the worse and I spent the last several weeks fighting off a bout of pneumonia. Needless to say during that time, my creative juices were not in full swing. This chapter also ended up being much longer than anticipated.

A little hint to the future though, one of the characters introduced in this chapter plays a pivotal role in the creation of star. Which one, I'll leave up to debate.