Chapter One – Burning the Midnight Oil

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Twilight Sparkle

Twilight's purple eyes were a dreary red that evening. Two days and now two nights had passed since she, her friends, and Frostburn had escaped the siege of The Crystal Empire. That's two days without hearing any word from her brother or sister-in-law. Two nights of sleepless worry.

Three hours ago, Princess Luna reported that she did not find Shining Armor, or Cadence's dreams. Princess Celestia then officially declared them both missing in action. Presumed dead.

Every one of her friends had been in the room when she got the news. None of them could stop her from running away hysterically. They had followed her, but whenever somepony got close, Twilight would teleport away in a lavender flash of light.

Eventually she found her way to the small guest room that she had been given upon her arrival. Twilight locked the door, thrown herself onto the bed, and cried into her pillow.

Now, hours later, her pillow was too damp for her to press against her face to muffle her sobs. Not that she could sob anymore – all her tears were gone. All that was left was her bloodshot eyes that held nothing but pain and sadness.

Twilight hauled herself off the bed finally, her mane a frazzled mess. She sniffled, unable to stop the noise from escaping her. In her mind, every worse possible situation was running through her mind.

Shining and Cadence's bodies ripped apart by those vicious changeling freaks.

Shining and Cadence trapped in a sick torture cell of Queen Chrysalis's dungeon.

Shining and Cadence clinging to life against an overwhelming sea of enemies before their exhausted bodies give out and then…

Twilight tried in vain to push the horrendous thoughts out of her mind. They came back each time. More vivid. More violent. More bloody.

I need to distract myself. Twilight thought. Yes. That's it. Something to take her mind off the horrible fate that had befallen her family. It was exactly what she needed.

And there was only one thing in this tiny room that could she could possibly focus her brain on long enough to forget. She faced her saddlebag, lying against the wall opposite of the bed, and activated her magic. A purple aura sprung from her horn, and reached into her bag. Out levitated a piece of parchment. It wasn't large. Just big enough to hold three stanzas of poetry. She took the red and blue painted scroll to the only other furnishing in the room. A small writing desk in the back corner.

Magically unrolling the scroll on that desk, Twilight's sanguine eyes poured over the words.

A soul trapped by its owner
A curse making the pony a loaner
Magic where it does not belong
Resulting in power far too strong.

This first stanza was Frostburn without a question. The ice-blue unicorn-turned-pegasus was more powerful than anypony Twilight had ever seen before. He held his own against Celestia, tore threw an army of changelings, and almost beat her. He would have beaten her, if she hadn't had a lot of help from her friends. The purple mare looked at the next two lines.

Fire rages on the inside
Ice will cover those who hide.

Fire and Ice. The two unstable magics that swirled through Frostburn in uncontrollable bursts. Twilight shuddered at the memory of the night not even a week ago when Frostburn's fire erupted throughout Ponyville. The last time Twilight had seen the town, it was scorched in almost every aspect of the word.

It was the ending of the second stanza that gave Twilight her first real mental challenge.

A dark voice speaks out among other things,
While the well of light has two springs.

Up until this point, the prophecy had been relatively straightforward. Now it suddenly detoured into a metaphor. Twilight silently cursed Amethyst the Seer – writer of this and many more prophecies – for being so dense as to comprise destiny into riddles.

A dark voice speaking was decidedly not good. But who could the voice be? And to whom was it speaking? Twilight thought about the changelings, their leader to be precise. Queen Chrysalis was an evil tyrant without a doubt. If it was probably her voice the prophecy referred to.

This train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a frantic hoof knocking against her door.

"Twi? Are ya in there?" Applejack's southern accent asked.

"Go away." The purple mare responded, her voice sounding more distressed than she preferred.

"Twilight, darling, everypony's so worried about you. Won't you come out?" Rarity's voice said from behind the door. Twilight cringed. Going out would mean talking. And talking would mean acknowledging Shining and Cadence's disappearance. She wasn't ready to do that just yet. It was better just to stay in her room where she could deny everything.

"Twilight, this can't be good for you." The voice of her number one assistant called out. "You've got to come out now, please." Spike had arrived in Canterlot just yesterday from Ponyville. It took a while to explain the situation to him, but he had been willing to help Twilight in any way he could, if it meant the war would end sooner. She just didn't want his help concerning this matter. She didn't want anypony's help.

"Just go away." Twilight said, on the verge of tears again. "I don't want to talk to any of you. Just leave me alone!" Her outburst was so forceful that silence permeated the other side of the door.

"Okay, Sugarcube. We're goin'." Two sets of hooves trotted off.

"Twilight," Spike said, lingering. "We're here for you. Anytime your ready to talk." Twilight offered no response. She was too choked up to say anything. Eventually, Spike left her in silence.

The refuge of silence gave Twilight an opportunity to calm down. She took several deep breaths, and then looked down again at the prophecy.

"While the well of light has two springs." She read. Thoughts sprung up in her head instantly about what this could mean. To fill the void of silence, she talked about them to herself, though her mouth could not keep pace with her mind.

"Well of light." She said. "In this context I'm led to believe this means a source of light. Light generally has a good connotation with it, so that makes sense. What about the two springs, though? Wells and springs both deal with water, so in this, case by extension of the metaphor, light. Springs would then be a source of light. A source of goodness. And there are two of them. If that's the case…"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Errgh." Twilight grumbled to herself, irritated that her train of thought had been interrupted again. "I said GO AWAY!" She screamed at the door. "I don't want to talk to anypony right now, alright? I'm fine! So leave me ALONE!"

"… Are you sure about that?" A familiar, almost motherly, voice asked. Twilight immediately recognized who it was she had yelled at.

Twilight bounded across her room and threw open the door with her magic. Standing on the other side was a white alicorn with a flowing mane.

Princess Celestia did not look happy, but she also wasn't angry either. Her face was creased with distraught and worry.

"P-Princess…" Twilight stammered. "I'm so sorry for yelling. I didn't know it was you. I…"

"It's all right, Twilight." Princess Celestia said. "I understand. I understand all to well."

The purple mare felt more tears well up in her eyes. Though she was thankful that Princess Celestia wasn't upset with her, Twilight still couldn't stop a flood of emotions that she been trying to surpress.

She sniffled as the first tear trailed down her face.

"I miss them so much already." Twilight sobbed. "I…I can't believe this happened."

Princess Celestia, in all her benevolent wisdom, knew exactly what to do. The white alicorn extend a hoof and brought Twilight in for an embrace. At first, Twilight was stunned. While her teacher often expressed how proud she was of the purple mare, physical affection was rare. It didn't matter, because Twilight instinctively returned the hug, and she began sobbing slightly more.

"And the worst part is, it's all my fault!" Twilight whimpered into the princess's shoulder.

"There was nothing you could have done, Twilight." Celestia said.

"That's the point!" The lavender mare exclaimed. "I couldn't have done anything because I wasted all my energy on a cloaking spell that didn't work. It's my fault I couldn't do anything but lay around while everypony else did all the work. Dash, Frostburn, and Applejack risked their lives so we could get here. And what did I do? I passed out in the train." Twilight cried even harder now, the guilt adding onto her sadness. "And now I've lost my brother and my sister-in-law because of it."

Celestia gently patted Twilight's back as the purple unicorn heaved out more sobs. Finally, the princess spoke. "This is far from your fault, Twilight Sparkle. It is mine."

Twilight pulled her head back to look her at her teacher. She blinked once to clear away some of the water, "What?" She softly asked.

"I should have foreseen something like this happening." Celestia explained with a pained expression in her eyes. "I've read that prophecy a dozen times. Because I was unable to see the brewing war, the Crystal Empire and the ponies who live there suffered. The blame resides with me and me alone."

"But how could you have known that the changeling's would attack at that precise moment? It was impossible to foresee something like that. Even Pinkie didn't pick it up until too late." Twilight said, consoling her mentor.

Princess Celestia released Twilight from the hug, and bowed her head. "Whether I could have or not does not matter. It happened, and now… I may have lost my niece because of it." For a brief moment, Twilight feared that Celestia's eyes were tearing up. The Princess of the Sun choked back a sob and spoke again.

"We don't have any confirmation that Cadence and Shining Armor are dead. Until we do, there is still hope."

Twilight nodded in understanding, though her sadness was not assuaged much. Princess Celestia stepped backwards, out of the room.

"Will you be all right by yourself for the rest of the night?" The Princess asked.

Twilight swallowed back her tears and put on a brave face for her teacher. "I will, Princess." Then she added, "Thank you for checking on me. I was in a pretty bad state of mind before you came."

Celestia smiled a warm and reassuring smile. "Sleep well, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Princess." Twilight said as the door closed. The lavender unicorn turned back to the desk that held the prophecy. With her magic, Twilight rolled up the parchment and placed it neatly in her saddlebag. Then, she laid down on the soft mattress. After a few short minutes, Twilight was asleep, though not very soundly.

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Rarity

"Do you guys think Twilight will be okay?" Spike asked, catching up to Applejack and Rarity.

"Ah don't know, Spike." Applejack said. Both mares slowed down to allow the dragon to walk along side them. "She's dealing with a lot of grief right now."

"She'll be fine." Rarity said. She meant it to be reassuring, but the tone of her voice made her seem unsure. "We should probably find everypony else and let them know the search is over."

Applejack nodded in agreement. Spike, on the other hoof, was glancing back nervously at the room Twilight was in.

"Spike?" She asked him. The purple dragon blinked in surprise and turned back to face her.

"Sorry." He said. "You're right, we should find everypony else."

When Twilight had run off devastated, everypony had gone after her as a single unit. The more they attempted to find her, the more separation seemed like a good idea, especially with Twilight teleporting off to a different section of the castle whenever anypony got near. As such, everypony had split up in order to increase the chances of finding and consoling the purple unicorn.

Rarity realized right away that Twilight would head off to a secluded location, and apparently Applejack and Spike also felt that way. The three of them had congregated outside Twilight's door, hoping they could all convince her to come out. The stark resistance they met was unexpected. Rarity didn't feel good being ousted from one of her friends like this, but Spike seemed to be taking it much more personally.

They found Pinkie Pie first. The party pony was definitely not in her usual jovial mood. It wasn't the immensely depressed state that Pinkie was known for falling into, instead the pink mare was just sad. Her cotton candy hair was partially deflated, which was never a good sign.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash actually managed to find them first. They were both worried about Twilight, and neither Rarity nor Applejack could offer some consoling words to them. Everypony certainly seemed to give off an ambience of defeat, realizing that they had failed to help their friend in a time of need.

"Ya'll, Ah think it's best if we get some sleep. There ain't much more we can do tonight." Applejack suggested. Everypony nodded some agreement, though Rarity knew they all hated the idea of leaving Twilight to dwell on her feelings of grief.

"I can't believe this happened." Pinkie said as she slowly walked off to her room.

"Maybe things will get better tomorrow." Fluttershy softly said as she too slunk away.

Rainbow Dash said nothing as she hovered away. Her cyan head was hung in shame though, and Rarity could tell Rainbow felt horrible about what was happening.

Applejack also left wordlessly, and so it was just Spike and Rarity left in some random corridor of Canterlot Castle. Rarity glanced over at the dragon. He was looking at the floor dejectedly.

"Are you okay, Spike?" Rarity asked him. He looked up.

"I'll be fine Rarity." Spike said, putting on a brave face. "I know Twilight. She won't let this get her down forever."

Rarity smiled at his optimism, and wished him goodnight as he too left. Now the white unicorn stood alone in the hallway, with a vague feeling like she was forgetting something.

…Or somepony.

"Frostburn!" Rarity said with sudden realization. How could she have forgotten Frostburn?

The white unicorn began trotting through the castle at an urgent pace, unwilling to answer her own question.

Where could he possibly be? Rarity thought to herself. In her quest to find her other friends, the white unicorn had searched most of the castle already. She made a mad dash through a nearby corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fiery-haired pegasus. She didn't.

Rarity ran down a few more hallways, working up quite a sweat in the process. Finally, she stopped for a breath. A bead of sweat ran down her face as Rarity thought about what she should do. She simply had to find Frostburn, but the mysterious stallion seemed to have disappeared.

Telling herself to continue the search, Rarity trotted forward. Her pace slowed, the white unicorn began to look more carefully for Frostburn. Now that she wasn't frantically trying to find him, and actually examine each area of the castle, Rarity felt a little better about her chances of finding the ice-blue pegasus.

Eventually, her efforts were rewarded. Rarity had been glancing around, and saw Frostburn through one of the windows. He was sitting outside, on a balcony. He looked awfully lonely.

Rarity felt that it was her duty to redress his loneliness. She cantered over to the balcony, and slowly approached Frostburn. He didn't notice her when the white unicorn stepped outside. The pegasus was fairly lost in thought. Frostburn was also wearing a familiar gray cloak. Rarity remembered that garment. She was the pony who gave it to him. The white unicorn was touched that he was still using to keep himself warm.

She shivered, suddenly hyperaware of the freezing temperatures outside. Rarity heard her teeth chatter a bit. To her, the noise shattered through the still air of the night. Frostburn heard it too, and slowly turned his head to see who was behind him.

Rarity offered a meek grin as his eyes fell upon her. "Hello." She said.

"Hi." Frostburn said. "Did you find Twilight?"

"Yes, but uh… we did not manage to make her feel better." Rarity informed him. "What are you doing out here, darling?"

Frostburn smiled warmly. "Just thinking." He replied. Rarity took a slight step forward.

"About what?" She asked. Frostburn moved to give Rarity enough room to join him on the ledge. The white unicorn gratefully took the opportunity to get closer to the pegagsus.

"Just… how it's all my fault." Frostburn said.

"What's all your fault?" Rarity asked.

"The war. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's disappearance. Everything." Frostburn exclaimed. He looked forlornly into the starry night.

"Frostburn," She said. "None of this was your fault."

"Yes it is." He argued. "The only reason the changelings went to the Crystal Empire was because they were after me."

"Who told you that?" Rarity asked.

"S– Nopony. I just… I just know it was my fault. It always is."

"You can't blame yourself for all of that." Rarity said. "Nopony is responsible for everything that transpired at the Crystal Empire."

"Nopony except me had the power to stop it." Frostburn solemnly replied.

"Frostburn…" Rarity began. What could she say though? Frostburn was placing sole blame for the tragedy on his own shoulders, for having a power he never wanted and couldn't control, that if he used might have done more harm than good. There wasn't much Rarity could say.

"The prophecy said I would be the one to either save or destroy Equestria." Frostburn said. "But I didn't save the Crystal Empire. I watched as it was destroyed and then ran away. How do I know I won't do the same thing when the time to choose comes?"

Rarity didn't have an answer for that. She was in a stunned silence for a moment. "I don't know what you'll do when the time comes." Rarity said. "But I do know that what happened at the Crystal Empire won't control your fate. The power you have doesn't determine that."

"I need a way to control that power." Frostburn said. "Only then can I be sure it won't control my fate."

Rarity couldn't think of what else to say, partially because she was too cold to continue talking. Her body was shivering frantically.

"You're freezing." Frostburn observed.

"What? N-no, don't be ridiculous. I'm f-fine, d-darling." Rarity stuttered the words with her chattering teeth. In response to her obvious discomfort, Frostburn removed his cloak and draped it around her.

While the cloak warmed her body, Rarity felt her face get warm for a completely different reason. The white unicorn smiled at the pegasus, and he smiled back.

"Better?" He asked.

Before replying, Rarity drew herself closer to Frostburn. "Now it is." She whispered. "Thank you." Frostburn's blue cheeks suddenly became redder than his mane.

"N-no problem." He said. Rarity could tell his stammering did not come from the low temperature.

"You know, everypony still has a lot of questions for you." Rarity told him. Shortly after arriving in the train station, Rainbow Dash told everypony how Frostburn was able to control his ice powers to stop the changelings. Naturally, he was barraged with questions. For the past few days, he had been dodging them pretty well.

"I figured." Frostburn replied. "But I don't know if I have any answers."

"You can at least try." Rarity said. "What happened on the top of that train?"

Frostburn's eyes suddenly grew very dim. "I… I killed a changeling." He whispered.

Rarity's eyes widened. "R-really?" She asked. He nodded.

"I didn't have to… I could have just pushed it off the train like all the rest. But the power took over Rarity. I… I didn't mean to do it." Frostburn closed his eyes. Rarity could tell that killing – even if it had been a changeling – was a bad subject for him.

"I believe you." She said.

Frostburn's eyes opened, but they did not look any less dim. "It wasn't just the changeling though. I've killed others. Ponies. Seven of them. But it wasn't me I swear. I never meant to hurt them, never wanted to. It just… took over." He hung his head low. "You must think I'm a monster." He said solemnly.

Rarity spoke softly. "Do you… regret their deaths?" She asked. He nodded, but didn't raise his head.

"Hardly a day goes by when I don't regret what I did to them." He said.

"Good." She said. He looked up at her quizzically. "The day you stop regretting is the day you become a monster." Rarity told him.

Frostburn's eyes looked to the ground, then into hers. Then, slowly, Frostburn wrapped his forelegs around Rarity and hugged her.

The white unicorn's eyes widened is surprise, then she hugged him back. The two of them shared the embrace for a good deal of time, before both coming to the same realization.

"It's late." Frostburn said first.

"We should probably get some sleep." Rarity responded immediately. They stayed in the embrace for a while longer, neither wanting to end it. Eventually, the two ponies broke away at the exact same time, and walked back into Canterlot Castle together.

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And that was the opening chapter for Frostburn 2. Few things I want to talk about, so bare with me if you can.

1. The Sombra and Chrysalis backstory has been posted under the name Forbidden. Update times will vary, but it shouldn't be longer than 3-4 chapters.

2. Updates for this story may or may not be on the weekly basis as The Saga of Frostburn, and that's because I'm trying to manage three stories at once. (yay!).

3. You may have noticed a change in the style of POVs. Instead of a single chapter having one pony's POV, now there are two. (Yes this will be a regular thing). Cut-away POVs will still likely be used, but infrequently.

4. Thanks to all my returning readers! And the new ones as well. I look forward to yet another epic adventure with you all!

In Bronyhood,

Fire Gazer the Alchemist