A/N: Steelbreaker and Drew here, and we're diggin' this chapter. Was a lot of fun to write! As always, R&R and let us know what you think.
To zsd - Yeah I agree, you can't just have a whole bunch of happy in a story, because then things get boring. They're stale, like the potato chips I'm eating right now. As far as my role in the movie, I'm not sure yet. The answer is 42 though.
To y2kbrony - I'll be fleshing out a lot of the other characters in this story, and you'll be saying "yeah, makes sense" a lot more. Glad you approve.
To JB - Well of course it has to be a bagel, because the cake is a lie. As far as Pinkie, I guess you'll just have to wait and see. :D
To Guest - Well I'm glad you like it this much. I got tired of all these stories that just make no sense or the characters are done completely wrong. I wanted to make sure I did this story right, and I'm pretty pleased with how its turned out so far. There'll be plenty more to come, so keep reading!
To Geefriend - Thanks for the review! It's hard to find the balance between keeping the story interesting and then making it so chaotic that my readers and myself lose interest, but according to the reviews I'm doing pretty well. Having multiple marefriends is a challenge, but also worth it. They're just all so great, I'm just glad I don't have to choose.
To Vinyl Beat - w00t, absolutely!
Major plot elements incoming!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters associated with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor the original story.
Chapter 10: Cold Rage
I woke up to an empty bed, but I was rested all the same. "Ah…what a good dream." I said to myself with a smile. I stepped into the washroom to clean myself up a bit, and frowned at my mane. I was so used to not really doing anything with my hair back on Earth that I realized I hadn't brushed my mane once since I'd been here. It was frizzy with strands going this way and that. I sighed…this was going to suck. I grabbed a brush with my magic and proceeded to brush out my mane, getting all the tangles out and all the strands flowing the same way. My eyes would tear up whenever I hit a knot. 'Dammit…how do women do this without crying every time? What a pain…'
After brushing out my mane and doing the same to my tail, I grabbed a smooth bristled brush and brushed out my coat until it shined like it did when I first came to Equestria. I stepped out of the washroom and descended the stairs, catching the attention of Twilight and Luna, who were eating a bit of breakfast at the table. Luna smiled at me. "Well good morning, Steel. You look very…dashing, as Rarity would say it." I chuckled. "Nah, I just figured I need to start taking some pride in my appearance. You girls don't deserve to be seen with a stallion that looks like he's homeless. The mane was a pain…literally." Twilight giggled. "Now you see what we go through to look nice for you. I hope you appreciate our work." I nodded. "I do now, my eyes have been opened. I see the light!" I said with a laugh, gaining one from Luna as well.
We quickly finished a breakfast of eggs, hash, and hay(which much to my surprise was pretty good) and cleaned up the kitchen. Luna gave each of us a kiss on the cheek(yes, Twilight too) and stated that she needed to get back to the palace, as she had duties to attend to and missed her sister. We hugged her and said our goodbyes, tears in our eyes. She looked at both of us with a smile. "I shall miss you both, but I will keep in touch with letters and I will make sure to come back to you when I can. I love you both and we will be together again soon, I Pinkie promise." We hugged her again and she trotted out the door. This left just Twilight and I in a now strangely quiet room. It seemed less like home without Luna there, and I could tell Twilight felt the same way.
Dash walked in the library and looked over at us, taking notice of our somber expressions. She frowned a bit. "Luna had to go back, didn't she?" Twi and I nodded. Dash closed her eyes and sighed, then smiled. "Don't worry you two, she'll be back before we know it." I looked up at Dash and showed a genuine smile. She came over and hugged both me and Twilight. This made me feel a little better and Twilight cracked a smile as well. "I promise, it's going to be okay. It's not like we're never going to see her again…she's like family." Dash said with a smile. I tilted my head in confusion at first…but then realized Dash was right. It took me a moment to realize just how close we all were with Luna. Family…that felt like the right word. Twilight looked at me and smiled. We had become a family right before my eyes, and I hadn't even noticed. It just felt so natural. It scared me for a moment at just how easy it was going, but seeing Dashie's smiling face made my worries melt away.
Dash had left again to pick up her duties on the weather team, as she had been slacking a bit. I felt kinda bad until she told me it was worth it. Twilight also had work to do, as she had been shirking her studies. I gave her a kiss before I left, leaving her and Spike to work. I decided to take a walk in the park to clear my mind. I came to a main square with a fountain and benches to see Vinyl sitting on a bench next to a familiar mint-green unicorn. I chortled at the way she was sitting. 'Guess the fan fictions were right.' I trotted over to the duo with a smile. "Hey Vinyl! How ya been, girl?" Vinyl looked over at me and smiled. She jumped off the bench tackled me to the ground, hugging me. "Man Steel, it's been a long time. Where have ya been?" I chuckled and smiled, returning the hug. "Oh you know, here and there. How's the music going?" She grinned and winked at me. "It's going great. Dark came by the other day and showed me how to make that dubstep music you showed me. I played it for the first time at one of my shows last night…and the crowd went nuts. Thanks for that, Steel." She stepped off of me and I stood up with a grin as well. "No prob, Vinyl. Always here to help a fellow musician." I then looked over at the new unicorn, realizing I hadn't even introduced myself. Vinyl noticed too and took the lead. "Oh I'm sorry, Lyra this is Steelbreaker. He's a friend of mine. Steelbreaker, this is Lyra Heartstrings. We've been friends for I don't even know how long." I looked at Lyra and smiled. She started blushing profusely. 'So cute…' I approached her and held out a hoof. "It's nice to meet you Lyra." She stared at me with a dreamy expression for a moment. She must've realized what she was doing and shook her head, regaining her composure. She grabbed my hoof in hers and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, Steel. Vinyl has told me a lot about you. I was wondering when I was going to meet you." She started staring again with that dreamy expression. I grinned. "Lyra you might want to blink once in awhile so your eyes don't dry out." She blushed and looked away, clearing her throat. "Y-yeah, sorry." I felt Vinyl pop up in my head. 'She totally digs you, Steel.' I grinned at Vinyl and nodded.
Vinyl had to leave to set up her show for tonight, and as expected Lyra chose to stay with me in the park. I wished Vinyl good luck and she left, leaving me and the little unicorn sitting on the bench. I was slumped down in the bench, sitting much the same as Lyra was, and she noticed. She tilted her head at me. "You sit like that too? Wow…I thought I was the only one." I chuckled. "Well Lyra, it felt better with my old body…" my hoof shot up to my mouth. 'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…' She looked at me very confused. "What do you mean 'my old body'?" I sighed in defeat. "Alright I can tell you because I already have the feeling you're going to be a good friend to me. You have to swear that you won't tell anypony else though. This is a super-duper-mega secret, you got it?" She nodded. "Okay…I'm not from this world." She stared at me for a second before bursting out laughing. "Haha, very funny Steel…" She stopped and noticed that I was staring at her, straight-faced. She grew uneasy. "Steel…you're scaring me a little bit. This joke isn't funny anymore." I sighed in annoyance. "I kinda figured you wouldn't believe me, so I'll just show you." I leaned over and touched my horn to her forehead, focusing on passing on the memory of my first meeting with Luna, back on Earth. After the transfer, Lyra just sat there with her mouth hanging open. I must have been five minutes before she spoke. "W-wow…you weren't joking." I shook my head. "No, I wasn't. You believe me now?" She nodded. "How is this possible though? I mean, I've always hoped Terra wasn't the only world out there, but I never really thought about it beyond that." I laughed. "Well I may be an alicorn now, but you're sitting with a genuine alien." She hopped off the bench and started bouncing around in excitement. "This is so COOL! I never thought in a million years…" I grabbed her with magic and sat her down on the bench. "The whole reason I told you to keep it a secret was to not cause a scene. Well, you're causing one. I know you're excited, but please control yourself in public." She looked crestfallen for a moment before smiling at me and nodding in agreement.
Lyra and I walked around the park for quite some time before settling beneath a tree. I propped my self up against it and Lyra sat next to me. "So Lyra, I just realized that I don't really know that much about you. What's your story?" She smiled. "Well, I've lived in Ponyville most of my life. I moved here when I was just a filly with my mother. She was a doctor at the hospital." I realized she said "was", and I found myself strangely curious. "'Was'? What does she do now?" She lost her smile and looked down at the ground. "Oh...I'm sorry Lyra. I had no idea." She closed her eyes and sighed. "It's okay, you didn't know. Not many ponies do. Just Bon Bon and Vinyl. That's about it. And before you ask no, Bon Bon and I aren't together." I chuckled. "Not that I was going to ask, but okay." She furrowed her brow and then sighed. "I'm sorry Steel. I was teased a lot in school for being a filly-fooler and I guess it still bothers me. Most ponies in Ponyville don't really care, but once in awhile there's one pony or another that wants to make a big deal about it when they see us in public. Bon Bon and I are just good friends, nothing more. Besides, she doesn't 'swing' that way." she said, looking up at me. "Don't worry Lyra, I don't judge one way or the other, it's not my place to do so. I also don't really have a problem with said lifestyle...you love who you love." I chuckled. "It's kinda funny, Vinyl got it in her head that you liked me that way." She was silent for a moment before responding. "Well actually..." I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, I'm flattered to have caught the eye of such a pretty and cool mare." She blushed. "C'mon Steel, I'm not pretty. Now Vinyl is pretty. I'm just...plain." 'Great, another Fluttershy...' "I don't give compliments just to give them, Lyra. If I say you're pretty, you're pretty. Accept the compliment." I said sternly. She blushed and rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well when you put it that way, I guess I have no choice." I nudged her with a smile. "There, was that so hard?" She rolled her eyes again. "Well Steel, it's been fun but I have to get going. Bon Bon will be expecting me at home, we're going out tonight to Vinyl's club. Will I see you again?" I nodded. "I'm staying at Twilight's place. Drop by if you're in the neighborhood." She nodded. "Alright Steel, I'll see ya!" she said before scampering off.
By now it must have been a little after 5:00pm, as the sun was just starting to touch the horizon. I headed home with a smile on my face. I couldn't deny that I liked Lyra, but it wouldn't be fair to be more than a friend to her without my girls being okay with it. I may have settled into the idea of multiple marefriends, but I still had my morals. I took my time getting home to find a note on the door written in handwriting I didn't recognize. It simply said, "Northern Cliffs, 6:00pm. Come alone." For some reason this awakened a nameless fear in my heart. I burst through the front door to find my brother sitting on the couch with Spike, my mother and sister standing next to the kitchen with sad faces. Spike was crying. I felt fear well up inside me. "Where is she?" I asked with panic in my voice. Dark looked up. "We don't know, she was gone when I got home." I really started panicking now. "When was the last time anyone saw her?" My brother shrugged. "I haven't seen her since this morning." I looked at the clock...5:43.
I left the library and took to the skies, flying faster than I ever have. I flew to where I thought these Northern Cliffs were, and landed in a clearing next to a cliff face. I looked around before I saw them - an entire squad of twelve armored gryphons. I saw Twilight being held by the one in front, some sort of weird object on her horn. Her eyes widened when she saw me and she started struggling. The beast in front slapped her, making her stop. I flinched and ground my teeth in anger. "What do you want?" I roared. The one in front smiled. "Well if I was briefed correctly, you have my captain locked in the Canterlot dungeons. We propose a trade...our captain for this unicorn. Agree and everyone walks away happy. Disagree..." He dug a claw into Twilight's side and drew a long cut from her shoulder to her cutie mark, causing Twilight to scream in pain through her gag. I growled but figured it best to not argue, and nodded. "Fine. Hold on." I made contact with Celestia. 'Celestia, it's Steel. We have a situation at the Northern Cliffs.' I felt her connect with my eyes and heard her gasp. 'Is that Twilight? This is TREASON! They will pay for this...' I growled. 'Later Celly. They want those gryphons in the dungeon or they're going to torture her...possibly kill her.' I heard Celestia gasp again. 'Okay Steel, I'll prepare transport. Just wait, we'll be there within an hour. Please distract them somehow!' I glared at the gryphon that held Twilight. "Princess Celestia herself states transport is being arranged for your comrades." The gryphon laughed. "Do you think me a fool? I wasn't hatched yesterday you know. I warned you..." With that, he grasped Twilight's foreleg and punched her in the chest hard. I heard a resounding crack, and Twilight fell to the ground, breathing with much labor, tears flowing from her eyes.
With that crack, something in me snapped. I felt my armor cover my body, but something was different...I began to feel the sensation of ice underneath my skin, spreading quickly...
Perspective change - Twilight
Pain...so much pain. Can't breathe. I'm going to die...this is it. I started to cry, already missing my friends. I just wanted to go home...why did this have to happen? Why? I closed my eyes. 'I'm so sorry, Steel. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger...' I was ready to resign myself to my fate. I opened my eyes and looked at Steel...and was suddenly afraid again. Something was happening to him, I didn't know what but I could feel the magic in the air. It made my horn tingle. His armor was covering him, but I could feel magic flowing into him from the surrounding air. I felt something in the air...something that reminded me of Luna when she was Nightmare Moon...
Hatred...
I saw dark clouds forming overhead, casting the bright day into blackness. Steel was clenching his teeth so tight I thought they were going to crack, and he was snorting like a mad bull. I felt the air around me suddenly get very cold, and I could see my breath through the rag that had been stuffed in my mouth. Steel began to be covered in some sort of darkness, as if the light from around him was just ceasing to exist...it was like the air itself became black. His body continued to drink it in and I saw him start to grow taller, larger, and more menacing until the energy surrounding him obscured my view and all I saw was a dark cloud of crackling energy. The cloud started to take shape, and it only scared me more. It looked like Steel, but with a flowing white mane and tail that looked like ice crystals, and armor of blue like the ocean. Its fur was no longer silver, but instead a pale blue to match the armor. Its cutie mark was a sword that looked like it was made of ice. The pony then opened its eyes of pale blue and smiled at the gryphon that had hit me. "Hello there. I heard from a friend that you enjoy torturing helpless ponies. Is that right?" Its voice had the sound of howling winds with it. The gryphon growled. "Who are you?" The pony laughed. "I have no name, but I suppose you'll need a name to remember me by in the afterlife. You may call me Frostrender." The gryphon laughed. "What a foolish name. I'll be sure and inscribe it on your headstone." The leader gryphon lunged at him. Frostrender simply stood there with a smile on his face. When the gryphon was inches away, Frostrender blinked...and the gryphon froze solid, falling to the ground. Frostrender simply looked down at the frozen body, a wide grin on his face. "Tsk tsk...it's too bad, you would have made a nice captain one day, I'm sure." With that, he stomped on the frozen gryphon, shattering it into pieces. The other gryphons screeched in alarm and started to run away. "Oh no, we're not finished yet, young ones." said the frosty alicorn. A freezing gale blew the gryphons back to the ground, in front of us. They started to scramble to get up, but Frostrender blinked again, and their four limbs were frozen to the earth. The pony finally looked down at me. "Hello Twilight Sparkle, will you be alright? Your Steelbreaker is concerned." The mention of Steel's name as if he were here gave me comfort for some reason. I nodded. "I think I have a few broken ribs, but if I get to the hospital I'll be okay I think." Frostrender smiled. "We are relieved. We apologize you had to see this, but they committed the crime of violence against a loved one. Do not worry, no others need die here today. Your princesses will want words with this bunch."
Perspective change - Celestia
'By the gods, please be okay Twilight and Steel...please...don't die.' I had lost control as soon as the carriage doors had closed when we left Canterlot. I found myself sobbing uncontrollably. I could not bear the loss of Twilight...she was as a daughter to me. It vexed me to no end that this trade would be giving the gryphons the power to attack my student and her friends again, but her immediate safety was more important. As we flew near the cliffs, I looked out the window of the carriage to see a large swirling cloud, creating a blizzard on the ground. 'Hmm...that is not natural weather. Have the weather team been shirking their duties?' I tapped Luna to get her attention. "Sister, does that storm look normal?" She gazed out of the window and narrowed her eyes. She suddenly sat up quickly with frightened eyes. "Celly, they are there! I'm sure of it! Land the carriage now!" Not willing to wait for the carriage to land, I flung the door open and flew out. Luna was shocked, but followed. As we approached the storm, I could feel a very familiar energy in the air. Luna suddenly stopped in fear. "Sister...that feels like..." I nodded. "Nightmare Moon. That cannot be possible though, she no longer exists. It must be something else. Come sister, we cannot wait."
We flew with all haste into the storm. The blizzard was intense, but I caught the sight of a lavender body in the snow. I landed next to her...Twilight. "Twilight! Are you okay?" She looked up and smiled with pain. "I'm okay princess. He saved me." she said, pointing with a hoof towards the cliff. There stood what seemed to be the very embodiment of winter, looking out over the ocean. I approached the pale blue pony. It didn't even turn around. "Your Twilight Sparkle is injured. Princess Luna, you must get her to the hospital now. I would have a word with your sister." Luna's eyes widened in fear. "W-what are you?" The figure turned and frowned. "Princess Luna, your friend is in a great deal of pain. There will be time for questions later. For now, tend to her." Luna stared for a moment at the pony, then nodded. She ran to Twilight and disappeared in a flash.
I strode to the icy figure, its smile warm in contrast to the air around me. I stopped in front of it, looking deep into its icy blue eyes. "Who are you?" I asked. It bowed to me. "It is an honor, Princess Celestia. I am Frostrend. You could say I am...and aquaintence of Steelbreaker's." I was confused. "I do not understand. The energy I feel in this place...that is the energy of Nightmare Moon. Is she here?" It laughed and shook its head. "The energy you feel does not belong to Nightmare Moon. The energy you feel is the energy of pain...sadness...and hatred. The same fate that befell your sister has befallen Steelbreaker. I am the result." I suddenly felt fear...and sadness for my sister. I stood tall with an unreadable expression. "What do you want, Frostrend?" He smiled at me. "I am Steelbreaker's judgment to those that would do harm to those he loves." He pointed at the chunks of ice that were on the ground behind me. I looked...oh my... "I've already passed my judgment to the one that did harm to Twilight Sparkle. The ones behind you are his comrades. Like him, they were determined to torture and kill your beloved student. I have no ill will towards them...they are yours to decide what to do with." I nodded but did not break his gaze. "Why are you here? You do not seem to be evil as Nightmare Moon was." He laughed. "The emotions that called both myself and the one known as Nightmare Moon into being are not evil emotions. The reason Nightmare Moon was as she was is because of the state of the beings living here. As Steelbreaker explained, humans have the potential for both good and evil. Because of this, they also have the ability to control what your world considers 'evil' emotions. Princess Luna did not grow in the world that Steelbreaker did, and so these emotions were too powerful and corrupting for her pure soul and heart. She could not control them, and completely lost herself. Steelbreaker is not lost, and is perfectly fine. He is resigning control to me because he wishes you to hear this from the horse's mouth, so-to-speak. Do not worry yourself, I am only a danger to our enemies. With that I bid you adieu."
I felt the air suddenly warm and the sky cleared. I noticed the ice began to melt, so I cast a knockout spell at the gryphons previously frozen to the ground. A bright flash came from in front of me, and I found myself looking at the sleeping form of Steelbreaker.
Perspective change - Steelbreaker
I woke up in a room I was unfamiliar with. I looked up to see what looked to be a magic painting of the night sky above me. I tried to move, but found myself restrained by a hoof and a wing. I looked down to see a white wing and a blue hoof. I saw that Luna had fallen asleep snuggling me, and Celestia had draped a protective wing both of us. I yawned loudly and Celestia began to stir, as did Luna. Luna's eyes fluttered and she looked at me. I leaned over and kissed her softly. "Good morning, beautiful." She went wide-eyed and fell backwards off of the bed. I heard giggling from Celestia. The solar princess gazed down on me. "That was quite the experience, Steel. Are you okay?" I nodded. "Yeah I'll be alright. It just took a lot out of me. Is Twi going to be okay?" Luna stood up and nuzzled next to me. "Twilight had a few broken ribs, but with the help of myself and a few choice unicorn doctors, she is like new. She is resting at the moment." Luna said to me. I relaxed and smiled. "Thank you Luna. I'm sorry if I scared either of you." Celly laughed. "I was afraid at first, but after Frostrend explained himself, I am not worried." I breathed a sigh of relief. "What about you Luna...you still love me I hope?" She nodded. "I do. I apologize for my expression, I was in shock. I worried that somehow Nightmare Moon had returned." I laughed. "Well all is well, Luna. I'm okay and Twilight is going to be okay. What about those gryphons?" Celestia grimaced. "They'll be lucky if they ever see my sun again. The one that Frostrend disposed of got off easy, I'll say that. I do not take kindly to threats and violence made towards the ones I love either." I smiled. "Okay, well where's Twilight? I want to see her." Luna smiled at me and nuzzled my face. "She's at the library sleeping. It is near midnight, so I am positive she is awake without you there. You should get going." I frowned. "Are you sure Luna? I don't want to leave you so soon. I miss you." She kissed me softly. "I shall miss you as well, dear Steel. It will not be long before I will see you all again, I promise." I smiled at my beautiful goddess and kissed her back. "Very well, I'll be going now. Thank you for everything Celly!" and with that, I teleported to the library.
I found myself in the main room and quickly hurried upstairs to Twilight's room. I heard giggling and walked in. I found myself being stared at by Spike and Twilight, before they both broke into smiles. I walked over to the bed next to Twilight. Spike stood on the edge and hugged me. "Thanks for saving her, Steel...even if you did scare the hay out of her." I chuckled. "Anything I can do to help Spike." I then looked at Twilight. She looked tired, but okay otherwise. I smiled. "I don't know about you Twi, but I'm beat. Move over." She scooted over and I slid under the covers beside her. Spike turned off the light and smiled at me again before closing the door. Twilight was silent and just hugged me tight. "My hero!" I said, impersonating her voice. She giggled and shoved me. She then looked down in deep thought. "Steel...I was afraid. I was so afraid you were going to be lost like Luna was. I'm so glad that you're okay. And I have to say, I prefer you to be warm like this. I don't do so well with the cold." I laughed loudly. "Yeah well I'm just cool like that." She rolled her eyes. "That was a horrible joke." I then smirked at her before kissing her. "Yeah, but it's all good." The last thing I remember was looking into her lovely violet eyes before falling into a deep sleep.