Legion’s Fall Pass
Present Day
Formed of dark stone spires rising into the sky at odd angles, ravaged day and night by blizzards, and devoid of sunlight at almost all hours, Legion’s Fall Pass was every bit as foreboding as its name implied. It was no wonder Celestia had disbanded the Windigo research station within – even with Twilight shielding them from the worst of the raging storm, all three ponies were chilled to the bone. Pinkie had somehow procured three sets of winter gear, which had also helped immensely. Neither Twilight nor Poison had asked how she had obtained the clothes – only been grateful to have them.
“How much further?” asked Poison.
“Not far,” answered Twilight. Both had to shout over the wind. “Keep an eye out, though – I don’t want to miss it in the storm!” Twilight felt a tugging sensation on the end of her scarf. Looking around, she spotted Pinkie trying to get her attention. “What is it?”
Pinkie gestured ahead with a hoof. “Up there, on the cliff!”
Looking in the direction Pinkie indicated, she could barely make out an equine figure atop a nearby stone crag. She couldn’t see it in any detail – the blizzard wiped out everything but the silhouette. Twilight pointed out the shape to Poison.
“Is it one of them?” Poison asked.
“I can’t tell. I’m going to teleport us up for a closer look.”
Poison and Pinkie nodded, and with a flash of magic, Twilight zapped all three ponies up to the cliff.
“Hello?” she called to the pony. “Rarity? Applejack?” No response. “Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy?” The figure was too small to be either princess, and too large for Spike, and yet still it produced no response. Twilight drew closer, her shield and light spell illuminating the pony.
It wasn’t one of her friends. Instead, it was a pony she didn’t recognise – frozen stiff. The pony’s ancient-looking cloak was frozen in the state of billowing out behind them in the direction from which they had come, and icicles formed around their frame and at the tip of their horn, stretching out horizontally towards Equestria. The pony’s face stared in the opposite direction, their eyes as wide as saucers and their mouth open in a silent scream.
Twilight stepped back, suddenly frightened. Looking around the cliffs, she spotted what could be hundreds of identical shapes, on cliffs, on the distant ground, some – their wings outstretched - even adhered to the sheer walls by mounds of ice.
The howling of the wind suddenly seemed much more menacing.
“We need to get out of here,” she said to Pinkie and Poison.
“But what about-” asked Pinkie.
She was interrupted midsentence by the sound of the wind multiplying in volume, as numerous eddies of snow condensed into equine forms in the distance, their eyes glowing bright blue through the blizzard like searchlights.
“We can come back, but not if we’re frozen solid!” Twilight teleported the three of them back to ground level. “Run!” The storm of windigoes focused on the flash of teleportation, and gave chase just as the three ponies turned tail and fled.
Suddenly, Twilight found images of everypony she’d ever disliked at their most obnoxious rushing into her mind. The windigoes must be doing this, she thought. If so, I have a newfound respect for Clover the Clever.
Lost in her efforts to block out the mental sound of Discord’s mocking laughter, she failed to notice the sudden, looming metal wall right in front of her, and ran into it with a loud bang, stunning herself for a moment. She woke up to Pinkie dragging her through the snow, while Poison fought with a nearby door.
Shaking the mental fog away, she unlatched the door and shoved it open with magic, slamming it closed once all three had tumbled inside.
“I guess we found the research station after all,” commented Poison, as a series of angry bangs sounded against the exterior of the building. “Sure is dark in here.”
Twilight nodded, before realizing that neither pony could see her in the darkness. “Sure is,” she said aloud. “If our friends were here, they’ve gone by now. At least, I hope so, because the alternative is that they ended up in the windigoes’ icicle field.”
She felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t say that, Twilight. We’ll find them.”
There was a sound in the darkness, like a combination of a bird tweeting and somepony blowing a raspberry.
“What was that?” asked Poison.
A chorus of high-pitched gasps sounded from the other side of the room. “I don’t know,” said Twilight. “Let’s take a look.” She lit her horn, casting a soft, purplish light over the mostly bare metal chamber.
Only it wasn’t mostly bare – almost the entirety of the room was filled with multicolored, fluffy balls of fur. The nearest one, lime green in color, looked up at Twilight with wide eyes, revealing an equine face, and stuck out its tongue.
“What.” Poison looked out at the sea of fur with a deadpan stare.
“Fluffy ponies!” said Twilight.
“I thought they were a myth?” said Pinkie questioningly.
“No, not a myth, just incredibly rare.” Twilight looked at the assembled crowd of puffballs. “Only in Equestria, I guess. Nopony knows where they come from, but I think this seems to confirm the prevailing theory.”
“Which is?” asked Poison.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story. Have you ever heard of an Earth Pony named Gelato?”
“No,” said Poison Point. Pinkie shook her head.
“He was Chancellor Puddinghead’s older brother. When Puddinghead and Smart Cookie started gathering the Earth Ponies to move south, Gelato protested, insisting that with superior Earth Pony stamina, they could brave the winter and live in a land free of unicorns and pegasi. He managed to convince a small fraction of the populace, and they stayed behind when everypony else went south.”
“What does that have to do with these?” asked Poison.
“Well, that’s the controversial part of the theory. According to proponents of the idea, Gelato and his followers managed to survive the windigoes and the endless winter by adapting in certain ways, like thicker coats to guard against the cold, and limited intelligence and bubbly personalities that keep them from feeling hate, thus keeping them under the Windigoes’ radar.
“So they’re not dangerous?”
“Of course not, silly!” said Pinkie. She hugged the nearest one to her, a dark red example. It grinned broadly and made a chittering noise like a squirrel. “Look at them! Even if they would hurt a fly, with all that fur I’m not sure they could!”
“Sounds good. So we stay here until the Windigoes get bored, then we leave to wherever would be our second choice to find the Princesses.” Poison yawned. “It’ll be great to finally get a rest after that excitement out there.” She sat down in the corner, whereupon a pair of fluffy ponies promptly began staring at her curiously.
“Good idea,” said Twilight, yawning as well. “Either the heating system is still on or these furballs make really good insulation – it’s really warm in here.”
Pinkie too yawned broadly, her mouth seeming to almost split her head in half before closing again. “I’m going to introduce myself first. But then, a nap sounds great!”
Pinkie Pie turned and made her way through the crush of fluffy ponies, shaking hooves where she found them and saying numerous variations on “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!”
As a pair of fluffies parted to let her pass, she noticed something lying on the ground, where it had been obscured by the ponies’ fur. It was an old, slightly battered, and very familiar Stetson.
Pinkie frowned, an expression that her facial muscles were hardly used to making, made even worse by the fact that her eyelids were drooping. “Applejack?” she mumbled.
Looking up again, she scanned the ground near the fallen hat, not fully knowing what she was looking for. As the crowd of ponies shifted in the direction of Twilight and Poison, she found it: a pair of orange hooves, lying prone on the ground. The rest of Applejack’s body was obscured by a fluffy apparently standing over her, its thick lilac coat obscuring the floor. Pushing it away revealed Applejack’s sleeping form.
Pinkie looked up for the first time since entering the room, and she realized two things: One, Twilight’s hornlight was rapidly fading, and two, a pair of blue wings and a length of pink mane were visible of a pair of ponies resting in the rafters.
Pushing through the crowd of fluffy ponies towards the corner of the room, she found none other than the Royal Sisters of Equestria, fast asleep. Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief, smiling once more.
“We found them after all, Twilight!” she called, her voice heavy with the need to sleep.
“Wha’?,” came the slurred response, moments before the hornlight winked out.
Prepared as usual, Pinkie plucked a flashlight from her mane and flicked it on, pointing the beam at the princesses.
“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Wake up!” she called.
The princesses didn’t respond. Pinkie tried a second time. Still no response. She sat down in front of them and shook Celestia’s shoulder. Nothing, though Luna snored slightly.
Gradually, through her fatigue, Pinkie realized, wait a moment, there’s something wrong with this picture. She studied the princesses intently. It’s not that they’re on the ground, that’s to be expected. They’re naked, but we’re all naked. What is it?
Then she noticed the cobwebs.
The royal sisters were practically draped in cobwebs, as if they had been sleeping for months.
Pinkie blinked, and despite fighting to keep her eyes open, they drooped closed more and more with every passing second. Her legs gave out, and she saw the fluffy ponies, gathered around her with curious looks on their faces.
The red one that she had hugged prodded her with a hoof as her eyes closed completely.
Then suddenly she heard a voice in her head.
What art thou doing? This is no time to sleep. Thy friends art in need of thine assistance.
She briefly considered it might be Princess Luna (She had heard that the younger princess could travel in dreams, and the language was similar to her usual mode of speaking), but dismissed that idea immediately; this was definitely a stallion’s voice. Probably just the beginning of a dream.
I can’t stay awake, she replied. Might as well play along.
But thou must, and therefore thou wilt.
I tried. It’s impossible.
This cometh from the mare to whom the laws of physics may or may not apply? stated the voice sardonically. I will aid you, if I must.
She felt a sudden jolt, as if she had just prodded a thunderhead. Her eyes sprang open and she jumped a good four feet in the air before landing on her hooves.
What the…
Thou must leave this room. Mine spell will hold back the Windigoes, but what power I posess wanes rapidly - it will not last. Thou must hurry, and speak of this to no one. May the gods be by thine side, Pinkamena Diane Pie.
Wait, who are you? I want to thank-
Thou hath not the time. Go… The mysterious voice trailed off.
After a moment of stunned silence, Pinkie realized the voice was right – whatever was putting her friends to sleep was in the room. The Fluffies perhaps, though she had never heard of such a thing happening before.
Hopping around at incredible speed, granted to her by the voice’s spell (It felt not unlike having drunk an entire can’s worth of coffee), she gathered up all of her friends, locating the missing ones – Rarity and Spike, who were lying on her fainting couch and partially buried in the fur of the lime green fluffy, respectively – and pushed them out the door. The princesses too – she could apologise later.
As the voice had said, the storm of Windigoes still gathered around the station could not close within about ten meters of her, bouncing off some sort of invisible bubble shield. With a last howl of resentment, they vanished, the pounding blizzard withdrawing to the field of ponycicles.
Sighing with relief, she trotted hurriedly up to Twilight, prodding her urgently with a hoof. “Twilight! You need to wake up!”
This produced little more than a frustrated mumble and Twilight rolling over in the snow.
Pinkie sighed. “I’m sorry about this, Twilight.” She leaned into Twilight’s ear and said loudly, “Twilight! You’re going to be late!”
Twilight’s reaction was at least as dramatic as her own reaction to the Voice’s spell, her eyes snapping open and her hooves flailing around as she righted herself, only to stumble over and get to her hooves a second time. Then she paused.
“Pinkie?”
“Yeah, Twilight?”
“Why are we outside?”
“There was some sort of sleep magic inside. I found our friends – they were inside too. It looked like they were asleep since they arrived. It was a good thing the Windigoes left, otherwise we would have been trapped between a rock and an even bigger rock.”
Twilight paused for a moment, absorbing the information. “We need to wake them up and go,” continued Pinkie.
“Before the Windigoes come back, I know. I’ll start with the Princesses, you start with Poison Point, and we’ll work our way through.”
“Princess? Can you hear me?” asked Twilight hesitantly. Celestia had no reaction to her voice. She reached out and shook the Princess’ shoulder gently. The Princess of the Sun mumbled something indistinct and rolled over.
That’s a start, thought Twilight. “Princess? You need to wake up now.” Nothing this time.
Twilight sat back and thought for a moment. Reaching forward to try again, she was suddenly surprised by a horn blaring in the center of the group. She jolted, yelling in surprise. Princess Celestia sat up straight and did the same, prompting Twilight to repeat her action, and Celestia to follow suit again. Luna, too, had been woken by the sound, though not as dramatically.
Turning around, she saw Pinkie Pie with a crystal flugelhorn raised to her lips. Everypony else was either on their hooves, getting on their hooves, or in Rainbow Dash’s case, hovering about four feet in the air with her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Looking around, she rapidly calmed down and attempted to disguise her reaction.
There was silence for a moment as Twilight (and several of the others) looked towards the raging snowstorm that covered the field of frozen ponies. She had several moments of panic as she thought she saw a Windigo coalesce, but each time it turned out to be nothing but an eddy in the wind.
Sighing in relief, she turned back to the princesses to find them both staring at her in shock.
“Twilight?” asked Celestia. “Is it really you?”
“Yes, Princess.”
Celestia looked to Luna and back. “We feared Cogspin had killed you, when we arrived in Ponyville and your friends told us you had gone to Canterlot with him.”
“He didn’t. He did seal me in some sort of time lock for six months, but he didn’t physically hurt me.”
Celestia leaned forward and wrapped her forelegs around the slightly surprised Twilight, and Twilight could hear faint sobbing noises from the Princess. Luna smiled warmly. “We are glad you are safe, Twilight Sparkle. How did you escape?”
“Poison Point, surprisingly.”
Celestia pulled back. “Cogspin’s aide? What did she do?”
“She said Cogspin has been getting more and more paranoid recently – she called him ‘dangerous’. She has a plan to help you reclaim the throne. She said he did something that even she couldn’t condone, and she had some sort of epiphany and realized how evil he really was, and she had been.” Twilight paused. “Um, does that make sense?” They looked over to the rest of the group, where Pinkie seemed to be physically holding back Applejack and Rainbow Dash from Poison Point. Both were shouting something. “Oh, we should go over there and talk to them.”
Celestia and Luna stood up. “Indeed we should,” said Celestia. “In any event, anything further that can be said between us ought to be heard by the rest of your friends.”
They crossed over to the rest of the group, and Twilight added her magic to Pinkie’s efforts to subdue Rainbow and Applejack. “What’s going on over here?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air agitatedly, said, “Twilight, you’re my friend, you’re awesome, and it’s great to see you, but her?” She gestured to Poison. “Not so much.”
Applejack was still fighting Pinkie’s grip to get at Poison. Twilight noticed a tear track running down her face.
“Applejack, what happened? What’s wrong?”
“She’s what’s wrong, Twilight! She can’t just show up and drop a bomb like that on a pony, not least of which when she had somethin’ ta do with it!”
“I told you, it was nothing to do with me! That’s the honest truth!” shouted Poison.
Twilight paused, looking around. “Could somepony fill me in on what you were talking about?”
Poison Point shifted anxiously. “Remember when I said we could talk about exactly what Cogspin did to turn me away later? It seems it’s later.”
Twilight cocked her head. “Go on.”
“I said he imprisoned civilians, but that wasn’t the whole truth. I didn’t want to acknowledge the act in full, but…” She swallowed. “They weren’t just any civilians. Cogspin sent Stone and Iron to Ponyville, and he had them capture a certain trio of fillies…”
Twilight’s confusion was rapidly morphing into shock. “He did WHAT?”
“I think you’ve guessed to whom I’m referring. He noticed during the Guild’s visit to Ponyville that they were close to the Element bearers… that is, you.” She looked around the crowd. “They’re still alive, and to the best of my knowledge intact. He intends to use them against you if you try to come after him.”
Twilight looked at Rainbow, noticing her staring at Poison with undisguised contempt. Looking more closely at her friends, she saw Rarity simply looking morosely at her hooves, tears dripping freely from her eyes.
Poison continued, “I left immediately after I realized what he’d done. Left to find you all and help you stop him from hurting anypony. Including those fillies. I regret every single thing I have ever done while working for him.”
“Then why did you do it for so long, huh?” asked Rainbow.
“I spoke about this with Twilight. I can’t explain it, but while I worked with him I just couldn’t feel emotion of any kind. The moment I made the decision to go against him, that’s when I started feeling again. I realized what I’d been doing, and how wrong it was. Maybe he had me enchanted or something, I don’t know.”
“I don’t think so,” said Twilight. “I don’t know of any sort of enchantment that would allow the kind of free will you described. I don’t think you’re to blame for what Cogspin did, but I don’t know any magic that would produce that kind of effect.”
It was at this moment that Luna entered the discussion. “I believe I do.”
Everypony looked at her in surprise, even Applejack.
“Celestia and I encountered such a thing long ago, before we held the forms you see now. Did we not, sister?”
“Yes, but I don’t see the relevance – we destroyed all information on its creation and function shortly after Blossom came to the throne.”
This, more than anything, surprised Twilight – all her memories from her time as Celestia’s student had indicated that the princess was vehemently opposed to enforced censorship.
“I thought we did, as well, but look at her cutie mark.” Everypony did so, including Poison herself. It was exactly as Twilight remembered it from their first meeting – the quill dripping acid green ink onto a sheet of paper.
There was a pause. “When did you get that mark, Poison Point?” asked Celestia.
Poison’s brow furrowed. “When I was twelve. I remember because of the odd circumstances – Cogspin gave me some kind of medicine and when I woke up the next morning it was there. I don’t remember doing anything to earn it.”
Luna looked at Celestia pointedly. “You see? It can be nothing else.”
“But how?” asked Celestia.
“Excuse me,” asked Poison, “But what exactly are you talking about?
The princesses looked around at the gathered ponies. “Forgive me,” said Celestia. “How many of you have heard of King Silver-Blood the Wicked?”
Twilight, Pinkie, Poison, and Rarity raised their hooves. Surprisingly, Fluttershy hesitantly followed suit.
“For the rest of you,” continued Celestia, “Silver-Blood was a unicorn who ruled Equulaneum for around fifty years some thirty-six centuries ago. He is to this day possibly the least-liked king of Equulaneum, to the point that an urban legend centered around his ghost persisted until the time of Discord.”
Luna picked up the narrative. “He is also famous for instituting the Irex Legion, Irex being a portmanteau of the Roanan phrase meaning ‘Wrath of the King’. The Legion, though small, was feared across Equis, from the Dragon lands to Griffonia, for the unnatural power and skill of its soldiers. It was not until the end of Silver-Blood’s reign that the exact nature of this power was revealed: the soldiers were recruited as foals, and fed a serum known as ‘Kingsblood’ for its silvery sheen. This resulted in day-long comas filled with nightmares and had a survival rate of only sixty-five percent.”
Celestia resumed where Luna had left off. “The ponies that made it out of this experience intact were what many referred to as ‘hollow’, their sense of empathy scooped out and replaced with not only raw power, but skill to rival one who had honed his skills for a lifetime. They showed no mercy in battle, nor in daily life after the abolishment of the Legion. The effects can be reversed, but it is rare – I could count off the number of Irex who successfully shook off the serum’s effects on one hoof. Many freed themselves to the degree that they tried to complete the process, but only Blossom succeeded. If you are telling the truth, and you regret what has been done, I shall trust you, Poison Point. I will offer you whatever assistance you need.”
Luna nodded in assent. “She is as much a victim of Cogspin as we were.”
“Wait a moment,” said Poison.
“Hmm?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at her.
“You said that the victims of Kingsblood were always foals. Why?”
“It did not function otherwise. To anypony already possessing a cutie mark, the serum was a deadly poison.” The princess curled her lip in distaste. “Silver-Blood conducted… extensive tests.”
Poison swallowed, and looked around at the assembled ponies. “We need to get back to Canterlot now.”
There was a howl in the distance. “We definitely need to get out of here, before those windigoes come back,” agreed Twilight.
“That’s not the only reason.” Poison glanced pointedly towards Applejack.
Oh.
A look of fear spread over Applejack’s, Rainbow’s, and Rarity’s faces.
“Do not fear,” Luna hurried to add. “If, as our new friend indicates, Cogspin has only recently conceived of this plan, we have more than enough time yet – Kingsblood takes in excess of a year to brew, and is thoroughly difficult and expensive to do properly.” They breathed a sigh of relief. “That said, we should make haste. We would liberate them as soon as possible. Will there be conflict amongst you?”
Applejack frowned at Poison. “Ah still don’t trust you. But, if you really are tryin’ ta help us and our sisters, then Ah’ll help you so long as ya keep on doin’.”
Rainbow nodded. “That’s fair, I guess.”
Rarity looked up. “I’ll do whatever needs to be done to help Sweetie Belle.”
“Then it is decided.” Luna nodded. “Gather close. I can teleport us as far as the city’s edge.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t think even Celestia could teleport multiple ponies that far.”
The princesses shared a glance, Luna raising an eyebrow. Then she turned back to the now-packed group. “It can be done. Being an alicorn affords me certain advantages in the area of magic.”
Her horn began to glow, and she said loudly, “Prepare yourselves!” There was a flash of dark blue light, and Twilight was no longer sinking into a bed of snow, but looking at the looming towers of Canterlot in the shadow of the night.