IceStorm

~~~Ice Storm~~~ ~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Ice would smile as their other guests arrived, and she waved as Wind greeted them, Wind letting out a small laugh when Raven said that she needed to get her nose out of books more often. "Hey, I may not entirely be sure what it is you're researching, but knowing that it's something for Icy, it's probably for a noble cause, and Equestria will be better off once you've figured it out," she smiled, looking at Sky. "I for one am just glad that we were able to get out to do something like this." "Right?" Ice Storm spoke up. "I was genuinely starting to think that free time was a myth with everything that was coming at me one right after another." Wind would kinda smile with a bit of sadness at that. "Yeah, that's one thing that I've had to learn fast since Sky and I had our foal, is knowing when to put the brakes on things and make sure that I have time for my family. I've already cut back on some of the activities I usually partake in. I don't like not being able to be there for my fans, just as I'm sure you don't like not being out there doing whatever it is you do, but sometimes you just have to put your hoof down and say 'No, this time is for my family, and nothing else matters," she smiled, putting a wing around Sky.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ "I can't say that anything on my side of things have been any better. Between missions, nobles, and all of my other stores, I haven't been able to do much of anything. At the very least, I'm glad you were with me when we went to Neighpon tracking the sorceress... even if that lead to nothing but a bunch of dead ends, but we were able to get Nira out of that toxic environment, and we were able to establish an alliance with the Neighponese Navy, so some good came out of it," Ice spoke, resting her head on Raven's. "But tonight is just for us, and relaxing with out friends." ~~~Wind Dancer~~~ It had been a bit since Wind Dancer and Sky Sailing had had an evening where it was just the two of them. The downside of being popular was that nearly everypony wanted an opportunity of your time. It made it somewhat difficult to balance personal life with business. Which was why when Ice suggested to her after the last show that she had done at the Fire and Ice that they should do a double date. She'd been wanting to get out of the casino with Raven, and it would give Wind and Sky some much needed relaxation as well. Now, she didn't mind the spot light most of the time, but there was always going to be one thing that was more important to her, and that was family. As soon as the show side of things started interfering with her family, that would be the end of the show. She had built up way more of a security blanket than she or sky could ever need to move on from the show business life and be happen whenever that came up. Wind had already resigned to the fact that this would likely happen whenever she and Sky had their second foal. Granted, tonight it wasn't exactly just the two of them, considering they were meeting a couple of friends here. However, Icy and Raven were the kinds of friends that were like Goldie. They were never really looking to make anything about themselves and more what they could do for others. They also knew when not to be too invasive and just let ponies be who they are. She had just gotten into Tsiyukomi's With Sky and Ice was already sitting with Raven, waiting to be seated. "Hey Icy! Good to see you out! And you too Raven! It's been a while since I've seen you outside of Icy's casino," Wind said warmly, sitting next to the friend, waiting for the Sky to sit next to her. "I'm assuming you've already put us on the list for the table?"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ The past several months had been tedious and busy for Ice Storm. Between running recon for STAR, running the casino, and checking in on her franchise of dessert parlors. It kept a mare much busier than any pony should ever be. Family time, was sparse and there was finally a bit of a lul here. Finances were ahead of schedule, inspections were finished, and Frozen Delights was operating as efficiently as ever. That being said, while they had spent evenings together before at home, it wasn't the same as being able to bring able to get time specifically devote to your special somepony, and that is entirely what tonight was about. And what better place to do that, than a place both of them loved dearly. Tsiyukomi's. The fancy Neighponese restaurant that was down at the end of the strip. Home of some of the tastiest noodles in all of Las Pegasus. And they was exactly where she was taking Raven to tonight. In fact, they were already here waiting in the foyer to be seated. Sitting next to them was another couple that was looking for a break from the limelight. A couple that was looking to just to get some time for themselves, save for a few friends. Wind was no stranger to being a celebrity as she was one of the most popular dancers in the city. Mostly because of her heart, and hey desire to not let game and fortune go to her head like most do. As it was, she would nuzzle into Raven, and wait for them to be called to be seated. It was already somewhat loud in the lobby and didn't want to miss the call for their table.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice chucked a bit with Candy when she joked about Blizzard making a house out of Ice and Snow before she paused. "Huh, I guess that's more common than I would have thought. when I got my cutie mark, I woke up in an igloo that I've always assumed was made with my magic. I don't know for sure though. All I remember was I was in a blizzard on Canterhorn Peak when I felt a surge of energy, blacked out, and then woke up in an igloo with my cutie mark. But I guess that's another thing we have in common with each other!" Ice giggled. Watching Blizzard get into things a bit more after her nudge made Ice Storm smile even more. Tonight was definitely not the night to be moping about. That is, unless you were the kind of pony that was easily scared by things, then Ice could see nightmare night not being fun for them. Unless they were a pony that had fun by being scared... then... Ice shook her head briefly to keep herself from going down the expanding rabbit hole of what ifs. She heard Blizzard introduce himself as Queen Elsa before hearing Candy refer to her as Olaf. This made her giggle quite a bit before her attention was turned back to Blueblood and His friends. She then saw Dunnie next to Blue and she seemed to be surprised as Ice nodded again. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that she was the center of attention at the moment, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Ice would nod when Blue mentions that the decision for her ascension was not one that was made lightly by Twilight. "I can imagine just simply on the kind of test I had to go through. I had to fight a copy of myself, and walk into the center of a compressed star. I must say that this wasn't the outcome that I was expecting, but... I'm not complaining in the slightest," she replied as the sphinx had made its way up them. It was quite a sight to see indeed, and it at least looked to be friendly. He asked Blue if he knew her, and Ice would nod. "Blue and I actually go way back! I think I was still living in Ponyville when I first met him and we hit it off as friends. I don't remember what we were doing, but I did remember that of all ponies, he was the one I least expected on changing my views on Nobility. Rarity made him sound completely different than how he was, and from there we just kinda became friends, though my dealings with STAR and other Equestrian Military expeditions limited me from taking things any further than that," Ice spoke. "But this isn't the night for old stories. This is a night of fun, and I as Olaf, hereby decree that we are going to have the best Nightmare Night ever!"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm bounced in place happily as she anxiously awaited everypony else that was getting ready. She couldn't help a bit when everypony came out in their costumes. They all matched perfectly. Ice knew that this would be a good idea! She heard Candy ask about the inside joke that she seemed to be missing. When Luna said that she should be the one to explain it, Icy giggled. "Well, like myself, Blizzard is an ice mage, and also like me, he didn't have a kind upbringing. The only difference is that instead trying to tackle the problems head on he ran away from them to the frozen north for a while before he came back and everything started working itself out. Pretty much exactly like the Snow Queen from the movie! So I thought it was a perfect fit!" Icy explained. Her mind was drawn elsewhere though as she heard another familiar voice. He was dressed like the ancient Neighgyptian god Anubis, and was making it look real good, but there was no mistaking the voice of Blueblood. She could tell that he recognized her as well because of the falter in his introduction and calling out to her in disblief. She would nod to confirm his realization. "Yup! it's me! It turns out that you were right when we were talking over tea not that long ago. Though apparently the ascention had some side effects, so while I'm mentally the same, I'm stuck in the body of a pre-teen filly, among other things that have seemed to worsen..." She said with a faint blush, but it didn't last long. "But, that's all okay because it gives me a second chance to have what Golden Hoof took away from me growing up. I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about STAR. I can't turn it over to just anypony, but that's an issue for a night that's not nightmare night. This is my first true nightmare night as it was meant to be! and I wanna go out and have fun!" Ice said in a chipper voice. "Candy is Anna, Blizzard is Elsa, and I'm Olaf!" she continued giving Blizzard a small elbow to get into character, and then gave him the big pouty eyes when he looked towards her. It was then that two other ponies showed up, neither of which she had recognized. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She'd seen the unicorn around a few times in the castle since she'd been back here. They'd never been formally introduced prior to now though. She wasn't sure how much of the conversation the new ponies had heard, but she did know that they were here now. One of them didn't even appear to be a pony, but a sphinx. That was very interesting. Then they started opening their wings... and then their wings opened wings... and then their wings opened wings, and then... you know what, there were a lot of wings. It was a really cool display and one that would have made Mythie proud. She clapped happily at the display, and waved to the new ponies as they arrived.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Once again, Ice Storm found herself being stronger than she was expecting and had apparently, quite easily, knocked her friend off her hooves. She was quick to recognize her though, and even quicker to return the hug. That one simple act, was enough to calm a lot of Icy's nerves. Maybe her friends wouldn't think that differently of her after all. She was still the same pony. Just a bit more fun-sized, and had some of the side effects that went with it. "Hehe, guilty as charged," Ice would say when Candy said she figured out where Luna got the idea to order from her. "I was actually trying to get her to order more of the chocolate strawberries, but told me I would have to share them... so we went with peanut butter cups instead," Ice giggled. She sat back down as Luna told Candy about the order and the request to go trick or treating with them. A request that was immediately accompanied with pouty eyes from Icy until Candy said yes. "Yay! Candy's coming with us!!!" she said happily, hearing the door across the room open. Icy clopped her hooves happily as Blizzard came in wearing the Elsa dress. It was a perfect fit! Even more so when Luna zapped the beard away, making Icy giggle. "I dare say, you look quite smashing," Icy replied putting on the most horrendous Trottingham accent anypony in the room had probably ever heard before listening to Candy and Luna and going to get ready herself. After all, it wouldn't do them much good if everypony else was ready and they were still waiting on her. After a few moments, and a few of the castle staff helping Ice Storm get into her costume, The cute little filly made her way back into the room, her body covered in three round white snowballs that looked like they were made of actual snow. Only the slight trace of the zipper going up the back could be seen to prove otherwise. The costume only seemed to add a bit of waddle to the new alicorn as she walked into the room, candy bucking following in her levitation aura. "Okay, I'm ready whenever!"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Luna had remained silent when Ice asked about who her friend was that was coming from Las Pegasus. "Come on, tell me... tell me! tell me, tell me, tell me!!!" Ice said much like an impatient, overly excited filly would be. Granted, that's what she was now for the most part, and the new, even more youthful presence in the mare had somewhat taken over. In truth, she was just excited to see her old friends, and was hopeful that they would understand and not be mad or upset at how different she was. She looked over to the throne room doors as they opened and a series of guards came into the room, followed with a cream colored pony with an orange, yellow, and black mane and tale. A pony that she would recognize almost instantly. After the order was placed on the ground, and she heard Candy ask about her, Icy ran up and tried to tackle her into a hug. "CANDY!!!" She yelled as she leaped towards her friend.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ It only took a few moments before the filly shook her head and righted herself. She gave a nod to Blizzard when he told her that she had to be careful when running through the castle. "I know... especially when I haven't gotten completely used to this body yet. I don't know how the pegasi do it. It's so much harder to stop with wings than you would think," she spoke, listened to Luna speak up as well, asking if she was going to say hi, and then revealing to Blizzard who she was. She waved with a smile. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't recognized her. Shoot, she barely recognized herself when she looked in the mirror when she was in the room with Twilight after she came out of the test. She sat back down, and giggled as Luna recounted to Blizzard what their evening was going to be like. "I remembered that you said that we should go trick or treating together a few weeks ago, and well, I decided to make it happen. I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you in this costume... hehe," she giggled, watching as he was sent to put on his costume. When Luna said that this would be entertaining, Ice nodded. "This is going to be so much fun! I didn't get to do this when I was a filly! I didn't really get to experience my first Nightmare night until I was already well into my years at the school of magic! honestly... I never thought I'd every get a chance to do anything like that again." Ice sighed. "You know, it's funny really, when I was here a few weeks ago helping Blizzard watch the shifts while Fire was out on leave, I told Blizzard that I would give anything a chance to have what was taken from me when I was little. I had no idea that I was actually going to well, have that happen. The fact that I still have all of my memories and that my mind is still fully intact after everything that happened, only makes it even more enjoyable. I just hope all of my old friends don't end up hating the new me because of how different I am now..." she said. As if on cue, Luna had then told her that one of said friends was coming tonight. "Oh! Who is it!? Who is it!?"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice couldn't help but chuckle a bit with him at his initial joke about them being 'The Cold Ponies'. "Ha! We're so cold we make the Windegos run and hide!" Ice added with a laugh of her own. The cider and the pie was an amazing combination, and it seemed like a good call to save the saki for another time. After all, the sweetness of the cider and the apple pie would make the saki taste... well... not very good. there were flavors that went well together, pie and saki did not seem like it was very high up on that list. When he further added that her secret was safe with him, she gave him a bit of a puzzled look before she realized what he was talking about. "Oh, this," she wiggled. "I wouldn't really call this much of a secret anymore. The issue started not long after an incident when I was younger, and by the time it was truly discovered, it was too late to reverse. Infact, it's only ever gotten worse instead of better, but it is what it is. So there's no sense in being mopey about it. Doesn't change a thing about who I am, and you know what? It's okay to be different, and it's okay to be okay with that," she spoke, taking another swig of cider. "After all, most of the problems with ponies nowadays, is they are afraid to be themselves, because the social norm has always taught us to look down on those who are different, so society as a whole loses that vision of what makes ponies unique and fun. Sure, there are some things out there that are more questionable and morally unacceptable, but there's never a reason to treat a pony different because they have a disability, or they had a different upbringing, or they didn't grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth. ehhh, the utensil, not the pony," Ice giggled again. She paused though when he left the room and returned with an old blanket. It was highly faded, and it looked, very, very old. It was confirmed when she heard Blizzard tell her that it was made for him by his grandmother for when he was entering school. She could see how important it was to him and she smiled, taking off the hooflets that she wore. "These were the very last things that my mother gave me, before Golden Hoof tore our family apart. My father had made them for my mother when they were getting married, and she gave them to me when I was a filly as a hand-me-down. It's... the only thing that I still have from when my family was whole..." she said, hanging her head with a sigh. "I would give anything, to get to relive the fillyhood that I never got to have, and I'm sure you feel the same way... but, that's not really an option for us anymore, so that's why I do what I do. Why we do what we do. So that the ponies that come after us don't have to go through what we did. Make Equestria a better place for all. For now, and for the future," she smiled.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ To say that Ice Storm's life had been turned completely upside down, would be an understatement. Usually when things happen like that, it's in a bad way, but for Ice, it was a weird way, and not unpleasant in the slightest. While her mind was still as sharp as ever, and had all of her memories and her core beliefs intact, her body was now very much different. Instead of being a fully grown unicorn mare, she was now in the body of what she could estimate as a ten-year old filly, with her shoulders just barely above the underbarrel of most ponies. But that wasn't the biggest change, nor was the fact that her little overnight issue had become a more permanent problem, leading her to stay padded up all the time. Honestly, even when she was a full-bodied unicorn she was expecting that at some point. IT was the nature of disabilities like that. They either got better, or regressed, and now she was nearly completely at the whim of her body on that regard. No, the thing that shocked her the most about the new body, was the set of wings that she now had on her back. The wings themselves were the same icy blue that her coat was, but they transitioned into the dark blue that was around her flank, albeit covered by the while foalish garment with cloud prints all over it. The newly annointed alicorn filly was excited for the night! This was her first Nightmare Night as a filly again, and Luna had told her that she had a surprise for her, but no matter how much Icy begged, Luna wouldn't tell her what it was. Now that it was Nightmare Night, she'd finally get to know what the surprise was. The alicorn filly was sooming through the halls with a crinkle the entire way to the throne room, which was where Luna had told her to go. She made her way through the door, and being the excitable filly that she was now, while getting going for her was easy, coming to a stop with her new wings giving her more momentum now... not so much. The throne doors opened just in time for Ice to see Blizzard standing in front of Luna, but not in time for her to hit the brakes. "Whoa... Whoa... Whoa... WHAAA....*thud*," came from her as she tried to stop on the polished throne room floor only to slam into Blizzard, and then landing on him. She sat up with her eyes swirling around in her head. "Owwie..." she said, disoriented.

Icy will be there! This will be her alicorn debut thread!

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice saw the princess put up her hoof while she was talking, and she heard Twilight tell her that she didn't need to justify anything to her. Twilight further mentioned that she, as well as herself, and any creature listening, knew very much of Ice's past. Ice then let out an eep as she felt the larger mare pick her up and put her on her back. She listened as Twilight explained that they had a lot to talk about, but the past was in the past, and the future, no matter what she chose, was bright. She said that she was perfect for this, like Ice was supposed to know what this was. How was she supposed to reflect on what something was, if she didn't know what it was. Still, there was a drive inside of her. A drive to make sure that her home was okay, that the ponies that she loved was okay. Everything else would be worth it as long as the realities had been sewn back together. She wasn't entirely sure what Twilight meant when she said that she should look with her magic instead of her eyes. "I'll try, but the only pony that I know that could see with magic is Mythie," Ice replied not entirely understanding. She looked over Twilight's shoulder and through the void. She could see Equestria starting to reform. She took a deep breath, and she began to answer Twilight's question. "I see... I see home. I see my family. I see ponies having fun, and not living in fear. I see ponies in Las Pegasus that feel safer than they've ever felt. On a grander scale, I see a land of serene beauty, one that hasn't seen the likes of a true war, minus the few invasions we had, and hopefully for many years to come, if STAR has anything to say about it," Ice smiled. "Otherwise... I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to see... I... only know how to see with my eyes, and my heart...."

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Seeing the fellow ice unicorn already starting to drink, and knowing that she would be joining him soon, Ice opened the saddle bag that was on the bed. With her, she knew it was better to be safe than sorry, and that her already weakened senses in that region were even weaker when she was inebriated. As such, she wasted little time pulling out one of her protective garments, printed all over with clouds and snowflakes with pink leg guards, and quickly taped it around her. She'd need it when they fell asleep anyway, and this way if the drinks hit her too hard, she was already prepared for it, rather than having to change the sheets while they were drunk later. She then took the mug that was offered to her and toasted. The cider in the mug was crisp and sweet, with a nice burn as it went down as well. She couldn't help but giggle when he said that much to everyone's surprise, the castle wasn't covered in Ice from a battle of egos. "Heh, well the night isn't over yet. Though I don't think we need a battle of egos to do that. That just kinda sounds like fun, and would give the guards something interesting to talk about," Ice giggled. "Oh we should totally do that! pick some random places in the castle and put some invisible ice slicks on the floor and just watch the guard on patrol go for a slip and slide," she chuckled. When he added about not going too had on the sake and the cider, she laughed again. "Yeah... that's probably not gonna happen. Believe it or not, I actually tend to be a bit of a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Which is odd, considering how the magic in my body works... and some of the extra consequences it has... you'd think that the extra water in my body would make me more resistant to alcohol, but the opposite is true for some reason. I'll be plastered by the time we finish that bottle," she admitted. When he asked how she managed everything; STAR, The Casino, all of her desert stores, and go on missions. That between filling in for the captian and his research his plate was full enough as it is. "With a very organized and dedicated chain of command. Everypony in STAR knows exactly what their responsibilities are. Whether it's running the casino, as far as doing the pay outs, housekeeping in the hotel rooms, running the research and training facilities under the casino, or working in the ship yard just outside of the city. That allows me to delegate the less important tasks so I can focus on the most dangerous of threats. Recently, those threats have been more internal than external. I can't really go into too many details in that regard. As far as running the stores, it's simple really. I just hire other Ice mages to run them and supply the funding for them. They know the procedures and they do everything exactly the way that I would. So that keeps things running efficiently. The missions are the trickiest part, because you never know how long one is going to take. the last one I was on was in Neighpon and I was gone for several months. Honestly, the hardest part is making time to relax or spend time with family... Thankfully they are all part of STAR so they all usually go with me, as dangerous as that is," Ice said, taking another swig from her mug. It was about that time that he mentioned dessert and a knock on the door came, with a member of the delivery staff brought in an apple pie with some vanilla ice cream to enjoy. "That looks delicious!" she exclaimed before taking a large bite. Large enough that, for most ponies, it would trigger a brain freeze. Icy, However, had discovered early on that she was immune to those... and to anything coldness related for that matter. she just wasn't ever affected by anything cold. Fire, however, she was quick to find out that the pie was just a tad too hot for her to start with, but thankfully the ice cream that came with it prevented a burn. "Hot! maybe I should let that ice cream do it's work for a couple minutes," she giggled. When he looked towards his cutie mark she giggled at the comment. She then took a couple of the apples from the pie and stuck them in the ice cream. "There! Now it looks like mine! or would if it wasn't covered at the moment," she giggled.

~~~Golden Bit~~~ Golden nodded to Shining Armor and Flurry Heart at their response. "Then consider it done. We we have your places reserved and you'll be brought in immediately upon arrival. I'm sure Windy will look forward to having you in her show. Oh, and I wouldn't plan on wearing anything expensive," she giggled before turning back to Candy. "I would probably say to start the interviews as soon as you feel comfortable with doing them. Just as you would be able to tell a lot about a pony from an interview, the client can do the same about you. And if your nervous, or if the interview feels rushed or not very well optimized, they will notice that. That could cause a client that you feel would be perfect for the position to back out because it could make them feel like you don't really have things together even if you do. Perception works both ways, but we'll save that for when I'm actually teaching you," Golden smiled, giggling a bit after. "For now, I think the only thing that you should worry about is celebrating what would be the best grand opening day that I've seen in Las Pegasus in a long time. Well, at least for one that's not a casino," she added before another pony walked into the room. This pony caught the heads of most in the room. She was not Equestrian, but Maretonian. She stood taller than most everypony else in the room, and she kept an heir of regalness to her that would have been expected of Celestia, Luna or somepony else of high importance of that. She was clearly a delegate of sorts, and when she asked who the owner of the establishment. "That would be this fine young mare here, and while I'm not sure what Maretonian customs would consider old timey, but it definitely fits the Equestrian customs for it. Most of the candies here are the very same that I remember eating as a filly myself, and that's been ages ago," she responded.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind nodded to Sky when he asked about Ice. "At least that's what Miss Goldie says. I never really talked to Ice about it herself. Having dealt with previous trauma before, I knew what it was like to relive old memories, and there is no way remembering something like that could ever wouldn't trigger some sort of painful reaction. I do know that it was part of the reason she became military though," Wind answered. She then thought a bit on what Sky has said before that. She couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance at the comment. The announce wasn't directed at Sky himself, but more to the fact that he was one hundred percent right. "Oh, you have no idea. There is a reason I will never in a million lifetimes ever perform for Flim Flam's resort. First off the first time I met those two, their eyes were glued to my flanks, and got a little too hoovesy for my liking. They assumed that because I'm a showmare that I followed all of the stereotypes that went with it. On top of the fact that they wanted to charge outrageous prices for ponies to come and see my show. Prices that I wouldn't even pay to see me. The general admission they wanted to charge was three times the maximum price I allow, and less than a quarter of it was going to go to the staff actually working the event! And before I met you, anypony that ever tried to get close to me, with a very except few all wanted to use my name to push themselves onto others. Like... That's not what I'm about at all! But, you know this already, and that's why I love you," she said as their food arrived. The waffles smelled absolutely delicious. "Oh dear... If these are as good as they smell... Buttermilk might be in danger of losing her 'best waffle' title," she giggled.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm listened as Twilight spoke and began to explain things. That there was actually a lot going on. She felt twilight sit her in a chair, and it took her a moment to get situated in her now much smaller form. This was going to take some getting used to. She started to wonder why she was so much smaller, but she figured that explaination would come with everything else. Twilight explained that she had lived a remarkable life. She personally didn't feel like she was misguided, at least not recently. Sure when she first started STAR, she was partially blinded by the rage of what happened at the crystal empire, and then the events that immediately followed that. However, she was quick to see where that path was going to lead, and that was not a path that she wanted to be a part of. She commited to building the Shadow of Ice because she had already went through the trouble of getting the materials and the blueprints for it. It would have been a drastic waste of resources, and a full collapse of moral of those that had started following her if she were to back down at that point. However, that was when she started making some changes to the ships design. After all, replacing the projectile cannons on it with Aether cannons, while wasn't a popular move with Twilight when she first found out about the ship, was absolutely vital for everything that followed, and is why that every destroyer that was made since had the same build on it. Projectiles fell, and a wayward shot, which would be inevitable in an actual time of war or conflict, such as an invasion, could land in a city and cause untold amounts of casualties from ponies that had no part in the conflict to begin with. That was also the realization that broke her from her original mindset. It's not the populace's fault that an individual is corrupt and dangerous, therefore they did not deserve the same fate. Ice realized that there were many occasions where she was actually really close to becoming the Ice Storm that she had come across in this journey, but she knew that she couldn't let that happen. That would destroy everything she worked for. Twilight continued, telling her that she was special, and that Twilight was in need of someone special before going on about some of what she had just seen. The fact that she had already somewhat seen what was going on in that regard, helped her understand what Twilight was getting at. Even the short trip to the throne room when she first came to the castle was part of her understanding as they had walked through multiple realities on the way through. With there currently being an infinite number of realities with an infinite number of situations, it's no wonder that Twilight was having issues. Twilight continued to speak on the matter, explaining much of what Celestia had explained to her before she had stepped into the heart of the star. She then made reference to an ideology that had become very well known to her, and was why she had checked things as much as she had when she was making STAR. Absolute power, corrupts absolutely. At some point the temptation of using the power to do something becomes too much and while you think that you're doing the right thing, you're actually hurting others in the process. Ice actually found herself looking across the multiple timelines, and she actually shuddered a bit when she saw some of the paths that she had taken in those realities rather than the one that she was on. There was one where Twilight never came to power, and Celestia had turned tyrannical and Ice had joined up with Princess Luna to help lead the Rebellion against the Sun Empire. She wasn't entirely sure what they meant by "death star" but she was also certain that she didn't want to know. There was another reality that she saw, briefly where it didn't look like she was in Equestria at all. Rather, in that reality, she was sitting on a bed next to a weird creature that she had never seen before. That version of Ice appeared to be quite happy, though was obvious that certain issues had progressed past the point of no return, but it didn't look like that mattered. Honestly, she would be kind of sad to see that reality go away. Not all of them appeared to be bad, but she also wondered, what happened to Equestria in that reality that was so bad, that ponies had to flee? because she wasn't the only pony that was there. Eventually though, as Twilight continued, all of the realities that were in the room faded from view. This happened as Twilight mentioned that it would only take a couple small events that would ultimately lead Twilight down her own path of dismay. Since Twilight knew that she could not always be the protector of Equestria, she needed somepony that could. "That's... been my primary motivation ever since I discovered that I could protect others with my magic" Ice started. "The Crystal Faire is what showed me that I had the ability to protect others, though I still live with that burden of not being able to save everypony in that building that day... but... that was what started me down this road. The path through EPIC, and the military. Then watching my home get invaded three more times after that, I couldn't take it any more, but... there was still more to it than that... I'm sure you're already aware, I grew up alone, not... actually too much different than Tempest, honestly. except the enemy wasn't an ursa that caused my problems. It was the cruel heart of another pony that tore my family apart when I was just a foal. After I got the deed to that land in Las Pegasus, and Swift gave me these," she pointed to the amulet around her neck, only to find that it wasn't there. "Huh, I should have known those wouldn't survive the heart of a star. No matter though... those... honestly weren't that important. They definitely would have been if they had fallen into the wrong hooves, but they did give me the courage to create STAR after I felt EPIC just wasn't doing enough. We were still being invaded to prevent and bureaucratic corruption was starting to become apparent as the red tape to get anything done only got thicker and thicker. AT first... yes... I wanted revenge against the Red Jarl. I wanted to make him hurt and suffer just they same way he made Equestria suffer, but I realized that would make me no better than him. I do still seek to right his wrongs and hold him accountable for his actions, but I also didn't want to do anything to any that surrounded him. For all we knew they were simply being misguided by a tyrant and forced to do his bidding under fear of retaliation. There's always more to what's going on than what meets the eye, and After seeing first hoof how some of the nobles in Canterlot and other regions of Equestria could be at times. And how often they would stomp on the hooves of others to make sure that they stayed in their position... I simply couldn't sit back and allow those things to continue, so while yes, I guess I kind of was a bit of a warmonger at the start... I realized there was a better way. I still built my ships, both because I already had the materials for them, and secondly... let's be honest, Equestria is definitely safer with an aerial defense like that. The wonderbolts are great and all, but those ships that Tempest attacked Canterlot with were hardened steel. a single pony, no matter how strong would be able to do anything with that alone." "The real magic of STAR, however, actually came while we were developing and researching the aether cores for the ships. The biggest thing that I set STAR to be, was a place that no pony would be rejected at. I knew what it was like to be orphaned, and homeless, and I wanted to make sure that ponies knew they always had one place they could go, and they would be well taken care of. That meant I had a lot of ponies there, like myself that had some sore of disability, mine being one that rears it's ugly head at night, others were much more obvious, a unicorn who was blind, but could see the aura of magic, chipped, cracked or broken horns... I had an entire resarch wing under the casino in the main base dedicated to medical research and how we might be able to use these aether cores to fix these things, make prosthetics that actually work. Then a unicorn would never have to worry about losing magic again, at least due to horn loss, and pegasi would never fear losing flight! I can't imagine there being a single worse fear than a pony losing the ability to do what makes them who they are. And then of course making sure that I have the best lawyers so that I could go after the wealthy aristocrats that keep their wealth by taking advantage of the less fortunate and using them to further their wealth, and creating despair among families. I know what it's like to have your family torn apart because of the actions of others, and I want to make sure that no pony ever has to feel that again. That's all I ever wanted to do, was be the rock that Equestria needed. So that fillies and colts don't have to hurt, that they can stay with their families, and they don't have to wonder when or where their next meal is coming from. To look out over the streets of Equestria, knowing that those streets were save and that I was the pony that helped make them so. That's why I did what I did, and that's always been my creed, To fight for those who can't." Ice finished. She still had more questions, but she had spoken a lot and wanted to give Twilight a chance to provide her thoughts as well.

~~~Jazz Hooves~~~ ~~~Sugar Moonlight~~~ Jazz couldn't help but blush a bit herself as she heard Onyx speak, even if she wasn't sure that she was supposed to hear that last part. However, she could tell that the conversation was also starting to fluster Allegro a bit. It wasn't until she heard Onyx ask Allegro if he did any shows himself. That got her gears turning. "Oh! If you do! then we should totally do one together! I mean, outside of karaoke at Mane Melody I've never really performed in front of others before, but who knows, that might be fun!" Jazz said excitedly. Sugar giggled a bit when she saw that her words definitely had the desired effect, and she was certain that the nuzzle didn't hurt. However, they were in public after all so they couldn't get too carried away. However, she to blushed at the mention of a herd. She wasn't entirely sure about how she felt about that either. It wasn't that she didn't like Jazz! That would never be the case! Jazz was an amazing friend! But she was pretty sure that's all they were. She could definitely see something between Jazz and her friend here though, they were cute together, and they were both musicians in a way. It was a perfect fit! "Hmm, maybe not a third for a herd, But we could get wild once in a while," she said in a whisper to Onyx as she waited to hear Allegro's response to if he did shows or not.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ As Ice Storm continued her march towards... well, anywhere really, she could feel her hooves gaining more and more traction. The purple hue that was around her eyes started getting brighter and brighter until she noticed that she was now standing in front of a large door. It was a good thing that she got as much of her vision back as she did or she would have walked straight into it without a second thought. She wondered what else she came close to walking into while she couldn't see. She reached up to touch the door, and she found it moving open on its own as she pushed. She shrugged her shoulders a bit and started pushing it the rest of the way open. The first thing that she noticed was the a table, some chairs, and what appeared to be a very tired version of Twilight, who despite being in such a state, was still as regal and awe inspiring as ever. Was it just her or did everything around her feel... bigger? When Twilight spoke, calling her wittle Ice Storm, she raised an eyebrow. She was going to say that she wasn't that small, but when Twilight picked her up in her magic, it became evident that she was in fact quite a bit smaller. in fact, she was the same exact sixe that she was when she was about ten years old. She wasn't sure how, but she remembered that. She remembered that she was actually still living in Canterlot at that time. She was still living with her friend Moondancer at the time after she'd been homeless for a while after initially getting there after escaping the apathetic neglect from her original parents. If she were on the ground, no doubt she thought that her shoulders might only come up to the bottom of Twilight's barrel. Ice asked the only questions that she could comprehend at the moment. "What happened... and where... am I?"

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice Storm was unsure of what she felt abut the full extent of her powers at this point. She'd never pushed the envelope before to see what her upper limit with these spheres were. She never needed to, and... nor did she want to need to for the most part. She was happy that the spheres gave her the power that, on most circumstances, she could protect others around her without breaking a sweat. Even if it was brief, Ice was both equally in awe, and terrified of the power that resonated within her. It was then she realized just how close she had come on many occasions to becoming the very monster she wanted to protect Equestria against. She felt the ice flowing through her, and she was flowing through the ice. They were one. Anything that snow and ice could do on their own, she could do now. She could take on any shape she wanted, with any density that she wanted. Of course, with what was coming, she chose to make herself as dense as possible, but she knew that under the power, and weight of a star, there would be nothing that would stop it from incinerating her. And incinerate her it did. What Ice was expecting to be over in an instant, leaving her unable to feel anything, was distorted. It was at that moment that she discovered that time was relative. Years, hour, minutes, seconds, all of it was relative to an individual. As such, time seemed to slow down immensely as the waves of heat started washing over her. She could feel it lighting fire to every single nerve ending that she had on her, triggering most of her body's fear responses, but in reality not giving it a time to perform them. She could also feel the bits of her body getting burned away but she could also see something that was different. She saw the star spread out, and she could see the reality that they were in collapsing around her. She thought that she could see her own in it as well, but she couldn't truly be sure. Honestly at this point she wasn't entirely sure that she had survived. Erm, well, let's be honest here, she knew that answer clear as day. She was standing next to the heart of a star when it broke it's containment spell and turned into the brightest thing in the known universe. She knew with absolute certainty that she had died, what she wasn't sure about, was whether she had passed the test. After what could only be described as an undisclosed amount of time, Ice Storm for herself slowly getting the strength to open her eyes. When she did though, she was greeted with a void. The only reason she could even tell that her eyes were open, was the twinge of purple light that appeared almost as a ring around her eyes. She started craining her head and trying to move her hooves so that she could try to get some semblance of bearing. Hopefully her hooves would find purchase on something and she could pick a direction in the void to go. She was't sure what she was going to find, if anything. It was possible that she could spend eternity wandering this void. This didn't make any sense, and a deep pit formed in Ice's stomach. Celestia told her that her life had value... that despite everything, she had done good and great... if that was the case, and she had gone to the afterlife... shouldn't she have gone to heaven and not be stuck in purgatory? Was it because of what happened with her parents? That wasn't her fault! She had to leave to survive! And it wasn't like she never made up with her mother at least, despite her father never giving her a chance to! she did everything she could to make sure she did right by Equestria and make sure no pony felt the way that she felt growing up. She began to wonder despite Celestia's words of encouragement, if she had done enough. The void in front of her at the moment was a glaring example that perhaps that wasn't the case at all, that perhaps she was good, and perhaps she was great, but in the end it didn't matter... No. Ice had found her way out of difficult situations before. She may not be able to see the path in front of her, but that did not stop her from taking the first step. Ice had never been a pony to roll over and give up. She was a fighter, and she fought to protect her friends, to protect her family, and to protect her Equestria. She may not be a ruler of the land, but Equestria was as much her land as it was the rulers or anypony else that called her home. She would not give up on the fact that her reality was the correct one, and she would make it home. She had come this far, and she was not about to give up now. Come Tartartus or torrential torrents, she was going home.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice listened carefully and watched the murals as they walked by. As Celestia spoke, she began to piece things together and everything started making sense. Including why this Ice Storm was acting the way she was, but she could also see that this Ice was misguided. Nothing that happened was done with malicious intent. This was all a tragic accident that occurred from a spell backfiring in the worst possible way. Twilight was no more a villain than she was a victim of her own spell. In fact, she couldn't imagine anyone being more affected by it than Twilight herself because she was at ground zero when her own spell went haywire. So Twilight literally had to watch her spell destroy everything she loved. Celestia herself, if the murals were anytime to go by, reminded her a lot of herself honestly. At least this version of Celestia. If there was a threat to Equestria, she was quick to stomp it out to keep everyone safe. This only further proved to Ice that Twilight was a victim, and not the problem here. If she were, this Celestia would have dealt with it already. It was just a shame that the Ice Storm here was too blinded by her own hatred to have seen that. She could be doing so much to help if she had just taken a step back to look at the bigger picture. Soon they reached what looked to be a pair of bulkhead doors. And then another... And then another, with each room they move through getting hotter than the last. The final bulkhead was practically glowing it was so hot, and when it was opened ice could see why. Celestia explained it as the heart of a star. Not just any start though, but the very first one to ever exist. It was immensely hot. And it was already starting to affect the ice mage. Fire was her biggest weakness, and this was one of the hottest fires the universe was capable of creating. Celestia admitted that it was her own greed that manifested the desire to capture this star and that it had come back to bite her many-fold. She earned Ice that as soon as she dropped the shield containing it, the heart of this star will expand. She knew what that meant. Celestia told her to cast her most powerful ice defensive spell. Told her that it wouldn't save her, but if she was strong enough, it wouldn't have to. That she would be reborn. Ice nodded. "You know, the symmetry in this is more than ironic. In my home... I'm the founder of an organization called STAR that is dedicated to protecting the ponies of Equestria both from internal and external threats. Some while call me it's heart. So it's ironic that the heart of STAR, is now about to face a test, from the heart of a star," she spoke as her spheres broke away from her amulet. Initially, she didn't think casting any spell would be worth trying. However, she was quick to realize that in order for her to be considered the correct Ice Storm, that she would have to be tested. That meant that in order to pass, she needed to follow all instructions provided to her if she had any hope of being reborn. The spheres began orbiting her at a speed of which that they were no longer visible, but almost creatine a blue sphere around her. The temperature around her plummeted, though was still exceptionally hot, but the more magic she channeled, the colder it got into she had funneled every ounce of magic that she had into herself. She now looks as is she had become one with the element of ice, and was now a living vessel of ice and snow. Her eye glowed a bright white as she held the magic, awaiting what was to come.

~~~Wind Dancer~~~ Wind Dancer smiled warmly and nodded as Sky suggested the scones for himself and that they could trade bites once their orders got to the table. "Sounds delicious to me!" She smiled. She also listened as he spoke about whether they were truly considered important figures. Hey smile grew even warmer and she gave him a nuzzle. "You and me both, love. And at the very least take solice in the fact that the ponies in Las Pegasus know it's well enough to know that we don't think ourselves any better than them, and they treat us the same way they would anypony else. For... Better or for worse," she giggled. "But outside of LP, the only time ponies ever get to interact with us, are some of the interviews we do, and if they ever come to LP. Otherwise, they will base what they think off of everypony else, and what they are on fliers. It's unfortunate sometimes that others see us as more than what we are. Which, I'll admit it's a little bit annoying at times like this because when we're out on vacation like this. It almost feels like ponies are afraid to even approach us. And if I'm being completely honest... I've always hated that feeling. I wish everypony could just see us for what we are. A pair of performers, having fun, putting on a shoe for others so that they can have fun as well. The last thing I want is to be thought of as a one of those stuck ups from Canterlot because other ponies don't even try to come and say hi!"she concluded. She could already see the wheels turning when Sky agreed with her though, saying they should pay it a visit. No doubt there would be some musicians here in the crystal empire that would have done what Sky was thinking, but a creator couldn't help but create. "I know what you're thinking, and if you want to get the best perspective of what actually happened here... We don't need to look any further than the casino next door. If I remember the stories from Goldie correctly, Ice Storm was in that very building when it fell. She was one of the few survivors."

~~~Ice Storm~~~ It seemed that Celestia nodded in response but wasn't overly eager to see the plan through. Ice understood. After all, if they went through with this plan, and it succedded and had the expected affects that this Celestia anticipated, then this world wouldn't exist. Ice herself would be apprehensive about anything that would cause her own world to cease to exist, even if she knew it was the right thing to do. Her ears perked up when she heard this world's Rainbow Dash said that all the ponies had been saved and was awaiting orders to place them in the dungeons. She could understand Rainbow's reasons. However, she was relieved when Celestia said to release them. More often than not ponies were just doing as order, but there was always a chance that they could take up the mantle in place of their leader, using the other Ice's fall to become a martyr for their cause. That's exactly why they needed to be treated with kindness and showed that just because they have different views, that doesn't make them enemies until they actually start hurting others. When she heard Celestia give the order to lock the keep once they went inside, it cemented the fact that something big was going to happen, be it good or bad. As they walked by each corridor, Celestia dismissed everypony they came across. Soon they came to a set of double doors. The sconces on the walls lit up as they moved through the hallway and she looked forward as it sloped downward. Ice Storm then heard Celestia comment on her choice of tea earlier and she chuckled a bit at the response. "Well, when it comes to tea, a bit is all you need. Too much and you're basically drinking strawberry juice with a bit of tea flavor," Ice laughed. She took this moment to look at the decor of this hallway. She was hoping to see anything that might give her some more information about this equestria. More specifically, anything that might have hinted to the cause of this fracture. While it was unlikely such an event could occur in her Equestria, if there were any warning signs that could be deciphered from any of these murals, then it would be important to figure them out before they came to fruition in her land so she could keep this from happening. It wouldn't hurt to ask Celestia what had happened here either. "So... if it's not too touchy of a subject, what did happen here? Were there any warning signs that I can look for back in our reality to watch for that might start leading Equestria down this path? Should I survive this ritual, I would like to do all that I can to make sure this doesn't happen," she asked. She figured Asking about it would be a good start as well, just in case the murals on the walls weren't helpful.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Hearing Celestia start explaining things, Ice paid acute attention. When she asked about tea, and what kind she liked, Ice nodded and spoke up briefly. "Simple sweet black with a bit of strawberry and chia," she replied before returning to a listening state. IF she was going to fix things here, then she would need as much information as to what was going on in the Equestria as she could. Apparently there was some sort of ritual that was needed, and that Celestia knew not what lay beyond it for her. The only thing that she knew was that if the ritual was successful, then this reality would not exist. She wasn't sure how that all worked, but if she was being honest, with the complexity of the situation she doubted that she'd ever fully be able to comprehend it. She listened as Celestia explained that the ruling alicorn was the focal point of all reality, and if the ruling alicorn was broken in any way, then reality to would be broken. She explained that Twilight chose her to help her, and she knew what the ritual would do to Ice, but not entirely what would become of it. That was important information. It meant that the future here was clouded beyond the events of a successful ritual. If what Celestia was saying was true, and then that would confirm that this realm would cease to exist once it's completed. She added that as Twilight grows into the role, the realm would get more stable and it would soon unify and they would cease to be. Then Celestia mentioned the ritual itself and her part of the ritual was easy, but also probably the most dangerous. She was to walk into the hearthfire at the center of the citadel. If she was the Ice Storm that was meant to be, then the ritual would be complete. If not, then she would die, and they would be doomed to repeat this day again. It was rather daunting to hear a succeed or die ultimatum, but the weirder part was the fact that this wasn't the first time that Ice Storm has been in a situation that's been life or death. Actually it seemed about par for the course recently. Without even hesitating, when Celestia asked if she concented. "At this point, all I need you to do is point me in the direction that I need to go, and as you said, everything else will fall into place. I've put my life on the line protecting others for almost my entire adult life. Ever since an invasion in our own realm I've been doing everything in my power to make sure nothing on that scale happens again. Even if I were to fall on a mission, I know others will take up the mantle. We fight, for those who can't," Ice spoke, giving Celestia the STAR Salute. "I'm ready to do my part for Equestria. All of them."

~~~Golden Bit~~~ Hearing Shining Armor say that he already had reservations at the Fire and Ice admittedly made Golden Bit feel a tad bit jealous, but she wasn't surprised. Like she had mentioned, Ice was military, and probably knew that he was coming long before anypony else did. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for Ice Storm, and she wished her neighbor success, but she also knew that royalty from the Crystal Empire would draw attention to the Mareage. Attention meant attraction, and that meant more revenue. Honestly, the part that most surprised her was the fact that he'd said that Ice Storm was an ally of the Crystal Empire and that she was kind of known there. She'd apparently helped defend it at some point, and wondered if it was any correlation to the return of King Sombra when the Crystal Empire returned. Honestly, given everything that she knew about that mare recently, and what she's achieved despite everything, she wasn't surprised. She was delighted to hear that they would be getting tickets to see Windy though. She knew that would make her happy. Windy always loved performing for little ones. "That's great! I'm sure Windy will love hearing that! I'll make sure you get a front row seat in the bleacher section of the show," Golden said with a knowing smirk. She knew exactly which routine Windy was using this week and that anypony in the first three rows of the bleachers would be caught in a sizable wave. It was honestly Windy's favorite part of the routine, and she tried to make the wave bigger with each performance. After a few moments, she caught sight of Candy beckoning from a distance. She gave a soft smile and a nod. "Well, I do hope to see you around your highnesses, but it seems that my assistance is needed by my new protege. I hope that I can manage to catch up again before you leave," she smiled before she made her way over to where Candy was. She listened to her speak about how today proved that she was going to need more staff, and she asked about a hiring process. "Well first, the only pony that's going to know what you are going to need for a business that you started will be you dear. I can give you a few pointers on how to spot quality ponies in a city like this. I can definitely teach you the 'how to hire', but the only one that can figure out 'the who', is you," Golden smiled.

~~~Ice Storm~~~ Ice looked over the chest piece and the helmet that Celestia was wearing, and... it eerily reminded her of that of her own armor. Armor that she was not currently wearing herself at the moment. It was plain as day that this Celestia had seen battle, and judging by the dings and the wariness of her, more than she would have liked. She felt a bit relieved when Celestia said that the others would be saved, and she could see the guards around them working to ensure that. The part that intrigued her was when she said that they would no longer exist once she succeeded and that the cycle needed to end. There that word was again. Cycle. She didn't understand that part, this was the first time that she had ever been here. However, it was obvious that this was not the first time that an Ice Storm was standing in this room. Nor was it the first time that Captain Rarity had dealt with a friendly Ice Storm, or the first time that the alternate version of her was dealing with herself. Honestly, it was somewhat difficult to keep track of. So much so that it didn't surprise her in the slightest when Celestia herself said that she had an issue keeping track of things. The one thing that helped her get through it was the fact that she was convinced that she was not supposed to exist to begin with. Ice Storm herself wasn't so sure about that. This was a different reality with a different timeline. Time itself was a fickle creature and had a mind of its own. Anypony who thinks that they truly understands how time works can be both one hundred percent correct, and one hundred percent wrong, depending on the reality that they are in and how time manifests itself within that point of present. Ice followed along with her as they moved through what she presumed was the castle courtyard and was relieved to see that there was still ground in some places. However, she noticed that earth ponies simply weren't a thing any more. Likely a byproduct of whatever event caused the rest of the land to break apart. She did recognize Rainbow Dash, even if she had never met the wonderbolt herself. She was one of those ponies that was kinda hard to miss. Especially since Dash was the kind of pony that loved being the center of attention and drawing attention to herself. "I am familiar with Rainbow, even if I would say that I don't know her all that well. In my realm, she's the poster pony for what an elite flier is, with a bit of an elite ego to go with it," she spoke as they came to a stop. The offer for tea caught her a bit off guard herself. Given the circumstances that were going on, she would have figured that would have been the least of a pony's concerns. Ice gave the retired princess a smile. "Eh, I can understand it. We did, and do still have a lot more pressing matters at hoof. However, I would love some tea while we are discussing things. Provided of course that everything that you've said so far is true, and that the ponies will be saved. I gave them my oath that they would be going home tonight, so abandoning them is out of the question. Even if I'm not the one directly doing it, this needs to happen. And there's never a guarantee that if I succeed at what it is I'm supposed to do here, that this world doesn't go away. With time there is always the possibility that it fractures, and while the initial timeline from my world would remain intact, whatever happened in this world to lead to this event would break off and create it's own timeline. In that instance, there are ponies that would still need to be saved. That said, I supposed the first question I should be asking is, what exactly am I supposed to do here? Twilight sent me to find you, but I have very little other information to go off of."