They approached the Citadel with quiet determination and a pair of wary looking guards opened the gates upon Healing's signal. The guards were definitely not equine; they more closely resembled a twisted form of Diamond Dogs. They entered into a hushed courtyard, packed with Arzeroth's subjects; there were many ponies like Healing Hoof, a few griffins and even a minotaur here and there. They all meet them with the same wary stare. "What is the meaning of this, Hoof!?" Demanded a bass voice. It belonged to a particularly large and vicious looking guard. Discord guessed from the golden whip he carried that he was the Captain of the Guard. "You were ordered to find relics of great and ancient power!" The Capitan roared. "Oh, I assure you, he did." Discord cawed, projecting his voice across the courtyard before taking to wing and hovering ominously behind Frozen.
"Yes he did," Frozen said, the wind picking up around them, howling violently at the beckon of the ice pony. "We have come to liberate those who would live by their own rules, governing themselves. Those who wish for freedom may join us, those who stand for Arzeroth will fall with him!"
The onlookers began to murmur uncertainly as the the guards closed around them. Discord added his own ominous black thunder clouds to Frozen's howling wind, blocking what little light there was to be had in this realm, and filling the air with the dull roll of thunder and the occasional splitting crack of dry lightening. This glorified light show would do no good on it's own, however. "The force, Frozen! Use the force!" he thought urgently, projecting into Frozen's mind. "The show of force!" He cast a protective shield around the three of them, barely visible in this light, as the Captain of the Guard roared with anger.
(lol star wars reference) Frozen roared in return, flakes of ice emitting from between his lips, mixing with his breath as he sent a wave of sound, wind and cold towards the captain. The ground shook and the wave of force slammed into the captain with a boom louder than a thunder clap.
The Captain flew back, slamming into the wall and scattering a few ponies on the way. Getting up and shaking his head, a brief look of fear passed across his brutal features; he rallied his fellow guards to him, and approached the duo cautiously; Healing Hoof had, by this point, bolted for the relative safety of the crowd. (Sorry, couldn't resist XD)
(lol no worries, that's discord!) "Yes, be afraid of me," said Frozen, "fuel my strength. The greater your fear and anger, the greater my power." He stepped forward, the ground freezing beneath his hoof.
A few of the guards halted their approach, a couple even broke and ran, but the Captain didn't break his stride; he hadn't gotten to where he was by showing weakness. He realised now that defeat in this would likely mean death, and so all trace of fear was dispelled; there was no place for it now.
Frozen smiled in determination. For once, just once, he was fighting for somepony other than himself. He might be evil in nature, but to the ponies of this realm he could be a hero for once. He leaped forward, charging ahead to meet the captain in battle.
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast," Recited Discord, as he flew alongside the charging Frozen. He sailed overhead as The Captain and Frozen slammed into each other, the embodiment of the unstoppable force and the immovable object. As they clashed, Discord turned his attention to the rest of the guards. "And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed." He continued, gouts of flame issuing from his open beak and over the heads of the few remaining guards. Arzeroth's subjects were now clearly persuaded by their putsch, so as he flew over the crowd, he delivered the instruments of their freedom; axes, swords, halberds and nets he conjured into the hands and hooves of the oppressed, and upon their oppressors they fell. "And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill," Discord cawed, perching on the battlements and observing as the guards started to fall and the tide started to turn. In short order, Frozen and the Captain were at the heart of a storm that was quickly dying out, but all this would be for nothing if they could not prove that they could fight as well as lead...
Blades clash and rang out, and Frozen met the captain's axe with a sword of pure ice. With each parry, flakes fell from it, and the sword became nicked and marred. After some time, the captain's timing began to falter and Frozen caught him during an opening, holding his blade against the captain's throat. "It's over, where is Arzeroth?"
The Captain simply snorted contemptuously and spat at Frozen. All his Guards had now either fallen or fled, and the faces surrounding him were anything but friendly, but still he remained defiant. Discord was filled with a mixture of respect, fear and loathing; is this what it would take to survive in this place? A hideous wail pierced the air, making many of the ponies cower in fear. Discord cast his gaze upward to see an indescribable horror take flight and head south; Arzeroth he assumed, and he supposed that meant their coup had been a success, though looking at the destruction around him, it was hard to feel too jubilant. He glided down from his perch to land dramatically next to Frozen.
Frozen deconjured the blade, preferring to allow the former prisoners to mete out their own justice. When he had taken a few steps, he sat down and looked up at Discord tiredly.
Discord looked around. "Not here, come on." He said quietly, wrapping a wing around Frozen and drawing him up. He made a beeline for one of the (now abandoned) guard stations, grabbing Healing Hoof on the way. Once inside, he closed the door, and returned he and Frozen to their normal forms. He turned to Frozen. "Nicely done; that went about as well as could be expected, but we can't show weakness, not even tiredness. You never know who's watching." He looked over to Healing. "Now do you understand? Warpaint. In order for us to keep doing what we're doing, this must remain our secret."
Healing nodded gently in understanding, "We're with you, all of us, just tell us what we need to do and when." Frozen placed a hoof on his face and stood up, groggy and tired, "I scarcely recall what happened, it's all a blur.."
Discord nodded. "That's probably a good thing; we don't want to start enjoying this." The last part he said to himself as much as to Frozen. He clicked his claws and a vial of bright purple liquid appeared; from it's neck hung a little note reading 'Drink me'. He handed the bottle to Frozen. "Here, it's a little concoction of mine; all the energy of six cups of coffee with none of the shaky side effects!" He grinned. "Apart from the hallucinations," he muttered under his breath, audible to no-one. He looked out of the window at the courtyard; the crowd seemed to have finished delivering their justice. "No time to rest, I'm afraid," He sighed. "We need to cement our victory and prepare for the inevitable counter attack."
Frozen nodded, taking the bottle in both hooves and downing its contents eagerly. When he had finishes, he jerked awake with a start. "Did you say counter-attack?"
Discord nodded. "I'm afraid so. I doubt Arzeroth will just take this lying down; either he or whoever he flees to are bound to try and take this place back. We need to establish our control and organize our new followers into an effective defending force." (Have you seen 'The Man Who Would Be King'? I'm feeling I need to weave some inspiration from that in somewhere.)
(I may have, king arthur right? Maybe I haven't lol) Frozen nodded, "I will go and reinforce the walls with ice," he said, "If they try to siege, it will hold a bit longer."
(Nah, it's more British colonial; basically two friends travel to a foreign and hostile land with superior training and firepower, and take control by gaining the respect and support of the locals, who eventually mistake one of them for a deity. Sound familiar? probably don't want to borrow the ending though...) "Hang on," Discord said, making sure Frozen was back in disguise before he went anywhere. "I'll take Healing here and organize the crowd," he said; he felt he could trust the pony now. He too donned his disguise once more, and together they stepped out of the hut to thunderous applause from the liberated.
(ah, I see, so we are going to make them think Frozen and Discord are gods?) Frozen sat at what seemed like a commander's table, for a moment, resting himself before he would set to work on the task of reinforcing the defenses. It was strange, really, just what he and discord had accomplished. Together, they had rallied a motley assortment of individuals, but could they lead them? He wondered.
