Twilight joined her former mentor’s smile. “Let’s see what you’ve concocted,” the princess agreed.
With that final word of confirmation, the project specialists got to work for the firing test. Alarms began to blare and warnings lights flashed red. The ground level of the HQ was cleared out, workers and agents alike peering up to the cannon to see if it would actually fire this time. Across the facility, the intercoms came to life and announced the one and only warning.
“Absolute Zero Cannon, final test commencing. Stand clear behind the appropriate barriers. Systems check: Magical power cores at 100% capacity. Temperatures reaching nominal levels. Exterior panels, activated. Preparing to fire in five… four… three… two…”
As the voice spoke throughout the HQ, the cannon began to change. To the amazement of the Council, Spike, and even Celestia and Luna to a degree, three panels extended and started to spin rapidly around the end barrel of the cannon. The temperature gauges all dropped to an astonishing -273.15 degrees Celsius due to the intensity of the magical power cores—being empowered by the very same freezing spells used in the Battle of the Three Kings.
From the tips of each exterior panel, a bolt of bright blue lightning began to fire off to conjoin in the center, at the very end of the cannon’s barrel. A bright whiteness filled the HQ, forcing everypony to flinch accordingly, though it wasn’t enough to blind. From that light, a ball of raw, magical energy began to form, grow, and rapidly spin. The sphere of freezing blue energy grew so mighty that it could no longer be contained, and with a mighty roar from the cannon…