//------------------------------// // It begins... // Story: Sombra's Return // by Brawny Steed //------------------------------// A month ago... A small horn, red and bent backward, lay in the midst of the blistering blizzard, broken off from its full body. Ever since he lost to those free ponies from the south and most of his body crystallised and destroyed, he had been lying there. His own power had enough energy to keep him alive and that was good enough for him. But to be ridiculed and reduced to just his horn, to lie in the snow while blizzards would rage on and on around him, as they lived out their peaceful lives in blissful ignorance, harmony, peace and freedom? He would not stand for that. He could live with the cold but not with the ponies being free. Not while he was still alive. But if he ventured south in force, they'd be prepared for him. They had the princesses, curse them both, ready to send him away from Equestria forever. They would not even let him find rest in the neighbouring realms. Saddle Arabia would not have him. The Griffin Kingdom preferred to eat ponies and whilst it's doubtful he'd make a fine meal for them, doing so would make the world a better place. Tarandroland, the land of the reindeer, would have his head on a pike within the month or tossed out to the Skolls. No, he had to stay in Equestria. Ironically, it was safest for him there. Hour became day. Day became week. He gathered energy to himself, hoping to gain enough to be movable again. His fuel which kept him going was his hatred for the free ponies, and that little baby dragon. Oooh, how that little vermin had sabotaged everything for him. He would pay back a thousandfold for this turn of events. The others weren't so important to him, save one. The one known as Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn who deciphered his plans, who tore past his defences of the Crystal Heart, who gave that dragon a chance to save those who were actually slaves to Him! The two would have a very unpleasant time ahead of themselves for their actions. The pink princess who now guided His slaves? Oh, she'd be under the protection of her aunts. She'd be best left alone... for now. But first, he needed to figure out how to deal with them all. He needed power to match the princesses. He needed power to hold his own against anypony else. He needed... a new body. And then the thought occurred to him. He found a course to use. One he was not afraid to use. As soon as he was able, for the first time in his life after being released from the ice, he gave a cruel and viciously loud laugh. It was lost in the howling of the blizzard that came and swept over him. He would not have it any other way. Present day Trixie was travelling north. Having used what money she had left, she had bought herself a new wagon (with wheels, this time) and items to help her in her stage performance. Having been made fun of in the south of Equestria, she sought to help improve her chances and build a new reputation up in the Crystal Empire. She was going to charge cheaply this time and make performances to impress the spelless crystal ponies. But she did want to learn how to gain their wonderful glittering coat.That would make her very popular down south. Of course, that wasn't the only reason she went north. She wanted to make a reputation as a whole new kind of magician, not as the Greatest in all of Equestria, but more as the Kind and Impressive unicorn. The Empire was perfect. They were not aware of her story and the incidents with the Ursa Minor and Ponyville. She'd be able to make a new life there. And if possible, maybe she'd become more than that in time. As soon as she could. She did have a companion this time. An earth pony smith by the name of Steel Beard went up there with her, by request of Lord Shining Armor, he added, to help make more weapons and armor for the crystal ponies. The reason being, that there was news of changeling activity and diamond dogs about further south and griffin bandits making raids were getting increasingly relevant across Equestria. And everypony who was able and willing had a responsibility to help protect their nation. Steel Beard had said that it was a request and not an order and he obliged mainly due to the big pay check that soon followed. They arrived at the station about an hour later, mostly due to the rails getting frozen and making it too slippery for the train to keep going fast. Her wagon was unloaded quickly and they were on their way to the Empire. And then the blizzard kicked up again. It howled greatly this time, worse than when Trixie was on the train. Blizzards were common up in the Crystal Mountains, and statistics did speak of them being more of a nuisance than a threat, but this was getting a little much. “It'll pass over in a few minutes, no worries,” Steel Beard assured her whilst they were taking shelter inside the wagon to be out of the snow. “Trixie is just glad that we got inside fast enough,” she replied. She knew for a fact that they were two completely professional ponies and they didn't have any urges toward one another. “No worries,” he repeated. “The worst that could happen would be getting frosty throats. And even then, it's not something that some hot cocoa can't fix.” He could not have made a bigger hint than that. Then something slammed right into the wagon. The two were knocked about and due to some force that was really in a good mood for some personal amusement, the two of them ended up in at least three intimate poses that could be interpreted as something out of a certain book. “Arg!” both cried and got away from each other as quickly as they could, but then the window got torn out. “Oh for- they said it was wind-resistant!” Trixie cried in annoyance. “I'll get it,” Steel Beard said and went out there, being quick in opening and closing the door. Trixie was left alone in the wagon, using her telekinesis to block out the wind and snow from the inside of the wagon. Didn't take long for a girly scream to happen outside. Huh. Never took him for one of those. Then something slammed into the wagon again and upset her concentration. She worked hard on keeping out the snow with her magic, but the slams kept coming.. As if something was out there. Where was Steel Beard?! He wouldn't have made a dash for the Empire on his own, would he? Her own confidence grew short as she saw something huge and black out there. She dared not go out for her window if Steel Beard really had abandoned her to save his own coat. But she steeled herself – no pun intended at all! - and prepared to scare away whatever it was. “Come then! You know not whom you deal with. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! And Trixie is not afraid of you!” In answer to that, the whole wagon went dark with all the lights blocked out. And through the window, appeared a pair of green glowing eyes with red irises. They narrowed down on her. "You should be." Two weeks later, the newspapers were going berserk with the news of changeling attacks and dog raids on larger pony settlements. The Griffin Kingdom claimed innocence and it was to a point, true. The raids committed by their kin were made by bandits with no proper funding to support their weapons and armour. Ponyville was unaffected, so far, but with a clan of diamond dogs so close by, most ponies that read the news were concerned about when they were next. Of course, most ponies didn't realize that the dogs were staying away from Ponyville simply because they were scared of Rarity and her whining and crying. Twilight Sparkle had had her trials as well. Since the news broke out of potential attacks by outsiders, Princess Celestia had sent her a book from a restricted section of the Canterlot Royal Library - a book about combat spells. It didn’t take long for Twilight to determine what it was Celestia was assigning her for. Twilight was dubious and hesitant at first about learning advanced combat magic, primarily due to her being taught by Celestia that she should avoid using her magic to hurt others but after the run-in with Chrysalis at the wedding in Canterlot, she saw the need. Celestia and Luna also saw about refitting a new military outlook for the ponies. Due to the need for soldiers required throughout the nation, they had sent trainers across Equestria for the sake of training militia in the towns. War was awful business and for over a thousand years, Celestia had striven to prevent conflict for the sake of her subjects and for harmony. But as things were turning out, despite her excellent methods and machinations, something equal was opposing her to ensure the outbreak of conflict. At the very least, the Windigoes had seemed content to not return with their eternal winter. To make matters worse, Prince Romance, the ambassador to the Griffin Kingdom, and Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard had gone missing. The former had gone to Baltimare to charter a ship across the sea in order to get to the griffins and request volunteer soldiers for further protection of Equestria. He never arrived at the port. Shining Armor had gone up north to review the Crystal Empire's portion of troops. They had heard almost nothing from Steel Beard and the need was too great to ignore him going missing. That was not half of it. Several others had gone missing, too. Rainbow Dash was shocked to read in the news that a retired member of the Wonderbolts, Tempest, was one of them. Others included a doctor and a thieving pegasus. Their disappearances wasn’t getting as much coverage by most newspapers due to the events that suggested griffin activity and some of them were putting the blame on the Kingdom. King Aeris was not happy with being blamed about mounting up for war against Equestria and expressed this to Celestia. The newspapers dropped that issue shortly afterwards. Down in Ponyville, specifically on a small clear field at Sweet Apple Acres, a small squad of the Royal Guard was leading quick drills for anypony who went to them. Most didn't want to, so they were pretty much on their own. Twilight was there at least, practicing her new spells. She was only content with learning one so far, but it was good. “I don't get it, though,” Spike pondered aloud for them to hear, “if we are going to be at war, why don't Princess Celestia and Princess Luna drive them back like they did with Discord?” “Because,” Twilight answered, “from what military reports that come through to us tells us, these attacks are crawling up nearly everywhere. And the princesses cannot be everywhere at the same time.” “But they can be at two different places, so they can handle two situations at the same time and then move on to the next two,” he countered. The staff sergeant countered that one. “The princesses has stayed together since Princess Luna returned and Princess Celestia is not willing to lose her sister again. Anything can happen out there.” “So, that is why we need to be out here practising,” Twilight stated as if to put an end to the discussion. “Now, I'm gonna do it.” She flared up her horn and the guard readied themselves. An identical number of purple, glowing figures, similar to ponies in heavy barding, flashed up. Almost immediately, they flew straight at the Guard. “Hi, Twilight!” Pinkie interrupted the latter's concentration and the figures disappeared in a heap of smoke. The guards were not pleased, save one who looked relieved when nopony was looking in his direction. “Hi, Pinkie,” Twilight scowled. “That was fun! Real fun, like how you used your magic to juggle Fluttershy's animals when the delegates from Saddle Arabia were here, or when we were chased by that hydra from Froggy Bottom Bog and you finally admitted my Pinkie Sense made sense despite it not being scientifically possible as you put it. Or-” “What,” said one or two of the guards. It came off as stereo. “Oh, hi guys,” said Pinkie once she saw them. “So, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “Did the Cakes give you the afternoon off?” “Yep! And with that letter from Princess Celestia asking us to have these exercises out here in case of something, I came here. Not sure how I need them, though. I mean I get enough exercise out of having parties and fun and I'm okay with that and everypony else who goes to my parties has lots of fun while stretching their legs.” A small snort escaped the staff sergeant and he hid it quickly with pretending to cough. “I'm sorry to object, but I fail to see how parties can compare to our strict training exercise.” A few blinks and then Pinkie simply beamed at them. “Okay, I'll just show you colts. Follow my lead!” The soldiers snickered amongst themselves and agreed, if only for the sake of being polite. Some time later, Pinkie bounced away, humming while the soldiers lay on their backs, exhausted confused as to what happened just then. The staff sergeant had lost his lower jaw in the process of watching. Twilight merely shrugged and Spike laughed. “Say, Pinkie, have you heard anything from Rainbow Dash? After we got our notices?” “Sure. I’ve been getting letters all the time now from Rainbow and she's having a good time at the Wonderbolt Academy. Been almost thinking of attending myself, till I remember I don't have wings. Then I remember that you can cast a spell to give a pony wings like you did with Rarity, but those weren't very sturdy so I was thinking maybe you can make mechanical wings and- oh, never mind, Applebloom doesn’t have a cutie mark in engineering.” Spike blinked. “I have no idea what you were talking about just then.” As a matter of fact, all six of them (plus Spike) had gotten notices and naturally they had talked about it. Rarity wasn't much of a willing combatant and had voiced this to certain ponies, but she made up for it with a certain branch of logistics. The result was that large bolts of cloth and needed antiseptics were shipped to her boutique so she could convert them into gauze. While Rarity did pick up self-defense classes again, should anything cause the breakout of war in Equestria, Celestia wanted her powerbase to be in an endless supply of resources to keep the soldiers alive for as long as possible. Fluttershy had asked to keep out of it all, but the others (mainly Rainbow Dash before she went full-time to the Academy) managed to guilt-trip her enough to attend self-defense lessons together with Rarity. She was kept up in thinking that she would have to go into battle herself and it was still downhill from there. Rainbow Dash had gone full time to the Academy and was said to be under personal training by Spitfire and Soarin'. Talk had already preceded the crisis in that Rainbow was the next coming star of the 'Bolts and this turn of events would just be enough to let her join full-time. Applejack was well known enough as an athlete that she only needed to know basics of combat moves. First day the squad arrived, she showed them the area where they could practice. When told about combat practice, she volunteered and promptly got her flanks handed to her in the first practice bout. About an hour later, the tables had turned and they decided AJ was good to go. Pinkie, while not thrilled to learn how to fight when she could learn new party tricks instead, accepted the new directive (not her choice of words), though she didn’t attend self-defense lessons. Spike wasn’t outfitted with anything yet, but Twilight was informed of spells in her new book that could enhance an individual’s physical abilities. As soon as he found out, Spike wanted to be the subject of those tests. “Well, that was great to hear, Pinkie,” Twilight told her. “But I need to practice the spells Princess Celestia gave me to work on and-” “Oh! You can use me as a test subject, Twilight.” Pinkie just beamed at her. “You need to practice, I got time off and...” she took a look at the soldiers and the staff sergeant. “They're taking a break. So I’m good to go.” “What about me?” Spike asked. Almost immediately, he remembered how well the first spell had gone and regretted opening his mouth. “Sorry, Spike, but I’m keeping you from the aggressive ones in this book and you did ask to be a subject more on the ones that increases your physical capacities.” Twilight turned to Pinkie. “Are you sure about being a test subject, Pinkie?” “I’ll be fine,” Pinkie replied with a waving hoof. “We always turn out fine, there’s no reason for our good train to start crashing now.” Then she gasped all of a sudden. “Uh oh. I just said that. Now there’s a train somewhere that’s bound to crash somewhere in Equestria and it’s my FAULT!” Twilight blinked. “Pinkie, trains don’t crash just because some random pony says a funny metaphor that used trains.” “Give it time,” Pinkie warned. Twilight groaned. “Are you certain you want to be a test subject for these spells?” “Yes,” Pinkie replied. “Good!” Before Twilight could continue, Spike gurgled and belched out a scroll bearing the royal seal. The lavender pony ignored her pink friend for the moment and read the scroll. “The princess wants to see us all,” she stated. “Go fetch the others.” “Okie dokie.” Pinkie commenced bouncing back to town. “Quicker than that, Pinkie!” … “Thank you for coming,” Celestia spoke softly when they arrived in the throne room. Rainbow Dash was already there waiting for them. “Hey, guys,” she crammed in to greet them. They answered with a nod to let the princess continue. “I do hope that I was not intruding much when I summoned you to Canterlot,” she finished. “No, Princess,” Twilight answered for the group. “You did say that it was urgent.” “So what's goin' on, this time?” Applejack wondered. “Discord escapin’ again?” “No, thankfully, that has yet to happen with all the commotion,” Celestia replied. “But I called you here for another reason altogether. “You already know that there are outbreaks of skirmishes and raids by diamond dogs across Equestria and the changelings are streaming out of the southern badlands.” “Pft,” Spike snorted. “Easy. We could drive them back before, we can do so again.” “Not this time, Spike,” Celestia sternly told him. “Something is driving these things. Diamond dogs and changelings do not work together at any given time, so for them to attack my subjects at the same time is unprecedented. While it is beneficial for them both, I doubt they met in secret and forged some alliance.” “So, why are we here?” Celestia had a glance over the windows of the hall, each recording a significant event of Equestria, most of which were very recent thanks to her student and her friends. “To prevent war, a peace conference has been called and all the leaders of the different nations have been asked to come here.” “You mean we get to see Vigg again?” Spike asked excitedly. Celestia chuckled. “Young Prince Vigg has replied and he is eager to come here. But the reason you are here is because they all want proof that peace can be maintained: They want to see the Elements of Harmony and our esteemed heroes.” “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said. “You mean they asked for us? Specifically?” “Yes, Fluttershy. The griffins, the reindeer, the perytons, even the Changeling Queen wished to see you and the Elements.” “WHAT!?” They all cried together. “But the changelings are among those who attack Equestria!” “Them crazy varmints drain love from everyone!” “The black snooties steal the forms of other ponies! Why can’t we do the same to them!” “Why are they being invited at all to this conference!” “Surely they cannot be trusted with hoping to maintaining peace.” Celestia listened to their complaints while she retrieved a letter kept in old folded leather. As much as she detested the practice of tanning cowhides, she did admit it had practical uses such as keeping missives safe from water. “You’d be surprised to learn that it was the Queen who first asked for a peace conference. I recall that both Luna and I were when we received this.” Twilight took the letter and read it aloud. Celestia and Luna, Those who tend to the Moon and Sun This may seem a most unusual request from someone like me, but I have seen what is happening. It is not pleasing to my eyes. My subjects are desperate and hungry, hence their raids on Equestrian settlements and villages. What reserves we have are slowly running out and I cannot allow my people to starve and die. These continuing raids keeps us sustained, but I know that it is only a matter of time until you come for us. Therefore, I wish to call a conference for peace. War is not beneficial to anyone and love is scarce in its wake. Equestria has more love than any other place in the world and if open conflict were to breakout, my subjects will starve for certain. I cannot allow that to happen. We merely wish to live on in the world and if this conference is to succeed, it would be for the benefit of all. I know my deeds against Canterlot. I know what I have done to ponies. I drain love out of others for the sake of having sustenance. But understand this: I do what I must to look out for my subjects. I hope that you, as fellow rulers, would understand this reasoning. You, of all beings, can hold the peace together for all of us. But you need to show it to others. I feel nauseated by this, but I on my part, wish to see the Elements of Harmony as proof that peace can be upheld for the sake of everyone. All I ask for is a chance for my subjects to live on. Is it really too much to ask for at this point? Queen of the Changeling Hives, Chrysalis At first Twilight and her friends couldn’t buy it. Changelings calling for peace first of all? “I know what you are thinking. I was first convinced myself that they could not be trusted,” Celestia told them. “So why did you agree to this, at all?” Rainbow asked her. “Er, your Highness.” “It’s alright, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia glanced over to the window displaying Shining Armor and Cadence. “I received the letter... last week or so I believe. I thought over its words for quite some time. The queen isn’t the friendliest of beings, but she made some valuable points. In her own way, she cares for her kind as much as I care for my little ponies. And war would bring only pain to both our kingdoms. “Besides, it shouldn’t be too surprising that beings who feed on love would want to avoid open conflict, hmm?” Spike scraped his foot on the floor. The others looked to one another, trying to find a flaw in Chrysalis’ thinking. They could point out that it was a lie, a ruse to try and assault Canterlot again. Then again, Chrysalis would at this point be too weak to tackle both princesses at the same time and they had gained more experience since then, with the things that happened up in the Crystal Empire. But... if even Princess Celestia was willing to give the changelings a chance for this peace... what did they have to argue? Twilight sighed heavily. “So they are coming here for certain?” “Yes,” Celestia answered. “Are they going to continue with the raids until then?” “I’m afraid so,” the princess said. “But they do that out of desperation, not malice. I imagine they will ask for something else that’ll benefit them, so long as we benefit from the same terms.” “So, what now?” Applejack asked. “We keep the Elements to ourselves until the conference takes place?” Celestia inhaled deeply first before making a move towards the vault of the Elements. “For the time being until the conference is over, you will hold them. You are proving yourselves outstanding for the protection of Equestria and you are strongest when together. I know this is a bold move to make so suddenly, but events are forcing my hooves and I want to stay ahead of anything. “Ponyville is unharmed so far and we are fortunate and grateful for that. Once again, the fate of Equestria is in your hooves.” She opened the vault and brought out the chest. A quick look to the statue garden made sure that nothing had happened to Discord’s statue while they were talking. Celestia had seen fit to make alarms around the statue in case he broke loose and on the Elements in case someone had stolen them again. So far, so good. “Here,” she said and offered them the chest that contained the Elements. “Keep them safe. They are enhanced so that you and I can tell who is touching them beside yourselves. That should discourage some aggressors.” “Thank you, Princess.” Twilight opened the chest and, to much relief, the Elements were there this time. She handed them over to her companions and put on her own. “We’ll be ready for whatever comes our way.” Nods were given, good luck was wished and then they were on their way back to train station. They were however, still inside the castle when Rainbow Dash went on to ask Twilight something. “So... Who’s Vigg?” “Huh?” “The princess mentioned a “Prince Vigg” earlier when Spike asked and it’s someone we don’t know about. You seem to know him, though,” The Wonderbolt-in-training explained. “Quite so,” added Rarity. “I was not even aware of this “Prince Romance” stallion that had gone missing as well. Sounds like a charming fellow, that one. Unlike a certain royal pain,” she grumbled. Mainly due to her spotting said royal pain donning armor and doing push-ups along with a squad of soldiers in the courtyard. “Anyway, back to Vigg. Who?” Rainbow Dash narrowed in on Twilight. “..Vigg is crown prince of the reindeer lands,” Twilight began. “He came to Canterlot with his mother the winter before Nightmare Moon returned. Apparently there was a coup in the country and his grandfather the king sent them here. “Celestia took them in and entered negotiations to stop the coup. Meanwhile, since he was here, Spike and I took to learning things from him.” “Vigg’s a sportsdeer, and he loves being outdoors for exercise,” Spike added on his part. “We had great fun together during the winter here. Twilight would always scold me for getting snow all over the place back then.” “Vigg did have his studies to attend to.” Twilight smiled at the memory. “All his teachers were in the capital at the time so it unofficially fell to me to teach him. Had to pull him away at times from outdoor activities whenever his mom came calling that he do his studies. He eventually got around to do studies willingly, even when he was supposed to be on break.” “Hoo, colts...” Rainbow couldn’t help her smirking. The images were just too strong at the time. “What?” “Couldn’t help but notice that this prince Vigg had a crush on ya, Twilight,” Applejack said. She probably figured the same thing too. “Oh, that.” Twilight merely rolled her eyes. “Vigg told Spike that I was, and I quote, really hot. Spike then told Shining Armor who in turn told me.” “Why of course he would find you attractive, darling,” Rarity commented. “Your coat could do wonders and turn heads if you focused into making yourself presentable to somepony.” The stare she got told her everything. “You turned him down, didn’t you?” “He was thirteen at the time,” Twilight defended. “Of course I turned him down. Plus, he’s a reindeer and I’m a pony. I don’t even know if that would be compatible. His mother wasn’t too pleased about it, herself.” “Aww, that wasn’t very nice,” Pinkie pouted. “You two could have been great together.” Twilight blinked and glared at Pinkie. “Me, a pony whose sole focus at the time was learning magic, and a reindeer prince who loved the outdoors and is younger than me? Yes, I could really see that happening. I’d invite you guys to the wedding.” “Really?” “No.” Twilight inhaled. “Still, it’d be great to see him again. See how his studies have been after the coup and know what he’s been up to in his personal life.” “There we go,” Rainbow smirked. “The inevitable thing they will have in common.” “Rainbow Dash!” …. “We’ll be ready for whatever comes our way.” He cut the scrying there. The old spells were quite something. Farsight the unicorn would have made a tremendous spy of the court, had he not run afoul of him. It was very difficult to avoid detection from the princess at this given time. He had to resort to scrying instead on one of the two pegasi rather than the unicorn. He didn’t bother with either one was who, he just used one of them. Those enchantments the princess had made were going to be a challenge. He did not like a challenge and this one was not an easy one, to start with. He had hidden in the library along with the other ponies he had taken, forced to hold the form of another. Sweet justice, he felt, in that his possessed form was one of those who had helped stop him at the Empire. The white stallion. What was his name again? Something to do with armor. He couldn’t recall. Another, this one a grey pegasus, the thief he had taken, emerged. “Taken care of the owl. Tied up and locked up in the chest upstairs.” “Nopony’s come this way, either,” said the smith, looking out the window while obscured. “Are you certain about this?” His other unicorn stallion asked. “Princess Celestia is not going to take this lightly nor is she to be.” “Celestia will not be a concern,” he replied to the unicorn. “I’ve taken measures against that and now we will go through with the first step. The Element bearers are on their back so get ready.” He reached with his magic to take hold of something. Somepony forgot their copy of advanced combat magic behind...