//------------------------------//
// Arrivals 
// Story: Shade of A Crystal Empire 
// by igotastewgoing 
//------------------------------//



Chapter Five
Arrivals


From the cold void of nothingness they heard their master's call, and through fear they willed themselves back into the realm of the living.
Twisting like snakes of smoke that flow from a smoldering ember they rose from the frozen, barren soil, reaching for the heavens as they pulled themselves up from the depths. Their misty forms hung over the ground as a fog, black as pitch and piling ever higher as more and more of the venomous smoke spewed forth. Before long they covered the floor of the shallow valley from which they rose—a newly formed lake of dark water rippling and heaving with hunger and malice.
Under the light of the pale moon, a moaning cry split the air, rising and shifting into an unearthly howl that shook the very trees ringing the lip of the valley. Like a dance, the smoke shifted and spun in time with the undulations of the cry. As the sinister call to action whipped the dark clouds around and around, bumps were soon formed. Growing larger and larger, they covered the valley by the hundreds. Before long they had begun taking shape: Long snouted heads, flowing manes, tails twice as long wrapping around themselves, powerful thick legs and hulking, train-like bodies. And upon the brow of each one, stabbing outward from the head was a long, spear-like blade—The horn of the dark unicorn legion of legend and nightmares.
They were the Morkhast.
Created millennia beyond counting ago by the dread lord for the sole purpose of conquest and terror, the great doom of King Sombra's army now stood rank and file under the cold pinpricks of the stars, soaking in their light and deepening the darkness. Nature itself recoiled around them, withering and drying out at their touch and whimpering in pain at their very presence. They stood in the valley, solidifying and taking deep gasping breaths as one living entity, shaking the thousand years of slumber from their bones. They were glorious in power and monstrous in form.
Once the howl of awakening echoed off into the distance, there was only silence. They waited in the frosty stillness for the command from their master. In the ominous quiet an arctic wind began to sweep down the gentle slopes of the hills, bringing with it large flakes of snow which imbedded themselves into the tails and manes of the massed army. As the gusts began to pick up, flurries wildly swirled about their burly legs, sending little cyclones of snow crawling up the hulking bodies. The snowfall began to get heavier, and soon drifts could be seen forming at their hooves. The white wall of wind and snow had escalated in intensity so as to become a blizzard, as if the Frozen North was desperately trying to scrub this abomination from Equestria. But Sombra's army did not budge.
Then on the wind came a voice. It was deep and thundering and clung to the air and on every flake of snow that rushed through the vale. It flowed thick and syrupy through the ears of each Morkhast, filling their vile souls with energy and the need for wanton destruction.
To me, my warriors. To me. And vengeance.
As one being, the Morkhast reared and kicked in barely contained fury, roaring out their challenge into the night sky. At the height of their frenzy a deep purple blaze emanated from the hundreds of horns, coating the ground with a sickly hue. The dark magic flowing from them spread across the rocks, snow and dirt of the valley until it was a smooth glowing sheet of violet as far as the eye could see.
Small bits of stone and flakes of ore began hovering in the air as foul wizardry drew them up from the earth. Floating like millions of bugs above a swamp, they floated towards the dark army, gathering more and more pieces as the speed with which they moved increased, until they were practically flying out of the ground like bullets. As the Morkhast were peppered with these minuscule bits of earth which stuck to their hides, eventually patterns could be seen taking shape around their bulging shoulders, necks and flanks. The tiny fragments piled thicker and thicker upon them until they began forming angular, harsh armor plates, with the minerals inside gleaming silver in the moonlight. Before long there were hundreds of huge, black unicorns fully armored, and the clanking of the layered metal and stone plates filled the night with the sound of impending terror.
Lastly, as the Morkhast swarm surged forward as one, the flecks of rock and ore encircled their massive heads until they completed their gruesome regalia with a crowning piece of bladed terror, the protruding fangs and horns of their helms fashioned so as to resemble ancient dragons of old.
Through the blizzard in the darkness of the night they charged, following the beck and call of the one who made them. Steam poured from their nostrils and slaver dripped from their mouths as they slashed their way through the valley, churning the stone underneath to rubble under their iron-like hooves. They headed south, back to where they had suffered their last disgrace. The fury of the Frozen North followed with them.
Their master's voice echoed through the air once more.
To ruin. To ruin. To ruin.
The words were a pulse to which they measured their wrath.


* * *


"Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious," Shining Armor said, "But storms come out of the Frozen North all the time. That's why it's called the Frozen North."
The pegasus kneeling before him looked up with a furled brow. His blue-tinted silver armor, the uniform of the Crystal Empire Guard, bore the frost of the deep cold that had still not left him. The crest of his helm still had flakes of snow dusting it, and some of them fell to the throne room floor as he shook his head.
"No, sir," he answered in a gravelly voice. "Not like this, they don't. This ain't any normal storm."
Still having not fully awoken from his slumber, Shining Armor wasn't really much in the mood to hear about scary blizzards. It had been a particularly good sleep, too, filled with dreams of valiantly slaying giant beasts to the swooning of his wife, Cadence, to whom he would greatly like to return to in bed. On the other hoof, he did trust the ponies under his command, and if they thought something was important enough to wake him in the middle of the night, then he should probably listen. He nodded before getting up from the throne and making his way to the pitcher of water in the corner. He was thirsty as a mule. He used a bit of magic to levitate the pitcher and pour some water into a glass, then cleared his throat and blinked hard in order to shake some of the sleep from his eyes. With his back to the guard he casually looked over his shoulder and said "Please continue, then."
"Well, sir, it's like this," the guard said with a bit of hesitation in his voice. "It came out of the north, like usual, that is. Only, there were some things off about it. The…the winds were…they…that is to say they didn't seem…it-"
Still facing the wall with the glass up to his mouth, Shining Armor rolled his eyes briefly before swallowing and turning to the guard.
"Well, for Celestia's sake, out with it," he cut him off while filtering as much irritation out of his voice as he could manage. "What was off about the winds?"
The guard paused. "It seemed," he said, "Like darkness was in 'em. Like the night itself was wrapped up inside. And we heard howls like…like nothing we never heard before. Not from animal or ponykind or…anything in Equestria."
Shining Armor still wasn't convinced, and he was starting to become irritated at the thought that his time was being wasted.
"That sounds odd, I'll grant you," he said after finishing his glass of water. "But it's hardly without explanation. Maybe it was an optical illusion or just an exceptionally dark night or the wind did weird things to sound like animals howling or—"
"Sir, that ain't everything," the guard interrupted. "We first saw this storm yesterday morning, sir. It was right on the border of the northern forest when it blew in."
"And?" Shining Armor asked.
"Well, sir," the guard finished, "It ain't moved since. Not the clouds, not the snow, it's just staying in one place. There's enough wind to knock you over on your flank, if you'll pardon me, sir, but the same storm cloud has been sitting low over the forest unmoving the whole time. Like it's anchored there."
There was a moment of silence while Shining Armor took in this new information. That was weird. Perhaps each of those factors alone would have been explainable by themselves, but all of them together made for a troubling situation.
"So let me get this straight," he asked. "There's a blizzard on our northern border that's been just sitting there? For nearly an entire day?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you say you've heard strange noises from it neither you or anypony else can identify?"
"The whole time, sir."
"And there's some kind of unnatural darkness inside?"
"Whipping about like mad, sir. It's a block of nighttime, even in the daylight."
Shining Armor filled has glass with water again, and took another drink. There wouldn't be any more sleep for him tonight.
After he finished his water, he turned to the guard and said, "Get yourself some hot food, warm up, and then wait for me outside. I'll be along shortly."
The pegasus bowed before turning sharply and heading out the door. The melting snow dripped off the back of his armor as he left.
Shining Armor stood alone in the throne room for a moment to collect his thoughts. It's likely there was some magic at work here. He was mentally kicking himself for not making it a bigger priority to get a squad of unicorns in the Crystal Empire Guard. They did have some unicorns, but none of them were magic specialists. There had been talk recently about strengthening their defenses against the arcane, an idea which Cadence had been particularly vocal in supporting, and a unit of magic users seemed a logical first step. They just hadn't made it a main concern. Shining Armor assumed their muscle would be enough to see them through whatever they came across in the meantime.
"Well," he said aloud to himself, "One more thing I might have to admit she was right about."
Shaking his head, Shining Armor magically floated his cup back down to the table to rest beside the water pitcher before turning back to his chambers to get ready.
He was going to need some coffee.

Even while she was asleep, Cadence was so graceful that she seemed to float on the mattress. The sheets moved up and down slightly every time she breathed, and somehow she made even that look like a beautifully choreographed dance routine: The raise up a pirouette, the gentle descent a elegant bow.
Shining Armor didn't know how she managed to do it. Or how he managed to end up with somepony like her. He would have chalked it up to his good looks and charm, but even his pride knew its limits. He was lucky, and he wasn't too proud to admit it.
Getting dressed in his warmest gear, Shining Armor did his best to not wake her. He knew he would have to before he left, after all she was the Princess of the Crystal Empire and needed to be told what was happening, but he always hated disturbing her sleep. Unfortunately Shining Armor was not very quiet by nature, and Cadence slept lightly. She awoke nearly the minute he started getting dressed.
"Mmm, what time is it?" She sleepily asked after rolling over to face him.
"Really, really early," he whispered.
As her eyes got adjusted, she saw what he was doing. "Where are you going?" she said as she sat up on her pillows. "What's wrong?"
"There's some kind of weird storm on the northern border," he explained. "It's got everypony there spooked. Sounded a bit odd, maybe some kind of magic going on. Something about black winds and strange howling. I thought I'd go take a look."
Cadence frowned and said, "But your sister is coming in this afternoon."
Shining Armor cringed and slapped his forehead.
"I can't believe I forgot about that," he groaned.
Cadence shook her head. He wasn't a very forgetful pony usually, but he did have a knack for forgetting things at the worst time. Delegating in her head, Cadence tried to problem solve a way out.
"Can't you send somepony else to check it out?" she asked. "At least until Twilight leaves?"
Shining Armor shook his head.
"No, they're really rattled up there," he said. "They need their commander. And who else am I going to send? We don't have a magic squad yet. Aside from you I'm the one who knows the most magic here. And I already said I'd go."
"So what are you going to do?" Cadence asked. She tactfully held back the "I told you so" she was entitled to.
Shining Armor thought for a minute. He looked at the snow goggles he was holding in one hoof. They were metal plates with a thin horizontal slit in the middle and bound with leather edges and straps, but at that moment they might as well have been Twilight Sparkle's eyes staring right into him. Angrily. He stood by the bed and considered if the wrath of his sister was worth potentially leaving the Crystal Empire open to attack. He had already told the guard he was coming. Backing out now would make him look either indecisive, or worse, a liar. He couldn't have that.
With a great sigh, he made up his mind.
"Alright," he said. "I have to go and check this thing out. I'll try to make it back as soon as I can. If I'm not here when Twilight arrives, well, just keep her here until I get back, yeah?"
Cadence give him a cold stare.
"What?" Shining Armor asked. "She's probably going to be here for more than a day anyway, right? So what's the big deal? I'll see her when I'm done with this. There's no way I'm going be there more than a day."
"Celestia made it sound like she was in a bit of trouble. She's going to want your support."
"And she'll have it totally" Shining Armor said, "WHEN I get back. But the Crystal Empire needs me, too. I am helping rule the place, you know."
"Shining Armor…"
The chill in Cadence's voice was frostier than the wind outside the palace. He held out a hoof to try and fend off the verbal lashing he was about to get.
"I know," he said before his punishment could start. "I know it's a jerk thing to do, but if my pegasi scouts saw something they don't like, I believe them. I've got to go check it out. I've got to be a leader here. I know you understand that. I would hope Twilight would, too."
"She knows you need to be a leader, Shining Armor, but you've got to be a brother to her as well."
There was a silence as they both let the words sink in. Cadence knew Shining Armor was in a hard position here, but they were talking about his sister. They didn't know what was wrong with her yet. She could be in trouble, and what would that say to her if her brother was off chasing storms when she needed him the most? She watched him as the gears in his head turned, rolling over the responsibility of ruler and brother in his mind and seeing which one would win.
Finally he lifted the snow goggles over his head and put them on his brow, securing the strap in place.
"It's the late afternoon train, right?" he asked.
Cadence closed her eyes and sighed. Her mussed up mane swayed back and forth as she shook her head, the streaks of purple, pink and pale yellow making a tangled pastel rainbow in the bed.
"Yes."
There was another moment of brief silence between them.
"Well," Shining Armor continued, "I'll try to make it back before then. Shouldn't be too hard. It's only a few hours away. Plenty of time to make it there, find out what it is and come back."
Cadence nodded. She was disappointed, but there was little she could do. It wasn't her job to make sure Shining Armor behaved like a brother should. He had to make those choices himself. She couldn’t force him to. She could only hope that for Twilight's sake, his plan worked. Otherwise there would be some significant damage control for Cadence to deal with. And if that ended up being the case, Twilight Sparkle wouldn't be the only pony he'd have to answer to.
"Okay," she said.
He wrapped his scarf around his neck and pulled on his boots. He was ready to combat the cold awaiting him outside. He leaned in close to his clearly upset wife and rubbed his horn against hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's not me you're going to be apologizing to if you don't get back here in time."
Despite himself, he had to chuckle grimly at the thought of his sister's fury. It wasn't a pleasant image.
"I know," he said with a smirk. "It's going to be brutal."
Cadence wasn't about to give him a smile, but she wasn't quite ready to send him off mad.
"Just come back quickly, okay?" she said, swallowing some of the choicer words she could have used.
"Okay."
Shining Armor nodded and kissed her goodbye. She didn't return it completely, but she did manage to give a lukewarm effort.
Getting up from the bed and walking to the chamber door, he turned one last time to the Princess of the Crystal Empire.
"I love you."
"I love you, too. Hurry back."
With a final flourish of his trademarked charming grin as he opened the door and stepped through, he called over his shoulder, "Don't let Twilight blow the place up while I'm gone!"


* * *


With a piercing whistle the train pulled into the Crystal Empire station. The ash spewing from the smokestack added their gray and black flakes to the white ones pouring down from the sky. The moderate gusts of wind drifting across the icy plains pushed the jets of steam shooting from the pistons down the length of the train to go twirling under and around the wheels as the screeching brakes ground them to a halt. Finally it came to a full stop, giving a final lurch and wheeze as it reached its destination.
After a few moments delay the doors slid open. Standing in the exit, Twilight Sparkle's eyes went wide and then shut quickly as the coldness blew inside to smack her right in the face. She had been prepared for the coldness and was wearing plenty of warm clothes, as spring didn't mean quite the same thing in the northern regions that the Crystal Empire was located in as it did in Ponyville, but that initial shock was enough to knock the wind out of a pony's lungs.
"Oof!" she gasped. "I don't remember it being quite this cold!"
"It wasn't still nearly winter when we were here last," Spike said from the wool-padded saddle on her back. "This stinks. Can't you cast a warming spell or something?"
"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash standing beside him, "It's called a coat." She only had her high-altitude scarf and goggles on, being the pony most accustomed to the coldness. Flying high in the sky did tend to get a pony used to chilly weather. But even she gave a little shiver as the wintery air rushed in through the door.
As the ponies stepped onto the platform, they took in their surroundings. The train station seemed to be bustling despite the weather. There were ponies carrying luggage back and forth from the building to the train and vice versa, vendors selling hot drinks and refreshments, newscolts calling out headlines and trying to sell some papers, and ponies with shovels who were so bundled up that all you could see was their snouts as they pushed the accumulating snow off of the edge of the platform to add to the growing drifts that were piling up on each side.
"I don't reckon I remember hearing about a blizzard up here," Applejack said, her words muffled underneath the scarf wrapped around her face.
"I suppose that's what one should expect when they live in an icebox," Rarity remarked. "It's a travesty, really. The Crystal Empire is so marvelously lovely. Why they built it up here instead of someplace habitable I've no idea."
"It is a might cold for my liking, I'll grant ya," said Applejack. "But still, it's spring. Their blizzards should be over and done with by now."
"And that's why Ponyville is awesome," Rainbow Dash said. "The clouds here are spoiled! Back home we don't let the weather run the show. Past the Everfree Forest, there's no telling what the clouds are gonna do. Gimme a squad of pegasus ponies to whip the weather into shape any day. None of this "Whatever nature wants" malarkey!"
"It's not malarkey, Rainbow," Twilight corrected her friend. "It's just the way it is up here. There's nothing bad about it. It's simply different."
At that moment the wind fired up with a newly found energy, sending the top few inches of a nearby snowdrift into the air and smacking them in the faces. All six ponies and Spike were dusted with white powder, and any kind of warmth that had been clinging to them from the train was now officially gone.
"Although," Twilight added through chattering teeth, "At the moment I'm inclined to agree with you."
They made their way out of the station, passing between the giant twin crystal spires that marked the entrance to the city like sentinels keeping watch. Like everything else they had begun to pick up a frosting of ice and snow which dulled their usually vibrant maroon color. The subtly snaking road which led to the city was turning into an ice rink, having been relatively neglected by the ponies working to keep the streets clear, since there wasn't that much traffic coming from the train station at that time, and it was slow going. As they proceeded down the road made of the deep purple and blue crystal that made up a good deal of the infrastructure of the city, eventually it became less slushy and slippery, and the ponies were free to quickly make their way to where all the roads converged: The palace.
Under the gray overcast skies of the late afternoon, the light blue of the palace's flowing arches were dulled, blending into the low-hanging clouds and the snow that swirled around the massive needle-like tower and the four smaller ones alongside that jutted up from the city's center like a giant crystalline trident. The crown of the tower, a large diamond-shaped open-air observatory, was more of a suggestion, barely visible in the fading light and deepening storm and gathering darkness of the early nightfall.
Twilight and the others had never seen the palace without the usual brilliant flares of light shining off it as the crystals it was made of caught the sun. Normally the towers practically glowed, but in the dimness of the storm it seemed much less inviting. As they approached and saw it looming high above them in dark, oppressive gray, they realized very little of the welcoming atmosphere which usually flowed through the city remained. Once they passed beneath the palace and entered the dome-like structure created from the arches holding the structure up, it wasn't unlike stepping into the gapping maw of a colossal beast. It gave them all the jitters.
There were two guards to each of the four arched openings. Their pacing back and forth seemed less like diligence or military form and more like they were simply trying to keep from freezing to the spot where they stood. All around the area were servants with shovels and carts full of snow, rushing back and forth as fast as they could in an effort to keep up with the accumulation of the weather. None of them seemed particularly happy.
As they reached the checkpoint where the guards stood, one of them held out a hoof, signaling them to stop. An older looking brown pony, he wore a look of irritation and impatience under his silver-blue helmet.
"What's your business?" he asked.
"We're here to see Princess Cadence," Twilight answered as professionally as she could. "She's expecting us."
"Is that so? Well, do you have a name so I can check it or should I just let everypony who says so walk right in?"
Twilight was slightly taken aback by the rudeness.
"Um, yes sir," she answered. "It's Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. With my friends. They should be on the list as well."
With a brief harrumph the guard produced a scroll from inside his armor. He slowly started going down the list of names, eyes scrolling left to right in overly exacting detail. He was taking quite a long time with it, and the ponies were starting to get antsy in addition to freezing. It didn't seem possible for a pony to read so slowly, but this one was going at such a snail's pace in finding their names that Spike noticed that down by the guard's hooves, he had started collecting a little drift. It was bordering on ridiculous.
"You wouldn't happen to know if my brother is here, do you?" Twilight asked after a moment, hoping to speed things along. "Shining Armor?"
The guard said nothing. His muzzle stayed firmly buried in the scroll.
"Prince Shining Armor?" she added.
"I know who my prince is, young filly," the guard snapped back without looking up.
"Oh excellent," Rarity said, her eyes rolling. "Then you'll know him when you see him. Go get him and tell him we're here! My rouge is going to freeze to my face if I'm out here much longer."
"Yeah, come on," Rainbow Dash mumbled. "Priorities here."
"He's away," the guard answered without emotion, and again without his eyes leaving the scroll. "Left this morning."
"Wait, what?" Twilight asked. "He's not here? Where did he go?"
Finally the guard raised his head and looked Twilight in the eye with the same gaze of annoyance that one would give to an egg that rolled off the kitchen counter and broke when it was the last one in the house, meaning breakfast was cancelled.
"Away," he repeated. "North. Scouting mission. Something to do with the weather."
The coldness and temperamental guard was briefly pushed to the back of Twilight's mind. How could Shining Armor just leave? Did the fact that his sister needed help not mean anything to him? And to leave for a scouting mission about the weather? What was that all about? If the guard didn't even know why he had left, it couldn't have been anything that urgent. It sure was nice to see how important she was to him.
Twilight stood there fuming in the snow when suddenly, finally, blissfully the guard found her name.
"Ah. Here it is," he said, still with no emotion. "Twilight Sparkle, you said?"
"Yeah," she flatly replied. She was done with being pleasant. Her mind was already in fight mode for when she next saw her brother.
"Alright. So who're the rest of you, then?"
A loud collective groan swelled through the group.
Some time later, after all their names had been proven to be on the scroll, they were finally free to enter the palace. While the cold was still biting and actually getting worse, thankfully the wind was ever so slightly lessened underneath the arched dome. While they had nothing but harsh words to say about the guard at the first opportunity they had, they couldn't help but notice that he was not alone in his grumpiness. Now that they thought about it, not a single pony since they got there had offered as much as a slight smile or nod of welcome or even a simple "Hello." It was strange, to say the least, especially considering their status as heroes.
"Anypony else feelin' like there's somethin' off here?" Applejack asked from the rear of the group. "I ain't never seen such inhospitality."
"I didn't want to say anything, but everypony's been so mean today," Fluttershy quietly agreed.
"Maybe it has something to do with that," Spike said from his seat on Twilight's back. His little claw was pointed right where the Crystal Heart would normally have sat. Instead the spot between the two spikes where it usually hovered was empty.
"Oh my," Rarity gasped. "That's slightly troubling."
Twilight felt her stomach hit a point somewhere a few miles below the surface of Equestria. This was insane. First a blizzard, then her brother was gone and now the Crystal Heart was missing too? How was she supposed to perform the cleansing ritual without it? And what else could go wrong? Perhaps it was her imagination, but she thought she felt the same scratching inside her throat that she had felt during her nightmare. She shook her head to clear her mind of those thoughts. It wasn't worth it to dwell on it.
One thing at a time, Twilight.
"Come on, everypony," she said, sounding overwhelmed. "Let's go inside and talk to Cadence and find out where the Crystal Heart and my stupid brother are."
Their jog towards the nearest staircase leading upwards into the palace was a speedy one. And while it was certainly nice to be someplace warm, with all that had gone wrong so far as they went to see Cadence, Twilight was beginning to feel like this may have been a mistake.
"Hopefully she hasn't been turned into a rabbit or something," she muttered under her breath.

Cadence had, thankfully, not turned into a rabbit, although she was about as nervous as one as she sat upon the throne. Ever since Shining Armor had left that morning, she had been anxiously awaiting his return, or at least word of what was going on to the north. But the morning and afternoon had come and then passed, and there had been no sign of him. She wasn't worried for his safety, not at this point at least. He could handle himself, but telling Twilight her brother wasn't there to meet her was not something she was looking forward to.
And now as the unicorn, her five friends and her dragon entered the throne room of the Crystal Empire palace, the reality that time was officially up sank in, and Cadence realized that she really didn't have a good way to tell Twilight what she needed to tell her.
Based on her expression as she walked through the door, looking cold and upset with her eyes already glued to the empty spot next to Cadence where he would normally be standing, it was likely Twilight already knew. Cadence took a small amount of relief in not having to be the one to break it to her.
"Hello, Twilight," Cadence said with the warmest smile she could muster. "It's lovely to see you again."
Twilight smiled back at Cadence as best she could. But despite her best efforts the gaze of her eyes could not leave the place where her brother should have been. The smile on her face faltered and became somewhat forced.
"It's nice to see you too, Cadence" she answered with strained cheerfulness. The gloom she felt was beginning to show through.
Turning to each of the others in turn, Cadence welcomed the rest of the group.
"And of course hello to everypony else," she added. "Welcome back to the Crystal Empire. Please make yourselves at home."
"Thank you princess," Applejack said with a slightly awkward bow. "We will, but I gotta admit it's a might chillier than we expected it to be."
"That's for sure," Pinkie Pie piped in. "I think my balloons are frozen."
"Pinkie," Rarity chided, "I don't think the princess is concerned about your balloons."
"Well she should be," Pinkie replied. "I don't know what in Equestria I'm going to do in case of a party situation. And I still don't know where my Party Cannon is! This could be serious! One-hundred percent-mucho-über-serious!"
While trying to figure out where the balloons Pinkie was referring to were hidden, Cadence managed a small laugh. "Yes, we have been experiencing some bizarre weather today," she said. "This only started up late this morning. We weren't really expecting it, so it caught us all a bit off guard. Your timing was unlucky, it seems."
"Is that why my brother isn't back yet?" said Twilight with a little too much venom. "From wherever it is that he went?"
Cadence heaved a sigh and shook her head. "I'm so sorry that he isn't here right now," she began, bringing her best diplomatic voice forward but only partly succeeding, having known Twilight from a foal and finding it hard to be formal. "He wanted to be here when you arrived, but his duties required him to head to the northern border of our region to investigate some bizarre weather, which I'm guessing this storm is a byproduct of."
"He ditched me to check on the weather?!" Twilight balked with a fury.
"Your brother would not have left unless it was important," Cadence stressed.
"Gotta admit, Twi," Rainbow Dash said, "This storm is pretty gnarly. I know I'd take a look if I saw it coming towards Ponyville."
There was silence as Twilight contemplated the situation. Part of her understood why Shining Armor wasn't there to meet her, being the ruler of a kingdom and having all that responsibility, but the sister part of her still felt like being mad at him. She felt she had that right. And it wasn't like she had an evil spirit attached to her or anything. No, no reason at all to be there for her.
Then again, Princess Celestia had declined adding that little factoid in the letter, just to prevent Twilgiht any embarrassment or trouble in case anypony else saw the note. It's not like they knew. It would be unreasonable to expect them to know how important it was.
"I guess so," she said. She decided that she understood his absence, but reserved the right to call him a jerk later. That seemed fair.
"Celestia told me you were coming," said Cadence, attempting to draw the conversation to the point and away from that unpleasant topic. "She said there was something I could help you with. What can I do for you?"
Twilight looked around. The guards standing around the throne room were looking at her impassively, but she didn't feel comfortable talking about her dilemma in front of them.
"Um, perhaps we could discuss it elsewhere?" she asked. "Someplace private?"
Cadence was a little surprised, but nodded in understanding.
"Of course," she said. "Everypony, please come with me to my chambers."

The more comfortable setting of Cadence and Shining Armor's room, with a fireplace blazing in the corner, soft cushions to sit on and warm drinks to shake the chill off was a far preferable one to the throne room, which despite being beautiful was slightly unforgiving in its draftiness. Twilight felt much of the pressure and irritation from earlier melting away along with the cold as she sat on a velvet-lined couch and sipped some hot chocolate. The comparatively muggy atmosphere of the room was almost making her sleepy, but the tale that she had to tale Cadence was enough to keep her awake.
From the beginning, Twilight told Cadence everything. She told her about her teleportation spell going haywire, their attempts at catching the supposed thief, taking the Alicorn Amulet to Canterlot and the terrible dream she had, about what Celestia and Luna had discovered and what they had suggested. Her friends filled in some blanks in the story that Twilight wasn't there for, like the night Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood guard. For all of them though, this was the first time anypony other than Luna and possibly Celestia had heard about Twilight's dream, and it had affected them all to varying degrees. Applejack didn't seem overly insulted, as it was just a dream after all, and Pinkie Pie thought the idea of her not being happy was so silly that it was laughable. Rarity was taken aback by her double's selfishness and felt somewhat slighted. But poor Fluttershy was so mortified beyond belief at how mean her dream self had been to Twilight that she had felt the need to apologize profusely and often.
Rainbow Dash appeared somber as Twilight had described what she had seen in her dark vision. When she got to the part where Rainbow Dash had abandoned her, a look of sudden understanding came over her face, and she looked at Twilight with contemplative eyes. The conversation in the predawn hours of that morning about Dash never leaving suddenly took on a new meaning. As Twilight finished the story, Rainbow Dash shot her a warm smile as a reminder of her promise. The smile was returned.
Then, after what seemed like hours of talking, they came to the final part.
"So Cadence," Twilight finished, "It seems that we need the Crystal Heart to cast Sombra out of me and be rid of him, hopefully for good this time."
Cadence sat back on her cushions. There was a lot to take in, and the situation had turned out to be much more serious than she had imagined. The thought of the evil of King Sombra hiding inside an innocent sweetheart like Twilight Sparkle was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to collect her thoughts.
Shining Armor should be here for this. She needs him. But there's no sense waiting. I don't know what he's doing or how long he's going to take. But I can't just sit around and let that monster be inside her for one minute longer. Not him. Not in Twilight. Not my husband's little sister.
She opened her eyes and spoke to her.
"And this cleansing ritual," she asked. "You and Celestia are confident it will work?"
Twilight nodded slowly. "We don't see a reason why it wouldn't. It's really a very simple spell."
Cadence was familiar with the spell they were using. It's true that it was a simple one, and very adaptable as well. From her perspective she could find no reason to doubt both Celestia and her star pupil. She would have come to the same conclusion.
With that, her decision was made.
"The Crystal Heart is currently being studied at the museum," she explained. "It's strange, the curator came by just the other day to take it with him."
"Don't that leave ya'll defenseless?" Applejack asked between sips of hot cider.
"Maybe that's why everypony has been so rude today," Fluttershy reasoned. "The Crystal Heart affects their mood, doesn't it?"
"It's true that tempers may flare up when the Heart is gone," said Cadence, "And we may be without our greatest defense at the moment, but that's only temporary. Plus it's only a short walk away. And I made sure to guarantee that it could be easily retrieved in case of emergencies like this."
Twilight's eyes lit up.
"Does that mean…"
"Give my guards half an hour," Cadence said with a wink.


* * *


The shadows hung thick and sagging all throughout the study. Oozing up and outwards to spread across the ceiling, they pooled in a haze of darkness in the far corner where they sat and congealed, a sinister mass stretching out its fingers and roots from a heavy, swollen body. The gloom dug its legs in deep to the walls and bookcases and picture frames and greedily soaked up the light as if it were thirsty for it. All night long the faint, dusty sound of claws scraping the wallpaper flittered in the air through the locked doors and down the hallway.
All night long, Sharpsight had sat in the corner across the room and watched.
It was unmoving, but pulsed with a throbbing strength that grew ever more powerful. Whispers slithered out, speaking without using words, yet Sharpsight could understand them all the same. This was what he wanted. This was the magical power he had known the horn possessed.
Do you fear us?
He knew it was testing him to see if he was worthy of unraveling its mysteries. To see if he was smart enough to harness its might. It was trying to scare him away with magic he did not understand. And he would have been wholly lying if he had said that he wasn't afraid.
	Do you fear us, earth pony?
But this is when a pony proved his worth. This was the moment for Sharpsight to show that he was more than just an unlucky clod who got thrown a thousand years forward into an unfamiliar time and was forced to sit the rest of his life out in uselessness. This was the moment where he made a difference again! This was when he would prove he was just as smart and important as anypony else! And no lack of magical power was going to stop him from fulfilling his destiny! He was smart enough to do anything!
	Do you fear us, professor?
Sharpsight stood from where he had been sitting for hours, pondering his course of action and mentally preparing himself for it. Holding his head high, he walked forward on stiff legs towards the shadow until he reached the center of the room where the Crystal Heart still stood on his desk.
"My name is Sharpsight," he declared. "And I am not afraid of you."
With a condescending chuckle, the shadow rumbled in a deep, booming baritone.
	What delightful arrogance.
"The mind only fears what it does not understand!" retorted Sharpsight. "I understand! I understand you are no more than a memory. A shade. A reflection of what once was terrible. And you have caused me and everypony else more pain than can be described. But now, you are nothing. You're a shadow. An illusion of danger when the lights are turned off. A monster under the bed that young colts and fillies are afraid of."
	They are wise to fear.
"HA! Only fools and foals are fearful of shadows. And I am neither!"
The more he talked, the more confident he became. His old intuition, already on fire the entire night and now simmering with the clearly obvious solutions was ablaze. It was evident that all it would take to control this power, to put an end to this darkness, were a handful of words. And even without any magical training or knowledge, Sharpsight could already feel them entering his mind unbidden. And to imagine this creature thought itself worthy of fear!
Brave words for one who can do nothing to us.
"Is that so?" The thought of a bit of shade, no matter the source, mocking his ability was enough to make him laugh. "Clearly you have no idea with whom you are dealing, beast."
He allowed a slight smile to cross his face.
"What if I were to say Harrora Artu Sen?"
Although he had no knowledge of the meaning of those words, he knew they were powerful. They flowed from his tongue like old friends whose names he didn't know.
The shadow was silent.
"Nothing? You'd have nothing to say? What a shame. And after you'd been so talkative. Well, I'll say it again. Harrora Artu Sen, Livsid Tab Ort!"
He did not know from where those foreign words were coming as he spoke them, but it filled him with a sense of power. Each syllable of the strange language burned hot on his tongue, and he stood in his study spitting fire at the shade of the vanquished tyrant. With each word he said the darkness seemed to quake and fade, shrinking back into itself.
	No. Stop!
He laughed. "What's wrong, Sombra? Finally met somepony smarter than yourself, eh what?!"
You know not what you say!
"Oh, I believe I do," he cackled. "I'm finally putting an end to you, and I'm using your power to cement my legacy as the greatest mind of our time! In fact, now that I think of it, I'll be the greatest mind of two, thanks to you so kindly making me lose out on a millennia! So here's my thanks!"
	NO!
"HARRORA ARTU SEN, LIVSID TAB ORT!"
With that, the shadow sprawling across the ceiling and walls gave a mighty shudder and shriveled, drawing back into itself and disappearing in the blink of an eye. The only evidence it was ever there was a gust of wind as air was sucked into the corner of the room in which it had been lurking. Several loose pieces of paper whipped past Sharpsight and fluttered down to the ground in the spot the thickest shadows had been. His mane, already a mess to begin with, was now sticking out everywhere after the wind had grabbed it from behind.
He was left alone in his study. The darkness had not completely disappeared, but the specter of Sombra that had formed in the room was gone. There were still essences of his power flowing from the Crystal Heart, however, but it was weak. So weak.
It all made perfect sense. The cleansing power of the Heart had been enough to draw him out of the horn and make him weak enough to be destroyed by the incantation. So obvious. Sharpsight gave a small laugh. He was shocked that everything had gone that well. He found himself wondering why it had been that Celestia had had so much trouble vanquishing him before.
His mind had just begun questioning why it was that those strange words had come to his mind when there was an aggressive knock at the door. Sharpsight was so surprised that he nearly jumped out of his own hide.
"YES? What is it!?" he yelled.
"Royal Guard," said a voice from the other side of the door. "The Crystal Heart must come back at once."
For a brief moment he didn't move. An alert in his head fired up. Instinctively he knew the Crystal Heart couldn't leave. It wasn't safe. He had more to do. There were more words to say. Sombra's essence was still in there, as weak as it was. If the Heart were powered up now, it could be disastrous. He went to the door and opened it halfway.
Standing on the other side were three guards, all wearing their warmest gear and carrying some of the snowfall inside with them on their backs and in the crests of their helmets. They did not look to be in a very negotiable mood.
"Is the Heart ready to go?" asked the lead guard.
"I don't suppose," said Sharpsight after clearing his throat, "That there's any way to keep it here until tomorrow?"
"No," the guard answered. "There's not."
So much for that. There was no way he could tell them it was dangerous. They'd stick their noses too far into his business. Too many questions. Too much trust lost by those who didn't understand, but still maddeningly held positions of power. Best to improvise.
He opened the door the full way to let the guards in. Tracking snow in over his nice carpet, they walked over the Heart and gave it a brief look-over before nodding to each other. The two earth ponies lifted the Crystal Heart while the unicorn of the group floated the ornate wooden box over to them, after which they set it down inside and closed the lid. Hoisting it on the back of the bigger of the two earth ponies, they turned around to leave.
"Excuse me," Sharpsight called out, causing them to stop. "Would it be quite aright if I were to come with you?"
The guards exchanged looks between themselves. They weren't quite sure of what to make of this crazy looking academic with the unkempt mane and wild eyes who had been doing Celestia-knows-what to their Crystal Heart, but technically speaking, there wasn't anything they could do to stop him. They shrugged in unison.
"You're the director of the Crystal Empire Museum," said the pegasus, who was clearly the leader. "You are free to visit the palace at your leisure."
"Oh wonderful," Sharpsight said with a smile. "If you'll allow me, please let me get my hat and scarf first. It looks cold out there."
What a relief, he thought. For a moment that entire situation had nearly turned disastrous.


* * *


"Twilight, are you ready to begin?"
Cadence's voice echoed throughout the throne room, which was empty with the exception of herself and Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Thinking about Twilight's reputation, Cadence had cleared the room for the purification ceremony.
Standing in front of the Crystal Heart as it spun on one of its portable stands, Twilight steadied herself and took a step closer, lowering her head and pointing her horn towards it. A faint shimmer of purple magic started dancing around her horn.
"I am," she said.
"Will you need any assistance from me?" Cadence asked. "I'm familiar with the spell."
Twilight shook her head. "There were a few adjustments Princess Celestia and I made. It could interfere if somepony else tried helping."
"Well, if you feel you need help, stop," said Cadence. "I could help if you were to tell me what you adjusted."
"Thank you, Cadence," Twilight said. "I will. But right now I'm feeling pretty good, and I want Sombra out of me."
"Kick his flank, Twilight!" Spike yelled from the sidelines. A small round of cheering from her friends followed. Turning to them, she gave one last smile before the ritual began. Then she turned back to face the Crystal Heart. With spirit high and a grin on her face, she steeled herself, lowered her head, and began to mentally intone the spell she and Celestia had worked out.
As her healing magic connected with the Crystal Heart, a cooling, fresh breeze seemed to flow through her. It entered through every pore and surged through every vein, lifting her spirits and her soul and filling her with purity and happiness. The spell was performing flawlessly. Every bit of darkness she felt inside seemed to be breaking away and chipping off into the steams of magic pulsing through her. She felt herself being cleansed, and the claws in her throat reappeared, twitching spastically in their outrage of their sudden helplessness. They tried to find purchase in her throat, but the claws only slipped away as they scrambled, being pulled out of her and towards the cleansing power of the Heart.
It was working! She felt the shadowy darkness inside leaving her! This was it! Her mouth opened reflexively, ready to expel the pathetic evil that had burrowed into her like a common parasite.
With a final tug and a snarl of anger ripping through her mind, the shadow was gone.
As everypony held their breath, a great crack of sound splintered through the soft hum of Twilight's magic and the Crystal Heart's pulsation. A pure black shade could be seen shooting out of Twilight's mouth, whipping around the Crystal Heart like a cyclone before being sucked inside of it to dissolve into nothing. An ghostly cry of anguish could be heart coming from inside, and a gust of air being sucked towards it accompanied the sharp snap of sound like a thunderclap inside the throne room.
Then everything was quiet.
Nopony said a word at first. They waited until Twilight's magic had faded, and the echoing blast had subsided, until all that was left was a gentle beat of the Crystal Heart, still spinning on its pedestal.
"Did, did it work?" Spike asked, breaking the silence.
"It looked like it did!" said Rarity.
"That's right! I saw a shadow come out of her!" Applejack added.
"And it went into the Crystal Heart!" Fluttershy finished.
"BOOM! That's what I'm talking about! Annihilated!" cheered Rainbow Dash.
There was no reply from Twilight. She just stood where she was, breathing heavily and looking at the ground in front of the Crystal Heart. Pinkie Pie was the first to notice.
"Twilight?" she asked. "You okie-dokie?"
Cadence approached her. "Twilight?" she asked gently.
She didn't look up. 
"Are you alright? Did it work?"
Almost imperceptivity, she nodded her head.
Cadence gave a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness," she exhaled. "For a moment I—"
Before she could finish her thoughts, an unearthly roar rose up from over the horizon, and battered the houses and streets and walls of the Crystal Empire. The palace shook with the intensity of it, and small bits of crystal broken loose from the ceiling started raining down on the ponies in the throne room.
Turning and running in horror to the window, Princes Cadence stood and gaped in wide-eyed disbelief at the sight she saw to the north, on the edge of her vision. The blizzard had nearly stopped, whether because it was done or because the great sound had blown it away, she couldn't tell. But whatever the reason, the clearing of the weather allowed her to see off in the distance the great, wide pillar of green and black flame, licking up to the sky in furious hunger. Even from this distance she could feel the intense, maddening power behind that terrible blaze. She shook her head in disbelief. It was not of Equestria. It was not of this realm. This was dark magic beyond any evil she knew. For a moment, she was frozen in fear. Then, once she allowed herself that single moment of panic, Cadence collected herself and sprang into action without further hesitation.
"GUARDS!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. The doors flew open nearly immediately. Two guards stood ready at attention.
"Call out the troops!" she began shouting orders in military fashion that Shining Armor would have been proud of had he been there. "Send all pegasus units north with all possible speed! Earth pony and unicorn squads will form up defenses inside the city! Prepare all firefighting equipment immediately, and have them standing by! GO!"
"Yes, your majesty!" The guards snapped into action.
"And summon my personal guard!" she called after them.
The ponies all ran to the window and looked on in shock.
"What in the name of chestnuts is THAT?!" marveled Applejack.
"It's no party, that's for sure," Pinkie Pie replied dryly.
Nopony else had much else to say expect to gasp occasionally. They all stood by the window so mesmerized that they failed to notice that they weren't all there.
As Cadence's personal guard of six pegasus ponies flew past the window and made laps around the tower, she turned to those gathered at the window.
"Everypony stay here," she ordered. "You'll be safe in the castle."
"Wha?! You're leaving?!" Spike wailed.
"I have to meet whatever this is that is threatening my city," she replied. "Don't worry. The Crystal Heart is in place. You will be protected."
"Why can't we all stay here then?" squeaked Fluttershy as she shook.
Cadence looked out towards the blaze with pain on her face.
"Because that's where Shining Armor is."
As one the group looked back towards the flames with a new found sense of dread.
Turning back, Cadence noticed that Twilight had not moved from her place in front of the Crystal Heart. She was still standing there, motionless. Quickly, she trotted over to her to make sure she was alright.
"Twilight?" she asked when she got next to her. "Twilight? Twilight, sweetie? Are you alright?"
With the smoothness of gravity slowly pulling something off the edge of a table, Twilight turned her head towards Cadence. Her expression was blank and tired. She nodded once.
There was something slightly off about her eyes, Cadence thought. The spell must have taken more out of her than they anticipated. It might be a little while before she fully recovered. In fact it was likely that Twilight wasn't aware of anything that was going on at the moment. But by all outward appearances she seemed alright. She couldn't afford to waste time here.
"I have to go," Cadence said to the barely responsive unicorn. She bent over and gave her a hug, then put a hoof under her chin. "You'll be okay, alright? Okay? But I've got to go now. I've got to go get your brother. I'll be back!"
Turning sharply, she made a running dash at the window the rest were standing at. They instinctively ducked as she took flight and soared well above their heads and out into the night sky, joining her pegasus guards.
"Just stay there!" came the faint call from the princess as she flew off to the north. Before her echoes were done bouncing off the walls of the castle, she was out of sight and lost in the blackness.
They all stood in silence for a moment, watching the green inferno on the horizon. The snow had started to come down again. Flakes drifted in the window and caused the crystalline floor to become wet and slippery, and the ominous breeze coming from the north seemed even more chilling than before, as if the fire in the distance was radiating evil coldness. Unable to look upon it any longer, they turned to go back inside.
Facing them with a look of pure satisfaction on her face was Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her mane was wild and flowing mysteriously, and a horrible, rictus grin spread ear to ear in a mask of obscene pleasure.
Everypony stopped dead their tracks.
"Twilight?" asked Spike, his little dragon voice quivering along with his knees.
The reply was booming and terrible.
"YOU WILL CALL US "YOUR MAJESTY," YOU PITIFUL WHELP!"