Forged Anew

by Friend_Computer

Chapter 10: Shadows of the Past (Part 1)

“Stop picking at it,” Ruby scolded when she saw Emerald poke her abused nose. “It just stopped bleeding.”

Emerald simply continued her prodding, while trying to focus both her eyes on the tip of her muzzle. “But it's all crooked! I don't care what the nurse says, I'm sure it's broken.”

“It's just a little swollen, you big baby,” Ruby said. Then she raised her hoof and carefully pressed the snow cone she had picked up from a nearby food stand against Emerald's nose. “Here, that should help.”

Emerald let out a startled squeal, but it quickly changed into an alleviated sigh. “Oh, that's wonderful. Thanks.” She took the frozen treat turned ice bag from Ruby and quickly lapped up some of the syrupy meltwater that was already starting to run down her nose. “No crystal berry?” she asked, seemingly a little disappointed.

“All out. Sorry,” Ruby said with a shrug. “The tourists apparently go crazy for it.”

“Ah well,” Emerald sighed. “Still something to sweeten my humiliating defeat just a little.”

“It wasn't so bad Emerald,” Ruby said. “You did well.”

“Yeah, it was sweet,” Rainbow Dash eagerly agreed. “I mean, you totally destroyed that railing. I think there are still splinters stuck in my mane. Really, it's surprising your face isn't messed up worse.”

Emerald stared blankly at the pegasus for several seconds. "You really know how to make a mare feel good about herself, Rainbow.”

In truth, Emerald’s involuntary demolition of a sizable length of the tourney ground enclosure had not been her most impressive feat during the match. She had actually scored two hits against Malachite and broken one of her lances, which was more than any other competitor had been able to do that day. And despite how much she was whining now, she had continued the match even after Malachite's strike in the second bout had made her trip and crash face-first into almost half a dozen wooden poles. Still, in the end, Malachite had won by points, and after that, he had swept away the rest of his opponents without much trouble. On the herald’s gentle instance, Twilight had taken it upon herself to officially declare Malachite the days victor, and now that the tourney had ended and the day was beginning to slowly fade into an early evening, their guests had decided that it was time to retire to the palace after biding goodby to the Grand Duchess.

The Fair would continue far into the night, so the streets were no less crowded than they had been before, but while the group of prestigious ponies and a prestigious baby dragon continued to draw curious looks from passersby, they still had no trouble getting to where they wanted to go. Ruby and Emerald knew the way, of course, but even a stranger with no knowledge of the city's layout could have found the palace without difficulty. Since it was located at the very center of the Crystal City, every major street led straight towards it, and its glittering keep was visible from every corner of the city, towering so high over the surrounding buildings that it almost seemed to touch the sky.

When they approached the palace plaza, Ruby felt the pleasant sensations of the Fair intensify, until the gentle feeling of warmth and joy spread outwards from her chest and stomach, and began to radiate through her entire body, pulsing softly in the rhythm of her heartbeat. Ruby let out a content sigh. She knew what brought about those feelings, and their origin came into view only a few moments later.

Suspended in mid air between two crystal spikes, the Crystal Heart was hovering in the middle of the sheltered palace plaza. Twenty fully armored Imperial knights stood guard around it, lead by a mare who waved enthusiastically at Ruby and Emerald as soon as she laid eyes on them, but when they got closer and she got a good look at the ponies and dragon accompanying the two, she quickly lowered her hoof, looking a bit sheepish.

“Your Highness. Spike the Great. My ladies,” she said as they approached, greeting each of them with a deep bow of her head, while the knights behind her kneeled respectfully. “I am Dame Morning Chill the Magpie. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you have enjoyed your visit so far.”

“The pleasure is all ours,” Twilight said. “We've been having a wonderful...” She stopped abruptly and seemed to mentally backtrack to a few moments earlier. “Wait, 'the Magpie'?”

Rainbow Dash let out a startled gasp and wagged her hoof disapprovingly in Twilight's direction. “Twilight! Really now. Don't tease her.”

Twilight, apparently oblivious to the fact that she was the subject of some teasing herself, gave Rainbow a conscience-stricken look, before quickly turning back to Morning Chill. “I'm so sorry, I was just... what I meant to say is that it's... a really unique title. I was just thinking that there must be an incredibly heroic and interesting story behind it.”

“Good save, Twilight,” Applejack said. “Smooth as a shaved peach.”

Morning Chill chuckled nervously. “Well, it's interesting, but more embarrassing than heroic to be honest. It involves a keg of crystal berry schnapps, a dragon's hoard, and a really foolish drunken dare. My singed eyebrows grew back eventually after it was all over, but the nickname 'Magpie' stuck. When I joined the Order, I thought that I might as well make it official.”

Twilight visibly relaxed when Morning Chill gave no indication that she had taken serious offense. Rainbow Dash and Spike simply started giggling, while most of the other members of the group were trying to be more discreet about their amusement. Pinkie Pie was currently occupied elsewhere, cheerfully introducing herself to every single knight standing guard around the Crystal Heart.

“You're not supposed to tell that story to guests of state anymore,” Emerald said in a slightly nasal voice, before quickly licking some more half-melted sugar slush off her muzzle.

“I didn't tell the story, I barely summarized it,” Morning Chill objected. After taking a closer look at Emerald, she knit her brow in confusion and asked, “And anyway, why are you trying to stick a snow cone up your nose?”

“That is a silly question Morning Chill,” Emerald said without missing a beat. “I always eat my snow cones like this. What a silly pony you are to ask a silly question such as this.”

Morning Chill nodded. “I see. Malachite smashed up your face.”

“Gravity smashed up my face,” Emerald was quick to correct her. “Malachite just tricked it into doing all the work for him.”

That explanation drew a quick bout of laughter from Morning Chill. “Really? Well, he'll be relieving me shortly, I have to remember to ask him how he managed to do that.”

With a roll of her eyes, Emerald turned to Twilight. “I think we should go. She'll just keep making fun of me, and she might really embarrass herself while she's trying to be witty.”

“But I'm really curious about that story now!” Rainbow complained.

Morning Chill winked at her. “I'm certain we can make an exception just this once, but it takes a while to tell. How about this: You and your friends try to come up with your own version, and when we manage to find the time, we'll compare them to see which one is more interesting.”

Rainbow Dash thought about that suggestion for a moment, then nodded. “All right. Sounds good.”

“I suppose that means we will be meeting again Dame Morning Chill,” Twilight said. “I'm looking forward to it.”

“Likewise, your highness. And I hope you and your companions continue to enjoy your stay,” Morning Chill said as she bowed her head.

While they were walking away from the Heart and the group of knights, Ruby noticed how Twilight seemed to watch both her and Emerald very closely. “Is something wrong, Twilight?”

Twilight's lips shifted into a slightly embarrassed grin. “I didn't mean to stare, sorry. It's just remarkable to see what the Heart does to you when you're this close.”

Ruby glanced at Emerald. She was familiar with the changes the Heart brought about in them, but it was true that they became much more noticeable when they were near it. Emerald's green coat had become shiny enough to almost look translucent, and her eyes seemed so radiant and bright that Ruby could have sworn they were faintly glowing with their own light. But as intriguing as those outward changes were, they were merely a quaint little phenomenon compared to the emotional effect the Heart had on them while they were this close. Every heartbeat sent a wave of warm and joyous energy through Ruby's body, and the sheer intensity of it was almost enough to make her feel lightheaded.

“You really don't feel anything at all?” Ruby asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No. I can feel that the Heart is a tremendously powerful source of magic, but that's all. Even when it turned its power against Sombra, it affected our appearance in much the same way as it does yours, but it didn't connect with us on a deeper level than that.” While they approached the palace gates, Twilight turned her head to take another long look at the Crystal Heart. “It's kind of a shame, really. I would love to know what it feels like.”

“What exactly does the thing do anyway? It always seemed a little dangerous to me, to be honest,” Applajack asked. “I mean, it shoots out force fields and makes ne'er-do-wells explode, but you also make it the main attraction of this giant party. If I had some ancient magic superweapon, I wouldn't put it square in the middle of a hoedown so ponies can walk up and gawk at it.”

They had passed the massive entry gates of the palace by now, and were now traversing its vaulting halls and glittering corridors. It was easy to get lost in the maze of hallways, stairs and magically lit indoor gardens, but Ruby knew the layout well enough to lead the way and still carry a conversation. “The heart does have ways to protect itself, apart from the guards we place when we take it into public. Overcoming those defenses is not impossible, but it would take time and a lot of power to do so. As for how it works, it seems to be pretty straightforward as I understand it. The Heart strengthens our positive emotions, and draws its power from them.”

Rainbow Dash's ears perked up, and she tore her eyes away from the mirroring surface of a polished wall that she had used to make faces at herself as she flew past it. “Wait, what? Are you saying the thing sucks out your emotions? That sounds... bad. Evil bad.”

“No Rainbow, that's not what that means,” Twilight said, but then she hesitated and gave Ruby and Emerald an inquiring look. “May I? I did quite a bit of research on this, but maybe you'd rather explain it.”

Ruby answered with a shrug and a smirk. “That was my explanation, to be honest. Every Imperial citizen knows the basic principle of how the Heart works, but I suspect your research was a little more in depth than what they teach us in school. I think I'd actually like to hear what you have to say about it.”

Twilight beamed at her, and Ruby thought that she had never seen a pony so thrilled by the simple prospect of sharing her knowledge with someone. “Wonderful!” Faster than Ruby's eyes could follow, Twilight's saddle bags opened, and several small notebooks and stacks of papers where magically pulled out of them. The princess took a couple of seconds to flip through those notes as they slowly circled around her head, before she continued, ”Now, Equestrian scholars have learned and rediscovered many things about the Empire in recent years, but how exactly the Heart works still isn't completely understood. It has something to do with how the inherent magic of crystal ponies manifests itself, that much seems certain. Crystal ponies have a very strong connection to the harmonious energies of our world, and some scholars even think that their tribe's origins could be linked to the Tree of Harmony in some way. But there is no hard evidence to support those speculations.”

Rainbow Dash sighed when she realized that this was probably going to be an extensive lecture, but she seemed to listen with at least some amount of interest.

The notes were still steadily rotating through Twilight's field of vision, and she seemed to simultaneously scan several of them at any given time while she talked. “Whatever the reason may be, fact is that crystal ponies can generate harmonious or disharmonious energy when they experience extremely positive or negative emotions. It's not something they control, not any more than we control whether or not we generate body heat, and normally, those energies disperse and eventually become part of the underlying magic currents that subtly shape and shift our world towards either a state of harmony or chaos.”

Applejack raised her hoof. “Hold on, that there sounds a tad bit important. Does that mean a crystal pony makes the world a better place just by being happy? And the other way around?”

“Individually, the effect is neglectable,” Twilight said. “And even for that, the emotions have to be very intense. Just having a nice day or feeling a bit sad or grumpy won't do anything. But a lot of crystal ponies being mostly very happy or extremely miserable over a long period of time can change the balance of the harmonious and disruptive energies that influence the world, yes.”

Applejack looked at Ruby and whistled through her teeth. “That's heavy stuff.”

“No kidding!” Pinkie Pie agreed. “If you guys being happy is so super important, I should visit here more often.”

Emerald laughed. Her improvised icepack had been completely consumed or simply melted away at this point, but the swelling of her nose had gone back considerably as well. “Don't feel obligated Pinkie. But by all means, you can come by any time you want.”

Pinkie was evidently very pleased to hear that, but Ruby couldn't help but wonder if extending such an unspecific and unconditional invitation to the pink mare was a good idea. After some of the things she had witnessed during the day, Ruby wouldn't put it past Pinkie to simply burst out of a kitchen cupboard or a sock drawer one day.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyway, what Ruby said is basically correct. The Heart amplifies the positive emotions of crystal ponies around it, absorbs the harmonious energies they create, and forms them into the enchantments that shelter and protect the Crystal City. However, there seem to be certain limits to what it can do. It cannot create or implant positive emotions, for example. If somepony approached it while being too terrified or miserable to feel anything else, it probably wouldn't affect them at all. That's why the Crystal Fair is so important. You have to get everypony in the city into a joyous and happy mood, so the Heart has positive emotions it can strengthen.” Twilight raised her head and smiled proudly. Then she looked around, and only now realized that they had stopped walking a while ago, and were now standing in the middle of a broad hallway that was opulently decorated with statues in various heroic poses, thick carpets, and silken tapestries throughout its entire length. “Oh. Are we there already? That was fast.”

“No, not really,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well then, these are your rooms,” Emerald said while pointing at the row of doors to her right. “I think you have about two hours until your welcoming ceremony starts. Your luggage should already be inside. If you need anything, or if there's anything we can help you with, just call. Not literally, I mean, if you stick your head out of the door and shout, we probably won't hear you, but you can ring for the palace staff, they definitely know where to find us. We'll be here to fetch you in time for your ceremony.”

Twilight was about to say something, but then her ears perked up and she turned her head to look down the hallway. Ruby quickly understood why, when she picked up the sound of a familiar voice from around the corner at the end of the corridor.

“All right. What if we just take some of the materials from the construction site over here and use them there?”

“Then, your Majesty, we would have two unfinished buildings and two teams of athletes without a proper roof over their heads, instead of one, which is causing enough trouble already. So we would be solving precisely none of the problems we currently have, and would, in fact, just create additional ones,” answered a second voice that Ruby couldn't place.

“See, that's the kind of sensible advice and keen insight we are paying you for, Corner Stone. Let's not do that then.” Immediately after that sentence was finished, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, and a stallion Ruby didn't recognize rounded the corner and walked towards Ruby and the others.

At least Ruby assumed that is was the Prince and Princess. She had recognized Shining Armors voice, and she thought she recognized his and Cadance's legs – in the latter case, the golden slip-on shoes were a good indicator – but since everything else was hidden behind the giant map the three ponies were carrying with them, Ruby couldn't be absolutely certain.

Twilight's face lit up with joy as soon as the three ponies came into view. “Cadance! Shining!”

“Twily?” came Shining Armor's voice from behind the map, before the thick paper was folded down to reveal the surprised but happy faces of Cadance and the Prince, plus the indifferent face of a crystal pony stallion with thick glasses on his nose and a pencil hanging from a string around his neck.

The map was quickly discarded and carelessly dropped on the floor, and the royal couple simply stepped over it as they hurried towards Twilight, who in turn started running to meet the two half way.

The stallion remained standing where he was, and just looked at the crumpled map lying on the floor in front of him with a stoic expression. “That is the original construction plan. Not a copy. I just thought that fact might be worth mentioning again, your Majesties.”

But the Prince and Princess were presently occupied with more important things. Twilight had already thrown herself at her brother in a move that was somewhere between a hug and a tackle, and he returned her embrace with equal enthusiasm. Then Twilight turned to Cadance, and the two of them crouched down with their front legs and began to chant, “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake...”

Ruby tilted her head slightly as she watched the curious display that followed. “Huh,” was all she could think to say.

Emerald seemed equally baffled. “And here I thought that was just a really, really weird rumor the palace staff came up with. Now I can truthfully say that I saw two alicorn princesses shake their butts at each other.”

“No!” Ruby said and turned her head to look at Emerald with wide and panicked eyes. “You absolutely cannot say that! Not to anyone! That's a horrible sentence to use completely out of context!”

Emerald's face twisted into an almost manic grin. “I think it's the absolute best kind of sentence to use completely out of context.”

“Boy, it's so good to see you all,” Shining Armor said after everypony had exchanged greetings with him and Cadance. Ruby and Emerald remained at a short distance, so as not to seem intrusive. “I really wish we could take more time for you right now, but we still have a lot to take care of at the moment.”

Twilight looked a little concerned. “Is something wrong, Shining?”

The prince grimaced and shook his head. “Just the usual stuff. A lot to organize, time getting short, that sort of thing. Some of the athletes' quarters still aren't finished, and we've run out of building materials at the worst possible time. We should have gotten a large shipment two days ago, but it must have been delayed somehow. You wouldn't believe how hard it can be to transport things between the capital and our smaller towns and settlements up here.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “Well, if I can do anything to help...”

Shining Armor tousled her mane with a hoof and smiled. “I got it covered sis. But thanks. We'll talk more after the official welcome this evening, we made sure to set aside some time for all of you.”

Shining Armor turned around to pick the map back up, and the other stallion immediately continued the conversation from earlier. Cadance was about to join them, but then she seemed to think of something else. “Oh, Twilight? I have a quick question about that scrying spell you taught me.”

Twilight gave her an eager nod. “Of course. Did everything work? Was it helpful?”

“That would be an understatement. It helped me avoid a major crisis,” Cadance said, eliciting a proud smile from Twilight. “And it worked perfectly almost every time, but for the last two weeks or so, whenever I tried to cast it, I either can't get it to focus on the things or places I want to see, or it just gives me a garbled mess of sounds and images that I can't make heads or tails of.”

Twilight was stroking her chin and frowning thoughtfully. “What are you using as a focus?”

“Just a simple plate of polished silver,” said Cadance.

Twilight nodded. “I'll take a look at it later. If there are impurities in the metal, it can happen that some of the spell's energy lingers in the focus even after you dismiss it, and after a while, that can start to interfere with casting attempts. Don't worry, that's not hard to fix.”

“Thank you Twilight. You're a treasure,” Cadance said with a smile.

“Your Majesty? I don't mean to interrupt, but I really think you should be a part of this conversation, and we still have to inspect the construction site,” the crystal pony next to Shining Armor said.

Cadance sighed and gave Twilight and the others an apologetic look. “We'll talk later. Promised.” With a sidewards glance at Ruby and Emerald, she cheerfully added, “You take good care of them, all right?” Then she rejoined Shining Armor and the other stallion behind the construction plan, and the three of them walked past Ruby and the others and soon disappeared behind a corner.

“Well then,” Emerald said. “I think for now, Ruby and I will take our leave as well. Again, if there's anything we can do for you, just send for us, we won't be very far away at any given time. And we'll make sure to be back here to pick you up.”

“Thank you, Emerald,” Twilight said. “And thank you, Ruby. We've had a really great time so far. See you soon.”

“Not a problem,” Emerald said.

Ruby bowed her head and added, “It's our pleasure.”

The other ponies and Spike exchanged some quick, but genuine words of thanks with the two knights as well, and afterwards, Ruby and Emerald walked down the hallway and began to traverse the winding corridors of the palace towards the living quarters of the Crystal Lance.

“That wasn't at all like I expected it to be,” Ruby said after they had walked besides each other for a few minutes.

“They're a unique bunch, that's for sure,” Emerald agreed. “Pinkie is... boy, I don't even know what to say about her. But they're great to be around. I really enjoyed it.”

“I hope they did, too.” Ruby said. “But the yellow one barely said anything. I'm afraid she wasn't really taken in by the Fair.”

“Fluttershy?”

“Yeah, her.”

Emerald shook her head with enough vigor to make her shining green locks fly from side to side. “I see how you could get that impression, but I think she's just the quiet type. I actually managed to strike up a conversation with her at the petting zoo. Pretty one-sided at first, but once I got her talking about animals and the critters she has at home, she turned into a true chatterbox. Well, relatively speaking. From what I can tell, she's a real sweetheart.”

Ruby shrugged. “I guess. Most of them are a bit weird, but overall, they seem to be really pleasant ponies. Well, Rainbow Dash can be a bit grating. I don't think I've ever met a pony that was so full of herself.”

“Ha!” Emerald burst out.

Ruby flinched and looked at her friend in confusion. “What was that?”

Emerald had a broad grin plastered on her face, and seemed to barely hold in a fit of laughter. “Nothing. You're right, it can be so annoying when a pony has such a high opinion of herself. Truer words were never spoken.”

It took a few seconds before Ruby's brain went click.

“Hey!” she yelled angrily. “I'm not like that!”

“Never said you were,” Emerald said and quickened her steps to get ahead of Ruby.

“Emerald!” Ruby called after her. “Emerald, don't you dare make such baseless accusations and then try to walk away from me! Emerald!”

* * *

Twilight was rapping her hoof against the closed guest room door, like she had done several times during the last five minutes, and her knocking had grown increasingly insistent. “Rarity! Are you finished by any chance? Everypony is waiting for you.”

“Be out in a minute darling,” Rarity answered through the door, her voice a cheerful lilt despite Twilight's obvious annoyance.

Twilight stomped her hooves and let out a frustrated groan. “Your said that four minutes ago! We are going to be late!”

“No worries Twilight, I assure you that we“ – Ruby heard the voice approach the door, and then the lock clicked and Rarity poked her head out – “ won't be. All done.”

Ruby barely repressed the urge to let out a relieved sigh. About time.

To Rarity's credit, the results of the time she spent preparing were noticeable even to Ruby, who normally didn't pay much attention to such things. Her mane was neatly tied into a bun and secured with gem-encrusted silver needles, and she had donned a long, flowing dress made from light blue silk. Add to that a bit of tastefully applied makeup, and Ruby had no problem admitting that all of it accentuated the unicorn's natural beauty quite effectively. She just couldn't fathom why in Tartarus preparing like that took Rarity longer than it took Ruby putting on her armor.

Rarity looked at the group of annoyed ponies – explicitly just ponies, as Spike seemed more than willing to grant her as much time as she needed, and didn't seem impatient at all – waiting in front of her door, and she put on a confused frown. “Wait, why are none of you dressed?”

“I told you, it's not going to be a huge thing,” Twilight said. “I specifically asked Shining to keep it simple.”

Rarity pursed her lips and gave her friend a slightly indignant look. “Well, it's still an official state welcome. You will excuse me for trying to make myself presentable.” Then she took a few seconds to contemplate her current attire, before letting out a heavy sigh. “Great. Now I'm completely overdressed. I will have to change.”

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. “Rarity, if you go back into that room, I will kick the door down and drag you out by your tail.” Then she pointed at Ruby Chip and Emerald Breeze. “Just stand next to them. They're wearing a princess' ransom worth of gold and jewels glued to their armor, you can only look tame by comparison.”

Emerald chuckled. “We are helping in ways I never even anticipated.”

After a moment of consideration, Rarity nodded. “Yes, that should work. Very well, let us go.” Then she finally left the room, and they started moving down the hallway. While they were hurrying through the palace, Ruby noticed that Rarity did indeed try to stay fairly close to her and Emerald.

“I hope it's not too much of a hassle?” the unicorn asked when she saw Ruby looking at her.

Emerald gave Rarity's shoulder a playful nudge with her hoof. “No worries my lady Rarity. I swear on my sparkly, gem-encrusted chest plate, we will stand by your side and valiantly protect you from the terrible fate of looking overdressed.”

Rarity flinched a little, and immediately used her magic to smooth out the tiny wrinkle Emerald's hoof had left in the cloth of her attire. “Oh, please, watch the dress. The fabric is extremely delicate. But your support is very much appreciated.”

Emerald was about to say something in return, but right after she opened her mouth, the loud and booming sound of a large bell started to echo through the hall they were currently walking through.

Rainbow Dash frowned and looked up, as if the source of the sound could be found at the room's ceiling. “What's that?”

Ruby and Emerald froze and exchanged a quick look as soon as the first ring of the bell reached their ears.

“Library?” Emerald asked.

Ruby shook her head. “Too big, and too many entries. Small ballroom. A little further away, but it only has two doors and enough furniture to barricade.”

“All right,” Emerald said. Then she turned to Twilight, “Follow us. I'll explain while we walk.”

The high, circular room they were currently in had about a dozen hallways leading out of it, and Ruby and Emerald turned right and headed for a different doorway than the one they had been approaching a few seconds earlier. The serious tone of Emerald's voice made Twilight's ears twitch nervously, and she exchanged several worried looks with her friends. Nonetheless, she broke into a quick canter to catch up with the two knights. “Why? What's wrong?”

“We don't know,” Ruby said. “But that bell is an alarm. Actually, it's the alarm, the one that can be heard all over the city. So whatever is going on, it might be something big.”

Twilight stopped abruptly. “Wait, if it is that serious, shouldn't we try to help? Cadance and my brother could be in trouble. We need to find out what's happening.”

Emerald turned around and walked up to the worried looking alicorn. “We will, Twilight. But Ruby and I are responsible for you, and we can't just walk into this blind; not without making sure that you and your friends are safe. Once that's done, I promise we will try to find out more. Don't worry, Cadance and Shining Armor are almost constantly surrounded by knights and soldiers. They are as well protected as anypony in this palace can possibly be.”

Rainbow Dash had joined the rest of them on the ground when the bell started ringing, but now, perhaps unconsciously, she unfurled her wings again and started beating the air with quick, agitated strokes. “No way! If there's trouble out there, I'm not hiding from it!”

Ruby had to exert serious self control to not stomp her hoof in anger. “Rainbow...”

The pegasus cut her off, “No, listen. I appreciate what you're trying to do and all, but I don't need anyone to fillysit me. I can take care of myself.”

“I believe you.”

Ruby closed her mouth, after she had just opened it to give the multicolored fool a piece of her mind, and glanced at Emerald, who had currently fixed her eyes on Rainbow Dash. “You are a very capable pony, Rainbow. I don't doubt that. So I could really use your help getting your friends someplace safe. Could you please do that for me?”

That gave the other mare some pause. She looked at the other members of their group, and Ruby thought her eyes lingered slightly longer on Fluttershy, who was looking rather pale and nervous, despite her best efforts to put on a brave face.

Finally, Rainbow Dash groaned and nodded. “Fine. But once that's done and you go to check what's happening, I'm coming, too.”

Emerald didn't argue about the last part, but she made a point of not acknowledging it either. “This way,” she said instead, and headed down the corridor with Ruby walking at her side in silence. For a while, the ringing of the bell was the only sound apart from their hurried hoofsteps. Ruby listened closely for any suspicious sound, and hoped that her face would not betray the worries that occupied her mind at the moment. Of course, Emerald noticed regardless.

“What's wrong, Ruby?” she asked in a concerned whisper.

Ruby jumped a little at the unsuspected question. “My mother was at the Fair today,” she then said, quiet enough that she was certain only Emerald would hear her.

“It's pretty late. She probably went home hours ago,” Emerald said, trying her best to sound reassuring.

Ruby didn't look convinced, but gave Emerald a slow nod. “Probably.”

“We'll check on her first chance we get,” Emerald said, and put a leg around Ruby's shoulder to give her a comforting squeeze. “But we have to know what's going on first.”

Ruby nodded again, with a bit more conviction than before. Of course Emerald was right. But that didn't make the tight knot in her stomach unravel.

The small ballroom was locked, but as members of the Lance, both Ruby and Emerald had a key that fit most doors within the palace, and Ruby quickly unlocked it and entered. Several crystal lamps illuminated the room, and the polished dance floor at the center reflected their light like a mirror. A couple of tables and several cushy chairs where the only pieces of furniture, and apart from that, the room was empty.

After Ruby gestured to the others to follow her inside, she walked over to the second door, and, when she found it locked as well, pushed a heavy table in front for good measure. Emerald closed the other door behind her and locked it, leaving her key in the lock when she walked to the middle of the room to join the rest of the group.

“All right,” Rainbow Dash said. “Everypony is safe. Now, who's coming with me to see what's going on?”

“I'm going. You are not leaving this room,” Ruby said.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed. “Wanna bet?”

Ruby was about to answer, when she saw Emerald shift uncomfortably and glance towards the entrance they just came through.

“Emerald, is something wrong?” Ruby asked.

Her friend shrugged, and her eyes never left the entrance door. “I don't know. I just thought I heard something.”

Before the last word was fully past her lips, the door was torn off its hinges and catapulted through the entire length of the ballroom. Emerald barely managed to push Applejack out of the way as the heavy slab of crystal flew past them, crashing into the wall on the opposite side of the room and leaving a broad web of cracks behind as it shattered into pieces.

Ruby felt sick to her stomach all of a sudden. It was as if the air she was breathing had an oily texture to it, and she had to conjure up all of her courage to turn around and look at the ballroom entrance.

A large figure stood in the doorway, with several smaller shapes gathering behind it. At a passing glance, it would almost have looked like a very big and muscled statue formed from jagged crystal, but there were shadows moving underneath its surface, and its hollow eye sockets were occupied by two glowing green orbs, no larger than small grapes. Purple vapor was drifting out of the corners of its eyes, and a curved horn was sticking out of its forehead. It was bright red at the tip, progressively darker towards the base, and the only part of the creature not made from chipped, dark crystal.

Ruby stared at the figure, and then pinched her eyes shut. She had to belief that once she opened them again, it would have gone away.

But it didn't. Ruby opened her eyes, and the creature was still standing there.

“No!” Ruby heard a dry sob escape her throat. “No no no no no no no! This isn't real. This can't be happening!”

She heard mocking laughter spill forth from the creature’s gaping maw. It felt like a frozen knife cutting into her skin.

“Rejoice, my subjects.” The crystal behemoth took a lumbering step towards them. “Your rightful king has returned.”

Comments

[Friend_Computer]

So, that's officially the end of the chapters I had finished. The next one, and of course everything after that, is still work in progress. Which means that from now on, the uploading schedule is going to change from 'about once a week' to 'whenever I have something ready.'

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

okay, how did he survive getting blown to smitherins!?

and Ruby has Pinkie nailed.

[Paradise Oasis]

yeaaahhh, there had better be a good explanation to how he's back; the story was amazing up until that point.

[Friend_Computer]

5743124
5747546

Wait... I need an explanation for this? Ah, damn it, I knew I forgot something!

But seriously, I'm not doing the Lost thing where I come up with stuff without knowing where it's supposed to go. All right, I do that sometimes, but not in this case. There is an explanation, and I hope I'll get to it in a reasonable amount of time. As to whether it's a good one, eh... I think it's decently thought out. Then again, I came up with it, so I may or may not be a little bit biased.

So far, it certainly seems like whatever saved his skin didn't really save his... well, skin. Nor any other fleshy bits, for that matter.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

5748155 well I was kind of hopping to not see him in other than flashbacks. i different villian or situation I was hoping for. Heck Heck you created strife between the Equestrian Gard and the Imperials. there;'s great potential there.

[Friend_Computer]

5748570
Oh, don't think that last one's off the table yet. Not by a long shot