The team grabbed the next train for Ponyville, but it would take a few hours before they arrived. They kept Sombra in his full armor with visor down so as to not incite a panic. Shining Armor decided to use this time to get the team acquainted with one another to ensure they worked well together. It was… difficult. He was able to learn that Flash Sentry, Grey Hat, and Steel Bastian were triplets. There was that…
“Wait…” Sombra spoke up for the first time since they got on the train. “The three of you are nothing alike…”
Grey Hat cracked his neck before replying, “yeah… Flash is mister pep, I don’t like dealing with others, and Bastian is…” He waved his hoof as if trying to find an answer.
Flash offered a few options, “Unyielding? Efficiency dependent? Genuinely Scary?”
“I was going to say unnervingly terrifying, but those work.”
Now they truly had Sombra’s attention. “Terrifying? Really? He hardly seems it.”
“He can control you, can’t he?”
“That’s hardly out of fear…”
“Not the point. Aside from that, he’s pretty scary. He always sounds so calm, no matter what he’s doing.”
Flashed nodded in agreement with Grey, “He’s always got that half smile on his face. He could be positively livid, and he’d still be smiling.”
“It doesn’t help that he’s also basically the most powerful stallion in Canterlot, now. He has the resources to make your life a living hell. Make you wish you were dead…”
After a solid five minutes of silence, Flash tried to diffuse the mood by changing topics. “Well… enough about Bastian. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Oh?” Sombra smiled, “Are the little ones scared of their brother?”
Grey shook his head, “We’re the older of the three.”
“What?”
“Flash is the oldest, then me, then Bastian.”
“Seriously? You don’t act like the oldest.”
Flash scratched the back of his head nervously, “Yeah… I get that a lot.”
“Flash. Grey.” Shining Armor grabbed the ponies’ attentions, “Since we’re trying to find something that may very well be in transit, we can’t be too careful. Check the train for any signs of the package.” As the two left, he turned to Sombra. “What’s your game?”
“I’m certain I don’t know what you mean, Captain.”
“Don’t start. King Sombra wouldn’t give a flying feather about any other pony’s story, much less care enough to ask follow up questions. So, I repeat: what’s the game, Sombra?”
“There’s no game, Captain.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Tell me… have we ever actually met?”
“What? You…”
“Other than on the battlefield, Captain. Have we exchanged words? Have you stopped by for afternoon tea? Have we ever just sat down and spoke to one another as civilized ponies?”
Shining Armor wasn’t sure what he was hearing. This was King Sombra? The same power crazed stallion that enslaved the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago? There was no way that could be true.
“Surprising, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That I can be reasonable. In many ways, I am still a king. As such, I am refined and retain my sophistication. But, if I may confide, I was never one for the formalities of my station.”
“You… are not what I was expecting.”
“Few will look past my deeds, Captain. And I don’t expect them to. I made my choices in my lifetime and they shall be my legacy.”
“But…”
“Hmm?”
“You have a second chance… don’t you?”
“To have a second chance, I must first have the choice to take it. I am bound by magic to follow military orders from all officers of a higher rank. I have had no say in my life since my return, and that likely won’t change any time soon.”
As their conversation ended, Flash and Grey Hat returned to the train car. “We’ve searched top to bottom. No sign of the gemstone. We’ve also informed the train’s staff of the situation should the gem be brought on board after we leave.”
Shining Armor turned to the duo, “Excellent work. We’ll be arriving in a few minutes.”
\/
The team arrived in Ponyville around 17:20. Shining Armor knew that he would have just missed Cadence, since she was scheduled to return to the Crystal Empire by 19:00. After a quick stretch to offset being stuck in a mobile metal crate for nearly three and a half hours, they made for the castle. On the way, more than a few ponies turned to watch the guards. Some seemed a little nervous. Shining Armor couldn’t blame them. Four Royal Guards wearing three different types of armor (four if you count Shining’s Captain armor) walking through town would usually mean something rather serious had happened.
Once they reached the castle doors, Shining raised his hoof to knock on the door only to have it open and smack him in the face. The other guards shared a small chuckle before gathering themselves after Shining turned with a quick glare. The cause of the pain to the Captain’s face were a duo of ponies. One was a pink unicorn with a purple and turquois mane (who Shining Armor recognized as Starlight Glimmer) and a sky-blue unicorn with a pale blue mane (Trixie: who he learned about from letters from Twilight). To their credit, once they realize they just hit somepony with the rather large castle door they made a point to make sure he was okay.
Shining waved away their concerns, playing up the strong guard angle. This wasn’t the first time somepony accidently hit him with a door, after all. “So, if I may ask, is Twilight here? We need to speak with her.”
“Oh…” Starlight smiled nervously, “Sorry. You actually just missed her.”
“Okay. When can we expect her back?”
“I… don’t know. She was called away by the map. So… she won’t be back until her mission is complete. And there isn’t really a schedule for that.”
“Well…” Sombra looked to the top of the castle, “That’s unfortunate.”
“So, why the full armor?” Trixie asked. “It’s not like it’s that dangerous around here.”
“I don’t tell you not to wear your stupid hat, Trixie. Don’t question my lifestyle.”
“How dare you insult the Great and Powerful Trixie’s wardrobe!”
“Wait.” Flash cut into the conversation. “You know her?”
“Obviously, he’s heard of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Sombra shook his head, “Nope. I don’t waste my time with subpar illusionists.”
Now Trixie was mad. “You want to put that by the Great and Powerful Trixie again?!”
“Gladly. You are subpar, your third person speech gimmick is grating, and it’s clear you have a deep seeded jealousy of Twilight.”
“Oh? And just who are you to say something like that? Huh?! Are you a performance critic? A psychologist? Do you have the credentials to judge the Great and Powerful…”
She was cut off when Sombra raised his visor, showing his face. Though few saw him during the events of his Empire’s return, his visage was still well known in Equestria. He knew he was still feared by the living, and this performer was no exception. “Boo!”
Trixie nearly flew twenty feet into the air seeing the Crystal Tyrant’s face. Starlight backed away, but remained grounded, “How… how is he… what’s going on?”
Shining Armor stepped in to defuse the situation. “Corporal… please.” After Sombra returned his visor to its resting state, Shining turned to Starlight and the Great and Terrified Trixie (who has since returned to the ground). “I apologize for the Corporal. He has this habit of using his appearance to scare ponies.”
“Well… the resemblance is uncanny.”
“I get that a lot.” Sombra chimed.
“Anyway…” Shining Armor placed a hoof on Sombra’s shoulder, guiding him away from the two mares, “Since Twilight isn’t here, we need to be moving. Isn’t that right, Corporal?”
“Aye, aye Captain.”
As they left, Shining waved back, keeping the fasade until they were out of site. Once they had the chance, he turned to Sombra, “Are you crazy?!”
“Perhaps. But can you blame me for having a little fun.”
“And what if your ‘fun’ started a panic?!”
“Unlikely. Ponies would want to rationalize what they have seen first. They panic only when they are forced to accept the irrational.”
“That’s…” Shining Armor shook his head, “Never mind. Where is this Dark magic wielder you mentioned?”
Sombra closed his eyes and remained still for a second before turning to the northern part of town. “That way.”
The four guards made their way to the northern edge of town. There, they found a cottage not unlike the others. However, while feeling integrated into the scheme of the town, it still felt strangely isolated from the others. There was no fence, no wall, not even a simple hedge to separate the cottage from the others. The atmosphere just felt… off.
“This is the place.” Sombra waved to the cottage.
Shining Armor knocked on the door of the cottage. “Excuse me! We’re with the Royal Guard. We’d like to speak with you.”
The door opened slowly to reveal a grey unicorn with a deep red mane and purple eyes. He yawned before speaking, “How can I help you?”
Sombra pushed forward, “We’re in the middle of an investigation and you’re going to help us.”
Shining was about to try to diffuse Sombra’s attitude and try a different approach, but the red maned unicorn spoke before he had the chance. “Is that right?”
“If you know what’s good for you…”
The civilian unicorn smiled, “Do tell.”
“If you decide to hinder our progress, I will personally see to your torture. When I’m done, and I have what I want, you’ll be left in the gutters of Canterlot unable to stand on your own four hooves. You’ll wake in a cold sweat for the rest of your life as nightmares become reality.”
Shining stepped between the ponies, ready to chastise Sombra for taking things too far. Catching him off guard, was the civilian unicorn’s next words, “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Sombra.” The two Dark magic unicorns bumped hooves and shared a laugh, leaving the other three aghast and confused.
“Hold it!” Shining was finally able to get a word in, “What the hell just happened?!”
“Captain Shining Armor!” The civilian placed a hoof on his chest feigning insult, “Language…”
Shining Armor had to take a few deep breaths before he was calm enough to continue. “Civilian, if you would be so kind as to explain a few things.”
“I have a name, you know.”
“No. I don’t. You never told us and we never learned it.”
“Oh… Right then. Grimoire Maleficarum: Dark Mage. Now, what can I help you to understand?”
“First, how did you know the Corporal’s identity?”
“The guy lets off so much magic, I could tell who he was from the train station. Each pony’s magic is different, like a hoof-print. Next question?”
“What was with that exchange?”
Grimoire shrugged, “Eh… I just wanted to have a little fun. So did he. I just ran with it.”
“Alright… last question. Sombra wasn’t exactly wrong when he said we may need your assistance. We are on a mission to find a rather large, possibly magical gemstone that may or may not be the same material as the Crystal Heart. We wanted to know if you had any way to track the magical energy if it has one. We just need a general area; somewhere to start looking.”
“Hmm… I think I can help. Of course, that is predicated on the idea that your target is the same material as the Crystal Heart. If not, it would be a little more difficult.”
“If it’s compensation you need, payment for materials shouldn’t be an issue.”
“No need. I have enough bits, trust me. It comes down to what’s possible. But that’s a story for another day. I get the feeling this is a ‘needs to be found yesterday’ kind of thing. So, let’s get moving. Follow me.”
The group moved to the field behind Grimoire’s cottage. Grimoire took a series of leaves out of his saddlebag and used his magic to set them all alight. He warped the burning ingredients together and the smoke began to glow faintly. It spread and formed a map of Equestria. Grimoire then took out a small root and ground it up before taking the powder in his hoof. He blew on the powder and sent it into the smoke map. The area around the Crystal Empire began to glow followed by another spot to the west of the map.
Grimoire smiled. “Would you look at that… There you are, Captain. Two Crystal Heart signatures. One in the Empire and one in…” He cross-referenced the smoke with a paper map, “Oh…”
“What? What’s the issue?”
“Umm… your source seems to originate from the area around the town of… Broken Hoof…”
“Broken Hoof? I’ve never heard of it.”
“I doubt you would have. Broken Hoof is like a hive for scumbags and mercenaries. It’s older than Equestria and has been the source of many a political headache over the years. I don’t know why it would be there, but I pray for your safe return.”
“What,” Sombra raised a brow, “you’re not coming with us?”
“Hell no! I’m not going anywhere near that place again. Good luck ye mad minds! I’m not going anywhere.” He teleported away before they could ask again.
Flash sighed, “That doesn’t bode well…”