//------------------------------//
// Part 5: The Fools 
// Story: Fool's Gold 
// by Cardinal Dan Productions 
//------------------------------//

Amethyst wondered if Amber might be suffering from delusions due to her injury. It was very possible that being knocked out had caused her to say things that didn't make any sense.

Onyx had similar thoughts. He cocked his head, showing his confusion. “Who is… Mantis?”

Amber looked at them both with a very concerned expression. Raising a weak hoof, she pointed towards the door to the infirmary. “Mantis…” She groaned loudly as she tried to climb out of her bed. “Mantis, the changeling… We need to find Mantis…”

Onyx and Amethyst shared troubled looks, glancing towards each other with wide eyes. They turned back towards Amber, and Amethyst held her down, forcing Amber back into the bed. “Changeling? What changeling? Amber, what are you talking about?”

Onyx had to restrain her, pulling Amethyst off of the wounded mare. Amber began to cough furiously after being shaken by Amethyst. After the final cough, she let out a pained groan. “M-M-Mantis…” Her cough returned, stronger than ever before. It became clear that having her throat crushed for a prolonged time had a serious side effect. “Ma-Mantis was… th-there… in the room…”

Amethyst remembered. There was a second changeling. The one that had stolen Pyrite from her vanished, but one remained, alone on the floor.

Amber coughed again, pulling Amethyst out of her thoughtful state and back into reality. “Water… p-p-please…”

Onyx was quick to oblige her, filling a glass without hesitation and passing it along to her. With the glass in her hooves, Amber drank it all and set the glass down, next to the other one she had emptied earlier. “Mantis, he… he tried to warn me about something… something to do with Pyrite and… another changeling. He-” Amber shielded her snout as she coughed and wheezed. This time, she coughed up blood, staining her hoof. “He said Pyrite was in danger…”

Onyx looked at Amethyst. He could see her mind locked in an epic battle, her emotions fighting for control. “Yes, we know. She's already been… taken.”

Amber’s eyes widened, her expression full of shock and surprise. “We… We have to find… Mantis… He can-” She grabbed the sheets and pulled them up to her snout, coughing into them and leaving a bloody mark. “Mantis… can… help… He promised... he would...”

Then, she fell on her back and passed out. Several nurses swarmed the bedside and began tending to Amber. Some tore away the bloody sheets while another began formulating a mixture of magic and medicine for her to swallow when she woke back up. It was a common practice for unicorns in the medical field. Medicine imbued with the right magic could mean the difference between life and death. In this case, Amber would need all of the help she could get.

Amethyst could only watch, feeling more and more helpless the longer she did. Onyx had to grab her and pull to get her attention. “Come, Amethyst. Let's get going.”

Amethyst looked back towards the bed, at the motionless form of her best friend. “But… But, Amber…”

Onyx cupped her cheeks in his hooves and pulled her face towards his. He pulled her close until her eyes were directly in front of his, looking back at him. “Amethyst, listen to me… Amber is in the best care in the entire empire. I know you care about her, but need to move, if there's going to be any chance of us finding Pyrite. You heard what she said. We have to find this… Mantis.” He let go of her and began walking towards the door.

Amethyst rubbed her jaw before following after him. “If Mantis is the changeling Shining arrested, then we can't see him. He's probably been locked away in the lowest level of the dungeon. We don't have that kind of clearance.”

Onyx sound around at the door, his nostrils flaring. “What's gotten into you, huh?” He hissed, glaring at her. “Don't you want to save your daughter? Ever since she got taken, you've been trying to lock away your emotions and close yourself off from the world around you.” Amethyst’s lower lip quivered as each word hammered into her skull. “You're a guard, Amethyst. You're a guard, and a mother… and a lover. That's the Amethyst I know, a mare that wouldn't accept defeat over something so trivial as ‘clearance’.”

Then, his voice softened, and he wrapped a hoof around her neck, pulling her into a tight embrace. At his touch, Amethyst also began to loosen up. He pulled away, looking her dead in her eyes. “You're not alone in this, Amethyst… It’s time to quit this sad, pathetic moping around, get your head straight, and go save your daughter. Are you with me?”

Amethyst blinked once. Then, she blinked again, and her lips curled into a subtle curl, almost like a smile. She swallowed and nodded her head. “Yes… Let’s go find Shining. He can get us the clearance we need to see the changeling, and if he doesn't, we’ll break our way in.”

Onyx couldn't help grinning. “Breaking into the most secure dungeon in the entire Crystal Empire? Now that is definitely against the rules. We'd be discharged for sure.”

He didn't care that it was against his guard’s oath. Nothing was going to stand in between him and saving Pyrite. Amethyst chuckled as they ran down the corridor. “That's only if Shining doesn't let us in, but when you say it like that, it sounds infinitely more interesting...”

Her heart was pounding, and her blood was pulsing through every vein in her body. For the first time since she'd lost her daughter, Amethyst had something she thought she'd never want again, hope.


***


“Is it… blue?” Mantis let out a frustrated growl as his new friend shook her head.

She looked pleased with herself, having evaded another attempt to guess what she was ‘thinking’ about. “Close!” She laughed gleefully as she leaned against the glass. “It's not blue, though. Guess again!”

The changing shook his head and whales a lengthy sigh. “This is stupid…”

He got to his hooves and walked over to the cot in the corner. Shooting the golden mare one last mean look, he sat down on the cot and fell on his side.

The golden mare pursed her lips, watching him from across the dark corridor. “It's not stupid. You're just saying that because every guess you make is wrong. If you guess correctly, it can be really fun.”

“I doubt that…” Mantis tossed and turned, rolling from side to side. He couldn't possibly imagine spending years in this little cell. He'd only been there a few hours, and he was already beginning to lose his mind. In a matter of months, he could end up just like his crazy friend in the cell across from his, a complete loony.

“I'm not crazy, you know…”

Mantis bolted upright. Could she really be reading his thoughts? That would make his stay in the dungeons all the more terrible. His last realm of privacy would be destroyed. He covered his ears, trying to block out any external thoughts.

The mare cracked a sad smile. “Relax, Mantis… I'm not a mind-reader. I'm just… really good at understanding a pony’s face. It's all in the eyes and cheeks, really.” She let out a long breath and slumped against the glass. “For instance, you look like a pony filled with regret… I know how that must feel…”

Mantis nodded his head slowly as he slid off of the cot. “Yeah, I am. What about you, though? I don't even know your name, or how you got here.”

He approached the glass and sat down, facing her. Memories were powerful things. They could be extremely useful in recalling lost information, but they could also be hurtful, bringing up a past that some would like to forget. The golden mare looked as though she was remembering one of those memories. That was the worst part about the dungeon.

It wasn't the dark or the lack of substantial food, it was the silence. The silence allowed ponies to be alone with their worst enemies, themselves. The silence allowed them to think and reflect, even though they would like to avoid it.

Her eyes dimmed, and her gaze fell. “My name… I've gone by a lot of names, just like you, Mantis. The last name I went by… was… Sadri, I think. I called myself Sadri… It's been so long…”

She began scraping her hoof against the cold ground. Back and forth, the edge of her hoof grinded against the stone. She looked distant, like she was focusing on something else. Mantis tapped his hoof against the glass, getting her attention. “You still haven't told me how you got here. What happened to you?”

It wasn't the most ideal conversation topic, but anything would have been better than their previous guessing game. Her lip was quivering, like she was trying to speak, but thoughts were tripping over each other, trying to reach her mouth. “I… did such horrible things… Twilight Sparkle… I loved her, Mantis. I really loved her, but my desire to exact my revenge on Celestia got the better of me… When I… When I lost Twilight… I lost… ev-everything…” Then, she broke down, unleashing a series of sobs and wails.

Mantis suddenly felt bad about asking her to relive her painful memories. “Twilight was going to be my queen, ruling beside me… Now, she can't stand the sight of me…”

It wasn't much, but from what Mantis could understand, her story must have been far more exciting than his own. “I'm sorry, Sadri… I didn't mean to-”

Sadri shook her head as she dried her eyes. “No, Mantis, it’s not your fault. What I did is my own burden to carry for the rest of my life... Now, I'm paying for what I did…” She looked at him through the glass, her eyes now red from crying. “You will too, you know. Whatever you did up there, whatever brought you down here… You'll pay for that as long as you're alive and breathing.”

Her last words left an icy feel to the deafening silence that consumed the corridor. For the first time, Mantis understood the purpose of her constant talking and silly word games. She, like him, was afraid of the silence. He tried to think of ways to spark a new conversation, something to take their minds off of their past selves. He felt as though he owed her that much.

Mantis opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the sudden and loud opening of the door at the end of the corridor. It sounded like it had been forced open, slamming against the wall and creating a thunderous ‘boom’ that echoed throughout the cells. Several sets of hooves could be heard rushing towards them, clopping against the stone floor. They were guards, and a few of them sounded familiar.

“Open cell thirteen, warden.”

Then, they came into view. Several Royal Guards stopped in front of the two occupied cells. Onyx, Amethyst, and Shining were with them. When the glass gate refused to open, Shining looked down the corridor with a harsh glare. “I said ‘open it’!”

That time, the gate opened, allowing Amethyst and Onyx to enter Mantis’ cell. When the changeling saw the look in Amethyst’s eyes, he was once again frozen by fear. Unable to move or raise his hooves to defend himself, Mantis waited helplessly on the floor as she approached him, but something was different this time. As she got closer, Mantis came to realize that the look in her eyes wasn't anger or bloodlust.

It was the look of a heartbroken mother with nothing to lose, which was just as equally terrifying. She stood over him, breathing heavily. “Where… is she?”

Mantis swallowed the saliva that had filled his mouth. He knew instantly that she was talking about Pyrite. Mantis knew exactly where Pyrite was, in the changeling nest in the Frozen North. “I'm sorry, Amethyst, but she's somewhere no pony should ever be…”

Amethyst let out a monstrous cry and slammed her hoof down an inch away from Mantis’ face, causing him to flinch. “That's not good enough!” She was panting and sniffling as she tried to control herself. “You know where my baby is, and you know who took her. Amber…” Amethyst closed her eyes tight, blinking out the tears that had built up. “Amber trusts you… I don't know why, but she does. Amber said you can help us…”

She looked him in his eyes, pleading, and he looked back into hers. “Help me get my baby back… please…”

Mantis looked up at her, then his gaze shifted to Onyx at the gate and the ponies outside the cell. They were completely silent, waiting in anticipation for his response. Then, he came to realize... They all cared for Pyrite. Every one of them wanted to see the changeling infant returned safe and sound, even Shining.

Mantis looked back up at Amethyst. “If you go, you won't come back… It's a nest, a changeling hive. You'd get lost, captured, and killed… unless…” He looked at the floor thoughtfully. If he was with them, he could actually help them. “… unless I went with you.”

Amethyst looked back at Onyx and Shining. Onyx nodded his head silently and turned to look at Shining as well. “What do you think, sir?”

Shining lowered his gaze. It wasn't an easy decision to make. There was too much at risk and too much that could go wrong. Releasing the changeling and putting his two best guards in his hooves could backfire easily. There was a lot to lose only to get Pyrite back.

Amethyst knew exactly what he was thinking. The idea sounded insane, but it was the best option she had for saving her daughter. “Please, sir… He can help us find Pyrite.” She turned back around to look at the changeling. “If Amber trusts him, so do I…”

Shining groaned softly, rubbing his hoof against his forehead. “Fine… Fine. Make it happen, Onyx, but let me be clear… If this changeling takes one step out of line, you put it down.”

Mantis frowned at that last part, when Shining referred to him as ‘it’, but he kept his mouth shut. He was getting out of prison, and that was something to look forward to.

Onyx nodded his head. “Yes, sir.”

Part of Amethyst wanted to smile. It wasn't the best of odds, but it was all she had to work with. She extended an open hoof towards the changeling. Mantis looked at the hoof, then up at Amethyst. “This won't end well. You know that, right?” Then, he took her hoof, allowing her to help him up.

Amethyst shot him a silly smirk and turned back around to walk out of the cell. “Onyx and I have been through worse.”

Sadri watched all of this unfold from her cell across the corridor. “You're far too generous, Shining, letting the changeling free to help these ponies… Does this mean-”

Shining spun around, glaring at her through the glass. “Quiet, you domina! You're lucky you're even allowed to speak. One more comment from you, and you’ll lose that privilege…”

Sadri rolled her eyes and motioned her hoof across her mouth, a gesture showing she was ‘zipping her lips’.

The guards were moving out. Two were already at the far end of the corridor, waiting patiently for the rest. By the cell gate, Shining turned to face Amethyst. His horn began to glow, and he revealed a small pouch from his pack. It's contents jingled as he passed it along to the puzzled mare. The pouch was full of bits. “This… was collected from guards around the barracks. They're all rooting for you. I can't spare anypony to help you, Amethyst, but you and Onyx can take enough supplies for an extended field mission.”

Amethyst was left speechless as she accepted the pouch. “Si-Sir… Thank you…”

Then, he smiled at her. “As one parent to another, you find Pyrite, and you bring her back. That's an order, Amethyst.” He raised a hoof to his brow, saluting her.

Amethyst beamed and mimicked his salute, raising her hoof. “Yes, sir…”

With nothing left to say, Shining lowered his hoof and gave her a silent nod. He looked towards Onyx and nodded towards him too. Lastly, he looked at the changeling. Shining didn't nod, but he didn't glare either, which was improvement. He turned around and began the long walk down the corridor, to the guards waiting by the door.

Amethyst let out a long sigh and put her first hoof forward, taking her first step towards her baby, towards Pyrite. Onyx followed after her. He briefly looked back at the changeling and motioned for him to follow. “Come on, Mantis. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Mantis nodded his head and took off after them. He took only a few steps before stopping. The changeling looked over his shoulder, back at Sadri, but the mare in gold shook her head sadly.

“Don't worry about me, Mantis. I'll manage by myself… You, on the other hoof, have a chance to redeem yourself. I suggest you take that chance.”

He smiled sadly. “I won't forget you, Sadri.”

Then, just as he was turning to leave, a thought dawned on him. He was out of his cell, meaning he could use magic. He quickly closed his eyes to concentrate, and green flames began to engulf his entire body. Sadri watched in awe as Twilight Sparkle emerged from the flames. Her lower lip quivered, and she began to cry. “Tw-Twilight… just as I remembered her… She's beautiful…” She raised her hoof in an attempt to touch her, but her hoof was stopped by the glass. “I…”

Sadri pursed her lips and smiled. “Thank you, Mantis… I won’t forget what you've done for me…”

Mantis grinned and bowed before returning to his natural form. Once he was a changeling again, he bolted down the corridor to catch up with Amethyst and Onyx, and he didn't look back once.


***


The sun was rising over the Crystal Empire, but a looming darkness rose with it. On any other dawning day, the golden rays of Celestia’s sun would shine over the eastern mountain tops, piercing into the darkness, driving back the night to make way for the rise of the great star, but this was no ordinary day. Winter was arriving in the empire, and snow was beginning to fall at an alarming rate. While the crystal ponies slept, the weather ponies above released the magical barriers that held back the relentless wind and snow of the frozen north.

Now, there was nothing to stop winter from consuming the empire, and a grey overcast blotted out the sun’s morning rays. Deep inside the Frozen North, an unlikely trio trudged through the oncoming winter. In addition to their armor, Onyx and Amethyst wore extra padding, thick cloaks, and winter masks to shield themselves from the howling winds of the frozen north.

Though they offered him a cloak and mask, Mantis had denied both, preferring to face the harsh conditions himself. Already a lengthy distance from the safety of the empire, they marched through the relentless blizzard with Mantis leading them through the snow. Onyx tried to peer at the map in his magical cloud, but it had quickly become useless. All he could do now was make estimated guesses on what their exact location was.

“This area’s been scoured by guard patrols hundreds of times!” Onyx sheltered his muzzle as he yelled over the wind and ice. “How is it that we've never found this changeling nest of yours?”

Mantis stopped and looked over his shoulder. Without saying a word, he raised a hoof to his mouth, the universal symbol for ‘shut up’. Then, he shifted that same hoof forward, pointing to a rocky outcropping that was just barely visible. Onyx and Amethyst shared concerned looks before following after the changeling.

As they reached the rocks, they were granted some slight respite from the eternal blizzard. The outcropping formed an overhang that formed a sort of shield. Mantis gestured for the guards to follow him around the rocks, almost hugging the outcropping, to a thin crack that had been sealed with ice. Puzzled by what they saw, Onyx and Amethyst could only watch as Mantis began to pound the rocks, thrusting the brunt of his body into the side of the outcropping.

“This entrance… Mmph! … was sealed by the queen… Mmph! … after a patrol of guards stumbled inside…” Mantis lunged forward once more, letting out a ferocious cry before smashing his body against the rocks. The loose holders fell inside, and a cave was revealed. “Inside! Hurry!”

Amethyst saw what Mantis was worried about. The cave inside was already filling with snow, and it would soon be buried. She and Onyx rushed inside after Mantis. Once inside the cave, Onyx spun around and fired a beam of energy at the entrance, blasting the mound of snow back and allowing it to melt before quickly freezing once again.

This produced a thick sheet of ice that kept the snow out, but it also kept them inside. Now, they were trapped inside the cave. Onyx turned on Mantis, looking less than pleased about their current situation as he pulled his mask down around his neck. “Great, Mantis… Good job. Now, we’re trapped in here. What's the plan for getting out?”

Mantis kept his eyes on the floor of the cave. “I told you before, ponies… This is a one way trip. I agreed to help you get Pyrite, but once she’s yours, getting out and returning to the empire is your problem, not mine.”

Onyx raised an angry hoof, but Amethyst stopped him, restraining the stallion and stroking his cheek to calm him. “Easy, Onyx… He's right. We came here on our own accord.” Then, she glared at Mantis. “We promised we'd get Pyrite back, so we will get her back. You can bet on it.”

Mantis offered her a weak smile. “You're compassion never ceases to amaze me, Amethyst.” Then, he took several deep breaths, like he was smelling an intoxicating aroma. “You ponies… You got it right from the beginning. Love isn't something to be selfishly consumed… It should be shared with those you love, who you truly love…”

Amethyst and Onyx realized in an instant that Mantis was referring to the both of them. They shared awkward glances before looking away. Thinking on her hooves, Amethyst was quick to change the subject. “You said earlier that this cave was sealed after a patrol of guards found it… Why wasn't something like this ever reported?”

Mantis shrugged his shoulders. “It… was, and it wasn't. You didn't report this as a changeling nest, because you didn't know you had found one.” He paused, letting out a long, frosty breath. “Don't you recognize this place, Amethyst? The snow may have shifted, but look closely. You do know this place, don't you?”

Amethyst didn't, or at least, she didn't think she did… She looked around the immediate area, at the pillars of ice that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and the stalactites above their heads that threatened to fall at any moment. Mantis watched her mind work, and he placed a firm hoof into the snow.

Moving his hoof back and forth, he shifted the snow, revealing a black scorch mark on the floor. Onyx and Amethyst both gasped at the sight of the blackened mark. Amethyst touched the scorched area with her hoof as memories of that fateful moment flooded into her mind. It was the moment where she fully committed to protecting Pyrite. It was the very spot where she stood in defense of the baby changeling.

“This… This is where… where we…”

Mantis nodded his head. “Yes… When you were last here, seeking refuge from the blizzard, you unknowingly stumbled into the entrance to a changeling nest, and managed to save an infant from the wrath of Queen Chrysalis, but now, it will take all of your strength to save her again. Are you ready?”

Amethyst looked past Mantis, into the unwelcoming cave behind him. The pitch black passageway leading deeper into the ground was feeling more and more menacing by the second. Pyrite was in there, somewhere… She could feel it. “I'm ready.”

Amethyst looked at Onyx, who smiled and nodded his head. Onyx placed a firm hoof on her shoulder. “I'll follow you to the ends of Equestria, Sergeant Amethyst…”

Pleased with his response, Amethyst faced Mantis once again. “Take us to her, Mantis. Take me to my baby.”

Mantis smiled and nodded his head. Then, his smile vanished, and a far more serious tone came over him. “We have to move quickly, ponies. The nest will be gathering for the Pyrite’s execution soon. Stay behind me at all times, and don't fall behind. If you get lost in the nest, it will mean your doom.”

Mantis spun on his hooves and took off into the dark depths of the cave. Onyx and Amethyst shared a brief glance. They wanted to say their last words, because they both silently feared this would be their last chance, but Mantis was already far ahead of them. Without saying a word, both guards charged into the darkness after him.


***


At the palace, Shining stood alone in the briefing room. This was not the Crystal Empire’s first winter, not in the slightest, but all of the safety precautions had to be followed all the same. In addition to transferring Royal Guards to aid in maintaining regular services for the empire, extra security would be needed at the empire’s entrance points, like the train station. His eyes scanned the map of the Crystal Empire. All was going well, for the most part.

Aside from the bitter cold and the snow piling on the streets, the ponies below were adjusting quickly to the new season. Shining’s gaze drifted to the local districts around the palace. Even though they were already several hours into the winter, water lines in the Spike and Heart districts were beginning to freeze. Such problems were expected and no issue that the unicorns couldn't fix with a little magic. Shining’s gaze fell on the northern province of the empire, the frozen north, and his heart sank in his chest.

Amethyst and Onyx were out there, somewhere, and they were alone. A gut-wrenching guilt overcame Shining, and he folded the map in a vain attempt to stop the aching pain consuming him.

“Shining?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden arrival of a familiar voice. He turned around, placing the map back down, and opened the door with the magic from his horn. Standing in the other side of the door was his little sister, Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight had a puzzled look on her face as she eyed her brother. “Is… something wrong, Shining? You look like you've seen a ghost, which is impossible, since there is no proof of any kind that something like a ‘ghost’ could ever possibly exist. Not to mention, the probability of-” She came to a screeching halt as she caught herself rambling on.

Shining smiled and welcomed her inside. “I'm fine, Twilight… Thank you for asking. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? Cadence and I weren't expecting a visit from you for another two months.”

This was especially peculiar. Twilight was the most ‘list’ driven pony he knew, and surprise visits were not something she checked off her lists. She shifted her gaze nonchalantly, preferring to eye the table rather than look directly at her older brother. “What… A filly can't drop in on her favorite big brother whenever she wants?”

“I'm your only older brother, Twilight, and you've never dropped in on anything…” Shining was getting a little impatient with her now. It was obvious that she was after something. “… except on me, just now.”

What he didn't know was what she was after. He watched as Twilight’s horn ignited. Her cloud of magic stretched across the table, grabbing the map of the empire. Without looking at him, she opened the map and began to study it. “You went to see her… I want you to tell me why.”

Shining laughed nervously, rubbing his hoof behind his head as he did. It was now clear why his sister was here. “Wha… What are you talking about? I don't know… what you… Um, what you… mean…” Now, Shining wished Twilight had kept looking at the map, because when her cold eyes met his, he shrank in fear. “I-I-I didn't… I did not go to see her… I didn't… I promise, Twilight… It's complicated.”

Twilight didn't look convinced. “No, Shining, it's not.”

Shining had seen that look before, and that was a series of terrors he did not want to repeat. “I've already visited Amber. She told me everything… How could you, Shining?! How could you send them into a changeling nest alone?!”

Twilight unrolled the map, pointing to the two dots marked in the territory that was the frozen north. She breathed heavily as she reached the end of her barrage of weighted questions, each one pulling Shining to the bottom of a fictitious ocean like a sinking ship.

Shining glared at her and tore the map away from her clutches. “If you already knew about that, why did you ask about Sadri?!”

Twilight snatched the map back, flaring her nostrils. “I wanted to hear it from you… I came back the moment I heard about Pyrite and the changeling you threw in the dungeon, and I am very disappointed in you, Shining Armor!”

Shining winced at the sound of his full name. It sounded worse coming from his little sister. “How did you even hear about anything? There’s no way-”

“I have a magical dragon!” Twilight snapped, effectively silencing him. “Cadence wrote me and told me everything.” Then, her gaze turned soft, and she set the map back down, allowing it to unfold on its own. “I'm not mad about Sadri, Shining… I'm upset that you let them go to find Pyrite alone…”

Shining lowered his head. He opened his mouth slightly, but he never got the chance to utter a single word as Twilight interrupted him. “I don't want to hear it, Shining. With the guards at your disposal, you could have sent anypony to help them. In fact, I'm certain anypony would have volunteered if you had let them, but you didn't, did you?”

Shining let out a long sigh, releasing a frosty breath that he had been holding in. “Like I said, Twilight, it's complicated…”

Twilight pursed her lips and extending her hoof, lifting Shining’s chin so she could look directly into his eyes. “You're a good stallion with a big heart, Shining… Please, I know you can do the right… th… thing…”

Twilight’s voice shuddered until she fell silent. She was trembling, now, as she stared into the stallion’s shimmering eyes. “You… You're not Shining…”

Shining’s sad look transformed into a terrified expression as Twilight lowered her horn and blasted him across the room. He hit the wall and crashed on bookshelf, toppling the shelf and its contents over.

When the dust settled, a changeling shakily got to her hooves, coughing furiously. “Uhg… You bitch…”

Twilight cried out, and her horn ignited again as she pointed it towards the intruder. “Where is he?! Where’s my brother?!”

He grinned maliciously as she dusted the shattered remains of the shelf off of her shoulders. “Hmm… By now, I imagine he's serving my brothers and sisters. They will have quite a lot of fun with such a well endowed stallion… before they eat him, of course. Mistress Cicada promised us a feast of love, and now, your pathetic guards are walking right into her hooves…”

“No!” Twilight released another bolt of lethal magic, sending the beam of energy straight towards the changeling, but she was no stranger to magical combat. She ducked, avoiding the bolt and the blast that followed.

Now, the changeling was on the offensive. He fired back, but Twilight raised a barrier around herself, deflecting her attacks. The changeling saw his chance, so he charged the princess. Leaping over the table, he dove straight for Twilight.

The magical barrier was only meant to stop bolts of magic, allowing her to fly through the shield and tackle the princess to the ground. Their horns were locked, and their hooves were exchanging blows. By now, guards outside had heard the commotion, and the door was forced open.

“Princess Twilight!”

One guard rushed forward, distracting the changeling long enough for Twilight to kick the changeling off of her. The guard stopped next to Twilight while another rushed the changeling.

He didn't stand a chance.

The changeling readied his stance, and once the guard was within striking distance, he ran his jagged horn through the guard’s chest.

The second guard watched in horror as he fell to the ground. “Topaz, no!”

A third guard was blocking the door. He reached out for the mare standing over Twilight. “Olivine, get back!”

More guards were quickly arriving, and the changeling came to realize that he was outnumbered and in danger of being overwhelmed. Panting heavily, his horn dripping with blood, he backed towards the balcony, laughing maniacally. “This day… will long be remembered… as the last day of Shining Armor, the false queen, and the Crystal Empire…” Twilight and the guards cringed as his malicious laughter filled the room. “You ponies are all fools!”

Twilight groaned as she got to her hooves, and she leveled her horn, aiming the point at the changeling. “Get out…”

The changeling stopped laughing and shifted on his hooves nervously, but she didn't back down. “You're the biggest fool of all, Twilight Sparkle… You're not stopping us this time. The Crystal Empire will fall, and when it does, the rest of Equestria will follow… I hope you take solace knowing none of this would be possible without you…”

The changeling was licking his lips, enjoying the look of despair on the princess’ face. “That's right… It was you that convinced Shining Armor to spare the brat, and then you gave it back to the hive, saving us a lot of trouble…” He erupted into a fit of laughter once again.

Twilight grew more restless and furious with every passing second. Her horn was sparking now, literally dripping with explosive amounts of volatile magic. “I said… get… OUT!” Then, she let loose the magic that had been building in her horn.

The changeling let out a terrified shriek before he was engulfed by the beam of magic. In an instant, he was gone. All that remained of the changeling was a black mark on the floor and a few ash particles fluttering to the ground.

Completely exhausted, Twilight collapsed to the floor, and several Royal Guards rushed to her side. She brushed them aside as she leaned against the wall. “We… We need to go after them… We need to warn Amethyst and Onyx that…” She coughed several times. “… that they are walking into a trap…”

The guards agreed unanimously. Several medics arrived to carry away the wounded while more examined the princess. Twilight assured them that she was fine, but they insisted that she retreat to the emergency ward. “Please, your majesty, come with us. You're in no condition to-”

“My brother is gone!” Twilight’s sudden outburst startled the medics, cutting them off effectively. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she rose to her full height. “He's gone, and he's in trouble! They're all in trouble! Somepony needs to let Cadence know what's happened here, and we need to go save them!”

She stumbled forward only to be caught by the medics. Against her struggling, they were forced to restrain her. “Your majesty, Captain Adamite will take care of it. You're needed here, within the empire.”

Twilight aggressively shook herself free of their grip, glaring at them as she stood shakily on her own. “I'm needed… there, right now!”

It quickly became clear that the stubborn princess wasn't about to take ‘no’ for an answer. The medic looked over her shoulder, towards the captain behind her, and he nodded his head. “Very well, your majesty. I'll round up a task force for a ‘search and retrieval’ operation in the frozen north.”

Twilight nodded approvingly. “Thank you, captain. Please, hurry… I'm afraid we don't have any time to lose…”

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she look at the guards around her, but nopony looked like they were planning to move anytime soon. Getting more and more frustrated, Twilight bared her teeth. “GO!”

Like foals running from the disciplining hoof of a scolding mother, they fled from the room, one after the other, until Twilight was alone. She looked towards the blackened scorch mark on the floor she had created, and she suddenly felt very sick. She had vaporized a changeling. During her emotion-fueled rage, she had gathered enough energy to wipe a living creature off of the face of the planet.

It was a terrible feeling.

Twilight blinked several times as she tried to push such thoughts to the back of her mind. Right now, she needed to focus on saving her brother, Onyx, and Amethyst, and time was running out more quickly than she could realize.


***Up Next: Where It Began***