The doors of a centuries-old castle creaked open, throwing light across the stone floor.
The inside was carefully maintained by the ponies that made use of it, while the outside was a facade meant to suggest disuse. They strengthened the walls through magical reinforcement rather than repairing them with new stone.
The castle had once belonged to a feudal lord or lady before the Empire’s unification under Sombra, as had all the others scattered across the land. They were lost to time when the north froze, eventually being rediscovered when the return of the Crystal Heart brought life back to the frozen wastes.
This castle, however, had stayed hidden by a forest of pines that had thrived under the Heart’s power.
Onyx Shard had established his cult in this place two years earlier, though their first major accomplishment had only just been realized.
A unicorn shrouded in a plain brown cloak stepped into his castle with a triumphant grin on his face. Two others followed.
“I can’t believe that actually worked,” another unicorn said, his voice tinged with excitement. A burlap sack rested on his back, red light barely visible from within as his horn glowed an identical color.
Onyx lowered his hood. With the flick of an ear, he raised an eyebrow at the steel-gray unicorn. “We’ve been preparing for this moment for nearly a year, of course it worked.”
“...And to think you doubted me, Flamberge.” The corners of his lips curled into a smirk. “Take the Heart down to the cellar and keep that containment spell going. It won’t be soaking up any love here.”
Flamberge nodded, splitting from the other two and heading down one of the castle’s many corridors.
The remaining unicorn looked at Onyx with blank, lifeless eyes.
“Inform the others and send them down to help Flamberge with his spell, would you? He can’t maintain it alone for very long.”
The unicorn bowed her head and went on her way, leaving Onyx alone.
He made his way up a staircase at the end of the atrium, trotting into the vacant great hall.
Oh, Signet. You could’ve been so much more if you hadn’t gotten cold hooves.
Onyx’s magic permeated both her body and her mind, leaving her little more than a mindless thrall.
He didn’t enjoy using his magic in such a crude, forceful way, but he didn’t have a choice. She would have exposed them and ruined a year of preparation.
What a waste of a perfectly good mind. I should’ve worked on her more when I still could.
Onyx made his way through the great hall, coming to a door that nearly reached the ceiling. His horn glowed black for a moment, and the door swung open.
The throne room was dim, sunlight from clouded windows scarcely lighting the floor enough to walk. A faded red rug trimmed with gold led to the dais containing the throne. Two similarly colored tapestries hung both above and behind the throne, the symbols they bore having faded long ago.
Onyx slowly walked to the dais and stepped up to the throne, lowering himself onto it. He closed his eyes, purple smoke trailing from them as he focused. Magic flowed through him, making a dull thrum in the back of his mind.
He reached out mentally, the various connections he’d made branching out from him in his mind’s eye like a spider’s web. His followers stood out the most, dark magic pulsing black and purple through their bodies.
He could warp their minds to his liking if he wished, though he mostly left them alone. Willing servants were more versatile than thralls.
He stretched further, furrowing his brow in concentration as he searched for one particular pony. Her dread and confusion rang out like a discordant bell along their connection, and he tracked it to the source.
Flurry Heart.
It was so difficult to worm into your head from afar, but you’ve been very useful.
Making her put a shield around her parents had been easy. The impulse to defend them had already been present; all he had done was amplify it.
His horn glowed black, and a grin slowly crept onto his face. A thin net of magic crept along her mind, trawling up snippets of conversation.
“-And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
Another voice spoke, sounding more composed than Flurry’s. “We both need to let our magic recover. If you go back now, you’ll be helpless.”
Anger flared in Flurry’s mind. “I can’t just sit in Canterlot and do nothing, Iolite!”
Iolite sighed. “What are you planning to do, then? You’re still burnt out.”
“I don’t care about that; I can still be there for my subjects.”
“And if these cultists attack again with the intent to kill while you have no magic?”
“I’ll... stay near Mom and Dad. You can’t stop me from leaving.”
Another frustrated sigh escaped Iolite. “...I’m sending a few of my Guard with you, then.”
“Iolite, that’s-”
“If you say no, they’re shadowing you anyway, so it’s a question of whether you’d like the company or not.”
“...I know that you’re burnt out too; you can’t contact them.”
“I know an enchanter’s shop in the city. I’ve contributed to their stock in the past; I’m sure they’ll gladly give me a charged piece of quartz to use with my necklace.”
Onyx gently nudged Flurry’s mind, his own curiosity fueling hers.
“And how are your guards getting here?”
“Tiye has her ways of moving ponies around.”
He scowled for a moment, pressing further.
“...What ‘ways’?”
“How she and the others get here is irrelevant.” Iolite’s voice softened slightly. “...Look, Flurry, it’ll take me twenty minutes. I don’t want you going alone.”
Onyx shook his head and let his horn flicker out. Flurry’s thoughts grew faint, then left his awareness entirely. His body grew slack, lightheadedness washing over him as he felt the magic leave.
We’ll lay low for now. Keep quiet, let the Empire weaken without their Heart.
He rose from the throne, swaying slightly and shaking his head. A cough wracked his form, followed by another as black spattered the dais. He lifted a hoof to his mouth, slowly lowering himself onto the floor as his lungs burned with the increasing intensity of the coughs. Eventually, they subsided. When he pulled his hoof back, it was stained with the same black fluid. He stared at it, shaking slightly.
...I may have overdone it during the theft.
He cleared his throat, wiping his hoof on his cloak. With a deep breath, he stood. He weakly trotted to the doors and out the way he came, making his way toward the cellar while thinking of how to address his followers.