Twilight couldn’t remember where she was or what she had been doing. All she knew when she woke up was the darkness surrounding her and the sharp pain pounding in her head. She shifted carefully to stand, but something she couldn’t see pulled at her legs, restricting her movements. Blinking slowly, she decided to stay on the floor and patiently waited for the shadows to come into focus while her vision adjusted to a soft, muted light. In the meantime, she tried to remember where she was.
Her memories were an utter mess. Thoughts and events slowly trickled to her consciousness in no particular order, only allowing her to piece together an unhelpful timeline. She could recall, at least, that she had been trapped in the storybook, so her first concern was to wonder what new fairy tale she was waking up in.
But her head throbbed again, causing her to flinch. It painfully reminded her that she hadn’t finished the current story… How could she have forgotten her encounter with the bandits? They were attacked… surrounded… and she had been knocked out. The lump on her head could account for that.
Collecting her wits, Twilight calmly assessed her situation through the fog of pain, even though her heart rapidly pounded in her chest. She was lying on a wooden surface, one that rumbled beneath her from a slow and steady movement. Above her, a thick canvas dully glowed from the flicker of an outside light, but she couldn’t see anything useful beyond it. Shapes and structures rattled about inside of the packed compartment.
While her head wound was obvious from the get-go, Twilight sluggishly registered her condition, already aware of the fact that she had obviously been restrained. She tried to move her limbs, but only felt the bite of ropes dig into her hooves and wings. More alarmingly, the thieves had tied a cloth around her muzzle. She wasn’t certain if there was anypony out there that could hear her, but she assumed they didn’t want her calling for help… or biting them, at any rate. At least they had taken some care to bandage her injury.
Twilight’s first instinct was to use her magic to escape, but she couldn’t even summon a tiny spark. The ward protecting the dragon’s home was still draining what little she had left, and the frigid cold weighed heavily inside her, but it didn’t cause her too much discomfort. Ironically, whatever the thugs had tossed her in was protected enough from the elements that, by some miracle, they hadn’t turned her into a princess popsicle.
Slumping her head against the floorboards with a snort, Twilight noticed a lumpy shape across from her in the dim light. While it was still dark, her eyes had finally adjusted enough to pick out the vibrant colors of Rainbow Dash’s mane. She had been dumped nearby, and Twilight was able to see the shadow of ropes tied around her friend’s limbs as well. When she squinted, she could just make out the garish cut on her forehead framed by a dark blot trailing through the fur along the side of her face. The thugs hadn’t even bothered to patch up her wound.
Twilight trained her ears forward and listened intently, able to hear the soft sound of Rainbow’s breath. It was ragged, but at least she was still breathing. Twilight closed her eyes in relief.
The rumbling beneath her came to a quiet stop, and Twilight twisted her head to follow the sounds of hoofsteps moving outside. The light filtering through the canvas had gotten brighter, but other than that, she couldn’t see their location.
She listened to the muffled voices and shifted herself awkwardly, quickly trying to come up with some plan of escape. The thieves had left Twilight her saddlebag, but only because it didn't contain anything valuable to them. It also had nothing useful to her as a weapon or tool, unless the dragon scale had other magical properties that she didn't know about. Her quiet moment of formulating was interrupted when a pony tossed a flap of the canvas aside and startled her. Twilight shielded her eyes against a bright light as an unfamiliar figure lifted a torch into view.
“Well, well, look who’s finally awake.” Twilight squinted up at the form of one of the thieves greeting her, while much farther above, the darker shapes of stalactites menaced her from the ceiling of a cave. As the mare stuck the torch she was carrying into a holder nearby, Twilight noticed the bright color of her pink fur. She wasn’t a pony Twilight had met before, but her attention had been drawn by the brief glimmer of her mane and eyes in the firelight.
The mare’s head ducked away, and the sound of a wooden latch being worked reached her ears. The wall of the cart slowly opened, and the mare jumped up once she had laid it flat. Twilight squirmed uncomfortably when the pony grabbed her shoulders to pull her out, but she suddenly stopped and leaned closer to Twilight’s face. The mare narrowed her eyes before straightening up with a bark of laughter.
“What’s with the gag? She get a bit too mouthy for you?” The mare spoke to somepony outside of Twilight’s view, but she didn’t have long to wonder when a stallion answered her from around the cart.
“There are some very credible rumors—” the familiar stallion from before strolled into sight “—that this princess can speak to animals.” He sauntered closer, and without warning, the mare shoved Twilight from behind, pushing her over the edge and right onto his back like a saddlebag. She landed on her gut with a pained grunt, wobbling awkwardly as she tried to hold on, not wanting to receive another lump by falling onto the stone ground.
“What? Afraid she’ll serenade some songbirds?” The mare scoffed in a mocking tone and fluttered her eyelashes, ignoring the furious look Twilight shot at her.
“More like shouting for a beast to maul us.” The stallion turned back to Twilight, lifting a leg and forcing her to face him as he scrutinized her bandage. “Or convince one to help her escape.”
“Hmm, right.” The mare wrinkled her snout and disappeared inside the cart, her voice muffled as she responded from within. “Boss isn’t gonna be happy you damaged the goods.”
Twilight bristled when she realized the mare had been talking about her, but the two simply continued on as if she wasn’t there. “She’ll just have a migraine. Be careful with the guard, though; that one might have a concussion. We weren’t so gentle with her.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The mare appeared again, but this time with Rainbow Dash draped over her own flanks. Despite the movement, she didn’t wake, but she did let out a very loud groan.
“We need her to fly straight.” The stallion pressed as the mare made a show of slowly and carefully stepping down from the cart, finally planting her hooves on the ground and giving him a sour frown.
The stallion rolled his eyes and started forward, trotting through bulbous columns and stone pillars while the mare followed after. She left the torch behind because it wasn’t needed, even though they were heading deeper into a large cavern. On the distant ceiling, a huge crevice opened to the outside air. Twilight could see blue sky and small flurries of snow as sunlight spilled into the cave and gave the place an unexpected, cheery sort of glow.
It looked as though the bandits had roped enormous sheets of canvas to the stalactites beneath the opening to keep out some of the snowfall, but that didn’t stop the chill from making its way inside. The cavern was very similar to the dragons’ home, only cold and frigid, but somehow not completely frozen by the periodic blizzards. Twilight shivered, wondering if the place was protected and hoping her cloak would be enough to keep her warm.
As the pair moved her and Rainbow Dash along, a murmur of noise grew louder over the distance, echoing off of the cavernous walls and giving Twilight the impression of a crowd ahead. When they stepped out from around towering spires of stone, the sound turned into a cacophony of shouts and chatter.
Her eyes swept over a large gathering of ponies, all dressed in dark cloaks and heavy robes. What looked like hundreds of them milled around campfires and shared conversation. Some played cards on shabby tables set up throughout the cave, while others roughhoused or simply slept in hammocks and makeshift beds of dirty mattresses and blankets. They had obviously brought her to their seedy lair.
Twilight gulped nervously when she noticed a few curious gazes turn her way. Stallions taking swigs of drink paused to watch as her escort carried her past. A few of them smirked when they saw her, and some even raised their mugs in a mocking toast.
Trying to ignore their stares, Twilight continued to look out at the crowd of thieves. Though most of them had on thick clothing to protect against the cold, the bright sunlight shining in through the ceiling shimmered on the occasional exposed tail or mane. And every so often, a glance thrown her way sparkled with a faint glimmer.
Crystal ponies. Most of the bandits were crystal ponies.
It wasn’t so unusual, since she had been to the Crystal Empire on numerous occasions and met many of its residents, but there were too many in one place. Twilight couldn’t help but think it meant something important, or was at least significant. Seeing as Sombra had also, if briefly, lived in the Crystal Empire, it was only natural to assume that these characters were from his memories.
Even though she didn’t spot him amongst the crowd, she had a feeling he would be at the head of it all, maybe even as the boss the mare had mentioned earlier. It felt like the perfect role for him to play, and hopefully meant something would go her way for a change. With Sombra as the leader of the thieves, he would be more likely to help her, if only to get the story moving to benefit himself.
She initially believed that she might have found Flurry here. A young filly in the original tale had aided the protagonist by helping and introducing her to one of the story’s most famous elements, apart from the Snow Queen herself: the reindeer. Though as things appeared to be leading up to Sombra’s reveal, she felt a bit relieved that her niece hadn’t been dropped into a literal den of thieves.
The pair carrying her and Rainbow soon left the crowded area behind, moving around a tall structure of natural columns. The noise instantly hushed, and the only sounds were their hoofsteps shuffling over a path of natural steps in the stone floor. It led up to a curtain of fabric that had been strung up to create a barrier to the cave hidden behind it. The mare disappeared beneath a flap with Rainbow Dash, and the stallion nosed his way through shortly after.
For a brief second, everything was quiet before a racket of shrieking off to the side of the entrance startled Twilight so badly that she nearly slipped off the stallion’s back. The voices of animals assaulted her ears as birds stuck inside a large cage flew about, flapping their wings and screeching in a flurry of panic.
Twilight’s wide-eyed gaze moved along the wall over a collection of what looked like a menagerie of animals lining the cavern, locked in tiny pens or chained to the floor. There were small mammals and unusual reptiles, birds and all varieties of exotic and rare creatures. A snow leopard even prowled at the end of its chain near the back.
Her attention moved past them all, because standing at the very end, Twilight had a hard time making out something in the shadows. A frosted cloud of breath was the only sign that a living creature was even there. While all the other animals scrambled about in their small enclosures, he stood motionless, stoically watching her as his pupils reflected the flicker of torches. He moved, and Twilight saw the towering shape of a reindeer form itself in the darkness.
“SILENCE!!!” A sharp voice cut through the chaos of noise, causing the birds to immediately settle down in fear. Twilight turned her head to the back of the room, where a stallion sat at an elegant desk, facing away from them. “What is it?” he asked without even turning around.
“Guests,” the stallion carrying her answered with a smirk. As the pony at the desk glanced at them with a haughty frown, Twilight’s ears drooped in disappointment. He was a pony that she had met before, yes, but Dr. Caballeron was not the stallion she had been hoping to encounter in this situation.
The chair he sat on creaked from his movement, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked down his snout at them. “I hope they’re important. You know we don’t do ransoms for chump change.”
“This one is very important.” The stallion stepped closer and turned, allowing Caballeron to see his passenger from a better angle. He appeared to accidentally slip out of his seat before recovering and trotting closer. With an exaggerated flourish, he gave Twilight a mock bow.
“Well! Good evening, Your Highness!” Twilight wrinkled her snout and bristled when his hoof pushed beneath her chin and forced her gaze up to look him in the eyes. “I have a feeling your brother will pay a fortune to get you back safely.” Caballeron pulled his leg away and motioned at Rainbow Dash. “Is that the guard?”
The stallion nodded. Though she didn’t know his name at all, Twilight now understood why he felt so familiar when she first saw him. She had only met Dr. Caballeron’s henchponies in a brief encounter. The fact that he was wearing a different outfit now hadn’t helped with recognizing him.
“Wake her,” Caballeron demanded, and the mare lowered Rainbow Dash to the ground before running over to a nearby table and grabbing a pitcher that sat on top. She quickly sprinted back and unceremoniously dumped its contents over Rainbow’s head.
Rainbow immediately sputtered with a jolt, coughing and blinking in confusion as she tried to lift herself into a sitting position, but only managed to fall over with a shout. She paused a second to stare at the ropes around her hooves before her eyes finally moved to the thugs watching her. Rainbow’s gaze hardened when she noticed Twilight slung over the stallion’s back. “You—!?!”
Caballeron shoved a hoof against her snout. It only interrupted her, but Rainbow chose to growl at him through her teeth. “I’m going to make this simple,” he began. “You’re to bring a message to your prince. He will deliver three—no, four carts of treasure to a designated meeting place for the safe return of his sister. If he refuses, well then…” Caballeron turned back to look at Twilight with a grin. “I think it should be quite clear what will happen. Understand?”
“You think I’d just leave her here!?” Rainbow shouted.
“You’ll deliver our message.” Caballeron simply answered and nodded in Twilight’s direction. The mare stepped up beside her, and Twilight felt a quick tug at her mane. The mare only came away with a few strands of hair, but the discomfort caused Twilight to wince. “Or we can send her in pieces as proof instead, something a bit more extreme than a haircut.”
Rainbow’s ears flattened with a grimace, and she turned her head to face Caballeron with a snort. “Fine. But if you hurt her—”
“As long as we get our money,” Cabelleron interrupted, “then your little princess won’t be harmed.” He waved his hoof in the direction of the entrance, and another pony Twilight had not noticed slipped from the shadows.
“Take her to the meeting spot, and make sure you’re not followed,” Cabelleron instructed while the new pony shoved a burlap sack over Rainbow’s head. She yelled, but her words were muffled beneath the material. Caballeron leaned closer and spoke up so she could hear him. “Just a bit of precaution! Don’t want you mounting a rescue! Simply return to the meeting place in a week with the ransom, and your princess will go free!”
Rainbow wasn’t given much of a chance to respond while the two ponies carried her back through the curtains at the entrance. They were able to drag her through, but not before she managed to give one of her escorts a kick in the head.
“What about her?” The thug still carrying Twilight nodded at her, and Caballeron gave her a once over before smirking.
“Drop our princess over there.” He motioned to a pile of blankets and rugs close to the desk along the wall and chuckled darkly. “She won’t be going anywhere.”
Caballeron’s thug trotted over to the sheets and unceremoniously dumped her onto the pile, sitting down abruptly so that she dropped against it with a startled squeak. Without so much as glancing back, he followed after his boss, their low voices discussing among themselves how much space they would need for all the money they were going to get from this venture. As they disappeared behind the curtain, everything settled into an eerie quiet.
Save for the variety of animals stuck in their cages, Twilight was left alone in the chamber. She watched the entrance for a good while, just to make certain they had left before quickly rolling onto her back. Wrenching her legs against the ropes, she started kicking and struggling to free herself.
A warm snort in her ear caused Twilight to jolt in surprise, and her gaze shot back to see the dark shape of the reindeer looking down at her. They stared at one another for a brief moment, until she calmly and carefully rolled over onto her stomach. Lifting her head slowly, she kept her eyes locked on his.
She had nearly forgotten about him in all the fuss, which was understandable. Keeping with the theme of unusual animals that Caballeron seemed to collect, Twilight could see that this reindeer’s fur was dark, enough so that he practically vanished into the shadows. Not an unheard-of trait, but a rare one all the same.
As she watched him, uncertain of how to ask for his help, his mouth appeared to deepen with a frown, and he finally spoke. “Of course you would be a princess.”
Twilight blinked when she recognized the strong voice that reached her ears, not entirely believing what she’d just heard. He was not the friendly creature she knew from the fairy tale.
He was Sombra.
The reindeer.
Sombra was the reindeer.
Her mind blanked while trying to process that. Even though she had been hoping to meet him, she hadn’t expected this sort of twist. She simply gawked at him in silence, trying to sort out the rush of emotions that were fighting to surface all at once.
Laughter would not have been her first choice, but the absurdity of what he had been turned into meshed with an exhilarated feeling of relief at finally finding him. Spike wasn’t safe, and Flurry Heart was still lost somewhere, but she couldn’t help the rush of elation at no longer being alone.
A snort managed to escape her as she quietly giggled, before it quickly turned into a fit of mirth that shook her sides while she curled up on the floor. Twilight only quieted down when Sombra stomped his rather large hoof a few inches from her snout.
“I fail to see the humor in this.” He huffed a warm breath into her face and eyed the ropes that held her. “I suppose you’ll need me to save you?”
Twilight nodded very clearly in answer to his question, and Sombra stepped back with a startled snort. His ears perked up, and she could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. Since the thieves couldn’t speak to animals, he had probably discovered early on that they weren’t just ignoring him. “You can understand me?”
“Mff,” Twilight answered.
“I’ll assume that was a yes.” Sombra leaned closer, and a metal clang jangled at his neck. Twilight looked past his head to see a collar attached to a chain on the wall like many of the other animals. “Hold still,” he commanded.
Twilight froze, trying not to flinch when he lowered his antlers. One of the sharp-looking prongs wobbled uncomfortably close to her eye before it slipped beneath the cloth around her muzzle. With a surprisingly gentle tug, he ripped through the material and pulled it away.
Twilight let out a relieved sigh once she was able to properly speak. “Thank you,” she said, genuinely glad that she had met him here. “Can you reach the ropes?”
Sombra grunted with a frown, but ducked his head again and managed to catch his antlers between one of the cords. They didn’t tear as easily as the gag, but he managed to saw through them, and soon enough, Twilight was finally freed.
“Good.” Sombra’s eyes moved up to her forehead while Twilight stretched her legs. “Now you can use your magic to release me.” He then straightened up and puffed out his chest to display the collar around his neck.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “If I had any magic left, I would have used it to escape on my own.”
“So, you aren’t just… saving it?” Sombra asked with a curious look.
“For what? I didn’t even know you were here before...” Twilight paused as a thought occurred to her. “Were you... waiting for me to rescue you?”
Sombra snorted in her face with a deep grunt. “You have a way of acting… predictably. I estimated it was only a matter of time before you showed up with something useful.” He frowned at her horn. “Not even a tiny amount?”
“I don’t have anything.” Twilight sighed. “It’s completely gone.”
“How did you manage to lose all of it?” Sombra snorted. “No wonder you were caught by those fools.”
“Hey!” Twilight jabbed her hoof at him. “I gave it up to help my friends! And what about you? You’re stuck in here too.”
Sombra actually laughed at that. “I simply woke up here. For the convenience of the story, I started out as their prisoner.” He leaned in with a wide grin, close enough for her to see that, even as a reindeer, he still possessed his vicious looking fangs. “What’s your excuse?”
Twilight glared at him and opened her mouth to respond before shutting it and sitting up with a sly expression. “I used my magic to convince an army of dragons to follow me.”
“You—” Sombra’s expression shifted from one of mocking laughter to mild surprise. “—what?”
Twilight quickly explained her encounter with the dragons and everything that had led up to their alliance. For a moment, she thought he appeared to look jealous before she pointed her hoof at him with a confident smile. “We just need to find the Snow Queen’s castle, and you know the way.”
Sombra stared at her blankly for a moment, before snorting out a laugh. “I hope this plan doesn’t rely on that knowledge.”
Twilight’s expression faltered. “Why?”
“Because I have no idea where this castle is.” Sombra frowned at her. She blinked back.
“But… you’re the reindeer! From the story!” Twilight exclaimed in a panic. “You have to know where it is!”
“I already told you,” Sombra muttered. “I woke up here. I’ve never even read this book, let alone know the locations in it.”
“What—but—!?” Twilight sputtered, wracking her thoughts over the story in her head. “How could the reindeer not know where the castle is!?” Twilight groaned and rubbed at her forehead. “Why can’t this stupid story keep anything straight?” In reaction to the building frustration, she stomped her front legs against the floor and bucked, accidentally hitting the desk behind her.
Her hooves smacked the furniture with a loud thud, and the other animals made a small racket in response. An object rattled over the edge of the desk, and before Twilight realized what it was, it rolled off and struck her on the head. She winced and rubbed at the sore spot while glaring down at the offending scroll as it bounced with a hollow thud.
It was an absurd size, as she could see when Sombra pawed at it with his equally large hooves.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“This looks like a map,” Sombra grunted, gritting his teeth while he tried to open it. “Curse these alien hooves!”
Twilight jumped towards the scroll, eagerly unraveling it and confirming Sombra’s suspicions while marveling at the landscapes that appeared before her. She revealed the caves where she and her friends had met the dragons, and higher up where the forest merged into the thieves’ territory. Farther still, the fields of the north appeared in great detail, not too far from an area that was circled as the cave where she had been brought.
Sombra lowered his head next to hers as her gaze moved across a snowy expanse. Secluded in the northern tundra, a specific location had been marked out in red.
“They know where it is…” Twilight marveled, thankful that Caballeron was apparently a very efficient cartographer. “We know where the castle is!” She closed the map back up and tucked it into a safe corner on the desk to retrieve later. It would have been too conspicuous to carry with her for the time being.
She looked towards the flap where Caballeron had left through. “I can get you out of here. In fact, I know we can escape together.” She stared at the collar around Sombra’s neck, finally noticing a small hole. “Is there a key?”
“That stallion had it,” Sombra answered. “He carries it on a belt at his side. Not that you’ll be able to get it.”
“Excuse me?” Twilight glared at him. “If the key is what we need—”
“You were already captured once,” Sombra muttered. “I highly doubt you could steal it without them noticing.”
“Why? I snuck into the library back in 'Robin Hood.' I stole—”
Sombra scoffed at her. “That was different. Another story, another role.” He lifted a hoof and jabbed her in the chest. Twilight stumbled back, but caught herself. “Here, you’re just a weak princess captured by a bunch of thieves. Can you really steal that key from a professional criminal?”
“Of course I can!” Twilight exclaimed before ducking when she realized how loud she was being. The other animals made a constant noise that helped to cover her voice, but she had to be careful.
Sombra watched her with a smug grin. “You’re already cowering.”
Twilight spun around with a huff and searched around, her eyes landing on the pile of sheets and rugs. She dug into it and pulled one of the blankets out, ignoring him as she wrapped herself in the material. “Couldn’t you have just a little more confidence in sompony that’s meant to rescue you?” She turned towards him and showed off her new ensemble. “There. How do I look?”
“Hmm.” Sombra scrutinized her with a frown. She had managed to disguise her wings and obscure most of her body with the dirty robe. “Decent, but a keener eye will see right through you.” Sombra lowered his head, and before she could figure out what he was doing, he covered her in a cloud of dirt kicked up by his antlers.
“There, now you’re passable for one of those buffoons.” He smirked when she sneezed out a puff of dust before frowning at him.
“Right,” Twilight mumbled, shrugging the fabric into a comfortable position over her shoulders. She started towards the entrance, moving carefully to avoid making any sound. When she finally stuck her head through, she found nopony outside, at least none that she could see. Her eyes shifted over the rocks, thinking back to the pony that Caballeron had called from the shadows.
She took a tentative step out, shifting her body carefully through the flap. The area remained quiet, with only the low murmur of voices echoing through the cave.
When nopony jumped out at her, Twilight was emboldened, gingerly treading down the natural steps in the floor and striding back along the path the thieves had originally carried her. Before she reached the common area, she ducked into another route, detouring between a pair of pillars into a darker corner before poking her head around to look out at all the scoundrels scattered about.
The number of ponies bustling about the place made her all the more nervous. There were almost too many for her to count, even though she had already done a quick estimate with the equations in her head.
She briefly thought about winging it by taking the key and simply running away. Would the story protect her and give her uncanny luck if she was supposed to retrieve it in the first place? The sheer amount of thieves she might face made her think otherwise, and the memory of the archery tournament made her doubt she could count on such a thing. The story might not simply let her do as she pleased.
Trying not to panic while thinking of a plan, Twilight hardly noticed a slight speck of movement high above her until the sunlight flared briefly in her peripheral. She lifted her head to see a small flurry of snow drifting in through the gap between the tarp and the crevice to the outside world. She might have been able to escape that way, but Sombra would have been stuck, and there was no way she could make it past the blizzard without him.
While staring at the prospect of freedom, her eyes began to follow the snowdrift, noticing an odd behavior with its fall. It looked like a heavy clump, yet it was floating down from the ceiling… as if it were… gliding?
The patch of 'snow' fluttered over to a dark area of the cave, and Twilight managed to maneuver closer without being noticed by any of the thieves. She thanked her time spent in the role of Robin Hood and peered cautiously around a rock formation, only to see the Raven from before shaking ice from his wings.
“You didn’t abandon us!” Twilight exclaimed in a whisper, but the raven still jumped up with a startled squawk. Twilight lowered the hood of her makeshift robe and the raven visibly settled down when he recognized her.
“I-I didn’t mean to leave you!” he started with a wavering voice. “These bandits have a reputation for collecting unusual animals, and I was afraid of being caught… so I hid…” He hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.” Twilight reassured him. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
The raven appeared to perk up, and he fluttered his wings to hop forward and rub against her leg. “I’m so relieved you’re safe. Come!” He jumped up and flared his wings. “I can show you a way out! There is another entrance—”
“I can’t leave yet,” Twilight interrupted, lifting her hoof towards him. “There are other animals trapped here that I need to free.”
He shifted his feet nervously. “B-but, princess—”
“You know I can’t make it through that snow storm,” she said gently. “Not without freezing. There’s a reindeer that can take me through the blizzard, but we have to help him.”
The raven nodded with a sigh. “Of course.” He then hopped closer. “Do you have a plan?”
Twilight tapped her chin, standing to pace a few steps before peeking around one of the large stalactites and observing the bandits again. She could see Caballeron celebrating with his thugs, lifting mugs of drink and toasting to the ransom they thought they were going to get.
She watched them for a moment, then turned back to the raven as he fluttered onto her shoulders to perch. She blinked at him before grinning back with uncertainty. “I… have an idea, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”
The raven groaned. “When involving bandits and princesses, what kind of plan would be likable?”
“Caballeron! Sir!”
Caballeron’s head turned as Twilight, covered by her disguise, galloped over to the group of thieves sipping their cider in celebration. She ran up out of breath, which helped to disguise the nervous tone of her voice. “I-I found a white raven flying in the caves!”
“A white raven, you say?” Caballeron immediately lowered his drink.
One of the other thieves around the fire nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Hey, yea! Sapphire said she saw a bird like that flyin’ around when we attacked the princess. We figured she was seein’ things since it disappeared so quick.”
Caballeron grinned as he rubbed his chin. “A white raven is very unusual, and extremely rare. Perhaps it belonged to our little princess, and followed her here looking for its owner.” He motioned at Twilight. “Have you caught it?”
“I tried,” Twilight answered with a grunt. “I knocked it out and left it. I wasn’t sure if I should move it.”
“Idiot.” One of the other thieves laughed before taking a swig of his drink.
“Sorry.” Twilight ducked her head, seeing Caballeron frown as he set down his mug.
“Well, it could still be alive.” Caballeron waved his leg as he stood up. “Either way, it’s valuable. Lead me!”
Much to Twilight’s delight, Caballeron followed her down a less populated tunnel. Only one of his thugs came along out of curiosity, while the rest were too involved in their drinking to bother. She led them into a smaller cavern, where the raven lay sprawled on the floor, pretending to be unconscious.
“Astounding!” Caballeron trotted over to the bird once he spotted him, leaning over and prodding gently to inspect him. “It doesn’t appear to be albinism… but still, the pigmentation does make it unusual… and worth a fair price.” He watched the raven silently for a moment. “And it’s still alive. Good work.”
“Thank you,” Twilight answered automatically, waiting for the other thug to move closer and have his own look at the raven before scooting up to Caballeron’s side. He was busy poking at the bird, trying to figure out if it was best to lift it in its condition.
Recalling her time spent as Robin Hood, Twilight tried to channel the character again while she nonchalantly reached for the key at Caballeron’s belt. With the two stallions distracted, she gently nudged it and noticed that only a simple magnet held it in place.
Twilight moved her hoof to knock it away, when Caballeron suddenly spun around and kicked a hoof into her gut. She flew back, sprawling out on the floor and gasping after having the breath knocked out of her.
“A clever attempt, princess.” Caballeron smirked while motioning his thug over. “But even as respectful as my associates may be, they have absolutely no manners.”
Twilight heard a flurry of feathers and struggled to scurry away right as the raven let out a deafening screech, flying straight into Caballeron’s face. The pair shrieked and shouted in fury while the other stallion tried to catch the raven and pull him away from his boss.
With the thug's attention elsewhere, Twilight kicked at him and managed to catch his hooves when the raven launched himself overhead. The lackey stumbled and plowed right into a boulder while trying to avoid his claws.
“SHE’S ESCAPED!!!” Caballeron bellowed to any of his followers within hearing range and lumbered towards her while covering the scratches on his snout with his leg. “CAPTURE HER!!!”
“RUN!” The raven unnecessarily shrieked, taking to the air as Twilight scrambled to her hooves and dodged Caballeron’s hoof when he swung at her. He lurched unsteadily towards her again, but she ducked and caught the key around her horn, immediately spinning away and galloping down the passage.
It wasn’t long before she heard shouting at the other end of the tunnel, and was terrified to see a group of thugs barreling towards her. She slowed down a moment, but only to let the raven fly ahead of her.
“Help the boss!” she yelled at the group of approaching ponies. “I’ll get the bird!”
With her disguise still intact, the group barely gave her any notice when they galloped past, giving Twilight a few extra seconds to make it back to Caballeron’s office. She burst in through the entrance to a cacophony of sound as the animals shrieked and screamed at the excitement.
“Do you have the key?” Sombra was quick to demand while straining at the end of his chain.
“Got it!” Twilight immediately turned, lifting the key away from her horn and sticking it into the door of the large bird cage.
“What are you doing?” Sombra raged impatiently. “Free me!”
“Hold on!” Twilight yelled, and twisted the key in the lock. She jumped back after tugging open the door, and the birds inside gave triumphant squawks as they burst from the cage in a whirlwind of wings and feathers. They swooped out through the entrance like one big cloud, and Twilight heard the muffled shouts of startled ponies.
She stumbled as she moved down the line, freeing all the animals from their cages while Sombra shouted at her over the mess of noise that erupted at the entrance. Animals snarled and squeaked while ponies yelled in a panic and chaos broke out in the ensuing mess.
“Those beasts are a waste of time!!!”
“They’re helping!” Twilight yelled back, finally letting loose the snow leopard from her collar.
“Duck.” She heard the feline purr as it lowered itself into a crouch. Twilight dropped to the floor, and the cat pounced over her head. A stallion screamed from behind her, and Twilight didn’t dare to look back as she made it to Sombra, who was furiously stomping and snorting.
“You’ve should have started with me!” he shouted at her over the turmoil.
“Hold still!” she yelled at him and plunged the key into the lock on his collar.
A heavy body slammed into her side and tackled her to the floor, and Twilight stared up at the sight of Caballeron standing over her, grinning in triumph. He leaned closer, and she could see the angry red of the fresh scratches over his face.
“I’m normally good on my word about not harming captives, but with the trouble you’ve caused me—” Caballeron growled, but he didn’t get to finish his threat. Sombra’s antlers swung into view and sent Caballeron straight into the wall. He hit the rock with a sickening thud, and Twilight stared at him as he crumpled to the floor and lay still.
“Is… is he—?” Twilight asked.
“When will you stop concerning yourself with these illusionary figments!?” Sombra shouted and roughly grabbed her cloak in his teeth. She yelped when he swung her wildly onto his neck, and she tried her best to hold on as he reared back and sprang forward with a powerful lurch.
“Wait!” Twilight shouted in a panic, reaching back towards the desk. “The map!”
The raven swooped down and grabbed the scroll in his claws before flying up and diving past them, only giving a quick caw in response. Sombra suddenly surged after him, and Twilight could only hug him tightly as he tore through the feeble barrier of curtains.
The cavern was complete mayhem. Ponies scrambled around in a panic, trying to recapture the escaped animals, or simply fled from the larger predators that chased after them.
Despite the chaos, Sombra wasted no time barging into the mess of things, tossing aside a few thieves that were unfortunate enough to be standing in his way. They flew into the darkness like ragdolls and quickly disappeared from view while Sombra powered on.
Twilight was certain now that if Sombra hadn’t woken up as their captive, they never would have been able to catch him. As a pony, he had been a powerful foe, and a fearful force to be reckoned with. As a large, burly reindeer, he was more like a train. A thundering, unfeeling force that simply broke through any barrier placed before him. The animals attacking the bandits were quick enough to scatter from his path, but the thieves were not so nimble.
The columns and the stone stalactites blurred together while Sombra made quick progress through the cave, crashing through the rickety tables, leaping over smoldering campfires, and making his way into a tunnel that started to grow colder the further they advanced.
And then, suddenly, the chill dropped to freezing as the sky opened up above her. The commotion of the thieves’ den disappeared into a muted quiet when the white fields and rocky hills spread out in the barren distance. They had made it to freedom, but Sombra did not stop; rather, he only seemed to move faster in the open landscape.
His snorting breath became rhythmic as he barreled over the frozen ground and kicked up clouds of snow behind them. Though he was a pony at heart, he was currently a beast made for traversing such harsh terrain. Twilight took a quick look over her shoulder, only to be surprised at the sight of the cave’s entrance shrinking in the distance behind them. The bandits were nothing more than dark specks in a sea of white.
The cold wind whipped up around them, blowing frost and snowflakes across her vision. Twilight numbly hugged at Sombra’s thick ruff, determined to keep warm and not fall off. She could feel the cold in her chest grow heavier, and the storm around them grew stronger, but she did not let him stop. She did not want to be caught again.
The sky darkened, and the snowfall thickened into a blanket of sleet and fog. Twilight buried herself deeper into Sombra’s fur, long since losing track of any sense of time. The wind howling past her ears sounded muffled, and her limbs grew heavy as her thoughts lulled slowly into sleep.
“Princess!” A grating shriek at her ear jolted her into wakefulness, and Sombra’s voice rumbled deeply beneath her.
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s succumbing to the cold!” Feathers rustled closer, and the raven landed lightly atop her shoulder, his talons prickling against her cloak. “She needs shelter!”
“Is this necessary?” Sombra mumbled. Twilight was only faintly aware of the fact that he was looking back at her, waiting for an answer.
“She is not well!” the raven insisted. “If she can’t get warm, she will freeze from the Snow Queen’s spell!”
“C...c-c-cold…” Twilight added, unable to get much else out as she squeezed his fur and tried to bury herself deeper into his warmth.
She could feel Sombra move beneath her, his gait a bit less powerful as he slowed his pace. The raven stood above her, trying his best to shelter her from the worst of the blizzard. She wasn’t certain where he was headed. The snow was so thick, she couldn’t even see an inch beyond her nose.
After a time, she heard Sombra’s hooves stomp heavily against something solid, and Twilight stiffly lifted her head to the sight of a porch nearly buried in snow. It was attached to a quaint cottage, the windows glowing warmly from an inviting light within. Somehow, Sombra had spotted this dwelling through the raging storm.
“Are you going to get down?” she heard him ask, and Twilight nodded into his fur, but she couldn't find the will to move.
Sombra grabbed her cloak in his teeth, and Twilight made a soft noise in protest when he dragged her off of his back. She had no strength to berate him, and only tried to curl up around herself while he lowered her to a welcome mat in front of the door. Her breath fogged up into heavy clouds as she strained to lift herself, only managing to scrape her hoof pitifully against the wood in an attempt to knock.
Sombra rolled his eyes, and stepped over her with a grunt. “We demand shelter and accommodations!” he shouted while pounding his hoof heavily against the door. “And nourishment!”
“I’m s-s-so glad they c-can’t unders-stand you,” Twilight muttered, her ears perking at the sound of hoofsteps from inside. Shortly after, the door creaked open, spilling a warm rectangle of light across her fur. Twilight could already smell the scent of something baking within, and her stomach growled. She struggled to her hooves, but wound up stumbling back against the porch.
“Oh! You poor thing!” a familiar voice reached her, and suddenly a pony was supporting her by leaning into her shoulder. “Here, let me help you inside so you can warm up.”
Twilight blinked at the familiar face of Starlight smiling warmly back as she slowly guided her inside the cozy cottage. Sombra’s heavy hoofsteps followed after, and the door shut against the blizzard outside, shielding them from the cold.
Starlight led her to a rug right in front of the fireplace, and Twilight had no issue planting herself right there on the floor. She practically collapsed against the rug as all the weariness from their adventures finally caught up with her.
“Are you alright?” Twilight looked up to see Starlight gazing at her with concern. “Uhm… would you… like some tea? Or maybe coffee…” She appeared to be indecisive. “What about hot chocolate?”
“Y-yes,” Twilight simply answered, curling up into a tight ball to try and warm herself up. The chill inside her chest was still there, but at least the bite of frost was no longer attacking her.
“Oh, alright!” Starlight cheerily responded before turning towards what looked like the kitchen. The sound of dishes clinked as she prepared something, while the tune of her humming drifted back towards the comfortable living room.
Twilight shivered despite the heat of the fireplace. It wasn’t enough to offset the frozen feeling that still numbed her body from within. She continued to face the fire, even when Sombra’s heavy steps lumbered over. While she expected him to settle close by, she was caught completely by surprise when he lowered himself next to her. His thick fur pressed against her back, and he even curled his legs up around her body to form a warm barrier.
“Uh… uhm…” Twilight found herself at a loss for words, taken aback by his sudden care. It was completely unlike what she knew of him, and for some reason what little warmth she had regained suddenly rushed to her face.
“Your dragons wouldn’t be very cooperative if you wound up frozen,” Sombra muttered, adjusting his legs carefully over her. “Consider this a return for freeing me.” Twilight stared at him for a brief moment before finally finding her voice again.
“R-right,” Twilight stammered, shaking some sense into herself while the raven flew over and landed on top of her, appearing to want to help as well. As the bird fluffed up his feathers and nested in the space between her shoulders, she cautiously lowered her head onto Sombra’s side, cuddling against him purely for the heat that radiated from him. His fur was exceptionally comfortable, but she didn’t say this out loud.
“Here you are!” Starlight sang out, strolling over with a tea cup and a blanket floating in the glow of her magic. She unfolded the comforter across the trio and lowered the saucer before Twilight. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I just mixed a little of everything!”
Starlight giggled as Twilight took a sip and gasped. The intense flavor that hit her almost as good as the warmth that slid down her throat. Twilight was certain she had burned her tongue, but continued to gulp down the rest as her insides seemed to recover better from the drink. The cold wasn’t completely gone, but at least she could feel her legs again.
“That was perfect.” Twilight sighed and licked her lips.
“Would you like more?” Starlight asked.
“Please!”
Twilight was nursing her fifth cup when she started to feel full, and the frigid cold had receded to the uncomfortable lump within her chest. Sombra had left her to lay on his own on the other side of the rug, somewhat to Twilight’s disappointment, but the raven had stayed with her, diligently napping on her back.
“...and it sounds like it could be an altered take on an energy dispersion spell. But the distance you’re talking about is impossible. You said the raven showed you this?” Starlight asked after finally ending her spiel about different spell types. They had been discussing for the past few hours the intricacies of her ward, after she had finished telling Starlight about her meeting with the dragons. “How exactly does it travel so far?”
“It might work a little differently from what we’re used to, since it’s not standard unicorn magic.” Twilight shook her head. “Or alicorn magic. I didn’t have enough of my own to cast a proper spell, so the raven offered me another way. He explained that it connects my magic to the Snow Queen’s, so if hers is able to extend like that because of the blizzard, mine must simply flow along it to protect the dragons, but at a price.”
“Interesting…” Twilight was surprised to hear an echo as both Sombra and Starlight responded similarly, but only Sombra turned to look at Starlight with disgust. “Your magic works as a power source, even though you’re so far from the initial spell-casting location. That’s amazing!” Starlight stood up to gallop into another room. “I need my notebook!”
“Yes,” Sombra rumbled when Starlight had left. “That certainly is amazing.” His eyes narrowed in the direction of the sleeping raven. “How exactly did you meet that bird?”
Twilight fluffed a wing protectively in front of the raven. “I saved him from a dragon. What does it matter how we met?”
Sombra clicked his tongue. “Have you never wondered why he would know so much?”
“He’s… the raven.” Twilight faltered, realizing that answer wouldn’t work with him. She had read the original, and knew the significance and help that the raven provided, but Sombra had never read The Snow Queen. He didn't know it was just a whimsical tale with equally whimsical characters. “What are you suggesting? If you’re implying he’s up to no good, you should know that he’s saved me twice already.”
“Conveniently,” Sombra grumbled. “I am simply insinuating that you not blindly believe he is an ally just because he’s helped you. I trust him about as much as I do your new friend.”
“Do you just have issues with ponies that are trying to help?” Twilight said with a sigh. “Without Starlight, I would have frozen in the blizzard! And without the raven, we wouldn’t have escaped the bandits!”
“That doesn’t mean they don’t have ulterior motives,” Sombra practically snarled.
“Like you?” Twilight shot back, recalling his attempts to overthrow the king in Robin Hood.
Sombra didn’t even bat an eye. “That mare doesn’t sit right with me... she wants something.”
“She wants a friend,” Twilight argued. “And she’s my friend. I trust Starlight.”
“You are too trusting of these characters simply because they have a familiar face.” He stood up and stretched his legs. “Their relation to you does not mean they have good intentions.”
“How would you know? You haven’t… met anypony...” Her voice faded as she remembered the crystal ponies back in the thieves’ den. “Have you?”
“I don’t care to recall,” Sombra grumbled, making his way toward the door.
“Did you know them? Those bandits?” Twilight asked, standing and taking a step closer to him. Miraculously, the raven sleeping on her back didn’t wake. “They were all crystal ponies. You did know them,” she said with a little more confidence when he glanced back and wrinkled his snout.
“They were once my subjects. A group of renegades that fought against me, to rip the crown from my brow. Ponies I once thought I could trust.” He bared his fangs at her in a sneer. “It is only fitting that they now play the downtrodden thieves that they are. Happy?” Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the door handle in his mouth and wrenched it open, letting in a burst of winter winds that sprayed the entrance with frost and snow. “Shouldn’t we finish this story? Don’t you have another friend to save?”
Twilight felt guilty the moment he said it. She hadn’t forgotten about Spike, but being reminded that he was still in danger didn’t sit well when she was just lounging comfortably in front of a roaring fireplace.
“Why is the front door open?” Twilight turned to see Starlight standing at the back of the room with a notebook hovering at her side. “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, that,” Twilight started, gently rousing the raven from sleep. “I’m sorry this is so sudden, Starlight, but it looks like Sombra’s ready to go.” She knew it was a gross understatement, as Sombra had already disappeared out the door.
“Oh…” Starlight responded sadly, and the notebook dropped to the floor. “Are you sure? It’s still freezing outside. It’s probably not safe to travel...”
“Now might be the best time actually.” Twilight noted. The snow drifting in wasn’t accompanied by blistering winds like earlier. “Things look calm, so it’s better to leave before the blizzard picks up again.” Twilight trotted over to Starlight, placing a hoof on her chest. “I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.”
“That was nothing,” Starlight snorted with a wave of her hoof. “I just made some tea… and coffee… and hot chocolate.” She tapped her chin. “Speaking of, I have a lot of dishes to clean.”
Twilight giggled, and stepped closer to Starlight to pull her into a quick hug. “Thank you, Starlight.
“Don’t... mention it.”
When Twilight pulled away, Starlight’s expression was troubled, and the look on her face prevented Twilight from turning to leave. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s...” Starlight started. “It was just… nice to have somepony to talk to… especially somepony that understands the intricacies of advanced spell theories.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t get many visitors this far north.”
“I promise to come back,” Twilight said, making a note to do so if she actually could. “I wouldn’t miss out on making time for a friend.”
“A… friend?” Starlight seemed to freeze at that, and after a moment of looking like she wanted to say something, she bolted away before Twilight could ask. Starlight quickly returned with her notebook, flipping to a page and squinting at her writing. “Are you familiar with Spark Lee’s work on memory spells?”
“Not in particular.” Twilight shook her head, curious to know what Starlight was getting at.
“Perfect!” Starlight’s eyes quickly skimmed over the page, and she snapped the journal shut. Twilight hadn’t expected anything, which was why Starlight took her by surprise when she leaned closer. A flash of magic jumped from her horn onto Twilight’s, and a painless jolt shot through her body. Twilight stumbled backwards, wobbling as her vision started to sway. Her legs went numb, and the room appeared to tilt as she collapsed onto her side, looking up to see a wavering view of Starlight standing over her.
“Star… light…?” Twilight breathed softly, not having enough strength to even lift her head. The room began to spin, and memories drifted through her mind as if they were being tossed out like leaves into the wind. With a sudden gust, her thoughts scattered in a mess that she couldn’t make any sense out of.
The noise of her surroundings grew fainter, even as Sombra crashed back through the doorway and yelled something unintelligible. His dark form galloped towards her, but he ducked out of sight when a shimmering light shot through the air. She could hardly focus on what was going on as one of the fragile strands of memories burned away. She turned her gaze in confusion to watch her friend… no… companion? Wait… maybe an enemy? Why couldn’t she remember correctly?
Twilight ignored the bolts of magic flying above, mentally trying to sort out the clutter in her head and battling against the spell as it struggled to pull her deeper into unconsciousness.
The raven shrieked, and something heavy smashed against the wall nearby, breaking her concentration. An unfamiliar voice shouted at her, and in a bright explosion of magic, the room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Starlight slammed the door shut and stomped her hooves against the mat. “That takes care of that. Now…”
After a few quiet steps in her direction, Twilight felt Starlight’s hoof gently stroke her mane. Twilight stared up at her groggily. Everything that she knew was being ripped away, but she still recognized who Starlight was, more clearly than anything with so little else to grasp.
“Not… again…” Twilight whispered, still resisting the enchantment that fought to drag her mind into the darkness.
“Shhh…” Starlight consoled her. “Everything is alright. Just relax and get some sleep. I’ll make us something to drink when you wake up! You’ll probably be thirsty.”
Twilight didn’t know what to make of that, but as her thoughts and vision floated in and out of a sensible reality, she finally let out a quiet breath and rested her weary body against the floor. Her eyelids closed, and she nodded off into the peaceful serenity of a dream, trusting Starlight’s reassurance.
Afterall, why would she doubt the words of her only friend?