Fallout: Equestria - Change

by MetalGearSamus

Chapter 18: Failure

“Pitch? Isn’t there supposed to be a huge storm?”

We were about halfway to the city’s outskirts when Midnight asked the question. We all stopped and looked at her.

“Oh. Your right. That’s what I’d been told.”

I glanced back at the mountains we had come from. The clouds still loured there, crowning the mountain peaks with dark greys and black. Their smooth edges spoke of high turbulence, Pitch informed us, suggesting the wind was fierce up there. Yet within the Empire it was serene.

Maybe the storm moved on? Or died down?

Maybe th’ pegasi are finally doin’ their job...

Both options are doubtful, as far as I know. Hmm... truly perplexing...

We could come to no further conclusion, and the day was turning to afternoon. We didn’t have time to wait around. We needed to find shelter in the Empire, and start a fire if we could.

We found a set of rusted metal bars along the ground when we reached the outskirts. Old train tracks, Pitch explained. That rubble over there was probably the station. It was little more than a cement foundation covered with snow and wood that had been frozen through. Further on we found more indiscernible rubble. And then the first body.

What shocked me was not that we found somepony dead, but that we found somepony preserved. The figure stood in the frame of a small house, encased in clear ice. It was a crystal pony, its luster made all the brighter by the shine of the ice that surrounded it. Its coat looked as if it had been brushed only the day before, and its mane stood up as if freshly gelled. But its eyes had been frozen through. The matter in its skull had hardened and expanded, leaving only a chunky whiteness where pupils should have been. I saw evidence of similar burstings from its veins and arteries. Clots of black blood pooled at its extremities and along its underbelly. Brown crystal poked through the most congested regions. The stallion had been flash frozen where he stood.

“Oh fuck,” Midnight muttered. We all felt each other's reactions, but that did not dull the horror. My stomach churned, and even though I looked away I could still see it through Midnight, so strong was the impact it had upon her mind.

“An’ ah’d thought ah’d seen it all. Let’s keep movin’ b’fore ya’ll get sick.”

“Well, on the bright side,” Pitch stuttered as we pulled ourselves away. “I’ve just learned that I can’t vomit anymore. I think my stomach muscles have atrophied away.”

Another wave of nausea struck me. “I did not need that detail.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Most buildings were in ruins. Untold time under the snow and ice had collapsed roofs and shattered walls. Pitch explained to us how water expands as it freezes, and how even rocks could be split in half by the slow cycle of melt and expansion as the seasons went by. If we found a roof it would be a miracle.

We found more frozen ponies as we explored. First they were just inside the buildings. But as we wound our way through the streets more and more began to appear. Some were posed in conversation, others I saw carried saddlebags or pulled carts behind themselves. One was on his hind legs, waving a newspaper above him. The rest were lost to time.

“What did all this?” I wondered.

“I have no idea,” Pitch said, poking at the block of ice that surrounded a mare on a bench. “Whatever it was, it happened all at once. Some magical disaster?”

“Maybe when th’ Heart failed this is th’ result?”

“Seems reasonable...”

“Well, let’s not join them,” Midnight said as she shivered. “I don’t know how much longer I can take this cold.”

I nodded in agreement. My nose and ears were numb, and my shivering had become rhythmic enough that I was starting to ignore it. Hairpins looked unfazed, somehow. She had collected scraps of wood as we had moved through the city. We’d found a faded book in a drawer and all of us were dragging several large planks behind us. We had enough for a nice fire, yet we had found nowhere suitable for shelter.

“I think,” I said. “We’ll have to try the castle.”

It loomed above us, three legs rising from the ice to support that massive central tower. Made of crystal and coated in ice, the whole thing glistened. From a distance it had sprouted rainbows, up close it was covered in a shimmering aura of color. The thing looked almost alive, radiating a blissful happiness over the cold death at its feet. I could not see the top of the tower, so intense were the reflections and refractions of the light.

We stopped probing the ruins and headed straight for the castle. We followed the streets and the journey was easy. The temperature dropped as we neared the tower. It was hungry for light, its shadow bringing an ever deeper chill. I almost longed for the air of the caves. It was stable there; even the light breeze that whistled through the town cut me to the bone.

The central plaza below the tower was full of frozen ponies. They were so densely packed we had to double back several times as we found our way blocked. Many looked like they had been selling wears or serving food. Another marketplace. This chill had come so suddenly...

We found an entrance at the base of one of the legs. It ran straight up, uniting with two others at a resting area. Two guards were stationed here, each encased in ice. I stared at them for a long while, fighting with my bad memories. They both looked like New Canterlot soldiers. Same white coat. Same blue hair. Even a similar military demeanor.

Odd. They’re not crystal ponies.

The inside of the castle was well-lit. The walls themselves pulsed with light. No doubt some spell had imbued them with such power a long time ago. It was a miracle that it had persisted for so long... perhaps it absorbed the light from outside? Pitch would be interested in studying them, I knew, if we had the time.

It’s incredible, Midnight added.

We proceeded through the castle. The first floor was bare except for a reception room and an empty storage space. A central staircase connected every level, but I still could not see all the way to the top. We were winded by the time we made it to the second floor. This place was massive. It would take us quite a while to explore all of it.

Let’s find a room and rest for the night. Tomorrow we’ll go looking for what’s what.

We all agreed. The first room we found was a lounge, with three old couches and a table still set for tea. Shelves full of what were once books lined the back wall, and decorative curtains were set on the other two. The cloth in the room was remarkably preserved: it only shredded when we touched it instead of disintegrating. We decided against starting a fire in such a confined space, instead stacking the couches against a wall such that two propped up one above our heads. The small fort was just big enough for all of us to squeeze into, and kept enough air in so that our body heat could build up. Pitch volunteered wordlessly to keep watch as we slept, and plopped down near the door with a stack of tomes that looked like they might still have some readable paragraphs inside.

I curled up the moment we finished the set up. Hairpins shrugged off her battle-saddle and joined immediately. Midnight squeezed in between us. We let out a collective sigh, already feeling the increased warmth. I knew I was not the only one with aching legs from our journey, and it was nice to finally have something to sleep on that wasn’t rock.

Goodnight, everyone...

When I awoke, Midnight and Hairpins were already up.

“Ah’m just sayin’ we gotta start thinkin’ about long-term survival.” The strain in Hairpin’s voice jerked me awake. I felt anger and repulsion form Midnight as well.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, stumbling to my feet. The air in the room was cool, but tolerable.

“Hairpins has a terrible idea,” Midnight grumbled. She was frowning at the older mare.

“Ah’m just bein’ practical... look, Worker, ah was jus’ thinking: we made it here, sure, but Chrysalis is gone, we don’t know how t’ get back through the caves, an’ nopony else knows how t’ get t’ us. We need t’ think about how to survive. Like, make a home here fer a while, probably. An’ that means shelter, water, an’ food.”

I nodded, eyes widening a bit. I hadn’t really considered the long-term of our situation. We were trapped here, effectively.

“Shelter we got covered, an’ we got plenty of wood fer heat an’ meltin’ snow. Food’s the big problem. Th’ only source of any sorta nutrition is...”

“The ponies in the ice,” I said, already knowing her thoughts. I shared Midnight’s revulsion.

“Yeah...”

I turned to Midnight. “You know she’s right.”

“We could at least consider some other options,” she retorted. “This was an Empire, surely they would have had stores of some kind? We haven’t explored much.”

“Ah know, an’ ah agree. But whatever froze everypony here did so all at once. They wouldn’t a’ been able t’ prepare or put away any foodstuff they already hadn’t set aside. We might get lucky an’ find some stuff that’s still good, but we gotta be realistic. We need t’ think about the long-term. We could be stuck here months, dependin’ on how fast we can find a way back through th’ caves.”

Midnight stared at her hooves. The three of us stewed in the silence. I frowned as another thought struck me.

Pitch? Where are you?

Oh! Are you awake? I’m in the library!

“She let us know she was leaving,” Midnight informed me. “She already went through all the books in this room.”

You should come. I’ve found a few interesting things.

The library was on the third floor. We passed two more frozen guards on our way up, each seemingly in the midst of walking down when they were frozen. The doors to the library were quite obvious: they were three times the size of a pony, with great steel hinges and made of thick wood engraved with mares and stallions pose in all varieties of dress. Magical symbols lined the floor below.

The room we entered was something to behold. Rows of books stretched out in either direction, curving away along with the rest of the room. Although we could see the back wall from where I stood, it seemed to go on forever. I saw more stairwells leading up and down to further levels, and light glinting from every direction. For all I could tell, the library extended throughout the entire outer layer of the tower.

Oh no, it stops after ten stories, Pitch corrected.

I shifted focus away from my sense of awe to find her location. She was close, reading a book on time dilation. As we trotted toward her I was taken aback by how well these tomes had held up. Whatever magic was in this place had preserved them well. It had also preserved the librarians. Several tombs of ice greeted us before we found the professor.

“Anything interesting?” Midnight asked.

“Oh yes! They have a whole section just on theoretical physics. I’m familiar with a lot of the general concepts, of course, but it’s always fascinating to read the work that’s being done. Or was being done, I guess. I’m amazed these books survived—as far as I can tell everything in this library is still intact.”

“Anything about the Heart?” I asked.

“Yes, I found a whole sub-section about it in the Imperial History Collection. I haven’t read it yet. But there are also several histories of Equestria, as well as a lot of documents from the war. Ah, and I haven’t even touched the fiction section... I’m sure it makes up at least half of this place... oh, I could spend another two hundred years in here and still not scratch the surface... Worker, this place is priceless. There is knowledge here that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

I felt her awe, and I drank from her elation. Happiness bloomed between the four of us as the immensity of this discovery set in.

I went straight for the history books. The information on the Heart was disappointingly sparse. Most of its history was concerned with who had control of it and the politics surrounding it. It’s powers were rarely talked about, and all the authors I read seemed to assume the reader would know what it did in the first place. It was so fundamental to the existence of the Empire it didn’t need to be stated. They had not considered it could ever collapse utterly.

“It keep back the storm,” one text stated. “Without it we would be engulfed by a mountain of snow.”

They were a bit off on that point, I thought.

Which is strange, Pitch replied, because even King Sombra believed it was fundamental to the Empire’s existence.

Sombra?

I believe the Princesses defeated him in order to restore the Empire, Pitch replied. It should be in one of the histories. Cadence was given the throne after he was vanquished.

I skipped ahead to the more recent history. Sombra, his banishment, and his return. The story of his second defeat at the hooves of the Princesses was quite detailed, and I found myself sympathetic to the plight of the crystal ponies. I knew what it was to be enslaved, in both body and mind. The final pages added images of the battle between him and the Equestrian royalty. Two stood out to me: an image of a weeping Twilight Sparkle, engulfed by Sombra’s darkness with eyes glowing green, and an image of Celestia standing at the top of the tower, the sun drawn in caricature behind her. Sombra was awash in her light, cracks running through his visage as he fell to the ground below. Luna was beside her sister, protecting the Crystal Heart from the last tendrils of the king’s darkness, as well as sending a piercing beam of dark light through his heart.

“Although Twilight Sparkle was unable to stop King Sombra from entering the Empire and acquiring the Heart, the Princesses Celestia and Luna were swift to arrive upon sensing her defeat. With their supreme experience they did not suffer the King to curse the Empire once again, and quickly discorporated him while retaining control of the Crystal Heart. Twilight Sparkle, as well as the Empress and all her subjects, were freed from Sombra’s grasp.” These words sat just below the final picture.

Pitch, why did the Princesses send their pupil to defeat him first? Why take the risk?

Oh, goodness. I almost forgot about that part of the story. It was a test for Twilight, you see. I don’t know what for. I don’t think it affected their relationship much, but Twilight was very embarrassed about her failure. The Ministry quietly buried that part of history... not too harshly, though, compared to some of their other actions...

Are you alright, Pitch?

Well, I haven’t done much looking back on my life, really. It’s been too painful, but now... well, I’m realizing that the Equestria I loved was dead a long time before the bombs fell. The war killed our spirit before it killed our bodies.

I nodded. Love was very hard to find. I remember that much... say, what would have happened had Twilight succeeded? Would she have been Empress then?

No, Mi Amore Cadenza was always destined for that. I do not know what destiny Celestia had planned for her pupil. The war probably ruined any plans she might have made anyway.

True...

The histories did not go much farther than the fall of King Sombra. Cadence’s early rule was peaceful and kind, and Shining Armor was a beacon of pride and honor.

“Their bond alone is said to match the power of the Heart, for as it uplifts the spirits of ponies all across Equestria, so does their love bring joy to all who behold it, and prosperity to all who live under their rule. Theirs is a harmonious matrimony all others dream of.” The book concluded with another drawing, this of the happy couple standing in the plaza below, the Crystal Heart above them. Their combined aura radiated outward to a crowd of jubilant onlookers, and spread to the margins which depicted small outlines off all the lands affected by the Heart’s power.

I smiled. It could help restore the world. This picture proved it.

Ah don’t mean t’ be a downer, but that don’t mean shit if we can’t find Chrysalis again.

Yeah, I know. I stretched out my mind again, and of course found nothing. Was she really dead? Just sitting at the bottom of that lake we fell into? I could think of no other explanation for her prolonged absence. But it was such an underwhelming fate that I couldn’t bring myself to believe it. Part of me hated her, part of me loved her, and part of me still held onto the echoes of her pride. She did not deserve such a sad, random death.

“Let’s keep going,” I said, putting the books back where I had found them. “We should take stock of the rest of the castle. There might be a few shards of the heart left.” And if the rest are still at the bottom of that lake, we’ll want to look for something to help us dredge them up.

Oh, let me get the map then!

Map?

Yes, I found a map!

The rest of the castle was the same: rooms decayed by time, lacking whatever protection enveloped the library, and ponies frozen in all manners of pose. We did not linger long in any of the guest rooms or the hallways. We headed straight for the throne room. It was prominent on the map, and showed a connection to a stairway that led to the very top of the tower. The Crystal Heart was drawn at the top. If any shards of it were in the Empire, they would be there on in the throne room itself.

“Well shit.”

The chamber was before us. Gold and silver crowns were etched into its great double-doors. Symbols of the sun and moon sat inside hearts carved from sapphire, jade, and amethyst. They still glittered, even as they were sealed behind a layer of ice as thick as my horn was long. The doors were frozen shut.

“That’s a bust.”

“Can we melt it?”

“Maybe, if we collect enough wood.”

“There were spell books in the library, something there could probably help. We’ve got enough magic between the two of us to melt some ice, I think.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. Pitch, do you mind looking for that while we keep exploring?” I asked.

“Not at all, dearie. I’ll let you know what I find.”

Midnight and Hairpins had already started poking around our surroundings. I held the map in my magic as I looked for any alternate route. Unfortunately, it appeared there was only one entrance. I considered trying to enter from the outside, but I could not recall seeing any windows and I was not sure I would be able to break through them while mid-flight. And if they existed at all they might also be covered in ice for all I knew. I frowned, still scanning the map.

Washroom... waiting room... dining hall... royal bedchamber... Hmm. There might be something in the Empress’s quarters. I’m going to check it out.

I’ll poke around the dining hall, Midnight thought.

Ah’m just gunna start going through everything.

I nodded, putting the map away as I trotted to the bed chamber. It was on the opposite side of the castle, but on the same floor as the throne room. Ice began to appear on the walls and floor as I approached, and I saw the door was open, a mound of snow spilling out. I stepped over it, and found it covered the whole floor of the bedchamber. The only furniture that remained in the room were a bronze bed frame, a steel vanity near an open balcony, and the rotten remains of a table between them. The window was open, and I could see it lead to a balcony that overlooked the Empire.

Two ponies were frozen here. One on the precipice of the balcony, facing away. The other just before the table, facing the first. I stared at the latter for a long while, not sure what I was seeing.

Shining Armor. He was a dead ringer for his mad descendant. A very dead dead-ringer. I shivered. A desiccated vision of Gleaming Armor was not what I had hoped to find here. But if this was Shining, that would mean the second... I walked around to see the front of the ice block. It was Mi Amore Cadenza. The Empress herself.

Goodness. I hadn’t really thought we’d find them still here, Pitch stated. Midnight shared our awe.

Cadence looked out at the world, face stuck in a scowl. Her eyes, unlike the others, were still intact. They burned a deep purple. The colors in her mane were just as vibrant. Around her neck was the symbol of the empire: a heart lined by a wall of mountains. I turned to look out upon the vista before us. The sky was dark this morning, growing darker as it approached the mountains. The storm still churned there. Below me I saw only a blanket of white sprinkled with rubble. The roadways were barely discernible from this height. I turned back to Cadence and frowned.

A soft blue glow surrounded her. It was barely visible, but it was there. In fact, as I stared at it, I realized it had been there the whole time. I had simply mistaken it for a trick of the light on the ice, but she was definitely glowing.

What does it mean? I wondered.

Your guess is as good as ours.

Curious, I touched a hoof to the ice. It was cold. The glow did not change, nor did Cadence shift in any way. She couldn’t still be alive, could she? Yet as soon as the thought struck me I reached out with my mind. I felt a presence before me, cold, like the statuettes, but whole. It was not an active mind, not a web of thoughts and feelings, but it was stable and it was open to my probing.

I reached out with my magic, driven by curiosity, not entirely sure what I was doing. Suddenly, it was dark.A single emotion subsumed me: hate. And then I was falling.

Another memory orb. Yet without the orb.

Cadence was standing on the balcony, staring at the sky. It was clear as far as the eye could see. Below her the city shone with every color. I saw ponies moving in great masses in the streets. Laughter and babble drifted up from below. The heat of mid day flowed across Cadence’s body. I felt her breathe in deeply. I felt the ache in her cheeks, and the way she fought to keep another sob from rising in her chest.

I heard a knock from behind her. Three sturdy thumps. She released her breath.

She turned around. Shining Armor marched into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. It did not close all the way. His expression was glacial.

“Cadence. We need to talk.”

“Oh do we?”

The bed was neatly made. On the table was a figurine of a songbird, made from gold and silver. The vanity was strewn with parchment and quills. A single sheet of paper set atop the mess, its envelope just below it.

“How long have you been building tunnels behind my back?” Shining demanded. “Why are we closing off the railway in favor of a damned maze? Isolation will not keep us safe.”

“We will be safe,” Cadence stated. “We can be sure of that now.”

Shining snorted, looking away from his wife with a grimace. “I kept my promise, Cadence. I didn’t send a single soldier to help Equestria. How long have you been falsifying the trade records you send me? How long has Equestria been missing our supplies?”

“They don’t need them,” Cadence whispered.

“Ponies are dying!” Shining snapped, taking a step toward her. He was shaking with rage. “I know you want to protect us, I know you want to protect your Empire, and your people, but my sister wants to protect hers. I want to protect you both—but this... I trusted you, Cadence. You don’t get to make this decision for the both of us. If you don’t reopen the mountain—actually open it, not this labyrinth bullshit—then... then I’m taking my guard and leaving. I’ll help Equestria, even if you won’t.”

She turned back to the window. “I wanted to keep... our daughter safe. And I have. That is all that matters.” Storm clouds were gathering, dark and ominous. I felt a chill run through her spine. Strangely, neither of them reacted to the sudden shift in weather.

“Don’t use Amethyst to justify your negligence,” Shining growled. “She loves Equestria as much as I do, and the Empire as much as you.”

“Then today will break her heart,” Cadence stated, turning to her desk. The single letter sat there, stained with her tears. She levitated it to her husband, and stared at him through the mirror as he read it. “I am sorry for you both, Shining. I truly am. But this only shows that I was right. Aid would only have lost us more lives. And all for naught.”

The room was blanketed in darkness. The wind whistled around the tower.

“This can’t be,” Shining stammered. “Oh Celestia... Twilight... mom, dad...”

“All of my advisors confirmed it.” Cadence swallowed as another wave of grief rushed through her. “I am so sorry. I loved them too.”

“Fuck you,” Shining said. Cadence whipped around to meet his eyes. The two stared at each other, hate boiling between them.

“The war is over. The Empire is unscathed. Our daughter is safe,” Cadence stated.

Shining broke away, squeezing his eyes shut. He shook his head. Tears were already streaming down his cheeks. Cadence’s eyes went wide, though she did not move another muscle. The wind screamed into the room, bringing flecks of white powder and a descending darkness.

“Shining. Where is my daughter?” She spoke so quietly I could not hear it over the wind.

“I let her go,” Shining managed to say. “To visit her friends.”

Cadence turned around, numbness spreading through her chest even as it crept up her legs. Behind her Shining spoke.

“We could have stopped this. We could have saved all of them...”

“Get out,” Cadence said. “Get out!”

“We need to send a rescue party to Baltimare. We need to—”

“Get out. You killed my daughter. Get out!”

Her tears froze as they fell, the wind was a gale now, the snow poured onto the floor, piling up around her hooves. I felt the ice form before I saw it. It crept up her legs, encasing her even as her grief and rage spilled out.

“We could have stopped this!” Shining howled. “This never should have happened!”

“Get out... get out...” Cadence tried to yell, but the ice was around her neck now. Her head was locked in place. I saw the sky outside the balcony, completely dark now. The snowstorm whirled around the tower, the sudden storm reaching its crescendo.

As the ice filled her vision, as it grew to seal her away just as it was no doubt doing to Shining and all her citizens, I saw in the storm a figure. A large pony, but not a pony, made of snow and ice, with no tail and an elongated face. Its eyes glowed an icy blue as it flew toward us, mixing with the snow that filled the room. The chill that surrounded me rushed inward, and as I felt the last vestiges of Cadence’s consciousness fade away I managed to make out the words she mouthed on the edge of oblivion:

“Shining. I never want to see you again.”

I screamed as I emerged, the piercing cold still stabbing at my mind. A wind blew from behind me, making me shiver. I stumbled back into the center of the room, blinking fiercely as I readjusted to my own body. What had I just seen? What was that thing that came with the storm? Why had they frozen at that moment?

Worker? Are you alright? What happened?

A memory. Her memory. Yet how—?

My eyes went wide. Before me was the beast I had seen in Cadence’s memory. It sat near the bed, snow and wind billowing from its bottom half. It breathed slowly, letting out jets of frigid air. Its mane seemed to be made of ice, yet somehow it waved as if under a current. It stared at me with eyes that glowed pale blue. Its mind was closed to me. I felt nothing from it.

I stepped toward the room’s exit. It tracked my movement. I stepped out into the hallway. It followed. I stopped. It stopped.

Strange.

Worker? Worker what is going on? Midnight and Hairpins were coming for me.

Careful. A monster is here.

How big is it?

Are you hurt?

I walked backwards slowly. The icy figure kept pace with me, but did not get any closer. Tentatively, I took a step forward. It took a step back. I took another. It retreated again.

I heard Midnight and Hairpins trotting up behind me.

“Worker? Where’s it at?” I glanced back. Hairpins had her battle saddle at the ready, but was looking around as if to find a target. Midnight too seemed to be still searching for the monster. I frowned.

“Can you not see it? It’s right there, down the hall.” I pointed at it.

“...ah don’t see shit.” Midnight shook her head in agreement.

Very strange.

Can you describe it, Worker? Pitch suggested.

“Well, it’s like a pony made of snow and ice. A really big pony. With blank eyes.”

“Uh... shit. Ah know what that sounds like, but ah didn’t know they’d be invisible.” I raised an eyebrow at Hairpin’s comment. I hadn’t expected my description to be recognized. “That’s a Windigo. Er at least it sure sounds like one. Ya say it’s right down th’ hall?”

“Yes, but, what’s a Windigo—?”

I jumped as she fired three volleys down the hall without warning. The first two went wide, but the third set of bullets went straight through. Water and ice spilled out of the Windigo’s chest and back, and the thing let out a screech as it reeled back from the hit. Midnight covered her ears beside me. Before I could react Hairpins stepped forward and continued to fire. More screeching and ice spilled into the hall, and I had to cover my own ears to avoid a headache. Another second passed, and the Windigo fell silent.

“Well, ah still can’t see anything, but ah assume ah got it?” Hairpins grinned at me. I nodded tentatively.

Midnight scowled at her. “Could you warn us next time, maybe?”

“Oh... sorry. Ah didn’t want t’ take chances. Ah’ve heard they suck out yer soul.”

I shook my head. Water pooled around the body, which seemed to itself be melting. “I don’t think they take souls. I think this is the thing that froze this place. I saw it in a memory.”

“A memory orb?”

“The Empress’s memory. She’s... well she’s still alive, I think.”

“What? You mean, in the ice?”

“Yeah. Somehow. Maybe she was just powerful enough not to succumb. But I was able to see into her mind. I saw this thing bring a storm, yet she didn’t seem to react to it. I felt her freeze.”

“Well shit, let’s see if killin’ that thing brought her back then!”

It had not. Nothing had changed in the room. Nor did I sense any heightened activity in her mind. Just a cold, steady hatred on the edge of my perception.

“Holy shit,” Hairpins drawled, gawking at Shining. “This fucker looks so like his bastard of a great-great-great- grandson it makes me sick!”

“Be nice, Pins,” Midnight chided. “He was too dead to raise his descendants well.”

I turned back to the hallway. To my surprise the Wendigo was getting back up. As it rose I saw its wounds closing—the water that had rushed out was being sucked back in and refreezing. I tensed, expecting some sort of retaliation, but once it had healed it returned to its sitting position. It continued to stare at me.

Well shit.

Don’t shoot it, Hairpins. Can you see it now?

Nah, but ah c’n kinda feel where it is from ya. Not sure if that’s freakier than th’ revivin’, honestly.

I stared at the monster, unsure what to do, until I could stand the frigid air no longer. I took a tentative step forward. As before, the Windigo retreated as I advanced. I could still sense nothing from it. No fear, no hate, no curiosity; nothing like what I would have felt after being shot to death.

I lead the way as we pushed it back toward the throne room. I wasn’t sure what else to do, but I did not want to stay in the tower with an immortal beast that supposedly sucked out souls, regardless of its current aversion to us.

Pitch? Are you there?

Yes. I’m looking for a bestiary right now. Or anything that might reference a Windigo. I know I’ve heard of them before, but I can’t quite recall...

Ah only know th’ stories ah heard th’ first time ah was here. An’ they ain’t much more than what ah said earlier. They live in th’ ice an’ suck out yer soul.

Thanks Pitch. I think we’re safe here, but it wouldn’t hurt to hurry.

Hairpins nodded in agreement.

We pushed the creature back to the doors of the throne room, where the stairs were, and stopped. It’s haunch was pressed against the covering of ice, still billowing snow and water vapor. I stepped forward and it slid away. It was clearly trying to avoid me. Yet it had chosen not to flee.

Let’s trap it, Midnight suggested. Spread out and walk forward. Tell us where to stand, Worker.

I nodded. We had it trapped against the throne room’s doors. On my call, we stepped forward, each equidistant from the other. I pushed itself back against the doors, almost as if trying to climb away from us. But it could not escape. When we were about two paces away water burst from its flesh. It screeched, it’s voice like a tea kettle being ground to dust. I urged the others forward, and we closed in. The water turned to steam, and the creature’s flesh frothed and foamed. The screeching faded as it evaporated away, vaulting high above my range of hearing when I was a leg’s length from the door. I could not see past the steam that billowed forth. I closed my eyes as the wet heat rushed passed my skin, almost too hot to bear. I felt Hairpins and Midnight’s discomfort as if it were my own. We took a final step forward, our muzzles almost touching. A final burst of steam signaled the end. The foyer was quiet once more. Nothing remained of the Windigo.

Celestia’s tears...

I opened my eyes as I felt the air around me cool again. The ice that had covered the doors had started to melt. A hole had formed around the spot we had converged on. Water ran down its sides, and I could see that the metal of the door was exposed directly before me. It would not open yet, but I saw that the heat was still working its way through the seal. The melting did not speed up, but it steadily worked its way through the ice. We stepped back in awe. Hairpins swiveled her head around, looking for any signs of more Windigo. I followed her eyeline, confirming that there was nothing else in this room.

Is this a good or bad sign? Midnight wondered.

I have no idea. If that Windigo was the source of this ice... are they what brought the storm?

The gates to the throne room creaked as the last of the ice dripped away. Some mechanism, long stuck or broken, gave way with a sharp squeal, and the doors lumbered open. A cold fog billowed out to greet us as we stepped forward, and as it cleared we could finally see the throne room before us.

The floor was slick with ice. Black stone shone through the covering, still polished as the day it froze over. The walls were the same, black and shimmering. A chandelier of glowing gemstones hovered in the air above us. It's light blotted out the ceiling even as it filled the room's windows with vibrant colors. The stained glass rose high above us, depicting events from the histories I had read about in the library below. The luster of the room was overwhelming; ice and gemstones and obsidian. Everything shimmered and glinted as we moved forward. It took my eyes several seconds to focus on the throne itself.

The chair was carved from marble and veined with a strange pink mineral I did not recognize. The lines spiraled inward to the center of the throne. A gold crown rested on its seat, untouched by frost or rust. A small sliver of crystal along its edge was all that adorned it. At the foot of the throne were two more guards encased in ice. They stood at their posts, as proud looking as the day they had died.

A small figure rested on one of the throne's arms. I approached it cautiously. Midnight's attention was on the crown, while Hairpins was scouring every inch of the room with her vision. Midnight and I gasped as we reached out for our respective prizes.

"It's warm," Midnight exclaimed, donning the crown.

"It's Twilight Sparkle," I stated. The sixth figurine was before me. It stared at me, untouched by ice, it's coat radiant in the room's aura. I could barely feel the coldness inside. I took it in my magic, and stowed it in my saddlebag.

A chill fell heavily around me. I shivered as it passed. Then... nothing. The six were together, but it seemed it was not enough. Whatever soul had made them, it was still lacking some pieces. I let the cold presence of the statuettes sink to the back of my mind.

"Hey!" Hairpins shouted to us. "Ah think ah found somethin'."

She had found a break in the ice: a roughly rectangular spot of the floor behind the throne that had not frozen over. I put a good on it. The black stone was warm.

"The same magic as the crown," Midnight suggested. I nodded in agreement.

This must be the secret entrance to the outer stairwell, I realized. I recalled it being mentioned in the story of Twilight’s failure. She had used Sombra’s magic to open it, but had been overcome by his subsequent illusions. She had been unable to reach the heart; she had doubted herself and her friends for a moment too long, and so was imprisoned by Sombra until Celestia and Luna intervened. But how do we open it?

“Maybe we knock?” Hairpins said with a grin, rapping on the stone with a hoof.

“No, it will take some kind of magic. Maybe there’s a lock underneath the floor?” I reached out with my telekinesis, feeling around blindly for anything that I could grip below the stone. I reached nothing. There seemed to be only a solid slab of rock. I frowned. “Maybe there’s a spell in the library—?”

“What about this?” I turned to see Midnight pointing to the back of the throne. A small lever stuck out from its base, attached to a strange mechanism. I blinked in surprise as she pulled it down and something beneath me clicked. The warm obsidian rumbled as it slid downward, turning into a narrow stairway that led into further darkness. Hairpin whistled.

Seems they installed a switch, Midnight commented. I could feel her amusement at my shock.

This was... easier than I expected. The story made it seem like this passage was a big deal.

“Back then, sure,” Hairpins drawled, already poking her nose down into the hole. “Now, we’ve got th’ benefit a’ not bein’ th’ first t’ discover this place. No reason t’ keep using evil magic once you know it’s there, right?”

“Makes sense,” I said. I felt Midnight and Pitch agree.

Midnight went down the stairs first and I took up the rear. The light from our horns revealed a simple chamber, made of the same stone. The stairwell was bare until we reached the bottom. There was a doorway, its wood long ago rotted away, and beyond I could see the beginning of the external stairway. I tried to imagine where exactly we were relative to the castle’s outside, but I had been turned around too many times. We stepped out onto the stairs. Around us was a white void; a sparkling mist that blinded us to whatever view might have existed here otherwise. The reflective effect that had blinded me to the top of the tower from the ground now blinded us to anything but what was ten steps ahead. We began our ascent slowly.

Oh, good news, Pitch added. I found some information on the Windigo.

Let’s hear it.

They appear in the Hearth’s Warming Eve story. I found a book on it. I can’t believe it slipped my mind; we celebrated it all the time when I was a foal! I don’t know how much of the story is true, or simply allegory, but the Windigos appeared to freeze the quarreling heads of the pony races. It was only the friendship of some of the lower classes that brought together all pony kind and unfroze their leaders.

There’s some literature on the Windigos appearing during the war, but for the most part they posed little threat to either side. It seems they feed off of discord between people. The freezing effect seems to be their way of establishing themselves in an area. Like a coral rooting itself to a reef.

Pitch, I have no idea what a coral is.

Oh... Well, it’s not important. The point is that all these frozen ponies mean that the WIndigos should be heavily entrenched here. But it’s strange you’ve only seen the one.

It was probably invisible until Worker went into Cadence’s mind, Midnight thought for all of us. Maybe we can’t see them normally. Your vision showed the royals not reacting to the ice, right? And it seems nopony else was trying to escape the ice they wound up in...

I nodded. So there’s definitely more Windigos around. It was not surprising; just a confirmation of the suspicions we had all held. But why did the one we find... melt? We didn’t do anything but walk toward it.

Bein’ friendly save ‘em in th’ story, right? Maybe ‘s ‘cuz yer good friends an’ all...

Midnight nodded. It made the most sense out of anything. As long as we’re together, we’re safe.

We walked for a long while. The stairs seemed never ending. The glittering fog that surrounded us gave no hint to what progress we might be making. Each time we glanced backwards it appeared the same.

“How tall’s this thang anyway?” Hairpins asked. I wondered the same.

I can look for an answer, if you’d like. There must be blueprints or at least some architectural texts about the castle here somewhere. Pitch’s thoughts were faint, barely a whisper. I sent my approval, but also warned that we wouldn’t be able to hear her soon. Oh, no worries. Honestly you’ll probably reach the top by the time I’d find such a specific fact anyway.

I glanced at Midnight’s crown as we walked. The crystal embedded in its golden surface was strangely dim. Perhaps the reflections around us were simply too bright by comparison. Do you think it’s one of the Crystal Shards? Midnight wondered.

“Maybe,” I said. “Although, the Heart was what kept the storm at bay. And if the Empire was stable until the Windigos appeared, that would mean the Heart would have been shattered afterwards. Shattered and scattered... I wonder how it happened? And who would make a crown out of just one of its pieces but put the others all across Equestria?”

Midnight frowned. “Maybe the Windigos did it? They would like a storm, I’m sure.”

“Maybe...” Something felt off about that answer. I had sensed nothing from the Windigo: no malice, no fear, not even curiosity. The statuettes I carried in my saddlebag had more prevalent minds than whatever lay behind the Windigo’s dead eyes. Even as it died I had sensed no emotion behind its pain. Would they bother to make crowns? Did they think enough to shatter the Heart? The one we had encountered seemed more a force of nature, or, as Pitch had said, like unthinking coral. It was another mystery to solve.

I glanced back again, to see if any progress was notable. Hairpins was gone. Midnight spun around upon sensing my shock.

“Pins?” she called out.

Hairpins? Are you there? I reached out with my mind, searching for her presence. I found nothing.

“What the hell?” My eyes went wide with panic. I scrambled down the stairs, looking over the side, fearing the worst. “Hairpins! Hairpins!”

“Worker, where are you—?”

I found her two flights down. Frozen.

How!?

She was completely encased in ice, her face locked into a gaping expression of shock. Her prison blocked off the path back down, and it seemed to cling to the stone around it. Tendrils of ice had embedded themselves in the marble. I stared, agog, unable to process what I was seeing. Had this just happened? Why now? Why here? I didn’t understand...

Midnight! I turned around, now panicked that I had left her alone, even for that brief moment. She was not behind me, and I galloped back upwards. She was not where I had left her. I blinked in surprise as I continued to dash up the stairs. After another few seconds of not finding her, I lifted off, spiraling up to check the flights above me—

The stairs ended. I found myself hovering above the top of the tower. The sun shone down from behind me, projecting faint rainbows across its surface. In its center was a stone pillar, and hovering above it the Crystal Heart. It shone like a second sun. My heartbeat was in my ears. Two figures stood at the threshold where the stairs ended: Midnight, who looked as bewildered as I was, and Chrysalis, fully encased in ice.

What!?

“Worker?” Midnight turned her head toward me, frozen tears in her eyes. “Worker, how did you get there? Where’s Hairpins? Why did you fly away?”

“What? Midnight, what are you say—?”

“Why did you leave me?”

The ice had already glued her hooves to the crystal below her. It crawled up her legs, growing thicker each moment. Before I could so much as gasp it engulfed her, locking her face into that last expression of hurt and confusion. My vision blurred. I blinked back the tears. I moved toward her, extending a hoof as I descended.

“Midnight—!?”

Stay... away... little one...

A dozen Windigos appeared before me. They cluttered up the tower's pinnacle, their tails billowing mist that poured over the edges in eternal waterfalls. Their blue eyes stared at me, all piercing, all devoid of emotion. A wave of cold hit me like a hammer. I cried out in terror and fell backwards in the air, still reaching out in futility toward my friend. I passed by Hairpins, and caught a glance of two more smokey pale figures standing near her. I screamed, weeping as I let myself fall. My grief turned to rage, and I thrust out my wings, pulling out of the dive and rocketing back up. I charged up my magic. I had plenty of energy left. During all our travels I had not hungered. Each moment I had spent with them, each triumph and failure that had brought us closer, had fed me. I had not had to think about eating for all this time, not actively, not as a desperate animal, and I had not had to steal or deceive. To come all this way and lose them so pointlessly—

The top of the tower was before me again. I thought of Lute, recalled her lasers. My horn glowed, the green tint overwhelming the rainbows below. The Windigos looked up at me, not even curious. A few had begun to float toward me lazily, seemingly unafraid of the power I was displaying. I saw red.

Away...

I ignored Chrysalis’ pleas. I could do it. I could wipe them out. If they all melted, my friends would be free. I felt power build within me. I felt the magic channel to my horn. I would use all of the love they had given me. I would use all of their power.

Away... little one...

The cold gripped my chest. My eyes widened. My power dissipated. I felt something leaving me. Something draining. I felt ice crystals form on my wings and hooves. Suddenly, I felt fear. Then elation.

I understand now. I let myself drop again. The ice crept up my body as I fell. I took a deep breath. Past the stairs. Another breath. Out of the mist. I breathed in deeply. The ground approached, and still the ice only stopped its crawl. I had time for a breath in. At the last moment I spread my wings, and only as I soared over the landscape and past the ruins of the train station did it start to fall off. I landed in the snow near the mountains, releasing my last sigh. Only then did I let myself feel again. Only then did I rage and cry.

They feed off of hate. I understood them now. That one touch from their cold minds was all I needed. Like coral planting their roots. I still didn’t understand what a coral was, but I knew how roots worked. A plant needs roots. A plant dries up when its roots can’t find water. I would have to cut off the Widigos’ source of hate. I would starve them out.

I had considered trying to meet up with Pitch, but for all I knew she could have been frozen by now. I had spent half an hour or so cursing and crying, trying to get all my negative emotions out. I knew what I needed to do, and I knew how to do it, I just had to remain calm. Not even for that long, but any slip would be a moment where they could freeze me. For it seemed all they needed was a moment...

I still did not understand how Hairpins had been frozen. Had she lingered to catch her breath? But then why had the Windigos waited so long to catch one of us? Why not freeze us in the castle? Surely there must have been more than just the one? Had she simply had a bad thought at the wrong time? And why had Midnight ran upwards? Why did she think I had abandoned her?

I squeezed my eyes shut and shoved that thought away. I focused on my breathing. I could not afford to break down again. The sun was beginning to slip toward the horizon.

I stood up straight. The castle loomed, even from this distance. The mist swirled around its top. I saw Windigos drifting around it in the air, moving through the streets, and perching on the tops of buildings. They had always been there. Only now I could somehow see them. Only after Chrysalis’ mind had reached out to mine. Just as I had only been able to see the first after peering into Cadence.

I spread my wings and flew straight for the castle. The Windigos moved toward me, drawn as if by a gentle current. I knew I could not think of nothing, so instead I thought on new mysteries.

Why had Chrysalis been there? How had she gotten ahead of us without me noticing her mind?

I was halfway to the castle.

I had seen the Crystal Heart upon the pedestal. How could that be? Had Chrysalis simply lied about the shards? But I had seen them myself. Was it a fake? A replacement? I remembered the delay tactic Twilight and her friends had employed when they had first visited the Empire. Had Cadence done the same? But then what magic was keeping the storm back? Or had that always been a metaphor for the Windigos? I would have plenty of time to think on it later.

I flew upward, and landed on the Empress’s balcony. Mi Amore Cadenza was before me, still frozen. Still gazing forward.

Pitch? I called out. Are you there?

Worker? Where have you all been? I think I found a good lead on the blueprints—

Don’t worry about that now, Pitch. I need you to do something for me.

The Winidigo sat around me. Two were on the bed near Shining. More drifted in through the hall. I felt the cold surrounding me, pushing inward. I channeled my magic even as I began to probe Cadence’s mind.

What is it, Worker?

I want you to think happy thoughts. Think of your best days, and your friends. I need you to feel happy for me for a while. I need to do something that might hurt me, and I need you to be there for me.

Oh, of course, Worker, but what—?

I don’t have time, Pitch. Please, just focus on being happy. On good things.

Of course. I can do that. I know I complain a lot about my life, but I do feel blessed about all that I have gotten to see and learn. I’ve had so many good times, even with just you all. You... I never knew how to thank you for all the support you’ve given me, just in being there. Just in letting me tag along...

I felt her warmth glow within me, keeping back the cold. Water pooled at my feet. I smiled, letting her go on thinking happy thoughts. I was disguised as Gleaming Armor now; his soul was still trapped with Twilight and Trixie... and Rolling. Gleaming’s soul was still extant, so his image was still mine to use. A spitting image of Shining.

Cadence? Are you there? It’s me, my love. I pushed inward, feeling the shape of her thoughts. I understood the magic surrounding her now. It was a mental prison. A memory orb, but made from her own mind. If I reached out as I had the first time, I would be sucked into the same memory, into that peak moment of her rage. She was reliving that moment over and over again, anger flaring anew each time. I felt the magic pulse, looping her thoughts back to that inciting moment. I pushed on the barrier, sensing the hate beneath.

Cadence? Cadence, I love you. Please come back to me. I am so sorry.

I channeled more of my magic, extending more tendrils to crawl around her mind. I did not have a plan for what I was doing, only a gut instinct. I was a changeling. The mind was my domain. Whatever lock was here, I could undo. I had to believe it. It was the only way out.

Cadence? Our daughter is back. Amethyst is safe.

Another pulse. As the magic shifted I pushed inward. My tendrils sunk deeper. Around me the room shimmered. Reality and memory leaking into each other. Another pulse. Another layer deeper. I saw the ghosts of the royals’ movements in the room before me. Another pulse. In my peripherals I saw green grass in the distance. I heard the bustling of busy streets. Another pulse. I heard the whistling of wind. Another pulse, and the Windigos vanished.

“Shining. I never want to see you again.”

Cadence looked into my eyes. She was scowling. She blinked.

“Shining!?” She jerked away from me. The real Shining was behind her, frozen in the last instant she remembered of him. It took all my strength not to move my eyes to his form.

“Cadence. Please. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? What will your sorries do, Shining? How do you expect to repent for killing your own child?”

Her rage boiled over, seething and squirming around us like a rancid sea. I staggered back, gripping her mind harder with my tendrils to tether myself against the onslaught. Panic rose within me. This was too much hate. She had been caught up in it for too long. I looked into her eyes again even as red fury poured out to scald me. I pushed into her mind, as deep as I could. There was nothing left in there. For almost two-hundred years she had existed in this state, replaying it over and over, and all else had been wiped clean by this one moment. She did not know she had ever loved Shining to begin with.

“Shining. I never want to see you again.” She spat out the words as hissing venom, and they burned holes through my false skin.

I screamed. It took all my effort to keep myself connected to her mind. Her red rage swelled to drown me. It filled the room. It filled the world. I had one option left.

“Cadence!” I gasped. “You truly hate me?”

“I hate you. I never want to see you again.”

“Fuck you, Cadence. I never loved you. I’ve always hated you.”

She screamed as the world disintegrated. Black bile exploded from her being, mixing with the bloody torrent as it rushed to consume me.

I opened my mind, and drank.

The poison was choking. I gagged and vomited in reality. My mind reeled. The power filled me.

So this is what you sought, Fugax? This is how you lived?

It was power, yes, but already it was killing me.

Mi Amore Cadenza. Her special talent was love, and projecting it to those around her. She was once the ultimate prize for a changeling. Now, as a vessel of hate, she was an unceasing tsunami. I drank and drank, feeling myself die over and over again as I forced my body to restore itself with the power that was killing it. Red and black and green swirled together. The rage filled me. Cadence did not stop screaming.

I drank and drank, driving myself deeper and deeper into her mind, ripping out reservoirs and devouring rivers, growing more ravenous even as more and more filled me.

I drank for years unending. And then there was nothing left.

I woke up screaming. The pain was in my body now. I was still on the balcony, but I was looking up, into the sky. A light was there. A yellow pillar that shot upward. I realized it was coming from my horn.

Pitch!?

I’m here for you Worker. I’m coming. I’ll be there in a moment.

Pitch don’t—!

I know what you’re going through, Worker. I can help. I’m almost there.

I can’t... contain it...

The beam was erupting from me. Pure power and magical energy, in a column as wide was one of the tower legs. I dared not try to move my head. I saw the sky buckle, clouds swirling into the apex of the beam. The light blotted out all else, turning the sky to a sickly night even as it lit up the ground. I felt my horn cracking open and repairing itself, and I couldn’t help but scream as the pain ripped through my body.

It’s okay Worker, I’m here for you.

I felt tears rolling down the cheeks. I felt my skin break open and new layers push themselves up to replace the old. My bones splintered as new ones grew in to replace them. My heart beat itself to a pulp even as my magic struggled to reshape it. I heard nothing. The sound that shook through me burst my eardrums each time they tried to reform.

Then all at once it was over.

I collapsed, still screaming. I gasped for breath, shuddering in pain. Above me the sky rumbled. The power I had unleashed seemed to coalesce into a single glowing sphere, just above the castle’s peak. I saw air and clouds still drawn into the spinning orb. The power was so great it had become a self-sustaining system.

I managed to look away. Cadence was beside me, laying in a pool of water. She stared blankly ahead, unblinking but not yet dead. I sensed nothing from her now. I had taken all that was left within her husk and shot it to the heavens.

Worker!

Pitch scampered into the room, splashing through the melted ice and jumping over Shining’s corpse. I saw no signs of the Windigos. I did not know if I had killed them or merely sent them away to hunt elsewhere, but my plan had worked. Cadence had been their anchor point; an infinite source of pure, unbridled rage. I had cut off their source. I had melted the ice.

“I’m here,” I croaked. I tried to stand, but I was still in too much pain. I had no idea what such sudden and repeated regeneration would do to my body. For now I was whole, at least.

“Oh goodness, Worker.” Pitch leaned down to nudge me onto my feet. I smiled despite myself, and gasped onto the warm spot of happiness she had managed to sustain even now. I staggered up.

“Thank you, Pitch,” I managed to whisper. I leaned on her, taking in the sight below me. The ice had melted completely. I saw rivers flowing away and new pools and ponds forming in the streets below. Bodies drifted in some of the larger streams, leaking trails of blood and bile.

“By Celestia...”

I did not have time to reflect on the horror. My plan had worked. But Hairpins and Midnight were near the top of the tower, where all my power had coalesced. And Chrysalis was there too. Also unmelted.

Worker!

Midnight!? It’s alright, I’m—

Worker, it’s—!

Before she could finish her thought the orb above the tower exploded. An arrow of light burned downward through the castle. I saw the hallway glow with red and orange light. The earth below us erupted into fire. There was a roar as the explosion ripped through the ground, its shockwave launching stone and crystal into the city in every direction. I gasped for breath as the glare of the explosion dimmed and its sound passed. The castle quaked around us for a long moment as Pitch and I held each other up. When the shaking stopped, we gawked at what we saw.

The sky. A brilliant chasm of blue had been punched through the swirling mass of clouds above. A rainbow of energy radiated away from the epicenter, pushing the clouds further apart, back to the mountains where they had started. The orb was gone. The power dissipated. Grey smoke rose from the pinnacle far above.

“What the hell was that?” I asked. “Did I do that?”

“Something shot through the castle...” Pitch mumbled, bewildered.

“I need to find Midnight,” I said, pulling away from Pitch. “Stay here, I’ll fly up—”

“I’m going to see what the ground looks like,” Pitch stated.

“But—”

“If that explosion damaged the tower’s legs, we need to know that. I’ll be okay, Worker.”

I nodded, pushing down my panic. The Windigos were gone. One obstacle was down. This situation was the next thing to deal with. “Right. Good thinking. Let me know what you find.”

She nodded, already trotting out into the hallway. I breathed in deeply, taking a moment to stretch my newly reformed body. I felt stable. I crouched, preparing to fly. Another breath. I took one last glance at Cadence’s necklace. An enclosed heart let out no love, just as a steel sun would never give warmth. A lineage of dead empires. I jumped into the air.

I found Hairpins where I had left her. She was sitting in a puddle of water, blinking in confusion. I put a forehoof around her haunches and walked her up the last few flights of stairs. At the top I found Midnight in a similar state: confused, damp, but in one piece. Where Chrysalis should have been there was only a puddle.

“Worker, what happened?” Midnight asked. “I had a terrible dream...”

Later, I thought, sending what few images I could to give them some context. Are you alright? Where’s Chrysalis?

She was just here, Midnight thought, frowning. “Then she...” She pointed toward where the Crystal Heart—or its facsimile or whatever it really was—had been. There was only a gaping hole in the tower’s surface. Smoke rose from deep within it. “She walked toward the Heart just before that ball of light exploded... I think she was blasted away... out into the city...”

I staggered forward, daring to peer down into the hole. The energy blast had bore its way down through the entirety of the structure. I could barely make out some of the upper floors we had reached, but anything below that was obscured by darkness or the glare from some light source reflected and refracted a million times by the crystal structure. I turned back to my companions.

“This place definitely isn’t safe. We need to get down...”

Pitch, are you there?

Worker? I... I...

I felt something strange from her. An emotion I could not place.

Pitch? What is it? What’s wrong?

I... I can’t... it’s...

I shook my head. “Something’s wrong with her. We have—”

“Jus’ fly down, ya’ dummy,” Hairpins muttered. She gave me a stern look. “We’ll be fine. Go help th’ old lady.” Midnight nodded. I swallowed my protests, already sensing their resolve and knowing I would lose any counter-argument. They were safe and uninjured. They would travel just as fast with me as without. I jumped off the stairs and spiraled downward.

Pitch, talk to me. What is it? What’s wrong?

It’s... it’s... it’s...

I landed at the base of one of the castle’s legs. The ground below the tower had been obliterated. Only a smoking crater remained. I saw Pitch standing near its center. I walked toward her, calling out, but she did not respond. To my surprise, I saw that the Crystal Heart was embedded in the earth near her hooves, seemingly intact.

It survived? So it must be the real one? But then what—?

I raised my eyebrows in astonishment and galloped forward. I had noticed a second figure in the very center of the crater. Pitch gawked at it, mouth moving wordlessly. I skidded to a stop next to the professor and looked over the body.

It was a pegasus, clad in a black suit of metal. The armor was cracked and blood stained, with several gaping holes torn in its sides. Through them I saw charred hide and patches of azure hair. The pony’s helmet was split open, revealing the pained expression of a dead-looking mare with a gash in her cheek. Her wings oozed blood, stripped of most of their feathers, and the skin beneath was lined with fresh scrapes and claw marks. Her tail was nothing but a scorched stock of dirty red with a few strands of green mixed in, and her mane was completely gone, burnt off by whatever had caused the other wounds. I cringed at the sight and turned to Pitch. Her jaw hung open in dumbfounded silence.

“Who is this?” I asked.

“It’s... Rainbow Dash,” she replied. “It’s mother-fucking Rainbow Dash.”

Footnote: Level up.
Skill Note: Speech at 100%
New Perk: Magical Laser - You may now shoot lasers from your horn, at the cost of magical power.
Quest Perk: My Little Ponies - You have collected one of each of the six Ministry Mare statuettes. Stronger together than they are apart, they have granted imposed upon you -1 Luck in addition to their normal benefits detriments.
Quest Perk: Loose Ends - Sometimes it is you who must write the next chapter of history. Reading pre-war books yields 20% more knowledge.
Special Perk: Blast from the Past - Even the fastest mare in the world is 200 years too late, but at least she still knows how to make an entrance! You take 10% less damage from falls and explosions.