//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Wrong Place, Right Time 
// Story: Knights of Ice and Crystal 
// by Leila Drake 
//------------------------------//

Darren sprinted along the quiet alleys, ducking behind benches or small walls whenever he heard ponies approaching. All the buildings were well-maintained, the streets wide and inviting. The crystal ponies took good care of the roads, everything was tidy and clean. Flowers seamed the windows and banners depicting blue hearts and snowflakes added to the festive atmosphere. The sun was high in the sky, making the crystal walls glitter and shine.

It was infuriating. Where the hell was he supposed to find a dark hiding place?

Finally, a short staircase at the backside of a large blue house led down to what was hopefully a basement. Darren tried to open the wooden door with force and was surprised when it gave immediately. That had been almost too easy. He stepped inside and quickly shut the door. The lock was broken, and apparently for quite some time. At least the door could be barred from the inside.

He was in what looked like a storage room. Stairs led to the upper floor, ending at another door. The place was messy as if it was rarely visited by the owner. The dim light that fell through a narrow window just below the ceiling shone upon random clutter. A lot of things were lined up against the walls: gardening tools, cardboard boxes, sacks that smelled like potatoes, dusty lamps with broken crystals, a worn out couch.

Darren sat down on the couch and took a moment to collect his thoughts. This had not gone as well as he had hoped but still better than feared. At least he was now inside the Crystal Empire instead of a snow storm. But he was hiding in somebody's basement. Should he try to talk to somebody? He was sure that panic would be the initial reaction. If things went wrong, the ponies would see him as a serious threat and arrest him. Or even worse, he might kill some of them. And he had already been seen by a guard so it was likely that he would soon be searched for. Not good. He wiped his face, pulling down the hood.

Before doing anything rash, he should rest a little and gather information. Darren stood up again and set his sheathed sword, backpack and cloak down on the arm of the battered couch. Then, he began to take off his armour.





Darren slowly pushed the basement door open. He was only wearing his long-sleeved shirt, pants, socks and leather vest. The house was very quiet. He slipped through the door into a spacious kitchen. Darren touched the stove - it was cold. The furniture was of a size comfortable for ponies, the six chairs still big enough for a human to sit on. To his surprise, most of the things were not made of crystal but of wood. It was probably much cheaper than mining for your everyday objects. A fruit bowl stood on the round kitchen table, filled with apples, pears and a banana. Did the ponies import the exotic fruit? The apple reminded him of the day he had given Twilight the apple pie. Darren sighed and went on to the living room.

He could not read the titles on the books that were lined up on a small bookshelf. A group of comfortable chairs stood around a rectangular coffee table. Darren almost stepped on some colourful wooden toys that were strewn about the floor. Apparently, some child had forgotten to tidy up after playing. Cursing under his breath, he turned around and discovered a small counter next to the main entrance and on it the most useful item so far: a newspaper.

Again, the hieroglyphs on the front page told him nothing. The main article took up half of the page, with an image depicting a slender crowned alicorn and a unicorn that was probably her mate. He reminded Darren faintly of Twilight, he had the same streak in his mane. Both looked happy but also exhausted. The background was an archway that could be part of the castle Darren had snuck out of. Next to the picture was a grey square with a single symbol in the shilouette of a unicorn filly. Darren flipped through the pages, hoping for more clues. The image of a crystal heart appeared several times. There were photos of ponies of different gender and age, some group shots and an ad for a festival. Disappointed, Darren flung the newspaper back onto the counter.

His eyes fell on the photos that were lined up on the counter. Before Darren could get a closer look, the door clacked as somebody turned a key in the lock.

Darren bolted for the basement door. He quietly shut it and waited with his ear against the wood.

"And I'm telling you, it wasn't a minotaur!" said a girl's voice, followed by rustling and a thud as something wooden fell to the floor.

"Then what was it supposed to be?" retorted another child, this one a boy.

"Well, not a minotaur," snorted the girl. "Didn't you see the eyes? They were glowing! Like in those pictures of changelings! Oh my gosh, what if it was a changeling?" Her voice went down to a scared whisper.

"I dunno," said the boy matter-of-factly. "They disguise themselves as ponies, don't they?"

"Oops. Yeah. You're right. Well, then I dunno, either."

The voices grew closer. Darren retreated downstairs and hid in a corner but no one opened the door.

"Shouldn't we tell mom and dad?" asked the girl.

"Hay no! They probably wouldn't believe us anyway. I mean, what would you say if I told you I saw a giant armored creature on two legs, with that sword as tall as a grown up pony?"

"Yeah, I get your point. They'd be like, 'Eclipse, dear, did you play too many knight games in the garden?' or something. Anyway, we better go back and join the..." Light hoofsteps were heard when the two left the kitchen and the rest of the conversation was too quiet for Darren to make out.

Of all the houses to hide in, he had picked the one where the two ponies lived that had seen him. At least they did not sound as scared as he had feared. If there was one thing he hated more than his condition it was when children got hurt.

Darren sat down on the floor, ignoring the fact that the room temperature had dropped below the freezing point. He stayed like this for a few minutes and stared into emptiness until he decided to pull himself together. He went across the frozen floor and pulled the horn thing out of his backpack. If nobody came to this basement regularly, he would have a bit of time to figure out what that object was.

The dark presence that lingered around the horn felt much closer than before. Darren tilted the horn this way and that. He felt strangely uneasy. The horn... was demanding something. That was never a good sign. He could even hear the hint of a whisper calling to him. Darren frowned. He had seen enough people fall for the whispers of powerful artifacts. If thirty-six years as a knight had taught him one thing, then this: If you found something strange and it demanded something you should never do what it wants. The prime example, of course, was Frostmourne, the sword that Arthas Menethil had "found" in Northrend. I can give you the power to slay your enemies and become the most powerful whatnot - when did that ever not cost you at least your soul?

Darren snorted with contempt and threw the horn back into his bag. Better not to leave it lying around in the open.





Eclipse went back to the door to pick up his wooden shield.

"Will it be be okay if I bring along the shield?" He tapped the toy, admiring his reflection on the polished and finished surface.

"Yeah." Peridot grinned. "I guess mom wouldn't like it if you'd misplace it, though. It would be a pity if you lost your birthday gift one day after your birthday." 

Eclipse laughed. "Yes, that would be kinda awkward. But don't worry, I'm not gonna let go of it. Hey, can we go and watch the guards tomorrow?"

"You can watch them when we go to the Crystalling, can't you?"

"I dunno," said Eclipse hesitantly as he tried to find a way to walk comfortably on three hooves while carrying the shield. "Shining Armor is gonna be all the way up on the balcony with Princess Cadance. They're probably going to look like small dots from where we stand. It's way more fun to watch the guards in action, not just standing around to keep stupid ponies from rushing to the Crystal Heart."

"You mean, like patrolling?"

Eclipse put the shield down. "Uh-huh." He shrugged, sitting down on his haunches. His face took on an unreadable expression. "At least we get to see the Heart."

Peridot went into the kitchen. "I'm gonna bring a snack." Climbing onto a chair, the orange crystal pony reached for the banana. She had to stretch her forelegs all the way and lie on the table to get to the fruit. "Here we go. - Eclipse?"

When there was no answer, Peridot left the banana on the table and peeked into the living room.

"Eclipse?"

"Peridot..." Eclipse was lying on the ground, holding his barrel. "I don't feel so good," he slurred.

Peridot gasped, running to his side.

"Eclipse, what's wrong?"

"I dunno, everything hurts," groaned the colt, his wings hanging limp at his sides. Dark smoke seeped from his coat like vapour from a hot cup of tea. Eclipse shook with fear as he reached for Peridot's hoof. "Help me," he whispered, desperation creeping into his voice. He twitched as if he wanted to shake off something. Eclipse chuckled hysterically. "And I so wanted to see the Crystalling."

"C-come on, don't be stupid," stammered Peridot. "We're late but not that late. We can still make it. Uh, if you're up to it. Sorry, that was dumb. I - I - I don't know what to do!"

Peridot frantically looked around the room. She knew that mom and dad kept a case with bandages and salves somewhere but somehow she doubted that this was what Eclipse needed. He had never been sick before and Peridot had never seen a sickness like this. Eclipse looked like he was going to puke.

Suddenly, the room trembled as a shockwave went through the house. A miserable wail echoed through the streets, giving Peridot goosebumps.

"That sounded like a baby," muttered Eclipse. He gasped, choking for air. "Maybe it w-was the Heir - aieee!" He threw his head back as he shrieked in pain with his mouth wide open. More dark smoke escaped his muzzle, as if he was breathing out death. His blue eyes glowed and emitted a purple light. Without flapping his wings, he rose to the air, floating in the room like a young parody of King Sombra.

Peridot was terrified. The blood in her veins felt boiling hot, she could feel her heart beating so fast that it pressed against her ribcage.

"What's happening to you? What do I do?" Seeing Eclipse in so much pain made her want to cry. But Peridot was also scared by the obviously dark magic that surrounded him. She had not seen Sombra on the day the Empire had returned but she had heard stories of the dark sorcerer that could fly through the air on a cloud of smoke. They had really creepy pictures of him in the new history books.

But this was a different thing. Eclipse was her friend, her brother. She knew he was not evil. His birthday wish had been a shield because he wanted to become a crystal guard when he grew up. He always talked of Prince Shining Armor as his hero. Eclipse was the exact opposite of an evil creature.

Eclipse stopped screaming. He dropped to the ground, shivering as if in a fever. He breathed in and out, emitting more dark smoke with each exhale. Now he was just crying. Tears wetted his cheeks as he sobbed.

"I'm scared," he whispered, hyperventilating.

"Help," whispered Peridot, staring at her foster brother in terror. Then, with her normal voice, "Help!"

"Mom! Dad!" shouted Peridot, forgetting they were already at the palace. She remembered when there was no answer from any of them. "Horseapples, they're gone..."

She realized that anyone would do right now, even somepony from outside. Inhaling as deeply as she could, Peridot stood up. Shaking from head to hooves, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"SOMEPONY HELP!"

Both of them shrieked when the basement door in the kitchen flung open and a monster came out. The door had opened so fast that it slammed against the wall. A few snowflakes drifted into the kitchen.

The creature from before had come to their house! Peridot pressed the almost unconscious Eclipse against her barrel.

"Go away!" she panted, trying to shield Eclipse with her body.

But the monster did not go away. Instead, it stopped running and crouched down. Peridot could see its face clearly. It was very pale and had dark rings under its eyes. And just like before, the eyes were still glowing in that creepy cold blue. It had a tattoo on its left cheek and the long hair was grey and bound together at the back of the monster's head. She had the feeling that the two-legged creature was older than her parents but not super old.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" she blurted out, shuffling away from the monster. "Stay away from us!"

"I'm not going to hurt you," said the monster, keeping his hands to his sides. "My name is Darren. You called for help, did you not? What's wrong?" His voice was deep and there was a weird echo in it. Then, Peridot registered what he had said.

"What? N-nothing! You - you're a stranger!"

"He is hurting, isn't he? Your friend. Please." Darren looked directly at her. That creepy glow hypnotized her. He must have noticed because he turned his eyes away. "I may not be your dad but I am a father, too."

Peridot flinched. That was unexpected. He was a dad... and a knight? Maybe she was wrong and the monster was not really bad. And he had come when she had called for help. He was not even wearing his armour anymore. He was only wearing socks on his feet! Peridot was sure that a monster would not take off their armour and walk on socks.

A pained groan from Eclipse urged her to make a decision. Peridot nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said.