Godric the griffon stepped away from the grinding wheel, and looked critically at his work. The edge of the knife blade was straight and smooth. He turned it in his claws and walked towards the window to make sure, watching the sunlight play on the shiny metal surface. Satisfied, he walked towards the workshop table.
"You're done," said Enigma, standing in the door.
Godric turned around, blade in hand, looked at the unicorn, and relaxed. "Darn, you're silent on those hooves. You startled me." He then put the knife blade on the table, and reached for a long item wrapped in cloth. "Yes, I finished assembling it this morning. You can take a look."
Enigma watched as the young griffon unwrapped the cloth. Underneath there was a sword, an old-fashioned, ornate blade, light and sharp, the guard and hilt covered with silver inlays and set with rubies. Godric stood on hind legs, waving the blade in slow, fluid movements, then presented it to the unicorn.
Enigma nodded, satisfied. "A work of art. There are few smiths in the world who could produce such a piece at such a short notice."
Godric's cheeks twitched upwards, as much of a smile as a beaked face could express. "I wasn't working alone. I've had other artisans working on the gems and the inlays."
Enigma nodded again. "There are few griffons here who can get anything organised, even with a vision of profit. Fewer still that would put so much effort in their work after being paid in advance. You will have to do."
Godric gave him a confused look. "Do? For what?"
Enigma looked him in the eyes. "There is trouble brewing, young one, like it hasn't for a thousand years. Whether the griffons take active part in it, or just weather the storm, they will need to do much better than they're doing now. They will need to work together like they used to. They'll need a leader."
Godric's confusion gave way to wariness. Enigma noticed the change in his stance, weighting the sword in his grip. "What are you talking about?"
Enigma faced him unflinching. "A civil war has started in Equestria. Great and ancient forces are at work. As things progress, I'll contact you and explain. Until then, the blade is yours. Get everyone to listen to you."
"How am I..."
Godric stopped. The unicorn was gone, suddenly simply not there. The gryphon looked around the smithy, looking for any sign of where his customer had disappeared to. Then something clinked on the table behind him.
Godric's eyes widened. On the workshop table, among the tools and half finished pieces, there stood a small metal sculpture, a round ball of red crystal, set in what looked like a spiralling golden chalice with a single fiery wing stretched upwards. The smith had the presence of mind to set the sword on the nearby anvil before slumping onto his haunches, his mind abuzz with the implications.
***
The landscape shifted underneath, lit by the afternoon sun. Twilight tried not to think of the thin disc of hardened soil she was sitting on; she still hadn’t gotten used to this form of transportation.
They were all gathered around Obsidian as he steered them north towards the mountains, with him in the middle focusing on the staff, and the Elements sitting around the circumference of the circle, facing outwards and maintaining the spell. The rest were seated inside, surrounded by bags, with Aurora on Obsidian’s right, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled on the left, talking in hushed voices.
“The fire seems to be fading,” said Aurora, looking back.
“The host body must have burned out,” replied Obsidian, “This is not a power meant for a mortal pony to wield.”
“What was that anyway?” asked Rarity. “I remember you telling us about it, but you didn’t give us many details. You said it was something the Imperial wizards did?”
“This is not a part of his power as a Shattered,” said Obsidian. “There is something else chained to his soul as well, wild and primal. I wasn’t there when it happened, but the story I was told was that back during the conflict with the Alicorn Empire, Hate was the first one to be captured. The Imperials already knew he had the power to reincarnate. They were looking for a way to stop that; perhaps by trying to overload him with magic to remove the pattern power inside him.”
“The way you described the powers of pattern and magic, it should’ve worked, shouldn’t it?” asked Twilight.
“Not exactly,” said Obsidian. “It could definitely kill him, but the problem was not the power he had. It was the power he could call upon. At low pattern level, the magic would simply cancel it out and replace it. But the connection of his soul to pattern was still there, an anathema to magic that would prevent his mind from dissolving into Dissonance. Killing a Shattered isn’t as simple as that.”
“As to what exactly happened, none of the wizards in the Imperial lab lived to tell the tale. But I know of the thing inside Hate. It is something that got through the hole in reality the splicing ritual ripped out. The devices protecting us directed it away, and sealed it before it could hurt anypony, and we took it with us when we retreated from Nevercrest. Our wizards tried to examine it later, but found little to learn - it seemed to be a bundle of pure instinct, raw power with no proper mind to communicate with, too dangerous to release, and too troublesome to weaponize.”
“It looked a lot like Sombra, only wilder,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I… I think it was,” said Aurora.
The disk wobbled slightly. Obsidian suppressed a curse. “Keep it steady, you six. Was it really such a surprise as to make you lose your focus?”
“I’m getting a bit tired here,” said Applejack. “I hate to sound like the lazy one, but I could really use some rest.”
“Very well,” replied Obsidian. “I think we’re far enough to hide and recuperate.” He brought the disk down onto a grassy plain in the shadow of the mountains. As the platform neared the ground, the ponies started jumping off, grabbing their bags, until Obsidian was the last one left. He sent an impulse of magic through his staff, and the disc disintegrated, the dirt falling down, seeping through the grass and merging with the ground, leaving no evidence of its existence.
“You can rest and graze here,” said Obsidian. “Then we’ll go up that slope and make ourselves a proper camping spot.”
“Graze?” asked Rarity. “Haven’t we brought any food?”
“We have,” replied Obsidian. “But we are in the middle of nowhere, and haven’t yet decided where to go next. It is better to use what is available, and this grass is edible.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Rainbow Dash, looking at the plain with dismay that almost matched Rarity’s. “That’s no food for active ponies like us.”
“It looks okay to me,” whispered Fluttershy.
Obsidian sighed, leaned down, and took a bite of the grass. He chewed it thoughtfully for a moment before declaring: “I’ve definitely eaten worse. Now, you were saying?” he said, pointing at Aurora with his muzzle.
“I said that I think it was Sombra,” explained Aurora. “Remember how I told you I broke free once, and sealed Envy in the moon? They did a lot to keep me contained after that, so even my memories of that time are fuzzy, but what I remember is… the reason I broke out was the Crystal Empire.”
“Oh, how so?” asked Obsidian, swallowing, before taking another bite at the grass.
Aurora raised a hoof, silencing him as she tried to focus. “In our times, the Crystal Empire existed. It was the only place the Shattered never conquered. But it wasn’t a safe haven for anypony but the crystal ponies - they wouldn’t let anypony in, just living there in their bubble, safe from all the evil. After the Shattered were seemingly vanquished… the times were still not safe. A lot happened through the first century. Somepony, probably some resistance group trying to find the truth, accidentally unleashed Discord. Envy and Arrogance used the power of the Elements to seal him again. Both princesses were using a link to the tree through their alicorn bodies. They were much more powerful than Envy is now. They restored order, and slowly, the Crystal Empire opened. But it was still not under Arrogance’s rule, and she wouldn’t have that.”
“Plus, they had information about the times the Shattered ruled,” said Obsidian. “With all the history erasing Arrogance was doing, that must have been a thorn in her side, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” agreed Aurora. “The commoners knew almost nothing of the outside. They were like… chicken growing up in a small pen, with no need to know anything else. But even the Crystal Empire had some scholars. Obviously Arrogance wanted to get rid of it all. But posing as a good princess meant she couldn’t just conquer the place…”
“But she could liberate it,” finished Obsidian.
“Liberate it from Sombra?” asked Twilight. “Wait, I think I understand. They had Hate take it over, getting rid of the queen, and everything the Shattered didn’t want. Then they would appear as heroes, pretending to save the Empire, and taking over. But… something went wrong again, didn’t it?”
“Yes…” said Aurora. “The power of the Crystal Empire… it changed Hate. You know how the power of the crystal ponies flows to the Crystal Heart, creating the magic that protects the Empire? Their love, their hope and joy, all feeding the magic. But it doesn’t have to be a good thing. When Hate took away the Heart and took over, the Empire’s fear and despair started flowing into him. It changed him into something else.”
“I remember,” said Twilight, “Princess Celestia… Arrogance warned me that the Crystal Empire can spread hope, or it can spread darkness.”
“Yes,” said Aurora. “He was a monster, even crazier than usual, but not the blindly raging thing you’d just seen. He had his own magic, and he was in control.”
“Sombra was horrible when we met him,” said Applejack. “But he didn’t seem as powerful as Hate was today.” She looked south, where the sky was slowly returning to its natural color.
“Perhaps he hadn’t recovered yet,” said Aurora. “Because when Envy and Arrogance fought him, he was the most horrible thing they’d ever faced. They only managed to beat him because he was crazy. If he didn’t burn most of his power on making the Crystal Empire disappear, they’d have no chance against him.”
“Not what Arrogance had planned, that’s for sure,” said Obsidian.
“Oh, she was shattered in more ways than one on that night,” replied Aurora. “So much that I managed to break free, and when Envy tried to get the moon to set and the sun to rise to shake her out of it, I used my magic to tether her to the moon. I was so close to turning the tide then…”
“So, that’s Hate, Envy, Arrogance and Vengeance out of the way?” asked Twilight. “Did they ever find out what happened to Vengeance?”
“Not that I know of,” said Aurora. “I think somepony must have taken the sealing crystal while Deception was subduing us, but I wasn’t yet awake during the first decades, so-”
“One story at a time, please,” said Obsidian. “This is confusing enough as it is.”
“So, why didn’t you win?” asked Fluttershy.
“My spine was shattered too,” said Aurora. “The alicorn body was designed to be extremely hard to kill, but by the end of the fight it was so broken, it was literally only moving thanks to magic. Sealing Envy took the last of its power reserves, and moments later the spells started falling apart. I don’t remember what happened after that, but I think Deception found me before I could die. After that they’d make sure I’d be safely sealed in, and Arrogance didn’t dare use the Elements again.”
“Excuse me…” said Apple Bloom.
“Yes?” asked Aurora.
“Mister Obsidian,” asked Apple Bloom, “this will sound weird, but… those shattered guys… did you take anything from them?”
Obsidian looked at her curiously. “Whatever do you mean, child?”
Apple Bloom didn’t meet his gaze. “It’s just… that old zebra in the village… the one we told you about… he kept talking about prophecies and stuff, and he said something about the shattered too… something about him getting back what was stolen from his heart, or something.”
Obsidian sat motionless like a statue. Even his chewing stopped.
“Do you know what she’s talking about?” asked Twilight. “Have you ever heard that prophecy?”
“You okay there?” asked Applejack.
Obsidian’s head tilted back, and he started laughing, a low, loud, cheerless laugh. Twilight shuddered.
“How ironic,” said Obsidian, regaining his composure, “that of all things, something like this would survive among the zebras when I was forgotten. Yes, I know that prophecy, Twilight Sparkle. It was made back in my times, by a zebra shaman named Busara.”
He took a breath, changing his voice to sound like a crusty, old stallion.
“All that breathes on this world shall know terror when
The One that was Broken is made whole again
If you put what you stole back into his heart
He will give everypony a chance for new start.”
“Who was Busara?” asked Twilight.
“An enemy,” said Obsidian. “Respected among his kind. A cunning foe. He was especially the enemy of the Elements. He considered them a blasphemy against the spirit world, and kept prophesying a horrible end to everypony. While he was right about the splicing ritual being a horrible folly, his death didn’t come from the the Dissonance.”
“What happened?” asked Twilight.
“The Shattered happened,” replied Obsidian. “The Imperial army had problems fighting the zebras in the jungles of their homeland, so Deception decided to deny them cover, and created the parasprites. They did much more than that. The little gluttons devoured everything there was to devour, leaving the zebras starving in a wasteland. We were deployed in the north, we didn’t know until one of the princesses called us for help. As it turned out, Busara’s tribe was as stubborn as he was. They didn’t retreat until it was too late, and they all starved. And Busara himself used some very dark magic trying to get revenge. The last fight the original Elements of Harmony fought together was to put down the monster he had become. If you ask me, that doesn’t speak well of his abilities as a prophet… wait, did you feel that?”
Everypony looked around in alarm. “I don’t feel anything…” said Rainbow Dash.
“I do” called Pinkie Pie. She dove towards Twilight’s bag, and dug her head in, pulling out a small table mirror. The glass surface was flashing with a blinking green light.
“It seems we have a call,” said Obsidian.
Twilight took the mirror from Pinkie, and set it on a nearby rock. She then sent a thin beam of magic into the surface. The image blurred, and then Bling’s face appeared.
“Twilight?” asked the disguised changeling queen.
“We met Hate,” replied Twilight. “We managed to find both fillies, and retreat safely.”
Behind her, Applejack raised an eyebrow.
“It is good to hear,” replied Bling. “I got worried when my surface scouts told me of the black conflagration.”
“We’ve also learned that princess Cadence died when you abandoned her,” continued Twilight.
“I know,” said Bling. “And you know it was not my intent.”
“If it wasn’t, you shouldn't've done so,” said Twilight. “You put…”
“The fate of all of my subjects above a mare who had killed hundreds of them?” interrupted Bling. “You have your priorities, and I have mine. And you wouldn’t change yours for me, so don’t lecture me. Now, is there anything you need from us? What do you plan to do next?”
“We haven’t yet decided on where to go,” said Twilight. “Right now we’re waiting for Applejack to recover. After that? We’ll look for some safe spot to leave the kids… not in your care, thank you.”
Bling sighed. “You’re only making things harder for yourself here, you know?”
“We’re not the only ones,” grumbled Aurora.
Bling ignored the comment. “And then what?” he asked.
“We should find a way to contact the Void Passage again,” said Twilight. “There’s a lot of things Obsidian and Aurora can just tell us, but I have so many questions now, I think there are some things I’d better see with my own eyes. Obsidian, do you know of any strong leyline focal points in this area?”
Obsidian considered the question. “In these mountains? The biggest place of power here would be… the Nevercrest mountain. But I haven’t heard any news of it for thousands of years. The sanctuary might be destroyed. Or worse, booby-trapped.”
“Or it might be the last place they’d look for us,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I don’t think the Shattered would like coming back there,” said Pinkie Pie. “That’s not a happy memory for them.”
“I only have a couple agents where you are,” said Bling. “But if you’re going to climb, they could drop you some supplies at the base of the mountain.”
“We’ll give you details, when we’ve decided,” said Obsidian. “In the meantime, please keep us updated on the situation in the Crystal Empire.”
Bling nodded. “That I can do. The city isn’t as isolated as the Equestrian army thinks.”
“Thank you,” said Twilight. “Now if that’s decided, I think this is all for the moment.”
Bling nodded, and his horn flashed. The image in the mirror disappeared.
“What a stink bug,” said Twilight.
Aurora smiled at her. “Well, you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose the enemies of your enemies.”
“That can be arranged too,” said Obsidian, “But I get your point. Let us make the best use we can of her support.”
“So, what do we do now?” asked Applejack.
“We climb the mountain, and find somewhere to rest,” said Twilight.
***
Several hours later, they were sitting in a large cave. Obsidian found it while flying over the mountain in bird form, then used his magic to expand it, and left his staff in the middle of it to provide light and heat. With the spare sleeping bags they had, and the fake rocks Pinkie Pie used to hide the entrance, the cave turned into a surprisingly comfortable place to spend the night in.
That was the last thing that went right however. After an hour of trying to remember obscure friends and relatives, the ponies were no closer to finding a solution to their problem.
“Goldie Delicious?” proposed Applejack in a tired voice. “No,” she contradicted herself immediately. “She would be on our side if I told her the truth, but she’s too… absent-minded to keep three fillies at home a secret.”
Twilight looked at her notes dejectedly. “So, after we eliminate the ponies in big cities, who would be too easy to spy on, those that probably couldn’t handle taking care of children, those that would react very badly to being told the truth, and those taken by Chrysalis…”
Pinkie looked over her shoulder, skimming down a long list of crossed-out names.
“There’s nopony left,” she said. “Unless we find Maud.”
“We can do that once we’ve reached the sanctuary,” said Obsidian. “The sooner we get rid of all the distractions-”
“Can they climb the mountain with us?” asked Aurora. “From what you’ve told us, the entrance is quite high above the snow line.”
“With two of you already awakened,” replied Obsidian, “we have more than enough magic to keep them safe during the climb. I can’t guarantee anything for the sanctuary itself though. There is not telling what will await us there.”
“Well then, better start making plans now,” said Rarity. “We can’t go there without first making sure the fillies are well protected. And I won’t leave Sweetie anywhere I’m not sure is safe.”
“Speaking of protection,” said Twilight, “Obsidian, what have you learned about those amulets the fillies were wearing?”
“I’ve examined them,” said Obsidian. “I can only tell you that these were some very complex spells. Somepony put a lot of effort into keeping them hidden from everyone - so much that they didn’t even reflect in the Dissonance. But such a powerful spell requires a lot of energy. Maintaining it like this would require some extra measures - binding the amulets to a permanent power source, like it sometimes happens with powerful artifacts, or the caster itself refreshing the spell periodically. But these amulets didn’t have a way to recharge on their own. They were bound to fail at some point.”
“But if whoever make those things knew they would fail,” started Twilight.
“The girls say it was Enigma,” said Rainbow Dash.
“But he said it wasn’t him,” said Applejack.
“So, was somepony pretending to be him?” asked Rainbow.
“Chrysalis said that it wasn’t anyling of hers either,” said Applejack.
“So, what does it tell us?” asked Obsidian.
***
In the corner of the cave, further from the light, the three fillies were tucked into their sleeping bags. Not ready to fall asleep yet, they whispered to each other in the dark, ignoring the discussion of the grown-ups.
“There is something I haven’t told you yet, girls,” said Scootaloo.
Her friends looked at her, worry showing in their eyes as they saw her expression. Scootaloo felt a knot tightening in her stomach.
“It’s… not just Spike, Shining Armor, and Cadence,” she said. “Minty is dead too.”
Four eyes widened in the dark.
“what do you mean… she’s…” stuttered Sweetie Belle.
“She’s gone,” breathed out Scootaloo. “She… it turned out her mom was some kind of mad scientist working for Celestia. Minty… I think she stole one of her mom’s inventions to fight Celestia with.”
“What?” gasped Apple Bloom in disbelief. “Did she…”
“Applejack told me,” said Scootaloo. “She said it worked. She was the one that destroyed Celestia back there. But then it blew up, and Minty… they said that power destroyed her too.”
It took over a minute before any of the fillies spoke again.
“Ah can’t believe it,” said Apple Bloom.
“I didn’t either, at first,” said Scootaloo.
“But, why?” asked Sweetie Belle. “That’s… crazy. It’s… not like her.”
“There was a lot she didn’t tell us,” said Scootaloo. “A lot she couldn’t tell us. She said… she had enough of that lab her mother worked in. She just wanted to have friends, and a bit of a normal life. And Celestia was taking even that away from her.”
“So, she did it for… us?” asked Apple Bloom. “I… I don’t want it to be because of us.”
“It’s not like this,” said Scootaloo forcefully. “She… she did it for herself too. To be free.”
“Free?” scowled Sweetie Belle, an angry tear rolling down her cheek, “What kind of freedom is that?”
Scootaloo stared into the floor underneath her chin. “The only one she could find. The only one nopony would take away from her.”
“That’s just wrong,” said Apple Bloom. “Just wrong. This shouldn’t happen.”
Scootaloo pushed a bit closer to her, touching their foreheads together. “I know. But it -”
Apple Bloom pushed back, interrupting her. She looked Scootaloo in the eyes. “Could you girls promise me something?” She turned her head to look into Sweetie Belle’s eyes too.
“What is it?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Promise that you’ll never do anything like this for me, ever.” Apple Bloom looked from one of her friends to the other. “Never decide everypony’s fate on your own. We stick together no matter what, and if… horrible things happen… we’ll decide how to face them together, got it?”
Several seconds passed. Then Sweetie Belle moved closer. “I promise.” She then touched Apple Bloom’s forehead with her own.
After a moment, Scootaloo mumbled her own “I promise,” and joined the not-exactly-hug her friends were sharing. They stayed like this, tears trickling slowly down their faces, until the discussion in the cave ended, and Fluttershy found them asleep together.
***
Bluebonnet finished writing her notes, and shut the notebook. She then slumped onto the floor, not even bothering to look for a chair.
“Is there anything amiss, doctor?” asked an assistant peering into the lab. It was one of Dr. Stone’s constructs, tasked with keeping her safe.
Bluebonnet gave her a tired smile. “There’s nothing wrong,” she said. “I just need some sleep.”
The mare retreated with a nod. Bluebonnet turned away, and looked at the table in front of her. It was cluttered with parts, some of them burned. In the middle there was a thick notebook. It was closed now, but Bluebonnet only needed to look at the cover. The conclusions she had just re-read were already burned into her brain.
I’ve been picking through it again and again to make sure I wasn’t wrong the first time. But no matter how many times I try… The extra pieces I found, there is no doubt about it. There is just one way these could have fit together. The device… the gun was purposefully overclocked, the safety features disabled to maximise the pattern energy output. There was no way it wouldn’t explode.
There were hoofsteps in the corridor. Bluebonnet swept her hoof across the table, pushing the notebook away, and covering it with some junk.
Dr. Stone trotted into the lab. Bluebonnet thought it was her at least. With the cold, professional manner she maintained, it wouldn’t be hard for a construct to mimic her behaviour.
“Are you doing okay, doctor?” she asked.
Bluebonnet smiled again, rising from the floor. “Yes, everything is okay… at least as much as it can be.”
Dr. Stone walked up to her slowly, and sniffed at her. “No, it isn’t. Your stress level is high, and you don’t sleep enough. At this rate, you will ruin your health. You can’t function like this any longer.”
“You still need me,” said Bluebonnet, “Especially now. I know Mr. Lightbringer has returned. You will be busy making sure he’s ready for action again. And the upgrades you’re running on the Wonderbolts require constant attention.”
Dr. Stone shook her head. “A lot of in can be handled by assistants. And you won’t be any good to me if you hurt yourself,” she finished with a faint smile. “It is time I did something to help you. I know this is not how ponies are supposed to deal with pain, but I could use some of my conditioning procedures to put your mind at ease. You don’t deserve to suffer that much.”
How would you know? Bluebonnet wanted to shout, but she bit her tongue, and returned the smile instead. “I cannot do that.”
“I won’t do anything drastic,” said Dr. Stone, “Just plant a couple suggestions in your head, to smooth things along. It won’t demean what you’re getting through.”
“Still,” replied Bluebonnet, “It’s not the right way. I’ve been through some very hard times before. I will manage.”
Dr. Stone gave her a sceptical look. “In that case… I’ll at least insist you finish your work, and get some sleep now. Your body and mind really do need it. I can offer some pills that will make it easier.”
Bluebonnet sighed with resignation. “Yes, Doctor.”
Dr. Stone smiled. “We’re on the same team here. I do want you to be at peace. And I know how it is to lose somepony you love.” She suddenly lunged forward, and hugged Bluebonnet. “Stay strong. Rest. Wake up with new energy. Don’t let this destroy you like it did me.”
Bluebonnet looked at her with surprise. “What? What are you talking about?”
Dr. Stone released her hug. In a second, she was once again the cold, professional doctor everypony knew.
“Now, go to sleep. That’s an order.”