Somber is the face befallen the crystal ponies in light of war's first tragedy, the death of their beloved queen weighing heavier on their soldiers than the cold rains of the north, a land known for the warmth of love remains cold and speechless, devoid of the happiness that helps to combat the snowy winter. With grief struck hearts the Crystal ponies and Equestrian refugees gather at the steps of the crystal palace, the body of Queen Harmony resting atop an alter, her beautiful white fur restored to it's former glory for her final sendoff. Standing before the alter is King Diamond along, and on either side of the alter stands the King and Queen that once called her friend, as well as the colt who's mother lays lifeless atop the alter, receding into the confines of his best friend's warm embrace, holding his little brother gently on his own back, tears seem of endless supply from his heart broken eyes. Feeling Celestia's wing over him he buries his face into her neck for comfort, both unable to hold back their grief.
Soon Corona lifts his head back up to look at his father, who has maintained a brave expression before his subjects, but knows that he feels more pain than any of them. "The silence that has befallen our land is fitting of the loss we have all suffered to the black armored tyrants that dare to attack our home. And as King I have failed to keep my Queen safe from the evil in the world, this is a sin I will never be able to forgive myself for," the words he speaks resonates in the crowd of ponies as they listen respectfully to the grieving king, almost not able to continue speaking from the weight of his previous words. Taking a deep breath he lets it out and looks out to his subjects, "But we must not remember the warming legacy that Harmony has left behind, to the end she protected her own no matter how weak she may have been, not only was she a warrior, but she possessed wisdom beyond comprehension... and always knew the words that needed to be said when we did not. So committed she was to the well being of her subjects, in her dying breath she was able to save the young prince Corona and princess Celestia."
Seeing that his words have reached his subjects as they lower their heads in respect, a smile starts to grow on his maw. "But despite the loss we have suffered, I know that Harmony would want us all to smile and embrace the warmth of the ponies we all love to push us forward on these dark days, and I intend to do as she would wish." His words surprise many ponies as they all look at him in awe, Corona and Celestia included.
"Harmony always believed in the potential of the next generation led by our sons and daughters, as well as the children of our subjects, that was made evident at our annual competition for our youth. The young Princess Celestia giving us all a brilliant showmanship of magic well beyond the capabilities we thought possible, and she hasn't reached yearling age yet. And while it took longer for Corona to unlock the gates to his hidden magic, in the most dire of circumstances his magic awoke and drove off Hadeon's second in command before he could kill him and Celestia. And even more of a miracle his magic saved his younger brother from meeting the same fate as their mother. There are no fathomable words that can adequately convey the gratitude myself and Harmony have for you Corona, thanks to your actions we can all say hello to the young prince, who I shall give the name that Harmony decided."
Corona steps up to the alter with his brother and gently raises him up to his father who takes him with magic. "And as we send our beloved queen into the paradise of the heavens above, we also welcome a new life into the world that she has left behind as her final act of loyalty to her empire." As he lifts the foal up into the air a crystal floats over the crystal heart and begins to glow as it resonates with the ancient relic, with the sight of the surviving prince the crystal ponies all bow down and link their magic to the crystal heart feeling their spirits lifting as they always do for a traditional crystalling.
"We welcome to the world my son, Prince Aquila, to the world of the Crystal ponies!" Aquila glows in the air as his crystal enters the Crystal heart, gaining the new connection to the young prince the heart begins to spin rapidly and soon lets out a large pulse of magic across the land, leaving all within it to have a crystal coat as if they were crystal ponies themselves.
Seeing the crystal heart spreading happiness to his subjects and unifying them as well as their equestrian counterparts, he slowly lowers Aquila down for Corona to take and he looks back down at his wife, doing his best to hold back tears. Taking a deep breath he sighs and raises his hoof for silence among the crowd, soon being granted his request.
"And so on this day... we say farewell to Queen Harmony, but know that she has taken her place in the heavens above, and looks down upon us all with pride as we continue our courageous struggle against the evil of Hadeon's empire. Let it be known to all that she may not be with us in body, but her spirit will always be in the hearts of those she has touched with her grace and wisdom, and she will continue to as her magic finally becomes one with the crystal heart, as will all crystal ponies when our time comes." Using his magic he channels his magic into the altar, the patterns along it's designs lighting up as his magic travels through it and into the ground, quickly forming a link with the crystal heart. With the link complete he steps back to let the crystal heart take claim of his fallen mate's magic so her soul can finally be free.
The alter Harmony rests upon glows brightly with the pure magic of the heart and it surrounds her body and lifts her up into the air, all ponies watching with tears of sadness for the loss of their queen but also of joy as they know in their hearts that this is also her ascension into the heavens where she belongs, all saying their goodbye's to their precious queen. As the magic of the Crystal Heart completely envelops her, the orb of magic slowly floats up into the air above the alter. But to the shock of everyone the orb abruptly lets out a pulse of magic and climbs up into the skies above faster than any pegasus. Corona looks up in the air in shock along with his father as they see Harmony's orb reach the clouds, then with a small explosion the orb splits into 6 beams of magic that split off in random directions across the horizon, soon vanishing from sight, leaving the crystal ponies dazed as such a thing has never happened before.
"F-Father... what does that mean?..." Corona asks nervously, unsure if he truly wants to know the answer.
"I'm not sure son..." he replies with equal uncertainty, "I pray that this isn't a sign of dark times... for all our sakes."
*****
Looking over a map over Equestria Hadeon's lead general adjusts the markers on the map indicating the positions of their armies, the surrounding lands outside of Equestria have been secured with little struggle but the only foothold they have managed to take is the aggressive position on the west side of the great gorge.
"Have your pegasi managed to secure the other side of the gorge?" Hadeon says to one of his generals.
Worried of his reaction his mouth quivers a little, "N-No sir, Typhoon's forces have build defenses that block off the choke point of the gorge, and her Pegasi forces swarm around the gorge. My scouts have also informed me that several crystal battalions have launched a counter attack to retake the coastal settlement Cambraya, we have erected defenses along the edges of the town but have suffered substantial casualties."
"How is it that you have lost this many soldiers this early in our campaign?" Hadeon says in an irritated and yet composed tone.
"We were not expecting them to mobilize so swiftly your highness... I have underestimated the capabilities of general Typhoon," he gulps nervously and looks up at his king, "B-But it will not happen again your highness this I swear!..." he cries in desperation, knowing the fates of those that have failed him in the past.
Hadeon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and sighs, but before he can respond he feels the presence of his second in command and soon the pony in his shadow form flows through the tent and forms into the shape of a pony, growling in rage that he is in this condition.
"Welcome back Andras, I trust that your mission was a success?" Hadeon says to him, turning his attention away from the cowering general, wondering why he has not changed back into his physical form, "Did... something happen to you?"
Andras grits his teeth and lets out a roar of anger, "THAT LITTLE BASTARD WILL PAY FOR HIS INSOLENCE!" he uses his magic to throw the table across the room, the general narrowly avoiding the flying projectile. Hadeon raises his brow as he has never seen his second display this kind of fury before, "What happened to you Andras?" he says with a firm voice to draw his attention back to him.
Hearing his king's voice Andras takes a deep breath in and sighs to calm himself down, "The crystal brat destroyed my physical body, letting out a burst of the purest magic I have ever seen." He looks down at the floor in frustration, "I didn't think magic that pure could be tapped into by a pony."
"His magic was pure enough to destroy your shell that easily?" he says with concern as he steps outside of the tent with him, the moon above shining it's blue light on the shifting sands. Standing next to him Andras reluctantly nods, "Yes.... I have never seen magic like that before.... the closest thing possible that I have seen is the magic of the crystal heart."
Hadeon listens to his words and feels a slight sense of surprise from his news, but before questioning any further on the young prince he turns his head back to him, "Does this mean you were unsuccessful with your mission?"
Andras shakes his head and has a disappointed look on his face, "I was not able to kill the prince and princess, but I was able to slay Queen Harmony, I'm sorry Hadeon... I let you down," he says with a remorseful tone, paying little heed to the life he took.
Hadeon's ears perk up when he gives his report and a smile begins to grow on his face, confusing his subordinate. Andras turns his body to fully face him, "What is on your mind my king?" he says with curiousity, wondering why he is not mad with him.
"Though you may not have hit all of your targets Andras, of all the targets for you to hit you struck the biggest one, and that is all I need," he proclaims confidently with a widening grin.
"What do you mean my king?..." he asks with even more confusion in his voice.
Hadeon turns back to the tent, "Zuberi!" he shouts, his call soon causing the zebra chief to exit the tent out into the moonlight, "Yes, what is it Hadeon" he says with an aggravated tone, not liking the lack of respect in the self proclaimed king's voice.
"Pull all of your troops out of Equestrian lands, I will be doing the same with our own," Hadeon commands, ignoring the chief's tone.
Zuberi's eyes widen in surprise and soon his brow lowers to morph his face into one of frustration, "How can you say that after all of the land we have taken! And the soldiers we have lost!" he lashes out justifiably.
"You will do as I say Zuberi, this is the most advantageous course of action for us," he turns to face him with a stern look, "Do not make me remind you who leads us here," he remarks and passes by him, making his way to his quarters.
Zuberi glares as he passes him and half turns to watch him leave, Andras soon following behind him. When the two are out of sight Tendaji soon trots up next to him, "What do we do Chief?"
Zuberi takes a deep breath and sighs, "We will do as he says... for now," he looks at his second, "Give the order for a full retreat, our troops will be rewarded with well deserved rest."
Tendaji nods slowly salutes him before leaving him to think on his own, unsure of why Hadeon is ordering such a move after so much progress has been made.
"By the way Andras, you will need a new body I presume," Hadeon says as he channels magic through his horn, dark magic surrounds his horn and flows around his head before a portal opens up and drops the failed general on the ground. He raises his head in confusion and fear only to see Hadeon glancing down at him before retiring to his quarters. His eyes soon shrink in fear and he looks over at the pony who is now nothing but a mere mist of shadow with glowing red eyes and horrifying white smile, "No, NO PLEASE DONT!" he cries to little avail as Andras laughs manically as his shadow surrounds the helpless pony, silencing his screams for good.