Equestria, home of intelligent ponies gifted with magic, strength, and flight. There was none that could have threatened this peace.
Although Xande and the Cloud of Darkness were no more, Princess Luna herself began to have a vision concerning the fate of Equestria. Let us turn out attention to the royal residence in the city of Canterlot. All was calm and tranquil within the halls of the castle; once the guards' shift was over, it was time for a well-deserved rest. Princess Luna though, shuddered in her sleep, pulling the covers over her.
In her dream, she found herself standing before strange creatures she could hardly make out. However, it was clear one of them had a suit of dark armor, crossing his arms as if expecting her. And then, the other strange creatures appeared to be a man with long, white hair and wearing blue and white armor; the other was wearing full, dark purple body armor and helmet shaped like a dragon's head.
But this wasn't the only part that caught the princess' attention; in the background of this confrontation, there appeared not one, but two moons shining in the night sky.
Just then, two more figures appeared as if aiding the white-haired human... Two ponies that she recognized all too well...
Luna opened her eyes and found herself in her private chamber. Letting out a heavy sigh, the princess walked out to the window and lowered the moon, signaling the end of the night.
It had been sometime since peace and tranquility were restored to Ponyville, with the nightmares sent by the Cloud of Darkness and the invasion of the Storm King somewhat fresh on everypony's mind, but now all was back to normal. Twilight Sparkle and her dragon friend, Spike, came across Applejack and her brother Big Macintosh moving a cart full of apples for the season.
"Howdy, y'all!" Applejack greeted.
"Good morning, Applejack. Good morning, Big Macintosh."
"Back at ya," Big Macintosh answered.
"How's everything goin'?" asked Spike.
"Eh... You know... Same old, same old. Buckin' few of the trees, gatherin' apples for the harvest."
"Eeyup," the red earth pony added.
"Hello, everypony."
Hearing the gentle voice turned everyone's attention to its owner: Fluttershy, as she and the rest of the Mane Six arrived.
"What brings you all here?" asked Twilight.
"After helping clear the skies, I was gettin' kinda hungry, so I decided to get everypony together for an apple feast," said Rainbow Dash.
"Just in time, too!" Pinkie Pie added.
"Kupo!"
Just then, a small cat-like creature with bat wings and a pom-pom jumped out of Pinkie's mane. It was a Moogle, a creature that Pinkie somehow managed to smuggle after she and the others had defeated the Cloud of Darkness.
Applejack chuckled. "Well, that's mighty kind of y'all. Big Mac even helped loaded all these apples for me when Ah was gettin' tired and all."
"Eeyup. That's what big brothers are for," said Big Macintosh, making everyone laugh.
"Speakin' of big brothers... Ah wonder how yours is doin'?" Applejack thought, addressing Twilight.
"Yeah..."
*music fades out*
Suddenly, everypony's cutie mark began to glow a bright light. The Mane Six knew exactly what that meant.
"Well then, darlings," said Rarity, "shall we pay the Crystal Empire a visit?"
"Count me in!" Rainbow replied.
"I suppose..." said Fluttershy. "I don't want anything to happen like last time."
The Crystal Empire
While the Crystal Empire was as peaceful as it had been for some time, Shining Armor felt self-doubt regarding his own efficiency as ruler and guardian. Everyday, Shining would look out the balcony, gazing upon the land and observing the citizens as they carried on with their daily routines. He would then look upon the sky, wondering if his role in life was as important as the sun was to Equestria.
"Good morning."
Shining smiled and turned around, the voice belonging to his beloved wife, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, better known as Cadence.
"Good morning," he said back. The unicorn then sighed.
"Is something wrong?" Cadence said, worried for her husband.
"No... It's..." Who was he kidding? "Cadence... I'm sorry... I've failed you."
"Failed me?"
"As a husband, and a father... I couldn't keep Flurry safe when those monsters came here, and I couldn't protect you or anyone else when the Storm King attacked."
"Shining, no!" Cadence rebuffed. "Please don't beat yourself over it. None of us could have seen them coming."
"Still... I wish... I wish there were some way to make up for everything that's happened. The wedding rehearsal, Chrysalis brainwashing me, Tirek... I feel like such a failure!"
"Stop," said a voice.
"Aunt/Princess Luna?" the couple said.
"Listen to your loved one, Shining Armor. If you continue to berate yourself, you will lose all sense of self, and you will be questioning your own self-worth for the rest of your life."
"What brings you here, Your Highness?"
"A vision," Luna replied. "A vision of two humans--I presume--fighting each other and the two of you were aiding one of them."
The couple stared widely as the Princess of the Night shared her story, and then they glanced at each other, both wondering what this could mean. Luna was hardly one to tell jokes. Cadence began to think this had something to do with Twilight and her friends' recent adventures.
Just then, the three ponies' cutie marks began to shine.
"Yours too?" said a surprised Cadence.
"I... I-I-I think so," Shining replied.
"To the Crystal Heart!" Luna proclaimed.
The three arrived at the sanctum of the Crystal Heart and found that the artifact displayed several cutie marks, including the Mane Six's. Among them were also Cadence's, a cutie mark resembling the night sky with a crescent moon, and one more resembling a shield decorated with a star on it along with three more just above it.
"This means..." said a shocked Luna.
"It's... it's summoning me, Cadence and Princess Luna?" Shining said, equally surprised.
"Yes," said the voice of Cid the Lufaine.
"Could this relate to my dream somehow?" Luna asked.
"Cadence! Shining Armor!"
The three looked to see Twilight and her friends had arrived. Luna knew that they, too, had been summoned by the Crystal Heart.
"Princess Luna?"
"Come... There is not a moment to lose..."
"Before we do," said Princess Cadence, turned to her aunt. "Aunt Celestia...?"
"No need to ask," she responded. "I'll look after Flurry Heart."
"Thank you."
And with that, Cadence, Shining, Spike and the Mane Six proceeded to enter the Chamber of Crystals.
The Chamber of Crystals
Within the walls of the Chamber, our heroes appeared and looked around, their eyes on the crystal labeled under the Roman numeral III. Look the others before it, the numeral glowed a bright yellow, signaling the completion of the ponies' quest. Just then Pinkie Pie noticed something.
"Hey, guys. Look! The number XVI is all shiny!"
"Yes, but that is not the one you should be paying attention to. Look there."
All eyes fell to the Crystal under the Roman numeral IV.
"Look well, everypony... For is your task to protect the Crystals from the Kingdom of Baron. It was once a noble kingdom, until someone manipulated the authorities from the shadows. They seek to gain the Crystals and use them for ill intent. Shining Armor... Princesses Luna and Cadence..." The aforementioned ponies look to the center of the chamber. "There is someone within Baron who has committed a heinous act, and yet he feels great remorse for his actions. What do you plan to do if you come across this individual?"
"A heinous act? What did this... individual do, exactly?"
"You'll have to hear the rest yourself."
"Alright," Shining Armor sighed.
"Let's head in!" said Rainbow Dash. "Then we'll find out what he means."
Encouraged by those words, the Equestrians hopped through the portal and into yet another world. Where they would end up and what awaited them, none can truly say.
"Good luck, everypony. May the light of the Crystals shine upon you once more..."