The story began in a darkened room, a slight bit of water dripping from the ceiling as the only light in the area came from a doorway. Beyond this was a balcony, a single occupant standing on it, the pony known as Void. He was staring down at a pit, the sounds of battle filling the air.
Darkness shielded those that were in the pit from sight, Void able to see thanks to his mask, as a lone pony figure stood within the shadows surrounded by other creatures. The beasts were bulky and stood on two legs, each one carrying a weapon. One charged at behind the pony with the sword, who seemed to just side-step it with ease, only for another sword to appear and float around the pony before charging forward. The creature tried to block it, but their sword was knocked out of their grasp before the opposing weapon then smashed into them, sending them flying.
Two more creatures, one holding a war-hammer and another holding a halberd, charged next, only to be interrupted by mimics of their weapons appearing. Like before, their weapons were knocked out of their hands and they were thrown back with ease. And in that moment, a bunch of creatures holding bows and arrows all fired their projectiles at the creature. But as they came from the pony, a shield appeared, blocking all of them...only for something else to appear from out of the pony's back.
Four octahedron-shaped objects, which flew into the air above the creatures. As the beings reacted to them, a blast of red light shot up from the pony and struck one of the objects and was absorbed by it. A moment later, the object unleashed several blasts of red light, explosions taking the area as the light consumed them.
Some leapt away, dodging the first attack, only for the pony to fire three more blasts. The barrage of lights did even more explosions, knocking them all flying. Smoke filled the air next, soon fading to reveal the hidden pony the only one left standing surrounded by the downed creatures. Up on the balcony, Void smirked behind his mask. "Good," he chuckled as the pony glanced up at him, "You're ready." He took out a picture and threw it at the pony, "Go to this one and capture him. Bring him to me alive. I don't care what condition he's in, as long as he's still breathing."
The picture landed on the ground, the image showing an orange pegasus, and a pair of bright red eyes glowed through the darkness to illuminate the picture. And then the pony crushed the paper under their hoof.
A few weeks later...
The sound of a train whistle filled the air, the locomotive rocketing across the land. Inside, the Mane Seven minus Rainbow along with Starlight, Heart, Soul, Spike and the CMC were onboard. The group were all sharing a carriage, though a certain pony was rather bored.
"Augh!" Heart groaned, "How much longer is it gonna be?"
Trains might have been something that interested him before, but once the wonder wore off, it had lost its appeal to him, just like Flash had warned him. At this, Twilight looked up from her book and saw the formerly green land begin to turn white outside. "It won't be long now," she replied before glancing back down at her book, "Just try and relax. It's your own fault for not bringing something to keep yourself entertained."
Soul nodded in agreement while she worked on a picture she was making of the landscape, using this to also practice her magic precision with levitating the brush.
"Why couldn't we just take the Rune Gate?!" Heart moaned, "We'd be there in a millisecond instead of sitting around for hours!"
"Heart, the Rune Gate was designed to cut the travel time down in an emergency." Flash deadpanned, "If we keep using it willy-nilly, ponies are gonna start asking why they can't use it for everything. We're not gonna put the trains out of business."
Heart huffed back, only for Scootaloo to jab his side, "Don't be such a grump. A few hours in a train is more than worth it to see the Wonderbolts live."
"Plus we get to spend some time in the Crystal Empire," Sweetie added, "And you get to see Ruby."
"Yeah yeah..." Heart sighed as he turned to the window, seeing nothing but white.
While this happened, Spike glanced over at Starlight, "I guess you're looking forward to seeing Sunburst?"
"Of course," Starlight replied, "I really need to convince Sunburst to come visit Ponyville sometime." The others nodded as she then shook his head, "If only he wasn't so busy with Flurry."
"Oh, I'm sure its fine." Twilight chimed in, "And I can't wait to see Flurry."
The group then continued to enjoy the ride, though Heart was still bored as they drew closer to the city of crystals. But as they continued through the snowscape, none saw a certain figure a few miles away in the distance. The being was cloaked, walking through a mild blizzard with their head down. Despite the freezing cold, the figure didn't even flinch as it continued through the snow. It was following a signal, only to see it had begun to move closer compared to that morning, having expected not to get to the signal for at least another week.
And as this happened, the figure turned to face the Crystal Empire. The magically protected city stared back at it, while the signal of its target drew even closer. Following it, the figure saw the train racing through the snowy wilderness until it entered the bubble containing the city...along with its target within.
The train pulled into the station, everypony soon walking onto the platform. As they did, they spotted Ruby already waiting, "Hey Ruby!" Flash called out, "You here to take us to the castle?"
"Somepony had to make sure you didn't get lost," she replied, "And I had to come this way on my patrol anyway." Heart and Soul then ran up to her, the knight hugging both, "Hey you two! How's it been?"
"Great!" they both responded, the rest walking up as Ruby asked how things had been in Ponyville. She got the usual answer, weekly insanity that included Starlight being called by the map to help the Royal Sisters out, Discord having Fluttershy over for tea and almost normalizing himself out of existence, the kids finding a dog they tried to hide and Applejack discovering she and her siblings were half pear.
"What about you Ruby?" Soul asked.
"Yes darling," Rarity nodded. "How are things in this most magnificent of cities?"
"Not bad," Ruby replied, "Ever since the dragon incident, things have been pretty quiet. Thankfully, the repairs weren't bad...so its been silent after that."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Fluttershy asked, Ruby nodding back.
"Of course. It's always good that the empire's safe. But it can get a little boring sometimes. I've barely been able to break a sweat in the last few months. I guess I'm running out of things to challenge myself with."
"Well if you're bored, I'm sure princess Celestia or Luna could find you something to do." Twilight chimed in, "Maybe you could hunt for a criminal like Cold does."
Ruby shook her head, "No, I could never do that. I am the empire's protector. It is what I was born for. Things might be peaceful now, but that could easily change. I'll find something to keep myself entertained...eventually."
As she said that, they reached main street and several ponies headed off. Rarity, Applejack and their siblings went to check out the market, Fluttershy and Pinkie went over to see the lambs they had befriended during their first time in the city, and Starlight left to find Sunburst.
But as the others talked about some of the new architectural changes made to the houses after the dragon attack, Heart noticed something that caught his eye. In one of the alleyways between two crystal buildings, Heart spotted a pair of eyes staring at them. The young colt raised an eyebrow at this and calmly walked back until he reached the edge of the group, then flew off. He floated over to a house, landing on the roof before looking down to see the pony that was spying on them from the shadows.
He glared at the pony, only to see the colt was staring at Flash and Ruby. Thinking about the recent events, Heart stared at the colt as the hidden pony readjusted their standing position. "YAAAH!" Heart yelled as he swooped down and tackled the pony. Both rolled into the street, the others turning to the commotion to see Heart pinning a Crystal Unicorn his age to the ground. His fur was bright green and both his mane and tail were spiky and colored red with black lines running through them.
"Hey!" The colt cried, "Get off of me!"
"Heart!" Flash barked as Twilight used her magic to pull him off the colt. "What are you doing?!"
"He was spying on us," Heart replied as he pointed and glared at the colt, "Why were you doing that?!"
The ponies all turned to the pony as he picked himself up, only for Ruby to ask, "Jaden?"
"You know him?" Heart responded, Ruby nodding.
"Jaden Chalice. He lives around here." Ruby then leaned down at the colt, "Were you spying on us?" Jaden suddenly blushed at this before shaking his head, only to immediately spin around and run off. "Jaden!" But he didn't reply, instead disappearing around a corner.
"That was weird," Soul commented.
"He's a very shy colt," Ruby sighed, "Whenever I run into him, he barely says anything and runs off the first chance he gets."
The others raised an eyebrow at this, then all shrugged before turning to Heart. "Next time, warn us before you go off and try to tackle somepony."
"Sorry."
Flash shook his head before smacking Heart on the side with his wing. "Come on. You're sticking with us because of that." Heart sighed as he followed the group, all soon reaching the castle. There they found the sight of Shining, Cadance, Flurry and all the Wonderbolts.
Rainbow was the first to spot them, flying up with a cheer, "You made it!"
"Sure did," Flash chuckled as Twilight ran over to say hello to her niece. Flash then turned to Soarin, "Looking forward to your first Crystal Empire show?"
"Sure am," Soarin laughed, "This is gonna be awesome."
"Well, we've still gotta lot of practice to do," Spitfire added.
"Does that mean you're gonna be training until then?" Scootaloo asked Rainbow, who nodded while ruffling her mane.
"Yup. Let me guess, you wanna watch, don'cha?" Scootaloo nodded eagerly, Rainbow turning to Flash. "You okay with me stealing this one for a while? I'll keep her out of trouble."
Flash shrugged, "As long as she doesn't wander off from the stadium."
"Oh, we're not practicing in the stadium," Spitfire laughed, "Kinda ruins the show if the ponies see us practicing in the middle of the city. Princess Cadance set us up with a field outside of the city that nopony should be around."
Flash nodded before turning to Scootaloo. "Well, don't wander off and you can go with them. Just stay wherever Rainbow puts you." Scootaloo nodded excitedly before she leapt onto Rainbow's back, the Wonderbolts taking to the air.
Once they were gone, Cadance went up to the remaining members of the group, "So, what should we do first?"
"Whatever you think is good," Twilight replied before picking Flurry up in her magic. "As long as we're together, I don't care what we do." The baby laughed at this and hugged her aunt, the others smiling at this.
Ruby then told them she had to return to her patrol, the others waving her off as she left before Shining made a suggestion, "How about we head to the market? I heard there's an antique store that's newly opened." Twilight's eyes went wide at this, exclaiming they should go. And as they made their way through the city, Twilight gave Flurry as much attention as she could until they arrived at the store. The group soon went inside, all looking around...except for one.
Heart glanced around at the place, only to let out a sigh, "Boring. I'm out of here," he spun around and took off just as Flash looked away. He knew he should probably tell the others, but he also had no idea what he was gonna instead anyways. Instead, he just flew off, hoping to find something interesting in this giant empire.
Meanwhile...
On the edge of the city, the cloaked figure stepped through the portal. The ancient magic of the Crystal Heart had no effect on the visitor despite the malevolence that infected its very soul.
The pony stared at the city, only to hear a round of talking, making it turn to see some guards marching along the border. The figure quickly ran behind a nearby crystal spike, remaining silent and practically stopped breathing as the guards marched past. It remained there for a full minute after they were gone.
And as they left, it walked back out into the city, nopony noticing it was there. But soon the whole city would learn of their arrival and regret it.
Heart had been flying over the city for a while now, the colt letting out a sigh as he went over another crystal house. "Geez," he groaned before landing on a bench, "You'd think this place would have something. I guess when it's not getting attacked, it's as boring as the rest of Equestria." He leaned back and watched the crystal ponies as they...did basically the same thing as regular ponies.
Heart resisted the urge to facehoof before turning to a certain building in the distance: The stadium. He spread his wings, flying over to the large colosseum. "Maybe there's something over here." He flew over the top of the stadium and into the stands, only to raise an eyebrow as he saw somepony down on the field: Jaden Chalice.
"What's he doing here?" Heart whispered to himself as he saw the colt walk onto the archery course, the unicorn standing at the furthest possible distance from the target. He then picked a bow up in his magic before removing an arrow from the quiver standing beside him. He knotted the arrow and pulled it back, Heart watching as he focused on the target. "There's no way he'll hit it from that distance."
But as he released the arrow, Heart's eyes barely managed to follow the projectile as it flew through the air...and into a bullseye. "Wow." He gasped before shaking his head, "Eh, maybe it was a lucky shot."
And as he said that, Jaden knotted another arrow and fired it. Heart was in for a repeat performance as the arrow shot through the air and struck the bullseye again. Jaden then fired a third arrow, also hitting the bullseye before a fourth, fifth and sixth hit. And with a single motion, the final arrow in the quiver struck the bullseye, covering it in seven arrows.
Heart's jaw dropped to the floor, "No way!" Jaden took a deep breath as he put the bow down, only to hear movement behind him. His eyes darted around, only to go wide as he saw Heart. The colt cut into a sprint at this, only for Heart to yell, "Wait!" He zipped down at this, quickly getting ahead of the colt before landing just in front of the exit. "Just hold on!"
"Out of my way!" Jaden exclaimed, "And you better not tell anypony what you just saw!"
"Why?" Heart asked, "That was awesome! You're an amazing shot!"
"Whatever," Jaden growled before glancing away, "You...you weren't supposed to see that!"
"Are you still upset about what happened before? I'm sorry, okay. But you were spying on us." Jaden still looked away as Heart continued, "But I kinda get it. I mean, we are pretty awesome. It's not every day you get to meet Princess Twilight, Flash and the other Elements of Harmony."
"I wasn't looking at them," Jaden grumbled, "I mean...they're all pretty cool but..."
"Then who were you looking at?" Jaden didn't reply, making Heart blink, "Were you looking at me?" he felt a little flattered, only to see Jaden glare back at him, "Alright...it wasn't me. But that just leaves..." His eyes went wide at this, "Ruby!" Jaden glanced away again, making Heart point at him, "I'm right! You're a fan of Ruby!"
Jaden let out a huff at this, "Yeah...I am." He glared back at Heart again, "But don't tell her, okay?!"
"Why not?"
"Because..." the colt glanced down at the ground this time, "Because I'm nopony...and she's awesome."
Heart opened his mouth, ready to tell him how awesome he was at the bow, only for his brain to finally catch up to him. Shaking his head, he realized he needed to take a different approach and asked, "Oh yeah? How so?"
"Are you kidding?!" Jaden barked back at him, "She's the first Crystal Pony to become a Royal Knight. Protector of the Crystal Empire, fought against Sombra, helped defeat countless enemies, fought in the war of the lost city and even got turned into a dragon!"
"Yeah," Heart nodded, grinning as he knew he said the right words. "She is pretty awesome. But you know, I fought in the war of the lost city too."
"Really?" Jaden gasped, now looking back at colt, "Was Ruby as awesome as I heard she was?"
"Probably more so. You should have seen her when she wailed on Sombra." Jaden's eyes went wide at this, "Well, it was more like a...living armor that controlled Sombra. But it was still pretty awesome."
Jaden let out a long sigh, "Oh...I wish I could have been there to see it." His eyes glanced away again, "To be there and help her when she fights her next opponent...the way you help Flash."
"What do you mean?" Heart asked, tilting his head before gasping, "Wait...do you wanna be Ruby's apprentice? That's great!"
Jaden let out a laugh and shook his head, "Like she'd ever pick me for that. The best I can hope for is to join the guard and hope I one day get assigned to work under her."
"Are you kidding?" Heart pointed at the target, "With those skills, Ruby would be amazed. You must have really good eyesight."
Jaden shrugged at that, "It's alright I guess. But it doesn't mean I'll be good at fighting or I'm really talented."
"Oh yeah? Show me."
He then glanced up and pointed at one of the last rows of the stands, "I can see that somepony left a can of soda up there." Heart turned to where he was pointing, squinting his eyes as he tried to see something. He flew up next, only to spot a certain cylindrical object.
"Wow," he picked it up and flew back to Jaden, "You're really good."
"I'm nothing special."
"Are you insane?!" he once again pointed at the target. "Even Ruby can't do something like that. I know how hard it is to use a bow and arrow. The skill you have is something most ponies would take years to learn. You're awesome. You've gotta show Ruby."
"No way," Jaden shook his head again, backpedaling at the same time, "I...I couldn't do that. Just the thought of trying to show Ruby, having her staring at me, judging me, waiting for me to mess up, it makes my throat-" He stopped and started making a gagging sound.
Heart rolled his eyes, "You need to seriously get a bit of confidence. Trust me, if Ruby saw you, she'd be really impressed." Jaden didn't say anything and just turned away. Heart began to move after him, only to find he couldn't. His mind told him one thing, he wouldn't convince him. Not right now.
"Aww..." Heart sighed as he spun around and left the stadium. But as he walked back down the crystal streets, his mind went over how to engineer a way to get Ruby to see Jaden's skills. The idea of simply telling her about him felt kind of like a bad one, though it would probably be the simplest thing to do.
"Heart!" He then glanced up at a sudden voice, only to see Flash, Twilight, Cadance, Shining, Flurry and Soul.
"There you are!" Flash commented with crossed hooves, "Where have you been? I told you to stay with us!"
"Eh, nowhere special," Heart replied, "I mean, I couldn't find anything in that store."
Flash glared at him, only to sigh. "Yeah, I can see why you thought that was boring. Next time, just tell one of us if you leave on your own, got it?"
"Got it." Heart responded before Flash directed him back to the Crystal Market along with the others.
At another part of the city...
In a certain section of the market, the ponies of the empire were enjoying their day. But as this happened, the cloaked figure continued to shift through the crowds, only for a bunch of young ponies to accidentally knock into it. The push made the figure glance back, only to seeing the young ones on the ground. They had all looked up to say sorry, only to freeze up as they saw what was under the hood. "We...we..." They stuttered out before seeing the red lights of its eyes glow, making them all scream. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The ponies around them all turned to the figure, only to see the young ones running away. They then turned back to the cloak, several guards as well as they walked up to it, "Excuse me," one of the guards said, "We're with the guard. Can you please lower your hood so we can talk better?"
But the pony didn't lower their hood. Instead, a red light shined under it, and before anypony could ask anything, light appeared beside the figure. From that light, a dark red crystal grew until it was the shape of a sword, the guards all reaching for their weapons...but it was too late.
And in that next moment, screams consumed the crowd.
Flash and his friends were now returning to the castle, only to spot Ruby standing by the Crystal Heart. And as they walked up to her, Heart ran ahead and asked her, "Hey Ruby, you ever think of getting an apprentice?"
Ruby's eyes went wide at this, Flash blinking at his apprentice's question as he commented, "That came out of nowhere."
Heart just shrugged, "Well...Ruby's been a Royal Knight longer than anypony else. Isn't it also part of her duties to train the next generation of knights?"
"That's a good point," Cadance nodded before turning to Ruby. "I'm sure you'd be able to train a rather spectacular knight."
"And you did mention you were feeling a little bored lately," Twilight added, "Maybe teaching somepony will give you the challenge you've been looking for."
Ruby blinked at this before rubbing her chin with her hoof, "I guess it wouldn't hurt. I mean," she pointed at Flash, "If this one can train a student, then I guess it can't be that hard."
"What does that mean?!" Flash barked.
"You know what I mean." Ruby chuckled as the rest giggled. She then patted the defender's shoulder, "I'm kidding. But back to the topic, if I wanna take a student, I don't want just anypony as an apprentice. It would need to be somepony with amazing skills and a strong heart." She shook her head, "And those aren't the easiest thing to find in a pony."
"True..." Flash replied, "I mean, me finding Heart was due to a super long journey and war..."
The group began to talk about the idea at this, not noticing Heart smirking as he thought about Ruby and Jaden's words. His brain began to make a plan to make them meet, only for-
KA-BOOOOOM!
Everypony felt the ground shake, making them all spin around as they saw a smoke cloud coming up from behind some houses. "What was that?" Soul asked as the screams of ponies filled the air.
"Come on!" Flash yelled as he spread his wings and shot into the air, Twilight following after him while Shining and Ruby ran down the street.
Heart flared his wings, only to feel a magic aura grab him. Turning around he saw it was Cadance. "Oh, come on! Let me go help!"
The princess of love shook her head, "Heart, you can go, but stay out of the main action. Focus on evacuation." Heart nodded, Cadance's magic vanishing as he flew off. And when he was gone, she turned to Soul, "We need to focus on getting the castle ready for possible injuries. Will you help me?" The filly nodded and she ran into the castle, Cadance turning at her baby, "Looks like today's gonna be more exciting than we thought." Flurry just made a random sound in reply.
Flash and the others were still going to where the attack had come from, Applejack soon arriving with Rainbow and the other Wonderbolts. "What's going on?!" Rainbow asked, "Who's attacking us this time?!"
"No idea!" Flash replied as they got to the street in question, all coming to a stop as they saw a large dust cloud cover the place. Many of the citizens were huddling together, looking to scared to move while many members of the Crystal Guard were laid out on the ground.
"Who did this?" Ruby asked a solider she ran up to.
"It...it was...you." the guard moaned.
"Me?!" Ruby yelped, only for the sounds of the battle to come from within the cloud. They all stared at the fog, squinting eyes as they what they could tell to be three figures in the cloud. But that number soon dwindled to one when another small explosion came, causing two figures to be sent flying out. It was a pair of guards, both skidding across the ground as the group just stared at the cloud.
And as this happened, a figure began to walk out of the fog, "Who are you?" Ruby asked, only to be greeted with the sight of a certain hood, one that made Flash snarl.
"Oh, not again!" the Knight of Friendship growled before raising his sword at the creature. "It's me you're after, so cut the cloak and daggers!" The being stared at them, a pair of red eyes scanning them as if it was judging for threats, only for Flash to yell, "Show yourself!"
The figure glanced back at him, only to grab its cloak and pulled it off. When this happened, the eyes of every crystal pony watching went wide at the sight of their kingdom's greatest hero. The being looked like Ruby and just like the previous Trials, this one had a paler complexion than the original and seemed to completely lack the crystal shine that Ruby so gracefully wielded. It had the same ventilator, neck and metal chest that the others had, and its right eye was replaced by the mechanical one that Mecha-Flash had. It had metal hooves, but these didn't appear to have anything equipped. The monster's back had four metal squares, and in the middle of each square was a crystal pyramid-like object along with a long chord with a spearhead on the end that was made from crystal now replacing its tail.
The crystal ponies gasped at this while Flash and his friends all got into a battle ready pose. Ruby soon joined them, forming a sword in her magic. "So, this is one of those Trial things you told me about?"
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "Trial-R." As he said that, the cyborg's horn glowed before a crystal sword like Ruby's, though this crystal's color was slightly darker, appeared. "And this one can copy your magic. Great..."
With that, Trial-R charged ahead, Ruby doing the same thing as the pair clashed. A loud clang rang out, sparks grinding out as the swords collided. They both pushed against each other, Flash then taking to the air before divebombing with Lightbringer. But before he could reach the clone, its tail lifted itself as the spearhead end glowed. In a flash, it morphed into a shield shape that blocked Flash's attack, the pegasus getting knocked back as the shield rammed into him, only to morph into a sword shape. With this, Trial-R began to fence the pegasi as it continued to stay locked with Ruby.
As this happened, Twilight and the others began helping the ponies get away. "To the castle!" Shining yelled, "You'll be safe there!"
"Hurry!" Applejack barked, "No time to be freezin' up!"
"Go! Go! Go!" Heart exclaimed before looking back at Flash and Ruby. The pair were still in a standstill with the mechanical monster, the cyborg in that moment managing to push both back a few steps. Its tail then returned to normal and glowed, Trial-R suddenly spinning around as the spear tail fired a barrage of crystal spikes off in every direction.
Ruby put up a shield while Flash managed to deflect them with Lightbringer. As this happened, the Wonderbolts swooped down at the monster, "Come on!" Spitfire commanded, "That thing can't fight us all at once!"
The flight team soared down, ready to each deal the clone a high speed punch. But as they did this, Trial-R's horn glowed along with the crystal pyramids on its back, the metal pieces coming off. They began floating, revealing they were all octahedrons, and the clone's horn shined as it fired a beam into each crystal. Those also began to glow, only to then fire a barrage of blasts at the Wonderbolts. This made the flight team scatter, only for the lasers to start hitting the flyers.
"GYAH!" Fleetfoot cried as a beam struck her wing. The same happened to Misty Fly, High Winds and Silver Zoom, the four falling till their teammates caught them.
"Get them out of here!" Twilight ordered as Shining put up a shield to protect the retreating pegasi. At the same time, Flash and Ruby began to attack the monster.
"Aim for the chest!" Flash told Ruby as he attempted to stab the cyborg. But as soon as his blade got near the metal covering that held its power source, Trial-R's eyes glowed before a crystal shield appeared in front of its chest. Lightbringer clanged off it, knocking Flash back before Trial-R's drones turned to him.
"Flash, look out!" Ruby teleported over to him and tackled the pegasus seconds before the drones fired. And as the pair rolled along the ground, Ruby jumped to her hooves and fired a blast from her horn. The beam went for its chest, but Trial-R just side-stepped before creating two crystal blades.
And as both charged at each other again, Heart stared at the battle, "This one's a lot smarter than the last few."
"Heart!" Twilight yelled as they got the last of the citizen away. "Come on!" Heart turned to her and frowned, only to fly down and followed.
Flash saw them escaping and spread his wings. "Come and get me!" He took to the air and flew off, Trial-R then chasing after him. Ruby followed, attempting to shoot it from behind as it followed Flash, but any blast was deflected by its tail without even looking back.
"It's bad enough you copied my look, but you're actually making me look like the weaker copy!" Ruby huffed, "I'm so gonna destroy you!"
Back at the castle, the Crystal Ponies were all filing in. Many had done this after hearing the explosion, not wanting to get caught up in another dragon attack or whatever it was.
"Remain calm," Cadance told her citizens as they entered, "There's plenty of room inside."
"Please enter in an orderly fashion," Rarity added as she, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Starlight helped guide them in.
Inside, Soul was inside with the doctors, looking over the many ponies. And as she made her way through the hallway, she spotted the Jaden Chalice pony she had met earlier, only to see him run away into the crowd. As this happened, Twilight and Shining arrived leading a group.
"We got injured!" Twilight exclaimed while using her magic to carry several of the guards. She put them down as Rainbow and the others helped with the Wonderbolts and a few citizens that had been caught in the original attack. Soul ran up at this, using the first aid skills she had learned coupled with her magic to help.
"What's going on?" Cadance asked as another explosion rocked the city.
"Another one of those Trial things showed up," Twilight sighed as Cadance's eyes went wide. "This one looks just like Ruby and it's really strong."
"But Flash and Ruby can stop it, right?" She asked back.
"They'll be fine. They know where it's weak point is."
"I don't know about that," Heart chimed in, "That thing is a lot smarter than the last one. Whenever Flash or Ruby aimed for its chest, it protected itself."
"Sounds like the best way to stop it is to take it by surprise," Shining added, "Attack in a way that it doesn't see coming."
"But we have to attack its front. That's how they all work." Twilight sighed, "That and these Trials can take a lot of punishment." She rubbed her hoof down her face, "Who is sending these things?! And why do they love so much destruction?"
"And now its in the empire." Cadance muttered, "Do you think Flash and Ruby can get it out of the city?"
"They will." Twilight replied, "I know they will. But, I'm still worried, so I'm going to go back and help them."
"Need any extra help?" Shining asked, Twilight shaking her head.
"No. I think I have an idea. If that thing is blocking its chest, I'll just have to hit it from long distance." She put a hoof to her chin, "Though I'm not sure a spell can do that. Perhaps I can use some kind of projectile..."
As those words hit Heart's ears, he gasped as he went wide-eyed. "I know what we've gotta do!" He suddenly exclaimed, the three turning to him, "Do you have any weapons that can fire arrows in the castle?" Shining and Cadance nodded, "Can you get one?"
"Heart...what are you planning?" Twilight asked as she slightly glared at the colt.
"I gotta find somepony! Meet me on the balcony.!" With that, he flew into the crowd in the castle, making them stare at him before Twilight let out a sigh. With that, the trio began to run through the castle as well.
Flash continued to race through the city, attempting to lead the Trial away. The creature was right on his tail, the cyborg's drones flying ahead and firing blasts. The defender was spinning around at this, dodging each attack as the drones began to run out of gas, only for Trial-R to recharge them with a blast of its horn. But as this happened, the clone got bored of playing cat and mouse and then came to a stop before slamming one of its hooves into the ground. This caused a large wall of crystal to shoot out in front of Flash.
"Whoa!" He yelped, barely able to skid to a stop as his hooves hit the wall. The Trial then fired its drones and several crystal spikes from its tail, the pegasi turning to see the attacks. "Crap!" He growled before spinning around, knocking the crystals away with his blade.
But as this happened, a crystal arrow hit the cyborg's side, making it turn to see a charging Ruby. Both formed a crystal blade at this, the being using the sword to block Ruby's before its drones flew down to her. And as they fired their lasers, Flash appeared, blocking each one with his blade.
"Flash Cutter Barrage!" He spun again, firing a series of light blades everywhere, the drones now zipping around to dodge the attacks.
As this happened, Ruby's and Trial-R's blades remained locked, only for the cyborg's horn to summon a crystal axe over Ruby. She gasped before leaping back, the axe hitting the ground before Ruby created a dagger in her hoof. Trial-R thrust its sword next, Ruby swatting her blade to knock it away before throwing the dagger, only for Trial-R to sidestep, dodging the weapon. Ruby then followed up with another sword swipe, only for the cyborg's tail to swing around, creating a shield that made the blade bounce off it. The shield instantly morphed into a spear at this, thrusting it at Ruby's face.
And as it came for Ruby, she ducked before slinging her hooves around the spearhead. With a single tug, she slammed the tail into the ground before hitting her hoof into the dirt as well. A crystal spike shot straight up, cutting through the tail like butter.
Trial-R screamed at this, staggering back as Ruby now held up the broken tail. "Guess you won't be using this anymore." She chuckled, "Ready to give up?" The cyborg let out a hiss at this before summoning a crystal halberd, Ruby making her own as well. "I thought so. Let's go."
Back at the castle, everypony was now waiting at the entrance for Heart to return. Shining had a crossbow in his hoof, while the rest were all fidgeting. "Come on!" Rainbow exclaimed, "We should be out there helping Flash and Ruby, not staying here waiting for Heart to try some kind of half-baked scheme!"
"Nopony wants to help Flash more than Heart," Soul chimed in, "If he has a plan, I'm sure it's something we should at least consider."
"But-"
"I'm here!" They turned to see Heart fly onto the balcony with another pony trotting behind him.
They all saw it was Jaden, the group raising an eyebrow. As for the colt, his eyes went wide seeing two of the princesses and Equestria's greatest heroes so close. The colt turned to Heart, "What is all this? Why'd you bring me here?"
"We'd like to know too," Twilight replied as Heart walked over to Shining and took the crossbow before turning back to Jaden.
"We need you to shoot this at a target really far away."
Everypony's eyes went wide at this, none more wide than Jaden. "What?!" He yelped as Heart threw him the weapon, Jaden barely managing to catch it, "You're nuts!"
"Heart..." Twilight trotted up to him, "You can't expect him to-"
"This colt's got serious aim," Heart interrupted, "And he's got the eyes of a hawk. If we get that thing in his sights, he can definitely hit it in its weak point." He turned to Jaden, "Ruby need your help. The thing she's fighting won't tire and won't go down until its power source is destroyed. And the only way to destroy it is to take it by surprise. Your arrows could totally do that!"
"Wha...but...I..." Jaden stuttered out before staring down at the crossbow.
"Heart, you can't just-" Twilight tried to tell the knight's apprentice, only for-
KA-BOOM!
Another explosion rocked the city, making them glance back to see a new smoke cloud appear. Heart ran past them at this and yelled, "I'll get Flash to lead it to the main street! Just be ready to fire when you see an opening!" With that, he took to the air, Rainbow, Soarin and Twilight flying after him while Jaden continued to stare down at the crossbow.
"Heart! Wait a-" Jaden heard Twilight exclaim as they flew away, only for her words to drown out in his ears. He blinked at the weapon as Cadance, Soul and Shining Armor all stared at him. They saw the colt just stare at the weapon, his hooves shaking as his eyes did the same.
Glances were exchanged at this, all unsure what to do before they heard Jaden take a deep breath. He looked up at them and said, "I can do it. Just tell me what I need to hit and I'll hit it."
The others went wide-eyed at this, the group blinking before nodding as they all told him to get ready as all but Cadance and Soul left to help those in the castle. Jaden then turned back to the balcony, the words he previously said now ringing out in his nerves.
"I hope I can..."
Flash and Ruby were now panting, glaring at the Trial as it just stared at them both. The only real damage that had been done is the cut tail, the cyborg blocking or dodging everything else. "This is getting us nowhere," Ruby groaned before the pair jumped back to avoid a drone strike. "Crystal Shot!" She swung her halberd, unleashing a barrage of crystal spikes.
The cyborg spun its halberd, deflecting the attacks while Flash charged at the monster, "Flash Driver!" Morphing into a light drill, he attempted to pierce the clone, only to be met with a wall of crystal that was suddenly summoned. The defender dug right through, only to see when he got through, Trial-R was gone.
"Flash, above you!" Breaking out of the drill, Flash looked up to see Trial-R falling down with its halberd. "Crystal Guard!" In a flash of light, Ruby appeared in front of him and held up a shield. The halberd's point shattered upon contact, but the attack pushed Ruby's shield into her and Flash. And as it pinned them, the drones flew down and fired four lasers at the ground below them.
KA-BOOM!
"AAAAAH!" They both screamed as an explosion rocked the street under them, sending both flying back. Ruby crashed into a lamppost while Flash hit a house outside wall, the cyborg turning to the defender. It summoned a pair of swords, clenching both in hooves as it let out a long snarl.
"FIRE FORCE!" yelled a voice, the Trial leaping back at the noise just as a stream of fire flew by. Heart then landed in front of Flash, Rainbow, Soarin and Twilight appearing next.
"Time for some payback!" Rainbow roared as she charged with Soarin. "This is for our team!" She tried to tackle the cyborg, only for it to summon a shield. But as she came to a stop, she began throwing a bunch of jabs at the barrier before zipping around, only for Trial-R to just direct the shield all around its body. At the same time, Soarin entered his Theta Mode and began attacking with even more speed than Rainbow, the two now throwing a storm of punches at the crystal shields.
As this happened, Twilight landed in front of Flash and Ruby, helping them up. "You two okay?"
"We are now that you're here," Flash replied, "We can take this thing down together." However, Twilight shook her head, "What?"
"We have...a plan," the look on her lips told Flash she wasn't sure, yet she continued, "You need to follow Heart." His apprentice flew past him, yelling at him to come on. "We'll hold this thing off as long as possible to let you get to where you need to be."
"And that is?" He didn't get his answer as the cyborg's drones fired two lasers, both hitting Rainbow and Soarin. Both cried out as they were blasted back, hitting the ground as Twilight turned to Trial-R.
"GO!" She fired a beam at the beast, another shield blocking her attack. Flash let out a sigh at this, only to fly off after Heart. But as he did this, Trial-R turned to follow, only for a magical dome to appear around everypony except those fleeing. "I don't think so," Twilight yelled as she spread her wings. "You're not going anywhere!" The cyborg glared back at the alicorn, its red eyes shining before it formed a pair of blades.
It charged as Twilight took to the air and fired several magical blasts, only to for the cyborg to summon another shield, blocking them all. As this happened, Ruby swung a giant crystal axe at the beast, only for the monster to leap back, dodging the attack with ease.
The drones came next, firing lasers at the two, only for Ruby and Twilight to duck under the attacks. And as this happened, Twilight fired a laser that knocked a drone back. This was followed with Trial-R charging at Ruby with the crystal blades, only for Ruby to thrust the crystal axe down at the cyborg. It blocked it with the blades, only to see Ruby pole-vault over the monster. And with a single downward swing of her hooves, she smacked the drone flying away.
Rainbow and Soarin recovered at this, pushing themselves back to their hooves and shooting off the ground. But as they tried to get close, a barrage of crystal spikes appeared, making them fly back, only for the drones to fire at them again. As this happened, Twilight created another shield, blocking the drones' lasers. But as she did this, the two pegasi flew around and slammed their hooves into the drones, only to get zapped by a burst of energy that escaped the crystals.
This made them cry out, the cyborg about to attack them before Ruby threw the crystal axe from earlier, the cyborg blocking it with another magic shield. The pegasi got up at this, the four glaring at the clone as they stood in an X formation around it. "Come on!" Rainbow yelled, "It's four against one! We can win this!"
"But it's not four against one," Twilight pointed out as the drones flew down around Trial-R. "It's five against four." As she said that, the drones began spinning around Trial-R in a circle, moving so fast that it looked like a red crystal ring. "Now what's it doing?!" Trial-R then fired a spell at the ring, causing it to brightly glow. And before any of them could react, it started firing blasts of energy in all outward directions.
They struck the shield around them, only to then hit all four ponies. The blasts shot them into the barrier, Ruby being the last one as she deflected most of the attacks before one laser struck her shoulder, making her cry out and drop her swords. This was followed by another blast that knocked her into the barrier, shattering it like glass.
All four laid out on the ground at this, their bodies screaming in pain. As they laid there, Trial-R simply walked past them. Ruby forced her eyes open and turned to her clone, watching as it disappeared down the street. "I'm..." She forced her body back up, "Not...done...yet."
Up in the castle, Jaden continued to wait with the crossbow. He was standing on the balcony with Cadance and Soul, staring out at main street. And as he did this, Heart and Flash appeared into view, the mentor and squire pair landing as Flash asked, "Alright, what's this plan?"
But before Heart could explain, the crystal drones appeared and started firing at them. The two ducked under the attacks, Trial-R now running onto the scene. "Just get that thing to turn toward the castle!" Heart yelled as the Trial summoned a pair of swords, charging right at Flash as Heart shot fireballs from his tail.
Trial-R's sword swapped to a shield, blocking the attack as the drones fired some more lasers at the two. The colt backflipped away before taking to the air while Flash dashed at the cyborg with his blade. In response, the monster just ducked under the first swipe before summoning a blade and swinging it at the defender. Flash leaned back, dodging the sword before he thrust his blade back, Trial-R side-stepping in response. The two's blades hit each other next, a clang sounding out.
At the same time, Jaden stared at the Trial's chest. Even though his great vision allowed him to get a good look at what he was firing at, Flash and it's rapid movements were making it impossible to lock-on. "Come on..." he hissed, "Stop hopping around!"
Heart spun around another laser attack before glancing back at the castle. He spotted Jaden on the balcony, seeing the crossbow fidget around before glancing back at the fight. The colt saw the cyborg zip left and right as Flash kept blocking every attack, his eyes now showing he was in Theta Mode. He then yelled, "Flash, you got get it to stay still!"
"And how do you expect me to do that?!" Flash barked as he leap back to dodge a crystal spike that shot out of the ground, "Flash Force!" He fired a laser, hitting the crystal and destroying it, only for the Trial to charge at him. But as it was about to hit him, he leapt over the beast and landed on its back. He then hooked his sword around the cyborg's neck, pulling back as it began to squirm. Its chest was thrust out at this, only for the cyborg to summon a pair of swords and tried to stab him, forcing Flash to pull away.
As he hopped off the beast to dodge the blades, Trial-R sent the remains of its tail under Flash's legs, wrapping around it before pulling. "Whoa!" he yelped before he was flung into the dirt, making him wince. And before he could do anything, the clone created five crystal U-shapes and shot them down, striking Flash's neck and legs before embedding themselves into the ground. He choked at this, unable to move as they pushed him into the street.
Trial-R then created a pair of axes and held them over Flash's front legs, the pegasus going wide-eyed at this as he tried to move. He closed his eyes, his body starting to glow until-
"Hang on!" Heart exclaimed, charging at Trial-R as it turned to him with the axes. It used them to block a fireball from the colt, only for the drones to fire at him again, making him barrel-roll, "Whoa!" he gasped as he began to dancing around, only for one to hit the ground, causing an explosion that made pieces of crystal to fly up and hit him, "Augh!"
Seeing the colt hit the floor at this, Trial-R turned back to Flash with the axes. Jaden saw this, the colt pulling back the crossbow, thinking that maybe he should fire at another location. But then he remembered Heart telling him that only hitting the chest would hurt it, and he would only get one shot.
And as the cyborg reached Flash, he closed one of his eyes as he prepared to fire-
"Crystal Saber!" yelled a voice, Ruby appearing to swing a sword at her lookalike's neck, only for the blade to hit a crystal shield. Trial-R then pushed the shield and sword away, then threw a punch at Ruby's face. But as it did this, Ruby caught the jab, both now pushing against each other.
"Ruby!" Flash screamed from the floor, "You need to get it to point its chest towards the castle!" Ruby raised an eyebrow at this, only to nod and form a sword and shield. Trial-R did the same, both clashing in front of Flash. The two began to mimic each others' movements, the clangs from their weapons sounding out across the street.
Up in the castle, Jaden's eyes went wide at the sight of his idol, now realizing Heart's real plan: To have him show off his skills in front of her.
Sweat began to pour down his face at this, his form shaking as he saw Ruby valiantly fight, the knight fighting the clone with a burning passion. He watched as he saw both crystal swords clash again and again...only for both to swing their swords again...and they both shattered on impact.
And as the crystals fell to the ground at the impact, they thrust their shields into each other. They then slammed their hooves into the backs of the shield, pushing as hard as they could. "You're supposed to be a better version of me," Ruby growled, "But I'm starting to doubt it." Her copy's bright red eyes seemed to glow at this, Ruby feeling the force on the shields increasing. And this made her smirk.
In that second, she dropped her magical grip on the shield and leapt back. This caused the cyborg to thrust his weapons off balance, its chest now thrusting out as it tried to regain its footing.
Heart smirked at this, ready to see an arrow to hit the clone...but nothing happened. "What?!" He yelped before turning to Jaden...and saw him just stand there.
"Jaden!" Soul called out.
"Are you okay?" Cadance asked, now seeing the colt just shiver in place.
"SHOOT!" Heart screamed and the colt seemed to hear this. He tried to get the weak spot in his sight again, but it was too late. The Trial regained its balance and cartwheeled around so its chest was no longer in view. He had missed his shot.
"No..." Jaden whispered. "I messed up." He watched as the cyborg lifted a crystal axe above Ruby, the knight trying to roll to her hooves. But before Trial-R could swing it at her, Heart fired several fireballs at the cyborg.
"JADEN!" He screamed, "YOU'VE GOTTA SHOOT IT!" Flash and Ruby blinked at these words, Ruby rolling to her hooves while Flash managed to pull one of his hooves free. "You wanna be a Knight?! Then prove you deserve to be one!" He threw another fireball at the Trial, who used the axe to deflect it before Ruby charged. She used a shield to block the axe while covering her hoof in a crystal spike, which she thrust at the cyborg's chest. But the clone formed a crystal shield and blocked it, forcing Ruby back before a drone flew in and fired a laser at her. She ducked under it before the clone swung the axe down, Ruby barely managing to lift her spike covered hoof up to block it. The axe stopped inches from her head, making her wince as it started to get closer.
Heart fired another fireball at this, but the drones shot the flames down before firing at him again. And as this happened, Ruby grunted as she felt her strength waning, the axe blade getting closer to her neck. "Jaden!" She cried out, catching the colt's attention. "I don't know what you and Heart have planned, but it'll never work if you don't try!"
Jaden went wide-eyed at this, letting out a gulp, "But...what if...I fail?" He muttered out.
"I know failing is something you're afraid of doing." Ruby suddenly yelled despite not hearing his words, "Everypony fears that. I've felt myself feel fear at failing to protect somepony I care about." The axe got closer. "But no matter what, trying something and failing is always better than never trying at all." Jaden felt his heart swell at this, the colt looking down at the crossbow. "Whatever it is you're planning on doing, I promise you it'll work out okay."
With that, the axe was now just a centimetre from her chin. And as it came down, Cadance put a hoof on Jaden's shoulder, "We're here to help you."
"We believe in you," Soul added.
"You can do this!" Heart exclaimed as he dodged another drone blast.
"I can...I can do this," Jaden whispered, "I can do this." He took a deep breath, "I...CAN DO THIS!" His scream echoed throughout the entire city, Ruby hearing this and smiling before giving herself one final blast of strength.
"RAAAAAH!" She screeched, flinging her hoof upward, knocking the axe back. The blow made the Trial stagger, only for Ruby to thrust her back hooves into its chest. The blow pushed it back, its chest now revealed again, "NOW!"
Jaden raised the crossbow up and pointed it at the Trial, getting its chest in his sights. "Gotcha," he whispered before pulling the trigger. The arrow sailed out of the crossbow, ready to hit the Trial as it remained off balance. But then it began to fall over, about to dodge the arrow due to this, only for Ruby to hit her hoof into the ground, causing a crystal wall to appear behind the clone. Trial-R fell against the wall and regained its footing, only for the arrow to appear.
And before it could put up a shield, the projectile reached the clone and sank itself into its chest. Trial-R screamed as it was stabbed, the arrow only getting a few inches in. Within the chamber, the tip struck the rock powering it, causing it to crack. But as the clone reached up to grab the arrow, a voice roared out.
"I don't think so!" Ruby screamed as she appeared and thrust her hoof into the arrow. The blow slammed it into the clone's chest, the tip now going straight through the Corrupted Shadow. The rock shattered at this, Trial-R screaming even louder at this before Ruby pulled the arrow out. This ripped the chest doors open, allowing the energy of the crystal to escape. And as the smoke-like energy vanished into the air, the drones the Trial was controlling suddenly fell to the ground with a loud clang.
Heart smiled at this, turning to give Jaden a smile. The colt was currently in shock, just staring at what he had just done. Cadance and Soul both congratulated him while the Trial finally let out another roar. They all turned to the beast, which had lost its previous calm demeanor and was now stomping its hooves on the ground like an animal.
"Someone isn't happy," Ruby giggled as the clone charged at her. She easily avoided its attempt to stab her with its horn, rolling to the side and turning to Flash. "Don't you think you've lounged around enough?"
Flash smirked as his body glowed, "ARMORIZE!" In a blast of light, the crystals went flying and Flash took to the air in his Shining Guardian form. The clone saw this and tried to steal its power...only for nothing to happen. Instead, it just watched as Flash used his magic to retrieve his weapon before shooting down.
The clone barely managed to duck under Flash's slash at its head, the stallion hitting the ground sliding before spinning around. "Flash Force!" He fired a blast from his horn and struck the monster, sending it flying back and hitting a nearby house.
Ruby stepped up to Flash and they smiled at one another, nodding as the clone picked itself up. With the last remaining sparks of power it had, Trial-R fired a blast at the pair. But Flash simply stepped up and swung his sword, deflecting it with ease. Trial-R growled and fired again, Flash doing the same before the cyborg charged while unleashing a flurry of blasts, only for Flash to lazily swing his sword around, harmlessly deflecting them. And when he deflected the final laser, he threw his sword straight up before unleashing a blast of energy from his chest gem.
Trial-R barely had enough time to make the weakest shield possible and was forced to hold it up with her hooves. The blast struck the shield, pushing it back. It grinded its hooves into the ground, trying to push back, but Flash just poured on the power.
That was when it happened. A bright flash of light appeared behind the Trial and made it glance back, Ruby appearing in it peripheral vision. The unicorn had a pair of swords in her hooves and before Trial-R could react, she swung them down. With speed that could make Rainbow jealous, Ruby slashed every single piece of her clone's body. And as Flash cut the power to his attack, she appeared in front of the clone. A moment later, the clone's living sections became covered in cuts and scratches while its real mechanical parts began to spark and explode.
It cried out in pain, a massive explosion coming next, which rocked the city. And as the cyborg was consumed by a fireball, all that was left was a few spare parts.
Ruby just stared at the remains of her twin and smirked, "Except no substitutes."
"RAAAAAH!" Void screamed as he threw a chair into a static-filled computer, destroying it in an instant. "WHY?!" He screeched before flipping the rest of the table in front of him, clangs of metal now ringing out a he roared, "What do I have to do to defeat you?! What-blaugh!" He fell over, collapsing to the floor as he began to choke, "*cough* *cough* *cough* Urgh...no..." He put a hoof to his chest, his other legs locking up.
He laid there for a second, his ventilator making a loud clicking sound before he let out one more cough. Taking a few slow breaths, he slowly got back up as he wheezed, "This...isn't...over."
Back in the Crystal Empire, the repair efforts were in full swing. At the castle, everypony was in the throne room. Flash, Heart, Twilight, Rainbow, Soarin and Ruby were being healed by Soul and some crystal doctors. "I can't believe your insane plan worked," Soul told her brother as she struck a plaster on his nose. "You're so reckless."
"I wasn't worried," the colt replied through a slightly blocked nose. "Jaden totally killed it." He then glanced around, "Where is he anyway?"
The others shrugged, only for Ruby to walk out of the room. As she did this, she went to the castle courtyard to see Jaden standing in front of the Crystal Heart. The crossbow he had fired earlier was in his hooves, the colt clutching it as a trophy to his amazing shot and incredible act of heroism. The only one he would likely get to enjoy.
"That was quite a shot you pulled off before." Jaden jumped, dropping the crossbow as he spun around to see a smiling Ruby, "Where did you learn to shoot like that?"
"Um...uh..." Jaden gulped while rubbing the back of his neck, "it's just something I...picked up."
Ruby chuckled before picking the crossbow up. "What Heart said before....was it true? Do you want to be a Royal Knight?" Jaden blushed at this, glancing down at this, making Ruby shake her head, "Jaden, you don't have to be embarrassed about it. Wanting to be one is a noble goal."
"Maybe..." He muttered out, "But it's not like it's ever going to happen."
"I wouldn't say that," Jaden glanced back up at her, "You're young, and yet you've already become a master markspony. There's no telling how strong you could become with professional training."
Jaden's eyes went wide at this, his heart beginning to beat a mile a minute, "You...you mean you...want me to be your apprentice?"
Ruby gave him a coy smile. "My friends asked me earlier if I ever planned to take on a squire. And while the thought has never entered my mind until today, I do need somepony to take over for me one day." She leaned down as her grin grew, "And I might have just found him." Jaden's heart stopped, the colt feeling like he was about to pass out, only for her to continue, "But be warned: Training under me will not be easy. It'll be the most gruelling thing you'll ever attempt. If you don't think you're up for it, say so now."
Jaden froze up at this, his body now a statue as he tried to say anything. He knew that if she had offered him earlier, his mind would have told him no. But as she asked this, a certain memory came to mind. Him shooting that arrow that changed the battle, that one moment replaying over and over. As such, he opened his mouth and said, "Please...please let me be your apprentice!"
"Oh? Are you sure you're up for it!"
"I...I...YES!" He exclaimed while closing his eyes, his form now stiff as he continued, "I wanna become the greatest knight the Crystal Empire has ever seen!"
And as soon as he said that, there was a bright flash of light that originated from Jaden's flank. The feeling made his eyes shoot wide open, both glancing back as they saw the light fade...revealing a cutie mark of an eye with an arrow made of crystal flying over it. The pair stared at it, Ruby speaking up, "It appears I made the right choice in choosing you."
Jaden looked back at her, both smiling at one another until a voice called out, "Alright!" They both turned to see Heart run out of the doorway, the colt walking up to punch Jaden in the shoulder. "I guess this means we're rivals now. Just so you know, I'm gonna become a knight first."
"We'll see," Jaden chuckled, "We'll see." Everypony else soon walked up, all smiling at the sight. They knew the two were gonna become good friends and work well together in the future. A new chapter in the Crystal Empire's history had just been written, one that would be remembered for many generations to come. The chapter of Ruby Scarlet and her new apprentice, Jaden Chalice.