It was a considerably long trip from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire. Most who travel there would opt to take the train, for, even to the most enduring pegasus, the distance could where one down to exhaustion. Not Uriah. Through a perfected blend of physical training with the royal guard in his youth and magical enhancements he'd created, the fallen alicorn would not tire. It was one of the many things Celestia would often scold him about. It was never harsh, but the repeating quotes of "there are such things in nature magic was not meant to meddle with" bored Uriah to no end. He would lay awake at night, thinking of all the suffering he could prevent and reverse if he was simply creative enough to do so. He'd literally grew back the wings of a maimed pegasus once and the fellow was all the better for it. All that aside, Uriah loved flying. He usually teleported for the sake of convenience, but, when he was in a mood, he'd ride the wind. Something about the cool sensation of the rushing air mellowed him out just right and when he was high enough, the silence was golden.
The sights were quite lovely too. The sunrise peaking above the cloud layer was as breathtaking as it was warm. However, as Uriah watched the mountain ranges roll by, he couldn't help but notice an odd shape circling the peaks. It was a peculiar, block-shaped, thing just orbiting around. Then, as if it could sense him watching, dived down into the cloud layer. It was out of sight for a few seconds before it erupted from the fluffy white sea. Uriah had to roll to avoid getting clipped, then shook his head in disbelief at the sight of it. It was a dog house. Just a simple box with roof, painted bright red. It buzzed like one of the goblin's engines. On top of the roof, sitting and moving his hands like he was steering, was Discord. He wore a green aviator cap, brown goggles, and a red scarf. He looked over and waved at Uriah with a smile. "Good morning."
Uriah smirked and rolled his eyes. "Discord. Didn't expect to see you all the way out here."
Discord kept grinning and took in a deep breath. "How could I resist on such a beautiful day? Perfect weather for a world-class flying ace." He turned his hands and did a full roll around Uriah before returning perfectly to where he started. "So, what about you? What part os your dark and vengeful journey takes you toward the frozen north?"
The alicorn Chuckled and shot the chaos spirit an accusatory glance. "Spying on me again?"
Discord scoffed. "What? No. Of course not. Maybe. A little" Uriah shook his head. "I check-in when you venture out of that shielded hidey hole of yours. Quite the little band of rogues you've assembled."
Uriah kept his eyes on the skies ahead. "Is now the part where you tattle on me to Celestia?"
Discord waved it off. "As if I'd ruin one of my favorite new dramas. The action, the suspense, the romance, it's all so exciting! I especially enjoy those moments of personal epiphany." He snapped his fingers and materialized a small grey box with buttons. He pressed one and it parroted Uriah's voice when he said "Discord was right" in the tunnel of love. Discord fiddled with the buttons to play it back several times, while he grinned maliciously.
To the surprise of the Draconequus, Uriah simply laughed. "I had a feeling you'd get a kick out of that. Coincidentally, to answer your question, I'm going to the Crystal Empire. Thought it might be nice to visit family and...work on some things." He held his tongue. Uriah was never afraid of being open, but Discord was a wild card.
However, Discord took on a surprisingly sympathetic look. "Is it about what happened at the circus?" Uriah only reacted with a stoic nod. "Celestia told me about another circus you went to once upon a time. When you met Scarlet Thorn."
Uriah smiled, but it was a hard one, concealing gritted teeth. "Not really her story to tell. Still one of my favorites."
The draconequus nervously adjusted his goggles as he flew his dog house. "I thought what you did for her was pretty amazing. Most ponies panic when faced with what they don't understand, it's why I keep getting in trouble for my fun."
"That and many other reasons." They both shared a chuckle. "That's why I've been so accepting about your rehabilitation. I can't really condone fun at the expense of others, but chaos is...a bit of life itself really. Sometimes it goes up tiddly up up." He gracefully rose. "Then it goes down tiddly down down." He dropped out of sight, then rolled up and around Discord till he was back in place. "Up, down, flying around...I get the strange sense I'm referencing something, but I haven't the slightest idea what. I do that a lot, should I be concerned about that too?"
Discord just laughed. "I say just enjoy the ride when it takes you, with every twist and turn."
The chaos spirit's moment of mirth made him miss Uriah repositioning himself behind him. "Oh, and about those vines you ended u being responsible for." A quick blast from Uriah's horn and the back of the dog house was on fire. "Consider us even."
The dog house shook and made various stalling noises before starting to nose dive. As Discord struggled to regain control, he turned around and shook a fist. "Curse you, Red Baron!"
Uriah watched the spiraling smoke trail until Discord vanished beneath the cloud layer. "There, again, I feel like I should know what that means, but I...never mind. I'm crazy enough as it is, I can think that out another day." He could feel the air getting colder as he flew further into the northern territories. A nervousness crept into his mind with the bitter cold. The prospect of confronting the shadows of his past starting to gnaw at him as the plan began to become reality.
"Lord Tirek?!" Luna's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Are you sure? Surely we would have felt..."
Celestia raised a hoof to interrupt. "I know, but I'm afraid there's no question." She presented Luna with a series of photos taken at the museum. "He's back."
As soon as Luna and Twilight had left the circus, there was a guard escort waiting to take them back to Canterlot. Celestia told them to meet her in the royal study that morning. The three of the sat, alone, around a large circular table. Luna grimaced at the photos and passed them down to Twilight, who eyed them curiously. "Who is he?"
Luna grimaced at the thought of him. "A powerful and evil sorcerer. He and his brother, Scorpan, came to Equestria to steal our magic."
Celestia continued. "But Scorpan came to appreciate the ways of Equestria and even befriended a young unicorn wizard. He urged Tirek to abandon his plan, but Tirek refused."
Luna finished, a slight catch in her throat as the tale of two siblings divided became familiar. "Scorpan alerted us to his brother's intentions. He returned to his homeland and Tirek was imprisoned in Tartarus."
Celestia nodded. "I believe he escaped when Cerberus left his post."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "But that was a long time ago. Why is he just now starting to steal magic?"
Celestia shook her head. "If only it were that simple." She noted the photographs. "When we imprisoned him, we drained him of all the magic he had stolen. He was powerless and frail, but, judging from the evidence from his attack on the museum, he's clearly regained a substantial amount of strength. At first, I reasoned that he was behind the disappearances of Appleloosa and Stalliongrad, but he shouldn't have even had the strength to steal that much magic."
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Could someone be helping him? We haven't heard from the changeling queen in a while."
Celestia's heart warmed at her student's insightfulness. "My thoughts exactly. There were traces of changeling magic all over Stalliongrad. The question is, if Chrysalis and Tirek are working together, why? I can't imagine either of them would want to share power or the chance at revenge."
Luna turned to her sister "Not to mention we should have been able to sense the effect of Tirek stealing magic. There's been so much effort to keep his presence hidden."
"Not any more." Twilight corrected as she held up the pictures. "He wanted to be seen, he wanted us to know he was back...what exactly made the museum so important?"
Celestia chose her words carefully. "It was showcasing magical artifacts. I doubt any were real, there are a dozen publicity stunts like that a year. I assumed he was there looking for more magic, but the odd part is that he didn't take any. He knocked around security and anypony who got in his way, but he didn't steal any magic."
Luna rubbed under her chin. "There's something we're not seeing." She hesitated before asking her next question. "Sister...have you considered reaching out to Uriah for help?"
Twilight sat up and nodded. "He's come to help us before. Having somepony of his intellect might just be what we need. Plus, if it comes down to a fight, another alicorn would..."
"I'm not sure that he isn't involved already," The solar princess answered flatly. "I don't want to believe my son might be behind this, but..."
"You can't be serious." Luna shot her sister an incredulous glare. "I know you aren't on good terms yet, but you can't possibly think he'd be working with Equestria's enemies."
Twilight felt a lump in her throat. "Celestia, I know there's still a lot of hurt feelings between you, but I don't think Uriah would do anything so drastic. He's already changed so much since he first arrived, just from reaching out and accepting friendship again. I trusted him when we fought the vines and I think we can trust him again. Maybe this is the opportunity for you two to start mending your relationship. I mean, he was out in the open yesterday at the circus. I don't think he'd expose himself like that if he was hiding anything."
Celestia took a breath and closed her eyes. "I was thinking the same thing. I know him. I know that, no matter how hurt he is, he'd never take it out on his people. There's just this...fear in the back of my head. I hurt him, Twilight, and he's not just going to let it go."
Luna stepped over and placed a wing around her sister. "That's why you need to reach out to him, so you can help him get better. If you keep avoiding him because you're afraid of what he might say or do, then his problems are just going to keep festering him until he can't handle it anymore. You'll end up creating your own worst-case scenario."
Celestia smiled at her little sister, and at Twilight when she joined in the hug. Thoughts danced across the elder alicorn's mind, pictures of a happy time, long ago, when a young colt walked by her side. "You're right. I've been so caught up in what-ifs that I've been letting him slip further away. My son was right there at the circus. I could have just gone to see him, but I just sat back and watched through a spell. I needed a sheet of magic safety glass to see my own son." She leaned over and gave Twilight an affectionate nuzzle. "I wish I could be as brave as you two and I'm very proud of you both for doing what you can to help him."
Twilight settled against her mentor's side. "Of course. He's family. It's up to us to be there for him, especially if he feels like he's all alone."
Luna leaned around her sister to give Twilight a loving look. "That's my girl."
Celestia pulled both of them in close and wrapped her wings around them. "I love you two. So much." She held them for a moment, a warm resolve forming in her heart. For them, and the hope and love they put forward, she was going to make peace with her son. She released them from her embrace and wiped away a single tear. "Now, back to business. We should inform Cadence and Shining Armor. If Chrysalis is involved, then they may be a target. I've arranged transport on the next train. It'll be about two hours."
The trio exchanged a nod and returned to discussing defense of the kingdom, unaware of the crossroads they were heading toward.
Uriah found the empire quite lovely. The light made absolutely everything sparkle, the aesthetic was so charmingly old-fashioned, and everypony was so friendly. There were the expected initial looks of awe and curiosity over the unknown alicorn that swooped down onto the train station, but nopony pried, they simply welcomed him like any new guest. Uriah had supposed it had something to do with their vanishing. After being shut-off from the world for so long under Sombra's spell, they were eager to greet all new faces with open hooves. Uriah could relate. On his way to the palace, he passed a stand selling crystal-berry smoothies. There was a young filly tending the stand while her mother was away. Uriah was his usual gentle and charming self. He asked her about princess Cadance, if she was a good ruler and treated them well. The young filly, of course, had only wonderful things to say about the princess, who loved her subjects and was loved by them in return. Uriah had to chuckle at the knowledge that Cadance, a recognized ruler of her own kingdom, still foal-sat and, from the testimony of the filly, was very good at that too. Uriah thanked her for her time, ordered a smoothie, payed far more than he was asked, and left with a smile and the thought that he and his cousin were going to get along just fine.
He sipped his smoothie as he casually made his way past the Crystal Heart and up the steps. He thought it was an odd choice to have four different stairwells going to the same place, but he didn't build the thing, so why should he care? Uriah made his way up to the entrance to the main hall, which had two unicorn guards on duty. Uriah gave them a casual salute with his wing, only to have them block his way by crossing crystal spears in front of the door. "Pardon me, sir, ma'am," He gave a gentlecoltly nod to each. "but I'm here to see Princess Cadance. So if you could just..." He pointed to the spears and did a little lifting gesture with his hoof.
Both guards remained stone-faced and the mare responded. "Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are busy with a personal matter and will not be holding court today."
Uriah didn't react to them either. He just smiled and took another sip of his smoothie. "It's not really a matter of court. It's more of a family matter." He flexed his wings and gave a little nod to show his horn. "So, again, I'd really appreciate it if you could just..."
The male guard interrupted. "A horn and set of wings don't prove your family. We can offer to come relay any and all information to them once they are available, if they see your visit as a matter of importance. Please state your business"
"My own." Uriah replied, with a hard look accompanying his smile. "Now if you will be so kind as to step aside."
Uriah tried to step past them, but the interlocked spears quickly moved to block him, like a locked turn-style. With a firm shove, the guards forced him back a few steps. The female addressed him. "Sir, you've been warned. Walk away."
Uriah's smile faded slowly, replaced by a small, annoyed frown. "Look, you've clearly gone all-in with the whole duty and honor schtick and, as an old military stallion myself, I appreciate this." He cracked his neck. "However, I really must insist on a matter of personal urgency of my own. Excuse me." He took one step forward and found himself locked in place by their combined magic. He only had enough free movement to scowl. "So...it begins..." His eyes glowed red.
Shinning Armor paced the floor. He was happy, of course he was happy, and excited. However, there was an undeniable nervousness that crept in and made the normally expansive throne room seem to close in on him. He leaned out the window to get some fresh air, tapping on of his back hoofs against the floor as he did. He thought about flipping a coin, but why tempt fate? His ears perked up, as a set of hoof beats, other than his tapping, entered the room. The unicorn prince turned around with great urgency and smiled with a relieved sigh as his beloved wife approached. "Hey there, beautiful." Before she could respond, he rushed over and gave her a hug. "Well? Are we?"
Cadance pulled back with a crestfallen look. "Negative." The pink alicorn let out a sigh and started to tear up as her husband pulled her back in and held her tight. "I'm so sorry. I thought I was so sure and I got our hopes up..."
"Hey, hey, you don't have anything to apologize for," She buried her face in his shoulder and he gently stroked her mane. "We'll try again when you're ready." He pulled back, lifted her chin so he could see her eyes, then gave her a kiss. "You are going to be the best mom."
Cadance wiped away her tears and gave him a warm smile. "I love you." They shared a kiss, then held each other for a moment. A moment that was cut short by a clamor in the distance. "What in the world is that?"
Shinning Armor stood up and took a defensive stance between his wife and the source of the approaching noise. "It sounds like its coming down the hall way."
There was yelling, spell-blasts, armor clashing, and, for a finale, a tremendous boom as the doors to the main hall were thrown open by two guards being thrown into the room. The slid across the floor and stopped at the feet of the bewildered Prince and Princess. They lifted their respective gazes from the groaning guards to the sight of a pale alicorn casually walking into the room. Uriah blew a stray strand of his black mane out of his face. "A for effort, but I think you might need to run a few more drills. Also, a refresher on manners wouldn't hurt." The two guards stood back up, battered, but ready to fight at the prince's side. Uriah rolled his eyes. "Look, fun as this is, it's really counter productive. If one of you could kindly call off the hounds so we can be civil, that'd be just peachy."
Shinning Armor and the guards were about to charge, but a voice behind them stopped them. "Wait." They turned and gave Cadance a confused look as she stepped in front of them. "It's alright...he's family."
"Told you." Uriah flashed the guards a condescending smirk as they, defeated, walked past him to return to their post. He straightened himself out and returned to the friendly demeanor he came into town with. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to get mean like that. It's just that I've got a lot on my mind, it was a long flight, then they made me spill my drink, it was a whole thing." Uriah flew up and over Shinning Armor, and landed between the prince and princess. "Enough about that though." He threw up his hooves and surprised Cadance with a big hug. "Cadance! My cousin! It's so good to finally meet you."
Cadance was wide eyed for a moment, but, as the gentleness of his touch set in and the genuine energy of his heart connected to her, she patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "It's nice to meet you too. Twilight's written us about you, but we were wondering when the genuine article would come by."
Uriah pulled back, but kept a wing around her as he stepped to her side. "Fantastic. Nothing like having a solid platform to take the first step on." He looked over at Shinning Armor and gave a little chuckle at how tense he was. "Aw, look at him, all nervous. Get over here, you." Uriah's magic sparked up and Shinning Armor found himself sliding across the floor, right under the pale Alicorn's other wing. "So, your Twilight's biological brother, eh?"
Shining looked puzzled. "That's a strange way to put it, but yes."
"Cool cool cool." Uriah tapped at the floor. "Hey, sports-fan, tell me something. How'd you let an army of changelings infiltrate Canterlot?"
Shinning had to do a double take. "What?"
Uriah rolled his eyes. "How'd you let an army of changelings infiltrate Canterlot? How in the WORLD did you not notice they replaced the mare you LOVE?"
Shinning tried to be defensive, but they way Uriah was giving him the crazy eyes sent him all the way back to high school, getting lectured for missing a catch in buckball practice. "Bu...It was the changeling queen. She tricked everypony."
"Oh, please." Uriah gave Shinning a little swat on the back of the head. "Chrysalis can't act! Twilight was on to that nonsense in seconds." He nudged the couple together. "Look at her, Shinning. Look at your wife." The two started to giggled at his exaggerated tone. "Look at those sweet, compassionate, eyes. You know this woman heart and soul! How you gonna confuse this wonderful lady for that musty, vile, crooked horn having, mustard stain on her collar..."
They were both in hysterics and Shinning mustered a breath. "O-okay! Okay, I get it." The pale alicorn brought them both in for another group hug. "I'm gonna like hanging out with you, dude. You're crazy."
Uriah straightened up and let them collect themselves. "My thoughts exactly, which is why I needed to come see you." He turned to Cadance with a pleading look. "My dear cousin, I find myself with some rather aggressive bats in the belfry. I believe your particular expertise is exactly what I need to confront them."
Cadance had to admire how empathic Uriah was. When his mood shifted, it came off him in waves. He was still trying to be fun and charming, but there was this lilt in his voice that projected a shift between coming in peace and needing help. "Why don't I make us some tea? Then we can all sit down and you can tell us what's going on."
He gave a tired smile. "A cup of tea would be wonderful." Cadance returned the smile with a nod and left to get the tea. Shinning armor led Uriah to an adjacent sitting room to wait. Uriah admired the architecture. "I appreciate you two being so hospitable. Especially after I beat up security; I made an absolute mess of that hall way by the way."
Shinning Armor nodded, but shrugged it off. "Well, you did save Twilight from those vines. That earned you a lot of good grace with us, but let's try avoiding anymore violence from now on." Uriah gave him a look that made no promises. "So, I heard you invented Oubliettes and Ogres?"
"That's what Twilight said, but I got banished before I ever finished." He puzzled for a moment. "Not crazy about the name though. Is it really that popular?"
Shinning Armor's eyes lit up. "Are you kidding? Okay, so it all started about forty six years ago..." As they sat down, Shinning Armor proceeded to gush on about O&O and all the intricacies of what Gygax the griffin made of it. Uriah was fully invested. He thought it was quite charming, that the ghost of an idea could be revived and implemented in such an impactful way. Even if it was small in the grand scheme of things, just by this, he truly felt like he was not completely erased.
Pinkie Pie darted around the kitchen with an energy that the cakes found a bit high, even by Pinkie standards. The joyful earth pony juggled several tasks flawlessly and was on track to fill four orders in record time. She even found time to help tend to the twins. There was a song in her heart that she hummed aloud, making their little bakery seem that much brighter.
She passed on two boxed pies to Mr Cake, who could help but smile. "Gee, Pinkie, ever since I've known you, you've been in a good mood, but today you seem to be in a good mood."
Mrs. Cake already had an idea and she suppressed a giggle. "Anything interesting you'd like to share?"
Pinkie just smiled, like in a blissful trance, and did a little twirl before leaning back against a counter in dramatic fashion. "I...am in love!"
Mr. Cake beamed and went wide eyed at the declaration. "Pinkie!"
Pinkie lightly batted the curl of her mane. "You're probably thinking what could a pink goofball of no specific sexuality know about love," She held a hoof to her heart. "but I too am in love. Pinkie loves."
Mrs Cake put down her whisk and ran over to give her a big hug. "Oh, honey, that's wonderful! Is it him?"
Pinkie nodded. "He met me half way, just like you said. He dropped everything he was doing and came back just for me. We spent the whole day, yesterday, together and every second I spent with him I felt more and more like I never wanted to leave his side."
Mr. Cake took the pies to the front counter for pick-up and when he came back with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds like one hay of a first date."
Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. "Well...the ending wasn't exactly perfect. He was happy and he wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him, but it was like he was being haunted by something. He was hurting and he kept bearing it for my sake until it just got too much for him to handle." She frowned a little, but her smile bounced right back. "We're gonna try again. I'm gonna take him as my date to the Grand Galloping Gala!"
Mrs. Cake had a warm look in her eyes. "You really are into something special aren't you? Such a big date planned too. I'm glad the two of you found each other, that you connect in such a meaningful way."
Pinkie looked out the window with a hopeful stare. "I am too. He said something in the tunnel of love about needing to be needed. I've think I've always had that, ever since I first saw that first rainboom that inspired me to spread joy and smiles. I needed to do that, but, I also like the feeling that somepony needs me, even in some way, to do that for him. I look in Uriah's eyes and it's like I'm his entire world."
Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie a little side-hug. "I'm happy for you, dear. Now, if I could bring you back down from over the moon for a bit, we got a layer cake to bake."
The pink earth pony snapped out of her bliss and gave a little salute. "Yes, ma'am!" She ducked down behind the counter and came back up with her apron and hat. There was a shared laugh between the bakers as the light from the window shined over the happy moment.
Uriah rubbed his temple and took another sip of tea. "And that's the story." When Cadance got back to the table, he got right to business and filled them in on his hallucination problem, starting with the initial flare ups, the context of which he left out as to not reveal he had aligned with their worst enemy. He compensated with the explicit, heart wrenching details about how the first date he had in five hundred years ended in a psychotic break. "Couldn't just be a happy love-story ending, no I had to freak-out and spoil the moment."
Cadance reached across the table and held his hoof. "It's not your fault. You've suffered a considerable trauma. Everything you knew and cared about was pulled away from you with nothing you could do to stop it, followed by five hundred years of isolation, having to maintain a constant state of rage just to survive."
Uriah set his cup down. "Some would say I had it coming."
Shining Armor exchanged a cautious look with his wife before responding. "Twilight also shared with us the events that led to your exile." The pale alicorn raised an eyebrow. "We're not going to put our opinions to it. No matter what way we look at it, we weren't there. You were. You were the one who had to make that choice, you were the one who had to deal with those atrocities. We're not going to insult you by pretending we have any idea what it's like to experience something like that."
Uriah raised his cup with a smirk. "Good answer. I appreciate that." He tapped his hoof on the table. "See, I understand that part, where my issues come from, but what I'm concerned with is what I'm seeing and when I'm seeing it." He took a breath and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "It seems to happen in moments of affection and, most recently and most aggressively, in moments of true happiness and being in love. Moments I have not had since..." He shuddered. The thought became too intense for him to finish the sentence. "I can't let it be a recurring thing. My past is haunting my present, it's not fair to Pinkie to let it get in the way, it's not fair to those who came before to just move on. Please help me." Defeated, Uriah let his head fall to the table.
Cadance thought for a moment, while Shinning Armor patted Uriah on the back. "I think I understand. The love you had is interrupting the love you could have. I think there is something I can do to help you. However, the process involved can reveal very personal details and bring them out into the open. Are you comfortable sharing those with us?"
Uriah perked up. "I am a notoriously open book. Besides, I came to you in great pain, with a sketchy reputation, and welcomed me with open hearts. I trust you completely."
Cadance smiled and got up from the table. "Come with me." She started heading back toward the throne room and the boys got up and followed in kind. They passed through the throne room, the main hall, and left through the entrance Uriah came in through. He flashed the guards a glare that made them flinch and him chuckle. The princess of love lead them to the Crystal Heart, which seemed to radiate with more light as she approached.
It pulsed and a wave of magic washed over them, bringing out their Crystal Pony forms. Uriah took a moment to examine the change. He practically shined in the light. The snow white radiance of his coat returned with a vengeance, and his mane was like an ethereal obsidian cloud that flowed like his aunt's. It was a curious happening, but after a moment of thought, his response was simple. "Nah," His horn sparked and his crystal form faded away. He was back to his sickly tinge and messy look. "There's more comfortable."
Cadance focused on the heart, her horn glowed, and a low rumble came from beneath them. The ground around the heart started to shift, and, starting from the left, a spiral stair case started to reveal itself. "Down there, you'll find the answers you seek."
"What's down there?" Uriah peered down at the impressive depths. They kept going until pitch black darkness was all that remained.
Shinning responded with a solemn look. "Only what you take with you."
Uriah's ear twitched. "...Was Discord here earlier? I'm getting the strangest sense of deja vu."
Cadance raised an eyebrow at the question, but brushed it off to focus on the task at hand. "Love is a very powerful feeling and also very complex. We talk about it as one singular emotional force, but there are many others that travel with it. There are the positive ones we celebrate; joy, contentment, pleasure, but there are other ones. Ones that we tend to repress because the pain is too great."
Uriah nodded as he caught her meaning. "While the heart radiates with the positive...the negative gets pushed down below." He felt a chill and his wings twitched. "Should...I go first?" The pair nodded and he approached. Uriah could feel the chill grow with each step he took down the twisting stairs. The further they went into darkness, torches on the walls reacted to their presence and lined the way. It went on for a while, until finally opening up into a large, luminous chamber. The roof and every wall was covered in reflective crystal, but Uriah couldn't see himself in any of them. It was dead quiet. Uriah felt a lump in his throat. "What is this place?"
Cadance kept a wing around Shinning Armor to assure herself. "Old stories of the Crystal Empire tell of the chamber below the heart where ponies may come to...deposit their pain and face it head on. It's called the Necropolis of Former Lovers." Uriah rolled his eyes. Of course there was an ominous name for it. "When a love is lost, for any reason, any and all sorrow, resentment, or frustration is channeled through the crystal mirrors. This conjures a sort of spirit from the mind of the user."
Uriah's ears perked up. His fear becoming excitement at the prospect. "Like a séance? That's perfect!"
"Not exactly." Shinning corrected. "The crystals' magic reads the imprint from the volunteer. Any spirits you'll see won't actually be them, rather an illusion created from your memories of them."
"Even that..." Uriah started, with catch, as he stepped into the chamber. "...is a blessing. Just to see old faces again...I'd give anything" As he neared the center, the walls began to glow and shadows began to form. They ran about as if they were in another room on the other side of a glass wall. Uriah approached and they all stopped to look at him. He paused, bracing himself. One of the shadows started running toward him. When it reached the border between the sides of the reflection, a sky blue hoof breached the surface. Cadance and Shinning armor watched curiously from the stairs as a short, stout, unicorn in a maid outfit entered the room and stopped short of Uriah. If he wasn't pale before, he certainly was now. His mouth hung agape as he traced the unicorns form with his eyes. Her plump frame, her dark brown mane in a bun, and her sweet smile; Uriah recognized her instantly. "Clay...Clay Kettle!" Tears in his eyes, he looked to his cousin with a massive grin. "It's really her! We grew up together, went to the same charm school, and when she finally joined the castle staff, I had her assigned as my personal maid so we'd never be apart." He reached for her and she happily jumped into his waiting embrace. He could feel her. The softness of her, the warmth of her coat. If it was just an illusion, it certainly was powerful. "My sweet little Clay. You were always there for me, no matter what I needed."
"It was my honor." Her voice was sweet and calming. "Never was a maid so blessed to be in the charge of someone as wonderful as you, your majesty."
Uriah squeezed tighter. "She never stopped calling me that. Even when I insisted...she was always so professional." He started to weep. "Clay...I...I don't know where to begin."
The Clay Spirit snuggled into his shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Now, now, you know you never need to explain yourself to me. To serve you...to love you...was the great joy of my life." She stepped back and held his hoof. "Had I only been more attentive. I could have warned you..."
Uriah hugged her again, then kissed her cheek. "No. No there was nothing you could have done. I never blamed you, not for a second." He pulled back and wept as he saw her image start to fade. "There wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't worried sick. To think that you were just folded in with the other maids. I knew no one else could care for you like I did."
"My prince," The spirit smiled warmly. "Don't you remember? I was the one supposed to care for you..." The last word echoed as the spirit vanished. A cloud of wisps brushed past Uriah's head before disappearing up into the roof.
The pale alicorn hit the floor. It was like the wind had been pulled from his lungs. He wept and struggled to find his breath again. "It hurts...It hurts!"
Cadance's heart broke and she stepped forward. "We can stop. You can try again once you've braced yourself."
"No!" It was a short blunt reply. Uriah softened his voice as he got back up. "This is what I came for. I need to keep going."
"Ten-hut!" The call boomed through the chamber and Uriah shot to attention. This was another voice he'd know anywhere. "How many times do I need to remind you, sir, that you are the superior officer? You do not have to respond to that call."
A unicorn in a golden uniform, with a grey coat and a grey mane with a purple streak stepped through the wall. Uriah instinctively saluted, it was returned, and then he ran over to meet the spirit in a hearty hoof shake. "Captain Light Screen." He put a wing around him. "Shinning, you'd have loved this guy. Now this is a pony that knows a thing or two about barrier spells."
Shinning armor's eyes widened in realization. "I think I do know him. I studied his techniques in the academy. It's how I learned the barrier I put over Canterlot."
"Not well enough." The Light Screen spirit rolled his eyes. "Changelings in Canterlot. Ha." There was a notable blush of shame as Uriah and Light Screen shared a laugh at the dig. "Of course, at least you tried to learn. This one," He gestured to Uriah. "I could not get him to learn basic military protocol to save his life. When we first met, me and about four other officers were standing in his office for an extra half-hour because he forgot he was supposed to dismiss us first."
Uriah laughed again. "I kept looking up from my paper work with this dumb look on my face because I didn't know if they wanted something or if they were supposed to be security." He pointed to Light Screen for emphasis. "and this guy was the only one to speak up."
Light Screen shook his head. "You were a terrible military pony," He smirked. "But you were an amazing leader. Any time you did have orders, even though it was usually a crazy plan that went south before it got off the ground, it always worked out for the better. Under you, we were more than soldiers. We were heroes." He gave Uriah one last salute. "I was proud to be your captain and your friend." Just like Clay Kettle, the Light Screen spirit faded away, leaving Uriah alone.
The pale alicorn fought back more tears. "My best friend...he warned me. Told me that taking out the basilisks was going to blow up in my face. I figured he was just too much of a loyalist to my mo...to Celestia's crown." He had to catch himself on that one. He was always careful about it, but the Necropolis was starting to break him down. Wing beats caught his attention. "I know who this is." First, lowering in from the roof, was a bat pony. Beside her was a pegasus, adorned in a dress uniform with two medals displayed on the front. Uriah pointed to the bat pony. "Nocturne. I recruited her to help restart Aunt Luna's night guard. She was also my first kiss." The spirit of Nocturne gave him a sly smile, approached, then kissed him one last time before she vanished. Uriah felt warm, but continued to address the pegasus. "Corporal Downwash. He was a dedicated soldier who played a big part in one of the most important days of my life. The man lost his wings on my behalf, so I broke a lot of rules to grow them back, promote him, and award him the Bronze Wings and Purple Horseshoe." The two saluted, then Downwash disappeared. "My relationships with those two were pretty straight forward. Nothing too intimate or complicated, nothing important left unsaid. Still nice to see them again." He started pacing. "But where is she? She's the whole reason I came down here."
Cadance looked puzzled. "Wait...wasn't Clay the pony you came here to see? The one haunting you?"
"No," Uriah did turn back, he just ran about, watching the walls. "Clay was sweet, and always up to snuggle on a cold night, but it was strictly platonic. My heart, my soul, I only ever gave to one mare. My Scarlet Thorn." The Necropolis began to shake at the sound of the name. Cadance held onto her husband, the energy of the love echoing back and putting pressure on her head. Uriah wistfully dragged a wing against the surface of the wall. "Her eyes were a fiery gold. Her mane was wild, beautiful, soft to the touch, and red as roses." A shape began to form in the reflection, moving to match his pace. "Her coat was a mossy green, like the swamps of home. The scales were a few shades darker, rough, but inviting to the touch."
Shinning raised an eyebrow. "Scales?"
Uriah paused and let out a light laugh. "Heh, yes, scales. My beloved Scarlet was half-pony and half-crocodile." He looked back with a smile to catch their shock and confusion. "She used to tell the story of how that happened so blunt and nonchalant, it made me laugh every time." He looked back to the growing shape, which now started to take quadrupedal form, standing taller than him. "I rescued her from a circus. The owner had captured her, tortured her, put her on display like some animal..." He took a moment to cool his rage. "I was there by chance or perhaps destiny. When I saw she had a cutie mark, I knew I had to move heaven and earth to save her. Where others saw a mouth full of razor-teeth, I saw the brightest smile in the world. Where others saw rending claws, I saw a hand waiting for someone to hold it. She was the most beautiful and unique creature I had ever met in my life." He pressed his hoof against the crystal wall and the shape reached out a smokey claw to mirror him. "She had this deep rasp of a voice, with this little growling tick when she spoke, and she had the cutest laugh, like a baby crocodile's chirp." He started to tear up. "We did everything together. She was my rock. Anytime I needed someone in my corner, whether it was on a mission or an argument with Celestia, Scarlet was there. Sometimes...I'd find her just lazing in the garden, sunning herself. I'd lay down with her and we'd just stay there...in the warmth and the light...and we just knew that nothing could ever hurt us." The shape gave a mournful growl and tilted its head as Uriah wept. "I've missed that...that bliss. I couldn't even imagine it. On the comet, I was too furious to ever just sit down and remember what she felt like. I get back and hit the ground running I just never found the time. I never got to feel like that again...until Pinkie..." This triggered something. The shape pulled its hand away and hissed. It backed away and Uriah pressed against the wall. "Wait. No. No, no, no, please." He pounded the wall with his hoof. "I'm sorry. Please, just...come out." He turned to Cadance. "Why isn't she coming out like the others?"
Cadance, fighting back tears as her cousin's grief began to overwhelm her in every sense of the word, stepped closer. "I don't know. I've never seen an image resist like this. They usually come whether the user is ready or not."
"I'm more than ready I need her!" He bellowed, before pounding on the crystal wall again. "Scarlet, please, I need to see you again! I need to feel you in my hoofs! Please, just one more time!" He screamed his plea as the shape vanished into the ether behind the curtain. "Scarlet! Scarlet! Scarlet!" Uriah began throwing himself against the wall, trying to break down the barrier. He did this over and over, each gruesome thud echoed throughout a Necropolis with nothing more to say.
"Nephew!" The cry of shock came from up behind Cadance and Shinning Armor. There, looking positively horrified, was Luna and Twilight. They both leapt over the royal couple and ran to the distraught alicorn. Uriah continued to beat himself against the wall. "Please, stop it!"
Uriah didn't hear her. He just kept screaming in primal desperation. "Scarlet! Scarlet!"
The two princesses both got a hold of him from either side and tried to restrain him. It was a chilling reminder of just how stronger he was. Twilight wedged herself between him and the crystal, trying to soften the impact. "Uriah, snap out of it! You're going to hurt yourself," She felt a little winded as he crashed against her. "and me."
The squeak of her voice as she finished, the pain made him freeze. His pupils shrank, then he started blinking and shaking his head. He looked about to see just what had happened. Luna had him by the shoulders, Cadance and Shinning Armor flanked him on either side, and he looked down to see a disheveled Twilight pushing against his chest. "Little sister!" He almost choked on the realization and just started hugging her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Twilight hugged him tight and Luna joined in, wrapping her wings as far as they would go around them both. "It's okay. We've got you. It's over now."
Uriah sat with them. These four ponies, whom he had only know for a short while, yet they had become the only family he had. He sat there, crying for his lost love, while they consoled them. It took a while, he had to steady his breathing, but he managed to get back to his hooves. He rested a wing on Twilight's shoulder. "Let's leave this awful place." They made their way to the staircase and back up the twisting climb. Twilight still supported Uriah on the way out, a caring look bounced between them as they went. "How in the world did you find me?"
"We had no idea." Twilight answered with a look of concerned sympathy. "We were here to see Cadance and Shinning Armor. We saw the passage open and then we heard you screaming."
Luna kept a secure wing over his shoulder as they walked. "What was down there? What did you see that caused you such agony?"
"It was what I didn't see." Uriah said flatly. "I knew it was too good to be true. That I could just have a nice day with a smoothie, get my closure, and go home." He took a moment to give his aunt and little sister each a loving nuzzle. "I'm glad you two are here. At least this day doesn't have to end on a complete..." As they reached the top of the stairs, and the pale alicorn saw who was waiting for them by the Crystal Heart. Those magenta eyes made his blood run cold. "You."
Celestia could feel the venom coming off that single word from several feet away. She braced herself, then stepped forward. "Uriah...I'm glad you're okay. When I heard you screaming..."
As she got closer he jolted back like a startled animal, almost falling over himself, but getting right back up. His wings flared in a defensive stance. "You stay away from!"
Twilight stepped between them and locked eyes with Uriah. "It's okay! She just wants to talk."
Uriah shot her an accusatory glare. "You brought her here?" He turned it on Cadance. "Did you send for them?"
Twilight stood firm. "We didn't know you would be here. Luna and I were going to reach out to you first, I swear."
The pale alicorn kept his guard up, but softened his eyes as he looked at Twilight. "Okay," He looked at Celestia and his hate flared up again. "You want to talk, then talk."
Celestia took a breath. The last thing she wanted to do was antagonize him when every pony else was so close. "Do you remember Lord Tirek?"
"I remember he's supposed to be locked up in Tartarus." He was now mentally on guard as well. He knew he could keep his cards to his chest if he kept blunt.
The solar princess nodded. "Not anymore. We received a report, with photos, that he attacked a museum in Manehattan yesterday. He's back and at full strength."
"I missed the part where that's my problem." He punctuated his cold reply with a resentful snort, then turned his back on her. "I'm leaving."
Luna ran in front of him. "Nephew, please. This is an emergency, your ponies need you."
Uriah kept his grim expression. "My ponies are gone. They all died out without me while I was hurtling through the cosmos alone. I bare no grievance against this world, but I'm not about to clean up her mess." He raised his hoof to keep her from interrupting. "Now, I remember going down to Tartarus every other week with a guard procession to check on him, to make sure he was still secure. It was a good idea, she knew I did this, and it stands to reason that, even while I was gone, somepony would have kept up that practice. Yet, somehow, you're just finding out he's loose when it's already too late. I wonder why."
The night princess puzzled for a moment. "That would imply that Celestia chose to halt the..." Luna's eyes widened and Uriah gave her an affirmative nod before she turned to her sister with a look of disbelief. "Did you...did you deliberately not continue the check-ins he started?"
The hairs on Celestia's neck stood on end as all eyes fell on her. "Sister, I..."
Luna stepped forward and interrupted with a glare. "The walls of Tartarus would have shielded Tirek from the mind wipe. All he would have had to do was say Uriah's name to anypony and the spell would have been undone. Did you deliberately leave one of the greatest threats to Equestria unchecked to protect your lie?!"
Uriah relaxed into a deadpan expression. "And there's my door." He turned and took off into the air.
Twilight saw and ran after him. "Uriah, wait!" It was too late. He vanished in a flash of red light.