"What happened in here?!" Shining Armor charged into the ruins of the throne room with a contingent of guards. They all looked around at the destruction as the princesses continued looking down at where the king had fallen.
"Did we get him?" Twilight asked as the pile of rubble at the base of the castle tower lay still.
"I... I don't know," Celestia looked worn out. Something that Twilight very seldom saw.
"He certainly wasn't that strong when we fought him before," said Luna, equally exhausted.
"You know," said Cadence. "I never asked. How strong was he back in the day?"
Luna was still breathing heavily, "he himself wasn't actually much of a threat. It was more the army he had amassed around himself that was the real danger."
"I think..." Twilight said between labored breaths. "I think Clover had something to do with that. When I saw his memories, it sounded like Sombra had already been defeated by the time the war started."
Luna's ears perked up and she turned back towards the entrance. "Clover!?" She shouted as she ran across the room to when the doors had fallen. She used her magic to lift the debris out of the way until she was able to pull out a very bedraggled looking alicorn. "Clover! We thought we lost you again," she cried out as she held him close.
"Careful," he said as he winced with pain, his limp wing twitching. "Something happened to my wing. I can't... I can't actually remember the last time I've been injured."
Shining Armor sat there with mouth agape. "Clover's an alicorn!? When did that happen?"
Cadence made a sound that was more an exhausted chuckle than actual laughter. "It seems he's been one for a while, dear. Do try to keep up."
He seemed to quickly collect himself after that and set about the task of ordering the guards to secure the room as he assessed the damages.
"What happened to Sombra?" Clover asked. Luna helped him over to the new window they had made. He looked down at the pile of rubble, "that won't hold him for long. I'm impressed you all were able to push him back."
"I'm still not sure how I was able to," admitted Cadence. "Even Auntie Celestia's magic didn't seem to do all that much."
Clover looked like he was about to collapse as he shook dust out of his mane. "Ugh, I can't remember the last time I've felt this vulnerable. But no, it makes sense to me. It's the same reason you were able to hold him back when I passed his leash off to you."
"Oh?... Oh..." Realization dawned on her face, followed by confusion. "But weren't those crystals part of that?" She gestured to the broken mess on the floor.
"Those were only for temporarily holding the binding spell together. What we fixed with the Crystal Heart is a little more permanent," Clover turned back to them only to stagger in the direction of his hurt wing. "I forgot how sensitive these things can get."
"What's wrong with your wing?" Luna asked in concern.
"I'm not sure," he said as it twitched a bit. "I'm having a bit of trouble moving it. I can't imagine its... GAH!!"
While they were talking, Applejack had stepped up beside him and in one swift motion had grabbed and twisted the offending wing with a resounding pop. "There ya go. Looks like ya just went and dislocated it."
"Thanks," he said through gritted teeth. He turned back to the open window and went back to observing the wreckage.
"Where did you learn how to do that, Applejack," asked Twilight.
"Fluttershy showed me how to do it after RD went and hurt herself on my land a few too many times," she admitted.
"But..." Twilight said, seeming to remember something. "I've seen you come back from being burned alive. How come you aren't recovering anymore?"
A few ponies looked shocked at that question. Clover just shrugged his shoulders while continuing his watchful vigil. "I'm not gonna lie, I feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that somepony was watching my past. Especially during one of my darker moments."
"What does she mean by burned alive?" Luna looked worried.
"That's actually the second time I've had that happen. It's by far the worst way any creature can go," he had a distant look on his face, like he was remember something from a different age. "To answer your question though, I'm hurt right now. Like really hurt. As best I can tell, alicorns heal from superficial injuries pretty quickly if they even manage to get them in the first place. Injuries to the soul are still much slower to heal. That exorcism method I used would've killed anypony else, but that doesn't mean I didn't come out unscathed."
"Spectrum mentioned something similar," said Celestia. "I can't imagine how you're feeling right now."
Clover quickly stood back up and spread his wings. "Damn it," he cursed. "He's up to something." Everyone followed Clover's path as he jumped out the window. A dark shadow was leaking out of the rubble and spilling out into the city.
Several sets of hooves set down beside him as he watched the spectacle. A couple moments later, the wreckage caved in on itself as though something had been removed from beneath.
"I was wondering when he'd try to make a move," said Clover. "I'm not sure what he's up to, but it can't be good." He turned to look at Cadence, "looks like you shook him up more than we realized."
"So are we safe then?" Asked Cadence. "Is he leaving?"
Clover shook his head. "I don't really know what he's got planned, but I don't think he's just going to leave."
"So what do you need us to do?" A shocked look found itself upon Clover's face when he saw that it was Celestia who asked the question.
A weak laugh escaped his throat, "Whisper wasn't exaggerating, Celestia. You really aren't the same pony I knew so long ago. We need to find out where he's hiding and herd him back towards the center of the city." He looked around at the many faces that were there waiting for him to speak. "We need a safe place we can fall back to. Cadence, it'll take a while but if you can get the Crystal Heart back on its pedestal, it should provide some protection throughout the rest of the city. Unfortunately now that he's whole, it won't be enough to drive him off completely."
Shining Armor stepped up, "I'll have the guard set up a fallback point there then. It's not the most defensible location but we should be able to make it work."
"The rest of you, split up and try to find out where he's hiding," he said as he looked with some concern at the element bearers.
"We'll stick with Twi," said Applejack. "We should be alright if we stick together."
"I'm still worried about Dashie..." Said a crestfallen Pinkie.
"I'm sure she'll be fine, darling," said Rarity. "She's got Fluttershy with her after all."
"Will you be all right though?" Luna asked Clover. "You're not exactly in any condition to fight right now."
"I just need to get his attention," he said. "He's not about to leave me alone right now. He's got a bit of a personal score to settle with me and I don't think he's going to miss the opportunity to take a few cheap shots."
Twilight and her friends, minus the two absent pegasi, were wandering through the city. The storm had calmed down a bit since Cadence had put the Crystal Heart back on its pedestal, but it was still very very cold outside.
"And you all thought I was crazy for packing a scarf," Rarity said smugly.
"No, Rares. What Ah said was why do ya need so many?" Applejack retorted. "And when exactly did ya have time to pack? Not to mention we were trying to catch a train, to Canterlot, in the middle of summer."
"It never hurts to be prepared," she said with some finesse. "Besides, if it really bothers you so much, I can just take back the scarf I loaned you," said Rarity.
"It makes sense to me," said Pinkie as she bounced along. "I always keep all sorts of things handy for an emergency."
"Yeah, but you keep spare yoyos and balls hiding in random trees," said Applejack. "Anyway, Ah still don't see nuthin. You havin any luck, Twi?"
Twilight continued to sweep a light from her horn over the city, both because it was starting to get dark and she was hoping it would help her see something out of the ordinary. "Sorry, Applejack. Clover didn't really say much about what we were looking for, just keep your eyes out for anything suspicious."
Pinkie craned her neck until she was looking straight up. "I see a bunch of snow, does that count?"
"No, Pinkie. I don't think it does," she said as she did a few more sweeps. The crystal ponies were mostly staying within their homes. A few of the bolder ones did peek their heads out of the doors for a moment to see what they were doing. Aside from that though, the streets were deserted except for them.
"Well, while this is certainly unsettling," said Rarity. "We shouldn't have any trouble finding trouble if there is any to be had."
"I'm actually hoping this ends up being easy," said Twilight. "With as busy as this last week has been, we really don't need anything else exciting to happen."
"Twiliiiight," whined Pinkie. "When are you ever going to learn not to jinx us like that?"
"Oh, Pinkie," Twilight giggled. "There's no such thing as jinxes."
It was right around then that the shadows began to move.
Luna's thoughts had been mostly preoccupied. She knew that she needed to focus on the task at hand but she couldn't help but think about what would come after everything was said and done.
Would Clover disappear? Would he stay and become a part of her life again? What would the rest of Equestria have to say when they found out that one of their founders not only still lived, but was an alicorn as well? She wouldn't be surprised if a couple of historians approached him at the very least. The same had happened to her when they came calling and asking for the details that lead up to her banishment. She had just recycled the story that her sister perpetuated instead of letting the nosy little ponies pry into her personal business.
Luna did her best to push these thoughts back when she spotted the first sign of movement. The shadows in the wake of one of the buildings began to creep towards her. They undulated back and forth as they drew closer. A small smile made its way onto Luna's lips. The presence she was feeling was so weak in comparison to what she felt that night when all of this had started. Whatever her niece was doing with the Crystal Heart must have left him quite vulnerable indeed.
She quickly channeled her magic, the soft blue glow barely illuminating her surroundings as she prepared to swiftly recapture Sombra so they could dispose of him for good. A form began to emerge from the darkness and in one swift motion she launched one of the best spells at her disposal only to quickly cancel the spell before it hit its intended target.
"No," she said, the blood draining from her face as she began to backpedal away from what she saw. "What is this sorcery?"
Celestia wasn't used to this experience, not for a very long time at least. Not since the days of Starswirl had she followed the direction of someone else. She didn't feel she had much choice though. It had been so long since she had felt this much out of her depth and Clover seemed to have all the answers on how to deal with this. Despite the recent turmoil, she really had enjoyed seeing how giddy, how passionate her younger sister was acting. It was like something that had been long dead within her had finally revived itself. Even though she had stopped being Nightmare Moon thanks to Twilight and her friends reawakening the Elements of Harmony, Luna had still been a bit withdrawn. Luna's separation from Clover had still been fresh in her mind even after returning from her banishment and even though she had been slowly coping with the passage of time, things had never been quite the same. She only hoped that him being back would end up being a good thing.
She was pulled out of her reverie when the sound of several hoofsteps managed to make its way through the sound of the wind. Immediately, she lit up her horn and pushed back the darkness. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw that it was just a couple of the crystal ponies.
"It isn't safe out here tonight," she called out to them. "Return to your homes and everything will be fine by morning."
They did not heed her advice nor gave any indication that they had even heard her. They just continued to saunter towards her with blank expressions on their faces.
Clover dove out of the way when the first pony took a swing at him. He almost hadn't seen it coming in time. Those hooves we're sturdy enough to carve crystal and the last thing he needed to do was take a hit from one of those.
"Was it something I said?" He asked as more of the crystal ponies continued to close in on him. A horrible notion starting to suggest itself in the back of his head, but he didn't want to believe it.
One by one, each of the crystal ponies' eyes began to light up a solid green. The one that had just taken a swing at him also got the signature purple smoke that was primarily used by only one individual that Clover knew of.
The deep voice that rumbled forth from the pony's lips was unmistakable. "Long live the king."