//------------------------------//
// Chapter Twenty Nine: Shadows of the Dark King 
// Story: Sky Dancer, the First Flying Unicorn 
// by Scroll 
//------------------------------//

“So what's our play here?” Stern Wing checked with her husband while they both waited in front of Princess Celestia's palace. During this time she and her husband sat on a comfortable cloud that had a rough shape of a bean bag chair which hovered just a bit off the ground. For Vision, Feather Wind conjured a crystal bench which she laid on it lazily with her back across the entire bench while idly waving the tip of her hoof back and forth above her head as if listening to some song in her head. Meanwhile passerbys going in and out of the palace gave them curious looks since they were not familiar with furniture in this area. It was out of the way, though, so Feather Wind kind of thought he might leave the crystal bench there as a permanent fixture. “Aren't we going to hit the Dark King next?”

“After this,” Feather Wind answered. “First, I think we should square up with Celestia. I know it's been a long time, but the last time I had seen her in this timeline was about twenty years ago for me and around eight and change for her. Back then, she ordered me to not talk about Puppet Master, and not to face him. Well, we faced him and took care of the problem. I think she should know that, and I need to apologize to her for defying one of her orders.”

“Two of her orders,” Vision corrected from the nearby crystal bench. “Searing Wind overheard us talking about him. Way to keep a secret there, Buddy.”

The mention of Searing Wind depressed both Feather Wind and Stern Wing, but Vision remained calmly neutral.

“We really should have been more discreet about that,” Stern Wing said with regret, “but we were dumped off in the middle of a busy street. That alone drew some attention.”

“That's another thing I need to tell her,” Feather Wind said remorsefully. “I need to let her know what happened to Searing Wind.”

“I'm not arguing against that, but I'm curious about the timing,” Stern Wing wondered. “Last time we started here then we rushed off to face and defeat . . . um . . . you-know-who,” she said with a careful glance at some of the passersbys. “If we went that far, why not finish the job and then come back and fill her in on all the details?” Her husband was silent for awhile, so she pressed, “Feather Wind?”

“I . . . don't know exactly. It's a hunch, but it seems to me Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both familiar with Sombra when they met each other in the ancient past.” Feather Wind's eyes shifted to his wife while keeping his face directed forward. “Both princesses were really reserved against him when I first saw them interact with his past time clone. I even think both princesses faced off against him at one time, and I vaguely recall my uncle mentioning something like that to me back when I was a foal. Conversely, Sombra's past time clone didn't seem as familiar with them, so I don't think he faced off against them in his timeline yet, and why would he? Back then, he wasn't fully corrupted yet. I suspect they actually had met each other but on more amicable terms until Sombra turned more fully to darkness. If not that, then he was at least familiar with them from a distance because they were famous celebrities.”

“In that case, another reason we're here is to gather some intel on King Sombra,” Stern Wing figured.

“You saw how formidable he was as our friend in the past,” Feather Wind reminded Stern Wing. “Well, I think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have had experience dealing with him as an enemy and is therefore more familiar with his tricks, and I actually do think the Dark King pulled off tricks that his more innocent self would be unable or unwilling to do. In that case, a heads up could give us a tactical warning. In this time period, though, only one of those two princesses are available to talk to.”

“And we can't tell her that her sister will be freed in the future either,” Vision instructed. “Her future must be left for her to resolve.”

“You're one to talk about the future,” Feather Wind said back to Vision.

“I gave her little tidbits here and there and she chose what to do with that information,” Vision informed back. “Talking about the future of her sister is pretty blatant information though. Besides, don't we have the book from my future self for that stuff?”

“That's another thing,” Feather Wind recalled as he looked back at his wife. “I promised future Vision that I'd pass Celestia that book.”

“Kind of wish she said goodbye to me too,” Stern Wing lamented with a frown. “We've been through a lot together too. In fact, by then I had even more experience with her than you. I spent two extra years with her as she helped me meditate and calm down so I could master this new power of mine.”

“I'm sure you know how she felt about you, then,” Feather Wind said in a way of comfort. “She didn't have to tell both of us to deliver the book and, at the time, she was being discreet because she knew her past self was in the area.”

“Which is basically pointless because I ended up finding out anyway from you ponies right now,” Vision complained. She rested a hoof on her forehead. “So there's a note to self. Make a book called, 'Predictions and Prophecies', and make sure I pass it off to Feather Wind, not Stern Wing. Thanks guys! Anything else you want to tell me about my future self so I won't have to deal with any more annoying surprises?”

“She gave me a million bits,” Stern Wing joked.

“Which was probably won in a gambling game which she foresaw the outcome to,” Vision joked evenly. “Done and done. I'll cheat to win great fortune then pass off the million bits to you sometime in the future.”

“Sounds great,” Stern Wing half-joked.

“Excuse me,” a royal Canterlot guard dressed in golden armor broached as he approached them then gave a small bow to them, “the Princess is ready to see you all now.”

“Very well.” Feather Wind pushed himself off of his cloud bean bag. After he noticed his wife do the same, he blew a wind at it and it evaporated both clouds to clean up the mess behind them. As the three of them trotted after the guard, Feather Wind asked back at his wife, “By the way, isn't this the first time you met the Princess in this timeline in person?”

“Yes it is,” Stern Wing answered.

“Then, after this meeting, Feather Wind will have two points and the two of us will have one,” Vision joked. “Despite the messages I passed on to her through my mother, this is actually my first time meeting the Princess in this timeline too.”

From the lead, the royal Canterlot guard passed them a strange look for mentioning the word 'timeline' twice in his presence.

xoxo

{According to my perception, pretty much nothing had changed since the last time I visited the Princess in her royal throne room. Even the guards looked the same and they stood in the same places I remember them initially and in the same poses, and I even had a hunch that they were about to be dismissed just like last time. It made me feel like I was repeating time. This was the first time for your mother and Vision, however, so I kept glancing back at them to observe their reaction, and yeah . . . your mother was looking about in delight. Even the scent in the air was distinct and I remember her breathing it in deeply. Obviously Vision was not enjoying the “scenery” in quite the same way as your mother and I.}

“I got your message that you have returned to Canterlot after being absent from it for awhile,” Princess Celestia put forward to break the ice in this conversation while she sat and observed them from her throne. “In your message sent via the wind, you said you had some urgent news for me. Well, I am listening.”

“Before I get into that, I want to apologize for startling you with the message sent to you prior to this one,” Feather Wind told the princess in an apologetic tone. “It is my understanding that it came to you violently during a very private moment of yours and shattered your nearby windows.”

“Oh!” Celestia looked a little taken aback by Feather Wind's awareness of that fact, then she smiled at him and waved a hoof at him. “No need to apologize. I'm glad you informed me about the emergency.” Her look shifted to one of concern. “I assume this meeting has something to do with that? Did you save the oracle?”

“Indeed I have, your Highness. She's right here,” Feather Wind gestured to Vision standing beside him who blindly waved in the Princess's general direction in response to that introduction. “As for the reason for this meeting, however, I can sum it up in two words, although I suspect you will welcome an elaboration, and the two words is this: The Doctor.”

Doctor who? Star Breeze thought in amusement which she imagined was what the guards must have thought at that moment back then.

For the second time in a few seconds, the Princess again looked taken aback, but it was shortly followed by a knowing look. She looked about at her guards then clomped her fore hooves together to gather their attention. Once she had it, she gestured for them to leave. This time they did not question her but, as they passed the visiting trio, Feather Wind distinctly heard one of those guards ask another, “Isn't that the same colt she dismissed us for last time?” In response, another guard answered, “Yeah, I think it is. I wonder what's going on that is so secretive that they keep on needing privacy for these meetings every single time.”

Wow! Good memory, guys! Feather Wind mentally commended them as he watched them leave with an impressed expression on his face.

Once the guards fully departed, Feather Wind expected the real conversation to begin at that point, but Princess Celestia actually surprised him by getting off her throne, trotted around it, then she vanished from sight behind it. Briefly there was a jingling sound and golden glow behind the throne, both signs indicative to the use of her magic. Seconds later, Feather Wind was really caught off guard when he noticed her throne start to slide to the right direction if facing towards her audience. Princess Celestia gradually returned into view of the three of them (well, really in “view” of two of them) as her own throne got out of the way.

“You three, come with me,” Princess Celestia ordered as she started to trot down a secret passage beneath her throne. Feather Wind and Stern Wing glanced at each other, bewildered. This was a very unexpected reaction on Celestia's part. Shrugging simultaneously, Feather Wind and Stern Wing took off to follow. Vision followed closely behind. Once they arrived at where the throne was, they saw stairs leading somewhere below into the dark except they could see Princess Celestia's long horn glow golden below them. As they trotted down into the dark, Feather Wind also ignited his own horn with a silvery light to give his wife and himself even more light to work with. The passageway was narrow enough to force them to travel one by one, so Feather Wind took the lead followed by Stern Wing and then Vision.

“I didn't know you had a secret passage down here, Princess Celestia,” Stern Wing remarked in surprise.

“Wouldn't be much of a secret if every pony knew, now would it?” Princess Celestia said back in a tone of amusement, but her next sentences was a good deal more serious. While she spoke, she continued to trot ahead of them down the spiraling staircase. “I have lived long enough to know why certain secrets are necessary to protect. It is often for the peace of mind for my subjects, and sometimes it is also for their safety. In this case, I erected this secret passageway as a tactical defense in case my palace ever gets invaded. There are plenty of other secret passageways and hidden rooms in this palace which I won't go into detail until I have to, but I feel that this one is appropriate to reveal at the moment because of something that is contained within it. I'm sure you three are guarding secrets of your own from me too. You've traveled through time, after all.”

“Which is what, if I may ask, Princess?” Feather Wind inquired. “The secret that's down here, I mean.”

“I'll show you soon enough,” Celestia assured from the lead.

Eventually the four of them reached the bottom which led to a gray brick, hemispherical tunnel. Once Celestia reached the bottom, she waited there with a look back over her left shoulder, waiting for the others to catch up. As soon as they did, her horn ignited brighter. Seconds later several lamps down the hallway lit themselves up one by one and, with each one that lit, it traveled further and further away from the group. At that point the alicorn and unicorn of the party no longer needed their own horns to light the way for the rest of the party. Notably, the magical lanterns down the tunnel lit with the same golden aura as the Princess herself.

“This way. Follow me,” Princess Celestia bade then proceeded down the tunnel. Her companions followed suit.

“You didn't seem too surprised when we mentioned the name of the Doctor,” Stern Wing noted as she followed the Princess down the hallway. “Of course, we knew that. He told us he had several adventures with you, but you never accompanied him on the TARDIS.”

“That's right,” Princess Celestia said simply as she continued to trot on and did not look back while she did it, instead remaining focused on her destination. “As an immortal, I did not see a need to time travel with him in his contraption. Aside from that, I gained an impression that traveling in the company of other immortals like himself makes him uncomfortable for some reason.”

“I think it's more than that,” Feather Wind theorized. “I think the Doctor told you sometime in the past that this meeting will occur, and what it's all about.”

“Astute as ever, my friend,” Celestia commended in a friendly tone but still without looking back. “Yes. I had known this meeting would occur even before you were born. Because of that, I kept occasional tabs on you but without trying to interfere with your life. There were some surprises for me as I had observed you growing up over the years. For instance, the Doctor did not inform me that you would be the first flying unicorn or that you would join the Wonderbolt Academy. I'm curious what inspired you to do that. Was it the fact that you got saved by them personally?”

“That's only part of it,” Feather Wind answered. “I did feel grateful to them for saving my life and the lives of those beloved ponies that virtually adopted me into their family, but a better explanation why I joined them after that is because I more fully learned what they represented. I knew for sure, ever since then, that they were not just performance troops but real heroes. I also joined them in the hope that I would one day help them confront and defeat Puppet Master once and for all. I never told anypony else that last bit until now, your Majesty. Oh.” Feather Wind was suddenly depressed as he recalled something. “Which reminds me, I regret to inform you that the one who saved me on that night, and one of the greatest fliers of the Wonderbolts, Searing Wind, has sadly passed away.”

Hearing that made Celestia pause from the lead. She stood still for a few seconds then glanced silently back over her shoulder at Feather Wind for a more elaborate explanation on that point.

“It's our fault, Princess,” Stern Wing said with regret. “She overheard us talking about Puppet Master shortly after we arrived back in this time period. Moreover, because of a disagreement we had with each other in the past that made her feel guilty over something, she felt determined to make it up to us by helping us to defeat Puppet Master. We succeeded, but at the cost of her own life. He impaled her with one of his many spider-like limbs extending from his toy body but, once that happened, she grasped that limb to prevent him from fleeing. That allowed Vision here to deal the final blow against his black crystal, and my husband here gave her a boost as well as provided her the means to finish him off.”

“It's fair to say it was a team effort,” Vision added. “He would have still been hiding in that giant pile of toys if you hadn't forced him out which gave us the limited opportunity to finish him off.”

“She was a hero all the way to the end, and I rarely encountered a pony as brave or as skilled as her and, after all that I've seen while traveling with the Doctor, that's saying a lot,” Feather Wind said in her tribute. “It's actually possible we would have failed against Puppet Master if it were not for her brave sacrifice. She helped guide us to the town where he hid, and she helped us secure him from fleeing so we could deal the final blow against him.”

“This was her land too, and she loved it dearly,” Stern Wing said. “She was willing to fight for it to the bitter end.”

“I warned her she would die if she accompanied us,” Vision reminded, “but it is quite possible that it is worth the death of the body if it also means the flourishing life of the spirit. Her soul is moving on to great wonders and adventures even as we speak.”

“And probably being pretty awesome while she's at it,” Stern Wing said with bitter/sweet fondness.

“That is quite likely,” Vision said in a neutral tone.

“Her family will have to be informed of the tragic news, then,” Celestia realized from the lead as she looked forward again. “I'll do it. I'll even do it in person. To prevent a panic, I can't be completely honest with them about the exact circumstances of her death, but I will inform them she died as she lived . . . as a hero of Equestria.” Following that statement, Celestia resumed her course.

“But I feel responsible. I'd like to tell them,” Stern Wing requested as she resumed following the Princess.

“No, Stern Wing,” Celestia said with a slightly firm but also sympathetic look back to Stern Wing with one eye back to the mare, the other eye covered by her rainbow flowing mane. “I believe, in this case, it will be more meaningful to her family if I visit them in person. They don't know you, but just about every pony in Equestria knows and trusts me.” Celestia looked forward again. “I have had centuries of experience delivering all kinds of news to my subjects, including issues like this one. I believe I stand the best chance to ease their burden. If you still want to talk to them, give them some time to work through their grief on their own for at least a couple of months. If you still feel compelled to talk to them after that, then you are welcome to do so. Until then, this is a private family affair.”

“I think she has a point,” Feather Wind agreed with Celestia. “We should give them some space and let them heal on their own.” Feather Wind looked hurt to notice his wife's strong look of guilt on her face. He wished he knew the perfect words to say to cheer her up at that moment. Some poet he turned out to be, but his best work usually had come to him after a lot of forethought.

“We're here.” Princess Celestia announced as they reached the end of the tunnel. From there, there were two doors, one to the left and right, both of them shut, but her attention was mainly focused on a pair of mannequin statues ahead of them, both of which were wearing unique and very distinctive looking battle armor. One of them was wearing a golden looking battle armor that mostly covered the forward chest and extended up to the neck. There was also a crown worn on the head which guarded the cheeks then extended across the forehead, a purple gem embedded on the center of the forward chest plate, and a brown mesh beneath the main body of the armor to prevent chafing and provide a little extra protection. There were armor pieces covering the hooves as well, especially the forward parts of them and a brown mesh underneath that as well.

Beside that mannequin, there was another set of armor similar to the last one, but it was clearly designed for a smaller pony. Unlike the other armor, this one had no brown mesh. It was black armor with the image of a white crescent moon on the center of the chest. The helm, in this case, extended further down the top of the muzzle. It had a hole at the top where a unicorn horn could fit through, but it also had another upwardly curved blade shortly ahead of that opening. There were hoof guards on that mannequin as well, though it was a bit more lady-like in design. Once again it covered the front of the hooves more, but it was thinner this time. Obviously the second armor was designed for Luna.

As the trio stood there and watched, they saw Princess Celestia's horn glow. As a result of her spell, pieces of the golden armor teleported onto herself, beginning with the brown mesh then moved on to the main body of the armor, then the hoof covers. The crown was the only piece of the armor she didn't teleport on herself. Instead of that, she telekinetically floated it down on top of her head. She closed her eyes for three seconds just before she lowered the crown on top of her head then opened her eyes with a focused and determined look after the battle crown settled on her.

“I don't understand, Princess. Why are you dressing for battle?” Stern Wing asked in concern.

“Because, for this next part of your journey,” Celestia said then looked back at them as she finished her sentence, “you'll need me.”

“Did the Doctor tell you that too?” Feather Wind checked.

“No.” Celestia turned to face them fully before she spoke again. “Instead, I told him that.”

“But why?” Stern Wing asked.

“Because I faced King Sombra before personally,” Celestia answered, then looked off to her right as she thought back on the memory.

Meanwhile Feather Wind realized that, since that was the first time King Sombra was mentioned in this particular conversation, it caused him to realize that Celestia might have been aware of King Sombra's involvement behind Puppet Master after all, all along, or at least she became aware of that in recent history.

“My sister and I both.” Celestia went on to say. “Together, we faced him in battle just before the fall of the Crystal Empire. He was still alive at the time. We managed to defeat him, or more accurate to say my sister defeated him, but it came at a great cost due to his contingency plan.” Celestia looked back at them. “Because of my prior experience with him in battle, I know the danger of one of his greater weapons, the Fear Curse. I don't know why he did not throw that on my sister as well, but fortunately he didn't for some reason and she managed to defeat him but, for me, I suffered a terrifying vision of my worst nightmare that plagued my heart back then. I realized, since then, it wouldn't matter if I stopped having the same fear anymore. This curse would summon whatever you fear the most and make you live through it. If you manage to conquer that fear, then the curse would show you whatever else you fear next.

“In any case, this curse succeeded to paralyze me in real life, leaving me totally defenseless. More importantly, it gave him a doorway to start manipulating the mind after that. I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Puppet Master and, after facing him down yourselves, you can well appreciate the dangers that comes along with this curse when it's used to its maximum potential. Not only can it defeat you in battle, but it could potentially lead you to become one of his loyal minions later on.

“Now I thought this issue was done with when we managed to defeat him all those years ago but, since then, I heard rumors float about here and there that his spirit managed to survive and was terrorizing my subjects again. I started to piece together the pattern and realized that King Sombra may not have been fully defeated after all. Subsequently, I did a lot of research into the matter in the hopes of finding some way to defend myself should I ever encounter him again, and hopefully defend others nearby me as well from his Fear Curse, for there is no point in facing him in battle if he can simply defeat me in one move.

“Ironically, I found my best answer by researching what little notes I had on him before he got corrupted. In those notes, he mentioned some of the process necessary for the creation of the Crystal Heart itself. I noticed him referencing Clover the Clever especially, so I did some research on him and discovered there may indeed be a way to defend myself and my companions from his Fear Curse after all. This spell is very similar to the one Clover discovered to drive off the Windigo's in the first place. That same spell could also defend us from evil curses. It won't prevent King Sombra from assaulting us directly but, if he does cross through this barrier, he will be greatly weakened as long as his primary power source stems from evil.”

“Oh trust me, we have had some experience with barrier magic,” Stern Wing assured as she gave her husband a wink.

“So you see, in order for you to defeat King Sombra, I must participate personally in order to guard your minds from his evil magic,” Celestia explained. “There are a few drawbacks to this strategy, though.”

“Isn't there always when it comes to magic?” Stern Wing asked with a raised eyebrow.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment as she said, “Indeed.” She opened her eyes again and then went on. “In addition to draining my magical reserves while I maintain this spell, all of you must take care to make sure you remain within the radius of the barrier's protection. It won't matter too much if you set a mere hoof outside but, the moment your head crosses through the barrier, you give King Sombra an opening to infect your mind with the Fear Curse. In addition to this restriction, this spell will require constant concentration on my part, so I'm afraid I will be able to do little else during the fight. I can move around, stomp my hooves and even wield this weapon.” She looked at a dual-headed lance hanging off to the side wall and had it telekinetically float over to her. Once it arrived, she tucked it under her right wing, then looked back to the trio. “I may be able to provide a little bit of physical resistance, but most of my magic will be dedicated to protecting all of us from the worst of his magic. If I don't do this then there is no point in facing him.”

“But . . . Princess . . . this protection might not be necessary. You see this Prism Armor that I'm wearing? It guards me from evil enchantments already. Failing that, there is also the crystal armor spell my husband can enchant us with. It also provides us protection against evil magic.”

“More like resistance to evil magic.” Feather Wind noted. “Resistance is not immunity. If Princess Celestia's spell can provide us with immunity then maybe we should not be so quick to dismiss her. I think we all know that Sombra can be very dangerous when his heart fully converts to evil.”

“You two are really married?” Princess asked happily as one eye glanced back and forth between Stern Wing and Feather Wind while the other eye was covered by her ever-flowing mane, regardless of external wind conditions.

“Yes. It occurred in the ancient past,” Feather Wind answered. “A temporal copy of you was physically there to perform the ceremony. The time clone thing is a Time Lord trick based on their advanced technology so, in a way, I can say you were both there and not there.”

“I . . . see,” Celestia said with a look of a little confusion. “It must have been dire circumstances indeed to prompt me to join him in his . . . um . . . contraption.”

“The TARDIS would be hurt by hearing you say that,” Vision said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, it was dire, trust me,” Stern Wing assured, “but we did take care of it and, since it was just a time copy of you, that also meant the real you never left her post so I guess that just made it easier to convince you to go along with his plan.”

“Well, if there were really two of me and if the circumstances were really important then I suppose it might be enough to convince me to join him in that thing,” Celestia considered.

“You really don't like the idea of time traveling?” Stern Wing asked.

“Her temporal copy already told us this,” Feather Wind reminded Stern Wing. “She said she would rather travel through time the old fashion way. As an immortal, she gains more out of it by going through it the long way. She also said this herself a few minutes ago.”

“Thank you, Feather Wind, for making that point clear,” Celestia said in appreciation then grew serious again, “but back to the matter at hoof. You need me. If you're going to face King Sombra in person and defeat him once and for all, you'll need me.”

“Oh we're not going to defeat him,” Feather Wind clarified. “I happen to know that will happen sometime in the future so it means he will survive our assault.”

Celestia looked confused. “Then . . . what's the point of going at all?”

“We're going to destroy the collection of negative energy he gathered from his minion Puppet Master, and perhaps several other minions we don't know about,” Feather Wind explained. “We are not just going to drain that energy, we are going to totally destroy it to make sure he can't regather it again. If King Sombra keeps that energy then he'll use it to summon back the Crystal Empire again. I know that, at first, that sounds like a good thing, but the problem here is he'll summon it on his terms. Not only will he be resurrected by regathering the energy he stored for himself in the Empire, but he'll also immediately turn around and enslave the innocent citizens of the Crystal Empire again. Once he brainwashes them, he'll have an army at his beck and call which he'll use to conquer all the rest of Equestria, and he'll have a large store of negative energy to boot to help him do it. I have no doubt in my mind he'll use it to gather even more negative energy, and you don't want to think about how he'll extract it. You just told us that he has the means to spread a Fear Curse. That definitely sounds like an efficient way to milk for negative energy. He'd probably have an entire contingent of ponies dedicated for that purpose alone.”

Celestia looked regretful. “That's too bad. I would have enjoyed to see the beautiful crystal spires of the Crystal Empire again, but I've also seen what it looks like when somepony like Sombra gets a hold of it. We cannot let that happen again. It's just too bad that the innocent citizens of the Crystal Empire are caught in the middle of this. As dire as his plan sounds, at least it gave us the chance to save the innocent citizens of the Crystal Empire. If we destroy that gathered negative energy, then we might lose any hope of bringing the Empire back.”

“That's not true, Princess,” Feather Wind corrected. “I am already armed with an alternate plan to bring the Crystal Empire back, and this time we'll do it on our terms.”

“Oh?” Celestia looked very interested in this news.

“You see this?” Feather Wind gestured to the Red Crystal dangling on his neck. “In this crystal is the last essence of Sombra's true self before he got corrupted. In a way, you can argue that this is the last shred of his true soul. He calls himself Crystal Sage now out of shame for what his evil counterpart did in his name. More importantly, he gave us an alternate plan to bring back the Crystal Empire. He said we must use this crystal to gather as much positive energy as we can. Then, eventually, it could be used to call upon the Crystal Heart and they'll attract each other like a magnet.”

“How exactly could this be accomplished?” Celestia asked in a very interested voice.

“Well, um . . . he didn't exactly say, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the Tree of Harmony,” Feather Wind guessed.

Celestia looked alarmed. “He knows about the Tree of Harmony?!”

“Certainly his time clone self learned about it in the distant past,” Feather Wind clarified. “As for Crystal Sage, he hinted at it. He never said it directly but, when I thought about it, it makes sense. The Tree of Harmony is connected to the spirit of all of Equestria. If the Red Crystal was donated to the Tree of Harmony so that its store of positive energy could transfer to the Tree, then it could find the Crystal Empire and use the energy it just gained to pull the Crystal Empire back. Not only that, but it would make the Tree itself more powerful. That makes sense, right?”

Celestia waved a hoof at the trio. “Don't misunderstand me. I think Crystal Sage's plan is indeed wonderful, but I am disturbed by the idea that King Sombra is also aware of the Tree of Harmony. As soon as he conquers the Crystal Empire, there is no doubt in my mind he'll target the Tree of Harmony next if he is aware of it and, since the Tree is no longer equipped with the Elements of Harmony, it is far more vulnerable to an assault. Given his expertise in crystal magic, I have little doubt the likes of King Sombra would find a way to either damage, destroy or corrupt the Tree of Harmony effectively. In any case, Equestria will gravely suffer from a loss of this magnitude.”

“I didn't even think about that!” Feather Wind realized in horrified astonishment. “If Crystal Sage knows about the Tree of Harmony then of course his evil counterpart would know of it as well unless the knowledge came to either one of them after their separation.”

“Are you sure they are no longer linked?” Celestia firmly checked because this answer was really important.

“Crystal Sage said there was a very small link between them at first, but it has grown weaker over time. He said his counterpart used to torture him with flash visions of the evil he wrought, but he hasn't done that in centuries.”

“We need to be certain, Feather Wind. This is important,” Celestia said firmly. “If Crystal Sage is aware of our plan then so is King Sombra if they still share a link together.”

“That would only determine if we have the surprise advantage or not,” Stern Wing pointed out. “With your protection, it might not matter if he sees us coming or not, so the answer to your question does not matter.”

“Have you ever shared sensitive information with Crystal Sage that might be dangerous in the hooves of the enemy?” Celestia checked with the three of them.

“Um,” Stern Wing glanced at her husband. “Well . . . until recently we weren't even in this timeline. He wouldn't be privy to any conversation we ever had before that point unless he already existed in the timeline we happened to travel to.”

“No. There is no chance of that,” Feather Wind said confidently after recovering from a blank look. “Any connection he and Sombra had dried up long ago as they steadily made their way down separate paths, making their soul connection less and less similar. As their spiritual sympathetic vibration weakened over time, so too did the link between them. They might understand each other, but any empathic connection they have is extremely weak at this point. I don't think we are at risk of exposing ourselves through Crystal Sage.”

“Does he have any advice for us before engaging his evil counterpart?” Celestia checked.

Feather Wind paused for a moment as he listened for the answer, then said, “Mainly that he agrees that your protection and experience will be necessary for the upcoming battle, but reminds us all that our main objective is to destroy the dark energy King Sombra has gathered. As soon as that is destroyed, he advises us to gallop out of there as fast as we can because, apparently, the gathered energy he has will explode very violently. We saw a demonstration of that with the defeat of Puppet Master so I know he's right about that.” Feather Wind looked at Vision. “Do you have any idea where his lair is?”

“Where else? The frozen north,” Vision answered. “I have had visions of an active volcano on the surface surrounded by perpetual night due to the smoke and blizzard clouds, but it lies within a cave at the base of the volcano. Despite the volcanic activity above, the cave below is very cold and dark. There are black crystals down there that would drain our life energy if we do not have Princess Celestia's protection, and those crystals also absorb light. Light will travel down there only half as far as it does on the surface.”

“Why do we keep fighting all these super villains in their main lairs?” Stern Wing complained in frustration. “They are always at their strongest in such places. I kind of feel like we're always taking the hard path on purpose.”

“We had to,” Feather Wind insisted. “Plague kept running away from us effectively until we attacked something he was forced to try to defend to the bitter end. The Dark Star couldn't move so we had to come to it in order to defeat it. Puppet Master was too random to figure out where to ambush him unless we attack him in his main lair, and as far as this situation is concerned . . . destroying the gathered dark energy is our primary objective, not Sombra's direct defeat. We would actually be unusually lucky if we managed to take out the gathered dark energy and he just happened to not be there to defend it, but something tells me we won't be nearly that lucky. His lair, in this case, is our primary objective, not Sombra himself.” He looked back at Vision. “Can you lead us there?”

“I can lead you to the general vicinity,” Vision answered. “After that, I can tell when we're getting closer to the gathered source of dark energy based on empathic impressions but, by then, you could also use your Red Crystal to sniff it out as well. Normally I would prefer to use that strategy instead. There is likely so much dark energy down there that it would be maddening to sense but, even after all my meditations, I learned to shut down my psychic senses only so far. It's really more of a matter of ignoring the senses. I can no more shut down my empathic senses than you can shut down your hearing and, unlike that, there is no ears to plug to block out this sense in my case because the sensor is in my brain itself. Maybe I could drown it out temporarily if I am drunk, but that's about it.

“Oh, and by the way, hi Celestia! Nice to finally meet you in person.”

“Nice to meet you as well, and I have to thank you for your shared insight, which I used to help save my citizens,” Celestia said to Vision in deep appreciation. “After all of that, you went ahead and finally took care of the source of most of your warnings yourself. Equestria owes you all a debt of gratitude for that. I'm sorry I can't make this information public for reasons you might understand, but know that you all have my immortal gratitude for all that you have done for our lands and very likely beyond, considering your adventures with the Doctor.”

“Come to think of it,” Stern Wing broached as she looked at her husband, “in all of our adventures in the TARDIS, I'm surprised that the only time we ever met Celestia was her time clone in the ancient past. Considering how long she's been in charge and whom the Doctor's enemies would likely try to target, we have never once met her in our travels except for the time clone. Isn't that odd?”

“But we know that the Doctor has encountered her past self on multiple occasions, including some of his future lives,” Feather Wind pointed out. “Just because we have not had encounters with her doesn't mean it never occurred for those who travel in the TARDIS.”

“'All things in their own time,'” Celestia quoted. “Good things come to those who wait. I can afford to be patient and observant. If I always was in the distant past,” she looked elsewhere with regret, “I could have avoided certain tragedies.”

“I assume you are referring to your sister,” Stern Wing said mournfully.

“That is only one example,” Celestia responded. “The wisdom I have gained over time came at the expense of making many mistakes. Mistakes I am determined not to repeat.”

“And speaking of mistakes, are we ready to correct one of them?” Vision asked a little impatiently with a small stomp of her forward hooves. “I know one dark pony whose flank needs a good kicking.”

The others gathered laughed a little at her wording.

xoxo

The manes of all four companions, Princess Celestia, Feather Wind, Stern Wing and Vision all blew in the dark and icy winds of the frozen north. They faced the direction of a hellish looking volcano ahead of them which had a dark cave at the base. There they hesitated for, despite the uncomfortable biting winds of the frozen north, they all sensed this was the calm before the storm. What lies ahead could be one of the greatest challenges they might ever face, and for some it was more than one kind of battle.

Feather Wind's face, in particular, scrunched up with fear and regret. It was such a painful prospect for him to finally face the dark half of a pony he looked up to for so many years. He had always known Crystal Sage, and by extension his more innocent younger self, as a strong, warm, compassionate, loyal, mysterious and deep pony that always gave him a sense of comfort and strength. A great deal of what he accomplished to this day was thanks to this one mentor. To imagine that same pony as his bitter enemy twisted his gut with pain. He saw a glimpse of that side of him when the younger Sombra momentarily lost his temper against the temporal clone of the corrupted Garble. It was terrifying to behold.

What if I'm just putting him on a pedestal? I always hated when that happened to me and usually I felt sympathy for others when it happens to them but, in this case, he just has an aura about him that felt like it set him apart as above and beyond any other pony, both for good and for evil.

Something about that moment felt strangely inevitable to Feather Wind. Ever since he heard about Sombra's existence from his uncle many years ago, he always felt, deep down, that he was on a collision course against another powerful mover and shaker in the world. Every step he took since then seemed to try to prepare him for this moment.

Noticing his distress, his wife placed a hoof on his shoulder which drew his attention towards her.

“I know what you are thinking and feeling at this moment, because I feel that way too,” Stern Wing consoled. “He's been my friend too for many years and I know how much we've all grown to trust and depend on him. I know how unbearable it might feel to imagine him as an enemy, but try to remember . . . you're wearing his real soul on your neck even as we speak. The thing that is out there in that cave is no more real than all the illusions The Dark Star tried to attack us with. It's true that this copy can affect the physical world better, but it's basically the same premise. The reason King Sombra is irredeemably evil is because he's incomplete. He lacks what he requires to have true free will. Instead, he's just a puppet of The Dark Star. He's an empty and soulless copy and, quite frankly, a mockery of a dear friend of ours. I say this sad and pathetic copy of our dear and beloved friend doesn't deserve our respect or fear because it didn't do anything to earn it. To feel otherwise is to cheapen and belittle the memory of our dear friend. Don't give this thing any comparison to our friend because it does not deserve such an honor, nor does our friend deserve the same comparison. To me, this thing will always be nothing more than the Dark King. I won't even call it Sombra anymore. It does not deserve to wear such a noble name and the legacy that was fairly earned with it.”

Feather Wind grew a soft smile while he regarded his wife. “Thanks. You always know what to say to me.”

“Let's do this!” Vision cried out excitedly.

“I have one more piece of advice for you all before we proceed in,” Celestia announced, causing the others to pause and listen to her. “Real or not, that thing in there uses fear as his primary weapon. Take a moment to pause and assess yourselves. Do not dwell on your fears. That only gives it more power. Instead think and, more importantly, feel all the memories and motivations that gives you courage. Courage is the last thing the Dark King would want you to feel, so it is the one thing we must all hold close to our hearts as we proceed inside. For me, what gives me strength and courage is the love I feel for all of my beloved subjects, yourselves included. I will fight to the last of my breath to protect you all and my subjects, and I will not allow this mockery to continue to plague my subjects any further! It must be stopped!” Celestia cried out with bold defiance.

Feather Wind took a moment to do as Celestia requested and, since every other pony was quiet as well, he assumed they did the same for themselves. Very clearly Feather Wind's friends and family flashed before his mind, including all of his time clone friends in the ancient past. Many of them were copies based on ponies who had not existed yet. However, while they traveled with him, they exuded such wonderful fullness and life. It was an honor to get to know each and every one of them. One by one, he thought of them all turning to look at him and smile at him in their own distinctive way. Maud, for example, was the most subtle smile of all, but he got to know her well enough to look deeply into her eyes and see the true depths of her feelings. The lack of expressive emotion does not always equate to actually lacking emotion.

He thought of them all. His wife smiling. The Mane Six smiling, of which Pinkie Pie was especially good at. He thought of Sombra smiling at him with deep love in his eyes, and that image easily transferred to Crystal Sage as well. For a brief moment that image quickly shifted to a terrifying glare but Feather Wind quickly shut that mental image down.

No. I know what the real Sombra is like now. I faced the darkness of my own soul at many times. It wasn't easy, but my understanding of myself made it much easier. I chose to accept my darkness so it, in return, chose to accept me. Sombra didn't make that same choice, however. He was always a fighter at heart. Even when he did it for the right reasons, he always drew upon rage and aggression to vanquish his enemies, but there was still something very noble about that when the source of his anger was actually love. It made him so powerful. Seemingly almost invincible at times.

	But this mockery of Sombra lacks any trace of love in his heart so, in a way, that means he is far weaker since he can't draw upon the most powerful emotion of all. It will always mean he does not want something as badly as somepony who actually does draw their strength from love. The good Sombra lost against his evil counterpart when they directly fought each other, but the dark half had more magic at the time. If their magic had been even, I think the good side would have won because he fought to protect his love and the citizens of the Crystal Empire. Even at a disadvantage, I can easily imagine that the good Sombra pushed himself to a degree that surprised his opponent. Since the Dark King was unable to understand the source of that strength anymore, he was baffled why his opponent fought that stubbornly.

	But I know. I know the answer, and I will use it to defeat this mockery. Beware, Dark King! Feather Wind and his beloved friends are coming for you at last!

xoxo

Facing the darkness in that cave went pretty much as Feather Wind expected. His experience against the horrors of The Dark Star and Puppet Master's lair somewhat desensitized him against the otherwise oppressive, crushing darkness that lay beneath the ice and snow. The light of his horn as well as Celestia's combined barely illuminated anything beyond her protective field. Normally light reflects off of crystals very well but, in this case, it just sank into it and refused to bounce the light to any other crystal in the cave. It made it look like they were surrounded by a void of empty darkness and they could only see it when a black crystal drew close enough to penetrate through Princess Celestia's protective field.

The circumstances made Feather Wind realize the future time copy of the Princess could have done this too. If this version of the Princess knew of this protective spell then surely her future self would have known it as well. With the presence of the Crystal Heart, however, it made it far more efficient to allow the Crystal Heart to do the work instead of relying upon the Princess's ever dwindling magic supply used to constantly maintain this taxing spell. Hopefully she had enough magic supply to help them go in, destroy the gathered negative energy, then get out. This was not a long campaign march this time, this was a quick dungeon raid. That's all they could afford to do, and that's all they needed to do.

“Welcome!” spoke a sinister voice out in the darkness. “What delicious looking sssslaves you are! I look forward to breaking your spirit, and then the real fun begins!”

Feather Wind shuddered to hear that voice. He could hear Sombra and the Crystal Sage's voice in there but just barely. It felt as eerie as looking at a face that was just a little off. It was like watching a mannequin come to life. Its close resemblance to a living thing but something off about it was really off-putting.

Again his wife paused a moment to put a hoof on his shoulder. This time she did not say anything. She just touched him and allowed that to communicate her feelings. It really helped. Just as she promised so long ago, Stern Wing really had done everything in her power to protect her friends.

“You will not break us, you fiend!” Celestia called aloud. “We have the light of love and friendship on our side, and it is more powerful than anything you could ever draw upon!”

“That's not all that you have brought me!” the voice said with a sinister hiss. “You've all brought your fears with you as well. I can't wait to taste it! We are going to get to know each other so well soon. 

	“Come. Let us not tarry our introductions. I know why you have come, and I welcome you to try and stop me. Pride comes before the fall, as they say. You will know that soon enough.”

The group heard a lot of movement about them and felt it in their hooves. A great deal of crystals morphed themselves out of their way, then a sickly purple and greenish light grew in the direction they were facing as if to illuminate their path. It made things easier to see, but not by much. They could see the lights themselves but nothing else between them, making them seem to float in a void of hungry darkness.

“Well, this is fortuitous,” Vision said with a grin. “He's inviting us all the way to our main objective. I sense the strongest gathering of dark energy directly ahead of the path that is created in front of us. Pride does come before the fall. That is something he will learn soon enough.”

“King Sombra always was pretty arrogant,” Celestia said, “but for good reason. If he's inviting us to the heart of his lair, he's doing so with a plan in mind.”

Stern Wing crouched in a pose that seemed ready for a charge. She even pawed at the ground a bit. “Well, I know one thing the Doctor would say to us in a situation like this. See a trap ahead of us prepared by the enemy? Then charge straight into it like an idiot. He would say it's the last thing his enemies would expect.”

Celestia giggled a bit before saying fondly, “Ah, that does sound like the Doctor.”

“Come on, then! Let's be brave, heroic fools!” Stern Wing invited. “You said to keep courage close to our hearts, after all, and he's leading us straight to our primary objective. Let's accept his offer before he changes his mind.”

“You know he can hear everything you say aloud, right?” Feather Wind checked.

“So? Let him hear! I'm going to beat you, Dark King! You hear me? Your days of terrorizing innocent ponies are over!” Stern Wing called into the darkness boldly. The Dark King's only response was to laugh maniacally, though the laugh echoed distantly.

“Enough said,” Vision trotted forward boldly. “Let's beat this creep.”

Celestia had to race ahead a bit to make sure Vision stayed in the Hearts Warming barrier since the young filly charged ahead. She then looked over her shoulder to make sure Feather Wind and Stern Wing were also remaining in the field behind her, and they were.

“Yessss! Come closer, my pets. Closer. Ohhhh! I can already taste your anguish! Your fears! It is sooo delicious!” the dark voice called ahead, and it sounded closer as they made their way down the passageway.

“You'll be singing a different tune when I'm through with you!” Vision assured. “My sonic eyes can do little to wood, but crystal? Oh-ho-ho! You're in for a treat! Bam! Critical attack! It's super effective!”

Celestia gave Feather Wind and Stern Wing a questioning look due to Vision's obscure comments, to which Stern Wing replied, “She's been hanging around the Doctor and Discord too long.” Celestia then passed an, “Ah! I see,” expression.

Then she realized something amiss and looked back at Stern Wing with alarm and asked, “Discord?”

“Oh. Shoot.” Stern Wing kicked herself for not realizing that was suspicious information for this time period. She glanced at her husband for advice on how to amend this.

“When we traveled through time and space, we saw lots of crazy stuff,” Feather Wind informed. “If you don't want to know more, don't ask.”

“Huh. Probably good advice,” Celestia agreed as she looked forward again. “I already know too much about the future as it is, and I'd rather leave it as a surprise as much as I can.”

As Celestia thought more on it, she lamented aloud to herself, “I always wished I could have a more amicable relationship with Discord. If his powers could ever be reformed for goodness, I would be willing to free him from his stone prison in a heartbeat. Alas, it seems very unwise to ever trust him.”

Hearing that caused a look of concern to flash between Feather Wind and Stern Wing. Looking back at him, Stern Wing tilted her head towards Celestia twice as if to silently urge, “Say something!”

“Um, your Majesty . . . I have something to say to you on this subject and don't worry! It's not about the future. It's more like general advice.” After Feather Wind said that, he won the Princess's attention back. “Like another pony I've met back in ancient times always said, it is important that we never abandon hope. Hope keeps the spirit within us alive and strong. Hope is our vision for a better future and, if we keep it in our hearts, it may actually become a reality someday. Your wish for Discord, for example, is something I feel you should never abandon. Even if you don't have the resources to accomplish that goal now, someday you might so it's important to never give up and keep on looking. As well, as an immortal, you may find plenty of opportunities to accomplish this goal over time. With infinite time comes infinite chances. That alone could gradually transform that which is unlikely into an inevitability.”

“Why Feather Wind, you sure have grown up a lot!” Celestia said with pride. “It is rare for any other pony to counsel me in a way that feels meaningful, but it does happen every once in awhile and I always cherish it when it does. As old as I am, I am forever still just growing up myself. I will remember your advice and keep searching for a way to help reform Discord. I will apply that same advice to every other aspect of my life as well.” She gave a sad, sidewards glance. “Like my sister,” she said with deep longing.

Stern Wing breathed a sigh of relief and gave her husband a “Good job” nod of satisfaction.

“Oh. That reminds me.” Vision half turned her head to call over her shoulder. “Your Majesty, remind me to give you a certain book later on that I have in my saddlebag. Apparently my future self wanted you to have it.”

“Now that's something I don't hear every day,” Celestia said with a bewildered blink.

“Then you and I live in very different worlds,” Vision declared then directed her head forward again as they continued trotting towards their objective.

xoxo

At last the group trotted into a giant black crystal chamber that had a floating, spinning crystal obelisk in the center of the room which the intrepid adventurers realized was the source of the Dark King's gathered negative energy. As for the Dark King himself, he leaked through a small opening in the ceiling above and spilled inside as black smoke which spread tendrils from the opening like an octopus. Eventually an upside-down horse head emerged which was still made of black smoke. About the only thing that didn't look like smoke was the eyes. It was a red pupil surrounded by green and purple wisp trailing off to the sides of the eyes. As he continued to float down from the ceiling, the octopus-like tendrils pushed against the ceiling which caused him to propel down faster as if swimming through water.

“It's finally nice to see you!” King Sombra said with a sinister tone. “It is always good to examine my prizes up . . .”

“Um, excuse me!” Vision interrupted with a raised hoof. “I'm not sorry to interrupt your monologue, but I got a quick question for you.” Vision pointed at the spinning dark crystal obelisk ahead of them. “Is that really all the dark energy you gathered after nine-hundred years? Because, if so, I've got to tell you, I thought it would be more impressive than this.”

King Sombra looked taken aback by that unexpected comment. He glanced back at the spinning obelisk then looked back at her. “Not enough for you? I can change that,” King Sombra offered.

“I'm not saying if it's enough or not. All I'm saying is I expected more than this,” Vision clarified. “You've been stealing dark energy for years now and you had help. I thought you had collected more than this. I don't suppose you have any extra stored somewhere else, do you? Because, right now, it's really starting to look that way. I thought you were supposed to be a big, scary monster until I saw that pathetic supply of energy you have there.”

King Sombra narrowed his eyes at Vision slyly, catching on to her ruse. He realized she was just trying to find out if this was all of his energy supply or if he had some stashed elsewhere. Even though he knew that, he felt arrogant enough to tell her exactly what she wanted to know and he was even honest about it. He flew backwards and swam around the onyx obelisk as he said, “Yes. In fact this is all the dark energy I have gathered so far, but don't you worry. Soon I will . . .”

“Thank you! That's all I wanted to know,” Vision interrupted him again then quickly warned her friends, “You might want to cover your ears now.” Right after she said that, she widened her eyes as widely as possible and emitted a screaming, high-pitched noise projected straight from her eyes that was particularly focused on the onyx obelisk. The ear-piercing screech had indeed forced her allies to cover their ears just to make the noise bearable. That was all Celestia could do to protect herself from losing her concentration on her Hearts Warming barrier.

Within seconds the noise started to stress the structural integrity of the obelisk. King Sombra looked at it in alarm, then glared at the young filly. He had no idea how she was doing this, but knew right away this was something he had to stop and soon. King Sombra roared in anger and dove at the adventurers only to be repelled as soon as he started to cross the Hearts Warming barrier. Being made of nearly pure dark energy, Celestia's protective love barrier downright burned him to try to cross it.

Realizing he could not cross it while the barrier was maintained, he decided to cross the threshold in a different way. A horn grew out of the black smoke and he lifted it as it ignited with purple, green and black bubbles popping in and out all around the horn. In response to his spell, a series of black crystals suddenly shot at the little filly mostly from the floor but a few of them also dropped from the ceiling. Vision dodged every attack so well it was like she was reacting ahead of time. She ducked low, twisted right, leaped up and ducked down again in order to weave around every single attack and even counter attacked by smashing through the black crystals at precisely the weakest point of each crystal. This continued for five seconds until Sombra finally realized the little filly was simply untouchable. He looked back at his quaking black obelisk in rising panic, then looked back at the filly with a flash of hatred in his eyes, then he decided to change his strategy by focusing more on the filly's companions. He figured that, by doing so, it would at least distract the little filly.

This time his strategy was far more effective but they still put up a good fight. Feather Wind telekinetically tore some of the crystal fragments out that attacked him then used it to smash at every other crystal that came at him or Celestia. Stern Wing also deflected and even smashed through the black crystal spikes using her own crystal armor that was charged with the perfect type of energy to cause major damage to dark energy crystals. Her wings blocked then tore through the crystals, and her crystal-lined hooves also smashed through a bunch of them. Of all the group, it was actually Celestia that had the hardest time defending herself because she poured much of her energy and concentration into the Hearts Warming barrier and thus she was somewhat too distracted to defend herself as efficiently as she otherwise could have, but even she was not helpless. She smashed and dodged the crystal spikes as well, crashing her lance every which way to block, deflect and damage the black crystals.

Floating back and looking at this from a higher perspective, Sombra saw a weakness in their strategy. They were working with a very limited space if they wished to remain within the barrier, so all he had to do was corner them within that tight space by attacking the entire area all at once. He brought his horn low then whipped it up as his crackling energy flared much more intensely. Suddenly thousands of crystals spikes rushed in at them simultaneously and more followed right after them in a constant barrage of assault. Amazingly the little filly continued to hold her own, but the rest of them finally got nailed by that overwhelming attack. Once he finally had a grip on them, he used the black crystal to force Feather Wind, Celestia and Stern Wing down but Stern Wing suddenly and unexpectedly flared with a curious sort of energy crawling down her body which gave her a sudden burst of titanic strength. She tore her way out of the barrage of crystals that attempted to suppress her.

This was unexpected, but Sombra realized he still had an upper hoof on the situation. He used some of the black crystal that secured Celestia to infect her horn with black crystals which cut off her magic as soon as her horn got clogged with too many interfering crystals. That, in turn, meant the barrier dropped so Sombra dove in, rose in front of Vision and caused a flash of energy from his own eyes. Seconds later her own eye pupils were surrounded by green and purple energy which flared like a ribbon outside of her eyes.

Everything paused for a few moments after that as Vision's friends regarded her in alarm. During that time the sonic scream from her eyes also suspended which indicated that there might be something wrong with her. Meanwhile Sombra floated back to gloat in victory.

The silence was deafening considering the loud noise there was a moment ago, then Vision rose a hoof to her eyes and touched her cheeks just under her eyes for a moment before glaring at Sombra's general direction and asked, “Did you just try to curse me?”

“What?!” King Sombra exclaimed in shock, very surprised she could move at all after being inflicted with the Fear Curse.

“I'm blind, you doofus,” Vision explained as she waved a hoof up and down in front of her face, then she sighed and said, “You know what? Enough of this.” She reached back into her saddlebag and pulled out a potion. Before she drank it, she said, “Feather Wind, take care of the crystals for me.” Then she quaffed the potion down in a hurry, taking large gulps each time. She did this by biting on the head of the bottle of the potion then aimed her head straight up, allowing gravity to drain the liquid down her throat with many large gulps at a time.

“With pleasure,” Feather Wind acknowledged, then flared a red aura around the Red Crystal. He used that power to shatter all the black crystals in the immediate vicinity, including the black crystals that clogged Celestia's horn. Because of that, she was able to re-ignite her spell and raise the Hearts Warming barrier again.

“What?!” King Sombra exclaimed again. He didn't know there was another crystal science user in this party, then he narrowed his eyes at Feather Wind as he saw the small pony get up and red energy flared around the crystal he wore on his neck. A very familiar crystal. “Ah! I see! So you are the descendant I was looking for. How fortunate for me that you . . .”

King Sombra trailed off in another jolt of surprise when Vision shot out of the protective field fast enough to blur. Before he could turn around, she was already attacking the black obelisk with a rain of hoof blows and started the high-pitched whine which agitated every crack she caused with her rain of blows. His obelisk could not take much more of this.

King Sombra tried to crash crystal spikes at her from all around the room but, since she was outside of the protective field, she had more room to maneuver. Since she was moving at an accelerated time flow, it also meant the black crystals came at her more slowly from her perspective which thereby meant she had more time to react to them. She dodged each and every single attack effortlessly as she kept up her attacks against the obelisk. Not only that, King Sombra's black crystals started getting shattered due to Feather Wind's efforts back at the protection field. King Sombra realized he had a problem on two fronts so he needed to divide and conquer.

He also realized, by then, that the little filly was psychic, and he even had an idea who she was exactly. Since she was able to dodge every attack a second ahead of time, he realized he had to plan even further ahead than that. He used his horn to raise a black crystal wall between Vision and her friends. That black crystal was so dark it totally cut off line of sight on both ends of the wall which made the wall itself Feather Wind's only target, but this time King Sombra constantly reinforced the wall even as Feather Wind tried to tear it down. A battle of wills issued, one which King Sombra had centuries of a head start in mastering.

Meanwhile, King Sombra waited about two seconds before issuing his next attack, but this time it hadn't come from his own power. As he expected, Vision suddenly abandoned her efforts to pound on the obelisk and instead desperately tried to get back to her friends so she could be in the protective barrier but a black crystal wall blocked her from returning to the party, precisely how King Sombra planned it out ahead of time. She tried to attack the wall itself but it was too late. The black obelisk projected horrifying screams of dark psychic energy and, since she was psychic, she was especially vulnerable to this form of attack as long as she was outside of Princess Celestia's protective Hearts Warming barrier.

That nailed her. Vision collapsed on the ground, screaming as waves upon waves of centuries of pain, fear, hatred and misery poured down on her all at once, and her empathic mind could not silence the overwhelming screams at this level of intensity.

Feather Wind and Stern Wing glanced at each other, spooked, when they heard Vision's horrified screams. They also saw waves upon waves of black cloudy energy splash uselessly against Princess Celestia's protective barrier which gave them a pretty good idea what took down the little filly.

“Cheese and biscuits!” Stern Wing cursed. “She shouldn't have rushed outside of the barrier!”

“I think we forget sometimes how young and cocky she is,” Feather Wind realized. “She is a powerful filly, but youth and inexperience got her this time.”

Being incorporeal, King Sombra poked his head through his own black crystal wall. “Thank you, my new slaves, for delivering to me the oracle herself that's been a thorn in my side for quite some time. When I break her, she will instead warn me of every potential impending attack to my sovereign throne. As for you three, I'll address your defiance to my supreme authority right now.”

King Sombra floated even further into sight. “I must admit, you surprised me in several regards. You are strong, resourceful and powerful. When I bend you all to my will, you shall become my greatest lieutenants, except for you . . . Celestia. You shall be my general. When I'm finished with you, you shall become known as the Breaker of Daylight, then every pony who once looked up to you in hope will instead cower in fear of our combined might!”

“You are deluding yourself as usual, King Sombra!” Celestia called back defiantly. “I would sooner die than be used as an instrument to betray my beloved subjects.”

King Sombra chuckled darkly, then said, “So be it, Princess of the Sun. It doesn't really matter to me. I will conquer Equestria either way, and of course . . . I already know what you fear!”

“You won't break me this time, Sombra! I came prepared,” Celestia firmly declared. “You will find I am not so easily trapped by your nasty tricks again.”

King Sombra chuckled darkly again, then said, “What need have I of the Fear Curse when I already know your fear? It's true that I cannot bypass your barrier while you maintain it for the moment. 

“Well, actually, that's a lie. I can bypass it at any time that I wish. I've only been allowing you all to think that you stood a chance, but the truth is you were all doomed the moment you entered my domain.”

“You lie!” Celestia spat with a firm glare at Sombra.

“My dear Princess of the Sun, when will you ever learn that you can never outmatch me? I will crush you every time, just like I did last time, but ah! You had help back then, didn't you? Your sister actually proved quite formidable. More so than even I had anticipated, and I already started with higher expectations of her.”

“Don't you DARE speak of my sister, you monster!” Celestia demanded. “You are not worthy to speak her name!”

“Calm down!” Feather Wind soothed Celestia. “He's just trying to get inside your head like he always does.”

“You accuse me of being unworthy to speak her name? Then what about you, Celestia?! What makes you more worthy? You turned your back on her and she became a monster for it, and you dare to look down upon me for what I've done? Heh. Pathetic as always, Princess.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes further at him, then closed her eyes entirely. “I shall not listen to you any further. You are unworthy of my attention.”

“Aw, and here I thought you were good at diplomacy, but very well. If you will not listen to me, then perhaps you'll listen to my new ally. Princess of the Day, meet and old familiar acquaintance of yours, Princess of the Night!”

What?! Feather Wind thought to himself in horrified shock as he regarded King Sombra with widened eyes. No! Don't tell me!

King Sombra waved his horn and two crystal columns grew up from the floor and down from the ceiling but they did not quite touch. They met closer to the middle but, considering how high this room was, the opening was actually closer to the ground in order to make it less distant. Between the columns, black smoke spiraled into view except it was not completely dark. It had images of stars in the swirling black vortex. It spiraled further and further outward until it covered the circumference of the open space between the two columns then, from the center of that starry image, a miniaturized image of a mare emerged. What used to be the image of open space and stars became the mane and tail of this new pony. Despite being almost totally black, she glowed a bit as if bathed in lunar light, and her hide also twinkled like the stars. Her eerie eyes glowed like moonlight and they were shaped as sidewards slits much like a reptile. She had a small chest-guard with the image of the moon on it, and she also had a helm that was similar to her battle armor but it lacked the upward curving blade in front of the horn. Like her battle armor, she also had hoof guards on her hooves but it rose quite a bit higher, probably reaching up just below her kneecaps. She laughed maniacally and dramatically upon arrival which helped to reveal her nightmarish jagged teeth.

“Sister?” Celestia asked in surprise and hope.

“DON'T CALL ME THAT!” Nightmare Moon shouted in objection at Celestia. “The sister that you know died many centuries ago when you decided to hog all the attention and adoring fans of our land. I am Nightmare Moon now.” She narrowed her eyes at her sister as she spread a wicked grin on her face. “Do not ever forget that,” she said in a slow, lower and sultry-like voice.

“No. It's just another trick.” Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head in denial.

“What's wrong, Celestia? Are you going to ignore me again?” Nightmare Moon asked in an accusing tone.

“My sister is imprisoned in the moon. There is no way you can be her,” Celestia insisted.

“Ah, but there is a way to contact her from the moon,” King Sombra pointed out. “The science of crystals is a gateway to many possibilities, and I found myself highly motivated to reestablish dialog with her after you cast her out! The last time I encountered her in person, she finished me off in the Crystal Empire. Before that, I offered for her to join me as my Queen. At the time she refused, but she's become a lot more . . . shall we say . . . amenable to my suggestions since then.”

“Of course I have,” Nightmare Moon agreed with a sinful purr. “I've learned better, since then, who my allies really are!”

“Princess Celestia, I don't think this is a bluff,” Feather Wind announced. “That is really her. Somehow he's found a way to contact her.”

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked with a voice full of fear mixed with desperate hope.

Feather Wind closed his eyes as he thought about an earlier conversation with Princess Luna in one of his dreams, and one thing in particular that she had said to him.

“I was a terrible mare in my time in the past. I must confess, I even encountered you, once, during my time as Nightmare Moon. While I do understand that hasn't occurred for you yet, I see this moment as my one and only chance to apologize for the grief you will suffer at the hooves of my own past self, for she will not apologize for her actions. Please,” she bowed her head to him, briefly closed her eyes and requested earnestly, “forgive me.”

I do. I know how beautiful you actually are.

“Yes,” Feather Wind said as he opened his eyes. “I am sure.”

“Luna,” Celestia said in a stunned voice as she looked back at Nightmare Moon tearfully.

“Must I remind you, Princess Celestia, that I no longer wear that title. You will refer to me by my true name, NIGHTMARE MOOOOOOOOOOOOON!” she screamed at the end of that sentence. A flash of dramatic lightning and thunder issued about her when she screamed her name but it remained confined to an illusion which fit within the projected image between two crystal pillars.

“Consider this, Celestia,” King Sombra put in, seeing an opportunity to drive a dagger further into Celestia's heart. “My minion, Puppet Master, knew exactly where to go and what to do to inflict as much terror as possible in every area he infested, but ask yourself this . . . how did he know? How did he know where to go and when to strike? How did he know exactly what each and every target feared the most?”

“Why ask her intelligent questions, my dear? She's too stupid, naive and hopeful to figure it out,” Nightmare Moon mocked.

“No!” Celestia realized in horror. As she did so, her Hearts Warming barrier started to flicker and fade.

“Your Majesty, the barrier!” Stern Wing cried in alarm. “This is exactly what he wants! Don't listen to them!”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon tilted her head at her former sister. “Did I give you too little credit? Did you figure out that it was me all along that informed him where to go, whom to strike and how to strike? Lest you forget, I visit ponies in their dreams so I can inflict terror upon them, so of course I would know exactly what they fear!”

“Why?” Celestia asked Nightmare Moon tearfully. “Why now? Why work for King Sombra? You know what he did to the Crystal Empire.”

“Because, Princess Celestia, unlike you, King Sombra has promised to release me from the moon as soon as he gathered enough negative energy to do so,” Nightmare Moon answered. “With my help, he'll achieve exactly that, then we shall RULE together in the Crystal Empire. All shall BOW before us . . . or face extinction.”

“She has agreed to rule by my side as Queen of the Night!” King Sombra relished with wicked satisfaction. “I made that offer to her before but she was blind back then with her foolish loyalty to you, but things have changed since then in my favor. Now the one ally you had that actually managed to slay me will instead forever rule by my side, and all of Equestria shall never again know the light of day. All shall learn to FEAR . . . the night!”

“No!” Celestia's whimpering voice quivered as she collapsed to the ground and covered her head with her fore hooves. “Sister, what have you done? This can't be! This just can't be!”

“Princess . . .” Stern Wing said with worry and sympathy.

“It's her sister, Stern Wing,” Feather Wind pointed out. “Of course this would be deeply personal to her. Prepare yourself. I'll try to raise a barrier as soon as hers collapses.”

“Everything is collapsing all around you, Princess Celestia,” Nightmare Moon mocked. “Once I was your sister and loyal friend until you BETRAYED me. Now I shall rule Equestria as the Eternal Queen of the Night, and I have you to thank for my wonderful transformation. Without you, I would still be as weak and pathetic as you are being right now.”

“I had to. Can't you understand? I had to banish you!” Celestia said mournfully as her barrier continued to fade and flicker away. “You refused to set the moon! You were intent on keeping the world in an eternal night and inflict it with a never ending nightmare! I love you, sister, but I love our subjects as well.”

“You mean you love them even more,” Nightmare Moon corrected with an insisting tone and a somewhat upraised muzzle. “You chose them over me, and look where it got you.”

“No, no, no! I love you just as much! Can't you understand? You are my sister! I've been lost without you for all these years! I've sang to you every time I lowered the moon.”

“Yeah, and how is that working out for you?” Nightmare Moon wondered aloud with a slight tilt to her head. “Now you're the princess of the sun and the moon. If your precious subjects adored you before, I'm sure they downright worship you now that they have no other choice. You stole my domain as well! I spit upon you for that final, additional insult! I can't wait to banish you to the moon as soon as I get out of here, then we'll see how much you like it. Know this and know this well, Princess Celestia, as much as you think you love me . . . I DESPISE  YOU!”

King Sombra opened his mouth and practically drooled with delight at how much this information visibly tortured Celestia.

Feather Wind prepared himself to try to raise a barrier, feeling confident that Celestia's would soon collapse because he knew King Sombra had her in the most painful hold possible, and nothing he could have said or done would change that. An attack of this nature was just too personal. There was no way something like this would not tear her apart inside, and King Sombra knew that Celestia's emotions were important to maintain the Hearts Warming barrier which was specifically empowered by love. He knew this because he encountered magic like it before. It was used in the creation of the Crystal Heart, after all.

Curses! This is why I hate dealing with evil geniuses! Contingency plan after contingency plan! No matter how strong I got over all this journey, he found a way to rip everything apart. This is why I feared Sombra. As formidable as I knew him to be as an ally, I knew he was just as capable, if not more so, as an enemy.

Then Feather Wind heard Stern Wing start to sing, “Equestria, The Land I love”. She sang it softly and delicately at first, but rose her volume as she resumed it. King Sombra glared at Stern Wing for this. Nightmare Moon brought her head back and tilted it to her left side with a confused, “What are you doing?” kind of look. It was soon apparent, however, when Celestia joined the song. Doing so helped to remind her why this battle was important and what she was fighting for. They looped the song over again when it was finished and sang with more passion the second time. Celestia got up and her barrier became firm again.

Feather Wind stared at his wife in amazement. So many times she proved wise enough to just know what to do or say whenever it mattered the most, and he fell in love with her more deeply after that. His love for her was already so intense that its increase actually felt a bit painful to him. He needed more time to adapt to the new standard before he could regain any sense of true comfort.

“What are you doing?!” Nightmare Moon demanded to know.

Stern Wing and Celestia just continued to sing, and soon Feather Wind joined in as well as they kept looping the song.

“Pigs will always struggle to their last. That doesn't make them any less pitiful,” King Sombra spat in disgust. “Let them struggle against the inevitable. In the end, it won't make a difference.

	“My Queen,” King Sombra's billowing, black smokey form bowed to Nightmare Moon. “I beg your indulgence, but I'll have to cut this conversation short. I'll deal with these vermin myself, and then we'll soon be together.”

Nightmare Moon sighed tiredly then waved him off dismissively. “Oh, very well. Do not keep me waiting too long. As you should well know, I am not a patient mare!”

“Of course, my Queen. As you wish,” King Sombra said politely then his crimson eyes flashed red as he regarded the trio with a look of evil excitement. During that time his horn crackled with purple, green and black energy. In response, the columns shrank back into the floor and ceiling behind him, then he spoke to the trio even as they mostly ignored him, instead focusing on their song. “What is it you mean to accomplish with this fools' errand? All you are managing to do is delay the inevitable. This tactical error shall not serve your main objective because it is no threat to me. You can sing as much as you wish until either your throats run dry or your magic runs out. I might have been willing to watch you struggle and squirm purely for the sake of my own amusement, but my queen has instructed me to be swift, so enough of this charade.”

King Sombra faced the direction of the obelisk. His eyes flashed for a moment. After that huge waves of black energy exploded over and over again from the obelisk. It instantly tore apart Princess Celestia's shield and canceled out all magic in the entire room except for dark magic. King Sombra modified the dark energy so that it would not be lethal to his guests physically, only magically, then he sneered at his guests. “See? I told you that you were doomed the moment you came here. I could have used this power at any time that I wished. I was only reluctant because it costs me so much of its energy to perform this but, with this power in place, no magic can possibly function in this room except for dark magic!”

Which also meant Stern Wing could not stand at all. With magic collapsed, there was no magic to empower her crystal spine either. She fell on the ground, once again paralyzed from the neck down. “You . . . bastard!” she cursed.

“Dark King . . . you cheater!” Feather Wind accused. “Are we so formidable to you that you have to resort to such tactics to defeat us? Don't you want to watch us squirm? Don't you want a challenge?”

“What I want . . . is victory, and I will achieve it at any cost that is required. That is what separates me from the likes of you. I will do whatever it takes to succeed in my goal, while the rest of you draw a line and insist you will not cross beyond it.”

“I will . . . protect . . . my subjects!” Celestia cried in determination as she struggled to do exactly as King Sombra suggested. She attempted to tap into dark magic and discovered that it was actually working. King Sombra was not bluffing. Dark magic functioned in this otherwise temporary anti-magical zone.

“Well, I'm impressed,” King Sombra said with a smirk. “Are you so willing to protect your subjects that you would sell your soul to darkness just to protect them? You realize that, even if you succeed to purge me, you will only replace me as the next tyrant?”

“Celestia, no!” Stern Wing cried out desperately.

“Better one tyrant rather than two!” Celestia insisted as she crouched a bit in a firm stance while glaring harshly at King Sombra. Her horn ignited with more and more sparking dark energy and her eyes transformed into what King Sombra had, a green background with streaming purple energy projected off the side of her eyes. “I believe in my subjects! If I fall to darkness, somepony will rise and defeat me someday! Love and harmony shall always prevail in the end. That is something you have never understood! I'll tear you apart just to lighten their burden a little, then afterwards it shall be my turn to die!”

“So be it. Vermin can be so entertaining sometimes!” King Sombra said in amusement then turned to face Celestia fully. “You realize, of course, that I have far more experience with dark magic. You will have to best me if you wish to rule Equestria as the next tyrant in my stead, but either way . . . I ultimately win in the end.”

“Go back to Tartarus, you fiend!” Celestia screamed in a somewhat multi-voice as she shot a huge beam of dark energy which he returned and matched hers with a magical beam struggle but, while Celestia struggled to maintain her beam, King Sombra only grinned in amusement. To him, she was not even a challenge yet. He kept up the pressure just to toy with her a little longer and, if she managed to surprise him and beat him, then it would only amuse him further in the end.

Curses! Feather Wind pounded the ground with a hoof. Every single turn! Every single contingency we have thwarted, and he makes it look easy! But I know it's only because he started with a massive tactical advantage. Years and years of accumulated dark energy would indeed have a lot of power. The only consolation here is the fact it's costing him a lot of power to take us down like this, but he figures he'll only replace it faster when he enslaves the four of us.

“Crystal Sage, we need help!” Feather Wind pleaded inwardly at his secret ally. “If there is anything you can do for us . . . anything you can think of . . . I'm all ears.”

“Then listen carefully.” Crystal Sage responded immediately. A moment later Feather Wind inwardly heard Angel Song's voice. That pure and uplifting voice instantly banished all of Feather Wind's fears. He listened, entranced, as the song rose higher and higher. The song had no lyrics to it. It was simply an uplifting voice.

Then the song radiated out in the real world. It surprised Celestia and King Sombra enough that they both suspended their dark magic beam struggle as they both searched around for the source of the song. What they spotted was Feather Wind starting to float off the ground with a mixture of silver and red aura mixing and moving across his body. His mane flowed as if blown in the wind despite the fact that there was no wind. Music radiated from the Red Crystal, and the voice of an angel filled the room. As it did so, it drove back the darkness and soothed almost everything in the room. Princess Celestia calmed down as she listened to the song in awe. Stern Wing regained just enough of her strength to stand back up as the magic of her spine got restored a bit, and Vision started to recover as well. King Sombra was the only one having a difficult time with this. He was shaking his head back and forth violently, trying desperately to stop hearing what was an awful noise to him.

“No. No. NO! Stop it! Stop it now! Stop that infernal noise!” King Sombra cried out in anger and pain. The song was familiar to him but, unlike his original self, the Dark King despised the song as much as his true self once loved it. King Sombra's soul truly was devoid of any love and goodness, so a song this pure could only cause him agony.

Noticing that the song was causing him pain, Vision decided to twist this proverbial dagger further into his black heart. She used her sonic eyes to enhance the song, making it radiate and echo throughout the room. King Sombra tried to cover his virtual ears but that was not effective at all since his whole incorporeal body was basically one giant ear. He roared in agony as he violently shook his head back and forth, eventually doing it with unnatural speed. His head became a constant blur of motion that was creepy to behold.

The black obelisk slowed in its rotation, then stopped, then cracked as white light spilled from it more and more. The angelic voice was destroying it, but this time King Sombra was in too much pain to intelligently respond to this attack. He just kept shaking his head at super speed and roaring in agony.

“Um, I suggest we leave,” Vision called out to her friends. “We don't want to be near that thing when it explodes. That much negative energy is kind of hostile to our health. Besides, he's going to be so peeved at us.”

Celestia and Stern Wing simultaneously gasped at Vision's language, but Feather Wind quickly said, “Agreed. Let's move!” Feather Wind called then turned to gallop away. The black obelisk was so damaged that it would soon explode even if the source of its agitation departed. “Every pony, let's fly!” Feather Wind suggested. “Vision, eject your wings.”

“Rodger.” Vision pulled the cord that allowed her saddlebags to do exactly that.

“Every pony, LEAP!” Feather Wind commanded. He did the same and quickly tucked his limbs into the four corners of the cloak's pockets. Celestia, Stern Wing and Vision all jumped up just in time to receive a massive blast of wind that shot them out of the cave at high speed.

The cave rocked violently as the black obelisk exploded behind them. Huge waves of negative energy spread from it that was so intense it would instantly kill any living creature standing close to the center of the blast. Waves upon waves of dark energy projected onwards, and black crystals rained upon the desperate adventurers as they flew on in the cave at high speeds. Stern Wing and Celestia tried to guard the rest of the party from some of those attacks. Stern Wing did it with her own body which endured the hit thanks to her armor and magically enhanced endurance, and Celestia did it with some force field magic. With that many projectiles coming at them, however, it was impossible to dodge or deflect them all. They all got hit and injured multiple times, but the most severe part of it was one of the wings of Vision's glider got torn off completely. Feather Wind had to replace it with a crystal wing in a hurry but it was heavier so he also lifted her up telekinetically, at least until they shot out the exit of the cave and crashed into the snow beyond.

They all got knocked unconscious for a little while, long enough for them to be uncertain how long they were out. Stern Wing was the first to recover and try to shake her companions back to consciousness. Vision was the next to recover. Because of that, Vision was able to pull out smelling salts from her saddlebag and used them to get Celestia and Feather Wind to recover more quickly.

Just in time, too. They heard a monstrous groan rise up into the air. King Sombra would soon be upon them, and at that moment they felt too injured and exhausted to fight him effectively (although Stern Wing was recovering her stamina in a hurry). With Vision's broken glider wing and its crystal wing barely an adequate replacement, however, she was forced to retreat by hoof. No other pony felt willing to abandon her so they all galloped away together as fast as they could. The snow slowed their retreat and the cold hindered their muscles. Retreating delayed King Sombra's arrival but he was catching up far faster than they could retreat because he moved faster to begin with and he was not hindered by the terrain at all due to lacking a corporeal body.

“This isn't going to work. We have to stand and fight!” Stern Wing called back to her friends. She was pretty banged up too, but she was recovering the fastest, even visibly so. The right side of her face was partially crushed even with the helmet to protect her head, but it was slowly morphing back to normal.

“Summon a projection of me, and have everypony stand behind you!” Crystal Sage mentally called to Feather Wind from within the Red Crystal.

“Everypony, get behind me,” Feather Wind instructed as he turned to face King Sombra. “I think I have a plan.”

“I hope you know what you're doing,” Feather Wind thought inwardly to Crystal Sage.

“I hope so too,” Crystal Sage agreed.

Feather Wind ignited his horn and created a holographic projection of Crystal Sage, complete with his flowing red scarf. He was a full-scale 3D image of him. He looked like he was actually standing there except he was a bit transparent, kind of like the ghost he actually was. He glanced back at Feather Wind's companions in a moment of concern, then turned to glare firmly at the swift approach of his evil counterpart.

The sight of his good counterpart made King Sombra slow his approach. He was supremely peeved at that moment, but this was an unexpected encounter he had not met in centuries and one he intended to savor and assess.

They actually got locked in a silent staring contest with each other. King Sombra's eyes burning with fury, and Crystal Sage staring back with unshakable resolve. As Feather Wind looked upon this, he was once again reminded why he admired his teacher so much.

Eventually, and mysteriously, King Sombra started to back away for some reason. The more he retreated, the faster he retreated, but he never stopped staring at his good counterpart. This continued until he faded out of sight in the snowy blizzard.

“That deserves an explanation,” Celestia demanded as she approached and stared down at the holographic image of Crystal Sage. “He could have finished us off. Why did he instead choose to depart and let us go?”

“Let us find better shelter before we get into that discussion,” Crystal Sage suggested. “Come with me. I think I know where there is a cave nearby.”