//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Besieging the Crystal Empire // Story: Turmoil Rising // by JFT //------------------------------// For hundreds of years, the Frozen North had remained undisturbed; the ice and snow had built up and completely covered the green landscape that once served as the original home of the ponies under miles of snow, making it a permanent and unchanged icy wasteland. Yet in a matter of seconds, one creature tore a hole through its crust, lassoing himself one of the many clouds that loomed over the land using a lightning bolt, and pulling himself out, before harnessing it as if it were a beast of burden and rode it south, towards an unsuspected city. The Storm King laughed. “Did you see the look on their faces, Doubt? Those helpless, confused looks? The enfeebled expression on Tempest?” The weaselly black vapor hovered near him. “That’s nice and all, but are you already forgetting the plan? Your task was to liberate Fear and bring it back to the Crystal Empire, where the Broodmother and the Shaper are preparing to release the umbrum so that they can return to the source to make it whole again. You’re not wasting time running about a city looking for one pony just so you can exact revenge on somebody who did you wrong.” “Relax, will you? I don’t need to do anything. I just gave her the idea of harming somebody and now that thought will slowly instill and become endless anguish because she’ll be unable to do anything about it… at least until she freezes, that is.” “You shouldn’t be so confident. I thought those ponies were dealt with last time, yet they somehow managed not just to escape certain end, they even found us.” “Oh come on,” the construct bragged, “they’re buried under a mountain of ice and snow, how can anyone recover from that?” “Be that as it may, you’re not deviating from the plan. You got that, Scourgelord?” “Fine…” he grumbled. They flew across the vast northern expanse. It took them hours previously to get to their destination, considering how slow he was moving, but now, riding on top of a cloud, they bypassed all the natural obstacles and saved up on time, which became evident as only a few minutes passed, and the city came in sight. “I need to inform them that we’re ready. Until I return, do not approach the settlement, or the magic protecting it will hinder you.” The manifestation of doubt flew off towards the city, leaving the satyr all by himself, yet as it disappeared, he simply continued to push the cloud forward. “Scourgelord,” Fear’s dual voice came from the wrapped-up bundle around his neck, “what are you doing? Stop.” “Nah.” “What?!” it erupted in anger. “Weren’t you paying attention? Doubt just told you-!” “I know what it told me, Mommy Dearest. I’m still sticking to the plan, I’m just taking a little detour. I’m going to make a grand entrance and these mini-horses will tremble in fear so that when your babies wake up, I’ll be ripping all the glory.” “Nobody gave you permission to improvise, Scourgelord! Stop treating this as a game right now or-!” “I AM THE STORM KING!” he yelled back. “And I’m sick and tired of being called by a name that means nothing to me! Besides, what are you going to do about it? You’re still partially trapped in the crystal prison that you’ve created for yourself, and without the lifeblood of the world to power you, you can hardly even raise your voice. I’m behind the wheel now, sweetie. The King is about to make a comeback!” The dark cloud passed the threshold which the storms of the north couldn’t trespass, and it began to approach the city that was enveloped in a magical bubble. Yet as they drew closer, the satyr noticed something was wrong as the cloud he was riding slowly began to dissipate. “What-? What’s happening?!” “Idiot! Why do you think you were told to wait?! The Crystal Heart is preventing the storms from destroying the empire, which means you’re about to have a really nasty fall!” “Not if I can help it!” But by the time they passed the border of the city, the cloud under the construct finally dispersed and he fell, landing on top of the magical bubble with a loud thud. “Ouch…” he groaned. “I’m gonna feel that in the morning…” “Feel? You are a rock with consciousness, how can you feel anything?” “Shut up! It’s a phantom pain, okay?” He rose on all fours and knocked on the surface several times. It was solid as iron, and since it was covering the entire city it was clear that a powerful spellcaster was behind it. But the Storm King was more than equipped to handle it. He opened his palm and pressed it against the surface. In a matter of seconds, it began to melt through, absorbing the magic that was projected, carving a hole big enough for him to crawl through. He looked below and saw only near vertical spires of the castle, and there was no clear way for him to land without things ending badly. He soon got an idea; he lept through the hole, reaching the tower, before sliding against one of the spires, embedding his claws onto the castle’s surface, and slowly descended the slope, before his hands finally grabbed hold of a window's ledge, halting his descent, and then crawling inside. The royal guards had searched the abandoned house top to bottom, there were clear signs that somebody had been here recently. The brand-new books, except for one that seemed to have been mishandled, were left on the dusty floor and had been taken away. Yet whoever was here seemed to have left some time ago, leaving no clues behind where they went. This was precisely what Doubt had found when it came to the scene; its pawns were missing from the hideout where they were originally set up, but it knew they prepared the necessary measures if they had to abandon it. It left and flew across the city, looking about for any possible signs, when all of a sudden, a bird flew in its way and stopped. For a moment, the weaselly vapor thought it was just flying about and stopped by it by coincidence, but then it let out an unnatural sound. That was the sign he was looking for. The bird flew off and the shadowy creature followed it to the nearby roof, where it squeezed through the narrow passage, and between its walls, there was a small portal made of dark light. “Very curious…” the old ram said. While they were waiting, Queen Chrysalis was lounging about, surrounded by a pile of her minions, surrounded by tiny portals, as the changelings came in and out, shapeshifting into various small animals each time they departed. Meanwhile, Grogar wondered around the large sealed lid that stood in the middle of the room, held in place by four large statues of equine heads. He was trying to figure out how to break the seal, but what he discovered was something far more fascinating, as he realized that the statues that were controlling the intricate mechanism, were adorned in very familiar runes. Suddenly, a small bird flew in through one of the small portals, returned to his changeling form, and let out a shrill. “Well well,” Chrysalis noted, “it appears they’re finally back.” Not a moment after, Doubt came through. “You two seem to be doing well. I was worried for a moment when I noticed that the original hideout had been found.” “Did the rug rat succeed? Where is he?” the ram asked. “I’ve ordered him to wait on the outskirts of the city,” it answered. “Is everything prepared?” The sorcerer sighed. “I fear we’ve encountered a small problem, wisp.” “Define… “problem”?” the tone of Doubt’s voice showed noticeable irritation. “We’ve managed to get to the umbrum’s prison, and we can unlock it. We just need to disable the Crystal Heart.” “So? Where’s the problem?” “You’ve noticed the sudden spike in guard’s activity upstairs, haven’t you?” “Along with a giant magical barrier surrounding the empire? Yes,” it concurred. “Hold on, this wasn’t my fault!” the Changeling Queen protested. “I didn’t have enough time to set up a diversion like I had the last two times! Besides, how was I supposed to know that Princess Cadence would be the one to ruin the whole thing?!” The other two stared at her with unamused expressions on their faces. “In other words, snatching the Crystal Heart will be impossible now without engaging into an all-out battle,” the weaselly shape made a groaning noise. “I didn’t say that,” Grogar corrected it. “Now that the rung rat has returned, he’s going to give us what we require.” “The Scourgelord?” One of Doubt’s eyes widened in confusion. “He’s not going to do anything on the outskirts of the city.” “And do you honestly trust him even for a moment that he will stay put?” An awkward silence followed after the grizzled ram asked that. “He still clings to the memory of who he once was, it is the only thing he knows. The Storm King is rebellious. I may have reawakened him, however, he’s not yet come to terms with his condition, but he will by the end.” “Grogar, that hardly helps us if he gets smashed to bits again,” the Pillar of Hatred pointed out. “I can always rebuild him,” he grinned as he said that. “But before it comes to that, he's going to provide us with a necessary distraction, so that most of the empire’s eyes will be focused on him… instead of where they should be…” The young captain of the guard has had a hectic morning. It didn’t help the fact that he had been up since the night before, but following the revelation not long ago made the situation more urgent than he could’ve imagined. Knowing that the changelings have infiltrated the Crystal Empire, have since the moment they received orders to strengthen the security, the princess gave additional orders to, not just mobilize the entire military, she had them search any vacant house in the city under the pretense that they were hiding there, all the while also keeping an eye on the populace and view with suspicion anyone who was trying to leave the lockdown. He walked down the main street of the city as he directed and received reports from the other guards while seeing that despite the commotion, the citizens were more or less calm. “Captain!” He sighed, he knew it couldn’t have lasted for long. “Report.” The unicorn guard saluted. “We’ve caught them, captain! We’ve caught the changelings!” “Really? Where?” “Southern entrance, captain. One of them was caught without a disguise on, but the rest of the group are still trying to convince us they’re innocent.” “I see.” He rubbed his chin. “That’s good to hear. Have them get escorted to the castle, the princess will know what to do with them.” “Already underway, sir.” Flash nodded. “Dismissed!” He sighed in relief. Perhaps he was wrong. The way things were playing out there likely won’t be any further escalation, but he still decided to be present when the princess decided what to do about it. KRAKOOM! He stopped dead in his tracks as he was about to leave for the castle, and he noticed that other ponies around had the same reaction. That was a thunderbolt sound, but this close to the Crystal Empire? Impossible. The magic of the Crystal Heart should’ve prevented it from coming any closer. And that’s when he suddenly saw a dark cloud approaching from the north at a high speed. This wasn’t normal, something was going terribly wrong. “Guards!” he called, and those that were nearby quickly lined up by him. “Go to the northern border and reinforce the unit there! Now!” They ran off and he followed. If somehow the natural force that was approaching was immune to the artifact’s power, both unicorns and pegasi will count, every one of them, so as they made their way towards the location, the captain called on all the magical and flying units to assist. They had already gotten past the castle when he suddenly stopped, as he noticed that the dark cloud was beginning to shrink until it suddenly disappeared over the city. He sighed in relief. Perhaps he was jumping to a conclusion too quickly considering what a tense situation he had been in. “Guards, halt!” he ordered and they all stopped. He was about to dismiss them when he suddenly heard a sound of a commotion not far. It sounded as if ponies were fighting. He suddenly saw a group of them run in the opposite direction, at a tail of a white unicorn mare with a green mane and a pink streak in it, who was carrying something glowing. That’s when he heard the alarm being risen. “Crystal Heart! They’ve stolen the Crystal Heart!” He didn’t waste any time in rallying the present troops. “Guards! After them! We have to retrieve it!” They charged after the thieves, with Flash Sentry calling out for any other available soldier to assist until there was enough of them. That was when they spotted the targets disappearing around the corner. “Split in half! Take the other route! We’ll cut them off with a pincer!” And with those orders, a group split from the whole and pursued the infiltrators from another street, while they ran after them into the alley where they disappeared. He was certain of the success, there would be no place for them to run. The young captain ran after the guards, proceeding into the narrow street, where they all eventually cluttered together and then made his way to the front where the groups met. And as he finally waded through the crowd, he found an open space, with nothing at it. “Wha… what’s the meaning of this? Why are you all standing about? Where did they go?!” “They were here, captain,” one of the guards spoke, “but they got away. A portal was opened in the alleyway and they all escaped through one after another. By the time we managed to get to them, however, it had already closed.” The stallion was left petrified. The symbol, and the protection of their empire, was stolen right from under them… and under his watch. And if they somehow manage to destroy it, then the storms would emerge and bury the city under a mountain of ice and snow. A thought came to him for a moment, thinking if it could get any worse at this point. BZZZZRRRR! A sound echoed across the sky, one that Flash Sentry knew all too well. He looked up in dread and watched as the protective shield isolating the Crystal empire began to disappear. “Everypony, go to your designated locations!” he ordered, then looking at the group of ten guards that were left. “All of you! With me, to the castle!” He ran as fast as he could. Things have been playing out at such an accelerated speed one after another that it couldn’t have been a coincidence, even though deep down he had hoped that Princess Cadence had only dropped the shield because she passed out from exhaustion, but he would in no way let that to a chance. He and the group arrived at the castle entrance to find some of the guard unicorns pacifying a group of changelings that failed to escape and had dropped their disguises, into a magical bubble. As reassuring as it was that the situation on this end had been handled, the one in progress was still ahead. “All of you spread out!” he ordered as they burst through the door. Each of the guards went their separate way, as the castle was big and there would be a lot of ground to cover. Yet as he dashed down the hallway, he soon heard a strange flashing and zapping sound. He quickened the pace, and after a few turns, not only did the sound get louder, he also encountered a small winged curly-maned puff, peeking around the corner. “Princess Flurry Heart! What are you doing here?” The little filly was staggered from being startled by him. “Mister Flashy, mommy’s fighting a big black scary rocky pile!” “A big black… what?” he wondered, as he took a peek around the corner to see the scene in progress. “No…” the alicorn princess refused. “You’re lying…” The Storm King towered over her, his right arm opened, prepared to absorb her attacks. “Am I, though?” he asked. “Considering that I got what I came for and they were in the same place looking for it, I’m the one who’s now here and they aren’t. So tell me, what’s more likely?” Cadence couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew Twilight and her friends all too well, there was no way what he had just told her was true. And yet despite that, even if the construct couldn’t form facial expressions, the tone of his voice almost sounded… true. “I think you should be more worried about your own problems, Taffy horse,” he mocked her. “I’m the worst possible matchup for you, who can only use magic to battle. You’re all fluff and no punch.” He swung at her and she easily dodged, before dashing to the side and firing a bolt of magic, and he turned his hand at her, absorbing the attack. She repeated it several times: the construct would attack, she would dodge, then fire, and he would in turn absorb. “Look, do we really need to waste time with this?” he asked her. “Why don’t you just come here so I can put you on a leash, walk you out onto the balcony and declare myself the victor, and spare all of us some trouble?” “You say that,” the Princess of Love answered, “but for all of your boasting, even if I can’t harm you, you can’t do it to me either.” The construct groaned as he stood upright. “Yes yes, prissy princess, that’s an obvious point. But there’s a big difference between the two of us. See, for all the complaining about my condition, it does come with one perk: I’m just a walking pile of rocks, only my consciousness is active and as such, because my body isn’t real, I don’t ever tire out. You on the other hand…” he paused briefly, observing his opponent and then chuckling. “Well… you look like you’re barely even able to stand at this point. So why don’t you just do yourself a favor and come quietly… Because I’ll have to go really rough on you otherwise.” She glared at him. “Then you’ve never fought an alicorn princess before, Storm King. I may have been put out of commission by your former lieutenant when she first invaded Canterlot, but don’t think even for a moment I’m some sort of one-trick pony…” She was cut off as the construct burst out laughing, bending over and slapping his knee. “Oh, oh I get it, it’s cuz you’re a pony. That’s funny, really funny.” He wiggled his finger at her. “LISTEN TO ME!” she yelled at him in rising frustration. “You’ve invaded my empire, hurt my guards, and you’ve even threatened to hurt my daughter! Even if what you said you did to Twilight doesn’t turn out to be true, those facts alone are enough to consider you’re an absolute threat! Do you think I’m frail in my current state? I once managed to protect the Crystal Empire from Sombra for three days straight without even a shuteye. So if you think even for a moment I’m going to topple like a domino with barely a nudge, then you’re asking for a lot of trouble.” She was lying to herself. Even as she was saying those words she was rocking back and forth, and the only reason why she was able to hold up the protection spell for as long as she did last time was that she abstained from any other physical activities. But now after all that’s she’s gone through, it seemed like fear and anger were the only things that were still keeping her awake. “I see,” the satyr said and he pulled himself to the full height. “If that’s the case, then there’s no point in me holding back.” He raised his arms and tried to crack his knuckles, only to stop after a high-pitched scratching noise followed, then rolling his eyes after remembering that he had no joints to crack. “Now, get ready, Swirly Curly.” He made a step back, clutching his fist and pulling it backward. “You’re now in for a world of hu-“ A figure flew over his head, spotting it from the corner of his eyes, but he was too slow to react. A pair of hooves swung down and bashed the Storm King in the face, the balance was tipped, and the obsidian construct toppled with a loud thud. An orange armored pegasus stallion landed by the princess’ side. “Captain Flash Sentry!” “Your Majesty, we need to go, while he’s distracted! Quick!” The two quickly ran in the opposite direction, while the pile of black rock was flat on his back. “You came in the nick of time, Flash,” she said as she ran beside him. “I don’t think I’d have been able to hold him back on my own for much longer.” “I wish he was the only problem, Your Majesty, but we got another, even bigger one,” he explained. “The Crystal Heart’s been stolen.” “What?! How?! When?!” she raised her voice. “The changelings, Your Majesty. They overwhelmed the guards that were watching over it with superior numbers. They took it through a portal that appeared somewhere in the city and disappeared.” “This doesn’t look good… But still, we’ll solve one problem at a time. First, we need some very strong ponies to deal with this one,” the mare answered. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, we need to focus on finding where they’ve taken the Crystal Heart. If they destroy it…“ “Don’t worry Flash,” she calmed him. “The Crystal Heart is a powerful artifact. It would take a type of magic as strong as Flurry Heart’s to actually destroy it. Until then we can-“ KRAKOOM! They suddenly both stopped dead in their tracks. That just now was the sound of thunder, and it came from outside. The horror came over them, as they looked out the window and saw clouds coming over the horizon, fast approaching, and with them came the everlasting snow and ice. “The storms… That means the Crystal Heart was…” the young captain could barely speak. The monarch was hardly better. “No… that’s impossible… How…?” They were both shaken by the sight. If what they saw happening before them was real, it could only mean that their greatest fears have come to pass. The protection of the Crystal Heart had been dispelled. So distracted they were, that they weren’t paying attention to what was happening around them. A lightning bolt shot past Cadence and then wrapped itself around her neck like a rope, shocking her. “Your Majesty!” the captain finally reacted, trying to reach out for her, only to get shocked as well upon the touch, leaving him reeling. “Ooooooooh, I think I got a nibble!” a mocking voice came from the other side of the hallway. The Storm King was sitting down, his right arm holding the lightning bolt’s tail, holding it up as if it were a fishing rod. “Oh boy, this one’s heavy. It must be a four hundred pounder,” he talked as he was reeling in his prey. “Whoa! That’s a keeper!” He made a strong tug and pulled the alicorn princess to her, grabbing her by the neck. “You know, prissy princess, back in the day, whenever I conquered a kingdom, if they quickly submitted without a fuss, I would simply take the valuables and let them be. I mean, the whole place still burned to the ground, but that’s all part of looting and pillaging, you understand? But those who chose to prolong a losing battle, those who chose to fight me, I was never lenient with them. I would parade them around the street, having them shamed by the looks of the defeated, those who had put their hopes in those they thought could win, and ultimately failed. Seeing them being reduced to my trophies broke the spirit of the people… and that’s precisely what I’m about to do to you. I’m going to make an example of you, curly pink-“ A bolt of magic suddenly flew past his sight and he heard the sound of rock cracking and then seeing a bit of it falling to the ground. The satyr's head turned, discovering that his left shoulder had just been grazed. “HEY! WHO DID THIS?!” the tone of sound and fury rose from the construct as he turned in the direction from which it came. A little alicorn filly was standing in the hallway behind him, her legs wide, her horn glowing in bright light, and an angry expression on her face. “Leave Mommy alone!” She fired another burst of magic, but this time the construct opened his right palm and absorbed it. “Well I’ll be… the little bumblebee can sting?” he mused. “Flurry Heart, no!” Cadence yelled in a fearful tone. “Don’t fight him! Run!” The satyr's gaze turned back to her. “You know what? I’ve changed my mind.” He dropped the grown-up alicorn to the floor, pulled up the string of lightning upwards until it was straight, letting it go, the lightning solidified and then promptly fell apart into smaller particles, creating a net around her, and the moment she tried to move in it, she was shocked. “I’ll postpone your walk of shame… until the baby joins in.” The Storm King turned and slowly began to march towards the little alicorn filly, who kept firing bolts of magic at him, only to absorb them. He thought to himself this will be a child’s play, yet he merely got halfway to her, when another, that was quiet up until now, finally spoke again. “Enough already, Scourgelord!” the voice came from the wrapped-up bundle around his neck. “We can feel it! The magic of the Crystal Heart had diminished! Release us already, quick!” “Listen here, Mommy Dearest.” He stopped, groaning. “First of all, I don’t want to hear another word from you calling me by that name. I’m the Storm King. STORM. KING. Second of all, stop whining as if I’m gonna have a hard time dealing with a walking curly puff…” Flash sentry just stared at what was happening. He couldn’t understand why the enemy suddenly stopped what he was doing, and was now talking to himself. But still, he was distracted, which only gave him a small window of opportunity now that he’s recovered. Both the mother and the daughter were in danger, both separated by a walking, talking rock; he could only save one of them before the thing got wind of what was happening. The elder alicorn was out of the creature’s line of vision and was closer; he’d have an easier time of getting her away, but she was wrapped up in an electrified net and there was no way for him to save her without him getting shocked as well. The little filly on the other hand was on the other side, in the construct’s line of sight; if he passed him he’d just end up getting shocked by him for trying to get in the way. Furthermore, the child was more than able to run away, but it’s become clear that she had no intention of doing so, she was determined not to leave her mother's side, and as powerful as she was at her age, she couldn’t do anything against the Storm King, just like her mother couldn’t. There was only one thing he could do, and in the position that the enemy had set himself up, he had the perfect chance to incapacitate him, even if for a moment. He flew into the air and dashed forward. He made no noise as he approached, he quickly turned and bucked the construct in the back of his head at high speed. Once more he got tipped off balance and landed face-first on the ground. The captain of the guard used that chance and quickly scooped up the little princess in his hooves. “Flash, run!” Cadence yelled. “Take Flurry Heart and run!” “Mama!” the little filly cried and the pegasus quickly took her away. But the moment had finally passed and the satyr managed to pick himself up from the floor again, smashing his fist in anger at the ground. “You just sit there and wait, Taffy horse.” He briefly glanced back at the older alicorn. “I’ll reunite you with your little horsey girl.” He ran after the two fleeing equines, as the one flying had just disappeared around the corner. And the Princess of Love was left all alone, unable to move from her position, restrained by the satyr’s lightning magic. They could hear it. The construct’s heavy footsteps could be heard loudly close by. Even if they managed to make a distance between them; he was still close thanks to his size, and all the while he had to dodge the occasional bolt of lightning that came flying his way. Soon, however, he heard other footsteps closing in. It was the guards that came with him; it seemed they had gotten wind that something was going on, and had come to the site of the commotion. “Guards! Protect Princess Flurry Heart!” the captain ordered. The guards stood in the path of Flash Sentry and the Storm King, and the latter didn’t show any intention of slowing down. The unicorns shot beams of magic at him, but he easily negated their attacks with the Staff of Sacanas embedded in his palm. Then the earth ponies charged at him, and all he did was lower his arms to the ground and them flipped them all, launching them at his ranged attackers. “Out of the way, cannon fodder!” the satyr yelled as he charged through them, sweeping them aside. The guards had offered little deterrence and the walking pile of rocks continued his pursuit. But it wouldn’t take long for him to realize he had lost his quarry. The pegasus was flying so he couldn’t even hear the sound of his hooves. In anger, he punched the nearby wall. He was frustrated: the little princess could be anywhere in the castle by now and the incessant voice from the wrapped-up crystal just wouldn’t shut up. How in the world was he supposed to catch them in they could hear him coming down the hallway? His gaze suddenly stopped at the spot in the wall he had just punched; he had left a hole in it. An idea suddenly popped up in his mind. They stopped. The captain was still holding the little filly in his hooves as he was flying in the air, then gently landing and listening to his surroundings. There was no sound around them. He sighed in the knowledge that they had lost the pursuer. “Let me go, Mister Flashy!” the little alicorn fussed. “Mommy needs help!” “Princess, please,” he tried to reason with her, “you must understand that your mother is not in immediate danger, but that thing that was trying to hurt her is now after you.” “But I wanna help! I can stop it! I-!” “No, princess… Magic’s not going to be of any help here. If your mother couldn’t stop him, what chance do you have?” “But-!” she tried to protest. “I understand that you want to help, princess. But there are times when we can’t do things alone. The only thing I can do now is to protect you until more guards ca-“ He was interrupted by a loud noise. It didn’t sound like it was coming from one of the hallways, it was muffled, as if it was coming from one of the rooms. And yet despite that, that strange noise kept repeating itself every so often, growing louder… and closer. CHRASH! Next to them, the wall suddenly burst open, and the giant black construct came walking into the hallway, holding a large crystal pillar, using it as a battering ram. “Peekaboo!” he said when his sight locked on them both. Without taking a breath, Flash Sentry quickly lept in the air and tried to fly away, but at this range, he was in Strom King’s reach, as he shot a lightning bolt and electrocuted him, but not before the filly slipped from his grip and she slid across the floor unharmed. She shook her head from confusion and looked about, spotting the captain of the guard laying on the floor, twitching, meanwhile the construct approached and went past him, completely ignoring him. “Come here, pumpkin! Come back to uncle Storm King!” he made baby noises to try and coax her. She would have none of that. Her horn lit up and she shot a bolt at him, only for him to negate her attack, and yet despite the obvious result, she would do it over and over again, only for the outcome to remain the same. Fear was slowly beginning to settle in her the closer he got and she slowly began to back up. The Storm King caught that and his footsteps quickened to the point where he started running, and when he did, so did the little alicorn. She turned a corner and ran on the carpeted hallway that was leading to the castle’s balcony, but the obsidian construct was quickly closing the gap, his arms stretched out and were about to reach for her. All of a sudden, the satyr hit something with his ankle; he didn’t see it, but he could definitely feel that something was holding back one of his legs as he was about to move it forward to make a step, he lost balance and landed flat on his face. The stop was so sudden that the wrapped-up bundle around his neck flew off, across the air, and then rolled on the floor out onto the balcony. Flurry Heart noticed it as well as the sound, stopping some distance away, noticing that her pursuer had stopped. “Okay… I’m getting pretty sick and tired of this…” the satyr mumbled. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, also shame on you. But do it the third time, and you’re officially THAT GUY! You know, the one that’s gonna be-!” His gaze locked on what had hindered him. Under the carpet he was walking on he noticed a rope tied from the wall on one side, leading into the corridor he had passed, and to the one who was holding up the rope that made him trip. “Wha… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” the tone of his voice betrayed a sudden shock. Grogar was still walking about the sealed lid and the statues holding it shut, inspecting the runes engraved upon them. Suddenly, he started hearing voices nearby. On the far end of the underground cavern, a portal of dark light was open, and changelings began pouring through, before the Queen of Changelings finally came in last, carrying a large crystal artifact. “Close it! Close it now!” she yelled. The old ram’s horns glowed, and the portal closed shut. “Phew, that was close…” she sighed in relief. “Now, when the Heart’s power is disabled, be prepared to open the lid. Got that?” She received no response. “Grogar?” There was still no answer, he seemed completely absent-minded. “Hello?! Equestria to Grogar! Wake up! We’re on schedule! Get the lid open!” “If we don’t want to trigger the protection spell it’ll have to wait,” the grizzled ram spoke at last. “What? What “protection spell”? You never mentioned anything about a protection spell earlier!” He tapped the border near the lid. “These runes, the same ones that were written in the plans on how to reach this place… They’re all over the seal. I’ve been examining them while we were waiting for the rug rat to come back, but I’ve only managed to crack it just when you left. Although I’ve not been able to decipher yet what triggers it. It could be just about anything.” “YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN READ THESE THINGS AND YOU BROUGHT THAT TO ME JUST NOW?!?!” she burst in anger, accidentally letting the Crystal Heart slip from her grasp. The artifact bounced off the ground and touched the edge of the lid. It flashed, and then one of the runes lit up, followed by those next to it until they all lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh… I guess now we know what triggers it…” she said in an awkward tone. “YOU IDIOT!” Grogar snapped at her. That was the only thing he could do as the light erupted from the seal and then began to quickly expand. The ram sorcerer wasn’t able to react in time, and as the light touched him, a magical bind immobilized him, freezing him in place. Chrysalis saw what happened and quickly lept in the air before the light on the ground could touch her, as did the rest of the changelings. As the light was spreading, it inevitably reached the walls and enveloped it as well, until the entire room was brightly illuminated. “Well? Don’t just wait, open the portal!” Chrysalis urged the sheep. It was only then that she realized that he was struggling. “I… can’t… It’s the protection spell. I can’t open the way outside the city.” “Oh great… Just wonderful. Things can’t possibly get any worse at this critical moment.” She would curse herself after what followed next. On the other side of the sealed lid, the excess light energy from the surrounding area began to conjugate in a single place, slowly beginning to build up a form. It was an equine: a tall, regal unicorn mare, her cobalt crown sitting on top of her sparkly raspberry mane, slowly turning blue further towards its tip, her very pale vermillion fur being adorned in blue trappings holding a golden heart, and hear rear end bore the mark of a blue snowflake, surrounded by a horseshoe. Both villains stood there, speechless. “Is that…” the Pillar of Hatred spoke first, before the Shaper took over from her, “… yes, she is. And she’s not your problem to deal with.” The ram strained himself, and soon enough a portal of dark light suddenly opened nearby. “What the..? You just said-!” she tried to inquire. “I could only open it to a nearby location. With the chaos outside this is one place they won’t think of looking at. I’ll remain here and open the seal. Now go.” “You can’t be serious! You’re-!” “GOOO!” the Father of Monsters raised his voice to the level the Queen of Changelings hasn’t heard before, causing her to quickly pick up the Crystal Heart and disappeared through the opening with her minions. All the distractions have finally left the place, and the frustrated expression on Grogar’s face disappeared, as he slowly turned his head to face the visual manifestation of the protective spell. “Princess Amore, I presume…?” It was less than two minutes before departure. The train conductor waited outside the station of the Crystal Empire for anyone to come, but he’s been standing there for a long time now and nobody’s was about. And considering that he saw the city in the distance covered in a great protective bubble he was getting the idea that nobody was coming anyway, he might as well give it an order to go. He blew his whistle. “All aboard! The train for Griffonstone departing no-!” FLASH! The conductor couldn’t finish the sentence, as a great weight suddenly piled on top of him out of nowhere. Mostly ponies, but also other creatures left the cluster, panting as if they had just survived an arduous ordeal. “Is everycreature okay?” a voice came out from the clutter. “Maybe that’s a question we should be asking you, headmare Starlight,” the reformed changeling answered. Both Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst lay on the ground, being pressed down upon by a force. When they were back at the castle and heard the commotion, the faculty members and the princess quickly became aware of what had invaded it, after all, he wasn’t being very subtle about it. As such, the plan was made to remove the students from any potential danger while she and the guards contained the Storm King. The temporary diversion was enough to get all the students together and away from the immediate danger, before teleporting them to the nearest safe place. Of course, the one creating the diversion had to make a quick leap at the last second, and crashed on top of the ones who were doing the “getting away”. “Talk about a close shave,” Trixie said, sitting on top of them both before she got enveloped in a teal aura and lifted off. “Way too close if you ask me,” the headmare added as she got back up. The stallion, meanwhile, looked in the direction of the city and watched as the protective bubble surrounding it began to disappear. “Well, I guess Cadence made contact with the Storm King now.” “Shhhhhh!” Sandbar made the noise. “Vice-principal, please don’t use that name, not now.” “Why?” The three finally looked at the crowd of students and among the five that were irregular, one stood out. “He was there…” The hippogriff was clutching her arms, shivering as if she was cold. “It shouldn’t be possible… he was shattered into pieces, his head was the only thing that was intact and was kept in Mount Aris museum… Why is he able to walk and talk again…? I mean, is the Crystal Castle just another Tree of Harmony? Possessed by a spirit? That should explain it, right? That was all just an illusion to test us just like-” Another avian hand reached for her shoulder, grabbing her attention. “Silverstream… I’m sorry to say this, but that wasn’t an illusion like the last time we saw him. He was real.” After the griffon confirmed she wasn’t seeing things, she sunk her head into her hands, and the yak embraced her to try and comfort her. The pink mare would soon join to her side. “Don’t worry, Silverstream. We’ll get you all out of here and take care of him, I promise.” Even if her words didn’t exactly hit the note she was hoping it was the best she could do to console her, but this would have to do for now. “Students!” she announced. “The departure will continue as planned. Everycreature, board the train for Griffonstone. We will reorganize when we get to the destination.” The ponies began to board the train, alleviating the conductor of a great burden, while the other students helped the hippogriff. As the crowd moved, the three unicorns reconvened. “Things won’t really go according to plan, will they though, Starlight?” Sunburst asked. “Yes, but not in the same manner that I thought at first,” she answered. “I’ll go back to the Crystal Castle and help Cadence contain the…” she stopped herself before rethinking her words. “The S.K.” “You sure you don’t need any help?” the blue mare questioned. “I appreciate that, but I think the two of you will have more than enough to deal with by yourselves. After things are done here I’ll go back home and help Starswirl with his research, like I promised Twilight. I’ll send you both a message after we’re done with-!” “Flurry Heart!” the orange dragon flew about the train station and called out. “Flurry Heart!” The rest of the students also stopped just before they entered the train when they heard her. “Smolder, what are you doing?” the stallion inquired. “Have you seen Flurry Heart? She flew off Yonas back when we got to the group just before we were teleported.” “Wait, she was with you guys?!” the headmare erupted, only to see the rest nod. “Oh no… we just left her right there when I cast the spell! At HIS mercy! I need to get back before-!” KRAKOOM! She staggered, all of them were in fact, Silverstream shrieked in shock. That was the clash of thunder, and it came from the direction of the city. And what they saw was a sudden gathering of storm clouds encroaching from beyond their gaze, fast approaching. “Headmare Starlight, what’s happening?” Yona asked. She knew very well what was happening. She and Sunburst both. They’ve experienced it firsthand when a newly born Flurry Heart destroyed the Crystal Heart using her power at the peak of emotion, the snow and thunderstorms that came afterward nearly buried the Crystal Empire under a mountain of ice and snow. If that was happening now, it could only mean that the artifact’s power had disappeared. And then they heard it… no, not thunder, something far worse – screams, howls, shrieks. These horrible sounds, unspeakable, unnatural sounds began to rise from the city… along with large masses of ever-shifting darkness. With all that was happening, it seemed as if the world itself had come to besiege the Crystal Empire.