Meanwhile, our heroes Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle were walking through the woods, in the middle of the Land of Sweets. They came across a slightly dilapidated village made entirely out of gingerbread, and covered in a haze.
“It’s what’s left of the gingerbread village. The Storm King’s work, no doubt,” Shining Armor said.
They continued to walk through the village, gazing at the destruction wrought by the Storm King, which almost broke Sweetie Belle’s heart.
“I didn’t know things had gotten this bad.”
Sweetie Belle suddenly spotted a forgotten doll in the snow and picks it up, exchanging somber glances with the Nutcracker. The two look up when they hear a horse whinny in the distance. As they approach the stable, the horse nickers and steps back defensively. It had a blonde coat and a pearly white mane and tail.
“Steady! We won’t hurt you!” Sweetie Belle said.
The horse leaned forward letting Sweetie Belle pet it. A snowball suddenly struck Sweetie Belle in the back, causing her to stumble slightly.
“Ow! Hey!”
They started looking around, as Shining Armor asked, “Who’s there?!” He drew out his sword and stood in a defensive position. “Show yourself! Now!”
Suddenly, more snowballs were thrown towards them both.
“It’s an ambush! Take cover!” Shining Armor carefully grabbed the girl in his arms and hid themselves behind a wall.
Sweetie Belle and Shining Armor peered over the wall they’re hiding behind to catch a glimpse of their assailants. Which revealed to be three young children, a boy and two girls. The boy wore pajamas that looked like winter clothes but styled like a gingerbread man wearing overalls, and had brown hair with a propeller hat, while the two girls had winter clothes that looked like candy canes.
The first girl had light opal eyes, light rose, light amber, and brilliant scarlet hair, and wore a light ceriseish gray winter jacket, and had light opal boots and indigo mittens with her peppermint colored winter gear.
The second girl had brilliant amber eyes, pale, light grayish heliotrope, green, and very light lime green hair, and wore a light cyanish gray coat with her peppermint colored winter gear.
The gingerbread boy was Button Mash and the two peppermint girls were Toola Roola and Coconut Cream.
Shining Armor then laughed, “It’s alright. They’re just children.”
One of the children threw a snowball and knocked the Nutcracker’s hat from his head, “With very good aim!”
Sweetie Belle noticed the doll and held it up over the wall, “Wait! We found this. Is she yours?”
The kids stopped throwing snowballs and then Coconut Cream rushed over to take the doll. “Patty!” She then hugged her doll.
Button Mash uneasily stepped out from his cover, hesitant to approach Sweetie Belle and the nutcracker next to her at first. After a moment’s pause he reluctantly got closer. Then, Shining Armor then knelt down to the Peppermint Girls’ level.
“What happened here?” he asked.
“We went out with Chica Linda to gather some more candleberries,” Toola Roola said.
“...We came back and everything,” Coconut Cream said.
“And everyone.” Toola Roola said.
“Were gone!” Button Mash said.
“It was the Storm King’s army!” Toola Roola said.
Button Mash then crossed his arms and scowled, “This is all Prince Shining Armor’s fault! If he was still here, he’d know what to do!”
“What makes you say that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Well, he wasn’t much of a prince! But he did have good intentions,” Button Mash said.
“I just don’t know why he would leave us,” Toola Roola commented.
“It’s not like for him to just run away, while the princess needed him the most,” Coconut Cream said.
Shining Armor then looked around, with his somberly-looking expression, “It’s dangerous here. We’ll travel together until we can find you a safe home.”
Suddenly, Chica Linda stepped forward and they all piled into the sleigh she was hitched into. With a toss of her head and a whinny, she took off down the path.
Later on, daytime faded into evening and they stopped for a moment on a cliffside, noticing movement from below. A caravan of the Storm King’s troops were hauling large carts filled with candy and gingerbread.
“The Storm King’s army,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Carrying whatever’s left of our village!” Toola Roola said.
They were startled by the sound of Chica Linda neighing in fear. Two Storm Guards grabbed her reins and were tugging on them. She charged through them and away, sending them toppling to the ground. One guard looked up and noticed the group on the hillside.
“There they are!”
The Storm Guards all grabbed their weapons and began closing in on them.
“Come on!”
Sweetie Belle looked around nervously before waving for the group to follow her, “Come on, into the woods!”
With Sweetie Belle in front, the three candy children behind her and Shining Armor bringing up the rear, they all ran as fast as they can through the forest. The running began to exhaust them, and the Storm Guards began to gain more ground.
“They’re getting closer!” Coconut Cream said.
Suddenly, a rope ladder was thrown down from the trees.
“Quick! Up this way!” a voice shouted from above.
They looked over their shoulders at the Storm Guards.
“Get ‘em!”
They quickly grabbed onto the ladder and clambered their way up into the trees, with Shining Armor being pulled up at the last possible moment before the Storm Guards could spot them. When he got to the top of the ladder, it was revealed that there was a whole treehouse-like village hidden in the trees, hosting many refugees and villagers who live in bunches of thatched huts in different sizes and shapes, and was connected through a series of rope ladders, bridges, vines, and catwalks. Sweetie Belle stood aside with the candy children as the villagers all point weapons at them, with Shining Armor standing in front of them.
“Is everyone alright?” he asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Sweetie Belle asked.
Suddenly, people arrived. One was a wizard in a blue robe and had a long beard, the other was a gladiatorial soldier with grey armor and brown and red leather and a bronze shield, an Egyptian woman with a white panted dress showing off her abdomen and some slits exposing her legs, a glopaz necklace and a cerulean wig, a huge bearded man with a shovel, a woman wearing a tribal themed dress, and a woman wearing a cyan and gray kimono. They’re names were Star Swirl the Bearded, Flash Magnus, Somnambula, Mage Meadowbrook, and Mistmane.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Rockhoof asked.
Flash Magnus then glared at Shining Armor, “A wooden spy? Some new kind of Storm King trap? Or maybe a couple of no-good trespassers!”
“Kidnappers as well!” Star Swirl said.
“No! They helped us!” Coconut Cream said, as Toola nodded in agreement.
“Now why would the Storm King hire innocent children as spies?” Mistmane asked.
“Hmm,” Star Swirl said. “A teenager, a oddly dressed man and three children traveling on the colored brick road in these times is mighty suspicious.”
"Oh my, this one’s made of wood!” Mage Meadowbrook declared, pointing at Shining Armor. ”I think he’s a toy soldier of some kind!”
“I’m actually a nutcracker,” Shining Armor replied.
He suddenly turned and saw Flash Magnus.
“Flash Magnus? Is that you? It’s me, Shining Armor! We worked in the palace together!”
The gladiator soldier tilted his head at him. Some of the Resistance members lowered their weapons.
“Did he say ‘Shinin' Armor?’” Mage Meadowbrook questioned. Mistmane and Somnambula were shocked.
Star Swirl approached the nutcracker, “That’s impossible. Captain Shining Armor was destroyed by the Storm King. That rodent may be evil, but he’s no idiotic buffoon. He would’ve made sure there was nothing left of his adversary!”
“I don’t know, Star Swirl,” Flash Magnus said skeptically. “There were some rumors that the captain wasn’t destroyed, but banished.”
”I heard he was turned to wood!” a villager declared.
“I heard he was turned into a doll of some sort!” another villager exclaimed.
“Yes, I was!” Shining Armor said frantically. “And I was banished too! I came back to destroy the Storm King and save
Princess Cadance!”
There was a murmur among the Resistance as they heard Shining Armor say Cadance’s name.
“You’re really him?” Toola Roola asked.
Shining Armor nodded in reply, as the children were already guilty for blaming him.
“If you’ll allow me, I’ll take a look at this one before us,” Somnambula said, as she sashayed around the nutcracker, examining him and then brought his face closer to get a better view of him. After a minute of scrutinizing, she smiled and replied, “The captain has returned!”
The Resistance gasped and dropped their weapons with a unified bow.
“Well, if you have nothing to hide you won’t mind answering a few questions,” Flash said.
Rockhoof waved a hand to a woman standing nearby.
“Come, children. She will take care of you.”
The children uneasily approached the woman, until the Pillars gestured Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle to come inside, but she looked back at them one last time before joining the Pillars for questioning.
“Apologies, Captain,” Star Swirl said softly.
“We never meant to intimidate you, lad, but you’ll never know who you can trust these days,” Rockhoof said.
Shining Armor smiled. “Perfectly understandable. I would’ve done the same thing otherwise.”
“I’m just sorry we hadn’t recognized ya earlier,” Mage Meadowbrook said.
“But it pleases us to hear that you’re alive and quite well,” Mistmane said. “But could you tell us who this young one is and why you brought her with?”
“This is Sweetie Belle,” Shining Armor explained, while introducing the girl next to him.
“Hi,” she waved.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Somnambula said kindly.
“So as you can see, we’re both victims of the Storm King’s magic,” Shining Armor explained.
“We’re trying to find the only one who can defeat him, The Sugar Plum Princess,” Sweetie Belle said.
“The Sugar Plum Princess?” Mage Meadowbrook asked.
“Interesting,” Mistmane commented.
“I’ve never heard such a ridiculous story!” Star Swirl scoffed.
“Isn’t Princess Cadance the one we’re talking about?” Sweetie Belle asked.
The group gasped at her question.
Star Swirl then chuffed at the mention of the princess’s name, “And how would you know about her?”
“He told me about her. He even saved my life,” Sweetie Belle said.
“I’m intrigued. But if it weren’t for you, lad, the Storm King wouldn’t be turning everyone into knick-knacks!” Rockhoof said.
“I had no choice! You think I wouldn’t have let the Storm King hurt her if I didn’t do my assignment?!” Shining Armor exclaimed.
“You’re all forgetting that Shining Armor was my friend,” Flash Magnus said. “He did what he had to do, you know.”
“Yes. Shining Armor was the best of the most trained and most loyal out of all the cadets in the Royal Academy, especially Flash Magnus,” Somnambula said.
Shining Armor looked away in guilt.
“We had high hopes for that boy…” Star Swirl said. “Well, no matter... We’ve got more important things to think about, like keeping what’s left of our subjects safe from the Storm King!”
Sweetie Belle stepped forward, “Then perhaps you should be looking for the princess too.”
“I don’t have time to search for some...Sugar...Pie…” Star Swirl grumbled
“Sugar Plum,” Sweetie Belle said.
“...Imaginary princess!” Star Swirl said.
A young paladin named Stygian then spoke up, “Wait, Star Swirl. They may be telling the truth. I once overheard Princess Celestia telling Shining Armor about Cadance’s powerful magic when he assigned her as her bodyguard, but they then fell in love together. The Royal Sisters believed that their love would being balance to the land...and we’ve tried everything else to defeat the rat.”
Star Swirl then thought for a moment, “Do you know where she is?”
“We’ve learned that there’s a way to save her, some kind of clue to where the Storm King hid her, but it’s on an island in one of the Four Realms. Across the Sea of Storms,” Shining Armor answered.
“This is indeed preposterous, but very well. We’ll all go looking for the Princess,” Star Swirl said.
“I’d suggest we travel across the Four Realms, so that the rulers of each realm could provide some answers on how to get there safely. It could be dangerous without a plan,” Shining Armor said.
The Pillars then nodded, and so did Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle.
Then they all left to get some sleep before the journey tomorrow morning.