The first thing that Shining saw as he got off the train was the whipping winds and falling snow that beat down like rain. The constantly churned-up snow shot in every direction, obscuring vision beyond a few yards. The only thing that could be made out for certain was a collection of mountains far in the distance and the glowing dome of the Crystal Empire.
Shining raised a hoof to cover his eyes, squinting and averting his gaze from the glittering dome. "You can see it from here?", Cadence asked, placing a wing on his back and giving him a reassuring look.
"Yeah", Shining said. "It's... it's really bright. Can you not?"
Cadence shook her head. "No. It's... there's too much Fog."
The Royal Guard officer stepped off onto the platform after them. The platform itself was utilitarian in nature, being little more than a slab of concrete and wood. The track continued on for a little bit before turning around in a loop, reconnecting with the track to send trains back south.
"Here we are", he said, gesturing to the distant glow of the dome. "It appeared a few days ago. Nearly started to death one of our patrols."
"Thanks, Lieutenant", Shining said. "We'll take it from here."
The Royal Guard nodded, stepping back into the car. As the train moved around the loop, Cadence and Shining climbed down the ice-slicked steps leading off the platform. When they reached the bottom, Shining looked over and noticed Cadence shivering. He lit his horn and removed his scarf, wrapping it around Cadence in a rapid swirling motion. She looked up in surprise, asking, "Shining, why? Aren't you-"
"I've never really been bothered by the cold", Shining said. "You'll need it more than I will."
"Right", Cadence said. "This is where you're from, right?"
Shining's smile faded, removing his gaze from his wife to scan the frozen waste. It extended in all directions, snow covering nearly everything that could be seen. The ground was uneven, broken up by jutting rocks and the slopes of small, obscured hills. In the distance stood massive, towering mountains that even at this distance appeared to be craggy and rough like chipped teeth. The Frozen Wastes were an accurate name for this region; only the bright outline of the Crystal Empire's shield and the platform at their backs betrayed that any creatures had a presence here.
How could anything live up here? That was the thought that entered his mind, breaking to the front despite his attempt to focus on the mission. How could his kind live up here?
"Come on", Shining said, trying to derail that train of thought. "Let's go."
The two of them pressed ahead, trudging against the wind as the falling snow was blown into their faces. Shining once again held up his hoof, not only to resist the wind but also to block the glow of the Crystal Empire. Even though they hadn't gotten that much closer to it, the brightness only got stronger.
As the two of them entered into one of the small valleys that dotted the frozen land, Shining lowered his hoof. He blinked as the spots cleared from his eyes. "Sweet Celestia, that's bright. Can you see it yet?"
"Just a bit", Cadence said. "At least it's not that far."
"Yeah", Shining said. He reached into his saddlebags, removing a pair of tinted goggles and wrapping them around his eyes. While the landscape was now much darker, the glow that came over the slope wasn't as blindingly bright. "There, now I can see."
"Alright then, let's-"
Cadence was cut off as a loud, feral roar split through the whipping wind. Both of them looked around, eyes and heads darting in every direction. With the wind still blowing hard as it was, the source of the noise was hard to place. Shining said, "You heard that, right?"
"Yeah", Cadence said. "W-where did it-"
"I don't know, but we need to move", Shining said.
Cadence nodded, and the two of them ascended out of the small valley. Back in full sight of the dazzling light coming off of the Crystal Empire, the goggles mitigated the glare enough for him to look directly at it. Through the dome, he could see green fields and, beyond those, the vague shapes of houses and the towering Citadel.
The two of them continued to make their way toward it, moving much faster than before. Both periodically exchanged glances at one another, before picking up their pace. They began to move at a trot, then a canter, before breaking into a gallop as they felt eyes following them.
As they came over another small slope, those eyes appeared within a cloud of a pitch-black smoke-like substance. It seemed to emerge out from the ground itself, towering up into the sky. Despite appearing to be made out of smokey shadows, it resisted the wind, remaining coherent. Within the center sat a pair of pale green eyes, pulsating and lacking pupils.
The shadowy form surged toward them, that same horrible howl emerging from within the smoke. Shining lept in front of his wife, summoning a shield. The shape slammed into the half-dome shape of smokey magenta magic, before attempting to swirl around the side. Shining fulling enclosed the dome, locking the two of them in from the shadow.
The shadow seemed to envelop the shield, wrapping around it. It constricted around the magical barrier, trying to crush it through sheer force. Shining held on, gritting his teeth from the effort. The shape then backed off, removing itself from all angles of the shield and settling in front of the two ponies within.
The shadow bulged and twisted, until what resembled a face started to emerge from the inky black. It was at first featureless, slowly growing more solid and defined as it took on an all-to-familiar shape.
It resembled Shining's face, in structure if not in specific features. Like his true form, the face of Sombra possessed thin features, exposed, twisted fangs, and a pair of pupilless glowing green eyes. However, enough stood in contrast to make the two of them appear different. Sombra's face was thinner, with sharper features and the pale outline of a scar. His eyes flickered as opposed to Shining's steady glow, blinking on and off in rapid succession like an old lightbulb. His features were contorted in an animalistic snarl.
"Kinnn...", he hissed, his voice hoarse and guttural.
Shining simply stared, unsure of what to do. His eyes remained locked on those green lights, which continued to gaze at him. His first meeting with another of his kind, and it was this: the incorporeal form of an ancient Tyrant. He'd never cared much about where he came from, but even still... the shock was enough to stun him.
"Shining", Cadence said, breaking through to him. "We can't stay here. We need to get to the Empire. At least there, we can have a better chance of facing him."
"Right", Shining said, turning back to face Sombra. The mass of Sombra's form hadn't moved, continuing to stare at him. "I'll send the shield out in a pulse. It should stun him. Run as fast as you can."
Cadence nodded, lowering herself into a small crouch as she prepared to gallop. Shining did the same, drawing Sombra's flickering gaze downward. Sensing his opportunity, Shining suddenly expanded the shield rapidly, focusing most of the power in Sombra's direction. The massy of shadowy smoke was sent backward, slamming into a snowbank as the two of them broke into a gallop.
The reprieve was temporary, as what little power was still within the shield soon faded. Another feral roar echoed in their ears, and a sound similar to the wind, yet moving in the opposite direction, began to grow louder. Shining stole a look over his shoulder, seeing the smokey visage of Sombra approaching, mouth open in an unhinged snarl.
Shining returned his gaze to the Crystal Empire's barrier, which the two of them were steadily getting closer to. Even despite the goggles, the glare once again became nearly blinding in its brightness. Shining lowered his gaze, charging forward at full tilt as tendrils of shadowy essence began to appear in his peripheral vision.
"Sssstopppp!", Sombra hissed, another tendril coming down. It would have slammed into Shining's back if Cadence didn't fire a blast of magic, disintegrating the smoky limb and earning another snarl from their pursuer.
Shining and Cadence weaved around a series of jutting rocks, ending up on a stretch of flat land that bordered the Empire's shield. They both began to pick up speed, running as fast as they could toward apparent salvation. Cadence reached it first, passing through the azure barrier with little to no resistance. Stealing a glance over his shoulder, Shining saw Sombra beginning to close the distance, speeding across the ground as his green glowing eyes bored into him. Shining turned back to the shield and lept towards the shield-
-Only to emit his own howl of pain as he hit the barrier. He scrambled back, falling into the snow as pain flared across every surface of his body that touched the shield. Cadence stared in shock as steam came off of his hooves and face, while Shining tried to stand up and move.
Before he could fully right himself, he felt another tendril latch onto his leg. He was pulled from his hooves, falling flat on his face. The agitated nerves that pounded across his face ignited with fresh agony as they slammed into the thickly packed snow. He looked up, seeing Cadence beyond the shield, who met his gaze with her own. "Cadence!", he managed to yell, before more strands of darkness lashed themselves around his shoulders, dragging him into the snowy depths.
"SHINING!", Cadence called back, fading into nothingness as the distance between the two only grew.