Skeletor swiftly strode through the heavy snow, each step carrying him closer to the cliff side as he assessed his surroundings.
The white wasteland below disappeared into the horizon, stretching on for miles of snow without any distinguishable landmarks in sight. Without anything to guide him, Skeletor would be walking blindly through the vast tundra, forced to pick a direction at random and hope that it wouldn’t take him farther away from civilization.
The only solace Skeletor could find was knowing that if he was lost, then he was also lost somewhere in there.
Letting that thought comfort him, Skeletor looked down the mountain to access the best route to take. The mountain didn't look too steep, but they would certainly need to take their time if they didn't want to end up sliding down the snowy path.
“We have a long walk ahead of us,” he grumbled, starting the arduous trek that laid before him when he suddenly heard a light whimper from behind.
Skeletor felt nothing but annoyance as he glanced back at his prisoners, two earth children and a strange blue dog, each one shivering as they dragged their feet through the snow behind him.
“I-I-I d-don’t think we can ma-ma-ma-move,” the boy complained.
“It’s awfully c-cold,” the girl added on, as a gust of wind suddenly blew past the two.
The children quickly huddled for warmth as their small dog whimpered. Its little legs struggled in the snow as it tried to walk towards the young pair, falling deeper into the snow with every pitiful attempt.
“I said move. Move it!” Skeletor shouted, turning away as he began his descent down the mountain. He would have left the two to freeze to death if it weren’t for the boy’s pleas.
“Please mister, be nice! It’s Christmas time.”
“Christmas time? What’s that?” He asked in faux interest, letting the two children hold on to some hope for his sympathy.
“It’s a season of love and joy.”
“And caring,” the girl tacked on, clasping her hands to continue her speech before the cold winds finally took ahold of her. Her body falling like a limp doll as she sunk into the snow.
Her older brother tried to save her, grabbing onto the girl’s sleeves as he desperately pulled her up. Skeletor felt unconcerned for the pair, deciding to taunt the pair as the boy tried to carry his sister.
“Is that what Christmas is? No wonder Horde-Prime wants to get rid of it. A season of love? Caring? Joy? Eeyuch! What a disgusting idea,” Skeletor mocked as he planted his staff in the snow as he folded his arms. “Well, there’s no Christmas spirit here. Now get moving you two, before Hordak comes back!”
“I-I’m sorry mister, but we’re so cold,” the boy sniffled as he struggled to hold his sister.
“So you’re cold, eh?” He joked before the distant sound of an engine roared in the sky.
Hordak would be back soon if they didn't start walking again, and there was no way the small boy could carry his useless sister. If he didn’t act fast, Hordak would take the children to Horde-Prime first.
Just like when he took Adora.
“… Oh, blast it!” He cursed, raising a finger at the two as he shot them with a beam of magic.
A simple tailoring spell was all the two ungrateful children needed, covering them both in pair of thick fur coats with nothing more than a flick of his finger. The measly party trick was enough to encourage the two whining brats to follow him.
“Oh! I’m warm again,” the girl cheered.
And I’m annoyed again, Skeletor bitterly thought.
“Thank you mister Skeletor, you’re very kind.”
“Kind? Never use that word around me! Now get moving!" He yelled, taking his staff back into his hand as he ordered the two to march ahead of him.
The two children obediently shuffled through the snow without any more complaints, at least until they heard the whimpers of their pesky little dog.
“Oh wait, I have to get Relay!” The girl said as she tried to run back to her pitiful pup.
“No. Leave him," Skeletor ordered.
“But he’ll freeze! We have too!”
“I said leave him. Now move,” he barked, pointing at the path for them to follow as they marched along.
As they trudged through the snow in their new winter appeal, the sound of their pet’s desperate struggles filled the air behind them, causing the girl to turn back and plead with Skeletor once more.
“Please!” The girl begged, her eyes swelling with tears as she gazed into his skull.
Skeletor would normally never bargain with a crying child, but the thought of them complaining more as they walked was far too annoying for him to handle.
“Oooooh. Blast it,” he cursed, walking away from the frost-bitten brats as he gently picked up the shivering puppy.
A tinge of remorse stirred his blackened heart as he held the dog, it’s innocent and dumb eyes staring up at him with a comforting warmth.
“I don’t know what’s coming over me. But whatever it is, I don’t like it,” he complained.
Not content with how much it had already annoyed him, the pooch planted its paws on his chest and began to happily lap at his jaw bone.
“Euck! Stop licking my face you dratted dog!”
“It was nice of you to save Relay, mister Skeletor,” the little girl cheered, causing the rotten ruler to snap at her with a shrill shout.
“I am not nice!”
“And neither am I,” a thunderous voice bellowed in the wind.
Skeletor suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning to look for whatever creature had spoken. There wasn't a soul in sight behind them, and their footprints were the only ones that marred the pristine snow around them.
"Who's there?"
"A phantom of Skeletor's past," the voice answered. "I was there at his birth and at his end. Now, I am here to witness what comes after his fate."
Skeletor looked around them, searching for whoever had dared to catch them off guard, only met with the vast landscape around him.
Holding on to Relay as he raised his staff towards the wind, Skeletor took a step back as he called out to his prisoners. "Children, quick! Get behind me!"
He was prepared to hear the children's cries, the sound of their boots rushing through the snow as they huddled closer, or even the sound of stifled breathing. But, Skeletor didn't hear any of that.
He could only hear the wind rushing around him.
Skeletor quickly turned back to the children, hoping that his paranoia had just gotten the better of him. But, to his absolute horror, the children were gone.
“Children? Children, where did you go? Get back here!”
“Do not chase his memories,” the voice bellowed as Skeletor followed the footprints back up the mountain. "Those children are gone, in a place you long to be."
"Children! Girl! Boy!?"
"You must stop," the mysterious voice continued. “You cannot fall deeper. I can feel your presence fade with each day, usurper."
"Shut up! I need to find them!"
"You will only find despair."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Skeletor continued to cry out, finally reaching the peak of the mountain where they had started. "Where are they?! Children!"
"They are gone, nothing but a distant memory. A memory you have foolishly adopted. Again."
As the voice berated Skeletor, the undead king began to notice the canine convulsing in his arms. Relay's bright blue coat slowly faded into a swampy green, its fluffy fur becoming dry and brittle as clumps of hair were carried away by the wind.
"You must not fall deeper."
The fait sound of bones breaking assaulted Skeletor's ears as a pair of dull horns suddenly popped out of the dog's skull, its fur and skin painted in a green ooze that seeped down Skeletor's arms.
Relay's rotting face contorted into a hateful sneer, its hollow eyes staring up at him with a familiar crimson glow.
Before Skeletor could scream or react in any way, the beast barked one final command.
"Wake up!"
"Nooo!" Skeletor screamed as he leapt from his bed, tossing his blankets aside as his eyes flew around the room.
A shadow flew at the edge of blurry vision as he yelled, seemingly disappearing into the darkness the moment his eyes caught it.
With his heart still racing from panic, Skeletor tossed his blankets aside and scrambled for his staff. The ram’s horns followed his gaze as he quickly swept the room, desperate to find the monster that was living at the edge of his memory.
His ragged breath and racing heart began to slow down as he looked at the dimly lit walls, his eyes finally falling on the curtains as they shifted with the wind. Skeletor watched as the shadows began to stretch and morph with the curtain, feeling relieved as he thought that early sunrise had been playing tricks on his groggy mind.
Skeletor let his staff fall comfortably to his side, taking a deep breath as he sat back down on the bed. The faint memories of his dream had been discarded, letting him crawl back into the lucid world as he came back to his senses.
It was just a dream, Skeletor reminded himself, letting a hand rest on his face as he laid back down.
His thumb briefly trailed the fractures of his skull, sliding up and down the crevices while he collected his thoughts. His mind wandered back to the meeting he had with the council and the royals, reminding him of the plans they had made for later that day.
The guards would need to prepare a path for the pegasi to land their carriages, and the council would need to be gathered to greet the Elements of Harmony at the crystal pony palace where the majority of their guards would be staying.
The crystal pony palace was the only castle of the three kingdoms to still be left standing in the Empire, no more than five miles away from the Crystal Castle that rested in the heart of the Empire. Though their names may have been similar, they served two distinctive purposes in the Empire. The smaller castle would be used for the representative or the head of the Crystal Pony Kingdom whenever they were needed in the Empire, either for formal events or personal meetings with Princess Amore. However, the crystal pony palace had been all but abandoned since Sombra’s reign, and its sister castles laid to rubble when Sombra took over the majority of the Empire.
The crystal pony palace had been used to house some of the ponies who had lost their homes, but it still had plenty of room for the earth ponies and pegasi who were coming from Equestria. The doctors and unicorns would be separated into the Crystal Castle, the former would be assigned to the Medical Wing of the castle and preform duties in the Alchemy Tower while the unicorn guards would scour the Crystal Castle for any enchantments or spells left by Sombra.
Cadence and Shinning Armor had planned it all out without any argument from the council or Skeletor, not that Skeletor even felt like he could raise any objection to their decisions. In the eyes of the Empire he held no real authority or power, at most he was just a Lord without a title, an issue that Crumb Catcher had decided to raise during the meeting as well.
If all had gone well and Sombra was finally defeated, Skeletor would be given a fief and the title of Duke from the Brag family. Although Skeletor wasn’t familiar with the term fief or understood most of Crumb Catcher’s suggestion, he was able to pick up on a few essential details. The first being that Skeletor would finally get his own home, a place that once belonged to sir Humble Brag, a Thestral Noble whose entire family had served Princess Amore faithfully for generations before their eventual demise. In order for Skeletor to gain the title that Humble Brag’s family had, he would be “adopted” into the family and be given all the privileges of a high ranking noble.
Though Skeletor appreciated the offer, in truth he didn’t care for it. Rather than living in the Thestral Kingdom he would have preferred living in Canterlot or somewhere else in Equestria. If he could, then hopefully he would have more time to meet Crystal and ask her about how she got to Terra, if she still had memories of Earth, if she even remembered her own name or face. If she didn’t, then what was she like? Was she still a human with a normal face, or was she trapped in a hideous body like him?
He longed to meet someone like him, an alien trapped in an alien world who could guide him through their odd new home, at least until they found a way back to their own kind.
Skeletor let another weary sigh pass his jaws as he peaked past his fingers, staring at the ceiling as his mind wandered back to the present.
He was far too awake to return to the comforting call of his bed, but he guessed that it was also far too early to start his day either.
Slowly Skeletor rose back up from his bed as he began his routine, deciding to take an early stroll through the tunnels as they prepared for their guests to arrive.
Soon, they’d finally be able to lay the dead king to rest, and Skeletor could stop worrying about the monster that lurked in their shadows.
He couldn’t wait to finally have some peace of mind.
Colonel Kernel couldn’t wait to finally give Crumb Catcher a piece of his mind.
He marched through the halls with a clear purpose in mind, to grab that blue bastard by the barrel and toss him out of the nearest window. The colonel was livid with what he had heard from the other guards.
After taking the initiative to find the Spearhead and the others in town, he got a clearer picture than the one that Rookie had given him in the dining hall. At first, they were all tight lipped about their mission, simply saying that the general had reassigned the team halfway through and gone back out with a different group of guards. Of course, none of them knew who he went with or why, and none of them had let anything slip.
However, after a little bit of pressing, Colonel Kernel finally got something out of Archer. The guards had returned early due to being ill prepared to face some odd breed of wolves that were lurking around the trail to the Ruva Kingdom. While most of the guards had returned to their quarters after Skeletor announced his abdication, Cannon Fodder had decided to go to Crumb Catcher to get some answers about Skeletor’s announcement. After that, none of them saw him again, and Crumb Catcher personally met each of them and ordered them to stay out of the Crystal Castle, “Under Lord Skeletor’s command.”
And so, after getting all of the details he could from Archer, he proceeded to trot back to the Crystal Castle to confront Crumb Catcher.
Passing by the many portraits of Princess Amore, Colonel Kernel quietly counted them in his mind until he found the seventeenth painting. After taking a moment to make sure that nopony else was around, he discretely nudged the frame to the side, squeezing into a small gap as the portrait closed behind him.
He carefully trotted through the secret passageways, doing his best to not get turned around or bump into any of the maids as he made his way to Crumb Catcher’s office. The hidden halls varied greatly in size, from rooms large enough for two ponies to cart along food or other items, to burrows that felt far too snug for the colonel to sneak through.
It was a maze designed to turn around anypony who would stumble upon it, while also allowing the maids and guards to go anywhere in the Crystal Castle without being seen or heard. While it was mainly used by the maids and staff to reach rooms without being seen in the main corridors, the passageways also served a separate purpose for the Royal Spy Master, allowing him to meet and call upon ponies in secret to gather information and deliver orders. Colonel Kernel had only heard rumors of them before his sudden promotion, stories about regular ponies or new guards who had gotten lost in the winding halls, or legends about strange noises that echoed behind the walls.
While he couldn’t say if anypony had starved in the walls or if anything else had happened in those halls, he did know that one particular rumor was true.
There were stories about a room that only thestrals could use, a place that sat directly above the Throne Room where guards had been stationed to watch from above during court. It was called the Guard’s Nest by some, but to the guards it was commonly referred to as the Brain of the Empire, a place where the royal spy master would do their duties to defend the crown and keep order in the Empire.
For a brief time, the spy master’s quarters had been converted into a secret base for the thestrals to launch an attack against Sombra, taking refuge in a room that they had believed was out of his grasp. Although Colonel Kernel didn’t know what happened during their short resistance, he knew the inevitable outcome, and sent a silent prayer to Faust as he thought of those brave ponies.
Though they had died tragically, they had all lived on as legends in the guard, heroes who refused to abandon the Empire, unlike those who had flown to Dream Valley early on during Sombra’s rise to power.
Sombra. The very thought of the tyrant made Colonel Kernel’s fur stand on edge. Though the colonel wasn’t present for either meeting with Skeletor and the rest of the council, Avid Value had taken it upon himself to catch Colonel Kernel up to speed on the events that transpired the day before. The Royal Banker had made sure to give Colonel Kernel a seat before disclosing the secrets that he had learned.
Not only had Sombra found a way to cheat death, but apparently the world outside of the Empire had also changed severely in the four thousand years that it had been missing. Eris had returned, Princess Luna was banished to her own moon, and there was some horrible species that could eat love and steal a pony’s appearance.
Before he could let his mind wander any deeper into his imagination, Colonel Kernel eventually found the final passageway that led directly to Crumb Catcher’s office.
The once grandiose and large doors that blocked off the office had disappeared long ago, only leaving a small makeshift wall and door in their place for the purposes of privacy. The simple wooden door and walls had gone unguarded, relying on the confusing tunnels to keep any possible intruders at bay.
From above the short wooden walls, he could see the thestral tunnels that littered the ceiling of the room, each one covered with rusted irons bars that were out of anyponies reach. Sombra had likely locked them when he managed to storm the room centuries ago, stopping anypony else from getting into the castle through the tunnels.
The Empire’s last stand, he briefly reminisced, remembering the bitter defeat that they had all felt when Star Shine and her guards had been dragged before Sombra. Although he had only seen the prior spy master once from afar, he still felt like he knew her, he respected the mare who fought hoof and tail against the mad king. But her predecessor, the stallion who had spat on her legacy by lying and manipulating everypony, the pony who would bow to Sombra if given the chance, Colonel Kernel could never respect him.
Without any further delay, Colonel Kernel quickly shoved the door open and made his way to Crumb Catcher’s desk. The spy master refused to take his eyes away from his work as he called out. "Colonel, how good it is to see you again."
"Cut the Yak shit, Crumb. I want answers!" Colonel Kernel shouted, trotting up to the desk and slamming his hooves onto the table.
The spy master didn't seem outwardly phased, only offering a bored glance at the colonel as he neatly tucked away the loose papers.
"About what, specifically?"
“Cannon. Fodder,” Colonel Kernel growled, doing his best to try and intimidate the blue stallion.
“The general? Hm, I suppose it was a matter of time before you came to me about that,” Crumb Catcher noted, cleaning up the rest of his work as he gave the colonel his full and undivided attention. “I take it you’re not happy with me locking him in the dungeon then?”
Colonel Kernel felt his anger slip for a moment at Crumb Catcher’s sudden confession, before he quickly regained it with a single word. “What?!” He roared, causing the royal spy master to look genuinely surprised.
“Oh, I would have thought that you would have investigated that before coming to see me. My mistake then. So, what are you here for?”
“Why was Cannon Fodder locked in the dungeon?!” Colonel Kernel pressed, ignoring Crumb Catcher’s question entirely.
“Well I would think that was the obvious part. Don’t you recall? I already told you that the general was plotting against Lord Skeletor in the past. He left me with no other choice but to detain him.”
“And when did that happen?”
“The day he came back from the expedition to the Ruva Kingdom,” Crumb Catcher easily answered, leaning back into his chair as he continued on. “I actually meant to tell you about that, but I thought it would be best to wait for a more appropriate time, considering how... upset you were when we were speaking that night.”
“‘That night?’” Colonel Kernel repeated, his anger subsiding as realization suddenly struck him. “The dungeons. That’s why you wanted me down there? To show off that you locked him up?”
“No, no, not at all. I’m not a stallion who likes to gloat. I actually brought you there for a different concern. Speaking of which, would you like a seat? Perhaps a drink?” He offered, earning a silent glare from the grey stallion. “If you would like to interrogate me or hit me, then could you at least be civil and listen to what I have to say first?”
Colonel Kernel stared down at the stallion for around another minute, finally flopping onto the pillow on his side of the desk as he barked a simple order. “Talk.”
“Well... I suppose I should start at the beginning. Before Cannon Fodder had been assigned to join the expedition team to the Ruva Kingdom, he had already been secretly plotting against Lord Skeletor. I found out about his plans early on and I knew that it would only turn out poorly if it was left completely in his hooves. At the time I did agree with the general somewhat, I believed that if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were alive then they would be less than pleased to see him on the throne, but there was no way Cannon Fodder could kill Skeletor.
“Any attempt on his life would risk the lives of everypony in the Empire, so I took control of his plans. After some time, I realized that Skeletor wasn’t the monster Cannon Fodder believed he was, but there was no way to tell if the princesses would agree, so I began to play both sides. I helped the general with his plans while also working on ideas to keep Skeletor in power, or at the very least endear him to the princesses. If it weren’t for Princess Cadence and her consort, I may have eventually carried out Cannon Fodder’s plans.”
“You really would have, wouldn’t you?” Colonel Kernel interrupted.
“Of course. I would do anything within my power to help the Empire, colonel.”
“Even though you’d stab Skeletor in the back?”
“Yes. But, that was then, and I have changed my view on him quite a bit. After all, he abdicated the throne willingly. Nopony except the Princess had asked him to, and every guard and maid present spoke against her, even Avid Value stood opposed to her demand. But Skeletor understood, just as I do, that the Empire is bigger than us, that the only thing that matters is that the Empire still stands,” Crumb Catcher said, a small smile decorating his muzzle as he thought back to that night. “I’ll admit, I respected him greatly at that moment.
“And so, with his abdication and the princess revealing herself to be Princess Amore’s late descendant, I had no choice but to change my plans. Sadly, I didn’t have any time to prepare since General Cannon Fodder had also returned early. If he was just gone for another week or so then I’m sure I would have thought of something that could have been better for everypony,” Crumb Catcher lamented, dropping his confident and controlled demeanor as he stared at the desk.
“I couldn’t let him hurt Skeletor at such a sensitive time. The crystal ponies would undoubtably blame Princess Cadence for it and the Empire would be thrown into a civil war. Not to mention, if I let him walk freely, I feared that word of our plans would reach either Skeletor or the princess. So... admittedly, I may have panicked and had him quickly escorted to the dungeons. Although you may not believe me, I did want to let him go eventually, but only after he had proven to me that he could be reasoned with.”
“And if you thought he couldn’t?” Colonel Kernel challenged, folding his forelegs as he glared at Cannon’s co-conspirator.
“Simple, I’d report him to Skeletor or Princess Cadence, but only after doing some cleaning of my own, of course,” he admitted, “It wouldn’t do me any favors if he tried to drag me down as his accomplice, after all. So, I took the time to convince Purity Flame to side with me, found guards who held a firm loyalty to Skeletor, and created a story that would paint him as the soul conspirator.”
“And you’d just let Skeletor or the princess do whatever they wanted, right? Just throw Cannon under the carriage and let him take all the blame?”
“While I wouldn’t phrase it that way, I'll admit that I would pin the blame on him, but at the same time I would argue for a lighter punishment. I would have said that he was suffering from wild delusions, or that he wasn’t in his proper mind, anything to get him put in the Medical Wing instead of the dungeons. If everything went well, the general could quietly retire and I could find somepony more agreeable to fill his spot on the Council. Of course, that was only if he could sit quietly in his cell.”
“Okay, so what now? You’re going to let him rot in there until he just gives up and agrees to work with you?”
“That... that may not be possible anymore,” Crumb Catcher conceded, earning a snort from Colonel Kernel.
“Yeah, no kidding. I know I wouldn’t be happy being locked up down there.”
“No, I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” the spy master corrected. “The issue before was that he was unwilling to cooperate with me. But now, things are considerably worse. I didn’t bring you to the dungeon that night to show you Cannon Fodder, I brought you down there to show you where he should have been.”
“‘Should?’” Colonel Kernel parroted.
“Yes. You see, colonel, General Cannon Fodder managed to escape from his cell the night Lord Skeletor was attacked,” Crumb Catcher revealed.
Silence washed over the room as Colonel Kernel processed what the royal spy master had said. His general had not only been plotting against Skeletor, but he had also escaped the same night that Skeletor was attacked.
The same night the Heart went missing. He realized, choosing to voice his concerns with the spy master.
“You realize what this means, right?” Colonel Kernel pressed. “If Cannon Fodder escaped then he must have—”
“That’s impossible,” Crumb Catcher quickly denied.
“But—”
“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s merely a coincidence.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Cannon Fodder isn’t a ruva or a unicorn,” Crumb Catcher reasoned. “Skeletor was attacked with magic, the guards that were stationed around the Heart had a large lapse in memory, and we have at least one or two unaccounted ponies in the Empire who may use magic. The general couldn’t do any of that, he’s just a normal stallion. The only pony capable of doing that is Sombra, and there is no way that the general would ever work with somepony like him.
“And, while I did briefly consider the possibility that Cannon Fodder was mind controlled or enslaved again, it wouldn’t make sense to target him,” Crumb Catcher reasoned. “He was in a dungeon, and you were taking care of all of his duties for the time being. If he had wanted to cripple the Empire then it would only stand to reason that he would possess either Emerald Secret or myself. Besides, I’ve spent several nights trying to find out where Cannon Fodder went and what he did afterwards. And so far, I’ve found nothing.”
“But this can’t be a coincidence,” Kernel continued to argue. “How did he even get out? Did a guard help him? Did he have a key?”
“I don’t know and it has to be a coincidence,” Crumb Catcher countered. “I understand what you’re thinking, but it’s impossible. The only culprit that it could be is Sombra, and Cannon Fodder could not have been involved, because if he did anything to help him then it’s inevitable that Princess Cadence and Skeletor will find out about what I’ve done.”
“So, you’re just not going to tell them because you’re scared then?” Colonel Kernel accused, standing up from his seat to look down at the blue stallion. “I can’t believe you. You talk about the Empire’s needs, about how you’d do anything for it, but you won’t tell them the truth.”
“Because the truth will not help,” Crumb Catcher argued, standing to meet the colonel face to face as he explained. “If I had anything to say that Cannon Fodder was responsible, then I would tell them, but we have nothing. As far as I can tell, the general stole some supplies and trotted off into the storm to get to the Ruva Kingdom by hoof. He is nothing but a distraction, somepony for us to point the hoof at as Sombra watches from afar. That is all Cannon Fodder is, a distraction, a scapegoat, a waste of time,” he stated, trotting around the table to pull out his folders on the mysterious ponies who had disappeared inside the Empire.
“The only pony capable of doing this is Sombra, and we know that he has the ability to take the form if ponies he’s created,” Crumb Catcher argued, pressing the folder into Colonel Kernels barrel as he explained. “If you don’t believe me, then read my reports. If Sombra was truly trying to gain Track Record’s trust, then that tells us that he can’t simply possess a pony or enslave them like he used to, otherwise Track Record would be nothing but a puppet for Sombra to wield at his command.
“So, it wouldn’t make sense for him to suddenly use magic to control Cannon Fodder and take the Heart,” Crumb Catcher reasoned, letting the papers fall into Colonel Kernel’s hooves as he returned to his seat behind the desk.
Colonel Kernel stood there for a brief moment, feeling the weight of the documents in his hooves. While they were by no means heavy, they were certainly thick. He skimmed the pages briefly, looking at the family trees and records that decorated a few pages, reading eye witness testimonies from guards and civilians, rotation shifts in the dungeons and for the Crystal Heart’s guards, and even a loose sheet of theories and ideas that were littered with random scribbles.
“Part of me wishes he did do it,” Crumb Cather quietly revealed, earning Colonel Kernels attention as he stared at the desk. “If he did it would be so much easier. I’d bite the bridle and admit my mistake, tell the Princess that it was Cannon Fodder who took the Heart, maybe try to worm my way back into her good graces by telling her about everything I’ve done for the Empire. How I helped Skeletor from the shadows, kept peace in the kingdom, watched over ponies from afar. I’m not sure if it would work, but I would try.
“But things aren’t that easy, colonel. If I could point the hoof at Cannon Fodder and say in good conscious ‘He did it’ then I would. But, as I’ve already said, it’s not that easy. He is a distraction, and our real enemy is Sombra. And I need your help, colonel.”
The spy master beckoned Colonel Kernel over with a nod to the pillow, before he went into his desk and retrieved a bottle of wine with two glasses. “You know Kernel, you remind me of myself in a lot of ways.
"You, a stallion destined for field work and an honest life, pushed by your father to join the guard because he was convinced that the shovel on your flank was actually a spear. And me, a pony who adores the spotlight, forced to work behind the scenes as everypony else gets the glory, all because of one stupid stallion.”
The spy master poured a glass for each of them, pushing the drink towards Colonel Kernel as Crumb Catcher began to sniff his own glass.
“I uh... I don’t drink,” Colonel Kernel said awkwardly, only to be met by a bemused laugh.
“Neither do I. Another similarity I suppose. But, Star Shine had this bottle when it was fifty years old, and now it’s well over four thousand years old. Why let it sit for another century or so when we can drink to a new alliance?”
“... What are you proposing exactly?” The colonel cautiously asked.
“A partnership, one where I’m much more open with you, Kernel. I know you don’t trust me, but I hope you know how much I trust you. Why, if you went to Princess Cadence or Skeletor right now, I’d be completely vulnerable. You could tell them everything I’ve said and I’d have nothing to refute you with. So, I’m hoping you can humor me with what I’m about to suggest,” Crumb Catcher said, letting his glass swirl in his hoof as he chose his next words carefully.
“I need somepony to keep a look out for Cannon Fodder, should he come back. I’m far too busy with my own projects, preparing for the Elements and their guests, working with Avid to adjust the budget, not to mention keeping my spy network clean of any... impurities. I’m being pulled in several directions, and Cannon Fodder isn’t high on my list of priorities.
“But, if he comes back, I need somepony who can catch him. A guard who can at least reason with him, or even apprehend him should it come to that. And I believe you are the only stallion I can trust with that. Although you may not trust me, I need you to listen to my next words carefully.
“Sombra is our enemy. Going to Princess Cadence or Skeletor will only create more problems, and I’m the only stallion capable of keeping order as the spy master. Sombra wants us to fight each other, to be distracted when he comes back to take the throne. So pease, Kernel, please keep this a secret from everypony,” he pleaded, letting the whistling wind of the tunnels above fill the air as they both fell into an uncomfortable silence.
Colonel Kernel hesitantly accepted the offered glass, giving it an experimental sniff before recoiling at the smell. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Crumb Catcher's glass was raised in a silent toast, waiting for the colonel to join him and accept his invitation into their uneasy alliance. After giving it a brief thought, Colonel Kernel clinked his glass against Crumb's, letting the spy master slip back into his seat as he drank.
"To new beginnings," Crumb Catcher offered.
"To the Empire," Colonel Kernel countered as he finally took a sip of his own glass before retching from the taste.
He couldn't help but steal a glance at Crumb Catcher as he drank, letting a single thought play in his mind as he tried to wash the taste out of his mouth.
What a liar.
While Crumb Catcher and Colonel Kernel's alliance began to take shape, another pair of ponies were drawing closer to their final destination.
It had taken far longer than he or Princess Amore had hoped, but General Cannon Fodder could finally see the faint outline of the Ruva kingdom in the distance. Although he could only make out a faint silhouette of the kingdom through the storm, he could still see the heavy damage that it had suffered. The once sprawling towers and opulent spires that had decorated the city had all either toppled or were leaning at odd angles. He briefly remembered the time that Sombra had commanded him and the other crystal ponies to seize the kingdom, how the ruva had torn through those unfortunate enough to be on the front lines.
Cannon Fodder felt pity for the innocent souls who were killed in the first days of their march on the kingdom, but after being controlled by Sombra for years after that, he slowly began to envy them. They were able to die a quick death to a flame spell or a telekinetic blast, while the truly unfortunate ponies had to hunt and kill any pony who stood in their way.
If it weren't for the strange black stones that Sombra was able to summon, his enslaved army may have been completely wiped out by the Ruva Kingdom. Cannon Fodder never understood how Sombra had done it, but he had managed to create a spell that could seal a pony's magic when they were hit with his obsidian spikes. The ruva, unaccustomed to fighting without their magic, fell easily once Sombra joined the battle field.
All that remained of them were the ruins of their kingdom. The king, the nobles, the young, and the old, each had been gathered and sacrificed to the pits that they were forced to dig.
Sombra never took the ruva as his slaves, and the few he did were often used for his own twisted entertainment, tools to be tossed aside and sacrificed when he would inevitably get bored with them.
Now he had returned, not as a slave of Sombra forced to slaughter the innocent, but as a knight of Princess Amore on a mission to liberate the Crystal Empire from its new tyrant.
Even with his new mission in mind, he could never forget the sins he had committed under Sombra's influence. The foals he had personally carried into the center of town, the innocent thestrals he had hunted down, and the few crystal ponies who had evaded Sombra's control. They had all died by Cannon's hooves, even if they weren't his own at the time.
Cannon Fodder didn't have much time to remember those dark times, as a distant howl reminded him of the monsters that roamed the Frozen North. Packs of hairless wolves had blocked the quickest routes to the Ruva Kingdom, leaving him with little choice but to walk around the packs’ hunting grounds.
Finding his second wind as the howls seemed to draw closer, Cannon Fodder trotted through the snow with only one plan in mind. Survive.
What came next would be left in Princess Amore's hooves, and although her plan had greatly disturbed him, she had said it was the only way. They would rely on the same sickening tools that Sombra had used during his reign, turning them against Skeletor and any demon spawn he would call upon. While he trusted Princess Amore's decisions, he felt wrong using the pits to their advantage.
They had caused so much pain and grief during Sombra's reign, and to use them once more felt like a slight against all those who had died trying to close them.
Still, Princess Amore had never led them astray when she was alive, who was Cannon Fodder to question her when she was still leading them even in death? With that thought keeping his faith firm, he pushed past his own weaknesses and resolved himself to their mission. It would be painful, ugly, possibly unforgivable, but it had to be done.
He trotted closer to the edge of the kingdom, the faint smell of sulfur stinging his nose as he trotted along until he finally passed by a familiar pit on the outskirts of the town.
It wasn't a particularly large hole, at least compared to the others that he had seen during his enslavement. Judging from its size and how far away it was from the heart of the kingdom, Cannon could only guess that it was quickly dug by some slaves who had caught some runaway ruvas who had managed to slip out of the kingdom. The rising heat kissed his fur, letting him know that it had been "filled" with enough ponies.
He could still remember the cries that had emerged from the pits. Those sick and twisted pleas that turned into sadistic glee.
"General," Princess Amore called out, stirring Cannon Fodder from his thoughts as he looked back at the apparition. "I know the pit is warm, general, but we must press onward."
"I... I wasn't," he tried to speak, his words dying in his throat as he felt the heat caress his fur. He didn't stop to get warm, he wouldn't use them for that. He wouldn't dishonor all the ponies who died like that. But, nothing came out of his mouth except a simple, "Sorry, your majesty," as he trotted deeper into the kingdom.
He didn't bother to look at the buildings or the streets, he had already seen them all years ago when the kingdom was conquered. If he looked he would only remember the past, the faces, the cries, the pleas.
Those things, he shuddered, blocking out the memory as he pushed onward.
He took solace in the fact that they would rest before executing Princess Amore's plans, taking refuge in one of the Alchemy Towers before they would have to go to the center of the town.
"This way, general," The alicorn apparition called out, guiding the general down the back streets of the kingdom.
"Um... Your majesty, h-how exactly are we going to... do this?" Cannon Fodder hesitantly asked, his own curiosity besting his usually rigid and calm exterior.
"What do you mean, my dear?"
"I... I mean the pits, your majesty. O-only Sombra could use those."
"He did, but I have had a long time to study as well. Now, I can preform the same ritual to use them. Of course, I'm going to need your help as well, general."
"... Okay," Cannon Fodder quietly agreed as he kept his head down.
"Don't worry. Once Skeletor is dealt with, we can then set all of those poor souls free from their prisons. They will thank you," she promised, guiding him to the doorstep of a small spire. "And now we begin. After you, my general."
Heeding his princess' command, Cannon Fodder trotted up the stairs and hesitantly opened the door, it's old and squeaky hinges nearly falling off the frame as the door slowly swung inside. He had seen several opulent and well decorated towers during his service in the Ruva Kingdom, the copper platter frames and bronze decorations, but the room before him was nearly barren. It was filled with heavy tomes at the entrance of the tower, all of them were laid out the floor instead of the shelves where they should have stayed.
It felt more akin to an archive than an Alchemy Tower, but Cannon Fodder didn't question it much. His princess had brought him to this specific tower for a reason, and he would put his faith in her.
"Mind the mess, general, it is nothing but a distraction," her majesty revealed, flying over the mess and towards the staircase that disappeared behind the round fireplace. "What we seek rests at the top of this spire. Come quickly, general."
Cannon Fodder followed her command without any delay, briskly trotting up the stairs as he followed her ascent. As the two quickly moved up the tower, Cannon Fodder noticed several old and worn paintings that decorated the halls. There were family portraits of dark grey ruvas with equally dark manes. He hadn't paid them much mind at first until the third floor where a certain portrait caught his eye.
Inside the small portrait was a foal with their familiar grey fur, a black mane that could disappear into the night, and the familiar crimson eyes of a tyrant.
"General?" Princess Amore called again, stealing his attention away from the painting. "We mustn't delay any longer. Hurry now, we're almost there."
"Princess... Is this..." He tried to ask, his words once more dying in his throat as she looked back at him.
"My loyal knight, I think you know even without having to ask," his princess said as she began to float down towards him. "General, do you know the rumors of the ruvas?"
"Um... Which ones, ma'am?"
“The stories crystal ponies tell about them. Rumors about them re-growing horns, healing lost limbs, practicing miracles that only Faust herself could achieve. Some even said that ruvas could create midbrains.”
"A midbrain?"
“Yes. A midbrain is a special part of a pony, a separate mind to help them guide their magic into their horns, hooves, or wings. Without it, the only way to cast spells or use magic would be to dip into dark magic. To use your own soul or the souls of your victims to fuel your spells,” she explained, guiding him up the stairs with each word as she kept his attention.
"Of course, those were all just rumors. Nopony had successfully grown a midbrain outside of a pony. But, to keep one intact after death? That is a different issue entirely," Princess Amore revealed, painting a morbid picture to Cannon Fodder as she continued to explain. "Of course, to do so was completely taboo in the Ruva Kingdom, and done so in complete secrecy in these very towers. Some ruvas believed that they could study the midbrain, create something to act like it instead of simply recreating it.
"Some came close, but the Shade family had excelled in it. They were able to create items that could potentially strengthen a ruva's magic, but the youngest of their family saw more potential. He began preforming experiments that even his own family would shudder at, things that would amaze and horrify you. Along the way he had invented many unique spells and enchantments, and eventually found a way to overpower me with his techniques.
"But he was not content with what he had done. He had always wanted more, and eventually, he was able to make a pact with Grogar for more power," the princess explained, leading Cannon Fodder into the highest room of the tower. "Grogar's demons had their own unique spells as well, and by marrying the two, he had created something that had never been seen before. But, he needed the right materials to create it, and all the them are here," she revealed, pointing to the edge of the bedroom where their prize laid.
"What... what are we looking for?"
"The final piece, general. Look under the bed," she commanded.
"The-the bed?" He nervously asked, feeling far too apprehensive after learning about the tower's true owner.
"Foalish, I know, but it was where he hid it. Quickly general," she ordered, nudging him closer to the bed.
Cannon Fodder had never been afraid of "monsters" under his bed as a foal, and it was an odd trait that he had felt proud of when growing up. It was a small badge of honor to a colt who had no idea about the true horrors that laid outside the Empire.
But at that moment, staring at a simple bed without any unique decorations, he couldn't help but feel a shiver run up his spine.
Swallowing his fear for a brief moment, Cannon Fodder blindly felt around under the bed, his hooves running over a pile of salt before he bumped the corner of a metal box. Grasping it with both hooves, Cannon Fodder dragged it through the small wall of salt and out from under the bed, staring at the undecorated box in his shaking hooves.
"Open it," Princess Amore ordered, guiding his hooves to the tiny latch that kept it shut.
Opening it slowly, Cannon Fodder gazed in confused horror at the ornate crown in the box.
The band of the crown appeared to be iron, unpolished and undecorated, lacking any special engravings or markings. The centerpiece of the crown, however, was anything but ordinary. It was a long hone, bare of the usual fuzz that would cover it. But even without the fur that used to cover it, Cannon Fodder could instantly tell whose horn it was. There was only one mare with a horn that long in all the Empire, and turning to look at her, his worst fears were confirmed.
“Dreadful, isn’t it?” She asked, floating above the morbid crown.
"How... How could he?"
"Power, she answered plainly. "He prepared this long ago in secret. He wanted to create a weapon that would potentially overpower my cousins. He had planned to use my power to enhance his own after his death. You see, general, an alicorn actually doesn't have a midbrain like normal ponies. Instead of drawing magic out like a ruva, they wield something akin to dark magic, but they don't use souls as fuel. The sun, the moon, the very concept of love itself. There are our tools, and they're also the same tools that Sombra used as well," she explained, drawing the general's eyes away from her severed horn.
"And now, you can use it."
Her words rang in his head like a bell, his stomach dropping to the ground as he felt the world around him fade. "What?" Was all he could manage to say, feeling the bile build in his throat as she grabbed his attention again.
“Sombra was dead long before Skeletor arrived in the Crystal Empire. He sacrificed his mortality for something greater, possessing the his old body," the princess revealed. "He planned to do it once more in the future, but he did not foresee Skeletor's attack, and died before he had the chance. He wanted to find an able-bodied crystal pony and have them wear the crown so he could possess them. But now he is gone, and we can use it instead," her majesty promised, bringing her face closer to Cannnon Fodder as she tried to console him.
“I need you to be more than my loyal knight. I need you to be my champion. Take the crown, open your mind, and repeat after me. Can you do that?”
"I... I..." He stuttered, his eyes staring blankly at the white horn in his grasp.
"I know you can," Princess Amore whispered, coming closer to Cannon Fodder's ears as she revealed the words he needed to use.
There had to be another way, some other plan to stop Skeletor.
The crown came closer to his head.
He could find Princess Celestia or Luna, they would help them.
His helmet was discarded without any care.
Faust, somepony, there had to be somepony who could stop them.
The crown slipped around his head, like a perfectly fit set of armor.
And the words she had said easily passed his lips.
Cannon Fodder felt his mind open to Amore's magic, slipping inside his soul with a familiar vice grip, his forelegs freezing at his side despite his protests.
“Perfect. Just remember, general, you are my champion. My warrior. My puppet,” she stated, letting her voice drip with a familiar venom.
Horror gripped his heart as he felt his forelegs press on the ground, light flowing from his mane as the apparition entered his mind. He felt a terrifyingly familiar presence overtake his body, his limbs acting on the whims of another as someponies voice spilled out of his lips.
He wanted to scream, to cry out for help, to beg Faust for forgiveness, but all that came was a dark cackle.
He wanted to die. If he died at least he wouldn't be a puppet once more. But his forelegs refused to move, his own body began to turn against him, there was no escape for him.
With a final flash of light, Cannon Fodder felt his body hit a nearby wall, crumbling to the floor like a wet cloth.
A deep breath filled his lungs, holding the air inside him for a long moment before he felt it fly out of his body. His eyes wandered to a mirror that laid in the corner of the room, naturally falling on it as he felt a faint memory tickle his mind.
He remembered putting that mirror in the corner because it needed to lean against two walls. But that wasn't his memory, he had never seen the mirror before that day.
Slowly, Cannon Fodder rose to his hooves without any effort. He felt the bruises on his body and the pain in his head fade away, becoming a faint memory as his hooves carried him closer to the tall mirror.
“Oooh... I feel...” He mused, the dark voice tickling his ears as he finally gazed at his reflection. “Alive.”
A smile split his lips as his fearful gaze faded away, his golden eyes becoming as red as his coat.
The new stallion raised a hoof to his muzzle, letting it slide down his face as he felt his unkempt fur. He felt horrified, while he felt elated. Their warring emotions had no visible effect on the new stallion, ignoring the torment that filled his soul as he admired his new reflection.
However, his triumphant moment was swiftly undercut by a low rumbling as realization struck the scarlet stallion.
"Alive and... and starving," he observed, letting a hoof clutch his barrel as he trotted back to the bed. "You should have treated your body better, general. 'Your body is a palace', as they say. Specifically, it's my palace now," he joked, letting a low chuckle tickle their throat as he laid down.
He could see Sombra's thoughts as if they were his own, the simple joy from laying down, the overall elation from returning to life, the sadistic glee he took from taunting Cannon Fodder. It was all laid bare before him, as plainly as his own thoughts and feelings.
“You’ve fought well, general, but this is the end of your battle. You’ve lost,” the demon taunted, letting a spell soar through his horn as he grabbed a pillow with his telekinesis. Red waves of magic danced on the surface of the pillow, fluffing it nicely as he lifted his head to have a good rest.
"But don’t worry, I still haven’t forgotten our arrangement. I'll make sure that demon will die by your hooves. Even if they're mine now," he jabbed, burying his neck into the pillow as he lit his horn opine more. "You should sleep now, general. It's the only thing you can do after all," the new Sombra advised, summoning a scrying orb to watch over Skeletor and his companions.
"Emerald, do you have a moment?"
"Of course, my lord. What do you need?"
“Now, let’s see what you have in store for me, Skeletor.”