Ka'Rel was where he was supposed to be, his cell in the changeling hive. He was repeating the same routine he had picked up over the course of the month he had been willingly imprisoned by his younger kin. Stare at the cell bars, pace back and forth, and stare at the ceiling. Stare at the cell bars, pace back and forth, and stare at the ceiling. Stare at the cell bars, pace back and forth, and stare at the ceiling.
Were he not a trained Platinum Guard, he suspected he would have gone quite mad by now. Boredom had that effect on changelings after all. But no, he couldn't explain why, but he seemed quite used to this kind of waiting.
Suddenly a feeling of dread washed over him. Something was wrong.
Ka'Rel suddenly stopped his routine, spinning in his cell to stare out the window. His mind was suddenly filled with images. Lightning bolts flew past him from behind as he charged at a wall of pikes. The barking of dogs and the screaming of voices. The sight of himself on his knees cradling a dead deer in his forehooves.
"Ka'Rel?" A voice called out that he only barely heard. "What's wrong?"
He quickly turned to stare down the changeling guard outside his cell. The same one he had talked to all those weeks ago. He had later learned her name, Spinnerette.
"N-nothing." Ka'Rel started, shaking his head. "It's just old memor-"
He was silenced when a voice rang out, seemingly from nowhere. "North... Now."
Ka'Rel and Spinnerette's eyes both shot wide. Ka'Rel remained still as Spinnerette spun around to search the room.
He recognized that voice.
In a single movement, Ka'Rel spun around, his horn and antlers igniting with potent magic. With a flick of his horn, a beam of cyan energy shot forth, striking the wall with a horrific explosion of light.
Where there was once a wall and a window was now a massive hole.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Spinnerette meekly shouted as she rushed forward to open the cell and tried her best to calm him down. But it availed her nothing. Ka'Rel merely took to the air, his wings buzzing as he started flying northwards.
Johan nervously tapped his hoof as he sat in his booth. Every so often, he would glance over to Derek and Twilight, who were sitting in their booth right across the aisle that split the center of the train. Just to make sure they were there. Twilight had opted to be the only one of the 'Elements of Harmony' as they were called to join Johan's little expedition to the Empire. The other elements had important business to attend to back home, and he wasn't about to interrupt them, no matter how paranoid he was.
Besides, Twilight wanted to visit her niece who apparently lived up here. Likely in the palace... all things considered. His eyes locked on her horn, the crack that had previously split it down the middle having long since healed during the month of waiting. That gave him some comfort, at least now there were two alicorns who could protect him with all their power.
Every time he saw them, he shook his head and sighed. That was until the stress would overwhelm him again and force him to throw another glance over to them.
"Hey, you ok Johan?" Spike asked, turning to the deer, a look of concern written plainly on his face.
"Yeah... yeah," Johan replied, shaking his head. "It's just that... ya know... the guy in my head, Jelen, he told me that that U'val guy is gonna keep coming for me. And last time he did Derek almost died."
The deer whimpered. "What happens the next time he goes after me?"
Spike pursed his lips slightly. He was quiet for a moment, then he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't worry about it Johan, everything will be okay, I promise you. Between Twilight and Derek, you have nothing to fear."
Johan sighed deeply, "I hope you are right," he mumbled.
"You remember our deal, correct?" U'val asked as he walked in a circle around an orb of pure dark magic. Resting in the center of the orb was the mostly reconstructed form of Sombra. They were on top of a mountain, overlooking the Crystal Empire far below. If U'val looked hard enough he could almost see the ponies inside scurrying about like ants.
The unicorn snarled, before nodding. "Of course. No harm is to come to the deer, but everything else in the Empire is mine."
"Correct," U'val nodded before he held up a hoof. In it was the Alicorn amulet, shimmering in the light of the sun. With a tilt of his hoof, the amulet slipped from his grasp and fell into the snow. "You will be freed from this orb in several hours. Once you are out, the amulet is yours. Do with it as you whilst."
Sombra nodded in response. "And... pray tell, what is to stop me from using that Amulet against you once I finish off the Empire?" He suddenly asked with a smirk.
U'val kept his same monotone stare as he looked down at the unicorn. "Nothing, I suppose. Though you'll find the empire to be harder to conquer than you'd think."
Sombra merely smirked. "With the ultimate power of the Amulet? I truly doubt that." He chuckled.
U'val merely shrugged his shoulders. "Do try not to get too overly confident," U'val replied, narrowing his eye. Then he turned, unsheathing his wings from his elytra as he did. "Alas, I must leave you for now. I have business to attend to in the empire, and your little invasion will be the perfect cover. I trust we won't get in each other's way."
Sombra remained silent, which caused U'val to smirk as he took to the air, his guards quickly taking up flanking positions on either side of him.
"I thought not."
Johan's eyes widened when he stepped off the train and saw the Crystal City. Everything, from the train station to the city walls and even the city streets themselves were made of shimmering crystal. The sun reflecting off of it was almost blinding!
The residents' homes were made of crystals that appeared to have shot out of the ground before being hollowed out from the inside. They were coupled with gardens and pavilions behind every house. This place, in terms of pure fanciness, blew what little he had seen of Canterlot out of the water. What confused him then were the city residents themselves who, instead of looking like elitist nobles and rich guys, seemed to be normal ponies, the same kind he'd find in Ponyville... just a bit different.
They looked to all be earth ponies, with a slight shimmer to their bodies, and strange hexagonical pupils. They were coupled with an aesthetic and cutie marks that were obviously Greek in inspiration. Johan cocked his head to the side, smiling slightly as he observed the city around him.
He tried his best to ignore the ooo's and ah's coming out of Derek's mouth as he looked at every last thing. Johan chuckled slightly, shaking his head and Derek's enthusiasm. And that's when he noticed the 12-foot-tall solid diamond statue of Spike. And his jaw dropped.
"What the... Oh my god... You really are this place's hero..." Johan stammered as Twilight, Derek and Spike all looked at him.
Spike smirked, blowing on his claw tips before polishing them on his chest. "Did you expect anything different from-"
He was interrupted when a crystal pony noticed them.
"SPIKE THE BRAVE AND GLORIOUS!" The pony roared with near-religious reverence before suddenly he was swarmed by dozens of ponies seemingly appearing out of nowhere, hoisting Spike into the air. Spike's eyes rolled in his skull as he was bounced from pony to pony in a very much non-consensual crowd surf.
"He seems... popular..." Johan blinked.
"Well, he did kind of save the Empire. Three times." Twilight chuckled with a shrug.
"What? Three times?" Johan asked, eyes widening. "I mean, Spike's awesome but... is he really that awesome?"
Twilight merely smiled and shrugged.
Derek, meanwhile, laughed loudly, pointing towards Spike. "You ok there buddy?" The alicorn asked, taking to the air slightly.
"Yep! Fine!" Spike called back as he slowly disappeared from sight.
"Well... I'm suddenly feeling much, much safer." Johan mumbled turning to Twilight and Derek. "Sorry for dragging you guys along."
"It's fine dude, I woulda come even if you didn't need me," Derek chuckled, putting a hoof on Johan's shoulder. "I love exploring new places like this."
"And it was the perfect excuse to visit Flurry Heart!" Twilight laughed, perking up. "So I probably would've come too."
Johan returned their smiles with a hollow one before nodding. "I'm gonna wait for the crowd to be done with Spike then the two of us are going to head to the Library together. You guys are free to do... whatever it is you want to do."
Twilight nodded before she turned her head to the crowd her smile disappearing instantly. She turned back to Derek; "The crowd seems too dense to walk through. Up for some flying?"
Derek quickly bobbed his head up and down. "Oh heck yeah. Rainbow's flying lessons have really been helping out! Plus I really wanna see what this place looks like from the air!"
Twilight quickly took to the air, soaring over the crowd. Derek was restless in following after her, almost shooting past her.
That left Johan alone with the crowd, waiting for them to calm down... though he wasn't entirely alone.
"There was a time when Auream and I received the same treatment from the adoring populace..." Jelen reminisced. "Maybe one day you'll get the same?"
Johan instantly cringed. "God I hope not."
Derek found it hard to imagine moving anywhere within the city without passing under the castle’s shadow. The ponies here moved in a rush around the castle, some going in, some coming out. The arterial center of the crystal empire, shining in its resplendent glory! It was hard to take his eyes off it.
Derek stared the castle up and down before his eyes locked on one of the balconies, where he saw a trio of ponies standing next to what looked to be a floating crib of some kind. Derek's smile widened when he recognized two of the ponies on the Balcony. One was Princess Cadance, he'd recognize her anywhere. The other was Shining Armor, whom he had met at the meeting.
Derek quickly sped down towards the balcony landing next to Cadance and Shining. Twilight quickly joined him.
"Twily!" Shining said, quickly approaching his sister. Cadance followed after him, dropping down next to Twilight. Derek watched as the two did a little dance which made him raise an eyebrow, though his smile never left his face.
"Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake!" Twilight started. Cadance quickly stepped in to finish it off for her.
"Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Derek laughed. "Oh dude, that kind of thing would probably kill Johan if he saw it," the alicorn laughed, before he approached, holding out a hoof. "Nice to see you guys again."
Shining took his hoof, giving it a quick shake in response.
The third pony on the balcony approached, the cradle following closely behind him. "So, what brings you to the Empire?" he asked in a rather nerdy voice. He was an orange pony with white hooves, a goatlike red bear and messy mane, and a pair of glasses. He was wearing a blue cape that had a couple of teal stars along its back.
Derek turned to him, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Oh... We're here 'cause my friend Johan wanted to check the library and didn't want to come alone," Derek said giving the pony a quick nod. He paused; "Sorry I don't believe we've met before?"
"Oh, sorry I really should have introduced myself," The pony gave a quick bow. "I'm Sunburst, royal crystaler of-"
He was interrupted when a sudden explosion ripped everyone's attention from their impromptu meeting. A boom ricocheted off the mountains, quickly drowning out all other sounds in the Empire. Suddenly all eyes were pointed northwards.
A massive burst of black smoke shot out from the top of one of the mountains, forming into a single cloud that came close to covering the sun. Then a pair of green and red eyes opened on the cloud.