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// 21 - Ice Breaker 
// Story: Out of Cadance 
// by David Silver 
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The castle interior was no less impressive. While the snow had kept the outside looking pure and pristine, the inside revealed signs of age. Thick carpets covered the floors to absorb noise. Tapestries hung from the walls, all faded from sun and time. Still, despite this, there was a grandeur radiating from it. They were walking through an ancient civilization, one that had come to the edge of its doom, and risen back from that brink.

Cadance looked around the throne room, nodding at the staff of crystal ponies that had begun to gather for them. To say they were there 'for' them was misleading. The ponies looked as much confused about things as they were anything else. One mare stepped forward and gave a curt nod. "What is our assignment?"

Tempo flipped an ear back. "Most were dazed, but you sound like you're ready for business."

"I am a maid. Being late for... him... meant punishments. I don't want that." The maid shivered in memory of past abuses. "What is our assignment?"

Cadance looked on the mare with clear pity. Shining was faster to speak, "You don't have to, I mean, no punishments. We're here to help."

"What is our assignment?" The mare had repeated it without deviation, more robotic than Tempo, at least in attitude.

Blueblood nodded at her. "Very well then. Help us help you." He waved at the castle. "Inspect the palace for damage, take note of any you find, and let's get this place operational, hm?"

"Sir." The maid went off to speak with the other, less alert, ponies and they all slowly got moving out of the throne room.

Cadance sighed in a slow noise. "Tempo, please. I need to take stock of things, but this cold can't be allowed to stay. Look around. There has to be a spell or something that can help."

Tempo glanced at Blueblood, but nodded. "I can do that." She galloped from the room.

Cadance called to her, "Oh, and stay in the palace!"

With Tempo gone, and the others now focused on organizing and helping the new empire's ponies, they had time to discuss matters privately. Blueblood watched Tempo leave, and then turned to Cadance. "We have some supplies." He nodded towards crates being hauled in by the guards. "Will they be of assistance?"

Shining Armor nodded firmly. "Food and basic provisions for us and some extra. Princess Celestia felt sure that there'd be some here, but I'm getting more and more nervous about that being true." He looked around the throne room, shaking his head. "How would they have survived?"

Cadance stared down at her own hooves, the crystalline floor shimmering beneath her. "If they hid away, or slept for the ages, it's possible." She stood up with a snort. "Auntie said they were basically 'vanished' until shortly before we got here. They must be suffering, and we are to help, that is our job."

Blueblood cocked his head at her. "Of course it is, dear sister-in-law, and you will do it, as is your duty. I shall ensure you have all you require." He trotted off, but his voice could be heard even when he was gone from view, calling out orders and shouting encouragements.

Shining waved a hoof at the guards. "I'll get on them. They're fully aware and ready, so let's put them to work." He whistled sharply, getting their attention. "Time to patrol!" His subordinates thundered out with a mass salute, eager to do their jobs.

Cadance turned to Shining, whispering to him. "You were great just then."

"It's just what a captain should be able to do." That didn't stop him from touching noses with Cadance, the two smiling. "I'll join them, you work in here."

That just left Cadance, considering how she could help. It was a quiet time, with little to do. The crystal ponies around her did little more than wander and gaze at the tapestries and various items on the wall, touching them gently. She herself did her part, lifting the various cushions to let dust float off them.

Elsewhere, Tempo was going through the books, and there were plenty to choose from. Bookshelves lined the rooms and hallways, packed tight with volumes that showed little sign of decay. "Strange."

She read, finding more information on the crystal ponies, and their strained relationship with their king, Sombra. Some of the books spoke as if they loved him, but it wasn't a thick layer of propaganda before the truth became quite clear. He ruled by fear and force, not any affection. She hated him already, though it was not difficult to do.

She also found records of a particular group of unicorns that stood in opposition to the Crystal Empire. She made notes of their names, which would be important if they could be found. But that didn't help them right that moment, so she pressed on.

After a fruitless time with the books, she continued on the hunt for some magic. Surely, with how long these ponies had existed, they would have some tricks to show for it. She discovered, quite by accident, a well-hidden staircase tucked in the back of a mostly empty room.

Tempo climbed for what felt like hours, emerging into a dark room. She lit her horn with her magic, casting brilliance around her. Books, countless spines displayed to her, were in every direction. She smiled at the sight, sure that there would be some answers hidden amongst them.

The search was frustrating at first, with many books being simply old versions of others. One in particular stood out. The cover was black, and she read the title with growing curiosity. "Protections and Abjurations," read the cover as Tempo's eyes swept over it. With her smile growing, she willed it open and began to skim quickly. The spells within were dense and complicated, they'd need an expert to untangle.

Fortunately for Tempo, she knew such a pony. She carried the book carefully as she trotted back down, feeling the weight of it in her magical grasp. She took the stairs slowly, to avoid dropping it, though a couple times she nearly tripped anyway. With a final clop of her hoof, she touched down on the ground floor and burst out to search for him.

He was in the throne room, speaking with Cadance. "Shining," she called, rushing with the book before her in a magically buoyed flight.

"Yes, Tempo?" He looked at her questioningly.

"We have something." She stopped before him, holding out the book. "It talks about protective magic, and there are a bunch of spells in there."

Shining Armor took the book into his own magic and drew it closer for a peek. "Ooo, hm. Not simple." His mouth moved silently as he mouthed out the spells he was reading. "Ah, this one though." He put a hoof on it. "In cases when the 'Crystal Heart' is not available, a weather protection! No idea what a Crystal Heart is, but we don't have it, so."

Tempo poked the page he'd landed on. "Could you do it?"

Shining's eyes flickered across the pages again. "I, well, yeah. It's not gonna be pleasant." He ran his hooves along the edges of the books. "This is not a spell you cast and walk away. You have to keep it going."

Cadance gently leaned against him. "Fortunately, we have each other. Show me how to cast it and we can take turns." She ran a hoof down his neck. "Even if we can't keep it up the whole time, it should buy us time to figure it out."

Shining considered it, putting a hoof on Cadance. "We have to try, at least." With a glowing horn, he fired the spell up, through the palace. The magic shot to high above the city and rained down over it, creating a dome as he focused. Inside the dome, the temperature began to rise, and the snow stopped almost instantly.

Tempo turned her eyes to the roof. "How are you going to maintain it? If you run out of energy, and you fall—"

"I'll be alright." Shining closed his eyes, focusing. "And like Cadance said, we can take turns."

Cadance wrapped an arm around Shining for support. "Tempo, thank you. You've given us time and space to breathe, and that means a lot right now. Mmm, send a message to Auntie, fill her in on what we've managed so far, okay?" She kissed his cheek, earning a faint chuckle.

Tempo rushed off to do so, finding the easiest way to communicate with the faraway pony. She felt her horn warm with the connection. "Auntie, it's me. We are taking charge of the situation, and we have a plan."

"Excellent! But how are we speaking?" Tempo couldn't see Celestia, but could hear her confusion. "This is wondrous, but I was not aware you had this talent."

Tempo laughed, closing her eyes to focus better. "I didn't. But it is my duty to be helpful, and I have found a spell. Shining Armor cast a spell to protect the city, and I thought I should tell you myself."

"My clever niece!" Celestia's voice was full of warmth. "Your actions are timely and wise."

"Thank you, Auntie." Tempo dipped her head, even if Celestia wasn't actually there. "The spell is taxing. Shining Armor and Cadance have agreed to take turns using it. Blueblood is getting the local ponies into action. We are doing what we can, but this project is more severe than we expected. The city's people are stunned, and can only help a little."

"I see," came Celestia's thoughtful reply. "I would not have guessed this, but I can only imagine what horrors the Crystal Empire endured. It has been hidden from the world for ages upon ages." Celestia's thoughtful noises came a moment. "I will send help. Can you stay strong until then? Inform Shining I'll be sending his sister and her friends."

"He will be very happy to hear that." Tempo wagged her own tail, lifted by the news. "Thank you, Auntie. I will go and deliver the news." She broke the connection and headed back to the throne room. Shining Armor was still going strong, but he had begun to sweat from the effort of holding the spell.

Cadance touched her horn to his, taking on the spell in a delicate handoff that left her holding it up instead. "Tempo? You're back quickly. What did she say?"

Tempo approached her, hooves echoing in the vast chamber. "The city is too large for us, that much is plain. She's going to send us reinforcements." She noted Blueblood's attention was caught. She turned to him. "She promised to send Twilight Sparkle, our sister-in-law, and her friends."

Blueblood chuckled at that. "I haven't forgotten who she is, dear." He came in for a moment of nuzzling. "But that is good news indeed. That spell, it's wonderful. The ponies are already looking better with it no longer storming out there. I'm not a magical expert, but if I can help?"

Cadance lifted her head as she held the spell up. "You have a lot to do around here, and the castle needs a lord." She pointed to the throne with her nose. "Make yourself at home."

"But sister!" He glanced at the throne with a slight grimace. "You are the princess, not I, as much as the idea excites me. I did not come here to depose my own sister on the first day! Truly unconscionable! What would Tempo think?"

Tempo offered a mild shrug. "You're a leader here. You need to take charge and lead." She gestured to the room with a wave of her hoof. "We are all doing our best to assist in whatever way we can." She suddenly pounced, almost knocking poor Blueblood over with her bulk. "I will gladly help if you desire?"

Blueblood laughed, hugging her and almost toppling. "Your presence alone is quite enough, my lovely wife." He nuzzled into her neck, holding her close. "But you can help. Keep ponies in an orderly line as they come to speak their needs. Be gentle, they are dazed."

"Of course." Tempo reared up to smooch his nose, and then she pulled away from him. "I can do that. Just call if you need me."

Blueblood righted himself, still watching Tempo as she went to go stand by the doors, looking like a regal and serene guardian, as ever she was. He turned back to the other ponies in the room. "If I could have your attention. The princesses are, at present, far too occupied to manage things. So it falls on me to lend a hoof. I speak with Cadance's authority, to be taken away at her leisure." With a proper bow, he moved to take the throne and begin a proper day of court.