//------------------------------// // One Man's Trash... // Story: Her Candidates // by Nyte-Blade //------------------------------// ~Previously~ Upon entering the mysterious structure, the group discovers that Ruby is definitely there underground according to the radar projected from the Equine Crystal. while trying to look for a way to get down, Megan discovers a set of human footprints in the snow, which led Twilight to locate a crystal protruding out of the ground. Activating the crystal with magic, the inner structure became a mining facility, and in addition, revealed a door by the dead end corridor. Jeremy opens the door while everyone else was busy trying to find an opening, but it turns out to be a trap that forced Jeremy to see that one moment in life to cause absolute despair. Thankfully, his friends managed to snap him out of it in time, But the door ahead turns out to not lead anywhere at all. This prompted Twilight to zap the crystal on the ground with dark magic, activating all of the machinery inside, and opened the hatches to the walls. Once Rainbow surveyed what's lies up ahead, the group heads for the conveyor belts, and quickly teleport to the stairs in the middle. At the end of the stairs, was a corridor that led to another steel door blocking the way. After forcing the door open, they find Ruby at last! Unfortunately, the evil tyrant of the Crystal Empire legend graces the group with his appearance, forcing the group to kneel to him... Meanwhile, Chris, Martin, Alice, Mina, Rarity and Applejack are on a separate hovercraft, effectively sailing through the dense amounts of snow and ice, heading back to the front end of the plane. "I hope the others can find Ruby soon..." Chris muttered. "If this Nightmare Moon business is true, then what we SHOULD be hoping for is that nothing's happened to her." Martin surmised. "I'm sure she'll be fine! We just need need to believe! Friendship, guys! FRIENDSHIP!" Alice expressed boldly. "You're pretty gung-ho about that..." Mr. Martin said. "Well yeah! If you don't have hope, then what's the point! We can't be hopeless! Let's think positive, alright?" "Yer friend's got the right idea there!" Applejack agreed. "Why yes, while I quite agree, I find it a bit odd that you humans aren't quite shivering. I wonder why that is?" "I think we're in a room temperature while on here." "Oh, that's because there's a crystal on this craft!" Air Flow, the crystal pony operating the hovercraft, answered their question. "A Crystal? You mean like the crystal heart?" "Not in particular. You see, when we built these crafts to explore the Frozen North with, we needed a way to keep the engine and fan back there from freezing over! So we decided to have these crystals, blessed by the good ol' Crystal Heart itself, to keep them warm! It'd be bad if the engine and fan froze over!" The eye patch pony explained. "Hold on, would the engine really freeze over that quick?" Mr. Martin asked. "It would if we parked this thing out there!" Air Flow finished explaining. "I see... That does explain quite a bit." "Heeeeeeeey, Minnnaaaaa!" "Eh?" Mina, who had her eyes closed for a little moment, turned to Alice. "Mmm why do those clothes look so... familiar? I know I seen them in a catalog..." Alice squinted, as she looked at Mina's clothes. "That's because we gave Rarity your catalog so she could have a reference." "Now, wait just a minute!" Rarity walked up to the two girls talking, overhearing their discussion. "You mean, she's the owner of the magazine of human clothing??" "Yes! I'm the one!" Alice proudly proclaimed. "Why, pardon me, but I'd like to request that I'd be allowed to keep it!" "Wait, what? Why do you need a catalog for human clothes??" Alice asked, dumbfounded. "Didn't I just explain that...?" Mina thought to herself. "To expand my fabulous inspiration of course! Looking through it inspired a few new designs of my own!" Rarity answered proudly. "I guess... I mean, it was a pretty cheap magazine I bought at the store..." Alice mulled it over before sighing. "Alright, I guess you can have it. But you'll totally have to show me your designs! In return, I'll show you MINE!" "Well, well! I did hear from your friends that you're quite adept at making outfits for your friends." "Well DUH! Like, I'm awesome at it! I Loooooooooooove sewing and making clothes! Especially gothic lolita! I KNOW you ponies have those clothes!" "Not quite. My preference of fashion focuses on the royalty side of things. Especially considering that I require various gems to complete my best outfits!" "Gems? You actually use GEMS?!" "Why of course! Only the best clothes deserve to shine, afterall!" "Oh my god, I wanna use gems in my designs! You SOOOOO gotta teach me!" "Perhaps when this whole ordeal is over, I'll teach you everything I know. My word, I never thought I'd meet one of a different species that's so enthusiastic about clothes as I!" "OMIGOSH, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! YOU'RE AWESOMESAUCE AND STUFF!" "YoOuUu'RreEe, Quite welcome...!" Rarity regained her composure quickly after Alice shook her hoof a little too enthusiastically. "Oh dear, you shouldn't shake a lady's hand so much! You'll ruffle my mane!" "Haha, sorry about that, but my gosh, this is sooo good! I'm hoping to get some gems myself if I'm gonna pull that off!" "Well, acquiring gems is but a simple task. You just need to know where to find them." Rarity said. "No, no... in our world, gems are like, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay expensive since they're soooooooo rare to find! So like, we gotta pay for the gemstones ourselves, and my boyfriend would get so mad if I asked him to buy me something so expensive!" "Boyfriend? Per chance, do you mean a coltfriend?" Rarity inquired. "Ummm... if that's what they say here, then yeah. Like, having that special someone or umm... somepony I guess? I dunno..." Alice tilted her head, confused. "Ah, yes, that's what I meant. But my word, why wouldn't a gentle...man buy his woman any jewelry? Why, that's unacceptable!" "No, no, you're wrong! He buys me stuff all the time! He's like, the most generous boyfriend ever! Like, I don't wanna come off as a spoiled girl or something... I mean, we fight enough as it is..." Alice trailed off, her eyelids lowering sadly. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! That was the first thought that ran through my head the second I saw 'March 19th 7:00 AM' , my penguin alarm clock! That alone was enough to get me all pumped up and excited! So I hop out of my bed and fix the pink colored sheets with the penguin pattern on them, and I open my black curtains to let in a little sunshine! "Hi, Pengy! Hi Owlsy! Hi Lizzi! Hi Horsy!" I started greeting my stuffed animals good morning... my entire collection of over fifty stuffed animals! "Oh, I need to check on the blog!" I said to myself, hopping out of bed, and going straight to my computer screen with a pink frame! But then turn around again since I forgot something... I let my feet press against my black carpet, walking towards my bookshelf near the window. My bookshelf only has three rows, so it's small, but two rows are dedicated to my fashion section... while the last row at the very bottom houses my compendium of mythical creatures, as well as various research books on magic and witch craft. I swear though, I'm not a typical goth! I just like the fashion style and i'm just fascinated by magic and witchcraft, that's all! Once I get my compendium, which is a pretty thick black covered book with the picture of a winged unicorn on the cover, I head to my chair and sit at the computer screen, and I reach around the side of my computer desk, letting my wrist touch that cold steel, and tap the power button on top of the tall black box on the side. I slide out the wooden table holding my keyboard and mouse underneath, and get ready to open up my web browser. Once I click open my web browser, I find myself heading straight for that favorite tab at the top that says "Befriending the Myth" the moment I hover the arrow over it. Yep... there's this blog I've been going to ever since Trishy came to Westford Island! A wordpress blog that updates every so often, giving different info on new mythical creatures! It's called 'Befriending the Myth' by someone with the username 'FAUST'. Kinda weird, huh? I check this blog every morning when I first wake up and before I leave for school every chance I get, since I can only read so much at a time! The blog has information on all sorts of mythical creatures I haven't even seen! I heard of the lake monster and bigfoot, but to see such detailed information on Timberwolves, Manticores, Cockatrices, Wendigos, Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies... you name it! I love this blog! One thing about it though, is that the creatures in this blog are described differently from the ones in my book. I sometimes like to compare notes just to see if this 'FAUST' person knows what he or she is talking about. "And so... let's see... Oh a new update! Hmm..." I said to myself the moment I saw the strange name. "Ali...corn? That's weird... Let's see!" I quickly click the 'read more' tab, taking me to an extensive post about the creature in question, and well, I found myself tilting my head the second I read the description. "Isn't that just a winged unicorn? I've never heard of that term before..." I muttered to myself as I immediately flip through the pages of my book, turning to the winged unicorn page. "Hmm... well, winged unicorns can use magic, I know... but on here it says they're princesses and that they rule the land..." It really is kinda strange. I mean, I always thought of unicorns as a more... princesse-y kind of creature while pegasi were more of the warriors or at least the horses that many fictional heroes would ride. But here, they're described as if they're ponies! This is why I like this blog though... It's not as if they have any pictures to support their claims, but I can feel it in their writing that they're umm... kinda serious with what they say. It also reminds me of the other day when I read about these creatures called 'Bloody Hooves'... But they sound like a mixture of a homunculus and a zombie! A Zombie Homunculus! How cool! I also read up on this creature before called a 'Marionetter', which is apparently this biiiiiiiig spider whose webs can control you and send you straight to it's feeding ground! "HEY! Spring!!" "AH!" I suddenly shrieked at my name being called so forcefully, causing my chair to roll away from the computer. Looking at who's standing at my door, I let out a breath of relief when I saw my boyfriend, William standing there. I call him Willie. His hair is slicked back, he's got a lotta piercings on his ears, his nails are black, and he's got plenty of tattoos on his body. He's pretty skinny, yeah, but for some reason, that's just what I like. I'm really picky about what guys I like. Like, Waaaaaaaaaaay picky. When he and I first got together, It was hard enough trying to convince him that Jeremy and I are just childhood friends and we only see each other as brother and sister! But then again... I'm worried if me having a boyfriend is what caused Jeremy and I to drift apart a little... or was it something else...? "Come on, are you really gonna just sit there and waste time on that stupid blog again?" Willie asked, lowering his eyelids and smirking. But I can see he was clearly bothered. I wish he wouldn't get so annoyed at my hobbies, even though he shares the same ones with me! Crazy huh? "It's not stupid! God!" I argued, rolling my eyes. Of course, Willie started to approach me after quickly taking his white tee shirt off, showing off that body with the tatoo of a pair of wings spreading across his pecs... oh god... but still! "Come on, I know you gotta leave for your trip today, so instead of being on that silly blog, whose facts don't match, why don't we... have a little fun...?" "Ah... haha, I'm not exactly in the mood, ya know...?" I'm actually telling the truth here! "I can getcha in the mood... mmm..."His slips suddenly press against mine. "Ah... just a few kisses to start you off, Spring..." He went in for another and softly let his tongue in. Yes, he calls me Spring for some reason. It's his personal name for me. I let my tongue dance with his for a little bit, but I push away, telling him, "Ah... mmm... I need to get ready... mmm!!" "Hey, don't worry, babe... mmm... ah just want a little action since you'll be gone for a week... mmm..." "But I only got... mm... thirty minutes... mmm!" "Can we do it in the shower...?" "No! I need to meet my friends!" "Are those idiots really more important than me? Come on, ever since that childhood friend of yours started yellin' atcha, we haven't had much action! Come on, can't you just let me touch you a little bit?" Willie reached his hand to that sweet spot, but I stopped him. "I don't feel like it anymore. I don't like it when you call my friends idiots! I don't call your friends idiots, now do I?! Even though they're all other girls!" I immediately yelled at him, which made his hand back away. "Ugh, come on! All you do most of the day is sew, do homework, read that stupid blog, and go to the Dashboard, which I'm never invited to!" "Because Jeremy doesn't want any outsiders, and I don't have time to deal with that stress!" "Oh, he's a selfish little shit, that's what he is! What, so all I gotta do is be friends with him? easy enough, right!?" "He doesn't care about that! He doesn't want anyone new in his circle anymore!" "Ya know, fine. Go to your stupid trip. I mean, I coulda went too, but you guys just HAD to schedule it where I couldn't take off of work!" "I didn't make the schedule, my friends did, and it was just bad timing, get over it!" My voice was getting louder, but I didn't care. "Yeah, go do what you want with your precious friends!" Why...? Why does he have to be like this? I mean, I like hanging out with my friends... the crew... and I still love my boyfriend... I still love Willie... so why can't he understand? I know he wasn't invited, and maybe it's my fault... I really have been so focused on other stuff, we don't have action as often as we used to... *sigh*... but... but he's been so irritable lately himself! What's going on!? ... ........ I better get ready... I think a nice shower will help wash away the tears... "Ahem... pardon me, you seem to be a bit down." Rarity called out to Alice, who noticed the obvious wetness in her eyes. . Alice quickly wiped her eyes after Rarity called out to her. "Oh! Uh... I was just thinking about my boyfriend... annnnd... how... well, since we're in this situation, I'm kinda glad I didn't invite him. I... don't want him to get hurt or be killed. I still love him a whole bunch..." "Ah... I see. I believe love is quite a beautiful thing." Rarity said. "Do you... have a special... umm, pony?" Alice sheepishly asked. It is her first time telling one of a different species about her own love life, and it's embarrassing asking ponies who they love. "Oh not in the least! Stallions these days haven't really caught my eye. I did have a bit of a thing for a certain prince once, but that went worse than I expected when he and I met during the Gala..." Rarity closed her eyes in disgust as she started to remember. "Haha, I guess even ponies have love troubles?" Alice nervously laughed, but showed interest in the topic. "Why, yes they do! But my standards these days are quite high... it'll take a special stallion to sweep me right off my hooves!" Rarity went on about her criteria. "*sigh*..." Suddenly Martin let out a deep sigh, then turned to Rarity and Alice. "Girls, all this love talk is making me depressed. Can't we just focus on the task at hand?" "Oh my, you're not jealous of our love lives, are you?" "No, but I just wish mine would be a little... better at the moment." Mr. Martin said, expressing indifference. "It's okay, he's married already!" Alice proclaimed. "Alice, I told you guys to keep that a secret. We don't need any unnecessary prying, yes?" Martin asked in a stern tone, yet Alice could tell that he was angry with how harshly he asked. "Alright, ya'll respect the human's privacy now." Applejack lightly scolded. "Hey humans! That thing you came in is up ahead!" Air Flow shouted, which prompted the group to look straight ahead at where the light of the hovercraft shone at. Seeing a giant steel and pointed structure with several busted windows and dents all around, the hovercraft gets close and parks right next to it. To the humans, this white 'structure' is the front half of their plane turned upside down. The side of the plane had a large red stripe on the side with "KING FO-" written on the side, under the window. "Alright, we're here! You sure you can handle the cold from here?" "Yeah, we'll be right back! It won't take us long!" Alice happily reassured. The humans close their eyes and hop out of the hovercraft, bracing for the cold air to hit them hard, but... "Eh...? Why...?" Chris opened one eye, and suddenly became puzzled. He wasn't feeling any sort of cold air. "Oh, you can thank me for that one, dear." Rarity's horn was lit and emitting a barrier around the group of humans. "I heard you all aren't as tolerant of the cold as we are. Not having fur must be pretty tough, yes?" Rarity asked, genuinely curious. "Umm... I'm kinda glad to not be a furry." Chris sheepishly said. "Oh, wow... pfft..." Mina quickly held in her laughter. "Ahhh... hahaha! No, he means he's glad to not have any fur! But that's why we wear clothes, kinda. But these days, clothes also enhance our appeal too. Soooo... yeah. I'm with him on that one!" Alice waved off Chris's slip of the tongue. Confused, Rarity raises an eyebrow. "Well, I don't see how that was necessary for correction. Saying you aren't a furry simply means you don't have fur like us!" "Wow. Okay, let's look around, before the misunderstanding gets out of hand..." Mina went ahead of everyone before she would crack up laughing. "I'm... confused." Applejack tilted her head. "It's just kids being kids. I think." Martin waved off their banter. Once inside the front end of the plane, which had became more littered with snow over time, everyone in the group takes their time investigating. Inside, the group could see the passenger seats upside down, as well as the carry-on item compartments, which were by their feet. Mr. Martin, who went over to his seat first, crouched down and opened the compartment where his personal item was located, and pulls out a small rectangular bag, which looked like a box with rounded corners. He unzips the top zipper and takes a peek inside, and breathes a sigh of relief to see that there's no snow inside. "Looks like the camcorder's safe..." "It is?" Mina asked. "Yeah, I'm kinda surprised too. Haven't we been in Equestria for at least five days now? It should've frozen over. It's kinda strange, don't you think?" Mr. Martin asked Mina. "I agree... It's not like it's a thermal bag... well, we don't know if it still works though." Mina added. "Yeah, that's true. I'm not gonna test it until we get it in room temperature though." "What is that thing?" Applejack asked. "Ah, you don't have a camcorder? Like... a device that's capable of capturing stuff on film?" Mr. Martin asked. "Nah, we ain't got nunna that here. that there is alien to us!" Applejack answered. "It's a shame. You can use this to record live footage of... you know, ANYTHING, into a little black box. It's made for storing precious memories on film. If you have a family, and you have a reunion, a camcorder is perfect for moments like that. It's an amazing device for preserving history. Think of it as a moving picture." Mr. Martin answered. "Oh! Well, you were using a weird term, but I have heard of a device that can take moving pictures! Stuff's pretty expensive though!" Meanwhile, Chris was already inside the cockpit. The first thing he noticed was that the two front windows were broken, an that the shards at the bottom were stained black. "I must've gotten ejected when we crashed... guess that explains the injuries... But what about Mr. Reigns? Did he get ejected too?" Chris thought to himself, squinting his eyes. "I can't see him out there anywhere... no signs of him at all... If both of us were ejected, then... oh... why am I even thinking about that now?!" Suddenly, Chris crouched down, grabbed his head, grinding his teeth, his eyes widened, and continued his horrifying thoughts... "I should've searched for him first, but I went to my friends instead! Are my priorities THAT fucked up!? I LEFT HIM TO DIE, DIDN'T I!?" "Chris, you find anything?" Mr. Martin walked in with the others. "GYAAAH!!?" Chris suddenly jumped back, looking at Mr. Martin with fear in his eyes. "Chris, calm down!" "Aa-a-ah... sorry..." Chris apologized and shook his head, "B-but... n-no... not really... I errr... guess I was just thinking..." "I'm gonna guess it's about the pilot..." ".......I'm kinda horrible." Chris tearfully said. "Eh?" "I know I said that I wanted to give Mr. Reigns a proper burial as my reason for being here, but... when I looked at the glass, I realize that if I was ejected from the plane, he was ejected as well. But it just dawned on me that I might've abandoned him out there when I went for you guys instead!! I'm the reason he's dead!" "Hmm... you have a point. It was mighty selfish to not check on the pilot..." Mina pointed out. "See!?" "BUT! It just means you care about us more than you thought." Mina finished her sentence, but that didn't seem to calm Chris down. "You don't get it!! I... there was a chance to save him and I BLEW IT!" Chris cried out. "Did you ever think that perhaps... this... Mister Reigns fella woulda wanted ya to survive? Perhaps, it's tough when ya prioritize yer friends when lives are on the line, but you weren't alone then, and you're not alone now. You did everything you could." Applejack commented. "I forgot, you ponies are all about 'friendship'...! What would you have done, huh!? Get in my shoes, and TELL ME, JUST WHO WOULD YOU'D TRY TO SAVE!?" Chris seethed at Applejack and Rarity. "I'd try to save them all if I could. And I'd use every bit of power I got." Applejack answered. "Same goes for me. Alas, I couldn't imagine myself in such a situation, but I agree with Applejack. But you... didn't you try?" Rarity asked. "........" Chris went silent for a moment, then spoke, "I'm sure... if I hadn't met that guy that saved us, I... probably would have after checking on my friends..." "I'll be honest... If I really were in yer 'shoes' as ya put it," Applejack waved a hoof as if she were making a quote, "I'd probably check on my main friends first. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie... I'd go to them first. And really, if my family were out there, they'll be first. So no, It ain't wrong to wanna save yer friends or family first, and it ain't selfish in the least, especially when you want everyone to be okay." Applejack gave her honest opinion. "............. So that's how it is..." Chris solemnly muttered, looking at them with tired eyes. "Is there a problem?" Rarity asked. "No... I'm sorry for yelling earlier... Even if you are ponies, I usually don't yell at the ladies like that, so that was seriously unbecoming of me. I thought you guys were all just a group of pure... no... a species that people find ideal, I guess." Chris stretched out his legs and leaned his head backwards. "Do we really seem that way? We ain't perfect. We just want to do the best we can with our lives, that's all. If we were perfect, we would've kept what happened at the crystal empire from happening easy." Applejack retorted. "That's... I can't say that's good. It's not good to have a bunch of faults and bad things happen. I hate it when bad things happen..." Chris tilted his head to the side, which then hit a small black device hanging on a wire. "Oh... the radio..." "Ah!" Martin suddenly snatched the hanging mic. "I forgot about this!" Martin then presses the button on the side, "Hello?! Hello?! Can you hear me? We're stranded on an island!" The frantic teacher places the radio against his ear, hoping to hear something on the other end, but... nothing. "Damn...!" Martin threw the mic out of frustration, but suddenly... "....Some... there..." A loud burst of static mysteriously sounded throughout the plane. through it, There was a voice... Martin caught the mic he threw when it swung back, and desperately asked, "Are you human?!" "Th... hum... som...*STATIC*" ".......tch... the signal's too bad. I can't make anything out of what I'm hearing... Must be all this snow." Martin clicked his tongue. "Well, isn't this wonderful news? There are humans, just like you!" Rarity said. "Umm... Mina? I thought ya'll told us that yer friends were the only ones who crash landed here." Applejack inquired. "We were... Something's not right..." Mina agreed. "Not that I have a bad feeling per se, but... I'm just finding the thought of human NATIVES in Equestria strange." "Come to think of it, there was a pony in Ponyville who went on about your kind all the time... What that unicorn's name again?" Applejack brought up. "I believe her name was... Lyra Heartstrings?" Rarity answered. "Huh... and I thought we were some sort of alien species to you guys..." Alice said. "You are! But you're not completely unknown! We all thought she had some screws loose, so it was sort of a fleeting thought, but I guess she was right, huh?" Applejack answered. "Still... other humans... they may know of a way to get home." Martin speculated. "We've stayed here long enough..." Chris stood on his feet, and continued to look at the (floor) ceiling. "Oh, Mina, can you hand me my bag? It's the light green one." Chris held out his hand. "Oh, here." Mina handed Chris his backpack. "Thanks." "Chris has a point though. being in here doesn't exactly mean... WARMER, you know... Let's hurry back!" Mina agreed, sighing. "Do ya'll have everything?" Applejack asked, as she saw Mina holding onto a two shoulder bags, while Alice held two backpacks in her hand and one shoulder bag, along with a tool box found by the co-pilot's seat. "Yep! We're allllllllll set!" Alice said, walking out of the plane. Once everyone began leaving, Chris started to follow, but his foot taps something solid. He looks down to see a blanket by his foot, prompting him to remove it and reveal a small gray colored, steel attache case. Out of curiosity and a sense of hurry, he quickly opens the case to reveal something he's always feared... a black object with a trigger that's waiting to be pulled. Next to it is a small, rectangular cardboard box. "A Glock 19, huh? I remember how he used to be one of my body guards too when I was little..." Chris thought to himself as he held the gun in his hand, giving him the feeling of holding a block of ice. He then turns his attention to the small box, skimming the label. "FMJ ammo, huh? Comes with a hundred rounds... it's full too since he's never had any reason to use it..." The barrel of the gun had the words 'Glock 19 Austria 9x19' engraved into it's steel. The handle of the gun felt rough, providing an extra grip. The trigger alone was enough to send shivers down Chris's spine. A special kind of weight could be felt with this gun. Responsibility. There was no other way to describe this special weight coming from the gun in his right hand. "I do NOT like this... but I know if we're gonna survive, then-" "Chris, hurry up!!" Mr. Martin called out to him. "Sorry!" Chris quickly put the gun and ammo into his backpack. As he made his way out and back to the hovercraft, he sits down next to Mr. Martin. "What were you doing in there? You were the one who said it was time to leave." "I... guess I managed to find a way to pay some sort of tribute to my pilot, that's all. You guys are right... I did want to save everyone, even if i was injured." "Good. Now that that's done..." Martin trailed off. But then...! *WHOOOSH-BOOM!!!* "What the heck!?" At that moment, the group sees a large black beam of light, crashing at an area off in the distance... "Ain't that where Twilight and her group are headed?!" Applejack asked, scowling. "You wanna go check on them?" Air Flow asked, ready to steer the hovercraft in the particular direction. "We should, but I recommend dropping these items off first at least." Martin suggested. "Are you sure about that?" Mina asked. "Judging from the distance, I doubt your friends are at that location yet, so they're definitely safe." Air Flow chimed in, hopping to put any worries to rest. "Alright, well we'll drop these bags off first, then we'll go meet with Twilight." Mina said. "You got it!" Air Flow answered, turning the hovercraft around and heading back to the Crystal Empire at full speed. Upon returning to the Crystal Empire, Chris, Martin, Mina, Alice, Applejack, and Rarity hopped off the hovercraft, but they were in for an unexpected calamity... "KING SOMBRAAAAAA!!!" "Help the princess!!!" "He's baaaaaaaaack!" "We have to get out of here!!!" Several Crystal Ponies were in a state of panic, furiously galloping to the train station! "Whoa, there! WHOOOA!" Applejack tried to stop a few, but they ignored her in their state of panic. "King... Sombra...?! No...! NO!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!" Air Flow suddenly grabbed his head as his whole body begun to tremble in fear. "HOLD ON THERE!!" Applejack forcefully grabbed a random crystal pony from the stampede. "Now what in tarnation is goin' on here?! Sombra's supposed to be long gone!!" "HE'S BACK! I SAW HIM WITH MY OWN TWO EYES!! HE'S BACK! LET ME GO!!! I DONT WANNA GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN!!!" The Crystal Pony forced herself away and furiously galloped away. "My friends... We need to go to our friends...!" Chris hesitantly said. "You can get to the palace from the back entrance! Hurry!" Air Flow pointed out. With the crystal pony's quick tip, the group rushes to the Crystal Palace from the back entrance, avoiding the stampede of Crystal Ponies. "I sure hope nothing happened to Princess Cadence and the others..." Arriving at the palace and sprinting down the curved corridor, various broken vases, cracks in the walls, and burn marks on the carpet could be seen more and more as the group got closer to the entrance. It was as if someone went on a rampage. The group finds the start of the destruction... coming from the room Avu was detained in. "He's gone...?!" Mina muttered to herself, as she and the others noticed that the crystal he was in had become a bunch of black lumps of crystal. Following the trail of destruction, hoping to find Avu... "Ah!! Pinkie! " Applejack rushed over to find the pink earth pony lying on the ground, covered in injuries. One by one, the group found their friends, unconscious and covered in several cuts and bruises, knocked out. "What happened...?! Even the guards were beaten!" Rarity said, feeling even more mortified the moment she saw Fluttershy among them. "I don't want to believe it but..." Mina cut her thought short, her lips pursed bitterly. Chris's eyes wander to the body lying outside of the palace. "Eva...!!" The blonde haired boy jumped through the opening and sprinting to Eva's side immediately. "Damn... he... he's gone...! Avu's gone...!" Eva struggled to say. Her tears flowed endlessly, desperately telling Chris what happened. Chris's eyes widened with shock the moment his sister told him what happened. "What... do you mean...? He's... still alive, right...?" Behind him, the only thing in tact at the entrance was the crystal heart. The crystal shade however, looks as if someone has set a bomb off. Pieces of crystal all over, and a large burnt spot on the ground, indicating that whatever happened occurred at that spot. Even Princess Cadence was defeated... With all of the clues laid bare, there was only one obvious answer as to who the culprit could be.