"Sister, sister!" Luna yelled walking into the room. She saw Celestia standing near a big window. She showed no emotion. Luna stood next to her older sister. "Sister, Twilight and her friends are here to see you. Also, all of the solders are outside waiting for your command." Celestia didn't answer. She just stood there. Saying nothing. She finally spoke up.
"Luna, I've been thinking."
"About what?" she asked.
"Well," she started, "I was thinking about the Crystal Empire. Without Shining Armor, there is no general to control the solders and tell them what to do or where to go." She walked away from the window and made her way to the door, with Luna following close behind. "I have invited Princess Cadance to stay here for two reasons. One, to relax and help calm her mind about the whole thing and two, to get her away from her kingdom. If she stays there, she has a better chance of getting kidnapped herself. The kingdom can't afford to lose both their prince and princess."
"Well, where is she?" Luna asked
"She's down the hall in the spare bedroom. She's not doing to good."
"What do you plan to do about the solders?"
Celestia smiled then answered. "Well, since Cadance can't manage a whole army by her self, I have taken the liberty to switch places with her. I will control the Crystal Empire's army." Luna's eyes shot wide open.
"No, you can't! Who will stay here and watch over Canterlot? Who will raise the sun? More importantly, who will watch over Cadance?" Celestia closed her eyes and let out a small chuckle.
"Well, I thought you would. You already help me with ruling Canterlot. I'm pretty sure you can take over for a while." Luna looked down. She wasn't sure what to say. This was a big decision to make. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that kind of responsibility.
"But sister, what if I can't do it? What if I do something wrong?" she asked in a worried tone.
"Don't worry. Cadance will be right by your side to help you when you need it. You will do fine." Celestia said smiling. Luna looked up and gave her sister a slight grin.
"OK, I will do it." She gave her sister a hug and Celestia returned the hug.
"Now I must meet with Twilight and her friends. You go and check on Cadance. See if she needs anything." Luna nodded and went to do what she was told. Celestia turned and walked down the stairs.
It wasn't long before she finally saw Twilight and the others walking towards her. "Celestia!" Twilight cried out. She ran up to her mentor and gave her a hug. "What is going on? Where's Shining? How will you..." She was interrupted by Celestia.
"Twilight, calm down." she said softly.
"Sorry. I'm just really worried." Twilight said, her ears drooping.
"I understand." she said softly. Celestia was a lot more calmer than Twilight would have expected. Rainbow Dash then cut into the conversation.
"So, can we start off with Twilight's first question? What is going on here?" Celestia's smile soon faded and she turned around and levitated a book from her chair. She opened the book and began reading.
"Long ago, there was a king of an empire called the Tailamento Empire. At first he was generous and loved by his subjects. His subjects would give their king gifts in show of their love. However, he became greedy and started making outrageous rules. He started taxing the citizens even more and the citizens got furious. They weren't sure what was happening to their beloved king. His subjects were worried and talked to his solders. His solders discussed these problems with him and he became violent, lashing out on his solders both physically and verbally. His solders then contacted me and asked if I could help. I agreed to help them and try to reason with their king. I got there as fast as I could, but he got even madder than before when he saw me. He tried to fight me and I had no other choice but to banish him to the dark world underneath.The spell was supposed to keep him down there for the rest of eternity. He must have found a way out. His country was a free country now. I have kept an eye out for them over the years. I never thought he would return to reclaim his place as king." All of the ponies looked at her with wide eyes. Twilight then spoke up.
"Well if he wants his kingdom, then why did he go after my brother?" Celestia flipped through a couple of pages in the book.. She levitated the book to them. The ponies gasped in shock.
"Is that?" Rarity asked.
"No, it can't be." Applejack stated.
"Yes, it is." Celestia said. "King Sombra." She put the book down before continuing. "He was alive during this time. The two hated each other very much. They tried relentlessly to take over each others kingdom. We think he took Shining so he put a scare into the Crystal Empire. Taking his anger out on him, as well." Twilight's legs felt limp and weak.
"So... does this mean he's gonna... kill him?" She said with tears forming in her eyes. Celestia didn't want to answer that question, but she had to.
"If we don't get him in time then... yes." With those words, Twilight fell to the floor and broke out into tears. Fluttershy flew over and put an arm around her neck and tried to comfort her.
"Shh, there, there. Everything will be OK." she said in her usual small, yet soothing, voice. Celestia held her head up with her hoof.
"Twilight, this is why I called for you." Twilight wiped her tears away with a foreleg. "You see, you have a very special bond with him that forms a special type of magic. You can find out where he is by using this magic." Twilight looked at her with tears still blurring her vision. "Twilight, you are the only one who can save him. You have to go to the Tailamento Empire with your friends and bring him back. You have six days to get him. It is a one day trip to get there so you can relax and stay here tonight, but in the morning you must leave at once." Twilight stood up, wiping her eyes one last time.
"OK. I'll do it." She turned to her friends. "You girls get ready for bed. It's getting late and we need all of the rest we can get." They agreed and went off to their rooms. Twilight was about to make her way to her room, until she heard a familiar voice call from behind.
"Twilight?"
She turned around and saw Princess Cadance standing behind her. Her mane was messed up and she had red puffs under her eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying for hours.
"Oh, Cadance. How are you doing?" she said hugging her.
"I've been better, but most importantly, how are you?" she asked.
"Same, I could be better." They let out a slight nervous chuckle and headed for Twilight's room. They wanted to laugh and be happy, but how could they. One of the most important things in their lives has been taken from them, and they aren't 100% sure that they will even get him back. They finally reached Twilight's room, when Cadance spoke up.
"Twilight," she said, stopping at the door, "I'm scared. What if we don't get him in time? What if they kill him before you get there?" Twilight could see that Cadance was hurting pretty bad.
"Don't say that. We will get him and bring him back home safely. OK?" Cadance nodded in agreement. "OK. Now, I should get some rest. I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow." Twilight said, giving her one last hug before closing the bedroom door behind her. She was exhausted and she didn't know why. Her crying must have taken her energy out of her. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
She was woken up by a guard. "Princess... princess... oh princess..." he said in a quiet voice. "Princess Twilight, Time to get up. Come on. Everyone is already up and are waiting for you." She sat up and looked around. It was still dark outside.
"Huh, what?" She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms and legs. "What time is it?" she asked, letting out a big yawn while doing so. The guard looked at her with a big grin.
"3 am, your highness." Her eyes shot open.
"3 am!" she yelled. "Why the heck are we getting up this early?"
"Well, it is kind of a long trip. might as well get an early head start." he said walking out of the room. She got out of bed, brushed her mane and made her way to the kitchen. Everyone was already eating. She took a seat next to Pinkie, who was stuffing her face with muffins. She slid a plate to Twilight.
"Hungry?" she asked, smiling.
"A little. Thanks, Pinkie."
"Sure thing!" she said before stuffing her face once more. After breakfast, they gathered some supplies and then set out for their long trip. Twilight saw Luna walking inside and ran up to her.
"Um, Luna?"
"Yes, Twilight, What is it?"
"Do you know where Celestia is? I would like to say goodbye before leaving."
"I'm sorry Twilight, but she left three hours ago to help the Crystal Empire. I will give her the message though." She smiled then hugged Twilight. "Good luck."
"Thanks. Tell Cadance I said goodbye as well!" she yelled back. Twilight and her friends finally made it to the train station. The train wouldn't come for another thirty minutes. She turned to everyone and tried to get their attention. "Girls, look. I know your tired, but I really need to talk to you."
"Oh can't this wait until we get some sleep, darling." Rarity asked rubbing her eyes. "We can barley pay attention." It was true everyone was so tired that they could barley hear what Twilight was saying. The only pony who was awake was Pinkie Pie.
"No, it can't. Look, I just want to say that I'm glad that I get to do this with you guys, my best friends. No matter what happens, we will always have each other. OK?" They all got into a group hug and laughed. The train finally showed up and they got aboard. As soon as all the ponies got in their seats, they went straight back to sleep. Applejack was the first to wake up. She was use to waking up early in morning after all. She looked and saw that everyone was still sleeping. She saw a waitress walk by and stopped her.
"Excuse me ma'am, but how much longer do we have 'til we get to the Tailamento Empire?"
"About an hour." she said, handing Applejack a cup of hot coco. The smell of the coco must have been pretty strong, because the next pony to wake up was Rarity.
"Is that coco I smell?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"Yep. Just got it, too." she said laughing. "Man Rarity, this must have some magic in it."
"Oh, and why do you say that dear?" Applejack laughed before answering.
"Because it got you awake before 7:30!" Rarity started laughing at this joke. Pretty soon the others started waking up.
"Oh my. Did I miss something?" squeaked Fluttershy.
"Do I smell coco! I loooooove coco!" yelled Pinkie.
"What's got all of you in a good mood?" asked Twilight. the only pony who stayed asleep was Rainbow Dash. She woke up for a moment to tell everyone to be quiet so she can sleep. Twilight looked out the window. The view was gorgeous. Land for as far as the eye can see. A river flowed next to the train tracks. All of the ponies were speechless by the beautiful scenery. Another waiter came by and spoke up. He was a rather skinny pegasus. He had a black, spiked mane and his fur was a light gray color.
"Enjoy this sight while you can. In about three minutes, all of it will be gone. Once we get to the Tailamento Empire, it's nothing darkness and dirt." He put cups of coco on a plate and set them in front of the ponies. "After their leader supposedly 'rose from his ashes', it all started to die. Hey, tell me. Why are you going there anyway?" he asked. Twilight spoke up.
"You see, we are going there for a family reunion." she lied. The waiter bought the lie and went off with his business. Twilight looked at the others. "I don't want everypony knowing our business." They nodded in agreement and enjoyed their coco. Twilight turned her attention back to the window. Rarity saw this and sat next to her, puting an arm around her shoulder.
"Don't worry darling. We will find him." she said with an encouraging tone in her voice. Twilight gave her a small grin.
"Oh, I know we will find him. I was just thinking about what Cadance said to me last night." Rarity looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow.
"Princess Cadance? I don't recall her being there." She looked at the others, who were sipping their delectable drinks. "Did any of you see her?"
"I'm sorry, but I didn't see her at all. Why, I didn't even know she was there." said Fluttershy.
"I sure as hay didn't see her." said Applejack. Pinkie simply nodded and kept drinking. Rainbow Dash let out a quiet snore as her answer. Twilight was confused. She tried to think if Cadance came out of her room last night before they got there.
"Huh, well that's weird. Did she come down for breakfast this morning?" she asked.
"Darling, it was three in the morning. I'm pretty sure she would still be asleep." said Rarity, who was drinking her coco. "Anyway, what did she say to you last night?"
"Well, before I went to bed, Cadance and I had a little heart to heart. She was really nervous and scared. She has full confidence in us that we will find him, but..." Looked at the ground and let her ears drop as well. "She wasn't sure if he would still be alive when we find him. How do we know that the leader won't kill him before we get to him?" All of the ponies stayed silent. Rainbow Dash sat up. She had heard the whole conversation.
"Twilight," she said jumping to her feet. Twilight looked up at her friend with tears forming. "I know your scared, but we need to think positively. We WILL find him and he WILL be alive when we do. Got that?" She gave her a stern look. Twilight looked into her rose eyes and smiled. She jumped up and gave her a hug.
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash." she said through her tears.
The train came to a halt and the conductor informed them that they have reached their destination. Twilight was the last to get off. Before she got off, the waiter who asked them why they were going stopped her.
"You be careful, got it?" the pegasus said with a smile. "This place is weird." She gave him a friendly smile and then walked off. Her friends were ahead of her. Out of nowhere, two big looking guards walked up to her. One was a unicorn and the other was an earth pony. They walked in front of her, blocking her view of her friends. She looked up at them.
"Oh, can I help you?" she said in a pleasant tone. The waiter looked over and saw this.
"Are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?" the unicorn asked.
"Why yes I am. Can I help you?" They two looked at each other and nodded. The earth pony walked behind her. The waiter watched more intently now.
"We just need you to come with us." said the unicorn. She tried to get a view of her friends, but couldn't. The earth pony then pulled out a knife. The waiter saw this and flew as fast as he could, landing a punch across the earth pony's muzzle. He then grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the leg. The earth pony screamed. Twilight's friends saw this and ran back to get her. The unicorn grabbed her and put a knife near her neck.
"You make one more move and I kill her." he said backing away slowly. The waiter picked up the knife from the earth pony's leg and threw it. It hit the unicorn in the face, making him drop his knife and Twilight as well. He then punched both of them until they were unconscious. Twilight's friends ran up to her and grabbed her. The pegasus waiter flew next to them.
"You need to come with me now!" he said, turning to guide them away.
"Why should we trust you?" screamed Twilight, who was still in shock from what she just experienced. He turned back to her and gave her a stern look.
"Well I did just save your life, Princess!" he said with an attitude. She thought for a moment. Applejack spoke up.
"You ain't thinking of goin' with him are ya'?"
"I don't mean to interrupt, but if we don't leave those two will get up and kill you." Said the pegasus. They looked back to the two goons and back to the pegasus. They had no other option but to go with him. They followed him, away from the two that tried to kill Twilight.
They ran for almost thirty minutes before he flew down and landed next to a little cottage.
"Care to come in?" he said, opening the door for the others. They walked in and he guided them to a couch. "Please have a seat." He walked into the kitchen and pulled out some cups with a jug of water. Twilight was the first to speak up.
"Thank you for saving me... I guess." she said quietly.
"No problem. It's my job." he said pouring the water in all the glasses.
"What exactly do you do?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Well first of all, who are you and why did you save me?" asked Twilight. He sat down and chuckled to himself.
"Well," he started, "that might take some time to explain."