//------------------------------// // Chapter 11. Dark Heart // Story: Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum // by Xomniac //------------------------------// “It’s gorgeous!” Rarity gushed as she took in the glittering city before her. The group of ponies, dragon, and magi had wandered into the city, walking along the main road until they were in the plaza located beneath the castle’s legs. “Absolutely gorgeous!” She tripped over her tongue as she searched for something to say. “Th-there are no words!” “Destitute.” Rarity was snapped out of her thoughts as Scholar spoke in a dead tone, walking along slowly as he rubbed his shoulder. “Downtrodden. Broken. Miserable. Those are the words to describe Vitrum in it’s current state.” He stated matter-of-factly. “Wh-are you mad!? Have you lost your mind?!” The white pony protested. “Look at the magnif-GLK!” Rarity was cut off by Scholar’s free hand snapping out and lifting her to his eye-level. He forced her to stare into his eyes. Rarity froze in horror as she saw the void of emotion that lay within. “Magnificent?” He asked quietly. “This is barely even a pittance. The magic is gone. The towers are gone. The archives and their expansive stores of knowledge, accumulated via years of dedication and sacrifice are gone. The students, eager to learn and please, all gone. He is gone.” Throughout the speech, his voice remained low and devoid of inflections. Scholar was merely listing facts. “Vitrum was broken and shackled long ago. All that’s left is its desicrated remains.” Scholar was broken out of his tirade by a hoof knocking against his leg. Glancing down, he was met with Rainbow Dash glaring up at him. He held her gaze for a moment before clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “Whatever,” he said, releasing his grip and letting the white unicorn drop to the ground, coughing as she tried to regain her breath. “Not even worth my time...” “Mph!” “Hmm?” He hummed in curiosity as he glanced over his shoulder. “What? What is it?” “M-mph!” Rainbow Dash grunted, pointing her hoof at the seal tag that was still firmly impressed upon her muzzle. “Ah reckon that she wants to speak to ya, pal,” Applejack said simply. The Rune Keeper stared at her for an instant longer before closing his eyes and turning away. “How about no? I have a feeling I know what she wants to talk about, and honestly? I’m not in the mood. Now come on,” He started walking towards the entrance of the castle. “Let’s move. Time is short.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash made a move towards Scholar, but were cut off by a mountain of muscle and bronze armor interposing himself between them and the human. The two flinched back as Iron Will glared at them before turning to follow his leader. The ponies glanced at each other quickly before hesitantly following along, entering the heart of Vitrum. -o- Princess Mi Amore Cadenza breathed heavily as she sat on the crystal throne, magic rushing through her veins as she kept the shield functional. She glanced sadly out the window towards the artificial horizon. ‘I can’t last much longer... but I can’t use that option either... if I do...’ she clenched her eyes shut miserably. ‘Both paths lead to ruin... we need a third option...’ “Cadance!” The princess’s eyes shot open in surprise at the voice, relief filling her heart. ‘That’ll do it!’ “Twilight!” She exclaimed joyfully, darting up to her sister-in-law, falling instinctively into their usual greeting. “Sunshine, sunshine, lady-!” CRASH! They jumped back in shock as a pillar of obsidian crystal crashed down between them. Scholar glared imperiously at the two of them. “The world is on the brink of destruction in a very bad way and you two are wasting precious time on pointless pleasantries?” He stated coldly. “I expected that brand of foolishness from these untrained mongrels, but from you? You, of all people?” He shook his head in despair. “You were the last person whose blade I expected to dull so badly. Both you and this world...truly disappointing.” Twilight made to protest, but was cut off by Cadance’s raised hoof. “Twilight... he’s right,” She looked up at him sadly. “Not about all of it, but a good portion. I would love to get reacquainted... but now... now just isn’t the time, I’m sorry.” “I...” Twilight sighed sadly. “Fine... fine, I understand. So... how bad are things around here?” Shining Armor stepped up to help support his exhausted wife. “Cadance has been able to use her magic to-” “Ahem!” Scholar coughed idly. “Choose your next words very carefully. Remember: Horn off then shoved up. And it is not an idle threat.” The Captain shivered fearfully. “To... power a Rune Array that Scholar set up. It’s the only thing keeping Sombra out. She barely eats, barely sleeps...” “I’d do it myself, but with the harmony in the air and the Lexicon gone...” Scholar scowled. “Iron Will doesn’t have enough strength,” The minotaur sighed. “I tried to use my own protection spell...” Shining Armor continued. “But it folded like a house of cards seeing how it’s the top quality of a weak era,” Scholar stated matter-of-factly. Shining Armor made to speak up but was cut off by Scholar holding his hand up. “Sorry, my arm is killing me and any patience I have for you all, let’s just make this quick so I can guzzle something to kill my nerves.” Cadance groaned as she stumbled slightly, rubbing her aching horn. “Shining Armor, please, I’m fine...” “No, she isn’t!” Shining protested. “She’s getting weaker every day, and if her magic fades...” Scholar hissed and flexed his shoulder. “This isn’t a fashion statement, you know. I’m not kidding, shoulder down, everything is pain.” “Well, that’s why I’m here!” Twilight exclaimed. “That’s why we’re all here,” Applejack reassured, raising her hoof to her friend’s shoulder. The other Elements all gave sounds of assent. “Whoop dee doo, Elements of Harmony to the rescue, we’re saved,” Iron Will groused. “Whoop- hey, you beat me to it!” “Ergh...” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Anyways, with Cadance maintaining the barrier and me, Scholar and Iron Will fighting Sombra in the arctic, we haven’t been able to get any information from the Crystal Ponies!” “Crystal Ponies!?” Rarity exclaimed enthusiastically. “There are Crystal Ponies!?” “Yeah yeah, residents of Vitrum take on the sheen of the city, blah blah blah...” Scholar trailed off. “We have to believe that one of them knows how we can protect Vitrum without Cadance’s magic,” he finished. “... ‘we’?” Scholar asked in disbelief. “‘We’ believe? You. You believe they know how to protect it. We know how to protect Vitrum. And that we includes Mi Amore. Doesn’t it, m’dear?” Cadance growled as she rubbed her horn. “Scholar, enough...” “No, Cadance!” He growled. “You know as well as I do that the old defenses are more than capable of holding off that smoky bastard!” “And I told you already, Scholar! Those defenses are down!” The princess protested. “They can be easily re-activated if you just dispel the damn harmony!” He roared. “Who knows, maybe with that filth gone I can rip this stuff off and I can show him how we used to do things!” “That ‘filth’ as you call it, is our last line of defense! We can’t lose it!” She said angrily. “Last line of defense my ass!” Scholar snarled. “That thing is going to tear right through it! A thing, I might add, that your precious princesses created!” “What!?” Twilight exclaimed. “How dare you blame the princesses like this!?” “Read. My. Lips, you purple furball!” He growled, leaning in close to her. “They made that thing! Sombra is this powerful due to Celestia’s incompetence! Yet another display of her stupidity!” “Scholar!” Cadance reprimanded. “While I’ll admit that Sombra reached new levels of power due to my aunt’s actions, it was not on purpose!” “No, it wasn’t,” He agreed angrily. “It was sheer lunacy! Time and time again we have seen what happens when an elemental controller is transmogrified into their element! Volcanoes that had targeted eruptions, tsunamis that rolled in like clockwork, lightning storms that aimed for supply depots! And what does Celestia do? Turn an Umbramancer into SHADOWS!” He finished, inflecting his voice with magic...until the crystals on his arm crackled with black lightning, prompting him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees.  Iron WIll dashed up to him and grasped his shoulders, helping him to stand. Scholar tried to weakly wave him off. “I-I’m fine, I’m fine...” He was cut off as his body was wracked with coughs. The minotaur snorted in disbelief. “Clearly not. Sorry to disappoint, but Iron Will would rather Chrysalis not rip his head off for letting you get hurt. Iron Will will be sticking by your side from now on.” “And leave them,” he gestured weakly at the Elements. “To do whatever they please? Decapitate me. It will be a kinder fate.” “I... look? Can I get a word in edgewise?” Twilight asked tentatively. Scholar scoffed. “Please, you wouldn’t know an edge if it bit you in the ass.” Twilight sighed and rubbed her hoof over her face. “Look, Celestia sent me here to help,” She glared at him with a surprising amount of venom when he made to speak. “Maybe I can gather whatever information I can from the Crystal Ponies and deliver it to you.” Scholar gave a derisive laugh. “What good would that do? The defenses around here are shot! So long as miss prissy pink princess keeps the air clogged, I can’t tap into the ley lines beneath Vitrum and fix this mess!” “Maybe,” Twilight said, smiling smugly. “But see, I’ve been running some numbers. Between your imprisonment and Vitrum’s disappearance, there’s a gap of a few centuries. During that time, I’m fairly certain that the Crystal Ponies could have come up with an alternative means of defending themselves. Am I right or wrong?” Scholar was silent as his eyes darted back in forth in thought before he finally sighed in resignation. “You’re right. Even on the bad end of a witch hunt, the students of the Academia Arcana would not abandon innocent lives. They would have come up with something, some way or another. It was their duty to protect the lives of the innocent. No matter how ungrateful,” This last part was muttered mutinously as he cast a venomous glance at Cadance. She met his gaze in a calm, neutral manner. “Perfect,” Iron Will grunted. “So, Shining Armor will stay with Cadance and support her, which is all he’s good for,” The white unicorn scowled acridly at the minotaur. “Celestia’s lackeys can search the city for anything that keeps us from becoming evil shadow chow-” “HEY!” All the heads turned suddenly at the sudden exclamation. To the surprise of most everyone present, Spike was glaring furiously at the blue minotaur, smoke curling from his lips. “I am not a lackey!” He snarled. Iron WIll blinked in shock. “Uh... right...” He quickly got back on the ball. “Anyways, I’ll find a table I can strap Scholar down on and start to chisel the crystal off of him.” Scholar burst out laughing. “HAHAHAHA! Ah, that’s a good one Iron W-!” He cut off as he tried to run. However, Iron Will’s arm was faster, snatching Scholar by the back of his robes and hauling him off his feet, prompting him to struggle like a fish and cuss like a sailor. “DAMN IT IRON WILL, PUT ME DOWN!” “Iron Will is sorry, Scholar,” Iron Will said in a false saccharine tone. “But you see, Iron Will can’t. Protocol won’t allow him.” “WHAT PROTOCOL!?!” “Twenty-eight, B, Kappa, Orion.” “THE CARETAKER CLAUSE!? I VETOED THAT TREASONOUS PIECE OF LEGISLATION EVERY TIME A NEW EDITION OF THE RULES CAME ABOUT!” “Yes, and every time you did, the Arch-magi voted it into place without your knowledge. In fact, if the records are accurate, each vote was completely unanimous.” “WHEN CHRYSALIS FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS-!” “Who do you think told Iron Will of a millennia-old protocol?” “... That rotten traitorous INSECT!” Cadance covered her mouth with her hoof as she chuckled. Scholar whipped his head around and snapped his arm up to point accusingly at her. “Oi! You don’t get to laugh!” She snickered uncontrollably. “What can I say? The more things change, the more they stay the same!” Scholar’s mood soured instantly. “Maybe from your perspective. Personally, I’m going to have to disagree. After all, from my perspective, my life’s work has been torn down and you’re a heartless bitch- oh wait!” He gave a harsh sarcastic laugh. “Never mind, I guess you’re right! Things are the same!” To Twilight’s shock, Cadance glared at him with more venom than she had ever thought possible before the alicorn sighed and turned away. “Iron Will, take him away. Otherwise I’m fairly certain I’ll take advantage of the situation and snap his neck.” She had walked away for a second before freezing all of a sudden. Slowly, jerkily, she turned her neck around to stare in horror as her words registered in her head. “I-I...” The ponies stared at Cadance in shock. Not because of what she had said, but the tone. ‘She...she wasn’t angry...’  Twilight thought dully. ‘That... that was casual... she might as well have been discussing the weather!’ Scholar grinned in success. “Well well...I guess you were right. Things are the same, Tenebris Amor.” Cadance shivered violently before biting her lip and looking away. “Just... you all have your jobs to do. Please... go.” There was a minute of silence before the Elements slowly turned around and trotted out of the throne room while Iron WIll carried a newly struggling Scholar out. Once they were gone, Cadance fell to her knees and began shaking. Shining Armor walked over to his wife and hesitantly raised a hoof to her shoulder. “Cadance...?” He reeled back in shock when she flung herself at him and clung to his neck, sobbing into his mane. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” She muttered over and over again. Nobody saw as almost a mile away, on top of a crystal skyscraper, a dark shadow slipped off the roof and flew into the city. -o- Gilda hammered her armored claw on the crystal door. “Trixie! Trixie, open up! I’ve got some news.” There was a moment of silence before the doorknob lit up in a black-purple aura and slowly turned, clicking the door open. Gilda pushed the door open, walked in, and locked the door behind her. The griffon then shivered as the temperature hit her. “Brr! Damn it, Trixie! This place is freezing! Would it kill you to turn up the heat?” “No,” a frigid, dead voice stated. “It would kill us.” A horn lit up in a black-purple light, illuminating the room. The room resembled a meat-locker. The floor, walls and ceiling were lined with sheets of pitch black ice, causing the temperature to descend to nigh frigid levels. And the room wasn’t the only dark thing. Gilda and Trixie were... different. Their armor had been altered, covering them head to toe in dark purple crystals. Gilda’s wings and beak, Trixie’s horn, even their eyes were shielded by light purple lenses. “After all,” Trixie continued in a deadpan voice. “Without this shielding, the royal annoyances would find us.” Gilda flinched and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeeeaaaah... see, about that...” “Trixie knows,” The unicorn interrupted. “She knows everything in this city.” Gilda shivered violently. “Geeze, don’t you just love being creepy.” Trixie showed some emotions as she growled angrily. “Oh, Trixie is so sorry! But- wait, hold on...” She trailed off as she clamped her eyes shut and lit her horn up like a beacon, a dark purple aura wafting out from her eyes. “I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I... can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power.” FLASH! “Don’t even consider it.”  “A-And I don't want to remember anything about the time he ruled over us...” Trixie panted as she snapped her eyes open, glaring at her friend. “Trixie is busy keeping Celestia’s flunkies from discovering the existence of the Crystal Heart by suppressing the memories of a city!” Gilda brightened up considerably. “Ah, now see, I finally have some good news!” The darkened unicorn raised her eyebrow. “Does it get us any closer to finding the Heart?” Gilda raised a claw as she used her other one to fish around in her armor before proffering a yellowed page. “This is a page that I ripped out a little something known as The History of the Crystal Empire! It tells about the Crystal Heart and how it was powered by the Crystal Faire to protect the city! And!” She interrupted as Trixie began to become angry. “It also tells how King Sombra confiscated it and hid it somewhere in the castle!” Her reassurances did little to calm Trixie, who grasped the paper in her magic and promptly incinerated it. “This is what you’ve been working on for a week!? This!?” “Hey, don’t diss me!” Gilda squawked. “Do you have any idea what I had to go through to get that thing!? Trap Arrays, curses, hexes! You know those statues outside the library? Word to the wise, they hit hard!” “But how does this information help us!? After all, you’ve already checked the castle!” Gilda was silent, swallowing heavily as she took a step back. Trixie’s eyes widened, magic enveloping her being. “You didn’t check the castle!?!” “HEY!” Gilda snapped, wreathing her body in black lightning. “Sombra was a master at using mental magics! He subjugated this entire city by making it literally unthinkable to go against him! He must have used subconscious influencing to ensure that we couldn’t even consider the castle as an option!” The unicorn snapped her eyes shut and began breathing heavily through her nose. “Get. To the castle. And find. That. Heart. NOW!” She finished, bellowing furiously as magic coursed out from her, prompting Gilda to dash out of the room. The griffon panted as she leaned on the closed door. “Jerk!” She shouted. A spear of black magic bursting out inches from her beak resulted in her darting for the nearest window and flapping towards the castle, all the while making sure she stuck to the shadows. -o- Scholar groaned as he leaned up on the table and flexed his neck. “God damn it Iron Will! It feels like something tried to gnaw my arm off! And I should know! I’ve lost this arm more times than I can count!” The minotaur chuckled as he brushed away a few stray crystals. “That’s what tells us it was a success! Still, you have to admit it’s an improvement, right?” Scholar grunted noncommittally as he looked his arm over. He was still crystal from the shoulder down, but at least it didn’t threaten to impale him whenever he let it rest at his side anymore. “I guess. Anyways, could you do me a favor and follow orders for once?” “That depends,” The minotaur mused. “Are you actually going to give a sane order?” “Go down to the kitchens and grab me something to drink that can potentially knock me off my ass before I turn you into a steak dinner,” the Rune Keeper groused. Iron Will shrugged. “Suit yourself. Don’t go anywhere, alright?” “Where would I go? Half the people in this place want me dead and the feeling is mutual.” “Fair point,” Iron Will conceded. “Still, sit tight or else Iron Will will beat you black, blue and bloody.” “Traitor...” “Blah blah blah....” The minotaur trailed off as he walked out the door. Scholar heaved a sigh as he fell back on to the table. “Slave driver...” He mumbled before heaving a yawn and closing his eyes. “Might... as well... sleep...” There was a moment of silence as he started to drift off peacefully into sleep. Then... Poke. Scholar scrunched his face up in confusion. “Hmm...?” Poke. Poke. He snapped his eyes open and shifted his eyes to the side. “Who...?” His face fell as he caught sight of who had poked him. “Oh. You.” Rainbow Dash snorted through her nose as she glared at him. Scholar flipped himself over so that he was facing away from her. “What do you want?” Even facing away from her, he could feel her magenta boring into his skull. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly. “Damn it... What the hell, might as well face the music...” He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table, facing her head on. He reached down with his free hand, clutched the side of the seal tag silencing her, and ripped it off painlessly. “Be glad I don’t have my magic, otherwise you’d be missing all the fur on your lips,” He muttered. “So... what now? Are you gonna let me have it?” Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, merely working her jaw and getting used to using her mouth again. Finally, she fell still and lowered herself down so that she was sitting on her flank, just... staring at him. “Well?” Scholar prompted. Rainbow stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and looking away. “... what happened to Gilda?” Scholar blinked before sighing heavily and hanging his head, equally avoiding her gaze. “... as I said. I sent them in here on reconnaissance and when Sombra attacked us, everything went dark. I honestly have no idea where she is. Trixie neither.” Rainbow’s head sank lower. “So... she’s...” “No!” Scholar snapped. “Absolutely not! Even if I don’t have magic, my robes and glasses do! The armor that they were wearing was built with cutting-edge state-of-the-art magic. It had built in health monitors designed to keep track of their vital signs. If they were dead, or heck, even critically injured, I would know in a second. That’s a guarantee.” Rainbow Dash blinked as she processed what he had said before nodding idly. “Right... the armor...” The human caught what she’d mumbled, but chose to ignore it. Instead, he folded his arms to the best of his ability and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why do you care so much? I thought that you ponies considered Gilda to be a bad guy.” Rainbow Dash snapped her head up, glaring into Scholar’s glasses. “No, she was a bad friend! That doesn’t mean I wanted her to get hurt!” He tilted back at her outburst. “Oh ho? My my, sounds like there’s quite the story behind that statement.” The blue pegasus scowled. “You mean you don’t know? I thought that you guys were best buddies,” She muttered sourly. Scholar sighed and hung his head. “I’m sorry to say it, but that’s not quite the case. I know their basic backgrounds, but everything before the reception happened really fast, and afterwards I wasn’t in the best of headspaces to discuss the past. Believe me, it’s a rule of mine to be friends with my subordinates. Less chance of getting a knife in the back. Or more, it’s hard to say.” Rainbow Dash glared at him for a second longer before sighing and staring out the window. “We met in the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. We hit it off and were best friends. But then, well... I know it’s been a long time, but I’m fairly certain you can guess what happened.” “Hmm...” Scholar held his chin in his open hand. “You guys both grew up, left the camp, went back home and drifted apart.” Rainbow Dash nodded tiredly. “In a few words, yeah. We exchanged a few letters now and then, but that was it. But... a few months back, she came to Ponyville to visit out of the blue. It... didn't end well.” “Care to be a tad more specific?” Scholar inquired. The pegasus flinched and rubbed her shoulder sheepishly. “Well... she kept trying to push away my friends and she caused a lot of trouble. And... when we tried to throw her a party, she flipped out and shouted at my friends.” Scholar grimaced in confusion. “Wait, how does that make her a bad friend!?” Rainbow Dash’s scowl re-asserted itself. “She couldn’t accept that I had new friends! I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t my friend anymore, but I couldn’t just stand by and insult my new ones!” “Hmm...” Scholar hummed again, his eyes closed in thought. “Well... from my point of view...” He reopened his eyes and stared at her lazily. “It seems to me like you’re the one in the wrong.” “WHAT!?” She yelped, jumping to her hooves and flaring her wings furiously. “WHAT THE TARTAR-!” She was cut off by the black pillar poking at her throat. “Shut up, sit down and let me finish,” Scholar growled coldly. Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily before scowling and sitting down again, keeping her wings flared. “Now!” Scholar clapped his hand and the pillar together. “Here’s how I see things: Griffons are very solitary creatures, forming very few personal bonds, reserved solely for members of their flock. These flock-members are very, very close to them, almost family. Heck, they are family. Pseudo-family, but family nonetheless.” “Yeah? So?” Rainbow demanded. The Rune Keeper sighed tiredly. “Impatient. Gilda considered you to be part of her flock. As such, her visit with you was very personal. To have someone try to get in between you two would be viewed as a deep, personal insult. Your friend, Pinkie Pie if I remember correctly, was lucky her throat wasn't torn out.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped open before she swallowed heavily. “B-but what about the trouble she caused?! She screamed at Fluttershy for bumping into her, and she stole an apple!” Scholar shrugged helplessly. Well you see, from what I’ve gathered, the griffon capital, Loondon, isn't very well off. In fact, it’s a griffon-eat-griffon city. Trigger-finger tempers, getting your meal where you can, that kind of stuff is an everyday occurrence. Combine being in a strange town and reeling her temper in to the extreme, and it’s not such a stretch of the imagination that she would fall into old habits.” The pegasus tried to protest, but she clamped her mouth shut as she thought back to Junior Speedsters Camp. It hurt to admit it, but now that she thought back, Gilda was always quick to anger and she always made sure to clean her plate at every meal, no matter how much she might have grimaced at the lack of meat. “But...” she whispered quietly. “Why would she come visit in the first place?” Scholar was silent, bowing his head quietly. Finally, he spoke in a quiet tone. “My organization... the Academia Arcana... it has existed in secret for well over a thousand years. The lessons have been passed down via family. Father to son, mother to daughter, on and on. But... family lines die out. So, on occasion...” He raised his head, meeting her eyes with the emotionless light of one of his glasses. “A disciple of the Academia will be granted permission to introduce a new student to the institution.” Rainbow Dash’s pelt paled drastically and her pupils dilated, her breath coming quick and ragged. “She... she wanted me to join... your group?” “Indeed.” Scholar concurred solemnly. “B-b-but!” She protested. “I-I’m not- well, I mean, I like reading a bit, but-!” The Rune Keeper waved her off. “Intelligence doesn’t matter. What truly matters is skill. Gilda might not have as many smarts as Iron Will or Trixie, but she knows how to fight and is a great flier. And from what she’s told me about you, you are too. Were you to receive some formal training, I’m certain you could be a successful Neophyte of the Academia, and who knows? Maybe even one day an Alumnus.” Rainbow Dash shivered violently, clutching her head with her hooves. “B-b-but... that means that she would have... a-asked me to choose... between her... and the Wonderbolts?” She whimpered. Scholar shook his head. “No. If anything, she wanted you to rebuild the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow looked at her incredulously. “W-what!?” “Allow me to explain. You see, back in the old days, there were two old orders that guarded the skies. The griffon’s Storm Knights, and the pegasi Wonderbolts. These twin leagues worked together to police the air. One tradition that they held was that if a Wonderbolt and a Storm Knight were close enough, they would be allowed to work together as a duo, guarding each others lives and standing together through thick and thin. These kinds of comrades were known as Wingmates. To become a Wingmate was the deepest, most personal kind of trust possible back then. the only closer bond would be marriage... and even then I have my doubts.” Rainbow Dash could do nothing other than stare. “S-s-so...” she breathed. “Gilda wasn’t giving you a choice between her and the sky,” Scholar said definitively. “She was giving you the sky and all it had to offer.” For what felt like an eternity, there was silence. Rainbow Dash stared at Scholar in mute horror, and Scholar just watched her, gauging her reactions. Finally, Rainbow Dash got to her hooves. Her mane obscuring her eyes in shadow. Without even a word, she walked towards the door. As she walked, the doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing Iron Will who was carrying a massive cask on his shoulder. He blinked in surprise as the pegasus walked past him and into the hall. Iron Will closed the door and looked at Scholar in confusion. Before he could speak, the human held five fingers up, smiling mischievously beneath his hood. He then began slowly ticking the fingers down, one after another. -o- Rainbow Dash stood in the hall, breathing heavily as she stared at the wall. Slowly, she turned her head and gazed to the side, her eyes devoid of emotion. Applejack was standing by the door, her head bowed and her hat lowered to shadow her eyes. The cowpony raised her head just enough so that she could look Rainbow Dash in the eye. Then, she spoke in a quiet, somber voice. “Dash... never before in all Mah life have Ah wanted to hear a lie.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot wide, her lips drawing back into a snarl. She took a deep breath, and then... -o- The last finger went down, leaving Scholar clenching his fist. “YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARGH!” CRASH! Iron Will jumped in shock as an ear-splitting scream rang out from the hallway and a pair of hoof-prints imprinted themselves into the crystal door. The minotaur stared at the door for a second before sighing tiredly and looking back at his snickering superior. “You just broke her, didn’t you?” “What can I say? I’m a stinker! Now come on, let me see what you got! If my liver is still intact when the hour is out, I’m demoting you to neophyte!” -o- Gilda huffed and panted as she reached the bottom of the stairs and fell to her knees. “It’s... official...” she moaned. “I... hate... hidden... treasure...” And with good reason. Not only did she have to sneak past Cadance to search the throne room, but upon finding the hidden stairway, she’d entered the third level of hell. Spikes, flames, lightning, areas of twisted space, and more. Sombra had spared no expense guarding his deepest sanctum. However, it was all for naught in face of the full skillset of one of the best rune-crackers in generations. Finally, she regained her breath and got to her paws. “Alright, back to work...” Looking around, she took stock of her surroundings. Surprisingly, the bottom of the shaft was bare, with only a wooden door set into the wall with a crystal set into the top of the frame. Gilda took a step towards the door... and snarled furiously as the door slid along the wall to the opposite side of the chamber. Gilda moved in a flash of black lightning, reaching the door in less than a second and digging her claws into the wood before it could so much as shift. “Listen to me, you damn dirty door,” she snarled. “Out of all the traps in this hellhole, you are the runt of the fucking litter, and I will be damned if I get beaten by a stinking door, do I make myself clear!?” The door remained silent, but she liked to imagine that she had felt it shiver in fear beneath her talons. “Good. Now then, second verse, same as the first,” she stated smugly as she raised her claws and fired a bolt of darkness at the crystal, forcing the door to swing open. Gilda smirked as she gazed into the open frame. And then she stared. She stared and stared and stared. Until finally... “YEARGH!” She screamed, slamming the door shut and collapsing to her knees, heaving violently as her stomach expelled its half-digested contents. Finally, once she regained control of herself, she raised her head and redoubled her glare at the door. “Fine,” she grudgingly admitted. “Maybe you aren’t the runt. But...” She grunted as she dragged herself to her feet. “I will not...” She raised her arm again, pointing it back at the crystal. “Be beaten...” Her eyes flashed with determination. “BY YOU!” Black magic struck the crystal. The door swung open. -o- Trixie groaned as she rubbed her horn. Something was happening in Vitrum. Something that was making her job much much much harder. “Gilda...” She grunted. “Please hu-!” Her eyes snapped open suddenly in shock, her horn flaring as she tried to use her magic in vain. “Seeing all of this, I feel like I'm starting to remember. Remember things from before the king.” “No...” “Me too...” “No...!” “The Crystal Heart!” “No!”  “Of course you can't! The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire...” “NO!” “Is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies,” “NO!” “So the light within them can power the Crystal Heart,” “NO!” “So that the Empire can be protected!” “NOOOOOOOOO!” “I do work at the library!” Trixie’s spine went ramrod straight. She gave out a choked gurgling sound as she keeled over and fell straight on her back, foam dribbling from her lips. ‘Gilda... please... I beg of you... hurry...’ She thought numbly. -o- “I didn't know it was an actual relic!” Twilight panicked, pacing around the balcony as she proffered the offending item like it was obscene. Rainbow Dash had delivered the news not minutes ago and then ran off to help keep the Faire running. “The book didn't mention anything about the Crystal Ponies powering the Heart! There was a page missing! How did I not notice?!” “It's alright, Twilight,” Cadance reassured, swaying on her feet. “It’s not your fault... it’s mine.” Shining Armor looked at his wife with shock. “Cadance, what are you talking about!?” “She’s talking about the fact that she is the one who created the Crystal Heart,” the ponies whipped around and watched as Scholar stalked onto the balcony. “And the one who brought it to Vitrum, isn’t that right Princess?” He hissed. The pink Alicorn nodded sadly. It’s true. I created the Heart, and I founded the Faire.” “B-but-!?” Twilight protested weakly. “I- why didn’t you tell us!?” The princess groaned as she rubbed her aching brow. “Because of Sombra. He erased the Heart from my mind, the Crystal Ponies’ minds, all our minds...” her eyes shot open as she turned and snarled furiously at Scholar. “But you... you knew. You found out about the Heart, and you hid it from us!” Scholar was unmoved, returning her furious glare with apathetic eyes. “There were more important things at stake.” “Like what!?” Shining Armor demanded. “The survival of Concordia.” The ponies were floored by Scholar’s statement. “...w...what?” Twilight breathed. “You heard him,” Iron Will said quietly, stepping up to stand behind Scholar like a statue. “Should the Crystal Heart be recovered and restored, there will be a massive, massive surge in pure, unadulterated Harmony. It will destroy Sombra... and us along with it.” Twilight and Shining Armor stared at the two in mute horror while Cadance turned away and stared out over the balcony and into the distance. “And when he says ‘us’,” Scholar continued. “He doesn’t just mean he and I. He’s including Trixie and GIlda in that count as well, wherever they might be. See, our bodies have acclimated to having a certain threshold of magic in our systems. When that surge happens, it will hit us all like a wave of lava. It’d be kinder to exsanguinate us. But then...” He shifted his gaze over to Cadance. “You knew about this... didn’t you?” The unicorn siblings slowly turned their heads and stared in horror at the pink princess. She didn’t react, not even flinching an inch. “...Cadance?” Twilight breathed. “Cadance...tell me they’re lying...” Cadance sighed heavily and bowed her head. “It’s a fact in life, Twilight,” She whispered quietly. The Alicorn turned around, her expression kind. Benevolent. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Twilight felt as though the ground fell out from beneath her hooves. “Cadance...” Her voice was choked with tears. Cadance ignored her, staring into Scholar’s eyes, the smile still present on her lips. “You and your friends are a threat, not just to Equestria but ponykind as a whole. If I let you reactivate the old defenses, then you’ll eject me from the city, banish me forever. I have lived in the Crystal Empire,” she emphasized the words, making Scholar grit his teeth in annoyance. “For centuries. I failed to protect it once and as a result I lost my home. I will not let you or anyone take either it or my little ponies away from me ever again. Am I clear?” Scholar breathed heavily, staring deep into her calm, kind eyes. “I knew it,” He whispered. “I knew that you couldn’t change. At your core, you are and always will be Tenebris Amor. The Dark Love.” Cadance nodded in agreement. “Willing to do absolutely anything to protect those I love, no matter how dark and no matter how foul. Now then...” Her horn lit up even brighter as she flared her wings. “You’ve outstayed your welcome. Leave now, or I will personally eject you from the premises.” Scholar and Iron Will stared at her coldly for the longest time, until finally... The Rune Keeper solemnly bowed his head and turned away. “Come on, Iron Will,” He intoned in a depressed voice. “There’s a Faire going on. If we’re going to go out, I refuse to do it sober.” And with that, he walked off of the balcony and into the castle. Iron Will followed him sadly with his eyes before turning and glaring at the ponies. “I hope you’re proud of yourselves,” He snarled. “You’ve just destroyed the hopes of a great empire and a great man.” He snorted a final time and followed in his commander’s footsteps. Twilight and Shining Armor watched with their jaws agape as the two walked away. They made whipped their heads towards Cadance, trying to decide what to say... when they just stopped and stared. Gone was the smiling, confident pony who had been present not seconds ago. In her place was a miserable, sobbing wreck whose face was buried in her forelegs. “Again...” She gasped. “Again and again... why can’t I stop? Why can’t I stop!?” The siblings glanced at each other before kneeling beside the Alicorn and comforting her to the best of their abilities.