"Yes, that's it," Sombra congratulated Winter. "Do you think you can keep up this glamor spell for the duration of the trip?"
Winter shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know... I'll probably be able to keep it up for at least a few hours, but I may have to drop it for a few minutes and renew it occasionally."
"You can always go to the bathroom to fix it," Sombra pointed out. "But if you don't feel ready..."
"Oh, no, I'm ready!" Winter quickly assured Sombra. There was no way she was missing out on this trip!
"Good," Sombra replied. "We will be leaving right after breakfast."
"But, what about Stitches?" Winter asked. "I don't have enough power to cast a spell on her, too."
Sombra considered this for a moment, resting a hoof on his chin. "We can give her to Bugze to take care of during our trip. If that's alright with you?"
"Will she be safe?" Winter asked with foreboding, remembering Bugze's fighting in the arena.
"Certainly," Sombra replied. "His bad luck may be legendary, but it's more of Lady Luck declaring a prank war than an actual war. Nobody is ever seriously injured due to that luck, so Stitches should be fine."
Breakfast was a short, tense affair. Excitement and worry flooded the air, as any nearby Changeling could attest to. The group scarfed down their food before embarking for a nearby settlement on the way to the Crystal Empire.
"Are we there yet?" Winter mumbled after a few minutes of walking in silence.
"No," Sombra replied.
For a few precious minutes, all was silent again.
"Are we there yet?" Snowflake asked quietly.
"No," Ice Storm answered.
"Are we there yet?" Winter asked yet again.
"No, and we aren't going to be anytime soon, so please be quiet." Sombra sighed.
The silence continued.
"Are we there yet?" Snowflake asked, causing Sombra and Ice Storm to halt and facehoof for a moment, groaning in sync.
Winter and Snowflake dragged their hooves on the ground as they walked. They had long since given up asking if they were there yet.
"We're there." Sombra said as they finally reached the village.
"Yay!" Winter and Snowflake cheered simultaneously, perking right back up instantly.
"Now we have to make it the rest of the way to the Crystal Empire," Sombra told them, making their happy faces fall instantly. "But..."
"But?" Winter asked, looking up at him pleadingly.
"We're going to get a ride this time."
"Yay!" Winter and Snowflake cheered once more.
Sombra quickly applied his disguise, as dark blue unicorn with his red crystal cutie mark. They walked into the village together, and Winter saw ordinary ponies look at her without flinching and screaming for the first time in over a year. She looked on in wonder at the village, seeing so many friendly faces go by. They made it to the train station successfully, and while the adults bought tickets Winter and Snowflake looked at the prices and the distances.
"Ooh, look! You can buy a ticket to Stinkville for only 4 Bits!" Winter pointed out, giggling.
"No, it doesn't say that." Snowflake protested, not believing that anypony would name a town Stinkville. Sure enough, though, when she looked at the chart, it was there!
"I've been to Stinkville. Friendly place, but it has a bit of a sewage issue." A pony walking by commented, making Winter and Snowflake giggle again.
"Alright, fillies, we're ready!" Ice Storm announced as she walked over, Sombra just behind with the tickets in his grasp.
A train pulled into the station, and the group quickly stepped on. After the conductor punched their tickets, Winter and Snowflake stared out the window and watched in awe as the world moved around them.
"Sombra, why do-" Winter's question was brought to a halt when she noticed everypony staring at her. She shrank back nervously, wondering what she had done wrong.
Sombra coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the ponies on the train. "It's... an inside joke. Quite a tasteless one, sorry. My actual name is Dark Crystal."
With assurances from 'Dark Crystal', the ponies sat back down, but some of them kept suspicious glares.
Sombra bent down to whisper to Winter, "So, what did you want to know?"
"I wanted to know why things in the distance move so much slower than things that closer," Winter whispered back.
Sombra smiled. "Oh, that's because of perspective. Closer objects appear larger, while objects that are further away appear smaller. You can see a much larger area the further out you look..."
Winter's mind drifted off as Sombra explained the curious phenomenon. Even if this trip doesn't end well, Winter thought with a smile, This is still the funnest adventure I've ever had!
All too soon, the train pulled up at the Crystal Empire, and nervousness flooded Winter's body. What if they didn't like her? What if the spell failed at a critical time? What if-
"It's going to be all right," Sombra whispered gently, resting a hoof on her back comfortingly. "You're going to do just fine."
Winter took a deep breath, reigning in her mind from the hoard of frightening 'What If's and walked slowly into the station, Ice Storm and Snowflake following Sombra and her. When they got out of the train station, they stopped to discuss their plan of action.
"So, first we're going to go to your friend's house, right?" Sombra asked Ice Storm.
"Exactly. He's playing with Shining Armor tonight, we can watch them play and talk to him afterwards."
"What exactly will we say to Shining Armor? It's not like we can just go, 'Hey, we're dangerous creatures from that village you keep attacking, mind if you stop?'" Winter pointed out.
"We can claim to have been visitors," Sombra replied. "After all, some of us were."
"And we can say that the village was nice, unthreatening, and downright helpful!" Ice Storm said, picking up the idea.
"That sounds wonderful. Shall we be off? We must talk with Shining Armor today, and it's already noon," Sombra said, glancing at the sun. Sure enough, it was nearing its zenith.
"Of course. Follow me!" Ice Storm walked off thorough the streets, glancing back every once in a while to make sure that everypony was still with her.
The friends walked along for several minutes, during which Winter and Snowflake gazed off in wonder at the marvelous buildings made from pure crystal, and the shops containing all sorts of interesting goods ranging from crystal treats to Hearth's Warming decorations. One particular shop caught Winter's eye, advertising the sale of crystals. The crystal in front costed a ridiculous thousand Bits, but a smaller and more affordable crystal next to it was advertised for a mere 12 Bits. Winter found herself gazing at it for a few moments, before shaking herself and running to catch up with the rest of her friends. Finally, they arrived at a modestly sized building, advertising O&O games in the afternoon. Upon entering it, Winter, Snowflake and Sombra stopped in wonder, their jaws dropping as they gazed around the room. It was filled with shelves, each one dedicated to a different game or even part of a game. Of the many games advertised, O&O was by far the largest, boasting a third of the store's shelving space.
Ice Storm, the only one left unfazed, chuckled when she saw their expressions. "Oh come on now, surely this isn't the most amazing thing you've seen?"
"The last time I checked on O&O was over a thousand year ago," Sombra replied. "It wasn't anywhere near as sophisticated as it seems now."
"Well, follow me if you want to see some of the real action!" Ice Storm chuckled.
The friends followed Ice Storm downstairs to a spacious room, where groups ranging from three to twelve sat together. It only took a few minutes to find Shining Armor's group, which had five ponies- four players and a game master.
"Hey! Game Knight!" Ice Storm waved to her friend.
Game Knight got up from the table, smiling. "Ice Storm! I haven't seen you since the convention last month!"
Ice Storm trotted over to the table, giving Game Knight a friendly hug. "I've had a very... interesting month that I'd love to tell you about later. But where are my manners, meet my new friends, Dark Crystal and Winter Aurora!"
Sombra gave a friendly smile and a hoofshake, while Aurora stayed partially hidden by Sombra's body, too embarrassed and nervous to say hi.
"Hi, I'm Game Knight, our party's Ranger, and these are my friends and O&O partners: Sun Ray the Priest, Lucky Roll the Bard, our Paladin Prince-Consort Shining Armor, and last but not least, our DM Regal Voice!"
"Hi, I'm Dark Crystal, and this is my daughter Winter Aurora."
Winter's breath caught in her throat as she heard what Sombra said.
Sombra... My father? He may not really be my father... But I'd like that. He's nice, caring, helpful, and really smart! I wonder-
"Winter?" Sombra asked.
Winter blinked, recovering from her interrupted thoughts. "Yes? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Winter replied nervously.
Sombra smiled. "It's okay. Just relax, there's nothing to worry about. You just seemed a little distant."
"Oh. Well, I was just... Thinking."
Sombra turned back to Shining Armor. "After your session, we'd like to talk for a while. Is that possible?"
"We're going to be here for a while, so if it's urgent we can end the session now..." Shining Armor suggested.
"No, no, it's quite alright. As a fan of the game myself, I think I'd rather enjoy watching your session while we wait to have a talk with you."
"Well if it's alright with you then we'll keep going." Shining Armor said
After a few hours, the session was finished. By the end of the adventurous party had succeeded in slaying several monsters and saving several villages from certain doom. The group finished packing up the game, and everypony prepared to go home.
"Do you mind if we take this back to the castle?" Shining Armor asked.
"No, not at all." Sombra replied.
"My Royal Carriage is outside, you can join me. It's got plenty of extra room for guests."
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Shining Armor asked, once they had entered the carriage.
"We have been to Calypsion," Sombra told him.
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "Calypsion? Never heard of it."
"It's the place where those who wield Dark Magics reside."
Shining Armor's eyes shot wide open. "That city? How did you escape?"
"We were visitors there," Ice Storm put in. "I wanted to get my filly, Snowflake, checked for mental tampering."
Shining Armor concentrated for a moment, something was familiar... "Oh! You! I remember. You were the one who wanted the Guard to come in and remove a Lich from your graveyard, right? It had attacked your filly?" His look changed to one of concern. "You said mental tampering? Was she alright?"
Ice Storm looked a little sheepish. "Well, I suspected mental tampering because she said that the Lich was actually really friendly and nice, so I took her to a multitude of experts to have her checked... However, they found no trace of tampering. I grew desperate, which is when I called on my friend, Dark Crystal."
Sombra coughed lightly. "I know, shall we say... Many of the not technically 'legal' experts, some of whom use Dark Magic to heal others, ones who could more accurately detect Dark compulsions than traditional, Light Mage experts. And, from what I know of you, Shining Armor, I'm guessing you turn a blind eye to these more accurate- but less legal- mages, due to a... Shall we call it, 'past experience' with mental magic?"
Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably. "I have no idea what you are talking about," he replied in a monotone. "as Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire, it is my duty to prevent evildoers from damaging the city."
Sombra grinned. "Yes, exactly. No harm, no foul for those that don't hurt others. Now, let us continue. The greatest of these... 'contacts' resides inside Calypsion. In order to guarantee safe entrance, me and my daughter, Winter Aurora, agreed to come with her."
"To our surprise, we found that Calypsion, contrary to expectations, was actually a pretty nice place," Ice Storm said. "Not to mention they, too, found my filly absent of mental tampering, which leads me to believe that the Lich that she met was actually not evil."
"That makes no sense," Shining Armor interrupted. "In order to become a Lich, one must perform foul acts including Pony Sacrifice to some of the more dangerous of the Elder Gods, as part of the ceremony. Becoming a Lich is a difficult task, that requires complete evil to perform."
Noticing Sombra and Ice Storm looking at him strangely, he blushed and snapped. "My wife Cadance is going to live forever, so I had my sister look into possible methods of immortality, so we can live together forever."
"D'aww..." Sombra, Ice Storm, Winter and Snowflake said simultaneously, causing Shining Armor to blush even further.
"My point still stands," he snapped. "Twilight is one of the best ponies in the entire world at researching. It wouldn't be like her to miss something. However... She's staying at the castle right now, researching Alicornation. If you think she missed something, feel free to give any theories you may have to her."
With that final note, they reached the castle. Shining Armor led them to his private room, where they could talk more in depth without being overheard. Shining Armor opened the door to his room, to find Twilight reading a book inside.
"Twiliy!" Shining Armor said, causing Twilight to look up from her book.
"Shiny!" She replied. "I've got a few experiments I wanted to perform, and they need you, and- Who are those ponies behind you? Two of them are disguised."
"Oh, these are some ponies who claim to have visited Calypsion. Calypsion is the name of that village of Dark Magic users. Their names are Dark Crystal, Winter Aurora, Ice Storm, and Snowflake," Shining pointed each one out. "and you say two of them are disguised?" Shining looked at them suspiciously.
"Almost definitely. Dark Crystal and Winter Aurora. I can sense it in their auras. I left that aura-detecting spell on, just in case any Changelings tried to sneak around. They're not Changelings, it's just an ordinary glamour spell, but..." Twilight frowned. Something felt familiar here. Where did she know that magical signature from...
"Well?" Shining asked, suspicion growing by the second.
"My family has a... genetic disfiguration. We always use a glamour spell to hide-" Sombra's speech was interrupted by Twilight's shout.
"SOMBRA!" Twilight shouted, finally realizing where she had recognized that magical signature from. Her horn flared up as she cast a spell to neutralize their disguises. Sombra and Winter stood there for a moment, shocked, ordinary forms exposed to Twilight and Shining.
"Twilight! Sombra and the Lich must have brainwashed Ice Storm and Snowflake! Be careful!" Shining Armor cried, readying his horn for an incoming battle. To his surprise, a staff popped into existence in front of Winter, glowing with magic as she muttered something he couldn't quite hear. A terrible hex, for sure. Shining Armor released his magical energy in the form of a shield, protecting Twilight and himself from the magic's power. A flash and a pop later, Sombra, Winter, Ice Storm and Snowflake had disappeared.
As soon as her disguise disappeared, Winter's heart froze in horror. She looked up at Twilight with terrified eyes, to be met with a gaze of confusion from the older pony. As she saw Shining Armor's horn glow with a powerful spell, she knew immediately that she was going to be killed. She quickly brought her staff out from her pocket dimension, and whispered rapidly to it.
"Pleasetakeusawaypleasesaveuspleasepleaseplease!"
She closed her eyes, desperately hoping for an effect. A flash and familiar popping noise left her relieved as she realized that the staff must have teleported her away, in response to her command! She opened her eyes to find, to her horror, that she was alone and undisguised, lost in the middle of the Crystal Empire! She whimpered in fear. Where was she? Where could she go now?
Twilight stared at where the Lich had teleported away, a confused look still on her face. It just didn't add up... If she had stripped all disguises away from the Lich, how had she still looked like a filly? Unless... But no, a filly couldn't have the evil necessary to become a Lich. And she looked unbelievably frightened when she had looked into Twilight's eyes. No anger, no hatred, just pure terror. What if... There was a possibility she had missed in her research? What if... There was another way to become a Lich!
Twilight rushed out of the room, moving to find her friends, who were resting in their own rooms. There were just too many questions that needed to be answered, and only one pony she knew had the answers.
Winter Aurora.