My name is Swordulan Thunder Shield. I was born in Canterlot to a noble family, and I am a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard under the command of Captain Shining Armor. I have faced hydras, the evil Nightmare Moon, the Spirit of Chaos Discord, a changeling invasion, and I survived the Grand Galloping Gala.
So why was I sitting here and towing a wedding carriage with all this giggling going on behind me?
“Captain, we haven’t even reached the honeymoon destination yet,” I groaned.
I heard Shining Armor laugh and a moment later his head popped out the window. “It’s not that, Cadance was just talking about the day I had proposed, how she ran into you as you were on your way to Olive Farm.”
Cadance’s head then popped out of the next window. “I had my suspicions about the ring-case, but you seemed so embarrassed at the time that I actually believed you.”
“Oh, that makes me feel better.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope,” Shining Armor said.
I snorted. “Well, neither am I about saving your rump after you jumped into that chasm.”
Shining Armor sighed. “You just had to bring that up.”
“At least I was promoted for having to deal with my embarrassing case.”
“Yeah, but I’m a Prince now.”
I winced. “Right. I’m never going to get used to that. Anyway, I never got to apologize to you, Cadance. Had I been guarding your side, I could’ve prevented your imprisonment. I wish I had known that happened.”
“It’s okay, Swordulan, there’s no reason to blame it on yourself,” Cadance said.
“She’s right, everything turned out okay in the end,” Shining Armor said. “Like you said, what’s done is done.”
I shook my head. “I said that for Celestia’s sake, not my own. I have plenty of reason to blame it on myself. Just like on the night of the Summer Sun Celebration, I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, and because of it a disaster occurred. I failed my duty yet again.” I sighed. “I’m glad everything turned out all right, but the fact that I could have prevented it still upsets me.”
“You’re putting too much blame on yourself,” Cadance said. “I’m sure that a number of different ponies could’ve been at my side and made a difference, but the fact is, they weren’t. How could they or I have known?”
“The future will always be a constant mystery,” Shining Armor said. “We can’t blame ourselves for not always knowing what will happen. We have to do what we can in the now, to live in the moment and enjoy it whenever possible.”
Cadance nodded. “We all choose how to live, and that reflects on how we feel. Please don’t choose to live in a place of guilt and regret, Swordulan. I know how much that can eat at a pony’s mind, and it’s not good.”
I grimaced. “I’ll… try.”
The rest of the week was uneventful. Shining Armor and Cadance had finished their honeymoon, though I hadn’t heard much about it, I had only driven them to it. During that I had to work overtime to help keep the Royal Guard in order, sending out patrols, receiving reports, doing an absurd amount of paperwork. There were other Lieutenants working alongside me, but they were equally stressed.
After Shining Armor returned I was able to take a break and simply stand guard outside the doors of the castle throne room. It was a ways into the afternoon, and Princess Celestia was inside busy with some paperwork of her own, when Swift Wishes came running and burst through the door.
“News from northern Equestria!” he said, quickly stopping to bow. “Uh, Your Highness.”
Celestia looked up. “Yes?”
“I am simply to tell you that… it… has returned.”
Celestia gasped. She turned to one of the guards near her throne, wide-eyed. “Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.”
The guard gave a nod. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Swift and two of his clone-freaks ran out and split up down the halls. I glanced back into the throne room, seeing Celestia writing a letter.
“—Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once…”
Northern Equestria? I had never been up there. I wondered what sort of news it was if it required Shining Armor, Cadance and Twilight. The first two arrived only a minute later, and I couldn’t help but follow them in.
“Princess Celestia, what’s going on?” Shining Armor asked.
“I need your help,” Celestia said. “The Crystal Empire has returned.”
“The Crystal Empire?” Cadance asked.
Celestia stood up and walked off her throne. “Yes. My knowledge of the Empire is limited, but what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago it was taken over by the tyrant King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night. He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow and banished to the ice of the arctic north, but not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire, a curse that caused it to vanish into thin air. If King Sombra has returned, he will seek out to take the power the Empire contains, and with it he could threaten all of Equestria. You two must go to the Empire and protect it. Twilight and her friends will be joining you later as well.”
I stepped forward. “I wish to go, too. I’m sure I can help Cadance and Shining Armor in some way, Your Highness.”
Shining Armor glanced at me and nodded. “I can vouch for him, Celestia.”
“Me too,” Cadance said.
Celestia looked at me and gave a nod. “Very well, you may join them, but you must leave immediately. I have arranged a train to take you there. You may wish to bring snow gear.”
We all nodded together.
“We’re on our way,” Shining Armor said, and we ran out of the throne room.
Cadance and Shining Armor split off to pack real quick, but I headed straight for the train station. I was sure my sword and armor would be enough, and I could always use a heat spell if I got too cold. When they joined me again we boarded the train, and it magically sent us off. No crew on this one it seemed. We’d be going in alone.
It was a long ride. We didn’t speak much beyond figuring out what we’d do when we arrived. Cadance would use her magic to spread her love and light through the Empire, while Shining Armor would cast a protection spell. Afterwards Shining Armor and I would patrol the arctic for signs of trouble.
We arrived sometime shortly before sunset. Not that we could tell where the sun was, it was a raging blizzard outside. No sign of the sky, just dark clouds. Shining Armor and Cadance had gotten into their snow gear, while I shaped my sword over myself like a blanket and cast a heat spell into it. Stepping into the frozen waste, the chill still struck me all the way to my bones.
“Sh-sh-shee-eesh!” I said, though it was only a mutter in the howling winds. “No k-kidding about th-the arctic!”
I put more magic into my sword, heating it up further. At least it stopped my chattering.
“Let’s get to the Empire before the blizzard gets worse!” Shining Armor said, his voice barely audible.
He and Cadance led the way through the blizzard, casting light spells to see ahead. Neither of them seemed fazed by the cold. It took only a couple minutes to find the Empire, which strangely wasn’t affected by the weather. No dark clouds hovered over it, and not a single flake of snow covered the ground. The other surprise was how lifeless it was. There was nopony in sight. Wasn’t this supposed to be an Empire?
“This place seems deserted,” I said as we stepped out of the snow.
The Empire had been gone for a thousand years. Maybe the population died off. I shuddered at the thought.
“We need to get to the castle before we can cast our spells,” Cadance said.
Shining Armor led the way towards giant crystal castle in the center of the Empire. We stared down the empty streets and looked to the windows of houses. I thought I caught a glimpse of a face peeking out from one before disappearing. Every building seemed bleak and colorless. Hardly a Crystal Empire at all.
“This place gives me the creeps,” I said. “I wonder what kind of magic it took to make such a place disappear for a thousand years.”
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to think about it,” Shining Armor said.
“Let’s not waste any more time, we need to put our spells up,” Cadance said.
We accelerated to a gallop until we reached the castle. It was nothing like the one in Canterlot. It was made of blue crystal, for one thing, and simply one giant spire. The castle was elevated by legs, the space beneath being completely open, and the legs of the castle had stairs going up. There was a strange pedestal-thing in the center, but it held nothing.
We rushed up one flight of stairs and made it into the castle. It almost seemed bigger on the inside. Taking no time to look around, we continued upward until we found a balcony that overlooked the Empire. Cadance and Shining Armor cast their spells, surrounding the Empire in colorful shields.
“There,” Shining Armor gasped.
Looking down at the Empire, it seemed to have sprung to life. The color and shine of crystals had returned to the buildings, and lights had turned on down all the streets, causing everything to sparkle.
“Wow,” Cadance said.
I nodded in agreement. “I can see why they call it the Crystal Empire now.”
The sun was going down quickly, so we took the time to explore the castle before we’d go to bed. For that, we found a large hall housing a row of rooms with soft beds. Guest rooms, we supposed. We found the throne room, a large kitchen, dining hall, and near the top of the castle, a bedroom fit for a King and Queen. Or in this case, a Prince and Princess.
“I can’t go to bed,” Cadance said.
Shining Armor and I looked back at her curiously. “Why not?” he asked.
Cadance looked up at her horn. “I have to stay up to keep the spell going. If I go to sleep, it’ll stop. I can’t let that happen.”
Shining Armor nodded. “I’ll stay up with you.”
“Me too,” I said.
Cadance shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. You both need your rest. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“We can take shifts staying up with you,” Shining Armor said, putting a comforting hoof around her neck. “I’ll take the first.” He looked back to me. “You get some rest. I’ll wake you an hour past midnight.”
I nodded and walked off to the guest chambers. I wasn’t particularly tired, but when a guard knew he needed to sleep, he did, no matter where he was. Picking the first room on the right, I climbed into bed and—Sweet Celestia, this was soft! Even while still in my armor! Where in Equestria had these been made? Hay, I needed one back in Ponyville! Switching off the lights, it was no struggle to close my eyes and drift off. It almost worried me how comfortable the bed was. If I grew too used to it, I might not be able to sleep in anything else ever again.
Almost as soon as I drifted off, I awoke with a jolt, my whole body soaked in sweat. A nightmare. A horrible nightmare, but I couldn’t remember any details about it. Only those eyes, those terrible, green and purple eyes.
Shining Armor opened the door to the room and turned on the light. He seemed taken by surprise at the sight of me. “You’re already awake? What happened to you?”
I shuddered. “Shining Armor… there’s something wrong with this place.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked around. “What is it?”
I shook my head. “Nightmares… nightmares from outside. There were these dark eyes, but I can’t remember anything else. I can still feel them watching me, watching us. You can’t go to sleep, Shining Armor.”
Shining Armor yawned and shrugged. “It’s probably just you. Come on, you’ll be fine after a drink of water.”
I jumped out of bed. “You don’t understand, there’s something wrong here, and I’m going to go find it.” I walked out of the room as he watched groggily. I had to find out what was wrong.
“Fine, just be careful,” Shining Armor said, stifling another yawn. “Cadance is in the throne room, why don’t you go check on her? I’m going to bed.”
I glanced back at him. “Do what you have to.”
I made my way to the throne room and found Cadance, a few rings already sitting under her eyes. She smiled at me as I came in.
“Hey,” she said. “Sleep well?”
I grimaced. “No, and neither will Shining Armor I imagine. There’s something wrong with this place, Cadance.”
Cadance frowned but nodded slowly. “I know what you mean. There's something that keeps trying to get in through my magic, too, but I can’t pinpoint where. Hopefully when Twilight gets here tomorrow… I mean, today, she can find and fix it.”
I grunted. “I’m going to see if I can find it myself. I can’t stand sitting around and not doing anything to help this place. You’ll be okay alone for a while, right?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just be careful, it could be anything.”
“Hey, I’ve got this,” I levitated my sword up. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me.”
I flew out of the Crystal Empire and into the dark, frozen waste. The chill as I left Cadance’s magic hit me like a brick wall, and I immediately began pumping heat spells into my sword as I began to circle the Empire. It was hardly enough, and I was forced back into the Empire to warm up. I needed a better way to keep myself warm and out of the snow. Being out in a blizzard in the middle of the night was not the smartest thing ever, but I wasn’t going to let Twilight best me this time. I was going to find out what was wrong with this place and put a stop to it.
An idea struck, and I began to form my sword into a raindrop-shaped capsule around myself. I shaped the interior so I could lay flat comfortably, and sealed the sword around me except for a small hole in the back. This would keep the cold out entirely, although I couldn’t see anything. For that, I cast a sight spell, and now I could see in the direction I flew the sword. It was a bit of a tight fit inside, but after a few more adjustments it was perfect. I levitated myself up and flew out of the Empire once again.
The bite of frost still struck my sword and seeped inside, but using a heat spell was far more effective at removing it. I had to cast a light spell on the sword as well, being unable to see anything in the darkness. Again I began to circle the Empire. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I figured I’d know it when I saw it.
Only ten minutes into the search I began to hear a low-pitched howling in the distance ahead. Not the blizzard. I bet it was what I came to find, and whatever it was, it was growing louder. It became a roar, but this time it came from behind, not ahead. Turning around, I increased the intensity of my light spell. I had no doubt I was like a lighthouse beacon to whatever was out here, but even with how bright my light was, all I could see ahead of me was a wall of black. And then something appeared in that wall of black: giant, glowing green eyes with purple smoke pouring out of them. They focused on me, and my heart skipped a beat.
A mouth formed. “Crystalsss!”
With fear-fueled adrenaline pumping through my veins, I channeled all the magic I could into my sword and took off in the opposite direction of the black mass of shadow. What the hay was that thing!? Whatever it was, I was definitely not staying here to fight it! I heard it roar again as it pursued, but it was falling behind. I made it back into the Crystal Empire and stopped. Teleporting outside my sword to look out into the blizzard with my own eyes, the mass of shadow had stopped at Cadance’s magic. It took a moment to stare at me and hiss, and then it was gone. I could only heave a sigh of relief.
That thing… that must have been King Sombra, still banished to shadow, yet free to roam the arctic. I shivered. Was it him who’d caused the nightmares in this place? I had to wake up Shining Armor. Who knew what those nightmares could be doing to him?
I formed my sword into its normal surfboard shape—I was going to have to remember that raindrop form, it might prove useful in the future—and raced to the castle on it. Galloping up the stairways and down the halls I found the guest room Shining Armor had taken. He was still asleep in bed, but tossing and turning frantically.
I rushed up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. He was soaked in sweat. “Shining Armor, wake up! Captain!”
Shining Armor gasped, and his eyes shot open, but they were green with purple smoke coming out of them. I reeled backwards at the sight, and Shining Armor flailed, tossing blankets around.
“Snap out of it, Captain!” I said, taking his shaking head into my magic and forcing it still. I didn’t like having to do this, but it needed doing. I struck him over the head with a hoof, and he blinked, the green eyes and purple smoke disappearing with it, though he continued to shiver.
“What happened?” he asked, looking up at me and massaging his head.
“You were having a nightmare, same one I had I’ll bet.”
Shining Armor grimaced. “You were right… there is something wrong with this place. What time is it?”
“Only about two hours past midnight, I think. I went outside the Empire to see if I could find the source of what was wrong with this place…”
Shining Armor climbed out of bed and moved for his snow gear on the sofa. “Did you find anything?”
I nodded. “I think I found King Sombra. Or rather, Sombra found me. He’s still out there, somewhere.”
Shining Armor had all his gear on in seconds. “Then we better get moving. I want to see what exactly we’re up against.”
I shivered. He wanted me to come with him? No way, I wasn’t that crazy! “Are you sure you want to go out there?”
Shining Armor looked back at me, eyes narrowed. “Is that fear talking?”
I scowled. “No, I'm just concerned.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’ll have you to watch my back.”
Shining Armor walked out, and I shivered again. I couldn’t just let him go out there alone. Cadance would never forgive me if he got himself hurt, for one thing, but this was even crazier than him jumping into that chasm. Did getting married do something to his head? I supposed I’d never understand if that were the case.
We stepped out into the cold, Shining Armor with his snow gear and hardened expression, me with my armor, heated blanket of metal shaped over my body that bore no resemblance to a sword, and eyes that couldn’t get any wider, nor jaw any tighter. I may have done a lot of stupid things in my life, but this took the cake. What was worse, I knew that I was doing it and still kept going.
Shining Armor led the way, his light spell a clear beacon in the darkness. The blizzard had only gotten worse, but that hardly seemed to slow him down.
“Where did he come from when you saw him?” he asked, shouting over the howling winds.
“I don’t know, he just appeared out of nowhere,” I said, also shouting. In this noise, it could’ve easily been a whisper.
“We’ll have to draw him to us, then.”
“Are you crazy? You have no idea what you’re getting into!”
“That’s a risk we sometimes have to take.”
He really was crazy.
We began circling the Empire, Shining Armor’s light spell as bright as he could make it. I wasn’t too happy about trudging through the snow, but at least my sword kept the cold out, for the most part. So long as he didn’t ask me to take it off, I could tolerate it.
Shining Armor stopped. “Did you hear that?”
My ears perked, but I didn’t hear anything. “No, I can only hear you and—” Wait, there it was. The blizzard had muffled the sound, but I caught a hint of a low-pitched howling, like the one I had heard last time. “—and maybe it’s time to run.”
A mass of shadow appeared in the distance, blacker than night, rushing towards us and howling. I took a step back, and Shining Armor fired a laser at it. The shadow where he’d hit disappeared then seemed to grow right back. Now the adrenaline was beginning to kick in.
“Captain!”
Shining Armor fired another laser, but again it did nothing to slow it. Green and purple eyes appeared in the shadowy mass, followed by a gaping mouth. It roared, and Shining Armor looked back, eyes wide.
“Run!”
Without a second thought, we turned tail and rushed back towards the Empire, but Sombra was quickly gaining on us. Shining Armor was behind me. If he didn’t make it…
I took my sword off and shaped it into a surfboard as I ran, levitating it in front of me. Ignoring the cold, I jumped on and flew right. I could feel my heart racing, but everything else seemed to be moving in slow motion. I came around and cast a light spell, shining it at Sombra and distracting him from Shining Armor. He charged me, and I led him another way as fast as I could. He was still faster. Looking back, I had no choice but to jump, so I did. Mid jump, I twisted my body around and used my magic to enlarge my sword, then swung it out at Sombra. It sliced through his eyes, which disappeared in a smoky shadow and seemed to make him slow down. I tried to teleport my sword back underneath me before I crashed into the ground, but I couldn’t sense it! In a panic, I tried to teleport myself, but the ground came up too quickly. I hit the snow and rolled a few times, and the next thing I knew I was back in the Empire, safe inside Cadance’s barrier.
My sword crashed ahead of me and skidded to a halt. It was still enlarged. What the hay had happened to it? Shining Armor came running from somewhere. At least he was safe.
“Swordulan, are you all right?” he asked, helping me to my hooves.
I nodded and brushed some snow off my back. “I’m fine, just a little banged up.” I looked over to my sword lying under a street light. “Not so sure I can say the same for my sword.”
Walking up to it, I saw little black crystals protruding from the cyan crystals where the enchantment was supposed to be. For the first time ever, picking the sword up in my magic felt heavy, like I was lifting a stack of books rather than a feather. I couldn’t change its shape back to normal, either. It was stuck like this. I slumped onto my flank and began probing at the black crystals.
“What happened?” Shining Armor asked, staring over my shoulder.
“I swung it at Sombra, or whatever that thing out there was. I can’t channel any magic through the enchantment anymore, it’s completely blocked.”
Shining Armor looked back to the arctic, the mass of shadow having disappeared again. He put a hoof on my shoulder. “Let’s get back to the castle, maybe we can find a way to fix it.”
I nodded and strapped the sword to my armor, though I wasn’t so sure there was a way to fix it. It was a drag to haul it back to the castle, trying to keep the tip levitated in the air so it didn’t scratch across the ground. Making it back to the throne room, Cadance greeted us with a weak smile, though it turned into a worried frown when she saw me hauling in the sword.
“Where were you two?” she asked, looking to Shining Armor.
“Just outside the castle,” he said innocently.
“In the arctic, freezing our hides off,” I said, making him wince. Yeah, you deserved every bit of this, Shining.
Cadance’s eyes grew wide. “What? What were you doing out there?”
Shining Armor sucked in his cheek. “We were just patrolling the Empire to make sure it was safe.”
“He went searching for King Sombra and made me follow,” I said. “Instead, Sombra found us, thanks to his light spell.”
Shining Armor glared at me, but it was cut short by Cadance. I couldn’t help but smirk. Not my wife, not my problem.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going out there?” Cadance asked. “It could’ve been dangerous.”
“It was dangerous,” I said. “Dangerous, crazy and stupid, and because of it my sword’s enchantment is infected with something.”
This time Cadance glared at me, though only for a moment. Her attention moved back to Shining Armor, as if expecting him to answer for everything. I couldn’t argue with that, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“I had to know what was out there,” Shining Armor said sternly. “Now we know that King Sombra has returned and he's trying to get into the Empire. I didn’t want you to worry about me, or to risk you trying to stop me.”
Cadance sighed. “I know you meant well, but I have a right to know what my husband is up to. I understand that we need information, but next time I would appreciate you telling me where you go looking for it before you go.”
Shining Armor nodded. “I will, I promise.”
“What now?” I asked. “My sword’s enchantment is disabled, and I’m not sure there’s anything that can fix it.”
Shining Armor looked at me and frowned. “I need you to go back to Canterlot.”
I gaped. “Back to Canterlot? I’m not even sure if I can make it back to the train! What good will I be in Canterlot? I want to stay here to help in whatever way I can.”
“I can help you reach the train, but I need you to get it back to Canterlot so Twilight and her friends can come. You’ll have to stay there, too. If things don’t work out here in the Crystal Empire, I need you in Canterlot to help keep the Royal Guard in order.”
I blinked and turned around with a scowl. “It’s happening again, isn’t it?”
“What’s happening again?” Cadance asked.
I grunted. As if it wasn’t obvious. “I’m being tossed aside so Twilight and her friends can come in to fix everything while I watch from a distance. Fine then! I’ll go, and to Tartarus with whatever point I had in coming here.”
“You’re not being tossed aside for anything!” Shining Armor said, walking up next to me. “I’m glad that you came with us here, and you’ve been a big help already. You even saved my sorry rump again, but—”
I glanced at him. “But my usefulness has been used up, hasn’t it? That’s always how it’s been with us Royal Guards. It doesn’t matter. I’ll take the train back, and don’t worry about escorting me to it, I’ll be fine. I just hope your sister and her friends know what they’re doing when they get here.”
“I’m sorry you have to leave like this,” Cadance said, giving a sympathetic frown. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
I shrugged. “An order is an order. I won’t argue. Just keep safe, okay?”
Shining Armor sighed and gave a nod. Cadance wouldn’t let me leave without giving me a quick hug. With a final salute to my Captain, I was out.