After Golden Paladin has explained what would happen if the Wraith had fed enough of the crystal ponies, Shining seemed to be even more nervous than he already was.
"If this thing will suck all my wife and the other ponies’ happiness to get out from where he is to only suck even more happiness, then we have to stop" he said.
"Of course, Your Highness, but you have to understand that..." Golden Paladin started.
"No, you have to understand that we must act now!" Shining exclaimed. "That thing has my wife and almost caught me and my daughter."
"Shining, please, take it easy" Twilight asked, putting her hoof over his brother’s shoulder to try to calm him down, while holding Gleaming Shield with her magic. "You need to calm down."
Despite not wanting to do it, Shining breathed and calmed down. When he saw that he was more quiet, Golden Paladin said:
"The Wraith is among the most dangerous villains of the Lord of Chaos. To combat him, we need to have all possible precaution."
"Besides, I doubt that your daughter was in a greater danger than you were" Mirror Coat said to Shining.
"And why is that?" Shining asked.
"Didn't you notice that all those I managed to rescue from the Crystal Empire were just small foals, like the little princess?" Mirror Coat asked.
"Wait, are you saying that the Wraith does not attack little foals?" Shining Armor asked.
"How is that possible?" Blue asked too. "If he is one of the most dangerous villains of the Lord of Chaos, why does he fail to attack a few little foals?"
Mirror Coat would respond, but Heartbeat jumped in and said to his brother:
"If you don't mind, Mirror Coat, I will explain, as it is more my area than yours."
It was hoped that Mirror Coat would disprove, but he only made an inviting gesture to his little sister and she explained:
"The Wraith has an immensely unique perception. He follows essentially his empathic capacity that is similar to mine. He can feel emotions, but it is only attracted by the negative ones."
"Wait, but I thought he fed on positive emotions" Twilight said.
"And he does, but is that fact that negative emotions make us grab harder at some positive ones, that makes the later more valuable and interesting to the Wraith" Heartbeat explained. "He is attracted by that. But little foals are naive and pure. They can't differentiate emotions as grown ponies do."
"That's why Gleaming and the other babies were not attacked" Twilight concluded.
"Yes, and, in principle, they should not be at risk before the Wraith" Melody said. "But the others do."
"Melody is right" Shining said. "We must save Cadance and the others as soon as possible."
Golden thought for a moment and then said:
"I and Mirror Coat will take care of that. Leaf Mane, you and the others will watch around the Crystal Empire and make sure the Wraith do not advance to the rest of Equestria, in case of he frees himself."
"Yes, Golden" she replied.
"Goldy, can't I go to the Mirror Realm?" Heartbeat asked. "Come on, I have done well and you may need my help."
"The only help you would be giving was to the Wraith, since you're a walking source of positive and negative emotions" Golden Paladin replied.
"You know what, I was going to take that as an insult... If it wasn't true" Heartbeat said.
And, having said this, she, Leaf Mane, Purple Smoke and Melody were gone.
Golden Paladin turned to Mirror Coat and said to him:
"Go on, Mirror Coat."
He waved and, using his magic, invoked a mirror that became a portal. But before they cross, Shining said:
"I'm coming with you."
The two brothers exchanged a look and then Golden Paladin said to Shining:
"I strongly advise against it, Your Highness."
"I don't care what you think" Shining said. "I'm going to save my wife."
"Shining, I don't know" Twilight said. "This villain is quite powerful. After all, it is one of the villains of the solitary."
"Yes, bro, who knows what could happen" Blue said.
"But I have to do this" Shining said. "Blue, what would you do if it was Twilight instead of Cadance. I bet you would do the same thing."
"Well, I think so..." Blue answered, who realized what his best friend wanted to say and encouraged him. "You're right, Shining. Good luck."
"Blue!" Twilight exclaimed, not wanting to believe her husband was allowing something like this.
"Twily, come on, have faith in your brother" Blue said. "I mean, you know him better than anypony else, even me."
Twilight looked at her brother who returned the look. It was true. Twilight knew quite well what Shining used to make to those he loved. She then smiled at him and said:
"Very well, but try to return in one piece."
"Thank you, Twily" Shining thanked. "An don't worry, I'll be back... and with Cadance. You can take care of Gleaming while I'm gone, can’t you?"
"Sure" Twilight replied, looking to her niece. "I bet she's eager to play with Star. Isn't that right, Gleaming?"
The little filly just giggled, while she clapped with the front hooves. Seeing his daughter smiling just gave to Shining the forces to do what he had to do. He turned to the General of Peace and the General of Knowledge and told them:
"I'm ready."
"Very well, I really hope you have made the best choice" Golden Paladin said.
And so, the two Generals and the prince of the Crystal Empire went through the gate created by Mirror Coat that crumbled into shards that disappeared, when the last of them crossed.
The Lord of Chaos saw that happening, something that left him somewhat satisfied.
"It seems that Golden Paladin will act as the stupid hero he is" he said, giving a slight laugh. "This couldn't be going better."
"Master, I don't understand why you're so happy" Fire Punch said. "After all, they can defeat the Wraith and put him in the prison-book."
"Maybe, but that's not going to happen as easily as you think it's going to happen" the Lord of Chaos replied, confusing Fire Punch. "The Wraith is immensely clever and power-hungry. Mirror Coat can be a problem since his reasoning is an obstacle to the Wraith. But Golden Paladin is another story. The General of Peace may be the most loyal follower of my brother, but there is one thing that puts him on the same level that a normal pony."
"And what is it?" Fire Punch asked.
"Emotions" the Lord of Chaos replied, in a malicious way.
"What do you mean?" Fire Punch asked.
"You're going to see" the Lord of Chaos replied. "As soon as they find the Wraith, the only thing we have to do is to wait for our beloved villain do what he does best and that he hit the right pony. If that happens, and given that he has in his possession the crystal ponies and their princess, the Wraith will be out of the Mirror Realm and he will wonder again in the pony world, spreading sadness and despair."
And the Lord of Chaos laughed.
When Shining crossed the portal created by Mirror Coat, he found himself in a huge place somewhat gloomy with what seemed to be mirrored surfaces in various ways.
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "Is this the Mirror Realm?"
"Yes, I'm always here when I want to travel between mirrors" Mirror Coat answered. "You know, the Mirror Realm is a realm that exists between all worlds. For this reason, the Lords of Order and Chaos use mirrors to travel all over the place."
Shining approached one of the mirrors and then he became amazed when he saw the throne room of the Light Kingdom castle, getting to see Twilight, Blue and his daughter, Gleaming Shield.
"This is really weird" he said. "And they don't know we're watching?"
"No, what makes the mirrors also perfect for spying" Mirror Coat explained, while he, Golden Paladin and Shining began to walk. "And that's how my library can get most of its knowledge."
"Despite not being a perfect method, Mirror Coat works hard to complete the rest" Golden Paladin said.
"Wait, does that mean that, in addition to organize all that information that is not only from the pony world, you also collect even more information that was not collected by the mirrors?" Shining asked to Mirror Coat.
"Basically" he replied.
"How do you do that?" Shining asked, amazed.
"I'm not going to reveal my secrets, but I can say that with effort and determination you can everything you want" Mirror Coat answered.
After a few seconds, Shining said:
"Wait, so the Wraith is stuck in here, isn't it? That doesn't mean he has access to all of this while he was in Tartarus?"
"Do you think I would be stupid enough to let him wandering around here for centuries?" Mirror Coat asked. “Of course not. As I said before, I locked him in a mirror that I isolate from the rest of the Light Kingdom. It's basically like a cell inside of a cell in Tartarus."
"I see..." Shining said, trying to see if he could understand that the General of Knowledge had just said.
They continued to walk through the Mirror Realm, with Mirror Coat outlining some shortcuts to get quickly to their destination. It was then that they stopped because they had reached the Crystal Empire. It could see that, since the area of the Mirror Realm related to the Crystal Empire seemed an exact copy of itself.
"Amazing" Shining said, being unable to get enough words for what he was seeing. "Simply... Wow!"
"I know" Golden Paladin said. "I was like that when Mirror Coat brought me here for the first time."
"Be careful" Mirror Coat warned. "The Wraith must be around here. The fact that we are not reflexes makes his influence stronger in us."
"I have to find and save Cadance" Shining said. "That is my main priority."
And he began to run towards the castle.
"Prince Shining Armor, wait..." Golden said, trying to stop him, but he didn’t managed to do that. "But what stubborn."
It was then that Mirror Coat felt a strange presence. He knew exactly what it was.
"I think we have more to worry about than a stubborn prince, Golden" he said to his older brother and leader.
"What?" Golden asked, but when he saw Mirror Coat’s expression, he realized what he wanted to say. "I see, he's close."
"It seems he intends to attack us first" Mirror Coat said. "After all, we are a bigger threat to him than Prince Shining Armor."
"How close is him?" Golden Paladin asked, adopting a more defensive and alerted position.
"Too much" the General of Knowledge answered. "We won't have time to assemble some trap."
"I was afraid of that" Golden Paladin said. "Mirror Coat, since you're not very affected by the Wraith, you will lead the attack. I cover you."
"It's ironic that I'm the best on defense and I will deal with the attack, while you take care of the defense" Mirror Coat commented.
"Everything is relative" Golden Paladin replied.
While the two Generals were preparing to face the villainous happiness sucker, Shining wandered through the part of the Mirror Realm that reflected the Crystal Empire. Along the way, he found crystal ponies, completely involved by their own sadness, in the Mirror Realm. He could think that has something to do with them being made of crystal, but then he noticed that there were also other ponies that were not crystal ponies, which led Shining to conclude that they were just reflections the Wraith had captured to suck happiness and hope.
Finally, Shining arrived to the crystal castle of the Mirror Realm that was as impressive as the original one. He saw Cadance from abroad as well as her reflection, both fallen on the floor. Unable to get to the real Cadance without Mirror Coat’s magic (which, seen in retrospect, it was stupid of him to have come without the two Generals), Shining approached her reflection and tried to wake her up.
"Cadance, my love, wake up" he asked.
With great cost, Cadance’s reflection began to open her eyes and she said:
"Shining?"
"Yes, it's me" he said.
"It’s so cold" Cadance said, weakly.
"I know, don't worry" Shining said. "I'll save you."
But the problem was that Shining couldn’t do it. He realized that he had to ask for Golden Paladin and Mirror Coat’s help, because they would be able to know what to do.
"Wait a minute" Shining said to Cadance. "I'll return in a minute."
And he started to go to the place where the two Generals of Order were.
Golden Paladin and Mirror Coat remained alert for any surprise attack that the Wraith could do. It was then that the Wraith appeared out of nowhere too close to them. He had a humanoid form covered with dark hooded cloaks of long, ripped black cloth. From what it could see, his skin was gray and decadent. His breathing was loud and painting and seemed to be sucking a lot more besides air.
He prepared to attack Golden Paladin, but Mirror Coat put himself ahead of his brother and used a mirror as a shield against attacks and then he released a beam of blue light from his horn against the Wraith that passed directly through the mirror. Unfortunately, the Wraith was fast enough to dodge and then went back into hiding.
"He is more careful" Mirror Coat observed. "Normally, an attack like that would hit him."
"It's been centuries since your last meeting" Golden Paladin said. "And don't forget that we spend most of that time interval trapped in stone."
"Yes, you don't need to remember me that" Mirror Coat replied.
The General of Knowledge sensed movement approaching and charged his horn with magic to attack. However, it was only Shining Armor that had come back to ask for help. Having almost launched the attack, Mirror Coat took a deep breath and annulled the magic that he was charging.
"Prince Shining Armor, you almost gave us a heart attack" Mirror Coat said. "We are being attacked by the Wraith."
"I'm sorry, but I need your help to try to save Cadance" Shining said. "I can't do it alone."
"That's why I wanted you to calm down" Golden Paladin said, while he looked around searching for the villain.
Mirror Coat approached Shining, lifted his hull and invoked a ball of blue light, saying:
"This spell will allow you to get into Princess Cadance mind. You can use it in reflections. To be able to wake her, you will have to make her face the nightmare that the Wraith is making her living. If you do that, maybe we can slow down his pace."
Shining received the ball of light and thanked:
"Thank you."
Having said this, he began to run back to where Cadance’s reflection was. The Wraith, having seen him, showed up and prepared to attack Shining, but the Generals were faster than him. Golden Paladin released a beam of yellow light that made the Wraith stop to dodge and Mirror Coat cast a spell that created blue crystals blocking the path by which Shining went.
"No way, your freak" Golden Paladin said. "You’ll stay here with us."
"Fine" the Wraith replied with his cold and mean voice. "That's enough for me."
Shining ran as hard as he could until he reach the place where Cadance’s reflection was. When he got there, he stopped for a while to catch my breath and then lifted the ball of light that Mirror Coat had given to him to save Cadance.
"I hope this works" he said.
Concentrating his magic on the horn, Shining accessed the power of ball of light whose intensity increased. Shining was flooded by a strange sensation as if he was diving in cold water and his body fell to the ground.
The truth was that his mind was transported into Cadance’s mind. When Shining found himself, he was what appeared to be the existing cave system under Canterlot. It was there that Cadance was trapped when Chrisalis took her place to try conquer Canterlot on their wedding day.
Shining could imagine how miserable and painful that memory had been to Cadance, knowing that the pony she loved was being used by one of the most despicable villains of the Lord of Chaos. And now, she should be feeling the same thing again. That was one more reason to Shining hate the Wraith even more.
The white unicorn started racing the roads of the caves full of precious gems. He had to find Cadance as soon as possible to free her of her bad memories that the Wraith was reviving in order to feed off her positive emotions feelings.
It was then that he began to hear sobbing. It was a sobbing of grief. Shining would recognize that sobbing anywhere, because it was a sobbing that was compelling him to go help its source without hesitation: it was Cadance’s sobbing. And, with this, he followed it.
The Lord of Chaos saw Shining running in Cadance’s memoirs of Cadance with his mirror. He laughed, as he watched the stallion trying to save the mare he loved.
"That’s right, my dear prince" the Lord of Chaos said with delight. "Go to help your beloved princess. Try to save her from her suffering. It doesn’t matter. When you bring her back to reality, nothing will matter, because, at that time, the Wraith will have enough strength to get out of the Mirror Realm and haunt the pony world. I can't wait to have Equestria kneeling before me, wrapped in its own darkness and despair."
And he gave a slight chuckle.
"But before that, we have some small details that can cause some trouble" the Lord of Chaos said.
He made the image reflected in the mirror change to the struggle that was going on between the Wraith and the two Generals of Order.
"First, we have to get rid of these two obstacles" the Lord of Chaos said. "But this is something that can be easily remedied. Maybe we can't affect Mirror Coat, but maybe we can get to the leader of the Generals."
And addressing to the Wraith so that he only could hear, he said:
"Wraith, deal first with the General of Peace. Lock him up in his own darkness."
"As you wish, my lord" the Wraith replied, while dodging the attacks of the two Generals.
And, having said that, he dived on the mirrored floor as it was water. With that, Golden Paladin and Mirror Coat placed themselves in an alert position, watchful to any movement that could be.
However, the Wraith, secretly, appeared behind Golden Paladin, preparing to attack him. He took the hood down, revealing his face that held empty eye sockets and a big hole with small fangs that should be his mouth. Mirror Coat noticed him and warned:
“Golden, watch out!"
Golden Paladin turned and came across with the Wraith, but it was too late. The Wraith, with his speed, bitted the General of Peace’s neck, who groaned in pain. Mirror Coat fired one of his beams of blue light, but the Wraith managed to dodge and hide, while laughing.
"Golden!" Mirror Coat exclaimed, approaching his brother.
Golden Paladin tried to keep balance, but Wraith’s bite began to affect him in the same way that the Wraith had affected the ponies. Feeling his energy being drained and a cold crossing him, Golden Paladin fell to the ground, semi-conscious.
Seeing that, the Lord of Chaos gave a huge laugh and exclaimed:
"Finally, the real show is about to begin!"