I know it sounds surprising but… I fell asleep. I... I just did. I forget when, but when I woke up, well, I knew that I had been dead asleep. In a dragon's lair, no less.
When I awoke, I was in a cave. It was open to the weather but still somewhat warm, unlike the one Sombra had found.
Outside I glimpsed mountains, but inside I found a few scattered bones, which worried me since I couldn't tell if they belonged to ponies or not. A heap of gold was there as well, and an even larger pile composed of knick knacks and ancient treasures like one might find in the Archives in Canterlot. Lastly, there was a hoard of weapons and armor, rusty beyond use. I still had all of my possessions but my wings were visibly sprained, with a few scratches and a faint trace of dried blood, and wouldn’t work. Sombra's accidental curse still encased my horn.
“Ahhh,” a threatening voice purred. “I see my guest is awake.”
I turned around to find my captor standing in the way of the only way out.
Talk about a sudden appearance.
He was large, very large, with deep blue eyes, like a cloudless sky, and scales that had been perfect camouflage in a snowstorm.
I was terrified.
“Guest?” I squeaked. “You mean you won't eat me?”
The thunder-like sound of dragon laughter filled the dwelling.
“No, ponies don't exactly taste good. I want to know why southern creatures like ponies are in my realm, which is even farther north than the strongholds that make up Yakyakistan."
I nodded nervously, afraid to say anything, since he had tasted ponies before and it was best that I at least try to remain calm since he was blocking the only exit. Oh, why can't dragons have side doors, or something that would make my life a bit easier right now? This drake didn't have ponies depending on him!
“Now,” he began in a darker tone, “I, Usagi, would like to know who you and your friend are, little stranger.” He stressed the last word and blew frost into the air.
I honestly expected the dragon to have a name like Spike's, or maybe some growl that I wouldn't be able to pronounce. I certainly didn't know what his name was, but it did sound like a pony language, which was... odd.
I took a deep breath: “I am Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire, and my traveling…acquaintance, not friend, is Sombra…”
I explained to him my quest; who, why, where, how, and why I needed the Crystal Heart back.
“…and you see Sombra, who knows a lot... okay, a questionable amount of mysterious things, says that it must be us two ponies who find the Heart.”
I waited for Usagi to respond.
He burst out laughing. “Quite the good reason to be here, little alicorn Princess, but allow me to give you a lesson.”
Was this dragon Twilight in disguise?
“First, it must be you and this Sombra, if what you tell me is true. Then it must be you and your acquaintance since the knowledge of a dark sorcerer might do you good. It is much more than a week's flight to the nearest nation that might even allow you to negotiate, if only Yakyakistan weren't closed to outside contact, and Equestria, which is even farther away, didn't want your aquaintance's head on a platter. Because of this, you two are the only ones able to defeat this foe.”
Singular? “You mean ‘foes’; the Ice Legion is many.”
Usagi growled. “Bah! There is your mistake. The ‘Ice Legion’ you speak of is no more than a legend about rusty armor lying in a heap not too far from here. I pass it almost every day. Your real foe is…”
Usagi trailed off abruptly and started to rummage through his trinket hoard.
“…the Wraith herself,” he whispered.
But… then that would mean I had it wrong. The Wraith was real! The Legion was real, too, but not in the story's sense. Usagi turned and gave something to me, placing it around my neck. I glanced down. A blue-white chain with a heart shaped pendant of tarnished silver was in the place of the gold necklace I had left at home. The heart, though, seemed to be a tool. In its face was an elaborate compass rose and a needle pointing at a bizarre angle.
Usagi noted my perplexed look.
“This is the Heart's Desire, an old enchanted piece that I had salvaged in one of my trip to the ruins of your Tribe-lands. It will guide you to the spirit you seek, for it is she whom you must vanquish for good if there is ever to be anything in this waste again. Even the yaks are wary.”
I nodded, grateful for his gift.
“I'VE GOT YOU NOW!” shouted a voice behind us.
I whirled around to find a haggard Sombra brandishing his sword in his mouth, eyes wild. He should have looked more exhausted from climbing the mountains to get here, but I could never tell with Sombra.
“Sombra, everything is fine,” I said.
He looked confused and transferred his sword into an aura grasp instead, but the look in his eyes did not fade and I once again found myself silently praying he wouldn't do something to anger Usagi.
“Are you saying that I wasted three days, getting no sleep, only to come here and discover every bloody thing is ‘fine’?!” His left eye twitched, and I was unsure how he was still alive, since even I doubted I could do that. Just what kind of pony was he?
“More or less,” mumbled Usagi.
“So we are going, then?” Sombra asked, still eyeing the dragon.
“Yes, now let’s go find the Crystal Heart,” I replied, nodding my farewell to Usagi.
…
“WAIT!” I shrieked, once Sombra and I made it down the mountain.
“What?” Sombra grumbled, muttering something about ‘how in magic's name can she scream like that’.
I gestured to my horn and the crystals covering it.
“Oh. Yeah, that.”
He removed the crystals and we continued on our way; westward, according to Heart's Desire.
The setting sun elongated our shadows: The strong form of a determined fighter followed by the paranoid silhouette of a stargazing rogue. But, as the sun set further it became unclear to me who was who.