//------------------------------//
// A plan forms 
// Story: The King's Shadow 
// by Plot Hole 
//------------------------------//

Cadence and Shining Armor waited for the train to pull in. Twilight hadn’t said exactly when they’d arrive, but Cadence always knew. The love that the seven friends shared was like a flare in the darkness to Cadence; she could sense them from miles away.

Fluttershy rested well on the long train-ride to The Crystal Empire, though she still felt a little wobbly as she stepped out onto the platform. Rainbow Dash stood next to her, letting the yellow filly lean on her. Cadence and Shining Armor brought a chariot to take her to her room in the palace. 

“Are you ok, Fluttershy?” asked Cadence.

“Oh, yes,” said Fluttershy. “I’m just so angry.”

“I can only imagine,” said Shining.

“That poor spider,” said Fluttershy. “Robbed of its venom so that mean pony could use it as a weapon.”

Shining Armor suppressed a grin.

The chariot carried off Fluttershy, Rainbow riding with her. Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, Zecora all walked with Cadence and Shining Armor as Twilight told them what happened.

“I don’t know anything about a Changeling’s Heart Gem,” said Cadence. “But I do know the name Spirit.”

“He was the first hero of the resistance against King Sombra,” said Shining Armor. “Everypony thought he died freeing captives in a secret chamber.”

“He didn’t,” said Twilight. “That’s why I need to find out about this world called Jutenheim. The Changling’s Eye might have kept him alive all this time.”

“I don’t know about that, Twi,” said Shining. “I mean that’s sweet, but don’t get your hopes up. We’re talking about a thousand years here.”

“If the gem’s powered by love, I’d sure like to think he’s alive,” said Cadence. 

“Does the gem heal any wound?” Shining asked.

“No, it only keeps him young and cures illness,” said Twilight.

Shining Armor decided not to press the point. His sister was smart. She knew the odds. 

With a frown, Twilight turned toward the library with Cadence as Shining Armor led the rest of them to the castle. Twilight would have liked to play with Flurry Heart for a few minutes. Hours. Days. Her niece was so adorable! But she had work to do before that prince and his thugs hurt somepony else.

“Cadence,” said Twilight “Have you ever heard of Sombra having a son?”

As the climbed the library steps, Cadence said, “There were rumors. Do you know about the previous princess of the Crystal Empire?”

“I heard she went missing a few years before Sombra rose to power.”

Inside the library, Cadence opened a book to show Twilight an image of Princess Diamond Heart. “She was a princess of love, just like me,” said Cadence. “A unicorn for start. She earned her alicorn wings when she stood between two armies and convinced them all to back down and negotiate. The Crystal Empire stands between Equestria and the yak empire, which was hostile at the time, so she was perfect to rule here.”

Twilight turned the page, but found it torn out. “That must be the part where she met Sombra,” she said.

“Princess Diamond loved every creature on this planet, without exception,” said Cadence. “How could she not try to help a pony that she knew was hurting? That didn’t mean she was in love with Sombra, but being a princess of love didn’t make her immune to the effects of a love potion.”

“What happened to her?” Twilight asked.

“She was the first pony to disappear,” said Cadence. 

Twilight wasn’t surprised. She hoped she was right, that Umbra really was her son. If he had more of his mother in him than his father, she might change his mind about whatever his plans were. 

With a little help from the librarian, they found the book which made reference to Jotunheim. The librarian told them it meant “Troll world,” which Twilight found discouraging. Though she didn’t know what she expected. 

The book treated Jotunhiem as a myth, a curiosity from an ancient religion long dead even before the disappearance of The Crystal Empire. From what she could tell, opening the portal to this world shouldn’t take more than a few days of preparation and magic. 

A smile spread on her face and she almost jumped into the air, but then she remembered Sombra’s problem. “Getting there isn’t even half the problem,” she said. “We’ve still got to find him. Or…” she glanced over a description of Jotunheim; several pages detailing wars, monsters and murderous tyrants. “Or at least the gem,” she said with a sigh. She had to acknowledge they might not get Spirit back. 

“An artifact powered by love,” said Cadence. “I should be able to sense something like that.”

“How?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a part of my special talent,” said Cadence. “I can sense love. I know that the necklace the librarian is wearing is a gift from her husband, I know that colt we passed on the way here is working up his nerve to ask a filly to the prom, and I know you were thinking about Flash Sentry all night the last time you visited.”

“Hey!” said Twilight, turning red.

Cadence brought up her wing to cover her smile. She’d spent months fighting the urge to tease Twilight about her crush, but she just couldn’t help it anymore.

“The point is I can find it,” said Cadence. “Just open a portal a little way at first. Button size. And I should be able to find out where it is.”